tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-153970782009-06-17T07:44:35.209-05:00Mostly the life, times and thoughts of one Mr. Lex with the branding of The_Lex on the Internet. Also fledgling attempts at providing information about writing, publishing and free expression from the perspective of an amateur writer.The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.comBlogger582125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-53202049098057262292009-06-16T20:08:00.021-05:002009-06-17T07:44:35.225-05:00

This looks pretty advanced compared to what I was usingTook another trip to The Wisconsin Historical Society this past weekend. This time, I reserved a Zipcar, drove up Saturday morning, studied all day then drove back after a Nepalese dinner. Proved more efficient, more affordable and heck, even more fun as I got to listen to my iPod over car speakers.Even after the $10 in tolls, $5 max per

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-33065133667286640122009-06-07T12:29:00.006-05:002009-06-16T20:07:58.876-05:00

I'm typing this one up on the Smartphone on the way home from Madison, WI. I came up last night straight out of work on a bus (with the L in Chicago su-cking!), stayed a night in a hotel that couldn't filter out the sounds of revellers at the bar across the street then got up this morning, had breakfast and got to the Wisconsin Historical Society at 10ish. An hour behind schedule, but it's the

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-46574376164817480962009-05-31T00:19:00.005-05:002009-05-31T00:32:14.532-05:00

My parents' generation complained about the music my generation listened to. I think as my generation grows older, we will complain about the movies made McG and the other moviemakers and today and onward. And apparently I come from the MTV generation.A rant about the dearth of crappy movies in the theaters these days:You know what probably makes for the crappy movies today? It has to do with a

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-41950463990076227772009-05-27T22:21:00.005-05:002009-05-27T22:56:29.867-05:00

Around the time that I stopped writing, my consciousness felt like it was spinning out of control. I lost a lot of motivation. I felt down. I think I may have even felt a little paranoid or attributing unrealistic motivations to people, especially the wife. I intelligently didn't act overtly on my discontent except to voice my frustration about not understanding the things happening around me

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-47173190731390907062009-03-18T23:09:00.004-05:002009-03-18T23:16:38.935-05:00

An e-mail I wrote to the wife in reference to some glazed and roasted figs she bought me on Monday from Pastoral:Now I know why figs have become so mythological and "evil." These figs you got from Pastoral is the vegan answer to caviar. It's as sensuous as eating at Boka.I probably won't be getting them to eat everyday, but they certainly make a good treat worthy of their infamy.In other random

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-2439934599107339612009-03-12T19:10:00.006-05:002009-03-12T19:38:39.085-05:00

I wrote the last entry mostly on my new Smartphone during my commutes to and from work. It works great since it has an application for creating and editing Microsoft Word documents. Using it I can do more productive things than reading.I love reading, and reading can help me gather information to use later. I don't have any hard copy books or magazines that have relevance to my current

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-43976523978588582072009-03-05T20:56:00.005-06:002009-03-05T21:05:41.516-06:00

As I mentioned in the last entry, I weaseled my way into copyediting a friend's entries on his Wiki, The Lands of Shadow. I don't believe I'll get credited anywhere, but that's cool. I've already received some benefit from working on it: brushing up on my writing skills and getting exposed to a couple interesting themes.Working with a "living document" certainly fascinates me while irritating

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-34492506927643259222009-02-28T01:07:00.003-06:002009-02-28T01:27:28.719-06:00

Been awhile since I've made a post. Lack of time has been a big contributor.Over the last month, though, sending the laptop back to the manufacturer for repairs has been the biggest discouragement to do anything computer related. I had to depend on the old desktop for computer-related crap, and I probably ended up wasting a half hour to an hour a day just waiting for it to process tasks. Not

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-51658410697335504132009-01-14T20:04:00.006-06:002009-01-14T21:33:40.093-06:00

This entry is a loose sequel to another entry, Please, Do It for the Historians.Historians will easily outwit you if you use a credit card or debit card to buy stuff. According to an NPR story from the other day, people with access to your purchases can already paint a good picture of you from the buying habits they can track. But that's not what I'm writing about here.I've decided to address

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-75675555068794335132009-01-10T19:15:00.002-06:002009-01-10T19:53:48.591-06:00

The wife and I are traveling cross country on buses. Reaching some small town, we decide to strike out either for some adventure or see a friend before we have to make our next connection.Flash forward to finishing what we would be doing and/or realizing that we need to rush or we'll miss the connection. We get lost or realize that we can't make it back in time going the route we know. The

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-27476122604421646612008-12-22T22:57:00.006-06:002008-12-22T23:49:12.342-06:00

Lately I've been on something of a Robert Fripp and Peter Gabriel. I think it started when the TV show "http://abc.go.com/primetime/lifeonmars/index?pn=index" TARGET="meditation">Life on Mars, based on the British Life on Mars, of course, turned me onto the David Bowie song, "Life on Mars."Going on over to Youtube, I would play "Life on Mars." From there, I moved onto playing a whole bunch of

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-72005489111689469832008-12-15T22:39:00.003-06:002008-12-15T22:59:04.355-06:00

Someone criticized some e-mails I sent them. They essentially said that I wrote to them with too many run on sentences. I have yet to tell them, but those run on sentences come from incomplete thoughts. Maybe not just plain incomplete ones, though. Incomplete with hanging chads that associate and glom onto other ideas that ooze out and come onto the page. I, unfortunately, am one of those

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-92179463300316023462008-12-13T21:32:00.002-06:002008-12-13T21:37:22.334-06:00

Specializing in a topic sucks. It gets in the way of having interesting conversations with people, since they yawn after the first couple minutes of me describing my topic. Coming up with varied topics to write about on the blog without giving away material that I hope to sell later becomes difficult. Overall, specialization gets in the way of enjoying socialization except for people in your

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-56793462211972537392008-12-08T21:45:00.003-06:002008-12-08T22:16:13.347-06:00

Along with my parents, friends, my church and my primary and secondary school systems, I'd like to thank the following for my moral development:Sally StruthersEarly Transformers cartoonsEarly GI Joe cartoonsM.A.S.K.Early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoonsand other cartoons that had morals at the end and daytime infomercials that informed us children of the evils and misfortunes in the world.

