Friday, January 27, 2012

When Is a Haiku Like a Potato?

The Blogosphere's big.
New posts pass by so quickly,
I can not catch them


My haiku's lame, but the sentiment's real; I can't keep up with the blogs I want to follow and know I miss good posts.


We have little time
To read. Attention splinters.
Thank God for mash-ups.


In the blogosphere, a mash-up offers links to posts the mash-up's writer considers important in some way: funny, heartfelt, thought-provoking, or irritatingly true. This one links to posts I've caught myself thinking about hours and days after reading them. If you missed these essays the first time around, give them a look now.

At Savor the Storm, August McLaughlin is doing a series of articles labeled Lifesaving Resolutions. The most recent is about trusting one's instincts. It features a gripping, real-life incident that will make you pause and look behind you before you board the next elevator. The other posts in McLaughlin's series are must-reads, too, as is her essay about battling anorexia.

Ginger Calem, I Am Blogger—Hear Me Tweet, continues her Writer's Butt exercise and healthy-living tips. Oh, mama! Calem's a tough but funny taskmaster. Her latest post offers the possibility of sleep--but we have to earn it.

At Occasional Epiphanies, Emma Burcart sets a ground rule for friends who insist on fixing her up with eligible men: she doesn’t do dumb and boring. All the single ladies should read and heed Burcart's advice.


Gene Lempp's blog, Unearthing the Future, offers at least two gem-like posts per week. One of them, "Designing from Bones," uses archeology as a springboard for story ideas. Are you muttering that archeology has nothing to do with your contemporary romance? Think again. Find Lempp's latest DFB post here.


Smart comic relief hangs out at Coleen Patrick's blog, Read. Write. Repeat. Could you write your life's story in six words? She did: Making it up as I go. Now write your own super-short memoir.


I missed superb posts
That you, I hope, caught and read.
Do a mash-up, please.

19 comments:

Jane Myers Perrine said...

My super short bio "Along for the ride"

Ginger Calem said...

Oh my gosh, Pat … you are so awesome to include me in your mash up. Thank you!! And I love your Haiku, really, I do!! You've pulled together a great collection of links.

Emma Burcart said...

Thanks for the link love! I adore the bloggers you mentioned, so I know you have good taste. I will have to check out the Designing from Bones blog now that I know what it's about. Usually, if I see the word bones I'm prepared for horror or dominoes. Thanks for the explanation. Who knew it'd be about writing!

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

You are funny, Jane. Since I've been privy to banter between you and George, may I offer a twist: Along for the ride. Suggesting shortcuts.

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

Thanks, Ginger. I'd be able to write sonnets if a certain someone hadn't introduced me to exercises from hell.

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

Emma,make sure you read one of
Gene's Designing from Bones posts from start to finish. He begins with fact and then proceeds to toss out what ifs targeted to writers of all kinds of fiction.

His once-a-week Blog Treasures posts are great mash-ups.

Lark Howard said...

These links are a lot of fun. I especially liked Colleen Patrick's "Could you write your life's story in six words?"

Can I write my husband's bio in 6 words instead? Here it is:

Make a mess. Clean it up.

Thanks, Pat!

Ginger Calem said...

*HUGE LAUGH*

You know, you do the Haiku so well, just stick with what you know and you'll have plenty of time for your squats and push-ups. *heart* you!! :)

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

I'm laughing, Lark. Is it okay if I borrow the six-word bio you wrote for your husband? It fits me oh so well.

Coleen Patrick said...

Thanks so much for sharing my link,
love your haikus
and other blog news.

I think that's 17, right?
:)
Oh and Lark's bio needs to be hanging in my kitchen!
Thanks Pat!! Have a great weekend.

Kara said...

What an awesome way to do a mash-up, love it! All the links were great ones:)

Karen McFarland said...

What a lovely Mash-up Pat! And I agree. Mash-ups are a great way to keep up on our blog reading. I did my very first mash-up, or was that smash-up lol the other day. These are some wonderful posts. I'll check them out. Thanks Pat. I know they're a lot of work to put together! :)

Sheila Seabrook said...

I had a busy week, so missed most of these posts. Thanks for the great mashup, Pat. I'm going to catch up on blog reading today. :)

Although I'm going to be snickering over Lark's husband's six words all day. Good one, Lark!

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

Hi, Coleen,
You've got the right number of syllables, but I believe you should have five of them in your first line, seven in the second, and five in the last. That said, I like your haiku.

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

Kara, you are so nice.

Have I told you how much I like your Conflicted Chef posts? I, too, am a fan of spaghetti squash.

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

Karen, I'm so food-centric, a mash-up reminds me of potatoes and a smash-up makes me think of Smashburger. Now I'm hungrier than ever, and it's all your fault.

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

It's a constant game of catch-up, isn't it, Sheila? I'm with you; love the bio Lark wrote for her husband. That reminds me, I'd better clean the kitchen counter.

Jennette Marie Powell said...

LOL all of this is soooo true!

Let's see...

So much going on.
Read, write, work, laundry, eat, sleep.
Always catching up.

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

I put off laundry as long as possible, Jennette. I'm still behind on everything else.

I should stencil your haiku on the wall above my computer.