New Years Resolutions?

It is now 2013, and everyone around me is making resolutions to live by for the new year…or at least for a few days. I started to wonder why we wait for New Years to “resolve” to improve ourselves. What is so significant about the January 1^st date that makes it a universal day of change? Do we not need to do this on a daily basis?

I did a little research into the origins of New Year’s resolutions, and here is what I found.

The earliest known resolutions were not resolutions at all, but were promises made by the ancient Babylonians to return things they have borrowed and to pay debts. The first known form of a New Year’s resolution came during Roman times, when Romans would begin the new year by making promises to Janus, the Roman god of gates and doorways (or simply a doorkeeper). It is after Janus that January is named. In Medieval times, Christian knights would take the “peacock vow” (a sort of romantic vow) at the end of Christmas celebrations to reaffirm their chivalrous commitments.

Interestingly enough, the trend of New Year’s resolutions has been on the rise. During the turn of the 20^th century, about 25% of American adults formed resolutions. Today, that number is more like 40%. The source on this, for those who have a deeper interest, is a book called Psychological Foundations of Success by Stephen J. Kraus.

I am breaking tradition. Not only will I set a path for self-improvement daily from this day forward, but I will set forth a bucket list of 13 items I want to accomplish in ’13. A bucket list? Yes, a bucket list. By the time 2013 “passes away”, I will have the 13 things on my list checked off. I will post, over the course of the next 13 days, one item each day. This will take me directly to the moment I begin my journey towards Reiki attunement, which I will complete exactly on my 40^th birthday. Coincidence? There is no such thing…

Indie Reading = Creativity

I have found myself to be in a creative slump recently when it comes to updating my own websites or in adding words to my eternally in progress book. Getting things written and out the door for my assignments comes easy enough, but as most of my writing assignments are non-fiction, these were more like writing attention grabbing, high level reports on various topics that only barely grazed the surface of my creative mind.

After meditating on it a few times, I found that I was neglecting my reading. I was reading magazines and other subscription publications, but had neglected, for far too long apparently, my book reading. It did not matter if it was fiction or non-fiction; the simple fact of it was that I was not making any progress when it came to my reading pile, depriving my spirit of the words that nourish it to produce the words that I put back out to the world.

I consider writing as a way of giving back to the literary world. The creativeness, the flow, and the meaning behind words are a give and take thing to me. I take something from the words of others, enjoy the stimulation of thought and imagination that results, and then use that stimulation to produce works that will hopefully do the same for others. The circle of life…or in this case, the circle of literacy.

Since discovering this deficiency in my creative life, I have taken action to correct this. I finished (in 3 evening bedtime reads) a book a friend wrote called “Tales Of The Vortex” (http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Vortex-George-W-Tiller/dp/1480117676/ref=cm_cr-mr-title), finding it to be very thought provoking as well as a cement of sorts to my own experiences in this vortex.

A second book that I started just this past weekend is a book I obtained for free via the author’s Twitter promotion called “The Highlander” by Zoe Saadia (http://www.amazon.com/Highlander-Rise-Aztecs-Series-ebook/dp/B009CCBCU4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353385695&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Highlander+%28The+Rise+of+The+Aztecs+Series%2C+book+1%29). This book hit me where the heart is; historic fiction in Mesoamerica. This is the first of three books in the series, and I have already added the next two to my Amazon wish list. She is a wonderful writer, and I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good story that will draw you in. I will let you know about the other books in the series once I get there. You can learn more about her by visiting her website: http://blog.zoesaadia.com/historical-fiction-and-the-highlands/.

That leads me to my final thought of the evening. Both of the above authors are independent writers that are treading the publishing waters without the help of the large scale traditional publishing powerhouses.  When you are looking for a good read, check out the indie writers of the world. The stories are just as intriguing and exciting, and the quality and characteristics of the books will leave you yearning for more.  

Seasons and Stories

The days continue to grow shorter and are filled with an increasingly sharp, cool, crispness that bites the cheeks and gives the nose that warm glow common in the winter months. I know most people dread the winter and its short, cold days, but I am looking forward to it. Winter is a great time for catching up on writing projects, my ever growing reading list, and gaining a greater appreciation for the warmer months that inevitably will come again. 

This got me to thinking; what is the best time of year in which to set a story? 

