Tag Archives: blogging

The Fools Paradise or Wise Man’s University

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Before you go crazy wide eyed, no this is not where I woke up this morning. But there certainly are those who live this way or even more simply. This image was taken from the monastery quarters of a Californian brother.

The title which got me thinking was taken from a very different but also minimal living condition. It came from an incarcerated man in the “Doing Time” episode of commonspace on NPR.

He was describing life on the inside naturally which, though already worse than many of us can imagine, can from that point continue two different directions.

Starting my blog like I’ve been pushing for each morning, I run into both the work of people who dwarf me by comparison, especially with fiction material. I like doing fiction but for some reason I’m less drawn that direction. I also see sign posts on the way here past bass stuff which lets me know how there are people behind me and plenty way, way out ahead. Hell, you can find kids who seemed to have gotten through that whole “first word was mom” thing and then started in on doing what you do, but better.

You get impressed but at the same time, wonder what you should be doing.

You should ignore those sign posts. Be the brother who immediately heads out to work his garden. Be the man who makes his jail time into the wise man’s university.

On the inside, the outside, or on the grounds near the cathedral, it always goes two ways… up or down.

Now I can’t imagine a monk cracking a beer and being belligerent either.

If you have a clip of that, Id watch it, but seriously…there is two great quotes in Latin from one monastery that, even if you are not religious, might resonate. They have a similar theme.

Work is faith made visible.

To pray is to work and two work is to pray.

You could sub pray or faith out for “love” or “hope” as well.

Now most of us are not on the extreme side of a brother’s life either, and as such there is certainly more moments where Instagram gets involved (I’m guessing if there is WiFi in the cathedral office, it isn’t as heavily used as a downtown cafe, but hey, I could be wrong) but it’s something to think about. Our life can be that wise man’s university. It’s less glamorous, and signs around can dissuade you from any studious activity, but I think there is a security in it.

It’s rhythmic, each day keeping you strong, and giving you paths to quiet roads you never knew existed.

Music wise this morning was lonely day – lofi hiphop mix. I also started listening to early Queen. I like listening to where major artists started and hearing what might have began the engine. My band started as instrumental Celtic and few vocals, and is now ten years later this fast tempo project. Not that I’m putting us alongside Queen but it’s interesting with them or the Police or whoever you listen to, discovering how they morphed into the present state.

It’s all choices.

Oh yeah and one other thing I found on NPR that is just crazy but actually cool…and random…is the Study With Me (2.5 hours) Real Pomodoro Style!

This video is, no kidding, you studying next to a girl named Jamie who uses a study time method. She’s dressed conservatively at an apple mac workstation. After 25 minutes there’s a place to pause with a video of what I can only guess is her cat.

Hey if this works that’s cool. I remember being a full time student and I know how time is such a factor that it’s just out of control.

Have a great day!

Cheers!

Tom

😊

Don’t Poke Murphy

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I just had to.

Let me explain. No, there is no time…let me sum up. 😉

I had some pretty impressive success with the last post, especially outside of WordPress, talking about how things had gone with my weight and quitting smoking. I’m always looking for things to talk about and that is true. Things were so ridiculously bad back then, which was so annoying because at the time I had just finally become a full time writer and musician so I was like really?!? Lol! I read everything you could Google about chronic nausea, sought out doctors, ran, exercised, meditated, and even drank gross weird things. I do a stripped down version of that now as those grant funded days are a thing of the past unless something changes. Anyways I am very glad I did that and am frankly scared to let things slip back, which keeps me moving. I actually had the pay version of the Calm app which was great and I genuinely kind of miss that. Still got to figure out how to include that again. I’m a musician so I’m all about patterns.

Random point, I’m writing this on my smartphone as always and I love the fact that when I put down “I’m a” it suggested “graverobber”. Little badass for my new MotoZ phone which I haven’t been honesty that crazy about, though it does have fm radio.

