The May #WATWB Edition: A Loud & Clear Yes for Women! #IrelandReferendum

My original WATWB post was drafted and ready to go early this month, for a change—and then I found out somewhere that Ireland was due to vote Friday on a referendum for legalizing abortion, and on a whim I decided to hold the post until the results came in. I wasn't very hopeful, given Ireland's long history of religious bias against women (this is, after all, the country where divorce was not just impossible but unconstitutional up until 1996!), but... what if it did happen? Wouldn't that be the mother (pardon the pun) of all extraordinarily good news?

Against all odds, history was made. In a landslide vote, Ireland has repealed the Eight Amendment of their constitution to make abortion legal. The foremost Catholic country of the West has—finally!—recognized that a woman's body is her own, not a breeding machine over which the state, or anyone else, has any jurisdiction.

"This vote is about a rejection of an Ireland that treated women as second-class citizens."

The #WATWB August Edition: On Hope & the Worthiness of the Effort It Takes

Photo by Berlian Khatulistiwa (Unsplash). Typography by Guilie Castillo.

It's been a hard couple of months, and it hasn't been easy to focus on the positive. Last month, in fact, I found it impossible (one of our dogs died). And then the drama with North Korea started. The situation in Venezuela got much, much worse (Curaçao is like 75 km off the VEN coast)—including a threat of military action from the US and, just yesterday, new financial sanctions. And then there's that spate of white supremacist rallies and demonstrations wreaking havoc in the US.

Is it any wonder that I'm still struggling to find the light? Maybe not. But I have a choice, don't I? I can allow myself to sink into the darkness, to lose the fragile hold I have on hope, to give in to despair. Or... I can make an effort. Grasp that hope tighter. Feed my strength with the superfood of finding the good in the world.

Which is why the We Are The World blogfest, a monthly event that seeks to spotlight the good stories, the positive outcomes, the reasons for hope, is all the more important. And important, too, that I—that all of us—make the effort to find those stories.

Those outcomes.

Those reasons.

Even if it's something small, something tiny and apparently insignificant compared to the enormity of everything else. Every bit of hope helps. Every bit of feel-good we're able to muster, even if only for a moment, pushes the darkness back. And, inch by inch, we'll gain ground. Because, finally, this is about keeping alive not just the ideals but the reality of the world we want: a world of light, and of hope.

And it starts with us. Be the light you want to see in the world, right? In order to be any kind of light, though, we need to keep that spark alive in our own consciousness.

30 Odd Questions #Blogfest (via @DebbieDoglady)

I'm joining Debbie's and Emily's 30 Odd Questions blog hop! Responses in italics.

