kimlajevardi

After a very busy week, I feel that I can benefit from some art and music. So… sit back and enjoy this break from the news.

This first link shows incredible street art. If I had my way, every building would have murals or art covering its exterior. Art just makes everything better.

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/2014/09/28/bsa-images-week-09-28-14/#.VDYE4GddVid

This song is part of my current playlist for outlining book two. Gotta love Loreena McKennitt. 🙂

And in science news – an eclipse. How can you go wrong with a blood moon?

http://www.space.com/27380-blood-moon-eclipse-photos-october-2014.html

Goodnight all. Now I sleep. 😉

It’s the beginning of October and time for another round of Insecure Writer’s Support Group. This bloghop allows writers to connect virtually to share their insecurities and find other voices hiding behind keyboards around the world. If you haven’t already checked out the talent that lurks behind the badge above, click the image and go hopping.

Now on to my comments for this lovely fall month. Once again I’m not really insecure per se, although I must always admit to a certain level of underlying anxiety, but I’m actually more curious than anything else. I was discussing writing with someone recently that I didn’t know had an interest in writing, and it reminded me of other such conversations that I’ve had as a result of people finding out that I’m a novelist.

My initial question of the writer I was talking to was if she had begun with short stories. It’s an assumption I make because of where I began, but I was wrong. And if I were to be honest, I’d say again. Turns out there are as many types of writers as there are anything else. People who are drawn to the emotional jogs of a well-written poem, folks who want the satisfaction of learning that comes from writing nonfiction, personal journeys experienced through memoir, the satisfaction of a complete character/story arc found in shorts, and on and on.

All of this made me wonder. Where did the writers of IWSG begin?

Weekly News

This week my computer news files spit out some especially fun tidbits that begged sharing. I hope you enjoy. 🙂

Inventive, yes. Am I willing in the slightest? Um… no.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/30/wearable-futons_n_5909238.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Face palm. Some people really need… um, something more than a roll of the eyes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/29/diamond-for-weed-trade_n_5899840.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

And to satisfy the science part of my heart, Happy Anniversary to CERN.

http://www.livescience.com/48052-cern-anniversary-big-discoveries.html

That wraps it up for another week. Same time again next week? 😉

This week has been quite eventful in my little corner of the world. As is the case with craziness in your own personal world, it reminds you of why you value certain things. In this case, I was reminded of why I place such a high value on news and staying informed of a variety of ideas – knowledge. I frequently focus on the fun side of news, and that will not change today, 🙂 but I do want to encourage my many readers to read widely and frequently. Knowledge really does open you up to so much of the world and, ultimately, to yourself. Avail yourselves.

Serious moment over. Phew… Time for some fun.

Is it just me or is this criminal a little mistaken about the purpose of a hiding spot? If it gets too hot, you have to come out. Don’t we all learn that when we’re little?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/23/desma-kashay-brown-hides-oven_n_5867604.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

This is either totally brilliant or beyond nuts. Wow!

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weird-news/kansas-governor-sign-zombie-preparedness-month-proclamation-n209686

Yay bacteria! Um… well, kind of. There is that whole death thing. Hmm…

http://www.popsci.com/article/science/gut-microbes-take-over-your-body-when-you-die?dom=PSC&loc=topstories&con=gut-microbes-take-over-your-body-when-you-die

That’ll do it for another week. Go forth and read. When you’re finished, read some more. 😉

It’s Wednesday once again, and I’m back with a virtual pocket full of news. Many things have happened, but these choice pieces made an impression on me. I hope they’ll do something for you.

I can’t think of a better argument against cleaning. Maybe that’s just me. 🙂

http://metro.co.uk/2014/09/17/alien-lookalike-found-lurking-under-kitchen-cupboard-4873099/

This app sounds worse than turning a blind eye. I don’t want to know and please don’t inform me about what’s lurking in my dusty corners. Spiders – yet another reason to write and read instead of cleaning.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/09/17/this-new-spider-id-app-will-scare-you-more-than-the-real-thing-4872700/

And in science news, proof that bacteria is a good thing. For those of you anti-bacteria wielding peeps out there, drop the bottles and step away. Bacteria are our friends.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140917073231.htm

That’s all folks. Go forth and soak in yet another week in your life.

Hello Virtual People! I’m having a fantastic week so far. How about you? After a great weekend taking classes and networking with local writing peeps, I’m tired but happy. And an agent requested my first fifty. Yeah!

A fabulous week deserves some equally fun and fabulous news. Are you ready? What? I didn’t hear that. ARE YOU READY?

Better. 🙂

First up – a very slow speed chase. I mean reeaaalllyy slow.

http://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/police-woman-wheelchair-cart-getaway-25414534

This next link is not a news piece, but a song. I’m currently obsessed with several Rihanna songs – this one being at the top of the list. Enjoy this short music break. 

To wrap things up – a taste of science. This is scary, but super cool. Ideas of how to use this in fiction are up to each of you, but I foresee a Dystopian storyline. No copying. 😉

http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20140804060001.shtml

That’s all folks. I hope you have a great rest of the week.

Time for another installment of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Duh, duh, duh… It would be so much better if I knew how to link dramatic music to those words, but I digress. 🙂 If you haven’t already checked out the pool of talent that hops blogs monthly, do it. Click on the image and get whisked away. 

