Showing posts with label 2017. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2017. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

~ Novel News ~ Ready. Set. Write! ~ National Novel Writing Month

~ Novel News ~

BLOG SESSION
November 22nd, 2017

Good Evening Novelists ~ The reason why we are gathered here this evening is to have a Blog Session in which everyone can learn more great information about writing your Novel online this month.

If you are joining us for the first time, you may be here because you have already started writing your Novel this month, and you'd like to be among other Writers who are participating in National Novel Writing Month this year. We all have signed up to participate in NaNoWriMo (which stands for National Novel Writing Month), online at nanowrimo.org (click the link to sail over there).

If you have not yet signed up, please do, even if you do not think you can write your 50,000 words by the end of the month -- November 30th, 2017 -- give it a shot anyway.  Keep in mind there are also Summer Camps online wherein you can write your Novel or any other writing project that has been on your mind, including Poetry Books, Documentaries, Historical Materials, Memoirs, Diaries, Biographies, you name it, you can write it during Summer Camp.

And, let us not forget that National Novel Writing Month happens every year.  If you get started this year, and do not complete your Novel, you can always keep working on it at your leisure, and work on it some more during NaNo Summer Camp.

November 2017
Novels in Progress!

Surely, you'll be all geared up by the time National Novel Writing Month rolls around again in 2018, and you will already have your Profile set up online on NaNoWriMo.org so that you will be ready to rock & roll with the clicking of the keys come November 1st, 2018.

Don't forget to connect with others once you are adding your Novel Chapters onto NaNoWriMo for your word count.  If you have any questions, you may ask your questions online on the Site or here on the Blog, and I will assist you as best I can.  I've participated in NaNoWriMo for years, and also during NaNo Summer Camps.  Loads of fun!

You may also be interested in checking out NaNoWriMo's  . . .

Virtual Write-Ins 

(Click the above link to go to the Events Page where you will find Virtual Write-Ins going on in Video Form -- scroll down the page to view all material)
If you can’t make it to an in-person write-in, do Join us at a virtual one online ~ streamed live from NaNoWriMo HQ.  After all, writing is that much easier in the company of writers from around the world!
OUR NEXT BLOG SESSION:

How many words have you written so far?

Novelists, until our next Blog Session...

Keep your Novel ideas flowing ~

Peace, Love & Light

By René Allen


©Copyright - René Allen - 2014-2017 - All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Lady Liberty Weeps
PART III

BLOG SESSION
October 18th, 2017


Good Evening Blog Readers, Followers, Visitors & Friends ~ The gang's all here, and we're going to dive into our next Blog Session!

If you would, please get your Journal out to take notes, because this Session is going to have an awful lot of information that you will no doubt refer back to. . .

Journal Notes

If you were here for our last Session, then you are aware that we are here today to continue on with our discussion about important issues that are in need of attention.  Those important issues of note are not being played over and over again in the media like they should be, but nevertheless, the unsung issues are meaningful to us all.

The first meaningful item on our list tonight is the national anthem and the protests that have been going on about the NFL players kneeling during the national anthem at football games.  The protests all started because Colin Kaepernick took a stance against social inequality.  For those who don't know, Colin Kapernick is a former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback.  Back in August of 2016, Kaepernick sat on the bench during the national anthem for a preseason game.  The reason why he did so was because as he stated, he was "not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."

Kaepernick was in protest of what he deems are wrongdoings against African Americans and minorities in the United States.

Kaepernick also made the cover of TIME magazine for "fueling a debate about privilege, pride and patriotism."
Colin Kaepernick
"The Perilous Fight"
TIME Magazine

The story behind the writing of the American national anthem, now known as "The Star-Spangled Banner," revolves around the British attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, known as the Battle of Baltimore.  Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer, penned the words on Sept. 14, 1814, after the 25-hour battle ceased, and he realized that it was the American flag, and not the flag of Britain, that was flying in victory.

Further Notes:  Many people have difficulty memorizing the lyrics of the first verse of this song, which is commonly performed at sports events and other public gatherings.  But did you know that there are three additional verses that we almost never hear?

