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I finally decided to start making videos of any future podcasts. They will also still be available on several podcast platforms in audio format. Wish me luck
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I mulled it over in my head for quite some time, and have been wanting to start incorporating or adding videos to my repertoire for the podcast and blog. I produced this on DaVinci Resolve 19, an open-source and totally free software that rivals any professional (paid) software. I watched several of the hundreds of tutorials on YouTube, and just didn't get it. I am predominantly a "learn by doing" type of person, so I decided to just dive in. I recorded a practice video that I could play around with, basically saying "this isn't really anything more that practice" and I knew no one would see it. Armed with determination and a lot of "how do you do this?" questions, I started the journey. Once I was more or less comfortable with the basic process, I started in on producing the above video. It took me a week to produce this seven minute video. At one point, about half way through, I realize I made some errors I couldn't go back and correct, so I just started over. The second time didn't take more that two days. Now I am even more comfortable with the software, although I know I still have a lot to learn. So, of course, I am going to keep making more videos. Eventually, I hope to make the podcast both audio (on Podbean) and video. It might be a while. So, enjoy the video, let me know what you think. The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals), Nate Query (bass), and John Moen (drums). The band's influences include Morrisey, The Waterboys, R.E.M. and XTC. Most of their songs eschew introspection and favor storytelling, evidenced in songs such as The Mariner's Revenge Song," "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect," and "April Anne Levine." I hope you enjoy this Sunday musical offering. The past few weeks, I have been teaching myself Da Vinci Resolve, a video editing software. My general learning process is doing over listening, so learning this program via video has been kind of a challenge. I think, though, the more I watch the training, the closer I will come to having the lightbulb moment. At least that's what I'm hoping. Just like reading can make you a better writer (I know, it sounds obvious, but...) I began to watch videos by other YouTube creators that resonated with me. Just like how I love to recommend books to others, going forward, I want to share those videos with you. I have watched videos about journal-keeping, writing, commonplace books, reading, fountain pens (I'm a fountain pen addict and admit it freely), and actual different brands of journals. The latter is something I am currently researching for my own video) One person I have encountered thanks to YouTube is Joel Snape. He is a writer, a former editor of Men's Fitness magazine, and a life long learner. Here's one of his videos: There will be more videos to share from others. Stay tuned!  “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”
--John Steinbeck Sometimes you have no ideas, nothing comes, you tell yourself that you’re just trying too hard, maybe. Then, yes, then, if it all works out, you get what Malcolm Gladwell refers to as the Tipping Point. Then the ideas come like a river. The idea morphs into a project, possibly, then another idea does the same. Pretty soon, you have several irons in the fire, several ideas that have morphed into projects that you want to count as accomplishments. Then it’s completely possibly that you have too many of those irons in the fire and some of them are not as hot as you once thought they were. It’s difficult to let go of your plans, I know. I tried too hard for the last six to seven months. I tried to seek out ideas for new episodes of the podcast, and the blog, and a YouTube channel I wanted to develop. And nothing happened. The muse left the building, saying she wanted to see other people for a while. So I spent those months languishing, unable to focus on anything creative. And then, I did something that I or anyone else thought I would do. I ditched social media: I left Twitter quite some time ago, but I deleted my Facebook and Instagram accounts, along with Goodreads. You know what, I don’t miss it in the least. Within the last few weeks, the muse returned and is once again present. I have ideas, I have projects both in progress and waiting in the wings. And I’m kind of excited about all of it. First off, I am resurrecting the podcast. I just completed a script for a new episode today, and have four more in varied states of development. I plan on posting a new episode every two weeks for starters, but it might turn into a weekly thing. Secondly, although technically I have a YouTube channel, the content at this time consists of reposted podcast episodes. That will soon change because I am trying to develop YouTube videos as a companion to my podcast. There I hope to post videos of bookstore tours, product reviews (journals, pens, books) and whatever my over-cluttered brain can come up with within the parameters of reading, writing, and film. And thirdly, I really want to post more content here on the blog and on my Substack page. This will include essays, short fiction, book reviews, among other writings. If you are interested, I also started a mail list which you can sign up by clicking on the contact link. I won’t spam you or try to sell you anything, I promise. And if you feel you’re getting too many e-mails, just unsubscribe. I will understand. And, if you would like to give more than just moral support, you can buy me a coffee at, yes, buymeacoffee.com. The link is also above. I guess that’s it for now. I hope you are having a great Spring so far. Keep reading! 
A perfect morning means different things to different people. For some it is an early morning drive or breakfast out with a friend or partner. For others, it could be sleeping in as late as possible, where the morning is passed by without notice. Maybe for some, it's something so basic as waking up without a hangover or other regrets from the night before. It's all relative.
