Unbargling
Growing up, I was a compulsive reader. Apart from a dictionary, an atlas, a set of encyclopedias, and my Dad’s old EE textsbooks, my family didn’t own many books; but twice a month we would drive over to the library where I would check out as many books as they allowed, and devour them all by the time the next trip rolled around. Any magazines left laying about were fair game: National Geographic, Science News, Analog, Galaxy (Mom’s mystery magazines for reasons unknown never attracted me). (I just now remembered that National Geographic still retained this thing from its early Society days where you had to be nominated by an existing member in order to join, so Dad nominated me when I moved out on my own so I could continue receiving the magazine.) I learned to read the funny pages upside down because my two older brothers always got to them first. At breakfast time, I devoured the backs of cereal boxes, specially printed with stories and activities for our sugar-charged brains.
I truly believe now that this compulsion is what makes me and so many like me vulnerable to doomscroll addiction.
In the early, tight-knit days of the WWW, you might find yourself confronted with a webpage proclaiming itself The End of the Internet. Turn back the way you came, it intoned, and click no further. The Internet was finite. It had a limit, an edge, an end. Be it blog, wiki article, Reddit thread or comment section, you scrolled down and in due time hit the bottom of the page. Today the socials offer the opposite experience; you scroll and scroll popping off snack after snack like a dopamine Pez dispenser and it just keeps filling up from the bottom, and if it’s not particularly nutritious at least it’s tasty, and if one morsel isn’t tasty at least there’s more.
I first joined the Book of Face in 2008 after a trip to Nepal so I could share pictures with my new friends from the Helambu Trek & village project. It was fun! I was still a voracious reader IRL, I remember taking this brand new thing called a Kindle on that trip, no longer needing to find space in my luggage for a Proust-load of paperbacks. I can’t pinpoint exactly when the shift happened, nor can I blame entirely the Feeds for swallowing my attention whole and fragmenting it into bits. I had a full-time job, a career even, one that used my brain, and when I came home at the end of the day it was easy to log on, sit back, and let the tasty snippets wash over me.
And the years go by, and not only is what little nutrition there was in the snacky snacks completely gone, they don’t even have a taste, not even a bad one; they’re just one scrap of flavorless gristle after another that we addictively gobble in the vain exercise that one of them will fleetingly provide that craved rush.
So now I find myself in my 60s, retired, and learning how to read again (like so many others trying to claw back their attention spans nowadays). I really want to talk to you about what I’ve been reading, but I’ve got to give my pseudo-sciatica a break so I’m going to wrap this up tonight and post it in the morning, and follow up with the next installment in a few days!
Sale on Dream Journals (& an overdue update)
Final Sale! At the end of the month, I will be pulling the remaining Dream Journals, featuring Paige’s beautiful artwork, from the online Lullaby in Red store. Enjoy 20% off regular price while they last! (Print-on-demand books and wall art will remain available.)
Yes, I have been woefully absent from this blog these many months. What have I been up to? A little reading, a little writing, a little vegging. Updates on that soon, fingers crossed!
My Friend the Author: David Allison
David Allison was my coach early in my adult running “career”, and the architect of my training plans for the 2011 Istanbul and 2014 Tokyo Marathons. At that time he was coach of track & field at Mountain View High School in Ahwatukee and organized a track club for grown-up runners of all abilities after hours. He’s also taught IT and worked as a computer security professional, but his passion has always been encouraging and supporting children in sports and fitness.
His latest venture is Clumsy Courage books for children. “Finding a Sport for Hector”, for example, uses humor to teach the importance of perseverance and finding activities that are the right fit for you, as Hector tries out sport after sport. Knowing David’s background, it’s easy to guess which sport is just right for him at the end.
David is making appearances at book fairs and comedy clubs, so be sure to check out his page for upcoming events.
Putting an edge on it
(Slideshow below shows: 1. unworked steel blocks heating in the forge 2. The rough-shaped blade cooling in a vise 3. The finished blade with blocks of wood for handle 4. The finished knife.)
Another blacksmithing workshop, this time in Flagstaff at The Quench with Joshua Meyer. My first time working steel, and my first time using the press and the grinders. A little more complicated this time! The result: a hefty, rough-forged kitchen knife with a handle that reminds me of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
It’s an odd feeling, chopping veggies with a knife that I’ve created with my own hands. It seems like it shouldn’t work, somehow. In the current world, even those of us who love to create, rarely create the actual tools in so concrete a way.
As a songwriter I feel a twinge of pride each time one of my chicks flies the nest to join another performer’s repertoire. Jane Garthson covers my song A Mask and a Mirror on her new album Transformations, available now on Bandcamp.
The autographed editions of Lullaby in Red are here! Along with some new art print designs. Check it out!
My Friend the Author: Bob Welbaum
It would be not quite accurate to say I met Bob Welbaum climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. We actually met two weeks before at the Amazing Maasai Marathon in Kenya. Bob is an adventure athlete, a middle school substitute teacher, and first subject in my new My Friend the Author series.
No Limits: What I’ve Learned Traveling the World One Mile at a Time
Bob set out on a quest at the age of 59, returning to running after a decades-long hiatus and ultimately earning a coveted Seven Continents Marathon medal at 74. No Limits follows this adventure and many others along the way in a conversational and informative style that non-runners can also enjoy. I’ll admit that I turned first to the Maasai and Kilimanjaro chapters first, and found my memory tickled by a few details that I’d forgotten.
He also writes fiction that’s suitable for all ages. “The Joy in Forgotten Objects” is a favorite of mine from Stories Short and Strange – short but sweet.
More posts in this series will be coming along presently… I have a lot of talented friends!
The Unboxing!
