occasional posts by risa aratyr
thoughts, news, and items of writerly interest
Looking for something cheerful? Try last week’s post about the Cubs winning the Series. Got nothing for you this time but anger, frustration, and bitter dismay. Notice, “shock” and “surprise” aren’t on my list. I’ll leave those to the millions who trusted the nation’s major media outlets to tell them what was up and to … Read more WTF
Spectator sports were never a thing in my family. My sister and I were art-y, not sport-y. She was the dancer; I was the singer. We tried out for roles in the school shows, not spots on the school teams. We played in the orchestra, not on the field. The only athletic competitions we watched … Read more Da Cubs
In a post a while back, I lauded the advent of the word-processor as a boon to the literary arts. It was certainly a boon to my personal literary endeavors. For me, writing and typing go hand-in-glove; having developed my composition skills in the digital realm, writing sans WP gets me nowhere. Except when I’m … Read more No soy poeta
My last blog-post, Digitize Me, was a passionate defence of digital communications. It was also a bit of a red herring. I wanted to be on-record as someone who embraces social networking and virtual community before going on-record with a bitter complaint against the same. It started with an email from a long-time friend. Tracy … Read more Keeping It Real
There are many valid reasons to decry the pervasive influence of digital communications on modern society. Devices are produced with slave and sweat-shop labor. Production creates tons of waste and pollution. Using digital devices over the long-term has dubious effects on our health, from damaging our posture to increasing our risk of brain cancer. The … Read more Digitize Me