Guest Poster Susan Kane

It's my pleasure to introduce today's guest poster, Susan Kane who blogs at thecontemplativecat

I love her tagline:

One who observes and thinks about one has seen, what has passed my way, what greater meaning lies behind and beneath life's small events.

Today she'll be sharing her take on what makes good writing.

The pieces matter. The pieces are what combine to make a whole.

This seems simplistic, I know, but this sums up my approach to everything. Paying attention to the details of life, art, writing, quilting, relationships—those pieces or details change everything.

When I was teaching third and fourth graders about writing, convincing them to focus on the pieces of an experience was next to impossible. Write about the best thing you got to do? Your favorite day? The best birthday ever? *Sigh*

Every story was a bed-to-bed story in which the student got up, went to Disneyland, ate pizza, and came home (to bed). Blah. That was it. It took months to work through the clock and write about an event that lasted five minutes. Only five minutes.

The most successful write was after we had gone on a field trip to the butterfly exhibit at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was a domed tropical habitat filled with plants, water streams, and freshly-hatched butterflies.

Students wrote about the awe they experienced when an amazing tropical butterfly landed on their hands. Still, they stood so still watched the splendor of this fragile creation. Then they understood what it meant to write about just those minutes when they experienced beauty in such a form.

As a life-long writer, I have learned that it is the minutes that make up our lives, not the broad sweeping strokes of time.

I have learned that longer is not necessarily the best writing. Slash that adjective! Burn that adverb! Modifying progressive verb phrases? Fewer are better… Long hefty paragraphs are weary. I stop paying attention midway. Elaborate metaphors are tiring.

Now I write in pieces with the goal of combining to make a whole. But, man! I make those pieces sing. Make them dance. Paint them with vivid senses.

After that, I pray that the reader experiences the joy I felt in the writing.

Just a quick reminder from the guest post scheduler, we are still accepting guest posts. This is your chance to use this blog with a nice following to showcase your blog and what you're all about. Email me directly (see email addresses under the contact tab) if you're interested.

An Improvement or Not? The On-Going Debate

          Today's A to Z Challenge analysis comes to you from Arlee Bird:

A to Z Badge by Ada Z from Collagepodge.com

 Where We've Been So Far


          We've been listening to your thoughts about the Challenge and mulling over some of our own.    I'm sure the debate will continue.   Over the past few weeks on this A to Z Blog I've been taking a look at the good and the bad of the A to Z Challenge.   I also asked for your thoughts on the misunderstood and somewhat neglected A to Z Video Contest.   If anyone reading this post today missed any of those three evaluation posts, I hope you will go back and check them out.  I also hope that everyone checked out the excellent comments on those posts to get a better perspective of what others thought.

 The Biggest Problem That We Can Control

          The general response to the A to Z Challenge is positive.  But as with anything involving so many people with so many different ways of approaching things, problems do arise.  For the nuisances such as CAPTCHA, blog platform incompatibility  (such as WordPress versus Blogger), bloggers who don't reciprocate with visits and comments, and other negatives that rest on individual bloggers or internet specific sources, there is probably not much we can do.

          However, there is one problem that seemed to be cited more than any other--THE MONSTER LIST! Repeatedly participants have cited that the list was intimidating and too massive to tackle.  Our suggestion of visiting at least five blogs a day starting on the list with the blog following yours was heeded by some and worked well for many of those who tried this method.    But this was not favored by everyone.

           Here are some of the problems that were cited about the big list as it was:

• Too much time wasted on blogs that were not participating or had quit.
• Didn't like finding advertising blogs and blogs too heavy on self-promo.
• The overwhelming numbers mean it is just not possible to visit everyone for those of us with limited time.
• Encountering blogs with offensive subject matter.
• Don't have time to keep visiting blogs in which I have no interest.
• Would prefer to just visit blogs in my interest range.

           On the other hand, many of you love the big random list.  It provides an element of surprise and allows you to discover excellent blogs that you might normally not visit.  The large blind list provides an adventure that is part of what makes the A to Z Challenge to exciting and rewarding.

