The Harrison Path....

Here is a little clip of a story that I've been working on for a bit....... “Ceasar is turning thirty! We have to go out and celebrate!” his wife Heather said. So we did. We were going to Madison’s in Hoboken. It’s a nice bar filled with “yuppies” all dressed in their khakis and polo’s. The bar has an old feel to it with thick wood panel flooring and a worn, sturdy bar with a brass railing. They have twenty beers, no one’s ever heard of, on tap and shots of Grappa that’s been fermenting with peaches in this huge glass container you would expect to find at Buckingham Palace but instead it’s behind this bar in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Since it was Ceasar’s birthday we decided to do open bar for two hours at $30 bucks a head. Now with open bar there is always one certainty, you’re going to get drunk! And not just “I had six martinis” drunk; I’m talking piss drunk. More like “I just had five Lemon Drops, three Irish Car Bombs and two Alabama Slammers in the matter of two hours” drunk. Knowing that we were going to be the latter of the fore mentioned possibilities we decided to do the responsible thing and take the Path Train in to Hoboken. No one wants to get a D.U.I. so why run the risk, right?
My sister Norah lives with her husband Sam, Ceasar’s brother, in Nutley which just so happens to be a very short distance from the Harrison Path Station. So we pile into our cars and head to the station. Of stations especially since it’s in the middle of the nastiest part of the Harrison ghetto. It’s an old, rusty, dilapidated platform with nothing adorning its walls, walkways of stairwells except for illegible graffiti. When you first arrive at the station, you reluctantly park your car in the parking lot that resembles a junkyard. You’re sure that every car that has ever parked there has been vandalized, broken into or stolen but you park your car anyway.
Then you carefully make your way up the steep stairwell avoiding all the cement stairs that are now starting to crumble from the years of passengers stomping up and down all day night. When you arrive at the top of the steps you are convinced that a bum is about to jump out from the blind spot, hold you at knife point and make off with your purse and jewelry but it never happens.
As we stand atop the platform waiting for our train to come we admire the view. Nothing like the dim lights of Harrison, the aggression of the cars on Route 280 and the sound of the bells of Sacred Heart Cathedral in the distance to really set mood of the Harrison Path Station. After about fifteen minutes we see the train barreling down the tracks, screeching toward us with all its might, like a bull with a rubber band around his nuts that was just let out of the gate and finally the comes to a halt.
“Train to Hoboken. All aboard,” the conductor bellows. We pile into the train with the rest of the passengers and bam! We’re in Hoboken in ten minutes. We exit the train and head straight to Madison’s to take advantage of the open bar.

Cheese is My Middle Name....

Just when you thought I couldn't get any cheesier with my author choices.....I did. John Grisham is high up on my list of awesomeness! lol I know that he continually writes the same old story according to most of you but he doesn't...he has delved deeper with some of his recent books and I have thoroughly enjoyed them but not nearly as much as his stories about lawyers, lies, and corruption! I get a true kick out of it! Granted, it is in a sense mindless reading but sometimes that's exactly what the doctor ordered! =P http://www.jgrisham.com/

Angels & Demons Oh My....

I know this post is going to be a bit cliche for some of you but I had to put up Dan Brown because I honestly really do love his stuff! I know you all probably read The Da Vinci Code which I thought was very good but basically a bore fest compared to Angels & Demons which is the first Dan Brown book I ever picked up, it's also first in the Robert Langdon series....The Da Vinci Code came after. I never understood why people were so into the Da Vinci when Angels & Demons is a far better book. It's just one of those non-stop action thrill rides that is encased by mystery and excitement! I just truly love the book and I highly recommend it to everyone especially people that don't think they like to read too much because you won't even know you're reading when you pick this one up. And don't be scared by it's thickness....I read it in a day...it's actually that good! =) I also read Deception Point which is not part of the Langdon series but it's pretty good....It's more of a story to do with the government and how they cover things about especially about archaeological findings that might make people think about things in a different way....obviously this is hard to describe but it's pretty descent. I think I'm going to pick up Digital Fortress for over the Christmas break....wish me luck! http://www.danbrown.com/

The Giving Tree.....

