Day job and family has kept me busy this week, so not a lot of time for photography and writing. I've been helping my daughter learn to cook (Actually, I just drive her to the store so she can buy ingredients and then I eat what she cooks. I get the easy part.) 

We were at Wal-Mart, I noticed all the bare shelves. Like you, I've been noticing this for quite some time. I'm over 50, and this is a new phenomenon in my lifetime as an American. It harkens back to stories my grandparents told me of their childhoods, and it makes me uncomfortable to ponder it.  I don't like it. Not one bit.

​One can debate why this is happening, and I'm sure the reasons are complex. It's the baby formula that truly disturbs me. It hits me in a place only a parent can understand. The lack of outrage by the American people, and lack of urgency by our government, disturbs me even more.
 
I wandered around Wal-Mart and took a few photos of the bare shelves. Inventories were thin on many shelves that weren't completely bare. However, one section had shelves almost overflowing. Its that same section that never seemed to run "dry" even during the height of COVID lockdowns. 

No baby formula. Plenty of booze. 

It's just a snapshot in time, a few photos taken during one visit to a supermarket. ​I'm not sure what that says about us as a culture, maybe nothing. I just can't quit thinking about it.  You can draw your own conclusions.

See you next week. 

#babyformula #shortages #rationing #walmart #economy 

Since the Baby Boomers entered the world in the years immediately following World War II and were old enough to snatch the microphone from the Greatest Generation, they proclaimed how different they were from all who had come before. They heralds of the Age of Aquarius, the Real Thing. The Boomers came of age in the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of our species, following the bloodiest and most savage war in the history of that same species. They knew they were smarter than their parents. They knew they would usher in world peace, right the wrongs, and make everything fair and equitable. In retrospect, it didn't quite turn out that way.    Like their parents, the Boomers did great things and had glorious failures. However, they weren't truly any different from those who came before. 

The 20th Century was different. Vastly different. It was the century that changed everything about humanity, and nothing. The Greatest Generation set the century in motion, but the Boomers were stage center for most of it. They WERE the children of the 20th Century. Greasers and Sock Hops gave way to Hippies and free love, and that gave way to Yuppies and bottled water. During the height of their reign, they created the 1970s, which forged the modern culture we live in today. They even invented the concept of the "Generation Gap." 

The term "Generation Gap" is a modern construct. In the millennia before the Industrial Age, little changed from generation to generation. It is only as result of breakneck technological change since the late 19th century that our humanity has definable mile-markers to record the pace of change within a human lifetime.  The broad-brush strokes our culture uses to paint and label an entire generation aren't necessarily accurate or fair. Generations are made up of individuals, no different than those that came before, only exposed to a different set of circumstances. Same fallible humans, same rules of behavior, only with new toys and trapped in the prison of their own time. Baby Boomers weren't any different from the Greatest Generation, they only had a different starting point and faced different circumstances. The Gen-Xs and Millennials were the same, too. However, I think this might be changing. 

Gen-Z, or whatever culture is labeling those who follow next, are truly different. The technology that surrounds them isn't just changing, its changing them. Boomers and Gen-X's birthed the Information Age. Those who follow are being assimilated by the Information Age, transformed in every way imaginable into something truly new. It's happening now.  You are seeing it.  Humanity is on the cusp of permanently  changing: mentally, spiritually and physically.  ​Some of it is happening by circumstance, your children are becoming it mentally and physically wired. Yet, it is also beginning to happen by choice. 

If you're under 30, you were practically born holding a personal electronic device (PED). All of this device usage is changing us. German researchers found too much smart phone usage actually shrinks parts of the human brain. This damage is similar to effects of drug-addiction.  In children, this rewiring is more pronounced, and may forever change how a child will  develop into an adult. Hungarian researchers found children who spent at least 15 minutes a day on a PED for over a year processed information differently than children who barely even used a PED.  Device-wielding kids tended to see small details first, and seemed to miss "the big picture" when it came to problem solving. Being mired-in-minutia wasn't the only change in PED-using children.  Screen time also affected happiness in teenagers. A San Diego University study found that happiness rose steadily with screen time. 

Information technology might be unintentionally changing the next generation, but what if they want to be intentionally changed? We've seen the rise of body modification and trans-genderism.  Body modification is evolving beyond tattoos, piercings and even sex-change operations. ​Now enter the "trans-humanists." We entering a time where people are beginning to cybernetically modify their bodies

Robotic and computer augmentation of the human body and mind is becoming more common and more advanced. From sophisticated prosthetics to computer chip implants, humans are beginning to alter their own evolution. Much of this has been driven by medical necessity, such as helping amputee victims and those paralyzed, Now, it is taking on a  cosmetic and voluntary element.  Long speculated about in science fiction,  The next generation is apparently moving toward embracing TH. Why? Well, why not? If one can readily change physical appearance and  genders, what physiological or cultural barriers remain to changing the physical essence of one's traits as a species? 

