Spaghetti; Fare Troppi Atti in Commedia

Throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.

It is how we all speak, whatever the language.

так и быть

What a jumbled tangled situation I find myself in. My writing, design goals, home renovations and our multiple businesses among other concerns of family and health all piled into that magnificence called self.

Let me let the cat out of the bag.

It all seems overwhelming, but all becomes very small and a great adventure when one adheres to the principle of selflessness. It makes all your burdens… less.

It is sort of like magic; like pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

Don’t be a basket case.

взять себя в руки

Throw caution to the wind, another idiom for 2022.

You’re hearing it straight from the horses mouth.

I have determined to put out all my writing, finishing up the unfinished and just throwing it all out there to see what happens.

I will be going the whole nine yards. Taking my best shot.

It is time to bite the bullet.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Not to throw cold water on the subject, but I do have too many irons in the fire to distract me from my writing, that could throw a monkey wrench into the works, but I have some pretty substantial works basically completed.

I am armed to the teeth.

Not to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.  or

To throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Not to throw your pearls to swine….. ?

Swine? Considering the state of modern society….

It’s okay. I don’t live in a glass house.

Die Beleidigte Leberwurst spielen.

No need to throw a fit. Don’t throw in the towel for a love loss of idioms.

Let me throw down the gauntlet, Du bist doch nicht aus zucker!, what idiot hates idioms?

Not to throw you to the dogs, or wolves, nor to throw you into the deep end. Forgive me for throwing some shade.

Sputa il rospo.

Cat got your tongue? Turning a blind eye?

Feel free to throw stones or to throw up your hands. I am not here to butter you up.

No need to throw a hissy fit. Don’t fly off the handle.

Throw light on my game; feel free. Throw my name around. Throw a party on my grave if I should fail.

Any publicity is good publicity.

Don’t count me out. I am not ready to kick the bucket.

Alles hat ein ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei.

I am a stones throw away from success, ready to throw my weight around.

Kleinvieh macht auch Mist.

Time will tell.

Yes, I have a lot on my plate.

I am going to have to focus like a laser beam.

Shall I go on?

“Please no.” I hear you. “Du hast doch wohl einen Vogel!”

Σκάει γάιδαρο: idiom #7

No need to beat a dead horse.

The point has been hammered home.

Time to beat a quick retreat.

Thank you for reading.

Buono come il pane.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying.

Happy 2022!

Peace and Goodwill to all.

“Triggered” or “Happy Holidays”

So my wife and I were watching a movie created by the Russian movie industry…

Dubbed in English for the western market first thing is a warning of images of tobacco use.

Don’t be triggered, but what do foreign science fiction movies have to do with the holidays?

Absolutely nothing.

Horror movies, inseparable from Halloween, are like the siren call for those true Holidays we all hold near and dear. Halloween represents a very scary time for me personally.

No I do not really watch horror movies, but as someone suffering from blood sugar issues candy is not something of which I partake. I do well to stay away from carbs and sugar. Not too much of a choir at all…

But then comes Halloween.

Triggered?

I would say so. I cannot stop with the peanut butter cups, bite sized snickers (actually have a fairly low glycemic index) and Almond Joys. Sometimes you feel like a nut and then there are Mounds.

I justify my binging citing to myself the natural ingredients not generally related with sugar highs; peanuts, coconut etc.

I do not touch any of the completely artificial candies filled with various gums, food colorings and sugars. Hooray for me.

The reality is however, any other time of year if a bowl of candy should float across the room and come to rest before me I am completely impervious to its temptations. I ridicule with dire warnings of failed health and early death any who dare partake.

So what happens at Halloween? Or during the following Holiday season? I have a fairly normal Thanksgiving plate. Pies and cookies along with various deserts capture my attentions, destroying my defenses in short order all the way to the New Year.

All through the Holidays.

All these events are deeply associated with family and society. What is behind these triggers?

As this blog is associated with writing; what triggers your characters?

More importantly, why?

From another perspective you may say we are speaking of psychological issues. How many movies, shows and stories have been created centered on dysfunction over the Holidays.

