living site Blog
By:
Philip GleasonI just read a chapter about split infinitives and gerunds. I am enjoying the book- “Who’s (oops) Whose Grammar book is it anyway?” by Edward Good. This is my second book about writing and the English language. I am probable beyond hope but I have to give it a try. I can’t be undone by those who snicker at my disuse of the language. I can remember at a dinner party, my ex had me humbled all night because of my unwise use of an adjective.
Writing papers in collage was and exercise in pain. Saying what I wrote was English was like saying Van Gogh was realism. I would space the periods out and pour in about fifteen words. Noun verb combinations, I knew that much, and most of the rest were these, that’s and those. If I needed a thousands words, I would pause ever two lines to count them up. 885,886, 887, I have 113 left to go. Writing ended up becoming a math exercise.
Now with all the software jobs in India it work to just know your sub routines and function calls. I never was a straight ahead programmer and always managing to get assignment where I had creative control. But now I will sell my soul by crafting enchanting prose rather then just another pretty face with a keyboard.
It does take time, but I am hoping NOW is the tipping point. This month, with it not even half over; I have had more visitors then any prior month. Most are search engine bots but I’ll take who ever I can get cyborg or not. I believe the trick is to constantly update your content, this takes time and energy, but people want change. I have add two RSS feeds and will have to check the logs to see how much they have contributed.
Sir Howard recently became CEO of Sony Corp. I knew him when he was a TV producer and then executive producer at CBS Reports. It has been interesting watching his career unfold. My first contact with him was on a documentary about the FBI in Atlanta. The work always got done, even with his casual approach. One point, while trailing the FBI in their cars we discovered Howard was left fifty miles away while he ducked in to take care of business. Working for him was never too stressful and always enjoyable.
Howard always took time off to live with an outing to Breanne’s for Sunday breakfast and then holding down lunch as I descended in the Rollercoaster with him and Dan Rather, The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging away at a highway side hotel pool, him reading cheap history novels and me studying up on video.
Howard was one of the people who made me realize a manic dedication to work was not the only route to success. I later traveled with Him and Andy Lack to China to film the Boston Symphony. We were sure to schedule an authentic evening out in Peking for duck. Howard at this time was the executive producer but could not pass up the opportunity to visit the far-east. I recently read in the Wall Street Journal it was as a result of a contact he made on the job that introduced him to the people at Sony.
By this time he must have been thinking about his future, which brought him the presidency of CBS News and later the whole network. His thoughts must were not on producing for during the final shoot in a packed stadium in Peking with the Symphony playing John Phillips Sousa “Stars and Strips forever” Howard forgot to cue the cameras to roll on the second stanza. It did not seem to harm the production for the documentary went on to win a number of awards.
I recently bumped into him at the Conservatory Gardens at Central Park were he was strolling with his family. I was aimlessly walking alone after my divorce and was comforted by his warm welcome. I wish Sir Howard well with his new job.
I have been neglecting my blog, but not the site. I did not think anyone would be interested in my wining, so I have gone to work building up the functionality and entering many picture in living. It seems the more you do the more you need to do. I am hoping to turn the corner on this site. When I worked for the corporate masters, the projects were never completed yet each year they made money. They had hit a vain of rich ore and every effort was applied to fulfilling the demands of those who were paying. Going it alone requires navigating towards a future vision. You need to design what has not been done. I am attempting here to combine rich content, my life, with advanced technology, my site. Marshall Mcluhan said the media is the message. I want to dissolve all boundaries between the containing media and the content within.
I have figured January is the month to suffer through. Lost loves and loneliness seem to go hand in hand with the cold dark weather. Its predictability makes it all the more bearable; now dismiss the negative feeling that comes over me as a seasonal issue. Today, first time in a long time, there was a warm ray of sun that fell on the snowy ground; giving hope spring is just around the corner, a time when the joy of life just bubbles over. I love and I hate that these feeling well up in me, but wound not swap them for the cold rational armor that I have set aside.
