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Authorship Game-changer: Trump 2.0

The four months after my blog post  on Trump 2.0 show him to be the  institutional game-changer many of us dreaded. My post at that time discussed how to cope with the impact of his administration in general terms. This one addresses his impact and how to deal with it in more specific and personal areas: independent authorship and publishing. The discussion below itemizes some general points with my persaonl commentary.

Game-changer in General Publishing

An Artificial Intelligence (AI) meta-search on the topic breaks down Donald Trump‘s impact on the publishing industry into five key areas:

  1. Trade and Tariffs
  2. Government Funding
  3. Freedom of Speech
  4. Author Mobility
  5. Shift to Digital Formats

Of these, items 1 and 3 may be the most significant for independent authors. The others can be dismissed for the purposes of this post.

Why?

Many independent authors already embrace digital formats through ebooks and audio formats. Government funding primarily benefits researchers and non-fiction writers in general, i.e. anyone whose income derives from government grants. In regards to author mobility, Trump’s policies affect those writers who have significant readership in other countries. A prime example is Curtis Chin . He claims to have lost ten thousand dollars per speaking engagement due to cancellations on American college campuses.

On the other hand, Item 3 strikes at the heart of the independent writers movement–freedom of expression. Without independent writers, publishers, and bookstores, readers would receive their information only from the corporate legacy publishers and the writers who work for them. The current news cycle demonstrates how easily information from these sources is compromised and homogenized.

Trade and Tariffs: A Personal CaseTrump 2.0: Game-changer

That leaves Item 1. It provides an anecdotal example of Trump’s impact on indendent authorship. Aside from increased printing and shipping costs, Trump’s tariff ban reduces the already-narrow profit margins independent authors and publishers rely upon to survive. These authors either purchase paperback copies of their manuscripts from a bulk printer like IngramSpark or buy them at wholesale prices from an independent publisher. Either way, the retail markup on these items depends upon what reader traffic will bear.

In recent years, with the increasing number of books published annually (circa two million) and the increasing implementation of author giveaways to generate reader interest, the markup margin grew smaller and smaller. Based on personal experience, the top price readers expect to pay for mid-range fiction paperbacks ranges between 15 and 19 dollars. Charging more than that dampens reader purchases because it infringes on what the price range of hardcover genre fiction–$20 – $25.

Since small-press publishers charge authors 55-65% wholesale per item, price increases anywhere along the supply chain (paper, shipping, etc.) diminish the profit authors receive. Add in the initial outlay of purchasing books in bulk from printers like IngramSpark and the giveaways cited above, independent authors face a difficult time making ends meet. Trump’s 2.0 tariff policies along with his cultural ntimidation tactics chill freedom of speech and diminish writers’ livelihoods.

Game-changer(s): What We Can Do

Some game-changer solutions lurk within the examples above. The Alliance for Independent Authors recommends (with my comments):

  • Monitoring your print supply chain–know where your books are printed and shipped
  • Diversity production–utilize Print on Demand (POD) options
  • Stay informed–consult reliable trade news sources
  • Consider other sources–ebook and audiobooks are unaffected

These bullet points summarize what independent authors can do to maintain the quality and affordability of their products. Furthermore, authors need to reinvent themselves as business enterprises.  That means deriving income from a variety of writing-related sources, not just their books.

In addition, readers can do their share.  Support local independent book stores. Write brief reviews in Goodreads or BookBub about the books you enjoy. Take a flyer on a book by an unfamiliar author at the next writers conference or arts-and-crafts fair you attend. Part of the enjoyment derives from discovering a fresh, distinct voice. That’s what independent writers are all about.

What do you think? Do you have any suggestions not given above? Give me your suggestions in the Leave a Reply section below.

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Triple Crown’s Shocking Slide

Triple Crown of American Thoroughbred RacingLast Saturdaky, Journalism won the Preakness Stakes. Almost immediately, racing touts wondered whether he and Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby winner, would have a rematch in the Belmont Stakes, the last leg of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.  In prior years, this wasn’t  an issue. The Derby winner and its runnerup would face each other again in the Preakness. And barring injury, they’d square off again for the deciding race in the Belmont.

However, that didn’t happen this year. As NBC Sports Steve Kornacki pointed out, Derby winners haven’t raced in the Preakness in three of the past five years. This recent development reflects  the Preakness’ decline in importance in particular and the Triple Crown in general.

The question is: why?

