Writing Space

I bought this desk in March.  I worked on it but it wasn't really set up for any type of writing.  I finally got things sort of the way I want them.  I'm sure this will evolve over time.  I have to see what works and what doesn't.

Nothing on the cork board yet...hey, these things are important.  I haven't had a place to work other than my lap for about 9 years.  It is nice.

OK so it is not beautiful but hey, it is functional.

Journals

I haven't been writing in my journals for a while.  I've taken some notes in Journal 5, but no real meanderings.  I decided to pull out some older volumes.  Volume 1 which I started in September 2008.  I've only completed 3 volumes (1, 2 and 4).  Volume 3 is not completed, it is a larger size book and harder to carry around, but I'm working on it again.  There is a volume 6 (not pictured) that is in process as well.

I found it interesting looking through them.  I like to cut out pictures and paste them in.  Sometimes I use them as research or food for thought.

 I was working on a story from the 70s and 80s.  Although I lived through the eras, I wanted to take notes on the fashions.

 This was a collage on something called "The Sylvia Plath Effect".  The Sylvia Plath effect is a term coined by psychologist James C. Kaufman in 2001 to refer to the phenomenon that poets are more susceptible to mental illness than other creative writers.  I suppose this would have been a dark time in my life.

 On the inside covers of some of my journals, I pasted pictures and/or quotes.  On volume 1, i posted a lot of angels and saints.  They make me smile.

 This was some research on Archangels. Gabriel mainly.  Was working on a story (still am) about them.  I zeroed in on Gabriel because she is my favorite angel.

 I did do writing in the journals too.  I also pasted some pictures that had nothing to do with a story, but I thought could lead to inspiration.

 I also am inspired by personal libraries.  And i really loved the pearl choker.  Again, no reason other than that it made me smile, and still does.

More research on fashions from the past.  Now we go back to 50s and 60s.  Can't really recall what I was thinking on writing.  There are notes on the pictures but no notes before or after this page. So it seems to be random.

I look through these books and sometimes I find random blurbs and wonder what the heck was I thinking.

The Success Principles by Jack Canfield

Let me tell you what I didn’t like about this book:

1)    The name dropping stories will (and in some cases already are) dated.  This book will not hold up over the years.  He talks about people, TV Shows, movies etc, that in 75 years, no one will know what they are or who they were.  I had this problem when I read Napoleon Hill’s books.  Stuff that was a normal mind set when he wrote the books are no longer applicable.  This caused me to grow frustrated while reading it.

2)    The later principles talk about financial success.  Where the information is sound, it doesn’t work for everyone. It is not a blanket approach.  He says “Don’t think you can’t do it”.  Well, let me see, if I save 50% of my paycheck in a savings account what will I be?  Rich? No I’d be homeless.  If you make $100K a year, then this is a possibility. If you make $40K a year, live in NYC and have a kid in college along with being a single parent, saving 50% of your check is not something you should be doing.

3)    A lot of regurgitated information.  Most of the stuff in the earlier chapters I’ve read or heard about over the last 20 years.  There is no new information in here.

4)    Too much book plugging for his “Chicken Soup for The Soul” books.  We get it. You made money with these books.  You had a million dollar idea…blah blah blah.


Let me tell you what I did like about this book:

1)    I listened to the audio version so it was abridged.  I do have the physical copy, but I don’t think I’ll be reading that any time soon.

2)    There is some good information in here for those who are new to Jack Canfield and or this way of thinking.  If you have been a student of manifesting and metaphysics for a while, this book will be too elementary.

3)    I did like his principle on how you can self educate yourself.  People think schooling is the only way to get ahead. Don’t get me wrong, it sure helps, but you can learn things by reading or watching educational TV or films.  Or you can talk to people who can stimulate your thought process.  He talks about staying away from negative people and those who will pull you down.

4)    He did mention Stephen King. 

And I do understand that this is not an instant fix.  It should take years and years to master these principles.  This is a great book for a 25 year old.  For a 50 year old who has kids in college and gets paid minimum wage…not so helpful (financial info).  Although we can all have a successful mindset, and because of that, this book has merit.

This book was not very motivational for me.

October Reading

October is just about here and I am planning to read some horror. I've joined The True Book Addicts @ Castle Macarbe's Season of the Witch Challenge

As usual, I have a lot of horror reading planned, but let's see how many I actually read.

1. The Omen by David Selzer
2. The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker

And if time allows

4. Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
5. Vlad by Carlos Fuentes

As you know, I can't do October with out horror films. Here is what I have planned

The Cabin in the Woods 
The Final
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors 
The Tall Man (Thriller) 

As well as some classic horror films that will be gracing TCM all month long.

October Consumption

The month of October is where I read and watch horror.  I have been known to read a horror book outside of this month, and I've watched many horror movies too.

But in October, I focus on this.  Otherwise, it doesn't find its way into my consumer habits.

Here is what it may look like:

Dracula by Bram Stoker
Yes I am going to finally read this.  I have had this sitting on both my Kindle and Nook for years. It is time to tackle it.


Vlad by Carlos Fuentes peaked my interest.
“Vlad” is Vlad the Impaler, of course, whose mythic cruelty was an inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In this sly sequel, Vlad really is undead: dispossessed after centuries of mayhem by Eastern European wars and rampant blood shortages. More than a postmodern riff on “the vampire craze,” Vlad is also an anatomy of the Mexican bourgeoisie, as well as our culture’s ways of dealing with death. For—as in Dracula—Vlad has need of both a lawyer and a real-estate agent in order to establish his new kingdom, and Yves Navarro and his wife Asunción fit the bill nicely. Having recently lost a son, might they not welcome the chance to see their remaining child live forever? More importantly, are the pleasures of middle-class life enough to keep one from joining the legions of the damned?


The Passage: A Novel by Justin Cronin
An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

As for the movies, I'll take them as they come. A few of the newer movies I would like to see are Cabin in the Woods, and Frankenstein,

Christmas Movie Listing

No not by me. It's A Wonderful Movie Blog has this year's schedule in the works. Obviously there isn't much there yet, but over time her list is sure to grow. Christmas Movie Schedule 2012.


Also listed there are 10 New Christmas Movies: Christmas Movies Currently in the Works for 2012 & Beyond...

Gearing up for October, November and December

Lately I've been on a non-fiction kick. I read 10 non-fiction books in a row.  Only one of them was a re-read.  They are all of a Metaphysical nature.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton
Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle
The Moses Code by James Twyman
The Essential Spontaneous Fulfillment by Deepak Chopra
Practicing the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
The Isaiah Effect by Gregg Braden
The Dark Side of Light Chasers by Debbie Ford
Learned Optomism by Martin P. Seligman
Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden

I'm pretty much done with this topic, I have one or two more waiting to read, but I'm otherwise done for now.

October is reserved for some Horror reads
November and December are reserved for Holiday reads.  I searched for some Thanksgiving novels, because I don't usually see those. I found a few.

A Winter's Tale is Richard Paul Evan's new Christmas book for 2012. So of course that one is on the list.

And of course I'll be watching the Horror movies in October and the Holiday movies in November and December.  More on that later.