Body modification comes in many forms. Perhaps the easiest and most accessible form is cosmetic body alterations. Body alterations have existed for thousands of years, and often have cultureal and religeious significance, such as neck elongation and circumcision. Body alterations are usually not transhumanism, but transhumanism is always a body modification. Body alterations such as tattoos and piercings, logically may become a gateway to greater modifications.

​ In 2017, John Hopkins University found up to 42% of all adolencence already had a tattoo or piecing, and over 50% were interested in getting one.   The growing phenomenon of extreme body alterations crosses the line into transhumanism.  While mostly cosmetic and having no practical purpose, extreme tattooing, implants and appearance-altering surgery, and self-mutilations have the effect of physically distancing an individual from their traditional humanity. Some may argue the effect is intentionally dehumanizing. Cosmetic body modification is only "skin deep", but is perhaps symbolic of deeper changes in the modern culture. " If a generation is so open to cosmetically altering their bodies, how much farther would they go? Another gateway concept into transhumanism is transgenderism. 

Transgenderism is defined as one feeling different than the gender they were born as. A transexual is a transgender who  chooses a sex-change surgical procedure. Sex changes are body alterations, and not transhumanism. However, they are indicative of a growing acceptance of permanent body changes in our culture. In 2019, over 11,000 Americans underwent sex change operations. This is growing by almost 15% per year, and by 2030, the gender-reassignment industry will be approaching a billion-dollar market. Gender fluid is a term unheard of only a few years ago, and now is now a way of life. 

Body appearance and sexual identify were concepts that, only a generation or two ago, were rigidly dictated by culture and considered permanently assigned at birth. Now the fluidity surrounding these concepts are embraced and celebrated.  Appearance and gender are plastic, temporary concepts changed at individual whim. So why not the concept of "humanity" itself? 

TH comes in many forms, and science fiction has explored many of them, from cybernetics to genetic engineering. Now speculation has become reality. Many of these enhancements and changes can be seen in medical fields, but as the technology advances and becomes more affordable, it is spreading into the consumer market - and then it becomes a choice. 

Choices become new realities. Medically, genetically and cybernetically altered humans will live longer, be stronger, faster, more intelligent than those who have come before. They will simultaneously exist in the real and virtual worlds. They will become specialized and highly differentiated as we branch out into the solar system. These changes will happen earlier in the human lifecycle, perhaps even before birth.  Humanity may even split into new species. 

This is happening now.  Transhumanism and the "Age of Humanity X" is rising. Soon we will be defined as versions associated with alterations, and not the time period we are born to. What they do, the history they experience, and how they see themselves will not only be associated with shared culture and history, but by their similarities and differences down to their core being.  There may even come a day (a day many who are reading this blog may live to see) where a future generation may no longer consider themselves human at all.  We ourselves become the AI. We may become "The Rise of the Machines." We ourselves may become the alien invasion, or our own saviors. 

It all begins with a simple choice, and then the generation that follows truly is different than what came before. 
#cyborg #transhuman #transhumanism #human #humanity #essay #transgender #trans #bodymodification #generation #generationgap #genx #babyboomer #millennials #genz #bookofbobafett #bionics 

I used to teach pilots to fly.  I'd always ask my student pilots the same question, "Do you want to be a pilot, or do you want to fly?" Most didn't get the question, so I rephrased it in the words of the immortal fighter pilot Colonel John Boyd, "Do you want to do something, or be someone?"

This is a lesson, a concept so profound, I dearly wish I had learned in my youth. If you're looking for a label, a status symbol, you will never be truly fulfilled as a human being. If, on the other hand, you are seeking a path to self-fulfillment and personal excellence, you will be a happier person. The titles and labels will occur as a result of that journey, not as a goal. I would tell my students that if they were chasing a label, I couldn't help them. If they were choosing a path that would lead to a love of flying, then I could help them along on their path.  Then I would flick my fu-man-chu  and ask them to snatch a pebble from my hands (if you got that, then you are old as dirt, too.)

The title "pilot" was just a milestone along the road, not the destination itself. So are the labels "author" or "musician" or "photographer" and why doctors use the term "practicing medicine." Attaining a title or  label always leads to the perplexing personal question, "Now what?"

Back in my Underground Book Reviews days, I once attended a writers' conference hosted by a major university, where I encountered a memorable individual. He was not a only a writer, but also an English professor.  It was his opinion there were way too many writers, most of which had no talent and wrote awful books. He felt there should be a way to keep these independent authors from publishing, because they made it more difficult for readers to find the good authors like him (of course).  He was dead serious. It never occurred to him that he may be among the ranks of those great unwashed hordes of terrible independent authors. They shouldn't have an opportunity to publish, but he should. The professor had a point, albeit a twisted one. 

