Body Science

I just think that this is really interesting. It's a brief set of fun facts about the body, some of which are obvious and some of which are unusual.

I especially like this detail:

Though it makes up only 2 percent of our total body weight, the brain demands 20 percent of the body's oxygen and calories.

Next time I'm extra hungry, I'm just going to tell myself that another helping will simply be food for thought. ;)

Review: The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt

After thinking about books so much this weekend, I've decided to do a short review of the one I've just finished, The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. I'm a fan of his previous work, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and, coincidentally, I've recently been reading a lot of fiction set in the beautiful city of Venice. When I saw this creative non-fiction offering, I was excited to read this author's take on the town and its obscure local customs and inhabitants.

Having been to Venice briefly myself, I already had a handle on the main attractions and locations, but I still learned a lot from Berendt's detailed descriptions and his insider insights. He depicts the everyday lives of the locals in great detail, describing the less traveled canals and tourist-free, working class neighborhoods as well as the tony palazzos inhabited by rich foreigners and the crumbling remnants of the Italian nobility.

The people in this book are indeed larger than life characters, but none of them are fictional. Berendt gives the reader a peek into the lives of the obscenely wealthy upper class while simultaneously delving into the lives of the day laborers working on and affected by the destruction and reconstruction of the city's grand opera house, the Fenice. The hunt for the cause of the fire is a major linchpin in the story, tying the characters together and allowing the author to rotate in and out of varied vignettes by providing a solid anchor for the storyline arch. Details and facts are concisely spelled out, but the reality of the events is apparent in the loose ends that remain stubbornly, mysteriously untidy to the end.

One detail that the author failed to mention in this meticulous, fact-driven tome is the English translation of the name of the opera house. "Fenice' means 'phoenix', and, as previously mentioned,  the book details the rise of the Fenice from the ashes of the suspicious fire that felled it shortly before Berendt's arrival in Venice. I can't believe he would ignore such an obvious (maybe too obvious?) translation, especially when he does mention the first fire that felled the original theater in the late 18th century, causing the Venetians to rename what had been the San Benedetto Theater. Perhaps this is an innocent oversight; something that would be so obvious to a person fluent in Italian that it might not be deemed worth spelling out in English print.

My favorite part of this book is the lengthy detour into the life and death of the Ezra Pound. Berendt goes on at length about the poet and his mistress, spinning the stranger-than-fiction tale in such an interesting manner that the reader forgets he did not know the man personally. Did you know that for a time during World War II, Pound lived in a remote mountain cabin with both his estranged wife and his longtime mistress? Imagine the dinner table conversations in that tense environment! I never knew how captivating Pound's personal life was, and although the long description in the middle of the book necessitates an abrupt stoppage of the rest of the tale, once the main chunk of Pound's life in Venice is described, the threads of the story of his heirs and affairs is skillfully woven into the rest of the more modern story.

In conclusion, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading travel stories, histories, creative non-fiction, or even historical fiction. The characters are all well-rounded to the point that it is often difficult to distinguish the people that the author encountered in real life from the ones he has only heard about from second-hand reports. The story does lag at times, but never for long. Like all good travel writing, it sparked my interest in the places described within, and it certainly made me want to revisit Venice as soon as possible!

Book Sale, Part Two

This afternoon I joined throngs of like-minded bibliophiles in the basement of the Children's Library and let me tell you, I came away with some priceless finds.While I'm tempted to list the titles of each of the 39 books I lugged home, I think that would be more than a little over the top. Also, I don't know if my second-hand picks are actually worth recommending yet, so I'll save the reviews until later and just mention two of my best finds.
  
~I got a mint 1939 one-volume encyclopedia entitled 'FACTS!' It's bound with gorgeous burgundy faux-leather, and although the binding is quite frail and starting to crumble, the pages are in great shape. I love the way that words and phrases fall in and out of use over the years and how the meanings of common words constantly evolve through use and cultural application. (I know...I'm a nerd!)
The introduction to FACTS! described different uses for the definitions it contains; it declared that doctors would be interested only  in certain words related to their field, that historians would be inclined to refer to the brief summaries of battles and world events, and that scientists could spend hours studying the proper taxonomies of the modern world. Then, in my favorite part, FACTS!  proposed that the 'regular man on the street would be interested in knowing such things as...what a mugwump is...' etc etc How cute!