Since there are a few mothers and fathers in the class or just people with what seems to be a lot of children in their lives I thought I would recommend my favorite children's book of all time....oh who am i kidding....it's my favorite book of all time! =) I guess I'm a big kid at <3> http://www.shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html

Swoff Coughs Gut Custard After Coming Across the Burnt Flesh Expressway That is the Road to Basra...

Recently I had the pleasure of attending a reading by Mr. Anthony Swofford the author of the critically acclaimed book Jarhead (which was made into a movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal). At any rate...I must say that this was one of the better reading I've ever attended and there have been quite a few because I am a bit of a nerd about that kind of stuff.....I know the idea of going to a reading on your on that wasn't assigned by a teacher is a crazy idea to some of you but believe me they are worth it! You should not opt to write a blog about why you couldn't go to a literary reading because there really are no good excuses....i mean just go to your local barnes & noble on poetry night...it's an experience in itself.

Anyway back to Swofford....I have to tell you that I love him...i mean, loved it! lol He is pretty much your average mid-thirties kind of guy (he looks nothing like Jake...sorry ladies lol). He's a little chubby but not fat, he wears reading glasses that remind me of my grandpa's, he has a very demur presence about him and he is so dry that I find him to be hilarious! I like a very dry, sarcastic kind of humor so to me he's great.

Since Swofford was working on his new book (life after the marines....but shhh don't tell anyone cause it's a secret lol) he read us a couple of pages of it and it was fabulous! He is so descriptive in his writing, all the way down to the barking dog, that you have to appreciate his attention to detail. As an aspiring writer myself, detail is always something that new writers tend to leave out because we assume for the reader too much. Back to him....I must say the new book seems like it is definitely going to be worth reading and I can't wait until it hits the shelves. =)

Harbor Feels Like Home......

So this semester I had to read a book titled Harbor by Loraine Adams; it's a story about an illegal Algerian immigrant and what he goes through here in the US to survive and what he went through in Algeria that finally made him decide to leave his country. It really was a great book! Once I picked it up it was non-stop reading from then on...I love that about books! =)

I would definitely recommend this book for your not-so-avid reader because most of the story is written from the perspective of Aziz, the immigrant, and since he doesn't really understand anything the style is kind of choppy and short, this was done on purpose by Adams because she wanted to give us a feel for how Aziz sees things. You can see how Adams really writes throughout the rest of the story when she tells it from other perspectives because the writing is so well developed when she is not being Aziz.

I simply believe that if anyone wants to be a writer they have to be a reader!!! Writing is not just something you can stumble upon and come out with a NY Times Bestseller...it's an art form that requires discipline, ability, and knowledge. If a body builder has to train his muscles by lifting weights all day so he can win the best overall physique competition, what would make anyone think they don't have to train their brain by reading books so they can become a professional writer?

Honestly....it really was a great book! It was non-stop action from the minute he dove off the shipping container into the freezing, icy Boston Harbor to the end where you not so sure if he is or isn't a terrorist that may or may not be running from an assortment of agencies....i don't want to give it away hence the vagueness. lol

Anyway, I really enjoyed the book and I can't wait until Adams comes out with her 2nd novel.

The Degredation of Our Society......

FUCK WALMART......

I'm sure you all heard about the most ridiculous tragedy, that I believe, to occur in our lifetime... a man being stomped to death by savages trying to get a cheap fucking price on a shitty labeled flat screen no one has ever heard of!!! When I heard this story about the Walmart Shoppers I was truly disgusted with humanity and as we all know the human race has done some fucked up shit in it's day and continues to all the time. But for some reason this really got to me.

How can it be possible that our consumerist ways cost a man to suffer the death of being stomped on by people that obviously felt his body crush underneath their "made in China" shoes? How can we, as a society, live with the fact that we killed or let a man die?