1. What did you want to be when you were a kid? A writer. Yep. From the time when I was 8 and a short story I wrote won a school competition. But 'Nancy Drew' was a close second.
2. Which “Friends” character do you relate to the most? Why?  Pffff... I was never really a big fan of Friends. Maybe because I never could relate to any of them? Jennifer Aniston always seemed too much of an airhead, too ditzy, too flighty. Monica seemed cool, but then she had this underlying OCD thing that seemed a tad disturbed to me. And the blond girl with the guitar... she was always so much fun. But... she never made sense. Sorry.
3. Do you like your name? Why?  Ha — good question. Yes, I do like my name. For a large part of my life I didn't; too complicated, too unique, called too much attention to itself. Always had to be spelled, and even then there were mistakes... One of my school diplomas had to be redone because they misspelled my name. But, as time passed, I came to see my name as part, maybe more obvious than for most people, of what makes each of us individual and unique. And there's also the fact that my father invented it (so he claimed), and that made it extra special.
4. Are you messy or neat? Messy. VERY messy.
5. How tall are you? 1.73 m. According to this site, that's 5'8".
6. How tall were you when you were 10? About... 1.65 m? Whatever that is in feet?
7. What is your guilty pleasure? Just one? OK, then. Neil Gaiman novels. I just finished 'American Gods' for the third (or is it fourth?) time, and I'm a third of the way through Anansi boys — for the first time. 
8. What are you saving money for right now? Save—? Error 404: The requested URL was not found on this server.
9. How many Pringles can you eat at once? Not a Pringles fan.
10. Tea or coffee? Coffee. 
11. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert. Though most people who know me would disagree. (I'm such an introvert that I keep my introvert nature secret :D)
12. What will be your Halloween costume this year? Okay... I outgrew Halloween costumes a long, long time ago. I'll dress up for a Pimps & Whores party, or any other themed thing, but... nah, not Halloween.
13. Sweet or salty? Salty, baby. All the way.
14. Favourite social media? Facebook. But I'm trying to wean myself from it.
15. Who is the last person you kissed? Kissed-kissed, as in lips and tongue and all? My partner, Cor. But if you mean just cheek-kiss-hello, then... someone at a friend's farewell get-together on Friday. 
16. What is your favourite breakfast? Something real 'Murican, like eggs over easy with bacon and sausage and hash browns and dollar pancakes with lots and lots of butter and syrup.
17. When is your birthday? 17 Feb 1973
18. When did you start your blog? June 2011
19. What is your opinion on the Kardashians? The who?
20. How would you describe your style? My... dressing style? My writing style? My hair style? Unclear. I'll go with dress. Probably 'beach bum' describes it best: shorts, flip flops, t-shirt. That's it. For all occasions.
21. What colour is your hair? Brown. With ever-multiplying, but very natural-looking, gray highlights :D
22. What colour socks are you wearing? See above for 'beach bum' style definition.
23. What is your dream job? Writing fiction.
24. Dogs or cats? Both. I've never understood this 'I'm a cat/dog person' differentiation. To me, cats and dogs are like two sides of the same coin; they balance each other out perfectly. At the moment, though, I only have dogs. (But, given my rescue proclivities, that could change any moment.)
25. What makes you weird? Pfffff... The list is probably endless. And, of course, it's all about what context you use for 'weird'. Here in Curaçao I'm weird at all sorts of levels: I'm a 'Latina', but I dress like a Dutchie; I speak perfect English but don't speak either Dutch or Papiamentu; I don't have children (and don't even like them)... In Mexico I'm weird because I chose a place no one has ever heard of to live. And because I speak Spanish funny after so long under the Venezuelan influence of Curaçao. And because I'm an only child (in Mexico? seriously weird). I'm weird everywhere because I left a great job, and the corresponding great salary, to write and rescue dogs. 
26. Celebrity crush? Wow. Leonard Cohen. T.S. Eliot. Roger Waters, right now (have you listened to his new album? BLOWN. AWAY.) More shallowly, the guy that played Superman in the new movie—but with whom I fell in love for his role as Charles Brandon in 'The Tudors'.
27. Opinion on cigarettes? YUM. Been a smoker since I was 13 (that's... 31 years). No, I wouldn't recommend taking up tobacco to anyone, given the health detriment, but... yeah, I love smoking.
28. Do you want/have children? How many? Nah. Not my thing.
29. Three favourite boy names? Michael. Santiago. Duncan.
30. Three favourite girl names? Kiana. Alexandra. Inés.

This was so much fun to answer, and I'm very much looking forward to reading everyone else's responses. If you enjoyed reading this and would like to join the fun, check out the guidelines here and sign up in the linky list below. Feel free to hop over to the other participants and get to know them... Some really entertaining and creative responses that are sure to make you chuckle—and several cool blogs and bloggers that you might be missing out on.

Thanks for reading!

The TMI 'Fest — and an Anniversary!

The blog is turning 5! 

Back on June 1st, 2011, when the first post went up on Quiet Laughter, I had no clue what blogging was, or how the blogging world would shape my life. And me. It's been a magical discovery... And to celebrate I'm joining Debbie D. Doglady's bloghop, The TMI 'Fest. Originally started on Facebook (yep, I answered there, too), the TMI—Too Much Information—Questionnaire has now been brought over into the blogosphere. Join the fun—if you dare! Sign up, before July 13th, in the linky at Debbie's blog (or at the end of this post).

The Love Song That Wasn't — Lost & Found hop + #BoTB

"Every new beginning comes

from some other beginning's end."

~ Seneca

(Seneca, yes. Not Semisonic.)

Note to BoTB-ers: To skip the preamble and go straight to the Battle, scroll down to where the long Lost & Found banner is :)

When people of my generation think of love songs, they might think of Bryan Adams or Bangles or Peter Cetera or Air Supply or Richard Marx (if they're mainstream). The "pseudo-rocker" crowd might list Journey, Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler, Meatloaf, or Heart, while the "real" rockers might go for Def Leppard, INXS, U2, The Cure, Scorpions, Cheap Trick, REM. The really alternative ones might go for The Smiths or Billy Idol or Leonard Cohen or Fiction Factory or Cutting Crew or David Bowie or Echo & The Bunnyman or ... let's face it, we wouldn't have known them anyway.

No New Year's Like Curaçao's, #BoTB Results, Lost & Found, Etc.

Even if this battle wasn't too popular (only 13 votes), it was still very close.