Which brings me to the title, which would make a good album title. Murphy’s Law, which is said to be based on this quote by Augustus de Morgan

It is found that anything that can go wrong at sea generally does go wrong sooner or later, so it is not to be wondered that owners prefer the safe to the scientific …. Sufficient stress can hardly be laid on the advantages of simplicity. The human factor cannot be safely neglected in planning machinery. If attention is to be obtained, the engine must be such that the engineer will be disposed to attend to it.[2]

Mathematician Augustus De MorganJune 23, 1866

Through grapevines and Chinese whispers (the latter needing a new expression considering it’s etymology) it has become Murphy’s Law of “What Can Go Wrong Will”.

I poked the spirit of this thing.

Result. Crap sleep because my tummy acted up and lost the entire day of blogging, hence Friday off. Least I kept that simple.

Nevertheless I am very grateful for the level of support on here and abroad for this. I was hoping maybe someone had been struggling with the same thing because I know how crazy making chronic nausea can be, especially when doctors act baffled.

I reset my alarm and though tomorrow is a longer day, I might be able to get one there or at least Monday. Sunday is pretty much the social media quiet valley of the week so not posting on Sundays is kind of fair enough. I am hoping to reduce the Sunday impact of the additional work I took on. I need the money but you need actual down time as well or the machine wont run right.

And that’s an album cut on Don’t Poke Murphy.

Speaking of today’s writing music is another classic from over 10 years ago now. Well I did mention Abba, so…

Iron and Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days

I used to work as a Barista for just years and back then it was this, Coldplay, Jamie Cullam and Jack Johnson.

Speaking of I really appreciated what NPR Fresh Air did with their 2016 Anthony Boudain interview. Like with Freddy Mercury I’m sorry I only discovered him now because of how he talked about his life being opposite of “Normal People”. As a Barista, cleaner, musician and even a writer I don’t know how often you feel like life’s biggest observer.

I’m drinking coffee in a duck blind.

Cheers Anthony,

Thanks for reading everyone 🙂

Tom

My morning pages aren’t neat

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Ok here we go. Well, yeah…it’s supposed to be stream of consciousness writing and this is a little different as it’s like stream of consciousness texting which might be a bit unfair as I have predictive text happening for me too. I don’t know. I’m listening to Harold Budd as it was available and I was trying to get going immediately since that’s the idea behind these in the first place. You’re not supposed to do anything else first…ok I looked for the image too..but that’s why the title happened. Every morning page looks like the person has their writing set up so neatly that they have a desk devoted just to morning pages. I’m sorry but not only is that bs but also shouldn’t it be more like you wake up and go…while in bed still. You’re supposed to be half asleep or something…like the magic of the whole thing blah blah…I had a sip of old Ice drink. Should be ok it’s still carbonated. I worry about everything going badly with food. Maybe that’s why I went grey early and balding. I’ve stressed about food safe since a poptart did it. Anyways let’s not go there. It’s just…no. eyes are still blurry…hard part about smartphone morning pages is you have to sort of do it by time…nothing is telling me right now how much into 3 pages I am. Oh, and you’re supposed to have them private. Oops. I’m not too worried. Anyways I’m just writing and not really about what I write that much. What’s hilarious is that this is a longer day and I woke up an hour and a half earlier. Yay. Had the pretzles line from Seinfeld which I was going to use as the first title…I don’t know what…maybe because I was going to get a drink. I like the morning page versus meditation question. I keep meaning to do meditation these days but never get the time or whatever to do that. Ok what now. I don’t know. Dylan Moran style there. I’m supposed to just to keep typing like it’s a run on sentence or a talktive person. I think beer. Where is that from. Then TwaDogs. They are a distillery that we the band are connected to. I like some of there craft beer but never been a whisky person. My mouth just cringes if a mouth can before I drink that stuff. Ok. I think I’m going to stop now.

Kind of short on reflection.

Want to find more stuff by the poet Red Lane. Just discovered him recently, as well as Mary Oliver.

