Junot Diaz on Rewriting the Story of America

“We write because we dream that someone will read us. The false way to be an artist is because you want applause.” Junot Diaz

“The life and work of Junot Díaz contains many worlds — and that makes him all the more worth listening to.” Andrew Whitcare

Below,Junot Díaz joins Bill Moyers to discuss the evolution of the great American story. Along the way he offers funny and perceptive insights into his own work, as well as Star Wars, Moby Dick, and America’s inevitable shift to a majority minority country.

Via: Movers and Shakers Show 151 Rewriting the Story of America from Bill Moyers.com

http://cms.mit.edu/news/2013/01/video_junot_diaz_interviewed_b.php

The Hand of Refuge~ by Anthony Carter

Reblogged from Laura A. Diaz ~ Books and Beyond :

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Writing outside the box and with awesome skills, I give you Anthony Carter and his book Hand Of God.

God doesn't always do the expected. In fact, it is usually quite the opposite.

 When newspaper editor, Cassandra "Cass" O'Neal, gets the opportunity to write her first article she is over-the-moon excited. Her story is on a local homeless shelter and how they help get people back on their feet.

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God doesn’t always do the expected. In fact, it is usually quite the opposite. When newspaper editor, Cassandra “Cass” O’Neal, gets the opportunity to write her first article she is over-the-moon excited. Her story is on a local homeless shelter and how they help get people back on their feet. On her first visit she meets some of the residents and thinks that she’s got her story, then she meets the mysterious man that lives on the grounds. His name is Doc and he is something of an enigma. After her first interaction with him, her original reason for going to the shelter becomes something else, entirely. Cass and Doc will embark on a journey that will change both of their lives. This is a story about how God changes things, sometimes, in the most unexpected ways. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Click the above link to read more of this review...

State of Education in Nebraska: Standing Up To Poverty | netnebraska.org

Everyone is always talking about what is wrong with our education system. They tend to like to blame shift and focus on teacher’s or curriculum.  Well, I was introduced to this amazing documentary about what is being done right. It is very short and quite illuminating. Please take the time to view this and share your thoughts below.

Happy viewing!

http://netnebraska.org/media/media.php?vidgroup=00034846&bin=NET

Stubbornly Speaking Spanish

Reblogged from Latinaish:

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As most of you know, we're trying to raise our boys to be English/Spanish bilingual. This is not an easy task for anyone, but even more challenging for me for a number of reasons.

#1. I'm not a native Spanish speaker and I still make mistakes.

#2. My husband, Carlos, only recently got "on board" with speaking Spanish to the kids.

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Checala another awesome writer I happened to stumble on the other day. Her posts are both informative and humorous. Happy reading! :)

Not so Mexican

Reblogged from Beans | Rice | French Fries:

I wrote this nonfiction piece in January of 2012 for my creative writing class. It's a longer post, but I hope you take the time to read it. It's by no means perfect, but I felt it described me well. I thought it was a good way to kick off my blog. Enjoy!

Not So Mexican

“There are no chickens in your yard,” said my sister in law as she looked curiously around my parent’s front yard.

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“Berenice, you are the whitest Mexican I have ever met!” said my co-worker Janine one morning. I do not remember what I was doing exactly, but apparently it was not Mexican enough or at all. As we normally did after one of these comments, we had a hardy laugh and moved on. Sometimes I would surprise her and do something she considered to be Mexican. For example, I made my coffee from instant rather than use the coffee maker. She said, “Now that is Mexican, Bernie” and started giggling. I had no idea that my preferred method of brewing a good cup of Joe associated me directly with my culture. Again, I did not take offense to her observations. It is not in my nature to take things the wrong way, but I often replied with a swift middle finger hand gesture followed by a loving reply. In this instance, I said to Janine, “You’re such a bitch.” She does not take offense to this. It is just the way we have always gotten along. I know she does not mean to hurt my feelings and I know that she is not racist. Most people that throw out comments like that to me, I would not consider racists. Especially Janine. She is Hawaiian and goes through the same type of stereotypical situations as I do. She laughs when people expect all their traditional dishes to contain pineapple! She does as I do, take it in stride. Sometimes I like to throw people off and act like I do get offended. All I do is give them a serious look and the raise of an eyebrow. That does the trick and stops them in their tracks. It makes them uncomfortable for a few seconds until I start laughing. After some looks of relief and I tell them that it is okay, we are all laughing together. I can only pull this off with people that do not know me very well. I suppose I am just not as Mexican as people expect me to be. I am not as Mexican as I think I am. " Read the rest of this creative and enlightened post from a very talented writer by clicking the above link.... Happy Reading! :)

Christian/Multicultural/Young Adult/Fantasy fiction~ Is that even possible?

Reblogged from Laura A. Diaz ~ Books and Beyond :

                                                                                                                                                                  

Yes it's possible!  In fact there are many new authors out there struggling to get the voices and their stories heard because traditional secular publishers/agents will tell them: Awesome book!  If you take the Jesus-stuff out I can work with you.

On the other hand, traditional Christian publishers/agents will tell them: I love this!  If you take the time travel/fantasy whatever out, I can work with you!