Karen Souza: 6

Dixie

Mary

Stephen

John

Janie

Jeffrey

Aslan: 7

Michele

Mike

Birgit

Elliptical Man

Susan

Lee

Robin

Which brings us to my vote. I'm tempted to make this a tie... I really do like Karen's version and listen to it often, while Aslan's I'd never heard of until I found it for this Battle. And yet... Aslan really did blow me away. I think it was Robin who said their version was somehow sadder and more hopeful all at the same time — yes. Yes. There's something about that version that hits the spot for me in a way that Karen's, as interesting at it is musically, does not.

So. I vote for Aslan.

Huge gratitude to everyone that took time off from a busy start-of-the-year schedule to come by and vote (or just say hi) — loved seeing you here. I'm painfully behind on returning blog visits and in blogging generally, but I'll catch up in the next few days. Promise :)

You know that bit from the opening of The Miracle of Small Things,

"There's no stillness like the stillness of Curaçao on New Year's Day. Pointless tropical sun on deserted asphalt, every business shuttered, everything forlorn. Not even trash stirs: the wind is on furlough too. There's also no New Year's Eve like Curaçao's, which explains the stillness."

These are some of the reasons why.

Yes, January 1st is a quiet, quiet day. 

Speaking of 1sts, the sign-up for the Lost & Found hop on Feb 1st is going on FIFTY participants since the linky went up on Monday. Which is great — yay! But I've also noticed a few people who disqualify themselves from participating because they feel they've been unlucky in love, and that is not good.

So let's get something clear: this is a hop as much about being in love as out of it. As much about the presence as about the absence. And — this is important, so I need your undivided attention — it's about love in general, so not only of the romantic kind.

Listen, it's okay if you don't want to participate. But don't think you can't participate because love hasn't treated you right recently (or, you know, ever). This is your chance to get back at it. Let your creativity loose and tell us just how dimwitted the lovelorn look to the innocent bystander. Tell us about that awkward sense of relief when a bad relationship is, finally, over. Or go wild and tell us about that weirdo who's in love with his car. (No, don't look at me like that. Stephen King built a career on that one; why not you?)

Seriously. This is a hop meant to gather, prism-like, all the different aspects of that "crazy little thing", and all the weird stuff we'll do for it (or to avoid it). Your contribution, in whatever form it comes, will be unique — and, because of that, will add something important.

Okay, passionate plea is over. As you were.

Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition (a blog hop)

Love... Even the word sounds like a sigh. But is it a sigh of contentment—or of regret? If you've found it, the world shines in colors vivid. If you've lost it, life fades into grays and shadows. There's nothing quite as intense as falling in love. Or as the feeling of loss when it ends.

This is a blog hop to celebrate love: lost, or found, or—both? Whether in short fiction, or a brief essay, or poetry, or even (especially for us Battle of the Bands participants) via a song, tell us a love story. Whether it's of loss or a happily-ever-after is up to you—as is the genre. Sci-fi, thriller, comedy, memoir—it's all good. "Love" is, after all, so much more than just "romance". On Monday February 1st, it's all about love, in all its forms. The only limit is your creativity.

The Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition blog hop was born as a collaboration with Arlee Bird, and we're thrilled to have enlisted fabulous help from co-hosts Denise Covey, Yolanda Renee, Elizabeth Seckman, and the Ninja Captain himself, Alex Cavanaugh.

Sign up to the Love Lost & Found extravaganza at the linky below. See you on Monday February 1st!

The Listing Hop!

Happy Monday, and bon siman! 

(That's 'happy week' in Papiamentu, the language of Curaçao—and if you ever do come to Curaçao, make a note: all your greetings on Monday need to be accompanied by that... Under penalty of being classified as another rude foreigner ;) )

Today's the day for Bish Denham's

Listing Hop!

Rules:

Make a list. Any list. Sign up at Bish's page and join the fun. Here's mine:

Top ten twenty-two fifteen pieces of writing advice

(in no particular order)

Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

No. 6 in Neil Gaiman's 8 Rules of Writing

Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

No. 7 on Kurt Vonnegut's 8 Tips to Write a Great Story

Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt.

No. 4 in Zadie Smith's 10 Rules of Writing

Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand — but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied.

No. 10 in Zadie Smith's 10 Rules of Writing

Writing is a little door. Some fantasies, like big pieces of furniture, won’t come through.

From Susan Sontag's thoughts on writing

A writer, like an athlete, must ‘train’ every day. What did I do today to keep in ‘form’?

From Susan Sontag's thoughts on writing

Have moral intelligence — which creates true authority in a writer.

