For December
by Cynthia E. Jones
December, 2005
A month of celebrating. A time for gift giving. You can always find a literary gift for giving. Here are a few selections I have chosen. You can also try doing a search using keywords, author or title to find that perfect gift for the reader and writer on your list.
Favorites & Bestsellers
John Paul the Great (Hardcover)
by Peggy Noonan
The author brings her sharp observations, acute sensibility, warmth, and wit to the life of the pope and shows the personal effect his journey had upon her and millions of others. Written with heart and depth, this is at once a moving elegy and a brilliant celebration of a man whose life taught others how to live.
-BAMM
The Lighthouse (Hardcover)
by P. D. James
Combe Island off the Cornish coast has a bloodstained history of piracy and cruelty but now, privately owned, it offers respite to over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority who require privacy and guaranteed security. But the peace of Combe is violated when one of the distinguished visitors is bizarrely murdered.
Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called in to solve the mystery quickly and discreetly, but at a difficult time for him and his depleted team. Dalgliesh is uncertain about his future with Emma Lavenham, the woman he loves; Detective Inspector Kate Miskin has her own emotional problems; and the ambitious Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith is worried about working under Kate. Hardly has the team begun to unravel the complicated motives of the suspects than there is a second brutal killing, and the whole investigation is jeopardized when Dalgliesh is faced with a danger more insidious and as potentially fatal as murder.
This eagerly awaited successor to the international bestseller The Murder Room displays all the qualities that lovers of P. D. James's novels the world over have come to expect: sensitive characterization, an exciting and superbly structured plot and vivid evocation of place. -BAMM
Harry Potter Box Set I-VI Collection (Hardcover)
by J.K. Rowling; Mary GranPre
For the Harry Potter fans on your list. This collection features Harry Potter's first six years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry including The New York Times bestsellers The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, and The Half-Blood Prince. -BAMM
Other Gift Ideas
If you need a little help in the kitchen coming up with new and easy to prepare dishes, or know of someone who does,
How about a new
You can give Books for FREE!
I have several suggestions I could recommend for you to give now and all year to help better the world. My number one choice is relevant to LitKorner and I do hope you find time to contribute for this holiday season and even then after.
Access to books is essential to reading development. However, 61 percent of low-income families have no books for the children in their homes. Over 80 percent of childcare centers serving low-income children lack age-appropriate books. Now you can help each day with a free click!
Visit The Literacy Site at
There is no cost to you! Funding for the books is paid by site sponsors and goes to First Book, an award-winning nonprofit that uses all funding generated by The Literacy Site to provide free books to children from low-income families -- books that they can take home and keep.
The Literacy Site is new, and its success depends on the number of people who visit the site and click every day!
Please click at The Literacy Site once a day and pass this information to friends and family. Together, we can give more books to children in need and help spark a life-long love of reading.
The Literacy Site
Box Tops Education
Build A School
Whatever you are doing for the holidays, make it a
happy and wonderful time. Remember your old books, magazines and even
newspapers would be appreciated by someone in the hospital, nursing home
or homeless shelter. Think about donating your literary hand-me-downs to
schools and libraries.
May the magic of the season be with you and yours.
Labels: article, litkorner2005
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Literacy For All!
Authored by Cynthia E. Jones
Literacy for every Child, and adult, for boys and girls, for men and women, for those in school and out of school, for all communities, rich, poor, rural and urban, for all countries, for all the world and eliminate despair.
Chances are, if you are reading this, you personally are not dealing with literacy or illiteracy issues. There is a possibility however, that you know someone who is. Maybe you are like me and struggle with literacy, making it a daily practice to improve your vocabulary and writing skills. You may be a Parent or Grand-Parent of a Child learning to read or having difficulty with reading and comprehension.
'Early language and educational experiences for children have been found to be particularly critical to adult literacy levels. Early education activities such as learning nursery rhymes and stories, watching Sesame Street, playing word and number games, being read to at an early age, all positively relate to a students' ability to read. Children who learn to read early typically are better students and have higher reading levels. If our nation's schools are going to have an impact on literacy rates, then clearly all children must be given every possible opportunity to learn to read. Policy makers, teachers and parents alike need to work cooperatively with schools in order to achieve this goal.'
Found at
With the tools and information to help build literacy in children.
These examples are challenging for anyone who faces them.
Must one be illiterate before literacy issues are considered severe?