Fortunately personal conflict or even mild levels of turmoil are not part of my family gatherings, we all appear well adjusted and balanced in general these days.

My only issue is with food. and since the Holiday foods I fall victim to are actually detrimental to my health, having blood sugar issues, can we conclude that things that trigger us are always detrimental.

I would answer with a resounding yes.

And that includes all the petty and mundane things our current social structure is training people to be triggered by. Different groups and classes in society are usually triggered, or not, by different things.

There is only one way to train someone to be triggered, and that is to traumatize them.

And it is easy to traumatize those weak in body, mind and spirit.

If an entire society top to bottom reacts the same, is triggered in the same manner, you will have some job delineating that mass trauma in your story.

The wonderful thing about triggers is not that they are fun fun fun fun fun! fun for everyone! But the destruction they lead to is self evident to anyone paying attention.

When Tigger is triggered things break.

Even the children’s story cannot escape the reality of triggers. It is good to learn to deal with them.

I am sure I trigger a certain group of people on a regular basis.

So as an author, triggers can convey much about the social structures you create as well as the deeper background and internal workings of a character.

Super Man’s kryptonite; an archetype found in stories as old as history. Think Achilles’ heel. Perhaps not exactly triggers but certainly revealed weaknesses, and triggers reveal our weaknesses.

The most important message I would like to convey here is that with some honest self observation and reflection we can better ourselves and society when we understand that triggers always lead to destruction.

Decide not to be triggered. Work to find the whys and wherefores.

There is a storyline.

Take control of your life. Better yourself and society.

Thank you for reading.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

Don’t be triggered.

No Man is an Island

Perhaps you have guessed that today’s topic is EDC, or to spell it out EveryDay Carry.

You can find many a YouTube’r that has a video on everyday carry. Many are of the Prepper type, just some old school manhood idealists, or simply practical minded pragmatists.

A woman’s purse will not be categorized under the topic of everyday carry. What man could ever comprehend the depths or content?

One item that was common in days gone by was the handkerchief. This YouTube video expresses the reality of handkerchiefs, hard to find a quality American made product.

I remember ironing and folding handkerchiefs when I was young; grade school age. They were never perfectly square, though nowhere near as bad as those in the video.

I never used a handkerchief much. Do not generally carry one today. But my grandfather, my mother’s father, always had a handkerchief. I may have even bought a couple myself as a child though I would say most came from my mother.

So… no man is an island. We are all influenced and shaped by those whom have come before, especially those near and dear.

Everyday carry can tell much about a character in a story. When you see a character described, an author may call out one specific item which that character always carries; often for sentimental reasons.

Environment may dictate what a character carries or not. How one prescribes to those dictates may describe someone as wise, skilled or simply foolish.

The same can be said about background and tradition. Whether someone is reverent or… a fool or outright evil, can be expressed in what is or isn’t carried, or even how something is carried.

Happy Halloween.

I believe I mentioned here, or was it another blog, that after a long hiatus  from the north woods I found myself there once more, realizing I had not brought a knife, canteen, firearm or any type of fire starter as part of my every day carry. Hence I did not venture far from my vehicle.

And always carry a compass.

Then again, if I lived in Singapore, or by a miracle Hong Kong, would any of those items be relevant? A knife? Perhaps yes. A multi tool? Sounds plausible to me. An umbrella? They seem popular in some places.

A good belt? This is an every day essential that can be extremely useful in ways that may not be apparent until you need it.

And don’t you city slickers forget your handkerchiefs.

Yellow vest? You have seen the protests. Everyone has one because they are required in France, if not all of Europe, in one’s vehicles, in case of roadside emergencies as I understand.

So every day carry may reflect the dominance of higher authorities in one’s life or society.

One’s “kit” is often more than one’s every day carry as I understand from the context I have heard it used. It is not simply every day carry, but uniforms; usually referring to a soldier or some professional organizations that form teams or groups that require a uniform.