Just a quick note this morning to share my unboxing video:
Books & art prints are on sale right now right here on Jaycroft, under the “Shop” tab. Autographed books will be available October 1 in the shop and also in person. Remember every book comes with a free downloadable song!
Thirty Years in the Making
It’s a book! I’ve approved the proofs (spoiler alert: they’re awesome) and the first print copies are winging their way to my mailbox in Oro Valley! Lullaby in Red is a visually sumptuous children’s picture book for all ages based on the song of the same name from my first album, Anchored to the Wind. Expanded with new verses and re-recorded at Barrel Cactus Studio in Fountain Hills (yes, a free download of the song is included), this updated story is illustrated by Paige Ozma Ashmore’s fantastical pastels.
After looking at what the authors of other children’s books are doing these days, I chose to go with the 8-1/2” X 11” paperback format as the best option to keep the book affordable while preserving the detail of Paige’s artwork.
Lullaby in Red is available Print-On-Demand through Bookbaby’s online store, and roll out to their international Print-On-Demand partners throughout September-October. Also, we’re going to get some of these bad boys autographed when Paige is out here in Arizona next month, and make those available in my store right here on Jaycroft.
Keep your digit on this blog for updates!
Lost letter office
I saw a meme recently that reminded me of a letter I received long ago, and kept briefly, and discarded. I hadn’t given a thought to it in the decades that have passed between, but like so many memories laid down in the first act of my life it remains crystal clear and detailed, where more recent memories blur into a hum.
Back in the 1980s, when Astronomy was still a print magazine that arrived in the mail each month smelling of glossy paper and ink, there was a section in the back where you could advertise for a pen pal. “Seeking correspondence with others interested in discussing observation of deep sky objects” they would say. I took the leap. “Seeking correspondence with others interested in astronomy and the TV show Star Trek.”
Two months, three elapsed before my ad appeared in print. Instantly a flood of letters from strangers arrived in the Freeman mailbox. Astronomy fans, sci fi fans, young and old from all corners of the US and Canada. The ones whose sole interest was exchanging lists of deep sky objects soon fell off, my telescope being a wimpy refractor. Others became fast friends, corresponding for years on any topic that took our fancy.
And then there was this guy. I don’t recall his name, only that he was in his thirties – not quite ancient in my teenage eyes but old enough to command the wary regard I held adults in at that age. He had once, he told me, been an avid sci fi fan like me. As he grew older he put such foolish things behind him and so, he assured me, would I.
So what was the meme about? Well, it wasn’t so much a meme as a short essay of a few paragraphs, about the tragedy of people who crush the child within in order to become an “adult” in society’s eyes. Do glittery unicorns spark your joy? That’s not very grown-up, is it? Read the stock market report, not the funny pages! Splashing in puddles, playing with clay, building sandcastles? That’s for babies! Stop bursting into song (leave that to the professionals)! Are you still reading that fantasy and sci fi garbage? Grow up!
What could impel my would-be correspondent to put pen to paper (remember, this was before the Internet), seal that letter in an envelope, pay for a stamp, and send it off to a complete stranger? I kept it in a drawer for a while – maybe I felt there was some sincerity behind it – then tossed it.
In the same way I discarded the idea I picked up and briefly entertained from a sex ed book set called Lifecyles that as I started to become a woman I would stop having fantasies where I was the hero and dream of being rescued by a man instead. (To be fair to my parents, who added these slim volumes to the family bookcase in the hope they would spark discussion of an embarrassing topic, I don’t think they delved too deeply into the contents.) It wasn’t my truth.
Every culture has its own signs and ceremonies to distinguish the threshold between childhood and adulthood. Long trousers, debutante balls, throwing out your beloved comic collection; none of these signifiers make a person grown up. Nor does the tedious minutiae of grown-up life in the 21st century that we call adulting, although signing a 30-year mortgage certainly gave me a kick to the truth about my own mortality! The maturity is a much more gnarly and indefinite grab bag that includes delayed gratification, self-love balanced against self-discipline, and the equanimity that accumulates over years of living in the world and becoming less startled by its repetitions. Most importantly, I think, maturity rests on a foundation seeing and regarding others as whole persons.
In other words, stomp them puddles in your unicorn galoshes.
Boy, do I have news for you about Lullaby in Red! Watch this space over the next fortnight!
Refining my technique
Another beginner blacksmithing class at Arizona Metal Arts, another hook!
This time Smith Logan was our instructor. With a smaller class size he was able to give us more personal attention with an emphasis on technique - such as using peening (get your mind out of the gutter) to draw out the material faster and more evenly. The resulting hook is simpler than my first, but more elegant and tapering.
Logan remarked that, with many projects - he was talking about knifemaking IIRC but it seems to me it applied to my humble hook as well - most of the intermediate forms the iron takes as you're shaping it look nothing at all like the final product. In fact, it can look like a complete mess up until the very last steps.
Now that I have a little sample of hands-on experience, I've gone back to my manuscript in progress and started ripping it apart. In the best possible way. I know what's happening in this chapter, but I'm still figuring out how to tell it, and the way to do that is writing. Right now it's a mess of dissociated, conflicting and redundant scenes that I wouldn't want anyone else looking at, but when it's finished, and I've trimmed the bird's beak and filed and brushed and burnished... oh then it will be a thing of beauty.
Fresh Prints (& Posters)!
I’m pleased to present the first advance art prints from Lullaby in Red, pairing my lyrics with Paige’s wonderful artwork. First is a 10” X 10” detail of the cutest bagpipe-playing cicadas. There’s also a 20” X 30” poster that will look familiar if you followed us on the Kickstarter last year. These are printed on demand on really good-quality paper to last a long time.
AND! For the first week both new prints are on sale for 20% off!
Find them in the Lullaby in Red Collection in the Jaycroft online shop.