War Post: May 9th Mashup & ROW80 Goals

This was made by a fan before the movie came out.

So it would appear that the Avengers was a hit.  I was in my seat on Friday Morning at 12:01 cheering with everyone else in my theatre when it began.  If you haven't seen the movie yet, you have to see it!  It is probably the best piece of cinematic storytelling that I have ever seen.  Sure there are things they got wrong, but in a movie this size, those are easy to ignore.

Now that I've plugged Avengers, we'll move on to the Mashup.  Most of them are writer related today, just to let you know.

David Powers King shows us how to set up a villian in: "Tuesday Tropes: Kick the Dog."

Heather Adkins, a formatting Guru shares tips on how to format ebooks in: "Ask a Formating Expert: Answers."

J.A. Bennett shares a few great high school dating stories in "Pancakes, Blue Suits, and U-hauls."

Lisa J. Jackson talks about how she deals with super typing in writers flow in: "Grammar-ease – When the words outpace the fingers."

Donna K. Weaver shares something she learned on how to make better characters in: "Storymaker Conference Report - POV."

Shah Wharton has a great contest going for Storytellers you can read more about here in: "The Storyteller Writing Challenge."

Nathan Bransford had a really great article that helped lift me up called: "How to Keep Writing When the S*** Hits the Fan ."

Jay Noel shares some awesome music for writing to as well as why a person might use music when writing in: "Music to Write To."

Karen Sandler points out how the unimportant has no place in fiction in: "Give Every Scene a Purpose."

S.E. Sinkhorn teaches us all how we can use Pinterest to help us with our writing in: "Pinterest Tips for Writing."

Ingrid Schaffenburg as always shares some great relationship advice that everyone should remember in: "Lookin' for Love."

Kristen Lamb shares more her ideas about how Writers can survive in the new world in: "The Age of the Artist–Time for a Revolution."

Piper Bayard spreads sunshine and happiness in her post titled: "Making TSA Underwear Bomber Gropes Exciting."

Lisa Taylor brings it home for us today with sharing about Science and Writing in: "ScienceBucks and Scientific Writing!"

Now listen to Classical Spy Music.  Enjoy!

This is a local music group that I absolutely love.  Check them out!


Sometimes I get down on myself about my goals and the fact that I'm not making the progress that I think I should.  But it occurs to me that I shouldn't get down on myself too much seeing as in the past seven months I have written more than I have in the seven years before.  Writing is becoming a lifestyle for me and I am thrilled so much that you wouldn't be able to believe it.  But without challenging yourself, growth ends.  So I keep pushing hard to have growth, and I just get frustrated at how many little things get in my way on that journey.  So if I ever sound critical or negative of myself, just realize that I know I'm growing, I'm just trying to spur greater growth.  Now for the goals!
1. Finishing Chapter Two and starting Chapter Three of "Crimes of the Umbramancer by next week.     Yeah, I'm half way through Chapter Two.  Which is wonderful.  I've struggled because I didn't know what was wrong with certain scenes, but I'm figuring that out and I think it will be as strong as my chapter one once I finish.   
2. Write seven thousand words per week. (Between blog & fiction.)     I think I finished about four thousand this past week.  Much of my time was put into building a stronger relationship with our foster son, who was at our home all weekend long rather than with his parents.  It was a blessing to spend time with him and frankly it was more important than getting through the writing.
3. Exercise five times a week.     I made it out about three out of four days this past week.  And I'm grateful for the progress I'm making there.  Getting out and moving my body feels really good and it has given me a great deal of time to work out prewriting ideas so that my story will move along much more smoothly.  And it is really quite peaceful (once your legs are prepared for the pain).
4. Finishing up my school work from my last semester in College.

     I'm not complaining this week.  I'm still struggling with this goal, but you'll know when its done.  I'll probably post my essay on Pride and Prejudice here when I'm done.

5. Spending time everyday with a spiritual source.
     Morning and Evening is still a great resource and I'm working hard at making more time for prayer too.

6. Finishing homework from Group Therapy.
     Last week I finished my Homework for Group Therapy, and this week I'm running behind because my wife has been sick and our foster has been home a lot.  But I'm hoping to get through the rest of this today.  Therapy is tonight and when you don't have the work done, it is harder to share in group.