Someone once said talent is cheap. My life experience teaches me this is true. My life experience also teaches me  information is cheaper.  If something is made or distributed with a click of a mouse, its cheap.  The Information Age has dramatically lowered barriers to entry for creators and artists of all genres. In other words, its made content creation cheap.  Anyone with a internet connection and a word processor can be a writer. Anyone with a smart phone and a Tik Tok account can be an influencer (whatever the hell that is).  Anyone can create. The barbarians have crashed the gate.  That means there is a lot of crap out there. Go browse Youtube and Tik Tok and you'll find crap content. You'll also find much more mediocre content. You might even find  a few gems, but you have to wade through the slush pile first. 

This is simply a fact of life in the 21st century. We are saturated by information every minute, every hour, every day. There are no more real gatekeepers for information.  If you're a writer or a musician you know this better than anyone. Writers learned this first when Amazon and Kindle came along. Now with the advent of streaming services like Spotify,  musicians have followed writers down this over-saturation path. Long gone are the days when getting published meant something.  There are still traditional publishers, but even their books are harder to sift through. There are far more books in print and digital than ever before. The title "author" is cheapened by being so common, so accessible. To this I say, so what? Because it is the act of creation that is truly precious. The experience is priceless to the writer themselves. 

It goes back to the question: Do you want to do something, or be something? The act of creation can be a reward unto itself. In fact, it MUST be the reward unto itself if one wants to endure and improve.  No one reads books to get famous, we read for pleasure and information. Writing can be the same. ​

I take my inspiration for being a writer from several musicians I know in local bands.  They practice regularly to continually improve their art, and are always striving to be better. They play in the same local club circuit to the same enthusiastic crowds.  They have day jobs to pay the bills. They play for the love of playing, for the experience of playing. Stardom isn't their goal. They are musicians, not rock stars. Create. Improve. Repeat. This is the way. This is the bedrock from which everything else springs, whether that results in commercial success, or simply your next gig or independently published short story compilation. 

Labels are cheap. Information is cheap. Talent is cheap. The journey is priceless. Do something. Embrace that something with all your heart, passion and energy. Immerse yourself in your art, and you shall transform and become something. 

#writing #creation #publishing #kindle #amazon #contentcreation #writersjourney #content  #selfimprovement #anyonecancreate 

God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it... - Genesis 1:28

THE FERMI PARADOX

Why haven't we detected an alien civilization yet? That's a big question.  Scientist put forward two hypothesis: 1) The universe is stupidly enormous and we've only been seriously looking for less than a human lifespan or...2) Something wipes alien species out before they really get started. Both answers might be right, but let's talk about the second possibility, otherwise known as "The Great Filter". 

The Great Filter theory, otherwise known as the Fermi Paradox, states that alien civilizations are snuffed out before they can attain significant spacefaring/galactic empire-level evolutionary levels. Otherwise, we would have detected them by now. They could be wiped out by natural events (celestial impacts, disease, volcanos, gamma ray burst, supernova, etc) or wipe themselves out (war, malicious artificial intelligence, etc).  What makes this theory interesting, is that humanity might have already survived several natural Great Filter events. We also may be approaching an unexpected, and self-inflicted, Great Filter event. 

THE CYCLIC CATACLYSM THEORY OF HUMAN EVOLUTION

Up until recently, mainstream historians have held the "Gradualists Theory": They believe human history is gradual, continuous evolutionary line from the Stone Age to the Space Age. This theory begs a question: If humanity reached its current evolutionary form over  300,000 years ago, but only appeared to come out of the stone age a mere 6000 years ago, what were we doing with ourselves in all the time before?  No one figured out agriculture, the wheel, and metallurgy in all that time? Humans just sat on our stone age asses for over a quarter of a million years? This flies  in the face of what we know about inherit human nature.  Now, there is a new theory gaining traction based on emerging evidence, the Cataclysmic Theory of human civilization.

A new  group of scientist, anthropologist and historians believes human history isn't a continuous line, but a series of cataclysms and restart cycles dating back tens of thousands of years. Global-level natural disasters, far more destructive than anything we've encountered in historical times, repeatedly  drive our species to extinction's edge. They also wipe out all the progress we had made to that point, and reset us to a stone-age baseline. We suffer from species-level amnesia. They believe that last great event occurred at the beginning of the Holocene epoch 12,800 years ago when massive comet impacts peppered the planet, wiping out 60% of the earth's megafauna. We survived, but  barely. 

This cyclic Cataclysm Theory of human history fits nicely in the Fermi Paradox. Humanity has essentially survived several natural Great Filter events. Now, we have advanced far enough technologically we threaten ourselves with several possible  Great Filter events. Many people would agree the threat of nuclear annihilation would probably be the most feasible way humanity could wipe itself out, but there are other threats, too.  Some believe man-made climate change will soon destroy us, or we will be destroyed by our own artificial intelligence. Maybe, just maybe, it is something else ushering us to our doom. 

CIVILIZATION'S TWO PRIMARY RULES

I personally believe a civilization must do two things in order to survive: 1) Have children. 2) Instruct those children in the arts and sciences that made their civilization successful in the first place.  I call these Civilization's Primary Rules. Break even one of these two rules and your civilization will eventually collapse. All of earth's civilizations are now breaking the first rule, and Western civilization is breaking both. Let's save the second rule for another blog post, and just focus on the first rule  because it is an objective standard. 

