The idea of turning the archive of this blog into a book is something that I have been thinking about. (Here) you can download a table of contents with hyperlinks to postings. I have divided the subject into Art, Humor, Conscious Consumer Capitalism, Moment(s), Photo of the Week(s) & Personal. Read it all or just pick the titles that jump out at you… You will need to register (simple, painless & no spam or additional e-mails will be sent to you) to download the document.
“In Search of the Original Whatever” My greatest hits and misses from two years of blogging about Art, Morals and truths….
If the birth of this idea goes well the next step will be re-writing and adding some new un-published stuff and then off to the editors.
I am taking time off to clear the head (literally—having sinus surgery, and figuratively—to quiet the mind.)
See you June 2, be nice to each other and remember to eat your vegetables…
5.15.2008
5.14.2008
5 Question Interview Series with Katherine Turner
Katherine Turner is the author of Dating God, which is a blog that focuses on her journey throughout the cosmos. Her style of writing is configuring life-as-a-jigsaw-puzzle fitting it all together with dancing words. She has recently just completed her first novel, appropriately titled “Dating God”. Katherine graciously agreed to take part in my ongoing “5 Question Interview Series”.
Please tell me about your novel. Is it autobiographical in nature, fiction, spiritual or all of the above?
Please tell me about your novel. Is it autobiographical in nature, fiction, spiritual or all of the above?
It's called Dating God of course :) I don't yet have a groove to offer up as a synopsis, so instead I give you some adjectives/images: psychic bartender meets hero cop; downwardly/inwardly mobile; high quality cigarettes and double cappuccinos; human love versus true love; sexual healing; urban dwelling versus ecovillage; holy moments in unlikely spaces; tequila; angels cleverly disguised as buttheads; the soulmate machinery; saving your own life.
It's fiction, and it's spiritual. It's also rowdy and funky. It's not autobiographical, but it contains things that I'm intimate with. For example, I tended bar in NYC and dated cops. I went through a rough patch understanding how to manage my psychic abilities. I was a hottie who got hit on a lot, and used it like ecstatic currency. I drank lots of tequila and coffee, smoked a lot of cigarettes. People that knew me from that time will recognize elements of reality, but the story is all in my head/heart.
Will your blog readers of the past 5 years (congratulations on that) get a sneak peak before publication?
I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this. My instincts say to offer it up to DG readers, let them read it before it goes anywhere. But this also makes me nervous (as you probably know from being a blogger yourself) as some blog readers have "orifice ripper" as their undeclared (and largely unconscious) but righteously pursued avocation. So, I'm more inclined to just send it to the few dozen folks who comment a lot and are warm-hearted and will be supportive, even if they pass on constructive criticism (which I hope they do). But who knows? Maybe I'll just toss the whole shebang wide open and let folks have at it :) (Most likely I'll open it up in ever-widening circles . . .)
What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?
I think I have a sort of "perspective" OCD that expresses itself verbally. I'll go through an experience or witness something, and I become obsessed with telling it in a way that captures the emotional light I saw it in. And it has to be done first person. I've tried other narratives and it loses its fire.
I remember someone telling me that you can't "want" to be a writer. You either write or you don't. I totally agree with that. I'm motivated to write like I'm motivated to eat. I love food and I eat to stay alive. I love words and I write to stay alive. This is not a metaphor.
I've been writing since I was seven or eight and have never stopped. I'm obsessed with words and concepts, heightened states of being and wild wooly metaphors, verbal symbols that stand for huge swaths of organic experience and the power of raw unflinching honesty. I love that I can take an experience, perspective, that lives inside of me, animates me, and with the right combo of words, transfer that experience into you. It's like making love. Telepathically :)
Your life seems to be a voyage that is perfectly expressed by blogging: Do we know the real you or do you keep a private life that is not told to your readers?
I think folks are always a little disappointed to meet me. I'm actually pretty quiet in person, withdrawn. I don't like to be seen. All of which is the exact opposite of what I'm like on the blog. Plus, I have a hard time with most folk's energy, and tend to be avoidant, which people tend to take personally :) I also think that it appears that I love to dwell on Problems, love to Vent and Be Vented Upon, when in fact this is my idea of Fiery, Burning Hell, Live and On Location. IRL, I prefer to just live and leave the gumflapping exchange for others to exercise. (Although I seem to have an almost bottomless well of listening for the handful of people I love, the people who I get truly love me.)
