Tag: Eternal Curse

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IWSG

#IWSG January 2014: Public Speaking

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

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This month, while I do have something positive to share, I unfortunately also need to whine a bit. You see my new year is starting off a little rocky, but it’s really not that bad. It’s very cold for where I live right now, but it’s cold a lot of places. My main issue with the weather, at the moment, is that it’s making it hard for to me to fight off illness.

As usual, I’m busy with my day job, my blog, my efforts at writing, and my sometimes sorry attempts at reading for enjoyment. I haven’t read any of my favorite blogs in days and have five books sitting on my night stand taunting me. The fact that I’m event awake to write this article is amazing to me. I came home after work today and passed out. I think I woke to find food and remembered I to needed a post for tomorrow (today now 🙂 ). Well, that’s life. It can be bothersome sometimes, but it’s worth it for all the sublimely wonderful moments you live for.

So, now on to my positive news…

 

I’ve put together my 2nd public appearance as an author, but this one feels more official than the first. The first event was comprised of mostly friends and family who were ready to support me; this new event is completely different. I’ve put together an event to, hopefully, help spread the word about my book to my local community. It feels strange to know that there are people in the UK willing to buy my book, while my neighbors have no idea I’m an author (but then you don’t know my neighbors).

I guess the whole point of this is to show myself that I’ve made an effort to reach out to my community event if it doesn’t reach back. I’m not shy about speaking in front of people, but I am leery about putting myself “out there” exposing myself to criticism or perhaps worse. Only time will tell.

In any case, there’s no turning back now. I’m excited to see where this will all lead.

Be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts: Bob Milne, River Fairchild, Julie Dao, and Sarah Foster!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share inspiration and support (I’m #269).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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My Geekdom

My Geekdom 07: The Muppets

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Pins from Pinterest that inspire me and indulge my geekness. http://pinterest.com/toinette_thomas/my-geekdom/

Please do not copy this image. Click this image to visit Pinterest and share, share, share 🙂

The Muppets are great! They are so weird, and silly, and cute. They are a ragtag group of friends who’ve been all over the world and back, and even when they split, it’s not long before they all come back together again. Fantasy gets kooky in the world of Jim Henson’s Muppets. There are no boundaries and everything that would normally be weird, is perfectly normal and acceptable. Talking food, animals with animals as pets, interspecies dating…when you write it out like this it actually sounds a little twisted and sick, but it’s the Muppets and they can get away with it.

The Muppets use all their special qualities and super oddness to entertain and even teach many subtle life lessons.  In the world of the Muppets: bullying is unacceptable, discrimination is intolerable, and hate acts and hate speech are unthinkable. In a world where so many people are alike, but different from so many others, it takes a group like the Muppets to show us how we can all get along. A pig, a frog, a bear, an alien, and so much more have figured out what the white man, the black man, the brown man, and so on are still working to understand.

The Muppets make me laugh, but more importantly, they make me think of unity. Unity, or the lack of, is a major theme developing in the world of the Eternal Curse. It’s something so new to the series; even I can’t wait to see where I go with it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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EC: Giovanni's Angel Tea & Conversation

Tea and Conversation 06: the Internet

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Today I’m sharing a picture of a simple speckled tea cup from Pinterest. This is part of my personal collection.

Please do not copy this image. Click image to share on Pinterest.

Today in my meditation on the Eternal Curse, I’m writing about: Why the Internet?

I’ve never met someone online and then ended up in a romantic relationship with them. I have a few people online, whom I consider to be friends, but I have not made arrangements to meet these people in person (some of them live oceans away). I am not an advocate for internet socializing or dating, but from a networking point of view, it’s where the world is and where the world is headed.

I have had more in depth conversations with complete strangers, at times, than I have with people I’ve known for twenty years because of the Internet. I’m not an overly trusting person, but I like to connect on a certain level and the Internet makes that so much simpler. In my book, Giovanni and Mira find each other while using social media, each in search of something. I believe if you look for something long enough, you’ll find what you need.

Mira doesn’t run to the internet for comfort because she’s some sort of social outcast with no other options. She utilizes the internet for its anonymity. Giovanni, on the other hand, is a social outcast, but not because he wants to be or because he refuses to get along with others or conform to social norms. Giovanni also uses the internet for its anonymity because he knows that the world isn’t ready for someone like him.

In the visual world in which we live, a supermodel and middle school custodian may have loads of things in common: from the movies they like, the books they read, the drinks they prefer, and even the clothes they admire. Unfortunately, these two vastly different categorized public personas don’t look right next to one another, so they’ll never meet and get to know each other…But online a woman and a man can both share a pin on Pinterest for a baseball cap, rate and review the same Netflix movie a five, and “Like” a strangers post about having a bad day, because somewhere down the line, they connected.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords