Owner: Writing In The Mountains URL:http://krisunderwood.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 09:16:42 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: A branch off from Mama Says, rants, raves, some poetry, dealing with the neverending chaos of motherhood through writing Site statistics:Click here
Still No Internet....But Good News..... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 So, yeah, still no internet. You read that right. So peeved. Verizon still sucks. Anyway....My piece is up at The Whole Mom. Check it out if you want. Read more:Internet
Verizon Sucks....Internet Refugee 1970-01-01 00:59:59 So, I didn't post yesterday. You know why? Because Verizon
mixed up the date for shut off of our frikin service, so now, we don't have it. They won't turn it back on for about another week.So, technically, I didn't drop out of the NaBloPoMo race.It wasn't my fault!!! Yes!!Talk to Verizon....I am confined to the Library Internet
. I feel like an Internet refugee.... Read more:Refugee
Whew!! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Hooked into the net once again! Longest two weeks ever.
In The Swing Of Things 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I'm trying to get back into the swing of things after the Verizon disaster. I had a nice little groove going with writing on here and elsewhere. Now, I feel I don't know where to start up again. Not to worry, though, I'll get there.Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and all that crap. I just don't know how I feel about that holiday anymore. What exactly are we celebrating on that particular day in this point and time? All I think of is people coming to the US and stealing land, then naming states and cities and roads after its native people.I don't know too much about Christmas these days either. I think it's all the hyper-commercialism surrounding the holidays. It's just too much.Cable. Haven't had it in two years. I gotta tell you, it is a shock-shock, I tell you-having it again. I forgot about commercials and holiday crap on TV-just the general crap too. Commercials are visually assaulting. There is going to be some serious monitoring going on here concerning that-both w
People I'd Like To Meet-Dead or Alive 1970-01-01 00:59:59 An ever changing and growing list....I've noticed, as I go through the list compiled in my head over the years on the above subject, that most are musicians and writers and such. Not surprising, really.-Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Amazing lyricist. If I ever had the chance to actually meet him, I imagine the only words that would come out of my mouth-there would be no stopping them-Oh my god! You ROCK! Of course, I'd like to think I could be all calm and collected about it. I'd love to see him in concert before he retires.-Sylvia Plath. Yes, think what you like about that one. Very much a wordsmith.-Carlos and Deborah Santana. Carlos because he rocks on the guitar like nothing else and Deborah because she has done so much amazing things in terms of human rights.-Gary Oldman. Truly a great actor. A chameleon of character.-Daniel Day-Lewis. I first saw him in Last of the Mohicans. I began to really appreciate his talent after I saw him in Gangs of New York. Then, one day recently, I Read more:Alive
This Will Either Bore You Endlessly, Or Not (4) 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Yes, another installment of my library.-The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, A.E. Waite-Watership Down, Richard Adams-A Spy In The House Of Love, Anais Nin-The Great and Secret Show, Clive Barker-The Plumed Serpent, D. H. Lawrence-The Bostonians, Henry James-The Idiot, Dostoevsky-The Voice of the Poet (Recording), Sylvia Plath-The Voice of the Poet (Recording), Anne Sexton-The Hobbit, JRR Tolkein-Lady Chatterley's Lover, D. H. Lawrence-20,001 Names For Baby, Carol Mc D Wallace-Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice-Pride and Predjudice, Jane Austen-Taltos, Anne Rice-the Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan-How to Use Tarot Spreads, Sylvia Abraham-Belinda, Anne Rice-Webster's Dictionary-The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics-The New York Public Library Desk Reference-The Short Handbook for Writers; Schiffhorst, Schell-2006 Poet's Market-2007 Writer's Market-1491, Charles C. Mann-Old Maids to Radical Spinsters, Laura L. Doan-Tender Is The Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald-Sexual Person
Stay Away From The Artificial Sweeteners! Run Away!! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 We all know artificial sweeteners are Evil. Why do we continue to consume them?And-why can't I just have a piece of fucking gum without this shit in it? Just regular sugar in my gum for me, thank you. Seriously- I can't do gum at all because all of it has some sort of artificial sweetener in it. I'm quite pissed about that.I understand some people just can't have sugar, and diabetics need to have a certain diet that contains little sugar, etc.But what about the rest of us? We don't need it. It doesn't need to be in everything.People, don't you know it's all evil(Nutrasweet, Aspartame, Equal, Sweet n' Low, Splenda) , that it causes all sorts of crazy shit? Headaches, Cancer, for fuck's sake? Stuff we probably aren't aware of?Take a look at these:Aspartame-'the most dangerous of all'This gives an overview on most of the sweeteners, gives side effects of Aspartame and introduces a book by Janet Hull titled Is Splenda Safe? Very informative.Wikipedia's article on Sugar Subst Read more:Artificial
