Yeah, I’m trying to get myself into a predictable schedule of posting. So, on Fridays, expect to find something fun. Or funny. Or silly. LIke this:
Heh. I hope no one ever analyzes my writing this way.
Archives for October 2014
On stuff
I’m reading The Organized Mind by Daniel J. Levitin. It’s a good read so far, with lots of insight into both the power and limitations of our brains.
One of the things that I’m overwhelmed by is stuff. We live somewhere around the “average” American life here in Mackay-land. And yet, as Levitin points out, we consume and own more stuff than any household even 100 years ago would’ve been able to imagine.
It turns us into snobs and slobs, I think. Snobs in that we throw away things that would, in many cultures, still be valuable. I’m pointing the finger at me here, so let me expand: I’m the world’s worst left-over eater. “Oh, that again?” I’ll say. Or worse, I won’t say it, but my wife will read it on my face. Either way, we end up cooking something else. Then, we’re faced with twice the left-overs. As a result, food gets wasted.
The Mackay household 400 years ago? Back then, we would’ve been MacKays. I would’ve walked in from a day in the field and said, “What’s for dinner?” My wife would respond, “Potato soup.” I would nod sagely, knowing that it was a tough harvest, that our hens were only producing enough eggs for us, my ability to trade was severely limited, so it’d be potato soup all winter long.
And we would survive.
Snobs and slobs. Snobs because we can afford to throw it away. Slobs because we don’t. Boy do I have stuff. I have chattel from college that is boxed up and consuming space. I don’t know that I’ll ever look at it again. We were going through some boxes and I came across a collection of cassette tapes. My kids had no idea what they were. But I still could only bring myself to throw out half of them. That’s in spite of the fact that there is literally not a single cassette player in my house. We keep stuff that is of no use to us. Because we can. We have space. Heated space, even.
I’m spoiled, I guess, is my confession. The application of Levitin, to my life, (and granted, this is through a third of the book) is that I need to understand the impact of my lack of self-control and limitation upon my ability to function creatively and effectively. It’s good stuff.
Wednesday Word of the Day
I love words. I like to use them in sentences, sometimes even incorrectly. So, once a week, I’ll bring you a word that’s made me laugh / chuckle / smile / contort-my-face-in-consternation:
Dynamo:
dy·na·mo noun \ˈdī-nə-ˌmō\
: a machine that produces electricity
: someone who has a lot of energy
plural dy·na·mos
Full Definition of DYNAMO
1: generator 1b
2: a forceful energetic individual
– Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary
Dynamo makes me laugh.
Little Timmy came to his father to discuss career aspirations.
“Dad, when I grow up, I want to be a dynamo,” he said.
“Son, I love you dearly. But everyone knows, human beings consume electricity, we don’t generate it.”
Little Timmy walked away, saddened by his father’s misunderstanding.
Tuesday Quotivator: Piglet's Tree
Fun Reads
Reading brings people together. I really believe that. It might even be one of the things I believe in most. Don’t get me wrong, I think TV, music, and movies can do the same thing. So can affinity for a certain dog breed (I’m particularly inclined toward St. Bernard mutts) or any number of other things.
But, I don’t know if there’s a quicker way to make a friend than connecting over a mutually-loved book. I recently interviewed author (and my friend/brother-in-law/partner in crime) S. D. Smith about a book he’s got coming out. My favorite question was definitely the one about books he remembered from his childhood. There are shared experiences there. They provide common language, common emotion. It’s the same for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Foundation Trilogy, Dune, Ender’s game, Harry Potter, and more. It’s probably even true for fans of the Twilight Saga, although I wouldn’t know it.
So, it occurs to me, why not share a little bit about what I’m reading? And I’m going to. I’m going to call it fun reads. It’s going to be focused on reading I’m doing to help me stay on top of what’s current and classic in sci-fi and fantasy. Occasionally you’ll see titles that don’t fit that, but that’ll be unusual.
Connecting over books is magic. I hope I can connect you to some great books. Maybe you can connect me to some great books, too. Leave a comment — my reading list is always growing.