Author: Mary Aalgaard

Quote of the Day: I don’t think any day is worth living without thinking about you’re going to eat next at all times. Nora Ephron, and I look out the window and I see the lights and the skyline and the people on the street rushing around looking for action, love, and the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookie, and my heart does a little dance. Here’s a dozen for you, Nora Ephron! Here we are at the first Wednesday of the month, once again. This is when many, many bloggers who are members of the Insecure Writers Support Group post about their insecurities and offer support and encouragement to one another. If you’d like to read more posts on this subject, or join, please visit their website, or the site of the founder Alex J. Cavanaugh.  I missed last month because my dad was having triple bypass surgery. Here is a picture of all his kids in the waiting room, hanging out with mom and being her support while we waited together. It’s rare that all six of us are in the same place at the same time. Dad’s recovering slowly. Your good vibes, thoughts, and prayers are appreciated. The IWSG is holding a contest for a short story anthology. We could submit any type of story as long as it was alternate history or parallel universe. This is not my usual style....

Question of the Month: Are you an introvert or an extrovert? The Question of the Month is a blog hop hosted by Michael D’Agostino, over at A Life Examined. Visit his site to read more answers to the question and/or participate. I look forward to the question every month and reading other bloggers’ answers. This one wasn’t as cut and dried for me. I feel I stand in both boxes in the Myers Briggs personality test. In fact, one time we did this exercise in a church group, and the leader actually taped out the boxes on the floor. By the end, I was singing “Don’t fence me in” in my head. I’m not a fan of standing in boxes, and I make it a point to “Play off the Page!” Anyway, in the three other categories, it was clear where I stood, but not that I/E square. When it comes to social settings, it really depends on the event and who is there. If there are too many strangers, to me, or I feel it’s not “my crowd,” I’m really shy about showing up. I get stressed out in large crowds, and I do like to decompress in some quiet space. On the other hand, I get really fired up teaching children. I have 14, or so, elementary and middle school kids in my theatre classes. I feel the creative...

Quote of the Day: Be a genius of you. Terrance Hayes, poet and MacArthur Grant Recipient. He is also a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. I attended this event because he is the poet hero of a young man named Jake Bankers, who said, “His poems will soon be in every English anthology.” I wanted to see who this poet/genius was who got an 18-year-old young man excited about poetry. Terrance Hayes is a poet and a musician and visual artist. He also has an easy sense of humor that appealed to the crowd at Central Lakes College this past Friday, October 23, 2015. The young people seemed to get most of his pop culture references and enjoyed his banter with the audience. After the reading, they were lined up down the hallway to buy his most recent collection of poetry, How to be Drawn, and have him sign their copy. I noticed that Jake had two copies in his hand. It is always a thrill to meet someone who’s work you admire. Hayes doesn’t want to be locked into a certain brand or style. He says that he likes his work to have twists and swerves. He strives to constantly be experimenting and evolving as an artist. The music artists that he most admires – Prince, Thelonious Monk, and Kendrick Lamar – all do that. They don’t sound just one...