We are in the midst of a global population collapse, and it's not good. In fact, I believe we might be entering a Great Filter moment. 

​Globally, people are having fewer children. Dropping fertility rates are happening for many reasons, which are hotly debated, but I'm going to break them down into two categories: choice and environment. 

CHOICE

First, people are choosing to have fewer children or not to have any children at all. This is a global phenomenon, more pronounced in developed countries but rapidly catching up in developing countries.

In Japan, for example, the factors "include the declining marriage rate, an increase in the average age of those getting married, economic burden, childcare burden, later child-bearing, and infertility." 

In sub-Saharan Africa, where birthrates are still high, they are dropping rapidly. "First, an increase in the proportion of the population living in cities. City dwellers have fewer children because they live in smaller housing units, they have more of a consumer lifestyle and are less able to rely on the community than in the country. Then there is the development of women’s employment. They increasingly work in places where they cannot bring their children along with them, unlike in the field, for example. There is also improved education for girls. Educated girls have a better understanding of their rights in the area of contraception and of what that can mean for their financial and social independence. Lastly, there is the reduction in the age difference between spouses. This entails a greater sharing of modern values and therefore less of a desire to have many children."

There are other factors, too. Easier access to contraception and abortion have played a role.  Child-bearing age women are pursuing careers instead of family. Men  are choosing not to marry as if offers fewer and fewer advantages, and higher risks to them when compared to previous generations.  

Not only is choice a factor, but now there is a growing awareness that environment may play a significant role in declining male fertility. The modern world is robbing us of our ability to reproduce. 

ENVIRONMENT

Recent research by a team led by  Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D published a study proving a 59% drop in male sperm production since 1973. There has been a corresponding  increase in miscarriage rates among women. Humans globally are becoming less able to have children at a rate of 1% per year. In Dr. Swan's (See video below) words, " Everything seems to be progressing at the same rate of deterioration for human reproductive function." Why?

​This drop has happened in two generations. Dr. Swan divides environmental factors into two factors: lifestyle and chemicals.  In terms of lifestyle, such factors such as  obesity, smoking, binge drinking, and stress can all have a significant impact on male and female fertility. In terms of chemicals, there has been a significant increase in chemicals that influence human hormones. 

These human hormone "hacking" chemicals are called endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These EDCs impact the formation of testosterone and male development in utero. Phthalates, a class of  WIDELY used plastics,  can cause something called Phthalate Syndrome (PS), stunting male development in utero.  PS has been found in humans. Women with high phthalates during pregnancy have had measurable higher rates of boys with underdeveloped genitals, which opens them up to a host of reproductive health issues and low sperm counts. 

Where do you find EDS? Phthalates alone are in plastics, clothing, vinyl, cosmetics, creams, scented laundry soaps, pesticides, and in any foods that are stored or pass through phthalate-containing material. Phthalates are only one class of EDCs, there are many others that permeate our environment and have varying effects on the human reproductive system. 

The bottom line: The ABILITY for humans to have children has dropped by 1% a year since the 1970s. This, coupled with CHOICE, has created a significantly declining birthrate for our species.  Some of you might be asking, "So what?"

FEWER PEOPLE, SO WHAT? 

Dr. Jordan Peterson, in the interview below, makes a point that mainstream science has been sounding the alarm of over-population since the 1960s.  These dire predictions never came to pass. As early as the late 1990s, several notable voices, such as Pat Buchanan, have sounded the opposite call - a population collapse was on the way, led by the affluent western democracies. 

Its possible global human population may never top 9 billion.  You and I may be living through the era with the highest human population that may ever be. Imagine you're in an airplane, that has been skyrocketing at full power ever higher and higher. Then, the pilot cuts the engine. You don't immediately fall. In fact, you keep climbing, albeit at a slower and slower rate, until you hit your apogee and then begin the descent. Human population is now in that upward coast phase. Our momentum is still carrying us up, but only for a little while longer. The real issue for humanity is the engine may not restart, or at least in time to avoid disaster. 

What are the implications of a global population collapse? Carefully read these excerpts below and  ask yourself if any of it sounds familiar. 

"A rapidly aging population means there are fewer working-age people in the economy. This leads to a supply shortage of qualified workers, making it more difficult for businesses to fill in-demand roles. An economy that cannot fill in-demand occupations faces adverse consequences, including declining productivity, higher labor costs, delayed business expansion, and reduced international competitiveness. In some instances, a supply shortage may push up wages, thereby causing wage inflation and creating a vicious cycle of price/wage spiral." - Investopedia, 2021

​ "Today, there are more than 46 million older adults age 65 and older living in the U.S.; by 2050, that number is expected to grow to almost 90 million." - Rural Health Information Hub, 2015

"The social and economic costs of such an abrupt change in such a historically short time are difficult to evaluate: its impact on the pension and health system, family structures, labor productivity, etc. is enormous. Japan, followed by many other countries, is heading towards a path never experienced in human history, and that appears to be full of unknowns." -  Institute for Family Studies, 2017. 

