I’m Not a Patsy for Russian Propaganda, YOU Are! :P
Listening to people argue that there is no way they were manipulated by some foreign power’s social media propaganda machine is both amusing and disheartening. I can understand deep denial and the impulse to say, “Hey, even though I shared 79 posts from a known Russian bot, no way was my vote influenced by it!” […]
denial, disinformation, featured, manipulation, propaganda, tumblr
Deep Breaths… #DeleteFacebook
It’s an addiction. Back in the 1980s, early 1990s, I posited the idea of “online addiction” and got nothing but funny looks. Now, the inclusion of “Internet Addiction Disorder” is studied and its inclusion in the DSM is seriously considered (though as of this writing, it is not a defined psychiatric disorder – you can […]
deletefacebook, facebook, featured, instagram, internet addiction, online addiction, whatsapp
Spring Showers MAY Bring May Flowers to the Garden
Spring has sprung with a vengeance – flinging us from 40ºF to 84ºF in the blink of an eye. I have stare-downs from the kitchen table with the garden gnome. Is it just me, or has he moved since I last mentioned him here? I’m pretty sure he does that just to freak me out. […]
The It’s-Not-a-Book-Report Report
These are the books I’ve read or bought since I wrote “Curing the Reading Drought.” The cookbooks, Roger Ebert’s The Pot and How to Use it, and The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann will require a bit of creative adaptation; they have, in fact, inspired me to begin work, with […]
Blogging & Social Media Tips, Humor
President? Bah! I’ve Been Declared QUEEN!
Queen of the No-Niche Bloggers, that is! Rasheed Hooda, aka, “Mister Weirdo,” (never to be confused with Mr. Weirdo) – the man who, at age 62, walked from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Barbara, California, has handed me the virtual scepter in his post, “My Favorite No-Niche Bloggers.” I have apparently fallen down on the SEO, […]
Spun Up
I read a student essay, recently, that I would swear was written by someone for whom English was a second (or distant third) language. The conspicuous overuse of a thesaurus was one red flag. The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that it was written on Fiverr and spun through an […]
Weird Words Make for Weird Spellings
Is it jif, as in JIF brand peanut butter? Or gif, as in gift? Seems a strange thing for a giraffe to quibble over, especially if the inventor calls it jif. Weird words lead to weird arguments. Does the parent get to name the baby, or must he follow linguistic conventions? To say gif seems […]
Weirdly Competitive
I am weirdly competitive. I thought it was just me, but my friend Allie mentioned being “highly competitive when it doesn’t count” and I just burst out laughing. Now I find that my friend Mitch has a little streak of it; he rose to the challenge of writing a whole blog post without commas. Just […]
commas, featured, no comma rule, rules for writers, writing rules
Curing the Reading Drought
The Reading Drought How does someone who loves to read, who considers themselves an avid reader, end up going through long, dry spells without actually cracking open a book? This feels like the unburdening confession of a dirty secret I’ve lugged around far too long. I should have Googled sooner: It’s not just me. Read, […]
Update on This Pain in the Neck
I’m referring to me, of course. I have no real pain in the neck (or shoulder, arm, or hand), anymore. Would You Let This Woman Drive? Two weeks post-op. My son’s as hopeful as I am about the possibility of my not needing a chauffeur much longer. I’m going a little stir-crazy, and he can’t […]
artificial disc replacement, cervical spine, disc fusion, featured, post-op follow-up
Why You Don’t Let Kids Watch Scary Movies
When I was a little kid, my dad and I went to the movies together, often. We watched adventure films like Bullitt and Grand Prix and The Hellfighters – which explains why I won’t have gas appliances, pretend the hot water heater’s a dragon living in my attic and insist only my husband can feed […]
The Bionic Woman Eats BonBons
The hybrid cervical disk replacement and fusion surgery – to fuse C5-C6 and replace the C6-C7 disk with a bionic version (Mobi-C) was done a week ago Friday at CHI St. LukeThe Vintage. Fitting for A Fresh Perspective, I’ve seen this hospital many times – from the back side – while walking around Kickerillo-Mischer Nature Preserve. Now, […]
Those Other Places
We all have those other places. The places we go, when we drift out of consciousness. I had an odd dream, last night. We’d been traveling to a place that doesn’t exist, on a large ship. In one scene, there was a fascinating spider. It was a spider, but it was also a man – […]
I Swear, I Wasn’t Asking!
