Life on the High Wire

I will certainly pick up a copy as I will be trave...

2010-09-03T10:18:50.803-04:00

I will certainly pick up a copy as I will be traveling a lot in the coming weeks and need a good read.

Not sure if Art of the Song counts as a give back. We certainly want it to be a call to action to people that their creative voice is how they vote everyday. I've always been a bit shy about claiming a give back approach but now I am seeing that it serves no one (to nod to that ever famous and inspiring speech by MAW spoken by Mandela) to play small. So hell yes... lets get out there and give something of our truest selves in hopes of leaving this place just a little better, or at least with one eye opened a little wider.

xox Vivian

I'm certainly not a Rand expert, but I don't think...

2010-09-02T12:28:19.089-04:00

I'm certainly not a Rand expert, but I don't think she was against kindness. She was against the martyrdom you expressed: That nagging feeling to save the world, and that guilty feeling should one happen be fortunate or happy.

~c

Oh, Tusk. That's all.

2010-09-01T17:38:21.578-04:00

Oh, Tusk. That's all.

I clean the crap I stepped off my naked feet, caus...

2010-08-31T11:18:57.583-04:00

I clean the crap I stepped off my naked feet, cause thats the way I roll, when I roll the wrong way. I grab some toilet paper from the toilet paper roll in the closest bathroom I can find while hopping on my clean foot. Cause the last thing you want to do when you have stepped in dog doo doo is mush it in deeper. I wipe and wipe, then flush it down the toilet, then I calmly sit on the edge of the Tub, and rinse my foot while scrubbing it with a brillo type disposable scouring pad. The I toss the pad out and go on my merry way, with a little more caution but still barefoot, cause thats the way I roll. And anyway why ruin a good buzz by encumbering your feet with socks and shoes, when your'e only going to the Koi pond to feed the fish.

life on the poo poo surface

pretty cool stuff here thank you!!!!!!!

2010-08-27T19:03:25.702-04:00

pretty cool stuff here thank you!!!!!!!

Tusk - Thank you for the kind words. I'm beyond ex...

2010-08-26T11:54:02.549-04:00

Tusk - Thank you for the kind words. I'm beyond excited about the project (ecstatic? orgasmic?) and can't wait to kick it off in November. (More about that later.)

I appreciate your thoughts about video, etc. because with this project I'm trying to be more professional about it, as in, how do I extend my reach and earn money along the way? I think I can do both, but I traditionally haven't been aggressive enough about either one. I'm trying to change that, though.

I do think that in this new digital publishing age, the ticket is to generate great content and actively try to build the readership, and the paid opportunities will flow from there. It's all about platform, so with this blog I'm going to try to build one, versus letting it randomly develop.

And now I've just written today's blog post. Ha.

Margosita - Yay, yay, yay! I'm so glad you'll be along for the ride.

Anonymous - I'm so sorry! I had a great time at th...

2010-08-26T11:41:51.829-04:00

Anonymous - I'm so sorry! I had a great time at the Taos conference the first time I went, and in fact it was what inspired me to go to grad school (the best thing I've done for myself as a writer). The Taos faculty was supportive and helpful, which is why this time was such a shock.

Don't give up on the conference, but obviously don't study with that teacher again. And please take her negativity with a grain of salt. She's just one person (that's what I had to tell myself about my discouraging famous writer). Onward!

Deonne, I had a dreadful time in Taos, and I've be...

2010-08-25T22:13:39.606-04:00

Deonne,
I had a dreadful time in Taos, and I've been to many conferences which I loved. I felt most of the fellow writers in class were hostile, and so was the instructor, "Quite Well-Known Writer." Her comments were lazy scribbles on the margins of my piece, and no summing up remarks at the end. Also no individual meetings w/her. She told us it wasn't necessary and wd. be repetitious!

YAY! I'm so excited about this adventure you're go...

2010-08-24T19:14:56.253-04:00

YAY! I'm so excited about this adventure you're going on!

Dear Deonne, Jason Bateman and Jen Anniston are in...

2010-08-24T01:50:48.088-04:00

Dear Deonne,
Jason Bateman and Jen Anniston are in Switch this week. Not doing well at the box office. Wasn't Justine Bateman in that great show with Meredith Baxter Bierney and Michael J Fox. Any hew how exciting to be traveling alone, across the US, in a scamp. You are way to beautiful for that, it just reminds me of the female lead in Cannery Row with Nick Nolte. Debra Winger, your way prettier than her and she was way to pretty for the part. You are so talented why couldn't you sell the idea to a Reality TV show producer and push a young Artist across the country with you. They could live in another Scamp, A Painter, a singer, a songwriter(thats you). The early John Mayer Docu shows him travelling in a Van, how boring. Mipcom is around the corner, find it, sell to it, and then take a hike....