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-90043183389940000092008-12-06T02:26:00.003-06:002008-12-15T22:59:23.454-06:00

2:30 AM, Saturday morning. It still feels like Friday night for me. Haven't gone to sleep yet.Just finished washing up, laptop, sitting atop the basket bench behind me, playing Hank Mobley and Sonny Rollins off of Live365.com.The wife slumbers away in bed, waiting for me while unconscious. The cats nibble on their kibble and patrol the apartment.I've been something of a hermit lately. I've

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-47844132733509351582008-11-10T19:48:00.002-06:002008-11-10T19:52:05.690-06:00

I'm sitting down in a comfy chair in front of my laptop. Someone I haven't had acquaintance with for years until they friended me on Facebook slumps down right next to me then slips a disc into the laptop. A video comes on, and a video shows her rapping on the laptop. I have no idea what to say, but she's super excited and ebullient about it.Seriously, I have no idea what to say about it.

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-73629230045620827792008-11-09T16:46:00.002-06:002008-11-09T16:48:54.550-06:00

Another dream where I go back to my parent's office. Not sure if this one involves me starting to work for them again. I go into a cubicle, however, and start working with the computer and possibly answer a phone call looking for service. Unfortunately, I can't get into the database to provide a customer with service because my parents have either invalidated my sign in or I've forgotten the

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-39281587063036831232008-10-26T16:33:00.002-05:002008-10-26T16:37:08.012-05:00

I don't remember details on this one, just the feeling.I have the feeling that I'm hanging out with some "cool" kids in high school, at least by my impression. At some point, though, I learn that they're using me for some reason. Or maybe I finally realize that they don't treat me with respect, but rather look for any opportunity to not hang out with me and when they do, they look for any

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-12162541589362477682008-10-21T23:16:00.003-05:002008-10-21T23:28:04.755-05:00

No play-by-play of a dream today. I don't remember most of it, and what I do remember, I don't recall in detail.I remember talking to my mother, I don't know where, why or when. While chatting, though, she brings up something that happened in one of the other dreams that night. It might have been one of the other dreams, for all I know, but when she mentioned whatever she mentioned, something

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-65615488587247514972008-10-20T07:23:00.003-05:002008-10-20T07:28:30.338-05:00

I am on an el train heading west from Chicago. A friend is applying to some Ph.D. or graduate program out in the suburbs. I'm hoping to meet up with him and maybe he'll give me a ride home. Strange, some of the scenery looks like the Greater Boston area. The ride feels like it takes a long time and becomes tedious. I consider getting off and taking a train back to Chicago.I decide to get off

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-49152347342439739832008-10-13T18:24:00.008-05:002008-10-13T18:59:54.991-05:00

Kids, reading the appropriate manual listed below is essential and a pre-requisite for getting a job in writing or publishing. Fail to read the right one and lose. I know that I have missed out so far and hopefully reading the first entry on the list will help me get into my desired field.The Chicago Manual of Style by Chicago Editorial, University of Chicago, University of Chicago Press. From

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-77866064999941151152008-10-13T18:12:00.003-05:002008-10-13T18:24:37.400-05:00

Driving into Chicago from a long trip with friend, Zach, in the back seat. We're driving into the city on a bridge over Lake Michigan [which doesn't exist in real life, as far I know], which takes us into a very industrial area of town. Zach expresses much excitement, and I feel very excited about getting home.

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-35304801052472734502008-10-13T07:30:00.004-05:002008-10-13T07:36:17.387-05:00

I'm staying at my parent's house when I decide to take a walk or a bike ride, not sure which, at something like 3 or 4 in the morning. I end up walking somewhere between 7 and 11 miles up to Nashua, NH, with a lot of emphasis on the nature, fields and trees, between Dunstable and Nashua.Up in Nashua, I run into my friend, Jenn, who's heading back in my direction, so I catch a ride home with her,

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-20458143206253116112008-10-10T07:34:00.002-05:002008-10-10T07:38:27.402-05:00

My friend, Tim. Road trip. Hotel. Tim's new car in the parking lot. Heading off to the event or to continue the trip.COMMENTARYThe guides on dream journaling advise you to write whatever you remember from dreams, whether the memory has details or if it's just an impression. The last entry, I got to record just intimations and impressions but no details. This dream memory has no big details,

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15397078.post-21524996330786144182008-10-07T20:15:00.002-05:002008-10-07T20:21:08.190-05:00

I had this experience yesterday morning. I don't remember the dream very well, if at all. Mostly, I just remember the feeling of urgency and the need to get back to sleep, so I could finish what I had started. I felt a sense of duty to go back to sleep and address the needs of more people than I could possibly handle. Even if I couldn't provide for all of them, I had to help and do

The_Lexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042029949389704751noreply@blogger.com0