From Susan Sontag's thoughts on writing

You cannot write the pages you love without writing the pages you hate.

Robin Black, 21 Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Writing

Exaggeration is not a way of altering reality but of seeing it. 

Mario Vargas Llosa, History of a Deicide, speaking about Gabriel García Márquez 

(my translation from the Spanish)

Ordinary language is an accretion of lies. The language of literature must be, therefore, the language of transgression, a rupture of individual systems, a shattering of psychic oppression. The only function of literature lies in the uncovering of the self in history.

From Susan Sontag's thoughts on writing

If you are using dialogue—say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.

No. 6 of John Steinbeck's 6 Tips on Writing

Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association with the material.

No. 2 of John Steinbeck's 6 Tips on Writing

You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there’s no free lunch. Writing is work. It’s also gambling. You don’t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but ­essentially you’re on your own. ­Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don’t whine.

No. 7 of Margaret Atwood's 10 Rules of Writing

The more abstract a truth which one wishes to teach, the more one must first entice the senses.

No. 8 of Nietzsche's 10 Rules for Writers

The richness of life reveals itself through a richness of gestures. One must learn to feel everything — the length and retarding of sentences, interpunctuations, the choice of words, the pausing, the sequence of arguments — like gestures.

No. 5 of Nietzsche's 10 Rules for Writers

***

Hooked? Here's a fabulous compilation of writerly advice, via Brainpickings.

Speaking of writer wisdom, tomorrow I'll be over at Sam Redstreake's awesome blog sharing a pearl of my own on how music helps with writing... 
(With some outrageously wonderful music, of course.)
AAANNNDD — drum roll, please — also to celebrate the e-book release of
THE MIRACLE OF SMALL THINGS!
Come on over tomorrow and help me thank Sam for hosting me.

Want more lists? You'll find the complete list of Listing Hop List-makers at Bish's page... Hop on over and pay them a visit.

What's your favorite piece of writing advice? Inquiring (list-making) minds would love to know. And I looooove comments :)

#Cherished: If This Teddy Could Talk...

On a bookshelf behind my desk, out of sight unless you know where to look, sits a toy koala bear. He's old, dusty, and faded. The hair on his ears is matted. His eyes are scratched, and the tan felt of one eyelid has peeled off. The plastic pear he wears as a nose needs to be glued back on. Again. And yet his grin remains. A tad sardonic maybe--not surprising, given the degree of abandonment he's put up with. But there's real bonhomie, too. Good-natured patience. I'm here, that grin seems to say. Whenever you remember.

Is there anything as sad as a forgotten once-beloved toy? These cast-offs speak of lost childhoods, changing priorities, the ephemeral nature of our attachments, even the ones that feel, at the time, forged in steel. Most of all, I suppose, these little personalities -- for who can deny them that bit of humanity? -- remind us of the selves we've left behind.

The Mighty #A2ZReveal!

What's April going to be all about here on Quiet Laughter?

I agonized over that. I had my Curaçao theme from last year all prepped and ready to go; I even had posts written already, photos collected. But...

This is 2014. It's a year like no other.

There's a project out there, one that's been called (by Mike Joyce, editor-in-chief of Literary Orphans) "the most ambitious, intense, and MASSIVE project going on in the digital writing community this year," and it's happening--literally happening, as we cyber-talk--right this very minute.

Thirty-one writers. Thirty-one mini-novels. A chapter a month. A story a day, every day. The whole year.

365 stories, a volume every month, all collected and edited by the Great & Powerful Oz Matt Potter (well, he is Aussie).

True, I speak of

Pure Slush's
2014: A Year In Stories

From the 2014 page of Pure Slush's website:

"What we’re publishing is a series of stories from each writer that arcs across the whole year, involving the same character or set of characters. Twelve days in the life of that person or people. So every month, as the books are released, readers can dip into these characters’ lives. Like a serial."

Curious about the project?

You've never met characters like these. A man that flies. A woman that wants her husband murdered. A pedophile stalking little boys. A transvestite priest. A recovering alcoholic on the verge of a cross-country journey of perdition. A baseball player trying to reconnect to a family that barely knows him. A group of kids on a joyride that goes bad. A big-shot tax lawyer in the Caribbean. A prostitute--excuse me, call girl--and her clients, in uncomfortable detail. A selfish friend. Several, actually. Heros, and antiheros (join that discussion on H day, April 9th). Endings and beginnings. Nagging wives. Couples that wax nostalgic about bachelor days. Bachelors who hate bachelorhood (to the extreme of joining a dating reality show).

And so much more.

