The online journal, notebook and playground of HFM

Personal Truth

I’ve posted this quote before, but it came up in conversation recently, and I was struck again by how very beautiful it is.

May Sarton, from Journal of a Solitude:

“My own belief is that one regards oneself, if one is a serious writer, as an instrument for experiencing. Life–all of it–flows through this instrument and is distilled through it into works of art. How one lives as a private person is intimately bound into the work. And at some point, I believe one has to stop holding back for fear of alienating some imaginary reader or real relative or friend, and come out with personal truth. If we are to understand the human condition, and if we are to accept ourselves in all the complexity, self-doubt, extravagance of feeling, guilt, joy, the slow freeing of the self to its full capacity for action and creation, both as human being and artist, we have to know all we can about one another, and we have to be willing to go naked.”

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NaNoWriMo 2011: very tentative outline

I spent some time yesterday trying to work out how my story is going to go, and came up with some potential chapter titles. Which, looking at them now seem completely over the top and fraught with the possibility of failure, but what the hell. I may as well look stupid. It wouldn’t be the first time.

The Journey – a very dumb working title. This will be the last thing I figure out, probably.

Act I
0) The Kraken
1) Siège Perilous
2) Melusina
3) Daughters of Nyx
4) The Dolorous Stroke
5) Walpurgis Night
Act II
6) Clotho
7) Lachesis
8) Atropos
9) Praxinoscope (Proust’s Lantern)
10) The Blizzard Dream and the Brocken spectre
11) Melusina
Act III
12) The Sangreal
13) amor fati
14) the Wasteland 
15) Thumos

NaNoWriMo Participant 2011
NaNoWriMo Participant 2011
Continue ReadingNaNoWriMo 2011: very tentative outline

NaNoWriMo2011 – Outlook: Cautiously Optimistic.

I didn’t say anything about joining National Novel Writing Month this year because I haven’t gotten very far with this in the past, and I’ve learned talking about stuff tends to kill projects before they get off the ground. I’m doing much better this year, though, and I’ve managed to keep my word count up four whole days in a row. And I’m realizing that I can indeed actually write 1,667 words per day, if I hit upon the right thing to say. This is not unpossible. My word count right now is 7095 out of a par of 6668 for day 4. (50,000 words in 30 days being the criteria for “winning.”) Not as great as some of the folks in the Indianapolis Facebook group, but definitely a solid effort.

What I’ve written so far is pretty terrible, but I can see where it could be good later, maybe, when I revise. Which will be after November. First drafts, first… editing later. Right now, it’s all about getting words on the page. Which I can do, it seems. So…

NaNoWriMo Participant 2011
NaNoWriMo Participant 2011

And I’ve notice an insane new trend in my writing – lots of ellipses all over the place. I like to imply things. I probably do this all the time without noticing it, but it’s really jumped out at me. Ah well; no editing under after November. Thems the rules.

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Cabin Porn

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  • Post category:Memes

Free Cabin Porn – A photo blog of cool cabins. “Inspiration for your quiet place somewhere.”

Cabin Porn
Cabin Porn

All safe for work; feel free to browse. 🙂

Cabin Porn
Cabin Porn

2022 note – Sadly, the Cabin Porn blog is long gone, probably crashed up on the shore of easily shared social media memes

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‘The Ancient of Days’, ‘Thumos’ via wikipedia

via wikipedia:

The Ancient of Days
The title “Ancient of Days” has been used as a source of inspiration in art and music, denoting the Creator’s aspects of eternity combined with perfection. William Blake’s watercolour and relief etching entitled “The Ancient of Days” is one such example.


Ancient of Days
Ancient of Days

The Ancient of Days is the title of a design by William Blake, originally published as the frontispiece to a 1794 work, Europe a Prophecy. It shows a figure, the Ancient of Days, crouching in a circular design with a cloud-like background. His out-stretched hand holds a compass over the darker void below. As noted in Gilchrist’s Life of William Blake, the design was “a singular favourite with Blake and as one it was always a happiness to him to copy.” As such there are many versions of the work extant, including one completed for Frederick Tatham only weeks before Blake’s death.

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Thumos

Thumos (also commonly spelled “thymos”) (Greek: θυμός) is an Ancient Greek word expressing the concept of “spiritedness” (as in “spirited stallion” or “spirited debate”). The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood. The word is also used to express the human desire for recognition.

In Homer’s works, thumos was used to denote emotions, desire, or an internal urge. Thumos was a permanent possession of living man, to which his thinking and feeling belonged. When a Homeric hero is under emotional stress he may externalize his thumos, conversing with it or scolding it.

Continue Reading‘The Ancient of Days’, ‘Thumos’ via wikipedia