Here's Your Sign

Every now and then we all need a good chuckle. Yesterday my DOWNEAST magazine came in with a cool section of funny signs. I love funny signs. Here are some I found in my travels.

Enjoy!

Rockin October at Romance Divas

Romance Divas is, perhaps, the greatest free resource for writers on the planet. Don't believe me? Ask Writer's Digest! October is going to be a very special month, too! Swing by all this month to suck up the free-writery-goodies, including an amazing live event with Gena Showalter and Kresley Cole in the chatroom: on Thursday, October 28th at 7pm EST.

Be there or be TOTALLY square!!

A Matter of Trust

I'm the first to admit that I evaluate people on first impression and form my opinions quickly. Because I know this isn't really fair, I have a strict policy of giving the benefit of the doubt. It only seems right, after all. But I have to say... I'm rarely wrong, and never (at least so far) drastically so. When it comes to trust, for instance, I'm always dead on. Someday my streak may break... but I wouldn't bet on it.

So I had this odd moment this morning. It was a busy day for me, and an early one. I've got this self-imposed deadline, I had to get my nephews on their bus after getting them prepped for school, and I had errands I wanted out of the way early. Not being a morning person, this wasn't my happy place. But you know how it is... once you're up you discover it's easier to just go with the flow.

I was flowing along and decided to check messages/emails/whatnot. There was a message from a friend-- and, oddly, I DO consider her a friend-- whom I've never completely trusted. She's not a "bestie," or even a close friend. I've heard her describe herself otherwise, but that's one of her quirks, too. Sitting there as the clouds blew out to sea and a nice fall day emerged, I glanced at a passing comment this friend made, and thought "man, she really is sneaky."

Maybe it's my background in language forensics... but to be honest, I always remember being this way. I'm hyper-aware of motives, very conscious of what makes people tick. I have a small, but very intimate "inner circle" of people close to me, and I trust them without question or hesitation. Pretty much everyone else in the universe falls into another category. I tend to look at casual friends and compartmentalize them into slots: why are you in this relationship with me, and how should I be careful? And I guess most would see this as a flaw. I don't.

Maybe because I trust my own motives in doing this. I'm not out to control or "catch" anyone. I just like to know what makes the other guy tick... and keep it in mind. It saves me the trouble of being absolutely floored by completely predictable behavior. People don't surprise me very often. They never shock me. And when a friend does something that may cause everyone else to flip out and break off friendships/ divide into camps/ feel somehow betrayed, I generally shrug it off. I think it also allows me to like people others might not care for. Knowing Susie-Q has flaws and anticipating how they will manifest lets me cut Susie the kind of slack I'd like people to cut me.

I have a temper. I tend to judge people but not ACT on that judgement. I tend to completely cut you out/off once you've crossed my line. I'm stubborn. I'm unlikely to seek advice, since I only do so when I really do want it. And I look for motives... all the time... in everyone.

So this was an odd moment, this little revelation. I saw a friend say something that, I can promise you, is going to be a gigantic free-for-all fight within 24 hours. I immediately hearkened back to the day I met her and a few things she said that made me think, "wow, she's got some needs that keep her from being self aware." It was fine with me then. We all have flaws. I've shared some of mine.

But something I've decided to believe over the years-- just because I've found it to be true-- is that your good and lasting friendships have little to do with what you have in common with someone. The lasting friendships are more about people with flaws you can tolerate. And casual friendships that float along with every ebb and flow are similar. I can like a selfish person. I can like a control freak. I can like a gruff or blunt person. Those are flaws that I may share, or may just be familiar with. I can even tolerate a minimum of dishonesty if it is born of self-defense or moderate delusion. I actually even like a good dose of mean.

I can't tolerate bigotry. I can't tolerate cruelty. I can't tolerate constant deception. I can't tolerate neurosis unless the dose is very small.

So the weekend should be interesting, because a friend (casual, but still a friend) just slipped up and let about a dozen of her friends/frienemies/acquaintances know she's a bit of a back-stabber. Since it's not my back I won't take sides. And since saw it coming-- for like, three years-- I'm not surprised. How others react?

Well, that's the fun part. Popcorn, anyone? :)

Dead Ro-- Err-- Red Rose Publishing Wilts

Aand in this week's Interweb Dumbassery Moment, we have this wig-out from Red Rose Publishing. Apparently (and allegedly) authors were being mistreated-- releases not taking place on time, queries ignored, threats in response, etc. We all know the drill. It went public, and Dear Author reported it, along with Author Beware and others. The following links detail the wilting of the rose:

Dear Author's Cease and Desist Asshattery

Writer Beware's Shout-Out to Stoopid

WB's Facebook Hook

Why do all jackasses become lawyers the minute they get broadband?

Rose-petals in the shark tank!!

My Favorite Poem

I can't get Pied Beauty by Gerard Manly Hopkins out of my head. It's my all-time favorite poem. Ahmed read it to me one morning and I can no longer read it without hearing his voice.

Do you know it?

Pied Beauty
by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things,
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced, fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

Praise him.

National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week

Do me a favor. Take the deepest breath you can take; let half of it out. Take another breath, as deep as you can; let half of THAT out. Keep going until it hurts too much to continue. Imagine that feeling, coupled with a dry, papery cough and that nagging sensation that you can't quite clear your throat. Now try to think, move, or concentrate.

