Sole Focus

Book Review - Arthur Wooten's Shorts by Arthur Wooten

2012-01-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

Arthur Wooten, the bestselling author of Birthday Pie, On Picking Fruit and Fruit Cocktail, has produced yet another instant classic. Arthur Wooten's Shorts is a delightful book that includes a short story, Stroke of Luck, and the famous Dear Henry Letters from his tenure with London based reFRESH magazine. Arthur is one of those writers whose next release I always await with zeal, so when he asked me to give this new gem a pre-release read, I couldn't contain my enthusiasm.

Stroke of Luck is the tale of celebrity chef Chip Lowell. Chip is utterly confident with himself, not to mention sought after because of his looks as well as his talent. He's on the brink of unveiling a new TV cooking show when a life changing event causes him to do some introspective work... which includes giving scrutiny to every detail in his life, and every person therein as well.

The Dear Henry Letters are the culmination of Arthur's two year writing stint for reFRESH. Inside their text you will find a delightful mixture of emotions and side splitting humor as he writes to a fictional lover, Henry, about just why they need to part company. And while parting may be such sweet sorrow, you won't want this one to end.

Arthur Wooten's Shorts, inside and out, is a dynamic entry in this multi talented scribe's bibliography of hits. An immediate success, readers won't be disappointed in the least and Mr. Wooten's ever growing fan base is in for a treat. It's that good.

5 Stars.

Amazon.com Link: http://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Wootens-Shorts-Stroke-Letters/dp/0983563195/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1327885535&sr=8-10
Arthur's Website: http://www.arthurwooten.com/

Carey Parrish

Spotlight Interview with Novelist Mike Wells

2012-01-29T15:58:00.000-08:00

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a writer, for me, remains the opportunities it affords me to meet other writers. Whenever I meet someone with a talent that I find genuine, I feel that I must find out more about the person. Such was the case after I’d become acquainted with novelist Mike Wells. We met through the miracle of social media and the rapport we developed was easy, comfortable. Talking with Mike I got the sense that his talent comes from deep within himself and like any true gift it must be expressed.

The author of bestsellers like Wild Child, Baby Talk, and Lust, Money, & Murder, Mike has built a following for himself that is both loyal and devoted. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Mike is married and currently resides in England, where he teaches creative writing at Oxford. He is someone who shares of himself and his work eagerly. His relationship with his fans and with other writers sets him apart from many in the pack because he truly cares about people and what they think. His books feature either teens or adults, depending on the story, and they appeal to a broad audience of readers.

Mike’s work is riveting. Having read several of his books, which are available on the Amazon Kindle, iPad, and the Barnes and Noble Nook, I began planning to interview him almost a month before I actually asked him for the session. I just had to know what inspires him, what motivates him, and how he feels about his success. As I suspected, he didn’t disappoint me with his answers. I’m pleased to present Mike in this forum.

CP: Welcome, Mike, and thanks for visiting with me.

MW: Thank you, Carey! I appreciate the opportunity to be interviewed by you.

CP: Tell me a bit about your writing process. What do you need to get into “author” mode?
MW: Getting into mode can be hard for me. I can't write well until a particular story "grabs" me and starts pulling me forward, rather than me pushing it. Usually at the beginning, the story requires a lot of pushing. What I've found is that each novel requires a slightly different "voice," or style of telling the story—attitude, etc. Sometimes it takes a while to find that voice and that's when I stay in "push" mode. Once I find the right voice the story pulls me to the computer each morning and the whole process becomes fun and relatively easy.
CP: You’ve had some very popular titles and a great deal of success. To what do you attribute the positive reception your work has garnered?
MW: Well, I suppose it's simply the result of a lot of hard work, taking what little talent I have and developing the hell out of it. I spent a lot of time learning the craft, something that I think every writer should do—taking classes, reading books, getting feedback from experts (writing teachers and coaches). I think another element is that I started out a as a screenwriter, and many of today's readers seem to like fast-paced stories that are not too heavily-laden with description, which is my writing style.
CP: You write both adult novels and books for young adults, and your YA titles are usually as popular with adults as they are with teens. Why do you think the appeal is often broad in this manner?
MW: This is probably because I don't ever think about who my books are "for" in terms of the age of the reader--I just write the best story I can and then let it find its audience. When I first started out, agents would say, "Who is this book for?" and I would say, "It's for people who like reading." "Yes, but which readers?" they would say. They would eventually classify Wild Child or The Mysterious Disappearance of Kurt Kramer as Young Adult. Why? Simply because the main characters in these books are in their late teens. Agents and publishers are so interested in this because retailers need to know which shelf to put the book on. But this is artificial, something that's placed on top of a story, so to speak. I don't think this kind of categorization comes from writers very often. At least not from me.
CP: Let’s talk about inspiration. Where do you find the “muse” for your work, so to speak
MW: That's a hard question, Carey, and as a fiction writer, I think you well know it! For me, I'd have to say it comes from a feeling of wanting to improve upon the story I wrote last time, a deep desire to master the art and craft of fiction writing. But of course art is not something anyone can ever master, you can simply improve—true perfection can never be achieved.

Click Here To Purchase

CP: When you wrote Wild Child, what was the goal you had in mind for the reader?

MW: My goal is always to entertain readers and hopefully move them in an emotional and perhaps intellectual way. But I actually don't think much about the final or overall impact on the reader—I think that's unconscious and something I can't really control.

CP: When Wild Child became a #1 e-book, were you surprised at that level of success?
MW: I was flabbergasted. I was not prepared for those thousands of downloads!
CP: How do you go back and forth between the adult and young adult genres with such ease?
MW: Again, I think it's because "genres" do not really enter my mind while I'm writing. I never visualized only young people reading Wild Child, or only women reading Secrets of the Elusive Lover.
CP: When you do a project like Baby Talk, are you aiming for the jugular with your plot or do you let the story take you where you want to go?
MW: I would say that that's a combination of both. In purely creative mode, I let the story take me where it wants to go, but then when I'm done with a draft I put on my Editor hat and shape the story a bit, like pruning a tree, to give it a smooth form.
CP: You teach creative writing at Oxford. What led you to England? And do you see yourself remaining there or would you like to return to the US at some point?
MW: I've been living all over Europe for the past 15 years. I don't think I'll ever move back to the USA full time—I like being close to so many different cultures, it's very stimulating for my writing.
CP: You and I have talked about how we both admired the late bestselling author Sidney Sheldon. Do you feel his influence when you’re writing?
MW: Sidney Sheldon is very interesting to me. In some ways I would say his writing influenced me, but the fact is, our styles were similar to begin with. I didn't read any of his work until I had written some screenplays and a few novels. After a few pages, I remember saying to my wife, "Hey, this guy writes a lot like I do!" Then when I read his bio and found out he had first been a screenwriter and then switched to novel-writing, I realized at least part of the reason why. Readers often notice this, particularly about Lust, Money & Murder, due to the genre and the fact that I feature a young woman as a hero.
CP: Share a bit about what you’re currently working on.
MW: I'm working on sequels to Lust, Money & Murder and Wild Child (#3), and also a new international thriller that's similar in some ways to Lust, Money & Murder. Some of these books I just think about a lot and others I'm actually writing. I work on a lot of things at the same time.

Click Here To Purchase

CP: Okay…A few nosy things for the fans: What do you enjoy most about living in England?

MW: The thing I enjoy most about living in England is the history and culture, everything is so old compared to the US. Last year we lived in a 500 year old farmhouse that still had most of its original furniture. It's pretty amazing when you think about it--that house was built only a few years after Columbus sailed to America! In the USA, such a house would be a national museum. You would have to pay to get inside with its rooms cordoned off, you wouldn't be allowed to touch anything. Yet we were living in this house and using all the furniture. There are places like this everywhere in England, it's all very interesting.

CP: And conversely what do you like least about it?
MW: Easy. The weather.
CP: What are you reading right now?
MW: Right now I'm not reading much of anything, I don't have time. I went through a period in my 30's where I read voluminous amounts of literature, all the classics, tons of popular fiction, but now I just don't have any time for it. Between writing my own books and promoting them, and teaching classes, there's just no time left.
CP: Favorite food?
MW: Italian. I mean real Italian, as in going to Italy, which we do often. That's another great thing about England—you're so close to the rest of Europe. With the low budget airlines, you can be in Italy or Spain or France in two hours, for a hundred bucks. It's fantastic.
CP: Favorite movie?
MW: The Wizard of Oz. Probably it was one of the first movies I saw, at age three or something. It's the first movie I remember watching and I watched it every year when they showed it on TV until I was in my teens.
CP: What music do you enjoy?
MW: I enjoy all kinds of music and play some guitar myself, I come from a musical family and grew up in Nashville. When I'm writing I sometimes listen to really hard rock or jazz or pop, depending on my mood. I like to listen to classical when I'm in deep thought, plotting a book in my head. My wife took me to a Bach concert last night at the Sheldonian Theatre here in Oxford. When we came out, she said, "So, how did you like it?" I said, "It was great. I finished plotting Chapter Five."
CP: Personal preference: Long sleeves or barefoot weather?
MW: I'm definitely a beach bum. I have spent more time than I care to mention hanging on beaches in Aruba, Cyprus and the Canary Islands. I do my best writing there, too.
CP: What advice or wisdom can you pass along here?
MW: Follow your dreams. Life becomes dull otherwise.
CP: And what are you most proud of?
MW: I would say I'm most proud of my persistence, of not letting myself become too discouraged by all the naysayers in the world, all those agents and editors who told me there was no market for my work or that my writing was not any good. I'm sure they meant well, but they were wrong, and I'm glad I didn't listen to them.

Mike's Blog: http://www.thegreenwater.com/
Lust, Money, & Murder Website: http://www.lustmoneymurder.blogspot.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MikeWellsAuthor
Twiiter: www.twitter.com/MikeWellsAuthor

Carey Parrish

Book Review - Simple Treasures by Alan Chin

2012-01-28T03:14:00.000-08:00

Having read all of Alan Chin's books, I can honestly say that Simple Treasures is perhaps my favorite. Alan Chin always tells a story with a unique perspective, usually gleaned from a personal reference, and his characters are never the norm. Rather they are fully dimensional individuals who function within their stories as if it's not a narrative but a reality within a book that one is reading.

With Simple Treasures, Mr. Chin takes us on a catharsis of sorts, introducing us to Simple, a Shoshone Indian who has just been released from an institution. Simple goes to work for a hard edged old man named Emmett, who's dying from cancer after a lifetime of drinking and rough living. Simple's job is to care for Emmett in his final days. Only Simple finds that Emmett's world is shared by a grandson named Jude. Jude is a gay young man who sloughs around in Goth attire and generally doesn't have a lot to do with his grandfather, and the sentiment is not one sided either.

As Simple gets to know Emmett and Jude, he finds his feelings for both of them begin to evolve in ways he didn't think possible. While he plans to help Emmett set his spirit free through an ancient Indian ritual he also cannot deny that he and Jude are growing closer, physically as well as emotionally. As Simple strives to give both of his companions the closure and the freedom they each crave, he learns to give himself the same latitude.

Simple Treasures was a delight to read and the message it imparts does not end along with the book. As with Alan's other works, this one has a lesson that will remain with its readers long after the story is told. Well done.

5 Stars.

Buy on Kindle

Alan's Website: http://alanchin.net/

Carey Parrish

Book Review - Lust, Money, & Murder by Mike Wells

2012-01-28T03:09:00.000-08:00

Really irresistible page turner by novelist Mike Wells, Lust, Money, and Murder is the story of a woman out for revenge against the man who ruined her father and her vow to see him pay takes her on a journey around the world that is neither predictable nor dull in the slightest.

The heroine's name is Elaine Brogan. She watches in horror as her father is arrested for passing counterfeit money and the man she holds responsible becomes the catalyst for a dive into the world of a Secret Service agent, the grueling treatment Elaine must endure to become one, and then the time she must bide until her quest really begins.

As Elaine sets out to bring her father's nemesis to justice she goes on a wild ride through Bulgaria, Russia, and eventually Italy that gives the reader enough thrills to keep the pages turning as the climax, which is anything but what you might expect, comes into view. Add in the ingredients of romance and suspense and the result is a novel you won't want to end a page too soon.

Author Wells has written a real delight in Lust, Money, and Murder. It reads like something Sidney Sheldon might have written at the height of his literary career but the overall effect is a thoroughly enthralling story told by a writer who quite indelibly has a style all his own.

5 Stars.

Buy on Kindle

Mike's Website: http://www.lustmoneymurder.blogspot.com/

Carey Parrish

Book Review - The Value of Rain by Brandon Shire

2012-01-18T17:23:00.000-08:00

Having read several excellently written books lately, I am pleased to now add The Value of Rain to my list of must-reads. Author Brandon Shire has taken a hotly debated topic in today's society and spun a mesmerizing tale of hurt, betrayal, revenge, and ultimately peace around it. The book crackles with the tension of human emotions, injustice, and family drama. In other words, readers won't be able to stop once they begin this journey.

At the book's outset, Charles is a young man of fourteen whose relationship with another boy becomes sexual, but he's caught and is committed to an institution for "treatment" to eradicate his "condition." For the next decade Charles goes through real torture, mental and physical, as he struggles to find a way out of the hell he's enduring. Once released, he is bent on revenge against those responsible for his ordeal; chiefly his mother.

Almost every emotion that a person can experience is written in vivid detail here. The author has a clever and gifted approach to his writing and is fearless when it comes to crafting scenes that need to be told in a certain manner. As horrific as some of the things Charles goes through are, the reader will at last find relief from his pain as he finds peace for himself.

This is a book that should be read. Brandon Shire gives us a story that no one will forget... and a new perspective on just what exactly rain can do. Well done indeed.

5 Stars.

Author's Website: http://brandonshire.com/

Amazon.com Link: http://www.amazon.com/Value-Rain-Brandon-Shire/dp/1467990248/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Kindle Edition: http://www.amazon.com/The-Value-Of-Rain-ebook/dp/B005KBQC0Q/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Barnes and Noble Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-value-of-rain-brandon-shire/1032311950?ean=9781467990240&itm=1&usri=brandon+shire

Carey Parrish

On The Matter Of Equality

2012-01-17T15:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. day here in the United States. The one day of the year set aside to honor perhaps the greatest advocate and activist for civil rights there has ever been, we close our banks and no mail is delivered and all the schools are closed to commemorate the birthday of this man. Not everyone takes the day off from work but the Federal and state governments observe the occasion annually in order to show respect for someone who fought hard for what he believed in and who gave his life for the cause he loved.

I do not have a prejudiced bone in my body. This has set me apart from some of the people I've known over the years because here in the South there remains a pervasive feeling that those who are not white are somehow beneath the people who are. Despite all the progress that has been made in the last fifty years, here where I live I am sad to say that there are indeed those who do not appreciate the fact that everyone is indeed created equal. It pretty much goes unspoken because the law is such that bigotry in public will not be tolerated. Yet it is there. Believe me, it is there.

Why do I feel differently from so many of the people who hail from my corner of the country? I'll tell you why.

When I was a child, nine or ten, we lived in a subdivision in the south end of Whitfield County called Wood Park Estates. We had a lot of neighbors who were black and for the most part everyone got along well together. Two of the ladies who lived near us were Mrs. Sybil Nelson and Mrs. Bobbie Stidmon. They were black ladies who became great successes in their lives. Mrs. Nelson taught elementary school and Mrs. Stidmon was a supervisor for General Telephone. They were very sweet people who befriended me at my young age because of my love of reading. I cherish the memories of these two women because they taught me a lot about education, reinforcing what my own parents fostered in me about its importance, and setting examples by their lives that I really could be anything I wanted to be in life.

Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Stidmon went for a walk every evening during the warm weather. Our subdivision was at the end of a four mile loop that included some industrialized areas as well as a rural road that met back up with the one that led to our neighborhood. One evening I asked the ladies if I could go walking with them. They said yes and my mother said it was okay as well. So off we set. I kept up with them with no trouble and the three of us talked and talked while we strolled along. We discussed books mostly; I remember that. During the last leg of our walk, we hit the rural road I mentioned, called Five Springs Road, and were heading home when a car drove past us and someone inside it put his head out the window and shouted: "Nigger!"

Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Stidmon both went very quiet and I remember feeling total shock at what had just happened. They eventually started chatting again but the mood had been dampened to a degree that could not be rectified in the short distance back to Wood Park Estates.

After this incident, I thought a lot about what happened and I felt that it was a complete injustice that these two lovely ladies had been made to feel mortified by some fool disrespecting them because of the color of their skin. There was nothing right about it at all. The more I thought about it the more determined I became that I would never be guilty of doing such a cruel, stupid thing to another human being for as long as I lived. People can't help being what they are; I realized that even as a child. Nobody asks to be white, black, red, yellow, or any color at all. You are what you are because of the people you come from. Just because your skin is a certain color doesn't make you any better or any less than anybody else. Of this I have always been certain and this is one thing of which I have become more convicted still as I've grown older.

You don't hear of many incidents like that nowadays, and for this I am glad, but as I previously stated the feelings of bigotry and prejudice remains in our world, and not just here in the South either. I became acutely aware of this after Barack Obama was elected to the presidency in 2008. The vitriol and vehement dislike of him by most conservatives I feel sure is rooted to a great extent in bigotry. I think this because even though a lot of people didn't like Bill Clinton I didn't hear or witness the type of insolence and downright disrespect as I've seen since Mr. Obama took office. It's something he must have expected but I don't think even he realized it would be as bad as it is. He's been slandered on almost every front and some people still insist that he wasn't born in the US even though he proved he was with his birth certificate. This type of thing has become a nonstop assault on him and his family.

In the past twenty years I've witnessed the bounds of prejudice extend to the Hispanic population and the LGBT segment of our nation. I'll admit that I felt jaded toward the Mexican people who first started moving to my area in the nineties because it was such a fast growing phenomenon. I remember going to town and hearing more Spanish in the store aisles than English. Yet, being me, I did some research and I became aware that the conditions in Mexico were so bad for these people that were escaping their homeland for the idea of a better life here in the US. These people were living three and four families to a house in some places because all they could find was work in the carpet mills and that didn't always pay very well at all. I also found out that most of them were sending a big portion of their paychecks to their family members who remained in Mexico to help out as much as they could there. My feelings changed toward the Hispanics here once I knew why they had left Mexico. I've never felt that I needed to escape my home and I think it is a crying shame that so many people in this world do.

The LGBT population suffers for who they are just because of who they are. They are denied the right to marry whomever they love in most states. They don't have the same protection under our tax laws as their heterosexual neighbors do. Many of them still feel that they have to hide who they are because they're afraid of being physically harmed if they don't. How is this right? It's not. Like any other race or minority the LGBT community is what it is because they are what they are and they didn't ask to be gay; they just are. It's not a psychological condition. It's not a case of nature versus nurture. Everyone is different. Different but equal. Our own Constitution says so. So why are they having to fight for rights that should already be theirs? It's a terrible injustice that can't be tolerated for much longer.

One hundred and fifty years ago the United States was embroiled in a war between the states that we now call The Civil War. It was a war that was fought over the right to freedom for everyone, black and white, in this country. Slavery may have been abolished because of it but it took over a century longer for black people in the US to begin enjoying the same level of freedom that their white counterparts took for granted. And in some ways they remain unequal in the eyes of their fellow Americans because so many people still look down on them, just as they look down on the Hispanics, the Indians, the Muslims, the LGBT, and anyone else who looks or acts different to what a majority of his country still think is the norm. And we tolerate it. And we shouldn't.

Last week at the Wal-Mart there was an older woman driving around looking for a parking spot near the store. When she saw one another car beat her to it and a man who she thought was Hispanic was the one who got the spot. She jumped out of her car and began berating this man for getting to the parking space before she did and she concluded her furious oration with the question: "Why aren't you in Mexico?" The man gave her an amused look and said, in a flat American voice without a hint of an accent: "Lady, my parents came from Cuba and I was born in Dallas, Texas. So you can just kiss my ass!"

Think about that and then lets talk about what real equality should be.

And I will never put down another human being who looks different from me. The memory of Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Stidmon on Five Springs Road over thirty years ago, silenced by someone's prejudice, will always stay with me and it will always remind me that everyone really is created equal.

Peace.

Carey

Book Review - Songs for the New Depression by Kergan Edwards-Stout

2012-01-17T01:29:00.000-08:00

It isn't often I read a book that touches my soul, but that is exactly what happened with Songs for the New Depression. Author Kergan Edwards-Stout has crafted a story that is beautiful, tragic, and consuming. Once you start this one, you won't be able to stop. And keep some tissues handy.

Meet Gabriel Travers. A man approaching 40, Gabe is ill with HIV and he thinks he's dying; no, he knows he's dying. Nobody believes him but he knows it. His life hasn't been everything he wanted it to be, but whose has, eh? The world he lived in back in the 80's is something he recalls fondly but which in the present day is a mere memory and a passel of regrets. He never found true love. He never became what he thought he wanted to be.

He lets his thoughts drift back to his high school days and the first love of his life, Keith. Keith was perhaps the only person who knew the potential Gabe possessed and it was with Keith, and only Keith, that Gabe shared the savagery of an attack that has left him scarred ever since.

Gabe's story is one of personal redemption. In what he believes to be the finality of his life, he at last sets out on the journey of self discovery that will hopefully rid him of his regrets and put to rest the bitterness of a past that he's never been able to shed.

Readers can delight in Gabe's journey because it is one that we all at some point in our lives, for whatever varying reasons, have to take. Maybe Gabe isn't the classic literary hero, he is a very flawed character in many respects, but no one is perfect, and anyone who reads this tale will relate to Gabe in a very personal manner. His love of Bette Midler, his reliance on the help of his mom's wife, a priest who loves country music, and his own remembrances of what he sees as a life half lived will open the door to the reality of what he actually is, was, and will become.

Kergan Edwards-Stout has written a masterpiece. A bravura debut novel, its heartfelt message is ultimately timeless.

Mr. Edwards-Stout, well done, sir.

5 Big Stars.

Author Website: http://kerganedwards-stout.com/

Amazon.com Link: http://www.amazon.com/Songs-New-Depression-Kergan-Edwards-Stout/product-reviews/0983983704/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Kindle Link: http://www.amazon.com/Songs-New-Depression-ebook/dp/B0068BPU7S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326792052&sr=8-2

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3yH44axU3Q

Barnes and Noble Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/songs-for-the-new-depression-kergan-edwards-stout/1106819241?ean=9780983983705&itm=1&usri=kergan+edwards+stout

Carey Parrish

7 Questions For Me

2012-01-17T01:15:00.000-08:00

I am deeply honored to be included in writer Scott Morgan's 7Q4 spotlight series on his website. Scott selects authors from various genres and asks them specific questions about their work, their lives, and their interests. I was worried that my answers were too long but he welcomed them and made me feel very much at home in his forum. I urge you to check out his website and his work. Scott is a talented author himself and his anthology Short Stack: A Collection is one of the best new books I've read in the past year. Thank you, Scott, for your time and your attention. You are a shining example of today's literary world.

http://www.write-hook.com/

Cheers!
Carey

Book Review - Short Stack by Scott Morgan

2012-01-14T15:28:00.000-08:00

One of the best collections I've read in some time, Short Stack is a book that is filled with gems that stand alone quite nicely but which coalesce into a nice anthology with ease. Written by the talented Scott Morgan, one of the most promising writers I've discovered this past year, the writing style he utilizes is enviable indeed.

The poetry includes such delicious nuggets as Bells, A Cat's Life, Muscle, and Give Me Credit. Each one is written with a deft hand and a knowledge of literature that impart their gifts to the text in a seemingly effortless manner. The short fiction pieces are just as engaging and entertaining. Jasmine, Perfect Rock, Brown Paper Bags, and Bruce Goodlooks To The Rescue are only the finest examples of Mr. Morgan's talents at writing short stories which are every bit as memorable as any novel you've ever read.

After reading this collection, I came across Scott on Twitter and developed a nice rapport with him. His website is chock full of niceties but it is his eagerness to help other writers attain the best of their talents that I find the most admirable of his qualities.

Scott Morgan is definitely a writer the world is going to be hearing a lot about in the coming years. A talent like his is too much to keep secret and fortunately he isn't inclined to try. Short Stack is a sampling of his ability to write text that is both crisp and fresh while utterly enthralling, and his poetry is nothing less than excursions into the mind of the one who wrote them; instances of emotion transformed into words with honesty and clarity akimbo. Well done indeed.

5 Stars.

Short Stack Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Short-Stack-A-Collection-ebook/dp/B005TYU8HC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326583307&sr=8-1

Scott's Website: http://www.write-hook.com/

Carey Parrish

Book Review - Galley Proof by Eric Arvin

2012-01-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Whenever Eric Arvin writes a new book I cannot wait to read it. This is one of the most talented novelists of the past decade and his brand of gay fiction always satisfies because it speaks to more than just the homosexual audience. Eric writes about human emotions, feelings, and the drama which normally comes along with them. And his use of humor is always a delight.

Galley Proof is Eric's latest release. I read it in about twelve hours. This is the story of Logan Brandish, a writer from a small town who is about to unveil his latest novel. Logan lives a quiet life. He's got his boyfriend, their cat, and his best friend. His life seems full and he is happy with the status quo... until he meets the editor of his new book. Brock Kimble is handsome and alluring in a dangerous kind of way; dangerous in that he makes Logan wonder if the life he's been living is really what he wants after all.

The turmoil that Brock's entry into his life creates causes Logan to flee his quiet life for a while so that he can make some sense of the quandary his emotions have become. He goes to Italy to regroup where the natural beauty of the place, along with the local scenery of men, gives him close to the distraction that he was hoping to find. But he comes to discover that it's only a temporary escape from the problems he left at home, and whether he can have his cake and eat it too becomes the crux for the difficult decisions that he must make.

Galley Proof is without a doubt Eric Arvin's best release since Suburbilicious. He writes with the heart of one who's been through the tale he's telling but also with the talent of a novelist who was just born to write. And this author thinks he was.

5 Stars.

Galley Proof Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Galley-Proof-ebook/dp/B006WW0212/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1326582737&sr=8-17

Eric's Blog: http://daventryblue.blogspot.com/

Dreamspinner Press Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2716

Carey Parrish

Book Review - The Squirrel That Dreamt of Madness by Craig Stone

2012-01-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

This rather delightful book is the debut novel for British writer Craig Stone. Aptly titled The Squirrel That Dreamt of Madness, the book tells the story of a man's departure from the world he knows and into that of one who lives in a park, unemployed, homeless, and amuses himself by creating stories around those who inhabit the park with him.

Inspired by true events from the author's life, the reader gets a look inside the mind of one who just chucked it all because the "little voice" in his head told him so, and he decided to listen. In the park there is a cast of characters to keep our hero occupied that includes the Park Keeper, who happens to be a midget with anger management issues, and a chubby dude called Moonface who lives up a tree because he broke both ankles escaping from a hospital and now he believes if he comes down the "floor will bite him." There's Matt who looks after Moonface, someone our narrator doesn't really care for, and a policeman named PC Whirled. Madness the Parrott is a favorite of all the park's inhabitants and Dorangel Vargas, who kills animals, is in a world unto himself.

The narrator, who calls himself Colossus Sosloss, spends his days interacting with all these miscreants and his observations of life, and the reason he's there in the first place, keep bringing him back to a reality that he tried to leave behind when he chose to become homeless at the book's outset.

"Better to live dreaming than dream of living" is a tagline that will stay with you after the story is told. Craig Stone has created a virtual world for himself in The Squirrel That Dreamt of Madness and its one that readers should visit. For there isn't a dull moment in the whole escapade. Well done.

5 Stars

Amazon Kindle Link: http://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-That-Dreamt-Madness-ebook/dp/B005JU92GO/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Author Interview: http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2011/10/kindle-author-interview-craig-stone.html

Craig Stone Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/robolollycop

Carey Parrish

Book Review - Gray Justice by Alan McDermott

2012-01-11T17:12:00.000-08:00

Gray Justice is one of those rare books that I found hard to break away from while reading. The story of a man who loses everything and decides to teach the justice system a lesson in letting criminals walk free, writer Alan McDermott tells the tale with the deftness of a scribe far more experienced than a first novel normally implies. Tom Gray is the protagonist in the book and his world is shattered when his son is killed by someone joy riding. Later his wife, unable to cope with the trauma, commits suicide. Set in England, Gray Justice tells what happens when Tom watches his son's killer go free... and what the devastation of his new life drives him to do. By kidnapping five serial offenders, Tom presents them to his countrymen via the internet and lets the public decide whether he should let them live, or not. The conclusion is not something I'm going to give away in even the tiniest detail, but suffice to say that it is an ending you won't forget. Gray Justice is a must for anyone looking for a great read and Alan McDermott has proven himself more than worthy of the title `writer.'

5 Big Stars

Alan's Blog: http://jambalian.blogspot.com/

Amazon.com Link: http://www.amazon.com/Gray-Justice-ebook/dp/B005BSRAZO

Carey Parrish

Book Review - Caregiver by Rick R. Reed

2012-01-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

Bestselling author Rick R. Reed returns with a new novel that takes us back in time to 1991, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, and this talented scribe has crafted another tale that is practically impossible to put down.

Caregiver is the story of Dan and Mark, a young couple with problems mostly brought about by Mark’s cocaine addiction. They’ve recently relocated to Florida from Chicago, in an attempt to distance Mark from the temptations brought about by being too close to his drug buddies. The issues Mark faces while trying to maintain his sobriety are only one in a myriad of difficulties that the couple grapples with while Dan looks for a job and the pair try to adjust to the change in dynamics of their lives.

In his spare time, Dan finds a new calling by volunteering as a “buddy” to AIDS patients at a local clinic. Adam is the young man to whom he’s assigned and while struggling with his own problems at home Dan becomes attached to Adam, although in only a platonic sense. Dan also meets Adam’s partner, Sullivan, who is not altogether comfortable with the appearance of Dan into his life but Adam’s dependence on his new “buddy” is such that Sullivan doesn’t interfere.

As Mark inevitably falls off the wagon and resumes his cocaine habit, Dan is left to deal not only with the feelings of betrayal and fear that he thought he’d left behind in Chicago, but also with Adam’s seemingly self destructive behavior and a growing attraction to the aloof Sullivan that cannot be denied.

Rick R. Reed is a man who has proven his talent in more than one genre of literature. With Caregiver he shares his adeptness at involving his readers with characters in trouble as well as bringing in the human touch that sets his work apart from his peers. This is a book which will resonate with anyone who lived through the AIDS epidemic of the late eighties and early nineties, as everyone was touched in some way by the horrors of that era, but it is the eternal tenacity of the human spirit that Reed imparts in such a meaningful way with Caregiver.

5 Big Stars.

Carey Parrish

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Caregiver-Rick-R-Reed/dp/1613722087/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1325717051&sr=8-7

Kindle Edition: http://www.amazon.com/Caregiver-ebook/dp/B005YVAJG0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1325717051&sr=8-5

http://www.rickrreed.com/

Book Review - The Detachment by Barry Eisler

2012-01-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

John Rain has returned. New York Times bestselling author Barry Eisler has crafted a new thriller featuring his popular protagonist that is impossible to put down.

Perhaps the most exciting entry to date in the Rain series, The Detachment brings a mixture of elements together which provides more action that any James Bond film can boast. When John Rain is approached by former black ops veteran Colonel Scott Horton, with the notion of bringing about the demise of a trio of powerful players who are getting ready to launch a coup in America, Rain cannot resist the promise of a million dollar payday, or the challenge that comes with carrying out three assassinations that must look like “natural” deaths.

In order to carry out the assignment, Rain finds himself teamed with Dox. Ben Treven, a partner who has his own agenda on the side, and the shadowy Larison, whose own motivations are far from objective and potentially lethal to more than just the targets which he’s been hired to eliminate. Spanning the globe from Tokyo and Los Angeles to Vegas and Austria, the team sets out to complete their mission – a detachment of individuals working together but for their own varying reasons.

Having been an Eisler fan for many years, The Detachment stands as one of those novels which takes you on a ride that will leave you breathless, giddy, and terrified at times, but undeniably wanting more from Barry and John Rain. And in true form, I’ve a feeling that both will keep delivering for a long to come.

