Recently I took a trip to Sin City. What I like so much about that town is that you could go hundreds of times (or in my case, 17) and STILL find new things to do. Let me tell you this, high-roller trips are cool, and I’ve done the el-cheapo trips, but the best kind of Vegas trip is the one where you just try different things.

The Dolphins at Mirage aren’t as active as they used to.

Downtown Las Vegas! Cheap eats and good games.

The lady won actual coins! ACTUAL COINS.

The Bank at Bellagio. Remind me to tell about the time I got bottle service for $20

Until the next adventure…

This edition of “free sample” brings us to one of my all-time favorite poems that I’ve written. I would say that I  “love them all” but no one likes a braggart. (Okay, sometimes they do.)

In any event, this entry is entitled “Set Sail” and it was included in my collection “By The Ounce And Other Tales“. I hope you enjoy it.

Set Sail

There’s no honor among the thieves

But there’s definitely a leader

A man as salty as the water

Who is not easily defeated

Not all pirates start that way

They’re just like you and I

The life and times of men at sea

Sailing until they die

The captain and his band of mates

Of The Royal Navy

Wish when they board their ship

That they’ll return home safely

The majestic ship has a job

To make it to the harbor

An island in the Caribbean

It can’t be that much farther

Until the dreaded day they meet

Sure enough the start of war

Cannonballs fly through the air

Half a day away from shore

The ship’s cargo will never reach

Its intended destination

A group of ruthless men

Share their wealth with great elation

And truth be told its been said

The life at sea is the hardest

But what about those who depend

On the cargo at the harbor?

I’m a firm believer in acquiring various life experiences. The more the better and all that jazz. The reason being is twofold: You get to try your hand at being the “The Most Interesting Man/Woman In The World” and if you create (write/sing/dance) it gives you more facets in your life to pull from. In short, it’s good for the short term and the long term.

Well recently I took a trip to Las Vegas and  tried my hand at the very intimidating “SkyJump.” As far as what happened, take a look.

I was watching a video recently on the Interwebs that asked people about their favorite quotes. I always found this particular question odd, not because of the idea of having a favorite quote but rather understanding the intent of the person asking the question to begin with. Would someone judge you by your favorite quote, or were they just cruising for words of wisdom for themselves?

In any event, below is actually a few of the quotes I’ve saved on a file on my computer (because you know, I do things like that). As you will see, some of the quotes don’t have recorded authors, but I value them all the same. Without any further ado….

“There is a reason why the short line is short.”

“Never Turn Down Airtime.”

“Be the Chess Player, not the Chess piece”

“Never take food off of somebody’s plate.”

“America is the land of opportunity, not promises.”

“Don’t marry someone you love, but someone that loves you.”

“The first eight weeks are the hardest.”

“If it ain’t livin’, it’s dying.”

“It’s not your fault, but it’s your problem.” — Paul Seydor, A.C.E.

“When you hit the sweet spot, you’ll know it.”

“I hate writing, I love having written.” — Dorothy Parker

“Youth is flexibility and flexibility is youth.”

“Never leave the house with flip-flops on.”

“Love= Admiration + Respect. Different levels of admiration and respect, different levels of love.”

Life Lesson: Confidence is rock. Modesty is gold.

“All sinister emotions are nothing but the descendants of frustration.”

“We’re not selling out; I’m buying in.” – Morgan Spurlock

Until next time…

It’s time for another free sample posting. This is where I post something that has been published in one of my books absolutely free for your enjoyment. Today’s entry comes from my book, “By The Ounce And Other Tales” and it’s called “Paradise, Nevada.

As the title suggests, “Paradise, Nevada” is actually a ode to Las Vegas, in which the majority of the Las Vegas strip lies in the unincorporated town of Paradise. It’s an obscure fact, but a fact just the same. I had fun merging the expectations people have when coming to Las Vegas and the reality. Either way, it’s a fun read and I hope you enjoy it.

Paradise, Nevada

Welcome to the desert

An oasis of people and lights

Where red and black can together make green.

The warm breeze does nothing to cool

and shade is few and far between

People from every town imaginable

and folks from every creed

Try their hand at visiting the home to hundred degree heat

To be momentarily a makeshift celebrity

In the original City of Sin

Sleep doesn’t exist here and why should it?

The sun might as well be another light show

From hotel windows you could look down onto the street

to see the constant streams of people

A parade of individuals with likewise individual dreams.

Though fate and luck are cruel mistresses

this does nothing to stop the brave

For those who do make it here

momentarily their old lives are left behind

A new one is born, stays and lives here.

Thanks for reading!

Always bet on black

“Supporters” was written and directed by E.C. Bond.

I play Bruce. Ohh yeah, that smooth rasp is like butter in your ears, right? Or is it like sandpaper… You be the judge!

It’s been already been making the runs on the web. Check it out before I get famous (or it goes viral, most likely the latter)

(NSFW)

Now I’ve talked about the relationship between sports and writing before, but I wanted to touch upon another dimension of being a sports spectator. This past Sunday I visited the Los Angeles based Mets Meet-Up, a place for Tri-state area ex-pats to come together watch the New York Mets play.

Pictured: My backyard

Fun people, fun beer, and fun times were had by all. I got to thinking that watching the game like this is pretty high up on my list of experiencing this and any kind of sport. Sure nothing beats actually being there, but I would take that over watching the game on my computer or cell- phone. (For the record, the game was eventually postponed due to inclement weather)..