          I will admit that I like the big list as well, but as a co-host I realize how much work is involved in maintaining a list such as the one we have been using.  There are two sides to this story so how do we find a solution that can please everyone?   I believe that I have one that will come close if not completely appease all camps.

My Suggested Solution

        The plan that I have would require special programming and possibly a separate web site--I don't know that it can be done on Blogger or any other blog hosting site.  I don't have specific details on how to achieve this but I'm going to lay out the general concept to get some feedback from you readers.

         The sign up process would be a bit more complex than merely adding a link to a Linky List.  There would be a screening process that would verify email addresses and blog links which would start us off with a clean list with no broken links that might have to be fixed later and would possibly eliminate more of the spam blogs.  

          As a part of the screening process entrants would be required to choose a category or categories in which their blog would be placed with a designated limit decided beforehand.  Blogs (such as my own eclectic site Tossing It Out ) could be listed in multiple category lists    Possibly some of the categories such as writing could even be broken down into subcategories.  We could also possibly add a rating system such as the kind done for movies and television.

         A screening registration process might even allow for information (probably optional) such as location (as was suggested by one of the British bloggers), blogging platform, blogging experience, interests, or what have you.   Information of this nature might help bloggers with common goals and interests to meet up and connect.    The NaNoWriMo site offers this sort of thing and participants in that event even have regional meet-ups.  As A to Z grows, we might be able to do similar things.   It might be fun for those who are interested to meet up in a local coffee shop or the like to share blogging help and camaraderie.

       After the initial screening registration process the blog links would go first into a master list where all the blog links are listed blindly as they are in the Linky List.   This list would appear on a main page.   Separate pages would contain the lists of the different categories.  This could be as vast and intricate as we cared to make it, but the final outcome would be that we would have a number of lists that would pertain to more specific things that would help those with limited time or patience to deal with the larger list.

         In essence we'd have a random list for those who like the big list and simpler lists for those who like that idea better.   And for those who really like the element of randomness we could always include the popular "Surprise Me" button that Marcus Clearspring developed for us.

        What we would probably lose in doing this central list would be the mobility that we have with a Blog Hop list.  The list would probably be confined to only one site, although it's probable that we could have the capacity to register on any co-host site if that were desirable.   My feeling is that a link list in one location is probably better anyway since as it gets bigger most of you probably would not be using it on your own blog.

         I can see many other advantages of doing the list as I have suggested, but for now I'll leave you with this initial presentation.   Let me emphasize that the registration would require only basic information needed to place you on the list.  In other words, we wouldn't be asking for extreme personal data and we wouldn't be collecting data.   The sole purpose would be to find you placement on the list and make sure as best we can that you are a legitimate blogger who is serious about participation in the Challenge.

          Now I open this up to you.  Do you think this sounds like a reasonable solution?  Would you have a problem with a simple registration process if it meant achieving what I've described here?   Do you see any possible flaws with what I've described?   What are some of your suggestions?
         
               

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Letter Play - 'Juno' Yearbook Movie Scrapbook Layout

The following tutorial is brought to you by Nicole from The Madlab Post...

It’s time for Letter Play - Where DIY activities, cinema and life offline collide! 

In celebration of the Class of 2012 and their upcoming summer vacation, I put together a little movie scrapbook layout inspired by the comedy starring Ellen Paige, Michael Cera and Jennifer Garner. You know how the senior class usually has a yearbook that they get their friends to sign? Well, why not try making a yearbook page just for family and friends who are just as excited to celebrate a huge milestone in the life of their favorite son, daughter, nephew, niece, sibling...you get the picture?! If nothing else, it gives you somewhere to place those photos that either didn’t make it in the yearbook or have just been snapped during the graduation.

Basic Materials

To make this Juno inspired yearbook movie scrapbook layout, you will need one 81/2 by 11 inch sheet each of white, black, gold (or yellow), orange, maroon (or red) and purple cardstock paper. You will also need green letters J, U and N; one glue stick, scissors, ruler and scrap paper. The remaining materials needed for this scrapbook page include one green, orange and black marker each. Photos, embellishments and other graphics are optional.