I'm feeling really good about this past week.  Don't ask me why.  I didn't meet my goals as well as I would have liked, but I feel like I'm in a better place in the journey than I was a week ago.  And perhaps that is the most important thing.  Thanks for reading and here's the link if you would like check out my friends in ROW80.  I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG.  Peace People!

FWBH: Evolution of Ideas

For the Fellow Writers Bloghop this month they wanted for us to talk about how Brittannic announced that they were no longer going to print after 244 of their amazing encyclopedia.  And I have to say kudos to them!  They have joined the rest of the world in recognizing that they must evolve or die, which is something that we all must do in this ever changing world.

Evolution has multiple different concepts that drive it.  The religious arguments of whether or not man was derived of apes or created by God are largely missing the fundmental idea that is at the core of evolution.  When the environment around any living being changes, that being will change to match the environment or it will perish.  That is the way it is.  Nowhere this can be seen better than in economics and politics today.  Let's think about this, many people don't like Walmart.  (I don't really like Walmart, it just happens they are really convenient to shop at).  But Sam Walton, had a great idea in bringing everything a person might need into a single shop and then seeking to get the lowest prices for it.  That idea changed the entire market for how people do business.  Companies that had for years focused on making a quality product for a low price had to either sacrifice the quality of their product or have their product made overseas to be able to do business with Walmart.  The concept that Walmart set up changed the entire market for how we do business.

We can see this in the music industry.  MP3's and digital music have changed everything about the music industry.  I'm old enough to have listened to records, eight tracks, cassettes, and CD's.  And the MP3 changed the game of music in ways they could never have suspected.  Because it was digital and so much easier to transport, share, and even work with.  The artists had to stop focusing on making sales by selling an album, but by targeting an audience with the songs that they wanted.  During the time that they made this paradigm shift, they began making it possible to get clean versions of explicit music.  Because it was all about the consumer now, and not the recording companies.

And that is the same way it is with Britannica.  They are changing to meet the needs of the consumer rather than remaining in the past with what they have been doing.  And it is a beautiful thing to see.  At last for the educators who want a reliable online resource for their students to use, Britannica will soon offer opportunities that Wikipedia simply won't be able to compete with.  Because their information will always be factual and unchangeable by the masses.

However Wikipedia will still thrive because they offer articles on so many more topics that Britannica cannot ever cover.  Like when I want information about a video game I can still look to Wikipedia.  Or when I need to get the trivia about the new Avengers movie.  Our age of instant information requires there to be multiple means of getting similar information.  It doesn't promise the quality of that information, but what it does promise is that if one has the correct question to ask, they can find answers to their question.

Because of this need for answers we must start asking better questions.  The questions asked are what will determine what our reality will be.  Because let's face it, it isn't the answers that determine reality and how it changes and what we do, but the questions we ask to get those answers.

Britannica going online is the best answer to Wikipedia I can think of.  There is a need for both sources of information and I'm excited to see the dialogue between the two in the years to come.  But what about Child Slavery?  Sex Trafficking?  Gun Control?  The election of the President of the United States?  The Occupy Movement?  Or Tax Reform?  These are huge ideas that are hanging out there in the wind.  We as a public can control the direction they take by the questions we ask.  If we allow the media to ask questions for us, because they are smarter, or have more information at hand; we sacrifice our freedom.  Perhaps it is time for each one of us in the world to start asking better questions and going to primary sources for our information than trusting simply what has been written before.  Because we should all know the saying, Time is a river and history repeats itself.  But this has everything to do with what history the people who use the time create for themselves.

That's everything from me today.  Tomorrow I'll throw up a Mash Up of Awesomeness and share with you how my weekend went from awesome time for writing to awesome time with a child.  Goals will be met . . . somehow.  I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG.  And I hope that this raised some questions for you about how we can change our future.

Religion Interviews #1: A Modern Saint

This picture sits in our living room.

