partsofspeaking

Thanks to the Metropolitan Opera's program, I was able to see--no, not just see, but hear, feel, immerse myself--in Tosca, with true diva Sonya Yencheva yesterday.  It was my first opera experience of that kind.  Decades ago I watched Madame Butterfly on a little black and white TV, hardly the same.  I went in a little suspicious that this was not really live, but of course was wrong.  They show the audience, and since there were children in the audience as well as a lot of elderly people, I could tell it was a real matinee.  Also, the two intermissions were 30 minutes long each, because the sets for this production are extremely lavish and detailed--and massively expensive--and take a herculean effort to change. We actually get to watch some of that, along with some interviews with the stars and designers, speaking affably to a beautiful young opera singer called Isabel, who also gives information about the Met and the production.  I read up on the plot before going and read

1.  Use as few words as possible; this does not mean short.  It means muscular.  No flab.  Really good writing has an abundance of significant, necessary, and relevant details that will conflict with brevity for the sake of brevity. 2.  Many websites can show you how to achieve muscular prose.  Some of these techniques should be immediate alarms as you write. For instance, I started this point with "There are many websites that . . ." and I revised before I put the period. "There are" and "there is" openings are usually revisable, as are "It is" openings. 3.  Put the most important ideas in the beginning and end of the sentence rather than the middle, and put the important ideas in the independent clause rather than the dependent clause.  If you don't know what these terms mean, you have no business writing.  While a good writer does not need a Ph.D. in Linguistics, or even a Bachelor's degree necessarily, a good writer must study the

Today I am going to a "movie opera."  Tosca. I have never been to one.  It cost $28.  It was a personal and professional goal. 

I watch this debate intensely because of the 27% of our student body of Hispanic background.  Not all are dreamers; in fact, I think few actually are, but it is a concern of theirs. Now, this is my opinion and has no connection to my church, my employer, or other connections. I welcome debate, but not name-calling or affiliation-shaming. Also, Congress should get its act together and fix this.  I disagree with Presidential/Executive Actions on this kind of thing.  We do not have an imperial presidency, or at least that is not in the constitution. the common perception of the presidency is totally different from what was designed originally, thanks for every president since Teddy Roosevelt (especially Woodrow Wilson). Finally, immigrants are necessary and good.  Fear of immigrants per se is racist and wrong.  Let those who have documents to prove they are in this category and who are gainfully employed, in college, or in the military and have no criminal record be allowed to st

--> "The artist’s job is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote to the emptiness of existence. "   This is a line stated by Gertrude Stein (played by Kathy Bates, an actress who has never been worried about having "the Hollywood look) in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. As much as I am repulsed by Allen, some of his movies are wonderful, and this one is.  Pablo Picasso was a terrible person, but I wept when I saw Guernica in the Sophia Regina Museum in Madrid.  That is the dilemma of the artist and his/her work. Anyway, back to the quote.  I think that is a very good synopsis of a post-modernist and even Romantic view of reality and art.  It is, of course, antithetical to the Christian world view.  Our existence is not empty, and if one despairs, the answer is not to be an artist or to engage in the artistic experience but to run to Jesus, whose love and redemption erases the world view of emptiness, mere existence, and despair.  I could writ

I allowed myself (and probably shouldn’t have) five minutes to read about this kerfuffle between Megyn Kelly and Jane Fonda.   Of course, Fonda is “a Hollywood icon”—how dare she be called to task about her “activism” against the Viet Nam War. Does anyone ever look at how much news on the mainstream media (and the more right-wing outlets) is about Hollywood? How in the world does anything that happens in Hollywood affect me in my daily life?   There is absolutely no connection.   I can’t even use pop culture references in my lectures because all the students watch different shows and movies and listen to different music, none of which I can keep up with.   I doubt they even know who Jane Fonda is.   But Jane Fonda, as nauseated as she makes me (she’d be nowhere without her father’s legacy) is not the issue.   The issue is that the news media does not report on things that matter—or if it does, one must dig deep.   What matters is public policy, the stoc

I chose to go to a 11:25 showing of Lady Bird this morning.  Yes, this morning.  I was one of three viewers in the audience, all women.  That always makes movie watching a solitary experience, but I can handle 1:30 in the darkness for art.  I went because of the reviews and because I write relational, realistic fiction and wanted to see how it was done in this film.  It did not disappoint.  The reviews are correct, overall.  Some might call it a "chick flick," but it's far better than that. While I don't imagine everyone would be interested in this film (no explosions, no intrigue), I recommend it.  I don't like to pay $8.00 for a movie, but I was ok with this one. It is excellent for the acting, the sense of place, and the respectfulness toward Christian faith (specifically Catholicism).  It is also unflinching in portraying very human characters, even if you don't like them. And to be honest, as for the character herself, Lady Bird McPherson, I did

