Man. I continue to read everyone's LJ posts, but I keep neglecting to post my own. I think it's because I've already got one foot out the door in my mind. Agents and publishers smile a lot more fondly on beginning writers who prove they have a web presence (proves you can promote yourself and sell more book$) and they're willing to communicate with readers, so having a blog is hugely important (and this blog should be under your real name since that's your 'brand name' as an artist.) So I keep neglecting this blog (nolan_ash) because I know I need to move over to my new one, but I never start the new one because I don't have any friends over there. So please help me stop chasing my own tail and add me as a friend here at: katherineokelly. Most of my more thoughtful posts will appear over there (basically every post that I'm not afraid to attach my professional name to), and I hope to leave this journal only for the ugly personal stuff, then hopefully phase it out completely.

I'll add you all from my other account. If you're interested in staying in contact with me, please add me back. I really do plan to post more regularly once I've got a permanent blog "home" there. If we've lost what connections or common interests that first brought us together, please don't feel obligated to add me back. If I don't hear either way from you in 3 weeks or so, I'll remove you, assuming you'd rather go off on your own. No one's being "cut", so please don't mistake this for one of those posts where someone makes their friends beg and plead just to stay. (Feh. How arrogant; I hate that drama.) You're all welcome! Just please help me make the slide over to my new main journal: http://katherineokelly.livejournal.com/ (I'd just use a name change token, but I want to keep this personal stuff separate and locked, not open for future readers who first "meet" me through my novels)

Just picked our third tomato off the vine and none of them were bug-eaten so far (last year's got eaten by slugs or something.) Hopefully we'll get a little more crop out of this month before it gets too cold again. This year we cleared a huge patch of yard and moved our garden so it gets more LIGHT (previously we planted along the fence, so it was in shade half the time.) Got to use some home-made compost from Alan's composter, though. Yeah, organic gardening! Okay, not totally organic. I added some chemical plant food because we had some lying around, but we're avoiding pesticides and using "homemade dirt." Once again, the herbs have been the most successful and culinarily useful additions to the garden. Gonna keep expanding into new herbs next year, too.

Our cat is totally indifferent to the catnip we planted for her, but the plant is flowering and the honeybees are going crazy for it. I feel bad for the bees being in such trouble, so we're making it a priority to have a bee-friendly garden, especially with native plants, rather than going for what's aesthetically pert and perfect. Screw that noise. If a plant can't survive on its own in my yard in this climate with natural rainfall, maybe it doesn't belong there. =p The only thing out of its element that I'll plant is vegetables (local farming FTW), but non-native flowers ain't happening.

Speaking of bee-type things, rounded the corner to take out the trash the other day and found a huge effing hortets' nest right under our roof with hornets industriously building away. I swear this thing sprang up in less than a week or I would have noticed it earlier, but it was HUGE by the time I spotted it. The hideous thing was as big as my chest. o_O I love animals and all, but I don't want flying territorial predators to threaten me every time I take my garbage out. Plus our house is close to a park so I'd hate to ruin any picnics or host the perpetrators of childhood stings. We sprayed that thing down with two kinds of poison (little bastards were still kicking after just one) and knocked the nest down into the trash can with a shovel. The nest was incredibly sturdy and hard to remove--an architectural marvel, really. The papery layers were quite tough. I would have explored it more, but even after the two cans of poison and waiting overnight, there was still a few stragglers clinging to life in the trash can, so I literally closed the lid on the whole affair.

Last week was extremely hot. And I know everyone on your flist is probably whining about the heat right about now, but seriously. Last Wednesday was the hottest Olympia has had in 115 years. And it's humid up here, so fans do nothing to help somehow--just moves the hot air around to no avail. Sheez. I moved from California to get AWAY from this kind of weather. I was driven out of the house each day by the heat and spent my days in coffee shops and book stores to soak up some A/C while Alan was at his air conditioned office. I can't focus on my novel in these busy locations, though, so I started writing some fanfic. Probably my first serious piece of fanfic since I started writing my novels. Mitsuru/Akihiko from Persona 3--a rare canon fem-Domme, male sub pairing that Alan and I love. I'll post it when I've got it more polished.

I just made my 10th loan (this time to a group in Cambodia) using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, I know that I'm helping them build a
sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Join me in changing the world - one loan at a time.