, Stay Away
, Run Away
Screech Update-A Sighting! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Pterodactyl is just over 2 years, bounces alot, is cute with curly hair. Screech
es at everything now... Read more:Update
Britney Spears 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Why the hell am I writing about the Pop Princess?Well, I just want to say....this buisness with...Uh...Mr. BritneySpears
is fucking halarious. Everybody knows by now about the filing of papers for freedom, on both sides. And his 'career'? As 'Rap Artiste?' Fully laughable. I mean, really. He only has what he does because of Spears. That is obvious.No more Gucci for K-Fed, eh? Read more:Britney Spears
Curious About the History Of Corsets..... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 A few links:Mini History
of the CorsetThe Secret History of the Corset and CrinolineCorset History (with the famous wasp-figure)Of course, there will be more thoughts on this later.... Read more:Curious
, Corsets
Voting and Activism 1970-01-01 00:59:59 So, it's a little late to be posting about the subject, seeing as the 7th was the official day. But, I just wanted to go back in history a bit, to share Susan B. Anthony's speech on women's right to vote."Failure is impossible."(susanbanthonyhouse.org)I used the term 'activism' loosely. I am 'active' and involved with societal issues concerning family and women and basic human rights, but I am also not overzealous or over-political about it, having it take over my being. I am for breastfeeding, but am not 'lactivist'. I don't think breastfeeding needs to be political anyway. But somehow, it is. Anyway. That's just my opinion.Please check out MADRE if you haven't yet. And if you have, check it out again-what they do is amazing. Read more:Voting
, Activism
What? There's More?! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Yes...another installment of THE LIBRARY--The Hot Zone, Richard Preston-The Day Women Got The Vote, George Sullivan-The Encyclopedia of Palmistry, Edward D. Campbell-Women In Medieval/Renaissance Europe, Susan Hill Gross and Marjorie Wall Bingham-Women Writers of the West Coast, Marilyn Yalom-Sylvia Plath Journals-Selected Poems of Thomas Merton-100 Most Important Women of the 21st Century, Ladies Home Journal-Henry and June, Anais Nin-The French Lieutenant's Woman, John Fowles-Her Husband, Diane Middlebrook-Sylvia Plath Collected Poems-Ariel (New Edition), Sylvia Plath-Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom;Christiane Northrup-The Chalice and the Blade, Riane Eisler-Letters Home: Sylvia Plath-Venus Envy, Elizabeth Haiken (The history of cosmetic surgery. Better have a strong stomach for this one!)-All Families Are Psychotic, Douglas Coupland-Kama Sutra, Anne Hooper-The Witching Hour, Anne Rice-Lasher, Anne Rice-The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice-Between Two Lines, Lawrence M Hauptm
The Final Installment...Boring or Not...For Now 1970-01-01 00:59:59 -White Oleander, Janet Fitch-Anne Sexton, Dianne Middlebrook-Reviving Ophelia, Mary Pipher-The American Night, Jim Morrison-Birdsong, Rumi-Monday or Tuesday, Viginia Woolf-The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost-Hamlet, Shakespeare-Delta of Venus, Anais Nin-The Prophet, Khalil Ghibran-No Evil Star, Anne Sexton-The Collected Poems of Rotheke-Anne Sexton, A Portrait in Letters-The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne-The Most Beautiful Woman In Town, Charles Bukowski-Anne Sexton, The Complete Poems-The Poet's Companion, Addonizio-Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes-The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behr-Anais Nin, A Biography, Dierdre Bair-Sylvia Plath: Method and Madness, Edward Butscher-Words For The Wind, Theodore Rotheke Read more:Final
I'll Finish These...Someday 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Mozart's Women: His Family, Friends, His Music; Jane GloverPainted Shadow: The Life of Vivienne Eliot, First Wife of T.S. Eliot; Carole Seymore-Jones.Hot and Bothered; Annie Downey: I am actually in the midst of reading this fantastic book. Will take me awhile to finish...Confessions Of An Ugly Stepsister; Gregory Maguire: I love his books. I got hooked with Wicked. Fully Devour-able.Update: have finished Hot and Bothered! With the help of a little insomnia.... November 2006) Read more:Finish
, Someday
What The Hell Happened To Sesame Street? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I may begin to sound 'old' here, so skip if you want, or not. Whatever.I'm not sure what to think about SesameStreet
these days.What's Seth Green Doing on Sesame Street
?ELMO. The Girl hates elmo. She won't tolerate elmo. At ALL. Telly looks like he's developed a crack habit. It's more screechy than I remember, definitely, in comparison to those old VHS tapes. I mean, the whole Elmo sketch alone is longer than it needs to be, too flashy. Although, I guess it reflects the times we live in.The Girl loves the show-from the 70's/80's. There is a slew of old Sesame Street VHS tapes at the library that we check out on a regular basis. In love with it.The new/recent Sesame Street has been on (and off) since we got cable. Mostly off.Just saying- Sesame Street, for me, has gone down the tubes with its loud, screechy, flashy ways. Which is just too bad. I don't know, seems as if it all started with Jim Henson's death. (Much respect to him).
