J. H. Authors

One Woman. Three Names. Many Books.

Social Media

The Role of Critic

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Social media. Criticism. The blogosphere. Critical Thinking. Change.

There was an article in the NY Times this week about plagarism in the digital age. The amount of information readily available just by surfing the web is incredible. When I was a kid, having research books at home were a luxury. Now these books are viewed as doorstops, though the information in them was vetted. Written through a single dimensional lens, but vetted. Now Wikipedia is the first stop for research. And sometimes it is just plain wrong.

But a lot of time it is just a puke of information, with no critical thought. There is so much information available that without filters, without someone to help parse it, it cannot be managed. By filters I do not mean to suggest someone who tells you what to think. What I mean is developing the skills to think for yourself. And to risk being wrong.

Civil discourse is a rare art these days. This includes politics, art, religion. Is it because of the many outlets social media provides? Or is it because we are so afraid of being “wrong” that we won’t risk being provocative, or thoughtful?

On the other side of this conversation, we are able to question qualifications and authority. Is s/he qualified to have an opinion?

All of us need to figure out how to deal with the deluge of information at our disposal. How to sort through it. Filter it for ourselves. Come up with an opinion. And share that opinion with civility.

The Summer of Kicking it Up

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This AM I went for a 70 minute bike ride and 10 minute run with my Boston Fit peeps. Add a 1/2 mile swim in front, and quadruple the run, add three weeks and ta dah. Cranberry Sprint on the 28th. The swim still freaks me out a bit (though a swim clinic put on by Max Performance helped A LOT). I may be last. It may not be pretty. But I’m going to get this done.

That isn’t the only stretch of the summer. I am joining a blog on Monday–the New Hampshire Writers’ Network blog. Their motto is “Live to Write–Write to Live”. I admire the work of the blog, and am really thrilled to be a part of it.

And theatrically, all of my subscriptions are in. And last week I had some inspiring moments–meeting Doug Elkins (whose piece, FRAULEIN MARIA, will be at the Paramount in September), seeing a dress rehearsal of THE SUN ALSO RISES and then OTHELLO. All in the same day. I haven’t seen as much theatre as I would like to this summer, but I am starting to flex my muscles a bit. This looks to be a very exciting season in Boston theatre. You will be hearing much more about it.

And talk about stretching…despite injuries galore, the Red Sox beat the Yankees last night.

Life is good. Life is great.

Comfort Zone Stretch

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I am trying to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve blogged about the triathlon training. and will continue to do so until the end of the month (D Day is August 28). But the tri training in about doing something I’m not good at, getting better but being comfortable with being mediocre.

My other comfort zone is about being more present in various writing communities. Responding on listservs. Commenting on blogs. Letting people know when I think their work is good.  And letting people know about this blog.

I am also going to  start guest  blogging with a group–the New Hampshire Writer’s Network blog. I am an admirer of their work, and thrilled to be a part.  Those blog posts are taking some crafting.

These tend to be written on the fly. But I need to keep up with them, and use them as a daily exercise. Especially if I start letting people know it is here.

Stretching is exhausting.  But it feels great.

Making the move

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OK, I’ve made the move (though not officially) to wordpress. Warning to my geek friends, you may be on call. Just saying…

The Road to Hell

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OK, I started off with a bang, and it has been a week. Maybe I need to work up to every day…plus I renamed the blog (again). Turning Over Rocks. A little less pretentious. Also about looking into things a little more. Thinking. I know, a radical idea.

Current thoughts–TV. I know that's not the great art pursuit. And for a brief moment I thought I didn't watch that much. I was wrong. Last Sunday night I caught up with my DVR'd 24 episodes. Made the decision to go for it. Now, I have watched at least part of every season. Sometimes, often, it makes me tired and I stop for a bit, and then catch up the last few episodes. This season is promising,though I am a little wary. Renee and blond chick (with the bad ex and fake name, hello stupid story line) may get on my nerves. We'll see.

I also am back on the LOST bandwagon. Feel like I need to debrief after every episode. Will write more about it (how can I not) but the thing that both these shows have in common is story arcs. Huge story arcs. 24 sometimes loses it, and feel like it is plotted by a pantser (by the seat of their pants), or a bunch of them who are willing to go where the story takes them.

LOST feels like it is outlined. I feel like they have been planning parts of the story forever. Which scares me. I have high hopes for these next few weeks, and the way they tell the story. And I really hope they pull it off. REALLY hope.

We'll see.