Saturday, October 30, 2010

pictures lakefront Cudahy 10232010 pt. 2












Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Society and Responsibility pt. ii

Society needs to have some responsibility for how it takes care of its members and how its members are doing. People do not exist in a vacuum. Those who have accumulated great wealth have done so because of society. Society has allowed them to achieve these goals. Now we say people should work for their money which is all well and good but the pay scale is another matter. The pay scale should be fair. The pay scale should be better regulated so that everybody gets a fair share for their labor. The owners, executives, and shareholders should not be allowed to receive unduly large quantities of money. At a certain point the money should be distributed back to employees, schools, other businesses, and society in general. That way we all may benefit from the products of society which we all contribute to.

People made their money with the coordination of society. Without society they would have nothing. Without the rules and laws that allowed them to gain great wealth they would have nothing. That is why we should change the laws so that we all may live healthy lives and prosper for if we allow a few people percentage-wise to take all the excess profit after making their payroll and what not we are leaving the rest of the population in a precarious position during crises and economic turmoil for there is nothing left for them to fall back on. In a worst case scenario only the wealthy elite would have any means for sustaining themselves while the masses were left to starvation.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Society Needs to Exhibit Personal Responsibility for its Members

Society Needs To Exhibit Responsibility for its Members

Society does need to take responsibility for its members. There are many people who believe in personal responsibility meaning that people should take responsibility for their place in life and not blame anyone else or society in general. Personal responsibility in this sense is real however it should not be used as a scapegoat for any culpability of society.

Employers create jobs for people and while this is commendable, what kind of jobs they are creating for people is important too. Are these jobs ones that pay well enough for people to live off of or are they simply jobs that will provide a substandard of living for these employees? It is lucky that many things in the United States are generally cheap so that people with modest means can still get by while others with far more money than they need hang on to it for whatever reason. Corporations instead of investing in society and infrastructure save their wealth so that they can merge with competitors and thereby increase their value to shareholders and executives alike. All the while they have armies of employees working for $10 dollars an hour or less being led by employees making $20 to $30 dollars an hour or more, depending on the position.

As a society, instead of having a profit motivated, get rich, mentality we should really be providing healthy opportunities for all and sharing in the successes and failures of our society together as one country united. There is an over-emphasis on individualism in the current political and economic climate. We could do so much better as a team working for everybody's success instead of as individual competitors working for our own success and hoping to degrade others as failures and losers. Let's lose this culture of negativity and really work together as one people united with more of a together we stand divided we fall type of ideal.

We should have a more self-less ideal where we are really pulling for and rooting for everybody to succeed and do well. We should not have this competitive dog eat dog, achieve success on the backs of others mentality. Let's not fall for it. Sure there are smart people and leadership qualities are important but let's not believe that these leaders deserve all the respect and recognition while we get very little for what we do. Let's have some personal respect and faith in ourselves and demand what we deserve from our society, the government, and employers alike.

Society needs to have some responsibility for how it takes care of its members and how its members are doing. People do not exist in a vacuum. We are all in this together.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Tonight, the moon and the lake, outside.

Tonight. 10/21/2010. Thursday.

The moon above the lake..and all the airplanes waiting their turn to land on the runway..like stars burning bright and moving around underneath the heavens.. The moon shines brightly on the water lighting up a vast expanse from the horizon outward. Closer on the water it sparkles like a firey glitter. The tree nearby gives me a sense of security and something to hold onto while it holds the ground together around the cliff. The air is cool and I think to myself I had better get some gloves soon.

The airplanes thunder overhead one after another with gaps of a couple minutes between each flight. Mostly smaller airplanes over here because Milwaukee is a smaller airport than say a Chicago. Being in touch with nature is the greatest feeling and a must to really keep on track in life and going in the right direction. I love being outside usually even in the winter. I am glad to be back in an area where I am close to the lake and there are some nice parks around with beautiful views. A five minute drive and I am there.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Author J.S. Chancellor - Blog Book Tour

J.S. Chancellor has a new book out:


Son of Ereubus - Guardians of Legend - Book One



J.S. Chancellor




J.S. Chancellor, whose personal motto is, “woe is the writer who mounts their merit on the masses,” started writing stories when she was still in grade school, and finished her first fantasy novella at the age of 14.

She drafted chapter one of the Guardians of Legend trilogy when she was a freshman in high school, sitting on a stool in front of a piano bench, in her parents’ den.

It wasn’t until she was 25 when a resident at the apartment complex where she worked lovingly made a casual remark about her procrastination that her passion for fantasy fiction took center stage.

Since then she’s focused all of her efforts on writing, to include leaving her full time job in September 2009 and actively maintaining a blog dedicated to the art of crafting fiction (www.welcometotheasylum.net). You can find her there, or her official website, www.jschancellor.com.

She currently resides in Georgia with her husband and two beloved dogs.


J.S. Chancellor gives me the great pleasure to be able to share her work and writing with my blog viewers. I have some prepared interview questions from the author which I would like to share.


As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

Well, in the second grade I announced that I was going to be a stand-up comedian. No, I’m not kidding. Then, after growing infatuated with Batman around age 12, I announced to my best friend at the time that I was going to become Catwoman. So, I suppose I sort of compromised and became an author, where I can be any number of impossible, ridiculous things.


What do you think makes a good story?

