Sentenced to poetry and octopus ballet

Now that we've all lived through the great blogger meltdown of 2011, I can post again! Love blogger, hated the meltdown. 


As writers we're always looking for inspiration. Sometimes we look for it sitting on the couch, channel surfing and watching re-runs, but mostly we know that inspiration is everywhere, and we have to train our creative eye to find it. 


Here are a couple of examples I found this week. 


A judge in Florida recognized the power of literature when she sentences some youth to writing. Here's the article from the South Florida Sun Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A Broward County judge is giving some juvenile offenders some poetic justice.

Circuit Judge Merrilee Ehrlich has ordered about a dozen young offenders over the last six months to write poetry and read their work in court as part of their conditions for probation.

As a reward, some defendants can lose as many as 20 hours from their community service sentences.

Ehrlich says it's too early to tell if the alternative sentences are making any difference in the defendants' lives, but she points out how many have chosen to participate in the poetry readings.

Friday was the third poetry reading in Ehrlich's courtroom. Young offenders read from handwritten notes about their hardships and temptations in their neighborhoods.

And here's a video of some deep water octopi performing a ballet of the ocean. No calamari were harmed in the making of this video. 





Have an inspiring writing day!