Literacy and the lack of, surrounds us all. It is not a matter of genius or scholar, nor simply the eloquence of one's penmanship. It is however a matter of necessity. Even so, we often times shrug off the notion when our schools are denied funding for books and supplies. We do not take time to research our local libraries to understand how they are funded and how we can help assure that they remain open for our community.
How Libraries are Funded
The Campaign to Save America's Libraries
Reach Out and Read
Worldly View of Literacy
In developing countries, children are deprived of books and education as frequently as medicine and food. These Children are far too sick and hungry to even think about learning. However, with continual support to organizations that are changing these statistics, wrongs can be corrected. With proper instruction and education, poverty, disease, and the neglect of human rights may all be reversed. Literacy may seem to be a minimal resolve to such huge issues. However, literacy does seem to hold a bright beginning to creating change and the lack of literacy may after all be the rooting factor to many of these problems.
'For millions of children across the world, access to a quality education is a luxury beyond their reach. Every child should be able to benefit from education, but around 113 million children are denied this fundamental right. The majority is female.' UNICEF
'HIV/AIDS is decimating education systems across the developing world. Children, and girls in particular are staying away from school to look after sick relatives, the number of children under 15 orphaned by AIDS stands at 10.4 million globally, and in Sub Saharan Africa alone close to 1 million children have lost a teacher to HIV/AIDS.' UNICEF
Poverty is not the only thief of literacy. Cultures and beliefs are also common factors. In some societies, it is thought to be needless for a little girl to go to school or to learn to read.
"… the best way to fight this is to educate the young girls so that they KNOW that they are not being treated right. Many women just feel that that is the way things are, and that they cannot change." Mareka, 15, from Australia
"Change must take place through evolution, through educating the young people of today. We can only hope that the adults of tomorrow will make the right choice." Girl, 16, from the UK
Labels: article, literacy, litkorner2005
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The Historian
by Cynthia E. Jones
October, 2005
In the distinctive styles of The Vampire Chronicles, The Davinci Code,
Angels and Demons, comes...The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. A novel sure to please those that enjoy the tales of Dracula in the genre of thrillers, mysteries, and historical fictions. This hard cover is filled with 656 pages that will keep you in
suspense with rich vampire lore.
The information for this article was found at Barnes&Noble and Amazon.com where you can find The Historian.
FROM THE EDITORS at Barnes&Noble Review.
For centuries, the story of Dracula has captured the imagination of readers and storytellers alike. Kostova's breathtaking first novel, ten years in the writing, is an accomplished retelling of this ancient tale. "The story that follows is one I never intended to commit to paper... As an historian, I have learned that, in fact, not everyone who reaches back into history can survive it." With these words, a nameless narrator unfolds a story that began 30 years earlier.
Late one night in 1972, as a 16-year-old girl, she discovers a mysterious book and a sheaf of letters in her father's library -- a discovery that will have dreadful and far-reaching consequences, and will send her on a journey of mind-boggling danger. While seeking clues to the secrets of her father's past and her mother's puzzling disappearance, she follows a trail from London to Istanbul to Budapest and beyond, and learns that the letters in her possession provide a link to one of the world's darkest and most intoxicating figures. Generation after generation, the legend of Dracula has enticed and eluded both historians and opportunists alike. Now a young girl undertakes the same search that ended in the death and defilement of so many others -- in an attempt to save her father from an unspeakable fate. (Fall 2005 Selection)
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of - a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history." "The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known - and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself - to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive." "What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed - and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe." Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions - and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad's ancient powers - one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil.
Library Journal
Did Bram Stoker base his character Count Dracula on the historical Vlad Dracul, the cruel 15th-century prince of Wallachia? Some believe this despite scanty evidence, but in Kostova's first novel there is no doubt. In the early 20th century, Paul, a young graduate student, learns from his advisor, Professor Rossi, that Prince Dracula is still alive as one of the undead. When the professor disappears one terrifying night, Paul goes in search of his mentor, whom he knows to be in Dracula's clutches. His search takes him to secret archives and libraries of ancient monasteries throughout Eastern Europe; he is joined by his daughter, his wife, and friends, all historians and scholars themselves. (There's even an evil, undead librarian!) The writing is excellent, and the pace is brisk, although it sags a bit in the middle. There is plenty of suspense so that readers will want to find out what happens next. Ten years in the writing, this debut is recommended for readers who enjoy arcane literary puzzles la Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Ian Caldwell's The Rule of Four. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/05.]-Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Columbia, MD Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Part One
~
How these papers have been placed in sequence will be made manifest in the reading of them. All needless matters have been eliminated, so that a history almost at variance with the possibilities of later-day belief may stand forth as simple fact. There is throughout no statement of past things wherein memory may err, for all the records chosen are exactly contemporary, given from the stand-points and within the range of knowledge of those who made them.
- Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897
Excerpt from The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Undead Chant
Copyrighted 10.31.04 Cynthia E. Jones
Now that my true self has come alive
the day is not what I longer need.
My chants can be heard for the night;
it is my survival for which I feed.
Down the road, the bells they chime.
A sound of muse for death and dine
calling to the halls and tombs.
A resting place, though not for mine.
Dancing on the edge, a skipping wake;
I walk the earth steady and firm.
For death has found and tries to take...
what is not his. Out of reach I squirm.
Dripping wet colored with blood,
my thirst is not denied;
emotions
flood, the dark is warm,
cradling me as if I died.
Labels: article, litkorner2005
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Tears For Water
by Cynthia E. Jones
September, 2005
The long-awaited songbook of poems and lyrics, penned by one of the most acclaimed music artists of her time.
She has been reported stating that her musical influences are Chopin, Marvin Gaye, Mary J. Blige, Miles Davis, The Notorious B.I.G., Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield and Beethoven. Perhaps another influence and factor of her unique musical flavor is that of her diverse and bi-racial upbringing.
Native of New York, Alicia Keys was born January 25, 1981 and first began expressing her love for music at the age of 4. It was at the age of 7 that she began serious musical instruction. There were struggles and it was stressful. It was expensive and her single Mother had little money but Alicia was able to study a Suzuki method of classical piano and told by her Mother "You can quit anything else but you can never give up on your piano lessons."
Her pre-teen years were filled with her performing music. She continued to perform through her high-school years while attending Manhattan's Professional Performing Arts High School where she was an A student AND graduated as Valedictorian at the age of 16.
When reading about Alicia Keys, one may get the impression that it was not always easy for her but she doesn't blame what could have been a difficult obstacle course. She makes it sound easy and instead of finding excuses, she embraced those qualities to her advantage. In light of that, she now gives that kind of hope back to others in her community. Through her demeanor and music it is impossible to not see the light that she has to share with all of us.
A brilliant pianist, her music is soul touching. At the root of the melodies that captivate the listener, are the words. It is the words, her own words, that has introduced her to the literary world, not only as a musician and song writer but as a Poet.
~
| Excerpt from - Tears for Water : Songbook of Poems and Lyrics "I Call this Tears for Water because in looking through all these words I have come to understand that everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, and of question. Every single word has come from some form of my tears. I use them as water to nourish me, quenching the thirst for understanding myself, and because of them I am able to survive, I am able to stay alive, I am able to breathe. So I don't mind drinking my tears for water." ~Alicia Keys Buy 'Tears for Water: Songbook of poems and lyrics by Alicia Keys at Barnes&Noble.com |
~
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The long-awaited songbook of poems and lyrics, penned by one of the most acclaimed music artists of her time, Alicia Keys, is finally here for her throngs of fans. When she burst onto the scene, Alicia's years of intensive classical piano study and musical schooling paid off with over 12 million copies of her two albums sold, a huge international fan base, and an arena tour with female musical contemporaries, Beyonce and Missy Elliot. Her talent has been rewarded with nine Grammy Awards (including Best New Artist), four American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, a Billboard Award, and two Soul Train Awards.
Though Alicia has been very vocal through her career, there were always "delicate thoughts" that she never before imagined she'd share with anyone else-until now. Alicia Keys opens the journals and notebooks that she has kept throughout her life, documenting her growth as a person, a woman, and an artist, and reveals her heart to her fans in return for all the love they have shown to her and her music.
- Facts for this article were found in the following links.
Labels: article, litkorner2005
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An August Son
by Cynthia E. Jones
August, 2005
Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945)
Born August 27th and being second to the oldest, Theodore was one of 13 siblings. Only two, including Theodore seemed to rise above their family's poverty. He had one brother that became a song writer. Theodore started very early to support himself and with a teacher's help, he attended Indiana University where he only stayed one year. He worked as a journalist for the Chicago Globe and continued working in journalism until he finished his first novel 'Sister Carrie', published in 1900 and said to have changed the direction of American literature.
Soon after the publication of his first book, he did suffer a mental breakdown and was cared for by his brother. Yes, it was the sibling that shared his love for words, the song writer. Theodore then became a magazine editor and resigned in 1910 due to a scandal that involved an employee's daughter. He went back to writing novels and authored several more including
Jennie Gerhardt,
The Financier, and
The Titan.