I mentioned Harold Budd whose music is perfect for any writing and also he worked with the Cocteau Twins.

Harold Budd – The Pearl

Cheers,

Tom

🙂

Happy June / Keep Listening Always

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Trying a different set up so that the music idea works. Happy Friday as well!

Now I will admit my concentration isn’t flawless as I’m trying to find some new music, which is what brings me to today’s idea.

One of the best things for creativity, and I swear just feeling vital in life in and outside of the arts is to keep introducing music that’s new to you. It can be the latest thing which is always fun because there is this community excitement about a new thing that just happened, like being on a good movie’s opening night and going “Wonder if it’s going to win such and such. This is going to make waves!”

But it can also be old, back to extremely old, like if you just discovered the music of John Dowland from the 1500s…but then it can also be Invasion of Privacy by Cardi B.

They’d totally gel…

Presently the music of today’s blog is Craft Spell’s album Idle Labour which not only looks like a New Order album but has a definite 80s vibe with almost Smith’s like vocals. So yeah, ironically, not a huge departure for me but it’s still really nice.

I was listening last night to some music and an interview with the guys from Thou and they were saying how they would listen to new music to cleanse the palette and I totally got that.

Especially as you get older it is really easy to start getting set in your ways as to what good music is, and sticking to a specific collection for what you will hear. I have a music home base as well, primarily set in the UK in the 80s, and for writing it was always loads of Cocteau Twins, but new music always feels like your mind is getting an exercise, like getting out on the highway and blowing the dust out. It puts you in a new land and is amazing for seeing everything fresh.

Try this as a challenge… (no commitments, no salesperson will visit…cancel anytime!)…once per day listen to a minimum of one piece of music, or one track, that you have never heard. If you can venture into a style that is not yours that’s ideal but not critical (I’m obviously not doing it presently *blush* 🤣)

Anyways, if you want you can start with this album of 2011…

Craft Spells – Idle Labour

Cheers,

Tom

Retrospect

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Since I’ve gone past my first one hundred posts and one hundred follows it does make sense to look back.

This really kicked off between a Uvic school thing and the Ollie and Emma project. I actually just flipped back and I yeah it’s been a heck of a journey to this point, with many posts I’ve forgotten about but I definitely have a sort of theme which is creativity, specifically talking about it. I don’t think it hurts that me and my mom are the weird creative types that talk my dad’s ears off whenever we are in the car, not just about this subject but generally.

Back when I was first self employed as a writer/pitch writer/musician I had all this extra morning time before I’d head to the shared office so I began just researching creativity since to me that was my product, plowing through almost every book in the library. There’s a potential blog for later… favorite books on creativity. Got three in mind all ready, but I’ll leave it for when I can really compile it. Considering this subject can get sometimes…well…”artsy” I want to make sure I’m actually giving you guys something I’d value. There’s so much fluff out there that I want to contribute a little more than that, or at least make it entertaining. Even voyeuristic into what I’m doing. Hey, totally cool. To me that’s like we went for coffee and you asked me questions. I’m a ADHD goofball like I mentioned before so I’d probably give you a moment by moment play by play of my morning if you let me.

Best not do that.

I also (here I go…lol) like the idea of this thing called tompogson.com (which makes me seem like a weird golf caddy clothing line) being about an overarching experience of being a creative spirit. From where I write this I can see most of my music gear, writing, books and even the visual art stuff I mentioned yesterday. There’s no rule stating what you are or are meant to be. One of my favorite little quirks of the band Depeche Mode was that for ages you never saw them on albums and not only did the liner notes not say who played what, but they’d flip the order of names around so for months I thought the singer was Alan Wilder. (nope.) All creativity is your playground and you can just experiment.

Though in a music situation you do feel safe behind your main instrument. Safe isn’t a bad four letter word or something. You can jump from safe to the deep end and back. Safe can get you to the edge.

Now jump.

Ok, I’m going way too global metaphorical axiom wacky now.

Have a great day guys and thank you all for reading this and going on this journey with me!