5 Big Stars.

Carey Parrish

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Detachment-John-Rain-Thrillers/dp/1612181554/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1325715063&sr=8-4

Kindle Edition: http://www.amazon.com/The-Detachment-John-Rain ebook/dp/B005CDHZS0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1325715063&sr=8-3

Why I Love The Nightlife

2012-01-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

Without a doubt, one of the best gifts that 2011 gave me came in meeting Alicia Bridges. Alicia is the lady who scored one of the biggest hits of the disco era with her anthem "I Love The Nightlife (Disco Round.)" A true powerhouse, Alicia is still going strong and she is thrilling audiences like never before with her musical prowess and her irresistible personality. This is a lady who sets an example like few others.

I didn't have many friends when I was a kid. I was sort of lonely, I guess you could say. I never felt that I really "fit in" with other kids my age. Music, TV, and movies, those were my best friends. For a boy born in the mid-sixties, I was hardly in a category to myself; I just didn't know it then. So I listened to my records and watched all my favorite actors and dreamed about being like them when I grew up. I knew I couldn't sing, and I sure as hell have never been able to dance, but thanks to the people I watched and listened to, I have always been able to GET DOWN. And if I live to be 120, I hope I'm still rocking out.

"I Love The Nightlife" has always been one of my favorite songs. I can't tell you how many thousands of times I've probably played this song. I learned how to disco dance to this record. While Alicia Bridges was singing about "please don't talk about love tonight," I was practicing the moves I saw on shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. (This was in the pre- Solid Gold years.) And soon I was likely the only kid in the seventh grade at Valley Point Middle School who could do The Hustle with any real skill at all. It may not seem like a big achievement in the grand scheme of things, but believe me it was a big one for a kid like I was then.

Fast forward to 2011. I logged onto the internet one day and through the miracle of Facebook I got to "meet" Alicia Bridges. We struck up an immediate rapport. I always knew she was special and so I wasn't surprised that she was a warm person like I always imagined her to be. Alicia goes on her page and she posts videos for all her fans of the songs that she loves. She has an enviable following who absolutely adore her. Myself included.

The last decade has been one of the most important in my life. I have come full circle in the past ten years and I began making some of my own dreams come true in this span of time. Losing my grandmother was a big blow to me in 2003 but if I hadn't lost her I don't think I would have set out on the course of becoming a professional writer. I always loved to read as much as I loved other media and I knew that I could write from a young age. When I was a teenager, the Creative Arts Guild in my community hosted an annual writing contest and one year I won first prize. So I knew I had the talent; I just didn't have the opportunity.

After Granny died, I turned to the internet to fill the void in my life that her loss created. My family has always been there for me but they all had their own busy lives, and the friends I have did as well, so I let myself get involved in writer's groups where I met some really talented people who egged me on to start making my dreams into realities. They shared their knowledge, their agents, their publishers, and soon I felt strong enough to plot my own evolution into this field. I never dreamed that I'd be welcomed into this fold so warmly. The journey has been very nice because I have had such wonderful people to help me find my way.

Susaye Greene was among the first who really encouraged me to get out there and let people read my work. A true legend, Susaye has worked with such titans as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. She also holds the honor being one of the legendary Supremes. Susaye's warmth, friendship, honesty, and unfaltering drive she openly shared with me, and through them she pushed me out of my shell. She is someone I consider a big part of my decision to take my writing into the public forum. Without Susaye, I might not be here today.

It's not that I ever thought I wasn't good enough to make it as a writer. I just never thought I'd have the chance. I always looked to my idols and my inspirations for the drive I needed whenever I felt like giving up, but the belief in myself was always there. I just needed the time to grow into the knowledge that the paths were opening up for me and it was my turn to get started, or spend the rest of my life wishing I had. Regret isn't a frame of mind I'm comfortable with either.

Looking to my past, I had to recognize and give credit where it was due. The stars who'd shown me that anything is possible are always there, beckoning me on with their shining examples, and I had the courage to follow their leads. Alicia Bridges, Susaye Greene, and countless others showed me the way because they'd paved the roads themselves long before I set out on them. I had to go through the loneliness that losing my grandmother created for me in order to find myself in the aftermath. I was always with Granny and being on my own after she died was a real wake up call for a boy who didn't know what to do anymore. Fortunately, I had people to help me along. I also had the fortitude to get started.

April 12, 2000. I went to Atlanta to see Tina Turner in concert at Phillips Arena. I remember sitting there, seventh row center, and watching her strut her stuff. That talent, that drive, that energy, those legs, I looked up at her and thought: "I want some of that!"

So you see now why I love the nightlife. The dreams and the passions of all those who showed me that you really can be anything you want still resonate within me whenever I don't feel strong enough to set out on a new quest. Through people like Alicia, Susaye, Tina, and countless others, I find the motivation to get myself started and stay the course.

I cannot thank them enough!

Happy 2012! Be whatever you want! Live your best life!

Love,

Luke Romyn - In The Spotlight

2012-01-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

When I first became acquainted with novelist Luke Romyn, I was initially attracted to his witty sarcasm that he displays splendidly through Twitter and Facebook. He always makes me laugh. I didn’t even realize he was a writer at the start of our friendship. When I did get myself entrenched in his novel Blacklisted, I found myself captivated by a story that runs the gamut between mystery, suspense, and even horror. Luke writes with the experience of one who’s been spinning tales with the ease of a seasoned scribe for eons. His words draw you in and give you nothing but a sheer thrill ride from start to finish. I just couldn’t stop reading Blacklisted until the very last word.

I knew immediately that I had to interview Luke. I wanted to know more about the man who cracks me up so often with his online remarks, and who made me give up an entire weekend to get lost in his prose. His prior novel The Dark Path was another exciting read and I came to see that this is a man with a talent who will be around for a very long time doing what he does best. Living in Australia, Luke has worked in various jobs and one can see the influence his endeavors have on his writing. He is, quite simply, a force to be reckoned with. I’m more than pleased to present him here.

CP: Thanks for visiting with me, Luke.

LR: Thanks for having me, Carey.

CP: What part of Australia do you live in?

LR: I’m up in North Queensland, near the Daintree rainforest and with the Great Barrier Reef just off the coast.

CP: Are you Australian by birth?

LR: I am indeed. I was born in Sydney around 36 years ago and have progressively made my way north ever since. My father was a Dutch immigrant and my mother was a Scottish one. So while I might have been born here my roots extend far beyond these shores.

CP: You’ve had a colorful career. Bouncer, writer, worked on film sets; which is your favorite?

LR: Writer, definitely writer. While I might have worn many hats throughout my life, the moment I began writing, I knew I’d found my calling. The other things I do for money, writing I do for love.

CP: Your books have proven popular with fans. Why do you think they have such appeal?

LR: I think the believable and flawed characters really appeal to readers. Mike from Blacklisted, for instance, is a young man who is often left without control of his situation, flung along and merely trying to cope with all that is thrown at him. Readers can relate to a character like this far more than a hero who knows all the answers and laughs in the face of danger. Seriously, what kind of idiot would do that? Nobody is perfect, and my stories tend to have characters succeeding despite all the perils they face, but not easily, not by far.

CP: How would you describe your writing process? What do you have to do to get into “author mode?”

LR: I get asked this a lot and have no real deep and meaningful answer to it. I simply sit down at my computer and write – that’s about it. Sometimes the stuff that comes out of my imagination is good, while other times it’s a heap of extension leads tangled together and dipped in molasses before getting covered in fire-breathing ants. Yep, that’s right, a mess.
It comes down to hard work, really. There are no short cuts, no magical formulas, you simply write a story and keep the good bits, throw out the bad. I listen to music, get lost on the internet, dance voodoo naked and all the rest just like any other person, but in the end I write, hoping what comes out when I stop is somehow intelligible.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Luke-Romyn/166850695873?ref=nf

CP: Are you at work on a new book now? If so, what can you share about it?
LR: I wrote another five books during a year and a half break from work and am now in the process of bringing them all out. I was working with agents and publishers, but it seems the industry is in a massive amount of turmoil at the moment. So I’ll make use of the wondrous services which have never been available before and strive to get my work out to the people who matter – my readers.

I network with a large number of independent authors and have great support from people highly knowledgeable in the industry. They all agree with me in that I could spend my time approaching publishers who are currently doing nothing or I could get my work out there on my own. Sure, it’s a lot of hard work, but I have access to a great editing team who help me immensely. In the end, my stories are appreciated by the people I want and my readers get what they need.

CP: Of your novels, The Dark Path and Blacklisted, do you have a favorite? Was one more difficult to write than the other?

LR: I can’t say that I like any of my books more than the rest. They all hold their own value in my heart and have all been like a part of me. They’re my children, my small piece of input into a world which will soon forget I ever existed.

I think the hardest to write was The Dark Path, simply because I had never written anything on the scale I was attempting at that point. It was my first novel and I really had no idea. Beyond Hades, my next release, was also extremely hard due to the massive amount of research into Greek Mythology I had to do.

I’m now at the point where my writing is not forced, it flows easily from me and I know what I’m facing when I undertake a novel. The hard part is finding enough time, but that will come… in time.

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Path-Luke-Romyn/dp/1936222736/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1325469072&sr=8-2

CP: What do you do when you aren’t writing?
LR: I tend to work far too much. I own a couple of DVD rental shops (yes, they still exist) and also work as a bouncer on weekends in the biggest club in North Queensland. I don’t manage security any more, that would take up too much of my time, but I help out wherever I can.

I also like to get into the gym whenever possible and read at every opportunity. The best way an author can learn is to read every scrap of writing, from novels of different genres to magazine articles, and use that knowledge in their own work. It is all out there, just waiting.

CP: Are you married/single/involved?
LR: I am very much married and have been for about 7 years now. My wife is my harshest critic and the first to read anything of mine. It’s a great partnership.
CP: What kind of music do you like?

LR: My musical tastes vary greatly depending upon my mood. For the most part, I like heavy stuff from bands like Slipknot and Machine Head, but on other days I’ve been known to listen to softer tunes in order to survive the world.

CP: What’s your favorite movie?

LR: I think my favorite movie of all time would have to be Taken starring Liam Neeson. The story was simple, but Neeson’s portrayal of a father searching for his kidnapped daughter was spectacular.

CP: Favorite food?
LR: Pizza or KFC. Although my favorite restaurant does a dish called ‘pollo veronese’ which in essence is a chicken breast covered in a special garlic and bacon cream sauce. Spectacular.
CP: Favorite place?

LR: Such a simple question, yet incredibly difficult at the same time. I have travelled to so many places in my life it is quite hard to choose between them.

I once stayed in a small town called Murren, high up in the Swiss Alps, which was located on the edge of a cliff some 1400 meters above sea level. I mention it in Blacklisted, and it would have to be one of my favorite places of all time. They had no cars and it was an incredibly peaceful place, perfect just to escape from everything.

CP: Personal preference: long sleeves or barefoot weather?

LR: I live in the tropics, but at times it gets far too hot for my liking. I’ve travelled to snowy areas but think I’d end up hating it after a while. So barefoot weather would have to be my answer, so long as I don’t bake.

CP: What advice or wisdom can you share?
LR: Go into every situation with your eyes wide open. Dreams drive us all on, but don’t let them cloud you from reality, because that will likely spell your downfall.

However, you must always follow your dreams, otherwise you’ll just be a shell, living a life without hope or ambition. Each person needs to have a dream, and if they achieve it they need to get another and another… until they need to dream no more.

CP: And what are you most proud of?

LR: I am most proud of the fact I have written books that people want to read, stories which help them escape from reality for a short time and step into my imagination for a ride through another world. I am proud that I have come so far on my own, forging ahead despite all the rejection letters, believing in myself and my work without waning, and knowing what I will one day become.

Not bad for a knuckle-dragging nightclub bouncer.

Nope, not bad at all. Although I’d never think of Luke as a knucklehead. He’s a very nice guy with a really warm personality, and I get the feeling he’s never met a stranger in his whole life! He certainly knows how to put one at ease. He is someone I admire, respect, and highly recommend if you’re looking for a book that will make you forget everything else as you get lost in his words. Luke Romyn is a dynamic individual and I’m very proud to call him a friend.

Carey Parrish

Luke's Website: http://www.lukeromyn.com/
Luke's Twitter: http://twitter.com/lukeromyn
Luke's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Luke-Romyn/166850695873?ref=nf

Book Review: Wise Bear William - A New Beginning

2011-12-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

Children are often the most difficult audience to please, and the books we present them with have to be both entertaining and educational to get their instant, undivided attention. It's been a long time since I read a children's book that fits the categories of entertaining and educational with unequivocal success, but Wise Bear William - A New Beginning accomplishes both feats with gusto! And it appeals to adults as easily as it does to youth.

The brainchild of critically acclaimed novelist Arthur Wooten (writing) and Emmy Award winner Bud Santora (illustrations), Wise Bear William is the tale of "toys long forgotten in an attic (who) discover that children are coming up to rescue them.

"All wanting to be picked, each toy examines their own self-described shortcomings and turn to one another for comfort and advice. But the most important thing they discover is that as much as you fix things up on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that really counts.

"With an emotional and surprising ending for all the toys, this heartwarming and timeless tale of love and friendship is destined to become a favorite of young and old for years to come."

Emmy Award winning actress Phylicia Rashad says: "Wise Bear William is one of the most delightful books for young readers ever! Adults will enjoy it as well."

A perfect holiday gift, but great for the whole year round, Wise Bear William is destined to become one of the classic children's books that someday your children will be reading to theirs while fondly remembering just what they felt the first time they discovered its magic.

5 Big Stars!

Available at Amazon.com
Available in softcover - $9.99 at www.createspace.com/3656975

Arthur Wooten

Bud Santora

http://www.arthurwooten.com/
www.facebook.com/arthur.wooten
www.twitter.com/arthurwooten

Carey Parrish

A Little Ambition

2011-12-16T17:50:00.000-08:00

Whenever I want something, and I mean want it so badly that I can see myself achieving it, I go into a whole different train of thought. There's a way to get from there to here. The first and most important of which is the realization that nothing comes to you without a lot of hard work. Success doesn't drive up to your house and honk the horn for you; you have to go out and earn it.

When I set my sights on a new goal I want to accomplish, the first thing that must be done is to keep the old ego in check. You cannot embark on any new journey with the attitude that you've already got what it takes to get to your destination. In reality, the only thing you have at the very beginning is the drive to get where you want to go. In most cases there is a lot of learning to be done first. And this is the most important facet to making any dream come true.

Education is something that I espouse in the most fervent manner. Without a foundation of knowledge on which to stand, no one can hope to take ownership of something that requires it. The older I get the more I become acutely aware that learning is an ongoing process which we will not complete until we take our last breath in this life. I don't care what it is, you must know how to do something in order to master it. Luck will only get you so far. Luck tends to run out when you don't spend the required amount of time learning how to make something work.

Undertaking something new is always a very exciting step to me. I have to want something to get myself in the mode I need to be in to begin a new journey. I spend a lot of time on research into a goal before I set it for myself. Sometimes in this phase I find that the outcome isn't what I want at all. Then I bail. More often than not, I find myself even more emboldened to continue the process. Discovery is an enlightening thing for me. I view it as a light that suddenly comes on in an otherwise darkened room. No more will you have to grope around, searching for what you're seeking, if you take the time to research the idea you've nurtured to this point.

People aren't built to accept the status quo. This much I've ascertained in my travel through life up to this stage. The saddest people to me are the ones who let life corral them into a frame of mind where they accept what they have without wanting more. I see a lot of folks who let their dreams fall by the wayside because they allow the business of just living to become the all and only in their lives. Life isn't easy; anyone who thinks it is is either disillusioned or just plain dim. You have to be in control of your faculties to make it in life. You've also got to realize that just living isn't the fulfillment of your destiny.

Spending time learning every possible angle of a new goal is vital to achieving it. After all, you wouldn't expect to pilot a plane unless you learned to fly first, would you? There is a lot to be done before you take the controls of anything new; before you can call it a skill. Sitting around and dreaming about getting to the next level will only give you so much satisfaction as well. If this is all you are willing to do, bitterness and regret will not be far behind.