It would seem that the single piece of his works to draw the most success would be labeled 'An American Tragedy'. After it's publication he began to advocate reform. A trip to the Soviet Union led to another book, 'Dreiser Looks at Russia' with politics remaining his vocal point until his death.
- Dreiser Links
Labels: article, litkorner2005
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Painted with Patriotism
by Cynthia E. Jones
July, 2005
A person gets from a symbol the meaning he puts into it. ~The United States Supreme Court
My suggested reads are inspired with America celebrating her independence. As a proud American and a proud Military spouse, it is not a difficult task for me to be moved by such. While we may be divided somewhat by issues, we all stand united at the core of what America is all about. What is America all about? I would say freedom comes to my mind first, but it is even more in-depth then a simple word. Perhaps diversity and with the ability to be who we are? That could even be argued by some. The idea to argue the point in the first place? Now we are getting close. We may not always agree with each other on our beliefs, our sexuality, religion, the way we bring up our children or our politics, but we most likely can agree that we have not known any other way to live. I would like to believe that we are trying as a nation to live by one rule and that is 'live and let live'.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation under God, indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
I love the flag of United States of America. I don't pray to it like a god or believe it holds magical powers, but it does hold something. It shares with the public a visual strength that trembling fingers sewn together expressing liberty, hope, courage and bravery. When I think of Betsy Ross and that first flag made, I can not help but be grateful for her display and giving unity. That is definitely what our flag serves and serves us well. Now, sadly there are those that want to burn old glory. Why they want to do this isn't exactly clear to me. Are they destroying our flag as a personal message of insult or are they burning it to prove they can? While I would never burn the flag I do not take offense at seeing it in flames. That sight only proves to me that nothing can destroy what this country is all about, nor flames may touch her core.
Popular school song, as recalled and submitted by Anne Dreisbach, an American patriot.
Said Washington to Betsy Ross, "A flag our nation needs
To lead our valiant soldiers on to high and noble deeds
Now can you make one for us, to which she made reply,
"I am not certain if I can; At least I'll gladly try."
Chorus:
So she took some red for the blood they shed
Some white for purity,
Some stars so bright from the sky overhead
Some blue for loyalty,
And sewed them all together,
For loyal hearts and true,
And hand in hand as one we stand
For the red, the white and the blue.
Said Betsy Ross to Washington, "Your country's flag behold!"
And through his tear-dimmed eyes he saw the stars and stripes unfold.
Then to his breast he clasped it, and looked to heaven above.
"Oh may it ever stand," he cried, "For rights and truth and love."
- Patriotism at its BEST!
"One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. We hired a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules. I was very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse."
~Katharine Lee Bates
Listen to the melody and read the lyrics to America the Beautiful by Katherine Lee Bates.
Celebrate your freedoms, debate your differences, raise the flag in honor and don't forget to say a prayer for those still fighting for liberties for all.
Labels: article, litkorner2005
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Poetry Galore!
by Cynthia E. Jones
June, 2005
Thank you David Bancroft, Denny Lancaster and Bernard Howe for hosting us a word palace.
Poetry Galore has a brand new look with the promise to
bath us in words of waking dreams. I would invite anyone who appreciates literature, poetry, short stories, or inspiration in general, to visit and submit your writings. while you are there, give the staff
a high five in appreciation for their efforts to get all of this to us while
giving authors a place to share their works.
Your poem may very well be the one that is selected as Poem of the Month (POM). The winner each month receives a badge for their site. Their winning poem is listed with the poem's title and comments presented by the critics panel. The critics Panel are those that make the decision as to which poem will be featured. All you need to do is have your poem listed at Poetry Galore to have it considered for POM.
While poetry is a key word in the inscription, you will not be deprived of complete stories, as well. You can submit your stories too! Resources you say? Of course there are plenty of
resources for all visitors to collect valuable information that includes poetry and literary partnering sites with reciprocal arrangements, Online Education and Learning, Medical and Health Libraries, Public and college Libraries, and Special Libraries. I am confident you will find a vast selection of resources along with poetry and stories that you will want to visit again and again.
Before you go today, please take a moment to visit the CureNow Team. I did and
I look forward to becoming a CureNow Team member! Now I know I am participating in the efforts to find a cure for Cancer. You can too by going to CureNow!
Just another example of the fine aspects of Poetry Galore!
