Endervidualism

Speaking blogistically, that is. Mr. Endervidual has started his own blog, titled Memory, Making, Meaning. Sounds intriguing with or without the commas ...

You are a pirate

and talk like a pirate day comes tomorrow.

Still a small bit of time away, until then you might check out my latest movie review at Endervidualism, which also gets linked from my latest Ender's Review.

Tom worked his webby magic on my ramblings and we are pleased to present to you the May/June issue of Sunni’s Salon. Don’t worry, there’s none of the negativity that burst out here fairly recently, and aside from my opening rambling remarks, it strikes me as a mostly light and fun issue. We hope you enjoy it!

Oh, and a scheduling note: it’s my goal to get future issues up closer to the beginning of the second month they cover from now on. This one was delayed by that aforementioned emotional turbulence; and I’m already taking steps to try to minimize the disruption my imminent adventure might bring on. Hoping is.

And wow, is it a good one ... almost counters the long spans between her sharings. Just a morsel from The 7 C’s: an Ideological or Social Spectrum:

"Political spectrums" are used to diagnose and categorize attitudes toward government. This 7 C's "ideological spectrum" I've been contemplating for some time, I perceive as a broader tool relating to social attitudes or human relations. It seems reasonable to suggest that individuals generally lean toward one side of this spectrum or the other, and that as a majority (the herd) in society shift their thinking and behavior toward using Courtesy, or toward Control and Coercion, its institutional mechanisms gradually reflect those shifts.

Therefore, if there's a key to "changing the world," I think people generally have the idea backward. .... Gandhi had a brighter idea: he said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

I have just finished reading it – a slow skim, truth be told – but I’m impressed with her hierarchy. Perhaps that’s just because it resonates so well with my way of being, though. I’m sure Cat joins me in being interested in any responses our gentle readers might care to share.

Again, I am sorry for how long it took, but at last, Tom and I are pleased to welcome you to Sunni’s Salon for the March/April issue. It may make up in volume what it lacked in timeliness ... especially the interview with Mama Liberty. We hope you enjoy it.

Mr. Endervidual has been hitting ’em out of the park with his reviews lately, and this week’s collection is no exception. Many items well worth checking out there, but I’m going to point to just one article he featured, along with a related one I found on my own. In that order, then:

The Science of Lasting Happiness by Marina Krakovsky
The Midlife Happiness Crisis by Joel Waldfogel

Good essays to review when the temptation to play solitaire with one’s pearl-handled deck rises.

In Sunni's last posting here, she mentioned "an exposition" which would be “forthcoming at Endervidualism.”

That exposition has now come forth. I hope you enjoy it. I did !

B.W. Richardson tagged me for the “Meme of Four” last Saturday. I’ve taken a while to respond, but better late than never, I hope.

Double Issue

Peripatetic is the name of the main column, which links to other new items.

Sunni reviews Infernal F. Paul Wilson's latest Repaiman Jack novel and Let Us Prey by Bill Branon. Interviews with both Garry Reed and F. Paul Wilson are also featured. Musical Maunderings highlight meaningful music (another list) and Webby Wanderings include Montag, David D. Friedman, and more.

Come over and look around.

If you find any "glitches" please send me an e-mail

I have a Thanksgiving treat. Unlike last year, when I published an essay which many may have thought somewhat "unseasonal" (though it is one that I consider very thought-provoking), this year I have something which I think will mesh rather than clash with most people's Thanksgiving observance.

Endervidualism's main page has undergone a "makeover."

If you haven't been to the site in a while, you might find some things of interest there. With the new "home page" most things are much easier to find.

Many sections have been switched to the new styles. Notable exceptions are most column sections (which will be switched when new columns come out) and my movie reviews, which will have a makeover "soon."

Check it out!

The site will appear best with a modern browser but I'm interested in how it looks with whatever you are using. If you have comments about the makeover or site you can send them to me at tom@endervidualism.com.

