When they are all gone
And you are left
All that is left,
All that is left
Is you
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UCB Peace Signs
I encountered these peace signs unexpectedly today, as I was walking across campus.
Posted in Cool stuff, Teaching, Video
Tagged Berkeley, Berkeley campus, free peace, peace, peace sign, UC Berkeley, university of california
Time
Mom had to go back to the hospital again on Tuesday, the day after her birthday. She’s 92 years old, with congestive heart failure and bad kidneys.
Posted in Caregiving
Rat in the Walls 6: Empathic Alchemy
Here I am again, reading and commenting on the sixth post from Rat in the Walls, the blog I wrote during the final year of my brother’s battle with ALS. The post is titled “Empathic Alchemy,” and you can read it below the video.
Title: Empathic Alchemy
Blood is sometimes thicker than gold.
Posted in Caregiving, Video, Writing
Tagged ALS, caregiving, changing yourself, empathy, enduring, fatal illness, rat in the walls, sibling relationship, understanding, writing
Rat in the Walls 5: Gravity on Jupiter
Here’s the fifth Rat in the Walls post that I wrote about my brother’s battle with ALS. The post is titled “Gravity on Jupiter.” You can read the text of the post below the video.
Title: Gravity on Jupiter
Sisyphus had it easy.
He had control of his muscles. And he only had to push his rock uphill on Earth.
People with ALS don’t have that. It’s like Jupiterean gravity is squashing them flat.
Their rocks aren’t moving anywhere, up or down the gravity well.
Posted in Caregiving, Video, Writing
Tagged ALS, caregiving, gravity, Jupiter, muscles, rat in the walls, Sisyphus, writing
Rat in the Walls 4: Paranoia
Long time, no posts, because June disappeared in a fog of caregiving for my Mom and Dad. Now that it’s July, it’s time for another reading from Rat in the Walls, where I blogged about my brother’s battle with ALS during the last year of his life. The actual post (from April 1, 2007), is printed below the video.
Title: Paranoia
Paranoia runs deep. But it doesn’t run well.
It gimps along, lurching from side to side, like Frankenstein’s monster.
Jaundiced skin. Beautiful eyes.
One Question, Many Answers #6
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word “reading”?
“Uh, reading? Trick question? Actually consuming the written word rather than scanning or skimming through it.”
–ELF (Author and fan)
Taj Mutt Hall Dog Diary
Word Whirled
“Learning.”
–Douglas Berry (Author and fan)
Gridlore.Dreamwidth.org
Make a Wish Foundation–SF Bay Area
“Books.”
–Norman (Fan at BayCon 2017)
Convolution
“Life.”
–Fiddlerbird (Fan at BayCon 2017)
Ravelry
“Relaxing time.”
–Elond Castro (Fan at BayCon 2017)
“Adventure, discovery, joy.”
–Rosalie Dobbs (Writer)
“An easy chair with a pile of books on an end table. A glass of water or sherry nearby.”
–Daphne Chennault (Author)
Chief Thief
“Not enough time to read, and I want the library in ‘Beauty and the Beast.'”
Sheryl R. Hayes (Author)
Alterna-Teas (short story in anthology)
www.sherylrhayes.com/fiction
“Books!”
–Adrienne Foster (Author)
Bay Area Ghost Hunters
meetup.com/Bay-Area-Ghost-Hunters
“Pain. It hurts my back where I usually sit to read, on my bed. I still do it. I need to clear the clothes off my chair. 🙂 ”
–James Beach (Author)
Two-Fisted Jesus Tales
twofistedjesus.com
One Question, Many Answers #5
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word “fan”?
“Someone who is interested enough in something to indulge in it and probably knows a lot about it, in an avocational rather than vocational way, and likely of someone else or someone else’s work.”
–ELF (Author and fan)
Taj Mutt Hall Dog Diary
Word Whirled
“Someone who is enthusiastic about a thing, event, or social activity.”
–Douglas Berry (Author and fan)
Gridlore.Dreamwidth.org
Make a Wish Foundation–SF Bay Area
“The appliance, although primarily the miniaturized version used in computers and involved costuming.”
–Norman (Fan at BayCon 2017)
Convolution
“Someone here at BayCon.”
–Fiddlerbird (Fan at BayCon 2017)
Ravelry
“A cool breeze.”
–Elond Castro (Fan at BayCon 2017)
Posted in Questions
Tagged BayCon 2017, Convolution, dog, Douglas Berry, ELF, Ellen Levy Finch, Elond Castro, fan, fantasy, fiddlerbird, Gridlore, Make a Wish, Norman, Ravelry, science fiction, Taj Mutt Hall, Word Whirled
One Question, Many Answers #4
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “writing”?
“Creation, exploration, discover, joy, hope.”
–Rosalie Dobbs (Writer)
“My writing desk in my office; four bookcases overflowing with books.”
–Daphne Chennault (Author)
Chief Thief
“Telling stories either ‘professionally’ or for fun, like fan fiction.”
Sheryl R. Hayes (Author)
Alterna-Teas (short story in anthology)
www.sherylrhayes.com/fiction
“I want to do it right now.”
–Adrienne Foster (Author)
Bay Area Ghost Hunters
meetup.com/Bay-Area-Ghost-Hunters
“‘Writing’ is first. 🙂 Then, ‘waking.’ Waking up and writing. Right after a pot of coffee.”
–James Beach (Author)
Two-Fisted Jesus Tales
twofistedjesus.com
One Question, Many Answers #3
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “reading”?
“The odd places and attitudes I see children put themselves into while reading. I worry that ‘today’s kids’ don’t read. But SF/F novels’ popularity belies that concern.”
–Anonymous fan at BayCon 2017
East Bay Linux Users Group
“Books, lots of books.”
–Anonymous fan at BayCon 2017
“Imagination and excitement.”
–Jean Martin (costumer, editor-in-chief, dancer)
Creative Avocations
“Detectives, desolate highways, coffee, comfy chair, rain.”
–Tyler Hayes (Author)
“The One About Jacob” (short story)
“How many books I have to finish.”
–Anna Rose (Author)
A Darker Shadow by Jake Keplin
“Being entertained by my own head, on my own terms, a perfect comfort and best pastime.”
–Meg Elison (Author)
The Book of Etta
megelison.com