Something That Happened.

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Thursday, September 11, 2003

Regrets...
I've had a few.
But then again,
Too few to mention!
--"My Way",
written by Paul Anka
When I hear that song, I think of Frank Sinatra, and sometimes Elvis or Sid Vicious -- all of whom have been known to perform, in their own unique manner, that wonderful song. Wonderful because -- though I don't always enjoy hearing it, I've heard it so much -- the song is a wonderful personal anthem. That's something we all need: a personal anthem. A song that praises our individuality; a mark of devotion to oneself. After all, they say you're going to have a helluva time loving anyone else unless you've first learned to love yourself, right?

This is not to replace your love for your God, or your spouse, or your family. I'm simply saying that we all need to give ourselves a bit more self-love at this time of year. (No, not that type of self-love !) Too many of us beat up on ourselves throughout the year, and then nearly destroy ourselves at year's end. No wonder there are so many suicides during the Holidays; the messages bombarding us are to Buy Buy Buy and to Give Give Give -- but what if you have nothing to give but love? If you have a dearth of that good stuff, then you'll have a bitch of a time spreading it around to your neighbors.

So be good to yourself, whether you're Christian, Pagan, Wiccan, Athiest, Hindu, Islamic, Mormon, Podcastin, or otherwise. Don't take the pills, they won't do you or anyone else any good; you'll simply miss out on the Next Big Thing (which may turn out to be Your Next Big Thing). Just do things your own way, singing that little hymn as you do so:
For what is a man,
What has he got?
If not himself,
Then he has naught.
To say the things,
He truly feels,
And not the words,
Of one who kneels.
The record shows,
I took the blows
And did it my way!

Wednesday, April 30, 2003

The following post has been deleted but not completely removed from this blog. Some of the posts I have made to this blog have been completely removed, but I have decided to preserve this particular post in this manner so as to retain some record of the effort. I often begin composing a post and then end up abandoning it at some point. By crossing out the post rather than removing it completely, you will at least be able to discover some of my original intention.

Yesterday I started walking toward the bus stop to catch the bus to the Brentwood Library but continued right past the bus stop, not feeling like waiting for the bus, needing the exercise, needing to move my limbs, having spent way too much time at home in front of the computer. I walked, and soon found myself incredibly far away from my destination. At first I suspected I was simply taking a detour, but soon found myself past the library, heading up Wilshire towards Todai, with only had a vague notion why. I've never eaten there but I wanted to find out what they had to offer, how much it would destroy me financially, etc.

After perusing Todai I continued on my journey, now heading towards Second Spin, the wonderful little secondhand CD store. Maybe they would have a pre-recorded minidisc I could test in the new recorder I bought, the one that doesn't seem to work, the one I bought on eBay, trying to save the little money I have. The first major purchase I had made in a long time, the minidisc recorder was intended to be used to

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posted by Harold  4/30/2003 05:11:00 PM | 0 Comments | Links to this post

Monday, April 28, 2003

Who reads anymore? Well, you do, thank goodness. Yesterday I attended the Festival of Books in Los Angeles, an annual literary event. Literary? Well, sure -- although it's mostly a giant bookstore. Hundreds of authors autographed books, participated in panels, and generally delivered for folks interested in the printed word. A note of interest to readers of electronic literature: there wasn't a sign of e-lit. Perhaps next time, or the next time, or the next time.

Highlights of the event: a panel on writing (with Carolyn See and others), a conversation between Elmore Leonard and Barry Siegel, and a panel about historical fiction (with Pete Hamill and others).

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posted by Harold  4/28/2003 02:23:00 PM | 0 Comments | Links to this post

Friday, April 25, 2003

Let's get down to business.

This morning I woke up feeling miserable again. I wake up feeling miserable quite a bit these days. I'm unemployed, have been for quite awhile, and don't have any current prospects within reach. What's there to feel good about?

So I wake up, have a cup of coffee -- usually brewed, but this morning instant because I'm out of drip and besides, you are what you eat (or drink), isn't that what they say? and I don't want to be a drip. I can be a loser, but not a drip.

So I enjoy my first cup, or try to enjoy it, while I wonder how to approach the day. I nearly always start off on the wrong foot, knowing in the back of my mind -- or not very far back, even -- that I should be working on my resumé. Knowing that I haven't picked up my resumé in months. Many months. Knowing that I should be working the paper, pounding the pavement, seeking employment. But I don't.

Instead, I boot up my Mac, fire up my email and go to town. Working on my Internet radio station, trying to figure out new ways of marketing my website/webcast, attacking that damn blog (not this one) or that discussion group I moderate. All a great distraction from my job search, but usually fun and a way to say, "at least I'm being productive and learning something new". Which is true, but still -- I should be looking for a job.

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posted by Harold  4/25/2003 11:53:00 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post

Businesses in Huntsville, Alabama

*

I once posted, in this space (this right column), the following:

If I had friends they would be listed here

That particular bit o' text, that silly and idiotic phrase, was repeated a dozen or two dozen or so times and was intended to be temporary. I had been working on a project -- a new layout for this blog -- and had intended for that text to be placeholder content. That is, the text was supposed to temporarily replace the content that had previously occupied this column (which was a list of links to friends -- that is, other blogs and web sites I linked to). I didn't know what content I was going to place into that (this) space, so I placed a bunch of duplicate phrases here as a placeholder so that I would remember to fill in this space again later.

At the same time, I thought I was being cute with the heading:

NEW & IMPROVED FRIENDS!

The fact remains: I still don't know what content to put here, in this column. Links again? Pictures? Video? Audio? Ads? Oh, hell no! It hasn't come to me yet, but I'm sure it will eventually, and when it does it'll come quick and (as usual) with consequences.