Does this sound like the labor and supply chain disruptions we're experiencing right now in the wake of the COVID pandemic? It does. COVID, and the global lockdowns that followed, gave us a sneak peak of what we are about to endure permanently in the coming people-shortage.

1. Labor shortage - Too few working-age people. 
2. Declining productivity. People in lock-down is the equivalent to large numbers of older people retiring out of workforce. 
3. Supply shortages.
4. Wages and prices being pushed up (inflation). 

(If you expect remote working and robots to solve these problems, good luck. However, we'll save that discussion for another blog.) 

Too few young, productive workers and too many older people to take care of; the Great Lockdowns of 2020-2021 gave the world a sneak peek of what is waiting for us in the coming decades. Yet, this isn't the truly concerning part of this story. 

You know what else didn't happen during the Great COVID lockdown? There was no expected baby boom. Millions of young couples were shut up together for months on end, and yet the baby boom never materialized. 

FEWER PEOPLE MEAN FEWER PEOPLE. 

Fewer people mean few babies. Fewer babies mean fewer adults, which then leads to fewer babies. Simply put, this is a trend not easily reversed.

"Low birth rates and below replacement level fertility rates in the U.S. are probably here to stay for the foreseeable future." - Brookings Institute, 2021. 

"The U.S. fertility rate hit a record low in 2020 — just as it did in 2019, and 2018. Although the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have accelerated this decline, the drop has been underway for years. The total fertility rate — the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime — now sits at 1.64 children per woman in the U.S. Not only is this the lowest rate recorded since the government began tracking these stats in the 1930s, but it’s well below the so-called “replacement-level fertility” of about 2.1." -  fivethirtyeight.com, 2021

"The problem with low fertility is that it reduces population size not at all ages but only among the young. Low fertility produces an age structure that creates a momentum for future population decline, a situation that must be stopped at some point if the population is to be demographically sustainable. Also, populations with low fertility can fall in size at an extremely rapid rate. The longer low fertility is maintained, the harder it becomes to reverse population decline. " - PBR.org, 2001. 

Some of the cited articles say population decline may not be a bad thing, and we can always chose to reverse the decline at some point. NONE of these articles refer to the growing research that, due to the influence of EDCs, may not be able to reverse  the decline, at least not in time. Dr. Swan states EDC-driven fertility damage can be reversed in two generations. In two generations from now humanity will be in real population decline, and significantly older. This assumes no major cataclysm will significantly thin our numbers, like a real pandemic or another major world war, or a celestial impact.  

Mathematically, we are approaching a window, and that window is closing. 

WHERE DOES THIS END?

Is humanity approaching a new chapter in the boom-bust cycle presented in the Cataclysm Theory? Could this be more than just the next iteration in the cycle, but our species actual Great Filter comeuppance? This time, are we heading for a population cataclysm, a "Children of Men" collapse driven both by choice and environment?  I don't know, but I would say such a future is highly difficult to imagine given that our planet has almost 8 billion people and still climbing. I would also say, however, those that foresaw and warned about the present population declines were once mocked, and they were right. 

If this is the Great Filter moment for homo sapiens, it's not too late to reverse course.  Governments are slowly starting to recognize the problem, and some are shifting policy gears. Across the globe, nations are starting to look at ways to encourage child bearing, where before they actively discouraged it. Where will these efforts lead? It's too early to tell. 

Maybe this is our Great Filter moment, one perhaps other galactic civilizations didn't survive. They didn't blow themselves up, or were wiped out by a comet impact. Perhaps they just became too steeped in their own lives, and forgot civilization's two primary rules. They saw procreation as something to be feared and avoided,  like a disease.   Their ranks thinned until the light of their once thriving civilization just faded away.  

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not represent any organization or group. If you have been triggered, you may vent and rage below in the comments section. ​

If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. Also visit my Facebook, my author page and check out my fiction books here book here.

I took a vacation. If you are reading this, thanks for coming back. 

It's been a few weeks since I checked in on the blog. I took some time off of everything...work, writing, everything. I spent a lot of time with family.  Mostly, we did nothing. When we weren't doing nothing, we did a few things. I got sick. I got better. I slept. I raked leaves. I even rode my new motorcycle a bit.  Mostly, my family just enjoyed each other's company. 

I really needed to shut down for a while, and to be honest, I wasn't quite ready to spin back up in the New Year. That includes this blog. I've had this overwhelming urge to slow down. Way down. Like "retire" slow down. Shut down. Hole up.  I've sorta tuned out of everything and just concentrated on being. At this point in my life,  a permanent slowdown isn't realistic or feasible.  So what's next?

