Journal

Write Out

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We all know the benefits of regular exercise for our bodies—strengthening muscles, improving endurance, and boosting overall health. But what about our minds? Just like our bodies need a good workout to stay in shape, our minds crave daily activity to stay sharp and creative. That’s where “Write Out” comes in. Think of it as a mental workout, a daily exercise routine that strengthens your writing muscles, sharpens your thinking, and enhances your creativity. Whether you’re jotting down a few thoughts or crafting a full essay, each day you write is a step toward a healthier, more agile mind.

Writing, as in fitness, benefits from consistency. Even on days I don’t feel like it, I will get out to the gym and do it. Even on days I don’t feel like it, I’ll sit down and crank something out. Not every day, but enough to build habits.

A routine, without being a routine, can be challenging. This month, I committed to writing a post every day for thirty one days.

I feel a need, or have a desire to sit down and write on one of my short stories, or that pesky novel I’ve been stewing on for decades. Typing for 15-30 minutes a day should do it. Crap or no crap, it’ll get done. As Hemingway put it: “Write drunk, edit sober.”

Just as a daily workout builds a stronger body, “Writing Out” could be a path to a more resilient and creative mind. It’s not about perfection or waiting for inspiration to strike; it’s about showing up, putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), and committing to the process.

Perseid Showers

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4:50am EST:

I am awake in the middle of the night for a nature break and remembered there was supposed to be a celestial show in this morning.

The best time to view these meteor showers is between 8/11 and 8/12 before dawn and look to the northeast from my position down south.

So I laid down in a chaise lounge on the lanai and thankfully the sky was clear. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and soaked in all the stars and planets. Okay, it’s time for the light show and I didn’t have to wait long because a few streaks of burning rock burned up in our atmosphere.

Jupiter and Mars looking NE
Taurus constellation in SkyView app

Okay, I am tired, but I’ll snap a photo of the glowing planets of Jupiter and Mars. Excuse the crude image. It’s early, my hands are shakily extended over my head and I had to do that for 5 seconds to get a decent exposure in low light.

I’ll be better prepared in December for the Geminids meteor showers. Back to bed for now knowing I caught yet another astronomical event and I am happy.

5:24am EST: Zzz

Interesado

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I have way too many interests and for some reason they just keep expanding. The bitch of it is, obviously, always, not enough time.

I am not known for disciplining my personal time and interests, in favor of allowing my free spirit to come and go as it does.

Apparently the need for using a calendar to organize could be of some use.

Right now my intake is overloading my throughput. I am consuming more than I am creating. Need to find a balance here.

You’ve Got Mail

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Lately, I have been keen on sending out handwritten letters to loved ones after relocating to Coral del Cabo. It is a way to make correspondence personal and meaningful. I enjoy it.

Well, to my surprise, I received a postcard from Cuba sent from my significant other three months ago to the day that she visited and sent the card.

International mail is the best

In the past I have received post from my friends in the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands. They were full of love and encouragement. Sadly, and to my shame, I have not kept it up over the years.

This gets rectified immediately, because I would be thrilled to have long-term pen pals to reach out to and share life with again. Eventually I will re-acquire personalized stationary.

Electronic mail is rare to receive but no less welcome. If interested in either digital or analog correspondence, you can first reach out via e-mail by clicking here: hello@

Yoshiwara

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Frequency illusion pops up like…rabbits everywhere. While enjoying the 1927 film Metropolis, I saw a reference to Yoshiwara district in the huge fictional megacity. Now, why was a um, ahem, red light district from ancient Japan featured in a German film?

Scene from Metropolis. The club was an allegory for the sins of Babylon in the book of Revelations.

A few months ago, before watching the new series on Hulu, I re-read the novel Shogun, about feudal Japan where there was a reference to Yoshiwara. To this day, Yoshiwara red light district is in the city of Edo, the exact location that Toranaga-san had allowed to be built (next to the despised Catholic church.)

Revelations, Babylon, the Tower of Babel and the seven deadly sins were the pillars of the Metropolis movie. As it happens, I’ve been doing some background research on the Babel Tower so of course I would find it referenced elsewhere. I swear I don’t go looking for coincidences but they do happen in unsuspecting places.

Side note: Isn’t it interesting that we in America can speak and listen in the same language as our neighbors but no one understands each other? Babel indeed.

Drinks Are On Me

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I’d like to experiment with a new, unique cocktail as soon as possible. We have a nice bar area in the dining room that needs to be filled. Okay, let’s try this:

Blue Dolphin Cocktail

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz Blue Curacao
  • 1 oz Vodka
  • 1 oz Coconut Cream
  • 2 oz Pineapple Juice
  • Ice
  • Pineapple slice or a cherry for garnish

If vodka doesn’t work out, maybe substitute with clear rum.