Instructions

Step 1. Divide your orange cardstock sheet into one-inch sections, using a ruler and pencil. If done correctly, this sheet will have 11 vertically drawn lines on one side, when finished.

Step 2. Divide your white cardstock into one-inch sections using the same directions in Step 1 and then cut out five one-inch strips, using scissors.

Step 3. Starting with the second orange section, glue one white strip on top of every other section on your orange cardstock sheet.

Step 4. Cut out two 3 by 3 inch squares from your black cardstock sheet and then glue one square each in the upper right and lower left corners of the orange cardstock sheet.

Step 5. Apply the green J, U and N letter to the lower right side of the orange cardstock sheet, using your glue stick.

Step 6. Cut out a 3 by 4 or 3 by 5 inch square shape from your maroon (or red) cardstock sheet and then glue it to the middle of your orange sheet. It should be positioned lengthwise between the two black squares.

Step 7. Cut out two thin strips of yellow cardstock to match the length of your maroon shape and then cut out one thicker strip of yellow cardstock. Set these items aside and then cut out one thin strip of purple cardstock to match the length of your yellow strips. Repeat this step to make four thin white cardstock strips.

Step 8. Glue the thick yellow strip over the top edge of your maroon shape and then glue the thin yellow strips of cardstock on the bottom of this shape, keeping enough space between them to add the purple strip. Glue the purple strip between the two thin yellow strips of cardstock, overlapping them, if necessary. Glue one white strip of cardstock between the yellow and purple strips and then use the remaining two white strips to create a border around the outer edges of your top and bottom yellow cardstock strips.

Step 9. Decorate by gluing photos in the center of the two black squares and attaching logos or one additional photo in the center of the maroon cardstock shape. Ask family, friends, classmates, etc. to sign your yearbook scrapbook page -OR- sign it yourself, pass it around to other family members and then give as a memento gift to a recent school graduate. It’s a nice activity for elementary, middle, high school and/or college graduation parties, where you could also utilize the back of the scrapbook sheet as well to provide more space for guests to write a message and sign for the graduate in the class of 2012!

Here is an example that I made using photos of actor Jude Law, who was the May 2012 King Dong on my blog:

I also added Paulie Bleeker’s team logo in the middle, just to show you all some possibilities for decorating your own Juno inspired yearbook scrapbook page.

Need some extra blogging motivation? Sign up to participate in the Monday Movie Meme, a fun weekly group writing activity that introduces you to new movies and helps you realize just how many (...or how little) films you've watched to date. New topics are posted every Monday!

~NICOLE
Read The Madlab Post & Find/Follow/RT @MadlabPost on Twitter.

A to Z of Happiness

This post is brought to you by AZ co-host Damyanti, from Amlokiblogs.

Everyone wants to be happy, and they search for that state all their lives-- not realizing that it lies in simple things, in fleeting moments.

Guest Post, Siv Ottem: Lost and Found

It's my privilege and honor to introduce this guest post. Siv Maria of “Been there, done that.” has an amazing and personal story to tell that will warm your heart and perhaps bring a tear to your eye. Don't forget to visit her personal blog, too.

One year ago today my son found me, 35 years after I had given him up for adoption. Those of you that have been following my blog this past year probably know the story, but for those of you that do not, I am re-posting some of those posts today. Here is what happened and how it has changed my life forever.

The three of us, lost and then found

May happens to be an amazing month for me. Do you have a certain month where for some unexplained reason; life grabs you and makes you pay attention? May is that month for me. Maybe my mother, who was born in May, genetically imprinted this month for future events into my DNA. I married my husband in May, my youngest son was born in May, and two children who were lost to me found me once again, in the month of May. Two years ago on May 12th my daughter, who I lost through a messy divorce years ago, found me on Facebook. Last year on May 10th my firstborn son found me as well.

