Year in Review: 2015 Word of the Year Ease; 2016 Daily

In 2015, my word of the year was EASE. It was anything but easeful. In November 2014, my father was diagnosed with cancer. He died in June 2015. I lost two companion animals this year as well.

If not for the Sensorium, my remembered word for this year may have been loss.

Looking back though, I see, thanks to the senses I recorded, that there was much bounty enjoyed in 2015 as well.

I'm reminded of the resurrected corpses in Susan Palwick's story "Beautiful Stuff," (in the outstanding collection The Fate of Mice) who lock on to simple wonderful objects — butterflies, bandanas, paperweights — and love them for all they are worth for as long as they have left to live.

"Dying hurts," said Ari. "It won't make your happy. It won't make anybody happy."
"So please do the right thing," said Rusty. "Don't kill anybody else."

"Look at this! Look at the shiny glass. Look at the flower. It's beautiful. You have all this stuff in your life, all this beautiful stuff. Sunshine and grass and butterflies. Barrettes. Bandanas. You don't have that when you're dead. That's why dying hurts."

— Susan Palwick, "Beautiful Stuff," The Fate of Mice

I'm grateful for this record, otherwise my memories of the year would be more limited and less fond. As I do each December, I'm now going through and creating my "best of" list of senses which I'll be posting each day from now until the New Year. You will see Palwick's name again when I get to the final entry on books, authors and stories. While it seems funny picking favorites, it's a nice excuse to savor the senses that made this year memorable.

In 2016, my word of the year will be DAILY as I will be putting daily installments of my novel project Space Explorer 365 on the blog beginning March 20, 2016. This will be the culmination of a two-year writing project and a challenge to actually post every day. We'll see how it goes.

2015 Year in Review

Comments

Thoughts on "Depression Hates a Moving Target": What I Mean by Relatable

Relatable — I used this word in my reviews of Depression Hates a Moving Target by Nita Sweeney on Goodreads and Amazon . It's a nice word, but overused of late. So, it feels lazy. What do I mean? I connected with this book. It made me reflect more on my own first marathon experience. It made me want to put on my running shoes and head out the door again. In fact, I did. Now, typically, my mental health doesn't hinder my ability to do the stuff I want to do and my body flies under the radar. Still, I also felt goofy stepping out in my running gear a lot of the time. I didn't see myself as a "runner" or an athlete. And, I had no idea if I could run 13 miles let alone 26.2 when I started. More to the point, could I stay moving for the 4+ hours straight it would take to complete the marathon? To do the training mileage, I knew I'd have to run through streets and trails on my own and that made me nervous, too. Waves of grief wash us to strange shores. Whe...

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!". Wings of R...

Springy Story Review: "Gestella" by Susan Palwick

Why it springs to mind: A hauntingly beautiful horror story about what happens when a woman relinquishes her power. A unique werewolf story with commentary on aging. Where read: First in Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology ( 2015, PM Press edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer) and then in Palwick's collection The Fate of Mice ( 2007, Tachyon Publications ) — both outstanding! These presses won't steer you wrong. Summary: A young woman werewolf allows herself to be dominated by a lover who takes control of her fate. Memorable: The powerful ending! The word: sportfuck. A new take on lycanthropy. Written in second person — you. Quote: "You know that your growing wisdom is the benefit of aging, the compensation for your wrinkles and your fading—although fading slowly as yet—beauty. You also know that Jonathan didn't marry you for wisdom." Personal connection: Some of my favorite stories seem to be the ones that address t...

Shel Graves' Sensorium

Search This Blog