Watermark

Happy Samhain

From Wikipedia:

Samhain (IPA: [ˈsawənʲ]) is the word for November in the Irish language. The Scottish Gaelic spelling is Samhuinn. The same word was used for a month in the Celtic calendar, and in particular the first three nights of this month, the festival marking the ending of the summer season, and the end of the harvest. A modernized version of the festival continues today in some of the traditions of the Christian All Souls' DayHalloween. The name is also used for one of the sabbat feasts in the Wiccan wheel of the year.

Here's a little seasonal entertainment for you, though you will need flash to play. Click on the beast to wake it, then click MORE to feed this little purple creature, and it will follow your cursor around its cave.  [If you click into the BunnyHero Labs, BEWARE: POPUPS!]:

adopt your own virtual pet!

What, you don't think that's scary? Consider its name.

See that blue box on the sidebar? Well, you probably don't, as most of you read me elsewhere -- that blue box is my NaNoWriMo wordcounter. Yes, I'm serious.

How do I know I'm serious?

I've spent the last two weeks preparing. Not preparing what I'm going to write -- I still don't have a clue -- but preparing to write. I even pushed past my natural introversion, and attended the local NaNoWriMo kick-off get-together. Strangers. Mostly young, energetic strangers. And I plan to attend the weekly writing meetings, too.

So, I am clearly very serious, even though I don't know what I'm doing.

NaNoWriMo too scary for ya? Maybe this is more your line:

NaBloPoMo is an alternative to November's NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, the program wherein you crank out a novel in thirty days.

Some of us lack the imagination, stamina, and self-destructive impulses required to write a novel that quickly, but, by Grabthar's Hammer, we can update our blogs every day for a month!

[I wish I could remember where I saw this -- if you think it might have been you, let me know, and I'll add your link to this post.]

Now, if trying NaNoWriMo is scary, how frightening would it be to try both?

Well, let's find out, shall we?

The deadline for getting your url on the participants list below is, oh, let's say November 1 at 11:59 p.m . . . No cheating and backdating posts, either. You're on your honor. Prizes!

When I moved to Alaska, a friend saw me off at the ferry. As I was sitting in my car, waiting to board, I -- without warning to either of us -- shouted at her: What the hell am I doing? Why didn't you try to stop me?

She said she had tried to stop me, but I ignored her.

Now, why did I suddenly think of that?

Another Confession from my Dark Side

On my way to the grocery store today, I saw this bumpersticker:

Mr. Cheney, would you please take Conrad hunting?

I laughed for two blocks.

But I did feel guilty.

Carnival of the Cats #136 - Halloween 2006 Edition

Welcome, witches and goblins and critters of all sorts, on this annual celebration of the cat and all her particularly scary, mysterious, and spooky qualities. This Carnival of the Cats is ornamented with scary animations from Lucy Rand; the spitting cats above are courtesy of Ron & Joe, via Ample Sanity.

We have quite a collection today:

Calling All Writers

The Masthead is "where the writers are" in the Missoula area. This publication is designed to offer a much-needed resource, haven, and stage for the writers of our great mountain town. Missoulians always seem to be saying, "There sure are a lot of writers in this town,"—and they're not wrong—but being one of the thousands of English program graduates who stayed in my college town, I often find myself asking, "Where are they? How do I find all these writers in Missoula? How do I get in touch with my people: worshippers of Shakespeare, torch- bearers of Ginsberg, brooding Bloomsday sojourners?" Read more...

. . . and The Masthead is seeking submissions for its fall issue. From The Masthead staff:

Due to a low volume of submissions for the fall issue, The Masthead, Missoula's Writers' Magazine, is accepting submissions until November 11. We need poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, rants, writing tips, photographs and artwork to print in our fourth (already!) issue, due out in late November.

To submit, either email us at mastheadmsla AT hotmail DOT com, or mail to The Masthead, P.O. Box, 17883, Missoula, MT, 59808.

No submissions over 6,000 words, please. Email submissions are preferred, but paper is accepted. In either format, please supply a mailing address for receiving your contributor's copy, should your work be accepted. If sending attachments or paper, please include your name on every page. Visual art will be rendered in black and white.

They tell me that they do accept reprints, with no restrictions on what medium it was published in before. As long as you have the rights to have the piece published again, that's fine. Humor is always good, because so many people only write things that are serious. But really, we just want good writing.

They also do not give preference to local or Montana writers. This means that those of us who publish on our own websites, wherever we live, are welcome to submit. And I'm not very funny, but many of you are -- so go for it.

OOoooooOOOOooooOOo!

A final reminder:

Get those entries in, by 5:00 p.m. Sunday, Mountain Time. The Conservative Cat has taken down his carnival submittal form, but Blog Carnival still has theirs, and  that is my strong preference for entries. The form makes things much easier on carnival hosts. Or, you can send your catblogging URL to submissions (at) carnivalofthecats.com.

