Blogging

The most difficult thing about a blog is doing it.
Ask any blogger. "I can't think of anything to say".
It's true. Especially if you live a boring life.
I have a friend who's very busy. She's writing a novel. She does good works and volunteers in her community. She looks after her mother. In fact, she just cleaned out her Mom's old apartment, sold it, and moved her Mom into a new apartment! She looks after a big yard and house. She's famous for her cooking. She paints. She's a dynamo.
She blogs. Quickly. Give this girl one word, and she can write a complete essay in 20 minutes.
But for the rest of us - "let's see - what has excited me about life recently." We go from there.
If you read "How To"s about blogging they encourage us to do it. Just do it. Do it often. Don't angst about it. Sit down and write a sentence. Then another one. Then another one. Don't fool around with it a lot. Click "Publish" and then repeat the next day.
If it's a bit rugged, no matter, it's a learning process.
Those of us who love to write use it in lots of different ways. It can be a good "listener". Something on your mind? Something bothering you - nagging at you? Write it down. Pretend you're talking to a friend. Pour out your soul. You'd be surprised at how it cleans out the corners of your mind.
I get a daily Almanac about writers. What they wrote. How they wrote it. When they got it published and what happened after. I start every day with this Almanac. It has given me a great respect for people who write.

Buddhists

I was talking to a friend about that famous book "The Power of Now". My friend said that the basis of Erik Tolle's philosopy is Buddhist. I wondered. This afternoon I read a long complicated article about it and was fascinated. Then I found an 81 minute video article on my "Speaking of Faith" web site - Matthieu Ricard was the guy being interviewed - very likeable and clever. I think a lot of physicists become Buddhists, because the philosophy seems to involve physics - stuff like the universe, and quarks, and grains of sand and everything in life interconnecting. He looks like the Dali Lama, and has been called the "happiest man in the world". He is embarrassed by this label and says it's completely unscientific and no one should pay any attention. But it has something to do with the amount of time he has spent meditating - something like 10,000 hours. He's involved with a society that is studying meditation and the brain to see if the first is making any difference to the second. He is one of the guinea pigs. So the engineers said to him "How long before you are really meditating?" They were trying to figure out how much time would be involved in getting their stats. "Mmmm. Maybe 30 seconds. In deep by 1 minute tops". I was stunned to hear him say that. My problem with meditating is trying to get the brain to stop thinking. Your brain wants to think. All the time. Except when sleeping. So most of my time seems to be spent saying to my brain "are you back thinking again? You are not supposed to think. So. Let's start again and for heaven's sake - pay attention!"
The Dali Lama seems like a happy guy. And Mr. Ricard and the Dali Lama apparently spend a lot of time together. He tells the story about a muddy road with bricks placed to walk over it. How people whined and wailed about it. "We burst out laughing - then managed to hip hop over it in great delight. We travel a lot, and it's just part of the day".
I just Googled Matthieu. He's all over the place!

Media babies

A nephew and his wife have their first baby.
Within 24 hours of the birth we receive a clear, close-up piece of video showing this wee babe in his crib. He opens his eyes and blinks the odd time. He stretches his little arms and legs. He sneezes. We gather round the computer and watch every second with much oh-ing and ah-ing. He's small, born early, and with issues. So it's been exciting to see this little guy that we've been cheering on for so many months. The next day we watch again on our computers as the Mom gets to hold and snuggle her wee baby for the first time!

Another family member had a first baby this summer. Once again, we see pictures of Mom, Dad and babe within hours of the birth. On FaceBook, we have seen countless little pieces of video as this baby girl has grown. In fact the little baby has already signed up with Facebook!

I talked with a friend just the other day. "You wouldn't believe it - we see her learning to sit, learning to make noises, even her first giggle. Yes, there are many pictures, too, but when it's a baby, it's very special when the pictures come to life. Sound is a much more important element than most folks know." This little girl has seen a camera so many times, she will never think it the least bit intrusive or threatening. And what a thrill for relatives and friends who may live far away. With just a click, they get to watch intimate little slices of life of their loved one - and they can watch over and over again.

I wonder. I wonder if being a media baby will make these kids different. I wonder if being photographed and told to "look up" and "turn around" and "walk over there" will make these kids more confident. Will they grow up being able to look down the barrel of a camera without a flinch. Are we raising future actors, anchor men, film stars, models, movie producers? It's powerful stuff. The image. The voice. The movement. This is not museum stuff. This is life in full color and sound. Life as it's going by. In fact, yesterday's footage is already history, and the audience is waiting for the next update.

Web sites like Facebook are called social networking sites. A good name. Because that's what they do. It's like the town square of another time. Folks gather together to chat and visit - get caught up on the latest gossip and comings and goings of their communities. Families get to see pictures of their loved ones, a baby taking it's first step, a new sofa, a trip to a far away place - it's all there. We know a lot more about each other than we used to. In most cases, it's good. Just friends and family staying in touch.