The Mets Meet-Up isn’t  my only sports group, actually. I also run with the Hollywood MCFC, even though my work schedule hinders my attendance. We meet up to watch the British Premier League Manchester City play (at all hours of the day) . I know for a fact that the Hollywood Blues are a lot more enjoyable than trying to catch the game at work. Believe me, I tried…

But why? Is it that you are with a bunch of people that follow the same team you do? Well, that’s part of it. I offer though that the aspect of being out of market (and thus being more of a minority) helps with the group meet up “atmosphere.” People are tribal by nature, and having a smaller but vocal contrarian allegiance seems more  attractive. For example, I’ve been in SoCal for over five years. A lot of times I’ve started a conversation with someone just because they were wearing a Mets hat or T-shirt.

I had to catch myself when I tried pulling that crap in New York.

Writing takes this concept and runs with it. People are Twi-hards, or their not (Or Team Edward or Team Jacob). They are Gryffindor or Slytherin (Although I’m not sure why, as Ravenclaw is obviously the best). Having a conflicting philosophy (or team if you will) of equal strength can actually drum up interest, playing to people’s competitive and social nature.

As for meet ups, I would love to see a reality show or documentary that follows around different meet-ups around the country. I would watch. I mean come on? Boston Red Sox fans in San Diego? Chese Heads in Alaska? Miami Heat fans living in balmy Norway?

–Flobo

Since moving to Southern California, I’ve acquired a couple of habits of varyinng levels of surprise. For example the word “dude” has creeped into my vocabulary, I get annoyed when the temperature drops below 50 degrees (because I have to look for sweaters), and I’ve developed a taste for coffee.

Whoa, I didn’t say coffee SNOB.

Actually, I want to talk about the big green coffee machine. I am not a hater of Starbucks by any means, but personally I don’t really get “excited” when I see one like most people my age do. Like the fast food shack Chipotle, it’s good but not rave-worthy good.

Anyway, this past Saturday I walked  into a Burger King (after about 18 months) and ordered a Turkey Burger and their house coffee. Seattle’s Best brews their joe, and while I know they are owned by Starbucks, I was pleasantly surprised enough to tweet about it.

You’ve piqued my interest…

After a couple of years of not knowing what to do with the brand, Starbucks has positioned Seattle’s Best coffee to be more of the “working man’s brew.” People (like this writer) who may or may not appreciate the complexities of the products Starbucks offers, but when it comes down to it, is pretty okay with drinking a basic cup of coffee. You know, only a select few  actually go into a diner and ask the waitress what kind of black gold is on hand. But as a young adult living in the craft beer revolution, I realize that this its only a matter of time before that all changes.

I thought about that and how that applies to those “big name” authors who write multiple series that feature different characters or have different audiences in mind. When I was a kid, R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series were the cat’s pajamas with the grade school-Scholastic books set (a few years before the Harry Potter explosion). At the time, Stine has a smaller series called “Fear Street” that skewed a little older and were for more of a teenage audience. We’ve talked before about the relationship between art and commerce, and even back then I thought that this was a master stroke.

In theory the kids that loved “Goosebumps” would in fact would read “Fear Street.” Whether or not this actually worked, I’m not sure. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I think Mr. Stine is doing alright for himself.

It’s something to consider and it doesn’t just have to be writing. If you make cookies with certain ingredients for a bake sale, what’s not to say you can experiment with more exotic ingredients for a “premium” batch. Or maybe, in keeping with the baked good example, you make a smaller portion so you can offer the same product at two different price points.

As for my fast food cup of coffee, I may be a Seattle’s Best coffee customer for a while. This only proves no matter what you do, Starbucks wins.

–Flobo

As you may know, I moonlight as an author. If you didn’t know that, I would be completely surprised. I mean, I’ve been at this blog thing for over a year and I always shoehorn in the fact that I’m a writer. I hardly talk about anything else. In fact, before I continue let me get my plug out of the way.

Get the debut novel from Yours Truly

Anyway, when I’m writing I “perform” the story in my head. I imagine how would my characters act to certain situations if they were real people. This is because they “are” real people to an extent.

This weekend, the tables got turned a bit for me.  Being tapped to perform (I won’t say “star” because it’s a team effort) in my first radio drama, I was tasked with the same job I imagined actors would have to be going through if they had to perform one of my stories. It was just me and a script full of words. My goal was to turn the words into a living, breathing character.

With a great face for radio!

The radio play, called “Supporters” and based on the soccer supporter culture, is something that I can personally identify with. I am a member of a professional soccer supporters group, so researching the subculture wasn’t terribly difficult. With that said, the entire thing wasn’t a walk in the park either. You see, I have a slight speech impediment called “cluttering.” That is to say in certain situations and with certain words I can go into a bit of a fit that usually gets confused for stuttering. This was in the back of my mind in addition to the regular stresses of making sure I hit the right emotional notes for my character as well as knowing my lines well enough where I didn’t sound like a robot when reading them.

And if you read my earlier blog when I talked about my time on radio, it’s something I deal with  all the time. My “radio voice” is distinctly different than my speaking voice in a concentrated attempt to avoid such pitfalls.

Since I did not write or direct the recording of “Supporters”, I had a bit more freedom to just be talent. The fun part for me (as a guy who loves puzzles) was finding out why my character would say they things he would say when he said them. After a while, I was able to put my character on like a “skin” and perform. Whether my performance was good is up to the director and the eventual audience, but I would say it was fun to “go into the booth” for the attempt.

When the recording was over, I was excited. Not only for the work I put in on “Supporters” that day but even for some of my own stuff. Acting things out reminded me what motivations make sense (and what doesn’t) for my own future projects. I recommend to any and all aspiring writers out there: Find out a way to perform your work. Even if it’s just a couple of friends table reading your manuscript over drinks, a lot more things become clearer if you just perform your stories out loud.

Unless you’re writing the sequel to Fifty Shades of Gray. Keep that to yourself

–Flobo