You cannot possibly imagine the effect this has had on my life and the life of my family. In one year, I gained two more children, two grandchildren, a son-in-law and various new friends, including the estranged father of my first son. My husband became a step-father, my mother a great grandmother, and all my children gained more siblings. My son, who lost both his adoptive parents and had no siblings, suddenly had a huge family with grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and cousins. I often think how overwhelming this must be for him, and how many more surprises are still in store for all of us.
My youngest daughter traveled to the states last summer to meet both her sister and older brother for the first time. I traveled there soon after and got to spend time with the both of them. I also got to meet my grandchildren for the first time. There have been a lot of first times for everyone and this summer there will be even more. My son is coming to visit us and finally meet more members of his family!
We all connected through Facebook and keep in touch using Skype. My son learned a lot about me before we even had the chance to talk. He found my blog “Been there, done that” on Facebook, went there and read all about me and my life. Questions he has asked himself his entire life were answered in one tiny corner of cyberspace called blogger.

One year ago I got out of bed and started the day with ordinary expectations, when I went to bed that night I realized that my expectations would never be ordinary again. How could they be? In one year I had given birth to two grown children, and the funny thing is ...
No matter how grown up they may be,
they still feel like--- my babies to me.

All of us can get lost, but thankfully we can also be found.

the Bad...

Today we continue with Arlee Bird's Challenge analysis

The Good, the Bad, and the Evaluation...

Artwork by Ada Z at Collagepodge.com

We're gonna talk about the negatives:

        Two weeks ago we looked at the good of the A to Z Challenge. I think it's fair to say that from all the feed back we've received through the Reflections posts and your comments, the positive aspects of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge far outweigh the bad.

         Some of the negatives that have been cited are more personal and were covered  in my post on The Negative Responses to the A to Z that appeared last year.  You can go to that post if you want a more detailed coverage of negatives.

         Repeatedly this year we saw essentially the same negative aspects brought to our attention.  Some of these we tried our best to fix and I'm not sure how we can change them.

The dreaded Captcha:

        The matter of Word Verification or spam filters rests with individual bloggers.  On this A to Z site, on co-host sites, and on some of your sites requests were made repeatedly for bloggers to turn off spam filtering devices to make comment access easier.  Some of the co-hosts and participants even went so far as to leave our requests in the offending sites' comments.  We were somewhat effective, but many blogs still remained that required visitors to get through Captcha to leave a comment.  We tried.

No play, no stay:

       After sign-ups closed we eliminated about 200 blogs from the list that were advertising or non-participant blogs.  Nevertheless many of you discovered more that we missed.  Also as the Challenge progressed there was an attrition rate of bloggers who fell by the wayside.  I'll cover a bit more about this topic of the "blogs that waste our time to visit" next Monday when we evaluate the Challenge as it stands now and ideas on how to make it better.

What if we don't agree with content?:

        There were also some complaints about certain blog content that some deemed as inappropriate.  The co-hosts labored over this issue to a great extent and concluded that it was not necessarily a good thing to get into the business of censorship.  We came to the conclusion that some blogs needed content warnings, but we would not want to be excluding any blogs based on content as long as the other A to Z stipulations were being followed.  We'd like to get some feedback on this issue as we don't want to alienate any of you who sincerely want to participate in the April Challenge.

The Biggest Problem is the biggest aspect:

         The most oft cited problem pertained to the overwhelming size of the list.   Over and over I saw requests to label the list entrants, break down the list into categories, or limit the number of participants.   I think the last solution is not a good one and for me is out of the question.  One of the main objectives of the A to Z Challenge is to build community and we have been doing a pretty good job of this.  Limiting entrants would create a spirit of exclusivity that would not fit well into the idea of reaching out to expand our reach to build communities.

          There are some viable alternatives to labeling and categorizing that I think would present a very workable solution to the problem of the large list.  Some of you are in opposition to breaking things down, but I truly think I have an answer that would be an attractive way to approach this problem.   Next Monday I will explain my plan in detail to see what you think.

           Were there any other major negative aspects that you think I missed?   What more could we have done to get bloggers to co-operate with what was explained many times?  Were there any blogs that you found offensive and if so how do you think they should be handled?



       

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Guest Blogger, Jennifer Forbes: When we’re young we’re always looking up to someone…..