I can only answer this for myself, since “good” is subjective. But, ironically what I quantify as a good read isn’t in the genre I typically write in at all — it’s horror. I love to read horror, but dark fantasy is as close as I’ll ever come to penning it. Reading it though, I want to follow a story that has me on the edge of my seat, horrified, with a little bit of romantic tension thrown in for good measure (however slight). It has to appeal to all of my senses. I read a lot of Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine as a child and never got over the need to eat books like that for dinner — all in one sitting. Love them!


What advice could you give to other authors wanting to start out?

Have fun. No, really, I mean this. Enjoy your time as an unpublished author. Revel in writing only for yourself. All of it changes when you begin to involve other people in your work; publishers, editors, reviewers, readers … it’s a good thing, I don’t mean to put you off from accomplishing your goals. But, don’t take for granted where you’re at now. Those earlier experiences are what shape you later on. Think of this time as your foundation. You’ll only build on it from here, but it will never be unimportant or wasted time.

WHolstad:

Spoken like a true writer.  As a blogger and casual writer myself I can relate to wanting to get into the field of writing for a living.  I am sure many bloggers and viewers of blogs can relate to that sentiment.  Let's hope we all get there and wish for the prompt success of Mrs. Chancellor!

jschancellor@gmail.com

Sons of Ereubus at Barnes and Noble.

Excerpt:

Since time immemorial, Man has lived in fear of losing his soul to the darkness of Saint Ereubus. For generations, the Ereubinians have wielded that power and ruled like gods. Three thousand years ago, Man irresolutely placed his faith in a mythical world. That world, Adoria, now holds Man’s final hope.

As the last stronghold of Man is threatened, the fates of three strangers become forever intertwined and everything they once believed will be irrevocably changed as they discover...

Their time has run out.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Story of my and my brother's original music.

http://www.myspace.com/mistlethistle

MistleThistle Biography

I met my brother some time after I was born. He is seven years older than me. His name is Tim and I am Walter. Tim and Walter Holstad. We started working on music together probably some time in 2007 I would estimate, maybe 2006. I was living at my mom's in Muskego at the time so we would practice in her living room on occasion or I would go over to my brother's apartment around 80th and Oklahoma in Milwaukee.

My brother is a very prolific writer and very determined. He writes a lot and makes a point to work very hard at his music. He is one of those people that were told to work hard in life and took it to heart I think. I on the other hand like to enjoy things in life and treating the music too seriously takes the fun out of it in my opinion. There is room for both. Certainly without some effort songs will not be written and polished to a decent level but if there is no heart or joy in your music it will sound lifeless and boring. I have about 15 or 20 songs that I have written. My brother has a lot but we play probably around 20 of his.

Our first show together was at my brother's wife's uncle's house in Minocqua, Wisconsin. We played out on the deck at his house on a lake. It was pretty fun and for the most part people enjoyed it. At the end we played a blues jam and people wanted us to keep playing but I was a little nervous and putting my guitar away at the time so we stopped.

I played a Battle of the Bands show in June of 2009. I played this show with my friends Ian and George and Tim did not play. Tim and I were not playing together at this time. We separated after working with a new drummer because the new mix of tension and egos was too much of a burden to continue. The battle of the bands show was at the Rave in a smaller side bar area. I had a lot of fun at that show and it went pretty well. We did about 6 songs, 5 originals and a cover of Eddie Vedder's Society.

Recently Tim, Chris ( the new drummer I spoke of ), and I got back together to play at a fashion show at Crisp bar that I had been invited to play at. The show was September 26th, 2010 and was a lot of fun. We had about 3 practices in the 2 weeks before the show and that was it so it was kind of tough. The songs were not fully polished and ready so the show had its ups and downs. It was good practice and there were some good parts for sure. I did get some applause after a guitar solo and some of the songs were pretty solid. It was definitely a learning experience and hopefully we will have more shows in the future to build on the experience of this one.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Some pictures of bluffs near Milwaukee, WI


Path to the edge.


Over the edge.






My car and fall tree.





Edge of cliff and beach below. On cliff's edge are shotgun shells I believe from trap shooting area.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Constantly Learning - Today and the Web

Constantly Learning

School mimics life
I am learning about using the web for business
Social Networking tools to increase sales
Or to make sales
My homework for one of my classes is basically to do more of what I am already doing.
Can't beat that.
I already need to stay focused and be productive. I already know that.
Now when I do so it benefits myself twofold.
Generally and specifically.
Specifically being that it is homework for class.
Generally being that it creates content on the web for people to view and increase their awareness of what I am doing and what I can offer them.

This seems to “beg the question” of what exactly it is that I can offer them. I may be able to sell them some of my music or I may be able to play at their bar with my band. I may be able to teach them guitar. I may be able to write a product review for their business or I may be able to actually come in and work at the office in some type of clerical role.

This is all possible and can be catalyzed through using the world wide web to advertise and market my product which in my case is basically myself.

Reading on the web we are constantly learning. Here is a link.

http://www.geofflawrence.com/photography_tutorial_portraits.php

As I read this entertaining article about photography I am not only entertaining myself but increasing my skill set. Therefore I may be able to take an interesting photograph that has value just by chance or I may be hired by somebody to take pictures for them for an occasion or event.

Constantly Learning

What a beautiful tool is the Internet and the World Wide Web.