Shel Graves' Sensorium

This is my usual writer's journal to keep track of the senses and not part of the Space Explorer 365 project (365 words of story for 365 days from March 20, 2016 to March 19, 2017) ... Taste: oatmeal and blueberries Sight: a curl of cat Sound: Calm your beating heart, I'm on your side: Whose Side are You On? ; Quiet, MILCK Smell: lost and regained on oregano Touch: smooth: swiping the counter, wiping the floor; flakes of herb Extra:  That it takes awhile to recognize her soul. "We are the transformers of Earth. Our whole being, and the flights and falls of our love, enable us to undertake this task." — Rainer Maria Rilke   "These may be termed Utopian dreams. Thanks to the Being who impressed them on my soul...I view with indignation, the mistaken notions that enslave my sex." — Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman  Grateful for: living my most authentic self

After the election, I turned off National Public Radio and drove to work in despondent silence.  My mother wanted to protest. "Let's go!" she said.  I was non-committal, "What if it snows?" "Let's go!" she said, and as the day got closer and the sky was clear, I knew I would go. When your 74-year-old mother wants to march with you: You march. Participating in the march on Jan. 21 meant I had to tune in, but I was hurting. Love wins, I'd been saying. So, love lost? It was an unfathomable blow. Then, I heard about the Writers Resist event worldwide and near me at Town Hall Seattle . For $5, Town Hall Seattle has lifted my spirits on many occasions and put me in touch with my heroes. This is where I heard Margaret Atwood read from MaddAddam (see my review of the trilogy at EcoLit Books ), saw Tom Robbins the epitome of cool in his 80s, and was inspired by  Senator Cory Booker a funny, engaging, politician rooted in love who aims ...

This is my usual writer's journal to keep track of the senses and not part of the Space Explorer 365 story (365 words of story for 365 days from March 20, 2016 to March 19, 2017) ... Taste: mushroom gravy Sight: marchers Sound:  cheering in waves; "I want to give everybody a big hug. We have to let everybody know they are not alone."; "Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcom X/They were renegades of their time and age The mighty renegades; No matter how hard you try, you can't stop us now / No matter how hard you try, you can't stop us now" —   Renegades of Funk , Rage Against the Machine Smell: cigarette smoke and weed Touch: standing, shuffling Extra:  Mary Shelley - genus loci of the afterlife; hygge; amaranthine; recce - reconasissance, reconoiter; zhooshed up - to make lively and more attractive; ‘arbejdsglæde’ – from ‘arbejde’ the Danish for ‘work’ and ‘glæde’ from the word for ‘happiness’—  ‘happiness at work’; "Write no matter what...

This is my usual writer's journal to keep track of the senses and not part of the Space Explorer 365 story (365 words of story for 365 days from March 20, 2016 to March 19, 2017) ... Taste: black pepper Sight: bright winter sky, tree trunks, ice sparkling water, frost Sound:  scraping Smell:  Amber, Musk - Golden, Patchouli, Peach - Imp , Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Touch: numbed finger Extra: a parade in a giant pool and lamp lit trees at Burning Man; a nightmare of industrialized food; blueberry wine; abracadabra - give your fire until the last of your days; Stoic Equilibrium - "Our goal should be the achievement of an indivisible America with liberty and justice for all."  Cicero used to be boring. With Trump around, he’s breathtaking . via Washington Post, Danielle Allen is a political theorist at Harvard University; "I want heartsblood spattered on the walls that dries in the form of your stories." — Writer Resolution, 2017: Write Despite ,...

http://charlottegordonbooks.com Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of  Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley Excellent. Recommended reading for the New Year! This very well-researched biography alternates chapters between the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley focusing on the women's writing lives, readings, study, politics, and influences as well as their relationships. Mary Wollstonecraft was "a teacher, a hellfire preacher, a satirist, and a utopian dreamer," originator of the political philosophy of feminism, and the author of Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792).  Mary Shelley was author of Frankenstein (1818), companion and editor to Romantic poets Percy Bysshe Shelley (her husband) and Lord Byron, and she expressed many of the same ideas as her mother in fiction. Both women wrote about the importance of women's rights, independence and education — and faced scorn and criticism in society both for ...

This is my usual writer's journal to keep track of the senses and not part of the Space Explorer 365 story (365 words of story for 365 days from March 20, 2016 to March 19, 2017) ... Taste: cabbage soup; sauerkraut; smokey jalapeño gut shot Sight: the dog lying under the stool Sound: Everina Smell: Fougère ("fern" in French) is a fragrance family including fresh, floral, herbaceous and woody/warm elements, typically blended with notes like: bergamot, oakmoss, lavender, coumarin (tonka bean), sandalwood, and geranium Touch: smooth uncooked and plump chewy cooked  barley Extra: tyranny (ˈtirənē): to submit to cruel and oppressive government or rule; nagual or nahual (na'wal): a human being who has the power to transform either spiritually or physically into an animal form — most commonly jaguar and puma; “He became nearly unconscious and forgot what was said to him. Then his good mood came back and he started to dance again. It is believed that, bewitched...