kimlajevardi

Time once again for the monthly posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. We are an amazing group of twitchy writers that stop shaking long enough to type out blog posts once a month. Click on the photo above to see where those brief shaking pauses lead. The awesome co-hosts today are: Stephen Tremp, Fundy Blue, MJ Fifield, Loni Townsend, Bish Denham, Susan Gourley, and Stephanie Faris!

I want to take the opportunity this month to share how excited I am for summer. I have three weeks left with kiddos before break starts, and I’m coming out of my skin ready. Hard-to-concentrate ready. Extra twittery ready.

Not insecure, just unfocused and child-like. How about everyone else out there? Do you have summer plans on the horizon? 

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Time for some news. The kid in me loves this first story for the pizza potential, but the practical side of me keeps thinking that it could get quite messy if you have to take it any distance. Guess that’s why they won’t yet deliver it. 😉

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pizza-box-made-out-of-pizza-vinnies_us_5724ce21e4b0f309baf10697?ir=Weird+News&section=us_weird-news&utm_hp_ref=weird-news

This is good.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/strangers-replace-homeless-musician-violin_us_570f18c4e4b08a2d32b90e51?cps=gravity_7499_-8684711211996905749

Goldilocks strikes the galaxy again. I love the potential these planets hold.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/05/02/476237960/3-strange-worlds-circling-a-cool-star-might-be-prime-spots-to-support-life

That’ll do it for me. Back in seven, uh, make that eight.

Welcome back to the weekly edition of Wednesday news. What do you think of my telecaster voice? I’m over here saying it in a very Katie Couric meets Tom Brokaw kind of way. If this blog had sound effects, you’d have chills. But since it doesn’t, you’ll just have to settle for the amazing news line up I have in store for you. Hold on tight. 🙂

I could not resist this story. I want to drive it. Something is afoot in Wandsworth. *Snicker*

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/big-foot-vehicle-london_us_571f7868e4b0b49df6a8f0d6?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

When I began reading this, I was all prepared to make a snarky remark about people needing to remember that they already have a nose. Good, right? But then the author went and explained possible long-term benefits for humanity. Geez. So, here’s something that is super ridiculous and funny now, but has great potential to turn into a benefit to mankind. I can still make fun of it until the future applications are realized, though.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/smartphone-bo-detector_us_571a5e16e4b0d912d5fe774d?ir=Weird+News&section=us_weird-news&utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Maybe I’m geeking out about this because I’m currently teaching my water unit, but I found this super cool. Bacteria that helps ice form seems like a very Sci-Fi idea that I could very much imagine. Nice!

http://www.livescience.com/54517-ice-nucleating-bacteria-explained.html

That’ll do it for me on this final Wednesday in April. When I see you again it will be May. Take care.

Hello one and all! I’m back. I’m having an Arnold moment over here… I’ll be back. I am back. Back, back, back. 😉 Okay, I’ll stop. Some nights it takes next to nothing to entertain me. On to something slightly more interesting than me giggling to myself.

The stories tonight all have some aspect of science in them. I was definitely feeling the science tonight.

Fascinating adaptation, but I just keep picturing the world’s smallest razors.

http://news.sky.com/story/1678455/scientists-strap-down-ants-and-shave-them

Long-lost data. Not romantic, but super cool.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oldest-message-in-a-bottle_us_57170ce9e4b0018f9cbb9a43?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

An important development to aid in medicine. I’m giggling about the use of pork, though. And now I’m a little hungry.

http://news.sky.com/story/1679195/scientists-send-wireless-data-through-pork-loin

That’s all folks! Have a great rest of your week and weekend. Back in seven.

