John's DTown Muse

Brooksie

2008-02-28T09:38:00.001-08:00

early04.jpg
Originally uploaded by The Canary Murder Case

I have an interest in the Jazz Age, and nobody epitomizes it more than Louise Brooks. She came from the Midwest and conquered New York, starring in the Ziegfield Follies when she was barely 20. Then she left for a career in the movies, and she made some strikingly original ones during the Silent Era. She had a fresh, natural style of acting that stood out from the hammy, stage-trained actors of the era. She lived life to the fullest during the Jazz Age, with stops in New York, Berlin, Paris, and London during the manic 1920s. Poor choices and a difficult disposition derailed her acting career, but she lived long enough to become a respected movie critic in her old age. Look at her picture and you see a woman who still seems so modern, even 80 years later.

Purple beauty

2007-11-22T23:10:00.001-08:00

Purple beauty
Originally uploaded by Jay364

I try to spend part of every day dreaming. It's important to give your mind the material of your dreams, so it can go to work and make them come true.

Autumn colors

2007-11-18T14:31:00.001-08:00

Autumn colors
Originally uploaded by Jay364

Sometimes you just have to stop and take a look at the glory that's all around you. There are masterpieces right under our noses, and we miss them. We rush around focused on our daily tasks, but we miss so much beauty that's waiting to be perceived. The Autumn leaves will fall soon; take a look at them in all their glory, while they're still on the trees.

Enjoy the ride

2007-10-31T08:05:00.001-07:00

Originally uploaded by Mere unwound

Remember the feeling of being a child and going on a Ferris wheel? The initial scary feeling inside, when you go up, up, up, and then the exhilaration, the sheer joy, of getting to the top and seeing for miles and miles? Then the giddy feeling of going around and around, the breeze in your face and the world blending into a multicolored whirl? The way you laughed and laughed, and reveled in the motion and color?

Wouldn't it be nice to have that feeling today? Why not?

Urban Angel

2007-10-30T11:49:00.001-07:00

Urban Angel
Originally uploaded by fullofheart

What if angels really did exist, and they were living in your neighborhood? They may be there, but you just don't see them, because you're expecting white robes and Breck hair and a gauzy light around them. Who's to say they don't have neon wings and tattoos? Who's to say they're not standing right next to you, waiting to be asked to do something special?

Look closely

2007-10-29T10:14:00.001-07:00

gardenias silhouette
Originally uploaded by Ms Twinkle Toes

There is poetry everywhere. Beauty is blooming all around us. There are amazing, wonderful, miraculous things happening right under our noses. If you stop right now and take a look around you, and really focus, you'll see the most amazing sights. All you need is an attitude of appreciation, gratitude, and wonder. Once you have that, you'll see miracles everywhere.

The Moment

2007-10-28T11:56:00.001-07:00

Lonely!
Originally uploaded by khalid almasoud

It's so important to stop Time every once in awhile and relish the Now. To take a moment and appreciate it for its beauty. Our lives pass in a whirl of activity, a restless striving to achieve our goals, and we don't stop to appreciate those jewel-like moments that each day is made up of. Be aware of the beauty that is all around you, every moment of the day. Don't let it all pass in a blur. Take time to step out of your daily dance, and revel in the stillness and the eternal beauty of the Now.

Be silly today

2007-10-27T08:29:00.001-07:00

:)
Originally uploaded by *Spaghetti*

We need more silliness in this world. We need more people making goofy faces, standing on their heads, taking pratfalls, giggling in church, wearing funny hats, telling corny jokes, speaking with silly accents, eating hot fudge sundaes for breakfast, making balloon animals, putting on clown makeup, jumping in mud puddles, wearing a fake mustache, slipping on banana peels, and just generally being as silly as a two-year old child (and they're the experts on silliness).

Laughter and sunshine

2007-10-26T08:20:00.001-07:00

Laughter and sunshine
Originally uploaded by ellecer

There is nothing more precious than a child's laughter. It is good for the soul. When my children grow up, I will have to become a teacher, or find other ways to hear the laughter of small children, because I cannot bear to live a day without hearing a child laugh.

The Memory of Paris

2007-10-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

I've been to Paris three times, but the last time was almost 30 years ago. I'm sure it's changed in that time, but I'm also sure it hasn't changed too much. I want to go back, to experience again what it was like to be 25 and exploring the city for the first time. I remember children sailing toy boats in the pond at the Luxembourg Gardens, the Egyptian section in the Louvre (with majestic statues of the Pharaohs), the booksellers along the Seine, the soaring sweep of Notre Dame, the delicious pastries you could find in patisseries everywhere, the grizzled old men playing chess on the sidewalk, and the great delight of sitting in a cafe sipping a Belgian beer and watching the carnival of faces passing by.
Picture by Vladimir Fofanov