On to my insecurity for the month. And once again, it’s not really an insecurity. I’m all a twitter (no, not that kind of twitter) for the writer’s conference I’m going to this weekend. I’m looking forward to the sessions, the Master Class (I’m taking one on writing a series 😮 ), the keynotes and my pitch session. I love it all. Some people have asked if the money spent is worth it, and without a doubt, my answer is YES. If you haven’t tried a writing conference, consider this a recommendation. 🙂

By the way, wish me luck in my pitch session. My manuscript is as twittery as I am. 

**********

Now on to the Weekly News…

In my first unearthed nugget, I found myself asking a couple of key questions. First, is that really what her parents paid an arm and a leg for her to go to college for? And second, isn’t feeding animals ALWAYS how you get them to do stuff? Is that really whispering?

Penn State Student Gains Rep as Squirrel Whisperer

And in this piece, turns out we were training for survival amongst hippos when we played games as kids. Who knew?

Hungry Hippos Battle for Food…

In science news this week, volcanoes. I LOVE them! My little science-dork heart goes pitter patter whenever I see footage of eruptions, and Iceland’s volcanoes have been the source of that heart rhythm this past week. For anyone else out there that loves a good display of volcanic activity, enjoy. 🙂

Footage of Iceland’s Volcanic Eruption

Have a fantastic week and weekend. I know I will. 🙂

Another week has come and gone, the Earth insisting on rotating on its axis faster and faster. Wait, does complaining about time flying make me sound old? Scratch that.

It has been forever since I logged on to post the news. I missed all of you. 🙂 

Up first is a holy crap story. I can’t imagine how this is possible. Don’t you think that many wasps would make a bit of noise? How did they get inside? More questions than answers for sure. Just see for yourself.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-finds-5000-wasps-taken-4116429

This next link shows how many interesting sites there are to find when you have a lot of time to kill and access to Google Earth.

http://twistedsifter.com/2014/02/50-amazing-finds-on-google-earth/

And in science news, it turns out that Stephanie Meyer was right to make sparkly vampires. Look closely at the plant – it sparkles. 🙂

http://www.livescience.com/47375-vampire-plants-suck-victims-genes.html

I hope the links gave you a smile to last for the rest of the week. I sure entertained myself. 😉

It’s been 7 days, 168 hours, or 10,080 minutes. However you measure it, another week has come and gone. Faster and faster we go, but nothing stops as we all know. While the world spins round and round, it’s good to enjoy a story or two. I searched far and wide on the internet, and I’ve found a few tidbits that seemed worthy of sharing. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. 🙂

This first piece falls under the category of: What will they think of next? I love the creativity of some minds.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weird-news/o-canada-hitchhiking-robot-reaches-halfway-point-n174351

Ernie would be so happy. Can you tell I grew up on Sesame Street? 

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Los-Angeles-port-welcomes-massive-rubber-duck-5701221.php

Me, me, me! I have my hand raised over here. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/4ed9ed46503c3fd0dafd879a52d596cb.htm

Enjoy the moments this week.

It’s been a weird and sad week here in the U.S. I have no plans to jump on the posting bandwagon to capitalize on the sad events of the last few days. I do want to share pieces that are uplifting though. So sit back and enjoy what I found. Sometimes we need positive and enriching images and music.

These pictures just made me happy. We live in an amazing, awe-inspiring world. Sometimes I forget just how amazing our little corner of the universe is. I hope it also does something for you.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/04/natural-wonders_n_3844980.html

Orchestra music is always good. Pairing it with Harry Potter – nirvana. 🙂

http://youtu.be/WsJEuAd0-1I

And in a nod to my science side, a song and video that I love. I show this to my students every year. 

http://youtu.be/9Cd36WJ79z4

Today Beth Fred, Medeia Sharif and Lexa Cain are hosting the International Potluck Blogfest.

Here are the rules:

~ Put the bloghop badge on your post.
~ Post the cover of a book you love (it can be your own) with a food and/or recipe from the book, or a food from the MC’s region, or any food you just like!
~ Link back to Beth, Media, and Lexa. All three of them.
~ A copy of Beth’s Finding Hope, Medeia’s Snip, Snip, Revenge, and Lexa’s Soul Cutter, plus a $10 Amazon gift card will be given away via Rafflecopter!

So here goes. 🙂

My book is: The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goddard Jones

It was my favorite read this summer. It uses multiple third-person POVs to unveil a tragic event and the underbelly of all of those involved in the life and death of the person at the event’s center. The storyline uses distance and slowly and masterfully reveals what actually happened, exposing those things we hide – even seemingly good people. With the convergence of separate storylines, we get the entirety of the last night of Ronnie Eastman, and learn just how much can be hidden beneath.

My recipe does not come from the book or the region per se, but it requires the combination of distinct elements to make it sing. And if I’m honest, I just love it. One caveat – I like homemade beans instead of the canned ones, so if you want to make it (and you really should), use some homemade black beans.

Submitted by: CHIQUITA72979

Introduction

This corn and black bean salsa is the perfect dish for potlucks when you want to have something healthy on the table.

Ingredients

Directions