Once I've spent the appropriate amount of time gaining the knowledge I need to set off in pursuit of a goal, the next thing I do is decide who or what I need to take that next step. This can be the most time consuming aspect of the trip. It isn't easy to get all your ducks in a row, so to speak. You must be willing to do whatever is necessary to reach the next phase in your plan. One should never compromise his or her values, ideals, or life in order to make things happen, but sometimes you've got to be willing to sacrifice a little security to do it. People in your life don't always want you to succeed when you take off on a new quest. In fact, and I found this out the hard way, oftentimes the people who are closest to you are the ones who will be the first to point out any shortcomings in your character which might prevent you from achieving your dreams. This is sad but oh so true. You've got to chalk it up to their inability to believe in your capabilities and then set them on the sidelines or you risk letting their doubts hold you back.

Getting your facts in order, the tools you need in place, and the judgments of others aside, you're ready to take off on the pursuit of your dreams. It won't be easy to get there but if you can master the processes of learning, organization, and deciding whose ideas are important and whose are not, then you've got all the resources you need to make your dreams become realities. To be completely frank, by this point you are more than halfway there.

Courage is the main ingredient you must possess to get to this point. If you don't believe in yourself you won't stand much of a chance at all. I find that courage comes through mastering your knowledge of something. Courage is a learned behavior. You either have it or you don't, and if you don't then may as well stay in the learning stage until you develop it. Like the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, you will realize as you grow through the experience that you have all you need inside you to triumph.

Arriving at your destination is not always easy to recognize when it happens. I remember when I first decided to try and become a professional writer. I was operating a very successful web magazine called Web Digest Weekly. I was interviewing some very successful and popular people, but I didn't see what I was doing as anything more than indulging a hobby. When WDW was pulling in over one hundred thousand hits per month, and I had a waiting list for the Spotlight page, I still didn't see it as a big success. I saw myself as trying like hell to juggle a weekly e-zine with a full time job. I knew that I was lucky but I didn't see my success until the time came when I had to decide who needed the most priority, a bestselling author like Anne Rice or a Survivor winner like Ethan Zohn. That last step was the hardest for me to recognize because I was too close to the task to see it.

A little ambition, a lot of hard work, a touch of luck, and the belief that dreams can come true are the recipe for making your goals become realities. Getting things right, in the proper order, and learning from your mistakes must be sacrifices you're willing to make if you want to taste the fruits of your efforts. And making one dream come true is usually just a step toward becoming the person you want to be.

Don't sit around wishing, hoping, or praying to your god to get you on the right track. Get out and do what you must to start on your journey. Find your own path and ask for the guidance you'll need to make it to the culmination of your dreams. Believe in yourself and abilities. Know that you have it in you to see your dreams come true.

Know and believe.

If you don't do these two simple things, you won't get out of the starting gate.

Peace,
C

The Wednesdays

2011-12-12T16:58:00.000-08:00

One of the most engaging short films ever made, "The Wednesdays" is Irish filmmaker Conor Ferguson's opus to date. Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary are a charming couple, struggling with old age, who are suddenly given a new lease on life thanks to a... Well, you'll see.

A pure delight!

My 2 Biggest Regrets of 2011

2011-12-11T17:46:00.000-08:00

Some folks might think this is a bit premature, what with there being three more weeks in this year, but barring any major upheavals in that time span, I feel safe in writing about my two biggest regrets of 2011. Each year I'm getting better and better at life. I feel that I'm growing exponentially as I get older and for that I am very grateful. Learning about me, who I am, what makes me tick, and what I want from my life keeps me grounded and it also helps me to live my best life as I wend my way toward old age.

Yet I am only human and I always look back on things with a sense of nostalgia. Sometimes I feel remorse for deeds undone and selfish decisions that bring about the remorse of which I'm speaking. This year has been no different.

On September 17th, my Aunt Martha died. She was eighty years old and she suffered from COPD. She couldn't stop smoking because she didn't believe she could. She enjoyed it and she did it until the last day before she made her final trip to the hospital. Aunt Martha wound up on a ventilator and she couldn't be weaned from it. Her body was beyond its capabilities in this arena. On the day her immediate family made the difficult decision to take her off life support, they agreed to wait on doing so in case anyone wanted to come and see her. My mother told me of this and I chose not to go.

Why did I make this decision? Well, Aunt Martha had always been one of the most important people in my life. She was in my corner no matter what and when my writing career began taking off she was so very supportive of it. She followed everything I did and when I traveled she wanted to know all about it. I was very fortunate to have her to share my life with. I did not go to the hospital to see her on her last day because I didn't think I could go there knowing that it would be for the last time that I would see her. I let a very selfish motivation keep me from going to her side before she died.

I wanted to be there. I really did. Aunt Martha was my buddy. We talked at least twice a month, and often more than that, and she was always interested in what I was doing and how I was getting along. She gave me a safe place to go and I will miss having that. Yet she also imparted her own sense of independence and what it means to live life on one's own terms to me. I will always remember her as a woman who did exactly as she chose to do. She was one of the most emancipated people I've ever known. She gave me a wonderful example of how to live my life according to my own needs while also taking care of those I love. For this I will be forever grateful.

No, I didn't go to see her before the ventilator was disconnected and she took her last breath. I couldn't bear to watch her leave this life. I stayed at home and comforted myself with warm memories of the wonderful times we spent together. And yet I'm bothered by the fact that I didn't have the strength to go to her when I knew I'd never see again if I didn't. I regret not being with her one last time, to thank her for being such a strong influence on me and for teaching me all that she did. I feel I should have swallowed my emotions and been there for that.

I'll never know what I would have felt if I'd gone on that Friday night when I knew her time was running out. And this is something I'll have to live with from now on.

Thirteen days later my Uncle Lamar died as well. He succumbed to liver cancer and heart failure. He was my mother and Martha's brother and he was only sixty-eight years old. I went to see him in the hospital before he died. I'm not sure he knew I was there but I went anyway. I needed to see him before he passed. Why?

In the year 2000, my uncle hurt me deeply by being unkind to me during a phone call one Friday night. (Why do things always happen to me on Friday nights?) Lamar drank too much and anyone who knew him can attest to this. He was drinking during that phone call on the night I'm referring to here, and I should have given him some consideration for that. Yet I have a hard time pardoning people for their behavior due to addiction because they choose to be addicted to whatever it is they are dependent upon. I let this sentiment get in the way of forgiving him for being so unkind to me that night. And I never did forgive him for it.

In the decade that followed I avoided my uncle. I only saw him when I had to and I didn't visit or call. He did call me in 2005 and we had a nice chat. He asked me to come and see him, and I told him I would, but I never did. I let the hurt feelings that I'd been harboring since that night in 2000 keep me from seeing him or speaking to him very much again.

When I knew he was dying, I went with my mom to see him almost every day during the last week he lived. I wanted to do something to make him more comfortable, but I still couldn't bring myself to let go of the hurt he caused me during that one telephone conversation over ten years ago. He died and I didn't get past this until after he was gone. I never had the chance to be his friend again.

These are my two biggesr regrets of the year we are now closing out. I have a much harder time forgiving myself for my shortcomings than I do in sharing the same with others. I know that neither Martha or Lamar would have known I was there. I know that Martha knew how I felt about her and I know that we will always have our bond no matter where we both happen to be in the universe. I also know that Lamar was my friend, whether I thought so or not, and I think he would have been there for me in spite of anything that ever came between us. I think this is why I was so determined to be there every day while he was dying. I just couldn't bring myself to let the past go until he was a part of it. I'll never know how it would have affected me if I'd been closer to him. And for that I'll always be sorrowful.

I can't change the past but I can learn from it. The lessons we get from the events in our lives are with us from now on. Letting regrets become learning experiences is the most we can gain from having them. I think I'm strong enough now to let this knowledge make me a stronger person for the future. I don't have the insight to know what might come my way but I do think I'll handle any similar circumstances differently from now on.

Regrets stay with you until you figure out what to do with them. There's no way to avoid having them but we can all prepare ourselves for their arrival by using the wisdom that life gives us in a positive manner.

My biggest regrets of 2011 are told. Now I can move past them and apply their presence toward becoming a better person for having had them.

Peace,

Tolerance

2011-12-10T18:37:00.000-08:00

We live in a great big world, filled with billions of people. There are so many languages and cultures and beliefs out there that it really boggles the mind when you try and comprehend just how much there is in the world. Since time immemorial there have been conflicting values and systems of ideals. In the ancient world it was really easier for people to coexist because in many cases they simply didn't come into contact with one another. When they did there was likely to be trouble.

Take ancient Israel for example. Living alongside their Egyptian neighbors, the ancient Hebrews had a hard time accepting the pantheon of gods which the Egyptians worshipped. For a people who worshipped only one god, who had toiled in servitude to the Egyptians for many generations, the Hebrews must have felt at times like trying to crush those who had enslaved them. Yet they didn't. They chose to live in relatively close confines to the Egyptians and to tolerate the beliefs of them. Maybe it was because they knew the might of the Egyptian forces could crush them. Maybe they simply just didn't see the benefit of waging war on a nation that they couldn't beat. Or maybe they chose to believe as their faith dictated and let the Egyptians do the same.

Fast forward a millenium. Israel is now occupied by Rome and its vast armies. Roman gods invaded the lives of the Jews and they had to tolerate their conquerors building temples to gods like Pan and Zeus in their midst. Their own temple dominated ancient Jerusalem, thanks to King Herrod, who was perhaps the greatest hypocrit in history. Or was he? Perhaps Herrod knew that in order to preserve two such differing religious beliefs in one land that there must be a tolerance of sorts between them. The Romans weren't out to force their ideals on the Jews. They had become the power in Israel thanks to their superior military presence, but they allowed the Jews to continue worshipping as they saw fit for two reasons. One was that they were not threatened by the Jewish god and another was that they knew it would be far easier to keep peace with those they had subdued if they didn't try to suppress the religious beliefs the Jews possessed.

The Jews have been persecuted throughout history. As late as the 20th Century they were marked for extinction by a Hitler led Germany. Anti semitic attitudes didn't end with the deposition and subsequent death of Adolph Hitler either. In some places there are still movements at work with the aim of driving out any religion opposite of Christianity or Islam. It is an age old quest that fails every time because you simply cannot extinguish a people or their religion in one fell swoop.

Today there is still a massive push against tolerance. People don't like what they don't understand and what they find different from their own beliefs. Mankind as a whole has a hard time coexisting with differing values. We have always been this way as well. Since history first began to be recorded, and before too, people have fought what they perceived to be against their civilization.

Why do we find it so difficult to live at peace with one another? Why do we wage war against those who live differently from us?

I hear a lot about faith from people in today's world. Everyone either has it or wants it. They claim to be convicted in their beliefs and they are willing to go to war to preserve their way of life. Yet this is really so unnecessary. Why do those who proclaim to have such faith find it so hard to rely on their faith to keep them steadfast in their beliefs without declaring war on those who don't share their views? What is it about accepting that people can and will believe any way they choose that most people cannot stomach? Why are the faithful so eager to act out against anything or anyone that doesn't share the same system of ideals?

I think that is a lack of faith that fuels these wars. People simply don't have enough of it to fall back on to carry them through a world where different strokes really are for different folks. In most cases the aggression is one sided as well. You have fanatics in every walk of life. People tend to warp the tenents of their own beliefs to justify violence and intolerance against others. It is really sad that in a world as enlightened as the one we live in today people haven't yet learned that a little tolerance goes a long way.

Last week I conducted an experiment. I posted on Facebook that no one should ever presume to tell another person that his beliefs or his way of life is wrong. You wouldn't believe the responses I got from people who were more than ready to defend and justify doing just that. In the United States, which is supposed to be a great melting pot - the land of E Pluribus Unum - people are just waiting for any reason to attack what they don't share, don't agree with, or don't undestand. It is both amusing and alarming at the same time.

Hinduism is currently the oldest religion that is still practiced in today's world. In Hinduism, those who practice this faith worship many gods. They are primarily located in the far east but they also reside in the west as well. The worshippers of the Hindi gods are perfectly willing to tolerate the beliefs of a primarily Christian and Judaic world. It is true that they are outnumbered outside their native lands but they have something that their neighbors lack. They have tolerance because it doesn't matter to them what anyone else believes. They hold their own religion close to their hearts as they live in a world that for the most part doesn't share their values, but still they don't let this threaten them. They don't need to. They are devout in what they believe; their faith carries them through without demanding that they wage war on anyone different from themselves.

Buddhists are faced with the same task. They live in a world where their beliefs are not shared by all but still they persevere because their faith in what they choose to venerate gives them the strength to do so. They aren't threatened by other religious groups. They tolerate the differences represented by the many inhabitants of the world and they continue their practice without having to defend it because their faith gives them what they need.

Muslims and Christians seem to be the most common troublemakers in today's world. Radical Islamists find justification for killing those who don't share their beliefs by twisting the words of the Quran into what they want it to say. Many Christian denominations preach intolerance, and often sheer hatred, by doing the very same thing; although they are much less likely to blow up their opponents than are the fanatical Muslims. Neither group does a very good job praciticing tolerance, and yet the founders of their religions taught tolerance above everything else. Both Jesus and Muhammed strived to impart to their followers that it was okay for them to live in a world with people who don't share their convictions. Though you'd have a hard time finding much evidence of this based on the behavior of their followers.

Tolerance is such a simple concept to understand that I find it puzzling that most people don't get it. In a world where we are linked by such miraculous tools as the internet, one finds a greater degree of bigotry and hatred than ever before. It should be easier than ever to understand people. Ignorance used to be at the root of most intolerance but alarmingly unnerving to me is that in today's world ignorance is not even an excuse anymore. I don't use the word evil lightly but I think that it is in fact a certain degree of evil in some people that fuels the hatred we see so easily exhibited today.

I talk a lot about tolerance because I see it as something absolutely necessary to continuing a human existence on the planet. We've got to learn that nobody has to share our beliefs and that it's okay for them not to as well. We need to learn to lean on the faith we find in our ideals to lead us toward the practice of tolerating one another. That doesn't mean you to like what's different from you. It doesn't mean you have to embrace it either. It just means you have to accept the difference and respect others for having faith of their own.

I don't get all the hatred I see in today's world. I don't understand the need for it either. Just because there are people who choose to live by their own ideals doesn't mean that anyone is less or greater than anybody else. We are all equal in our humanity. It should be very easy to relate on a human scale. Yet this seems to be where most people find their hatred for anything or anyone else.

I do believe that we can make the world a more peaceful place, but it is going to have to come from a mutual tolerance for each other if we are ever going to master this most simple of human traits. It is up to us to set a good example for the generations that are to follow. I don't want to think that us or our descendants might blow up the world until it is inhospitable for life because we don't agree with one another. I believe that we must come to an understanding of one another and learn to live and let live. If we don't, the future for mankind is bleak.

Peace should be what we strive for. Tolerance is something that everyone craves. It's not that hard to achieve and it should be what we're teaching our children to attain. If we don't learn from the mistakes of those who came before us, we are destined to keep repeating their patterns. To what end?

Take a good look at the genocide in Rwanda less than two decades ago. Take a good look at what Nazi Germany did to the Jews. Give thought to what the KKK and the Skinheads stand for. Ask yourself if a world of hatred, prejudice, and intolerance is what we want to leave for our descendants. The answer should be simple.

Tolerance.

There is really no choice.

Season's Greetings

2011-12-10T04:56:00.000-08:00

I am always slightly amused, and extremely baffled, by the furor that starts every year about this time over what to say when you greet people for the holidays. Once again, the Christian sect is up in arms over seeing the phrase "Happy Holidays" being used almost everywhere you go. They want the "Christ" put back in Christmas. "Jesus is the reason for the season" and the like. I can always relate to someone wanting respect for their beliefs, but there's one glaring thing wrong with this sentiment.

Christmas isn't the only holiday being celebrated around this time of the year.

In Judaism, Hannukah is coming up. Muslims celebrated Ashura on December 5th. Kwanzaa is right around the corner for those who recognize it. There are a lot of things going on for a lot of people of differing beliefs in this month and Christmas is but one of them.