Readers Are Dead 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I found this via Kenyon Review blog."I don't think the novel is dead. I think readers are dead." Gore VidalInteresting, and true, I think.
Articles and Posts of Note: Random Stuff 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Writing Time: An Exercise You Can Do At The Mall I've been dabbling in fiction/short story type of stuff on and off these past couple years and nothing produced really sounded great to me. Perhaps this could help in the endeavor? Read more:Articles
, Random
Discovery of a Poet 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I discovered Wislawa Szymborska awhile back-4 or 5 years ago. I love how she writes. I love her wit, irony and humor. I, somewhat recently, purchased her book of poems, new and collected, published back in '98. It's always interesting (to me, anyway) to see how a poet has evolved her craft in a collected edition spanning, in this case, four decades. A couple that caught my eye were "In Praise of Dreams" and "A Medieval Miniature".Really, nobody(as a random reader) wants to hear about a random person and what they dreamed the other night. But, everything lies in the language with this poem. Not to mention humor and familiarity. A few favorite lines from "In Praise of Dreams":I speak fluent Greekand not just with the living.A few years agoI saw two suns. Read more:Discovery
Closing Out Controversially 1970-01-01 00:59:59 So, I closed out November with a controversial topic: Birth. Funny how the most natural thing (by 'natural' I mean in the processes of life) in the world can kick up so much political dust. No matter where we are as a society, homebirth, breastfeeding, abortion, sexual reproduction, even, will always be 'controversial' in some way, shape or form unless there is some radical change. I can't even imagine what that would be, let alone it actually taking place.Perhaps some (I said SOME) of it has something to do with Americans being so goddamned Puritanical in their thinking. Let's face it, people, Americans ARE somewhat Puritanical, even if they don't admit to it."There's a huge Puritanical streak in Americans," she says, "and there's a squeamishness about seeing a body part — even part of a body part."-Susan Kane, Baby Talk EditorRemember the August BabyTalk cover and all the controversy it created? They got over 7, 000 letters, most with a negative response. Check out the com
Articles and Posts of Note: The Birth Edition, in all forms 1970-01-01 00:59:59 CNN: U.S. has second worst newborn death rate in modern worldPetocin/oxytocinSome side effects. Funny how hospitals use this to stop hemorrhaging after childbirth.Thinking Epidural is the only way?Side effects of the EpiduralEpidural Risks and Side EffectsFrom 'Women's Health Matters'Don't think Epidurals have no effect on the baby?Check this out on Mothering: The Hidden Risks of Epidurals(an all encompassing article on Epidurals. Lots of stats, information, historical and modern)Choices that affect breastfeeding via pregnancy.about.com. This was interestingTo be continued in the future... Read more:Edition
, Articles
Six Feet Under 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Found out Six Feet Under is on Bravo Channel. Yeah! Fucking love that show. Somewhat edited, though, since it's on basic cable.