Triple Crown: Pro Forma Reasons

Currently, the most popular reason is the Preakness is scheduled two weeks after the Derby. Judged by current training practices, that timing  is too close to the Derby for competing horses to run to their best ability. For that reason many trainers of Derby winners and losers alike skip the Preakness and run their charges, if at all, in the Belmont, five weeks later.

The standard claim is that participating in three high-level stakes races within five weeks time is too grueling a schedule. Most race horses don’t run on in such a demanding schedule any more. For example, when Flightline won Horse of the Year honors in 2022, he raced only three times. All three were scheduled two-three months apart.  After winning the last one, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, he was retired undefeated. His entire racing output consisted of six races, four of them stakes.

If Flightline could win Horse of the Year by winning just three races, why risk the possibility of injury by racing more often? Granted, he won all three by impressive margins and against the best competition, but should his example set the standard for every other thoroughbred?

Triple Crown: Injury Prevention Argument

Injuries are a concern at any time, particularly life-threatening ones. Indeed, famous horses like Justify (last Triple Crown winner) and Ruffian, champion mare, had their racing careers cut short or died from racing injuries. Trainers, owners, and track managers heeded the public outcry over injuries suffered by horses racing at all levels of competition. Tracks were resurfaced, restrictions placed on jockey tactics, and drug enforcement policies strengthened and enforced.

In light of that, racing horses fewer times seems a step in that same protective/preventative direction. Such measures, however, don’t seem to help. Justify (6 starts–all wins) and Ruffian (11 starts–10 wins) both broke down after a reduced number of starts. They may be extreme examples, but the brevity of their racing careers indicates reducing a horse’s number of starts is not preventative. It does not prevent them from suffering career- or even life-ending injury.

If preventing injury doesn’t address the issue, the answer must lie elsewhere.

Triple Crown: Look at the Literature

Triple Crown: Black BeautyThe treatament of horses in thoroughbred racing long has been subsumed under the rubric of animal welfare in this country. Anna Sewell wrote her 1877 novel Black Beauty in part to champion animal (and human) rights.  As the major means of conveyance in the 19th century, the maltreatment of horses was a common sight.

As was the racing of horses. Exterminator and Stymie, to name two examples, raced well over 200 times between them in the first half of the 20th century. Purses were smaller then, and a horse needed to race more times to stay in oats and pay its entry fees. One might argue these two were geldings and would produce no further income once their racing days ended. However, even Secretariat, Triple Crown winner during the third quarter of the 20th century, raced over twenty times before retiring to stud.

The theme of a beloved horse being sacrificed to satisfy human obligations is a powerful one in 20th-century literature. In a previous blog post, Five Books that Transformed My Life, Walter Farley‘s Black Stallion series ranks number five. One title in particular stimulated my interest in horses and thoroughbred racing: The Black Stallion’s Courage. Predicated on the premise of a retired athlete returning to his sport to rescue the family business, this book produced my lifelong fascination with horse-racing lore and traditions.

Horse Racing and Sportsmanship

At this point, you might be asking yourself: so what?Triple Crown: Walter Farley

The book provided pre-adolescent me with an insight as to why people love their equine friends so much. And it exposed me to the traditions and procedures that constitute thoroughbred racing in America. Some regional biases, too. The Metropolitan, Suburban, and Brooklyn Handicaps make up the handicapped horses triple crown in New York racing. At the time of  the story’s publication (1956), they traditionally ran on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and the last day of the Belmont spring meet. No horse The Black’s age (7) ever came out of retirement, carried the crushing weight assigned, and won.

Classic plot tropes, all of them. Yet they emblematize the lore that fascinates fans much as winning the batting triple crown does in baseball. It’s the small horse owner pitted against the giant stable, a champion fighting overwhelming odds, David and Goliath.

The Connection

Fine, but–

The connection between fiction and real life occurs when Alec Ramsey, The Black’s owner and jockey, reins in his horse rather than winning the race to rescue from serious injury a jockey riding beside them struggling to regain his seat.  Alec’s humanity and sportsmanship overcomes the financial pressure to win and restore his small, fire-ravaged stable. That  fictional depiction reveals the best aspects of the sport in real life and keeps it alive.

Triple Crown: At the Wire

Horse racing in the 19th century was termed “the sport of kings.” And it still is. It costs money to feed and run a horse. The temptation to retire a male  horse to stud at the first instance of success is always there. So are  the pitfalls if an owner waits too long. The men who owned race horses two centuries ago were wealthy men, yes. But their wealth granted them the luxury of being sportsmen, too. As such, they thrilled at the competition of evenly matched steeds struggling mightily for the lead.

