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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

 



To succeed as a writer, one must read.

 

I have heard variations on this theme for many, many years, and I would agree -with one hesitation: that this reading be confined to times that are conducive to contemplation. The reason I bring this point to bear, is that I have been obsessively reading blogs over the last few years, and though I have read more in that span of time than I have the years preceding; I have seen my writing productivity falling.

 

When I spend the hours that...

In Love With The Return KeyOriginally uploaded by Ezra HilyerMy first computer was an ATARI 1200XL; and I was in seventh heaven!I can still remember the smell of the plastic when I opened the box,(it was used, but still in the box) and I remember the sound that5-1/4" floppy would make when it was seeking.I had an INDUS GT drive (which was pretty fancy for its day) and I hadan ATARI tape drive as well. The tapes were fun, you were supposed touse 'real data tapes' because they were of higher...