A few things I like ..

A funny thing happened after I mentioned Windows Live Writer on my blog. I was messing with it and I was trying to find what benefit it would have for me to post from there instead of posting directly from Blogger.

I got an email from one of the developers at Microsoft. I know, right?

He asked me what I didn’t like about Live Writer and what would make it better for the next version. He also gave me some links to some tutorials so I could see more of what it can do. I actually found it all very interesting.

I am going to continue to mess with is to see if it is just my resistance to change that makes it hard for me to accept or if it really isn’t for me. It does have that cross out strike thru feature that Blogger doesn’t have, and God knows that’s something I can make good use of. And you can set it up so you can post on one blog, and switch over and post on a different one – all from the same spot.

One thing I do like and I have been using, is that you can post pictures by copying and pasting or just by freaking dragging a picture from a folder or someplace! That alone was enough to get me to take a second look. And another cool feature – you can do a watermark right there on your post – no problem.

I’m not sure how people who use watermarks normally do it, but this is ridiculously easy. You can also put a frame around your picture, do the shadow like I did on this one and you can do some basic photo editing right on your post. That’s some cool stuff.

What I still don’t like is that if I actually hit publish from Live Writer it doesn’t keep my paragraphing. My paragraphing may not always be in the right places but I still want it where I put it. Still – I am going to save this post to draft on my blog so I can go in and edit it, make sure my paragraphs are in the right places and the font is right and I will publish from Blogger.

I’m wondering if some of my formatting doesn’t stay because my blog is not a Blogger template, but whatever. For me it depends on whether or not I am using pictures in a post or not. Right now. I am still exploring the other features because I like to fool with stuff. If you want to see more info you can go here, here, here or here. And no, Microsoft isn’t paying me.

I find the most fascinating things when I don't look for them!

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So I was doing one of my many internet searches, I have no idea what I was looking for at this point. Somehow I stumbled upon a phenomenon I was totally unfamiliar with but couldn’t take my eyes off none-the-less. It would be pretty accurate to call it the Cult of the Moleskine.

Me neither!!!

A moleskine is a notebook that comes in several styles, ruled, not ruled, sketch book, watercolor, squared, and it has an elastic band to mark your page or keep it closed. Apparently a lot of people cram a lot of stuff into these moleskines. For some it is simply a notepad to keep to-do lists in, for some a complete art collection as well as some kind of muse for the artist. Somehow sketches are better drawn in a moleskine, and writing is more important somehow.

There is history behind the moleskine, it is a notebook that has been in use for 2 freakin’ centuries, and names like Vincent Van Gogh and Hemmingway are tossed around as they were said to be users.

I saw notebooks used as diaries, travel logs, sketch books and planners. Some people even call their moleskine their PDA. The correct pronunciation isn’t even moleskin like it looks, it is mo-leh-skeen-eh, although I doubt many Americans pronounce it that way.

The website I came across first is called Molskinerie, legends and other stories. I literally spent the better part of an evening just perusing this site, astonished by how many
stories there were about people’s relationships and their commitment to their notebooks.

There are pictures and links and there are videos of people simply turning the pages of their moleskine, showing mostly artwork and writing from page to page. There even seems to be a particular way these videos are shot. Place said notebook on a neutral background and video tape a pair of hands slowly turning the pages making sure not to block the drawings and writings and lists and doodles. At the end, close the book, remove hands. Some people wrap the elastic band around the notebook
and then, The End.

If you want to make your moleskine more user friendly to your specific needs, there are hacks to modify your notebook. Hacks! And all the while I was simply fascinated. I just kept looking and reading and then I searched and looked at more pictures and videos and read some more.

I came across something called The Moleskine Project, a catalog of moleskine’s and what they are filled with, submitted by users all over the world. I can actually spend time looking at all the notebooks but for the life of me I am baffled as to what attracts me.

After looking at all the ways devotees use their notebooks, and seeing all the art created between their covers, and considering the attachment users have to their notebooks, I decided I must have one. Why? I don’t have the slightest idea. There is discussion as to whether it is the fabulous writer or artist who chooses the moleskine or whether the moleskine makes the average writer or artist – fabulous. The chicken or the egg.

So I await my moleskine with curiosity more than anything. I am not a writer and certainly not an artist and will probably be intimidated by the very idea of this simple notebook when I get it. It is. a. notebook. Nothing more. I have a feeling that my using one will prove that. But we will see, won’t we?

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I think.

I was talking to my daughter today about blogging. She is an English major and is a senior in college right now. She is a wonderful writer, and can consider herself a "writer" in the true sense of the word, unlike me. She is smart and witty and can be very opinionated. She always has something to say, certainly always has something going on in her head.

I mentioned to her that she should blog, if for no other reason than to use her skills somewhere other than school, or because it can be an incredible networking tool. She didn't seem too thrilled with the idea of creating her own blog but did say maybe she could do a guest post on mine. What a wonderful idea! But she wants me to give her a topic. That's where I draw a blank.

Dani is very mature and always has been. She is young and playful but she is very thoughtful and thinks things through with a logic which can be intimidating sometimes. She is incredibly sensitive and I would say more empathetic than your average 21 year old. I taught her not to grow up too fast, to enjoy her childhood and not hurry to adulthood like I did. For me everything was about when, when I move out of the house, when I get married, when I have kids. While Dani is planning for her future in the way of a career and forming the values she will live her life by, she enjoys now. She took one of my lessons to heart.

She is simply a good kid. Level headed and sweet and caring. So much ahead of the game than I was at her age, and I feel for the parents who have kids who give them trouble with driving, drinking, boyfriends/girlfriends and what-have-you. My children are not perfect but I can honestly say they have not given me trouble beyond not doing household chores when asked or being lackadaisical about grades from time to time. I'm happy to say the grades are very good now, grammar and sentence structure and all of the things I find so difficult with the English language come easily to both of my kids. Go figure.

I could suggest she write about ridiculous things Mom has said or done, which I am sure she has several examples of. Hmmmm. She's a vegetarian, a feminist and a lover of Harry Potter and Brussels sprouts. Not necessarily together. She likes roller blading and riding her bike, playing four square and camping. She has many, many interests and is always open to new ideas. In some ways she is so very like me, in a much improved kind of way, but in more ways - she is not.

She is Dani. She is my daughter. I know she must have ideas. She should write here at least once, don't you think?

I think.