Unfortunately, perhaps, race horses primarily became investments in the 21st century rather than projections of male competiveness. When then President Reagan initiated the economic shift to the wealthier classes, one of the first things this group did was investing in horse farms rather than building factories. Siring 15 or 20 offspring every year for 10 or 15 years became much more profitable (and safer) than risking a horse’s safety and earning potential on the race track. This impetus grows ever stronger with every investment manager who advises his investors to invest in thoroughbred racing stock.

Is it any wonder then that multinational syndicates like Godolphin with horse farms scattered across the globe show only passing interest in racing Sovereignty in the Preakness after his hard-fought Kentucky Derby win? Or why the Triple Crown loses more of its appeal with each passing year?

You be the judge. Let me know your thoughts in the Comments section below.

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Shelley’s Unsung Poem & Anti-Trump Protest

Shelley's Unsung Peem: portraitDid you know the British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote protest poetry? Neither did I. He is most famous for penning the early 19th-cen romantics poems such as “To a Skylark” and “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty.” As such, Shelley seems more a romantic dreamer like John Keats or William Wordsworth than a political firebrand like Lord Byron. Certainly, the titles of his poems appearing in my college sophomore lit course suggest little emotional expression beyond romantic passion.

Protest Literature’s Context

Imagine my surprise when his name turned up on a Google AI search for protest literature! (Yes, I confess to resorting to AI to write this blog post) Not that I expected to uncover many names or a curated list like for some of my other literature lists. Most protest literature reacts to a particular historical event such as the French Revolution (see Les Miserables). Another example is  the American Civil War (see Red Badge of Courage).  As such, it provokes a real life call-to-action in its readers like the Muckraker writings of Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell.

Shelley’s Unsung Poem: DiscoveryShelley's Unsung Poem: 1832 cover

That search did turn up an interesting sub-category, however–protest poetry. Among the many names listed, (most of them mid-20th century), Shelley’s “The Masque of Anarchy” stood out. My unfamiliarity with this poem is hardly surprising since it was not published during Shelley’s lifetime. In fact, it wasn’t published until 1832, nine years after the poet’s death. Why? Its editor, friend and poet Leigh Hunt, thought “the public at large had not become sufficiently discerning to do justice to the sincerity and kind-heartedness of the spirit that walked in this flaming robe of verse.”

Shelley’s Unsung Poem: Content and History

The seeds for this type of poetic expression first appeared the previous year when Shelley published his “The Revolt of Islam.” In it, he expressed some of the passion which  served as the epigraph in the Hunt publication: “Hope is strong; Justice and Truth their winged child have found.”

However, this assertion received its full voice the following year. Outraged at the deaths of 18 people who died from a cavalry charge into a crowd of 60 thousand people demanding parliamentary reform, the Peterloo Massacre inspired Shelley to replace the unjust proponent of authority of his time, “God, King, and the Law,” with a new form of social action, “Let a great assembly be, of the fearless, of the free.” Stated as such, literary experts such as Paul Foot and Richard Holmes consider it the first modern expression of nonviolent resistance and the “greatest  political poem ever written in English.”

Shelley’s Unsung Poem: Legacy

Many change-makers have used Shelley’s unsung poem’s meter and imagery to inspire their political efforts. Educator and activist Howard Zinn used the poem’s “very special power” to inspirte and educate the members of the American labor movement. Students at the Tiannamen Square protests in 1989 and protestors at Tahrir Square in 2011 recited the poem during their protest vigils. Shelley’s line “Ye are many-they are few” inspired the campaign slogan “We are many, they are few” used by Poll Tax protestors in 1989. And Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, used a variant of that line for the subtitle of his 2016 book, Saving Capitalism.

Relevance to Today’s Anti-Trump RrotestsShelley's Unsung Poem: Kingston rally

The parallels between 19th century injustices and authoritarian brutality should be apparent to anyone. Moreover, Shelley’s appeal to nonviolent tactics inspired Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King and others as an effective way to combat government oppression.

More than that, however, Shelley’s poem identifies the tactics and energy reserves urdinary citizens have available to change things for the better. Rather than confined to some out-of-way, dusty shelf, poets and writers like Shelley remain relevant to today’s problems. Brutality and government overreach occur in every century. Shelley and today’s poets and writers provide the vision and inspiration to overcome injustice non-violently.

