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"When I told them I bought my comics at a liquor store every eye brow shot up. To them, a liquor store was a store that sold liquor." --Mark Evanier

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." --Theodore Roosevelt

Everyone knows I love books, and I love to talk about them and find out, etc. I enjoy looking through the Lists You Made on Amazon. Tonight, I found another good list Figure out What Kind of Business to Start by Stephanie Chandler. On all of her lists she links to her website Business Info Guide which looks very promising. Has lots of neat info and links as well as other businesses she's into (damn, I'm impressed). Stephanie "kissed off her eleven year Silicon valley career" to open Book Lover's Cafe. Now, that's cool.

Speaking of business ideas, beside out of his house, my brother has been teaching martial arts at a Little Gym franchise. He can't afford to buy one of his own but as I was telling him, I know of a couple that runs a few Tae Kwon Do schools/tanning salons. What a great combo and the benefits of both together are easy to see. Anything is possible.

On my own work front, I believe beginning next week we will switch to four twelve hour days which will be much nicer. If all falls in place, my first rotation will be perfect Tuesday through Friday 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. I'll actually have Saturday night off and all day Sunday plus Monday too. My favorite days off are Sunday and Monday. I'm thinking about all the ways I can enjoy and use the free time from taking the kids on hikes (now that Spring is here) to additional martial arts training to going back to college.

I really enjoy my job but thus far my new bosses have been ambivalent about the idea of us having a personal life. I do like working nights (which I mostly do) and am an night person but every weekend gets old quick. There's nothing worse than having both our days off during the week with kids in school and then they come home with four hours homework, etc which happens constantly.

Bubbles my kitten, not to be confused with Buttercup my other kitten (can you guess who named them?) is sitting next to my keyboard purring. I unfortunately had to get rid of their mom Chewbacca because as sweet as she was she had a digestive problem and had too many accidents. And why did I name her Chewie well quite frankly I always wanted to say to someone in my best Han Solo voice, "Laugh it up fuzzball."

I'm looking to get my ever expanding comic collection into a database to help track it, etc. Nostomania was one online program I tried that lets you both track and sell but I found the interface to be poor. I'll have to experiment with it more though because I love the idea of being able both track and sell comics from the same program. Does anyone out there sell comics or books?

I did go ahead and order this year's addition of Overstreet.



I now have enough material to put together my first couple of editions of Calliope Nerve. Should be a lot of fun and I had a few published authors submit poetry. I've got a number of different styles represented. If Calliope works out, I'll look to set up a small website for it, etc. I'm debating if I should mention in the zine something like "Support small press buy your Amazon via http://nobius.blogspot.com/. I want to keep the zine free (or for trade for letters of comments, stamps, and other zines) but it does cost me money to do. Also plan to send out flyers or something of the like for APA Centauri with it.

Went to Aikido practice at Mike's last night. Just him and I. Had a fun and productive class. I love to practice. He is a good and knowlegable Sensei and of course he's my brother. :)

Not quite sure what this blog is but I've enjoyed it so far: The Bile. I believe it's low down ranting on surrealism, poetry, and the like. But then again I could be wrong.

Gmail needs a block sender option.

Time to go to work again, hope all is well out there.....

Lazybase: "Welcome to Lazybase.com. Lazybase allows anyone to design, create and share a database of whatever they like."

Here's a nice article about Aikido training inclusive of a breakdown of Japanese meanings. (In my copious spare time perhaps I could learn some Japanese...lol.)

I sent my brother an email, it seems this Sensei like Michael also teaches out of his garage and by word of mouth only and he is a successful author/expert on the martial arts. These are the kinds of hopes and dreams I have for both my brother and I. Need to spend more time immersing myself in training.

I am finding that the breathing techniques we use in class when applied to real life are helping me relieve stress and think clearer. I've never been one for meditation but I'm beginning to see the benefits. God is in the air.


What Color Is Your Parachute encourages people to create a journal of dream careers no matter how impossible they seem. I've been thinking about putting together a zine of mine however in the meanwhile my biggest "dream career" leaves me wondering if I could combine a comic shop/book store and throw a dojo in the back of it.

As I look to improve my lot in life, the biggest step is to pursue the things I have a love for. And certainly comics, books, and martial arts all walk hand in hand in my world.

Speaking of the martial arts I want to learn Okazaki Restorative Massage (or something similiar) which is part of the training of many Aki based martial arts. I know someone who makes great money doing massage on the side.

Feeling a bit down as I realize that the three hundred dollars I had saved toward my new save-until-it-hurts savings plan has been spent on emergency car repair and sick kids. Seems like it's always the same story. I try to do the right thing but it never quite works out.