Ooh! One idea I had was I could put it what I was listening to this morning, since I usually work to music. Now it’s usually Low Roar or Harold Budd so I’ll start with L.R. but I can make it kind of a fun thing to add something different each day (it will be stuff you can work to so less on the metal side for me. If that works for you then that’s cool 😎

Because We Have To – Low Roar

Cheers,

Tom

Me, I’m not talented!

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Something happens when we get older, and when I say older I mean over the age of perhaps 12.

You may have heard unfortunately some people decide your artistic ability (which I’ll say two things too 1. I’m sorry that happened and 2.They are incorrect) and just generally we start absorbing what we are the rules of the creative world and genuinely believing these are set in stone.

It’s all intimidating and I can definitely relate from actual experience. The first time I actually held a bass guitar was hilarious for this. I wandered into a music store over to where the basses were and looked up at the fancy Fenders hanging above me.

“Hey, can I help you?” Came from my right where a twenty-something salesperson stood.

“Umm…yeah,” I said picking a first instrument “Can I try…that one?”

“Yeah, sure man!”

Now, I was about twenty myself so this guy probably thought I had played lots and lots. Well, I played tambourine in a church, but that wasn’t gonna help me as this thing I had “air bassed” a dozen times was suddenly before me. The salesman looked down at me fascinated as I looked at the bewildering bass neck of lines and dots and wires.

I played three confused buzzy notes, probably like the ukeleles we had to play in grade 7.

“Phht!” Came from the salesman as he walked away amused.

No seriously. That happened.

I love it because to me it was like “welcome aboard!”. Also it almost gave me a sense of the importance of wanting to take this seriously. I didn’t buy from that particular salesperson, my first bass and amp coming from a music store in Sidney that’s no longer there.

But my point is, I know only too well how intimidating it is to get you from where you may be to actually doing it. I worked on some visual arts not that long ago and it is crazy how expensive some gear is, which is fair enough but still unfortunate to me as it could be one of those things that makes a novice go “ok, it was a fun idea…”. Don’t let it happen. I started with a cheap bass and a tiny amp back then. Andy Summers, the guitarist from the police, said it perfectly.

“A guitarist is expected to be able to just pick up an instrument for the first time and play like the universe is crying, laughing and singing all at the same time, and it’s just not true. We all start with those same scales and build day after day, working slowly and methodically from the possible to the impossible.

A drummer I knew back then gave me my first music book and my first thing was the c major scale, played really, really slow for days.

Speaking of the band The Police, one of the early reviews of the band was…

If they could get a better singer they would be a band to be reckoned with

They were talking about Sting by the way. So considering that, if you’re not blowing people away (including yourself) then you are in good company.

When Ricky Gervais created his character David Brent that started his acting career, he admits that he was constantly just messing around and trying things out. This is the essential of creativity. You quite literally “play” and try stuff. Get your pen/pencil/paintbrush/pick/fingers/drumsticks/(???) moving and see what happens. After that you can pick what you liked from what you did and expand on this.

Scott Adams said this too. Creativity is the nonsense that comes out. What you keep is the art.

So ignore that voice that says it’s for other people. Be like Cartman here…

“Whatevah, I do what I want!”

😉

Cheers,

Tom

Niagara made me cry

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I still have a weird relationship with the falls that lasted ever since I saw this image. It was so long ago that I actually don’t remember because I was very small.

I was about 2 or 3. I was in Chilliwack, British Columbia when it happened.

I’ll pull out…

I don’t know how I ended up on page 133 staring at Niagara’s brink in this big volumn by the Canadian Automobile Association in 1976 but I did and it freaked me out so bad I cried and my father actually tried holding me while I looked at the photo (Still didn’t work).

The book is great if you can find a copy. It essentially goes from what it groups as “Atlantic Canada” and continues went through every National Park starting with Terra Nova National Park which is just west of St John’s on the Island of Newfoundland. The photography is of the time of course, but still quiet good, especially for that one photo that later on, when I flipped through the book would try to flip past quickly.

