My active iTunes library is 6,800 tracks long, and for the purposes of reviews, I go through a hundred or more new songs each month. This amount of music would be daunting to manage, but I have picked up a few habits over the years that helps me keep it all in order:When adding songs to the library, I always rate them as one star.I have a smart play-list that only shows songs that have one star and have a play-count of 0. 

This allows me to quickly go over the new songs that I have...

It is the season for Political Signs. There are hundreds of them sticking up like uninspired flowers, all over the hillsides, and lawns of this town. They are for Republicans, Democrats, and for Independents.

For national races, and for local ones, the names blend into each other, and the slogans blazoned on each sound like cheap fortune cookie messages.

They crowd out one another for space, as if vying for a better vantage point to shout their messages to passing traffic.

The colors are...

$190.75

That number is the value I place on creativity. Or a hinting at the value I give to my writing. That is the cost of the pen case, and pens I carry everyday.

I use these pens like tools, they are the hammer and saw of my mind, the wrench that I use to fasten my mental state to the parchment of my life. Each of these tools has a function different than the others, and like a carpenter; I have a lifetime of choosing the tools that fit my work best...

There are 6 pens in my pen...

On a whim, I went searching for traces of my old website 'The Amateur Writers Guild'. Keep in mind, that is has been about 8 years since I last visited the site, and I assumed that it was long gone. But thanks to the Internet archive site archive.org I was able to go back in time and see some of it as it was in 1999, and 2000 (the height of its popularity) and was even able to find an old logo from that era (not my final revision to be sure) I put it at the top of this post. This was at a...

We have too much stuff.I know it is true in my own life; despite a concious desire to keep my posessions down to a minimal level over the last few years, I continue to struggle with the clutter of normal life.Surrounded by the constant admonitions to buy more and more stuff, it is really tough to keep my mind focused on the ‘real’ things in life; the things that matter.To this end, I continue to fight to keep my life fee of useless stuff!



We have too much stuff.

I know it is true in my...

What's In My Bag 2010 Edition., originally uploaded by Ezra Hilyer - straypoetry.com.Another what's in my bag photo, I haven't done one of these for a longtime, and much has changed.I now have been carrying a classic film camera instead of the digitalthat used to stay in my bag, it's a Voigtlander Vito II (from 1954)The light meter is a Weston Master II.I also have one of the new Moleskine Folio watercolor notebooks, whichbrings the total number of Moleskines I carry to 4. (why I need 4, I'mnot...

The definition of the word 'lucid' is absolute clarity and understanding. As if all the shadows have been cleared away, and all that remains are facts. In average existence, our minds are busy with the details and routines of everyday life; we often exist almost as machines. As if the conscious mind stays just behind the present, and reacts on delay.I used to work cutting tires for a disposal service; the job was repetitive in the extreme. Pick up a tire, throw it on the table, pull the lever...

I am 29, and with the coming of 30 next year, I have destiny staring me straight in the face.

When I got out of high-school, I started a business right away, and have been on a roller-coaster of events ever since. I have run (and lost) 2 businesses, have had 3 jobs, and have gotten married, had a kid, and bought a house, yet I am missing something...

I have to get a degree for my own sense of accomplishment, and for potential life changing effects. I wish to live me life more fully...

Inspiration rarely gives warning; so I must be ready!


When I suddenly get the urge to make art; I dig into the dark depths of my messenger bag, and pull out my trusty Moleskine Watercolor Notebook, and my Winsor & Newton Bijou Box.


Then, I search for the soft brown wrapped Ple Ple Pen Case, and unwrap my tools: Pilot Parallel Pen, Sakura Waterbrush, Cross Triple Pen, Lamy Safari with EF Nib, Tasche Fine Black Pen, and the prize: a fine Sable Brush Pen.


All of these objects, I...

2 hours a day doesn't seem like much, but over 4 days a week, that is a full 8 hour day.

These few hours are the key to my sanity and point to my future. I use these hours to design, to write, and to make the future come to me. I have so much that I wish to accomplish, that I must make this effort.

I wake up early and bike in to the local Coffee Shop; then I sit and allow myself to be absorbed into my work. I design and tweak my sites, and I open Scrivener and write.

I usually...

My Moleskine is a vital part of my life, it serves as a permanent record of the daily thoughts, and ideas of my life. I hope to one day pass on all of my accumulated journals to the fire of forgetfulness.In the pocket, I keep a $20 bill for emergencies, and a couple of Moo cards for interactions with new people.I never go anywhere without my Mole!-Ezra



My Moleskine is a vital part of my life, it serves as a permanent record of the daily thoughts, and ideas of my life. I hope to one day pass...

I am enamored with my new pen: the Kuretake Letter Pen.It has a really fine point that allows for heavier lines when pressed hard, it makes really beautiful lettering, and gives my normal handwriting a bit of pretty flair.(I got it from www.jetpens.com )



I am enamored with my new pen: the Kuretake Letter Pen.
It has a really fine point that allows for heavier lines when pressed hard, it makes really beautiful lettering, and gives my normal handwriting a bit of pretty flair.

(I got it from...

Once upon a time, I had a full day to work with. When I was running my garage, I would wake up; and be in my shop around 7:30-am, or I would open it as late as 8:00-am, then I would work the full day, and shut down around 5pm or sometimes a little later. This would allow me to get all of my work done, and even have filler time to work on personal projects, to sit a moment and take a breather if I liked. I was able to be hands-on, and it was possible to plan for events that would take me...

The Nike+ Sport-band has been overall a good investment for me; as I addicted to information: it gives me a way to track my running progress, and set goals to push my stamina.I use it when I don't want to run with Music, I have an iPhone 3GS that I use when I need that extra boost with a good running track.One thing that is mildly Annoying: the thing is too small for my wrist, it can be quite uncomfortable, and the strap is tight enough to leave a mark after my run. I do have over-large wrists...

I always listen to 'This American Life' from Chicago Public Radio. I truly enjoy listening to the program, and look forward to it each week. I don't always agree with the subjects that the host: Ira Glass, announces, but even then I admire the quality of the show. This is poetry without the rhyme, or art without the visual. I can't really put my finger on it, but listening to this show is one of the highlights of my weekend. I get it also via the website:

www.thislife.org

-Ezra

My newest passion has become Geocaching.I have taken to it like all of my passions: with fervor, and a total disreguard for anything else.I am a little like the character of 'Mr. Toad' in 'The Wind In The Willows'I take to each new endeavor with an energy that leaves all else in it's wake, and when the next thing comes along, off I go in that new direction.In any case, I have taken a great interest in Geocaching, and today I placed my first Geocache! I have had an old plastic Moo Card box lying...

There is something deeply poetic about coffee.

The grinder pulverizing the beans, the ritual tamping of the fresh grounds, and that beautiful smell when the first coal-black drops of liquid cascade into the cup. When the steamer sings its song; and the union of sound, sight, and savor meet in that moment -such is the stuff of perfection. I remember when my romance with Coffee started; it was on my first visit to Starbucks, in Portland Oregon in 2002. Before this; coffee was something that only...

I am the Writer who does not write, and the poet with few poems.I see myself as a writer; it is my self identity. When I imagine myself in my minds-eye, I am personified as a writer, I see the future in the context of writing, and I fully expect to write, yet the time goes by and I do not.I relate to the world as a writer, I refer to myself as a writer... Yet I do not write. Oh sure, I pen a few sentences once in a while, and often I will dive whole-heartedly back into a novel or article I have...