I come from a really large Irish Catholic family. One of my earliest memories is me standing in the middle of a bunch of really loud people who were much bigger than me and looking up……

We live in a world of instant information, news 24/7, smart phones, texting, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, blogging....seriously I could go on and on.

Imagine being a kid today being inundated with all types of faces, personalities, athletes, the lure of money, having all types of people to emulate and all of them perspective role models. It really must be difficult to be a kid growing up today. Now imagine having to turn away from all that glitz and glimmer and see your own parent, grandparent, godparent or teacher/coach or pastor and really “get” that they have value to your life and future as a role model; not easy I imagine.

It must be even harder to be that parent keeping your child in check, keeping him or her grounded with all that distraction. Do you find this a challenge as a parent?

When I was a kid Mom would go to the front door and yell out…. Jeeeenifer and I'd know it was time to stop whatever I was doing with my friends and head home for lunch/ dinner or for the day. I'd be outside with my friends all the time TV was something I rarely watched. Maybe in the evenings I’d catch a bit of tube with my Nana. TV and radio and records were basically the extent of media and entertainment back in my day.  I don't recall actually ever considering any one actor, athlete or musician as a role model. I realize now I was lucky that I didn’t have the temptations kids have today so I didn’t have to make those difficult choices.

I actually was blessed in life to have three very special role models, my Mom, my Nana and my Godmother my Aunt Frances; three strong and steady presences in my life throughout my life. I was the only girl one of three children so my relationship with my Mom always solid, never wavering. Even now we share a special bond; she's the person I speak to every day about everything and anything, my confidant, my next door neighbor and closest female friend. Then there was my Nana.  We went to Mass together, we baked together, sewed together, crocheted and knitted together, we took walks, and there is hardly a memory of my childhood that she isn't in. And then my Godmother my Aunt Frances, she had a way of making a person (namely me!) feel special, and when you're a kid there is nothing more important than that. Heck, she made me feel that way as an adult too, she really was an amazing woman.

Now a day, we communicate by "throwing” texts, since most every kid has a cell phone, at least most kids I know do. I text with my grandchildren and nieces and nephews, seriously! Now we communicate by using e-mail or twitter because it's more convenient we rarely even pick up the phone anymore. Let’s not lose our sense of family in all that technology please!

And that gets me back to my original point regarding role models for our kids.

I'm afraid that many kids today are losing those traditional role models [parents, grandparents, godparents, teachers, coaches, and clergy] and are choosing role models who are movie stars, musicians and athletes. While some may be worthy as role models many are poised to fall off the pedestal kids tend to put them on. Many have amazing talent and they wow our children and even us with those abilities. What concerns me is this...what happens when they fall off that pedestal I mentioned due to general bad behavior, excessive drug or alcohol use, criminal behavior and the like. What about our children then?

So tell me folks, is this a matter of concern for you? Who are your children's role models or if you don't have kids who were your role models when you were a young?

Till next time Jen

jenfbs@gmail.com

http://werelivingafulllife.blotspot.com

Alphabet Remix - Juggling Jennifers in April

These A to Z Challenge blogging ideas are brought to you by Nicole from The Madlab Post...

It’s time for The Alphabet Remix - A Writing Prompt Idea Engine Treating A to Z Blogging Avoidance Disorders

Just because several other bloggers have written about the same topic, for the same letter during the Blogging from A to Z Challenge does not mean you cannot blog about this same subject too. There are many ways to avoid looking like you just jumped on the bandwagon of A to Z participants who chose a common or popular topic that is now being blogged into the ground because everyone is talking about the same thing in the same way. Instead of choosing a different subject, especially if the popular or common topic interests you, try putting a spin on it by writing posts that are related to the subject but has enough variety to stand out among the crowd.

If you are a comic book, film, Robert Downey Jr. or superhero fan and notice that many, if not most A to Z Challenge bloggers wrote a movie review for The Avengers as their Letter A post, then don’t just dismiss the idea of using The Avengers as your subject of choice. Instead, try writing a comparison of all of The Avengers, pitting them against each other in a hypothetical battle. Write about who you think would win in a fight between Iron Man and Captain America.

