But we’re not going away! Six of are currently incubating a Crucial Minutiae spin-off, and we will launch this new site sometime in March. We’ll announce the new blog here, then after a few weeks, this site will automatically redirect to that new space.

We’re already blogging in that space to kick things off — by the time we launch, you’ll have 100 new things to read, so keep us on your RSS feed until then!

Special thanks to Ethan Todras-Whitehill, the mastermind behind Crucial Minutiae, who suggested that our writers’ group try blogging three years ago. Our initial goal of Crucial Minutiae was for the blog to find its own tone and audience, and through its 1,000+ posts, it’s done exactly that.

And thank you to all of our readers since 2007 — we hope you’ll check out our new blog next month and bring the same insightful comments and discussion that you brought to Crucial Minutiae!

Since then, I’ve found myself returning to that post time and again, for reference about how to best back up my computer’s data. It’s strange yet satisfying to have written a post that becomes a reference page for yourself.

When my PowerBook stopped accepting a battery charge a few weeks ago, I didn’t have to panic. I had just backed up a few days before, so all I had to do was close the computer, write down the few places I needed to grab files I’d edited since then, and then hurry and grab that info before the battery ran out its final charge. A few weeks and paychecks later, I’m back up and running on my new computer, for which I’m very grateful.

I did find a few things I’d forgotten to mention explicitly (and forgot to do) last time:

• backup my Mail settings, passwords, rules, signatures, and ALL of the mailboxes (including my Sent folder).
• Here’s the link for how to do this in Mac Mail. Links to other mail program instructions are on Not OK Computer.
• Chat transcripts. Most people probably don’t care about these, but I have some great conversations with friends and work colleagues that I want to save. I use Adium on a Mac, so the path to find your chat program settings and transcripts is Users > Library > Application Support > Adium 2.0. Backup that folder, and once you’re on your new computer, you can put it in the same location for a seamless transition.
• I also totally failed to copy my Stickies, so I might have to perform emergency surgery on the laptop again to retrieve those. Honestly, it was kind of fun to disassemble the laptop last time… Edited to Add: Here’s how to back-up stickies!

Now go back up your data!!

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Beauty in a Wicked World is a weekly column by Jennifer Gandin Le. It appears on Wednesdays.

My friend Michael is a brilliant writer and father of two almost unnaturally gorgeous little girls, one of whom is currently being potty-trained. The Poop Monologues is a running list of things his two-year-old says while pooping, or while trying to. My favorites are “My drink. MILK ON IT,” “My school, my lunch, my turn around, my sleep, my poop. Itsy bitsy SPIDER,” and “My got bunga bunga chair. MY MOVE IT.” And this is just the beginning… Follow his tweets for small doses of surreal hilarity.

A few years down the parenting line, his friend, Matt, has an eleven-year-old son whose passion for skateboarding has led his family on an unusual educational path: 50 Skate Kid Learns the U.S..

The idea germinated during a frustrating homework assignment about North Dakota, when Logan declared that he “would learn more by actually going to North Dakota!” Somehow, this led to a discussion about “hands on” learning and pursuing one’s passion (skateboarding, in Logan’s case). The result is a very interesting plan for sixth grade.

From September until May, Logan will skate in each of the 50 states, while seeing the country first-hand and completing his sixth grade coursework from his teacher back home in New Hampshire. He’ll also visit local museums along the way (I admit to being jealous of this more than the skating) and check in nightly with his mom and sister.

Besides being friends, clear attention and focus on their kids’ unique presence in the world is what links these two fathers, in my mind. One of the things that I admire most in people is the ability to see clearly the person in front of them and speak that truth, not avoiding or ignoring the challenging parts of another. Cheers to these two dads for doing exactly that!

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Beauty in a Wicked World is a weekly column by Jennifer Gandin Le. It appears on Wednesdays.

Courtney’s blurb about her latest entry in the contest:

I may not have a Nobel Prize, but I did manage to work the phrase “inaugural orgy” into my column. Vote for the next Great American Pundit at the Washington Post now through Mon. at 3pm: http://postfun.washingtonpost.com/post/entry/americas-next-great-pundit-vote

Last night, having already browsed my favorite sites of beauty and community, I typed “something beautiful” into Google and hit “I’m Feeling Lucky.” And Google took me straight to the blog titled “Something Beautiful,” subtitled, “When everything seems to be going wrong, something beautiful can really help.” The blogger says, on the About Me page, “When in need of an antidote to negativity, I often turn to beautiful things on the Web. I know when I have found something beautiful because I can feel my inner chemistry change almost the moment it appears on the screen.”

I didn’t even click on any of the links, nor did I plumb the 5 year archive (the site began in October 2004). I felt better, lighter, just knowing that someone else is out there seeking, and finding, the Beautiful.