What we carry can influence the actions we take or do not take. A dynamic or lack thereof that can be used to hilight a character’s profession, judgments, knowledge and capabilities.

I could go on, but time is short. If you are an inspiring author or simply a student of the human condition I hope you found some value here.

I cannot end however without commenting on how modern society and technology have destroyed that symbol of independence and resilience embodied in a man’s every day carry.

You don’t believe that? Yes, Captain James T. Kirk’s EDC, or lack there of ,did not strip him of his independence or resilience. But that was fantasy.

…Have I gone to far? Crossed a line?

Thank you for reading.

OMG

Is it the end of the month already?

Honestly my writing creative energies are more focused on other blogs right now. You may have noticed posts on other blogs slowly coming out.

I have significant endeavors into healthy living and practices I desire to share on “It’s a Dog’s Life”.

I would be writing much more on “No Sanction” but I fear my posts would be taken down and threaten the standing of all my blogs.

FaceBook has become so oatmeal.

Demands of the city on our property would be history but for the waiting on some contractors who have no intention of ever working for us at all. But there are a lot of good contractors out there too. Just a whole lot of work to find them.

We hold our faith in high esteem and endeavors in that realm take more of our energies than possibly most can imagine.

But I am getting this post out before the end of the month.

So no whining!

“No writing!”, you accuse.

I hear you.

Patience grasshoppers.

Thank you for reading.

I Am Still Alive

I hope you all had a happy Labor Day; Good food and family.

An overbearing authoritarian local government has caused me to absolutely forget my August post deadline.

Actually, I did remember but for those last three days of the month, and then I experienced sudden recall after the fact.

Devastation!

Sorry for my tardiness. But I am still alive. Please stop worrying.

This post is for August.

I will be changing my West Allis Farmer’s Market schedule. Rather than Tuesdays I will be doing Thursdays. It appears Thursday are becoming the day vendors who do only one weekday favor. Not sure if they were directed that direction… but it sure makes me feel special. Me doing just Tuesdays.

One Family Urban Gardens: find us on Facebook.

At the Oak Creek Farmer’s Market, just on a whim, I decided to look for a free WiFi network; I do not have a data plan for my phone.

So I see a network among the many. It begins with a universally recognized acronym followed by: “_surveillance_van_89”.

That was good for some laughs and giggles. It was seeing the “van_89” after I clicked on the network; a network that seemed to appear and disappear randomly in the list, that furrowed my brow.

So I had been trying to get some legal help for my troubles. The Wisconsin Bar Association was a disappointment. You never know when someone else is listening.

This is our garage. In the words of a supervisor from Neighborhood Services; “I don’t care about your garage.”

So I paint and stain surfaces and bought some new windows rather than doing the work that really needs to be done; on my garage. Is it any wonder I called the city “incompetent, malicious and depraved”.

I had all the materials for repairing the garage, after closing a raze permit for the adjoining structure, was working on the drawings for a new permit when the city demanded I do what they say or else.

That was over two years ago. My plan was to rebuild the garage (materials already purchased), landscape the yard, raising the central walkway, because when the ground freezes our backyard is a lake for several weeks in the spring, and then remodel the whole house.

Something I told the city from the beginning… do what we say or else was their response. All instigated by our Alderman.

The purpose of this drive to refurbish and modernize our entire home is that we still hope to adopt, and I would like a really really nice home to raise a child in. And if left to my own devices the plan was to be into the remodeling this year.

We haven’t been blessed with children ourselves.

But the city is not the only problem in regard to modernization. There is a growing list of contractors who will not work for us, who will even make appointments to come to create an estimate and just not show, not just once but even up to three times.

This goes back long before our Alderman set his forces against us. I have been thinking lately that this may go back all the way to my days working in Architecture, professionally for some ten years.

“If the Lord is with me, who can stand against me?” so the Bible goes.

Apparently… everyone.

It is what happens next that is the exciting part, and if our mind is right, all for the glory of God.

And hopefully for the betterment of all.

But why do I burden you with my personal troubles? So sorry.