Still stumped for ideas? Here are some examples, based on Actresses named Jennifer, that you can use to get your blogging juices flowing for the 2013 A to Z Challenge -- and turn this common name into unexpected blog post ideas.

Jennifer Garner Jokes
Post a joke about the actress and then ask your readers if they think it’s funny or not. Don’t have time to go searching for celebrity humor? That’s fine. Here is one from Daily Comedy:

Jennifer Garner recently filed a restraining order against a man who’s been following her around.

The man...Ben Affleck!

Also, challenge readers to rewrite the joke and see who comes up with the most clever or funniest one.

You could also post a joke that was made by the actress and then share your thoughts on whether you think she was funny or not. When asked if she would post in a bikini, Garner jokingly responded to David Letterman, “Not enough double-sided tape in the world to keep everything in place.”

Judge and Jury: Controversial Remarks by Jennifers of Hollywood
Nope, this ain’t no James Patterson novel that I’m talking about today. The literary great can, however, be used as motivation for you to re-cast one of his Alex Cross movies or write a blog post that lists actors who you think would be the right fit for a film adaptation of Judge and Jury. Now getting back to this alphabet remix, consider blogging about a comment made by one of the famous Jennifers in Hollywood and share your thoughts on it. Also, open the discussion up to your readers.

When talking about juggling work, motherhood and marriage, Jennifer Lopez said “So you are going to be either a bad mom and be a really good career woman and wife; or a good mom and career woman and a bad wife; or a good mom and a good wife and your career is gonna suck. I want to get a T-shirt that says, 'Bullsh--!” -- Do YOU agree or disagree that these are the choices for women?

While discussing her squirrel-skinning scene in “Winter’s Bone,” actress and “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence told Rolling Stone Magazine “I should say it wasn’t real, for PETA. But screw PETA” -- which prompted a response from the animal rights organization. -- Should we concern ourselves with fictional depictions of animal abuse or is PETA out of line?

Jazzy Juice about Jennifer Hudson
While other A to Z Challengers are listing their favorite Jennifer Hudson songs or favorite movies featuring this actress (which is fine to do, by the way), you can take a different approach to the subject matter and teach readers something about her that they didn’t know by sharing trivia facts or related news while also adding your thoughts to make it unique.

Did you know that Jennifer Hudson has her own holiday? That’s right. In 2007, the mayor of Chicago declare March 6th as “Jennifer Hudson Day.” So, write about how you would celebrate this holiday or better yet, if you could give a local celebrity his or her own holiday, who would it be and why?

Did you also know that Jennifer Hudson turned down the leading role of an abused teenager in the drama film “Precious” because she didn’t want to put on anymore weight? -- then later said the character just wasn't meant for her. In her book about weight loss, Hudson said that although she liked the script, she didn’t want another role that had something to do with her weight, after working on “Dreamgirls.” As a result, Hollywood newcomer Gabourey Sidibe was case as the “Precious” lead. That isn’t the only time this Academy Award winning actress turned down a big offer. Hudson also turned down an invitation to perform at President Obama’s inauguration, which would have been her first time in the spotlight following the murder of her mother, brother and nephew.

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Before we wrap today’s A to Z blog post up, join me for some Friday Fun Time housekeeping.
The WINNER of last week’s Alphabet Soup game is...

Tina Downey at Life is Good


Tina’s Alphabet Soup Prize Package Includes: bragging rights, the title of 'Alphabet Wizard,' the option of selecting my next Monday Movie Meme topic* AND most importantly, the authority to choose the letter for the next Alphabet Soup game.
*Must be a topic/theme that has not been previously covered.


