Sherrie R. Cronin's Blog, page 34

Bring back the good old days?

So what was the problem? Well, there is such a thing as an unhealthy obsession with what has occurred. Each of us has a thing or two we’ve spent far too much time reviewing. Often we are still angry with someone, or still trying to justify our own less than stellar actions. I know that I spend time there. Let’s face it. There is “learn from” and there is “fixate on” and they are two different things.

Read the entire post on my z2 blog at Bring back the good old days?

Filed under: z2: favorite posts Tagged: comebacks, excerpts, forgiveness, fresh start, gratitude, history, how far we have come, improvement, meditation, obsessed, reconcilliation, yoga

A radio wave is that long?

One of the things about writing magical realism, at least the way that I do it, is that you are always trying to explain mystical, magical things in terms of believable science.  I am fascinated by this fuzzy boundary between the astonishment of the enchanted and the astonishment of what modern science tells us.

Read the entire post at A radio wave is that long?

Filed under: d4: favorite posts Tagged: #amwriting, excerpts, magical realism, physics, science, seeing the future, technology, wave motion, writing science fiction

Are you “performing,” or performing?

“Just how effective a human being do you think you would be if you didn’t focus on getting something done?” it asks. “Performing the tasks that help you survive is what buys you the freedom to sit around and chant om and do this other shit.”

“Shhhhh!” I hush both voices, and then just when I finally have things under control, the yoga instructor joins in the conversation.

Read the post, the whole post and nothing but the post at Are you “performing,” or performing?

Filed under: y1: favorite posts Tagged: #amwriting, be who you are, deep breathing, define yourself, do what you love, excerpts, identity, letting go, many paths, meditation, normal, not normal, writing, yoga

A feminist looks back at Valentine’s Day

My friends always asked. Did he get you flowers? Take you out to dinner? Somewhere romantic? My answer was always a slightly sad no.

My friends would sigh. “It wouldn’t have hurt him to at least, maybe, bought you a single rose or something.” No, it probably wouldn’t have. But I knew that I was sending out mixed signals. I was one of those girls who was usually in a relationship, and with the kind of boy who thought Valentine’s Day was stupid. Not surprising, really, given my own independent beliefs. Still, why couldn’t he make one tiny exception and buy me some dark chocolate? Then I would have had had something to tell my friends. Besides, I like dark chocolate a lot.

Read the original post, written just after valentine’s day this year, at A feminist looks back at Valentine’s Day on my c3 blog.

Filed under: c3: favorite posts Tagged: chocolate, love, many paths, sexism, sexual norms, stereotypes, women

“The Martian” and why do we like what we like?

It’s back to the old empathy thing, I think. I don’t have a personal link with spies or lawyers or the history of the cold war, but the astronaut wannabe in me identified so much with the man left behind. I’ve lived in Houston, toured NASA, read countless things about manned missions to Mars as background for my own book d4. But it goes further than that.

I am in awe of Andy Weir, who wrote the well researched and highly accurate book about an astronaut stranded on Mars. He was a little known science fiction author, well, just like me. Word is that he got frustrated having his stories turned down by publishers, and that in 2011 he started posting chapters of “The Martian” to his website instead. How could I not love this guy? Of course I want his movie to win.

Read the entire post at “The Martian” and why do we like what we like?

Filed under: music, reviews, x0: favorite posts Tagged: #MARS, define yourself, empathy, movie reviews, music, music videos, perspective, science fiction, speculative fiction, women astronauts, writing science fiction

Best movies about time, at least in this space/time continuum

I am part of the movie-viewing public that never tires of a well done flick that examines time. But, as one might guess from the plot of z2, my favorites involve a clever manipulation of time, or a riff on the mysteries of time, rather than straight time travel stories.

There are several reasons that simple time travel stories don’t generally impress me.

Read the entire post on my z2 blog at Best movies about time, at least in this space/time continuum.

Filed under: reviews, z2: time Tagged: #TimeTravel, future, imagination, lessons learned, movie reviews, physics, reality, science fiction, speculative fiction, Star Trek, time, time altering, time bending, time travel

Sneaky Weather Forecasters

The morning went well and I was pretty proud of myself for not being intimidated, but by noon it began to change.  I charged ahead even though it was in the mid thirties and raining. By mid afternoon we had dropped into the twenties and whatever you chose to call the gunk falling from the sky, there was no question that it was starting to coat the road in a most unfortunate way.

Read the entire post at Sneaky Weather Forecasters

Filed under: d4: favorite posts, d4: seeing the future Tagged: future, predictions, probability, seeing the future, skepticism, winter

“I Need A Dollar”

Every so often an artist captures a complex problem in a simple way. I’m in awe of the photo or sketch that conveys nuances in a glance, and of the poem, song or piece of flash fiction that evokes layers of meaning in its few words. The best of popular music manages this, I think. I put the song “I Need A Dollar” by Aloe Blacc in this small group.

Read the entire post at “I Need A Dollar.”

Filed under: music, y1: favorite posts Tagged: economic policy, equality, fairness, heaven, money, music, music videos, poverty, unemployed, wealth, wealth distribution

It’s never too late till it is

Every once in awhile I know exactly what my husband means and those rare moments of perfect communication are gold. Such was the case with his “it’s never too late till it is.” Because it isn’t. You follow me?

I still have the short-lived vantage point of watching those both a generation older and younger than me make decisions, and am always sad to hear someone decide that it’s too late for something they want. Education, relationships, children, adventures, the challenges of climbing a mountain or starting a business. My wise partner is right. Time can make some things more difficult, even much more difficult, but only we decide they are impossible. Until of course they are, at that moment when all of our chances are gone and we’ve done whatever it is we are going to do in this life. Nothing is impossible until then, and instead of finding the thought morbid, I find it oddly uplifting.

Read the full post at It’s never too late till it is.

Filed under: c3: courage, c3: favorite posts, music Tagged: beginnings, courage, excerpts, fresh start, mortality, music, music videos, OBE, out of body, wisdom, wise

All the empathy in the world won’t help?

(1) I write fiction about telepaths and examine whether the increased empathy from knowing others thoughts could be a key to world peace. (2) I like Rachel Maddox a lot and occasionally watch her show.

I read Rachel Maddow’s new book “Drift” because of the second item, but was surprised when I discovered that her central thesis casts doubt on the whole theory of my book x0.

Read the entire post and my book review of “Drift” at All the empathy in the world won’t help?

Filed under: reviews, x0: favorite posts, x0: peace Tagged: #amwriting, book reviews, books, compassion, empathy, fiction, military intervention, pacifism, peace, politics, telepaths, telepathy, violence, war, world peace