Judaism predates Christianity by over two thousand years. Jews have been celebrating Hannukah for a lot longer than Christians have been celebrating Christmas or Muslims have been honoring Ashura. Yet you don't hear Jewish people demanding that their December holiday be put above the rest. In fact, I've never met a Jewish person who didn't respect Christmas as something as important to Christians as Hannukah is to them. Yet they're not getting the same reciprocation. The reason they aren't up in arms about it is because they do have that respect for the beliefs of other people.

Another thing I don't think most Christians realize is that the date of December 25th was not chosen out of the blue. In Ancient Rome, there were already other celebrations taking place on this date. They celebrated the "Birth of the Unconquered Sun," the birth of the god Dionysus, and the birthday of Mithras, a pagan god from the Middle East. December 25th was appropriated by the Christian church of that time for the reason that there was already festivities going on and the early Christians were trying to convert their contemporaries away from the worship of gods that had originated in Ancient Greece and elsewhere.

No one really knows the exact date of the birth of Jesus; most scholars agree that it was in the spring. So without a solid date on which to base the honoring of Jesus' birth, the early Christian leaders chose December 25th as a way to further eradicate the meaning behind the pagan festivals of the time by usurping it in a sense.

It's also worthy to note that a lot of early Christian leaders were opposed to having a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the first place. They felt that this was too pagan and shouldn't be a part of the Christian practice of worship.

History aside, the uproar over what to say at this time of year is something akin to intolerance in my opinion. By ignoring the fact that more than one holiday is celebrated in December, Christians are promoting what amounts to prejudice and they are not following the example of Jesus that is portrayed in the New Testament. Jesus went from place to place, preaching and speaking his message to the people in his world, and those who wanted to follow him did, while those who didn't went on about their lives as usual. Jesus never tried to force anybody to accept him. He left it up to the individual. He got it right.

Which greeting do I use to deal with the conundrum over how to greet people this time of year? I base it on the person I'm greeting. I say "Merry Christmas" to those who I know observe Christmas. To my Jewish friends, I say "Happy Hannukah." To those who I know are recognizing Kwanzaa, I say "Happy Kwanzaa." If I am unsure about the person's choice, I say "Happy Holidays," because I don't want to offend them by wishing them something that may not be their cup of tea.

It's all about respect. It's all about tolerance. It's all about sharing this world with people who don't have to and are not going to believe the same things when it comes to faith and religion. I expect people to give me the common courtesy of doing my thing. So why should I not return the gesture? Why should anyone not? Nobody should. It's just not right and it's not a good example for others.

Peace,

Inner Strength

2011-12-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

I've spent much of the past few years building up my inner strength. It's something I knew I had to do because I sorely lacked it until I was around 40 years old. Now I have a tremendous amount of it and it serves me well because it gives me the insight to control myself, my emotions, and I am able to keep my focus on what's important in my life because of it. I don't get sidetracked by the trivialities anymore. I let my natural energy flow so that I can stay in a state of peace with myself and the world in which I live. I am very thankful for the ability to have learned this most important of life's lessons.

Yet I am only human and at times my inner strength is tested by various outer influences. I don't let my emotions cause me to fly off the handle anymore. That is a self destructive means of coping with life's stressors. It makes you say and do things that will come back to haunt you. So I keep myself in check by analyzing my feelings instead of letting them rule me. Ergo, I don't sweat the small stuff at all anymore. I exhale and go on about my tasks because my path in life demands that I stay centered.

This can be very difficult when I see people hurt those whom I love. I have a hard time not letting my emotions run with the heat of the moment. It's been a very hard road to get to where I can stay in control of myself in those situations. In most cases I have to force myself to stay focused on the really important reasons that I'm wherever I've allowed myself to be when these things happen. I take my responsibilities to those in my life very seriously and I do not shirk my duties to those who I've let depend on me. It's a very heavy burden to let others depend on you but if you remain focused on why you're there you'll know the right decisions to make and you'll see that the outcome is far more important than the "moment."

My inner strength is so great that I can withstand most insults because I know myself far better than anyone else does. I would never hurt or humiliate myself or anyone else by surrendering my reason to emotions. I have far more self control than that. When someone brings me close to losing my cool I have to be in control of myself to the point where I can step back from the situation and decide what choice to make. It's not always easy but so is life. I am just grateful that I can do this because most days we are surrounded by those who cannot. They let outer influences like anger, addiction, inner insecurities, and the inability to control themselves rule their judgment and they always come off looking like stark fools to those around them. I remind myself how these people look when they go all batshit because I do not want others to see me make an ass of myself. I have much more self respect than that.

Sometimes it takes me a few days to get beyond my urge to act out through emotion but I always get there because I keep my eye on the end result. I know that if I stay in control I can always triumph because I can keep myself in check. I know what moves to make, what to say, and when to express myself. I also know how to express myself because of the inner strength that allows me the privilege of being "in the now" instead of ruled by "the moment."

And for this I am very grateful. I never look like an idiot to those around me and I never hurt those I love because I let myself get through "the moment." I give myself the time to know what I should I do. Those who persist in letting their emotions rule them always come out on the bottom because they are trumped by the people who keep themselves focused. And they are left to forever ruminate on what they did, what they said, and why they are seen as they are. This is because they practice no self control, take no responsibility for their actions, and let the hurt they cause ferment into resentment. How sad. They don't even have the presence of mind to apologize for their behavior once it is all over.

Maya Angelou says: "When people show you who they are, believe them." This is a lesson that everyone should learn because when you realize the truth in it you'll have taken a giant leap toward understanding yourself and your world. I wish this for everyone because having taken it to heart myself I know the personal satisfaction that comes from it.

Peace,

The True Self

2011-11-20T05:46:00.000-08:00

We hear a lot nowadays about our "true self." It's a concept that writers and talk show hosts are showering a lot of attention on and they seem to be finding a big audience with it as well. It gets you thinking about the idea when Oprah is extolling its virtues and everyone you know is chit-chatting about it amongst themselves. And it made me wonder what is the true self and is it attainable for everyone? Or is it just another self help fad that will go the way of the dinosaur as soon as someone comes up with a better sounding slogan?

I am not the kind of person to believe anything just because someone else tells me about it. I have to do my own research, come to my own conclusions, and then make a decision based on the facts I've studied. So it is with the True Self. I gave the matter a lot of thought and read as much as about it as I could. I started comparing the tenents of this concept with my own life and my own journey toward becoming the person I want to be, and I discovered a lot of similarities. I also discovered some big differences too.

We all reach a point in our lives when we become unsure of what the next step should be. Where are we going? Why are we here? Did we get to this phase in our life entirely because of the choices we've made in the past, or did the actions of others add to the result that we are now living? What can we do to undo some of the past mistakes we've made?

Deep questions? Well, yes and no. Common sense should play a big part in the choices we make as we move forward in our future. Unfortunately, some folks aren't blessed with a satisfactory amount of common sense. They let their emotions run the show too much of the time. They've never learned to stand back from a situation and take a moment to fully absorb what's going on, why things are as they've become, and what should the next immediate step be to get to a higher level of understanding. You see, if you can understand why a circumstance is the way it is, you can make informed decisions on how to cope with it. Understanding plays a huge part in our ability to function in life.

Ego is another facet of our personality that often interferes with the effective decision making skills that life requires. I see too many people motivated by their egos who don't stop to think about what their choices are going to mean to anyone else. They also don't give pause to the situation at hand and look ahead to what the results of an egotistical decision might be for themselves. They are far too concerned with "the moment" and how they're going to look to others if they don't do or say the most personally useful thing as soon as possible.

Why is this the case? It is because so many people don't fully understand what their ego is and what it should be. Your ego is not there to serve you in your quest to get ahead, to look "better," or to feel superior. No, it's not. Your ego is the vision you have of the "you" you'd like to be. Ego is not the reality of who or what you are. People with inflated egos usually wind up looking like fools to those in their immediate circles because they put themselves above their peers, above their circumstances, and they choose to ignore parts of whatever is going on that don't serve them well at the time. People who are in control of their egos are the ones who can remain calm, remain focused, and make choices based on common sense, understanding, and what the most immediate choice should be for them. These are the people who have learned to step back from their egos and realize what is really there and what they wish was there. That is the key to developing a healthy ego.

Getting down to your True Self is a process that involves your ability to strip away the influences of your life. You have to learn how to lay pride aside, to get a handle on your emotions, and to put your ego in its proper place if you want to understand yourself. We all have desires and dreams, goals and plans, fantasies and realities. It's easy to know one from the other. Personal contentment is incumbent upon knowing what to do with our feelings. Our emotions are far too complex to be understood in a short space of time. Mostly, we have to come to the realization of what drives our emotions in order to control them. It's a matter of proacting over reacting. You simply have to know yourself before you can live peacefully with the person that is you.

Peace is a big fraction of our True Self. We inherently want to be at peace with our lives and those we include in it. I know so many people who aren't at peace with themselves and who don't know how to deal with emotions that arise from things that happened sometimes years in the past. They hold their psychological injuries close to the surface and they let almost anything that happens exacerbate wounds that should have healed a long time ago. They just don't have the personal insight it takes to coexist with a world that really doesn't care all that much about its inhabitants. So they go through life angry, hurt, and doing whatever they can to bring attention to themselves because it is the attention they crave more than the hurt that they feel. They act out to get that attention. They think they have to stand up and beat on their chests and shout loudly in order to be heard, to be seen, to be taken seriously. Sadly, these actions usually have the opposite effect.

So how do you get peace? I'll share something with you that I think Oprah Winfrey put better than anybody else I've heard lately who spoke on this subject.

You find peace by making it.

This usually entails forgiving people who've hurt us. And what is the secret to forgiveness? It lies in accepting that nothing you can do will change what happened in the past, and when you can come to this realization you'll stop wishing and hoping that things - whatever they were - could have turned out differently than they did. You will let the past be the past because it doesn't exist anymore. And how can you successfully cope with a reality that is no longer there?

The True Self is your own inner voice. It's that whisper you get in your mind when you aren't sure about something. It's who you are, not who you want to be. It's the place where peace, understanding, and ego reside, in their purest manifestations, controlled and at our disposal rather than vice versa. It's who you see when you look in the mirror. It's who you are when you wake up in the morning and when you go to sleep at night. It's the person you were when you were born and it's that same person you'll be, no matter what you accomplish in your life, when you take your last breath.

Think about that and then begin your own journey toward finding your True Self. You'll find that once you get down to the core of "you," you can achieve anything.

Ten Signs You've Hit Middle Age

2011-11-13T16:47:00.000-08:00

10. You have noticeable trouble digesting raw vegetables.
9. You remember when Beatrice Arthur played Maude.
8. You remember what day, time, and channel "Maude" came on.
7. John Lennon's assassination still seems like current events to you.
6. You work with people who were born after you started your career.
5. JAWS is the reason you don't go in the ocean.
4. You remember when Diana Ross was one of The Supremes.
3. Your doctor reminds you you're not a teenager anymore when you complain about something.
2. You wish the Tooth Fairy still stopped at your house.
1. You're relating to everything you've read in this post.

C

Wednesday 11/2

2011-11-02T02:22:00.000-07:00

Hello World!

Thought for Today: "The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass, speaks to me. And my heart soars." -- Chief Dan George

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Monday 10/31

2011-10-31T01:54:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Monday - Halloween!

Thought for Today: "Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen - that stillness becomes a radiance." -- Morgan Freeman

The song I woke up this morning...

Have a great day!

Thursday 10/27

2011-10-27T01:38:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Thursday!

Thought for Today: "I've only got one wrinkle and I'm sitting on it." -- Jeanne Calment

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 10/14

2011-10-14T03:54:00.000-07:00

From Australia - The Sydney Morning Herald

Police Response an Utter Failure, Coroner Finds

There is strong evidence that a policewoman who shot a mentally disturbed man in the back in 2009 accidentally used her gun instead of her Taser, a coroner has found.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3mwnqyc

Friday 10/14

2011-10-14T01:38:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Friday!

Thought for Today: "But the whole point of liberation is that you get out. Restructure your life. Act by yourself." -- Jane Fonda

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 10/13

2011-10-13T02:18:00.000-07:00

From The Czech Republic - The Prague Post

Concern That Sex Ed in Schools May Be Rolled Back

Influence of powerful conservative groups worries health experts.

More: http://tinyurl.com/4469p34

Thursday 10/13

2011-10-13T01:50:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Thursday!

Thought for Today: "You've got to be original because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?" -- Bernadette Peters

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Wednesday 10/12

2011-10-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Wednesday!

Thought for Today: "If you take no risks, you will suffer no defeats. But if you take no risks, you win no victories." -- Richard M. Nixon

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 10/11

2011-10-11T02:17:00.000-07:00

From The Isle of Wight - The County Press Online

Police's Sweet Way To Highlight Hate Crime

CHOCOLATE peanuts and raisins have become the latest weapon in the police’s fight against hate crime.
More: http://tinyurl.com/3npe9mn

Tuesday 10/11

2011-10-11T01:52:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Tuesday!

Thought for Today: "Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine." -- Lord Byron

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 10/10

2011-10-10T01:47:00.000-07:00

From Iceland - Ice News

"Fat Tax" Rolled Out in Demark

More: http://tinyurl.com/6aksz5w

Monday 10/10

2011-10-10T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Monday!

Thought for Today: "You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind." -- Timothy Leary

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

A Visit With Novelist Gregory G. Allen

2011-10-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

Gregory G. Allen is a man who is amassing a devoted following with his most recent book Well With My Soul. The book has in fact been submitted for a Lambda Literary Award. Having read the book, I can only say that it more than worthy of the praise it is receiving. You just can’t put it down. Not that long ago Greg and I began following each other on Twitter and the rapport we developed was immediate. This is a man who has the sheer energy to draw you in, whether it be a conversation or a work of fiction, and he is a loyal friend. A native of Texas who now resides in New Jersey, I asked Greg for an interview and he happily obliged. His background as a producer and a director gives him a unique voice through which he crafts his stories, and the insight into his brilliance is quite refreshing indeed.

CP: Greg, thanks for visiting with me.

GA: Thank you for having me to your site.

CP: How long have been writing professionally?

GA: I had my first musical produced by a theatre company when I was 14. A children’s musical called “Dracula Bites at Dusk” (it was the early 80s…what can I say.) I wrote three more musicals throughout high school and when I moved to NY, became involved in the BMI Musical Theater Workshop and wrote more shows then.

CP: What first got you interested in writing?

GA: Writing for the stage, it was definitely my love of performing. I was acting and singing since I was five. By 5^th grade, I was writing short stories and ‘plays’ that I would direct the neighbor kids in my backyard. I think writing my original musicals in high school was an extension of being a ‘story teller’ as an actor. That need to tell stories followed me into adulthood as I became a director and producer as well.

CP: Your book Well With My Soul has been making a lot of noise. What is the book about?

GA: Well With My Soul is a book about choices we make in our lives and how it affects those around us. It follows two brothers (one straight and one gay) through fifteen years of their lives and it is told through each of their voices. With themes of religion, sexuality, addiction and ego, there is a little bit of everything in this book which accounts for some of the noise. J It’s certain to ruffle some feathers when you have a minister’s story in the same book that has sex in the bathroom at Studio 54.
CP: Where did you get the inspiration for the story?
GA: I first wrote this book as a play and the moment I heard it read aloud, I knew I needed to novelize it. I had been following so many stories in the news of high profile men being caught in homosexual situations (the Ted Haggards of the world) and I wanted to attempt to get inside of the mindset of someone who felt more comfortable in a closet than out of it. The self imposed homophobia mixed with extreme ego of thinking they could never get caught really intrigued me. I was brought up Southern Baptist and writing a novel about religion and sexuality (set in the late 70’s and 80’s when our country was in a very different time) where I could show two sides to that story appealed to me. I really enjoyed stepping inside the mind of each brother to show opposing views. CP: To what do you attribute its popularity?
GA: I think I tend to write raw stories that do not always go where people expect. And I know people can easily get upset over twists in a novel, but those turns can contribute to bigger conversations. I knew writing it that a certain section would be upset over the portrayal of religion in the book as would some of the gay community for my gay protagonist not being such a likable character. But to me – that is truth. There are good and bad in all groups and nothing is ever completely black and white. I think that is why I was so happy to get such great feedback from both clergy as well as some gay authors that I know and admire.
CP: I understand you’ve been nominated for a Lambda Award for the book. What does that kind of recognition feel like?
GA: It’s almost strange for me to talk about any kind of nomination with the book just ‘officially’ coming out on National Coming Out Day, but it is a real honor. It is wonderful to know an organization like Lambda is looking at my novel and I guess I’ll be holding my breath until finalists are announced in spring.

