Category Archives: Writing

Then and Now

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In September of 2005, I started this whacky, artsy, and slightly insane blog.  I was flipping through the archives the other day and realised that I have grown up a lot.  There is still much maturing that needs to happen to me and the blog, but who wants to grow up, really?

I used to post intimate relationship matters.  Thankfully for me and the kind readers, I don’t do that anymore.  I’ve learned a great deal about people and the world through this harebrained experiment we call the blogosphere.  I’m grateful that I’ve met so many interesting and inspiring people.

This thing started because I was planning for a trip to Ireland and was searching iTunes for a podcast that might give me some tips.  I happened upon a podcast hosted by two expats living in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  I learned a considerable amount from their show, albeit most of the information was a twisted version of the truth.

The chap producing and hosting the show was inspiring, so I started a wee blog over on blogspot.  I don’t have much use for the guy, but like it or not, his podcast is the reason I started this crazy thing.  It has died and been reborn several times in the last six years.

Blogs are strange things, really.  They are our own personal space filled with our thoughts, dreams, and opinions on whatever subject we choose to discuss on a given day.  It feels private, but it is far from it.  Reading another persons blog is like breaking into their house and reading their diary with their permission.  It’s odd, but the world is odd.  The world is a smaller place because of it and I am very grateful for all of the friends I’ve made.

It is my greatest hope to keep blogging and learning from others.  In 2006, I was in a local pub having a pint and giving the poor sod beside me an earful of my relationship woes, when a nerdy (young version of myself) bloke came running up to me asking if I was the guy on that infamous podcast.  By late 2006, I had started my own podcast, so I was hoping that he was talking about my show.  He was talking about the other show that I was on in June of 2006.  I said that yes it was me and he brought his girlfriend over to meet me.  I told him what really happened on that particular show and he insisted on buying me another pint that I didn’t need.

After that I decided to work hard on the content of the blog and the podcast.  I managed to get the infamous Dr. Don to join the show.  He added hilarity and honesty that you can’t find just anywhere.  In Episode 25, Brian F. made his debut.  He made sure I didn’t go off the deep end with my rants and kept the facts straight.  He also added even more humour to the show.  A few months later Dario Sanchez graced us with his presence.  He’s hilarious and brilliant.  Not long after that, Brian managed to get the smart, funny, and talented Baino to join.  At around the same time, that famous and cantankerous auld fella, Grandad, joined the ranks on episode 44.  And finally, the infamous and hilarious K8 the Gr8 made her entrance and exit on Episode 50, Kilos of Craic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the podcast and would hope to produce one in the future.  There was no money in it, just the joy of getting together with people you know and talking about the craziest topics.  We all knew that we were having some sort of effect on someone somewhere.  When we stopped doing the show, we had several hundred listeners.  Not that many in podcast terms, but enough to encourage us to keep it going.  However, it was taxing on us all.  We had to line up a time to meet across 15 time zones.  It was far from easy but well worth it.

This blog has died off since those pioneering days of blogging and podcasting.  I was going through my own hell and everyone seemed to be going in different directions.  The content started to suffer, so I almost pulled the plug.  Thankfully, I kept it up as more of an archive than anything else.  I started to fall apart like an old stone wall ravaged by storms, but I am gradually rebuilding the wall, one stone at a time.  I can only hope I put them back in the correct order.  :)

I would not be the man, good or bad, I am today without the lot of you  Thank You all…

verdure

Mental

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My mind gets on me nerves.  Bits of poems and ideas pop into my head.  I rearrange them into at least one stanza, but by the time I’m able to write them down, they go poof.  Sometimes I wish that I could miniaturise myself and hop into that massive cosmos that is my ego brain.  I’d rearrange the Axon’s so they’d sparked to the proper Dendrites.   I’d beat the Hypothalamus into submission.  It doesn’t work anyhow, so it’d be a win win situation.  If my brain was a hard drive, I’d kick it until it rebooted. 