~My second prize is part of the series The Story of Civilization by Will Durant: When I walked into the book sale, something immediately called to me amid the tangle of sweaty legs and jumbled boxes filled with old, marked, unloved library cast-offs. Beneath a crowded and sagging folding table, a simple and unassuming surprise somehow caught my attention. It was a small, neat box containing the first four books in what I later found out is an eleven book series (!!). I was initially attracted to the clean, crisp burgundy bindings (that conveniently match the cover of FACTS!), but as I started to page through Volume One Our Oriental Heritage, I was delighted to discover the elegant writing style and the wealth of information it contained. I also grabbed The Life of Greece (The Story of Civilization, Vol. 2), Caesar and Christ (The Story of Civilization Vol. 3), and  The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization Vol. 4).These books are all huge, in depth colorful histories, and if I had known then that I was missing out on seven more jam-packed classics, I probably would have searched petulantly for the rest of the set instead of thanking my lucky nerd stars that I could get my paws on as many volumes as I did. Here's an excerpt from The Renaissance in which the author discusses Botticelli:

"Doubtless like all of us he was many men, turned on one or another of his selves as occasion required, and kept his real self a frightened secret from the world."

Ahh! Can you stand it?! Who expects that kind of introspective poetry in an historical compendium? How about this discussion of trade and religion, also from The Renaissance:

"Venetian merchants invaded every market from Jerusalem to Antwerp; they traded impartially with Christians and Mohammedans, and papal excommunications fell upon them with all the force of dew upon the earth."

Wow. And those quotes are only two random selections from my very quick perusal of a single volume. What an admirable talent, and quite a prolific one as well!

I did some brief research on the author, and found that Will Durant and his wife Ariel were profoundly connected, working together on most of The Story of Civilization as well as sharing a great romance. Apparently, in 1981 Will became sick at age ninety-six. When he was hospitalized (and thus separated from his wife), she stopped eating and died shortly afterward. Although their family tried to conceal this fact from Will because of his poor health, he heard about it on television (how horrible!) and died two weeks later. Truth is stranger than fiction, as usual!

 I am so glad I found these books and I can't wait to delve into them more. Once again, my local library has set me up with countless hours of enjoyment, and I highly encourage you to make time to visit your closest public library, ASAP!

Book Sale!

I am an avowed, card-carrying Book Nerd from waaaay back. I love to read, and my imagination can light up at the turn of a phrase in ways that I remember for years to come. When I was a little kid, my favorite author was Dianna Wynne Jones and I was obsessed with the super-awesome ideas and images in her book A Tale of Time City. The juxtaposition of a sad-faced lonely child from rough and tumble war-torn 1930s into the futuristic, crumbling academia of Time City was (and still is) so entertaining and engaging me. I can still picture most of the scenes in vivid detail - the weightless, endless trudge up the lopsided staircase to Vivian and Jonathan's classroom, the silver-body-stockings of the Mind Wars, and the tricks involved while trying to avoid Elio (a particularly astute android).

I would rotate all of the available Diana Wynne Jones novels in and out of the library every week so the librarian wouldn't fine me for keeping one checked out too long. I must have read each of her novels hundreds of times and when they came out with handy multi-volume sets like The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1: Charmed Life / The Lives of Christopher Chant and The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 2: The Magicians of Caprona / Witch Week, I was in heaven. I read and reread these gems, along with my other favorites, in an effort to keep myself entertained through longs summers just like this one. Why do I mention this now? Because my local library, site of my first meeting with the minds of most of my favorite authors, is having a Book Sale this weekend and I'll be looking for some good deals tomorrow afternoon.

-Depressing Reflective Break-

I must admit, I am conflicted about the whole process of Used Book Sales. As a writer, I find it very strange that society sees nothing wrong with reselling works of literature over and over without compensating the author, but considers it a true crime to copy a song or album without paying for it again. Why is the music industry so entitled, while authors have no recourse against the resale and re-consumption of their works? Honestly, I think a part of it is because most authors are readers - they love to read and understand the value of a good, dog-eared secondhand book that can peek out of a jumbled box and capture someone's imagination all over again. Perhaps writers know that it takes a real investment of time to enjoy their work, whereas most songs only last three minutes and will therefore be 're-used' by the same user more often than a novel will. Still, this phenomenon has always perplexed me and, although I don't advocate authors becoming more litigious over this issue, I'd like to see literature valued more in our society. Thoughts?

