Just a Little Bit: Leo Babauta

I was never too big on reading blogs, until I started writing one, admittedly so. But I'm enjoying getting lost in and finding sweet treasures all over this dizzying web.

Recently, I stumbled on one of the top 100 most read blogs, Zen Habits. The owner is Guam resident, Leo Babauta-author of the new best-selling book, The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essentials... in Work and in Life.

He recently posted a blog entry which I found rewarding. A few things I walked away with were:

• Be yourself, loudly.
• Read, read, and write.
• Be passionate.

Oddly enough, this simple, yet inspirational, entry is essentially my to-do list. (Has been for years and is still growing...) Click here to read Babauta's blog, Do Interesting Things.

Nonfiction One-on-One with Alicia Partnoy: Nothing But The Truth

Poet, Alicia Partnoy

In my personal nonfiction class today, Alicia Partnoy, Argentine poet and human rights activist, read from her published works and spoke to our class about truth. Truthfully speaking, you'd never know this smiling spirit was held captive in a concentration camp, with no charges, for two and a half years. She has published a few books and is now in alliance with a small publishing company, What Books Press. Interestingly enough, for being honest, Partnoy is in denial about being a writer.

Having survived hardships unimaginable to most, Partnoy informed us about the risks in writing (nonfiction, mostly). Warning Webster: You may not be familiar with these terms.


Risks (in nonfiction):

1. Vulturization - (a made up term) signifying the reader's detective response. They will most likely ask themselves, "Is this person telling the truth? The whole truth? Nothing but the truth?"
   
2. Trivilization - (another made up term) signifying the experience. Does a writer truly experience certain situations, or are they imagining what they would have been like?
   
3. Deagency - (yet another made up word) signifying the stripping of agency.
   

Truth, as Partnoy explained, is subjective. That's no secret, everyone knows how fickle one's memory may be. However, it's what Partnoy proposes that struck a chord with me.

Proposal: Co/labor/actions (Merriam, did you get that?) This is Partnoy's method of returning the agency to the "true" victim/persona/character. Thus, raising them to the author's "level."(a.k.a. Giving credit where it is due.)

In short, Partnoy's brief tutorial answered the tough questions readers ask of writers. Oh, I don't know... writers like, David Sedaris, for example. Are they telling the truth? An author, Partnoy claims, needs to be fair to the reader, persona (character), and themselves.

Essentially, it's a good thing for the audience to question the validity of a piece of literature. It's okay for them to inquire about the truth. As long as they know that everyone's truth can be interpreted and viewed differently. No two eyes see the exact same thing. Now, that's no lie.

To hear or read some of Alicia Partnoy's works, click here.

Take it Slow

"It's sad, really," I was telling Chris, a best friend who lives in Dubai, "I'm studying English at school, and essentially, I'm studying it to be a writer. But everything is online now. I have a feeling my résumé will include works published online, rather than offline (books, magazines, journals, etc.). And it makes my soon-to-be profession feel ... cheap, disregarded even."

Last week, John Freeman of The Wall Street Journal shared my exact sentiments in his recent article, A Manifesto for Slow Communication. Freeman explains that words like "speed" and "urgency" are not synonyms for "effectiveness" and "accuracy."

"Making decisions in this communication brownout, though without complete infor­mation, we go to war hastily, go to meetings unprepared, and build relationships on the slippery gravel of false impressions."

As a writer, I feel this speaks to me on a deeper level: my career. There is something great about admiring, holding, smelling, and caressing a book or magazine or newspaper with one's own text printed on it. Personally, the romanticism behind it is greater in comparison to seeing text on a monitor. But more importantly, literacy standards continue to fall. Everything else seems to be improving but ... our literacy skills? Freeman illustrates the following:

"It [the Industrial Age] has made it more difficult to read slowly and enjoy it, hastening the already declining rates of literacy. It has made it harder to listen and mean it, to be idle and not fidget."

This manifesto runs parallel to the ongoing multi-tasking and the frying attention span debates. In the blink of an eye we can read headlines without being fully informed. In the next blink we can be briefed about the latest celebrity gossip. Next we are glancing through our email, then we are skimming through a Google Book just to make it quickly to the next eye's blink. Are any of these things ever done carefully? Or effectively? Or with our full attention? Is it fair to the authors who have worked on what you're reading? Another question: Did I lose you?

My stance is not to be confused with a stance against fast communication, rather to know when to opt for slow communication. Like Freeman states in his manifesto,

"We need to uncouple our idea of progress from speed, separate the idea of speed from effi­ciency, pause and step back enough to realize that efficiency may be good for business and governments but does not always lead to mindfulness and sustainable, rewarding relationships."

Well said! Now, if I could only get this in print...

Just A Little Bit: Gimme some mo' Tancharoen!

As I develop this blog, I plan to weave in a series called Just A little Bit that dedicates a bit of time to different writers, musicians, and artists. Thomas Edison once wrote: "What man's mind can create, man's character can control." With that said, creativity deserves recognition.

Today, I begin with the Tancharoen Tag Team, composed of Maurissa Tancharoen and younger brother Kevin Tancharoen. In the last couple years, the siblings have been garnering lots of positive attention.

Maurissa Tancharoen is a television writer, actor, singer, and lyricist, who most recently co-wrote Dr. Horrible's Musical Sing-Along Blog with the Whedon brothers, director and writers of tv series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse. Last year, Dr. Horrible's Musical Sing-Along Blog, a hybrid of a three-act online webisode, received several awards along with an Emmy nomination. Needless to say, the musical was great. However, the prize jewel I fell in love with was not one of the main cast members, even though they were all great (I love you Felicia Day and Neil Patrick Harris!), rather Groupie #1--Maurissa Tancharoen, or Mo, as I like to call her. I also like to think we're good friends.

But why Mo? Here's what I've figured out so far, and I'll limit it to three. 1) Mo is talented and does not take herself serious. How many people can say that? 2) Adds to #1, Mo makes fun of herself. On The Commentary! The Musical, commentary for Dr. Horrible's, Mo wittingly sings about the scarcity of non-stereotyped roles in television mostly addressing her own, Asian. 3) Mo checks herself. On Twitter, Mo's bio states that she's a "thesp in things you've never seen."

Kevin Tancharoen, Mo's baby brother, is already receiving a lot of attention for directing and reincarnating the musical, Fame. In 2004, he choreographed the film You Got Served, a movie I never saw, yet where the previews exhibited innovative, body breaking dance moves. In an interview with Variety, baby brother Kevin stated something that was reminescent of the Tancharoen spirit: "You can't make a movie about teenagers who want to be famous and cast superstars. With a movie like this, why not make stars?" I like this mindset, a lot.

Who wouldn't want to work with a director like Tancharoen? Universal Pictures, that's who. Universal has invited Tancharoen to direct a sci-fi action film, Arcana.

From the large screen to the iPhone, the Tancharoen blood is helping bring originality, creativity, and enterntainment to every glowing portal. Many audiences are still not be familiar with the Tancharoen name, but they will be. I dream of a time in the near future where audiences will be asking for, "Some mo' Tancharoen. Make that two."

For more links to Mo's shenanigans click here.