I started writing a novel last October, after hitting a wall with a play I was working on. The idea for the play was (is) really solid, but I was focussing so much on scenes and sets that it became tedious, and so I put it down. Putting the play down, however, didn’t mean that the creative energy just disappeared. I’d had an idea for a book for a few months, and decided to push my energy in that direction to…
Since joining Twitter and Facebook in 2008, I’ve enjoyed observing how people communicate in these spaces. I’m not just talking about sharing cool links – but rather the big, important stuff. The stuff of life. Personal challenges. Victories. Heartbreak. Joy. How a person shares these things (or not) says everything about them. If you look closely enough, you can see the essence of a person by observing what they share here. Or don’t share. As a writer, in particular a…
“Daddy, daddy, I won an iPhone 5!” she said as she ran into my office. “I was on this website, and something popped up that said that I won! Me!” And thus began the deliberate chopping away at the legs of childhood enthusiasm and naiveté. I explained to my nine-year-old how there are some bad people in the world who only want to glean personal information to sell to other people and companies. Her bottom lip quivered and tears bubbled…
This purpose of this post is to publicly announce that I’m finished with shaking hands as a cultural device. I’ve given it up for the fist bump. No, I’m not doing it because of President Obama. Well, I mean yes, his popular use of the technique helps make it a little less awkward, but I’m not doing it because of him. I’m doing it because as a species we’re fallible, and shaking hands only expedites this fallibility. Our hands are…
It would be romantic to say that my muses are my daughters and wife. But that’s just not true. My muses swirl around me all day as spirits only I can see, hear, and feel. And mostly, my muses don’t like me. They think I’m a coward for not letting them inspire me more often. Because I find excuses to not let them use me as a conduit to God. I tell myself that my muses are hideous beasts. Sirens…
What if we just treated others nicely? If we went into every scenario with an open heart, an open mind, and no agenda to dick anyone over. If we all stopped judging. And hitting. Imagine if we employed these simple concepts as part of our daily lives? No seriously, imagine. *** Jim Mitchem