The only parts I withhold from the blog are info about other people that would hurt them or freak them out to see made public, and negative spew that would add to the Pointless Bullshit of the world. (although I have been very guilty of posting both)
How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by your blog audience compare with writing the blog?
I actually didn't write this book with anyone in mind. I just wrote it because it was burning a hole in my brain and heart. And I wrote the first draft 10 years ago, way before I even knew what a blog was.
The latest draft (that I finished last month) was actually written with a credo (written with a purple and green sharpie and scotch taped to the wall in front of my desk) that reads: "DatingGod: 1. Show Up 2. Write It From Now 3. Make Art, Tell Your Story". I had gotten so incredibly stuck that I knew that rewriting was pointless. I hated the book, knew it was shite, but felt powerless to fix it, even as I could feel this shining truth radiating out of it, haunting me and taunting me and telling me that it was going to f*ck my sh*t up for the rest of my life if I didn't get at it.
I finally grew the ovaries to do a shamanic journey around it, and I met with an editor in shamanic reality who told me how to finish the book. He was this sweet, funny man, and he told me that I needed to put myself in front of my computer, to have the courage to show up. And then I needed to stop trying to write from who I was, who I used to be ten years ago when that first draft was completed, and instead have the courage to write from where I am, who I am Now. It was outrageously scary. And like performing a million amputations. But incredibly liberating. The book actually turned into something that didn't make me feel like vomiting from embarrassment every time I thought of how many people I'd let read it over the past decade. (I still cringe. I'm cringing even right now :) And of course, now this latest draft makes me gag too, which means that it still needs another draft. And on and on and on . . .
I can't wait to finish it. I can't wait to let you read it :)
5.13.2008
Guess what it is & how it was taken….. (Contest)
The winner will receive a custom print from my ambient collection…. All entries must be submitted by Thursday of this week by 9 pm EST. Please leave your guess in the comment selection, no e-mails will be accepted...
5.12.2008
Photo of the Week
Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.667 sec (2/3)
Aperture: f/25
Focal Length: 62 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
I had the very enjoyable opportunity to take some photos at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwaters estate this past Saturday. Edna the curator of the property gave us the behind the scene tour of the grounds. The un-excavated land along with the placement of the home was the most impressive part of the experience for me.
Due to copyright agreements this photo is not licensed with creative commons. Please enjoy the photo but do not distribute.
5.08.2008
Moment
Current Reading: Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami
Current Music: Seeds by Martin Sexton
Mood: Frustrated
Sounds: Road construction
Smells: Coffee
Temperature: 60 degrees and light rain
Thoughts: Using your faith to instill fear in people is an act of terrorism.
Current Music: Seeds by Martin Sexton
Mood: Frustrated
Sounds: Road construction
Smells: Coffee
Temperature: 60 degrees and light rain
Thoughts: Using your faith to instill fear in people is an act of terrorism.
5.07.2008
Journal
Have you ever noticed how un-strange it seems when an unfamiliar person sees that you are reading the same book that they just read? It‘s natural, no hesitation of approach, instead there is friendship, instead there is conversation. This is opposed to how foreign it feels when a stranger moves toward you for any other reason…they need directions, to know the time of day or whatnot. Observations are a fun part of life, no point needed.
I have been feeling disconnected from a couple of friends because of their dysfunction and my judgments. I will leave it to the psyche and shadow people to figure out if I am a walking contradiction or just no longer numb to the abusers that society surrounds me with.
Two o’clock in the afternoon, eating lunch outside and reading a book: rice and vegetables and keeping company with Dance, Dance, Dance by Murakami and enjoying both a lot. Pittsburgh weather has always been akin to late night TV to me, predictable but not enjoyable. The sun’s heat moves from bright and warming to cloud-covered skies with cold breezes all within the same sixty seconds. Sun glare to diffused vision all on the same page, odd reading experience. The wind is fragrant with late spring flowers at the end of their budding season. Three bees buzz by my left knee, they leave me alone, good. Tiny white flowers or leaves, not sure which, dance through the air and land in my lunch and on the page I’m reading. Sort of fun to watch, sort of.
I have been feeling disconnected from a couple of friends because of their dysfunction and my judgments. I will leave it to the psyche and shadow people to figure out if I am a walking contradiction or just no longer numb to the abusers that society surrounds me with.
