I find Christmas Day to be an appropriate time to reflect on life. In between the various feasts of a meal, I relish the food-induced slowdown that brings quiet to a house. A chilly but sunny day helps with inducing this altered state of consciousness: awareness, stillness, and repose. I know such a moment does not last very long. It's not that I don't have a choice either about when to slow down.  Savor it while it lasts, I say.
Author Archives: Raymond Yee
Tautologies That Tell Tales; The Pain of Writing
I rarely post comments on other people's blogs, but an entry on "hidden tautologies" intrigued me: A Philosopher Teases Out Hidden Tautologies - Chronicle.com
It's nice to know I'm not alone. Rachel Toor writes in Chronicle Careers: 10/30/2007: Love to Write? Keep It to Yourself:
- Each time I'm in the throes of writing a book, I realize that I have somehow forgotten how exhausting it is, how much it hurts. After writing for a couple of hours, I have to go lie down, wrist thrown across an aching forehead. It helps only a little to remember that I am not alone, to think of George Orwell's comment that "writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness."
Learning art and music from the Teaching Company.
I've been a big fan of the Teaching Company ever since I purchased the course Bach and the High Baroque some years ago. Now Laura and I are awaiting the arrival of the 8 DVD course A History of European Art. I have not taken a formal history of art class since I studied European art by correspondents as a high school student.
Not blogging much these days (i.e., writing the obvious)
I finally have to admit that writing a book (and a grant proposal) has sucked up almost all of my writing energy, leaving very little time and focus for blogging. I hope to get back to blogging in 2008, when my book is finished. We'll see.
I’m back….
I kinda fell off the face of the earth, digitally speaking, as I finished up my ATDP course and pushed on a couple of chapters on my book. Focusing on the book all the time helped move it along in the short term but it led to some intense emotional compaction. I continue to focus on the book but I'm starting to let myself dream and plan for life-after-the-book!
tasty Chinese crackers
I liked these crackers!
Reading short stories again
I've gotten back into reading -- and enjoying -- short stories. The easiest way for me to settle into a short fiction reading habit is to pick up a random issues from our pile of New Yorkers. Laura and I both recently read David Hoon Kim's Sweetheart Sorrow. I'm looking forward to reading Q. & A.: Living Language, an interview with Kim, to help me sort out some of my questions concerning the story.
What exactly is an “abolitionist church”?
My church First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, CA has supported the work of the Not For Sale Campaign, a self-described "abolitionist" organization aimed at ending trafficking in human beings. (See for instance, a talk by David Batstone, the leader of Not For Sale at FPCB.) I'm generally supportive of the work of Not For Sale. One concern I do have with Not For Sale is its use of the word "abolitionist", especially as applied to churches. I have been hoping for a stronger definition of what an abolitionist church actually is from Not For Sale than what is currently there (at least as of the end of June.). The page describes "Action Steps" that a church might take to become part of a "movement of Abolitionist churches" but does not define the term "abolitionist".
Silly summations
One moment, your words shine proudly in cyberia. Then with the hapless application of chmod, the same summations summarily cease. Then, when you pray to the gods of the ether, the digital data come back.
Pick up that Unix book -- that's all I can say.
Book publishing and financial advice that cuts to daily life
Food for thought in BookExpo America - Column - New York Times as I prepare to publish my first book and contemplate future books:
- Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine who made his own splash last year with his book “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More,†returned to the convention to talk about the possibility of giving away online his next book — which he fittingly intends to title “Free†— to readers who were willing to read it with advertisements interspersed throughout its pages. (He still intends to sell the book traditionally to readers who’d rather get their text without the ads.)
Though the financial advice in More Advice Graduates Don’t Want to Hear - New York Times is aimed at graduates, the article is useful for people like me, who is currently living off savings as I pursue the life of a self-employed author and consultant:
- I also suggested cutting out the latte habit, which was my symbol for those little things in life that when turned into a habit, add up to money that could have been spent on something worthwhile and memorable. Other people, my wife among them, pointed out that I may have been too draconian on that point. Consistent savings is a lot easier if there are small rewards along the way; otherwise, life seems as if it is just one bowl of cold grass porridge after another.
I rather enjoy my writing times sitting in cafes. I think of that time as paying rent for a home away from home.