It has been a while since my last post, the day before Christmas to be exact. It has been hard for me to express myself lately and I have been working on the gallery. This effort is a construction of my past in pictures and text. Lately my emotions have been boiling over. This has been disconcerting for someone whom has always had a reason for every action. Or should I say rationalization. I always obeyed the wishes of those I associated with and worked hard to comply. That is until I couldn’t any more then some crisis would transpire to free me. Last night I called someone in the middle of the night. My emotions were so strong I needed to reach out. This is new territory for me, it was not a reaction to being cornered it was a need that I had which I imposed upon a friend. Maybe an ex friend but it gave me relief.
take pic of the recent snow strom
how about the rest of the seasons?
yeah, u look pretty drunk there...c---->p
By:
Philip GleasonIt has been forever since I last posted here. Since then I have all but lost faith in making this successful. I opened up my ecommerce store to an underwelming response. The only traffic to the store was from the meager efforts I did in marketing the web site. I have come to the conclusion that promoting this effort is the major key to its success. There are still some things that I see that need work, but I am convinced that the real improvement will come from responding to the customer not perfecting something that no-one can appreciate. I wish you all a happy holiday, and look for cards and emails in the new year urging you to participate and make this effort a true success.
It is Election Day and time to vote. Not living in a “swing state” my vote will not be critical in putting into office the next president but I am looking forward to partaking in this greater communal activity. The Internet and voting still has a way to go before becoming effective, it was not easy getting information about voting. The Online Poll Site Address Locator is under construction and I could not find a sample ballet or even what my district is. I know I will find it so I am not too concerned.
I have long removed myself from the category of undecided and have placed my vote for change. I do not clearly put myself into a political party and find virtues in both underlying perspectives. I can remember when I first started working on Wall Street, I registered as a Republican. Coming from a background of trade unions and collective bargaining I was voicing my defiance and rejecting the need to be protected from the forces of capitalism. Young and successful it seemed clear to me that lower taxes and less government was a good thing. Not only was it self interests that motivated me, I felt your life was in your hands, you would work hard to survive.
Since there has been a republican in the White House my life has gone through a complete change. I can not hold the commander in chief responsible for the death and illness that has visited my world or even that I can no longer see the world trade towers out of my living room window. But the divisiveness in the world and in the neighborhood is a reflection of how we have been governed. Reagan had a conservative agenda; he seemed to be effective, Carter was a democrat and lost control. So you can see I am not firmly in one camp but believe we benefit from the dynamics of both. And now we have ventured to far in one direction, I believe, and need to reestablish our balance as a nation, the polls open in ten minutes so I better get ready.
I had convinced myself that circumstances and feelings are separate. Looking back on the good fortunes in my past, I can still remember how troubled I had felt over what now seems insignificant. The days of the past were surrendered to the future in the faith that the effort would insulate our family from doom. Nothing can assure that protection. In 2001 my life was visited by events of biblical proportion, sweeping out my security like the coming of locus. I had never experienced such lose before. But rather then causing despair, it opened my eyes to living. The wonders of being in the present and working with out worry were enthralling. The focus was still on achievement and contributions, but life’s pleasures were now expanded to include the senses of my body. Like the accomplishment of a well cooked meal or the beauty of a run on an autumn day I could feel the payoff.
I now had an understanding and will fear death less because I finally lived. This thought has a nagging question; would my life be more secure if I was still troubled? The evidence around me does not support that point of view. I still see people squandering their precious moments with anger and depression when hardships inevitable befall them. I might be squealing like a pig and cursing out everyone I have ever known when true disaster strikes me, but please give me these minutes to rejoice in my life while I can.
I’m sort of an absent minded guy. I estimate that I spend five percent of my life, searching for lost items. The two items that are at the top of my list are eye glasses and keys. The reason I mention this is that I have spent the past forty-five minutes searching for my reading glasses. The primary thing I miss about not having a wife is that she had an uncanny ability to know exactly where they where, sometimes in my more suspicious moments I thought she hid them. But now she is gone and so are my glasses so I must own the blame. I have come to accept that no matter how conscientious I am about remembering I will still be searching for lost items, I must have not been born with that gene.