Two o’clock in the afternoon, eating lunch outside and reading a book: rice and vegetables and keeping company with Dance, Dance, Dance by Murakami and enjoying both a lot. Pittsburgh weather has always been akin to late night TV to me, predictable but not enjoyable. The sun’s heat moves from bright and warming to cloud-covered skies with cold breezes all within the same sixty seconds. Sun glare to diffused vision all on the same page, odd reading experience. The wind is fragrant with late spring flowers at the end of their budding season. Three bees buzz by my left knee, they leave me alone, good. Tiny white flowers or leaves, not sure which, dance through the air and land in my lunch and on the page I’m reading. Sort of fun to watch, sort of.
5.06.2008
Photo of the Week
Camera: Nikon D70s
Exposure: 2 sec (2)
Aperture: f/22
Focal Length: 34 mm
ISO Speed: 500
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
5.05.2008
Hybrid Car Shopping
Started hybrid car shopping last week, e-mailed two different dealerships for trade-in and pricing information expecting to get bombarded with phone calls and e-mails. Sent the e-mails out this past Friday morning check my e-mail first thing today, nothing.
Not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing that the dealership are so busy? I am glad for the environment and that people are making economical and ethical purchase and worrier for my bank account. Capitalism conjoined with demand brings out the devil in “most” (not all) corporations.
Not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing that the dealership are so busy? I am glad for the environment and that people are making economical and ethical purchase and worrier for my bank account. Capitalism conjoined with demand brings out the devil in “most” (not all) corporations.
5.01.2008
Active Citizen
How can I affect change in the world without being a pain in the ass to those around me?
- Give without expectations.
- Work with a purpose.
- Be the change you want to see in the world and in turn that will create the change in the world that you want to see.
- Living your faiths well is far more important than evangelizing your faith in others.
Those are all mantras that I have tried to live my life by. I have felt that they would affect the most amount of positive change in the world with the least amount of negativity projecting onto others. I no longer consider that those ideologies work.
New ideologies needed.
I have been stuck in a quagmire lately, surrounded by people who just do not care about themselves, their health, their environment or the person standing next to them (society). For the most part all of these people are nice people. They pay their taxes, support their churches, support their favorite sport teams, all the while quietly killing themselves with the lifestyle they choose to lead. They are completely oblivious to the damage that they are infecting on themselves, society and the environment in which they live in. Forgive me for the harshness of what I am going to say next: - nevertheless they all seem to be numb, without hope or emotion to care about anybody but themselves.
This condition of quiet surrender to selfishness is killing the planet.
The state of healthcare is out of control simply because 80% of people who have healthcare insurance do not care about improving their health. This is the greatest abuse of the system, causing the largest amount of damage to the overall effectiveness of the medical industry and rising insurance costs. The environment is on the decline simply because people choose not to change their spending habits. We, as Americans, place 40% of toxins and pollution into the atmosphere and water. We also support slavery with our consumerism-mentality. The amount of oil, coal and natural recourses we waste is an uncountable number.
Last week I wrote a post titled: “Citizens’ Responsibility Towards the Future of Healthcare” I e-mailed a couple of my favorite bloggers asking for feedback. The following paragraph is a strong counterpoint to my argument that is well worth reading. Katherine (a.k.a.) Dating God responded:
“What ails people these days is not simply their fault. Refined-carbs pumped into the food supply, tobacco portrayed for years as glamorous and calming for the nerves, fast food made so quick and easy and cheap that only the wealthy can afford to not eat there. I’ll stop now. but seriously, it isn’t as simple as saying: these folks just refuse to take care of themselves. if you surround a person with heroin, with people who do heroin, with ads saying Heroin Is Good For You!, decorate it in pretty, sultry packaging, have doctors recommend it, offer it cheaply and easily, if you do all this, is it still simply an individual’s fault if they use? isn't it then a community problem?”
Again - these people whom I am complaining about are nice people and some of them are my friends and family. (I am in no way innocent of these sins myself). These are the people that give to charity when asked. These are the people that help out the neighborhood in times of need.
They still smoke, eat foods that they know will create disease in them, and cannot even think about making a positive environmental choice. We have forsaken logic and reason for un-attainable dreams of wealth and power (entitlement factor). We as a society are far too disconnected to feel-believe-understand what is happening on the very soil we stand upon. This brings me back to my first sentence.
How can I affect change in the world without being a pain in the ass to those around me?