Fall is great in that you get a little bit of all the other seasons in it. You have warm days for activities and outdoor settings. You get cold nights for those eerie or romantic, snuggling settings. One can read a mystery or horror story based on a cool fall evening to get that chill sent to your spine. The character is surrounded by bare trees, trying to hide from who knows what but quickly filling in terror when they realize the loud crunch of the leaves at their feet is telling their pursuer exactly where they are. 

What about summer? Summer is filled with fun, entertainment, romance, parties, vacations…almost anything you can imagine can take place in the summer. You can have rain or shine, steamy nights, or cool summer ocean breezes on the beach. Everything appears unbridled, never ending, always something new a footstep away. The tire on the bike she is riding pops, and along comes a grandmotherly woman to guide her through growing into her own. Maybe a vacation to the beach gone terribly wrong? Crabs getting into the picnic basket, or a hand reaching out of the sand and pulling someone under to their doom. Sun tanning anyone? We all know how Jaws ends…or do we?

Winter brings cold and snow. Oh, and Christmas.   Even Valentine’s Day gets a place here. Skiing in the mountains, or a Fargo like setting? The log cabin with a hot fire in the stone fireplace, the characters mill about the Christmas tree in the corner, each with a hot glass of something or other, wearing tacky sweaters and remembering the embarrassments of parties come before.  Or…maybe…kids making a castle out of ice and snow, and watching a dimensional door open to a new world of fun and shenanigans…or a snow demon that keeps them sleeping with their parents for a month.

That leaves spring…so full of promise. Spring is the season of renewal; all that is seen is fresh and clean…we all like stories about starting with a clean slate, yes? Helping mom plant a garden, a young boy and girl find a pirate chest! Inside this chest are blooming flowers, the scent of which grants you a wish. Maybe treasure? Or empty? Where did it come from? A car getting stuck in the mud of a spring rain; no one around but…there is that house over there. Odd how the fields around it are filled with the colors of spring, but yet this house has snow on the roof. Knock knock…

NFL Controversy

My take on what the NFL really thinks about the officiating “problem”. Funny, but yet could easily be eerily true.

Dear NFL fan,

We have heard your complaints and understand the concerns you have about the current state of NFL officiating. Throughout the contract negotiating period with the NFL Referees Association, we will continue to strive to ensure that games are called fairly and constantly with NFL rules and guidelines. We agree with you the fan that we must maintain the integrity of game play in the NFL, while ensuring player safety.

We acknowledge that there have been some mistakes by our substitute officials during the first few weeks of the season. But mark my words, things are improving. On the matter of official intimidation, we have sent a stern memo to all organizations warning them about avoiding coercion and intimidation of the field referees. We have also put our new officiating crews through more thorough background checks, and have made the weekly film training sessions more intense. We do hope that this alleviates the concerns of you, the NFL fan. The NFL cares about nothing more than the integrity of the product we put on the field. 

On second thought, we could care less about what you think. You pay tens of thousands of dollars for personal seat licenses to have the right to buy tickets to our games. You buy Sunday Ticket subscriptions, and spend hundreds of dollars on jersey’s that cost us $10 to make, not to mention the millions we rake in from team related knickknacks and decor. You throw football parties for friends and family, upping our overall viewership to further increase the dollars we get from sponsors. You will keep watching, keep making us money, and while you will complain, you are not going anywhere. We, the NFL, own you.

To prove this, we will now hire peewee league football and MLS soccer referees as a way to "flip you the bird". You will do nothing but spend your precious time and money making us, the NFL, more wealthy than you could even hope to be. To further cut costs, we are looking at the possibility of letting the players officiate themselves, but unfortunately the training of the players to use the instant replay booths will not be completed in time to be used this season.

Thank you for your support of the NFL. Please continue to pour your hard earned money into our various revenue generating products and we promise you that you will continue to have an excuse to watch TV on Thursday evenings, Sunday's, and Monday nights, from September through January. 

Sincerely,

Roger Goodell

Commissioner, National Football League.

P.S. Thanks for the new yacht!

Updates and Ditherings

This summer has been filled with loads of work and play, writing and research. Ok, more research than writing. I have been reaching out to many other enthusiasts of the time period and events that my book is set in this summer, and have received fantastic responses.

