Expectations

I find expectations to be difficult at times. (And for some reason I feel like I have already written about this on here before... but I couldn't find the post so whatever).
When you're expectations are high for a book and it doesn't measure up then it is depressing, but if they are low and it exceeds your expectation it makes it seem like the book is actually good.
In regular life I always find situations more difficult to handle when they are unlike my expectations. My 5 year old nephew thought he was going on an airplane that day and instead he was staying 3 more days. He was grumpy all evening. Not because he didn't like us or where he was at but jut because he was expecting life to be different from what it was.
But it's not like you can go through life with no expectations, they just naturally form. So how do you cope when your good expectations are crushed? I have no idea except pray that your attitude will change. Grrr.

Consuming and Creating: Part 6: Screen Time

Yep I'm back on this subject again. I have several nieces and nephews and I have seen all of them over the holidays. Screen time seems like a big issue parents have to make decisions on. Especially in this technology saturated society. Watching movies, TV shows and youtube videos, and other people playing computer games. Playing computer/tablet games. All of those things are part of screen time. But I think there is a difference, a better and best if you will.
All the types of screen time above are recreational, but I wouldn't say they are all necessarily consuming activities. I think playing games like mahjong or tetris or candy crusher can be an exercise for your mind. Sandbox building games like minecraft and terraria let you be creative. And watching other people play games can build relationships. I suppose watching movies or TV shows can do that as well. Of course all these have to be done in moderation or they can become mind numbing. Basically I'm just saying that screen time can vary a lot, and some is actually very creative. Screen time isn't always consumption even when it is a game.
After all I normally spend quite a bit of time in front of the computer, writing and artwork.

Honorable War Wounds

I became enthralled by Brian Jacques' Redwall series when I was about in third grade, and really liked them for a long time.
In one of them, (Salamandastron maybe) they talk about having Honorable War Wounds. I remember loving the phrase and using it frequently with my brothers in reference to scratches and bruises we obtained from run of the mill playing.
The past couple of weeks I have been spending a lot of time with some of my nephews and we have done a fair amount of roughhousing. I have a bruise on my hand, my heel and my foot. The one on my foot is the most painful, but you can barely see it. I find it a tad disappointing. Why have Honorable War Wounds if no one can even tell!
Although I suppose there are sometimes that not showing your bruises is helpful.

Antecedent Confusion

I am Not a grammarian. Is that a word? Anyway, I am not an expert on grammar. Never have been... except maybe for a week in seventh grade where we learned grammar rules and I thought it was so easy, and I understood it. Then I took the test, and I never did recover that knowledge.
Anyway. I'm writing a book and I had a friend help with the read through (among other people). She was an English major in college and she knows her grammar. At least a lot better than I do.
Anyway she is always writing "fix this, there is antecedent confusion." Or something like that. Meaning the pronouns are not clear. And now I finally get to the point.
Since she (meaning the before mentioned English major friend) has started writing that (meaning "antecedent confusion") I have noticed how often in writing, and conversation antecedent confusion actually occurs.
Like that last sentence for instance.
Sometimes I just want to stop and say "Antecedent Confusion!" but instead I settle for:
Wait who? Where are you talking about? Are you talking about cookies?

Historic versus Cultural

Japan

A couple of years ago I wrote about how different Nativities can be. I was noticing it again this year, but a different aspect of it. No one really knows what that scene looked like so long ago, and yet there are thousands, if not millions of representations of it. My Mom collects nativities, and many of them are from different countries. I just find it fascinating how even though we do know something of the culture and dress of the original Nativity, people have put there own culture into the Nativity sets they make. Because ultimately they aren't trying to represent a historically accurate event but they are putting themselves into the situation of the Christchild's birth. Or at least that's how I see it. So all nativities show truth, show the reality of God in a culture, in a home, in a life.

Philippines

Honduras (we think)

Conversations: Part Two: The Good Ones

I am a sucker for good conversations, and I think about them frequently, (check out Part One). I have even noticed that I get grumpy if I haven't had a good conversation for some a couple days. This leads to the obvious question: What makes a good conversation?
For me it takes a few things.
1) It's got to be back and forth. It doesn't have to be 50-50 but it has to be close, and both people have to participate in the meat of the conversation actually sharing opinions/feelings/ideas.
2)Content. This one is tricky. There seem to be about four types of conversations. People talk about people, places, things, or ideas. Each can revolve around stories that apply to the subject at hand. Some conversations can combine these things. My favorite is when ideas are involved, but other than that I am usually pretty flexible. As in I like conversations talking about how different people react to a certain situation and why, but I also enjoy talking about how things can affect culture. Whatever, and there are a lot of other examples, but I get bored or I just don't feel fulfilled after a conversation if it was only a rehash of people someone has met, movies someone as seen, places someone went or things people like to do.
OK. I guess I will take it back, it only takes two things for me to like a conversation. Although if I get to learn something that is a bonus.
What I find fascinating and also depressing is it seems impossible to have a good conversation with most people. I realize that many people just don't talk ideas but I have found that those who do usually need a lot of time to warm up to the subject or warm up to the person. As in you have to be really close friends to talk ideas. . .
Which begs another question, or at least it does to me. Why are people so reticent to talk ideas? Is there something in our culture that suggests it's not appropriate? (So is this common in most cultures?) Or are people just too curled up to talk?

Retold Fairytales and Superheros

As many people may have noticed retold fairytales and superhero stories have recently become popular in media. It seems to me that the reason for this is the same in both cases.
There is something immensely comfortable in hearing/seeing/reading a story that you are familiar with. Why else would little kids love to read the same books over and over again, and often seem far more likely to pick up a book about a character they know (The Bernstein Bears, Clifford) then a book with characters they don't know. For one it's easier to get into a book with a character that you already know and care about, even if the character isn't quite the same. Also, when you know that Cinderella will meet Prince Charming you know what to expect. And that works no matter if Cinderella is really a princess named Cinderella (Disney), is the daughter of a courtier named Danielle (Ever After) or is a cyborg named Cinder (Cinder).
Then you can add to the comfort of a story or character you know the excitement that comes with the twist or new view of what you thought you had already known. It allows something old and worn to become clever and surprising. It is like the best of both worlds, familiar but also new. Is it any wonder these two genres are so popular?