… I am taking a little break from blogging. I should be back with some exciting updates sometime down the line… perhaps even soon.
Cheers!
marcel
Da Count – a reminder
24
Jun
of what it’s all about. Yeah, it’s a day early… just to make up for missing last week.
yeah, I know…
23
Jun
… I haven’t been blogging lately. Just haven’t been moved to do so of late. Just the way it rolls sometimes. Not sure when I will resume on a regular basis… but It could happen. In the meantime… hope the sporadic burst will do.
For now I hope you are all doing well.
Cheers!
Da Count – calls for help…
11
Jun
… that I can actually do something about.
I got one this morning in fact. Fingers B needed some software help. I checked and had exactly what he needed. Within half an hour the challenge ceased to be an issue.
It does make me feel good… and useful in circumstances such as these. So, short as it is… that is what I’m counting this week.
gearing up for a write… or five
08
Jun
Yeah, you read that right. It’s time to dive into the ocean of words and hopefully emerge with something worthy for the stage. But not just one… at least 5 are sitting in wait for me to tackle them and pin them to the page.
So what is this “gearing up” thing you speak of, Lecram?
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been in the “zone” to do so. Plus, as I’ve mentioned before there are at least 5. I’ve had to do a little mental juggling to decide which will go first. Since my last one was of the “fuck you” ilk… I figure the next 2 will be too. Besides, 3 constitutes a phase.
Yeah, writers do go through phases. The “family” phase… the “fantasy” phase… yada, yada. I’m probably not the first but I think every writer goes through the “fuck you” phase. Though I would like to think that I’m one of the few who will admit to it while it is happening… and not in retrospect.
The first one will fit this current phase quite nicely, thank you. As per my modus operandai I am exploring yet another genre… Grand Guignol. So, yeah… I think it fits.
The premise? Well, you will just have to buy your tickets for the show in October. Yeah, the theater is already booked. O.K…. so, I’m pulling an Alan Ayckbourne by booking the space then writing the show. No pressure, right? LOL!
Cheers!
sometimes I do slip back…
07
Jun
… into the reclusive world of hermitizing. Usually short periods like I did this weekend. Nothing traumatic nor momentous triggered it… I just did. Just needed to feel the embrace of that “stillness” again just for a bit. The result? I’m blogging at 4:30 AM. Though I am not re-entering it as a lifestyle as I once did… the solace does help.
The next couple of weeks should prove interesting. I’m commemorating Mum’s one year with a “mimosa morning”. Yeah, it’s been a year. Well, almost. June 21 is the actual date. I figured we’d sit out front like we did on that morning toasting her life.
Looking back… it has been quite the ride. But that is the nature of life, isn’t it? Even in the moments of stillness… it’s all part of the ride.
Hope yours is going well on this Monday.
one for the AIYA files
04
Jun
So, I hear this clicking sound while driving the Blue Devil today. Upon investigation… I find this.
Apparently hardware and fasteners abound on the streets of da Big NO. Now I’ll have to spend money that I don’t have.
Da Count – ye olde Elvis clock
04
Jun
A strange and quirky count? Perhaps.
Over the last few weeks during the “Great Purge of 2010″ I came across it again. All dusty and the hook that attached the legs to the rest of it had snapped off. I seriously considered putting it up for grabs during several of the yard sales that the lovely Joy and I had organized. Or even tossing it. ::gasp:: But I relented and decided to keep it. Something in the back of my mind told me to hold on to it. (Go ahead… click play on the video.)
So for the past few weeks it has been sitting in my room… just laying there in it’s battered state. Well, last week I finally decided to get some superglue to put it back together. It also struck me that the actual clock stopped working many years ago. I figured I’d start with the contact points… and move on from there. That indeed was the cause. Once cleaned off from the rust, I popped in a battery and it worked!
I hung it up and once again derived delight that as the second clicked away his legs swung from side to side simulating the iconic hip swivel. (Tis true… I am easily amused.) But there was more to this.
You see, it struck me this silly little clock was present during the periods when I was most prolific as a playwright. (My most prolific year was when I cranked out 9 plays in one year.) I am not prone to overt sentimentality but I do subscribe to the notion that objects absorb energy from our actions. Let me put it this way… just in the time it has been sitting in my room… I now have about 5 projects waiting to be created. My challenge now is to figure out the order with which to crank them out.
Am I saying my Elvis clock holds some kind of mystical power? I will choose to say nothing… lest a band of crazed writers suffering from writers block decide to nick it.
But, this week I am counting being reunited with a touchstone from a period when my creative output was at an optimum… and one that puts a silly grin on my face whenever I look at it.
To find out more about Da Count… click the flashing sign above.
EDIT: Just Another Crass Commercial
But if you have been thinking about it… this is a really good deal. Click the banner for more.
the walk
03
Jun
It is something I started (actually, re-started) over the weekend. And I’ve continued. Fine, 5 days is not exactly a great track record but I’m still doing it, aren’t I? It is also true that some days I begin later in the morning than others. The point being… I’m still doing it. That should count for something.
Everyday the route changes. I like variety. Everyday I add a little more distance. It feels good. Sure, it’s fun to look around and check out the other homesteads in the hood but what I enjoy most about it is the solitude… that zen thing that kicks in when a rhythm and pace has been established.
I have always marveled at how certain simple activities produces that effect. One where the chaos, distractions and woes of the world (including the self) is stripped away and one is spirited into “the personal quiet”.
I have missed that for a while. There was a time when I could snap out of the clutter of life and be whisked off to that place on cue. The zone where one is most creative. Not just in an “artsy” way but also in the “everyday life” kinda way. The place where solutions to challenges appear in the most simple and straightforward form. It’s as if the gaudy speckled curtain rises revealing a bare stage. One where a myriad of scenarios play out for our examination. Our choice is then to pick one.
This really is the favorite thing about my walks. So much so I don’t even stop to consider the health benefits from the exercise I’m attaining. To me… that’s just a bonus.
*Click pick for original source.
using what I have
02
Jun
I have a lot – by any normal standard I am blessed. Listing what I have would be pointless and take an inordinate amount of time. So, let us just leave it at that for now.
The real question is, “Am I using it?”… everything that I have, that is. This thought struck me over the last few weeks while in “yard-sale frenzy”. Of course, one is always slightly befuddled by everything we have accumulated over time. The late George Carlin’s famous routine on “Stuff” really hits it on the head – we can’t help but accumulate stuff. But do we really use all this stuff we have?
I know I don’t. But, I want to change that… and here’s the rub… if I actively use everything I have it would take eons before I’m done. Think about it… if you mentally lined up everything you have and say spent 5 minutes using each and every one… how long would that take?
The logical solution would be to discard or give away the stuff one doesn’t use and only keep what is. Tough to do. Only because we will use logic against itself every time with perfectly reasonable excuses like, “What if I need it sometime down the line… then what do I do?” This of course always crops up when contemplating what to throw or give away.
Of late I have been making the effort not to capitulate to that kind of insidiousness. (Yeah… good luck, right?) Not fueled by some pseudo evangelical fervor but with a simple practical approach. I take note of the things I use… and when I come across something I haven’t for a while I think back to the last time I did. If it has been more than a year and a half – it goes. (Yes, this factors in the “seasonal use” quotient.)
Yeah, it is a minuscule step… but at least it is a step.
In the meantime… enjoy a bit of Mr. Carlin’s routine. Cheers and Happy Tuesday.