Science just ripped my heart out. It is no secret that I have an intellectual blind spot when it comes to science. I know it matters, I’m glad other people are working on it, but my brain actually shrivels when I have to think about it. Five minutes of Ira Flatow and I will pass out. Driving on Friday afternoons is an actual death trap for me.
Regardless, just try and watch this video of scientist Andrei Dmitriyevich Linde learning the big news from this week that his theory about the Big Bang had been proven to be true without turning into a weepy mess, overcome with the emotional gravity of it all. I don’t understand a thing about what happened science-wise, but human-wise, it is perhaps the most beautiful, meaningful moment the internet has has ever offered me. Particularly, this quote, from the emotionally overwhelmed scientist:
“I’ve always lived with this feeling [of] what if I am tricked? What if I believe in this just because it is beautiful?”
Leash training, freelancing and the art of improvisation
At 10am today, I was congratulating myself for being so on top of things on a Monday morning. Just two hours in, I had one task nearly done, and the rest so carefully planned that I was already reveling in my success. Wee! I’m the best at this!
It’s now 1pm, and, like many Mondays, nothing has gone according to my brilliant plans and I’m failing at everything. Don’t feel too sad for me. This happens all the time, and I (nearly) always pull it all off anyway. That’s what freelancing is: working without a net. Building a parachute on the way down.
Swedish Lessons news, Swedish Lessons event!
…Well, time is a monster that moves differently depending on who is holding its leash, and to me, it seems like we’ve walked to Antarctica and back since Swedish Lessons came into being. Perhaps that’s why, when I suddenly have a day full of book news, it feels like a delightful and startling event. Today, it’s all that times two.
First, I’m absolutely giddy to share that Swedish Lessons was among the 19 books honored in the First Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards. Of more than 500 entries, Swedish Lessons was one of four Honorable Mentions in the Nonfiction category. If you’ll notice, my name is first after the 1st and 2nd place lines, which could be because they’re in alphabetical order, but WHO KNOWS?!
Natalie Burg 