Category: Personal

2014 – The Year That Was!

New yearSo here it is, the end of 2014.  I know this is an arbitrary date and every tomorrow is the start of a new year, but it’s a nice time to take stock and look around. To see where you are and check in from that place. So here goes.

I’ve written 115,000 words or so – fiction and non-fiction (and a good deal of that has actually been published). I also got back to some roots by writing a script (and a big thank you to Matthew for kicking may ass into gear on this one). This year I want to write more. Specifically more fiction but I’m setting a few goals for myself. I’m going to have regular updates here on the blog. Mondays will be Movie Mondays and I’ll post reviews of the films I’ve seen. Thursdays will be for books, and I’ll get in a review every Thursday of some piece of literature or other. There will also be personal updates and travel pieces and whatever else I think of, but those two things, for sure, will happen weekly.

I won several awards. I got one for writing the Best Local Column-Magazine by the Nevada Press Association. I also won best foreign teacher and best teacher in the department at the university.

I read some books (74 to be precise). For the next year, I discovered an interesting reading 2015 Reading Challengechallenge. I’ll see how far I get on that – the books will be tagged as 2015 Reading Challenge on Goodreads. Of course, if you’re not already my friend there, please join me.

I traveled. Aside from trips around Lithuania, I went to London for science fiction, Paris for Disneyland, Riga for the day, Helsinki for fun and Vaasa for a wedding. Oh yeah, and Vegas for my eldest niece’s Bat Mitzvah. Hoping to get some much needed travel in the coming year, particularly to Los Angeles for JR and Natasha‘s wedding.

I was the MC/Auctioneer for a charity event to raise money for breast cancer screenings.

I reconnected with old friends this year and made new ones. I hope this trend continues.

I’ve seen friends go through amazing amounts of personal growth and deal with horrendous personal tragedies. I’ve been there when I could be, emotionally or physically. I’ve been a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, an idea sounding board. And I’ve had friends be all of these things for me.

Thank you all for being here. You make my world a brighter place.

Continue reading “2014 – The Year That Was!” →

A Small (Lithuanian) Town Christmas

2014-12-23 18.01.28This year, for Christmas, Laika and I were forbidden from our usual tradition of leftovers (nothing is open Christmas Day) and lounging around all day reading. Nope, this year Rasa invited us (both of us, mind you) to celebrate the day with her family in the northern Lithuanian village of Mažeikiai, which, with a population of around 45K, is the 8th largest city in the country. So off we went, the Saturday before Christmas, driven by Rasa’s sister, Lina, and her husband, Paulius. It’s about 220km away, but since most of what we’re traveling on is two lane roads through hundreds of tiny villages, it takes about 3 hours to get there from Kaunas.  Continue reading “A Small (Lithuanian) Town Christmas” →

Cultural Icons’ Favorite Books – Flavorwire

Cultural Icons’ Favorite Books – Flavorwire

Cultural Icons’ Favorite Books – Flavorwire.

This is a fascinating list. At a cursory glance, Catcher in the Rye seems to be the book mentioned most often. There are a number of Science Fiction fans (And I’ve fallen madly for Olivia Munn merely because of her choice, which is in my top ten). I think some of these are rather pretentious, feeling like what they shouldbe reading as opposed to what they actually enjoy.

For me, Lamb, by Christopher Moore, would be on the list, as would Tim Powers’ On Stranger Tides. The Sun Also Rises is amazing but really shouldn’t be read before you’ve had your first real break-up. So many great books out there…

But what about you? What’s your favorite book?

Gifts For Writers, 2014 « terribleminds: chuck wendig

gifts for writersGifts For Writers, 2014 « terribleminds: chuck wendig.

There’s some great stuff here for any writer or literary buff in your life (like me).

There’s also Writers Tears Whiskey and Editor’s Blend tea for the libation of your choice.

Oh… and there’s always books and things.

(mostly this is just here for me to remember it)

Thanksgiving 2014

IMG_0255.JPG[Just a little personal post here, feel free to ignore it in favor of more socially apt or politically savvy posts about current world situations.]

Last week was Thanksgiving in the US (fourth Thursday after the first Monday), traditionally a day to spend with family. Continue reading “Thanksgiving 2014” →

Holidays in the Cloud

IMG_0266.JPGKaunas, where I live, has a reputation as being artsy and clever. We’re home to 6 different universities and are considered the “most Lithuanian of Lithuanian cities.” Now, nationalist pride aside, one of the things this means is that while Vilnius, the country’s capital, gets the pressure of being the proper and sophisticated “big brother” we get a little more freedom to be wild and crazy. We get to indulge ideas.

