My brother and my brother-in-law both bequeathed to me their record collections. In my brother’s case, he let me cull and pick out things I knew I wanted in my collection. My brother in law just gave me a big ol’ box. Finally, after years of storing these things in my basement, I went throughContinue reading “On the Thirteenth Day of 2024: Home Alone with Snow and Old Records”
Category Archives: Writing and Reading
On the Twelfth Night of 2024: Nietzsche and Saltburn, In That Order
It’s not very often that I do research in order to write a song lyric, but on Friday I find myself digging around in Nietzsche expressly for that purpose. I had written this song with my friend Adam for our Project MA album, and the words I wrote, inspired by a title Adam had givenContinue reading “On the Twelfth Night of 2024: Nietzsche and Saltburn, In That Order”
On the Tenth Day of 2024: Please Excuse Michael’s Absence
On the tenth day of 2024, after setting up a pattern of daily blogging, while admitting that he was not sure how long he could keep it up, Michael Jarmer Writer Guy neglected to post a blog entry. It appears that everyone survived the catastrophe. There were no angry comments, no demands for a fullContinue reading “On the Tenth Day of 2024: Please Excuse Michael’s Absence”
On the Seventh Day of 2024: The Numbers
Consecutive days of meditation: 7. Number of walks taken with dogs: 3. Consecutive days of sitting meditation, on a cushion: 6. Consecutive days of walking meditation, with dogs: 1. Chances that walking meditation with dogs was more successful than sitting on a cushion without dogs: 0. Consecutive days of bicycling: 5. Cups of coffee consumedContinue reading “On the Seventh Day of 2024: The Numbers”
On the Fourth Day of 2024: Chipmunk Instagram
I don’t know how long I will keep this up. It’s late in the afternoon now and I have had a somewhat productive day so far. Meditation, bicycling, breakfasting, coffee making and coffee drinking, making a silly reel for instagram, picking my boy up from school, grabbing lunch at Panda Express (my only mistake ofContinue reading “On the Fourth Day of 2024: Chipmunk Instagram”
On the Third Day of 2024: In the Third Person
He rose again. Isn’t it amazing, he finds, that every morning, no matter what, he never fails to wake up! On his way into his meditation space he realizes, though, that the dog has once again pooped and peed in the entryway, so he attends to that first. Then he can begin the ritual ofContinue reading “On the Third Day of 2024: In the Third Person”
On the Second Day of 2024: Notebooks
Morning meditation two days in a row after nearly a year and a half without. This morning my feet didn’t fall asleep as I sat cross-legged on the cushion, but I did find myself somehow less focused than I was yesterday. If opening my eyes to look at the timer is any indication of aContinue reading “On the Second Day of 2024: Notebooks”
On the First Day of 2024: Meditation, Bicycling, Music, Reading and Writing
I tried as best as I could to have a great day, a day that included at least a sampling of all the things I love to do and all the things I’m committing to do more of in the new year. I’ll make a quick list here for your generous perusal. So that, inContinue reading “On the First Day of 2024: Meditation, Bicycling, Music, Reading and Writing”
Mindfulness in 2023: A Reflection
It has been five years since I have written one of these end-of-the-year reflections. I’m coming into this one after rereading what I wrote in 2018. In the intervening half a decade, I must have been just too overwhelmed by COVID and the ending of a career in education to be bothered to do aContinue reading “Mindfulness in 2023: A Reflection”
16 Days into a Dry November, 30,000 Words into NaNoWriMo
I had my last drink of alcohol on October 30th before attempting a dry November and embarking on my second effort two years in a row at writing 50,000 words of fiction for National Novel Writing Month. As of this morning, exactly one half of the way through the month, I reached 30,000 words. IContinue reading “16 Days into a Dry November, 30,000 Words into NaNoWriMo”
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