Monica and Ayana - Thanks for weighing in. I think...

2010-08-23T11:32:02.128-04:00

Monica and Ayana - Thanks for weighing in. I think you're right about the expert = satisfaction idea, and will probably talk more about it on the blog today.

I'm with Tusk - kudos to Ayana for the excellent use of cliche!

(Tusk - would love to hear your thoughts.)

ayana, adding more cliche to this post is well, e...

2010-08-22T13:18:26.549-04:00

ayana,
adding more cliche to this post is well, exemplory!! I'm still holding off with a comment, as I am trying to channel my ,,, well I'm just not commenting yet...

As a professional Jane of All Trades/Mistress(?) o...

2010-08-20T20:01:31.407-04:00

As a professional Jane of All Trades/Mistress(?) of None, I can attest to the fact that having multiple projects will leave you far less satisfied in the long run. That said, it's always good to have a backup plan, but you're talented and can go places if you stick with one thing. I'm not sayin' what's good for the goose is good for the gander, or that you should count your chickens before they hatch, but it's more worthwhile to be an expert.

Be an expert!

2010-08-19T11:41:23.171-04:00

Be an expert!

Deborah and Max - Yes, thank you, I forgot to ment...

2010-08-19T10:50:57.969-04:00

Deborah and Max - Yes, thank you, I forgot to mention the feedback because I hadn't done it yet. But I did that for my buyers, and I just got my first two positive responses, hurray!

Monica - A weekend project, perfect. Seriously, it's not hard to make a little extra cash this way.

Con - Great tips, thanks! I didn't realize that about PayPal taking a cut, and of course you're right, they just don't announce it. They just say, "We're sending you x dollars" but don't mention the approximately 3.5% they take out. Rude. So I'll factor that in next time.

Tusk - Brilliant. Hadn't thought about the reverse strategy.

Jim - I was thinking that sounded almost gourmet, ...

2010-08-18T10:58:29.015-04:00

Jim - I was thinking that sounded almost gourmet, until you mentioned the horse. You're a brave eater!

Lived for the better part of a year on chicken liv...

2010-08-17T17:36:24.641-04:00

Lived for the better part of a year on chicken livers, packaged mushrooms the grocer was tossing out and rice. This was NYC in the early 80's and for a while it was legal to sell horse. It was the only meat I ate while it was available.

Once again, I seem to be doing things backward. ...

2010-08-17T09:30:02.873-04:00

Once again, I seem to be doing things backward.

First, I'm no hoarder. What I do is frequent a tag sale or garage sale and spot something with a missing part, purchase it for next to nothing which sometimes means going back to the tag sale and taking it out of the trash after the tag sale is over. (Between that and badbreath is a good way to lose girlfriends). After I've made my purchase(freebie), I surf E-bay for the replacement part and voila(tough word to spell right), I've now got a perfectly useable whole item. Keep your eyes and ears open children, for that is Life slightly below the trash Line.

Any buddy seen a 23 Inch Back Saw for my antique Miter Box made of solid steel, complete with cam shafts and mounting table?

Great! Sounds like you got the hang of it. Just a ...

2010-08-16T20:54:29.167-04:00

Great! Sounds like you got the hang of it. Just a couple of things though:

- Pay Pal is free to pay with, but the person receiving payment does have a fee. I know. And guess who owns Pay Pal. Yeah. eBay.

- To avoid ANY costs for inserting pictures, do what I do: use the 1 free picture eBay offers, then use HTML code to link all other pics. Ah ha! Works like a charm. I use www.tinypic.com to host the pictures. The code is (in case you don't already know)...

< I M G SRC="insert tiny pics link here" > Don't have spaces between the I M G, nor before the "I" nor at the very end after "here". I did that so it wouldn't show up as HTML code on your page and so you could read it.

I used to make bank on eBay. Some chick at a record label sent me a tube full of promo Veruca Salt posters and I was getting $50 a pop back then. Oh, those were the awesome days! These days? I'm burnt out. Between the raised fees (and going higher and higher) and not getting any bids at all on my stuff my last few auctions, I've given up for a while. Hey, as long as people are buying your stuff.. go for it!!

~c

wow. its been a long time since I've purchased fro...

2010-08-16T19:24:10.759-04:00

wow. its been a long time since I've purchased from ebay. I have a lot of stuff that I am ready to say good-bye to, you made it sound fun and easy to post items. weekend project!

wow. its been a long time since I've purchased fro...

2010-08-16T19:24:09.092-04:00

wow. its been a long time since I've purchased from ebay. I have a lot of stuff that I am ready to say good-bye to, you made it sound fun and easy to post items. weekend project!

