I’m begging you, please go see Food, Inc. at your local theater (in Pittsburgh it’s playing at the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill through this weekend). The documentary takes a look at our industrial food system and its effect on our health, environment, economy and workers’ rights. It’s startling. And scarily important.
My husband’s band, Mid-Life Crisis, has a gig at Pittsburgh’s Hard Rock Cafe this coming Monday March 2. In addition to enjoying their unique mix of 80s rock with a bit of funk, you can also catch Chris Garver of TLC’s Miami Ink. The night is a benefit for Pittsburgh’s Creative And Performing Arts [...]
This morning I saw the funniest thing: young geese learning to fly in formation. A flock of them came swooping over our deck, heading south, honking and squawking like crazy. When I looked up I saw the leader in what should have been the point of the V. But the entire rest of the flock, [...]
My friend and fellow writer Beth Polen has made it to the Semi-Finals of the Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award! I’ve had the honor of reading her young-adult novel Wish — she workshopped the manuscript in some Fat Plum Book Boot Camps that I helped run — and it’s a terrific book. Beth is an [...]
I wrote my word quotas yesterday and today while sitting in a comfy chair at Panera, right under a speaker blaring Christmas music. I tried to move (even though the easy chairs are my sacred spot) and learned that every seat in Panera is under the speakers. I guess they’ve cranked up the stereo to [...]
The rest of my stay at my parents’ house in Palm Springs was most productive. I even managed to get my pages in on Thanksgiving morning before the kitchen prep started. Friday (Day 23) I wrote during my layover in Phoenix, despite feeling sad and lonely having just left my family, and then wrote on [...]
The last time I blogged was on Day 9, when I wrote not a word for National Novel Writing Month and was feeling down about the entire endeavor. Even with Cindy’s excellent reminder that it’s a simple 2-step process (1. Put butt in chair, 2. Type something — anything), the next few days were a [...]
November is National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo. Anyone who wants to can attempt to write a 50,000-word novel during the 30 days of November, receiving ongoing encouragement and commiseration from the folks at NaNoWriMo.org and other participants. My Fat Plum partners Cindy Closkey and Judith Burnett Schneider have both made [...]
A free conference for people who create, enjoy or are interested in learning more about blogs, vlogs, audio podcasts, web video, content networks and new media monetization. I’ll be there — will you?