Cutty Shark

Ingredients:

  • Cutty Sark scotch whiskey
  • amaretto
  • ice

Cutty Shark Highball

Ingredients:

  • Cutty Sark scotch whiskey
  • sparkling water
  • lemon juice
  • Ice
  • Lemon wedge for garnish

Palm Tree Cocktail

Ingredients:

  • White Rum
  • Coconut Rum
  • Pineapple Juice
  • Orange Juice
  • Blue Curacao
  • Splash of Grenadine
  • Ice
  • Lime wedges around rim for the palms

Three P’s

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For digital documents you want to keep for a long time, I suggest the Three P’s:

  • Plain text
  • PDFs
  • Printouts

While in college in the mid 1990’s, and prior to purchasing my first computer, I utilized a word processor. Think manual typewriter but with a 3.5″ floppy disk for storage. I wish I had known enough to preserve all of my writings. The floppy disks were formatted for the word processor but not the computer. It wiped everything off the disk to make room for the Windows formatting. The lesson here is to preserve your work and prepare by future-proofing formats. It was a hard learned lesson. All of my personal writing, studies and papers gone.

I was reminded of all of this when I read about how Hemingway’s early notes and the beginning of a novel disappeared. His wife had gathered his works and left Paris by train to Switzerland to meet him and a publisher and somehow, the suitcase went missing from the train platform and they were devastated.

My loss was due to ignorance and in no way as significant as Hemingway’s loss. But the pain was there.

My revamped workflow process is:

  • Write and edit drafts in Ulysses (saved to cloud, backed up onto my file server)
  • Publish from Ulysses to my website (saved to cloud)
  • Copy/Paste to my own database in plain text format (cloud, file server)
  • Migrate all of my work into the database in plain text, organize.
  • Print to .pdf by year (saved to cloud and file server)
  • Print to paper by year (saved to a dedicated yearly file folder or binder)

Interesting enough, while walking through the library’s “read and return” section, the word “Hemingway” ended up in my peripheral vision.

Rabbits and Frequency Illusion!

I usually don’t give them a glance but the paper spine was attractive. The fiction novel title is “The Hemingway Thief” and how the aforementioned luggage was lost. I haven’t read it yet, but it seems to be a good yarn with a few secrets and twists. Looking forward to reading it as soon as possible.

Bookmarked

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I’ve found a palm frond that fell after some heavy winds today and plan to clean it up then whittle it down into a palm tree bookmark with an engraving.

Sure, I can buy a bookmark or stick a note in between the pages, but this will palm will stay with me longer.

On Hemingway

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When I was in college, I had an opportunity to take a break from the stress of a new marriage and my studies. My step-father swung by my home on the way up to his lake cabin for the weekend and asked me to come along. I was hesitant at first, but my wife insisted. I am grateful for the invitation and the encouragement on both their parts.

It was a literal breath of fresh air, in that I could escape my stresses and enjoy a relaxing, distraction-free weekend. While there, I perused the bookshelf and came across a vintage copy of “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway. After a few hours of reading, I think I was ready to finally go to sleep. But I didn’t sleep on the instant appreciation for where I was and what I had just read. Until the weekend was up and it was back to reality. And burrowed, in the back of my brain, was the spirit of Hemingway.

Not too many people can experience what he had experienced or live his lifestyle, but that doesn’t stop me from aspiring to. Years after that weekend at the lake cabin, I picked up a copy of “The Sun Also Rises” and that long forgotten spirit of Hemingway was renewed and inspired me again after it was read.

So, I’ve decided to do a deep study into the man and his influence when I set myself up to my digital typewriter. Hell, I want my old mechanical typewriter back just for the romance and nostalgia.

While living and working in Cuba, he set himself up in a fine home that was called Finca Vigia, or “Lookout Farm.” While doing research, I came across the letterhead of his stationary and thought to myself, I will have the same for myself as soon as possible. I used to have personalized stationary, complete with a custom seal press that read “From the Library of Chris Denbow.” Damn, why did I lose that? Why did I sell or trade off my entire library?

Letter by E.H. From Finca Vigia

So, from henceforth until I leave this place, I am designating my new home in Florida as Coral del Cabo (Spanish). Eventually, the stationary will be printed and used. I have decided that while text and FaceTime are beneficial, nothing beats a handwritten or typed letter in the mail.

I could go on all night about the details and influences that Hemingway offers, but, as I finish my three fingers of Cutty Sark, I realize it is late. Perhaps I will dream about those short stories and unwritten novels and once again call on E.H. For inspiration.

— CJD from Coral del Cabo