I am tired of the all the polite head-nods I get when explaining the state of our nation to others. I want change. The reason I care is because (with anger in my heart) I no longer want to pay for the sins of others. I want my daughter to inherit a better world than the one she was born into. I want her to know I tried. Some day she’ll be all grown up and she’ll rightfully want to know what I did to leave her a better earth than the one I brought her into.
I have an internal call to become an activist of sorts. However I am not sure where to direct my efforts. Health, environment and education all seem to be where my passions lie.
An active citizen is what I want to trigger in people. If citizens can change their actions, then laws, corporations and governments will change to fit the people’s needs accordingly. It’s not too late to cultivate the emotions of caring.
Learning to be comfortable with contradictions is a path to enlightenment.
In search of active citizens to fight the quiet surrender to numbness in society wanted.
- Give without expectations.
- Work with a purpose.
- Be the change you want to see in the world and in turn that will create the change in the world that you want to see.
- Living your faiths well is far more important than evangelizing your faith in others.
Those are all mantras that I have tried to live my life by. I have felt that they would affect the most amount of positive change in the world with the least amount of negativity projecting onto others. I no longer consider that those ideologies work.
New ideologies needed.
I have been stuck in a quagmire lately, surrounded by people who just do not care about themselves, their health, their environment or the person standing next to them (society). For the most part all of these people are nice people. They pay their taxes, support their churches, support their favorite sport teams, all the while quietly killing themselves with the lifestyle they choose to lead. They are completely oblivious to the damage that they are infecting on themselves, society and the environment in which they live in. Forgive me for the harshness of what I am going to say next: - nevertheless they all seem to be numb, without hope or emotion to care about anybody but themselves.
This condition of quiet surrender to selfishness is killing the planet.
The state of healthcare is out of control simply because 80% of people who have healthcare insurance do not care about improving their health. This is the greatest abuse of the system, causing the largest amount of damage to the overall effectiveness of the medical industry and rising insurance costs. The environment is on the decline simply because people choose not to change their spending habits. We, as Americans, place 40% of toxins and pollution into the atmosphere and water. We also support slavery with our consumerism-mentality. The amount of oil, coal and natural recourses we waste is an uncountable number.
Last week I wrote a post titled: “Citizens’ Responsibility Towards the Future of Healthcare” I e-mailed a couple of my favorite bloggers asking for feedback. The following paragraph is a strong counterpoint to my argument that is well worth reading. Katherine (a.k.a.) Dating God responded:
“What ails people these days is not simply their fault. Refined-carbs pumped into the food supply, tobacco portrayed for years as glamorous and calming for the nerves, fast food made so quick and easy and cheap that only the wealthy can afford to not eat there. I’ll stop now. but seriously, it isn’t as simple as saying: these folks just refuse to take care of themselves. if you surround a person with heroin, with people who do heroin, with ads saying Heroin Is Good For You!, decorate it in pretty, sultry packaging, have doctors recommend it, offer it cheaply and easily, if you do all this, is it still simply an individual’s fault if they use? isn't it then a community problem?”
Again - these people whom I am complaining about are nice people and some of them are my friends and family. (I am in no way innocent of these sins myself). These are the people that give to charity when asked. These are the people that help out the neighborhood in times of need.
They still smoke, eat foods that they know will create disease in them, and cannot even think about making a positive environmental choice. We have forsaken logic and reason for un-attainable dreams of wealth and power (entitlement factor). We as a society are far too disconnected to feel-believe-understand what is happening on the very soil we stand upon. This brings me back to my first sentence.
How can I affect change in the world without being a pain in the ass to those around me?
I am tired of the all the polite head-nods I get when explaining the state of our nation to others. I want change. The reason I care is because (with anger in my heart) I no longer want to pay for the sins of others. I want my daughter to inherit a better world than the one she was born into. I want her to know I tried. Some day she’ll be all grown up and she’ll rightfully want to know what I did to leave her a better earth than the one I brought her into.
I have an internal call to become an activist of sorts. However I am not sure where to direct my efforts. Health, environment and education all seem to be where my passions lie.
An active citizen is what I want to trigger in people. If citizens can change their actions, then laws, corporations and governments will change to fit the people’s needs accordingly. It’s not too late to cultivate the emotions of caring.
Learning to be comfortable with contradictions is a path to enlightenment.
In search of active citizens to fight the quiet surrender to numbness in society wanted.
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