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Special Perks of Grandparenting

Birthday cake: Perks of GrandparentingAre there any perks associated with being a grandparent?At first glance, It seemed doubtful to this Baby Boomer. Oh sure, everybody says they welcome taking care of the grandkids in hopes of witnessing their first smiles. But as they grow up, those moments dwindle in significance compared to our expressions of relief when our babysitting obligaations are over.

Grandparent Memories

That opening question springs from our attending our five-year-old grandson’s birthday party last weekend. Watching the event unfold through the plate glass window at Kangas recalled a similar incident I witnessed at a Boston area McDonalds years before. A glum elderly gentleman dressed in a gray suit and tie sat at a table in the middle of the restaurant. Around him a half-dozen six-year-olds gamboled about blowing on noisemakers and shouting “Happy Birthday” to his grandson at the top of their lungs.

That recollection haunted me for years even after we had children of our own. It certainly didn’t make the prospect of waking early on a Sunday morning, driving 70 miles to an unfamiliar location (Queens NYC), and witnessing a bunch of raucous children any rosier despite the opportunity of escaping Trump’s invective for a day.

Alleviating Anxiety

To deal with other instances of this kind, my solace comes from a source  consulted many times before as a writer: the pages of a novel. Surely, I reasoned, authors more esteemed than I must have  dealt with this problem in their stories.

You’d think so, but it was an unpleasant surprise to discover the dearth of grandparent angst depicted in literature. Out of 319 books dredged misup by computer AI, only a handful dealt with the misgivings of being a grandparent. Most were bildungsromans, coming-of-age stories where the protagonists are children learning to cope with their rampaging emotions and apprehensions over becoming adults.

Perks of Grandparenting: Casting About

“Rightfully,” some readers might say. After all, children have the majority of their lives still before themd. Their environments, their families, and the decisions made from such nurturance form a recognizable story arc authors have used for centuries. Such narratives reflect the commonly accepted reality that elderly people, including grandparents, most of whose life narratives are behind them, should accept their roles as guiders and nurturers of succeeding generation(s).

However, assuming such subsidiary roles doesn’t address the needs, aspirations, and emotions of the elders involved. Are they supposed to be satisfied with playing that non-player character (NPC) role? It recalls the grandfather/narrator role played by Peter Falk in the film version of William Goldman‘s  The Princess Bride. Is imparting one’s wisdom and experience off-screen sufficient recompense for aiding a boy’s slumbers? Would such consignment alleviate the misery of that grandfather experienced at that Boston McDonalds decades ago?

I think not.

Resorting to Science: Nostalgia’s Role

Birthday Party: Perks of GrandparentingMemories come in many forms and provoke a variety of emotions. As instanced above, not all of them need be sentimental or heart-warming. A recent study by researchers from the University of Buffalo and Kyoto University found that nostalgic people may be more inclined to strengthen and maintain long-term relationships than those who aren’t. The reason why: when people reminisce about the good times spent with loved ones, they appreciate them more and strive to maintain those relationships. According to study co-author Kuan Ju-Huang, this means that those positive attachments “may be more likely to last, even as our lives, interests, and responsibilities change.”

What this means for the individual depends upon his or her personality. Those of us who observe life, such as writers and artists, tend to protect their inner selves by  objectivizing life’s activities and relationships. Those who take more active roles subjectivize their life’s activities and relationships. Neither approach is more correct than the other.

However, the former approach can be a two-edged sword. Observation does enable the individual to take a more objective approach to life. Yet, iit also distances him/her from the warm, emotional connections that foster long-term relationships.

Perks of Grandparenting: Abbey RoadPerks of Grandparenting: Acquisition

Reflecting furather on my Boston anecdote, no one can say for sure whether that grandparent enjoyed his grandchildren’s birthday experience. Based on my one-off observations, he wasn’t. Perhaps, inwardly he was, but was unable to express his joy at his grandson and his friends’ celebration. Maybe his being there was all the affirmation he could manage.

Consequently, it’s unwise to pass judgment on what that grandfather should have done or on his level of involvement. Perhaps he participated in all his grandchildren’s life events with that same level of tolerant misery. However, he also could have forged the first link in the chain of family nostalgia by standing up and dancing around the table with his grandson’s friends in celebration of one of life’s milestones.