Good day folks!  Today I have a guest on my blog.  It is my wife, Jenny Garrett.  I wanted to give folks an unbiased view of Mormonism from someone who would understand what it means to have lived as a different denomination.  My wife belonged to the Episcopal Church as she was growing up and made a choice during her teen years to become a Latter Day Saint (Hence the name of this blog).  For those of you not of our faith, this is one view of how one balances faith with what they know.  I do this same thing differently, however I would like to believe that I am as unorthodox in my beliefs as my wife.  You will meet various Mormons who see things slightly different as in any church, but the teachings through the church itself are the same.  For the orthodox saints who read this, there are no apologies made here for how my wife has chosen to live.  Not from her or from myself.  God has accepted us as we are, and we expect any God fearing man or woman to do the same.  To quote my wife, "We are all products of our life’s experiences and I have settled into my faith and beliefs because of things that have happened in my life, the people I have known, and the trials that the Lord has helped me through."  And within our own doctrine it states:  “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men (including other Mormons!) the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may"(Article of Faith 11).  So without further ado, my first question.

 #1 I've heard that members of the LDS faith are not Christian, is that true?

It depends on how you define the term “Christian.” If by Christian you mean people who believe that Jesus Christ is an actual man, the son of God, who lived a sinless life, ministered to the sick, preached Gods word to the masses, was crucified, and then arose from the dead, and that his death atoned for the sins of mankind - then yes, we are indeed Christians. But if you define Christianity as having a belief in the holy trinity and a testimony of the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed, then no, we are not Christians in that sense.

The majority of Christian tradition believes that God came down to Earth in mortal form, and that we called him Jesus Christ. For example, my Grandfather literally believed that Jesus Christ was God in a mans body. I grew up in the Episcopal Church and they taught that Jesus was God; God the son. As a child I found that confusing because I would read scriptures about how Jesus would pray, and I couldn’t understand who he was praying to if he was God.

Us LDS folk believe that God is a separate entity from Jesus Christ, even though they are one in purpose. We are what is called “Unitarianism” as opposed to the Christian tradition of “Trinitarianism.” We are one of several religions under the umbrella of Christianity who believe this way. Some of the others are the Jehovahs Witnesses and the Unitarian Universalists - both are great churches full of great people, we are in good company. I have found that the Nicene Creed is vague enough that it fits the spectrum of the LDS belief system, except where Jesus Christ is described as “being of one substance with the Father” and the declaration about believing in the “one holy Catholic and apostolic Church” However, our LDS prophets have clearly stated that we do not believe in the traditional Christian creeds.

I feel like a Christian. I read the New Testament, study the parables that Jesus Christ taught, try my best (fail though I do) to apply those teachings to my own life, I pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ, follow the commandments, and on Christmas and Easter I ponder the birth and resurrection of Christ first and foremost before I indulge in all the super fun pagan rituals that we all do, like putting trees in our house and hiding eggs in the yard. I call myself a Christian, and if anybody else says that I am not, well, it’s not really up to them to decide what I am.

#2 What is it about Joseph Smith? Is he a prophet or some nut job?

Why can’t he be both? The Lord often calls unqualified men and women to do his work, does he not? From the LDS bible dictionary, a prophet is in a general sense anyone who has a testimony of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost. So, many people can be prophets. The question is rather, is he the prophet, seer and revelator he claimed to be?

Joseph Smith restored things to the Earth that were missing. The end result is the church we have today, which is wholesome and good, and has blessed many lives. We know Jesus Christ better, we have the most beautiful music, we have the largest Women’s organization on the planet, we have the tranquility of our temples. After a disaster, the Mormons are often there helping before the Red Cross even gets there. We give humanitarian aid to many impoverished countries. We have the power to do so much good.

But Joseph Smith did some pretty outlandish things in his day, and we often overlook them because they aren’t considered faith building. We sugarcoat many things about Joseph Smiths life. For example, much of the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith covering his face with a hat and seeing the words on a seer stone inside the hat. Now, if that’s the way it was done, and it was directed by the Lord to be done that way, why then do we hang paintings like the one above in our homes?

Why do we make him out to be so dang handsome?
  He looks like this in photos, yet looks like Adonis
in the paintings. 