Thanks, and have a good day and weekend.

Hi All,

I've just posted October's Sunni's Salon. It has a great book review, some "head banging tunes" and links to some good places to visit on the web.

Enjoy !

I don't do it much, because I generally don't like revealing sufficient details for y'all to grok, but part of why I finally decided to blog was being able to vent. So it was with my entry of a few days ago. A deep thanks to everyone who wrote me afterward -- that was quite a warm and very thoughtful, supportive response I received, both here and in email. I appreciate it all more deeply than I can say.

Another dash-in, dash-out post as I'm on a deadline this morning, and have loads of other work to try to see to today. Conspirator Tom Ender has been reviewing some really fine movies lately. This week's featured movie is Tucker: The Man and His Dream, which I enjoyed much more than I expected I would. Recent reviews include The Story of Louis Pasteur, which as Tom says packs a lot of stuff into a short movie. It's a 1936 film, so the style may not suit your taste -- but, aside from some small quibbles, I tend to greatly enjoy good movies from that era, Jane Eyre being perhaps my favorite. Last, my mother loved The Unsinkable Molly Brown, but when I was a kid musicals bored me, so I've not seen it. Tom's review suggests it's just what I need 'bout now.

I'm very pleased that the good news I hinted at yesterday is a go, so look for that to flower later today. Off to work now!

First, a belated Happy Birthday to both Cat and Mr. O.

About a week ago Sunni posted information on the Wisconsin tornados and that my family and I had gotten through them alright. We were very lucky. Not far from us many people lost their homes and one fellow lost his life. The damage was extreme.

Nature can be very destructive, but so can people. Survival percentages for the tornado were much better than they are for civilians in Iraq, or Hiroshima and Nagasaki sixty years ago. The comments for that blog entry are also interesting as they mention residents being tagged. That is not an exaggeration.


I had been out the evening of the tornado and on my way home had spoken to my son, who was at home, via cell phone (luckily the phone service never went out). I knew that he was alright, although the power was out in the house. He was reading (Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz - a very good read) by candle light.

The quickest way home from the big city is via interstate, then a county road and then local roads. Our house was untouched as were all the houses in the subdivision in which we live. However, on the turn I usually take off the county road, deputies had a road block set up and were turning almost everyone away.

When I stopped my car, got out and spoke to them, I was told that all the homes west of the road block were destroyed. (I could see that was not true as there was a farm house in sight.) I told him that I had spoken with my son on my cell phone and at best his information was incomplete. (I bet they'd love to outlaw cell phones.) He still wouldn't let me through.

I backtracked to the prior turnoff and sought an alternate route. At the corner where I would have turned again had I not been stopped by the first road block, there was another police car and several people in plain clothes. After showing someone who claimed to be a police officer my drivers license which has my address on it, I was grudgingly allowed to proceed to my house.

If those who lived even closer to the worst of the damage, but still not actually in it, had been out of their houses, my guess is that they were probably prevented from returning home. I haven't yet had occasion to talk to a friend who lives right on the edge, but whose house was not severely damaged.

The last week has been a big hassle. I did not get a wristband as I was not planning on leaving the area often, nor did I see any need since I wasn't in the truly affected area. The deputies were not as obnoxious as they might have been. The story was that they were there to prevent possible lootings, gapers, etc. However, they changed the position of their check point more than once. Most of the week, they had it positioned so that everyone entering the subdivision in which I live (which was untouched by the tornado) had to show ID on entering (they encouraged the use of the wristband "so that it would be easier" to just show that).

As I said, I didn't get a wristband, but how high tech were they? I suspect not very. Which would mean they could be easily faked by someone truly interested in mischief.

The nanny state is closing in. It is interesting they choose a wristband for their "talisman," which has hospital overtones. It may have helped with the idea that the encroachments will be "for your best interests." I don't think we were the only residents who complained or didn't get a wristband. Perhaps an increasing percentage of people are getting tired of this sort of thing. I hope so.