Hedgehog in the Blog

Some of my photos made it into the National Institute of Environmental Health Newsletter/Website: NIEHS nano consortium meets for progress updates

Profile I wrote for Department of Environmental and Occupational Health: Researcher from Italy studies damaging neurotoxins: Gennaro Giordano

A story I published in Seattle’s Hoarse Literary Journal was mentioned on the Richard Hugo House Blog:
Tradition and Magic: Hoarse #3
Apparently my genre is flash fiction. Think fast!

“Elena Reitman’s flash fiction maintains a conflicted tension and release through the identity, absorption and questioning of the Jewish culture.”

Prezi story

More fun than PowerPoint.

I imagine the average glowworm greets morning dewdrops with contempt, well knowing his charms will soon be lost in the light.  But, I know a glowworm whose charms are never lost.

In our world of limiters and moralizers, it’s a gift to know someone who accepts in equal stride muckrakers banging at the gates of our skin and angels inspiring us to live.

Min Moon doesn’t push the dark matter away but fuses it into abundant power.

“Our own being is a work of art. I tell others that my Beastie is a writer,” Min says.

I tell others my Moonie is an angel.

We were born with compassion in our hearts. Over the years, we have managed to squeeze out compassion from our chambers, filling it with fear instead. Let us re-learn to put it back where it belongs. When there exists much health and togetherness in our lives, it’s natural for the healthiness to be projected onto others. This sometimes happens spontaneously like an overflowing fountain of goodness or we consciously share our good fortune with others when we feel healthy and wholesome.

Without health and togetherness, compassion comes from hard work and preparation. My mother has shown me that if I want to help others, I must put my own individual life in order first. Through her example, I witnessed the most sincere and authentic way to cradle those in need: with silence, with a warm touch, and with neutral witness of their pain. We need to become as whole and healthy as possible – physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually so that we are prepared to serve in times of need. Furthermore, we need to take appropriate care of our well-being so that we do not burden others with ourselves at times of their vulnerability.

Most importantly, we need to be honest with ourselves and ask if our actions are truly for the other’s benefit or for our own. Genuine compassion creates an environment in which all parties involved grow stronger and empowered to stand on their own.

I often experience the kindness of others so beautiful and so transcendent that my breath gets swept away. Our truest self is composed of compassion. Knowing this has changed the way I move through the world, with more joy in my limbs and greater love in my heart. – Min Moon

Min’s fist home in America was a low-income African American neighborhood in rural Maryland. Imagine a little Korean girl  proudly sticking an afro rake into her “poodle puff perm,” and don’t even try to resist the smile rolling across your face. It’s where she first learned of Freedom Riders and Thomas Clarkson, the likes of whom she now joins in her campaigns.

http://www.healafrica.org/

http://www.onedayswages.org/birthday/cause/min-moon

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=10724895#!/event.php?eid=109464829134398

Over by the fence the sheepskin of grass lifted in a hump, as if the garden had turned over in its sleep, its broad peasant back rising and falling as it breathed on the stillness of the earth. There the untidy, feminine ripeness of August had expanded into enormous; impenetrable lumps of burdocks spreading their sheets of leafy tin, their luxuriant tongues of fleshy greenery. There, those protuberant  bur clumps spread themselves, like resting peasant women, half-enveloped in their own swirling skirts.

Schulz – The Street of Crocodiles

Welcome Marin Point Reyes urban bike (city with a touch of mountain) to my sanity toolkit. You are maneuverable and comfortable. My initial intention was to buy a road bike until a lovely lady at REI suggested I test you out, as you were conveniently on sale and my size.

Aerobic exercise is a lot more soulful with a nice view. I’ve noticed riding a bike lets you see a lot more than running. While I run I tend to focus in on the path under my feet and my mind gauges my progress between landmarks and body cues. On a bike there is more opportunity to look around while the wheels coast. I would love to complete a cross country bike ride, or better yet, a cycle through Europe Tour de France style with handsome company- a girl can dream.

Recently my friend Jake, the author of The Story’s Story, pointed out that it was difficult to read the small font of my previous WordPress theme (Ambiru). I never read the posts on the blog page because I copied the text from a word processor. Usability as a common courtesy is a fundamental point of web design according to Steve Krug. I hope the new look is more eye-friendly. Next point of improvement: Omitting needless words.

Thanks Jake.