More recently, and I think due to stress, I had these waking dreams of going right up to that brink and being swept over but never actually falling. I’d just replay that over and over until I’d get out of bed. I tried neutralizing it by watching things on the falls or even the movie Niagara with Marilyn Monroe (where she does the walk that apparently many people have tried to emulate. Couldn’t find a meme of it but I love this shot…

Anyways all any of this did was make it more visual as I tried to be sensible with questions about it’s point of no return, and “oh so they can turn the spillways on and cut Horseshoe Falls down by fifty percent to help ground a boat out?”. Eventually I tried to write it out as I was trying to create more material this year. “Precipice” was born.

Original Song – Precipice

Haven’t had the dream in a while but I’m still fascinated by it and I’m conflicted about if I would ever want to go. I almost want to go and face it down, whatever the hell that is lol. I mean, how would I know I conquered the falls? Do I walk right up to it like a 50 gangster in a pinstriped suit and go “Ok Falls… Listen here, see?” Would a barrel be used (I think they are actually illegal now.).

Or would it just be randomly unpleasant for me and why go? There is lots of interesting stuff in the area, like the Thousand Islands, Niagara-On-The-Lake where Stephen Fry is presently taking up residence, or the Scarborough Bluffs on the shores of Lake Ontario which look like clay and glacial debris forming something from the Grand Canyon.

Has anything freaked you out so you just had to take it on? I think my fear of heights comes into my falls thing too, but yeah have you decided to take skydiving because of your fear? It’s all “false evidence assumed real” so if your skydiving (and naturally pull the cord as per instruction) or you visit Niagara (and stay on this side of the railing) you will get through it like anything.

If you feel crazy brave enough to tell us put it in the comment section below.

Cheers,

Tom

Hometown

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72 northbound is

Mixed blue skies, luggage tags, deep

Accents of distance, like my

Dad’s blue measuring tape, now

stepping lightly through boyhood and

straddling

The world climbing bright with

Soft flickering sun

And left

The mountains down

From the remaining ghosts of trains

And ravens over Lochside.

Was just talking to a neighbour about this…The Pogson family first moved to Saanichton in 1987, so even though I wasn’t technically born in Victoria General this is home. Added bonus, my mom was and that’s where she met dad who was a Hydro man like his father. I think that’s a bit of why. He didn’t want people to think they were getting special treatment and some new work came up in Cranbrook, BC. Also they had a baby named Tom there.

😉

Cheers,

That Aforementioned baby.

😁

5 key tips to blogging after my 100th

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Bridge the Gap

Been really busy this weekend but I had to stop in and talk about this because I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and now after just passing my 100th post it seemed the perfect time.

Let’s get straight to it. Maybe I’ll look at this at 500 and go what was I thinkin, but here we go…

1) Use an image.

Everything I’m about describe is used right above this by the way. Yes, you need some images and it’s pretty easy even on a phone where I work each morning. On your bottom left is a little plus sign. Make sure you leave some space so you can type under and then look for a photo connected to your idea. If you’re really crazy you can do photos the day before so that you’re not going ahhh.

2) Hook.

This is a Sol Stein’s trick. By the way, get Sol Stein’s on writing and devour it. That book rules. But in that first two sentences create a question or something that would make someone go “well, now I have to know what happens”

Ie. A character going “do not tell anyone what I am about to tell you.”

3) Hashtag

Before publishing go in post settings and scoll down to where you can put in relevant tags. Between 5 and 8 are best and range from specific (your town) to broad (like “writing”)

4) Prompt lists.

Lots of these to Google out there if you look. Not all are great but sometimes they will jog another idea you had.

5) Post lots.

Sorry if that’s obvious but yeah, it’s like anything. My girlfriend’s way more successful at live.me than I am and that’s because she works that puppy daily and makes connections all over the shop. Same here. If it’s your first post ever these tricks will help but it’s probably not going to start in triple digits just yet

6) **bonus** ColorNote App!

