Just A Note: 16 September 2013

Hello World!

Blogging:

Well, as you saw, maybe, from my Just a Note Flash..which is a sticky note, I’ve opened another blog that goes by the name of Through the Eye of Bastet.  The idea is to keep Bastet and Sekhmet for written work and pass all the photography (except for Haiga and the like) over to that blog.  I’ve also slightly changed the name of this blog, it is now Bastet and Sekhmet’s Library…I was going to call it the Akashic Library, as all inspiration according to some people’s belief comes from there, but I was afraid that the name would probably invite people who were looking for esoteric stuff.

A Sunday Walk, Painting the town Red, and Photo Challenges of various sorts will also go over to Through the Eye, except for Ese’s Shoot and Quote, which I feel is a more literary sort of work.  Wordless Wednesday will be posted on both blogs.

For the moment all the older Sunday Walks and Painting the town Red etc still be seen here.  Most of the Photo Challenges have been exported over to Through the eye, except Pixelventures which soon will be.  Once I’ve finished the exodus, these posts will be removed from Bastet and Sekhmet, except for those that contain my poetry.  (I’m hoping that removing the photographic posts will also remove the photos from the media library, if not, I’ll have to go and remove them one by one!)  Those photo posts with my poetry will be renamed and re-categorized.

Which brings me to what I’ve been doing over the past 6 days…creating new categories for the work I’ve done up to now! Removing old service re-blogs that no longer are important and sometimes re-editing or finishing a poem that was forgotten (like Rambling of Love which had been sitting unfinished since June!)  Long Slog!!!

Now, once finished, I’ll change theme here.  I hope to find a theme which I can use to divide the poetry from the narrative and another place for reblogs…don’t know if anything of the sort exists, but one never knows!

I’ve got a few ideas of what I want to do for my part of the 13th Floor Paradigm  For the mo’ I’ll keep that quiet, a sort of surprise, but basically I’ll be following up on things I’ve started.

Bloggers:

Unfortunately, two of my favorite bloggers have had some difficulties, in real word, which have kept them away from us.  M.E. McMahon‘s Danny had some serious health problems and has been in hospital, I’m sure you all will join me in wishing him and her the best.

Barb Taub‘s Mother, unfortunately passed away last week.  For every ex-pat the one fear that we have is being so far away when our family needs us.  Fortunately Barb was able to go home and be with her Mom for her mother’s last week on Earth.  Join me in offering our warmest sympathies to Barb and her family.

Conclusion:

The only thing I have to add at the moment is that on Thursday my conversation meetings begin again…which to me is a sure-fire confirmation that the summer is over, as if I needed any confirmation!  The Saturday the 21st is of course is fall equinox!

Have a great week people doing what you do best. Bye 🙂

Just a Note: September 2, 2013

Hello world!

As I’m running late this morning, let me just jump right into this note!

Awards!

This week I was nominated by Canadian Travelbug’s for three awards!  They are: The best Moments Award, Reader Appreciation Award, and Semper Fedelis Award.

Her nomination for me read: for poetry and a weekly photo challenge she sets. She also posts some great photos.  You may also recognise her from putting me on her Saturday Close Up

She also gave a description behind the meaning of each award!  let me quote her here:

“The Best Moment Award… This award is given to a blog that has a literary piece defining a specific moment that is thought-provoking, creative, honest, and or inspiring.

Reader Appreciation was created by my blogging friend Jennifer at My Sardinian Life for people who read and commented on her blog and gave a worthwhile contribution by doing so.

The last one Semper Fidelis shows appreciation for fellow on-line friends who you consider part of your ‘wolf pack’ (that is their words not mine )”

I’d already received the above awards except for the Reader Appreciation award, so I’ll just show you this award, which I appreciated very much!

Thank you so much for you expression of appreciation!

