Map Your Future

Kerch McConlogue is one of those people you wish you had met earlier in life because you know you might have done more with her helping you along. Kerch is a life coach in Baltimore who has a web site with great information, and a blog that gave me and Margaret Rome a wonderful mention a couple of days ago. Take a look, and bookmark both of them for good advice and interesting commentary.

Anyone Create Jewelry?

I’ve just spent more time than I had on a fruitless search for jewelry blogs. I love handcrafted jewelry and wanted to discover and share something remarkable. What I found were sly attempts to disguise advertising as a blog – there are plenty of those. Apparently someone is spreading the word that if you call it a blog, people won’t notice if every “article” is a photo of design F-3498 from your catalog.

No, I was looking for honest to goodness blogs about jewelry design and jewelry making. I know that artists love to talk about their work, sometimes in much more detail than anyone else can tolerate politely.

I can say that because I used to call myself an artist. A dozen years ago you would have found me with stubby fingernails and perpetually gritty clothes, happily ensconced in my studio creating and executing original designs in stained glass. Of a Thursday morning, several times a year, I would load my van with plastic crates and knock-down wooden tables. By the evening I would have transformed an 8’ x 10’ square of cement at some fairground into a display of light and color designed to delight the eye and part admirers from their money. Friday through Sunday I smiled, answered questions, and looked politely interested when a woman exclaimed that her 8 year old had learned to make stained glass “just like this” at camp one day.

You may have noticed I don’t do that any more. Wonderful it was, profitable it was not. So I went back to a “real” job for a while.

But I know there are hundreds of talented artists and fine craftspeople creating and selling their work. Creativity isn’t restricted to one medium per person, so why don’t jewelry makers also write blogs? Will I also find a dearth of fiber artists or wood turners or weavers? Stay tuned….

Women in Science - a Notable Example

Like many women and not a few men, I shook my head in bafflement at the now infamous comments of Lawrence Summers, late of Harvard University. When Dr. Nancy Hopkins of MIT walked out on his speech, she expressed the disdain of thousands. I thought we had finally moved beyond the old concepts that there are subjects for “girls” and then there are the real subjects for “boys.”

Back in the Pleistocene era when I was in high school, there actually were different aptitude tests. I recall feeling somehow inadequate when I scored so low on the “social work” scale that I was off the chart, and embarrassed that my “science” score was much too high to be considered feminine. After all these years, and having worked at NIH and met brilliant women scientists, I believed the progress was real.

But old misconceptions die hard, and in academe they become ossified in marble minds, so that progress can only be made when the marble becomes a headstone. A young woman Ph.D. candidate in the Northwest is chronicling her life as she progresses towards her dissertation defense date. She juggles her work, her family, and the challenges of being a woman in science. Her blog is a window into a world not many of us know, but is well worth a look

Words Fail Me (Almost)

Where can you go to learn about hi-jinks in Hungary, a polluted pelican, or a concerted assault on teen partying by means of Barry Manilow and Doris Day music? All you need is this link: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offbeat/.

That last part – “OFF/beat” – tells you just about all you need to know. Reporter Emil Steiner says, “Funny news is everyone’s guilty pleasure, and so the goal of “OFF/beat” is to create a shared repository for anyone who wants a quick laugh at work or a memorable story for happy hour.” Any paraphrasing would not do this blog justice - go see for your self.

Sure, I check the Post headlines, but since I discovered OFF/beat a few days ago, this blog is on my daily read list.

And the Award for Most Creative Use of a Blog Goes To...

You guessed it – the red paper clip guy. About a year ago a man with few resources and a lot of imagination began his quest. He planned to trade one red paper clip for one house. Undeterred by the obvious impossibility, he traded first for a blue fish pen, then a door knob that looked like E.T. Just one week ago he make his final trade – only the 14th in this chain – for a house at 503 Main Street, Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada.

This young man, Kyle MacDonald, is a master marketer. He parlayed a unique idea into world wide attention, network TV interviews plus a new home. And he used a blog to record it all with an informal tone that had everyone rooting for him. Who doesn’t want to see the everyman score big? If he can do it, I can do it, right?

The quest had already been going on for several months when I first read about MacDonald on CNN in April, by which time he had traded up to a year’s free rent in Phoenix. (Sorry the link to that story has expired.) Four more trades and he had the house in Canada, plus a key to the city and a gig as Mayor for a day.

