Tue - February 17, 2004
Come to the Fabulation!
A new word, whose definition I don't want to look
up because I'm having too much making up my own!
I'm part of a writer's group. We meet monthly
and "workshop" each other's stuff. We are serious writers, SERIOUSLY committed
to getting published! I didn't know being a serious writer could be so much fun.
Last night, we were evaluating a textbook about "Crafting Fiction." One chapter
was entitled "Romance and Fabulation."
Who knew that fabulation is a real
word? We went home with an assignment: to come up with as many definitions of
the word as possible, or, to use it in a
story.
Here 's my first three stabs
at defining
fabulation:
The point in
a woman's menstrual cycle when a bunch of follicles have a convention and select
a candidate to run for ovum.
The
gathering of believers just after the
Rapture
The title of the keynote
speaker's motivational address at the annual Textile Worker's Union
meeting
I know you can
do better than that.
Come on, make
my day. I'll pick a favorite and the writer can come to my
fabulation!
hansonkathy@mac.com
Posted at 07:46 PM
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Wed - February 11, 2004
Amazing Science News from Iowa!
"Zoologists at Iowa State University Announce
Aging Surprise" and "Former ISU Professor Says Coverage of Mad Cow Disease Is
Overblown"
The Iowa Caucuses are over, and would have been
forgotten had not Dean's (aka Beelzebub) human likeness generator malfunctioned.
The reporters who staged bucolic shots of fields and barns but were really in
downtown Des Moines have left us to chew our cuds in simplistic contentment.
But the unsuspecting public should take note of recent science news from the
region that bi-coastal travelers call "the fly over
zone."
Listed as #62 in the 100 Top
Science Stories of 2003 in Discover Magazine: Zoologists at Iowa State
University have discovered that the telomeres (repetitive pieces of DNA at the
ends of chromosomes) of storm petrels actually lengthen with age instead of
shrinking each time the cell divides. The shortening of telomeres is believed to
be one cause of aging. The researchers hope to study the relationship between
the birds' immune systems and the enzyme telomerase, which maintains telomere
length. "Although telomerase could somehow slow aging" states the article by
Michael W. Robbins, "it is also found in most tumor cells, where it aids the
uncontrolled growth that characterizes cancer." Ironically, there are no storm
petrels in Iowa, so the researchers are recruiting from a colony on Kent Island,
New Brunswick.
I think it is safe to
say that there aren't any mad cows in Iowa, either. And if retired ISU
professor Dr. Bill Switzer has anything to say about it, there's good news for
the cows living elsewhere who are mad about the negative press they've been
getting recently. This past weekend, an Ames Tribune article by Mark Krapfl
(who, in my opinion, should change his name or get out of the public eye), cites
Dr. Switzer's critical analysis of the possibility that humans could develop a
variant of Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease by eating infected beef. "Chicken Little
would look brave compared to this," Switzer is quoted. Since the National
Animal Disease Center, where all the mad cows are tested, is right here in Ames,
there's a lot at stake. Harley Moon, the Center's director from 1988 to 1995,
says, "It's a market issue, not a science issue." Yes, and that's why all the
cows are hiring PR managers ...
Posted at 01:23 PM
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Mon - January 26, 2004
Make my Day
Share an fresh idea, a stunning use of language,
or a compelling observation.
Read some
excerpts from my stories and make comment.
Posted at 01:10 PM
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Thu - January 22, 2004
I just work here
C.S. Lewis said, "The more we let God
take us over, the more truly ourselves we become ..."
Kathy
Hanson
has
been
writing since
she
was
a
child,
when
her
parents
sometimes
forced
her
to
leave
her
room
to
watch
television
so
that
she
would
develop
normally.
She
was
able
to
tear
herself
away
from
her
desk
to
attend
the
University
of
Evansville,
Indiana
School
of
Nursing,
marry,
have
children,
and
work
in
the
health
care
field.
After
mastering
the
art
of
patient
care
documentation,
she
went
on
to
write
award-winning
recruitment
materials
for
Mercy
Medical
Center,
Denver,
Colorado.
As
Marketing
Director
for
a
subsidiary
of
United
HealthCare
Corporation
of
Minneapolis,
Minnesota,
she
designed
and
wrote
marketing
collateral
and
technical
materials.
Kathy
currently
works
with
Signature
Resources,
Inc.,
a
Denver-based
consortium
providing
consulting
services
to
businesses,
health
care
providers
and
government
agencies.
Kathy
resides
in
Ames,
Iowa
with
her
husband,
several
interesting
children
(four
of
them
are
young
adults,
so
the
number
living
at
home
may
vary),
numerous
well-behaved
pets,
and
many
of
the
characters
in
her
stories.
Born
on
the
day
that
Josef
Stalin
died,
she
appreciates the irony of this and hopes
that in some small way, her life makes up for
his.
Posted at 10:29 AM
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