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Earning a gold medal for the Harper Collins Editors Desk Award this is an excerpt of their review:

“They Call Me Blanca” is the story of a white-Latina teenager named Michelina who endeavours to join a gang of girls in an attempt to establish her identity and finally gain a sense of belonging. Struggling to balance her two heritages, she chooses to undergo the deeply frightening and brutal gang initiation, at the hands of her new ‘friends’. Michelina, teasingly nicknamed as ‘Blanca’ due to her pale skin, is begged by her childhood friends to abandon the gang and join them in their local Christian church group.

Ignoring the pleas of her friends and mother, Michelina is seriously injured in her final baptism into gang life and is transported to an out-of-body journey through the lives of her grandparents and parents – learning that violence mars her family at each tier, and that Christianity, Jesus and the real love of those closest to her can bring her peace.

I was drawn into this story from the first sentence. It was tense, and full of intrigue and I have no doubt the opening of this work would grip young adults instantly. The writer builds intensity quickly and strongly, young and old can identify with the feeling of sneaking in to your family home, hoping not to be spotted or questioned …(this is) akin with reading a thriller. Violence is introduced in the first few pages, as the reader learns of Michelina’s injuries, and is spurred on to discover the ‘whats’ and ‘whys’ of this poor girl’s predicament. This suspense, this interest which the reader follows vehemently, is rewarded with more than they would have bargained for… This story has a very strong basis – Michelina’s near-death experience takes her on a journey of understanding and appreciation of her roots and her family history. It opens her eyes to the violence which simmers and erupts through generations and brings her closer to God and to those she loves…this book could be a success in the YA genre.”

• Here are just a few more of the favorable author reviews this book as garnered:

They Call Me Blanca is one of the best examples of Young Adult fiction you are likely to find… Author Laura A. Diaz presents us with a perfect view of Hispanic culture that many readers are probably unfamiliar with, tells a vivid and gripping story, and ultimately helps to promote a positive message, which is pretty much everything YA should and could do in the right hands.

Michelina DélaCruz is an ideal main character. She’s tough and unapologetic, yet we as readers get to peek behind the curtain and see why she is that way. She’s a very sympathetic and real-seeming person who we instantly care about. When bad things happen to her, we feel it, sometimes painfully.

The plot moves forward from the typical themes of trying to fit in to the supernatural time-traveling part of the story where Michelina really begins to grow as a person. Readers won’t have a chance to get bored.

The writing is crisp and literally dripping in culture, to the point that we are often introduced to both English and Spanish descriptions of people and places.

They Call Me Blanca should have no trouble at all finding an audience once published. And it’s a novel that wholly deserves to make it into print. Doing so would help to add credibility to the entire YA genre, and I believe could do a lot of good in the world too.

John Breeden II, Old Number Seven

Click the above link to continue reading..... Happy reading! :)

Zumba Makes Me Feel Latina

Reblogged from Team Ellsworth:

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I've got a new hobby...ZUMBA! Its way too much fun and you get your workout in without feeling like you've been working out for a full hour.  Of course when the instructor picks the hardest song to dance and you realize you are panting above the volume of the blaring music, then you realize you are working out and need some water.  

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I’m going to get right into things. My instructor is crazy! Not crazy in the bad way but crazy in the way that says, “This lady need not drink coffee in the morning.” Her name is Janice and she maintains the peppiness of a high school cheerleader mixed with the energy of a Labrador Retriever puppy. Nevertheless, she is one of the coolest people to dance behind on the planet. She is always singing the lyrics as loud as she can in Spanish while she salsa’s us out of the room. She loves to scream ”ESO!” which I believe means something like go this way, follow me, and GET IT! all in one phrase. This woman does not need a hairband in class. The rest of us hang dearly onto our concept of the pony tail while she whips her hair around looking muy sexy and makes you realize, “I’ve got to work on that move.” Every time we leave her class, we are thinking how is she sweating so hard and still looking that…cool. Swag people. She’s got swag...." Read the rest of this fun article by clicking the above link!:) Happy reading y......¡ESO! ;)

More Beautiful by Jonny Diaz

I really love this music video! And no, it’s not because this music artist shares my last name! We all know that “Diaz” is as common as the Anglo name of “Smith.” It is because this video speaks in a wonderful way to the self induced, media enhanced, and societal pressure, that our young women and ladies have to swim through while in search of their own self identity and purpose in this crazy world.
A mother and daughter assisted in the making of this video, and in a post interview they told of how, not only the song, but the story behind the video, spoke volumes into their own personal lives and open their eyes in unexpected ways.
Watch it and let me know what your take is on this.
Happy viewing!

WP DP...can I give you a little piece of advice my blogger bro?

Reblogged from ACT. REACT. or just THINK about it!:

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Life doesn't come with an instruction booklet...

Parenting doesn't come with an instruction booklet...

Blogging... well...DOES come with an instruction booklet and we are constantly consulting it in our efforts to be better...but better compared to what? most of the time these guides and how-tos are put together by experienced bloggers that either have their blog as a business or as part of their business...and, what if we just blog to free up some space in the brain, or as therapy, or just because we have time and like writing?

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One of the best posts I've had the pleasure of reading today! :) Follow the above link to read this post in its entirety.

Carry Me by Josh Wilson as seen on KLOVE LIVE

Somebody needs to hear this as much as I needed to hear this today ♥

TRUTH. To think otherwise is to label yourself a fool and to call God a liar.