- We Now Return to the Joy of Reading -

Anyway, I am excited to descend into the basement of the library and paw through hundreds of discarded gems. I can't wait to see what I'll come away with this time - my tastes are extremely varied and I grab anything that strikes my fancy, which leads to very interesting 'To-Read' piles. The best thing about the book sale is that it is totally random, unlike going into a big bookstore and specifically searching for authors or genres that interest you. Books are piled on tables, under tables, in boxes, against the walls, outside the door, and along the hallway. It's a fantastic, random free-for-all of knowledge and entertainment!

Past finds include a copy of the sci-fi classic Contact by Carl Sagan, the engaging and thought-provoking Bel Canto by Ann Prachett, and, of course, the beach read beauty of Nicole Richie's tome, The Truth About Diamonds: A Novel. Well, what's life without variety? :)

Finding Your Own Style

Working out your own writing style isn't easy and it isn't always natural. You might sit down to write a mad riff on some fierce break-dancing you saw over the weekend, and instead the wording comes out all wrong and makes your piece seem more fitting for a Jane Austen novel. Or, you're so angry about a particular issue (e.g. the oil spill in the Gulf, GRR) that you can't seem to get anything coherent down on paper without reverting to colorful curse words and creative ideas for vengeance. Converting ideas onto paper is one of the fundamental hardships of actually being a writer, and almost everyone struggles with both finding their own voice and using their creativity to properly express it to everyone else.

So, how do you regulate your awesome thoughts into a well-delivered piece of writing? Since I always struggle with this issue myself, I thought I'd try to pin down a few tips and starting points for other people who might be having trouble.


1. Just write
Get your thoughts and ideas down on paper or on the computer, no matter what. If it doesn't make sense yet, that's okay. There is this wonderful thing called editing that helps you to go back and revise a draft again and again until everything fits to your satisfaction. Have you ever heard that old annoying phrase 'Rome wasn't built in a day'? Well, Rome wouldn't have been built at all if people didn't get right down to it and start laying bricks on the ground.

This is the simplest tip and yet the hardest one for me to take. I'm constantly writing bits and pieces in my head without following through and committing them to paper. I'm trying to train myself out of that habit by always having a pen and paper in my purse and by telling myself that creative thinking does not a writer make. It doesn't matter how many great ideas you have if you never communicate them to other people in a concrete way.


2. Experiment
Just because you like to read historical fiction, that doesn't mean you'll like to write historical fiction. Or, in fact, be good at writing in that style. On the flip side, you don't have to love cooking in order to write about recipes or food. Interests don't always converge with strengths, so play around a little and see what you are actually good at versus what you'd like to be good at.

Stretch outside your comfort zone and see what happens. Maybe you'll discover you have a knack for something you've never tried before. Try researching techniques, styles, voices, even specific authors. Pick up a book that didn't catch your eye at first glance and read it cover to cover before starting a piece inspired by it. Start a fashion lookbook for your next novel and paste in pictures of clothes, houses and locations that fit in with the ideas in your head. It might take you in an entirely new direction, but that is not a bad thing!


3. Don't write
It might seem like I'm contradicting myself already, but bear with me. Combine tips 1 and 2 and see what you come up with. Perhaps your short story isn't working out because it would make a better graphic novel. Maybe your film script is too wordy because it was meant to be a book. Who knows where this can lead - maybe your idea for a marketing campaign will somehow turn into the next hot television show. Playing around with a lookbook could help you develop a more visual style and start your future career as a designer!

The key is to keep producing and creating, using your ideas to develop tangible results from your creative impulses. Personally, I always fall into the trap of letting go of my creativity instead of figuring out where I can make the most of it. It is extremely easy to let an idea flow through your brain without putting it into action - and incredibly freeing to allow yourself to embrace an idea and let it play out naturally, even if that means it doesn't fit within the bounds of your project and how you wanted it to go.


4. Practice
Someday, with practice, what you're actually good at and what you want to be good at can meet in the magical future built by hard work and dedication. And blah blah blah, and magic and unicorns and hope for the future. But really - it's the only way to improve and hone your talent.

"Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired." -Martha Graham

5. Edit and revise
Most things that fall out (or are forcibly pulled out, kicking and screaming) of your brain are not going to sound wonderful right away or even clearly express the ideas and stories that you are trying to convey.