CP: Have you another book in the works right now? If so what can you share about it?
GA: My next book completely shifts gears and is a female protagonist book about a woman who unlocks a terrible past through therapy and has to work to patch her life back together.
CP: What’s next for you?
GA: The next few months will be busy with some book signings and blog tours for Well With My Soul (heading to Philly to Giovanni’s Room…the oldest gay bookstore in the US…so I’m excited about that). I’ve also submitted a children’s book about my godson with autism for a competition that I’ll be asking (begging) readers to vote on in Nov/Dec.
CP: Now a few nosy questions for your fans & readers: Married/Single/Divorced/Involved?
GA: I have been with my partner for 11 years. Three years ago after NJ (where he & I live) approved civil unions, we made it as official as our state would let us on 8.8.08
CP: What are your hobbies?
GA Reading, theater, music, and travel. We love to go on cruises. We’ve done Mexico, Caribbean, Canada, Baltic Sea & Mediterranean Sea.
CP: What are you reading these days?

GA: I’m just finishing up In Leah’s Wake by Terri Giuliano Long and next plan to read Chasing Amanda by Melissa Foster.
CP: What music are you listening to?GA: I just finished cleaning my office (which I had been putting off) and had Eva Cassidy going along with Alison Jear.
CP: Favorite movie?
GA: Somewhere in Time. I know, I know. I’m a sap! (Years ago...I even started writing a musical based on it.) When I met my hubby, I had no idea how much he loved it too. We traveled to Mackinac Island (where the movie was filmed) and had an amazing vacation. (Now THAT was too much information!)
CP: Favorite food?
GA: I love a chicken burrito bowl from Chipotle Mexican Grill
CP: Personal preference: Long sleeves or barefoot weather?
GA: Barefoot weather. After 24 years living up north (since I grew up in Texas), I’m so over the winters.
CP: What advice or wisdom can you share?
GA: If there is something you have a passion for in life: whatever it may be – go for it!
CP: And what are you most proud of?
GA: This ties in with the above, but I walked away from 13 years in corporate America to return to the creative arts and I’m so happy I did. It was frightening to leave the security (and money) of that job, but it was the best choice I ever made.

And readers all over are glad he did make that choice. Talking with Greg is a refreshing look into a truly creative mind. His warm persona and genuine interest into everything he’s doing is quite a nice thing to find nowadays. I’ve a feeling that Greg is going to be making magic for a long time and his audience, ever growing and adoring, will keep right on coming back for more with each new piece he writes. I’m happy to recommend Well With My Soul and if you get the chance to do so, find Greg through his website or Twitter and get to know the man for yourself. He’s definitely someone whose presence will make your life fuller.

Friday 10/7

2011-10-07T01:54:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Friday!

Thought for Today: "It's the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are usually the ones who do." -- Steve Jobs

The song I woke up to this morning...

"Don't dream it's over." RIP Steve...

Have a great day!

Thursday 10/6

2011-10-06T01:50:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Thursday!

Thought for Today: "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." -- Mother Teresa

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 10/5

2011-10-05T01:56:00.000-07:00

From Portugal - The Portugal News

Medical Errors Rife, Study Says

More than half of Portugal’s population have made complaints about medical errors, according to a study carried out by the consumer rights body DECO released this week, promoting the need for civil liability insurance for all health professionals.

More: http://tinyurl.com/yknvpt6

Wednesday 10/5

2011-10-05T01:40:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Wednesday!

Thought for Today: "I do not choose that my grave should be dug while I am still alive." -- Elizabeth 1, Queen of England

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 10/4

2011-10-04T01:52:00.000-07:00

From Wales - Wales Online

Mental Health Nurse Denies Punching Vulnerable and Elderly Patient

A MENTAL health nurse accused of punching a vulnerable and elderly patient has denied the allegations, saying he had never harmed any patient in his care.

More: http://tinyurl.com/6gpgco4

Tuesday 10/4

2011-10-04T01:37:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Tuesday!

Thought for Today: "We all live every day in virtual environments, defined by our ideas." -- Michael Crichton

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day, everyone!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 10/3

2011-10-03T01:54:00.000-07:00

From Japan - The Japan Times

Art Thief Hits Museum Men's Room

KANAZAWA, Ishikawa Pref. — Part of a media installation created by a Swiss visual artist has been stolen from the men's room of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, museum officials said. (More: http://tinyurl.com/4x4yeqm)

Monday 10/3

2011-10-03T01:39:00.000-07:00

Hello World! I'm back after my week of vacation...

Thought for Today: "Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use." -- Ruth Gordon

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

The Wednesdays

2011-09-27T02:07:00.000-07:00

This offering from Irish filmmaker Conor Ferguson is a charming and thought provoking story of old age, the yen for a return to youth, and simply life itself. Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary are an elderly couple whose lives have become steeped in a routine that they find satisfying, for the most part, as they have something to do every day of the week... except on Wednesdays. Into their lives comes an unexpected "ditch" from one of their neighbors that changes their outlooks on every level. The Wednesdays is a first rate short that will make you feel good from any perspective you choose to enjoy it.

Things That Annoy Me

2011-09-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

Things that really annoy me, in no particular order:

- Store brand mustard. (Give me French's or give me nothing.)
- Anything starring Pia Zadora. (She just hocks me off.)
- CBS, for canceling Guiding Light and As The World Turns. (Thank goodness Granny didn't live to see them go!)
- Those irritating Target commercials. (Why isn't PETA jumping up and down about that?)
- Hoarders. (I can't watch that show without getting really angry at those people.)
- Unnecessary film remakes like The Poseidon Adventure and Footloose. (They make me feel old.)
- Conway Twitty's version of Slow Hand. (I can't be alone on this one.)
- Racism and bigotry masquerading as political issues. (Don't even get me started on this one.)
- John Boehner (He's a total dick and a complete tool.)
- Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck (See the next one up.)
- Larry Hagman's eyebrows. (Someone should love him enough to tell him they're not flattering.)
- The fact that New York isn't back on TV yet. (Come on, the girl's a scream!)
- Knowing that in twenty years I'll be 64. (It's making me feel middle aged.)

I'll think of more, in due time, and like you'll read about them!

Peace out.

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/26

2011-09-26T05:54:00.000-07:00

From Botswana - The Botswana Gazette

Falsely Accused, Served Five Years in Prison

The Customary Court of Appeal recently dropped charges against two men after they had each served five years in prison for alleged stock theft.

More: http://tinyurl.com/5vf2jkb

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/25

2011-09-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

From Australia - The Sydney Morning Herald

Aussie Skill at Heart of Twitter's New Ploy

A BIG dollop of Australian-made ingenuity lies at the core of a new search technology snapped up by Twitter in a multimillion-dollar deal that is the social networking company's most expensive acquisition to date. More: http://tinyurl.com/44hqbpg

The State of Things Today

2011-09-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

I'm really disappointed by a lot of things in the world today. I cannot even begin to put them into an orderly list. The issues we're facing as a society in general are staggering. We have massive unemployment, sky-high prices on everything from food to gas, people working all the time and having nothing to show for it. We've got lawmakers that we elected who are too busy playing politics to get down to the business of working things out. Then you've also got people off doing the most ridiculous things; like college students organizing a bake sale with prices based on ethnicity.

Where is the sense? Where is the good old fashioned common sense that used to keep things from running so amok?

It's absent in today's world.

And that is something I find completely inexcusable.

You see, I'm one of the people who is still trying to live my life to the best of my ability. I try to conduct myself with grace and class, and all I ask is that I be treated with a little dignity and a little respect. These are two things I always try to give my fellow man. And yet few people out there are willing to reciprocate. Everyone has his own agenda. Nobody is pulling together anymore. Things are spinning more and more out of control and almost everyone you see is doing something to make it worse.

The world is in the midst of another Depression right now. I don't care how many analysts disagree or how many politicians still want to call it a Recession, this is a DEPRESSION. Every country in the world is showing the stress of it. Even China has an economy that is slowing down now. The European banking crisis is something that I see as the biggest threat to any recovery we might be hoping for. Manufacturing, which is all but nonexistent in America today, is threatened by the devastating conditions in the countries where what's left of it is taking place. Millions in Africa are starving and the spector of poverty is rearing its ugly head here in America again like it hasn't been seen in decades. My mother and I were just talking yesterday about how it is a very real prospect that families may have to start keeping house together again just to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. I'm talking about parents with grown children and grandchildren having to join forces to survive. It's already happening too. And in record numbers.

Then we've got a government that doesn't know what to do about anything because it is in disarray itself. Republicans and Democrats are too consumed with trying to fight one another to give any real effort toward getting America back on track. We've got tools like Boehner and Pelosi who claim to be leading parties but who are only in Congress because special interest groups paid for their campaigns in return for political favors. The issue of eliminating tax shelters for the wealthy is currently on the table and the GOP is calling it a class war.

Are they kidding? Do they know how it sounds to the average American who is just scraping by whenever they defend tax breaks for billionaires? Do they even care?

I don't think they really do.

I'm also very disappointed in Barack Obama. He's shown no guts whatsoever when it comes to getting things done. He's tried to practice bipartisanship with a GOP that isn't interested in returning the gesture and he won't call them out on it. He should take a page from Bill Clinton when it comes to balls and get out there shouting it from the rooftops that very little is being accomplished because the House Republicans are fighting anything that is Democratic authored. Yes, Obama has really let us down by trying to be nice to people who don't give a damn about it.

With another presidential election coming up next year, I am at a loss right now about how I feel when it comes to voting for Obama again. I can't see myself voting for any of the Republicans who are vying for the GOP nomination right now, but Obama isn't giving me any good reason to vote for him either. I had such high hopes in 2008. Eight years of George W. Bush had almost ruined the United States and a return to sensibilities associated with the Democratic party seemed to be just what Americans needed. Yet we haven't seen this return because our current president has been too busy trying to play politics with folks who have danced him around like a marionette. I say abandon this charade, call them out, and force Congress to work together on solutions to this mess we're in right now.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Politicians are going to have to stop the rhetoric and get down to being Americans. They've got to put their party ideals on hold and start making some progress toward getting this country out of the dump it's in. We can't be dependent on the rest of the world because it's going broke too! Someday soon everyone is going to wake up to a global crisis that will threaten our very ways of life. People can't keep paying out everything they make just to keep their heads above water.

What about retirement? What about our elderly who are worrying about losing their social security? What about our children who might not have a viable nation to call their own when they grow up? What about a healthcare system that is breaking down because it is too expensive and people can't pay for treatment they must have? What about all the tomorrows that are depending on the todays for their very future? What about it all?

I feel that the time is here for everyone to stand up and demand that things change. People as a whole have to stop fighting each other over everything from religion to moral values and work toward the goal of uniting our country on a foundation of stability caused by citizens who want to have that stability back again. I'm sick of all the divisive bullshit that is being allowed to tear us apart. We've got to have common sense. We've got to have respect. We've got to have tolerance. We've got to have education. We've got to have human compassion. If we can't achieve these tenents, we're doomed.

As Yeats said: "Things fall apart, the center cannot hold."

Think about it.

Peace out.

Personal Purpose

2011-09-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

The older I get the more I realize how much I must depend on myself. When I was younger I was always surrounded by family. My grandmother was there until I was almost thirty-six years old and she gave me a lot of life lessons, but the one thing she didn't give me was a sense of independence. This is strange because she was a very independent person. Yet she was getting older too and she and I were always very close, so I think she wanted to keep me somewhat dependent on her so that she wouldn't feel alone. This worked for a long time but I slowly began to live my own life. I started making my own friends. I found things that made me feel good about myself. And slowly I outgrew the need to be dependent on my grandmother. She didn't adjust to this very well but deep down she knew it was just nature taking its course.

Time passes very fast. One day you wake up and realize that half of your life is behind you. The events that brought you to the place where you realize this begin to fall into an order that you can look upon as the path that is your life up to this point. You've reached a plateau, so to speak. The mid-life crisis is a very real event but it is how you deal with it that dictates the decisions you make for starting the second half of your life. You can either settle into a rut where you don't even think of making changes to yourself, which sadly a lot of people do, or you can begin to find things to occupy your time that enrich your life, feed your mind, and let you grow spiritually.

When I found myself looking ahead with no real direction other than the routine I was used to, it scared me. I wanted more. I didn't want to spend my entire life in one place, experiencing little that was new or exciting, and making excuses for being sedentary that alleviated any self doubt I might have felt. I dived headlong into the future and started taking the very chances that once I would have been warned off of by grandmother. I knew where she was coming from. I could understand her reliance on what was secure. But she clung to a way of life that only remained secure because she didn't let herself entertain the idea that were other ways to live. She was a product of her generation to a large degree. Like many people who survived the Great Depression, she went to extreme lengths to make certain that she always had enough of everything to get by. She didn't see the need for wanting more than she had and she didn't approve of dreams or ambitions that might require one to step outside of the comfort zone that a monotony creates.

I now see living my life in a different way. I cherish the lessons I learned from my grandmother about being self reliant and doing for oneself, but I do not subscribe to her theory that life is only meant to be what you can get from it. No, I think life is about learning to make your own purpose and learning how to nourish your dreams into goals, and then your goals into realities. It takes a lot of inner strength to go after something outside the realm of your experience. It takes even more fortitude to get yourself started on the path you choose for yourself.

One of the most important things I learned to do was to allow myself to be what I call my own rock. I came to the realization, after Granny died, that nobody could make me happy but me. I had to take responsibility for myself. I had a lot of learning to do and I was ready to get on with it. I had a great deal of inner growing to get through and I sought out the people who could help me get to the next step in my personal evolution. I looked to the very people who I admired and I let myself learn from their examples.

The most personally empowering thing I embraced was the knowledge that nobody can hurt me unless I give them permission to do so. I can choose my own reactions to outside influences and in doing so I can deal with things in my own way. When someone comes at me with anger, I do not respond with the same. I take a moment to think about what's going on and then I decide what to say - or what not to say - before proceeding. I don't let anybody dictate what my emotions or my reaction will be. I choose those for myself. In doing so I am in control of what happens from that moment forward, if only at least on a personal level.

Another big tenant in maturing on an inner level is in never letting another person have so much power that they can affect how you'll feel about any given thing. This applies to every aspect from love to loss to gain to growth. I see so many people fall in love and then when things don't work out they plunge into a deep abyss of heartbreak and maudlin self pity. They practice self destructive habits like pining away for someone or something that never cared about them half as much as they thought they did, or should have, in the very beginning. They've let themselves become so emotionally attached to another person that when change occurs they can't deal with it in any other way than to let themselves become living portraits of tragedy. I will never do this to myself. I will never set so much store in another person that I won't be able to function normally without them. It's a trap to do this. A bloody trap.

You can love someone with all your heart and soul. You can allow yourself to feel and give love. But you don't have to become dependent on the love you're feeling to the extent that you allow yourself to believe you can't do without it. Broken hearts are useless. They serve no purpose. You must always be able to take a lesson from every experience you have but you must not let yourself lose sight of the lesson by wearing blinders of any sort. Be vigilant. Be strong. Be ready to carry on. If something hurts, find what you need to get past it and then get on with living your life. Whoever you allowed to do this to you is certainly not suffering, I'll tell you that. And you can take it to the bank that they moved on before you even knew they were leaving.

A personal purpose is a very important thing. Without one nobody can plot their next step in life. You've got to have a reason to get up in the morning and finding that reason is our own responsibility. Some people never learn to do this and it's these people who make me the angriest. They let things happen to them. They don't get out there and say to the world "I'm here and I'll have mine the way I want it." They don't make their own purpose.

And that is a big part of what life is all about in the first place.

