Tag: blog

Every Day for a Month – You, Me and WordPress

NaBloPoMo_November_0 (1)Well here we are again!  A post a day, all month.  Last time I tried this was 7 (seven!) years ago.  Then, as now, Sabbath observance meant that I couldn’t post on Saturdays or Friday nights so I scheduled weekend posts in advance.  After today I will do so again — but for this, the first day, I’ll just declare my presence as the sabbath departs.

It’s exciting to be part of Nablopomo again.  May we all celebrate one another’s adventures, observations and ideas.  Oh and a sad farewell to Daylight Savings Time!

Art Imitates Life and Dr. Horrible’s Nemesis Is an Author!

Heat-wave-cover I'm not sure who's on first, which chicken chased which egg or even how to tell you about this.  See this book cover?  It's a real book – and Entertainment Weekly says it isn't even bad.  But the author – well, the author isn't real!!!  He's a character on an ABC TV program called – guess what — Castle! 

Played by Dr. Horrible's own Biggest Enemy Captain Hammer — aka Nathan Fillion – he's a debonair, wealthy mystery writer with an actress mother and a typically New-York-wise daughter with whom he has a refreshingly healthy relationship  (Mom too, actually.) 

So there's nothing wrong with the show; it's slight, sweet and kind of funny although it could certainly be better written.  In fact, from the reviews I've read, it might be better if Richard Castle (who remember, doesn't exist – really) wrote the scripts as well as his books. 

Yes books because apparently this is the first of many.  And you can get it on Kindle and Castle even has a brief (equally fictitious) bio on Amazon "Richard Castle is the author of numerous bestsellers, including the critically acclaimed Derrick Storm series. His first novel, In a Hail of Bullets,
published while he was still in college, received the Nom DePlume
Society's prestigious Tom Straw Award for Mystery Literature. Castle
currently lives in Manhattan with his daughter and mother, both of whom
infuse his life with humor and inspiration."

Captain Hammer lrg Got that?  Fillion/Captain Hammer (this guy) also plays a fictitious writer on a lightweight TV show and somebody – whose name isn't anyplace and as far as I can determine hasn't played anyone (other than a ghostwriter) has written a novel in his name.

This isn't a scandal or a crime – it's just so damned funny.  Fillion seems like a fine fellow and Castle is certainly likable enough.  But it's hard to get books published these days – especially fiction. 

So all you struggling writers out there — now you know how to sell your novel.  Make it into a TV show and your literary career is assured.

As my mom used to say, "Only in America!"

Blogging Boomers Carnival #116: From 401(K)s to Folk Art

Carnival Welcome to the 116th Carnival of Boomer Blogs.  This crew has been a joy and a great resource for as long as I've been privileged to be part of it, and this week is no exception.  Given the economy and all, let's start with John Agno of So Baby Boomer.  John, always wise, warns us this week that early withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts and 401 (K) plans are a "No, No!" because they trigger taxes and penalties that can really add up.  Good advice, no?

While we're on serious "boomer interest" topics, we'll move to Wesley Hein at LifeTwo.  This week he's writing about HBO's multi-part documentary on Alzheimer's Disease.  The underlying message is that Alzheimer's can no longer be ignored.  I've actually seem some excerpts and would concur.

That health issue is part of what makes Janet Wendy at Gen Plus "mad as hell" and she's not going to take it anymore…maybe.

On another side of the economy, let's talk business.  Andrea Sternberg at The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur asks: "With Twitter you can have conversations with a large number of people, but do these twitter conversations convert to actual sales?  That question haunts many small business Twitter users and is the main thing", Andrea says, "holding others back from giving Twitter a try."  You'll find her answer to this dilemma in her post Make Money with Twitter – Is It Possible?

Also on the business end of things: do you ever feel like a loser?  The Midlife Crisis Queen did often after she lost her job.  This is how she dealt with it.

One of our founders and leaders, Rhea Becker, reports from Boston on The Gemini Web "I can't read my favorite magazines any longer without eyeglasses.  I think they're using smaller type.  Or maybe it's just me."

 On a cheerier note, the Glam Gals (style experts for women over 40) ask, "Have you heard the true story of the woman who overcame having diabetes, while losing 100 pounds and then entered the Mrs. Idaho pageant?"  This is a must-read and inspiration story, they  tell us.  Find out more from FabulousAfter40.com.

Oh – and do you remember watching Art Linkletter?  Dina at This Marriage Thing, who loved the show Kids Say the Darndest Things shares some newly discovered gems about marriage "out of the mouths of babes."

Feeling artsy?  During her recent travels in the Florida Keys (who wouldn't love that?) Barbara Weibel at Hole in the Donut discovered Stanley Papio, whom some consider an important folk artist, while others insist he was nothing more than a welder with a yard full of junk.  Stop by and contribute to the conversation!

In the same vein, Ann at Contemporary Retirement has a video clip of some amazing sand art, crated by Ilana Yahav using just her fingers, some sand and a glass table.

One more travel contribution from Nancy Mahegan at Vaboomer. Ever want to sell everything and retire on a beach in Mexico?  Read about real people who did at Vaboomer.com,

Finally, my own contribution is a tribute to an old friend, long-time New York Times Book Review Children's Book Editor Eden Ross Lipson.  If you have children you've probably made use of her classic NY Times Guide to the Best Books for Children.  She was something special.

The Blogging Boomers Carnival (#105) Lands Here Once Again

 

Carnival
It’s Carnival time again; the Blogging Boomers have landed here at Don’t Gel Too Soon, and they have plenty to offer.  From Hole in the Donut, a story of how small the world really is – her blog helped a man discover his lost family roots when she published a present day photo of a storefront in Matten, Switzerland that had belonged to his grandfather.  He was able to match it to a historical photo that ultimately led him to records that confirmed his ancestry.
Meanwhile, Rhea Becker tell us that she’s always dreamed of opening a restaurant.  Would her Amish-concept restaurant survive in Boston?  Learn more at The Boomer Chronicles.
 
