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Today’s Quote
“I’ve gotten a lot of comfort from the philosophy of the Roman Stoics. For me, one of the most powerful ideas of Stoicism is that you can’t pick or choose in the world what you want to happen and what you don’t want to happen, and that actually if you did get to choose, the Continue reading
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Iain Banks Quote
“People can be teachers and idiots; they can be philosophers and idiots; they can be politicians and idiots… in fact I think they have to be… a genius can be an idiot. The world is largely run for and by idiots; it is no great handicap in life and in certain areas is actually a Continue reading
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People Quote
“People? People are chaotic quiddities living in one cave each. They pass the hours in amorous grudge and playback and thought experiment. At the campfire they put the usual fraction on exhibit, and listen to their own silent gibber about how they’re feeling and how they’re going down. We’ve been there. Death helps. Death gives Continue reading
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Today’s Quote
“Good novels are produced by people who voluntarily isolate themselves and go deep, and report from the depths on what they find.” ~ Jonathan Franzen Continue reading
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Nina Simone Quote
“Birds flying high you know how I feel Sun in the sky you know how I feel Breeze driftin’ on by you know how I feel And this old world is a new world And a bold world For me And I’m feeling good I’m feeling good” ~ Nina Simone Continue reading
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A Thought on Judgment
As a society in totality, we tend to be judgmental on just about any and all subjects we can touch upon. Why I’m bringing this up, I ran into a dear friend of mine, and we sat down and had a chat in Washington Sq., park. She is someone I had met about a dozen Continue reading
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Writing Quote
“As every writer knows… there is something mysterious about the writer’s ability, on any given day, to write. When the juices are flowing, or the writer is ‘hot’, an invisible wall seems to fall away, and the writer moves easily and surely from one kind of reality to another… Every writer has experienced at least Continue reading
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Let’s See
Today was kind of a busy day. Went to the super market, picked up a few things, like bananas, black raspberries, red raspberries, a red pepper, and a few other things. Got that out of the way, and then had my breakfast, and did an online crossword, finished it of course. After that, did some Continue reading
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Weather
It was a surreal kind of weather we had the past couple of days. Thursday, the late afternoon temperature registered 86 degrees. That is not the kind of heat to have in the middle of April. I’ll be truthful it knocked me for a loop, and eventually drained the shit out of me. With that Continue reading
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Big Box Stores
Big box stores just don’t do it for me anymore. They haven’t for quite a while. Its probably been at least eight years, maybe more. There could be a couple of reasons why I don’t bother to go to them, as in another life, I did work in two of them, and for the most Continue reading
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Literature
“To me, literature is a calling, even a kind of salvation. It connects me with an enterprise that is over 2,000 years old. What do we have from the past? Art and thought. That’s what lasts. That’s what continues to feed people and give them an idea of something better.” ~ Susan Sontag Continue reading
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Fear
“F-E-A-R has two meanings: ‘Forget Everything And Run’ or ‘Face Everything And Rise.’ The choice is yours.” ~ Zig Ziglar Continue reading
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A Good Day
Today was a good day. I was up and out of bed earlier than usual, actually about a half hour before sunrise. The outside temperature was 33 degrees, at around 6:00 am. It got up to 64 degrees, late in the afternoon, which made a nice day. Got the one errand done early, then took Continue reading
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Today’s Quote
“Nobody knows what another person is thinking. They may imagine they do, but they are nearly always wrong.” ~ Agatha Christie Continue reading
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My Life
I titled this post My Life, as I am trying my hand at penning an essay. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time. I know it’s not an easy thing to do, well, anyways here it goes. I have been keeping myself busy, meaning running errands, doing chores, as in doing Continue reading
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Daydreamer
“The trouble with being a daydreamer who doesn’t say much is that the teachers at school, especially those who don’t know you very well, are likely to think you’re rather stupid. Or, if not stupid, then dull. No one can see the amazing things that are going on in your head.” ~ Ian Mcewan Continue reading
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ok …
what I learned new today, is that yesterday is in the past, and whatever happened – happened. move on … Continue reading
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Editing Your Work
“The secret to editing your work is simple: you need to become its reader instead of its writer.” ~ Zadie Smith Continue reading
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Question
Photo by Saliha : https://www.pexels.com/photo/dawn-coffee-writing-drink-15885836/ Continue reading