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/24

2011-09-24T05:06:00.000-07:00

From England - The Guardian

Italian Scientists On Trial For Failing to Predict Earthquake

Seismologists around the world in uproar at legal move, which they say is an attack on science.

More: http://tinyurl.com/66thkb2

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/23

2011-09-23T01:56:00.000-07:00

From Malta - Malta Today

Church Shrugs Off Legal Responsibility For Its Members’ Actions 

The Church argues it has no legal responsibility for what its members do and cannot take such responsibility upon itself.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3bboe8k

Friday 9/23

2011-09-23T01:38:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Friday!

Thought for Today: "If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement." -- Jimmy Carter

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/22

2011-09-22T01:56:00.000-07:00

From Argentina - The Buenos Aires Herald

New Bird Flu Outbreak in India

Authorities in eastern India will start culling chickens and destroying eggs to contain a new outbreak of H5 bird flu, the government said in a statement today, as a mutant strain of the virus is spreading elsewhere in Asia.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3ojj9ls

Thursday 9/22

2011-09-22T01:39:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Thursday!

Thought for Today: "Never explain, never complain." -- Wallis Simpson

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/20

2011-09-20T01:51:00.000-07:00

From Libya - The Tripoli Post

Summary of the American and International Press

on the Libyan Revolution - Morgan Strong

More: http://tinyurl.com/3jcf3w7

Tuesday 9/20

2011-09-20T01:36:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Tuesday!

Thought for Today: "A man is a god in ruins." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/19

2011-09-19T01:54:00.000-07:00

From Scotland - The Scotsman

Extinction Looms for Killer Whale Pod

FOR at least three decades they have made the waters off the west of Scotland their own, delighting visitors and residents alike.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3vp7wyo

Monday 9/19

2011-09-19T01:40:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Monday!

Thought for Today: "Change in all things is sweet." -- Aristotle

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Losses and Gains

2011-09-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've been unusually quite on here this weekend. In truth, it's been a tough couple of days. My aunt passed away on Friday night and I've been spending a lot of time with my family and mulling over my thoughts. It's never easy to explain how it feels to lose someone you love, but I can say that the feelings I have now when a loved one passes away are different than they were just a few years ago.

My aunt was very ill. She suffered from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. This is a progressive illness that tends to get worse with time, especially when those afflicted with it don't make allowances for it. In my aunt's case she was a sixty year smoker who didn't think she could quit. I honestly believe she didn't think she could stop smoking. She enjoyed her cigarettes, even though she knew they were killing her. She had to wear oxygen at night and she took breathing treatments from a home nebulizer. She had a terrible cough that would shake her all over when attacks hit her. Yes, she was aware that smoking was making her disease worse but she was eighty years old and she was in control of herself. She made her own choices and she enjoyed life. I can't fault her at all.

We all knew that her disease was going to finish her one day. She had other problems associated with being elderly, such as arthritis and a back surgery a few years ago left her unable to get around as well as she'd have liked. Everything was becoming a task for her. She often joked to us that every time she tried to cook something she burned it. She lived in her own home and she had a granddaughter on either side of her. She enjoyed the girls and she was their friend and confidant. They helped her with things she had problems doing as her age and her illness progressed. She never had to think of leaving home.

Until almost two weeks ago when she had a serious exacerbation of her COPD and went to the hospital for the last time. She was placed on a ventilator and ten days later the difficult decision was made to withdraw it. Everyone knew that she wouldn't have wanted to lay there in that hospital bed with a ventilator keeping her alive. In a few more days she would have had to undergo a tracheostomy and then be transferred to a rehab that worked with vent patients. She would likely have never been able to go home again. And she would have been miserable. So I feel that everyone involved made the right choices. She's not suffering anymore and that is what is most important.

I look back on knowing my aunt and I am heartened by the fact that she did things according to her own will. She was a very independent person. She didn't like asking anyone to do anything for her. She kept driving right up to the end, even when she probably shouldn't have, and I'm certain if she'd given it up she would have regretted it. She was never one to let others do things for her that she wanted to do herself. She was accomplished. She had a drive inside her to be her own person. She didn't compromise her beliefs for anyone. I admired these traits about her very much.

She taught me a lot about being myself and doing what was going to make me happy. She didn't believe in letting other people call the shots where her own interests were concerned and she was a good example of how living one's life according to one's own values can make you a strong person. Yes, I learned a lot from her in this respect. She was loyal and she could be trusted with your deepest secrets. I had a friend in her like I'd not had before, even with my grandmother. I'll miss that bond but it will always be there inside me, and hopefully I'll be able to use it to help someone else the way having her in my life benefitted me.

I didn't go to the hospital on Friday evening when I learned they would be pulling the vent. I just couldn't bring myself to go there knowing it would be for the last time. I wanted to remember her sitting out on her back deck. I wanted to remember her smiling at me or laughing at something we found amusing. I didn't want my last impression of her to be lying in a hospital bed not knowing anything. Maybe I was wrong in not going to her side at the end but I am at peace with my decision and I know she would have encouraged me to do what I felt was best for me.

In every loss there is a gain and I see losing my aunt in much the same fashion. I'll miss her and I'll never forget her, but having had her for the firty forty-four years of my life enriched me more than I can explain. She gave me a lot and I hope I gave her the same. We had a deep respect for each other and we loved each other very much. I won't stop missing her but I know she's at peace and that is what I feel is the biggest gain of this ordeal. My aunt doesn't have to worry about breathing problems anymore. She never had to give up smoking, which she dearly loved, and she was able to be at home until the last days of her life. Even at the end she was still calling her own shots. And that is a goal worth achieving from which we can all learn a lesson.

In memory of

Martha Sue Akins

January 9, 1931 - September 17, 2011

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/16

2011-09-16T01:55:00.000-07:00

From Norway - The Norway Post

Arming The Police Must Be Considered

The Oslo Police Assocciation is of the opinion that the terrorist acts on July 22nd must be taken into consideration, when discussing whether or not Norwegian police should carry arms.

More: http://tinyurl.com/5up4pfj

Friday 9/16

2011-09-16T01:39:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Friday!

Thought for Today: "Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone." -- Redd Foxx

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/15

2011-09-15T01:56:00.000-07:00

From New Caledonia - Les Nouvelle Caledonienne

Tevevao Nui Gives You the First Dance

Festival of Arts of the Marquesas Islands will receive in December a group of dancers Caledonian. Du jamais vu. Unheard of. Leur spectacle, Tevevao Nui, est donné pour la première fois, demain et samedi au centre culturel. Their show, Tevevao Nui, is given for the first time tomorrow and Saturday at the cultural center. Il regroupe sept associations. It comprises seven associations.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3nuygtl

Thursday 9/15

2011-09-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Thursday!

Thought for Today: "Before you try to keep up with the Joneses, be sure they're not trying to keep up with you." -- Erma Bombeck

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/14

2011-09-14T01:51:00.000-07:00

From The Isle of Wight - The County Press

Sad End for This Honourable Man

THERE we all were at Newclose, yarning about unusual nick-names, when Brian Greening came up with a bit of a conversation stopper.
More: http://tinyurl.com/6jfp8q8

Wednesday 9/14

2011-09-14T01:37:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Wednesday!

Thought for Today: "Everyone carries around his own monsters." -- Richard Pryor

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/13

2011-09-13T01:50:00.000-07:00

From Greece - Athens News

Maria Callas: A Greek Tragedy

The main players were a widowed First Lady, a Greek billionaire and an Italian diva -- and the stage was set for a tempestuous three-sided affair which so titillated the world that even now the fascination remains.

More: http://tinyurl.com/658r7ly

Tuesday 9/13

2011-09-13T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Tuesday!

Thought for Today: "If you can't do anything about it, don't worry about it." -- Jeanne Calment

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/12

2011-09-12T01:50:00.000-07:00

From Malaysia - The Star Online

Maid Saves Boss from Naked Man

Seeing a naked man pounce and rain blows on her employer, a petite Indonesian maid lunged at the much bigger assailant without a second thought.

More: http://tinyurl.com/6gd8amw

Monday 9/12

2011-09-12T01:37:00.000-07:00

Hellow World!

Thought for Today: "A smile is a curve that sets everything straight." -- Phyllis Diller

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Years Do Pass

2011-09-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

While a centenarian is someone who reaches the age of 100, a supercentenarian is a person who reaches the age of 110. Statistically, only one in one thousand centenarians will become supercentenarians and it is estimated that there are around 450 of these aged folks living today. Verifying the ages of those who claim to be 110 or greater isn't always easy but for the most part about ninety of the supercentenarians known are verified.

To date, the oldest person who ever lived was a French woman named Jeanne Louise Calment. She was born in 1875 and she died in 1997, living a total of 122 years and 164 days. She had the longest human life span in history and she is the only person ever verified to have reached the age of 120. Madame Calment was the last living human link to the 1870's. She recalled meeting Vincent Van Gogh in 1888 when she was thirteen years old, and she wasn't impressed by him in the least. She also remembered the Eiffel Tower's construction. She outlived her daughter and her grandson. When she turned ninety, she agreed to sell her home to a lawyer, who in turn agreed to pay her on a monthly basis as well as let her continue living in her flat until she died. Well, she outlived him too. By the time of his death he had paid her almost double what the apartment was worth. Madame Calment lived on her own until she was 110. She moved into a care home because she had a small house fire while cooking. She smoked cigarettes until she was 117 and she ate a kilo of chocolate a week. By the time she died she was joking to people that she was "competing with Methusula."

As astounding as her case is, the next longest lived person was Sarah Knauss of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Knauss reached the impressive age of 119 years, 97 days. She was born in 1880 and died in 1999. Her daughter, who lived to be 101 herself, said she believed Mrs. Knauss lived so long because "nothing phases her." She was known to be calm in the midst of anything. Her hobbies included watching golf on television and eating potato chips. She was 28 when Henry Ford introduced the Model T in 1908, she lived through seven U.S. wars, 23 U.S. Presidents, the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, aged 32, and Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic, aged 47. On the occasion of her 115th birthday a reporter asked her if she still enjoyed life and she replied that she did enjoy it because she had her health and she "could do things."

In total there are seven verified people who lived to the age of 116 and beyond. Currently the world's oldest living person is Besse Cooper of Monroe, Georgia; a retired school teacher who is - as of today - 115 years, 16 days old.

The subject of supercentenarians became appealing to me after I read a book about the legendary Madame Calment. I began doing research on these amazing people and the one thing that stands out about all of them is the fact that none of them were ever fanatical about their health. They simply remained in good health into extreme old age. In the case of Madame Calment, she was ambulatory until after her 115th birthday when she fractured her femur in a fall. After recovering she could walk around in her room and for short distances but mainly she traveled by wheelchair when she went out. Shortly before this event, she became the oldest person on record to appear in a feature film when she was shown briefly in the movie Vincent and Me, about Vincent Van Gogh.

Long lives are not unknown in my family, although admittedly no one has yet reached the status of supercentenarianism. My maternal grandmother lived until shortly before her 88th birthday, while her sister Annie lived to be three days shy of her 95th birthday, and they had a cousin who lived to the age of 104. On my father's side of the family, his paternal grandmother lived to be 101, outliving all but two of her seven children.

You have to wonder what it is about supercentenarians that makes it possible for them to reach such extreme old age. It has to be something in their genetic make up. As none of them are known to be health nuts, they have to be benefitting from something as of yet unknown to science. While many of them do eventually become wheelchair bound or suffer from failing vision and hearing, they all remained lucid and with very good memories right up to the end of their lives. In the case of Henry Allingham, who lived to be 114 and was Britain's last surviving World War 1 veteran, he didn't even need medications of any kind.

In the United States the average age at death for most people is 78 years, but the US also boasts the largest number of supercentenarians in the world. I know from having worked in the healthcare industry for more than two decades that it is becoming quite common for people to live into their nineties. What is even more amazing is that modern healthcare is making it possible for a lot of these people to remain active and with a good quality of life as well. Though nursing homes are far from becoming obsolete, and the maladies of old age such as stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer's, arthritis, etcetera continue to be widespread, the number of elderly people who are avoiding them is growing.

So what would it be like to live to be so old that you've outlived almost everyone you ever knew? How would you continue to find your purpose when the years keep passing and you keep getting older? With Madame Calment, by the time of her 100th birthday she had no heirs left and she still had over two decades to go. Mrs. Knauss resided in a nursing home and by the time she died her daughter lived there too. Elizabeth Bolden, a woman from Memphis who lived to be 116 years, 118 days, had a 74 year old grandson at the time of her 114th birthday. Mrs. Bolden in fact had seven children (although only two were living at the time of her death) and 40 grandchildren, 75 great-grandchildren, 150 great-great-grandchildren, 220 great-great-great grandchildren and 75 great-great-great-great-grandchildren. WOW!

I suppose it is the fact that these people all did retain their lucidity that they kept on enjoying life as they got older and older. They could find things to occupy their time and to get involved with. Most of them become celebrities as well, making their way into the Guiness Book of World Records and enjoying busy social schedules due to their advanced ages. Charlotte Hughes was a British supercentenarian who lived 115 years, 228 days. On her 110th birthday she flew Concorde to New York City where she met Mayor Ed Koch and stayed for four days at a suite in the Waldorf Astoria, all expenses paid. That's certainly something to be proud of. What's more, most of these folks remain in such robust health that they are able to live independently until sometimes just a few years before they die.

But they do eventually die. When Madame Calment finally died a nurse at her care home called her doctor with the news and the doctor did not believe it. He had to go there himself to assess her for death before he'd accept it. A woman who "competed with Methusula" certainly deserved the benefit of the doubt, eh? And on her death certificate, her doctor listed only "old age" as the cause of her death. I would call that an understatement, wouldn't you?

Years do pass and we all get older as they go by. Would you aspire to become a supercentenarian? I wouldn't mind it as long as I could keep a good quality of life and enjoy myself. I wouldn't like outliving my family but the thing about living to such an advanced age is that it can't be helped. These people don't sit and force themselves to keep living. They just go to sleep each night and wake up every morning the same as anybody else. The fact that we're all going to live until we die cannot be escaped, whether you go at a young age or live to be 122 years old. You're going to be here until the last day you are here. And that's just the way it is.

For those interested, here is a link to a table of the longest lived supercentenarians on record, courtesy of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercentenarian

Will you one day be among them?

Carey Parrish

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/11

2011-09-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

From Iran - The Tehran Times

(Note: Please prepare yourselves for something a jolt when you read this article. The editorialist's disdain for the United States and specifically George W. Bush is obvious. I am only posting this to give readers an idea of what the train of thought for most people in this Muslim nation must be like on this most somber of commerative and memorial events. Otherwise, why would the Tehran Times have printed it?)

9/11: Lingering Doubts

The attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 provided a dramatic pretext for American Islamophobes to pour out their venom on Islam and Prophet Muhammad (S).

More: http://tinyurl.com/44s8t4u

Ten Years On

2011-09-11T04:26:00.000-07:00

I think I'm going to skip television today. A decade has now passed since September 11, 2001 and it's not enough time for the rawness of the emotions we all felt on that day to have developed adequate scar tissue to shield most of us from the remembered horror of that awful time. There will be memorials in New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, and all over; memorials for the thousands who died on that terrible morning, tributes to an America that passed away with them.

We all remember what we were doing and where we were on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Watching the World Trade Center towers fall is a vision that will forever be burned into my memory. I recall so vividly watching as people jumped from the windows of the upper floors of those buildings. Then there were the people on the ground when the towers came down. I can still see this one man, short and chubby, covered with dust, saying: "I can still run! I'm sixty-nine but I can still run!" The masses of humanity that were sent running for their lives out of lower Manhattan on foot when the debris and billowing dirt went sailing through the air, I can see it all in my mind's eye so very clearly and it doesn't seem possible that it all happened ten years ago.

Time passes quickly and while it does have a healing effect what it cannot do is take away the feelings that we experienced during moments in the past. Our emotions always have a way of taking us back to events that made an impact on our lives. We don't ever forget how someone or something made us feel. The security that most Americans had enjoyed up until September 11, 2001 was cruelly ripped away from us that day. Not since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had we been made to feel so violated, so vulnerable, so ultimately human. The terrorists who carried out those atrocities really completed their tasks in more ways than one.