That's what Pulmonary Fibrosis feels like. It doesn't get better and it never goes away. The lungs you see pictured here are an example of one PF lung, and one that is still healthy.

This week is National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week. Below is the text of the National Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis' email kicking if off. I hope the information is helpful.

Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis

8th ANNUAL NATIONAL PULMONARY FIBROSIS AWARENESS WEEK SEPT. 11-18

Culver City, Calif. - The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) kicks off the 8th annual National Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) Awareness Week Sept. 11 to 18. The primary goals of this year's activity are to ensure passage of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act (PFREA), in the Senate and the House, and to raise awareness of Pulmonary Fibrosis issues in communities nationwide.

Specifically, the CPF is asking its national membership and others affected by PF to email, call, or mail letters to their members of Congress to encourage their votes for PFREA. The CPF's objectives while on the Hill are to add co-sponsors to the 136 on the House bill as of this date, and to begin to build a list of Senate co-sponsors.

National PF Awareness Week will mean more than 50 visits by patients and patient advocates with legislators on Capitol Hill. Hundreds of other patients and family members will reach out to their own members of Congress in their home districts nationwide that week.

The CPF has worked closely with Congressmen Brian Baird (D-WA) and Mike Castle (R-DE) on the House version (H.R. 1079) and with Senators Patty Murray and Mike Crapo on the Senate version (S. 3073). This historic, bi-partisan legislation would authorize $16 million in new federal funding to create the first national patient registry for PF, and provide much needed support for research into the deadly lung disease.

"It takes each PF patient, each family member and their circle of friends to reach out to Congress and get this bill passed," said Mishka Michon, Chief Executive Officer of the CPF. "Having the voice of the patient community heard loud and clear will make things happen to bring attention and awareness to PF in Washington and beyond."

This year, 2010, has been proclaimed international "Year of the Lung" by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and respiratory societies around the globe. The CPF is partnering with this alliance in a concerted effort to bring attention to lung issues. National PF Week will continue that effort.

The progression from a bill of recognition of the disease, H. Con Res 182, which was passed in 2007 to a bill establishing funding for PF research, is indicative of increased responsiveness on the part of Congress. Over the past eight years, the CPF and its advocates have met with hundreds of Members of Congress.

PF patients, families and those affected by PF can help with 2010 awareness efforts and help gain passage of the PFREA by joining the CPF's advocacy campaign, Campaign ACT. For further information, visit the CPF at www.coalitionforpf.org, call 888-222-8541, or email info@coalitionforpf.org.

Disparity of Federal Funding

The disparity of federal funds for research in pulmonary fibrosis is profound. This year, less than $23 million will be spent on this disease which affects 128,000 people compared with hundreds of millions of dollars spent on diseases that affect a small fraction of that number. This, while the disease takes 40,000 lives each year - the same number as breast cancer. H.R. 1079 will provide much needed help for PF patients by creating the first national patient registry and providing support for research.

About Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF)

Pulmonary Fibrosis is a lung disorder characterized by a progressive scarring - known as fibrosis -- and deterioration of the lungs, which slowly robs its victims of their ability to breathe. There is currently no known cause or cure. Approximately one percent of patients' lives are extended through lung transplants. An estimated 48,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. PF is difficult to diagnose and an estimated two-thirds of patients die within five years of diagnosis. Sometimes PF can be linked to a particular cause, such as certain environmental exposures, chemotherapy or radiation therapy, residual infection, or autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma or rheumatoid arthritis. However, in many instances, no known cause can be established. When this is the case, it is called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

About the CPF's Campaign ACT

Since 2002, the CPF has been leading a national advocacy effort directed toward Congress, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control to increase research funding for PF and accelerate efforts to find a cure for this devastating lung disorder. The CPF has also actively advocated for passage of legislation important to the PF community in the areas of Medicare and Social Security coverage.

About the CPF

The CPF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 2001 to accelerate research efforts leading to a cure for pulmonary fibrosis (PF), while educating, supporting, and advocating for the community of patients, families, and medical professionals fighting this disease. The CPF funds promising research into new approaches to treat and cure PF; provides patients and families with comprehensive education materials, resources, and hope; serves as a voice for national advocacy of PF issues; and works to improve awareness of PF in the medical community as well as the general public. The CPF's monprofit partners include many of the most respected medical centers and healthcare organizations in the U.S. With more than 23,000 members nationwide, the CPF is the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. dedicated to advocating for those with PF. For more information please visit www.coalitionforpf.org or call (888) 222-8541.

Catherine Fisher's Incarceron

A very long time ago I wrote a short story that was entitled "Outside." It was about a young woman who lives in an entirely enclosed city. She reads "myths" about a world outside the city walls, but does not believe the green earth and sky exist. She encounters a young man who claims to know they do, and eventually finds the exit to earth's old surface, which has been healing from many generations of abuse and pollution.

Like City of Ember and other dystopian fiction in which our world is a secret legend, Incarceron by Catherine Fisher has a similar theme. What I liked about this novel was the genuinely new way Fisher delivers her two worlds and the people inhabiting them. There's a strange feel of historical novels in the setting, mashed up with science fiction dystopia. I'm even getting soylent green moments, here!

I must say I'm really looking forward to the next installment, due out in December.