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Beauty in a Wicked World is a weekly column by Jennifer Gandin Le. It appears on Wednesdays.

• The 6th Annual Amazonas Film Festival in Manaus, Brazil, will screen Jennifer’s short film “Small Changes” as part of the 3rd Cine Water to Drink/ 3o. Cine Água de Beber exhibition about water.

Courtney Martin

• On Friday, November 6th, Courtney will speak at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, as part of The 1st National Conference for Campus-Based Men’s Gender Equality and Anti-Violence Groups.
• Courtney will speak on a panel about the documentary film Who Does She Think She Is? – check the link for screening dates, times, and information.
• “Between Work and Life” on The Washington Post.
• “Work/Life Balance is Not a Woman’s Issue” on The American Prospect Online.

As a toddler, my parents once found me methodically pulling clean diapers out of their box, lining them up along the wall in the hallway, and then placing all of my stuffed animals in a diaper, one by one. As a pre-teen, I would empty my big container of collected pennies and line them up on the carpet in order of their year. Now, I take great satisfaction in a well-constructed Excel spreadsheet, and even my writing talismans on my desk-side table sit in a specific arrangement. I moderate Crucial Minutiae’s comments without second thought, and took deep satisfaction from re-organizing the weekly columns.

When I started meeting professional writers in my early 20s, I noticed that many of them, especially the most commercially successful ones, were naturally disorganized. They are brilliant writers and thinkers who, when they go deep into the writing process, seem to lose all sense of their physical world.

Many of them have outside help to keep their houses clean, themselves fed, their children tended. Books about writing seemed to mention, more often than not, the messy, disorderly process of writing. I took this to imply the bohemian myth: that writers must let bills go unpaid, relationships fall away, dishes piled in the sink, in order to be truly great.

As I began to write longer works of fiction, fear gripped me. Was I too organized to be a real writer? Did I cling too tightly to order and neatness to be able to get lost in an imaginary world of my own creation? Did my natural inclinations make it impossible for me to be a great writer?

I took on my innate qualities as deep shame: shame that I couldn’t make a big enough mess to be a real writer. Somewhere dark inside, I felt like my desire was too big for me.

Last week, I read a blog post that touched me deeply. The gist of the post was that there are two things that inform our lives: 1) who we are or what our skills are, and 2) what makes us happy. The writer remarked that these two things do not always overlap.

Her words settled warm in my belly as, later that day, I whirled through my kitchen with the efficiency of a first-born Virgo Horse, putting dishes away and handling the physical details of my world quickly and easily.

As I leaned down to slip the Tupperware into its place in the cabinet, my soul opened and gave me this, in the form of a question.

What if my natural organization actually supports my writing?

What if my natural skills work in partnership with my deep desire to write?

In that moment, my fists released the fear and shame that had been cutting deep wounds into my palms. In that moment, I said YES to myself as I am: the creative source and a twinkle of the Divine, with all of my qualities. Every day, I stand more fiercely for my creative voice in this world. My evolution – as a human being, as a writer – continues.

~ ~ ~

Do you have deep fears, perhaps even unacknowledged, that something fundamental about yourself is keeping you from having what you want? Can you consider the possibility that those qualities actually serve you?

I would love to hear from you, in the comments.

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Beauty in a Wicked World is a weekly column by Jennifer Gandin Le. It appears on Wednesdays.

Majora Carter, a genius and one of my favorite speakers on this subject, is speaking at this conference along with many other great minds. You can enjoy the highlights of a conference on a vital topic from the comfort of your own computer!

Check it out via Twitter

You can also register to watch a free live webcast here.

Jennifer Gandin Le

• The South by Southwest Conference selected Jennifer’s company, Emotion Technology, to present a panel titled “RT: I’m Going to Kill Myself. Preventing Suicide Online” at the 2010 Interactive conference.
• Jennifer’s short film “Small Changes” won the Grand Jury Prize in the Intelligent Use of Water Competition, and was screened at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Her win was written up in the Austin Chronicle.

Courtney Martin

• “American Ignorance and Afghanistan” on The American Prospect Online.
• “Extreme Makeover, Health Care Edition” on The American Prospect Online.
• “The Imperfection and Redemption of Ted Kennedy” on The American Prospect Online.

Cristina Pippa

• In August, Cristina gave (calm) birth to Francesca – the first Crucial Minutiae baby!

Kate Torgovnick

• Kate’s book CHEER! will be made into a TV show for Warner Bros. TV. Read about the show at Variety.
• “Is Your Friend Toxic?” on New York Post.

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Beauty in a Wicked World is a weekly column by Jennifer Gandin Le. It appears on Wednesdays.