*hole.  Yep.  From the mouth of the POTUS. Unfortunately, I would venture to say that most Americans have felt that way when contemplating some of the living conditions in other cultures.  They may not use the tacky language and may not voice the view, but we are appalled by how people live, and have to live. The reasons for poverty--and for the conditions in these *hole countries--are complicated.  Everything from natural disasters, to cultural practices, to evil dictators, to climate change (yes, it exists, sorry; the reason is still up for grabs), to religious beliefs.  If these places weren't *holes, would millions be trying to get to the U.S.?  Did he say it?  If he did, why did the participants of the meeting feel the need to come out and tell on him?  What snitches!  However, if he said this, it's egregious and offensive. You won't catch me defending the POTUS.  I can see why those who do not have eternal hope sit and bite their nails that he might causes b

My husband likes to watch the reruns of the TV show Monk .  In fact, they are on quite frequently at our house. The Randy Newman theme song is deeply imprinted on my soul.  It was clever and they are a good way to waste an hour after a debilitating day at work. However, I have a lot of problems with Mr. Monk (or the writers) and you people are going to hear about them.  (to quote Mr. Costanza on Festivus day). The main issue is the portrayal of his mental illness, which seems to be extreme OCD and anxiety.  First, he is called the "defective detective," which is about as insulting to people with mental illness as you can get. Second, the illness is played for laughs and scorn, not for compassion.  His friends have compassion, most of the time (OCD people can be frustrating) but the audience is given permission to laugh.  Third, his OCD is selective and only shows up when it helps the plot. Fourth, he doesn't take medication, because it changes his personality.  This i

This is a story passage.   Not a lot of direct doctrinal teaching, but a very powerful and important message.   BIG IDEA:   GOD is teaching them that the Jesus faith is not the Jewish faith.   He’s taking it slowly because God knows how entrenched in our bodies, our cultures, our families, and our experiences we are. Context: Everything in the book of Acts up to now. Acts 2:   Gospel preached in several different languages, not Hebrew. Acts 5:   Ananias and Saphira judged—we are not the synagogue and won’t be doing things that way Acts 6:   We have a responsibility to all members of the church regardless of status.   And the leaders are not all from Jerusalem; Jerusalem is not going to run the show.   (Hellenistic Jews vs. Hebrew Jews, one of them from Antioch) Acts 7-8 – There will be lots of persecution.   You won’t be able to hide behind your ethnicity.   The Jewish leaders and the Romans are going after you. Acts 8 – the Ethiopian eunuch (e

This website should do the trick:  http://autoinsult.datahamster.com/index.php?style=3

Creating names for characters is a big part of writing fiction.  I tend toward the realistic; as much as I love Dickens, he went out of his way to create onomatopoeic names.  I think names should be memorable but not metaphorical. So I was scrolling through my Twitter feed (instead of writing) and came across a post from one of many indie authors who advertise on Twitter.  The character of the novel's name was "Buck McDivit." Oh, my.  This being a paranormal romance novel (is that an oxymoron?) the character was depicted as a cowboy, shirtless, with massive six-pack chest/abs. I was reminded of  Dash Riprock and Bolt Upright of The Beverly Hillbillies, and of this great clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFHlJ2voJHY .  Dirk Hardpeck!

I am reading Clay Shirkey's book Here Comes Everybody.   Although it's a little out of date, the theory about what is happening in Web 2.0 is on point. Without the traditional gatekeeper, we can all self-publish, or self-compose and produce.  Most of it is garbahge.  I hope mine is not.  But even if it's not, there are too many books being published and therefore it is harder and harder and harder to be noticed. So traditional publishers have an advantage still, and those of us who choose to bypass them have a huge disadvantage.  Case in point:  My most recent book on Daniel. I saw that there is a "bestseller" (in terms of books on Prophets in OT) out now by a pastor of a large church in Birmingham, and it's published by Thomas Nelson. His appears on the surface to be the same content as mine, although I think my message is quite different.  Plus, I'm a woman, plus, I actually have worked in the secular professional world.  Mine is more about leaders

https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/new-study-heres-why-life-speeds-up-as-you-get-older-and-how-to-slow-it-back-down.html