It is amazing at how others who have a passion for a topic will reach out to those that have an interest in learning more about that topic. Those that have leant their guidance and wisdom have come from no fewer than 22 states in the U.S. and 11 countries outside of the U.S.

Also, I distributed the opening chapter to a handful of trusted readers, from which I received good feedback. I am definitely on the right track with this project given how everything is falling into place. I have a ton of research left to do on the book topic, but this will only serve to better the authenticity of the setting, the characters, and the plot. The character sketches are completed, as is the general outline of the book. This winter will be full speed ahead!

On some other topics, the “Hike for Play” (http://www.hikeforplay.com) redesign is going well, and I am planning on launching the new version of this site for the holidays. My next article in “Wisconsin Natural Resources” magazine (http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/) is slated for either the February 2013 or April 2013 issue, editor article selection pending.  I haven’t had much to post on “Raising Our Humans” (http://www.raisingourhumans.com) or “Sports Profiles” (http://sportprofiles.wordpress.com/), but updates and new articles are in the works for this and should be out by mid to late fall.

This has been a great summer, despite the heat and the drought. We have spent a lot of time at farmer’s markets in the area, and joined a CSA that has been a great experience. I highly recommend a CSA for anyone that is into good quality food. Our CSA costs us about $20 a week for a bushel full of organic goodness. When we compare what we get in our basket at the local grocery stores, we’re seeing an average of a $55 for the same items we get for $20. The food we get from both the farmer’s markets and the CSA lasts 3-4 times as long as the food at the supermarkets. This is something everyone should look into doing. In our area, there are a handful of winter farmer’s markets to fill in the gap until next spring. These markets have tons of choices, lots of cellar storable veggies, as well as greenhouse thriving foods. Just a suggestion…

Flash Fiction

A flash fiction piece that I wrote on a whim...

Presence

She sits with a resounding thump on the tree stump that is too familiar in her life. In tears, in confusion, in pain, the common theme of her trips to this place. She always is here alone, always in fear, surrendered to the feeling of wanting to no longer feel anything anymore. Numbness is the welcomed state of bliss in her world; heaven on earth. 

The clouds and coming rain are perfect for her on this day. Rain washes away the old, dirty emotions and leaves everything clean. The rain will wash the tears from her cheeks, wash away the pain, and wash away the emotions, leaving only the numbness that she so desperately seeks. The dirt at her feet, darkened by the mist that has started to fall, will absorb it all.

A clap of thunder sounds in the distance. A brisk wind slaps a stray brown leaf into her forehead, suddenly draining her of all emotion and making her startlingly alert of her surroundings. As she jumps to her feet, the electricity of an unseen lightning strike raises the hair on her neck and arms. “What is going on”, she wonders. “This is a thunderstorm but yet…”

A resounding crash interrupts her thoughts. She swivels around to see a large branch now covering the stump she was occupying just moments ago. Smoke rises from the now broken junction of the branch and the tree from which it fell. She moves her arm under the branch and tries to move it…ZAP! She jumps back…the energy from the lightning remains in the branch. Through the leaves and twigs, she sees the remains of her precious stump. The shards and pieces of what used to be her stump extend in all directions, crushed by the impact and weight of the branch. She tries again to move the branch….ZAP! Still charged, still unyielding is the branch. 

She stands staring at the scene in front of her, silently, surprised, grateful. “The leaf saved me”, she thinks to herself. She does not notice anything around her, nor does she realize the time passing by her. What made her sad, caused her pain…made her come to this place…no longer exists. The rain has long since stopped, the clouds have moved on, and the sun is warming and drying the earth around her. She stands there still, not moving, not thinking, not blinking.

The warmth of the sun on shoulder made her glance to her left where it was gently setting. No thought entered her mind, but no feeling escaped her. Time has ceased to exist for her, just as her problems and her past have ceased to exist. Her present is all that she can see. Her feet partially in the mud, the softness of the suns last rays on her cheeks, the light evening breeze guiding her to where she would next be. She will be here, and only here, for this present moment.