Is it possible to go through menopause “naturally”? asks Wendy Lawson, who put that question to a well-respected herbalist and integrative medicine physician, and shares her advice at Menopause The Blog.
 
On another topic, were you part of the Oscar audience?  Over at Fabulous After 40, they ask the question…How do the over 40 celebrities get to looking so sleek and perfect on the red carpet?
 
We all know that I Remember JFK comes up with some great memories.  This time it’s a Buffalo Nickel, in typical 1960’s condition, that he found as a kid. As he puts it:  “It wasn’t often that a kid of the 60’s had change in his pocket. At least it wasn’t often that I did. Come to think of it, I’m short of cash right now. Some things never change.
 
But go back to 1967, and if a fortunate youngster found himself with a chunk of change in his pocket, the odds were pretty favorable that among the coinage was a Buffalo Nickel or two.
 
And while we’re looking back — we all do it, but it’s got a bad name with most mental health professionals.  That might be changing though. What are we talking about at LifeTwo?   Nostalgia.
 
Here’s a nice simple one on Boomer life from the Midlife Crisis Queen:  Behaviors to avoid when midlife crisis strikes!
 
In another take on life, Dina at This Marriage Thing says: Single?  Here’s a bit of advice on choosing the purrfect mate..
 
After reading a magazine article about young entrepreneurs where only 3 of 16 were women, Andrea Stenberg wonders Are Young Women Less Likely to Be Entrepreneurs?
 
On the political side (sort of:) Feeling a bit Obamar-ific, Janet Wendy at Gen Plus, brings you some new online goodies from the White House
 
Add some technology to your politics: Barack Obama does it.  So do William Shatner, Richard Branson and John Cleese…  What is it?  Twittering.
Tweating.  Microblogging…  If you want to get in on the act, head over to Contemporary Retirement.

 

Blogging Boomers Are at It Again!

Contemprorary Retirement
I'm a bit late posting this week; life took over unexpectedly.  But that doesn't diminish the usual value in the assembly known as Blogging Boomers Blog Carnival #103, this week posted by Ann Harrison at Contemporary Retirement.  This time we have everything from the stimulus package to canned food to hormone replacement.  And there's lots more.  Don't miss it.

Fem 2.0 Where Are We Going? Notes from a Conference (A Special Tuesday Tour)

Fem2pt0
It's the morning after the remarkable event that was Fem 2.0, and I want to think a bit about what yesterday meant.  Fem 2.0 is a new entity whose leaders organized a conference on the future of feminism and women's issues.  Sounds like old stuff, but it's not.  Because of their vision and connections, the organizers, especially  Shireen Mitchell,  Heather Holdridge, Liza Sabater and Gloria Pan were able to attract women who think about these issues but don't always attend the usual central-casting women's gatherings.  Combined with them: several of the "rock stars" of 2nd and 3rd Wave feminism – from Gen Y to Boomers, as well as stars in the blogger universe.

For the first time I saw, at the same meeting, women my age and older, Gen X and younger, institutional and independent, white, black, brown and Asian – all terribly accomplished, articulate and thoughtful.  The goal was to work toward the elimination of barriers among these varied groups to allow more focus on the issues that unite us.  I know that sounds like Barack Obama and maybe his style increased the reception for this call to meeting, but it was really quite remarkable.

Fem20photo
Gathered were institutional "rock stars" like Eleanor Smeal, President of Feminist Majority Foundation and publisher of Ms. Magazine, Kim Gandy, President of NOW, and Karen Mulhauser, former head of NARAL – all fierce veterans for women's rights, Rene Redwood of Redwood Enterprises and Ann Stone, introduced to the assembled as VP of the National Women's History Museum, which she is. She is also the courageous founder and long-time leader of Republicans for Choice – a group that, for many years, was enormously unpopular in Republican circles.  It wasn't easy. 

Alongside them as stars, but emerging more from the world of 2.0: Elisa Camahort Page of BlogHer, Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner of Moms Rising, Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon and RH Reality Check, and Tedra Osell of Bitch PhD, among others.  For the first time that I know of, the cohorts that these women represent were in the same rooms, talking to each other not only about feminism, but also about the factors (age, geek level, parent status etc) that divide them. 

Many people have posted detailed descriptions of parts of the day.  Here are a few:  Jen Nedeau at Chang.org offers a nice summary.  Laurie White live-blogged several sessions including the one at which I spoke.  Momcrats (no surprise) were out in force and report here.  Friend, house guest and major league blogger Jill Miller Zimon sums up the plenaries and some other events. 

I'm sure there will be more; if there are enough I'll do a follow-up.  The day was very important to most of us and if I haven't convinced you, read some of the accounts.  Sometimes barriers among allies are tougher to overcome than those among adversaries.  Fem 2.0 gave us a real start.  They deserve our thanks.  And have them, from over here where I sit.

Inaugural Reflections and Other Stuff at Blogging Boomers 102

Vaboomer
 Great minds definitely think in sync, at least some of them.  Although this week's Blogging Boomers Carnival isn't "all inauguration, all the time" there's plenty of The Big Day top choose from, although the perspectives differ enormously.  Beyond that there's everything from fashion to comic books to retirement in a bad economy.  Stop on by.

Visit This Jewish Blog Carnival – It’s Interesting

HaveilHavalim This carnival is fascinating – many sides of issues relating to Judaism, observant or secular Jewish life and, of course, Israel.  It's pretty diverse, take a look and see what you think.  Full disclosure: a post of mine is included.