Latest Blog Posts for Melissa Dereberry's Blog

• Where Were You?
  on Jan 28, 2011 in Uncategorized 20th century Challenger disaster impact of events memory remembering tragedy
  Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.  Many of us remember exactly where we were, of course, as it is one of those impactful moments that one never forgets.  I was a junior in high school when it happened, and I was sitting i...
• I Oughta Start Shouting
  on Jan 28, 2011 in Literary agents publishing Success writing Writing Life being a writer Five minutes of fame getting published overnight success Radiohead Ted Williams writing life
  When I was in college, there was this guy who used to roam through the mall, shouting at the top of his lungs—he was sort of a notorious local figure.  My friend told me about him, and I didn’t believe it until one day, I saw him myself.  There...
• Let Them Get Messy
  on Jan 26, 2011 in Uncategorized ant colonies creativity education public schools success swarm intelligence
  Rows upon rows of art projects line the halls of the school where my kids attend.  Except for a few variations in color and placement, all of them are pretty much the same—not art, exactly, but crafty replicas from an instruction sheet or a prepac...
• Can I Have A Read Receipt For That?
  on Jan 20, 2011 in Uncategorized computers digital age email technology technopathy
  Have you ever requested one of those “read receipts” from an email you’ve sent?  Have you ever been asked to deliver a receipt?  Annoying as they are, they at least purport to serve a purpose.  Namely, to make sure the person...
• One Way Ticket To Ride
  on Jan 13, 2011 in Uncategorized Mars mission one way mission to Mars space colonization postmodernism culture opinion science
  One-Way Ticket To Ride The most interesting news story of the week was a report about a group of 400 people who volunteered to join a one-way mission to Mars in response to an article in The Journal of Cosmology (http://journalofcosmology.com/Mars108...
• Birds Of A Feather
  on Jan 5, 2011 in Uncategorized bird deaths media reports wildlife conspiracy theories climate change natural phenomenon mass bird deaths mass animal deaths Arkansas bird deaths
  The Internet has been abuzz lately with reports of birds falling out of the sky and waterways filling up with dead fish.  Just google the words “bird deaths” and you will get everything from official news reports to chat rooms prattling...
• The $10,000 Question
  on Oct 21, 2010 in Uncategorized destiny education exotic animals individual talent success talent weird hobbies
  A few nights ago, I found myself literally mesmerized by an episode of the Animal Planet series, Fatal Attractions, a show about people who have exotic animals as pets.  The program featured two people who kept venomous snakes in their homes.  Bot...
• Lighting Fires – Part 1
  on Sep 30, 2010 in Uncategorized decline of community Facebook relationships technology
    We Light Fires Imagine a crisp September evening.  It is dusk and a family of four sits around a fire in a crudely constructed pit in the back yard.  One of them is fighting to keep the fire going, stuffing in handfuls of straw, dead leaves, twi...
• Terms of Agreement for Livin’ in the Good ‘Ol USA
  on Sep 29, 2010 in Uncategorized America consumer affairs customer service humor
  Terms of Agreement:             This is not a legally binding contract, however, we will conduct business under the assumption that it is, and, should you decide to question its contents, the quality of our services or products, the approp...
• The Shrug
  on Sep 29, 2010 in Uncategorized America consumer confidence technology
  The Shrug             The other day, I called my insurance company to check on a particular benefit, and, while I had them on the phone (a rare event), I asked, could I remove the auto-draft on my account?  I just want to be in control o...

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