2,000 people rushed in through those doors that day...that's 2,000 people that chose to ignore the feel of: crushing bones, a gargled plea for help, a small grasp at their ankle, a jilt of movement from the breaking body, a sense of humanity. These people let that man suffer the unfair and painful death because they were so concerned with saving a buck.

Shame on them! Shame on Walmart! Shame on America! Shame on us!

I understood when all those people in London were crushed at a soccer game because at least then there was a sense of fear and urgency for ones life. But here the only urgency that existed was that they might not get the sale...they might not get their desired possession. So a man died for that. It's at these moments that I can see why other countries hate us. It's at these moments that I realize why they want to abolish our kind from the planet. And in a sense I couldn't agree with them more and I hate admitting that.

Now I'm not saying that I don't think what these other radicals do is deplorable because it is but what I am saying is that I can understand why they despise us for our consumer driven ways. How can anyone not? We drive around in Hummer's while nature and our environment is being destroyed....is no one else sick of this????

Machiavelli once said that he would rather take all the possessions of his enemy than kill his enemy's father because their father's death the enemy would soon forget but the loss of his possessions he would never forget.

Does the prospect that this is true about the human race frighten anyone else besides me? Does the fact that a man died so "Walmart Shoppers" could get the "Red Tag Special"? Does the simple truth that we are single-handedly killing this environment and all the other species co-existing in it bother anyone? I repeat.....

Shame on them! Shame on Walmart! Shame on America! Shame on us!

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is....

Since some of you are so filled with talent which I observed from being in class with you and reading your little masterpieces, I think you should put your money where your mouth is and see what the world thinks of your work! =)

This is a website for writer's and their little gems. It is a host site that will link you to a ton of other websites that are holding contest for money, free workshops, paying writing jobs, etc. So you can send your work to these sites and try and get some money for it....I mean why not....with the economy where it is I'm sure we could all use a little extra cash.

Money.......

http://www.placesforwriters.com/

Notes From the Road....

I found this website that I thought some of you would enjoy when I was "stumbling" around again. lol It's actually pretty neat! (yeah that's right I use the word neat)

It's a sight of other people's published/unpublished stories about their adventures or experiences when they were on the "road". I think some of the short stories in here are great and they might help inspire you to do something different or they just might entertain you, either way it's worth checking out.

hope you enjoy...

http://www.notesfromtheroad.com/

Shut Yo' Mouth and Write.....

So when I was "stubmling" (the website I told you about in another blog that let's you 'stumbleupon' things you're interested in) around the internet I came across this website for writers that I thought all of us aspiring writers might find useful. It's just a few different articles about how to write, what to do if you run into a problem, how to be a better writer-i think you get the point. I thought I should share this with you guys just in case the highly-likely possibility that you will run into a problem, being a new writer and all, that will stump you. =)

here you go.....

http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/

I Hate Your Guts.....

As you can see, I recently went to see Jim Norton do stand-up at the Stress Factory; I had the distinct pleasure of not only getting him to sign his new book, "I Hate Your Guts" for me but I also got to take a picture with him...which is actually my first picture of me with a celebrity ( I know I'm such a dork lol) For those of you who don't know he is a comedian, actually one of my favorite comedians!! He is a permanent fixture on the Opie & Anthony morning show on 92.3...which is what gets me to work in the morning. He was on the New York Times Bestseller list for, I think, over a year for his first book "Happy Endings" which is fantastic if you feel like having a ton of laughs at the expense of a fumbling-bumbling-sarcastic-intelligent ass, such as little Jimmy Norton. The title "Happy Endings" should indicate to the reader what this book is about......sexual misadventures! =) And he has recently published his second book "I Hate Your Guts".