Breathe deep. Calm down. Let your mind be a still as a pool. Move on. This is what I have to tell myself. One more deep breath. God is in the air.

Conventions in Ohio, United States - Science Fiction, Anime, Gaming, Fantasy and More!: "May 19 - 21, 2006 in Akron, Ohio (United States)
Contact: PO Box 13075, Akron, Ohio 44334
Email: R1Akronsummit@regionone.net
Guests: Bill Blair
Venue: Akron/Fairlawn Hilton Hotel, 3180 W. Market St., Akron, OH 44333, Phone: 330-867-5000"

Welcome to Computer Divas.

Read an article about these ladies sometime ago. If I remember correctly, most of them do this on the side and are full time mothers (which as Mrs. Black will tell you is a full time job in itself).

Fall of Autumn - The Tyranny of What Everyone Knows: "Apathy isn't just for the mainstream, it's been written into the fringes as well. Perhaps that's another problem. People who have something to say about the state of the union are written into the fringes and then rendered impotent. When we act on our anger or attempt to organize we're pointed out to the mainstream as fringe elements. People who think otherwise would love to join us but can't due to work or school or whatever. No matter how much the numbers swell - those who we're trying to get attention from can still roll their eyes and go back to business as usual. "

Prosper: The online marketplace for people-to-people lending: "The online marketplace for people-to-people lending"

"You're going to make mistakes in life. It's what you do after the mistakes that counts." --Brandi Chastain

I've only had my new credit card for a week and already they're calling us two and three times a day trying to sell us things. This particular brand of credit card is clearly designed with the idea of getting and keeping people in debt. Wonder how many people they've sold my name to? Staying out of debt is the same as having the will to say, "No." I hate owning a card again but if we're ever going to buy a house there isn't much other way.

Another good Amazon list: Books that can make you millions. Though I'm not into the real estate game.

My friend Alan at work, who is also building a house on the side, just bought eighty acres in Minnesota. He's owned the land a week and already has a buyer. I guess you can add real estate mogul to his resume.

Damn, and I think I feel some jealousy. Now is the time to use those feelings to propel me forward into creating a wealthier better life for myself and not drown in my inadequacy. I can't wait for someone else. I have to do this myself.

Money 2000: "There are basically five ways to increase your net worth."

"You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us." --John Lennon

"Medicated drama queen." -- A Perfect Circle

Used to be a RoCK StaR cliche

Skin creative scratching.

How it hurts
Everyone Needs PEOPle

but
Your dirty laundry
/ static cling
I can't anymore
take.

Just a mirror
--precious--
me reflect
BACk.

In the end
dogs find-
simply Bones.

And I get only one chance to
LivE.

Agonize

I don't know
If that last piece
worked.

writers agonzie over nothing

BBC - Radio 1 - Musicubes - Constructor.

"The secret to making money is don't lose it." --Unknown

Is it weird that I put little address labels on nearly everything I own (especially at work)? Reminds me of Mom putting my name on my underwear when I was a kid. Not having a desk there is killing me, two words for shared work spaces: they suck! Especially since in my mind, everything has a place. How anal am I?

My kids love to hear my audio recordings of my poems. :) At least I know someone likes them. Jake, my four year old, likes to listen to them through Media Player so he can "see my voice." Here's hoping one of the kids becomes a poet themselves.

I've decided by biggest financial goal after home ownership is to save to retire early. According to the plan I'm already working on I have the potential to be able to retire at 55. I'd like to make that 50. Can it be done? At least I can try.

One of my partners at work who is in Memphis was telling me last night some of his secrets to early retirement. Fascinating. His net worth right now is in the millions and he's in his early fifties. He also has four kids and is trying to adopt a teenage friend from overseas now.

If I've learned one thing in the past few years: No matter how hard you work, when you die...you die.

-Pea Soup-

remains The question
all Poets tempt:
Am I...
well written?

had the feeling
(I'm going to die today.)

"We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." --Lee Iacocca

Batman, Manga and Life on Mars: Talking with Paul Pope - 3/21/2006 - Publishers Weekly: "Like every other kid, I loved Batman. I've got a stack of drawings of Batman and Robin I drew when I was four years old that my grandmother saved. Page after page of the Batmobile and explosions. This stuff stays in your brain. It's a threshold for a cartoonist. It's like climbing a sheer rock edifice. It's not commercialism on my part, either. I've really thought about the character and I think I have a pretty good idea for a story."