And as always, I’d like to dedicate these awards to my faithful readers!  It’s great to have a lot of followers, but what is really special is to have faithful readers and commenters, like Canadian Travelbugs!  So for you who read, here’s a warm hug and award.  Thanks for existing!

Publishing:

As those of you that read me on Saturday discovered Sahm King from We Drink Because We’re Poets finished editing and published the first anthology which also encluded 10 of my poems!  I’ve already written a whole post dedicated to this, for me, wonderful event.  You can go and look at it here!  On both pages you can find the link to Smashwords where you can download your free copy!  Yes, it’s free…this one is an introduction to our different voices in poetry.  Go get your copy and tell us what you think!

Blogging:

I had a melancholy week, only to be expected when the season begins to change, as you can see from Bastet’s Pixelventure’s 27 August 2013.  The middle season, can be a time of great inspiration, but alas it can also be a moment melancholy reflection.

However, in my lifetime I’ve faced melancholy over and over again, and I’ve found what works for me is accepting that it’s there and then move on.  So, I’ve decided to participate in a daily Haiga challenge!  Here’s the first Haiga:

The initiative has been taken by The 19th Planets Art Blog 210/2013 if you want to participate go to the link and get the instructions!  This is the second prompt, which you may or may not want to use.

I was so very happy this week, when one of my favorite writers participated in Wordless Wednesday with her photographs!  Cranky aka ME McMahon related her fantastic adventure trying to photograph her first progressive sunrise…I think it was fantastic!  Have a look: “Shh…It’s Wordless Wednesday!” and as any great writer would do on her other blog she wrote of the adventure it was to get those photos “A Wacky Walk“.  Take a few minutes if you haven’t done so yet and have a look.  You’ll love the Wacky Walk 🙂 !

Well, I actually have lots of stuff to tell you, but not much time left, as I woke up late this morning!  I’d just like to indicate a few great bloggers that i think you might like to read and follow:  Cubby did a great blog on the Ghazal, which has inspired me to try another of those great poems.  Ese’s Weekly Quote and Shoot Challenge is another inspiration, and its through her I discovered the Haibun at The Ligo Haibun Challenge!  Have you ever wondered what would happen if a famous poet or author were to be edited in our day and age…I do often, this is a very funny post: “What if Emily Dickinson Attended a Writer’s Workshop?” some food for thought!  And, as we’re all getting ready for autumn, I thought that this blog kind of puts everything in a Zen perspective: Spring from My Dogablog, Monty reminds us that in Australia the seasons are really very relative!  And last but not least a special word for the 13th Floor Paradigm…there are some pretty interesting workshops that have recently opened up, go have a look into writing sonnets and mythology, just to name two…oh and I do something from time to time about Japanese Poetry and Literature 😉 .

Have a nice week everyone and see you in blogosphere!

Bastet (via Georgia)

30 days of Haiga: September 1

Haiku

footsteps

footsteps in cement
fall rain highlights memory
persons never seen

Cropped photograph partially processed.

Challenge can be found at The 19th Planets Art Blog!

Just a Note: Monday 12 August 2013

Hello World!

Impression

Another week has flown by!  It seems to me I’d just finished my last Just a Note and here I am again trying to make a summary of my “week that was”!  I think the reason is because these weeks are so full of wonderful things happening…one of which is the rebirth of enthusiasm.  So, let me get this on the road!

Awards:

This has been a voice that’s been missing over the past two weeks…alas, a kind of calm before the storm!  This week Bastet and Sekhmet have been nominated by three people for some great awards.

At the beginning of the week, Richard Danker of richardankerswrites nominated me for The WordPress Family Award..with a lovely note attached…first of all I’d like to thank Richard, a fine poet by the way whom I think everyone should go and visit, and congratulate him on his fine blog!

