this makes me a selfish bastard...i know...

"To imagine what it might be like to be a mother or a father to our children is not much different to imagining what it might be like to live in California. We are likely to focus more of our attention on the good things about being a parent and less so on the bad things about being a parent, perhaps because of the belief that children bring happiness. What this theory is implying is that we are likely to become happier with our life – and this will be much more so than usual because of the focusing illusion – the moment we find out we are about to become a parent, which could be up to nine months before the birth of our child. Reality (e.g. more time spent changing dirty nappies than seeing them smile for the first time) will likely kick in, however, almost as soon as we or our partner give birth to our child, which will lead to a considerable drop in well-being afterwards."

here's the full article

(via constant siege)

i learned something new today...

and ms. scribe keeps telling me that this show is a waste of time...we'll see what she thinks the next time i get strapped into a straight jacket...

ask for butter...

everyday when i come home from my commute...my eyes seek out the license plate of a car a few blocks from my home...it reads...ask not...i love it...yeah, jfk rocked a block rocking beat that day...but more than that...it reminds me of an old saying...if you don't ask...you don't get...

i learned something today...

there are only 850 words that make up the basis of basic english...somehow...i already knew that...

what i learned was...the term basic english...is also an official title for...one of the many languages people purposefully created...as opposed to the living languages...that constantly evolve...on our tongues...and in our ears...

now i've heard of esperanto...but...i knew nothing about it...especially...that it's part of...over 100 years of human effort to create...something like a universal language...this new information...fascinates me...

digging a little deeper...i discover this effort is not limited to business and politics...but also includes...more imaginative...endeavors...

somewhere down the line...i can see myself really diving...furthur...into this subject...

btw...update on bsb...10 chapters left...

good advice from an old hand...

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run --
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!"

Rudyard Kipling

Johnny Cash Loves You!

what i've learned from blogging so far (pt2)...

blogging will not replace the people i've come to know and love over the past 20 years



blogging will not replace going down to the neighborhood bar and meeting someone new

blogging will not replace a book in your hands

blogging has begun a revolution in publishing.


blogging (reading and writing) has replaced my daily 4 hours of writing habit

that's bad.



so...

blogging will be replaced by restoring my writing habits

so that i can finally get my book...in your hands.

that's good.




Johnny Cash Loves You!

what i've learned from kenneth murphy...

an appreciation of history and architecture...

a love of reading...

to never give up...

how to look through a camera view finder...

to fight for what you believe...

that i am not a skier...

generosity...

forgiveness...

if you want something, you'll do what's necessary to have it...

a man's past is a good indicator of his future...

it's good to have an opinion of your own...

it's better to be able to defend your opinion...

how to wear a hat like a man...

there's nothing wrong with saying, "i don't know"...

an appreciation of foreign films...

that black folks have a history and culture that started long before slavery...

that nothing is exempt from entropy...

how to look at art...

Johnny Cash Loves You!

what i've learned from blogging (so far)...

stick to what you do best...if you can pump out 500+ well written words a day and imaginative photo essays...do your best...if you can openly examine your faults and foibles to the world while you bounce around the globe...more power to you...if you can have fun and let off some steam...go for it...if you can show the world new ways to look at itself...take your best shot...if you're like me...and you want to tell stories...create new and interesting worlds...examine the creative impulse...do what you gotta do...but don't try to be something you're not...like I did for the last three months...

Johnny Cash Loves You!

this morning's lesson from the school of duh...strong and determined beats lazy and afraid...everytime.

Johnny Cash Loves You!

i learned a long time ago that i didn't belong in journalism...it comes doown to this;

i'm not interested ing thhe factual truth...i'd much rather explore the emotional truth...since the emotional truth is sucha a subjective thing, sometimes the facts get in the way of the truth...

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