Any who, back to my point. So I went to see him do stand-up and he was just hilarious! It's amazing how comedians can be so on point about certain things and how that point can get you to burst out laughing. I am a huge fan of comedians.....I got to comedy shows all the time and everywhere! I have a profound respect for their art and even more so when they can put in to pen and paper; writing is hard enough but to be obviously funny in writing is something that is even harder. How does one get sarcasm to come across in their writing? Well, if you are wondering these things as I am just pick up "Happy Endings" or "I Hate Your Guts" and you will learn a thing or two about comedic writing. Also...if you are ever available to go check out his show you should! I swear it's worth his weight in gold! =)

I already started his new book and am loving it! The Preface is all about his reaction to George Carlin's, "the great one" in my opinion, death and how that it is having such a profound effect on his life but then he is able to turn this tender moment into something funny by calling himself a Sissy and so on, you have to read it to understand but believe me it's good.

Anyway....hopefully this little blurb about Jim Norton will encourage some of my readers, if there is any, to go out and support comics with their incredibly hard endeavour-doing stand-up!

Check out his page.......

http://eatabullet.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jimnorton

Snap this....

In case you guys didn't know this about me which I don't see how you possibly could (lol) I love useles facts!!! I mean I absolutely love to fill my head with useless knowledge that in no way could advance my life....but I think it does. ;-)

So I have attached a link to the Snapple Facts webpage....it's silly but it's fun if you're ever bored at work, like I am all the time. Hope you enjoy.....

http://www.snapple.com/realfacts/DefaultNonFlash.aspx

Vonne-what.....

I found this article about how to write with STYLE by the man himself...Mr. Kurt Vonnegut. So I thought you guys might be interested in reading it. Give it a chance....





http://literature.sdsu.edu/onWRITING/vonnegutSTYLE.html

My Blackout of Billy Collins' Poem.....

Poem by Billy Collins...

Where Is My Fiction Headed.....

Writing Fiction is a lot harder than I expected. I am very used to writing Non-Fiction which is easy for me cause all I have to do is draw from my memory and fill in the blanks with my imagination. I've always been able to make up stories, which I am pretty sure I get from my Irish roots. =P But now to try and write a story of substance, that is Fiction, is harder than I imagined. Every story needs to have a good plot (events/action) to move it along which I thought would be easy to come up with because it's not relying on the truth of the past but rather simple imagination. I'm having a hard time deciding what stories are worth writing, how to go about telling the story, what perspective I should tell it from, and where I want the story to go. I think the later is the hardest part for me; I just am not sure where I want my Fiction stories to go. I'm not looking for the next Da Vinci Code but I am looking to write something that people would read or wouldn't mind reading. I'm also trying to avoid cliched stories because that is the last place I want my stuff to end up! Mark Twain once said that "Writers should write what they know". This is something I try to stick to in my writing but writing Fiction makes this harder for me. Then again I guess that is the point. If we never step outside ourselves we will never learn anything new.

May i Prompt you....

I think writing prompts whether for poetry, short stories, novels, etc. are a invaluable tool for every writer. The mind is something that easily becomes overwhelmed with the tasks and responsibilities of everyday life which makes it hard for your creative and worthwhile thoughts to push their way to the forefront. Writing Prompts or Poetry Prompts are designed to help get your creative juices flowing!
I was observing a 12th grade AP Creative Non-Fiction writing class the other day and the teacher was actually doing writing prompts with the students. She was giving them the beginning of sentences like: The time I felt the happiest, the time I felt the happiest, the time I laughed so hard I cried, etc. And then the students would complete the sentences drawing from their memories. She then had them write about one of the stories from the list. She also had them each bring in a picture of one of their favorite memories and then they were to write the scene of their favorite memory. I thought she was very creative in trying to get their little minds working.

I think poetry promts rule!!!!!!!!!

Aloysius...O'Donoghue...Similarities???

James Augustine Aloysius vs. Deirdre O'Donoghue Kelly Carroll Julia Falt

I just thought instead of posting boring facts about J.J. I would see how his brief synopsis is similar to mine. Let's see how Aloysius matches up to O'Donoghue... (my middle name sounds more Irish already)

James Joyce was born James Augustive Aloysius Joyce in Dublin, Ireland...The same county my relatives are from...Up Dublin! (it's an Irish thing)

Like J.J., I have rejected Catholicism, in certain aspects, but also adore the works of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Unlike myself J.J. was quite a good singer; he even won a bronze medal (no not in the Olympics but that would have been cool) but rather in the Feis Ceoil-that's Gaelic for Festival of Music.

