aliens

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There are 5 posts tagged aliens (this is page 1 of 1).

UFO’s in Canada

UFO CanadaI was a Canadian alien, according to the immigration paperwork at the time. (I was a Canadian who married a man in the US). So, I had my time to be an alien – but not a space alien.

Real aliens (from space/ another planet) would be entirely different. I wonder how they would look, what they would eat, do they breathe, have hair, how do they communicate and how they would live their lives. I think about UFO’s and I watch the sky, here and there. It doesn’t seem possible we can be the only life out there with all those other planets.

I haven’t seen a UFO yet. At least not that I’m aware of. What a shame it would be to see something and not really notice. People who make a career or hobby out of UFO spotting would be far better at noticing a UFO than I would. I wonder if I saw something and wrote it off as something ordinary and everyday. I admire logic and intelligence but at times it can blind us too. If we are too critical we won’t give anything a chance and will never believe in anything fully.

Canadian UFOlogy

Not Quite Being a Paranormal Writer

I applied for the Paranormal topic at About.com today. But, I tried 3 times over the afternoon, the site keeps giving me a 404 error when I send the application. So, for personal posterity, here is what I sent.

Time travel, mad science, aliens, cryptozoology, the supernatural, lost worlds, the unexplained, weird science, history, and magic absorb me. I would enjoy exploring and writing more about these topics and others for About.com. Of course, it isn’t possible to write about anything without burying yourself in it and exploring your way out again, eventually. Getting lost is part of the adventure and with anything paranormal getting lost is expected. We don’t have all the answers, if we did it would all just be science.

I am an urban explorer, photographer, history geek, Pagan, artist and I’ve just joined the local archivist group in Barrie, Ontario.

I love history and old places. I’ve been interested in the paranormal since I was a kid but I’ve grown to be skeptical about a lot of it. I do believe there are mysteries and unexplained things we just are not able to understand with our current knowledge. I like theories and I will read about pretty strange, unexplained and unusual stuff but I like to make sense of it in some way. I also like reading theories I don’t agree with because we need to hear from both sides and, often, you can find something that does make sense or gives you better insight from those who disagree with you.

I believe in ghosts and I believe places can be haunted, but I am not a ghost hunter. I have a friend who runs a ghost hunting group in Colorado but I don’t think it is really possible to make contact with ghosts or spirits on our level of existence. I do believe in reincarnation. I do believe places can be haunted but not by ghosts who can interact with living humans. I don’t think anyone is going to be having a social cup of tea with a ghost. Ghosts are something leftover from life. I prefer to think we don’t hang around after death but get recycled/ reincarnated and move on to something new instead. Possibly not always a human being, people seem to take that for granted.

I photograph old and abandoned houses, mostly in rural Ontario. I’ve been doing so for more than 10 years now. I’ve never seen a ghost or felt a presence. I did get attacked by bees, birds and once I think I stepped on a frog – that was the grossest thing. Afterwards I couldn’t find it but it still squicks me (gives me sick shivers). I’ve also seen my share of mummified animals. But, it’s the living animals which usually keep me from entering an abandoned house. I also don’t like the idea of trespassing beyond what I feel is polite. I am Canadian.

I have been a Pagan since my college days, officially. I always questioned religion but didn’t do much about it until I was out in the world, on my own. I think of myself as an Atheist Earth Witch because I don’t believe in gods but I do believe in life, nature and people. I’m a quiet Pagan, a lot of what I do is personal, just for myself. But, I do like to help anyone who is interested in learning more.

I read about issues involving ecology, history and science. These seem very connected to me. If I could go back in time (and not die right away) I would like to be an alchemist. They didn’t just get stuck at turning things into gold. They were early scientists in the time of herbalists and Witches. No doubt they had thousands of great theories which didn’t get written down somewhere – or more likely did get scribbled out somewhere, had something spill on it and wound up being used for kindling.

Looking forward to getting started!