Spookiness

2007-10-24T09:24:00.001-07:00

Halloween 2005
Originally uploaded by dididumm

I remember the joy and excitement of being a child on Halloween. The feeling of breaking the rules by being out at night, walking around the neighborhood in the dark, seeing shadowy figures in scary costumes appear out of the dark, the jack-o-lanterns with their eerie glow. There was a feeling that anything could happen, and you were ready to embrace it. It was magic, spooky magic, and it filled my head with wild dreams and plans. And then, of course, there was the candy. We came home with bags filled with every kind of treat imaginable: peanut butter cups, chocolate bars, gumdrops, cookies, candy apples, jawbreakers, pretzels, marshmallows, peanuts, popcorn -- it was a cornucopia of treats that we were usually forbidden to eat. One year I hid my Halloween candy in my closet, hoping to prolong the feeling of the holiday, the pleasure of eating candy, but ants invaded the closet and we had to throw the candy away. I didn't know then that the feeling is not dependent on the externals -- you carry it around inside you, and you can access it whenever you want.

A quiet spot

2007-10-23T08:52:00.001-07:00

A quiet spot
Originally uploaded by Jay364

It's so easy to get distracted by petty things. Whatever is bothering you right now will fade away. Can you remember what was bothering you this time last year? Probably not. Look around and appreciate the beauty everywhere. Send out positive thoughts, and rockets of desire, and your life will begin to improve.

Little church on a hill

2007-10-22T10:11:00.001-07:00

Little church on a hill
Originally uploaded by Jay364

Keep your thoughts in the heavens, but don't miss the glory all around you.

Hope you meet an angel today

2007-10-20T05:41:00.001-07:00

4 u...my sunshine angel...
Originally uploaded by ^i^HeavensDarkAngel221

I was reading about UFOs last night, and it occurred to me that maybe they're angels. They're making contact, in their own mysterious, wonderful way, and we just haven't figured it out yet. Maybe they're here to show us the better side of our Nature. Maybe they're pointing the way to something truly beautiful and majestic. Maybe they're not little green men who are intent on conquering Earth and enslaving us. Maybe they're gently nudging us toward something miraculous.

Catch a wave

2007-10-19T11:39:00.001-07:00

Mavs Bowl
Originally uploaded by Eggz

The power is right there; all you have to do is catch it. Success in life is a matter of just catching the wave, and enjoying the ride.

Recipe for Fun

2007-10-18T11:37:00.001-07:00

Coloured Pencils
Originally uploaded by gm8ty

My kids are growing up, but I hope I never lose touch with that sense of play they have shown me. They have made so many pictures over the years, so many riotous displays of creativity, and it has been such a joy to see them with their colored pencils, crayons, or markers spread out, a look of concentration furrowing their brows while they work on their masterpiece. They hang these pictures on their bedroom walls, or tape them to doors in our house, and they never fail to delight me. Children know the secret of happiness is simple: some paper and some colored pencils to work with, and the time to dream.

Pumpkin Time

2007-10-17T08:07:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Pile
Originally uploaded by Mexicanwave

Bought some pumpkins last night, at the supermarket. We usually make a family trip to a nearby farm to get our pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, and other decorations for Halloween, but this year we've been too busy to get there. The supermarket had piles of fat pumpkins, and my youngest daughter said, "Let's get one!". We picked out a nice round one with some heft to it, brought it home, then saw that the bottom was cracked. It'll probably be rotting and smelly in a matter of days, so I have to take it back and get another one.

Sunset Beach

2007-10-16T09:53:00.001-07:00

Sunset Beach
Originally uploaded by colleeninhawaii

I never stop thinking about the beach.

Teen angst

2007-10-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

Teenagers don't fight fair. They're old enough to know your weakness is that you love them totally, and they'll exploit that weakness ruthlessly in an argument. I'm a stay-at-home Dad, and I made that choice so that I could give my kids the most precious gift -- my time. I've been around for all their triumphs and disasters, for every cut knee and bruised ego, for every parent's luncheon in kindergarten, every basketball game in high school (well, most of them). That's why it hurts so badly to have one of them say, "You never have time for me. You don't know anything about my life." I've been doing more freelance writing in the last few years, but I always make time for the kids, no matter what my writing deadline is. I've stopped in the middle of a project countless times to talk to them when they come home from school. Stayed up till 4 AM finishing a writing job because I went to a soccer game or a school play or just took them out for ice cream when I should have been working. And now, I have to hear this? That one of them feels I don't know him? That I don't spend enough time with him? Aaargh.

What this blog is about

2007-10-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

1. A crisp October day.
2. My quest to write really good fiction.
3. My freelance writing career.
4. Grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches.
5. Raising teenagers.
6. Abraham-Hicks and Law of Attraction.
7. Why sleep is wonderful, and why I don't get enough of it.
8. Why I need to live at the beach.
9. Writers I admire.
10. Why I need to stop worrying about so many things, and just go with the flow.