Reading

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Creative Jam

The July

crowdfunding Creative Jam is open with a theme of "Heroism -- Real or Perceived." Come give us prompts, or claim some for your own inspiration.

What I Have Written

From My Prompts

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Today is cloudy and warm. It rained yesterday.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen much activity, but heard a squirrel chattering.

EDIT 7/20/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/20/25 -- It rained copiously this afternoon, and is still thundering occasionally.

I am done for the night.

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writing about writing

Status Report: The Struggle is Real

Struggling a bit here. My current book is at about 60k and I'm projecting 100k, and "Why Am I Doing This?" keeps rattling through my brain.

One of my colleagues recently made $10,000 on their first novel the first month. Friendly reminder I recently had my best launch month, which was $250. This writer is three decades my junior, and very new to writing comparatively. They made more in one day than I made in a month. They made more in one month than I did in 3 years.

( Read more... )

Anyway, all this to say, this is awesome, and this author is a very kind, hard-working person, but fml. Royalties are reflective of readership, so even if you ostensibly don't care about the money, you actually do care because that's the primary metric by which we gauge interest and engagement with the work.

As a matter of self-preservation, I've recently adopted the attitude "my books don't sell and that's okay," as way to sorta push through my doubts and keep publishing. But the truth is... that's not a very good strategy. Because you need a carrot and a goal. "I write because that's what I do" is neither. So I'm gonna sit down and revisit my goals and think about being a bit more brave in terms of my ambitions and defining my own success.

Current Mood: accomplished

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food,
recipe

Recipe: "Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Spread"

I made these tonight.

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Drabble: Decay

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Birdfeeding

Today is cloudy, mild, and wet. It rained all morning.

I fed the birds. I've seen motion but the windows were too wet to identify anything.

EDIT 7/19/25 -- Yay, the window dried up enough to see through! Sparrows, house finches, and a mourning dove are mobbing the feeders.

EDIT 7/19/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/19/25 -- I potted up 2 cherry plums and a white peach.

EDIT 7/19/25 -- I added more potting soil to several pots that needed it.

Fireflies are coming out. Cicadas are singing.

I am done for the night.

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NaJeongMoSaJiMiDaChaeTzu

I’ve been underwater for... let’s see... 9 days – and am just now finishing the last of multiple full-day commitments (Oregon Country Fair, OCF photo post-processing, OCF journaling, volunteer work for my church). This means that starting this afternoon, I can return to packing up books, which has been on hold since July 10. I can also resume watching anime... and start working on a huge backlog of household tasks. I have felt a little besieged.

So I was surprised and happy this morning when I saw that on the first night of their concert tour in Korea, TWICE sang the TWICE Song in the encore. This is hilarious – and something we never, ever thought we’d see. For years, TWICE has (sort of) tried to distance themselves from their sugary sweet and cute song days – and, also, the TWICE Song isn’t really an official, production song – more of an in-house joke. (It’s not on an album or anything.) But the TWICE Song, eight-years-old, is a fan favorite – and TWICE seemed to have fun performing it on stage. (Encore songs are chosen at random by spinning a big wheel.)

There are several fan recordings of the performance on YouTube, the best of which is This One. I’ve watched the video many times today. My girls Momo and Sana were gorgeous – but most adorable was Tzuyu (at the end). Here are the Lyrics in English.

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recurring posts

Philosophical Questions: Productivity

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

How should we measure the productivity of a society?

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Challenge: Connection

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Permaculture

THE MINI FOREST - Rewilding using the Miyawaki Method

Terrell Wong is about to plant 100 trees in her small Toronto backyard, a dense mini forest based on the Miyawaki Method. What at first seems like a simple act soon evolves into a complex story about dirt, lawns, fungus, wildlife, native species, and finally the human brain. An anti-lawn anthem from director David Hartman, The Mini Forest explores this innovative form of afforestation and the importance of restoring the native woodlands that once covered so much of Canada and the World.

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challenge

Challenge: Connection

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Current Music: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics cover by Emily Browning

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Drabble: Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

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Challenge- Connection

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Survival Skills

Man Builds House Out of ABANDONED PALLETS in the Middle of the Forest in 121 Days

In this video you will see how I built a house from free pallets by myself near the Samotochka River. From start to finish - life in the forest, survival, manual work without power tools. Everything was done only with the help of hand tools and natural materials that I could find around. This house by the river became a place for relaxation, silence and solitude away from civilization.

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news,
safety

Self-Care

Tai chi, yoga, and jogging rival pills for beating insomnia

Findings back use of exercise as primary treatment strategy for poor sleep, say researchers.
Yoga, Tai Chi, walking, and jogging may be some of the best natural remedies for improving sleep and tackling insomnia, according to a large analysis comparing various treatments. While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) remains effective, exercise-based approaches—especially Tai Chi—were shown to deliver significant improvements in total sleep time, efficiency, and reducing how long people stay awake after falling asleep. Yoga stood out for boosting overall restfulness, and jogging helped ease insomnia symptoms.

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Challenge: Connection

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Birdfeeding

Today is mostly sunny, muggy, and sweltering. :P It rained yesterday evening.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/18/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/18/25 -- I picked 2 yellow pear and a round yellow tomato from the septic garden. The yellow pears are considerably bigger than last year's which were more cherry size than salad size.

Zinnias and garlic chives are blooming. :D

The white Toscana strawberry pot got knocked over, so I had to put more potting soil in that. The pink one has sent out a runner! :D I'll have to keep an eye on it and see about propagating that.

EDIT 7/18/25 -- I planted a wild senna and a purple coneflower beside the barrel garden. These were rescued from the lawn near the wildflower garden.

EDIT 7/18/25 -- I filled a couple more pots with several wild senna plants from the lawn around the wildflower garden.

The mower is back, but the forecast still calls for days of rain.

EDIT 7/18/25 -- I refilled the hopper feeder and walked around the yard a bit.

I am done for the night.