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its …
its february its winter its cold and it snowed today shocker Continue reading
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Ok …
if I learnt anything new today it was not a damn thing I can live with that Continue reading
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Escape
“We do not escape into philosophy, psychology, and art–we go there to restore our shattered selves into whole ones.” ~ Anais Nin Continue reading
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They Know
i know that you know that your aunt knows your uncle knows your cousin knows that your mother grandmother grandfather your next door neighbor knows your sister knows your brother knows your not much loved inlaw knows your boss knows your mail carrier knows your milk man knows grocery store clerk knows your pharmacist knows Continue reading
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To Be Alive is Grand
“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” ~ Agatha Christie Continue reading
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A Thought
With a mass shooting in a supermarket, which earlier last year. In late November a lake effect snowstorm which buried the greater Buffalo area. Then the blizzard in late December which paralyzed the city and its environs, and the people who lost their lives. And last, Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills going into cardiac Continue reading
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Comfort of Feeling Safe
“Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of Continue reading
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m
mind less madness mingling mind meaningless masturbatory machinations of a mangled mind Continue reading
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Creativity
“Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” ~ Charles Mingus Continue reading
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Coffee Cup
Photo by Wendy Wei: https://www.pexels.com/photo/disposable-black-and-white-plastic-coffee-cups-2813135/ Continue reading
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Rules For Happiness
“Rules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.” ~ Immanuel Kant Continue reading
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So
so today is a new day, a new month and a new year, which means in five weeks from now, I’ll be another year older and hopefully wiser with age. since it is a new year, what way to start it off with is plenty of black coffee … got to have coffee and start Continue reading
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Make You Smile
“If you find someone who makes you smile, who checks up on you often to see if you’re okay. Who watches out or you and wants the best for you. Who loves and respects you. Don’t let them go. People like that are hard to find.” ~ Franz Kafka Continue reading
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People Write
“People write about getting sick, they write about tummy trouble, they write about having to wait for a bus. They write about waiting. They write three pages about how long it took them to get a visa. I’m not interested in the boring parts. Everyone has tummy trouble. Everyone waits in line. I don’t want Continue reading
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Tremendous Hope and Spirit
“I wasn’t attractive, I wasn’t very verbal, I wasn’t very smart in school. I wasn’t anything that showed the world I was something special, but I had this tremendous hope all the time. I had this tremendous spirit that kept me going… I was a happy child, because I had this feeling that I was Continue reading
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The Mainstream Media
“I was on television a couple of years ago and the reporter asked me, “How does it feel being on mainstream media? It’s not often poets get on mainstream media.” I said, “Well I think you’re the dominant media, the dominant culture, but you’re not the mainstream media. The mainstream media is still the high Continue reading
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Question
is it just me the year has flew right by or am I just imagining it it seems like we are living on a time warp speed with no limits Continue reading
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California October Nights
“The yard was full of tomato plants about to ripen, and mint, mint, everything smelling of mint, and one fine old tree that I loved to sit under on those cool perfect starry California October nights unmatched anywhere in the world.” ~ Jack Kerouac Continue reading
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Cats or People
“I prefer cats to people, for the most part. Most people aren’t cute at all, and if they are cute, they very rapidly outgrow it.” ~ William S. Burroughs Continue reading
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Documents Of The Mist
“Our radio plays rhythm and blues as we pass the joint back and forth in jutjawed silence both looking ahead with big private thoughts now so vast we can’t communicate them anymore and if we tried it would take a million years and a billion books – Too late, too late, the history of everything Continue reading
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Tell The Truth
“The writer’s first job is not to have opinions but to tell the truth… and refuse to be an accomplice of lies and misinformation. Literature is the house of nuance and contrariness against the voices of simplification.” ~ Susan Sontag Continue reading
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If you worship money and things …
“If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a Continue reading
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To Live An Interesting Life.
