FUZZY MARTIAN AND FRIENDS NEWSLETTER: Random Ramblings and Possibly Useful Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Hello! Welcome to the FMFN. The purpose of this preview issue is to introduce ourselves, explain our goals, give you some idea of what to expect, test our delivery system and get subscriptions. There are only three ways you can receive this issue: - a member of our staff knows you personally - it was forwarded to you by someone who received it - you already subscribed through the OneList website If you know someone else who may be interested in this FREE newsletter, please feel free to forward it on. This newsletter will normally be mailed out by the 15th of every month. [ Getting this email does not mean you are on the our mailing list. This is only a preview letter to introduce you to our newsletter. To subscribe go to http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/fmfnews ] Thanks! Mandy Doerr aka Fuzzy Martian =========== MAIN GOAL =========== To give you a reason every 15th to check your email. We wish to share with you the many treasures we have come across on the web and part of ourselves. By doing this we hope to create something that will enrich your busy life and give you a reason to smile--or at least a few moments to relax. We're a group of friendly people, who hopefully won't take ourselves too seriously. ===================== WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT ===================== * Writing hints. * Reviews of websites helpful for writers. * Reviews of some of the more unusual and interesting websites to be found--dealing with almost anything. * Articles on old fashion do-it-yourself-ness. * "Chanda's Chat" - A perspective straight from the Philippines. * New Fuzzy Martian Poetry. * One element of poetry defined. * Inspirational quotes. * "Ask Fuzzy" - no advice, just information. * Off-beat editorials by Fuzzy Martian. * Calendar of Martian events. * Whatever else strikes our fancy. ========================================= PREVIEW ========================================= --------------------------------- Fuzzy Editorial: Cold Medicines --------------------------------- You've all seen them. The cold medicine commercial where some poor person wakes up sniffling, sneezing, and hacking. Then they take a few caplets and ta-da! The cold symptoms are gone and they are once again a productive member of society. Did you ever think that the person may still be contagious? In fact, they probably are. They come to work inadvertantly spreading their germs to their fellow coworkers--who in turn go out and buy more cold medicine, so they can go back to work and infect those who were missed the first time. Works out pretty well for the drug companies, when you think about it. The more people take their products, the more likely they will go to work still contagious, and the more people who get infective and have to buy more medicine. Of course, luckily for us, the human immune system is a wondrous thing, or we would have one really vicious cycle. Am I suggesting that these companies are running a racket? Well, I suppose I could agrue the point and accuse them of not promoting proper cold care and having a disregard of the public's health. But really, would it make a difference? We all know of people who would come to work sick, whether they are taking something to relieve the symptoms or not. They wander around the work place in a fever-induced delirium with their sniffling noses and hacking coughs. ("What do you mean, I'm under a quarantine? We'll lose the Johnson account if I don't come in! Don't you realize that the total social-economic fabric of the universe will unravel if I'm not at work to stop it! *hack!* *hack!* And you want me to stay here just because there are a few measley billion micro-organisms in my body??? Ebola is nothing compare the total destruction of civilization as we know it!") All I ask is that the next time you decide to go to work sick, ask yourself who is really profitting from your dedication? And if you have to go because you work under someone who thinks you should be like one of those people I described in the last paragraph--make sure you share your cold with your boss. It's the least you can do. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened, you discover that you have wings." --Helen Hayes ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ---------------------------- Common Myths About Writing ---------------------------- from _The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers_, 2nd Edition; Hairston and Ruszkiewicz. Myth 1: Good writers are born, not made. Fact: People become good writers through wanting to write well and working at it. Myth 2: Good writers work alone. Fact: Good writers frequently rely on others for suggestions and help, and writers often collaborate to share ideas and work out their writing problems. Myth 3: Good writers know what they are going to say before they start writing. Fact: Good writers often begin with only a general idea of what