Now the copy-cats have begun. Good luck to them all…but they’ll never match the red paper clip guy for creativity and chutzpah.

In Murderous Company

I spend a lot of time thinking about murder. Who should die? Why this person and why now? How to commit a gruesome crime and get away with it?

I’m not alone, of course. There are scores of perfectly ordinary people who do the same thing. We’re called mystery writers. The people who share our lives become accustomed to our delight in newspaper articles about bizarre murders, gruesome accidents, and strange events. We join groups like the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. We attend conventions where we learn about the poisons in our back yard, crime scene investigations, and the difference between a .375 magnum and a Glock 9.

And we write. True crime, police procedurals, thrillers, traditional mysteries, and variations on each type. We enter contests for the challenge and discipline of making a deadline, and to hear what the judges loved and hated about our work. We join critique groups to have the comments of peers who understand what we’re trying to achieve.

And we blog. Boy, do we blog. Singly and in groups. Published, soon-to-be published and still-looking-for-an-agent authors grab for a bit of the blogosphere. We write about what it’s like, we share the highs and lows. What I find delightful is the range of tone and attitude in these blogs. Some try to be helpful, others go for humor, and some few are blatant promotion. Of course we’re all promoting ourselves and our work; I simply prefer a lighter hand.

I’ll do individual blogs another day, but here are my picks among the current crop of mystery writer group blogs:

Murderati – Mysteries, Murder and Marketing: http://www.murderati.typepad.com/

The Good Girls Kill For Money Club: http://www.good-girls-kill.com/

Naked Authors – The naked truth about literature and life: http://www.nakedauthors.com/

The Lipstick Chronicles – Where the Book Tarts talk love, laughter, laundry and the mysteries of the writing life: http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com/

The Outfit – A Collective of Chicago Crime Writers (brand new this week with some heavy hitters): http://www.theoutfitcollective.com/

The Little Blog of Murder – Confessions of Five Ohio Mystery Authors:
http://www.thelittleblogofmurder.com/

The Lady Killers – Five female writers of mystery fiction share their wit and wisdom, writing tips and travel experiences: http://www.theladykillers.typepad.com/

Let’s see how many of them still rate a “Favorite Blogs” bookmark six months from now, shall we?

Fluff Enough?

There are some days when you just need a good helping of fluff. Morning traffic was horrendous, the Internet connection is down, and your hard drive is acting flaky. You need a break. And nothing is better at lowering your blood pressure than a photo that makes you say “Awww….”

For me, Tai Shan will do it just about every time. But there are days when even his royal cuteness is not enough, so for those I have links that are guaranteed to soothe. But be warned: these can be addictive, and people susceptible to excessive sweetness would be wise to limit their exposure.

Tai Shan the Giant Panda Cub at the National Zoo: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/

Cute Overload – the name says it all: http://cuteoverload.com/

Panda Pix - for those still hungry after Tai Shan: http://www.pandafix.com/

Baby Animalz – a gallery of cuties: http://www.babyanimalz.com/

Animal Cameras - Live animal web cams galore: http://www.animalcameras.com/

Dognabbit – For the dog lovers: http://www.dognabbit.blogspot.com/

Blogging Cat – For cats and their staff: http://www.angelfire.com/folk/morgan/catblog/

PsychoKitty – one of many cat-written blogs: http://psychokitty.blogspot.com/
Get on any of these and follow the links they offer for endless catitude.

OK, I’ve spent way too long researching this subject. You’re on your own, and remember my warning about addiction. Set a timer to drag you back or you’ll be lost for the day!

Weather Wherever

One of George Carlin’s classic routines was the hippie-dippie weatherman who proclaimed (through his own personal fog) that “There’s gonna be weather...everywhere!” These days, there are weather blogs everywhere.

I find it interesting that two types of scientists with equal passion for their work are so different when it comes to blogging. Engineers don’t blog, but weather observers and forecasters just love to share their thoughts. A bit of research showed that TV stations across the country have blogs for their weather folk - the South and Midwest seem to be particularly fond of blogging. In addition to the TV and radio stations there are individual weather lovers who obviously have a professional level of expertise.