Because it seems foreign to us, and maybe even a little weird, how it was really done. Then we make movies about the life of Joseph Smith and don’t include the “hat thing” at all. Then we don’t include the fact that he married so many women, some who were teenage girls, and some who were already married to other men. He was a mayor, started his own militia, and planned to run for president. That’s pretty lofty! We sweep these undesirable things under the rug in an effort to keep people from doubting, but then they find out, feel deceived, and their whole faith falls apart.

I have heard some people say “If Jesus tried to attend sacrament meeting, we wouldn’t let him in because he has a beard, long hair, sandals, and isn’t wearing a suit.” It’s a cute little idea, and it tries to point out that we are sticklers for a tidy church appearance. But I submit this thought to you: If Joseph Smith was a member today, he would likely be excommunicated for his behavior.

Why can’t we have this? Joseph Smith: an imperfect man who was also a prophet of God. We sometimes put too much of our faith in Joseph Smith, when we should be putting it in Jesus Christ, and I think Joseph Smith might agree with me on that. It’s ok that he was not a perfect man. At least, I’m ok with it.

#3 I couldn't help but notice that your husband is black, has that ever caused you any grief during your time in the church?

Within the church, no. The day we were sealed for time and eternity, we were treated like royalty inside the temple. All of the workers there in Manti didn’t seem to care a speck that our skin colors were different. Might be a little surprising considering they were older, white, rural Mormons, but they were all wonderful to us.

The Garrett's outside the Manti Temple in Utah

Before we got married, I received council from my Bishop in New Hampshire. He is Chinese and his wife of a few decades is white, so he knew a thing or two about interracial marriage.

However in the culture of Utah, which is sometimes confused with the dictates of the church, because the two are so enmeshed, I have gotten some dirty looks from people, and confused looks from little children. An uninformed teenager was surprised that interracial marriages happened in the temple. Nothing too bad though. I think the only hurtful things have been said from our actual family, the strangers seem pretty accepting. It bothers people much more that I have tattoos. Now that has been my biggest grief!

#4 Do you have a conversion story and would you be so kind as to share it with us?

Yes, I do have a conversion story. Everyone should! The people who are born into the church should become converted at some point just like us converts. I was baptized in 2000. It was a difficult age to join the church. I was 18 and had finished school, so too old for young women’s. All the sisters in Relief Society were at least 30, the closest institute class was 50 minutes away and the singles ward was just as far.

St. Johns Episcopal Church

As previously mentioned, I was raised Episcopal. I was baptized as an infant, and my Grandmother saw to it that I was fairly active in the church. I received my first communion (around age 8) after taking a few weeks of confirmation classes. I was an acolyte (altar girl) for years and sang in the Jr. Choir. In the summers of my childhood I would attend a Lutheran church with my other Grandmother.

I received several years of sunday school education. I still love the Episcopal Church, very much. I appreciate how progressive they are. We have attended midnight mass on Christmas Eve for the last 3 years because it brings back such fond memories for me, it’s actually my favorite part of Christmas. But as I became a teenager I lost interest in going to church.

When I was 16 years old, something happened in our family that shook me to my core. My Uncle, an amazing man, loving and kind and very good to me, who was serving in the Peace Corps, was shot and killed in a robbery - he was only 32. I never knew anyone who had died, let alone be murdered. I was inconsolable, just devastated. I went through some of the stages of grief, denial at first. When it finally hit me I just sobbed for days, sobbed like a person with no hope. And I was angry. And I was confused. I started to turn to religion to succor the immense pain. My belief system didn’t really have the answers I was looking for. I wanted to know if my Uncle still existed somewhere, somehow. Would I ever see him again?

I began to study religion, anything I could get my hands on. And this was in the days before internet research, I was reading honest to goodness books made out of paper. I studied Catholicism, Judaism, Shinto, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, you name it. I started getting called “Jesus Freak” at school. When I slowed down with the partying I had been doing, a lot of my friends lost interest in me. About 18 months into my search for religion, I picked up a book of Mormon for the first time. It was my mothers book. She and my Grandmother had joined the church a few years before, but fell away. When they joined, I wanted no part of it! I opened up the book, and the first few pages were of men signing their names that the book was true. I had never seen a book like that before. I literally called the LDS missionaries who were in the phonebook under ‘LDS missionaries’ and I said “My name is Jennifer and I want to get baptized” and they were like “Who is this really?” I listened to the discussions, quit smoking, and took the plunge! The LDS church had the answers for all my burning questions.