We’ll never know. But as one Boomer icon concluded on their album Abbey Road, “In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

What do you think? Place your comment in the Leave a Reply section below.

 

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Vital Tips to Cope with Trump 2.0

Trump 2.0Since the presidential inauguration, Trump 2.0 has proven as threatening and dangerous to our values and freedoms as he promised. Political pundits categorize it as a hostile takeover, government readjustment, or a coup. Whatever one calls it, the times are not a-changing for the better. Rather, they are provoking people’s flight-or-fight responses. In short, they evoke all the symptoms of W. H. Auden‘s Age of Anxiety –on steroids.

What To Do?

However, this is not a screed about about how dire life will become under the second Trump administration. Nor will it reassure you with platitudes about our leaders and the courts are pushing back until the next election. Trump and his allies won’t wait that long. In fact, there is every reason to believe Trump’s campaign promise that “in four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”

Guidelines to Cope with Trump 2.0

Perhaps not on an institutional level, there are things you can do as an individual, however, to alleviate stress induced by the current political chaos. Much as family caregivers must cope with stress, we must cope with the political stressors that stymie our actions to restore our democratic power and authority as responsible citizens.

Stay Informed

The first action to take is to stay informed. Find out as much as you can from various news sources including traditional (legacy) and alternative media, social groups, and online sources. Examine issues from the other side’s point of view and determine whether their arguments hold water. Or whether they bother to defend their actions at all.

Take a Break

The second seems contradictory: take a break. After you’ve taken in all you can handle, turn off the TV, put aside the PC, find a quiet spot, and get in touch with your inner self. Rather than a dearth of information, we drown in the firehose of information available in the 21st ceintury. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Hold your breath and release it applying counts of four to each action. Other relaxation techniques include mindfulness, yoga, and tai chi. Learn which technique works best for you, stick with it, and regain your quiet center.

Share What You’ve Discovered About Trump 2.0

Once you’ve recentered yourself, the next thing to do is share the information and opinions you’ve collected with someone else. Start with family members and close friends, then work outwards. Contribute to social media groups. Join their discussions. Britain’s Mental Health Group and the Mayo Clinic encourage people combatting anxiety to socialize. More than that, challenge those thoughts and worries causing your ill health.

Why? because this same approach works for addressing political ansieties, too. Defending your opinions against others forces you to look outside yourself and recognize the thoughts, feelings, and convictions of others,  people who could become your allies.

Trump 2.0: Save DemocracyGet Involved

Take the next step: After you’ve espoused your opiniions on social media and elsewhere, take action. There are plenty of ways to accomplish this. Write postcards to underserved minorities. Call, write, or email your congressional representatives about issues you care about. Serve on committees. Even more proactive: participate in marches, sit-ins, and other acts of civil disobedience to dramatize your convictions.

Hold Trump 2.0 Accountable

The purpose of your activity involves dramatizing your convictions in a way that impacts the most people. Not only does it put Trump and his minions on the defensive, it also forces our representatives to do their part and stand up against the usurpation of their constituents’ rights and liberties.

On the individual level, taking such proactive actions reduces personal anxiety. On the institutional level, it encourages others to take heart and stand against those people who unlafully and immorally are trying to take over our government. Department of Justice lawyer Brendon Ballou said it best on the mpact of outside agitation on employee pushback. “Public outrage gave us courage and the knowledge that we were, in fact, working in the public interest. Advocacy on the outside made advocacy on the inside possible.”

Trump 2.0: Personal Note

Trump 2.0 vs. Viet Nam GenerationThese observations arise from the convictions of a confirmed Baby Boomer who experienced the divisiveness caused by the Viet Nam War.  My rebelliousness then stemmed from my countercultural attitude toward the social mores of the political  establishment. The irony is not lost on me that despite my convicitions remaining the same, I now must defend that culture’s values, constraints, and instituions.  That’s how instutionally powerful conservative America has become over the past 60 years.

However, taking some of the actions cited above holds out hope that with our united effort the United States can become a haven for freedom of choice and democracy once again.

What do you think? Let me know in the Leave a Reply secion below.

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Year of the Snake–Your Breakthrough in 2025

Breakthrough in 2025

Will the Chinese year of the snake witness your breakthrough in 2025? That depends. First, it depends on what your goals are. Second, it matters whether you regard January 29th as a starting point for new beginnings. Or is it another fabricated holiday like Quitter’s Day, or one few people celebrate like Festivus? Finally, it depends on how much power you attribute to celestial bodies influencing your life here on Earth.

