Authorpreneur Dashboard – Martha J Cinader
Dreamscape
History
A collection of biographical stories and poems about fascinating people in history whose real dreams made a real difference. Developed in performance, these stories bring old tales to life for contemporary readers in a way that is both entertaining and informative.
Book Bubbles from Dreamscape
Ancient Python Healer
The twining serpent sign that most of us recognize as a medical symbol has its origins in our ancient history... medicine and courage intertwined...
Your problem child might be a genius...
School is starting again and maybe you're one of those parents, (don't worry you're so not alone,) who has a child that you know is smart but who really doesn't do well in school. But don't let it get you down. You might be doing most everything right. You feed and clothe your child, you encourage and discipline and make sure the homework gets done, but the truth is that your child just doesn't like school... Take heart! Einstein hated school. He had some good reasons to, and maybe your child does too...
For Black History Month
Many people might have heard of Josephine Baker, and think of her as a glamorous star of Paris. They might even know that she was a war hero, or that long before Ray Charles refused to sing for a segregated audience Josephine Baker turned down a lucrative contract (even by today's standards) from the Copa Cabana, until they abolished their segregationist policies. What most people don't know is that she was born into miserable conditions that forced her family to send her off to a woman who treated her like a slave. After the woman plunged her hands into scalding water, she had a mystical experience that guided her actions throughout the rest of her life.
Storytelling is communicating
I've always thought that the point of talking is to communicate, to understand and be understood. Correctness has nothing to do with anything. What's correct is what works in the situation you are in with the people you are in it with. If you tell a story that communicates an idea from the point of view of someone who might have a different vantage point on life from your own, then you have the chance to cross a bridge into another person't experience that will widen your own understanding of the world. I have fun telling this story, and recommend reading it aloud or trying it out at a storytelling open mic! It is definitely heavy on the Lord Buckley influence...
You're a feminist aren't you?
When Hypatia was roaming the streets of Alexandria, she was about the only woman who was. Today we have women in the public eye who claim not to be feminists, but their very position belies that point of view. Me, I'm a lover, what about you?
The first telephone...
Just as many people still don't know that it was Nicola Tesla who invented the radio, not Marconi, there is still the perception that Alexander Bell invented the telephone and not Philip Reiss... I wrote this story from the perspective of Philip Reiss, looking down from heaven and telling his own story.
Love and Medicine
This ancient story of Mella, who became a queen, is the source of the python medical symbol that we still use today. It's also just a great story about a young woman's courage, honesty and love for her father. It has always been a favorite of mine and my children...
Belgium and the Congo
I wrote these ten verses about King Leopold of Belgium after reading King Leopold's Soliloquy by Mark Twain. European, American and African history are intertwined. Although it might be impossible, we would all benefit from striving to see the entirety of it from every perspective...
Badass Boedicea
Some of these modern female kickass movie characters must be channeling Queen Boedicea. She didn't play.
Josephine Baker's personal mission
When she was young Josephine Baker's family called her Tumpy. The sometimes brutal experiences of her childhood shaped her life-long struggle against injustice. After becoming famous in Europe she was reluctant to return to America. But when she did, she insisted on change. There are many performers even today who would jump at the chance to make $10,000 a week to perform in any nightclub. But she was able to make a change by refusing to appear unless her conditions were agreed to.
The names of Sacajawea
The woman we know today as Sacajawea was an exceptional woman who lived an extraordinary life even after the end of the expedition with Lewis
Einstein and School
Einstein had a hard time in the German schools when he was a teenager. He hated school so much that when he dropped out and joined his family in Austria he renounced his German citizenship while still very young.
Edison and Tesla
This is an excerpt of a conversation that brings to light some little known details about the life of Nicola Tesla...
