kimlajevardi

Welcome back one and all. I hope you are safe and dry wherever you are. Since so many are not in Texas and Louisiana, I’m going to depart from my normal silly headlines tonight. Instead, inspiration and ways to help. #inthistogether #weareonenation

These first two stories show how so many are stepping up. These are just good.

http://metro.co.uk/2017/08/28/heartwarming-photos-show-how-thousands-are-helping-each-other-escaped-harvey-floods-6885102/ 

From everyday Americans to the most privileged among us. We all need to step up.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/igorbosilkovski/2017/08/29/these-billionaires-have-promised-to-donate-millions-to-houston-hurricane-harvey-relief-efforts/#2953a7e67235

If you want to help with your wallet, click into this story.

If you want a variety of ways to help, click into this one.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/28/546745827/looking-to-help-those-affected-by-harvey-here-s-a-list

That’s all for tonight. Stay safe out there. See you back here in seven.

Welcome back, all. Wednesday has rolled back into position again, which means I am back to share some news with you. I’m far more awake this week than I was last. I’m getting my teaching legs back, so I can type coherently. Lucky you. ;-P

This first news story should be headlined by a giant oops. What a migraine-inducing mistake.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/accidental-alert-warns-california-earthquake-1925_us_594bbdfde4b0312cfb61e49e?section=us_weird-news

Whalehenge. *Giggle*

https://www.livescience.com/59910-sleeping-sperm-whales.html

Science once again shows that learning is important for learning’s sake. They are even taking the message upon themselves.

https://www.livescience.com/59969-looking-for-aliens-good-for-society.html

That’s all for tonight. See you back here in seven.

Welcome backs, civilians. Who am I talking to? All you non-teachers out there. Those who did not spend the last handful of days setting up a classroom for between 30-200 kiddos to come streaming back into this week. For me, it was today. Around 120 wide-eyed kiddos with backpacks stuffed with supplies and fingers itching for their first taste of lockers.

I. Am. So. Tired.

My sleepiness requires music, but I always share. Enjoy!

See you in seven.

Tis yet another Wednesday, friends. A sunny Wednesday in my neck of the woods, but darkening nonetheless. A job-shaped cloud is on the horizon, and it is coming to steal away my summer break and extra writing time. It’s close … so very, very close.

I doubt you all will sympathize with the end of a 2 1/2 month break, but the clouds I tell you. The clouds … 😉

Ah well. I guess it’s time for the news.

I saw this first story all over the news, but I chose it anyway. I cannot fathom the stupidity.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dna-unflushed-toilet-burglarly_us_598b7227e4b0449ed507a12e?section=us_weird-news

I get why someone who loves to make maps would mess around with something like this, but the people who shared it over and over. I don’t get it. I guess the comment above speaks to this one as well. My best advice for anyone who actually buys into this: Don’t take your wallet with you. *Facepalm*

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sunsquatch-bigfoot-eclipse-map_us_59881263e4b0cb15b1bf454e?section=us_weird-news

In science news tonight, stunning time-lapse images.

https://www.livescience.com/60002-jet-lightning-blue-jets-gemini-observatory-video.html

That’s all for me tonight. I have to, gulp, go to bed soon because I have to go back to work tomorrow. Gasp.

What? Too much? Maybe you’re right. See you in seven.

It is time once again for a smattering of nervousness, a pinch of anxiety, a dash of insecurity. It is time for the twitchy, twittering writers of IWSG to come together and entertain/horrify with their drooling selves. Intrigued? Well, click on the image above and fly away to the link that gives access to all the insecurity you can handle.

The fantastic co-hosts for today are Christine Rains, Dolarah @ Book Lover,Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Yvonne Ventresca, and LG Keltner!

The August question: What are your pet peeves when reading/writing/editing?

My biggest pet peeve in reading is formulaic writing. I have left more than one writer I enjoyed reading in the dust when I began to feel like I was reading a slight variation on their last book. Writing is creative. It’s energizing. But only when it matters to the writer as much as the reader. If you find yourself filling in the blanks, then you need to stretch. Push harder. Change your POV, change your point-of-entry into the story, but definitely–most definitely–change something.

I have to say that I am hard on myself in this regard during both writing and editing as well. First and foremost, it has to be a story I’d be willing to read.

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Time for some news.

This first story is full of creativity. It’s not the kind of thing I’m capable of on the artist side, or willing to participate in on the model side, but it does not make it less beautiful. Stunning!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bodypainting-festival-austria_us_5980a8c8e4b0d6e28a10ed14?section=us_weird-news

When I see an animal that definitely exists but I don’t know what it is, my mind never reaches for a mythical creature. At least, until I’m writing a story. Why would several residents of the same neighborhood really go for a chupacabra as an explanation? Is there something up with the water in that SoCal community?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/california-chupacabras_us_5979311ee4b02a4ebb72d5dd?section=us_weird-news

Last, but most definitely not least, the coolest teardrops you’ll ever see. The behavior of atoms within these drops is fascinating and thought-provoking. To be both as strong as steel and as fragile as glass simultaneously opens up so many things at once. I love science!

https://www.livescience.com/59946-prince-rupert-drops-mystery-solved.html

That’s all for me today. See you back here in seven.

