New Years Resolutions??

All our lives we look forward to the new year. More towards the end of the out going year as opposed to the beginning of the new one. On the Jewish calendar the new year comes in the fall. The celebration of Rosh Hashanah is a festival indeed. From dipping pieces of apples into honey before eating (YUM!!) to the blowing of the shofar there are festivities abounding. No there is no count down, nor expensive ball dropping in Times Square. There is lots of family and feasting and friends. Usually we do not look at how the next year will be different from the previous year, nor how we hope to make it better.

So cultures are different. Throughout the world the standard calendar of use is the Gregorian calendar. According to this calendar, January 1 marks the new year. People the world over start planning early. Having worked in the restaurant business, I know how true this is. People will make reservations in July for December 31st. I even had some who would arrive at the restaurant for their reservations for New Years Eve and try to make reservations for the next year. I have never been able to wrap my mind around around this. Many parents would find it fascinating (and lucky for them) that I never had plans for New Years Eve. So I would sit back, play with the kids till they fell asleep and make a few bucks just having a quiet evening. Who made out better?

Saying farewell to the old year and greeting the new one with (usually drunken) vigor has been a tradition for many years. Some look back to the year coming to a close to weigh the good things that have befallen them. Others look back at all the ills they had and say the new year will be much better. then there are those who only look forward to what will be and the possibilities they can make for themselves and others around them.

So what is the premise for resolutions? The act of making New Year's resolutions dates back to the ancient Romans and the mythological King Janus as early as 153 B.C. Janus had the ability to look back and look forward at the same time. Being able to look back on the old and forward to the new gives perspective into how to truly look at your resolve. However, it would seem that many set the exact same resolution every year hoping that this will be the year they do not fail. So, instead of setting the same resolutions, look back as to why the old ones failed last year and look forward to renewing in a fashion that would allow you to achieve that which you set out to do.

Some of the resolutions people set for themselves are usually having to do with health and fitness. Gym memberships increase just after January 1st. However, attendance in gyms dwindles as the weeks move forward. Others look at eating better though the year and to not frequent the fast food shops. However, McDonald's and other such places continue to thrive.

What are your resolutions for 2009? Examine them from many perspectives and try to be like King Janus. I have not been one to make resolutions but always have served to just be a better person each day then I was the day before. When I have made them it is usually as a joke when a group of friends are discussing theirs and always ask me to make one. Earlier today i was IMing with a friend in Nashville and we were discussing something totally different and I off-handily decided to add a New Years Resolution to my New Year. No more men. No relationships of romantic nature. I had a doctor once who told me I was a work-a-holic and should get a social life. I tried and it was more stressful trying to have a social life then not. I told the doctor he was crazy. So I leave it for you, how will you make your resolutions for the new year?

War Is Over!!!!!

Some of you know that I am hearing impaired. Music has always been a big part of my life. I write songs. I sang before I got sick. Music has just always been for me a means of escape and reflection and relaxation. Most music I don't look up lyrics for are the ones I enjoyed before losing my hearing. After my hearing started to go I mostly enjoyed the music although I couldn't hear the words. I am Messianic and so this time of year I listen mostly to Hanukkah music. So, why would I be posting about a Christmas Song. Well, some of you probably don't realize that I am.

Like so many people I never really paid attention to the words of songs, not even songs I sang unless I forced myself. We like music for music, not really for message. The first time I heard the song "So This Is Christmas" was in a television show after I lost hearing. I fell in love with the music. I didn't know any better. The other day in Second Life, BigD and I were at the Bistro and he was playing DJ. I told him there was a Christmas song that I loved the music on but couldn't remember the title. Later I did and IMd him. Well, he agreed the music was absolutely gorgeous and went on to tell me that it was a song that John Lennon wrote and performed with Yoko Ono.

Now, that man could write. I went today and googled to find the words of this song to find out what message Mr. Lennon had for his listeners. I read them and went to iTunes as I had to have the song. The actual title is "War Is Over". The song talks of peace and living in peace with everyone. I have now listened to the song many times repeatedly with new ears and I cry. This is perhaps the greatest song he has written. I have added the link from uTube that includes the lyrics. Please, if you are one who keeps Christmas (religiously or traditionally) or one who keeps Hanukkah or nothing at all, listen to this song with my ears and with the heart. Read the lyrics and know this is a song, not for Christmas, but for all time.

