Personal
Personal reflections, comments about things I've been doing, etc.
Random Updates
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 01/23/2010 - 13:58First the first time in many days, I’ve caught up on the email, and read my minimum quota of blog posts. By caught up on email, I mean that I’ve read every email that has come into my two main email accounts this month. I still have 167 to reply to and 92 of them are marked urgent in my in box, and with another 43 marked urgent stuck away in various folders.
Some emails will be a bit of work to respond to. I’ve been helping various people out with their websites, and some of the responses are long. Others, should really be worked into blog posts, but I may not ever get around to giving them the attention they need. So, instead, I’m going to highlight various things
Grapski v. Alachua
One issue I’ve been following closely is the case of Charlie Grapski and his various issues with assorted authorities in Alachua County Florida. Earlier this month, Circuit Judge James Nilon called Charlie Grapski a ‘bully’.
Circuit Judge James Nilon shook his head as he looked at Alachua political activist Charles Grapski. …
“That day, you didn’t want to seek access to the courts,” Nilon said. “…You couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Nilon said Grapski uses his “intellect to bully people.”
“In my view, you don’t know where your individual liberties end,” Nilon said.
A few weeks later, A state district court ruled that Alachua violated state open records law. Charlie Grapski wouldn’t seek no for an answer when the county was breaking the law. Instead of being arrested and bullied by the police, he should have been given a medal.
Upcoming Events
January 25th Robert Burns Birthday! Hoist a dram to wash down a bite of haggis as we honor the famous Scottish Bard. Also, the Beecher Road Parent Teacher Organization is having a big meeting in the evening.
January 26th, 9:30 A Forum on State Budget Reform and Connecticut’s Economic Development Strategies will take place in the Old Judiciary Room at the State Capitol in Hartford.
January 29th The movie, “The End of Poverty?” will return to New York City showing at the Cinema Village.
January 31st A Democratic “Party for the Party” will take place Sunday afternoon from 4 to 6 PM at The Fat Cat Company, 9 Wall Street, Norwalk, CT. This is a free party with a chance to meet candidates for Senator, Governor, Congress, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Comptroller, Attorney General and the State Legislature.
February 5th and 6th For those of you interested in traditional journalism, the New England Newspaper and Press Association 2010 Convention will take place in Boston.
February 6th For those interested in newer forms of journalism, PodCampWesternMass will take place Westfield State College.
A final note: Today is National Pie Day. Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford, CT is having a special pie sale today and tomorrow to celebrate.
There are a lot of other random updates that I should include, but that’s good enough for now. Time to step away from the computer and enjoy the beautiful day.
Wordless Wednesday
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 09:29
Wordless Wednesday
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 01/13/2010 - 06:27
Validation
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 01/04/2010 - 13:27Normally, I don't simply put up YouTube videos that have been made by someone else without relating it back to my own writing, experiences, etc. However, this video stands incredibly on its own. It is long, by YouTube standards, over fifteen minutes. Please, find a time when you can sit down and watch the whole video in its entirety.
Why do we blog?
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 01/04/2010 - 13:06It is an old question that comes up now and again, “Why do we blog?” For some of us, it is an important chance to write about things that are important to us. It might be personal or family stuff. It might be politics. It might be local news. It might be technology, or any other subject that captures a writer’s attention. For others it is part of an effort to earn money by blogging. I suspect that for many, it is a little bit of both.
Yet there is another important aspect of blogging that too often is overlooked. Blogging can be a great way of improving ones craft, improving ones writing. I remember writing classes in the past that stressed the importance of keeping a regular writers journal. I do not focus on the writer’s journal aspect of blogging that much, however, the other day, I received an email from a dear friend who is starting to blog, and seems to be approaching it very much from the perspective of improving her writing.
She goes by the name NativeBee and has simply entitled her blog Writing. I would encourage you to visit her blog.
As I thought of welcoming her into the community of blogs about writing, I tried to think of some other blogs that I would recommend to her. A good starting point is Subjective Soup and Communications Exchange, both written by a woman named Patricia. She describes herself as a recently retired teacher, and she often has great comments about writing.
Another blog that I like from a person focusing on their writing is All Stace, All the Time. In her look back at 2009, she writes
What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? Got serious about my writing and actually applied for writing jobs.
Jennifer at Writing to Survive also often has great explorations into the craft of writing. A few other blogs come to mind when I think of people working on the craft of writing, whether or not they talk about that much in their blogs. These include Redhead Ranting and The Junk Drawer. Another writer that two different blogs that are worth reading, although perhaps even less focused on the craft of writing is Lidian. She writes Kitchen Retro and The Virtual Dime Museum.
I hope you will all visit NativeBee’s blog, welcome her to blogging, and I hope she will get a chance to visit a few of the blogs I’ve mentioned. Are there other blogs that you like that focus or illustrate nicely the craft of writing?
