After the awards, talk to Edison too

You might recognize these Loomi light from the mall. Have you seen Urbio wall garden on shark tank or 'The Chew'? What do these products have in common. They have used Kickstarter.

Don Steinberg has written The Kickstarter Handbook about the success stories. All success stories are not made the same. This becomes apparent in the Frantic Finish chapter with graphs showing the percentage of goal met as the deadline approaches. You have been approached with the tortoise telling you how far its come and how much of the way is left.




The author supplies most of the information of setting the goal, pledges and rewards (like cold water or baked good sale donations), through interviews and quotes from the successful kickstarters.

If you like ideas, their presentation or implementation, you will like this book.

10 things to know about kickstarting a book

Getting the baby to say Oui

French Twist by Catherine Crawford

A humorous book leaning more to the differences in the American and French birthing-mothering cultures (frowned upon baby showers). It pans out in the order of pregnancy - no-nos from ob-gyns, big list of shopping for the baby .

A mom on NPR  about an experiment on her kid, letting him play with ipad resulted in a natural decay of interest with time. Author Catherine Crawford allows them only on weekends. A rule is set. So kids already know the zones.

Author's way will give parents time and kids are actually on their best behaviour to spend time with adults. Sounds too good.

Article that made me want to look up writer

An article on simplicity of a product by the authors of  'Simple: Conquering the crisis of complexity'.

I have heard of an OXO product but not this one with its no need to pour out or in several times to measure the exact amount.

Target's Clearrx

Series of get over for babies

Reading the book made me feel like it was a mini pacifiers anonymous.

Fiction in storytelling

While the story is about sharing, it is kind of sad if the fish has to tear away its permanent scales to have friends. May be the story could start with the fish putting on the colourful scales somewhere, so it is clear that it wont harm the fish to give away its scales.

Rainbow nails dont look off.

Reading wishlist

Google books preview of Measurement

How to write about mathematics tweeted by Jen Luc Piquant who could easily be my favourite character in a novel.

Recently I had read about a book by a physicist.

Pyjama strings vs Book mark

Tug of war poetry - Me, myself and Irene?
Telegram poem - Buffalo war

As possible as yeast - first line of poem 'i am not done yet'. This poem compares with Emily D's work.

Can you imagine Luiclle's two headed woman? Will two headed shark give you a clue?

Confession. Conclude something in each stanza, let your last stanza be the collection of the above conclusions.

Sorrow song. Duty of a poet. Be the hundred voices.


Grange hall  in White America

Pomo Shasta Esalen
History as baby


Her endings
1. For the mute
'too many languages
for one mortal tongue'
2. If our granchild be a girl
'the feast of women,
the feeding and
being fed'


I knew of a couple of famous poems by Lucille Clifton but never felt pushed to explore her work further. Looking at this collection, I gave up even before trying by the enormity of the book. But after being lured into other collections, I have realised how an authors whole body of work speaks in a definite voice. With most poets, we need guides. Not with Lucille Clifton, atleast to enjoy it in first reading. Direct to reader poetry. 
The verse is so light (all simple worlds) that its hard to believe that one can write on weighty issues and still write on/from dreams, poetry for relatives and a letter and followups to Superman - not in the tone of 'Rescue me'. She taunts the forces be to topple her like those dolls that will never touch face with ground. 
Repetition used to good effect of gaining familiarty and belongingness.

A title begins with ellipsis leading to God.

I am about to attend a class on how o write something special for your family.
It must refer to On birth of bomani and salt.

Poetry exercise: As in the salt poem, can you think of a same thing that is different to all.

Conversions

If you have to make a decision between a recess can and pendant light and f it seems like a now or never decision, you can freeze. But what a relief it is, in those heaps of Lowe's ads lies music with a kit to convert recessed light to hanging pendant. 

Mailing in the returns to save some money, I had to guess how many stamps would go onto the envelope. I wouldnt have to if I had a postage scale. It requires

ring magnets. Did you see them maintain a distance.  

If you have your tinkering shorts on, here's a book with a persistence of vision clock, dart clock 

Animalcula young scientists guide has a section on 'The Role of creativity in Science' where the author asks the reader to draw a clown. Recently a friend asked me to draw a dog. He had some mini dog sculptures. but I had to do it without looking at inspiration. As I drew, I knew that the boy wasnt that of a dog but of sheep, but I couldnt draw it otherwise. The author says yes you have to draw to be a real scientist 

Paglum imiitates whats closest to it. A good character for children book. The piece by Seth Fried begins with a list of animals. I wondered why. Now I know. Its fiction.

Made to measure. Sue Allison

Helen keller answers the iron

Integrity

Power. We learn about Marie Curie's invention, but not all of the story.

