From the Inkwell, From the Vein.....

I sometimes forget what the world looks like just outside my own door. It's easy to wrap oneself in the cozy security of a locked front door, or to be swept away in the emotional tidal wave that is the national, global news. The trap of either-or, the telescopic view versus the microscopic view, blinds us to what may be going on just two doors down or three streets over. I marveled today at a small sub-community that seemed to nestle itself amid the growing, thriving city blocks around it. It wasn't as if the this tiny ecosystem exploded overnight. In fact, looking at the state of most of the buildings, it is a section that has fallen into disrepair over the years, and that was continuing to disintegrate right before our eyes. Had we stood still for even a minute, I'm sure we would have seen another roof shingle fall or another board of decayed siding slip away. And though this section of city should have been long abandoned and left for the city to do with as it sees f...

Said the spider in her web, "won't you come and sit awhile," Said the bat, "instead, won't you come and fly in style." Said the cat who'd watched their dance, as they flitted to and fro, "you'd both make tasty snacks, just thought you ought to know."

Finished Tom Baker's The Boy who kicked pigs , last night. This novel, er, novella, er---- whatever you call a 120-pg book that's 60 pages of illustrations--- is wonderfully masterful in its devilish satire. And, though its illustrations have a childlike, Tim Burton-esque innocence to them, this book (story) is definitely NOT for children. The book IS, however, for the sick and twisted, for the malicious-natured, for the brow-beaten and down-trodden. It is most definitely for anyone who has ever had an uncontrollable urge to make your disgust with humanity FELT as much as heard. The plot centers around 13-yr-old Robert and his obsession with kicking his sister's tiny tin piggy bank, Trevor. Every chance he gets, Robert sends the little tin pig flying through the room, into a t.v. set and eventually out the front window--- it is this last episode that makes Robert realize that kicking pigs makes him very happy, because it makes bystanders laugh (those involved in the car...

Why do I write? Why do I lock myself inside my mind? Why do I hide from the world around me? Why do I take myself out of life? It's no easy thing to ponder, the solitary writer's path that's been chosen. Sometimes, it feels as if we have no control over what decisions we're making-- like the journey has already been laid out for us and there is nothing we do that will alter it.... But, for writers, most writers, some writers--- okay, at least for me as a writer.... I can do nothing other than what I am already doing. Even when I wasn't trying to be a writer, I was writing. Even when I wasn't trying to compose a story, the tale was already writing itself in my sub-conscious. The solitary, writing life might be no easy thing to ponder, but it beats the reality-- that being a writer is a helluva scary thing.... or, it can be, if you really think about it. Books have the power to change lives. Which means, by extension, writers have the power to change the...

story???? I've noticed, recently, that my writing style has a distinctly "hourglass" shape. Whenever I'm working on something--- especially, a piece that's longer than a flash/ short story--- I find that my writing tends to move in 3 stages: 1/ Broad, relatively vague descriptions that lead to 2/Narrow, almost indecipherable introspection from the narrating character, which then leads to 3/ Broad, story specific descriptions that finally resemble a fully-matured story Somehow, the alternating views of the telescope to the microscope and then back to the telescope again, form some sort of logical "story-building" method for me. I still haven't figured out if it works....but, at least knowing that this is the current process my writing takes, I can now remind myself NOT to give up on a story just because it doesn't make sense and isn't clearly defined---- as I am still obviously in the top half of my hourglass.....

A little known fact about me: I'm a comic strip junkie.... From the daily comics in the paper, to the daily comics on my Google homepage, to the stack of well-read book collections by my bedside....not a day goes by that I don't unwind to some light humor. And with the state of the world always dwelling on the bad in life, it's sometimes easy to forget that life also provides happiness--- though, most of the time you actually have to hunt for the happiness. Comics provide not only a means of escape for me, but, there is a surprising amount of current events, news, and even history alluded to in these succinct illustrations. I never have to watch television or read the "news" part of the newspaper to know what's going on. I just flip to my comic strips and there in a few, humorous frames, I learn all I need to know to stay marginally informed. I figure, with all the bias in news reporting, we're all marginally informed to begin with....why not choose ...

I also solemnly swear that I will not try to 'fix' something that is working perfectly fine on its own.... .....that I will give up all time-wasting obsessions.... .....that I will avoid all unnatural stimulants and/or depressants.... .....that I will not delve into things/knowledge/ideas/sustenance that is known to be bad for me.... Aw, who am I kidding..... the only one that actually applies to me is the title of this post----- Mischief Managed!

It's amazing what the medicated mind can come up with.... It's even more amazing what the medicated mind can come up with that the un-medicated mind doesn't remember..... I've been down with a head-cold or mild flu for the last couple of days and when I woke this morning I found that I had written an intriguing line on my dry erase board. The board hangs just over my desk and within arm's length of my bed, so at some point--- in a medicated haze--- I crawled out of bed and scrawled the following across the board: What if we knew, from birth, the exact moment and means of our death? How would this change the way we live our lives? That's it. Word for word. Quote unquote. I'm not sure where my mind was going with this, but it definitely could make for an interesting path. I should probably also mention that this line (in handwriting much more legible than my "normal" scrawl) was sandwiched between 2 other lines on the board. Sonatas at Mi...

Read an article today that announced Vladimir Nabokov's Theory of Butterfly Evolution to be 100% correct. Nabokov, renowned author of Lolita , published his theory in a 1945 paper. It was met with very little, if any, support. The novelist was a self-taught Butterfly expert and observer and it was for this reason he was not taken seriously. If anything he was regarded as an unoriginal enthusiast. Some 6-1/2 decades later, his postulated arrival of and later the development of New World Butterflies --- which could not at the time be DNA-verified--- is now the accepted explanation! I find it both funny and tragically sad that someone, who spent the greater part of his life studying and observing something, might be considered less of a scientist than someone whose "degree" is in the same field. There seems to be this need for a person's identity to be determined by the certificates of study and diplomas earned. But, there is no magic in a piece of paper. Ar...

Booksignings are wonderful events..... Booksignings with author lectures are even better events..... Booksignings with author lectures that an audience of children is excited to listen to are phenomenal events!!!! Today was one such phenomenal event! Gordon Korman is a master at reaching the interest of his target audience. It is very clear that he has children, that he's spent a good deal of time around children---- or at the very least, can still work his mind to think like children. Each 700+ crowd of children that filed into the CAC auditorium today sat rapt as they listened to stories of Everest and Mozart and million-dollar baseball card swindles. Through three lectures and two booksigning sessions, Gordon Korman lost none of his energy, none of his stamina, none of his eagerness to connect with his audience. One of the more humorous anecdotes he discussed were the problems that he faced when his books were translated into the many languages they are now being read i...

Well....not really. But, what else are you supposed to say when someone walks through the door holding a Butterfinger candy bar in one hand and a strip of venison jerky in the other??? It's odd, the pairings that we as humans make with our food. And, most times it isn't even about the pairing of the flavors as it is the pairing of qualities---- Butterfinger and Bambi (ie Sweet and Salty). I guess this is where the pairing of Peanut Butter and Jelly originated, as well as the chocolate-dipped pretzel and chocolate-dipped nuts. And, the pairings are not confined to just the Sweet/Salt mix..... Look at Sweet/Sour candies or even the Salt/Sour combo made famous in Salt and Vinegar Chips....Salt and Vinegar anything, for that matter. Our tastebuds derive such satisfaction from such confusing combinations. Once we have mastered the simple we then crave the complex. We crave layers of flavor, wrapped in tight packages of more flavor. And many times, the cravings are so subtly ...