A Fire to Never Quench

Two weeks ago today I made my last post. This post was excerpts from my article "Injustice And Intolerance In The Name Of God" After two weeks of no one contacting me to purchase the full article for publishing I decided to break down and submit it to Triond for publishing. I was reluctant to submit to them as I only make a few pennies a month and I really wanted to have it published where I could make a few bucks instead. Usually it takes anywhere from 24 to 48 hours for Triond to have my work published. However, this time I received a confirmation e-mail in less then an hour. http://www.newsflavor.com/Opinions/Injustice-and-Intolerance-in-the-Name-of-God.398005 Within an hour of publishing, there had already been a comment left on the article. I was fully amazed and just sat stunned as I talked to my friend on Skype. I knew I would make no money on this article where it is currently published, however It is receiving hits. this means that people are going to my article and hopefully reading it.

Although I will not make any money on this article, it did provide fuel to kick me in the seat of the pants and get me going once again. Last week I met and befriended a gentleman. He is a freelancer in Canada. Yesterday we began really talking and once again I felt a kick in the seat to start doing something. Once again I became motivated to write from my heart and pour more into it. This writer friend and I began our morning chatting on Skype once again. This conversation was much different from the conversation we had yesterday. Yesterday we were getting to know each other and exploring the style and technique of the others writing. Today, we were a bit more free in the flow of our conversation. One topic we hit on was freedom of speech.

The freedom of speech came into play as part of my last article as well as the fact that I am embarking into a new avenue to express my views and ideas through my writing. The amount of passion I felt in this conversation took the spark in my heart and fueled it into a raging inferno. A few days ago after reading this same article another friend was trying to get me into the same mindset. the one thing in the back of my mind was my being arrested for being too aggressive in my writing. It is funny that people can have an effect on the things we do and say. Another friend was trying to get me to be more "wild" and free in my mannerisms. Well that is not who I am, but perhaps it can be expressed in finally loosening the leash on my heart and letting my writing be all of this and more.

I have stood on my soapbox many times. But this time I will make no apologies. I will not relinquish. I will not quench the fire with me that needs to be heard. My writing will take a different turn. I have always been a researcher as well as a writer. My favorite projects in school were the ones where I needed to research and learn. Now I will take this to a new level. I will continue to research and write about the things I am passionate about. The fire is ignited and I will not quench it.

Intolerance And Injustice In The Name of God

In the land of the free, how is it possible for one group to step up and use threats against a bookstore chain to prevent one poet from selling and reading his work? Just as author/poet Patrick Jones was preparing to launch his latest book of poetry Darkness Is Where The Stars Are, Waterstones Bookstore in Cardiff, Wales withdrew its contract to host the event which was to include book signing and reading by Mr. Jones. Allegedly, Stephen Green, National Director of Christian Voice based in the UK, contacted the bookstore and advised that his organization would stage a demonstration unless Mr. Jones’ book was removed from the shelves and the book launch did not take place. On November 12, as Mr. Jones and his publisher, Cinnamon Press, were preparing to attend the launching they were advised by Waterstones that the event had been cancelled.

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Across the ocean in another part of the free world, on October 25th, four teenage girls were driving home after cheerleading at a high school football game in Scott County, TN. The rainy weather and the infamous East Tennessee fog were principal factors in the accident which took the lives of the four teens, a grandmother and an unborn child. Just prior to the funerals for the four girls, Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, KS made it known that they would descend upon the small town of Huntsville, TN to protest at the funerals claiming that the four girls died for the sins of Tennessee.

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Anywhere that someone or some group is not happy they find a way to justify their anger and ill will by claiming to be appointed by God to destroy whatever it is that has caused their irritation. Can we justify everything we do by one simple yet complicated phrase? Every statement we make and every practice we keep should always be proven out in facts. With the internet and wide access to many historical documents and archives it is relatively easy to study and gain the facts that we need to correctly justify our lives without causing harm to anyone else.

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Each of these preceding paragraphs are parts of my latest article with the same title of this post. I was heart sick regarding the incident in Huntsville, TN surrounding the funerals of four innocent girls. Then I became outraged when told of the incident in Wales. I knew I had to write this out and tie the two together. I read and re-read news articles and postings of both these incidnets. Links to the sites I used in my article follow.

If you are interested in the complete article for publication in a newspaper, magazine, eZine, etc, please contact me.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7725790.stm

http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com/2008/11/did-waterstones-wimp-out.html

http://www.christianvoice.org.uk/about.html

http://www.cinnamonpress.com/darkness/

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/11/15/ams-to-host-reading-of-patrick-jones-poetry-91466-22262463/

http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/33550394.html#

http://www.godhatesfags.com/

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/oct/26/scott-crash-fatal-to-six/

Hazards Of Writing

A while back on writing.com I created a poll asking the method people chose to write with. Poll takers could select form the following six choices.

