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So, looking at how the US shows more and more symptoms of a third world country, and looking at the paralysis of the current political system and how the financial oligarchy is tightening its grip on our beautiful country, the question on the table is what keeps us from changing this? Why do we continue to move trillions of dollars to bankers, billionaires, and ill-conceived wars? Why not redirect the same streams of money to areas with where it could have a profoundly positive social impact: conditional cash transfers to poor people and communities (which Brazil has used with major success), massive investments in education, green technologies (which China does with great success), and hybrid social and business entrepreneurship, which could move urban and rural communities from despair to social, economic, and ecological well-being. What’s holding us back?

Good question.

It should surprise no one I love the simplicity of my friend Pat’s new site.

Sometimes, somebody plays a guitar, and you suddenly aren’t alone anymore.

Merlin is at his best when writing these sorts of posts. Wonderful. Simply wonderful.

Also, describing yourself at a certain age is an excellent writing assignment. Go ahead, try it. Find an old photo of yourself and write about where you were, what your life was like, and what was likely going through your head. I did one here a little while back. It’s rewarding on many levels.

You see, I needed to go to hell. I was, you might say, homesick.

This is, perhaps, the most beautiful piece of journalistic prose I have ever read. It reminds me of Hunter S. Thompson with far more beauty balanced on the edge of madness. It is one of my favorite pieces in my text playlist as it reminds me that how one tells the story is almost more important that the story itself.

There is not one single blockquote from the profile of magician Ricky Jay that would do it justice. If you have any fascination with magic or history at all, this is a must read. Seriously, it will make your week and wreck it at the same time because, I guarantee, you will then spend hours on the internet looking up video of his performances… And, such a distraction will be infinitely rewarding.

I’ve never lost a pen in over twenty years following these rules. They also seem to extend to other things not to lose.

As a fellow “nice pen” aficionado, I agree with all of the advice here. I generally find one main rule to be true – The nicer the pen, the less likely one is to lose it.

A fascinating look into how some well known folks have used their notebooks. As a notebook nerd, this fills me with such geekish delight I can barely contain myself. I especially love this little anecdote about George Lucas:

While mixing the sound for American Graffiti with Walter Murch, Murch asked Lucas for R2, D2, meaning Reel 2, Dialogue 2. Lucas liked the sound of that phrase and jotted it down in his notebook. This little note would of course come in handy later for the naming of that now famous robot.

Teach your young children something verifiably false. You must start with them very young and be very clear, detailed, and back it up with complete nonsense. If you’re lucky, they’ll later discover that something they believed was false and make the leap to the all-important realization, “I wonder what else they’ve been lying to me about?” Congratulations! You’ve set your child on the healthy road to skepticism and a life long pursuit of checking things out, probing, and thinking. And Merry Christmas!

This is such a great idea. Deceptive but an important lesson to learn. Beatrix is currently well into her “Why?” phase. Almost every statement we make is met with this question. At first, I would answer only to have her retort with another “Why?”. Then, I tried returning with “Why do you think?” in an effort to try to spur her own discernment. Teaching kids how to think is far more important than giving them the answers. 

But I also see my journey as a field-test for a more philosophical idea — that what we experience in life is more important than what we bring with us.

This is an idea that goes back to the initial travel-dreams of my childhood.  When I was a kid dreaming of faraway places, I didn’t imagine what I would pack — I imagined what I would do.

Rolf Potts, of Vagabonding fame, is going to travel around the world for six weeks without any luggage. Just what he has in his pockets. Those who know me or have been reading my work for some time know that I am a fan of lightweight travel. Here is a video of what I carry on a typical three day trip. Therefore, this really intrigues me.

Also, it is being sponsored by ScotteVest, makers of travel clothes with a plethora of pockets designed to do this very thing. I have a ScotteVest Microfleece Pullover and it is excellent. Their Travel Vest has long been on my wishlist.

I’ll be watching this closely for sure.

(Though I saw this in my own feed, I’m giving the via to Randy Murray, who linked it on Twitter and reminded me I had something to say)

Reading your own work is an important part of being and improving as a writer, but it’s critical for bloggers and website owners. You have to occasionally test yourself and make sure that you’re doing what you set out to do.

This is a typically excellent post from Randy. If you do any sort of writing at all you should read it. It applies to more writing than just online. That said, I’m going to offer up the reason why I go back and read old writing I’ve done and why I think you should too…

When I was a teenager, I took a summer long creative writing class. I largely credit that class for the reason I consider myself a writer today. In the class, we explored all facets of creative writing – poetry, prose, memoir, essay, fiction. It was beneficial in not only giving me the foundations of these forms but also allowing (and, at times, forcing) me to explore styles and boundaries I never would have before.

But of all of the lessons I learned in the class, it was something that the instructor said to us early on that still resonates strongly with the work I produce today:

Nothing I write is sacred.

There is no work made by any writer that does not retain the license, or, more so – the duty, to change for the better. And the only one that can define “better” is the writer themselves. For it is they alone who put idea to page with intent to communicate and articulate such. Even if making it “better” means rewriting it or destroying it completely.

Bloggers, as we writers who produce work primarily for an online audience are called, often are quick to write and lazy to edit. I am certainly guilty of this more often than not. Perhaps it is the immediacy of the publishing instrument we use. Perhaps it is a more forgiving audience that has far more important things to do then shoot you a typo correction or critique of style. That said, I often go back to look at pieces I have written in the past. If I see a typo, I correct it. If I see a way I could have said something better, I do so.

Most of the time it is a change of one or two words. Sometimes, I add, delete, rewrite a whole paragraph or post. I don’t consider the fact that few are likely to read it again, let alone notice the change. I do it because, well, words *mean* things. I want my words to be a reflection of the idea I had at the time and to articulate it in a manner that is clear and consistent.

Therefore, when you do follow the advice, both linked and herein, use the red pen liberally and with malice aforethought to make it even better.

Update: To prove my point, I will note any changes I make to this post below:

Changed “so beneficial” to “beneficial” in the second paragraph.

Changed “malace of forethought” to “malace aforethought” which is the proper legal term (thx Jonas Wisser)

Changed “then just” to “than just” in the first paragraph. (thx Pat Dryburgh)

Note to self with help again from Jonas: It’s “malice”, not “malace”. Mal ass! (which I think is French for Bad Ass so I’ll take it as a compliment)