Laura

Social Media:

I am an editall editor at dmoz. I’m careful about how I use this but it does enable me to at least list my sites.
Twitter is my favourite social media but I do have Facebook and other sources, like Scoop.it. I have three active blogs, two of those are listed on Alltop, Writing and History topics.
http://laurabrown.ca/
http://wordgrrls.com/
http://wreckyratbird.com/
http://asciiartist.com/
https://twitter.com/thatgrrl
https://www.flickr.com/people/thatgrrl/
http://thatgrrl.tumblr.com/
http://pinterest.com/thatgrrl/
https://www.facebook.com/ThatGrrl
https://ello.co/thatgrrl
http://www.scoop.it/u/laura-brown
http://www.dmoz.org/editors/profile/view?editor=shedragon

What Do Guys Read?

If you look at the fiction for boys and young men, there isn’t a lot to choose from. I noticed this years ago as my nephew (Zack) was growing up. Now Zack is almost 16. He reads books from the regular fiction. But, once in awhile he backtracks to something he read as a boy. He has a loyalty to the books he liked, he will read them again and again. So why are there so many more books for girls than boys?

I found a link to Guys Read in an older copy of Reader’s Digest.

Our mission is to motivate boys to read by connecting them with materials they will want to read, in ways they like to read.
1. Make some noise for boys.
We have literacy programs for adults and families. GUYS READ is our chance to call attention to boys’ literacy.

2. Expand our definition of reading.
Include boy-friendly nonfiction, humor, comics, graphic novels, action-adventure, magazines, websites, audiobooks, and newspapers in school reading. Let boys know that all these materials count as reading.

3. Give boys choice.
Motivate guys to want to read by letting them choose texts they will enjoy. Find out what they want. Let them choose from a new, wider range of reading.

4. Encourage male role models.
Men have to step up as role models of literacy. What we do is more important than all we might say.

5. Be realistic. Start small.
Boys aren’t believing that “Reading is wonderful.” Reading is often difficult and boring for them. Let’s start with “Here is one book/magazine/text you might like.”

6. Spread the GUYS READ word.
Encourage people to use the information and downloads on this site to set up their own chapters of GUYS READ, and get people thinking about boys and reading.

On the site they have a list of genres and types of books guys might read: Scary, War, How to build stuff, At least one explosion, Action/ adventure, outer space, but with aliens, Cars, trucks, etc., Mysterious occurrences, Ghosts, Monkeys and/or apes, People being transformed into animals, Outer space but without aliens, and Books for little guys which is probably the same list just a different shape of book.

What would you write for boys or young men? Think of a plot and characters that would appeal to them.

Wouldn’t You Like to be An Alien Too

Indie Bloggers Weekly Challenge #12

122 Words regarding:

You get off work at the coffee shop at 5:45 and walk thirteen blocks back to your flat where you’ve been receiving mail addressed to the previous tenant, someone your age, sex, and same first name, for the last four years. You’ve even answered some of it. You have, in fact, as far as magazine subscriptions and junk mail goes, become this person. When you arrive home today, there’s a flotilla of gloss black limousines blocking the street to your building. Neighbors are hanging out of windows, clogging the sidewalk. As your foot falls gently onto the very first step, a man in a Brooks Bros suit walks out the door and reaches for your hand, a nervous smile on his face. He says:

“We’ve come to take you home, back to the Mother Ship. Of course, for the sake of the Earthlings we have all come disguised as tax collectors from their government. So, pretend to be frightened and overwhelmed while we pretend to take you away against your will.” He smiles, showing really pointy teeth.

My stomach flops down into my shoes. “But… I’m not an alien.” I gasp.

“Yes, great… Keep up the act but don’t mention aliens. The Earthlings still think we’re all just science fiction remember.” He takes my arm and leads me to the biggest of the cars. I see really weird looking creatures inside. Some of them are slobbering. This can’t be good.

Step Right Up… Last Day of November!