Robert Hass points out that Adrienne Rich's poems go further than other poets.

internal gaps in Upper Broadway. I go to the next line too fast. By maintaining the gaps, there is a tension between what would have been hacked lines.

Diving into Adrienne's work

Her poetic modes

The spiders genius

'To spin and weave in the same action

from her own body, anywhere -

even from a broken web' - Adrienne Rich.

Nature - our hope stash.

My baby puts forward chewed chapathi into my mouth.

Party in progress

10 Little Hot dogs

When the book jacket read ten little hot dogs going to sleep.. I started wondering well thats not new.. Ten little monkeys on a bed start rolling out of the bed one by one reducing the count of the ones on the bed. And the answer is: You count up and then down. And each hot dog brings something to the party on the huge plush chair. To make the read more challenging, you can point the colour of things being added to the party. You can then point to similar colour objects in the room or spot the objects in the room. As the whole situation goes on in the same place, the illustration does not get too different from the previous page other than the addition of the hot dogs and the objects they like to play with.
If you like more variations on the animals going to sleep. There's seven Little bunnies by Julie Stiegemeyer.

Seven ways to sleep

Seven little bunnies. They all fall asleep in the end, the same way cozy, dozy, drowsy... but each gets there having tired themselves out with different things. The illustrations are colourful. As each bunny plays different game, the picture changes quite a bit with each bunny falling asleep. Since the book starts with seven bunnies, you can ask the child pointing to the bunnies already asleep, how many are still awake? The rhyme is not quick, that difficulty might make it better for an advanced reader, in which case you can use one bunny's story a day to put your little reader to sleep.

If you are interested in variations of animals going to sleep, there's 10 little hot dogs by John Himmelman.

Super marble

I saw a kid aged eight walk into a party with a book. I half expected it to be 'The Diary of a Wimpy Kid'. I asked him if he knew how to play the game of Marbles. He didnt. I explained what I knew of it. Later I found him reading the book. Asked him for a summary. He told of a competition between Arthur and Grandma. Arthur learnt the game from Grandma but she hasnt taught him all the tricks. Then he asked me to guess who wins. I said grandma and then recalled the title 'Arthur loses his marbles'. 

Why write

Why these famous authors write

You will like this book if you are new to writing or you are intrested in the specificity of
 the authors in this book.

Options

While choosing design options for a home, sections of friends houses say a gourmet kitchen, pendant lights in one house, their neighbour's backyard fan, a desk in the kitchen of a house started falling in mind as jigsaw puzzle pieces.
When I went to a relatives house with same builder, it felt like I had an answer sheet to the question paper.
The non rectangular sink is basic.

After project management, I can understand why changing options is expensive. It is to curtail frequent changes which can derail the projec schedule.

Musings

I like how Japanese and Chinese art with its simple lines can evoke emotions.

What were your favourite toys as kids? Now I like miniature stuff.

Today I heard the chanting of a mouring dove on a pole. The one on the next pole had the same things to say. The me bird in visual.

daily dozen something like Surya namaskara

Daisy wheel printer

Dakhma. Tower of silence.

Damp box - Wow, wipes can stay moist now, even in summer.

Damp dry - When dry clothes are being ironed in India, a splatter of drops through your fingers makes them enough damp dry.

Danaus

Dancing frog

From Kitchen chemistry, Dave Barry might be lost in the kitchen. My husband likes to help me in the kitchen while I am cooking, but I find it so much easier to chop/cook on auto pilot.

Things fall apart

A letter from the Obgyn. Tough times for obgyns. It is hard to imagine the coveted doctors in peril. Changing face of medicine in 2013. They had implemented EHR. 

That one word

Bibesy is one word, if I had to choose from 20 obsolete english words that should make a comeback. It brings mind to pipasa. An Indian word very close in meaning to it. Dictionary is a cousin of encyclopaedia.

I too was plunged into a Hindi class after I switched schools 2 months after the school year. Until then I was learning two letter words - memorizing them - na la = nal (tap). And then I am in a class where the whole book is full of Hindi words.

One of the poems in Hindi, was about naveenatha (novelty) - like the newness of the life in spring. The trees outside were all grey barks, thin and thick. When noises of that of a rat jumping woke me up, I didnt realise the call of the rain. The leaves new and green heard it, earlier than me.

In high school, we cried to remember the dates of lives of writers and now we search all about them.

How does a teacher feel introducing metaphors to a class. I was all ears for my first idiom (the car) broke down in Bushman lesson.

paryay vachan. Synonyms.

Make your own sentences.

Word from the dictionary: Mafra. into a tweet story

The bat wings firm on the ground - push up stance. Wake up said the librarian. You have work to do. Insects to chew. At the Mafra library.