I have adopted a coping strategy. by accept this activity as long is it does not occur too frequently. When I start searching I also start tidying up. On this last search, I started the dishwasher, picked up my cloths and vacuumed in front of the couch. Cleaning up helps me discover the lost item so I feel I am on plan. I had just picked up the last pair of socks and conceded out loud they were lost, when I happened to look below my desk and low and behold, glasses!
I've been making changes to the site in general. This weekend I purchased a Sunday New York Times. I once subscribed, but found that I was spending too much time reading the paper. What struck me while I was reading the Arts and Leisure section of the paper was an article on the soon to be released file "The Polar Express". What makes this film unique is the way that it was made. It is a true bridge between live action and computer animation. A remarkable achievement if pulled off correctly. Which leads me to the point that I noted, It was mentioned that sometimes the Gee-Whiz technology makes the audience forget about the performances. We all have seen those films, amazed by the visuals yet confused by the store. "The Lord of the Rings" got it right. And my project has required a similar balance. I have been visualizing what I need to build, controls to show pictures, a web log to have it easy to enter streams of words. Now I need to put some effort into the content and how the visitor experience unfolds.
With intense curiosity I asked him, “How did you become the King of the City?” and he told me, “there was a great struggle. I forsaken everything I had to pursue my craft. Waking before the sun and toiling long every day, hardly watching the clock tick. Bills piled at the table and I avoided the mundane request of my friends and family to complete the vision. Then it all happened with a knocking on the door, a man in a suit holding up a white piece of paper. With in weeks I was where I am today, 5th Avenue and Central Park South.” I handed him a dollar and went on my way.
I’m still trying to figure it out whether you predict your fate or choose it. There is something familiar with my present life. When young, I was the canvas and life was painted on me, too busy to understand how it as it unfolded. The strings were being pulled and I was happy to dance to the songs. The music stopped for now and I stand at the top looking out at the valleys. Are they opportunities or hazards, much time for reflection but it is now the time to take the lead, to move out and know that what brought me to this day has properly prepared me for the challenge.
Now you can see a little picture, my picture. It seems that everybody is clamoring for graphics. Now you can upload your own image. To do this you need to be a registered user. You can edit your details by clicking your name in the upper left of the screen. On the edit user form there is "upload icon” find a file on your computer that you want to select. The image will then be uploaded to the server. it will be resized and made available to represent you in your blog entry. It is that easy... Now it is also possible for anonymous users to post a message The message will require review before posting so you will not see it immediately.
Oh those sweet temptations. Yesterday I was contemplating the reemergence of a modern day dark ages. Life is not predictable, every once and a while there is an abrupt change in circumstances, a depression, a war, a comet smack dab in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. I am mostly an optimist who is getting ready for the second coming, all will be revealed! But maybe who ever is coming might accidentally step on us like an ant on a sidewalk. It was all too much for me; I needed to find some relief to help carry me through to my normally rosy self. I had lost interest in my environs lately with its multi screen sport bars and depressed patrons. Staying at home has allowed me to be more productive, adding content and structure to this site.
Last night I broke the fast and journeyed out. I choose the closest most convenient establishment. In the past I have found the place light on customers, which would have suited me fine for this quick stop. But I found the place jumping with a lively mix of internationals from the nearby youth hostels and locals like me. As I stepped up to the bar I was greeted by the lovely Miss Rheingold, An enchantress with the image of super woman framed on her right arm. The tattoo was like instructions on the side of a prescription “open with care! Explosives inside!”
I knew I had embarked beyond my protective world and this would not be another night of watching the semi translucent display of sports scores. And I was not disappointed, the political conversation was much more engaging and intelligent then I have come to expect. The consensus was overwhelmingly anti-Bush. I played my normal role as antagonist, questioning how one person can cause so much harm, and stating he is only reflecting the consensus of the people. I did not want to be branded a Republican in this city by the sea, so I treaded lightly with my words which were already handicapped by the beer and lack of practice.
I was corrupted by the company, wanting to be more charming then right. With a pit stop and a hasty exit I managed to reclaim my autonomy and catch the end of the VP debates. I feel refreshed and ready to take on the work. Life is good!