Today, this morning, I had a perfect morning. It was so perfect that I am going to ignore that it's now noon. I am just going to ride the wave. So, you ask, what is a perfect morning? -Well, a quiet morning is always the goal. And by quiet I don't necessarily mean silence. Quiet for me is usually my inner voice and the noise of my own choosing. I used to like going to cafes to write. Now I find it distracting. So yes, as I have said before. I am a weekend hermit. -A hot cup of coffee in my favorite cup always within reach. -Max Richter on the stereo. This morning was The Blue Notebooks. Currently, it's his most recent In a Landscape. His music apparently does something to my brain that spurs the creative juices. -Writing my daily practice in my journal -A book, The Vegetarian by Han Kang, that I am fully entrenched in. So much so I might even finish it tonight. -And a small project, starting a Commonplace Book for reading notes, quotes, and the like, which is separate from my daily journal. Yes, I collect quotes, mostly ones that inspire me. It is my hope that using a commonplace book with help me avoid the doomscrolling. Guilty as charged. Not all mornings can be perfect. I definitely practice non-attachment with this. It's like what John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." When there are the ingredients for a perfect morning,though, I am there. Do you have a concept of what your perfect morning, or perfect day, is? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment down below! Just a quick note: If you enjoy my website or podcast, you can help me out by clicking the button below to buy me a virtual coffee. Also, if you would like updates or notifications for when I post new material, please go to the Contact Page and sign up for my mailing list. I don't send out much, I promise, no more than 1-2 posts a month. -That after six months, to the day, since my last podcast, I am inspired to start it up again. I looked at my stats and I am still getting episode downloads. -Today I was at my favorite bookstore, The Book Deal, and one of the clerks (whose name I unfortunately can’t remember) asked “Are you Coffee Before Pants?” I think I got a little teary-eyed. -That I am still getting views on my website even though I seldom post there. I am hopeful that will change. -I am inspired that I even feel l like doing anything productive. I probably don’t have to tell anyone how incredibly hard it is, especially the last few months, to simply just get out of bed, sit at my desk, and just write. Also, I need to remind myself of one action that Natalie Goldberg talks about in her books: Make a positive effort toward the good. I think the simple act of writing is just that effort. If you are feeling uninspired, know that you are not alone. Sometimes, the simple act of getting out of bed is a sign of fierce bravery.  It took me a long time. It was more gradual than I intended it to be. I admit, it was hard to let go...
But I finally did it. I deleted all my Meta accounts: Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Messenger. All of it. Twitter? Oh yeah, I ditched that a long time ago. They were all taking up too much of my time, headspace, and emotional energy. I just had to let it go. Yes, I have lost touch with a few people I know or knew in real life. I knew that it was inevitable. If they want to reconnect with me, I guess that's on them. Most social media relationships are not real; they are gossamer, an illusion of friendship. I don't mean to sound bitter, if I do. I don't feel that I have to justify this to anyone. I needed to do this for me. I also gave up being able to post blog and podcast updates on my Facebook page. Then again, I don't feel that I was getting that much in return. And I didn't completely ditch social media. I joined BlueSky a couple of months ago, but I have no idea how long I will stay there. It's still, at this point, better than anything Meta has to offer. I'm already getting the same kind of fake followers, unfortunately, that I had on Instagram. I am now, however, on Substack. And so far, I am pretty happy with it. It's more intelligent, less emotionally draining. And I have published a few pieces there and plan on posting more in the near future. If you are interested in following me or subscribing to my page, just click here. I understand if anyone is unable to subscribe with a monthly fee. Another option is, if you want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee (kind of). I will continue to post here as well, hopefully with more frequency. The future of the podcast, however, at this point, is unclear. I hope to see you on Substack! Peace! Subsonic Words by Mimicking Birds from their first album, Self-titled. I first heard Mimicking Birds on the end credits of a documentary. I wish I could remember the name of the documentary. Anyway, they along with the group Radical Face, are what I listen to when I am writing but don't want to listen to jazz. Yes, my musical tastes are all over the place.
