I finally got it together and published my 2017 calendar. Apologies for the lateness, but it was a difficult autumn. I'm sure you understand why. ;)



Hopefully this widget will work, but here is the link as well.

Fun fact: my new employer did the Lulu website a while back! Small world.

Welp, Flickr ate my post. Let's try this again.

I have been inspired by heleninwales to join a weekly photo group, 52 of 2012. This is #1; the theme is "New." It's a new book, The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories (see my review here). I've been in need of photographic inspiration, and hopefully this will help. Hopefully, I'll also get back on track on posting reviews.

I've been feeling down in the dumps lately. I'm sure the weather and the darkness don't help. I'm not sure what to do, besides wait it out. It's unusual for me to feel down for more than a day or so, but life's been overwhelming for a while now, and it gets tiring. I feel like either hibernating or running away, neither of which is a viable option. I sure wish I knew what to do.

My review of HAMLET'S BLACKBERRY is up on my other blog. I give it a thumbs-up. In case you missed my earlier post about it, it's about our addiction to the digital life, and how to deal with it. Very good book.

I've been feeling uncomfortable all day about the reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden, and a couple of things people posted on Facebook really nailed it for me.

The first was a link to an article on Huffington Post called "The Psychology of Revenge: Why We Should Stop Celebrating Osama Bin Laden's Death."

A couple of quotes:

"Celebrating" the killing of any member of our species -- for example, by chanting "USA! USA!" and singing "The Star Spangled Banner" outside the White House or jubilantly demonstrating in the streets -- is a violation of human dignity. Regardless of the perceived degree of "good" or "evil" in any of us, we are all, each of us, human. To celebrate the killing of a life, any life, is a failure to honor life's inherent sanctity.

This was the one that really hit home for me:

Think of it. If a leader in our country were killed by another government in the manner in which Osama bin Laden was killed, as "justice" for his acts of aggression in the War on Terror -- and people from that other country were shown proudly chanting the country's name, singing their national anthem, and demonstrating in the streets -- Americans would likely feel more sickened than joyful, don't you think? The impulse to celebrate a death depends on what side you're on.

I'm remembering the scenes of cheering in the streets after 9/11, and the outrage that sparked in this country and those of our allies.

I understand that killing him was probably the only way they could have handled it. There is no way he could ever have gotten a fair trial, and the danger of terrorists trying to free him would always be there. But I believe that every killing of another human being diminishes us all, and I'm certainly not going to celebrate it. I can understand people being relieved, even glad that he is gone, but not cheering or dancing in the streets.

The other posting was a quote from Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

This pretty much sums up how I feel. We can be so much better than this.

When I was visiting me mum last week, she gave me some back issues of Archaeology magazine, and today I found this interesting article about a woman who found buried evidence of witchcraft in her yard in Cornwall.

From the article: Over the centuries, many in the British Isles have appealed to witches in times of need--to cure a toothache, concoct a love potion, or curse a neighbor. Witchcraft, the rituals of a number of pagan belief systems, was thought to offer control of the world through rites and incantations. Common as it has been over the past several centuries, the practice is secretive and there are few written records. It tends to be passed down through families and never revealed to outsiders. But archaeologist Jacqui Wood has unearthed evidence of more than 40 witchy rituals beneath her own front yard, bringing to light an unknown branch of witchcraft possibly still practiced today.

Cool!

As for the icon, you can tell that ( spoiler for the Star Trek movie! )!

Today's Big Picture is full of squee: Scenes from the Zoo!

The review I wrote of THE COYOTE ROAD is up over here. Check it out!

For those of you on my f-list who are feeling wounded by rejection from agents/ publishers, there's a great post over at agent Rachelle Gardner's blog about why it really isn't personal. I love it when publishing folk take the time to explain things without getting all defensive. It's really helpful to those of us just getting started in the biz.

What blogs & websites do you find interesting and/or helpful?