Looks like shame on me, no blog entries for over 1,000 days. But, if you glance beneath the red writing hood, you will see I was blogging. Just not here. Need to improve that, eh?

More places to write; more things to write; more fun writing. Write. Right?
 

Fall fell quickly here in Norfolk, VA. Once day we are having record high temperatures, and the next day temperatures are more than 20 degrees colder.

Global un-warming?
 

I know it seems that my writing is falling off, but, really, it is not. I have been writing a blog for our local paper's web site and that has kept me busy with 400 to 1200 words per entry. This started in mid-May and continues to be both fun and challenging.

I have just renewed my Writing.com membership and hope to be adding morewriting in the not to far away future.

Interested in some controversial topics? Check out my hamptonroads.com blog!

http://home.hamptonroads.com/blog/index.cfm?uid=62


 

Attended a city meeting yesterday, and the topic was crime prevention. The mayor and most city council members were there.

The keynote speaker was most interesting and inspiring, although I do wish they had chosen one that spoke more directly to the topic at hand, crime prevention.

We broke into groups of 15 or so; there were 26 groups in all. During the 90 minutes or so in my group, we had a lively discussion, moderated by a city employee. This was the most interesting and, in my opinion, useful part of the morning. I do hope the comments we made make it back to City Council members and other city officials.

We'll see.
 

When the funds come from public money. I am incensed that my President and my Congress have conspired to give taxpayer money to hurricane victims. Does that make me an ogre? I think not.

Our Constitution is being ripped apart by Republican and Democrat alike. Charity is and should be an individual thing. It is a church thing. It is a corporate thing. Individuals, churches and corporations should, and do, give to just and needy causes. Our government should not. It is fiscally irresponsible for them to do so.

There are tragedies in our country every day. Why choose the group of tragedies in one particular area and not pay to have a person's house rebuilt after a fire? Is there not insurance? Is it my responsibility as a taxpayer to pay for the rebuilding of a home the owner had under-insured? I think not. If we are to remain a strong nation, and we are rapidly weakening as a people, we have to get back to standing up for ourselves, taking personal responsibility and ensuring our government does only what it is supposed to do, according to that document drawn up so long ago, the Constitution. It is, after all, the law of the land. Our
Congress and our President have been flagrantly breaking that law all to long now.
 

Shame oh shame!

Really. I have been writing, just not so much on line as at work and other projects. How do I write more and still get all done I want done? All done I need done? All done my boss requires done?

So, I look for suggestions. A few have come to mind. Fiorst, I could give up sleeping, eating and bowel movements, but I am too Taurean for that much self-denial.

Perhaps I'll write about it and come up with a solution.
 

Just who are the muses who spike our creativity?

For some, such as Hemmingway, it may well have been a good, stiff drink. For some, it is the adrenaline rush of being in danger, or in some way threatened, possibly also Hemmingway. For others, travel, or conversation, or, perhaps, even a dream.

A muse is not commanded by the creater, in this case called a writer. A muse appears, or not, according to its own rules, its own whims. We sometimes beg for help and it is absent over long periods of time. At other times we wish our muses would let us be, let us rest as we transition from one work completed to the start of another.

Want to know what I think? Well, let me tell you anyway. Our muses are within us; they are us; they are the child, the hurt adult, the lonely human being who speaks when he must, and who is silent when satisfied. To keep those muses talking to us, unfortunately, they must be unhappy; thus, we must, at some level, be unhappy.

Such is the creative process.

Archie R. Whitehill
Mercenary Writer
Have Words Will Write

What if all discourtesy suddenly disappeared, that people would allow others to get in front of them, that those let in would be thankful and express it. What if we all were less likely to want to argue? What if we all decided to not take what wasn't ours? What if we actually sought out and listened to facts and made rational decisions based on fact, without respect to party affiliations? What if we were sensetive to the feelings of others and did our best to respect those feelings? What if each of us decided to right those things we had done to hurt others? What if I were not insane to even suggest such things?
 

and was not sure how to answer. Just what is evil? Is it within us or an outside force, and what results do we consider to be evil? Some acts we perform are labled evil, yet, at times these self same acts are condoned and even celebrated when others do them, including being performed by the god(s) we worship.

This leads me to believe that evil is not absolute. But can this be true? Points to ponder, and to write about.
 

If you haven't seen, What the Bleep Do We Know, I highly recommend it, as do I their web site. See the movie first, before you visit the site, or it may make no sense to you.

The movie was enlightenment, fun, and amazement, wrapped with knowledge, and delivered with humor. You may want to see it more than once.

After you watch it, be sure to think about what you saw and what you felt. Then, try to incorporate some of the ideas into your own life. It will amaze you how much more satisfied, fulfilled and happy you can be, easily and honestly.

Archie R. Whitehill
Mercenary Writer
Have Words Will Write