they intend to say as they write because they know that writing is a way of generating ideas and finding out what they know. Myth 4: All good writers make complete plans and outlines before they write. Fact: Many good writers make only preliminary plans and outlines. They continue to plan as they compose, reorganizing, changing, and adding material as they write and revise. Myth 5: Good writers get it right the first time. Fact: Although experienced writers can sometimes produce good prose on the spot, for important jobs professional writers usually write several drafts. Myth 6: Good writing comes from knowing all the rules of grammar. Fact: Success as a writer does not depend on knowing grammatical rules, and learning rules won't make anyone a good writer. Mastering the conventions of grammar, however, makes most people more relaxed and confident writers. Myth 7: All writers use the same process. Fact: Writers work differently, and the same people write differently in different situations. The craft of writing cannot be reduced to a single method. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies." --Aristotle ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ------------------ Writing Websites ------------------ MPR's The Writer's Almanac http://almanac.mpr.org/ The Writer's Almanac®, a daily program of poetry and history hosted by Garrison Keillor, can be heard each day on public radio stations throughout the country. Writer's Digest http://www.writersdigest.com/ Every month Writer's Digest is packed with tips to boost your writing career. Poetry Guild http://www.poetry-guild.com Poetry contest. Poetry Society of America http://www.bookwire.com/psa/psa.html As a non-profit cultural organization, the PSA's endeavors have been supported thoroughout the decades by a diverse membership of poets and readers. Early members included W.H. Auden, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Amy Lowell, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Marianne Moore, Ezra Pound, Carl Sandburg, and Wallace Stevens. It is not only poets who join the PSA today. Our members join because they share our wish to open up the lives of people to poetry and to build a more literate America. United States of Poetry http://www.itvs.org/programs/USofP/ Poetry as you've never seen it before. Fuzzy Martian's Poetry Lessons http://fuzzy.snakede.org/lessons.html (Have to plug my own site, don't I?) An easy, concise tutorial dealing with the basics of poetry elements and forms. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the dumb can understand." --Seneca ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ --------------- Chanda's Chat --------------- Chanda is a native of the Philippines. She has written articles for a local publication in her native language (Tagala). Fluent in English, she's looking forward to writing for us and we're looking forward to her contributions. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable." --Gentry ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ----------------------------- New Poetry by Fuzzy Martian ----------------------------- (can also be found at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/7091 ) October in West Texas http://fuzzy.snakeden.org/poems/txoct.html Away from Home http://fuzzy.snakeden.org/poems/awayhome.html The Hermit and the Magician http://fuzzy.snakeden.org/poems/ballad1.html My Morning Halo http://fuzzy.snakeden.org/poems/halo.html ------------------------- Poetry Term - Assonance ------------------------- "Curiousity killed the cat. Satisfaction brought him back." -Anon. Even though "cat" and "back" do not make a true rhyming combination, they sound similar enough to create the same effect. When you use an unlike, yet very similar sounding word to complete a rhyme, it is called ASSONANCE. http://fuzzy.snakeden.org/plessons/blank.html -OR- http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/7091/plessons/blank.html ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Duty is a very personal thing. It is what comes from knowing a need and to take action and not just a need to urge others to take action." --Mother Theresa ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ------------------------ David's Do-it-yourself ------------------------ David (aka Paleale) is a very busy soul. Once he begins sending me his articles on old fashion country living and do-it-yourself stuff, I will probably change the title of his section. This was the best I could come up with at the moment. If you have ever read the Foxfire book or "Mother Earth News", you will have a good idea of what he's planning to write about. As for our other contributors, we will just have to see what springs up from their wells of creativity. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Treasure each other in the recognition that we do not know how long we shall have each other." --Joshua Loth Liebman ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ------------------------- Great websites to visit ------------------------- Love science? http://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Cool_Links/Science/ Yahoo's list of really interesting science sites. Includes these cool sites - Cats! Wild to Mild http://www.am.mus.ca.us/cats/ Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County traces the natural history of the cat from wild, exotic feline to pet. Wild Wings: Heading North http://north.audubon.org track the migration of snow geese on the Internet. PlanetDiary http://www.planetdiary.com presents weekly geological, astronomical, meteorological, biological, and environmental news from around the globe, plus Internet activities and links to science resources. Stephen Hawking's Universe http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/html/home.html Fuzzy Martian bought the book--you can visit the site for free. You'll never see the Universe in the same light again. Research your thing? http://www.websonar.com/websonar/sonar.html WisdomQuest - more than 23,000 documents including the complete works of Shakespeare and much more. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "A person has two legs and one sense of humor, and if you're faced with the choice, it's better to lose a leg." --Charles Lindner ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ----------- ASK FUZZY ----------- Question: "Why don't you put dates your poetry?" Short Answer: For the same reason the e.e. cummings refused to use capital letters. Full Answer: I used to date my poems with the exact day I finished them, but after losing a few originals, I forgot the dates and could only give a estimated date. Finally, I decided that it really didn't matter and wasn't worth the anxiety. After awhile it became a matter of principle with me--a way to express my rebellion from the restraints of tradition. Now, I just put the year I put it up on my website as part of the copyright. Many of the poems up were written years ago, but if I had to, I could give a general time frame of what was written when (I still have several dated originals). However, no one has yet to convince me that it is really necessary to give an exact date. ------------------ Martian Calendar ------------------ October 25th - FMFNEWS Preview; Daylight Savings End (USA) October 26th - Forward Something to a Friend Day ;-) (Mars); Shri Suryashti vrat (India) October 27th - Pumpkin Day (Mars); October 28th - Chung Yeung Festival (Hong Kong) October 29th - Akshay Navami (India); Republic Day (Turkey) October 30th - Munchkin Day (Mars) October 31st - Halloween; Free to Be Me Day (Mars); Prabodhini Ekadashi vrat Sarvesha (India); Reformation Day (Germany - predominantly Evangelical communities only); All Saints Day (Sweden) November 1st - All Saints' Day November 2nd - Day of the Dead (Mexico); Melborne Cup (Australia); All Souls' Day (Brazil) November 3rd - Election Day (USA); Culture Day (Japan) November 4th - Kartik Purnima & Guru Naanak Jayanti (India); November 5th - Guy Fawkes Day (UK) November 6th - Write a Hiaku Day (Mars) November 7th - Day of Accord and Reconciliation (Russia) November 9th - Cosmos Day (Mars) November 10th - Tradition Day (Argentina); Repentance Day (Saxony) November 11th - Veterans Day (USA & Belgium); Remembrance Day (Canada); Shri Bhairav ashtami (India); Armistice Day (France); St. Martinus // Sint Maarten (Netherlands); Isra Miraj Nabi Muhammad (Indonesia); Independence Day (Poland) November 12th - Compliment Someone Day (Mars) November 13th - Robert Louis Stevenson's Birthday November 14th - Children's Day (India); Father's Day (Finland) November 15th - FIRST OFFICIAL ISSUE OF FMFNEWS RELEASED! Republic Day (Brazil); Shichi-go-san (Japan) ============== TO SUBSCRIBE ============== Getting this email does not mean you are on the our mailing list. This is only a preview letter to introduce you to our newsletter. To subscribe go to http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/fmfnews ----------- Our Staff ----------- Editor and in-house Poet: Mandy Doerr (aka. Fuzzy Martian) amanda_doerr@hotmail.com http://fuzzy.snakeden.org http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/7091 (mirror site) Website Researcher: Chet Mannel cmannel@3wav.com http://www.3wave.com/~cmannel/ Do-it-yourself Writer: David Koehne (aka. Paleale) dkoehne@hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2635 Chanda's Chat: Julie Cabasal (aka. Chanda) juhly@hotmail.com Contributor: Jeff Matsushita (aka. Toki) toki@io.com Contributor: Todd Tripp (aka. Calpurnius) wtt1@midwest.net http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/7032 Quote Collector: Mariah Sjolund (aka. Tiger) ms348@email.byu.edu Contributor: Serena Greene serena_greene@hotmail.com Contributor: Matt Hubbard (aka. Diamondback) db@snakeden.org http://www.snakeden.org ********************************************************************* Copyright ©1998 - All articles are the property of the contributing authors and cannot be used without their permission. *********************************************************************Back to the Lair