Revision: January 6, 2007
As an update since writing this article, I have been included as part of the staff at Poetry Galore and we invite everyone to share their words at Waking Dreams. Your writings may be selected for Showcase Poems. Be sure to try the Writing Fest where a theme is introduced monthly as a writing challenge and a winner is picked for Poetry and Short Story.
Labels: article, litkorner2005
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The Beat Goes On
by Cynthia E. Jones
May, 2005
A movement with innovative literary technique, challenging society or 'The Establishment'.
I can almost see and smell the smoke filled cafe with the small crowd that has gathered and seated themselves at the tiny tables centered with candles at dusk as the author takes the stage to spill his beaten soul to the weary who wait and listen with the sound of blues played with heart.
'Beat Poetry'...a movement beginning in the early 1950's with a phrase coined in the late 1940's. It was considered more of a slang term used in America after World War II. It means exhausted or beat down with a taste of jazz rustling in its bones.
It is a word that is used to describe carnies from the circus or carnival world and also used in
reference to drugs as meaning robbed or cheated. In 1945 Herbert Huncke introduced the word to William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac intending
the definition toward him self or against him self, and with this introduction the 'Beat Generation' was born.
The Window by Diane Di Prima
you are my bread
and the hairline noise
of my bones
you are almost
the sea
you are not stone
or molten sound
I think
you have no hands
this kind of bird flies backwards
and this love
breaks on a windowpane
where no light talks
this is not the time
for crossing tongues
(the sand here never shifts)
I think
tomorrow
turned you with his toe
and you will
shine
and shine
unspent and underground
This poem is written in the style of Beat and by one of the few prominent female writers of this form.
"The point of Beat is that you get beat down to a certain nakedness where you actually are able to see the world in a visionary way, which is the old classical understanding of what happens in the dark night of the soul." (quote from The Beat Page)
I am including a few of the writers considered part of the 'beat generation' along with a list of beat books, the top ten actually posted by The Beat Page.
- 'Beat Generation' with their works:
- Top Ten Beat Books (from The Beat Page):
- Beat Generation: Glory Days in Greenwich Village
Labels: article, litkorner2005
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Are You A Blogger?
by Cynthia E. Jones
April, 2005
An indispensable literary tool for publishing your writings to the web rather your work is personal or professional.
Blogdrive.com, just one of many blog sites, offers several key features with a free membership. Give your email, choose an account user name, password and if you are over 13 years of age you are ready to begin once you receive a confirmation email. You will need a title for your blog, a name to insert for the URL and decide what category best suits your subject matter. Later you can make changes to some of your settings in the blog configuration. Although, your sign in name and URL will not change,
you might want to give some thought as you make that URL to your blog.
Now that your account is created, you are just a few steps away from being among the bloggers of the world. There are several styles for you to choose from to use as your template, if you are not up for the challenge of writing the html yourself. There are quite a selection of fine layouts with a wide variety of colors and designs with any host. Most blog sites will host your blog for free with a banner likely added to your page. If you do not like having an advertisement you can always upgrade to the premium package for a small monthly fee or you can have the entire site uploaded via FTP to your own host.
If you find that one blog simply is not enough to cover all that you have to write about, you can create more then one blog with a single membership ID and even have multiple authors to one single blog. It really isn't a ridiculous notion at all. Either of these options would serve well if you were hosting a group event with more then one participant responsible for updating.
At blogdrive.com, the WYSIWYG Editing tool makes it easy to create a really great looking post, as it gives the "what you see is what you get" editing abilities so you do not have to be a web designing guru to have a blog with a professional feel. Also available in the built in options are tag board, comments, and permalink, which is very handy if you want to create a permanent link to the side within your navigation. You can even post your entry by email. Yes, if you have an email account, the ability to access that email account and the ability to send, then you can update your blog from anywhere. Mini Mediator also gives the ability for you to post while surfing the web without going to your blogger page.
All of that still does not conclude the free membership features. You also get a contact form for you visitors to easily fill in and send to you, an optional ping to weblogs.com, an email notification for your guests to add their email IF they wish to be notified when you update and an archive calendar to access all of your past posts by date.
The abilities I have mentioned are the ones I have found at blogdrive.com but generally speaking most blogging sites offer the same key features. I suggest that you have a look around. Pick one that suits your needs with the features that you know you will use most. Here are a few more blogging sites to get you started on your own blog.
- BLOGS
Have fun blogging!
