shamash says...

Taylor Mali: the importance of conviction

Rome: Prosecco, Espresso, Caffe Greco

We are not Caesar, and we avoided the Forum, so I can say with confidence that The Ides of March was by far our best day in Rome. After days of clouds and rain, the sun and the moon both showed their faces. We couldn’t seem to tear ourselves away from the Piazza de España and by dusk, we were still there, drinking prosecco at a café under moon clouds.

“How do we rearrange our lives to live in this magnificent city?” we ask ourselves. There’s something about Rome at night, especially under a waxing moon, that causes me to think that reinventing my life and steering it against all the plans that drive me forward is the most natural thing in the world to do. Here, in this city of fallen empires and lovers on Vespas, going against the current of one’s well-planned life seems possible, even wise. The words of Keats, once an expatriate in Rome,

Water, Wires, and the Power of a Pen

Charlie, my kitten-turned-cat, is still all legs and all ears; we shall see if her body catches up with her appendages. I have no doubt I will be blamed in her cat therapy sessions for an identity crisis for my recent mistake in thinking she was male. In reality, she’s a dog-cat, drinking water out of the toilet and my bathtub, a sociable licker, and an eager greeter-at-the-doorer.

Read on for surprising, historical photos from this week.

Coaching the Creative Process

  Creating art in any form requires showing up regularly at the dance floor, the easel, the musical instrument, the page. If we wait until inspiration strikes or an enlightening visit from our Muse, we’ll never finish our creative work.

Sometimes, we need friends and coaches to make sure that this happens.

Enter Alexa Mergen.

(photo by shamash, daily schedule by Alexa Mergen)

5 Blogs That Make Me Think

  Terry of I See Invisible People bequeathed upon me a Thinking Blogger Award. Thanks, Terry!

Besides Terry, (whose blog I read daily) here are five more awards of my own given out to those people whose provocative insights have deeply affected my perspective and challenged my thinking. They’re worth a read, and truly deserve a Thinking Blog Award.

Poetry Collections: May Not Have But Certainly Must

  Sherry tagged me with the meme “have or must have collections of poetry”. The exercise inspired me to re-visit my bookshelf. Here are a few.

Julia Spicher Kasdorf

photo by Heidi Lynne Photography

Figuring out what to do with the rest of my life…

Lately I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the second half of my life. (image via)

Like Chris Corrigan, I ask myself these questions:

Forgetfulness: Amazing Animated Poetry

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Billy Collins, former US Poet Laureate and one of America's best-selling poets, reads his poem "Forgetfulness" with animation by Julian Grey of Headgear. It's worth a view!

In Praise of the Bad Metaphor

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners.

Which one is YOUR favorite?

image via TechToons

My Husband's Back

My sister could have written this poem.
So could my mother and my grandmother.
Lamamamajama, too.

As for me: not yet.

But maybe someday.

Original image by shamash