Congratulations to Tina for unscrambling all 10 names of actors and actresses whose first name begins with the letter J! I also want to give a special shout out to Delores at The Tormented Scribe for also taking a chance and playing this game by unscrambling at least one of the names on the puzzle. Delores, you are a true sport! For those of you who played and for those of you who missed it, here are the answers to last week’s Alphabet Soup:

1. Jhcaknsooa Jus - Joshua Jackson

2. otkeacaJnsn J - Janet Jackson

3. ernnnH fidoeuJs - Jennifer Hudson

4. nferCylonJen ine - Jennifer Connely

5. tosifei nnAJrnne - Jennifer Aniston

6. errCJy mia - Jim Carrey

7. eeortJtl nuSelm - Jurnee Smollett

8. JrnOCo lelnry - Jerry O’Connell

9. NlckoncJiohas - Jack Nicholson

10. kck acaBJl - Jack Black

Need some extra blogging motivation? Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly writing and memory activity that will have you thinking about movies in a whole new light. New topics are posted every Monday!

NICOLE
Read The Madlab Post.
Find/Follow/RT @MadlabPost on Twitter.

The Fermi Paradox

Hi everyone, and thanks for stopping by! My name is Stephen Tremp and I blog over at Breakthrough Blogs, mainly on science, science fiction, writing, promoting, and miscellaneous stuff. In keeping with my current mini-series theme of Aliens, I'd like to re-post an article from last year by Rusty Webb as he discusses a most fascinating subject: The Fermi Paradox. Take it away Rusty ...

To understand the context a bit better we need to think back to when European explorers started exploring the Pacific Ocean in earnest, a most curious thing met them at almost every stop they made: People.


Where did they come from?

People spilled out of Southeast Asia thousands of years ago. They spread across the great ocean on little more than rafts, hopping from island to island, most likely facing starvation and death from exposure as they drifted off into the great unknown to see what was out there. Within a relatively short period of time they’d covered the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand to Easter Island to Hawaii. Hundreds of islands, all full of people.

If we look at into the night sky and think of each star as an island in the pacific the question arises, if we go and explore, will we once again discover that someone has been there before us? Hopping from planet to planet like the Polynesians did here on earth so long ago?

We should. Well, we should if life is out there. In fact, they shouldn’t just be out there – they should be here.

And if we, people that is, decided to head for the stars now, or even if we waited a century to two to get the engineering issues that make space travel difficult sorted out – we could cover every habitable nook and cranny of our galaxy – a hundred billion stars – in as little as a few million years. A blink of an eye when compared to the age of the galaxy itself. It doesn’t require made up technologies and lightspeed vessels. We know how to do this.

So then, if there are aliens out there, anywhere in our hundred billion stars in the night sky – or have been at any time in the past 10 billion years – and even one race, one species of aliens, burst out from their home and into the starry night, then everywhere we look in the heavens should be the home of an interstellar civilization. If more than one civilization arose and did the same, then space would be very crowded.

So where is everyone?
Enrico Fermi thought the very same thing, and most stories say he blurted out the question while having lunch with colleagues. They should be out there, they should be here.

But they’re not, at least not in a way we can recognize.

There’s no shortage of possible answers. Many books have graced the shelves of our local libraries and bookstores on the topic. But no one knows.

So I ask you. Where is everyone?

You can visit Rusty at his blog The Blutonian Death Egg.

As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed Rusty’s post. I sure did. And I invite you to stop by my Website at Breakthrough Blogs for my Aliens series. We’ll cover many topics beyond little green men. See you there!

Special Feature - A to Z Challenge Veteran, Author Yvonne Lewis

Today I have the honor of featuring one of my dearest blogger buddies, someone I often refer to as my online mom – author and poet, Yvonne Lewis. I met Yvonne during the very first A to Z Challenge!

Tell us a little about your theme for this last Challenge:

My theme for the last Challenge "Blast From The Past" to me was special as it took me back to my formative years when Rock'Roll was just staring out and there were so many singers that went on to greater things. The songs are still being played today, it was a wonderful era to be a teenager.

Which movie was your favorite?

My favorite movie is "Somewhere In Time" starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, It was a real weepie and had some wonderful background music.

This was our third Challenge together. Do you remember anything from the first one?

What I remember from the first Challenge was I was first to sign up, it was fun and I made many friends yourself included. It was also the start of gaining many followers, up til then I only had a few.