Some things I remember about my baptism were that my best friend showed up late and missed it, and also a friend of mine, Eugene, who I had not seen in a long time showed up, and he was a member of the church and I never knew. And my dear old friend Ben showed up too. We sang “I Stand All Amazed” because it was my Grandmas favorite hymn from when she was a member, and my friend Sariah gave a short talk. I felt so loved and welcomed by the members, a love that I don’t think I had ever felt before. A love that I feel is sometimes lacking by some of the wards I have belonged to in Utah.

My Mom was there for me, and my cousin Jan was very supportive. My Grandma was thrilled even though she had left the church. She took me to get my first set of LDS scriptures, which are the ones that I still use. Some of my family members were very upset with me, some thought it was a big joke and I lost Susan, one of my best friends. The last thing she said to me was that I was a “self righteous bitch.” And I get it, I understand it now. I was that freshly baptized overzealous teenager, and I was trying to change her.

Shortly after my baptism, I traveled to Washington DC to do baptisms for the dead. It was then that I fell in love with LDS temples and the tranquility inside. It has been 12 years now, my faith has changed, grown and evolved and I choose to stay in the LDS church so that people like me can bring about change. If all the liberals, democrats, intellectuals, and free thinkers leave the church, how will it ever change? The changes I’d like to see are more equality for women, more acceptance and love for our LGBT brothers and sisters, and more love and support for those struggling with addiction.

#5 Are you going to vote for Mitt Romney, cause he's Mormon? I've heard a lot of Mormons plan on doing that.

The last thing I would do is vote for someone simply because they belonged to my church. Being LDS does not ensure that someone is a moral person, nor does it promise that someone is competent enough to run a country. When I first heard of Mitt Romney, in the early 2000’s, I remember thinking that a Mormon politician was an oxymoron. That being said, I believe he is educated enough, experienced enough, and competent enough to run the country. But he won’t run the United States the way that I think is right and moral, which is the main reason I will not be voting for him.

I lived in Massachusetts while he was the governor. If he was still “that guy” the Romney of 2003 or 2004, I might vote for him. But he has changed considerably. The man who instituted the Massachusetts health care insurance reform law, is now against “Obama Care.” He once supported stem cell research, and now he no longer does. He once supported a woman’s right to chose, specifically because a close friend of his died from an illegal abortion - but he has abandoned that also and is now pro-life. I won't stand behind a man who changes his core beliefs to suit his career goals.

#6 How do you reconcile the faith of your childhood and the faith of your adulthood?

The faith of my childhood was based on the faith of the adults in my life. My family was Episcopal and so, that is what I believed. But there comes a time in everyones life when you have to decide for your self what you believe and what feels right to you, and not base your faith on what somebody else has decided is right. In the LDS church, we call it “piggybacking on your parent's testimony.” Even when our prophets speak, they tell us to pray about it and learn for ourselves, through the holy spirit, if what they say is true. I think this is an important step to take because not every word that rolls off the tongue of a church leader is meant for every member of the church. Sometimes the faith journey that we must take gets confusing because we want to please our friends and family. We might want to please them even more than we want to find which path we should travel. As William Shakespeare penned, "Above all: to thine own self be true."

After moving to Utah, something I saw for the first time was children getting up during testimony meeting with their moms behind them. I love seeing children getting up and speaking, but here in Utah their mothers whisper into their ear what to say. They tell them to say that the church is true, that they know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. How does this little child know that? They're not even clear on if Santa Claus is true, or if a flying woman actually removes teeth from under their pillows in exchange for cash. And how will they ever know that for themselves if you have been telling them to say it since they could walk? I would much rather have the children go up there and say what they actually feel and believe.

One of the sweetest testimonies I have ever heard was from a little girl who lost her pet rat and she prayed and prayed until she found it. She wanted to tell everyone listening that day, that Heavenly Father answers prayers and cares about rats.