For example, the previous sentence is a mess. If I didn't decide upon rereading that it would be a great example of exactly what I'm talking about here, I would have revised the hell out of it. I could have cleared up the meaning of the sentence by taking out the parenthesis, although that would lose the imagery. Perhaps I would have sat here for ten minutes trying to come up with a more concise, yet still descriptive, turn of phrase. At the very least, I could have split it into two sentences to make it easier to read.

A lot goes on 'behind the scenes' of any creative project, and learning how to critique your own work (and take critical reviews from others) can have an immediate and noticeable impact. With the advent of self-publishing social media such as Twitter and Facebook (and, uh, Blogspot), people have lost their critical eye because of the availability of instant circulation. Does it really matter anymore if you can spell, finish a thought, or argue a point intelligently in a world where the only thing standing between you and the world is a tiny 'Publish' button? Why yes, yes it does. Which brings me to my next point....

6. Stand out from the crowd, in your own way
If you are the seven hundredth person to come up with the same idea, does that make your idea less valid? No, but perhaps it is less interesting. In an era of (social and general) media overload, you're going to have to develop your own style and find a hook that will keep readers coming back to your website, your newspaper column, your TV show. Use these tips to help you figure out what works for you before you throw yourself into a project. It will save you a lot of time, energy and stress if you pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses as a part of finding your own style, instead of later on when you might have problems that could have been prevented.

7. Research
You can't write about something if you don't know about it. All considerations of creativity and imagination aside, you can't give details and properly incorporate important facts if you don't know them. For example, you can't describe the life of a pilot without having a vague outline of what a real pilot might actually do in a normal day. Whether or not that same pilot grows his own wings and learns to communicate with birds is a matter for your imagination, but you have to understand the basics first.
Here is the guilt factor! People do not really consider research to be 'real writing'. Seriously - taking a belly dancing class or spending the weekend in Vegas might be vitally important to the success of your current project, but what working stiff looking down the barrel of another 9-to-5 is going to believe that? It might sound like you are goofing off or wasting time, but you have to take yourself seriously and not feel pressured (by friends, family, OR yourself) to ignore or minimize this important step to success.

8. READ
I can't stress this enough. If you want to be a writer, you have to be a reader. If you don't regularly immerse yourself in the works of others, you will start to lose perspective and focus too intently on yourself.

Take notes on the books you read; what do you like? what do you hate? is there a particularly interesting turn-of-phrase that captures your attention and sparks an idea? Don't just let these thoughts go - use color-coded sticky notes to mark especially noteworthy passages, or come up with related topics to start your own inspiration projects. Make a Quotes notebook to help you remember authors and phrases that command your attention and flip through it when you're blocked.

Read, read, read! Devour the thoughts of others in order to better understand and communicate your own. And then quiet your brain, sit at your desk (or local cafe shop table), and pour out your own inspired prose!

An Introduction

This is my first post in my first public website and I'm having trouble figuring out where to start. First of all, a disclaimer: I've never used Blogger before. I'm at a disadvantage regarding customization etc., so please be patient with format and technicalities.

Let me offer a brief explanation of the name of this website. I once read an article in a scientific magazine about a new process that entailed stripping donor hearts down to their basic collagen structure and then completely rebuilding them with stem cells. This process really ignited my imagination and I pictured tiny, perfected, futuristic Dr. Frankenstein's monsters, all built from the ground up in a laboratory in the pursuit of science. It's trippy, to say the least, that this process has already begun in the real world, and I find it fascinating to think about the possibilities and consequences of these experiments.

So...how does this relate to my website? Well, I think when you strip away all of the anonymous protections of the internet and actually put yourself out there as a writer, you begin to bare your own unclothed heart. The very basics, the things that make each of us tick, the quirks and personality traits and deep-held beliefs, these are the basic building blocks of every person's heart, the pieces of ourselves that cannot be stripped away if anything at all is to remain. We build our interests and adventures, friendships and relationships up from this base (the collagen structures, if you will) and, through experience, become the person that we present to the world. Our unclothed hearts are the core of ourselves.

In other words, this website is going to be very random. It will be about things that are important to me, observations, questions, rants, travel stories, articles, and advice. Anything that comes from my unclothed heart. Originally, this was going to be a travel writing page, but since I am not traveling at the moment and tend to throw out random stuff no matter what the assigned topic is, I've expanded the scope of possibilities. So...it was nice to meet you, and I look forward to seeing where this goes...