Ditto what Deborah said about feedback...and congr...

2010-08-16T19:10:09.335-04:00

Ditto what Deborah said about feedback...and congrats on clearing
space in your space. I've been an eBayer for 10 years, and it's been good to me.
BTW..."...better than a sharp stick in the eye..." has me laughing. (how much do you want for that stick?)

Be sure to ask your sellers to leave feedback, and...

2010-08-16T18:28:04.042-04:00

Be sure to ask your sellers to leave feedback, and be sure to leave feedback for them as well. When I buy, I always look for sellers with a good feedback record, and often I will go read the comments if they have some "neutral" or "negative" ratings. I've worked hard to keep my 100% positive rating from buyers.

I don't use eBay much because I find the whole postage to be bothersome. I have to bring the item to work, package it up using recycled packing materials from the mailroom, and weigh it - and if it doesn't sell, then I've done all that work for nothing. But then I was trying to sell tchotchkes from my mom's house, and it seemed that nobody wanted to pay more than a buck for any of them.

Some cash would be welcome about now, though. Maybe I'll have to take another look around the house.

Max - Right, not much of a money-saver in the long...

2010-08-16T18:19:20.736-04:00

Max - Right, not much of a money-saver in the long run.

Deborah - It's a crime, isn't it? I assume because it's made in CA and they have to ship it out here.

Con - Good lord. I would need a lot of Malbec to do that.

Tusk - This is a terrific list, and I love that you take the time to share your thoughts with us. Now I'm jonesing for a scavenger hunt!

Skin Tags and Health Insurance aside. In a privat...

2010-08-13T10:19:54.646-04:00

Skin Tags and Health Insurance aside. In a private college where everything went toward Room and Board and Tuition. I supplemented 10 dollars a week budget with a session of sitting on a couch in the student lounge and writing poetry based on the first name of anybody who wanted to donate a quarter, to own their very own original poem written by me. I could write about 20 poems in an hour in flowery penmanship. Drawing Caricatures for a dollar a pop is also a good method to stretch the Artistic freedom. These are all exercises in Vision and networking and releasing inhibition. Sound scary, no more scary than eating Ketchup packets or a moldy burger. I was a good poet and an excellent sketch artist. Reconnecting with a young forgiving college crowd is one way to shore up ideas and resolve. Learn to write flowery or write tiny within a line, drafting penmanship or fluid pencil movements on lined paper or plain. Its easier than an Inkwell.
No One expects Calligraphy but you can learn to stylize your handwriting. Pop Artists sell CD's out of their trunk, MC Hammer Style, he became rich travelling from city to city selling to locals.
Make money by practicing your craft. As small as it may seem, you play and sing from what I've heard, gather some friends around a coffee shop, put some finger food out with a donation cookie jar. Give private lessons to a Nursing Home on how to use on-line computers, get local business to sponsor Wi-Fi free areas for local business to bloom, give blogging lessons for people to reach out to a global community to help them sell some of that great New Mexico Culture. Show off some of that Classy New York Attitude.

Your personal time is only worth something to someone when you say hello in there, hello.. the reward is ohhh so much more worth the giving, when you give the charmed gift of when you expect nothing in return.

Is it Money for Food we are really worried about? Hand Wash your clothes and clothes line dry them even if you have your own washer and dryer, the clean mountain air adds its own sweet smell, and the clothes have a much more refined mountain look, when worn off the line.

Ketchup has too much sugar in it.

Make your own tomatoe soup. Buy some Mason Jars and start some preserves. There is nothing like fruit cocktail minus the marachino cherries preserved in Rum. Find a dollar Tree Store or research how to start a dollar tree store and hire people to run it.

Go to the library to read your paper. Research and write. Eat every two hours and only eat fruit one day, Salad the next, Go Vegan... or you've done that already. Treat yourself to meats after you've accomplished something truly barbaric, like catching a fish in a local stream with a rod and reel.

Make your own practical twenty list. Publish your list and dare anyone to accomplish all twenty before you've done all twenty. Have a Scavenger hunt and charge admission, hide things of value(not so much value) but stuff you certainly have tried to unload on ebay but can't) write out the clues as riddles to where they are hidden. Who does't love a good riddle and a good scavenger hunt.

I'll bet, the local college kids who you have written poetry for would join in the hunt in a heart beat. Have them record their images of scavenger and salvage then you enter them into an online page displaying their efforts, successes and accomplishments.

Take a day off and go camping, pack only water and a loaf of whole wheat bread. Toast to your likeness. Eat wild berries. Skip the mushrooms, you still need those parts, of that part of your brain. That crazy brain and those crazy thoughts of yours. Be totally Ironic for one day all day.