Welcome back, all. The last seven days has been interesting in my neck of the woods. I’m back from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference, a conference where I took second place in Mainstream/Literary for my first book. It feels pretty good and helped me get my ms back out there. I’ve had it in a virtual drawer for the last six months, and yesterday, I fulfilled submission requests for a full and several partials. 🙂

And tomorrow, I am going to participate in the IWSG Twitter pitch. Yet another chance to breathe life into my search for a home for Silent Witnesses. If you are interested in Twitter pitching, click the link below. After that, the news.

http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-twitter-pitch.html

First up, a big old nope. No, very much no.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/clown-motel-for-sale-creepy_us_597775f4e4b0c95f375f1197

Now, I want fresh bread. Can you imagine cleaning that up?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/truck-carrying-dough-overflows_us_597797abe4b0c95f375f4f01?section=us_weird-news

I think many comic book writers look to science for inspiration. Good call. I would love to be able to shape shift.

https://www.livescience.com/59914-animals-with-comic-book-superpowers.html

That’s all folks. See you back here in seven.

Tis Wednesday once again, friends. A hot Wednesday, a very hot summer Wednesday. Can you hear the catch of my hand fan as I channel a Southern belle? 😉

Time for some cool news. See what I did there?

The images in this first one are a giant “holy crap.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tour-de-france-cyclists-legs_us_596f88a6e4b01696c6a21d54?section=us_weird-news

This next one shows a recent observance of the Northern Lights. I am quite obsessed with the Northern Lights. I want to see them so bad.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/northern-lights-us-canada_us_596cb2c9e4b017418628ecf9?section=us_weird-news

I may have said damn! out loud as I read this. Teleportation people! Teleportation…damn! I double heart science. 🙂

https://www.livescience.com/59810-quantum-teleportation-record-shattered.html

That’s all for tonight. Try and stay cool for the next seven.

Happy Hump Day! Earth’s rotation has brought us back once again to the middle of the week. With the spinning and rotating, hours and days passing, my news scanning has come back once again. Headlines abound, too many headlines. Ready for a sharing? 🙂

This first story reminds me that many people are good. This is so right.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/human-chain-rescues-family_us_5964c50de4b09b587d61ed52

Damn.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/91-year-old-gymnast-johanna-quas_us_595e4f39e4b0d5b458e8af3b?section=us_weird-news

Our Earth is so cool. As a science teacher, I just could not resist the appearance of an island. This sandbar may have a short life expectancy, but it provides further proof of Earth’s ever-changing face.

https://www.livescience.com/59669-new-island-forms-off-north-carolina.html

That’s all for this mid-week hump. Enjoy your next seven spins and I’ll see you here in seven.

Welcome to July’s IWSG posting. Yesterday’s fireworks have nothing on the colorful explosions the talented writers of IWSG experience within their brains. Insecurity, although tiring, can be incredibly combustible. If you haven’t been privy to such, click the image above and get transported to an array of blogs by some openly insecure, but talented writers.

Thank you to the wonderful co-hosts this month: Tamara Narayan, Pat Hatt, Patricia Lynne, Juneta Key, and Doreen McGettigan.

The burning question of the month: What is one valuable lesson you’ve learned since you started writing?

All writing is rewriting.

It’s a very simple sentence–a total of four words. But there’s a very powerful truth wrapped up in that simplicity. The totality of the world you’re building, the plot you’re weaving, or the characters you’re breathing life into will eventually coalesce. Whether it is in the first draft or the tenth does not matter, only that they do. And when they do? The brown, sticky stuff you slipped on and tried scraping from your shoe … well, it will be the fertilizer that feeds their growth. 😉

Time for some news.

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This first story made me think of just three words: “Run, Forrest. Run!”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/moose-chases-golfer-in-sweden_us_595d0183e4b0da2c7326676e?section=us_weird-news

Um … I may be on a chasing kick today. I just could not help it. It’s a portable poo chaser. 🙂

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/toilets-on-the-run-moscow_us_595857b2e4b02734df32d61f?section=us_weird-news

I know I posted an article about eclipses last month, but I’m currently obsessed. With them being an element in my current WIP and one coming up soon, I seem to be drawn to anything with the word eclipse in the title. Besides, this proves how badass scientists truly are.

https://www.livescience.com/59691-solar-eclipses-that-changed-science.html

That’s all for this week. See you back here in seven.