Amazon.com: So You'd Like to... Work Less and Earn More. I have read some of the books on the list and yes it is true they helped me earn more. One of my resolutions this year is to raise my net worth. So far, I'm doing well. More on this in my latest zine Tinfoil for Heads

Manga Sales Revive NYC’s Kinokuniya - 3/21/2006 - Publishers Weekly: "Impatient English-speaking fans willingly cross over to buy the Japanese original rather than wait for the next translated volume. Ishikawa uses the example of One Piece, a Shueisha series for teens that is published by Viz Media in the U.S. 'In Japan, we're up to volume 40. It's only up to volume 8 in English.' Ishikawa also notes that a number of people seek to read and learn Japanese because of their interest in manga. He's noticed the occasional Japanese-language textbook or Japanese/English dictionary tossed in with a customer's manga purchase. Language, he says, rarely prevents fans from buying the originals. 'Even American customers who don't read Japanese buy it, just to look.'"

untoward: try and try to justify... THE CATERER: "The book is a biography of a science fiction writer who never lived. The made up author Jeff Lint is sort of like Phillip K Dick and William S Burroughs, but taken further. The biography is full of fake images, comic book covers and magazine interviews."

Hmm...gives me some nice ideas. And to see the real reason why I read Joey, check this one out: Man, I am glad I got a Live Journal.

You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer

Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from. And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi. Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics... Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!

As Internet TV Aims at Niche Audiences, the Slivercast Is Born - New York Times: "As Internet TV Aims at Niche Audiences, the Slivercast Is Born."

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." --George Bernard Shaw

Just finished watching the Full Metal Alchemist episode The Other Side of the Gate. I can't get over how much this piece of anime blows me away.

And tonight, all I want to do is write. Poetry is flowing. But my shift starts in forty five minutes so instead I'll be driving to work.

Last night at Aikido, Michael had us do some excellent and practical techniques. I found that if I exhale as I defend, it helps me to clear my mind. To perform better. To center.

Now, how do I apply that to my life?

-!-

Even tone exquisite.

"In a sense, the story, or poem or verse or whatever it is you're writing, you can kind of think of it as a kind of projectile. Imagine it is a kind of projectile which has been specially shaped to be aerodynamic, and that your target is the soft grey putty of the reader's brain." --Alan Moore




All My Engines

All my engines strong.
Roar creation 1000 m.p.h.
Round screaming curves.
The way get out of!
(stay with me now...)

Angel soft knife left
on trACk
Cut away. ties luv...
We are Gods now.
Emotions hollow deep.
A world crucifies dissent.

Exhale karma
(it's on yOUr breath)
The Prophet inside
INhales words.

House of MUSE
Solve my puzzle
Clarity of soul intention --found--
Chant with me.

Duty
Comsumption
Fire

In blood
--and wrecks--
too fast race car
MINd.
Poetry hungry
Eats the poet.

--master--

brings us to exhaustion
We all fall down.

"What kind of person are you?"
I plead hoping beautiful.
Calliope (not a person, an idea)
Responds in kind,
"You better go.
Before I decide."

Friend today gone tomorrow.
Sweet and sorrow pen know
All my engines are strong.

I can't figure out why half of the border around my link box disappeared a few months ago and the border around my posts now leaves a gap on the right side.

I doubt it's the code, more likey it's BLOGGER. Think I may pay someone to help me redesign this site. Having said that, the bunny stays! :)

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." --Dr. Seuss

That Old Movie

I Casanova you.
Beautiful desire / black and white.
Love song from that old movie
When left out in heavy rain
Even with grey trench coat
And fedora
My heart is soaked.

"I remember when the air was clean and the sex was dirty." --George Burns

No time to blog lately. Just finished my latest perzine Tinfoil for Heads for APA Centauri and am hard at work on the premier of Calliope Nerve. Sent out a lot of copies of Reno Shot this week as well. It's all been fun.

Putting in major hours due a change of operations at work. Sixty hours is too much for one man. :) Retirement will suit me fine.

Gotta go. Have ideas brewing for my next perzine. More quality blogging soon. :) In the meanwhile I'm reading, Batman: War Drums by Bill Willingham. (Wonder when his Elementals series is going to be reprinted?)



BLOGGER isn't working right again. You'd think Google could afford a few more servers.

What are you reading? What are you up to?

Calliope Nerve will highlight great poets and writers in an ongoing microzine format by submission and invite. Spaces are still left for our debut issue. Subject matter is irrelevant however we do focus on experimental and off the beaten path type pieces. Email nobius at gmail.com. Also, our last poetry collaboration microzine Reno Shot is free and still available via snail mail.

Calliope Nerve: name your Muse!

"The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes." --Benjamin Disraeli

Many things on my plate now. More soon. Something big is out there for me, I can feel it.

Joe Cali is a voice actor with a website.

Now why the hell didn't I think of that? Good for him. And this reminds me of a story to tell you another day.

Off to work.