Margaret Mitchell: The Inspiring True Tale of...
One of the most uplifting stories I’ve come across recently is that of Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind. Known as Peggy by her friends, Mitchell became the first woman to cover hard news in the early 1920s for the Atlanta Journal, one of the predecessor newspapers to today’s Atlanta Journal Constitution. Above, Margaret Mitchell at the typewriter she used to write the ...
Iluko Lesson 4
A new friend asks you “Taga ano ka?” (From where are you?). How would you answer in Iluko? Well, you may simply state your place or the following: Taga Laoag-ak. (I’m from Laoag.)Taga Cebu-ak. (I’m from Cebu) Agnaedak idiay Laoag. (I live in/there in Laoag)Agnaedak ditoy Cebu. (I live here in Cebu)Agyanak idiay Laoag. (I’m staying in/there in Laoag)Agyanak ditoy Cebu. (I’m staying ...
Last Author Standing: Bury the Manuscript, NOT...
I can certainly empathize with Mary Patrick Kavanaugh, the author mentioned in the wonderful Rachel Swan's East Bay Express article below, who made the decision to "bury" her novel, Family Plots, when she couldn't sell it to a New York publishing house. Hey, it wasn't as if Mary didn't give it the ol' college try. According to the article she spent years writing ...
On the Firing Line
Well, it's happened -- it's not the first time, and it won't be the last time. Something I wrote made a number of people uncomfortable, and I've heard about it. Boy, have I heard about it. My email inbox is burning up. Because I'm not just a snark, I'm actually a generally sweet snark who likes to think of herself as a compassionate person, I'm never comfortable being called names for something ...
The Dogs of Antarctica
My book, The Entire Earth and Sky: Views on Antarctica, took me to New Zealand as a Fulbright Fellow. During 16 months there, I had the privilege of working in the archives of museums across the South Island. My primary urge was to find the "little known" stories of Antarctic exploration -- and in New Zealand they exist in droves. Then the question became not, will there be enough ...
The Tree
Finally it feels like Christmas, the tree is key. We picked ours up last Friday, selecting it in the dark and then hauling it up over the balcony into the apartment. We opted for this crazy method because the tree is tall over 3m/10ft, we have 3.5m/11 1/2 ft ceilings, and because getting it up the stairs is always a challenge. This year it would have been even more challenging as the stairwell is ...
The Ends of Things
There are a few moments that have always made me weep. One is the moment the bride walks into the church, hall, temple, whatever, and her father takes her arm. There is in that moment, a bubble. Sure, they could not get along in "real" life. Certainly, there are old animosities perhaps and issues, but right then, they join, the father knowing that in this very archaic, ...
Formation of an ocean is a rare...
Birth of an Ocean: The Evolution of Ethiopia's Afar Depression. "Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed. Yet this geophysical nativity is unfolding today in one of the hottest and most inhospitable corners of the globe."
Best After-Election Advice
"Progressives cannot let up.The campaign now turns to pushing Democrats to enact the progressive agenda that they ran on and that the voters support. Democrats have two years to show that they can pass bills that will help working people."Jim M. Cullen Editorial, "Center-Right Socialism" December 1, 2008 The Progressive Populist Mr. Cullen also explains,"In ...
Spring Forth, No--Wait!
Spring, so perfect in its liquid ramparts' chilled glare as theSun in just days has grown strident-strong and full of song... (I want to, too.)O, I will run and bike and stretch and dance my body for its anointed return,Conditioning my heart, soul, sinews for the demands of this new reality, already BBQ-blazin'.Out there in spring, I'll again turn from ghost-pale to fertile-brown; like snow ...
