Gasp!

A Thought Collage

Rather than do a bunch of little posts, I thought I'd try to get it all down in one.

• Prague Daily Photo has a absolutely gorgeous picture titled, "Slavia Cafe and National Theatre." I love rainy nights and glistening streets. The lit detail on top of the theatre is stunning.

• I would love to know how much the collapsing dollar is affecting the book trade. I listened to an interview yesterday with Ian Lawton on Coast to Coast. He's a proponent of what he refers to as "rational spirituality" and the interlife. Much of what he said rang true for me, and I really wanted to buy a few of his books. Alas, he's in the U.K. and the exchange rate is even worse than usual. Twenty U.S. bucks for a paperback gives me great pause and slight heartburn. I'm probably bite the bullet and buy it, but it makes me wonder how the falling dollar is hurting independent publishers.

• One of the myriad of reasons I've been taking an active stance regarding copyright is that I'm shifting my creativity from theater to books and the web. It's in my best interest to study up on these matters. I think it's in your best interest as well, if you choose to publish or produce on the web. However, I do think that Prince is going a wee bit overboard. Sheesh.

• Since I collect vintage paperbacks, I've taken special interest in Marty's interview with Bruce Black. Good job, Marty.

• The ten Mafia commandments struck me as being odd.
  

  That's it for now.

The Real Axelrod

Here's an odd one. I did a Google search of my name, because you know, I sit around bored out of my mind all the time. Since I only allow partial feeds, that's all this scammer could scrap.

I took a snapshot. Of course, within a second it redirects to a porn site.

I don't think I'd ever name my blog "Axelrod" and title the blog entry "Axelrod." And throw a few Axelrods into the entry itself.

Or maybe I could.... AxelrodAxelrodAxelrod

Live Protesting

At long last, honest emotion on television. Bill Maher gets interrupted...

Lame Meme

Oh, when I saw this meme making the rounds, I seriously hoped that it wouldn't land on my lap. But since Patrick has tapped me, I'll do it.

List 5 things that certain people (who are not deserving of being your friend anyway) may consider to be "totally lame," but you are, despite the possible stigma, totally proud of. Own it. Tag 5 others.

Lame? No siree, I'm *never* lame. And I'm certainly not proud of any of this. But here you go.

1. Back in the 90s, I seriously believed that California was going to have a big, devastating earthquake. I thought Gordon-Michael Scallion was right about the Western US falling into the ocean. Oh, how wrong we were. The lamest part? I made many roommates uncomfortable by telling them we were all going to die. What a joy I was to be around.

2. When I was younger, I made for good cult-fodder. With alarming frequency, members of odd cults would pick me out of a crowd and try to talk me into going to their meetings. Or whatever you call whatever they did. The lamest part? I decided to join one once. It didn't last.

3. Yes, we've got all sorts of wild animals here. Snakes, turtles, a neighborhood Bobcat and the ever-present coyotes. Whenever we hear those coyotes, Jethro runs out the door with his gun. The lame part? I really, really, really, really hope that the coyotes escape. I don't want any animals killed. Furthermore, I don't even want animals to kill each other. Why can't we all just get along?

Last weekend, I avoided hitting a black garden snake with the car. I try to rescue insects from the pool. Back in Austin, I used to rescue crickets that ended up inside our office. It's totally lame... Unless, of course, you're the insect.

4. For over 30 years, my Grandmother watched General Hospital. As a tribute to her, I started watching it. Now, I'm addicted. Every day, I waste an hour watching that silly soap opera. The lame part? Do you have to ask?

5. I believe - strongly - that I have the superhuman ability to read every book I already own, every book that I will buy in the future, and every book I receive for review. The lame part? Those are some seriously high expectations.

Oh well. I'm supposed to be proud of all that. If I took it down a notch, it might be admirable. Perhaps.

And now, I throw it to Owentew, Cormac, Intermission, Megan, Elizabeth

Patrick's Meme

Oy, Patrick Gabridge has tapped me for his meme. It’s called “Five Strengths.” Here’s it is:

"Make a list of five strengths that you possess as a writer/artist. It's not really bragging, it's an honest assessment (forced upon you by this darn meme). Please resist the urge to enumerate your weaknesses, or even mention them in contrast to each strong point you list. Tag four other writers or artists whom you'd like to see share their strengths."