Remember how I said, “Never, ever, ask“? Well, I swear I wasn’t asking! But Karma has a wicked sense of humor. A bit of background: First, I’m needlephobic. I’m pretty sure this fear is related to my fear of spiders, hornets, and venomous snakes. I can mostly control my reaction, meaning I no longer have […]
bone, cervical, DDD, degenerative, dexa, disc, disc fusion, disc replacement, featured, osteoporosis
Liebster Award
What is The Liebster Award? The Liebster Award is a tag which helps new bloggers get noticed, connect with each other and make relationships in the blogging community. I am not a “new blogger,” but I am, nonetheless, honored to be given the award by my friend Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D, E.A., whose middle initial […]
Ice and Dispassion
So, I bought the book. Yes, that book. I normally refuse to follow the crowd when it comes to “the most talked-about bestseller on the planet right now,” but when my husband asked me, over dinner, if I’d pre-ordered the book, I realized that it fit in nicely with two of my 2018 goals for […]
donald trump, featured, fire and fury, first amendment, free speech, potus, twitter
Never, Ever, Ask
Never, ever ask a writer, “How much worse could it be?” Because we can always imagine something… 2018 got off to a happy, auspicious start, for me, personally – I got to spend the holidays with family in Dallas. Even frigid temps were mostly cause for mirth; how often can you say it’s colder in […]
2018, cervical, DDD, degenerative disc disease, disc replacement surgery, featured
Resolutions 2018
I considered going back to my former, iron-clad resolution: “Make no stupid resolutions you have no intention of keeping.” My commitment – my resolve – has faltered, gradually, the last few years, and that’s one resolution I always managed to keep, till that day a few years ago when I decided to tempt fate and […]
A Quick Look Back on Things Worth Remembering from 2017
It is always worth remembering – and reminding each other: #InDarknessBeLight. After saying “goodbye and don’t let the door hit you in the behind” to 2016, I signed up for the We Are the World Blogfest (#WATWBF). I thought that the blogfest sounded like a terrific way to counter all the negative news 24/7 and to […]
2017, good news, looking back, retrospective, we are the world, worth remembering
If We Were Having Coffee…
Or tea, or #covfefe, I would put on a fresh pot instead of drinking this lukewarm swill from seven o’clock this morning. I’d Wish You All the Good Things If we were having coffee, I would wish you a merry Christmas, whether you celebrate it or not. I’d also wish you a happy whatever-you-choose-to-celebrate, all […]
covfefe, fitness, if we were having coffee, merry Christmas, warm wishes
Blogging & Social Media Tips, Humor
Fresh Perspectives Delivered FREE to the First 100 Subscribers! Deal Ends at Midnight!
You’ve heard that “nothing good happens after midnight.” Are you willing to risk it? Are you ready to be plunged into email darkness, unable to read A Fresh Perspective without a cheap flashlight? Don’t worry, I have no plans – now or ever – to turn off the lights here or to charge you to […]
Finngelo III, Silly Interview with a Smartphone
Finngelo is the best. He is a great writer and he is very talented and very knowledgeable about his voice. Actually, Finngelo is the name of my phone. We’re collaborating on this post using predictive text. Non-italicized text is limited to one key press at the start of the sentence, and a choice of any […]
Why I Left and Where I Am
She’s Gone! She’s Just Disappeared! I’m still alive. I’m still right here. Yes, I left Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram in a bit of a hurry. I’m sorry for that – there’s no nice way to quietly deactivate an account but leave a single post containing a forwarding address, or a “Gone Fishing” notice. It hasn’t […]
Rebecca (#NaNoWriMo2017)
Our Story So Far… If you’re just arriving, you may want to start with the first chapter. Here is a table of contents: Chapter Seven Perhaps it was churlish of me to run off without a word of explanation, but I didn’t feel I owed one to Beau. He had seen my grandmother more recently […]
When Life Hands You Lemons… (#NaNoWriMo2017)
Our Story So Far… If you’re just arriving, you may want to start with the first chapter. Here is a table of contents: Chapter Six Beau was waiting for me in the school’s lobby. High school teachers don’t have offices, and the lobby at nine o’clock in the morning was more private than the teachers’ […]
It’s Not Gossip If It’s True, Right? (#NaNoWriMo2017)
Our Story So Far… If you’re just arriving, you may want to start with the first chapter. Here is a table of contents: Chapter Five The murmuring from the teachers’ lounge was little better than the breathless whispering in the halls. Principal Fricke strode into the room with his usual brusque efficiency, clapped his hands […]
nanonovel, nanonovel17, nanowrimo, nanowrimo17, nanowrimo2017
Rumor Mill (#NaNoWriMo2017)
Our Story So Far… If you’re just arriving, you may want to start with the first chapter. Here is a table of contents: Chapter Four The sun streaming through the curtains made my head throb. “Never drink wine on a Tuesday night,” I muttered, rolling out of bed and blindly feeling my way to the […]
featured, nanonovel17, nanowrimo, nanowrimo17, nanowrimo2017
Bats in the Belfry (#NaNoWriMo2017)
Our Story So Far… If you’re just arriving, you may want to start with the first chapter. Here is a table of contents: Chapter Three Stewart opened a bottle of Prosecco, filled both our glasses to the rim with golden bubbles, then lifted his in a gesture of salutation. “To best friends,” he said. “Now […]
featured, nanonovel17, nanowrimo, nanowrimo17, nanowrimo2017