Spring Cleaning and Time

Now that spring has nature in full bloom, this is a great time for clearing out some of the old writing projects. Which ones should I continue to pursue? Where should I focus my attentions? Focusing attention and time is perhaps my biggest challenge. I work a full time job, I put in a little work at this point for Sharp Thinking Communications, have a wonderful girlfriend with which to spend time with, have a large assortment of cats needing attention, family to visit, plus all the day to day things that life brings. Twenty four hours divided by 1..2..7..8..12…you get the picture. This is something that we all contend with though, isn’t it? Adding to this was a week long illness that took me away from my keyboard, and the week prior was spent helping and assisting my girlfriend in getting ready for her portfolio presentation…which was a smashing success. In the end, I did not have the heart to cut any of my ideas, but instead reprioritized them a bit.

My first piece of news is my upcoming debut in Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine (http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/), which is due to hit newsstands later this week. I am very excited about this, as my article covers one of my “hot” environmental topics, and perhaps one of the more difficult ones to overcome. I am excited to be able to contribute to raising the awareness of this issue to others.

I have been focusing most of my writing time on “Hike for Play” (http://www.hikeforplay.com), and will have a couple of trail write-ups posted in the near future, along with some great things to do to make your hike more enjoyable and rewarding. I have been blogging on this site more as well.

My writing for “Raising Our Humans” (http://www.raisingourhumans.com) has been the most affected in my time shuffle, and I am looking forward to the day when I can begin to share more stories, as well as more tips and holistic pet health information. The list of upcoming postings remain unchanged from last month’s blog post; to declaw or not declaw, dealing with scratching issues, and a “holistics-101” cat care guide. 

“The Brewer Nation” podcast is humming along, even though we have not had an opportunity to record in the last 3 weeks (my illness, some chicken pox, camping for the Wisconsin fishing weekend opener). Adam and I will be back at it soon…in the hopes that the Crew start playing better.

There is nothing new on the book front, as I still need to send out those chapters for editing and feedback. This is my first fiction work, and I am not fully comfortable with character dialogs as of it. Once I feel I am in a good place with those, this book will practically write itself. 

Sharp Thinking Communications (@STC) is rolling on. Founder Sadiqua Hamdan has been gathering research, information, and contacts at a tremendous rate.

That’s it for this time. You can follow me on Twitter (@carykostka), look me up on LinkedIn, or add me to your circle on Google+. I will be setting up a page on Facebook shortly, and will post the details of that once the page is ready.

April Showers = Spring!

As March prepares to leave like a lion, the cleansing and invigorating rains of April are upon us. Spring cleaning abounds, both indoors and outdoors, as people and nature prepare the world for a fresh start. What better way to start off fresh than by writing a new blog post?

Leading off, I have some new information on my current book project. Through a connection on LinkedIn, I was able to connect with a history professor that had some good quality journals on the subject matter that makes up the back drop of the book. He graciously has made these available to me for reading, which has already provided a number of new directions for the story to take. On the little bit I was able to read I have already re-written chapters 2 and 3, which will be sent out soon for external (non-Cary) editing and feedback.

Traffic on “Raising Our Humans” (http://www.raisingourhumans.com) has slowed, but that is mainly due to time constraints getting in the way of new content. I have a number of items I am wrapping up that will be posted in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, swing by to check out the latest post, in which I do a quick write up of each of our cats’ distinctive personalities. The upcoming postings still include those items mentioned on my previous blog post: to declaw or not declaw, dealing with scratching issues, and a look at holistic cat care. Just a few I’s to dot and t’s to cross.

April brings with it baseball, which means that “The Brewer Nation Podcast” will be recorded and posted on a more regular basis. Last year we were receiving about 800 downloads per episode, and are looking to further expand this. The new music for the podcast is not yet ready, but should be before long. The featured artist for this year, Prote-J, is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on his next release. Our next expected recording of the podcast is Sunday, April 1^st.

I have been posting more on “Hike for Play” (http://www.hikeforplay.com) in the blog section, with a number of pending articles waiting for publication on the site. Some of the articles I am planning to put up on this site have been delayed as a magazine has expressed interest in picking up some of these for publishing. Once they have decided what they want to publish, I will post the remaining on the site.

The launch of Sharp Thinking Communications (@STC) is drawing closer and closer. More details will be coming as a launch date is set.

That’s it for this time. You can follow me on Twitter (@carykostka), look me up on LinkedIn, or add me to your circle on Google+. I will be setting up a page on Facebook shortly, and will post the details of that once the page is ready.