Thought of this one just now. Get a note app like ColorNote. Mine is filled with just pages of random ideas and you can just load on the go through your day and then have a boo just before you work. McCartney mentioned songwriting like this and uh… he’s pretty good at it..😉

Have an awesome Sunday!

Cheers!

Tom

Morning Page

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Books piled next to my coffee and water that I want to get through. It must be a thing to do with our age, because I do remember a lady complaining that her husband used to grab books from the library and never read them. I get some like that. I like to have that option. It is hard to see this as a pure morning page because well a it’s on here of course, but also the rule is that you are supposed to do nothing else before you get going. Frankly not even the coffee. It is sort of fair as I don’t smoke anymore so nothing is dragging me outside. Listening to my study mix which is basically low Roar and Harold Budd. Need more music. Always looking for that. Used to be Cocteau Twins all the time. Enya is the queen of fantasy writing. But yeah already saw Twitter and groaned when I saw the new addition of new shootings. Twitter is my newspaper because it is wide open and both sides can speak. It’s just depressing how everyone is used to shootings and it’s like everyone knows how to reach afterwards like it’s the same old thing. This was at 8 am. It’s that time now here. I can only guess this angry kid didn’t want to wait all day but that’s ridiculous. I know I shouldn’t think about this. I don’t have kids but I remember being a kid in Stellys High in 1992 and back. I remember being in home room as the sun crept over the farm field nearby and my desk. I remember the problems too. It wasn’t easy for me as well, and I mean I was a really picked on one. Now we know that that isn’t why always but some stuff can be but I just think of that horror crossing that memory and I can’t believe everyone should accept it as just a part of reality.

Got to change that subject. That’s another old guy thing. I think we make some sense. We’ve learned a thing or two and want to help inact change, even if it’s just some influence of someone hearing it once. We want to make a difference before our time is up to. That’s all midlife really is. Your mortality is suddenly staring at you so you live it up. That must be me now or close or whatever. I didn’t have a blog post idea this morning so that’s why frankly I just went for the morning page idea but one I have is for exercise and weight loss. I don’t have a specific diet that I can unload but I have learned a bunch of things as I lost about that 40 lbs in two years. So it’s not like super fast but it’s sort of overall health. I’m not rich. I just got paid and only about 60 of that is actually mine. I do believe that income dictates health. When you’re poor you eat to keep going or feel not hungry. It makes me throw my hands up you know. In a love-relationship you make yourself happy by knowing the other person is happy, or that’s how it should work. Imagine if we applied that idea to everyone around the world. Imagine if we were all about how can we make sure that everyone is doing ok and has enough. When you go this way people act like it’s hippyish but Freddie Mercury said that in Heaven for Everyone and it’s to me less about just being “nice” then it is actually good business. If everyone is well fed, well clothed and can calmly make informed choices then it’s good for everyone. I abhor the stuff about how War is good for science. We would get there eventually and we wouldn’t have things like…oh I don’t know…Hiroshima or the underground secret weapon of the Somme that the British used only once on the Germans as described by Tony Robinson in Time Team. That latter and less known weapon was so horrible that the Englishmen had tears when they saw it used as they didn’t want that. Aww crap how do I get off this one lol

Had a dream when I woke up. They always seem about water. Had so many about almost going the brink of waterfalls that I wrote the song Precipice. So many like this are still in mind long after I wake up and then I’m trying to think how I would have handled them differently. Like with Niagara I was like “Ok, where is the point of no return, just so I know.”. Now I live on Vancouver Island so my chance of the tragedy of being swept over Horseshoe Falls today is pretty low. There’s angel Falls too but from what I’ve seen you would have really to put in the effort for that to happen. Wish I wasn’t afraid of heights because wouldn’t it be great to hangglide in a place like Angel Falls or somewhere like that. Or fly an ultralight. Or Zipline lol.

Should start practice now before all the heady excitement of banking.

Cheers

Tom