Belief as Breakthrough in 2025

This isn’t a screed defending astrology against missile attacks from logical minds like those of the fictional physicist, Sheldon Cooper. Nor is it a celebration of one of the mystical forces that pervade our existence. But, it does acknowledge that people for thousands of years organized their lives around the motions of the sun, moon, planets and stars. Their cultural impact cannot be denied.

However, what seems surprising is how the motions of these eternal bodies should be interpreted so differently by so many different groups of people. It’s easy enough to say that different people have different ideologies. But, what does that explain, if anything? The demands of living–building shelter, finding/raising food, having offspring–remain common to everyone. If the stars belong to everyone as the song says, why didn’t those experiences produce a common world view when ancient people peered into the heavens?

Culture’s Role in Providing Breakthroughs

The answer seems to lie in setting and circumstance. Though there are many varieties, subcategories, and offshoots of astrological interpretation, the most fundamental and influential boil down to two: Greek or Hellenistic astrology and Chinese. Both forms of thought originated with the observations of the Babylonians and spread throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

For the Greeks, this Babylonian influence combined with ancient Egyptian or Decan teachings to create a horoscopic astrology, i.e. one reliant upon the ascension of 36 groups of stars to a specific moment in time to interpret the purported meaning behind the alignment of the planets at that moment. 

For the Chinese, the Babylonian observations intermingled with the concept of the Four Pillars of Destiny to create a lunisolar calendar based on a sexagenary cycle (60 years) of time measurement. Unlike the Greek system, Chinese astrology employs the locations of the sun and moon to derive their significance upon the individual within the context of that sixty-year cycle of time measurement.

The disparity between the two systems results in an emphasis upon the moment (Greek) versus the annual (Chinese). Consequently, the predictions of the former rely upon the individual’s birth at a particular point in time whereas the Chinese system focuses upon generational/ancestral influences on one’s birth.

Perspectives on Snakes

Another disparity between the two astrologies involves their perspectives towards symbolic animals, especailly snakes. Like many other religious traditions, Chinese astrology venerates snakes for their dual nature. On one hands, they symbolize harvest, spirituality, and good fortune as well as guardianship. On the other, they embody cunning and secrecy.

In western culture, snakes represent evil, particularly Adam’s fall in the Christian religion. Other Abrahamic religions such as Judaism and Islam interpret Adam’s fall from grace due to Satan’s imparting knowledge to Eve. In that scenario, Satan is characterized as a snake. The Gnostics take that depiction a step further by saying Satan’s wisdom provided direct spiritual contact with God rather than achieving it through expiation or good works.

Part of this difference occurs due to the lack of distinction in the definitions of snake and serpent. Westerners tend to view the terms as interchangeable. Thus, snake and serpent are identical. Dragons are a variant form under this general heading. Chinese culutre, on the other hand, regards snakes as protectors of grain and produce.

For this and other reasons, the Chinese distinguish the fifth animal in their zodiac as a dragon, characterized as bold, outgoing, charismatic, confident, intelligent, and lucky. On the other hand, they particularize the sixth zodiac of their zodiac as the wood snake. Unlike the Western snake or serpent, the wood snake helps man by eating rodents and other pests. Consequently, it possesses qualities of charm, intelligence, and creativity, while sometimes being secretive or ruthless.

Breakthrough in 2025: Jupiter’s Influence

A happy coincidence in Chinese astrology results from the frequency with which Jupiter/Zeus revolves around the sun. Requiring 11.86 earth years to orbit, Jupiter’s periodicity closely matches the five twelve-year cycles comprising the sexagenary aspect of the Chinese calendar. Regarded as a symbol of wisdom, growth, and fortune in both cultures, Jupiter generally proves a benign influence upon personal goals and aspirations.

Breakthrough in 2025: Final Thoughts

The coincidence cited above offers the direction a person should take regarding one’s goals and a personal breakthrough in 2025. Many cultures regard the snake as emblemizing renewal and/or rebirth as depicted by the ouroboros on the left.

This blog post may have oversimplified the complexities involved in astrology and its influence on human behavior. Still, the more positive choice among the two major astrologies disccused here for a breakthrough in 2025 falls to the Chinese version.

May the Year of the Snake prove a fortunate one for you and yours!