I just realised what my main problem is.  I’ve received four IT support calls while trying to write this post.  How can anyone concentrate on anything with people calling and asking questions which divert one’s attention from what he or she was trying to accomplish.   Aaarrrgghhhh…

Dewy Berries (by JeffersonDavis)

Who is this bloke, Jefferson Davis anyway?

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I talk about me self way too much.  I don’t post enough.  All of this is true.  Yep!  Welcome to my world.  So, who the heck is this Jefferson Davis chap?

Welp, he is a very complicated dude with a simple core.  He has more persona’s than he can name.  Some of which are more active than others.  Sometimes they drive him mad with all the chatter about what to do or what to say.  You’ll find some of them listed below.

Jefferson: This character takes nothing from no one.  He awaits a fight and sometimes initiates them just for the thrill.  He is a born rebel and rails against any sort of rule that he doesn’t agree with.  He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it.  He lets anger rule his world.

Shane: He is just a poor ol’ sod.  He lacks confidence and lets people run all over him.  He’s very charitable and will do anything for anyone.  He’s honest and kind.  He couldn’t lie, if he tried with all of his might.  He’s just trying to find his place in the world.  He’s got two left feet and stumbles a lot.  A quiet and cordial lad if there ever was one.  Shane also likes to poke fun at himself before anyone else has the opportunity to do so.

Sean: This fella is fascinated by the world.  He is extremely artistic.  He doesn’t see people, he envisions an amalgamation of abstract forms and colours.  He doesn’t hear music, he sees swirling notes of every pigment in the rainbow flutter out of wind instruments, twist off of strings, and bounce off of percussion instruments.  He turns picturesque scenes into words and amorous memories into drawings.  Most of his idols were from the Romanticist era.  He is a dreamer.

Sam: Well, this bloke can not be trusted.  He is sneaky.  This is the one you have to watch out for.  He is sly and cunning.  He is a thrill seeker that loves a challenge.  He seems like a simpleton, but that is just what he wants you to think.  Sam is quite nefarious!

Davis: He follows in his fathers foot steps.  He chases after women in the day, night, and everywhere in between.  He’s worse than a rabbit!

In the end, what does Jefferson Davis want in life?  Ah, he wants what ever other decent man wants.  A graceful (insert laughter here) woman that’ll put up with his antics, a good job, a few wee brats, and a chance to grow old gracefully.

So, I’ve made a buffoon of myself.  Now it’s your turn.  That’s right!  It’s meme time, baby!

Take a minute or two and come up with four or five personas within yourself.  We all have a good side, a bad side, a happy side, and a weird side.  Name your characters and tell the world a bit about each of them.  It is good to laugh at yourself from time to time.

This is open to anyone who would like to do it.  Do it when you can and let me know.  Once you’ve done it, I’ll add a link to the bottom of the post.

If you need any inspiration, just watch the video below.  That Lily Allen has a few million characters rolling around in her head.  I’ve been following her for a long time.  I like her because she’s got spunk.  She’s supposed to come out with a new album soon.

au revoir

Riddled countenance

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Over the past few weeks I’ve been of an ill humour.  My countenance has been riddled with an atrocious scowl.  After much reflection and a bit of intuition, I finally figured out what was wrong.  Like so many of my fellow bloggers, I’m a very creative person.  I have to put my artistic talents to use or pay the consequences.  In the last few weeks, I”ve worked so much that I’ve not had time to write poetry or short stories, take or edit magnificent photos that boggle the senses, or draw the things I love.  It is imperative that I do these things no matter how trivial they seem to others.  I’d lose my sanity without my crative outlets.  My prose would drive me mad!

I’m a dreamer, a fantacist of sorts.  I dream of a better world in which people actually get that which they deserve.  Good or bad.  About halfway through an incredibly boring workday, I caught myself doodling characters from a short story I started writing but never finished.  I had everyone at work laughing at the drawing of the auld witch and the squirrel innocently encamping in the eve of her house.

So, to keep from going mad for the twenty-three days I have left at my job, I’m setting aside time to do what I do best.

Speaking of work, I’ve got to be there in twenty minutes.  Have a grand week all…

Lost Puppy has finally found his home..

