Kindling the Muse
It is nearly 7:30 in the morning, and it is still quite dark outside despite the snow and icestorm that is passing through. I have been up for several hours now, writing and studying music. In other words, kindling the muse. There is a song by James Taylor off of the New Moon Shine [...]
RunSlamBreak: My Response to Lindsay Amanda
The following is a response to “Fleeting,” a post written and shared with me by a good soul, Lindsay Amanda, whom I had the honor to work with four years ago. Lindsay, I am both proud and humbled by your work, and I know you will cease the fleet to live and love, at every [...]
It’s Not About You: Throwing the Red Flag on Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Campus Cabana swim team members celebrate a narrow home-meet victory against a rival pool. photo: Steve Killian, Towson, MD, July 2011 A string of penalties and punishments associated with unsportsmanlike behavior, both locally and nationally, has crossed our news feeds recently, sparking spirited debates in backyards, school parking lots, and online forums. The point of [...]
Back in the Bliss
photo: rus vanwestervelt, 23 october 2011, river chase farm, aldie, va Well, I did it again, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Not only did I leave Facebook and Twitter, I stopped my usual rounds of catching up on the latest football news, rankings, and predictions on the local news sites, not to mention [...]
We Are Writing More Than Ever, Or Are We?
On the surface, I should be really excited about this ever-evolving global explosion with writing. In fact, the statistics are nothing short of staggering. In February 2011, The Nielsen Company documented over 156 million public blogs in existence. In 2009, 1.5 trillion text messages were sent or were received (dhtech.com). According to Facebook’s statistics page (accessed [...]
Are We All A Little Weakened At The Roots?
Trees down on Cowpens Avenue, Towson, MD, August 28, 2011 (Hurricane Irene) Photo: amy vanwestervelt Eleven days ago, an earthquake rocked the Mid-Atlantic region. Then, five days later, Hurricane Irene moved through the area, bringing down trees and power lines that disrupted service to over four million people along the East Coast. And now, looking [...]
Proclamation: There Will Be No More Proclamations!
There’s a particular scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where Dolores Umbridge takes over as High Inquisitor at Hogwarts. In a flurry of images depicting rules and restrictions being created and enforced, Argus Filch stands atop an old, rickety ladder and pounds proclamation statements into the school’s storied walls. Most noted [...]
Stay in the stream?
Distractions, distractions, distractions…. I am guilty of inviting them, these distractions. I interact with Facebook friends on an hourly basis at times, especially when I am engaged in a rather exciting experience. Earlier this week, My wife and I took our two younger children for a Light Rail tour of Baltimore, stopping on three of [...]
2011/365/070: Doesn’t Anybody Have Good News?
I am desperate for some good news. All day I have been contemplating what to post this evening. I wanted to post something upbeat, happy. I wanted to share some not-necessarily breaking news but still happy thoughts that most people knew little about. So, I went to my usual news sources and found the following [...]
On the Sunny, Sunny Side of the Street
I first heard this song performed by Manhattan Transfer on the soundtrack for A League of Their Own (great soundtrack, by the way, with covers by James Taylor (“It’s Only A Paper Moon”) and Billy Joel (“In A Sentimental Mood”), and an original by Carol King (“Now and Forever”), which was nominated for a Grammy [...]
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