Breakthrough in 2025: Final Thoughts

What do you think? Let me know in the Leave a Reply box below.

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Year End Review And The Tyranny Of The Blank Page

Tyranny of the Blank Page

The end of the year offers conscientious writers the opportunity to evaluate their year-long assault against the tyranny of the blank page. Such a self-assessment can be defined any number of ways. A simple page count is one of them..But is mass productivity the proper measure of a professional writer? Or should it be quality? If the latter, how should such quality be measured?

Sportswriter Red Smith famously declared writing was easy. All one needed to do: sit down at a typewriter and “open a vein.” Given writing’s inherent difficulties and our current cultural and political turmoil, it surprises no one that writers seek a protectiveing force or idea, a champion, to mitifate the stress of filling the blank page.

Tyranny of the Blank Page: Backstory

The genesis of this concern comes from a writers’ discussion on Reddit. One of its more inflammatory headline declares “The number 1 rule of writing: Nobody wants to read your work; you have to make them want it.” Like many such online discussions, none of the commenters offered a good or even novel suggestion how to make readers want to do so (Those who possessed such a secret were using it to promote their own work). However, in keeping with the tone of the headline, some proved quite frank about the difficulties they encountered trying to reach an audience.

Beyond the customary shibboleths of knowing one’s audience or making sure your writing the best it can be, one suggested that writing for fame and fortune was an illusion. Measuring success by the number of books sold is a quantative mistake. The actual financial winners are the publshers and printers who have supplied the authors with their inventory. For every one in a million author like J. K. Rowling or Neil Gaiman, there are 999,999 others whose work never sells and probably never will. What little comfort these folks have lies in the group solace in anthropologit Margaret Mead‘s snide reassurance, “Always remember you arte absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”

Tyranny of the Blank Page: Self-Evaluation

Appreciating the Reddit folks’ candor still left the question of what to do. Should it be a long, hard look at my work over the past year? What about the years preceding it? Should they be included as well? Moreover, should writing be abandoned entirely? If so, what avocaation replaces it?

Fortunately, my wife emailed me such an assessment titled “20 Questions to Ignite Your Best Year.” Similar to several of my writing lists, such as “Fast Writing: Ten-Step Process,” this assessment was thorough and particular. It identified ten questions regarding the past year and another ten anticipating what to strive for in the following year. The most crucial for this discussion involved the initial two regarding the past year: What stands out as your most cherished moment of the past year? and Which accomplishment are you most proud ot?

Distinguishing between a most-cherished moment and an accomplishment necessarily implies a distinction between an emotive event and an achievement. They are not one and the same. If they are, it suggests one’s sense of fulfillment lies in the abstract, in material things rather than in the emotive or socially interactive. The remaining questions built upon this subtle distinction as it applied to past actions and how this set of values applies to future endeavors.

Tyranny of the Blank Page: Personal Application

The questions raised were existential. Should I quit? Or should I continue writing? The relative paucity of my book sales, particularly after Covid, provided plenty of material reason not to continue. On the other hand, my most cherished moments occurred while expressing a thought or emotion exactly as intended. Doing so provided a frisson of satisfaction, an “Amen” moment of truth experienced nowhere else. Moreover, having readers compliment those narrative points embellishes that feeling of certainty in a thought well-expressed. In those moments giving up writing seems as impossible as preventing Picasso from transforming a discarded bicycle seat and handle bars into a bull’s head and horns.

What To Do?

Given this insidght, my choices became clear. In the past, my writing existed in the mystery/thriller genre. Back then, mystery writer Raymond Chandlers advice served as my touchstone in this regard. Chandler wrote of his detective, Philip Marlowe, “down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero; he is everything. . . . .the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world.” Nevertheless, enthralling as Philip Marlowe’s investigations are, they presuppose an answer for everything. The hero always deduces the right solution. On the whole, right triumphs, if only for a little while.

In the decades since, people learned human deduction is not infallible. In fact, some situations lie beyond human reasoning. Consequently, writers’ options multiply. Do they resort to a higher power? Engage in cynicism and dystopias? Or escape into art like William Butler Yeats or Andre Malraux?

Those artists and authors are orders of magnitude above me. Yet, it also seems to me that putting my writing out there to sink or swim on its merits is the best way to deal with present-day culture and society.

In addition, it also might be OK to imbue my hopes and dreams for the future in the two champions that appear to the right of this paragraph. With Zaraoar (Pokemon) and Darth Vader (Star Wars) having my back, current events don’t seem nearly as bleak.