Searching In The Mountains 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Yesterday was my 200th post, by the way.It's always curious how people get to your site via search. Here's some of the latest:'Scary-Scary'-Super duper scary poems-halloween Scary writing-scary Mountains-spooky stories(No doubt brought them here )-Why are things so shitty (This, right here)-What sweeteners are okay? (None are okay. Here.)-Hot bedroom stories. (Dude, why'd you come here?Hasn't been none of that in awhile round this way. I don't know what brought that here.)-Kama Sutra-Why isnt pluto a planet anymore. (I can't believe I still get hits from this. It's cool though. Check it out)-Sylvia Plath-Eris (here)
Guest Spot: Annie Downey 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I am pleased to introduce AnnieDowney
, author of 'Hot and Bothered', as Writing In The Mountains' very first Guest
Spot:Writing & Motherhoodby Annie Downey
All Rights Reserved 2006 I remember the first thing I ever wrote about being a mother. I was eighteen years old, my daughter, Iris, was eight months old. We had a tiny one bedroom apartment in downtown Burlington. I had just begun my first semester at college and had signed up for a creative writing class. Our first bit of homework was one of those basic "How to ___" writing assignments. Classmates shared their ideas aloud—one hip-dressed student said she was going to write about how to make an Orgasm (like the drink!)—another student chirped up and said that he was going to write about how to get a hot guy in the sack. Everyone laughed. I remember being panicked about what I would write about.My professor said to me, "Write about what you know"I went and picked up my daughter at the college daycare. As I pushed he
A Hot Topic: Homebirth 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I read the Imperfect Parent pretty regularly. I read the blog just as much. Occasionally, I'll click the little box at the end of the article to be notified of any future comments on that particular piece.One that I've been keeping an eye on is Jessica Carlson's Homebirths: Natural or Foolish. The subject itself is a hot topic anyway, producing passionate opinions on both sides: Homebirth vs. hospital birth. The article is certainly getting alot of press in terms of comments and such (including this post). She made the comment of 'wanting to incite some controversy'. I think she has, for better or worse.To make such generalizations about a group of women and calling them 'Foolish' for a choice they think is right for them, you better be prepared for some sort of retaliation, whether it be mild or otherwise abrasive.I've written something about this particular article before and had much of the same thoughts as most of the commenters. This piece still gets to me sometimes (ob
Holiday Shopping 1970-01-01 00:59:59 What fun, What fun! The Holiday
s are here! The subject of presents/gift giving was kind of put on hold/hiatus for a long time around here-then I had my daughter. We aren't going all crazy about it at all.Here's my thing: While perusing Amazon/Toys R Us/blah-deblah-blah-blah, I 'm having a hard time finding anything (mostly toys I'm looking at) that doesn't have some sort of TV/cartoon character attached to it. For instance, Dora the Explorer, that new movie Cars (it's everywhere!), SpongeBob (have you ever seen this show? It's a sponge. On speed.). Let's not forget the generally all-devouring Disney and LeapFrog brands.What about this?Is it not flashy enough? Not loud enough? It's simple! Hours of fun!Pfft...Whatever. Read more:Shopping
TRUCE: Toy Action Guide, 2006-7 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The 2006-7 Toy ActionGuide
is up from TRUCE. Go check it out! Always an excellent resource.Interesting (in a mild use of the word) that Sesame Street's Sesame Beginnings DVD Series is on the 'Toys to Avoid' list. (See the previous post I did about Sesame Street recently)Happy to see, too, that Bratz product is on that list as well as LeapFrog and Baby Einstein.I must say, though, Baby Einstein seemed like a good idea in the beginning, but it seems to be going the way of Disney. Not to mention, it got a little bit creepier as time went on, and the fact that there is something terribly wrong with marketing to babies (under a year, 18 months) that sort of stuff.They also have the updated Media Violence and Children Guide.
What...Another Blog? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Oh-so I have this other blog-a Vermont photo blog. I almost fu*kin forgot about it. Really, I don't know what to do with it, if I will even do anything with it. Last time I posted was sometime in September...it's December now.I'm a little more focused on this blog and other things.Ehhhh...perhaps I will pick it up later??
One More Thing... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Also, just wanted to add...since the official closing of NaBloPoMo, I feel I'm slacking once again here. Not writing as much as I should be....it shall be remedied. Read more:Thing
What I'm Reading These Days 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I have taken to catching up on Poetry magazine's entire collection from 2006 lately. Just love that mag. They're having a great holiday sale on subscriptions, too-1/2 price-goody, goody.Also, The Mother Trip, Ariel GoreCollected Poems, Sylvia Plath and-Anne Sexton, Self-Portrait In Letters Read more:Reading
Poem Up At MomWriter'sLitMag 1970-01-01 00:59:59 My poem, Rocking is up at Mom Writer's Literary Magazine. Check it out
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