J.J.'s lady was named Nora which just so happens to be my mother's name...I also have a sister named Norah but my mom added the 'h' to it so it would be different from her name.

I was born in 1982...that was the same year the Stephen Joyce burnt most of the letters, that were preserved, of J.J.'s that were between him and his daughter Lucia (these letters were believed to show that Lucia and maybe even Joyce were schizophrenic).

Eugene Jolas, who cared for J.J. in his years in Paris, has the same first name as my sister Siobhan's (in English the name means Joan) boyfriend but he is Italian.

J.J. also suffered from a perforated ulcer whereas, my mother once had a bleeding ulcer...who knew! Thank the Lord my mother's ulcer did not kill her....sorry J.J.

I have frequented Ireland a time or two in my life and I plan to go back a handful of times before I kick the perverbial bucket (keep your fingers crossed) whereas, J.J. chose to never go back. I don't think I could ever right off the most beautiful and awe inspiring place in the world.

http://www.jamesjoyce.ie/

Catalog this...

The last site I chose to link you guys to is the one and only Library of Congress! I mean seriously, what is more literary than a library. Especially, the one that houses all of the books ever printed, that must be a bitch to catalog. =P

It's definitely worth checking out.

http://www.loc.gov/index.html

Stumble Upon this...

This is actually one of my favorite all time websites! You can actually download it to your computer and access it through your toolbar and all you have to do is click on it and brings you to websites, pictures, stories, pretty much anything you want with just a click of the "stumble" button. You program the site to meet your interests so say you like pictures of nature and puzzles, when you click the site it will bring you to endless sites with those pictures and puzzles. It also has a pretty intense literary section that you might find interesting.

It's definitely something good to have if you work in an office and get bored easily. lol but shhhh...don't tell my boss. =0

http://www.stumbleupon.com/tag/literary/

Reference this...

This is a great website if you are looking to find anything literary. It's more like a complete little search engine for all things related to literature. Say you want to find a good poetry website or say a good biography website this would be the site to go to to find such things. This site will refer you to very well renouned pages so there is no need to worry.

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/gen_lit.html

Why not give it an Eyeshot?

This is a good website filled with lots of short stories. Each story is posted with an original picture, drawing, etc. There is definitely a little something in there for everyone...

http://eyeshot.net/

Opium please...

This is a great website for people that like to read short stories and things of that nature. It's actually a magazine that publishes people's work on the Internet, whether they are renowned or unknown. Check it out. You never know you might get published. =)

http://opiummagazine.com/

Ab-strac-tion

Abstractions are a writer's worst nightmare and a lazy person's savior! They let you generalize things that should be written in great detail. They are nice every once in awhile but honestly, they are the death of a piece and my personal vice. =P

Imagine you were in somebody else's shoes...that's the way I think of different points of view. If you want to know anything about a character you must be able to walk in their shoes which is easier said then done but if you write from their perspective then you might gain insight to them.

My "generosity" ab-strac-tion....

puppies - bleeding - posters inspiring - words spoken - feet stomping - arms pumping - wooden sticks - people chanting - car horns honking - workers hiding - corporate mongers ducking - bloodied money - yellow tape - bUReaucracy

Fight this....

Well hello all! I'm still getting used to this blog thing but since it's supposed to be a writer's blog, here's a little about one of my favorite authors...Chuck Palahniuk!

If you've never heard of him or don't know much about him I highly recommend you check out his official web page. It will be interesting to say the least....

He is the author of books such as: Fight Club, Survivor, Lullaby, Choke (one of my favorites), Rant, and Diary (which I'm reading now) among a few others. His writing style is edgy and different and plots are much deeper than the surface shock value.

Have a gander! =)

http://chuckpalahniuk.net/