The View Up Here

After so much neglect, it was time to spruce up ye olde blog. I'm certainly not the same as I was several years ago when I began blogging. So much has changed - all for the good - so why not visually express that here?  The color families are among my favorites:  retro-ish ocean blue-green and cranberry. I took the photo in the header a couple years ago at Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA, close to where I grew up.  I will be blogging more about my practice of Tai Chi, experience with prayer, thoughts about living out my faith, and other delights such as film reviews and the occasional socio-cultural commentary. That's all for now. Cheerio.

This time, I really did forget that I had a blog. It's been over a year since my last post, and the only reason I remembered I had a blog is the link from my website. I'm not kidding. It's almost like I was busy with life or something.  Life.  Working, moving, working, discerning... I can't even crunch into a post what the last year has been like. I will say it has been challenging and at times I was in a deep depression (that is to say, mid-winter). But it has also presented amazing opportunities for friendships, spiritual depths, and personal development.  With only two weeks left of school, I'm looking forward to a summer of kayaking, Tai Chi, writing, and playing music with my new group "The Ivy Leagues."  Then there is the ongoing contemplative stance of listening and saying "yes."  I will blog more frequently as the powerful grip of the school year comes to a close.  Please pray for me, and be assured of my prayers for any readers I may hav...

Recently my good friend Rosalie posted on her blog an insightful reading of the movie Amadeus  where she draws a parallel to how the Holy Spirit works in us. I wrote a comment on Rosalie's excellent post, and then between the two of us, we realized it was a bit long for a comment. So here it will live and breathe on its own, expanded for my own blog post, but please do read her  original post (and watch the clip she includes at the end which sums up the heart of the film). I was a sophomore in high school when Amadeus (the film) came out. I went to see it with my Mom at the Elmira 1-2-3, and we both became huge admirers of the film and Mozart in general. I'd grown up listening to classical music, but now I had a much more personal connection with this particular composer. I even wrote a bad teenage poem to Mozart! (No, you may not read it.) It was a spiritual connection, to be sure, and remains so. I pray for him and ask him to pray for me, as odd as it may sound. ...

A friend posted this on Facebook today, and it took my breath away with its honesty and exactitude. All I can say in answer to this 11/17/15 blog post by John Paplovitz is: YES. THAT. WHAT HE SAID. http://johnpavlovitz.com/2015/11/17/freeing-christians-from-americhristianity/ *NB I had copied the full text of his post and put it up here, but then I decided it wasn't cool to do that without permission. Please visit the link to read his statement in full.

A heads up that I am letting go of the "fredinthecan.com" domain, and I will run this blog either with the blogger URL, or set up a new blog and link to this one. Please keep an eye out for the changes. Thank you for reading!

The weekend with the Carmelites was restful, but at the same time, intensive (as discernment often is). I went into the weekend hoping to "learn" and "more deeply understand" my vocation. I was disappointed in these expectations. Which is to say, I got out of the weekend exactly what I needed to! Huh? My focus right now needs to be on the here and now. Is God calling me to Carmel? He very well might be. But right now I can't enter. It's not time, I have stuff to do, and I also have to build relationship with the Carmel I hope to enter. So many things are accomplished at once: I work, pay off debt, serve the Kingdom, build relationships with the Sisters, allow them to know me and me to know them, and of course I continue writing and above all, deepening my prayer and spiritual life. At first, I felt like I came away from the weekend with more question marks, but then I realized that I'd been driving 110 mph with my hand white-knuckling the steeri...

I admit I was neglecting this blog for weeks, mainly because I wasn't sure what the point was to keeping it up. Most people I know follow me on Facebook and get a fairly decent picture of my life there. But I suppose the blog is more than just the minutiae of every day life, isn't it? So I will attempt to get back to what I started with this format - analysis, rants, musings, and updates on my writing. The 1999 novel is rolling along into revisions with my editor, so that's very exciting. Debut will be at the con this fall here in L.A. I also have to work on publicity and other such perfunctory duties. Into revisions for "Eden" my latest screenplay - that's going much more smoothly once I hammered out the first act re-write. I prayed for the Muse to help me with this first act re-write, because I felt like I was staring into the gaping maw of "I don't know what the fuck to do with this." Literally 30 minutes later, in the shower, it was like ...

Fred In the Can needed some updating. I get bored with the same look, but I find it frustrating to use the Blogger design templates. Very limited. But for now, it'll do.

I haven't quite processed the fact that I live in L.A. Perhaps that will happen when I get a job. For now, though, my apartment is lovely, my roommate is wonderful, and my Spaz kitty is adjusting quite well. Her need to go outside all the time seems to be replaced with sitting in windows for hours every day. I was so worried she wouldn't make the transition, but she's a trooper and I am so grateful that she's with me. Here she is lounging in my room. Notice the sunshine pouring in through the window. I'm mentally and emotionally exhausted, and I ended up with a cold by the time I landed in L.A. Thursday night. My last day in Ithaca wasn't at all what I wanted it to be, but it's all behind me now. Moving forward. Or at least, allowing myself time to rest and get my bearings before I charge full steam ahead.

Aldi vs Wegmans 1. The first Aldi was opened in Southeastern Iowa in 1976 and has since spread all over the U.S. Wegmans is family-owned, started by Danny Wegman of Rochester, NY in 1916 as a local chain which has spread beyond New York State to include six states, most recently Massachusetts. 2. Aldi's prices are very cheap, being a bargain grocery store, but with better selection than you'd imagine. Their imported chocolates, for example, are pretty damned impressive. So is their cheese offering (it's not just orange American slices and string cheese). At the holidays, Aldi adds things like goat cheese to their selection. You often have to carefully examine what's on the shelves and stacked in the boxes. It ain't a luxury shopping experience. Wegmans is really fucking expensive. They have everything, though, plus all the extras like recipes, samplings and tastings, and services such as dry cleaning, catering, a pharmacy and a florist on site. 3. Aldi's carts ...

Stress. A friend of mine and I had a conversation last night about "good" stress vs. "bad" stress vs. "you" stress. We established that this "you" stress is a bunch of bullshit. Stress is either "good" (a job interview, learning how to surf, going to the gym at the end of a long day, starting a new story, etc.) or "bad" (you burn the dinner, your dog is run over, you find someone else's panties in your bed, etc.). I recognize that some events are not bad in and of themselves; rather, how we perceive them and how they impact our subconscious mind are actually what causes the bad stress. Nevertheless, the result is the same. Bad stress makes you sick. It weakens your immune system, it depletes your adrenal system, it causes muscle pain, headaches, lack of sleep, etc. It makes you a Grumpus Maximus. It is bad. That's why it's called bad stress . At work, I've noticed more bad stress amidst our staff due to a c...

Please read my post about my adventures at Planet Fitness! File Under P for Poise and Power

epfreelancewriting.blogspot.com is now www.fredinthecan.com . Spread the word!

I recently (as in, fifteen minutes ago) closed down an old blog and sent whatever readers I had over here, and I also transferred the name of the old blog. There is, as you might imagine, a history behind the title "Fred In the Can." The story is lost in the mists of my childhood, but at one point, Fred In The Can was an important imaginary personage, and my older brother and I constantly referred to him. At this point, neither one of us can manage to remember exactly how Fred came to be, or why he was such a celebrity. In any event, I've used Fred In the Can since film school as my production company name (you know how you do in film school, as if you really own a production company), then as my anonymous blog, and now here. My next step will be to order up a domain name, so keep an eye out for that. Viva Fred In the Can! And welcome readers of old!