This blog is about writing, writing fiction to be more specific

But we can always draw from fact, stranger than fiction they say, to gain some inspiration for storylines and character building.

Add a bit of imagination and…

So let us take a hypothetical that a professional Architect is blacklisted from his profession, for reasons nefarious but not unheard of in modern society. Always treated well by their employers and the educational institution they exceeded in, the professional finds themself wrapped in a mystery.

As this professional works upon advancing their personal design dreams they find themselves closed off from the services of local contractors, leaving them to do the work themselves; a slow meticulous task as they are very knowledgeable but unpracticed in the various building arts.

This could be extremely challenging if your character is a woman.

The protagonists church could also be a back drop for intrigue.

Drawing again from reality we see that some of the richest families in Wisconsin reign over material supply empires.

We can extrapolate new angles.

How deep does the conspiracy go?

Follow the money, or in other words, the politics.

Seeking legal council our character runs into a he said she said issue with the local Bar Association and within a week of the controversy our hero starts receiving mail from let us say an organization like; SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).

You can see that with a bit of imagination you can make quite an intricate and compelling storyline. Mix in a bit of Bigfoot or extraterrestrials and you have a guaranteed movie contract.

Hmmm. Extraterrestrial Bigfeet.

Kapow!

It is all about what happens next.

An extraordinary life we all dream of living, at least through a good book.

Thank you for reading.

I missed my deadline… Sorry again.

I Had A Dream

 I had a couple of dreams.

I have had several dreams; many a nightmare in times gone by.

And I have dreams. A lot of dreams.

“What!? At your age?” I hear you marvel. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready to die?”

But I had a dream. The gang at the Farmer’s Market were shoot’n the breeze and one guy says, “I am going to see a psychiatrist.”

Not to be confused with a ventriloquist, an obvious misconception in regards to psychiatrists, I answered, “Just talk to me man. That would be more useful than talking to some idiot doctor.”

Maybe not my exact words but it captures the flavor.

Psychiatry is big, like fake Christianity; a whole bunch of feel goodism.

And don’t be think’n I am some kind of Scientologist; no I’m not one of those.

People call me lots of things but that is not one of them.

So many problems need a comforting ear.

We all have parent’s, grand parents, siblings and friends who know us maybe better than ourselves and when all else fails there is always the ever present ever loving God.

All intimately related to our origins, our life’s journey, and where we will all find ourselves in the end. Where the problems begin and where the problems need to be solved.

So who among all those loved ones, our only support structure since the beginning of time, does the psychiatrist replace? That clinical mind upon which their business is based draws only from some institutionalized self perpetuating system.

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and I can guarantee they fear not the Lord, maybe.

Then again some religious, like certain Catholic priests, need some replacement.

I could be getting in trouble with some of my family members.

How does society come apart? At what point do we stop engaging the life we were created to live?

We lost our origins and in so many ways created a fake world.

I’ve been getting more writing done yet not much time to develop my thoughts here this month, but…

Thanks for reading.

More FUD

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt; an acronym that all should know these days, particularly if you are into crypto currencies.

It keeps you from the important things. It manipulates markets.

We would all be better off without it.

So the city has been harassing us via inspections on our home. It can be a source of FUD. Their motivations appear suspect and certain neighbors feel empowered to exhibit their bigotries openly since.

It all can really muddle up everything you are working towards. It is also a window into the human condition.

It has effected the development of our businesses. It has seriously disrupted my writing most of all. I do have a post for one of my other blogs nearly ready, and I thought I would get it out this month.

I thought I would get to a fantastical telling on this blog, even though the month was coming quickly to a close.

Have you ever been in the New Yorker Hotel? A rhetorical question.

Then Monday, I go to our prayer room on the second floor to… pray. A reasonable assumption, as my spirit felt amiss. I needed to rally my powers.

Then I see it. Hanging wires outside the door to our second floor balcony.

My face turns askew. I am bewildered.

I go outside, onto the balcony. My gaze follows the wires, follows where the wires are supposed to run: wires to our security cameras.

The wires have been ripped out of their brackets, now broken.