And you know what? I'm going to keep track of those media babies - you never know.

Hats

I've been thinking about hats lately. Caps would be a better word.
Hats mean dressing up. And who dresses up any more! Except for Queen Elizabeth. At one point, I couldn't believe that any person on the planet could come out in public with a hat like this.
But what the heck - her public expects it.


Enter Camilla Parker Bowles. This lady doesn't have to take a back seat to the Queen!


Milliners (is that what they call people who design hats?) must make big money in Britain. Who the heck are they? How come we don't know? Princess Diana certainly ignored hats. Mind you, she was drop dead gorgeous.
(whoops - poor choice of words)

The Aritha Franklins of the world can wear the most outrageous hats with complete aplomb. Mind you, if you can sing like her, you can pretty well do what you want.


Right now I have about 10 ball caps. Not enough. I went through a phase of putting socks in my ball caps - to fill up the empty spaces. But one day the wind blew the cap and a pair of socks all over the 6th green - way too embarrassing. I also have 2 of those new "military" looking caps, one of which I wear quite a lot. Not necessarily on the golf course, either. Military type caps look like this - mine is a "Puma" in dark brown.

I've been looking at another hat style. Hmmmm. It's not that I don't have the nerve - anyone who puts socks in her golf cap.
I wonder if I could pull it off.


Now then - does anyone know where I can get a pair of those sun glasses?

golf

What is it about the game of golf
The passion the "hold" it takes on you
I wish I could fashion more graciously more amenable
to the space in my head that I've assigned it to.
When nothing goes right I blame my partner
my bad back, my menopause, my putter
I furtively look over my shoulder to make sure
the party behind us is ignoring what's ahead
Not saying to each other - look at that! she hasn't hit a good one yet
She needs to get a grip on this game or quit it;

Shorten your back swing I tell myself
Don't try to hit the ball so hard
Keep your head down Keep your head down
You might as well give up if you can't keep your head down
It's all about the golf gods we laugh with the others
It's all about the golf gods as they strike you down for
making that perfect shot. They allow perfect rarely
as if they weren't paying attention
So that you think they've gone for lunch
And your ball sails right into a huge sand trap.

Baseball

I love the World Series.
It goes back a long time. When we little girls, in small town Saskatchewan, the World Series was big stuff.
Back then, they were often on Labor Day weekend. And this was the weekend for cleaning windows at our house.
With the radio blaring as loud as it would go, everyone both inside and outside cleaned windows and listened to the World Series. By game 2, we had all the names down pat. And we knew who we were cheering for.
Mel Allen was the play by play guy. He knew everything, and we would have trusted him with our lives. Friendly and confident, his big voice "welcome to the World Series" sent shivers down our spines. As things heated up, we'd scream with delight or moan with frustration, but at every moment we were having the time of our lives.
I remember listening to the World Series in school one year! In the classroom!
Tonight, I'm still having the time of my life. Big HDTV. Surround sound. A Mel Allen sound-alike.
A baseball going 95 miles per hour. On the re-play, I see the label on the ball turning and turning as it slowly enters the glove of the catcher. For the first time I'm seeing the different ways that a pitcher can manipulate a ball. It's fascinating.
Thousands of people booing or cheering - a sea of sound - a baseball game sound.
"There's not a shorter leash in baseball than he's got him on right now" An on-air comment by the color guy. Great command of the English language. Great theatre, Great athletics.
What could be more "American" than the World Series of baseball.

All Hallow's Eve

It's Halloween, one of the oldest holidays in the Western European tradition, invented by the Celts, who believed Halloween was the day of the year when spirits, ghosts, faeries, and goblins walked the earth. The tradition of dressing up and getting candy probably started with the Celts as well. Historians believe that they dressed up as ghost and goblins to scare away the spirits, and they would put food and wine on their doorstep for the spirits of family members who had come back to visit the home.

All Hallow's Eve -
Is that the way it's said?
All I know about the Eve is that I don't have one thing for any of those "trick or treaters" that may come calling.

Looks like a good day though. Very sunny so far and sunny for 5 days.

I've been reading that Halloween is becoming more and more popular! I'm not sure what part of it. My guess would be the "pretending to be something" part of it. I think we like that.
Ever notice that costume parties are always sort of "let loose" "let it all hang out" affairs?
If we can wear a mask, we gain all kinds of confidence, and a normally shy person becomes quite different. It's fun.

I got my grandson one of those "hatchet through the head" touques. When you tug it on your head, the hatchet sits up as if you'd just been - well - knocked off. Had an ambivalent feeling about it afterwards. The world has become a bit scary - and we can't be funny that way any more.
Sad.
All Hallow's Eve. Mmmmmmm. I'll have to Google that one before the day is out.

Well. Agenda.

A big new TV with surround sound and HD quality. Favorite football team plays at 11 o'clock. Then a World Series game at 4:30 - Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees are tied at one game apiece. Then a hockey game at 6:30!

I don't know what'll happen tomorrow!