Pondering Purpose

I have been Pondering Purpose

Or maybe Purpose Pondering?

Or maybe simply being inspired to see life from a different angle

I am grateful

For the writers who write me and define my passion

"Keep Pursing your passion for writing"*

And those who say

"Hey Lisa, what a super sweet note thanks for sending!

Now that song is stuck in my head lol.

I have the honor to be your obedient servant."**

Juggling the truth of Harry Chapin

"But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,

And it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.

And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.

He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole."

With the wisdom of Lin Manuel

And Neil Giaman

"Write" 

"Make Good Art"

I want something more then my Job

A Career some would say

But one where I can 

Continue with my Calling

And no my Calling won't necessary be my Job

Since Poets who live off their earnings

Are as common as Leap Days which fall on Full Moon Sundays

I do not know where my path may go

But I was sorted Into Thunderbird

The house of Adventure and Soul

Sure sounds like a house of writers and other creative types

And I go forward 

With self imposed 100 daily Poem Challenges  

With great plans for pieces for this years holiday gifts

With writing as a way to process what I feel and think and experience

And I remember

I Got This

I Got This

I Got This

Hay Lin Manuel Said So

So it must be true

A Short Review of A Supernatural Convention

Last weekend was my first Creation Supernatural Convention (I had previously gone to an academic conference on Supernatural hosted by DePaul University)

Overview:

I overall had a great time. There is something amazing about the Supernatural Family. And yes it really is a family.

• For some fandoms the characters define the fandom
• For other fandoms the actors define the fandom
• For other fandoms the mythology/world building defines the fandom
• For other fandoms the symbolism  defines the fandom

For the Supernatural Family all these things are combined. The cast calls the fans family and the fans consider the cast family. Together they have shown their power in supporting good causes. Everything from Stoke and Diabetes awareness, to Building free public high schools, to working to create our own Mental Health Hotline to support all those who are struggling. 

While I don't think I can clearly articulate how special the Supernatural Family is I think part of it might be that those who have seen the show have experienced a common experience which creates a "Band of brothers". 

The show has explored many issues over the years: Alcoholism, Alcoholism effects on others, Family, Adopted Family, Found Family, What we owe family, What is owed to us by family, Trauma, Depression, Numbness, The role of fate, Finding home, Fandom itself, Ambition, The meaning of free will, Faith, What happens when Angels lose faith in God, What happens when God is MIA .......

Some highlights from the Con:

• Having the opportunity to ask Mark Sheppard a Question during his panel. I asked if Crowley (The King of Hell) knew he was loved. And I actually got a semi serious answer from Mark (which is uncommon) about how there is a difference between being told you are loved and knowing you are loved. Which implies I have to keep worrying about my poor Cowley

• Death's panel (Julian Richings) where we learned that Julian thinks Death's final thoughts while being Killed were "You bugger", also  how his death as Death was less surprising then another show where he reacuring character was killed with out informing him.  

• Osric Chau (Kevin Tran: A prophet of the lord): We determined at the Con that Kevin should be God's Wife (Husband), God aka Chuck (Rob Benedict) agreed, Osric gave the advice that it is better to do a ton of short imperfect projects then try to get one perfect. Also learned that the song Sweet Caroline is now Sweet Osric Chau (I mean both God and Gabriel said so, so it must be true)

• There were many other highlights but I don't have the time to go on. 

Notes on the Convention as a Convention

As a creation event it was run differently then many of the smaller fan run or academic fan conferences I have attended. The main thing which stood out to me was there was only one track of programming. But I have to say that those panels were lots of fun. And the whole convention felt like a 3 day rock concert because of Louden Swain was our house band. Overall I would describe it as a family reunion where it was great to catch up, especially with actors who have not been on the show in over a decade but still are family. 

This week I am away at a Supernatural Convention, I will most likely write something about that next week. But I am leaving you with a wonderful Gem I found online. 

In this wonderful interview with Graham Moore covers everything from Depression and Mental Health, To Sherlock, Alan Turing, and the Legal battles around the light bulb.  Check it out.

http://podcast.cnn.com/the-axe-files-david-axelrod/episode/all/1I1pkE6MHxfBjM/cuex3h.1-1.html

Selections From A Summer In Books

This Summer I read 25 books while completing the Chicago Public Library's "Book Bingo" game. Here are some brief notes for 5 of these stories in no particular order.

(Comment at the end with one book you read this summer, or a book you are excited to read this fall, or a book you would recommend)

Nonfiction:

  

Yes, Ron Chernow's Biography is a wonderful Biography, and the inspiration for the musical Hamilton, but it is more that an biography. It is a history of the founding of America, a history of the political debates we still have today, and an explanation of our economic system. Chernow is able to balance both gushing about Hamilton and being critical of Hamilton at the same time. Chernow also did a great job explaining and working through Hamilton epic amount of writings. I am excited to begin reading Ron Chernow's biography on George Washington next.

This may be a selection of nonfiction

But in reality it is a fairy tale

A magic show, An adventure

A Love Affair with stories and books and writing

(From my poem on reading this book)

This was a wonderful collection and I recommend you read my previous post which went into more detail about why I loved it: http://adventuresofadreamingace.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-view-from-cheap-seats-love-affair.html

This was an interesting read, and examines the interplay between america's cultural responses to: Gender, Sexuality, Race, and Economic situations. The book also looks at the push back which occurred whenever individuals from any group stepped outside the cultural norms of their times. It is always interesting to see how often these cultural norms changed and what was "proper" behavior was never static

Fiction

This was a story which I had heard about at a "Banned Books" Event, which peaked my interest, and when I saw it would fit a square of "Book Bingo" I went for it. I really enjoyed this collection of vignettes, which looked at the challenges of life, and being a writer, and family, and knowing your place in the world, expressed with lots of warmth and love. This really is a wonderfully written book. 

This is a story I would have never found if it was not for "Book Bingo" and the "A book from the state you were born in" (which I converted to "A book from the "city" I was born in"). This is a very sweet (Pun intended) story about a middle schooler dealing with her single mother, who is bi-polar, moving herself and her deaf brother across the country from Texas to Schenectady to start a ice cream store. It is a story about building a community, working for your dreams despite the challenges, and asking for the help you need in life. Warning: This story is going to make you crave to eat ice cream :)