The wires have been cut.

The police officer asked, “Have you ever thought of getting the Ring camera?”

“I have today!” I proclaimed.

I hadn’t asked for an officer to come out to our home; the dispatcher insisted. I was surprised she arrived after not too long of a wait and this according to her, when I asked, when her board was lit up.

Makes you wonder if your address is on list.

More FUD.

A day lost.

Thanks for reading.

Happy Memorial Day

God Bless all you families who have lost a loved one in defense of our nation.

They gave their lives to protect our freedoms.

The religious bigots will be positioning themselves this week to try to drive us out of the neighborhood. Another business has refused to do work on our home, or garage rather. Perhaps I will name those companies later.

Irony is the appropriate word if you still hold hope for our country.

But I am alive and free, just not allowed to handle our personal property as we see fit. Actually, I wish we could handle our personal property as both we and the city sees fit, but contractors are refusing to work on our home.

And it will only get worse if the city does not relent. Yeah, just pile on. Take me to court. Put your stamp of approval on religious discrimination and hate Milwaukee.

Yes when you spread lies and work to defame that is hate, my neighbors who have never spoken to me in twenty-five years.

“We’re watching you!” I hear screamed out.

Bad on me, I guess they do speak to me. Sorry.

One new guy in the neighborhood actually told me to get off the sidewalk and walk in the street as I was taking my dog for a walk.

Bad on me again, but sometimes I wonder about the neighbors I do talk to.

I am such a bad guy.

This is why we are persecuted.

I am looking forward to hearing back from my Alderman on the book I sent him a while back.

Hope springs eternal.

I was up at our north woods property this month. One of my “No Trespassing” was taken out by a shotgun blast.

Don’t tell my wife she won’t let me go up anymore.

I just stopped by for a quick property check and thought; “Man, I didn’t even bring a knife. What was I thinking.” I guess I have been removed from nature for too long.

So I wish I had more time to write. I came up with a doozy of a telling on a drive throughout our great state.

“And we have to wait another month to read it.” Thou protests?

Sorry again. I guess I am just a really bad guy.

But I am alive, and those better than me gave their lives so we all could live. It is a day to be grateful and say “Praise God!”

God Bless America!

Thank you for reading.

This is some good reading.

The Auction

 There I was, standing amongst a complex of metal clad agricultural style buildings being asked, “What do they do here?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it is a school.” I answered my eyes moving forward, back upon the auctioneer and what was up for bid.

It was not too long afterward that a young Amish man came up and told me exactly what they do there. It was a metal shop, a dry goods store and a hardware store. They were downsizing, the hardware store closing hence the auction.

And what an auction; trailer upon trailer, three auctioneer trucks, and when I left after five they were still going. I was there from 8:30am, the beginning.

Which begs the question, “Can an auctioneer lose their voice?”

But what was this. I was standing amongst people that let no misunderstanding, misconception go without being corrected. A pleasant experience of coming across good character.

Would you expect anything less but to find people of character in communities that live real lives, centered on a faith in God?

Insights into the interior of Wisconsin… I found the billing for this auction not listed on the Internet, nor broadcast over the radio but on a local grocery store’s billboard as I passed through central Wisconsin. Amongst the fliers for fishing competitions and events at the local rod and gun clubs was posted the notice, “FREE COFFEE AND DONUTS, 7:30 TO 8:30”

In terms of a story, as whole boxes of goods were auctioned off, moving goods at a near unimaginable pace, that long used scenario of a whistle blower being chased and desperate to hide their evidence from their pursuers could not be ignored.

The true benefit of attending events new and unfamiliar is of course the personal experience that expands your understanding of the human condition.

Can you find a starker contrast, stepping away from people looking at screens all day seldom leaving their chairs, than spending the day amongst people making a living based off the land and hard work? Is it a surprise that God is unfamiliar to the former but not the latter?

I was happy I went. Not to much time to write today.

“What did I buy?” you ask.

Some very useful goods.

Thank you for reading.

Always a good read here.