1. Computer all the way - Bells and whistles. Everything convenient


2. Typewriter/word processor - I still like a little taste of old with some modern


3. Paper with pencil/pen - I am old fashioned and refuse to enter the modern world. Besides I have more control this way


4. I keep it all in my head, why write it down, that takes too much time


5. All of the above - I like to keep my options open.


6. Other - e-mail me your option

It seems most writers prefer to use a computer when they write. Me, I am old fashioned. I prefer to use a pen/pencil and tablet of paper. After I have my piece written, I put it in my computer. After I have my work in the computer and saved in my writing briefcase in the appropriate folder I can feel free to submit it to some of my favorite sites for consideration for publishing in eZines. My favorite is Triond.

I know you are wondering why I would post about a poll I wrote and entitle it "Hazards Of Writing". Quite simply, this is not a post about the poll nor its results. I have been giving a lot of thought of late to my life of writing and how it has evolved in the last 30 years. Yeah, I was in a bit of shock too when it hit me that I first started writing 30 years ago. When I was 13 years old and a seventh grade student in junior high the only way I could write was with a pen/pencil and paper. This was very hazardous. Pens liked to bleed or "explode" and I would get ink all over me. Pencils would wear down fast and I would have to find a sharpener and sharpen the pencil taking time away from creativity. And paper, well there was always the occasional paper cut that came with this.

Since this is still my chosen method, I still have similar hazards (mostly paper cuts though). However, I have been learning other hazards of late. About a year ago with my health diminishing and my driving getting worse, I contemplated retiring and just focusing on my writing. I figured I could take the time and establish myself as a freelance writer in order to continue to make a living while I concentrated on the writing that makes me happy and fulfilled. In march the General Manager of the television station where I worked told us that the station was being sold and all of us could be looking at being out of work by June. We would receive a decent severance package and I should also have my full inheritance from Daddy's passing last year.

The manager remained optimistic that my department would not be losing their jobs with this sale. I relaxed. However, in September he held another meeting to advise that while the station is still on the market, since the station had gone with a national network the current owners felt they could run the station with only two people. so eleven people (including me) were losing their jobs as of October 31st. So why did I give these details? Easy, I lived through the shock of a month and a half. In my mind knowing I had to have a plan, my heart was not into it.

I am now out of work, my medical condition dictates that I cannot get just any job so what am I to do? I write. Well, it is not that easy. Here come the hazards. While I have some contacts and places to submit my work (i.e. Triond) these places either pay no money or pennies for each piece submitted.I cannot make a living these days on thirty cents a month. another hazard I am finding is actually a reminder that I am not a journalist. I write from my heart and cannot force the words to come out and make sense on the paper. So what am I to do?

I write. I will write every chance I can and try to move the words to the paper just a tad faster then they usually come out. I look to my friends, those I care about to be fodder for my pen. yes there are hazards and this is a difficult situation I have never faced in my life. However, it is something I can overcome. In my life, there have been very few challenges I have not been able to overcome (usually dealing with extreme heights or roller coasters) so I know this one will be conquered. However, if anyone has a line on a nice biography or memoirs I can write, please let me know.

The Written Heart

Croi ~ Heart; Scrite ~ Written

The heart written or the written heart. It does not matter how it is spelled, it is always the same. Earlier this year when I told a friend I have known since high school that I wanted to get into freelance and ghostwriting, she begged me not to. Some would think this very unfeeling and possibly cruel for such a long-time friend to say. You could not be further from the truth.

At the tender age of thirteen sitting in my very dull, very brutal (the mind of a thirteen year old) seventh grade English class, I was introduced to poetry in a way I had never been before. Like classical music (thrust down my throat in elementary school I came to love it after high school) I was introduced to poetry in a manner that caused me to despise it. However, Mr. Leggore introduced this subject with such enthusiasm; and instead of reading we would be writing our own work and learning the possibilities that lie within letters, words and stanzas. While there would be some style I would not care for, there would be others I would embrace.

Very shy and very awkward I struggled to be able to express myself. In this class I found my heart along with my voice. I did not know that the two things could be connected. In my case, they are. Even now, thirty years after I penned my first poem, I struggle at times to express myself vocally. Music and writing songs I sung had also been a way for me to share my heart with those I care about. Illness has taken the song out of my voice, but not out of my heart. Once again, I need to utilize the written word to express my heart. This is what my friend Denise was concerned with when I gave her my news. She thought I would be forsaking my heart to write shallow, inane dribble for other people that could not possess heart nor voice.

I reassured my friend that while some of the articles I hoped to write may be in the same field with dribble and only spouting facts, I would never abandon my heart, soul and voice. It is my hope to make a meager living at freelance while allowing me time to really focus on writing from my heart. This blog is set this day, Tuesday November 18, 2008, to provide a place for me to write my true feelings regarding articles and other writings I am delving into. Here and only here will I allow myself to "wear my heart on my sleeve" to a degree. Enjoy!!!