You are a BIG fan of Daniel O Donnell. Confession time – how many times and places have you seen Daniel in concert?

Alex this next question is the granddaddy of them all. I have seen Daniel in concert in excess of 150 TIMES. Over a 14 yr period that is. I have seen him in S. Ireland, N. Ireland, England, and Scotland. In the US I have seen him at Branson MO, Las vegas, Palm Springs, Pasadena. Toronto, Wilkes Barre, Providence and Nashville TN.

You also met Challenge founder, Arlee Bird. What is he REALLY like?

What is Arlee Bird REALLY like? well Alex not to make Arlee blush, he is a real gentleman. He made both myself and brother most welcome in LA. It was the highlight of my vacation. As you imagine him to be in Blogsphere that is how Arlee is in person.

You are a master poet and the author of two books. When did you discover poetry as a writer?

I wrote my first poem in 1994 when my dog died, I didn't write again until 1998 when my first grandchild was born. Little did I think that from then on I'd be writing poetry 14yrs later. My mother passed away 10 days after my grandchild was born, three days later was told my husband had terminal brain cancer and he too was gone 2 months later. I found I could express my feelings into poetry and as the years have gone on have written much more lighter poems.


Yvonne is the author of two books and I asked her to describe her latest for you:

WRITTEN FROM THE HEART:

This book that I wrote

Was to let the readers see.

That after many years of heartache,

There's fun and laughter in me

.

Like going to the park,

And descend a slide

While my children and grandchildren

Conveniently disappear and hide.

The book also enlightens people

My blessings I do count.

There are many worse off than me,

That I do not doubt.

My love of traveling is evident to see,

Touring the U.S. and Spain.

So I can escape from

Britain's continual rain.

Also Daniel O Donnell concerts,

I really do enjoy.

I'd travel to the ends of the earth,

To see my "Danny Boy".

The "Blurb" of the book,

I'm proud of I confess.

For the final part was written

By fellow blogger Alex....no less.

I wrote this book in the first place,

To let the whole world see.

But most importantly

That my family would be proud of me.

I know some of you have already bought,

I'm so grateful for a start.

I think there's a poem for everyone,

In "Written From The Heart"

- Yvonne Lewis

Visit Yvonne at Welcome to My World of Poetry and purchase her book at Amazon

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE

Guest Post, Rachel Morgan: The A to Z Challenge Helped Me Promote My Books

We're very happy to have Rachel back! She's a repeat guest poster, and you also probably remember her from her amazing stop motion and WINNING A-Z Promo video. Without further ado...

The A to Z Challenge Helped Me Promote My Books 

The great thing about the A to Z Challenge is that we always get to "meet" a whole lot of new people. So I thought ... wouldn't it be great if I could introduce all these new people to the series I'd just begun publishing? Well, I thought it was a great idea! But how to link my A to Z theme to my Creepy Hollow series ...

Well, by fiction, of course (I am, after all, a writer)! Violet, the main character in the series, is one of an elite force of faeries training to become a guardian. Guardians protect humans from dangerous fae creatures that find their way into the human realm. Sooooo, as a background to the Creepy Hollow series, I decided to do 26 flash fictions about 26 different assignments Vi's been on in the past, involving 26 different fae creatures.

And that's where my theme, An A to Z of Creepy Hollow Fae, came from. Some fae creatures were those that people recognize (like elf, goblin and kelpie) while others were completely made up (like canttilee, flimsickle and nascryl). It was fun (though a lot of work), people enjoyed the stories, and it lead to them clicking through to download copies of my books :-) In April I sold more than double the number of copies I sold in March. A coincidence, perhaps, but I like to think it was because I was sharing more of my story world every day with new readers.

The Creepy Hollow Series

Amazon | Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Book Trailer

Rachel's Links

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+

Thank you, dear A to Z Challenge, for giving me the 

chance to share my story world with new readers 

:-)

If you're an author, what unique methods 
have you used to promote your books?

Please give us your feedback about the A to Z Video Contest.   See the post from Monday May 28th and leave your comments.