Ignorance

 “Romeo and Juliet”

It is all about the ignorance. Of course any remake disregards the heart wrenching tragedy that makes “Romeo and Juliet” the best known story of any outside of the Bible.

A tragedy universally recognized; and to understand why is wisdom.

I guess people cannot handle tragedy these days. They believe no one should die.

Stay inside so nothing happens… and guess what happens.

One could say Adam and Eve were ignorant. Absolutely ignorant of the intentions of the serpent. I would say ignorant of who they were as God’s children, rulers of all creation, that they would actually believe the deception.

“Oh right Mr. Snake, little servant being. We own it all and you’re trying to tell me God, our Heavenly Parent, is keeping something from us, we His children, His heirs?”

Hard to understand the power of ignorance in a storyline if you belong to a generation that knows everything. Not to mention the significance of the potential ramifications of ignorance.

A truly human story? Chuck full of ramifications and consequences; the most emotional powerful story points of any drama arise from ignorance.

Occam’s Razor? The simplest explanation? It is all ignorance, a deception for some nefarious purpose.

Okay, like always I am most contemplating the condition of our current society.

Do you write a story to meet the expectations of the current society or a social class? I guess you can, or you could attempt to create something known as literature: a lasting artistic merit such as “Romeo and Juliet”.

Ignorance, lies, deception, all too common since the garden.

It will never be left all behind, if the truth we cannot find.

So did I begin March with the laying out of topics for each of my blogs?

I actually did, but with the melting of the snow, the softening of the ground, preparing for the awakening of Spring I have been just too busy to get out but this one post.

Thank you for reading.

Regrouping

No contemplating life, none of the metaphysical today, just a quick post as we transition into Spring. Several transitions going on.

Will I keep writing?

Cannot see how I can stop. I will try to keep a diary, as it is prescribed as valuable to a life of faith. Have kept some journals from time to time and have my blogs, but I lack the power of daily reflection put down on paper.

My December post highlights how beneficial the practice of writing can be.

It is good to write one’s life story.

But what about everything else?

The first week of every month I will title and outline a post for each of my blogs. So I should have more than one blog post a month, though some posts may take a long time to develop to my satisfaction.

Poetry, the sagas based on Chuck Hammer, and my short stories will be the focus for any additional endeavors. My short stories are most likely to be put up for publishing. Competitions may be an option as I do not see me getting large numbers of works put together.

Never got to any kind of writing conference.

Will also review all my Internet accounts related to my writing. Sometimes I think the Internet actually holds us all back.

I find the writing/poetry classes on Masterclass a valuable asset.

Then there is what spell check does to a sentence.

Of course creating a working schedule with my wife, and how much time it takes to manage our multiple income streams, will determine a lot.

Thanks for reading.

Pandora

 I have read a bit of science fiction. Grew up on “Star Trek” and the “Foundation Trilogy.” …It is all getting a bit boring; exploring the darkness of space.

Are writers stealing ideas off each other or simply working off the same theoretical science?

Watched a show called “Pandora”. Super soldiers held in stasis in cargo containers. Think I read that somewhere before, attention Ryk Brown, or is it “The Dune Trilogy”. Does “Star Trek Discovery” owe a certain author credit for battle tactics?

“Pandora” was just full of rip offs.

In a Master Class on writing I have been taking, an emphasis was put on understanding the fables of old as archetypes in story telling. The concept is that it reflects embedded elements of the human psyche that ring true, strike deep chords in one’s heart.

Like Pandora’s Box, the source of all evil and suffering in the world plays out over and over; the suffering and heartache of any subscribed scenario never diminishing.

Are we all doomed to a tragic existence? The product of a terrifying fall?

Salvation and liberation are available to all, as mankind has been lifted out of the darkness step by step. The elements of the process repeat as so many things do in life. The light grows ever brighter.

So what can one say, when climbing out of a life of tragedy, of the unspeakable, one finds they have been betrayed from every direction imaginable?

One says “Hello” as they find themselves in good company.

Good stories; literature comes from the space within.

Thanks for reading.