*    *    *

Thanks Jenny.  For your thoughts and your words today.  I feel privileged to be able to share them with my audience.  And I hope that all of you find something in what she has shared to help you better understand our religion.  This is Jayrod and Jenny Garrett, the OG's, and we hope you've enjoyed today's blog.  If you have any questions that you would like to ask us, please comment below and we'll respond to them as soon as we can.  Thanks so much!

IWSG: Self Trust and Voice

Last week I wrote about self trust at the end of a post and I thought I would elaborate on my own issues with self trust here for the support group.  I think that most folks who have met me in person would agree that I exude confidence.  I'm kind, charismatic, and gentle which I guess in a soldier is a good combination.  However, I'm actually insecure about something that most wouldn't guess, and that is my voice in writing.

Obviously, I don't have an issue with speaking my mind.  I'm willingly opening myself up to people criticizing my thoughts concerning abortion, politics, and black culture.  I welcome that.  It doesn't bother me if you don't agree with me.  What worries me is that I come across saying what I really want to say.  That isn't an issue of simply word choice, but the tone and voice of my writing.

Blogging for me is an exercise in learning to self validate.  Often my writing when I blog is quite raw.  It hasn't gone through multiple different people.  It has seen my wife and sometimes our adopted son.  But it hasn't gone to them for proofreading or to help me fix problems.  Instead it has been about validating my writing for me.  And that's not fair to them.  I need to be able to self validate and trust that what I put down is good enough.  But I bet there is someone else out there like me who suffers from the same fear of not being good enough.

So here is my advice to those of you who share my fear.  Write inside your own comfort zone.  My comfort zone is a unique one, I feel most comfortable talking about issues that are particularly controversial in society.  I realize that I have good things to say about them.  And that because of my own experiences that I have an education there that other lack.  So I focus on those things because for me, I am most comfortable there.  And it gives me an opportunity to exercise my voice and learn about how I write and how I express myself.  Both of which are crucial for any young writer to learn about.

But once you have found your comfort zone, push the envelope of your abilities.  You do not learn to walk without failure, and you will not learn how to write without failure.  As I grow in my abilities and my education I hope to work towards making this more culturally friendly as a blog.  I want to be able to speak about issues that the LBGT community, Asians, and the Native Americans face.  I might have someone comment and tell me that everything I'm writing is garbage, and inform me as to what the real deal is on a subject.  And guess what, that's okay!  Because I'm comfortable with failure in my journey.  Because I don't learn the most from my successes, but rather from my failures.

Soon I'll have a new comfort zone and I'll have to reach further to search out excellence.  I want to the same thing in literature.  I recently read a post from Nora Jemisin on RaceFail, and I realized that I'm coming into writing at a good time.  When I was younger I wanted to just write a story about an African American Hero in Science Fiction & Fantasy, but now my views have expanded to want to see Heroes and Heroines of color throughout SFF.  I think I'm a decent writer, but while I am bringing my skills up to the level that someone will choose to publish my work, I'm going to focus on other cultures and religions and bring them to light.  But again I cannot do any of this if I lack confidence in my voice.

So I leave you my fellow writers with a challenge.  Start writing within your comfort zone.  And as soon as you think you have a grasp on your voice, start pushing the envelope.  Don't sit back and think you are good as is.  Develop the healthy mindset that you are always seeking out the next peak of performance.  Writing is a journey that has potential to never end.  Look at Frank and Brian Herbert, their journey in writing has already spanned two generations.  There is no limit to what we can do as writers if we will work towards touching the stars.

If you are struggling with your voice, that's okay.  But it isn't okay to give up.  Sit down in your chair and write.  Something, anything.  One word or a thousand.  Because for each word you put down you forge the voice within you.  And after you have forged the edge of your own voice, you'll find the battle towards becoming a paid author one that you can tackle with the grace of a ballerina.

That's all I got for today.  Stay tuned for the end of the week when I tackle my first interview.  I'm Jayrod Garrett, and I'm the First OG.  And naturally I have a question for you:

What do you want to do with your voice?

War Post: May 2nd Mashup & ROW Goals

Today should be a Insecure Writers Support Group post.  But I decided to make it just a Mashup and Goals like usual.  Why you might ask?  Because I wrote something separate for the IWSG.  I realized that it needed to be separate, and it was a blog post all of its own, so check it out if you are into that kind of thing.  Let's rock this Mashup and Goals peeps!