Here is my very small sampling of weather blogs:

Jeff Master’s blog - http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html

The Weather Channel - http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/

Maryland - http://blogs.marylandweather.com/

Chicago - http://wgntv.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/

Alabama - http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/wxtalk.php

Accuweather - http://wwwa.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/community_blog.asp

USA Today - http://blogs.usatoday.com/weather/

There is one more – a site I visit just about every day – that is well worth a look. Mt. Washington is the highest point in the eastern part of the U.S., and has some of the world’s worst weather. There has been a weather station on the top of the “Rockpile” for decades, and it was here that the highest surface wind speed on earth was recorded in 1934.

The site is www.mountwashington.org; not strictly a blog, but it does have an “Observer Comments” column that is blog-like with daily discussions of life at the top. Webcams offer views from the mountain top, and the photo archives contain stunning pictures from the surrounding hills and valleys like this:

Wherever you are, there’s a weather blog for you. Enjoy!

Of Gin Pails and Poodles

Writers are some of the most obsessive and insecure folks, especially us pre-published types. A publishing contract with a major house is the holy grail, that shining goal that keeps our butts glued to our chairs, our fingers filling page after page with words we fear are not good enough.

We troll all the agent sites looking for the faintest indication that maybe this agent likes the particular kind of mystery/romance/fantasy/sci-fi/chick lit/biography/whatever it is we write. We agonize over every word in our synopsis, scrutinize every comma in the query letter. Our hearts soar with hope with each nibble of interest, and crash to our feet when that anorexic SASE bearing the “not right for me” form letter appears in our mailbox. We feel alone, wandering in the wilderness.

And then someone tells us about a blog that has the answers we seek. It’s tough love from a New York literary agent who – try though she might to hide it with a snarkalicious attitude – cares about writers, their struggles, and their dreams.

Miss Snark does not suffer nitwits or fools. She swigs gin from a large pail, lusts after George Clooney (thus proving her inimitable good taste) and cohabits with a pink tam-wearing poodle named Killer Yap. Miss Snark answers questions from her readers, even the clueless ones. She exposes publishing scam artists, derides phony, incompetent or just plain rude agents, and finds several ways to say, every day, “Write well – that’s your job.”

There are few blogs I read every day; Miss Snark is always the first.

Do Engineers Blog?

It’s my brother’s birthday today so I’m thinking about engineers. He said not long ago that he wasn’t into blogging, couldn’t actually understand it. So I had to go searching and he’s right; engineers don’t blog much, especially his kind – forensic naval engineers.

Don’t know why – they have plenty of interesting stuff to talk about. A few years ago he was part of an expedition to the Titanic sponsored by the Discovery Channel. He kept a journal of those days at sea, and I discovered a poetic side of my big brother I had never seen. Who knew he could write so eloquently about moonlight and waves and night skies? This was B.B.E. (before the blogging era), but he was a natural.

Here’s what I found of engineers’ blogs after I eliminated any corporate or team blogs that are just another form of corporate promotion, or blogs devoted to one product (like the blog that tracks issues related to Adobe’s flash player.) I don’t have anything against them, just not what I was looking for:

Water and Wastewater Blog = http://www.waterandwastewater.com/blog/
an industrial blog for the water and wastewater treatment professional

Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog = http://engineering.curiouscatblog.net/
Science and Engineering: Innovation, Research, Science and Economics

Scobelizer = http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/
Robert Scoble gives his personal opinion on IT subjects.

LiveScience Blogs = http://www.livescience.com/blogs/
Your daily dose of science scuttlebutt…in a variety of categories.

Science Blog = http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/index.php
Wide range of subjects and tongue-in-cheek advertising

I can’t say that the wastewater blog does much for me, but that Science Blog and Curious Cat are both worth an occasional visit. Now all you engineers out there…why are you not in the blogosphere?

Say What - You Blog For Me?

Yep - I Blog For You. That's you, the real estate agent who needs a blog but is too busy selling houses to do the writing. Or you, the entrepreneur filled with passion for your work but not the words to express it. And you, the tech wizard, who speaks a dozen arcane computer languages but can't get your writing below post-graduate reading level. I do that for you - your ideas, expressed your way. I Blog For You.

And that's the last bit of BSP you'll see on this blog. From now on I'll be talking about favorite blogs and all the good, bad, and just plain funny stuff that's swirling around the blogging world. Got a favorite? Let me know and we'll share a smile.

Pull up a chair, grab some chocolate if you're so inclined, and enjoy the show here in my part of the blogosphere.