What kind of a month has it been for you?

I finally moved mostly everything I own into this basement apartment. Still a lot to organize but I’ve been procrastinating. Partly due to a lack of drawers to put things away into. Partly cause I don’t feel like this is home. Today I had a wood louse on my floor. Those are bugs that look like pill bugs but can’t actually roll up into a pill. They like damp, dark places and wood to nibble on. I don’t have a lot of rotting wood but it is dark and a touch dampish. I have a space heater and I have a water sucker thing (humidifier is not the right word for it – I think it’s the water mister thing).

I am looking for work, not as hard as I could be, but looking. I applied at a few places, some of them online writing jobs which may not pay very much. I’m not sure yet.

I have a stockade of tomato soup that I’m sure someone, somewhere would be jealous of. Luckily, I like tomato soup now, I haven’t always. I also have really nice salsa but I have to nibble at it carefully cause the raw onions make me sick. Tomorrow I need to buy more coffee and some other groceries. Woman can not live on tomato soup and salsa alone.

My Christmas tree is sitting in it’s original ‘White Rose Santa’s Choice’ box. I am not putting up anything Christmas until at least December, officially the day after today. I might wait till closer to my birthday, if not that day itself. I’m going to have a kind of stingy birthday this year. In the past I have treated myself well on some occasions: twice I stayed at a hotel downtown overnight and ate out somewhere deluxe, blew money on books and other trinkets I could have done without. A couple of times I bought a Greyhound bus ticket and road (bus) tripped my way across Canada, staying at the Youth Hostels. This time I will settle for something less travelicious. Maybe dinner out with a good book.

I am caving on the whole idea of meeting anyone, penis included. What is wrong with men in their 40’s anyway? It seems like the decade of the shallow, selfish perverts. I’m sure they can’t all be that way. At least that’s my theory and I do have one or two test specimens to prove it. Of course, I haven’t met them in the flesh, face to face. Maybe all those other guys seem normal from a safe distance too.

It’s beginning to tick me off, just beginning and mildly, that John has not replied to any of my emails. Last time I heard from him was in July. I have tried to put him out of my limited brain space. It’s not working. All I have to do is read his last email and all my questions come forth again. He seemed so sincere and not that standard guy I keep meeting. He seemed to really want to meet ME. The me that I am not the me that I try to become for those sap suckers. It’s frustrating to find someone who seems almost too good to be true and then find out he never really existed or just vanished into some time warp or was sucked up by aliens, or something.

Don’t think I’m all doom and gloomy. I’m doing ok. I felt yucky today and went back to bed. How many people can do that? It was nice. I woke up feeling much better and with a plan of action about the job searching thing. We’ll see how that latest one goes over. I emailed it away a few hours ago. Then I wasted time playing Neopets and watching people shoot each other on TV. Now it’s late enough to go to bed but I feel that would be a bit too much slacking off after I got up late and had a nap. So I’m writing a bit of this and that. It’s too early to get out there for the bus. I may hop out if I stay up till 5:30 or so. Places open for breakfast at 6:00 you know. It’s always fun to be up early, before the sun and pretend civilization has crashed and I’m scurrying among the survivors. Ok, maybe that’s just me.

I am making some progress with the apartment. I put together the bookshelves by myself and they are still standing, fully loaded with books even. I’m impressed.

I had one first date so far. It didn’t go anywhere and I never heard from him again. I’m so good at that! It’s not a bad skill to have. If you’re never going to see them again you may as well never hear from them again either. I did not hide the body! I know what certain of you will be thinking… Happy.

I began plotting a story. Maybe it will be the one that makes it into book length. I could at least work on being a one hit wonder. Why put on the pressure to be some world famous book writer with thirty of them published before I die? Far too much pressure. If you settle for being a one hit wonder you get that book out there plus you have the aura of mystery and you can be on some blog post about ‘Whatever happened to…’ That’s got to be worth something.