Scott Ashton made my week when I discovered his blog about Brandon Sanderson's creative writing class.  Check it out at: "Write about Dragons."

Ava Jae wrote about the challenge of Finishing in: "How to Finish Writing a Novel."

If you ever wanted to find out how many millionaires are paying in a lower tax bracket than you check out: "The Buffett Rule."

Larry Correia shares a little about how ridiculous our administration can be in: "Freaking ridiculous, child labor laws coming to family farms." (And if you want to read more go here.)

At Spirit of Ilithyia a story about the way birth is handled in this country, tune in at: "How Birth One Hundred Years Ago Impacts Birth Today."

Stephen Foster Jr. shares the thoughtfulness of a girls father and the sensitivity of a radio personality in: "Rape Away The Gay?"

Martha Wells brings us back the past, so we can recognize the future in: "Erasing Women."

Bjorn Lomberg has great news telling us we have enough food to end world hunger, but we still need more in: "How To Get Food on Every Table."

N.K. Jemisin talks about a topic I never knew came to pass in SSF (and I'm thrilled it did) in: "Why I Think RaceFail Was The Bestest Thing Evar for SFF."

And Timothy Sexton wrote an article on similar topic in: "How Martin Luther King Kept Lt. Uhura on the Bridge of the Starship Enterprise."

And for our laugh of the day I thought, let's watch Leonard Nimoy be lazy for a day. 

This week has been so much more productive than the last several.  I'm so thankful for smaller goals.  However as I was about to do a lot better, I had a friend in the National Guard take his own life.  It kinda ruined the end of the week for me.  Still here's a taste of what I accomplished in the last week.
1. Finishing Chapter Two and starting Chapter Threeof "Crimes of the Umbramancer by next week.     I wanted to finish up Chapter Two, but unfortunately after the news I've become both depressed and busy.  Hopefully I'll finish up this week, but we'll have to see what happens at this point.
2. Write seven thousand words per week. (Between blog & fiction.)     Well counting what I write on Twitter, Writing Group, my Scene, and getting a Blog Buffer, I have managed to get at least seven thousand in the last week.  Which I'm very grateful for.
3. Exercise five times a week.     The end of the week I didn't make running at all.  Though I have managed to get a fair amount of walking in on Friday and Saturday, but it just doesn't get me the work out I need.  Still working this goal.
4. Finishing up my school work from my last semester in College.

     Ever have a professor tell you how hard it is to get students to do work after the semester is over.  It is true, because you have the multiple pressures of being in class, having friends with you, and most importantly, a grade that is hanging over you at the end.  But remove that and you can find yourself floundering.  I wonder if this is to all help me be a great college advisor?  I've gone through pretty much every bad situation you can think of while I've been in school.  Oh, but you didn't come here to listen to me complain.

    Nothing got done this week (Thank God for a merciful teacher).  And Pride and Prejudice is still kicking my butt.  I'll get through it though.

5. Spending time everyday with a spiritual source.
     One of my cousin's gave me a little book called Morning and Evening Daily Readings by C.H. Spurgeon.  Now I received this back around the time of my wife's grandfather's funeral, but I haven't read from it much at this point.  But I picked it up thinking, it has some really good insights, and I haven't been disappointed yet.  I've been reading since Saturday and it has given a shot in the arm to my spiritual walk.

6. Finishing homework from Group Therapy.
     I have a friend who has a motto in her home of "No Secrets."  And I love this philosophy.  But I also know that to keep such a rule you also must know how to keep certain knowledge within certain circles.  It changes what you mean when you say that you trust somebody.  So I thought I would test my own ability in following this rule and admit that I'm going to Group Therapy.  It has been wonderful because they are helping me to get through some of the challenges of my childhood in an environment with other folks like me.

Well that's everything for Goals for ROW80.  If you are interested check out the sister post to this blog for the Insecure Writers Support Group.  I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG and here is the ROW80 bloghop.  Look it up, comment, or join us.  There aren't any cookies, but there is certainly a lot of love, growth, and thoughtfulness in our community.  Peace peeps!