Claudia — Page 1555

On the Road and a Blogging Tip

January 5, 2012 at 11:56 am by Claudia

Two posts today, this one and a book review. Just scroll down for the review – a terrific book, Our Man in the Dark.

I didn’t post yesterday because I was working in New Haven, CT for the day. I’m ‘consulting’ on a production of Macbeth that has been adapted to take place in 1969 at the end of the war in Vietnam. Consulting is always a bit problematic because I am invariably called in after the play is well into rehearsal – it’s always a struggle to change things at that point. Nevertheless, I do my best. I’ll be working there for the next two Wednesdays.

The bad: I had to rent a car (we only have one car at the moment) and it ended up being more expensive than we thought it would be. Since I have to pay for everything first (I’ll get reimbursed later) I wasn’t too happy about it. Two hours there and back, plus 6 hours of rehearsal = a long day.

(no pretty pictures today!)

And I spilled coffee all over my books. It’s my own fault. I was trying to carry everything with me as I made my way to the car rental counter. Instead of dumping the coffee immediately, I carried it with me while looking for a trash can. I was so tired that I had no idea it was sloshing over everything. Not happy.

The good: the cast is very nice (including an actress I’ve worked with before) and the theater is right next to an Ikea.

After not visiting an Ikea in over a year, I’ve been there twice lately. I actually ate dinner there last night before hitting the road for the trip home. I bought a new Ektorp slipcover for my blogging chair. The white slipcovers are only $29, so when the current slipcover becomes too stained and washing it no longer does the trick, I buy a new one. It doesn’t fit the chair exactly, but it works.

And I bought hangers to use in my ongoing purge and clean-up of the house.

I’ve also been creating a new website for my coaching business. A simple, and most importantly, free site.

On another note, I’m glad I decided to bite the bullet and redesign my blog a few months back. If you remember, I discovered my designer was no longer in business and feared that I might wake up one day to discover her Photobucket account was gone, along with my designs. By the way, she never bothered to tell any of us that she was out of the business and stopped all communication with her previous clients.

Several bloggers woke up yesterday to discover elements of their blog designs were missing, replaced by the dreaded “Bandwidth Exceeded, Upgrade to Photobucket Pro today” message. I hope the problem is easily remedied, but I fear it might not be.

My advice? Take control of your blog. It’s made an enormous difference to me. I am no longer dependent on another’s work. It’s so easy now to make your own header and background. I found that googling a question like, “how to make your own blog background” or “how to design your own header” brought forth a wealth of information. It involves playing with your html code a bit, but there are tutorials everywhere. The great thing about Blogger is that you can go in and play with your code, hit preview to see what the changes look like and if you don’t like them, nothing is permanent and you can revert back to the original code.

And thank you, thank you for all the tips about the old desk. I sure got some great ideas from everyone! I’ll keep you posted.

Book Review: Our Man in the Dark by Rashad Harrison

January 5, 2012 at 9:30 am by Claudia

Hello everyone. Today I am reviewing Our Man in the Dark by Rashad Harrison for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Our Man in the Dark is a work of historial fiction that takes place during the days of the Civil Rights Movement. John Estem, a bookkeeper working for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., finds that he is being watched by the FBI. They know that Estem, who wants to be somebody, has taken a large sum of money from the SCLC for his personal use, and they use that information to get Estem to work for them as an informant. The story, which has a Noir edge, follows Estem as he wrestles with his own demons, as well as the demons of others.

King, Ralph Abernathy and Andrew Young are a strong presence in the book, as well as a host of vividly drawn fictional characters. The author writes in detail of the time period, recreating the world of Atlanta and Los Angeles in the 60’s. Harrison is a wonderful writer. What I found especially compelling was the fact that each of the characters is flawed, each is damaged – including King. We now know of King’s sexual infidelities and the fact that the informants for the government infiltrated black organizations at the time. J. Edgar Hoover was known to have pursued any information he could get on King (and many, many others.) King had his own demons, like everyone else in the story. And it is that struggle that fuels much of this can’t-put-down novel.

It’s tricky writing about someone like Estem. He is the core of the story and some of his misguided choices are not those of the traditional protagonist. But through it all, I found myself liking him in spite of his flaws and respecting his honest look at himself. As the plot got more and more intricate and the story moved toward King’s assassination, I couldn’t put the book down. That’s good writing, indeed.

Rashad Harrison writes beautifully. He takes us on a journey through a very troubled time in our nation’s history and, in the process, creates a riveting story. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

About the author: Rashad Harrison has been a contributor to MedicineAgency.com, an online journal of political and cultural commentary, and his writing has appeared in Reed Magazine. As a Jacob K. Javits Fellow, he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

A Project

January 3, 2012 at 11:35 am by Claudia

Thanks for all the great comments on our crazy little video! If it brought a smile to your face, it was worth it. It makes me laugh every time I watch it. My favorite part? Right at the top when Scout walks between Don’s legs while he’s cooking.

Okay. I’m going to share some pictures with you. Pictures of something which is just plain ugly at the moment. I was editing these in Picnik when I suddenly thought, “Why are you spending any time on these? Just post them!”

Husband brought this home a month or so ago. He found it on the street in a neighboring town.

It’s a university town and this was clearly some student’s desk. He obviously came to his senses and got rid of it.

When Don proudly showed off his find, I must admit I was thinking, “Take it back.” Don’t you love the holes? Most likely for electronic cords, etc. Why do I keep seeing a face when I look at them? Oh and wait – there’s this:

A slide out shelf that is clearly homemade and covered in hideous contact paper which reminds me of the kitchen table we had when I was a kid.

The top.

Normally, I would pitch this thing. But, I need a little desk downstairs. Don has the one in the office/guest room/studio. Our little spinet desk by the stairs is a wee bit fragile. This ‘thing’ is rather petite and fits into a corner of the den.

And I am being extremely frugal this year.

Should I take this on?

It’s a challenge, for sure, and I do love a challenge. I have a few ideas floating around in my head. Since I didn’t win any chalk paint in any of the numerous giveaways I entered, I have no idea what color to paint it. And I don’t want to spend much money. Still thinking a creamy color might be the best choice, as the cupboard that holds our television is right next to this and it is a creamy color.

The colors used in our den are red, tan and cream, with a dash of teal.

I need your help. Tell me what you envision for this ‘thing.’ Other than the trash.

I would be very grateful for any and all ideas you might have!

On the Road and a Blogging Tip

Book Review: Our Man in the Dark by Rashad Harrison

A Project

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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