I had a pleasant email this morning from a fellow blogger, JJ Pickletoes, and one of his questions deserved some thought. And as I thought, I remembered a principle I followed as a teacher: if one person asked the question, other people probably had that same question too. In a classroom, I'd address it openly … Continue reading Advice for Mr. Pickletoes
Category: Writing
Drama, Drama, Book Sale
Our little town of Pendleton, Oregon, is famous for its rodeo---but the RoundUp is not the annual event that goes on my calendar. That honor is reserved for the Pendleton Library's annual book sale. I can't think of any concert or rally or Black Friday sale that I'd stand in line for, but for the … Continue reading Drama, Drama, Book Sale
A Reading Proposal for You, Reader:
For those of us writers who are working outside the realm of big publishing-houses, we have to jump-start and generate our own publicity for what we write---so I have a proposal. For anyone who is game for posting a book review (on your blog or vlog or podcast or FaceBook, or wherever-it-is that you post … Continue reading A Reading Proposal for You, Reader:
Here a Duck, There a Duck
In the Philippines, the streets are crowded with--- Well, I could just make that a full stop. The streets are CROWDED. But among the things that crowd them are specimens of a form of public transportation known as the "Jeepney"---a sort of mashup between jeep and school bus, often open-sided and always painted with incredible … Continue reading Here a Duck, There a Duck
In Which Kana is Delighted by a New Toy
I've been playing. It was another blogger, The AI Grandad, whose post about "falling down the AI rabbit hole" led me to exploring MidJourney, an AI program that produces images from the written prompts you give it. This rabbit hole runs deep! For a start, I managed to create a pretty good approximation of Yoda-cat's … Continue reading In Which Kana is Delighted by a New Toy
Big Reveal: What APPLE Actually Looks Like
We've been trying for weeks to capture a photograph of our cat, Yoda, when he goes into that crazed mode we refer to as "bonkers-ing." He gets the most unhinged expression on his face and goes tearing around the house, streaking from couch to chair to high shelving to cat-condo, pausing for a split second … Continue reading Big Reveal: What APPLE Actually Looks Like
To Life, and Courage (and DuoLingo)
"Pearls Before Swine" by Stephen Pastis I never realized that John Steinbeck was a biologist. It's not what he's known for, certainly, and it's not what he was educated for, but it's what he did, for a time. Actually, with regard to education, he left even his English degree incomplete... not that its lack held … Continue reading To Life, and Courage (and DuoLingo)