My day job seems to take the lion's share of my time these days, but I'm working hard to make sure I carve out time for other priorities in 2022. These priorities are in no particular order, because they are all important in a different way.  Many of them are also interrelated and connected.  They sort of define my vision for the coming year. 

Writing - Finish what I started: The Chronicles of Fu XI, Book IV is 33K into the first draft, which is about 25% complete. I've re-dedicated myself to completing the task in 2022. I need to finish this, and finish strong. It's eaten too much of my life, I have to put it behind me, but I have to do it right. 

Fitness: A few years back I really got in shape (at least for me). Then I let it all go. Well, here I go again. My body is talking to me. It's tell me to take care of it or else.  Over the past 10 years writing and fitness have seemed to be mutually exclusive. Writing, when it really kicks in, takes time. Its jealous with its time, and doesn't like to surrender one minute to anything - like the gym or even a walk. It's not an excuse, its fact. Writing is obsessive. It's a compulsion, really. Now, fitness needs to be a compulsion. 

In order to bring writing and fitness into harmony, I'm going to have to do things different this time. I have to carve out time for both every day. I have to honor that time as if its sacred. I have to keep those time slots realistic and manageable. 

Family & Friends: As a family, my clan does a lot together. Now, thankfully, I have more extended family close by. This year I want make sure I'm spending more time with all of them. I also want to reforge those bonds of friendship that I might have neglected over the past year and maybe make some new friends. 

Ride: I have a new motorcycle. My incredible nephew built it for me custom from a 1993 Harley Sportster (that's what he does for a living).  I used to ride a lot in my youth, but put it away in my early 20s and never touched a bike again (family, kids, work).  Getting back in the saddle has been an amazing experience. I forgot how much I loved to ride. It reminds me of flying, but doesn't involve as much time or expense. Now that I am older and wiser, I find  that I ride "smarter" and take far less risks than I did in my youth, but seem to enjoy the experience far more.  Its simultaneously relaxing, invigorating, and an adrenaline rush. This is another reason I'm re-emphazing fitness in my life. Its FAR easier to ride a motorcycle when you're not fat. 

Photography: This is also a compulsion, but one which will have to take a back seat this year to writing. I'm still taking clients, but fewer this year.  Most of my photography will happen when riding my motorcycle, as I hope to begin my next photography book about the Wiregrass. 

Relax:  I may not be retired yet, but I've reached a point in my life I better start enjoying life to its fullest. That means more time away from the computer screen. Any screen. I'm going to put the phone down more often. If I'm going to sit down in front of a computer, it better be for work or writing, and then only tightly managed segments. It means using my work leave to go places, do things, and be with those I love. Relax is tied in with fitness, family, faith and ride. 

Faith: I don't often discuss my spiritual life here, because my faith (my relationship with Christ)  is deeply personal.   My Christian faith, however, is a part of who I am at a root level. Finishing my last two books stole time from many things, including that relationship. That's not good. Sometimes Sunday was my only time to write or power down. (And I needed to power down.) I think the Lord will understand, because he once took a whole day to power down, too  I would like to rededicate myself to my faith and my relationship with God. This ties deeply in with both family and, believe it or not, fitness. I physically FEEL better when I'm spiritual engaged. 

Gratitude: I want to step into 2022 with a sense of gratitude for those around me - family, friends, coworkers, and those kind strangers that make life a magical experience. I have this overwhelming feeling thankfulness for life's gifts. I hope this sense of gratitude brings with it peace, kindness, and joy.  I hope it curbs my temper, and kindles the fires of charity,  forgiveness and patience. 

There it is, my vision for 2022.  Thank you all for a great 2021, Happy New Year and God Bless. 

#writer #writinglife #2022 #2022goals #newyear #goals #writinggoals

Halloween is over and another mundane week is upon me.  Speaking of Halloween, I hope you enjoyed the Halloween serial presentation of my short story, "The Cave."  If you missed it, you can catch Part 1 here. 

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. In fact, it IS my favorite. I love the Holiday season, don't get me wrong, but in my opinion its all downhill after Halloween. Thanksgiving makes you fat, Christmas makes you broke, and New Years makes you hung over with the  realization the Holidays are over and you have to go back to work. Okay, its not all bah-humbug. I enjoy the other holidays, but in my mind, nothing compares to Halloween, even if I don't get a day off work. 

We usually go all-out for Halloween at the Braden household. Actually, I go overboard. Big time.  I throw theme parties, make haunted houses or generally try to wring as much joy from the day as possible. I sort of lose myself in Halloween. One year, I turned the garage into a haunted house, and then the next year I turned the entire back yard into a haunted house (it was epic!). The neighbors still refer to me as the Haunted House Guy. My party themes have range from Stranger Things to Killer Clown to this year, where I hosted  a Bilbo Baggins 111th birthday party.  I used to lie to myself and say t was for the kids. Who am I kidding? I'll do it even when the kids are grown up and gone (and they almost are). ​

Why does Halloween appeal to me so much? It's not because its spooky,  or there's lots of candy. It isn't because its an excuse to party (okay, maybe just a little). None of these are the  reasons Halloween is magical to me.  Its because Halloween is about pretending. Its the Imagination Holiday. I think that's why so many people find it appealing into adulthood. It's like a giant cosplay convention. 