Thanks!


What others are saying about www.Kiva.org:

'Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.'
-- BBC

'If you've got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you've now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.'
-- CNN Money

'Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.'
-- The Wall Street Journal

'An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity...All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.'
-- Entrepreneur Magazine

Fiction writers and bloggers: By definition, anything you post in public is up for public criticism. If you can't handle negative criticism for a certain subject or a piece of work, then do the right thing and keep it to yourself. It's juvenile to post something in public and solicit opinions, but state up front that those opinions must be support/agreement.

Most people start as thin-skinned artists, but you've gotta toughen up eventually. If you can't handle the feedback from open waters like Fanfiction.net or DeviantArt.com, then start in a smaller, more encouraging community. Practice your craft and toughen up instead of being defensive and insulting your critics. Movie directors and published novelists don't get to go around censoring their reviewers or saying that only positive feedback is valid. If you're so thin-skinned and defensive about your work that you'd say, "I don't care what others think" or "I only wrote this for myself, so screw your opinion!", then why post it and allow feedback at all? Keep it in on a shelf for your own enjoyment only, or post it publicly for the enjoyment of others, but realize not everyone may agree with your artistic genius. Strengthen yourself instead of justifying yourself. It's not all about you.

You've got your own personal, political, and religious views and probably wish others agreed with them. But you know, the people with the exact opposite opinions from yours want the same thing. In the blog-o-sphere, it's open season to comment the opinions and practices of others, a freedom of speech most of us enjoy when the knifepoint is aimed at someone else. But please realize that anything you write and post is subject to the same criticism and derision that can be applied to others. If you simply can't handle disagreement on an issue, then don't bring it up for public discussion. It's insulting to your readers/friends to demand that everyone agree with and support every word that falls from your lips. Real human beings disagree with each other from time to time, and real friends will have the stones to tell you so instead of blithely nodding along. Strengthen yourself instead of justifying yourself. It's not all about you.

This is absolutely appalling. I first of this from a Christian friend who is currently serving for a year in Philadelphia doing unpaid service work for the underpriveledged in low-income neighborhoods:

Two weeks ago outside Philadelphia, sixty-five children from a summer camp tried to go swimming at a club their camp had a contract to use. Evidently, the club didn't know the kids were largely Black.

When the campers entered the pool, White parents took their kids out of the water, and the swimming club's staff asked the campers to leave. The next day, the club told the summer camp that their membership would be canceled and that they would refund their money. When asked why, the club's leader said the "kids would change the complexion ... and the atmosphere of the club."

A "Whites only" pool in 2009 should not be tolerated. The club's actions appear to be a violation of section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act. Whether or not any laws were violated, a "Whites only" pool should be something every American condemns.

I've just joined ColorOfChange.org in doing exactly that -- will you join me, and email your friends and family asking them to do the same? We're also calling on the Department of Justice to evaluate suing the facility under federal law. It takes just a moment to do both, here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/swim/?id=2241-929163

Obama is President but that doesn't mean that suddenly all is fine when it comes to race in America. This is a vivid reminder of what we know still lies beneath the surface.

We all know stories like this one -- similar incidents play out quietly every day in different communities across the country. The difference in this case is that folks got caught and there was a contract in place that makes for a potentially illegal act.

Standing up now isn't just about making things right for these kids in Philadelphia or bringing consequences to this swim club (called the Valley Swim Club). It's about creating a climate of accountability everywhere. If we can publicly shame the Valley Swim Club and hold them accountable for this incident, it will make others think twice before engaging in this kind of discrimination. ( Read more... )

Just made a batch of homemade kimchi and now it's sitting on my counter marinating. Here's hoping that fermenting cabbage in my house isn't as stinky as it sounds. >_>

I like to be very frank and personal in my posts, so I've decided to half-lock this journal. All general discussion posts are left open, but my personal stuff (and most posts over 1 month old) are locked.

Please comment here to be added or just add me and I almost always add back. =) If you like reading, don't lurk--comment! ^_^ All my most interesting and fun posts (and most of the ones with pictures) are the personal friends-locked ones.

Don't be shy. I'm very friendly and I love meeting new people. Everyone is welcome, but please leave intolerance at the door. I enjoy the company of passionate people with open minds. =)