On word and up word

Invictus

BY WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY

Out of the night that covers me,

      Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

      For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

      I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

      My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

      Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

      Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

      How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

      I am the captain of my soul.

Huge dose of kwitcherbitchin: "Souvenir D'enfance" played by pianist with no fingers on her right hand

Thanks to the fabulous Dr. Wendy Harpham for drawing my attention to this astonishing video of GuiGui Zheng playing Clayderman's "Souvenir D'enfance". You'll notice just a few moments into the video, GuiGui has no fingers on her right hand. Perspective, people. Perspective. Artists do their art, come what may.

A wonderfully creative, hardworking, undaunted work week to all!

Merrily, We're Pulled Along... Until We Take Wing

I love attending writers' conferences, watching the fervor with which we all (including the editors and agents attending) collectively put our ears to the railroad tracks of publishing in a vain attempt to discern what's coming. Often, some Chicken Little or another shouts out, "It's going to be X," whereupon others take up the cry. Pulled along by the prevailing sentiment, many struggle to keep up, following along like so many kites pulled by puffing children.

But every so often, one of us is lifted far beyond the trend, buoyed by some unknown, unknowable inspiration. Losing sight of the fray, this one writes a book so special and so different that it soars high above the others and creates a new trend of its own.

Everybody wants to be that writer, wants to lead the wave instead of following. But the magical ingredient can't be bought or earned by study. It can't be found at writers' conferences or in the recorded wisdom of industry professionals. For all our efforts, inspiration is still as mysterious and unpredictable as it ever has been.

All we can do is keep on writing in the hopes that today, or perhaps tomorrow, it will show up to guide our hands.