general stuff

August 21, 2010

life, the universe, and everything

Hey it’s my birthday.  Number 42.  A year that I have been looking forward to since I turned 40.  As years go 40 is a milestone, life beginning at 40 and all of that.  But 41, to me, seemed to be a write off, nothing special.  42 however, has the...

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July 31, 2010

a tribute to my mom

GLORIA ANN LOWE… 12/19/1952 – 07/23/2010 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” – Revelation 21:4 My mom passed away last week. You are never really prepared to...

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November 29, 2009

how much do you want what you want?

What are you must desirous of?  Put another way, what is it that you want most?  Now ask yourself how much do you really want it?  Here’s a story about Socrates that may help you clarify how much you want it. A young man asked Socrates how he could get...

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October 30, 2009

I’ve been in hermit mode for a week

I’ve been in hermit mode for a week, venturing out of my cave only for the essentials – food, water, and the gym. This time around in the cave, I’ve been studying the nature of power. I’ve spent time with Machiavelli and his famous analysis of statesmanship and power, The...

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October 16, 2009

should we stay or should we go now?

The headlines in the British press over the past week have been fixated on President Obama’s upcoming decision on Afghanistan. What should he do – send more troops or look for an honorable way to get out? Perhaps President Obama should turn to the words of a former president –...

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October 2, 2009

if-this-then-that

I thought this would be a good story to share because I often here people making their big life goals – the goals they claim they really want – conditional.  They have the ‘someday’ mentality. ‘Someday when all the conditions are perfect, I’ll do the thing I really want to...

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September 19, 2009

four of a kind

It amazes me the tiny towns literary festivals tend to pop up in.  I spent the afternoon at the Woodstock Literary Festival.  Woodstock, of course, conjures up in my mind thoughts of the Woodstock of 1960’s fame where the iconic images of the sex, drugs, and rock and roll revolution...

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September 7, 2009

unlocking creativity

As a writer, I have often come up against the brick wall of creativity.  And no matter how hard I bang my head against it, sometimes I just can’t seem to get the words to flow.  I watched a great clip on creativity on the website, Closer to the Truth. ...

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August 30, 2009

new horizons

I’ve come to far on my journey to slip back into old ways and travel familiar paths. Time to set my eyes on new horizons and follow new paths. I am more of a wanderer than a traveller…being a traveler implies reaching a destination, a wanderer has no destination. And...

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August 21, 2009

another birthday on the road

Hey! Another birthday has sneaked up on me.  And once again, I am on the road, which has seemed to be the pattern over the past six or seven birthdays, bar one or two.  This time I am in Bolton, which is a long long way away from Newark, New...

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August 17, 2009

mind movies?!???

I’ve been recently reading Judy Reese’s blog.  I met Julie a couple of years back, first online and then face to face during a presentation I was giving on using Mandalas as a coaching tool.  She was, up until a few months ago, co-director of the Clean Change Company, a...

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June 27, 2009

penis festival in japan

I wake violently from a dream.  In this dream, I had decided to go back to West Point.  I walk the hollow grounds of the Academy watching the new cadets pinging around the parade field.  I instinctually know that I have to get myself into better shape if I want...

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June 9, 2009

i really…

do plan on posting again.  I haven’t posted much in the last few weeks because I have been distracted or focused on other things (depending on your point of view).  Also I think I have become a little bored with my blog in its present form and content.  So I...

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May 18, 2009

molly and the seven kittens

I am back down in Essex today.  My first meeting is at 1200 so I have a bit of time this morning to do a little scribbling before heading out. We are fostering a young mother cat and her seven kittens.  At only three weeks old, they are so tiny...

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April 27, 2009

macbook nano

I have resisted the netbook revolution for as long as could, but this weekend I finally caved.  I like the idea of the netbook, light, ultra-portable, does what I need it to do, which is mainly emailing, blogging, and surfing the net for random things.  My main resistance has been...

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April 19, 2009

great british butterfly hunt

I’ve been searching for a hobby or activity that would encourage us to get back out into nature again.  Something in our nature likes to have a goal, something that awaits us at the end of the journey, the prize or elixir as it is known in the mono myth...

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April 7, 2009

save our souls

i returned to the salt mines because i could not turn a dime with my words to feed the open mouths of our creation sensations of doom and economic gloom echo across the open channels of distress masquerading as cartoons for our entertainment and distraction, mind the attraction of the...

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April 5, 2009

walk for water II

Thanks everyone for taking part in the walk for water, and especially well done to Lucy & Brittany for carrying a bucket of water on your heads for 2 miles. Between us we have raised approximately £40 (possibly a bit more), so that’s great news.  Here’s what that money can...

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March 28, 2009

walk for water

My family & I have decided to take part in the “Walk for Water” to raise money to provide access to clean, safe drinking water for thousands of families across Africa. We will be doing a series of 4 mile walks – the average distance women and children in Africa...

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