Family Emergencies

My extended family has had their share of unexpected events and stresses over the years and this month We had to go to the emergency room ourselves.

There have been unplanned demands on my time. Adaptation will be the theme for this year as the scope of our challenges play out.

Looking at my completed work I find that the beginning of the Chuck Hammer saga, the first book being more of an introduction, is the least developed and will require immense focus to complete.

Despite the added demands on my time I am getting more blog posts out. I will have a short commentary on Ukraine on “No Sanction” in the near future.

If I had gotten my works out a few years ago they would be considered prophetic right now.

Self publishing, finding editors, I will have to look into some of the writing site accounts I had created to see what they have to offer; how they have improved. Do I go through a more traditional publisher?

I will also be putting a lot of effort into my “Global Imprint” blog. It consumes most of my mental energy (my chosen discipline), the proper relationships between man and his built environment embedded in the natural world in a symbiotic relationship. Our present world with its flawed intents and planning is on a fast path to destruction, and it is not simply about climate.

I guess we all need to adapt to the world to come, some professions much more than others, if we take a step back and make an objective observation of what has been playing out before us these last few years.

Truth is stranger than fiction as they say.

Sorry I do not have more to share right now.

Thanks for reading.

Always thank you.

Crunch Time

Crunch time for just about everything. Taxes are coming due. There are so many different taxes, several we do not even know we are paying.

How much do we not know about so many things? And how many people, we call the elites, want us to think we don’t know what we do know or can know; am capable of understanding?

Does technology help?

There will be a lot of sitting in front of the computer as many a task is compiled upon its’ screens. Does it really make the work easier, lighter, or simply easier to surveil?

What have we come to. If we drop all the technology would we all revert to something better? Would we find ourselves already incapable to cope?

Dystopia, Utopia, tyranny, equality, procrastination, creative license, what is it all about?

Perhaps who you honor, in big and small, in all things makes all the difference.

Maybe I would be more popular, not shadow banned, if I were more upbeat and enthusiastic like this guy.

Did you ever wonder how much people make on YouTube?

I have a pile of notebooks to attempt to convert into rational sentences and progression to create stories worthy of publish. Does anyone make any money writing books anymore?

I am thinking Earnest Hemmingway, where the prevailing culture spoke beyond the page.

With all the upheaval in society these days, a deconstruction so to speak, and the focus on the price of things and what we need just to get by, do any norms remain that are self evident, that clearly convey in the briefest terms an image, a feeling, of the prevailing culture?

Sometimes I think not.

The “leave it to Beaver” world has been declared dead and buried.

Then you hear someone singing about that eating fancy is going out to eat at Applebee’s… Bam! It all comes flooding in.

Or maybe we never had any norms, but simply social constructs that allowed us to cope.

The world is changing. Call it the fourth turning, end of days, revolution, evolution, the new world order, the coming of The Kingdom something is in the air.

I find a lot of enlightenment on the YouTube, but you, my regular readers, should all know by now where I stand on the subject and where the ultimate enlightenment can be found.

Thanks for reading, as always.

So I will be crunching out some stories. Hopefully they will be comprehensible.

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.