Francis Scott Key

In 1814, the poet and lyricist Francis Scott Key penned the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” originally known as “Defense of Fort M’Henry.”  During the War of 1812, Key witnessed the attacks on Baltimore and wrote the words based on his experiences this night.  These lyrics were printed in local newspapers and set to the tune of an existing song called “Anacreon in Heaven,” and then officially arranged by John Philip Sousa.  Key’s famous lyrics entered the world as a broadside ballad, or a song written on a topical subject, and printed for wide distribution.
More than a century later, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order designating “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem, and in 1931, the US Congress confirmed the decision.  The tune has kicked off ceremonies of national importance and athletic events ever since.
PLEASE NOTE:   The anthem itself has an unexpected connection to slavery. [Article:  The unexpected connection between slavery, NFL protests and the national anthem]
The connection between race and the national anthem has a painful yet little-known root.
These peaceful demonstrations, which were initiated  last year by former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, have roared back into the conversation as the NFL season ramps up and the nation continues to process the racially-fueled clashes that rocked Charlottesville, Virginia this year, among other disturbing events.
During the 2016 NFL preseason, Kaepernick said he was compelled to kneel in part because of police-involved shootings that resulted in the deaths of black men, including Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.
(Pictured) ~ A group of Cleveland Browns players kneel in a circle in protest during the national anthem prior to a preseason game against the New York Giants at First Energy Stadium on August 21, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The question is, what are the words to The Star-Spangled Banner"? . . .

The Star Spangled Banner
Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with

The mere mention of "slave" is not entirely remarkable; slavery was alive and well in the United States in 1814.  Francis Scott Key himself owned slaves, was an anti-abolitionist and once called his African brethren "a distinct and inferior race of people."
Some interpretations of these lyrics contend Key was, in fact, taking pleasure in the deaths of freed black slaves who had fought with the British against the United States.
(Who should kneel in protest to this song?)
The better question might be:  Who should stand to honor this song, and why?
For your Journal:

What do those words mean to you?

Is it time to come up with a new anthem for the United States?

Is it time for people to search their hearts?

Do you truly understand what the protests are about?

By taking a stand for civil rights, Kaepernick, 28, joins other athletes, like the NBA's Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony and several WNBA players in using their platform and status to raise awareness in relation to issues affecting minorities in the U.S.
OUR NEXT BLOG SESSION:

Lady Liberty Weeps
Part IV
One month after Hurricane Maria, 
Basics still scarce in Puerto Rico!
What about the drinking water?
F R I E N D S
Until Our Next Blog Session ~

Peace, Love & Light

By René Allen

©Copyright - René Allen - 2014-2017 - All Rights Reserved

Saturday, September 23, 2017

When the dam breaks , , ,

When the dam breaks . . .
(Guajataca Dam in Quebradillas, Puerto Rico on Sept. 23, 2017)


BLOG SESSION
September 23rd, 2017


Welcome back to another eye~opening day on the Blog!

Blog Readers, Followers & Visitors, today's Blog Session is going to be the beginning of a number of discussions that we will be having about what's going on in your part of the world.

We're going to be starting off with an island that has just been through a storm of disastrous proportions. The island is called, Puerto Rico.  The storm that we are referring to is Hurricane Maria, which has racked up millions of dollars worth of damage and the count is not yet complete for the total amount of financial relief that will be needed for damages wrought by Hurricane Maria.

Our Blog topic is entitled, "When the dam breaks..."  Let it be known that currently in Puerto Rico, there are serious issues going on...

Puerto Rican officials rushed to evacuate tens of thousands of people downstream of the failing dam and the massive scale of the disaster wrought by Hurricane Maria started to become clear.

In spite of the fact that Puerto Rico is now largely without electricity, running water is a luxury, and mobile phone reception is no longer taken for granted, the demand for plane tickets is high.

San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marin airport is struggling. Most flights this weekend were cancelled, even though the weather was safe again.  At least one flight had to turn back because it lost communication with the airport control tower.