One of those ideas has found form in our annual Christmas Tree design for the big, official city tree in Rotuse Aikste (City Hall Square). A few years ago, our tree was made of the recycled bottoms of green, two litre coke bottles. The year after that was a gold, angel festooned spectacle followed last year by a tree “knitted” from recycled plastic bags. Continue reading “Holidays in the Cloud” →

A Palace, a Castle and Some Lights… What’s involved with a day trip to Riga?

DSC_0207When Monika says “There’s a bus tour going to Riga to see the light festival,” your first response should be “I wanna go.” At least that’s my response. Going with Monika on a day trip is always fun, especially to another country, so I was in! Rasa was game as well so we told Monika to book it for us. See, this wasn’t just a “let’s go” trip, this was actually a bus tour operated by the company she works for, Guliverio Kelionės. Continue reading “A Palace, a Castle and Some Lights… What’s involved with a day trip to Riga?” →

Hitting the target

IMG_0003So a few weeks ago I decided to take up archery. Sure, I hadn’t seriously shot a bow since 7th grade Kenny Guinn gym class (Mr. Salas, I believe) but, like fencing, it’s a sport I can get behind and feel comfortable pursuing. Maybe I feel like a medieval vigilante (or a modern day one and have been watching too much Arrow on TV) but I figured I’d give it a shot (no pun intended). Continue reading “Hitting the target” →

Hit my goal!

2014-08-03 11.46.27My goal for writing this year was 100,000 words of creative writing. This could include reviews, articles, prose, scripts, blog posts… whatever was at hand which allowed me to use my brain in creative, thought fulfilling ways. I’ve been using two different trackers, one created by my friend Troy which is a basic measuring stick, showing at a glance the days I write and the days I don’t. The other, by the artist Svenja, is a bit more specific as to what I’ve written. I use both because for me they serve different functions. In any case, with the half completed story I’m currently working on, yesterday I passed my 100,000 word mark for 2014.

With all the other crap going on in my life, this make me extremely happy.

Oh yeah, and I also won the award for best columnist for a magazine (2014) from the Nevada Press Association with these words: Meaty. Well written, researched and informative. Some tugged at the heart without being sappy. I’ll take it!

Shampoo

IMG_2551Just a little note… About shampoo sachets.

While I’m glad and thankful some hotels provide shampoos and conditioners isn’t there a better packaging method than the sachet? You know, like the ketchup packets you get at McDonald’s. These things are not the easiest to open at the best of times but when your hands are already wet and slippery they are damn near impossible.

Anyway, there’s your thought for a Sunday morning.

DAVID • Think: Little Histories

David 9-14DAVID • Think: Little Histories.

That link there is to my latest piece for David Magazine. It’s different than the normal editorial stuff I do in that it’s a short story, this time about families and holidays. Sure, it’s set ostensibly around the High Holidays of Judaism but I’d like to think it’s a fairly universal piece about any time the family gathers to celebrate anything. It’s not a long piece, shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes to read it, but I’d appreciate it if you actually gave it those few minutes.  Continue reading “DAVID • Think: Little Histories” →

The art and the artist

DSC03035Been an interesting week and it’s only Tuesday. Classes started so I’m back in “professor” mode, which means wearing ties and button down shirts. My bow tie collection is growing to the point where I may not have to wear a regular tie at all for a while, which is cool. I’ve been wearing bow ties for a while, even before bow ties were “cool” so it’s nice to see the rest of the world jumping on the trend.

Also this week, though, there’s been some interesting artistic endeavors. Yesterday I recorded narration about the history of Kaunas, my adopted city and on Friday, I have an audition for a film. I’m also supposed to consult on a stage show this week, I’ll have a new short story published on Monday (and I’ll submit the script I wrote two weeks ago) and I have the beginnings of an idea for another new piece of fiction. Now I just need to make sure I actually keep up with the writing. Mostly I’m posting here so I have someplace to hold myself accountable. It’s very easy to let work get in the way of work so I need to make sure I use my time better. I’ve started tracking my time usage on various projects. I’m finding that tracking things like time and word counts is quite beneficial to my process. It’s only taken how many years to figure that out?

So.. new story starting on Thursday. If you see me, ask how it’s coming and make sure I have an answer. Busy is good, right?

London 2014: Day Seven & Eight – Cars and Cards

2014-08-20 12.17.31Tuesday was our last full day in the Big City and we still had a full day’s use of the CityPass to take advantage of so naturally, we were once again up and out early in the day. This time, our destination was a bit outside the city center and was looking like it would take close to an hour to get there: The London Motor Museum.

Continue reading “London 2014: Day Seven & Eight – Cars and Cards” →