Category: Storytelling

WHAT’S THE FUSS OVER THE ‘GREEN NEW DEAL’

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become the lightning rod of conservative talk shows after introducing a Green New Deal resolution to Congress. The concept is not new. Thomas Freidman coined the idea of a Green New Deal in his book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded in 2007 and British economist Richard Murphy founded the Green New Deal Group the same year. Yet, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s resolution has been met with overwhelming skepticism and mockery from the right. The Green New Deal that Ocasio-Cortez has submitted to Congress can be download on this link and recommends action in Read More …

ρητορική

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RHETORIC The basis of public discourse comes to us from Ancient Greece. Aristotle called it “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” Aristotle identified three elements to appeal to audiences: logos (λόγος) –  the use of reasoning, either inductive or deductive, to construct an argument. pathos (πάθος) – the use of emotional appeals to alter the audience’s judgment through metaphor, amplification, storytelling, or presenting the topic in a way that evokes strong emotions in the audience. ethos (ἦθος) – Aristotle’s theory of character and how Read More …

THANKSGIVING AFTERTHOUGHT

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Plymouth! Why put Plymouth in the main menu? Although I have never lived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, it is the place that the Cotton Family has lived the longest- one hundred and twenty years (1668 to 1788) in my line and two hundred and fifty years (1620 to 1870) overall. As a result, the bones of forty-eight of relatives reside on Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Cotton family first appeared in Plymouth in 1668 when Rev. John Cotton Jr. was asked to head the Plymouth Church. Three subsequent generations in Read More …

COTTON SURNAME ORIGINS

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Members of Family 11 of the Cotton DNA Project include the surnames COTTON, COTTAM AND COTHAM. The Cotton surname has been proven back to Roland Cotton born London, England 1558. The Cottam surname shows a lineage back to St. Michael on Wyre, Lancashire, England to a Thomas Cottam circa 1740 and a William Cottam born 1779. Surprisingly, a link between the Cottam and the Cotton surnames has resulted from the results of my recent Big Y Test and these results placement in the Big Tree Project. The Cotton DNA Project Read More …

MY WRITING TOOLS

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As I learn more and more about self-publishing, more and more options come up. So after a steep learning curve, I settled on the following strategy:  Buy your own ISBNs through Bowker so that you own and control them. Take the time and effort to register your own copyright. Own your work! Get your work edited professionally. If it was worth writing, it is worth editing. To Self-Publish, you need a good partner for print and eBook. For print books, using a POD (print on demand) publisher is a must. I have settled Read More …

FOURTH OF JULY REFLECTIONS 2017

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He is gone the veteran is no more Come drop a grateful tear The love of God to call his (home?) While he resided here In that blessed faith through life he (persevered?) And died without a fear. On the Fourth of July 2017, I reflect on my 3rd great-grandfather, Lt. John Cotton, who was the son of Colonel Theophilus Cotton. Lt. John Cotton was a veteran of the American Revolution and the first of his line to move west. After the Northwest Territory was ceded to the United States Read More …

THE PRIZE

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Today, as my prize for having won the 2017 Writers; League of Texas Manuscript Contest for Nonfiction, I met with Andy Ross. Andy is from the West Coast and represents authors who write books in a wide range of subjects including narrative non-fiction, science, journalism, history, current affairs, contemporary culture, religion, children’s books and commercial and literary fiction. He was also the nonfiction judge in the 2017 Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest. My prize for winning was 10 minutes with Andy. To put things in context, I was scheduled Read More …

NEW COTTON HAPLOGROUP

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My FamilyTree DNA test results resulted in a new Haplogroup that contains both my results and two Singletons. The Haplogroup is defined as BY2574.Cascading down from Z255 to L159 to ZZ7_1, Haplogroup BY2574 shares BY2573 with a Byrne and a Brabazon as shown on THE BIG TREE Chart for R-ZZ7. Thanks to the wonderful work of Alex Williamson, those who take FamilyTree DNA’s Big Y Test are able to see how their haplogroup is embedded in a broader DNA Tree.   http://www.ytree.net/DisplayTree.php?blockID=132 As a result, a Singleton and I were able Read More …