Oh, I'm looking forward to all this kitty spookiness! To hold us over until then, here is a little Halloween teaser:

Created with fd's Flickr Toys, and other people's CC Licensed photos:

1. dark o' the moon

Uploaded by Kim Denise

2. Halloween Queen

Uploaded by zenera

3. Is Hallowe'en here yet?

Uploaded by bc anna

4. I am friendly, no really I am

Uploaded by Vicki & Chuck Rogers

That's it for now -- I want to get this up early, but I'll come back in tomorrow to add the weekly roundup.

Friday morning, and here we have the roundup:

Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Dog Blogging 
Weekend Cat Blogging

RELATED POSTS:

• Seasonal Scary Cats
  
• Happy Samhain
• Carnival of the Cats #136 - Halloween 2006 Edition
• Carnival of the Cats #84 - Halloween 2005 Edition
• Samhain Saturday Cat Blogging
• Halloween [Cat] Quizzes

Poetry Thursday| Poetry Dispenser in Bozeman

  I did do a poem yesterday, but am still feeling not-poetic today. Luckily, a poetry post fell into my mailbox:

From RebeccaRose at Tribe:

Southwest Montana Writers! Get this! A local genuis has decided to create a paper-towel dispenser that puts out poetry. It is currently displayed at the Emerson Cultural Center in Bozeman but might be moved outdoors or downtown, weather permitting. The idea is: when someone walks by, they take one and they get a special poem , perhaps YOURS!

All items have author's name printed, must fit on an 8x11 page, and must be quality work. Send submissions to: poetrydispenser AT gmail DOT com, NO attachments and sorry, beloved writers across the country, this is for locals only. Thanks! Let yourself be Heard!

I would love to see this idea spread across the country.

At least to Northwest Montana.

What Is Your Day Job?

Another blog meme, from problogger.

This one caught my eye, as I've been thinking quite a lot about my [lost] professional life. I've referred to myself as a workaholic, which is, I suppose, true -- but that minimalizes me, and my work, in a way that I don't feel is just. I was career-focused, and worked long hours, and loved my jobs. But I also, always, had a 'personal' life.

It wasn't work that stole my personal life from me; it was illness -- which stole it all. I've been thinking of ways to reclaim, and then let go, of my 'work history', and my identification with same. I've been thinking -- maybe I need to write a different kind of resume, one that's made of stories, instead of job titles. Perhaps that would help me to relinquish.

Of course, I've struggled with this, off and on, for a decade now. It's resurfaced, partly, I think, because of those silly little Moo Minicards.

For most of my adult life, I've had business cards, complete with job title and so on. The Moo cards give me an unbusiness card, and an opportunity to claim a new kind of identity.

Blogger. Poet. Snapshotter.

Is that enough?

Is that being of use?

What is Your ‘Day Job’?

Coming soon:

• Novelist! 

Currently:   

• Blogger, Poet, Snapshotter 

Previously:

• Program Director, community mental health center
• Program Director, drug & alcohol education agency
• Grant Writer for above
• Grants Reviewer for state agency
• Executive Director, treatment agency for violent offenders
• Program Director, sex offender treatment program
• Clinician, sex offender treatment programs
• Medical Social Worker, hospital psychiatric unit
• Clinical Social Worker, community mental health center
• Instructor, university social work program
• Graduate Student
• Program Director, rape crisis center
• Independent Consultant & Group Facilitator
• 'Para-faculty', state college
• Counselor, college counseling center
• Counselor, college placement office
• Executive Secretary, college student activities fund
• College Student
• Waitress
• Secretary, various private and governmental organizations
• Grocery Clerk
• Nurse Aide, hospital psychiatric unit
• Movie Theater Cashier & 'Usherette'
• High School Student
• Day Care Aide
• Babysitter

I can't find my resume, so I may have forgotten something. Probably did.

Snapshot Poem 25 October 02006

Cat on my shoulder,
dog at my knee, I live
amidst amulets, icons,

paintings by unknown
artists, carvings by
Indonesian strangers,

figures that invoke
religions that are not
mine; spirit that is.

Leaves come down
in a clatter of color.
The windchimes ring.

Ah, I'm just not feeling very poetic today...

The Soundtrack of My Life

This playlist meme is from scribblingwoman, who says she doesn't usually post playlists, but...

. . .this music meme is a lot like found poetry. The trick is to put your music on shuffle and then take each track as it comes and fill in the following categories for the movie of your life...

So here's mine -- and I have to say, it's almost eerie:

[Added later: it seems odd to me that the meme is all about relationships -- and not at all about work. But then, I'm odd, I know...]

ElderBlogger PhoneCon

Actually, I'm probably not, being a bit short of energy, and on an odd schedule at the moment -- but you might like to:

The first annual online gathering of elderbloggers in a live, telephone conference to promote friendship and conviviality, share stories and have some fun on a fall afternoon.

There may be some special activities or maybe we’ll wing it. This is an experiment. If we like it, we don’t need to wait a year for the next one.

Click the button to go to Time Goes By for details. You never know, I might wake up on time, and with energy to spare for what sounds like a potentially very fun experiment.

It's from 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM eastern U.S. time. It's international. And yes, you are invited:

All elderbloggers, their readers and even those who have not yet reached elderdom. We have a capacity for up to 96 participants at a time.