I am undecided as to how I now feel about that terrible day. There is a part of me that will forever be reliving the tremors of horror that coursed through me as I watched it all unfold. There is another part of me that still demands justice for the thousands who died and for the life we all had before that morning. There is also the feeling of numbness that most of us had to develop so as not to let what happened drive us to distraction during the media blitz that followed. And then there is the pain I cannot forget while watching what was happening and knowing that no one could change it. As I watched all those people who jumped from the upper floors of the World Trade Center my heart broke and the tears that spilled down my cheeks for them are still real, still aching in my eyes, and they will always be so.

A lot has happened in the decade since September 11, 2001. The war on terror rages on. Iraq is free of Saddam Hussein. Osama Bin Laden was hunted down and killed. Al Qaeda and the Taliban have been seriously crippled. But they're still there. And we all know that their hate is boiling. We know that sooner or later they're going to do something, anything to let the world know that they haven't been completely squashed. It is this dread that permeates most of our thoughts when we think of the last ten years and how the events between then and now have changed us forever. Dread can be a terrible thing in itself, especially when it is rooted in the reality we all share.

So yes, I think I'll skip television today. My memories of September 11, 2001 are very fresh in my mind and while I will always honor those who perished during those awful attacks I don't think I want to revisit that morning by watching it happen all over again through reruns. We have been doing that for the last ten years too. As if any of us need news footage to go back to that place in time anyway. No, I think I'll spend some time with my family today. I want to be near them. I think we all should be with those we love on a day like this.

Because the one lesson everyone indisputably learned on September 11, 2001 is that there is always the very real chance that our lives can be irreversibly changed in just a few short minutes.

My love to all...

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/10

2011-09-10T04:45:00.000-07:00

From Ireland - The Irish Times

U2 'close to irrelevance', says Bono

“U2 ARE now very close to irrelevance”, Bono admitted at the world premiere of a new documentary film about the band at the Toronto International Film Festival.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3asj4pz

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/9

2011-09-09T01:57:00.000-07:00

From Nepal - Nepal News

Mystery Over Royal Massacre Gradually Fading Into Memory

A decade has passed since the Nayarayanhiti royal palace massacre in which the entire family of the then king Birendra Shah was eliminated, but the the mystery over the midnight carnage still remains. And, the chilling massacre is gradually fading into memory.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3wnyxzu

Friday 9/9

2011-09-09T01:48:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Friday!

Thought for Today: "When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take - choose the bolder." -- Ezra Pound

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/8

2011-09-08T01:55:00.000-07:00

From The Isle of Man - IOM Today

Shark Film-maker Aiming for Change

ENVIRONMENTAL film-maker Chris Scarffe was in the island this summer visiting his family in Castletown.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3jvtcsh

Thursday 9/8

2011-09-08T01:43:00.000-07:00

Hello World!

Thought for Today: "Don't take your toys inside just because it's raining." -- Cher

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/7

2011-09-07T01:59:00.000-07:00

From Cameroon - Cameroon Online

Gay Asylum Seekers Not Gay Enough

Many homosexual asylum seekers are often sent back by European countries, including the Netherlands, as a result of prejudice and stereotyping.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3fx5tvo

Wednesday 9/7

2011-09-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Wednesday!

Thought for Today: "Think gently, speak gently, live gently." -- Mattie J.T. Stepanek

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Writer's Block - A Preview

2011-09-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

A snippet from my upcoming novel Writer's Block. Enjoy... and comments are welcome. LOL.

***

Paralyzed with shock, JR stood looking down at Rocky. There was nothing, no movement, just a silence in the room broken only by the sound of JR’s breath as it caught in his throat with each respiration.

Rocky was perfectly still, eyes closed, his head at an unnatural angle from the position of his upper torso against the hearth.

JR stood looking down at Rocky, as if willing him by sheer mental telepathy to open his eyes or make a sound or something, anything. And still only the loudness of JR’s breath broke the quiet of the scene.

Suddenly remembering that he could move, JR knelt down beside Rocky and took his wrist, searching for a pulse that wasn’t there. Fear coursing through him, he pulled Rocky away from the hearth until the boy lay supine and then he felt for a pulse in Rocky’s neck. Pleading in his mind for there to be one, the passing seconds seemed hours long while the stillness beneath his fingers betrayed the horror that was creeping over him. Bolting back on his knees, JR stared at the body with eyes wide and every hair on his head standing on end.

‘I killed him! I killed him!’ he could hear his voice shouting in his head. “Oh Jesus God I killed him!”

Closing his eyes against the reality that surrounded him, JR tried desperately to gather his wits. His inner voice was still screaming at him, now imploring him to do something, but he couldn’t move. He should have been calling 911. He should have been performing CPR. Rocky lay dead just a foot away from him and all he could do was sit there on his haunches and listen to his own voice in his head.

The feeling of bile rising in his throat propelled him to jump to his feet and he ran out into the hall toward the bathroom, fighting not to disgorge the contents of his stomach until he reached his destination. Barely making it, he heaved violently and his body shook as he rid himself of the nausea. The putrid task over, he grasped for the hand towel beside the sink and used it to dry his face of the perspiration that popped out on it while he was throwing up.

Glancing at himself in the mirror he was shocked by the whiteness of his face. He fancied he looked like a corpse himself as he tried to organize the myriad thoughts that were spinning around in his mind. He knew he had to do something. But what?

Putting his hands on the vanity to steady himself, he felt something soft beneath his right palm. Looking curiously at it, he realized that there was a white powder adhering to his skin. And Rocky had been in this bathroom only minutes before the fight.

“Oh my god,” JR breathed.

Wiping his hands on the towel, he went back into the living room where Rocky’s body lay motionless. Recalling the discussion they’d had only weeks ago, where Rocky had promised him he’d give up cocaine, JR let his thoughts settle into an order that took on a life of its own, dictating what would happen and how it would take place.

He took Rocky’s left arm and moved the body away from the fireplace. Then he grabbed both of Rocky’s wrists and began pulling him across the floor toward the French doors that led out to the terrace. Once there, he took in a deep breath of the warm night air and even though he knew no one could see him he still looked around as if this was necessary. He didn’t even feel like he was in control of what he was doing anymore.

Because Rocky was taller than he was, JR had to struggle to lift him up from the floor. Grunting under the weight of the dead boy’s body, he shoved it upward against the terrace railing until he could push it forward using its own momentum to aid him. Gravity came into play at just the right moment and with a final thrust JR watched Rocky’s body go over the ironwork head first.

Not wanting to wait and see if he could hear when the body reached the ground eighteen floors below, JR went back inside. He left the French doors open as he strode toward the phone on his desk. His nerves beginning to tingle again, he dialed 911 and summoned the precise amount of panic into his voice as the operator answered.

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/6

2011-09-06T01:45:00.000-07:00

From Hungary - The Budapest Times

Toothless Homeless Czar Quits Job

Budapest City Council’s commissioner for homeless affairs resigned on Wednesday after Mayor István Tarlós refused to rescind a decree that criminalises sleeping rough.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3wuhjgu

Tuesday 9/6

2011-09-06T01:30:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Tuesday!

Thought for Today: "Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for." -- Will Rogers

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/5

2011-09-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

From The Czech Republic - The Prague Post

Restaurants Fear Smoking Ban

Health Ministry supports proposal, says the financial savings will outweigh losses.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3epuem7

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/4

2011-09-04T03:57:00.000-07:00

From Monaco - The Monaco Times

A Prince Indignant

On landing back in his kingdom after a lengthy African honeymoon with his new wife, it took Prince Albert II just 12 hours to speak out against the rumours that have been swirling around himself and Princess Charlene since their wedding.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3cpnuuo

Film Review: Lemon Tree

2011-09-04T03:26:00.000-07:00

Originally released in 2008, this Israeli film was dissed and quickly discarded by its native filmgoers. It wasn't until the movie went into wide release around the world that it gained momentum as one of the finest of the year.

Lemon Tree tells the story of a forty-five year old Palestinian woman named Salma who has been widowed. Salma lives on the Israeli/West Bank border and outside her home is a grove of lemon trees which she has tended and cared for since her husband's death. When the Israeli Minister of Defense moves in next door to Salma, the security team assigned to protect him and his wife Mira quickly decide that Salma's lemon trees are a threat as they could hide snipers. A fence is first erected between the homes but soon thereafter Salma is served notice that her beloved lemon trees are to be cut down. As she begins legal proceedings to stop the proposed routing of her lemon grove, she becomes unlikely friends with the minister's wife, Mira. The two women forge a strong bond and Mira soon becomes one of Salma's most vocal defenders, to the chagrin of her husband and the security team who first raised the issue of destroying the trees. As the movie progresses, Salma doggedly pursues her cause, assisted by a young attorney who comes to fancy her, and Mira is forced to make some difficult choices in her support of Salma. When the Palestinian mission is abandoned, Mira and her husband move. A concrete wall has been built between the two homes and the last scene reveals that the lemon trees have been cut down.

Israeli audiences were quick to dismiss the film as a propaganda tool for the Palestinians, but filmmakers defended Lemon Tree as an important tool in the struggle to find peace between these two factions of Israel's populace. In presenting a politically charged story, the friendship that develops between Salma and Mira becomes the root of the film's premise and the decisions each has to make depict the internal dilemma of the situation as a whole.

Directed and produced by Eran Riklis, Lemon Tree stars Hiam Abbass, Ali Suliman, Danny Leshman, Rona Lipaz-Michael, Tarik Kopty, Amos Lavi, Lana Zreik and Amnon Wolf. The performances are powerful, the direction is crisp, and the cinematography is gorgeous. Even though the film ends differently than the viewer hopes for, the movie itself is a triumph, more than worthy of the praise and awards it received from the global community.

Five Stars.

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/3

2011-09-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

From Brazil - The Rio Times

Amazon Deforestation by Cattle Ranchers: Daily

A government report released yesterday has disproved the commonly held belief that Amazonian deforestation is largely down to agriculture, principally the cultivation of soybeans and oil palms.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3at8kmn

On Coloring Books and Class (Or a Lack Thereof)

2011-09-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Very few things really shock me anymore. In this day and age of outright stupidity and downright idiocy, I think most of us are becoming desensitized to the outlandish. Yet now and again something pops up that just blows my mind with its audacious ridiculousness. Such was the case this morning when I turned on CNN and saw TJ Holmes attempting to conduct an interview with one Wayne Bell.

Bell is the publisher of Really Big Coloring Books, Inc. His latest project is a 36 page “graphic novel” that tells the story of 9/11/01 from the plotting of the terrorist attacks by Osama Bin Laden to the execution of Bin Laden by Navy SEALs. In the outline in the book, Bin Laden is shown cowering behind a woman wearing a burka while a SEAL shoots him. The coloring book features similarly offensive graphics for kids to color throughout.

Personally, I find this coloring book offensive. I cannot imagine any parent buying it for a child to use as amusement. There is no art contained within its pages and the text included, which tells the story of Bin Laden’s exploits, is absolutely crammed with bad grammar, according to the Indiana Student Daily. I cannot comment on this because I haven’t read it, and I have no plans to do so either.

In my opinion, it takes a really disturbed mind to come up with a coloring book for children that presents something as awful as the 9/11 disaster in such violent detail. The title of this “graphic novel” is We Shall Never Forget 9/11: The Kids’ Book of Freedom. Well, I shall never forget the thoughtlessness, stupidity, and lack of intelligence that it took for Bell and his company to publish something as offensive as this coloring book. I am appalled that anyone with half a brain could think that the public would accept something this potentially hazardous to our children. It is beyond me to comprehend that degree of ignorance.

During the interview with Bell that I saw on CNN, TJ Holmes had to repeatedly interrupt him in order to ask the questions that viewers wanted answers to, because Bell kept going off on tangents about how his book is proper, has the support of parents, was written with the involvement of Muslims, and that it is entirely appropriate because parents will have to make the decision whether to buy it for their children, or not. It was clearly apparent that Bell felt a need to justify his decision to publish this coloring book and he kept trying to turn the debate toward any opposition to it, as if he thought that would make him look better in the context of the interview. He was clearly floundering because every time he was asked something he didn’t want to answer he’d just try to switch the focus of the question onto something he wanted to say. It was really sad but it was also hilarious that this guy can think people watching him will take his side.

I suppose there are those who will support his position. I went to the website where the book is being sold (notice I wrote website and not websites) and there indeed are some comments at the bottom of the page applauding the book. One purports itself to be from the UK. I don’t know where these comments are coming from, or if they’re authentic, but I do know there are people out there who will want to fan the flames this book is creating and there are also those who love to revel hate.

And this is where I draw the line with Bell and anyone else who would support the sale of his coloring book. I see it as a tool of hate. I consider it to be the attempts of a group of people who want to begin teaching our children that they should avoid anyone different from themselves. Distrust and ostracism lead to ignorance and it is ignorance upon which hatred is based. So I find it nonsensical that anyone would think presenting a coloring book like We Shall Never Forget to children would be aimed toward any sort of understanding.

It took a massive amount of hatred for those who plotted and carried out the 9/11 attacks to realize their goal. It cost thousands of people their lives. The one lesson I hope history takes away from this blot on humanity is that tolerance is what we should be striving for as a species. When people from every walk of life can accept that there are those in the world who are different from themselves, take the time to learn about why the differences exist, and live together in mutual respect of one another’s right to believe the way they choose, then we will see an end to hatred.

I abhor violence and the presentation of such to children will only fuel their imaginations, at a very impressionable age, to go out and propagate it. In my opinion, We Shall Never Forget is a tool for doing just this. Do we really want to keep traveling down that road? Have we learned nothing from the terrorist attacks on 9/11? Can we sit idly by and let people like Bell peddle propaganda such as this? I do not condone censorship but I do ask that people show some class, some intelligence, and some common sense.

Freedom comes with responsibility. We’ve got to exercise logic when it comes to the decisions we make. I find nothing logical about whatever it is Bell is trying to accomplish through a coloring book aimed at kids that tells the story of hatred.

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/2

2011-09-02T01:53:00.000-07:00

From Israel - The Jerusalem Post

"Messianic Jews 'Named and Shamed' in Jerusalem Town"

An anonymous group has taken to distributing flyers with the personal details of those from community who believe Jesus is the messiah.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3eb7pov

Friday 9/2

2011-09-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Friday!

Thought for Today: "Age does not bring you wisdom, age brings you wrinkles." -- Estelle Getty

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 9/1

2011-09-01T01:56:00.000-07:00

From Australia - Perth Now

Porn Star Can Keep Teaching Job

A TEACHER who led a double life as a porn star and stripper has been found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct - but has still been allowed to keep his job in the classroom.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3qysz9u

Thursday 9/1

2011-09-01T01:38:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Thursday!

Thought for Today: "Cruelty is one fashion statement we can all do without." -- Rue McClanahan

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 8/31

2011-08-31T01:55:00.000-07:00

From India - The Times of India

A Glass of Milk Acts Like A Painkiller

Scientists have revealed that a glass of milk contains a cocktail of up to

20 painkillers, antibiotics and growth hormones.

More: http://tinyurl.com/4yc3nzm

Wednesday 8/31

2011-08-31T01:47:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Wednesday!

Thought for Today: "Talent is developed, gift is God given. An artist has both." -- Carroll O'Connor

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 8/30

2011-08-30T02:02:00.000-07:00

From South Africa - The Mail & Guardian

Obama's Uncle Arrested for Drunk Driving

A relative of President Barack Obama was arrested last week outside Boston

on charges of drunk driving, an official said on Monday.

More: http://tinyurl.com/3un5lf2

Tuesday 8/30

2011-08-30T01:41:00.000-07:00

Hello World!

Thought for Today: "It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." -- Tony Robbins

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!

Foreign News Item of the Day - 8/29

2011-08-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

From Madagascar - The Madagascar Tribune

The Mayor Ousted by Thugs, The Police Can Not Be Found

More: http://tinyurl.com/3mtecpq

(Note: The Google Translation from the original French is not perfect.)

Monday 8/29

2011-08-29T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hello World! It's Monday!

Thought for Today: "A career is wonderful, but you can't curl up with it on a cold night." -- Marilyn Monroe

The song I woke up to this morning...

Have a great day!