Welcome back to my weekly news. I’m here to amaze, stupefy and entertain you with the wonders I’ve stumbled across this week. Maybe amaze is a strong word. Entertain is legit, though. Even politics can be referred to as entertaining. 😉

This goat knows what’s what. Don’t offer her a banana. She wants a skinny caramel latte. Well, maybe that’s just me.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lost-goat-starbucks-millie_us_570b38b5e4b0885fb50d67c8?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

I get cravings, but it doesn’t really seem worth the risk. I hope it was a good burger.

http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/11/man-breaks-into-five-guys-to-make-himself-a-burger-5807910/

Maybe I will amaze you after all. Science has that power. This invention could be a game changer in water-parched areas of the world. Water cycle meet engineering.

http://www.livescience.com/53401-fontus-converts-humidity-into-water.html

That’ll do it for yet another Wednesday. I hope the end of your week and weekend are spectacular, stupendous, scintillating… A bit much? 🙂

It’s time once again for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group first Wednesday posting. Haven’t seen it? What? Oh, you’re missing out. The anxiety, the nervousness, the spectacle–hundreds of slobbering, twitching writers curled up in fetal positions around a laptop and a cup of coffee. (Always coffee 🙂 )

Don’t wait any longer. Click on the magic picture above and you will immediately be transported a world where your own petty anxieties pale.

A huge thank you to this month’s co-hosts:  Megan Morgan, Chris Votey, Viola Fury, Christine Rains, Madeline Mora-Summonte, L.G. Keltner, Rachna Chhabria, and Patricia Lynne! 

My insecurity this month… revisions. It’s a well-worn anxiety. One that simply refuses to stay down no matter how many times I bat it away and curl up under my blankie. So I might as well talk about it.

As I’ve mentioned over the last few months, I’m deep in revisions on my first novel. Again. That bears repeating: Again. Deep breathe. Anyways, it’s actually going well (fingers crossed, several dashes of salt over my shoulder, and a little superstitious blanketless dance to protect my skittish muse). But I’m scared at how well. I’ve rewritten several chapters, put them through a couple of critiques and then rewritten them. Now? They’re singing.

Celebrations, right?

No.

Now I’m even more nervous. What if I can’t sustain it? And the ever-present anxiety of time: What if I don’t finish before my schedule ramps back up in the fall?

Am I the only one as unnerved by success as failure?

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On to the news. If I can’t control my anxiety, at least I can get lost in stories that are so much stranger than my own.

What’s even more unnerving than the doll and ad is the fact that this pales in comparison to what you find if you search for creepy dolls for sale. What the heck?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/doll-of-nightmares-for-sale_us_57041971e4b0b90ac2706853?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Big oops. Reykjavik and Rhode Island are only similar alphabetically. And that’s only the first letter. 🙂

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rhose-island-tourism-video-iceland-quits_us_5700ba34e4b0a06d5805eb56?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Tolkien was right! Or close. Gotta love it when science and literature come out on the same side.

http://www.livescience.com/25415-hobbit-homo-floresiensis.html

That’ll do it for the first Wednesday in April. I hope to see you in seven.

Welcome back! This Wednesday has rolled into being slowly–bit by bit, second by second. I can’t even begin to explain what’s happening to time, and so I won’t bore you with my mindless nattering about it yet again. Instead, music. It’s a music kind of night.

That’s all I’ve got tonight. See you in seven.

Welcome back to my newest feature: Psychic Weather Forecasts. I didn’t know it two weeks ago, but when I bemoaned my state’s bipolar weather, I was just a measly 14 days away from a pretty dramatic example. Tuesday it was 73 degrees and sunny. Gorgeous. And today–um… a blizzard. In my city alone there was  a foot-and-a-half of snow that fell between five am and five pm. What can I say? That’s Colorado in the spring. All in all I wasn’t sad, though. I did get a snow day out of it, so major snow-covered silver lining.