The mayor, Marcos Cruz Molina, said between 2,000 and 2,500 people, including himself, lost their homes. Like most of the island, Vega Baja is almost completely without communication.

Governor Ricardo Rossello reported on Sunday that officials still had not had communication with nine of 78 municipalities.

Puerto Ricans have used the Zello Walkie Talkie app to find information on missing people, through channels specific to municipalities.  Nieves told the Vega Baja channel he would report back with as much information as possible.

Compare what is happening in your part of the world with what you've just heard about Puerto Rico.  Are you fairing the same, worse, or better? 

The infrastructure in Puerto Rico has been damaged...

Image courtesy of: © Provided by Guardian News
A man rides his bicycle through a damaged road
 in Toa Alta, west of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday.


“The devastation in Puerto Rico has set us back nearly 20 to 30 years,” Jenniffer Gonzalez, Puerto Rico’s nonvoting representative in the US Congress told the Associated Press.
Puerto Rico is different from that of a week ago.  There is currently destruction of properties, flattened structures, families without homes, and there is debris everywhere.
This is why people are also trying desperately to leave. On Sunday morning, dozens sat waiting in the airport, which does not have functioning escalators, elevators or air conditioning.  Many waved paper or cardboard, trying to stay cool.  By Sunday night, the only scheduled flight out had been cancelled.  Only aid flights had departed.  Hundreds of people camped out, desperate for a flight out.
Wading through the waters after Hurricane Maria
NOTE of ENCOURAGEMENT:
“Puerto Rico se levanta” – Puerto Rico rises up. 
OUR NEXT BLOG SESSION:
Around the World:
Dangerous Leaders
Be sure to join us back on the Blog for our next Blog Session!
Peace, Love & Light

By René Allen

© Copyright - René Allen - 2014 - 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Diary Writers at work!

Diary Writers at work!


BLOG SESSION
September 16th, 2017


Good Morning Diary Writers! ~ It's time to wake up and get into our Blog Session for today, which is entitled, "Diary Writers at work!"

If you will briefly take a moment to take a look at the artwork at the top of our Blog for today, you'll notice a woman with her eyes closed.  Why are her eyes closed? Because she is reaching into the catacombs of her mind to get ready to write in her Diary.

When you awake in the morning, it is the best time to write in your Diary.  You'll have to get up a little earlier than normal to do this, because of course you will have other things that you will have to do in your day.  It means that you'll have to wake up an hour or two earlier than normal so that your mind will not be in a rushed or hurried state before you begin writing your daily diary entry.

If you have your Diary handy by your bedside, you can simply reach over and grab it and begin your diary entry.  If you are a Dreamer, then this will work especially well for you, because your dream will be fresh in your mind, and you won't lose it.  In an earlier Blog Session, we spoke about Diaries for those who Dream at night...

Diaries for Dreamers

Dreams are of special importance because they tell you a great deal about what is going on inside of you.

While you may not be able to tell your dreams to some people you know because they do not take dreams seriously, you will definitely be able to learn more about your dreams by writing them down in your private diary.  If you are one of our Blog Readers and Diary Writers who know the value of your dreams, I applaud you, and you'll understand when I tell you to stay away from people who laugh or ask you what you had to eat if you tell them about any of your dreams. Those people are dream killers.

Those who cherish their dreams and take the time to write them down will find that they will discover more about their "self", as well as the world around them.

There are many dreamers who have prophetic dreams that tell of things to come.  Prophecy is a "gift" given by God to those who are able to handle the "gift".

A little about Prophetic Dreams...
Prophetic dreams are some of the most perplexing and exciting dreams that it is possible for a person to have. Dreaming of the future is rare, and it does not happen with everyone.  But, when it does, you are given an unexpected chance to order your actions accordingly, either to prevent a catastrophe from happening, or to prepare and make the proper contingency plans.  At other times, though, prophetic dreams concern events unrelated to the dreamer's life, and it is unclear what the dreamer should do about the dream, to help in any way in relation to the dream, or even if there is anything possible at all for the dreamer to do. Sometimes prophetic dreams will be clearly intended for the dreamer to take appropriate action(s).  At other times, the dreamer will simply be privy to a preview, as it were, of events which will shortly take place. And, in some cases, the events may be a little ways off, like days, months or years.  If you chart your prophetic dreams, then you will gain a better gauge on the timing.