Mimicking Birds is a rock group from Portland, Oregon centered on Nate Lacy (vocals, acoustic guitars), with Aaron Hanson (drums), Ian Luxton (electric guitars), Matthan Minster (Guitar/Keys) and Adam Trachsel (Bass/Keys). I think you should check them out!  Artist Unknown The following post is adapted from the most recent Coffee Before Pants podcast. Anyone who knows me knows I love coffee. I have coffee in one form or the other every day. We have a Nespresso machine, a pour-over coffee maker, I love cold brew as well. Oh, and yes, we have a French press, too. It’s one of those, what mood strikes me kind of things. Normally, because it’s so convenient, Valerie and I both start the day off with a double espresso. There are days, especially when I work from home for my job, that I will drink 2-3 double espressos throughout the day. However, I am a rank amateur compared to the literary figures I want to talk about today. Writers who were addicted to coffee and drank copious amounts each day. I know, define copious. Well, my up to three coffees a day routine is nothing compared to these writers’ consumption. When I was researching this, I was, well, let’s just say my stomach hurt just thinking about it. I am always talking about how much I love coffee. I don’t drink as much as I used to, really. Thirty years ago, and yes it does seem like a long time, I used to frequent Fuel Café, in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee. I would spend hours there, reading and writing and drinking copious amounts of their very strong coffee. You would pay full price for the first cup and thereafter, refills were 25 cents. It is safe to say that I would drink at least eight cups of coffee. I now try to limit myself to three cups maximum and usually try to stop by early afternoon. Usually, though, on a regular day I usually have one double espresso in the morning and that gets me through my day. However, the people I want to talk about today go beyond just “coffee lover” with what I even would deem excessive. Remember the commercials about being a “coffee achiever?” (Author Kurt Vonnegut was in one of them) These folks were more like coffee over-achievers. The first of these authors is Honore de Balzac. He was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is generally viewed as his magnum opus. His writing schedule was, to say the least, brutal. According to Writers Write, he woke at 1 am each day and wrote for seven hours. At 8 am he napped for 90 minutes, then wrote again from 9:30 to 4 pm. He said: ‘As soon as coffee is in your stomach, there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move…similes arise, the paper is covered. Coffee is your ally and writing ceases to be a struggle.’ In his time awake, he drank fifty cups of coffee. Each day, every day. Balzac died at the age of 51, from congestive heart failure, but it was never proven that this was a result of his overwhelming coffee consumption. Next up, another French author, François-Marie Arouet, commonly known by his nom de plume, Voltaire. He was a French Enlightenment writer, philosopher, satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit and his criticism of Christianity (especially of the Roman Catholic Church) and of slavery, Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. Voltaire favored coffee mixed with chocolate, of which he drank 30-40 cups per day. Although his doctor warned him repeatedly that his coffee habit would kill him, Voltaire lived to the age of 83. Given that the average life expectancy in the late 17th-early 18th centurt was 30 to 40 years, that is pretty remarkable. Maybe it was the coffee…. Although not much is known about Getrude Stein’s coffee consumption, she did profess to love coffee. Apparently she drank coffee every morning upon waking, but professed to do so against her will. She told people she was “nervous about becoming nervous” from the caffeine. Right, Gertrude, we understand. Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on organized religion, Christianity, morality, ethics, psychology, and the philosophy of religion, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony, and parables. Kierkegaard had an interesting coffee ritual. He poured sugar into a coffee cup until it was piled up above the rim. Next came the incredibly strong, black coffee, which slowly dissolved the white pyramid. Then he gulped the whole thing down in one go. He wrote: ‘At any rate, I prize coffee.’ I guess so…. Marcel Proust, French essayist, critic, and novelist best known for his masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time, had an altogether more reserved approach to coffee consumption. However, it is clear from his strict regimen that revered the brew. His housekeeper was rather puzzled by her employer’s habit of consuming exactly two bowls of café au lait along with two croissants every single day upon waking. She wondered how one might live on such a restricted diet. Note that Proust also had another peculiar habit and that is that he apparently rose out of bed not in early morning, but in late afternoon. One of our illustrious founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin was also a coffee enthusiast. So much so, in fact, that he had his mail forwarded directly to his favorite coffee-house, where he spent numerous hours in conversation with his peers and the business elite of his time. Franklin so loved coffee that he never embarked on a sea voyage without his own supply of coffee. He also said, “Among the numerous luxuries of the table…coffee may be considered as one of the most valuable.” Interestingly, politician, postmaster, inventor, author, activist, statesman and diplomat Ben Franklin was born on Milk Street, Boston. Not necessarily a coffee addict, but author Shirley Jackson, along with being a chain smoker and an amphetamine abuser, was addicted to Coke. No, not cocaine. Coca-Cola. In case, for some reason, you have never heard of Shirley Jackson, she was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Her writing career spanned over two decades, during which she composed six novels, two memoirs, and more than 200 short stories. She is the author of The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in a Castle, and over 200 short stories, which include The Lottery and, one of my favorites, The Summer People. I am sure there are a lot of writers and artists that love their coffee. These are, from what I understand, the most notable coffee addicts in the creative world. |
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