Since I got the benefit of a free day and a smile, I’ll share the part of that I can: a smile. Here’s some news to lift both edges of your mouth just a tad bit higher. Perhaps even cause a laugh out loud. You know, it’s what LOL actually stands for in the real world. 🙂

Every once in a while I just have to share a cat video. There’s a reason they’re everywhere. That’s one clever cat. At one point he even appears to look back at the other one to study it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cat-turning-on-the-lights-is-way-more-fun-than-a-clapper_us_56f059b4e4b03a640a6b576d?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

I just couldn’t pass this one up either. Again, I promised to share a smile. Enjoy. 😉

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/piglet-rihanna-dancing-work_us_56ebad77e4b09bf44a9cf3a6?ir=Weird+News&section=us_weird-news&utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Science for the win. Again. This is so much better than wet t-shirt contests. I hope they get fully funded.

http://www.livescience.com/54091-virtual-reality-shirt-reveals-human-anatomy.html

That’s all for the night. I’m going to go curl up on the couch with a cup of hot tea and enjoy the fact that I just found out that I have tomorrow off as well. Major yippee! Have a fabulous week and enjoy whatever weather is completing your view of the world.

Wednesday is back. Friday is closer, not close enough, but closer. To deal with the Friday-takes-too-long-to-arrive blues, some news that made me smile.

I just don’t have words. Wait,maybe one. Seriously?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/someone-invented-tampons-you-can-7568756

I go back to the fact that some people have way too much time. Really.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/muffins-chihuahuas-bizarre-picture-quiz-7539743

In science news, a yummy way to battle what I consider one of the worst ways to end your life.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/alzheimers-cure-could-closer-much-7555681

That’ll do it for a post that jumped from tampons to chihuahuas to the power of maple syrup. Told you the stories were smile inducing.

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My friend and critique partner T. F. Walsh is celebrating her newest book Cloaked in Secrecy. A great new release for lovers of paranormal romance. Enjoy!

Welcome back! I hope you have all had a fabulous Wednesday. March has come in like a lamb in my neck of the woods. Now, we are prone to bipolar weather swings, so there’s just as much chance of a blizzard as a sweltering day any day of the week at the moment. But so far, so good. Up tonight, a mixture of stories that struck my fancy. I hope you enjoy.

Envisioning a Village People moment. There was a businessman, a construction worker and a friar. Afterwards, they can go for breakfast–maybe a little bacon and eggs. So bad. 🙂

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/friar-helps-catch-runaway-piglet_us_56e0744ce4b065e2e3d47fee?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Um… maybe no shooting before nap time.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Cops-find-gunfire-suspect-75-asleep-after-6875633.php

Very cool! Plastic that is made from waste rather than a valuable and polluting resource.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160309135712.htm

That’ll do it for me tonight. I’m planning on a nice few days… but as I said, bipolar. Shorts or winter coat? Time will tell. 🙂

It’s that time again–time for a virtual release of fears, nervousness and general anxiety-induced twitterings. If you like the sideshow such collective moaning provides, click the link above and partake. If you don’t, what’s wrong with you? 🙂

The awesome co-hosts today are Lauren Hennessy, Lisa Buie-Collard, Lidy,Christine Rains, and Mary Aalgaard!

My spasm-producing anxiety this month connects to last month’s–my rewrite. I am making steady progress, and I even got some great additional feedback from some new critique partners. But, the anxiety actually derives from my well-worn issue of time. All I want to do is put butt in chair and really lay down all of these great changes. I don’t want to spend the hours between sunrise and sunset working, commuting, socializing and all the other general adulting I have to do.

But I have to.

Waah…

There’s not really a question that attaches to my venting this month. It’s just venting. Sorry. Oh, and whining–lots and lots of whining.

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Back to adulting. How about some news?

This first piece is hilarious. When I first clicked the link, I nearly face-palmed at the title. But it’s kinda brilliant actually.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mcdonalds-billboard-gives-directions-to-burger-king-for-real_us_56d0a6b6e4b03260bf76b868?ir=Weird+News&section=us_weird-news&utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Can you imagine the conversation of the cops in the car? For me, I imagine a lot of laughter and horn jokes interspersed by checking their pockets for their phones to take the pictures.

http://news.yahoo.com/california-pony-unicorn-getup-captured-3-hour-hunt-183015558.html

This is just too cool to pass up. Two thousand marbles and the imagination of the human mind combine to make beautiful music.

http://www.popsci.com/watch-and-listen-as-2000-marbles-make-music

That’ll do it for another Wednesday. See you same time and place next week, right?