Ceallaigh's Blog
You heard me. Vegan french toast.
Why is it activism? Well, the vegan part is mostly self-explanatory. Being vegan is better for us, better for the animals and better for the planet. The french toast part is mostly because it's a rainy, autumn Saturday, and I'm thinking about the good we all try to do every day, online and offline.
For instance, some of my online friends post regular alerts about GMO foods. Others care about the bee blight. Still others are vegan grandmas who post delicious recipes. I have LGBT activist friends, too, and friends who are dedicating their lives to sustainability. I have friends who step in to care for companion animals while their humans are away, veterinarian friends whose good work cannot ever be over-stated, friends who are studying for the ministry and friends who are teaching their children Gaelic. I have a husband whose vegan activism is the brilliant crystalization of an engineer's mind with a compassionate heart.
My panel schedule for Hal-Con has been finalized. Here 'tis:
Friday 5:15 - 6:00
Structure of the Novel
Writing a novel? This panel will help you plan it. We'll be breaking a basic story arc into acts, chapters and scenes with emphasis on outlining as a plotting tool.
Saturday 9:30 - 10:15
Technology for Writers
From text editors to mind-mapping software to wikis to social networking, this panel will endeavor to improve your tool-kit with low-cost or free technology solutions.
Sunday 12:00 - 12:45
ConLangs 101
Have you ever wanted to construct a language from scratch for gaming or fiction? This panel will introduce you to a few of the biological, linguistic and cultural basics.
Introduction
Language construction is a complex task, requiring a basic understanding of biology, linguistics and culture. Because of that, the ConLangs 101 panel was necessarily abbreviated to cover as much material as possible in the hope that it might point you in some good directions. This resource sheet complements the panel by providing additional charts and links to help you get started.
A Departure from English
In this section of the panel, we talked about the Dothraki language constructed for HBO's Game of Thrones and discussed our own experience with languages other than English.
ConLangs 101 Blog Series Entries
As I've mentioned on social networking recently, I've been researching and outlining a set of short stories to write before I return to novel-length fiction. In some cases, the research has been fun (i.e. watching episodes of Dexter to learn how other writers have crafted sociopathic characters), some of it has been gruesome (i.e. reading on Aztec sacrificial practices) and now some of it has crossed a boundary for me, forcing me to reconsider the cultural backdrop of one of my stories.
In this edition of Activism Updates, I'm delighted to host my friend and fellow blogger, Lance Frizzell-Reynolds, who writes on Humanist Pagan, sustainability and LGBT issues, among other things. I have always found his work erudite and inspiring, and I'm honored he agreed to write for my blog.
My short story Yundah, which was originally printed in PanGaia, is also available now in The Shining Cities: An Anthology of Pagan Science Fiction, edited by Rebecca Buchanan.
This anthology is one of the few that marries short fiction with Paganism, and all proceeds go to benefit charity. Do check it out!
This edition of Activism Updates will introduce you to the issue of fracking in Nova Scotia and empower you to protest against it.
What Fracking Is
Fracking is the extraction of shale gas and other hydrocarbons held in dense rock formations using modern hydraulic fracturing techniques, including the combination of toxic chemical slickwater, high pressure fracturing and horizontal drilling. These extraction techniques come with serious risks, including:
∗ Risks to drinking water, including the use and contamination of huge volumes of water with toxic chemicals, and risk of well contamination from methane and other substances.
∗ Risks of contamination of streams and rivers and soil from fracking fluids and fracking waste through accidents, extreme weather, or poor practices.
∗ Risks to human health from exposure to airborne toxins at multiple stages of production, exposure to toxic waste, and exposure to toxins through drinking water or soil.
My LiveJournal is now closed. The archive of entries and their comments will remain available for viewing, but nothing further will be posted to the service, and I have added my LiveJournal friends to my RSS feed so that I can continue to follow their blogs.
My blog is now located at: http://csmaccath.com/blog
You can subscribe to it via Feedburner at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/csmaccath
Tapadh leibh, agus chi mi sibh ansin, tha mi 'n dòchas!
(Thank you, and I'll see you there, I hope!)
After experimenting with several social networks over the last few years, I've come to the conclusion that I'm spread too thin and that my social networks aren't serving me anymore. Rather, I'm serving them. So in an effort to streamline my networks, I'll be implementing the following changes in the next few months.
LiveJournal
My LiveJournal is the weakest link right now, since my web site blog is robust, comment-ready and available for RSS through Feedburner. I also don't check my LiveJournal very much anymore for friends' posts, since these are usually cross-posted to other social media sites, where I'm notified of them. So in the next month or so, I'll stop posting teasers of my blog posts to LiveJournal and leave a static forwarding message there that directs readers to my web site. I'll likely still check my LJ f-list from time to time, but I expect this activity to be infrequent.
Addendum: I've just added all my LJ friends to my RSS reader, so I won't miss your posts!
I've fleshed out two poem fragments this week and like them both. One I'll be submitting to a favorite speculative poetry market this morning, but the other isn't really speculative, and it isn't really Pagan either. It's been years since I submitted anything to a muggle poetry journal, but more importantly, I just don't know whether or not I want to submit this one anywhere, and not because I don't think it's good enough.
I just want to give it away.