It gives adults a chance to pretend, and by definition, become a kid again. Its also one of the best ways imaginable to connect with your own kids.  Kids instinctively know when their parents are enjoying themselves, and love it when parents bond with them on a level they can understand. I love when I see entire families dressed up and trick or treating together. I'm seeing an event the kids will remember for the rest of their lives, and pass on to their kids. It's a deeply good and wholesome thing to witness.  My kids always help get ready for Halloween with a zeal that doesn't manifest at Christmas. One of my best memories was oldest bringing all his teenage friends over to work my haunted house. 

This year while I was putting up Bilbo's birthday banner in the front yard a car passed by very slowly. A young lady had her face plastered against the passenger window, a child's grin plastered ear to ear. Before the car slipped away, her hand emerged from the window with a big thumb's up. She's my people. There are lots like her, those people who instinctually understand the joy of surrendering to your imagination.  It doesn't have to end with childhood. In fact, it gets better if you just let it happen. 

Lots of people don't let it happen. In fact, they don't get it at all. I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry for all those teenagers who think they are too cool for Halloween. You know the ones, the kids who walk around like they don't know what to do with themselves. Sometimes they travel in packs with their friends, no costumes, looking out of place and trying to be immune to the fun around them.  They want to join in, but they forgot how to. When did it become a right of passage to kill something beautiful in one's spirit in order to transition to adulthood? It makes me sad.  Kids, never give up Halloween! Not even if you're a hundred years old.  

​Just as bad are those people who turn off their lights and hide in their houses, unwilling to enjoy themselves or hand out candy. I know its their right, but I still feel sorry for them, too. 

The time has come  to pack the magic back into the attic for another year. As I prepare for the rest of the Holiday Season, I'll look back fondly at this year's Halloween, and bask in the memories of Halloweens past. I'm already thinking about next year, and what new adventures I can cook up. Maybe another haunted house? Maybe a theme party? What will I dress up as? 

I think I'm quite ready for another adventure! 

#halloween #imagination #party #cosplay #holiday #essay

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If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. Also visit my Facebook, my author page and check out my photography book from America Through Time, "Abandoned Wiregrass: The Deepest South's Lost and Forgotten Places." ​
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In 2011 I sat in a Manhattan publisher’s office pitching my novel to several editors who were supposedly big deals in the publishing business. Everyone at the conference was trying to tie their novels into Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, or Ready Player One. My novel? Not so much. 

"Where does your manuscript fit on the book shelves?" they asked.

"Not next to Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead or Ready Player One," I said. "Its more like Ten Commandments meets The Odyssey." Needless to say, I didn't land a fat publishing contract that week. 

I can’t remember her name, but one publisher from that conference stands out in my memory. All the female authors who were pitching their novel to her were warned not to show too much cleavage in her presence.  I had no cleavage, so I felt confident going in (though I can’t make that claim today).  She listened to my pitch with a dour expression, like she had to pass a kidney stone, and then asked me if my novel (Black Sea Gods) was going to be a series. 

“Three or four novels,” I replied. “The first novel is complete, the second well underway.”

“Too ambitious for a new author,” she scoffed, and summarily dismissed me. And thus ended my attempt to get The Chronicles of Fu Xi traditionally published. 

Every new word added to the Chronicles of Fu Xi, Book IV’s manuscript is a blow against Anti-Cleavage Lady. Take that, mammary hater! Sometimes that moment in New York drives me onward, just to prove her wrong. 

Actually, she was probably right. I should have started my writing career on something a little less ambitious, and a lot more commercially viable. If I wanted a traditional publishing contract, a historical fantasy, set in central Asia, and bordering on literary fiction probably wasn’t the place to start. Not that any of that matters now, I’m committed. The Chronicles of Fu Xi, Book IV is well underway. This story must be told. 

I completed 2000 words this weekend and two more chapters in the can. That brings the word count to 22,000. The writing is coming easier now, and it isn’t. When I write, I have Books I-III open on my desktop, plus The Golden Princess, trying to avoid plot holes. It’s a Herculean effort to keep characters straight, events lined up, and everything in sync.  I think it’s working. I’m back in the groove. Regardless, it's ambitious, to say the least. Anti-Cleavage Lady's warning echoes in my mind. 

One major change came out of this weekend’s efforts…I’ve changed the last novel’s title. It was going to be “The Children of Fu Xi”, but I’ve ditched that. That title was suggested many years ago by an editor, and I kept it in my back pocket. I’m not going to divulge the new title until the publication date approaches. However, it ties the final novel back to the first novel and sounds great. 

