Murder, She Wrote
August 13, 2008 | 12:17 pm
Thanks to Carolyn Haley for her response to my recent post about reading mysteries. And she knows whereof she speaks: our DreamTime author had a terrific interview with mystery author Archie Mayor published in a recent issue of Writer magazine.
And I agree that people “shouldn’t” be judgmental of others—that is, after all, part of the whole essence of DreamTime. Part of personal growth is letting go of judging others. That said, however, the literary world is full of literary snobs who will attack anyone who doesn’t consider War and Peace a cozy read for a winter’s evening.
But it’s not winter now, and I’ve been delighted every time I cycle down to one of the numerous beaches around here to see numerous mystery novels on beach towels and peeking out of beach bags. Not a bad way to pass a summer’s afternoon, working on a devious puzzle in one’s head while paddling in the gorgeous water of Cape Cod Bay!
So for now Murder, She Wrote is just fine with me!
Jeannette Cézanne
Open Your Heart with Reading
Posted by: reading, reading books, Words, Opening the heart, Being Peace — jcezanne
| Comments (0)
No More Reading Lists
July 23, 2008 | 6:59 pm
At least not this week! I’m finally finding the time to plan a new geocache, and I’m very excited about it. As usual (for me), it will be a multi-stage cache, taking cachers on a tour of some of Provincetown and Truro (Massachusetts) history.
The centerpiece is the story that the local history museum tells — with a straight face, if that can be believed. When the Mayflower arrived, its first stop was here in Provincetown, before the colonists moved on to Plymouth. They had a tough first winter, and were close to starving when they came upon a cache — no pun intended — of corn that the local native tribe, the Wampanoag, had put aside for their own sustenance. The pilgrims were ecstatic to “find” this corn, consumed it, and lived to see another season. We have no records of how many Wampanoag didn’t make it because of the settlers’ theft.
It’s a bit of local lore that gets brushed aside when tourists flock to Provincetown, as they are now, and that deserves to be known. And anyone doing my new geocache will learn about it … and more!
Like much of “American” history, we need to know both what is wonderful and what is less wonderful about our heritage. Opening our hearts means more than just looking for happiness; it’s finding joy in understanding everything we need to understand in order to learn from the mistakes of the past … and tread lightly on the earth now.
Jeannette Cézanne
Open Your Heart with Geocaching
Posted by: Geocaching, Opening the heart, Being Peace — jcezanne
| Comments (0)
Changing the World One Book at a Time: Conference Information
June 18, 2008 | 11:00 am
This notice comes to me from my colleague Charles Patterson, author of a startling and well-worth-reading book called Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust:
Want to Change the World? The San Francisco Writing for Change Conference Can Help!
Gay Hendricks, coauthor of You’ve Got to Read this Book!, will be a keynoter at the Second San Francisco Writing for Change Conference, Saturday and Sunday, August l6 & l7 at the Hotel Kabuki.
The SFW4CC is the first conference devoted to nonfiction writing about any kind of change, from the personal to the planetary, including the environment, politics, health, culture, and spirituality.
The theme of the conference this year is “Changing the World One Book at a Time.”
New and published writers will be able to learn from bestselling authors, editors, and agents, and get feedback on their work.
Registration is a mere $395, including meals.
For information and registration, visit www.SFWritingforChange.org.
Quite up the Open Your Heart alley, I’d say, and you may see some of our west-coast DreamTime authors there. In any case, consider going — because who can afford to not think about changing the world?
Jeannette Cézanne
Open Your Heart with Reading
Posted by: reading, reading books, Something completely different, Opening the heart, Being Peace — jcezanne
| Comments (0)
Pleasant Surprises
December 6, 2007 | 8:36 am
I had a very pleasant surprise this week indeed. I was attending a conference in Boston, and happened to sit beside a woman from Texas during one of the sessions. “Everyone’s so nice here,” she said at the break in the lecture.
“Huh?” I wasn’t sure I’d heard her correctly. We in New England are known for being cold and surly, by comparison with the rest of the country … certainly not “nice.”
“Oh, yes,” she affirmed. “Everyone’s been kind, has gone out of their way to help me. Nicer than they are at home. People in the street, when I ask for directions …”
More amazing still. It snowed recently, it’s freezing cold, and sidewalks in Boston are iced over. And in that climate people are taking time to be helpful?
It gave me hope, that encounter. That maybe people are nicer than the news would have us believe. That we all still have the capacity to be kind to a stranger. And I found myself inspired by it, smiling more at people throughout the day, stopping to give money to a shivering homeless man on my way to the subway, not getting quite as upset as I normally might when I realized I’d lost one of my gloves at the conference.
It’s contagious, this “nice” thing. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all catch a little?
– Jeannette Cézanne
http://www.JeannetteCezanne.com
Posted by: Something completely different, Opening the heart, Happiness, Being Peace — jcezanne
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