“To observe the world carefully, to write a lot and often, on a schedule, if necessary, to use the dictionary a lot, to look up word origins, to analyze closely the work of writers you admire, to read not only contemporaries but writers of the past, to learn at least one foreign language, to live Continue reading
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Discover New Examples
“It always stimulates me to discover new examples of my own prejudice and stupidity, to realize that I don’t know half as much as I think I do.” ~ Paul Auster Continue reading
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Writing
In effect I am not a novelist, but rather a failed essayist who started to write novels because he didn’t know how to write essays. ~ Jose Saramago Continue reading
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Journey
Life before Death. Strength before Weakness. Journey before Destination. ~ Brandon Sanderson Continue reading
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What A Difference A Day Makes
Friday, it was windy, raining and temps in the mid 50s. This morning, it was nine degrees. We did have snow, but nothing to write home to mom about. Oh well. It is winter. Continue reading
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An Appropriate Description to What it Was Like Here Shortly After Sunrise
“The day is cold, and dark, and dreary; It rains, and the wind in never weary; The vine still clings to the mouldering wall, But at every gust the dead leaves fall, And the day is dark and dreary.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Continue reading
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Growing
“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another, unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made of layers, cells, Continue reading
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All Books
“All books are either dreams or swords, you can cut, or you can drug, with words.” ~ Amy Lowell Continue reading
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Winter by Lauryn Hill
“Everything is everything What is meant to be, will be After winter, must come spring Change, it comes eventually” ~ Lauryn Hill Continue reading
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Knowing
“For to know nothing is nothing, not to want to know anything likewise, but to be beyond knowing anything, to know you are beyond knowing anything, that is when peace enters in, to the soul of the incurious seeker.” ~ Samuel Beckett Continue reading
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Practice Kindness
“The world you see is just a movie in your mind. Rocks dont see it. Bless and sit down. Forgive and forget. Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you’re already in heaven now. That’s the story. That’s the message. Nobody understands it, nobody listens, they’re all running around like chickens with Continue reading
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Your Sensations
“Sensations are the great things, after all. Should you ever be drowned or hung, be sure and make a note of your sensations; they will be worth to you ten guineas a sheet.” ~ Edgar Allan Poe Continue reading
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Realizations
“It was like that class at school where the teacher talks about Realization, about how you could realize something big in a commonplace thing. The example he gave–and the liar said it really happened–was that once while drinking orange juice, he’d realized he would be dead someday. He wondered if we, his students, had had Continue reading
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Writing
“It’s not possible to advise a young writer because every young writer is so different. You might say, “Read,” but a writer can read too much and be paralyzed. Or “Don’t read, don’t think, just write,” and the result could be a mountain of drivel. If you’re going to be a writer, you’ll probably take Continue reading
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Poem by Emily Bronte
“I’ll walk where my own nature would be leading: It vexes me to choose another guide: Where the grey flocks in ferny glens are feeding; Where the wild wind blows on the mountain-side.” ~ Emily Bronte Continue reading
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Books
Currently reading Atonement by Ian McEwan, and Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney. Also reading The Oxford Book of English Short Stories, and The Granta Book of Irish Short Story. All are excellent reads. Continue reading
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Novels
“Novels are like paintings, specifically watercolors. Every stroke you put down you have to go with. Of course, you can rewrite, but the original strokes are still there in the texture of the thing.” ~ Joan Didion Continue reading
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Daydreamer
“The trouble with being a daydreamer who doesn’t say much is that the teachers at school, especially those who don’t know you very well, are likely to think you’re rather stupid. Or, if not stupid, then dull. No one can see the amazing things that are going on in your head.” ~ Ian Mcewan Continue reading
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Invincible Love
“My dear, In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that… In the midst of winter, Continue reading
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Big Cities Change
“The way our big cities change sucks. The beauty of cities was that they were edgy, sometimes even a little dangerous. Artists, poets, and activists could come and unify and create different kinds of scenes. Not just fashion scenes, scenes that were politically active. Big cities are getting so high-end oriented, business corporate fashion, fashion Continue reading
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Lucked Out
at 9:45 this morning it is 41 degrees and a steady rain about 20 miles away is the sleet/snow line it will stay in the low 40s come Saturday morning it may change to a bit of snow Continue reading
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Reading a Poem
kick back and relax grab a book any book whatever tickles your fancy a good way to pass the time away oh, the joy of reading Continue reading
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Walking
it may be cold it may be snowing it may be dark it may be raining but it won’t stop me from going on my walks Continue reading
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The More You Read
“The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor.” ~ Stephen King Continue reading
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Two Sentence Story
Book, coffee, sitting in her favorite chair. All the comforts in the world she could want. Continue reading
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Successful Novel
“A successful novel should interrupt the reader’s life, make him or her miss appointments, skip meals, forget to walk the dog.” ~ Stephen King Continue reading
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Your Mind
“Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.” ~ William S. Burroughs Continue reading
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Fear & Love
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot Continue reading
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Reality
“People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that’s bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they’re afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us Continue reading
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Nature
“As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can”.” ~ John Muir Continue reading
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December
“I heard a bird sing In the dark of December A magical thing And sweet to remember. ‘We are nearer to Spring Than we were in September,’ I heard a bird sing In the dark of December.” ~ Oliver Herford Continue reading
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Devoted Reader(s)
Photo credit: Flickr Continue reading
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hmm
something is on your mind she said: its complicated he said: keep it yourself she said: fine he said: good she said: alright then he said: have a good day she said: fuck off Continue reading
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November
“No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds – November!” ~ Thomas Hood Continue reading
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Its a Lot Cheaper Talking to a Hair Stylist
Photo by Mati Mango: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-wooden-frame-sing-board-close-up-photography-2528695/ Continue reading
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Friday 10/14
Stormy morning Lots of rain A good day to sit and read a good book or two Also indulge in black coffee The I am presently reading is: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Another book that I am also reading is: The Collected Stories by Amy Hempel. Continue reading
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Autumn Walk
Photo by Michael Jin on Unsplash Continue reading
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Books Leaves and Mug
Photo by lil artsy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/gray-mug-on-top-of-piled-books-3150547/ Continue reading
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