Seeing Stars

This is a wonderful time to see the night sky. In the north, though, the clouds are deep and the bitter cold is not conducive to venturing outside even if the stars were visible.

This is the time of year when I open Stellarium and huddle inside checking the nebulae, constellations and planetary aspects.

This Open Source program never fails to delight and amaze me. My program is configured to open at my exact longitude and latitude to present the view that I would see - if I could see. Stellar. It's easily altered to view the sky from different locations.

Oh, did I mention that this program is gratis? Free? No Charge? And it's worth far more than that.

Fractal image was created in Apophysis...

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Susan Tuttle, Mixed Media

Sometimes following a link from the post of a prized person, in this case it would be Juliet Wilson, Crafty Green Poet, lends itself to a new world of thinking.

When I arrived at the blog of Ilkasattic to find a Book Give Away in progress, I almost forgot to enter.

This lady provides enough brain food for months in just a single post or picture. Trying to get my creative juices flowing again after a near-deadly bout of pneumonia, I cruised this site for hours and my head is spinning with inspiration and creative hope. Exquisite!

This lovely book can be found on Amazon just in time for Christmas and gift giving! What could be better? And be sure to get two so you'll have your very own copy. Happy Holidays!

NaNoWriMo in the Rear View Mirror

Another year, another novel. I'm laughing and yet serious. Each of the most recent four years have produced words in excess of 50,000 and books have been created from two of those years. The third one will be printed in another month.

This year's writing turned into catharsis rather than a novel when I wrote to purge the two months I spent on a ventilator for pneumonia. The drug of choice was an hallucinogen which created fiction in my mind. For the past few months, the images in my mind kept leaping to the foreground but now that I've written it, it's relegated to a safe place. While there may be parts that I can use for a jump off into something else, it may remain just where it is. An eraser of sorts.

YWriter4 was the software I used and it's spectacular. Free, easy to use and keeps everything written in a format easy to edit and move from place to place. Incredible. Check it out!! He also has software that will convert your typed words to book format, computer readable. It's just flat out nifty. All of it.

The image above is one of the first I 'painted' on Bamboo Fun with Photoshop Elements.

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Johnny Lee and Wii

My granddaughter, a talented energy resource specialist, sent this to me! Woohoo! This man is incredibly generous and far above regular intelligence. Love it! I do!

I'm not so talented - this clip is viewable only with Internet Explorer. It may take me a few days to figure it out - Obviously, I have a long learning curve and limited time - a bad combination!

While I'm figuring it out: here's the link to Ted - Ideas worth spreading.

Postcards

Testing only...Thanks.




These postcards printed from an original watercolor titled Down From Under

Mid-February

I rarely post a link for a company, but this one is absolutely fascinating. Motorola, in a bid to garner sales of their new colored phones, has established a site that turns your cursor into an automatic painting pen. Pick a color, pick a place, click and draw...all automated. The music is soothing and while the site doesn't provide Free Rice for the hungry while you practice your vocabulary, it does provide instant and entertaining art...there are options for your faves to be used for screensavers or e-mailing to friends. I may have saved three trees today!

When the four-year-old comes next time, I'll bet he thinks this site is bigger magic than we've seen recently. Anyway. Or maybe, and this is possible, I'm easy to please. A little color, a few words, a tune or two and I'm well on my way to nirvana or utopia.

Speaking of tunes, I'll mention QuietPath again because her musical CD's are absolutely wonderful.

Life is good.

And, today I received notice that Stranger will be published in Right Hand Pointing, Issue 19.

The Last Piaster

The bold words were to be used in order and without alteration. Not an easy task, not an easy piece but it's done. If you're up for a little mind stretch go to The Last Piaster and try the experimentals listed there - a challenging boggle.

**

The moon, broken off like sunlight wrinkles

water, opened a spotlight on a red flower

brilliant as blood on fresh fallen snow.

Her fingers, delicate as swan's breast,

gathered the rose from its naked place where
the island stretches off the coast like a rock

on your path that makes you seize up,
makes your backbone rigid like a lightpole
screening bad news while the bicycle careening

down the hill like a runaway forgets time
can be soft as the eyes on that crazy bird,

its song like a drumbeat of fear, who

chants out its tale. She spun of like visions,

humming along with his monotonous

voice like the thump of old tires.

Night covers the moon to lock her in place,
and her days pass like a long week in hell.

Vinca Flower - The Daily Habit

Trying to winter over a vinca vine, I wiki'd it and the description mentioned a tiny flower. Yeah, right. I'd been watching vincas for a long time without seeing the slightest indication of a blossom. Like snipes, probably. Or submarine races. However, last spring, this tiny lovely blossom jumped forth and made a believer out of me.