1) I have lots and lots and lots of ideas. I don’t seem to ever run out of them. In fact, I probably have more ideas for articles, books, films and other creative projects than I will ever be able to implement.

2) I’m very good at taking a form, tinkering with it and creating something new. This extends beyond writing to day jobs. My office resume states that I excel at creating new processes. I gravitate towards cutting-edge, which is probably why theater and I didn’t get along too well.

3) I love rewriting. I love getting rid of extra verbiage. It comes from writing poetry as a child.

4) I keep an open mind. I’ll entertain all sorts of ideas – from the absolute wacky to the unbearably rigid. It doesn’t matter who thought the thought; only the thought itself matters. I can listen to Air America, Far-Right Radio, Coast to Coast, Whitley Strieber and give it all equal credence. Anything is possible. Isn’t that what creativity is about?

5) I’ve always read a tremendous amount of books and magazines. And I’m glad to finally come out of the closet about it. Especially since I was taught to never talk about things that other people may not know about. Yes, that’s weird, but that’s why I always kept my reading a secret. If I didn’t, I was accused of being a braggart. So, in an effort not to make people uncomfortable, I never talked about anything I read.

Now, I have to give this to five people. Too bad I’m “in-between communities” right now. Patrick, can we expand this meme to include people in other professions? How about “five strengths for your particular profession.” Sigh. I hope I’m not breaking the rules. I’m such a rule-freak.

Here it is. Scott, Joshua (because I know you guys still read Gasp), Cormac, Owentew (even though I don’t know if he’ll do it) and Megan.

Courage

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."

---Alan Cohen, author

One cave, please

I have a birthday coming up very shortly, and I sure would like a cave. Only 5,250.00 Euros.

I do hope, however, that the pink books aren't included.

Budgeting Continues

Awhile back I wrote about my Dave Ramsey experience. For those who don't know, Dave Ramsey is a nice guy who helps people get out of debt. He works on changing your attitude about money. Jethro and I went to one of his personal appearances in Birmingham several months ago. I signed up to take part in Financial Peace University and bought a kit to help me learn how to better manage my money. We haven't started FPU yet.

But that hasn't stopped me from working on my debt. I took the envelope system out of the kit and began using it. I'm lucky because my budget is simple. Unfortunately, whenever you spend money, you have to write it down. That's the hard part for me. In ten seconds, I've forgotten the exact amount of money I've spent. I can be at a register giving the money to a cashier and by the time I walk out the door, I'm clueless.

This is denial. If I can't remember how much I've spent, then I haven't spent it. Yes, I'm aware of how silly it sounds.

The other problem is that I haven't quite worked out the proper budget. I should, theoretically, have a simple budget. But one category always runs low and one category isn't spent by the end of the week. It seems silly to me to go back to the bank and take more money out for one category when I have $20 extra in another envelope for another category. This has been a pattern for several weeks.

Dave says that it takes a few months to get the budget down. And so, I continue working it out.

Jethro doesn't use the envelope system. I think he just pools all his money and tracks it on paper. That seems simpler. I think the envelope system prevents you from saying to yourself: "I think I'll buy a new dress and eat Ramen for a week."

Not that I'm in danger of that kind of thinking. My problem is that I feel guilty for spending any money, which comes from my starving writer days. I think that's why the denial kicks in.

Anyway, the envelope system shouldn't be as hard as it is for me. I'm going to keep working at it because discipline is good for the soul.

A consideration and an addition

"The man who says that a Book has the power to pollute his Soul ranks his Soul below a Book."
---Robert Buchanan, writer

And go light a virtual cigar over at Malachy's site. He's a new Daddy.

Jethro's Question

JETHRO: So what's the deal with Newark? Is it supposed to be New York, just said with a Jersey accent? I mean, does the name actually mean something? I always wondered that. New York... Newark. It sounds alike.

LAURA: I don't know. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to put you in my blog again.

JETHRO: Newark. It's a new-work. Newark.... No, no, no. Don't write that in there. Now that just sounds stupid.