That’s all I have for today. I’ve got to keep my energy focused on the writing. However, if you haven’t picked up the series, you really should. There are three ways to start:

First, you can get copy of Black Sea Gods, the first installment in the series, Second, you can buy a copy of the prequel, The Golden Princess. If you really want a treat, get the Audible copy of The Golden Princess, narrated by the BBC’s Philip Battley. You will not regret it, he sounds great. 

I’ll see you later this week for another installment of Photography Phriday. 

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If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. Also visit my Facebook, my author page and check out my photography book from America Through Time, "Abandoned Wiregrass: The Deepest South's Lost and Forgotten Places." ​

#books #blackseagods #writing #philipbattley #audiobooks #epic #fantasy #epicfantasy

We were expecting a new baby and my lovely bride’s nesting instincts kicked into high gear. She didn’t want to bring a new baby home to a dirty house, so she called a maid service and told me to take the kids and get lost for about four hours.

I had planned a day in the park, but Mother Nature had other ideas. Cold rain and sleet pelted the city all day.  Then I had a great idea: I’d take the boys to the public library! I hadn’t been to a library in years and was looking forward to the experience. My kids quickly found books and quietly settled in for a good read.  Not possessing a library card, I headed for the front desk.

The bespectacled gentleman behind the desk kindly directed me to a table covered with application forms.  It was fairly standard – name, address, phone number, e-mail. I quickly filled out the form and signed my John Hancock on the bottom, signifying my understanding the library police would find me if I was late returning a book. 

I returned to the desk where the same gentlemen carefully inspected my form.

“Would you like internet access, sir?”

“Yes, certainly.” 

“Then you’ll have to fill out the back, too.”

“Oh, okay.” I flipped the form over. With the exception of a question asking what password I wanted and what level of internet access I desired, the form was almost identical to the front. 

I went back to the table and wrote in a password I could easily remember and checked my desired access level. I returned to the gentlemen behind the counter, who inspected the back of the form. 

“You need to write down your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.”

I was a little perturbed, but didn’t show it. 

“All that information is on the front of the form. Do I have to fill out the name and address information again?”

“Yes, please.”

“Ah...okay.” 

A few minutes later I was back with my library card form, both front and back completely filled out. 

The diligent municipal civil servant carefully eyed both sides of the form for well over a minute, turning it over several times and strumming his fingers nervously.  I was getting nervous, too. Did he know about all my overdue books from 4th grade? 

“Sir, I need your full middle name on this line.” 

“That’s my legal payroll signature block. Why do you need my full middle name?”

“I’m sorry sir, but that’s our policy. I need your full middle name.”

I sighed and added the rest of my middle name to the initial. 

“On the back side, too, please.”

Keep your cool.

“Okay.”

Once again he studied the library card form. Chewing on the end of his pencil, he flipped the form back and forth. 

“I need to see a picture ID.”

I pulled out my active duty military identification card and handed it to him. He didn’t give it a second glance and handed it back to me. 

“Do you have a driver’s license?”

“Why yes, I do.”

“May I see it, please?”

“Why? Won’t my military ID do?”

“No.”

Resigned, I pulled out my driver’s license. Being in the military, I had a different permanent home of record than my current duty assignment.  Since I renewed it in the mail, my license had no picture. He looked at me, looked my drivers license, back to me, then back to the license. 

“This is out of state and doesn’t have a picture.”

“I’ve been stationed here for almost three years. I’m rather fond of my photo on my military I.D, would you like to see that one again?”

He handed my license back. 

“Is this address correct?”

“The one on the front or the back of the form?”

Alarmed, he quickly turned the paper over, then shot me a nasty look - smartass. 

I smiled. 

“Do you have something with your current address on it?”

“Yes, you’re holding it.” 

“No, I mean something official.” 

I fumbled through my wallet. Funny, but nowhere among the countless unpaid credit cards, membership cards, and receipts did I have anything with my current address on it. 

“No, I guess not.”

“I’m sorry then, but I can’t issue you a library card.” 

Here I stood, able to produce two legal forms of ID, one of which was the ID card of an active duty military officer in the armed forces of the United States, and I couldn’t get a public library card. 

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I don’t kid about things like this.” 

“Let me try this again,” I said calmly, “What do I have to do today so I can get a library card and check out some books for my kids so they won’t go home heartbroken?”

I really think the guy wanted to help. It was either believe that or strangle him. 

Looking out the window at the downpour he smiled and asked, “Did you drive here?” 

After running through the parking lot in the pouring rain, I returned with my car registration; definitive, legal, soggy proof I actually lived where I said I lived. With a self-satisfied smile the Dewy Decimal Defender presented me my library card like a war medal.  I looked over my shoulder hoping someone was taking a photo for posterity. 

“Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?”

“Actually, yes there is,” I said, stuffing my new library card in my wallet next to my soaked automobile paperwork. “Get a job at voter registration.”

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If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. Also visit my Facebook, my author page and check out my photography book from America Through Time, "Abandoned Wiregrass: The Deepest South's Lost and Forgotten Places." ​