Crazy cats
I noticed this story on Yahoo today, about a cat who treed a bear. The thing that jumped out at me was the fact that the cat is an orange tabby.
When we got Roscoe, our orange tabby, we noticed a few things about him. He is unusually vocal (Aka, he complains about every damn thing and appears to talk back if you speak with him or ask him a question.); he hunts like serial killer; he fights all the time; survived an attack from a pit bull while he was still a kitten (with Nate's help, but still); attacks our 55- and 75-pound dogs regularly, including hiding behind shrubbery or furniture and jumping out at them; he SPRAYS his territory, even though he was fixed when he was a kitten; if you call him, he runs to the door like one of the dogs; there's more, but I think you get the idea. Someone told us that (orange) tabbies are known for being exceptionally aggressive and vocal. Not sure if this is true, but when I read the story about the treed bear and the orange tabby, I thought. Yep. That sounds about right. Another one of them crazy tabbies. Roscoe weighs about 13 pounds, by the way.
Monday
Thursday
Congrats
* An old friend (of both mine and Nate's) has a new book out on Playa del Carmen.
* Carrie Iverson, a student from the first MFA writing class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), is featured in the Chicago Tribune. She has a new exhibit called "Wake" in Brooklyn.
* Three profs from SAIC are listed in the "Lit 50" in New City magazine. James McManus, Rosellen Brown, and Carol Anshaw. Rosellen and Carol were my advisers during my time in the MFA program. They both helped me turn a bunch of scraps of writing into a novel.
* An old friend (of both mine and Nate's) has a new book out on Playa del Carmen.
* Carrie Iverson, a student from the first MFA writing class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), is featured in the Chicago Tribune. She has a new exhibit called "Wake" in Brooklyn.
* Three profs from SAIC are listed in the "Lit 50" in New City magazine. James McManus, Rosellen Brown, and Carol Anshaw. Rosellen and Carol were my advisers during my time in the MFA program. They both helped me turn a bunch of scraps of writing into a novel.
Friday
Two sites to get lost in
Carter's American Junk. Carter hunts for "junk" at flea markets. Make sure you check out her Junker's Journal.
Path to Freedom, a site chronicling and an urban homesteading project. Make sure to look at some of their recent pictures.
Carter's American Junk. Carter hunts for "junk" at flea markets. Make sure you check out her Junker's Journal.
Path to Freedom, a site chronicling and an urban homesteading project. Make sure to look at some of their recent pictures.
Wednesday
Some Thoughts on Plagiarism
After some of the recent scandals involving the "p" word, I've had a disquieting feeling. Obviously, when someone steals your words and gives you no credit, that's one thing. But what about inspiration? Responding to other writers and books? Isn't that what's been going on for centuries?
So here are few things I've stumbled across that reveal some subtleties about the issue. They don't say, "plagiarism is bad," and leave it at that.
>>>
"Early in my attempts at fiction, I was paired with a Generous Writer at a conference and had submitted, among other things, a little two-pager thing that included a paragraph describing a mom driving in the evening with two young boys in the back seat. They hit a swarm of lightning bugs. Bugs smeared under the wipers and the windshield glowed and everyone gasped, of course. I'd been inspired by a similar thing with a single lightning bug one evening.
The Generous Writer explained patiently that a lot of writers had used lightning bugs. I nodded and took note.
Some of you, at this point, may know where this is going."
The rest is here.
>>>
"Stories don't belong to anyone. Only in America–and England, I guess—do we suffer the anxiety of influence and sue each other for traces of one story in another. Hello?! This is the way stories work."
The rest of the interview with Julia Alvarez is here.
>>>
"Then I got a copy of the script for 'Frozen.' I found it breathtaking. I realize that this isn't supposed to be a relevant consideration. And yet it was: instead of feeling that my words had been taken from me, I felt that they had become part of some grander cause."
The rest of Malcolm Gladwell's "Something Borrowed" is here.
After some of the recent scandals involving the "p" word, I've had a disquieting feeling. Obviously, when someone steals your words and gives you no credit, that's one thing. But what about inspiration? Responding to other writers and books? Isn't that what's been going on for centuries?
So here are few things I've stumbled across that reveal some subtleties about the issue. They don't say, "plagiarism is bad," and leave it at that.
>>>
"Early in my attempts at fiction, I was paired with a Generous Writer at a conference and had submitted, among other things, a little two-pager thing that included a paragraph describing a mom driving in the evening with two young boys in the back seat. They hit a swarm of lightning bugs. Bugs smeared under the wipers and the windshield glowed and everyone gasped, of course. I'd been inspired by a similar thing with a single lightning bug one evening.
The Generous Writer explained patiently that a lot of writers had used lightning bugs. I nodded and took note.
Some of you, at this point, may know where this is going."
The rest is here.
>>>
"Stories don't belong to anyone. Only in America–and England, I guess—do we suffer the anxiety of influence and sue each other for traces of one story in another. Hello?! This is the way stories work."
The rest of the interview with Julia Alvarez is here.
>>>
"Then I got a copy of the script for 'Frozen.' I found it breathtaking. I realize that this isn't supposed to be a relevant consideration. And yet it was: instead of feeling that my words had been taken from me, I felt that they had become part of some grander cause."
The rest of Malcolm Gladwell's "Something Borrowed" is here.