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As I sit here in me room waiting for me water to boil, I conjure up the best moments of the day.  It has been a magnificent day here in Dublin.  I walked about 25km today.  My feet are sore but it was worth it. 

The past two days were a bit rough due to jet lag and too much alcohol.  It generally takes me two or three days to get used to a new place. I met the loveliest people today.  Never say that the Irish are not friendly, because that is simply not the case.  Sure, I’ve ran into my share off arses here, but most of them were Poles.  If you don’t mind me enquiring, what’s up with the Poles?  250,000 of them I’m told!  My stepdad is a pole!  :)  

After a glorious Irish Breakfast, I set out on the town.  I went and had a lovely chat with James Joyce and Oscar Wilde.  Whilst walking through council park, where Oscar Wilde’s monument is, I discovered an elderly lady with ashen grey hair.  She asked me if I was okay.  I said yes and thanked her.  She proceed to say that I looked like a lost puppy that had finally found its home whilst smiling.  She then asked where I was from, and I told her.  She didn’t believe me!  She said she’d never met a Yank like me before.  I told her that "The Picture of Dorian Grey", by Mr. Wilde was the starting point for me, and that everything I am today and my love for the arts and for writing started with that book.  We had a lovely chat and I went on about my business. 

After a touching stroll through Phoenix Park, I went to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.  You cannot help but get in touch with your spiritual side, when you walk through those magnificent doors.  I am a very respectful mate.  I’d never do anything to offend anyone, if I could help it.   I remained silent, as I walked down corridors snapping over fifty shots inside the Cathedral alone.  And, I took some really cool RAW shots that’ll take me a while to compile. 

About an hour after I arrived, they closed so I went on yet another walkabout thinking that I could find my way back to the Temple Bar district.  I was way off base!  :)   I was getting a bit worried whilst moseying down some shady streets, when a lovely chap dressed in yellow stripes and a smile passed me pushing a buggy full of garbage.  So, I said, "Pardon me, sir…Might I ask if you can direct me to the Temple Bar area?". 

He moved his arm around like an old beeping radar machine, and muttered, "Ah, gash, you’re a bit away from temple bar".

"I don’t mind the walk."

"Ah, well then, go down here…about 400 metres and turn right at the light…That should get you there in a brisk ten minutes", he said whilst pointing in the general direction.

"Much obliged, sir..Thank you for the help, I said, as I shook his hand in gratitude.

"Where you from, mate?"

"The states."

"No way, I’ve never met a Yank that sounds like you", he muttered, as he was taken aback a bit.

"Ah, yeah, I’m from the states, all right…Can’t deny that."

"What part?"

"Southern…South Carolina to be exact."

"Carolina, aye…Brilliant….Now you have yourself a lovely time", he said whilst going back to work.

I finally made it to Temple Bar and had a pint of Bulmer’s.  A lovely cider/beer stuff that is excellent!  And then, as I was walking down the cobbled stone streets of the Temple Bar district, my eyes fel upon a gorgeous redhead playing the guitar for a few Euros.  She was playing some American song.  I don’t know which one.  I had other things on my mind.  :)   I asked if I could take a wee picture and she laughed.  She asked if I was a photographer and I said yes.  She playfully still didn’t believe a word I said!  She said I was a typical ‘Merkan and full of it.  I love this woman!  :)   I like a woman with spunk and by god, these women have it!  :)   None of these women believe any of the hyperbole coming out of my mouth, and I really love that. 

I’m going to the Cliffs of Moher on the morrow.   I booked the tour with Paddy Wagon tours.  I’ve heard good things about them from a brilliant blogmatey-ess.  Speaking of blog matey’s, I ran into an Irish blogger on O’Connell Street today.  It was the oddest thing.  There I was passing Eason’s, and I saw this lad taking pictures.  I will not say who he is unless I am given permission to do so, but I walked with him to the bus stop and we talked about cameras, of course.  :)

Anyway, I’m off to have a pint before or with supper.  :)

saint_patricks_falcon saint_patricks_arches james_joyce oscar_wilde