Have you had a prophetic dream?


An example of prophetic dreams:

1)  Dreaming about natural disasters to come whether in the area where you live, or in a specific region or area that is clear to you in the dream.

2)  Dreaming about a death of someone close to you.

3)  Dreaming of accidents that involve someone that you know.

4)  Dreaming about specific events that will occur in your life, most of the time unknowingly to you other than through the dream.

5)  Dreaming about Leadership of your workplace, Country, Nation, or Global events.

6)  Dreaming about innovative discoveries or inventions.

7)  Dreaming about church matters.

In the cases of personal prophetic dreams, it should be made clear to you that the purpose of the dream is to inform you of an important piece of information which will make a great deal of difference in your life, or to someone close to you.  Paying close attention to a personal prophetic dream and taking it seriously is a way that you can benefit yourself and/or your loved ones.

If for instance, you dream of moving to another location that you had no intention of doing, and it is shown clearly in your dream where the place is in great detail, then you should prepare for your move.

I am sure that many of the Blog Readers here have known someone that has been aware of their own death beforehand, and has prepared for it, and not because a doctor has told them, but because they have been shown in a dream or received a premonition. When they tell others, of course, most times those they tell will dismiss what they are saying, but the dreamer knows already in their heart of hearts, and have made peace with it.

Prophetic Dreams of Natural Disasters

Natural disasters like earthquakes, devastating storms, floods, fires, tsunamis, tornados, and other such disasters have been received in dream form by those who have prophetic dreams before the event happens. Believe it or not, prophetic dreams of this nature are relatively common, and people who have dreams of this nature will have the dream and see the actual dream unfold upon waking on the news, or the next day or a day later.

Dreams tend to reach the receiver who is most receptive.  The important point about dreams is to write them down.  You can look back on them at another time to gain further understanding if you do not understand them at the time you have the specific dream or dreams.  Some dreams are symbolic, which makes the dream harder to understand.  However, the symbolism has importance, and it is best to write the symbols down, describe them, and if you can, draw them out.

Some dreams can be about your health in a veiled way, or the health of someone you know.  Write everything down in your Dream Diary, and come back to it at another time if you don't understand the dream.  As more information unfolds, be sure to include that information in your Diary.

Dreams can also offer a benefit when it comes to doing a reflective analysis of your life.  If you dream about having a baby and you have no intention of having a baby, that dream may possibly be more about you carrying a new responsibility in relation to your job, such as a new project, and not necessarily really about having an actual baby.  It could also mean that you are about to have a new beginning in your life.  You may be in the midst of birthing a new future.  This is where doing your research and understanding symbolism comes into play.

There is plenty of information about dream interpretation that will help you to learn more about your dreams, and also help you to expand your mind.

For your own personal growth, write down and document your prophetic dreams and premonitions. You can later go back through your Diary to see if they have in fact come true, and to what extent.

Dreamers, you may also benefit from further research on dreams, symbolism, premonitions, and visions. There is plenty of research out there to help you gain a deeper understanding.

If you are in the Ministry, or are familiar with churches that take prophecy seriously, you may benefit from learning more from them.  And you will benefit from doing further Bible Studies.

There are also Dream Dictionaries and other Dream tools that will help you to learn more about your dreams.

There is also plenty of scientific information about dreams, as well as quantitative studies relating to dreams.  Take a little time to do further research Diary Writers, and discover new areas that you can write about and learn from.

Until our next Blog Session ~ Keep your eyes open for new discoveries ~

Our Next Blog Session:


~ Diary Writer ~
What's coming your way?

Peace, Love & Light,

By René Allen



© Copyright - René Allen - 2014 - 2017 - All Rights Reserved