Who are they is the easy question: they're unique, and they're remarkable. How they got that way... well. That's a harder one.

Maybe at the end of April, after talking with their creators, after exploring and comparing their stories and their origins... Maybe then we'll have an answer. Or not. Either way, if you're into fiction, you're in for a treat. This is fiction at its vanguard, mold-cracking best.

(Like Matt Potter says:) See you at the end!

A Hop Within A Hop: The A-Z Theme Reveal!

It's ongoing, and it's endless: the debate over whether To Theme or Not To Theme.

Every year, as soon as the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge linky list goes live--sometimes even before--the debate picks up where it left off. Should I, shouldn't I. Pros & cons. So-and-so did (or didn't) last year, and look how that turned out. I don't want to feel hedged in. I don't want to ramble all over the place.

To Theme or Not To Theme. But this year that's not the question, is it? No! Because you--lucky you, insanely genius you--came up with the perfect theme. Beyond awesome. Not just original but unique. Jaw-dropping in its wondrousness.

And you cannot wait to shout it out from the rooftops, can you?

It's that time of the year again...

Can you feel it? Excitement is making the blogosphere crackle. The A-to-Z April Blogging Challenge list opened last week. Are you in? Oh, I hope so. Because this year I'm a

minion!

with #TeamDamyanti!

Yes. I'm excited. I'm also very, very tired (not A2Z-related). But please come back in a few hours: a Great & Powerful secret will be revealed. No, seriously.

Top Photos of 2013 -- #1

This was hard. Much, much harder than I thought. Number 1 of the Kuantan blog's Top 20 Challenge:

July 2013, Amsterdam

There's an untold story here. A story which I, as a passerby, don't know and never will.

That's what captivated me here. It will be forever unknowable, won't it, the reason why this

toy ostrich was abandoned on a front step in a busy city. Where is the child that played with it?

The toy has no means of expression, but its forlorness cried out to me anyway.

The moment made me respond viscerally, and because it was so random, it became special.

I've so enjoyed this challenge. Thank you to Duncan of the Kuantan blog for hosting it, and for the wonderful photographers that shared the best of your 2013 with us. Loved it, and look forward to your Best of 2014 :)

Top Photos of 2013 -- #2

The next-best of 2013 today, on the Kuantan Blog's Top 20 Challenge:

August, 2013

I take my dogs (I have seven, all rescues) to the beach every week.

As far as they're concerned, it's not nearly often enough. They have a blast every time,

and my greatest pleasure in life is watching them bug out and go nuts in the water.

This is Panchita, the first of the seven. This February 1st will make seven years that she's with us.

She used to be terrified of the water, wouldn't even dip a toe.

Look at her now.

Top 20 Photos of 2013 -- #3

This is the final stretch of the Kuantan Blog's Top 20 Challenge. I give you #3:

July 2013, Amsterdam

Close-up of ship ropes on the Amsterdam--or, rather, the replica of the Amsterdam,

a 18th-century commercial ship of the Dutch East India Trading Company

(which, not very auspiciously, sank on its maiden voyage to Batavia).

Top 20 Photos of 2013 -- #4

Today's edition of the Kuantan Blog's Top 20 Challenge:

August 2013, Curaçao

Displays of wine at a local wine store. During a wine tasting-slash-farewell to a friend,

I played the paparazzo to wine.

Top 20 Photos of 2013 -- #5

And we come to the top five of the Kuantan Blog's Top 20 Challenge! This is the worst of the best:

July 2013, Holland.

A typesetter's display at the Westfriese Markt (West-Friesian market) in Schagen, Holland.

Top 20 Photos of 2013 -- #6

Today's edition of the Kuantan Blog's Top 20 Challenge:

April 2013, Perú

A glimpse into a courtyard at the Convent of Santa Catalina in Arequipa.

I love how the shadows play on the stone walls, the monotone broken, and then

just barely, by the wooden shelf.

Top 20 Photos of 2013 -- #7

Today's edition of the Kuantan Blog's Top 20 Challenge: #7.

April 2013, Perú. The Museo Larco in the Peruvian capital city, Lima, is full of outstanding

pieces organized in exhibitions that pique the imagination. This one, of weaponry,

makes a powerful, if silent, demonstration with an actual human skull dating from the same era.

Gory. But effective.

Top 20 Photos of 2013 -- #8

Welcome to the last week of the Kuantan Blog's Top 20 Challenge! Today's photo is one of my all-time favorites.

April 2013, Perú (Convent of Santa Catalina, Arequipa)

Come back tomorrow for more of Perú, this time back to the capital, Lima, and the Museo Larco.