Start thinking about court as a place to pay, you forget that it is also where judges go.

Why frogs need Magainin.

Write a Magalogue

Magatama, half of the whole. Yin or yang. Looks like a cashew. Regalia of Japan. The other two - sword and mirror. Mirror stood for wisdom. Narcissus should have become Solomon. Mirror test.

Adarsa - mirror - perfect in likeness of reflection. Ideal. Idol. To want to be like them.

Heard books

My friend is reading this book and told me of another

I took the easy route and watched it on pbs. String theory bringing all the dimensions in Eschers sketches to screen.

Another

Code to enter

From world literatures travel writing, I stopped at The lonely planet guide to my apartment.

Orientation:

As you enter, watch your step. Thats my show slipping out the door. Generating that tuft of wool is my daughter's favourite time pass. You have 3 degrees of freedom from here, actually four if you havent taken your first step in. To the left for the hungry, straight on for nature calls and the right for company.

What to bring:

If you like movies not available on Netflix bring your favourite DVDS and a DVD player.
Sambhar, if you love it.
Get your own ear buds. We might soon banish them.

When to Go:

Best time, middle of the weekend, if we are not at the library, center of the arts or any other time promised on the phone.

Local Customs:

Baby hurdles. We like to keep you on your toes. So look out for toys.

Health

Dust is retained for vintage. Allergics, Get your SARS cap on.

Society and Culture


Women travellers

Number of avaliable men: 0

Dangers and Annoyances

For the reasons understood to the maintenance team AC in one room aged faster than the rest of the apartment.

Volunteer organizations
Needed helpers for spring cleaning
Vacuum lifters.
Organizers after spring cleaning.


Things to see and do
Check out the ladysfinger, chilli , tomato and eggplants. Few of them are for aesthetic enhancement.
Gallery of found, gifted objects, decorations on the walls.
Rare books from the library sale.


Places to Eat
Indian, Indian with Italian ingredients

Night life
The leaking and hyper flush will be your constant company.

Sports and Outdoor activities:
Laundry, Gardening, sunbathing

Excursions
In few years, baby can give a guided tour of her room

Mule Rental
If you are an infant or a toddler, you can get a rocker or a stroller ride. 

Wildlife
Chatty hummingbirds, wild cats that have been self potty trained to poop in our backyard.

real Stories from those who make them up

Kurt Andersen in Going south brings up Depth charge wile talking of a drink. Drinks and Car Bomb. The author admits that he is not able to recall all the details. with that, he lends credibility to an age old memory even though its a big no to say that you dont remember anything to your reader. But you can wake up and find yourself in  The Mountain mine and not recall where you are. All those vacation places, where you wonder what would it be like to stay there, assuming that place is not open to the ravages of modernity. I have thought of a life in Nainital. 

Among Saudi sands, Keija Parssinen finds the yard and house of her childhood smaller than she remembered. After college, when I went to my grandparents place, the long walk that the fields seemed to be at, were all very close. No wonder the old game goes on Are we there yet and its few more steps away. I have seen an aerial view of Dubai landing in. Does that count towards knowing the place from the most vantage point possible? And from there, I saw the Fountain Hills in action. 

The travelers at some point relate to the places they have been to like they would with lovers.

You cant go to that country (India) and not have your relationship to colour change.- Sophie Cunningham

A review

To those who would awaken makes you want to round up your whole writing into a one, continuous flow.

hone after something

Description

Page 14 of Barely south April 2012,
and grip my open palm like landing along
with the image of doves just released that take to flight
express more than the sum of words.

The motion would be hard to explain, but once you think from the bird's action and put in all that you know about a perch, it becomes vivid.

While reading the beginning of Regeneration at Mukti, it pulls the reader in with all the details of the house. As a reader, you give all your senses to build that picture in your mind.

When I read a short story by Steve fisher in Triquarterly, when the narrator talks of windows opening around, my scene had tiny windows opening out of the narrators biceps.

Adrienne rich on love loss happiness creativity

Constrain that tap

100 word story  challenge.

I tried writing a small story of an incident that the photo prompt of bed sheets reminded me of. It was launching into a bio while what i wanted to capture was how gifts aid in categorizing memories. I managed to kill the project and realise that it s hard to write in 100 words.

A bedsheet fading. Maroon in color with thread work from Rajasthan. From a best friend in college. Before I left to USA for higher education. But I havent been to her hometown in college. No, its from the time we were roommates for about a year and less. Week days only. Weekends were when I put the Encyclopedia of Great Literature from the office library to work. 

But the format is a good exercise to make your journaling and memoiring spiffy.