m.i.a.
I've been a bit absent, recently. I've been really sick with the worst flu I've EVER had, complete with chest infections, ear infections and a raspy transexual voice that sidelined me from work for two weeks. Not great at the best of times, but as a self-employed writer, yikes... I don't even want to calculate what the last few weeks have cost me...
So I've been playing a bit of catch up work-wise this week, trying to get back on top of some projects that were piling up. Tonight I've been in research mode for a new book project in the start-up space, and in the process of browsing the interwebs for inspiration, I've come across the most diverse bunch of websites:
Moshi Monsters. An enterprising entrepreneur turned a scrawled cartoon on the back of a napkin into a hundred-million dollar kids' website that has 60 million users and counting. Oh, to come up with that one idea that changes the world, and my bank balance, for good!
Do Nothing. This site encourages you to do nothing for two minutes. It's actually harder than it sounds! A great reminder to slow down and give your brain time/space to chillax, and avoid overstimulating yourself online.
Marie Colvin's report on Syria. Marie Colvin's report on Syria is heart-wrenching, not only because she describes the harrowing details of the massacre that's happening in Syria at the moment – but also because she died reporting on it. Husbands and fathers are being slaughtered, mothers raped, children and families huddled together in groups of 20 per room. Here's a short snipped from Marie's article:
"A baby born in the basement last week looked as shellshocked as her mother, Fatima, 19, who fled there when her family’s single-storey house was obliterated. “We survived by a miracle,” she whispers. Fatima is so traumatised that she cannot breastfeed, so the baby has been fed only sugar and water; there is no formula milk.
Fatima may or may not be a widow. Her husband, a shepherd, was in the countryside when the siege started with a ferocious barrage and she has heard no word of him since."
When Lila was born, I spent the first night in a private hospital, then spent three nights in a beautiful hotel suite overlooking the beach, while midwives visited my room every few hours offering support and advice. It hurts my brain sometimes, to ponder these types of things: why were Lila and afforded such a wonderful start to our life together, while Fatima and her little one are living in terror? All I can do is donate what I can.. and urge you to please do the same! :)
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Sarah Megginson
Sarah Megginson
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