I’m not a scientist. In fact, science and exactitude aren’t my strong suits.
I love ideas, and embrace the artistic side of things. Much of my life (even during this last decade of reinvention, since I began figuring things out) has been about simultaneously flying the plane while building it. That’s how books get published. Continue reading
David Foster Wallace’s final book, “The Pale King.”
My last “big books” post was at the end of March when I covered Richard Russo’s memoir. I intended to do one of these each month, as my reading, even at this year’s slightly less robust pace, has yielded intriguing reads in April and May.
Actually, what I intended for April was a review of David Foster Wallace’s, The Pale King, which I finished reading near the end of the month. This was Wallace’s final book, published posthumously, from the remains of a manuscript he left behind. Continue reading
How’s your personal brand stack up?
I receive Seth Godin’s daily email. His stuff is short, but packed with power.
Some people don’t get Godin. Generally, those that don’t can’t see the efficacy of change, or why effective change entails taking a risk. If you’re vested in maintaining the same old, same old (aka, the status quo), then Godin doesn’t resonate with you. Continue reading
Norman Mailer was a literary icon whose influence as a writer spanned more than five decades following WWII. The decades where his writing wielded the most influence were arguably the 1960s, 1970s, and even into the 1980s.
Harvard educated, Mailer wrote fiction, nonfiction, essays, and even plays. He was one of the founding members of the The Village Voice. At times, especially early in his life, he was known as much for his machismo as he was for his politics and Pulitzers. Continue reading
Blogging has been an outlet for me to let off steam, work out idea prototypes, or just reflect. There have been times over the past 10 years where I’ve used this space and others to lash out or criticize. I rarely do that anymore.
Being critical is easy. Raising the bar impossibly high for others makes more sense than holding yourself to the same impossibly stringent requirements. We all do it. Continue reading
Can we cut harmful CO2 emissions?
No One likes breathing in noxious fumes and air tainted with pollutants. In places like Maine, clean air and pure water are both essential elements of the state’s brand, and well worth holding onto.
Air pollution still poses a health risk for many Americans. Diseases like asthma, COPD, even heart attacks can be exacerbated by exposure to the various elements and particulates that cause air pollution. Continue reading
Last year for Father’s Day, Mark, our son visited and brought three small blueberry bushes. He thought his dad needed some blueberries to tend.
Mark used the landscaping skills acquired during his college stint working for Anderson Landscaping. He dug out the holes, planted three plants, and added some compost from our bin. Continue reading
Mogwai, The Heartless Bastards, Kurt Vile, Jeff Buckley, Todd Rundgren.
Music has always been a big part of the Jim Baumer Experience. Every blog I’ve ever maintained at least occasionally brushed up against music, especially music with a big beat, albeit, rock and roll.
The term rock and roll isn’t what it used to be. When the first electric guitars got plugged in and amplification changed modern music, rock was a rebel yell into the conservative abyss and a kick in the teeth to the status quo. Now? Not so much. Continue reading