Then, in the middle of the week Sweetness 6645 from Chronicles of a Public Transport User surprised me with a lovely bouquet of awards! The ABC, Inner Peace, Most Influential Blogger, Sunshine and Most Versatile Blogger awards!  Thank you so much for these fine mentions!  Everybody, if you like to laugh this is the place to go…having myself been a Public Transport User over the years, her blog tickles me as they tickle my memories of travelling on buses, trains and metros all with a photo she’s shot to illustrate her blog!  She also participates in the photography challenges and what little works of art she produces…go have a look!

 

And then…to my complete surprise…Sahm A. King, that talented force of nature nominated me for yet another award, this time the Versatile Blogger Award with a fantastic mention:

“Bastet not only takes photos, but she writes poetry using a variety of forms (to include even freeverse).  It doesn’t stop there.  She’s also a moderator on We Drink Because We’re Poets, and she has the Pixelventures photo prompts there, on top of featuring photographers!”

I’d really like to thank Sahm for his glowing words.  You’ve all read me write about Sahm over the months…I met him in March at his Arkside of Thought where I’d read one of his famous 5 Points in Sarcasm posts about poets.  I’ll admit, I didn’t understand where he was going to until the very end of the post when, voilà, I realized I was reading sarcastic irony at its finest…through him I visited We Drink and participated using their daily poetry prompts, and began to write poetry again after very many years of never putting word to rhyme!  If today I can call myself poet, it’s thanks to Sahm King.  Go have a look at the Arkside of Thought and We Drink Because We’re Poets…you may become inspired!

This week has been a week where I’ve seen “following” pop up very often and so I’d like to dedicate these awards to the new friends of Bastet and Sekhmet and welcome you to the community!  Take your pick, choose an award and say Bastet nominated you!

Blogging:

I have felt very inspired by a group of poets/writers that I’ve been meeting with recently in blogworld.  Their single names are yet to be publicized, but if you’re following my posts, you’ll see that we are 13…sometimes we mention each other’s work…we prompt (this one’s from the lovely Lilith!) and follow each other’s prompts.  I wrote a poem in dedication to the group called Bard’s Song and invented a new poetry form which I’ve dedicated to them called “The Group Effect” the link will take you to the second poem I wrote using this form, but I presented it the first time at We Drink for the Thursday Poetry Prompt.  Working and collaborating with fellow bloggers is a great experience…something that I think we should all try.  I think I’ll be talking more about The Group in the future.

I don’t write only poetry as you know…I also dabble in short stories.  I’m not publishing many lately, mostly because I’ve been very busy in other directions.  There is also another reason why I hesitate now to post my stories.  I’d like to publish them some day outside of blogworld, and it seems that once posted, many e-zines and magazines consider the work published and won’t accept the work as original!  This and other little important bits of news into short story publishing I’ve come across through a very interesting post “A Dream Come True” sister post of “Granny Says” by M.E. McMahon aka Cranky.

Since I’ve known her she’s been encouraging me to publish…I’ve hesitated, believe it or not, I’m not really sure of all of this newly discovered faith that you’ve all shown in my writing and photographic skills.  To me it’s just stuff I’ve dabbled with in one form or another over the years and I’d never expected to go beyond friends and family with any of it.

So, I’m thinking…maybe I’ll write some password posts with a series I’ve in mind of short stories…which I will then try to publish, once shaped up into saleable material…thanks Cranky and Blu (though you may not know why) for the idea.

Thoughts for Ionia:

Many of you have read Ionia, many have had the privilege of having her comment your work…Ionia is another of those talented forces of nature that inspire and stimulate us all.  Today, Ionia is going to go and “kick cancer’s ass” and I would like for all of you to put your best foot forward in the realm of positive thinking…let’s help Ionia…keep her in your thoughts. My special thanks to John W. Howell for his wonderful blog (and this idea) for Ionia…you’ll be able to read it clicking the link on positive thinking above.

Well…as the closing song of an old 60s TV show went: That was the week that was…it’s over and it’s gone…now the work begins for the new week!  What new adventures are awaiting, what new inspiration, what new stories, poems and photographs!

Have a great week!  Bastet.