Labels: article, litkorner2005
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March
by Cynthia E. Jones
March, 2005
'Daffodils'
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
-- William Wordsworth
Daffodils? Really? I'm not positive that Mr. Wordsworth was writing about the yellow drops of sunshine at all. In any case, I enjoy this piece for that very reason and I love the thought of Daffodils in March.
William Wordsworth mastered the idea of teasing, awakening, challenging and sometimes fooling the senses in believing what was being read was truly nature in subject. A beautiful example of what art is and what art should be. Something to cause controversy, something to cause a scene, something to read a second or third time and smile at what the author may have actually been referring too.
- Read more of William Wordsworth
Labels: article, litkorner2005
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February
by Cynthia E. Jones
February, 2005
Rich... with much more then the sweets we give.
February, the shortest month and definitely filled to its capacity. While
marking the death of a Saint that gave with his life for his love of Christianity,
America also marks the lives of brilliant
African-Americans that gave tremendously of themselves. At African-American Literature, you will find many wonderful reads and introductions including the first African-American writer as well as civil writers. Biography.com also contains a growing list with one of my favorite authors and poets of all time, Maya Angelou.
During this month, many are thinking of valentines to share with one another. The little romantic notes of love consisting of poetry, songs, flowers and sweets. The man responsible for all of this was actually considered a Saint for his abiding love for his God even when Christians were being executed for marriage and for their religion. All the while St. Valentine held strong to his undying love and did die a martyr but with never losing sight of his beliefs.
The Magic of Thinking Big
Before leaving
Ohio, our daughter had to double up on her school work to complete the grading period
for the transfer. Her teachers were impressed with her dedication to her goals. I have been impressed too. It was explained to her Dad and me that Mr. Sanchez was very emotional
when he announced to the class that he would be looking for a new copy
over winter break to replace this one. The one he was holding up for the
them all to see. The one used time and time again to illustrate a message
that could change any one of his students course of action. Torn, faded
and marked with many personal notes of teaching previous classes to never
settle for NO. He handed his copy of The Magic of Thinking Big to my
daughter Ashley. He told her "this copy is now yours" and reminded her to
hold onto all that she believes in, that she can accomplish anything. Although I was not there, I did get to meet this magnificent teacher that
is surely one of those that has changed my daughter's life. The book is a
powerful read and should be a high school requirement for all juniors and
seniors before graduating.
Life is Changed
My family and I were on the road, considered homeless I guess, on our way
to a new duty station. We briefly heard of the horrible tragedy that had
taken place over the holidays. Asia was finding ways to survive and cope
with what nature had dealt them. Our world had been geographically
changed. As the days went by, it really put things in perspective for us when we were
complaining about our long trip in a small camper with 2 adults, one really bored
teenager and 2 pets. However, we did have a place to go, we were aware of
our reasons. We truly had nothing to complain about indeed!. There was light at the end of our tunnel.
Now we can shed some light at the end of their tunnel and help Tsunami victims
with our donations to the American Red Cross.
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Mind, Body and Soul
by Cynthia E. Jones
January, 2005
a new beginning for the spirit...........
With a New Year comes resolutions for ways to improve on ourselves and our surroundings. We aim for a better healthier way of life all year and some how it feels more obtainable with a marked holiday, a new beginning. There are many self help books that often times present resources for us to discover things about ourselves and ways to improve, motivate or give the support we need to break away from a habit we have been trying to kick. Sometimes we just need an incentive or an inducement. There is plenty of inspiration waiting in words and here are a few that might give you that lift needed to move.
- Motivation
How about Feng Shui?[Chin. feng wind + shiu water.] Explained by Dictionary.com, is a system of spirit influences for good and evil believed by the Chinese to attend the natural features of landscape; also, a kind of geomancy dealing with these influences, used in determining sites for graves, houses, etc. A change in our surroundings may be a great idea, clearing clutter and prevent trapping of a positive energy flow. Here are a few Feng Shui titles that may assist you in finding your Chi, the circulation of life energy with a happy balance of negative and positive.
- Feng Shui
I wish you a most happy and peaceful new year.
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Personal Poetry
Whispers.. Darkness.. Purple Moon.. Military Woman.. Red, White, and Blue..
He
Lives.. She.. Undead Chant.. Time.. Life Storms.. How's
Mine?..
My
River.. Leading Light.. A Father's Love.. Our Moon.. When Autumn Fades.. And
I Weep..
My Love Letter.. Untold.. Perverse... Unclean.. My Sanctuary.. In The Spring..
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