Tyranny of the Blank Page: Zaraora & Darth Vader

What do you think? Tell me in the Leave a Reply section below.

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Why Turkey Became the Exclusive Thanksgiving Meal

This Thursday as you celebrate another holiday by enjoying your Thanksgiving meal, ask yourself this question: Why turkey? Why not eat spaghetti? Or steak? Or some other type of fowl?The answer might surprise you as it represents the result of a serious amount of 19th century political and social lobbying. And its champion point proved an unexpected source: a Boston writer who believed a woman’s proper place was in the home. That writer: Sarah Jesopha Hale.

Cultural Context of the Thanksgiving Meal

It’s not as if the idea materialized out of the blue. One of America’s strongest cultural legends involves the Pilgrims celebTrating the survival of their first year in New England. To show their gratitude, they decided to celebrate with a First Thanksgiving at which they invited the native Americans who had helped them. However, historians claim that the main dish at that first meal likely was not turkey, but chicken or wild game instead. Though families in many states adopted celebrating the “First Thanksgiving” with a splendid meal, the practice largely remained confined to the New England states

Hale Steps In

However, by 1854 more than thirty states reported celebrating the event in some unofficial fashion. At the same time, tensions between the abolitionists and the pro-slavers had reached a fever pitch. By then, many people agreed with Hale’s assessment that a national holiday celebrating Thanksgiving could help Americans “put aside sectional feelings and local incidents” and unify the republic.

Hale seemed in some ways particularly qualified to promote such a concept. Born in New Hampshire where her family annually observed a day of thanks, she devoted an entire chapter in her first and best-known novel Northwood: A Tale of New England, to describe such a holiday feast. An accomplished poet (“Mary Had a Little Lamb”) and editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book for over forty years, she acted as an ardent supporter of women’s education (helping found Vassar College) and fundraiser for the Massachusetts Bunker Hill Monument and George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate.

Hale and Lincoln

Still, Hale’s efforts to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday had come to naught by the outbreak of the Civil War. The uncanny coupling of Thanksgiving with victory celelbrations by the presidents of both antagonists (particularly Lincoln after Gettysburg) spurred acceptance of a national observance of a day of thanks. Within a week of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, his Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, drafted an official proclamation that Thanksgiving should be observed on the final Thursday in November, a move both men hoped would help “heal the wounds of the nation.”

Practical Concerns About the Thanksgiving Meal

However, Lincoln’s pronouncement did not institutionalize turkey as the main course at Thanksgiving. Though Hale advanced Thanksgiving as a unifying national holiday, she never envisioned everyone eating turkey to celebrate it. In fact, her main argument defending Thursday as the appointed day of celebration was that it gave women time to prepare a substantial for the holiday while providing enough time afterward to prepare the traditional Sunday meal as well. Consequently, pragmatic considerations come to the fore to accomplish this end. John M. Cunningham’s entry in the Encyclopedia Brittanica supplies three solid reasons for turkey playing the central gastronomic role:

  • they were raised primarily for their meat;
  • a single turkey was large enough to feed an entire family;
  • turkeys were plentiful in the United States.

Hale may have been a staunch advocate for political and social unity, but her vision sprung from a deep-seated set of traditional values. In her view, women should be allowed to own property, for example, but only to operate within the domestic framework of home and hearth.

Hale’s Thanksgving Meal Legacy

Sarah Jesopha Hale’s impact on our national culture cannot be denied. Without her lobbying state and national leaders for over 50 years, our annual feast of devouring a fowl Benjamin Franklin once advocated for our national bird might never have happened. Born from an honest fervor to preserve national unity, consuming turkey to celebrate a national holiday provides one of the few instances left to us to preserve and strengthen the sense of a shared national identity.

What do you plan to eat this Thurday? How do you feel about the day in general? Give us your thoughts in the Leave a Reply section below:

Turkey emblematic of national Thanksgiving

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Terrifying Secrets of Family Caregiver Poor Mental Health

Kathy Bates as caregiver Annie Wilkes in Misery

Have you ever suspected that the family caregiver for your invalid parent or a dementia-ridden relative may be suffering mental health problems themselves? Experts at the Mayo Clinic estimate approximately “1 in 3 adults in the United States is an informal or family caregiver” whose value figures to over a trillion dollars annually. Perhaps because of the hidden nature of this unpaid compensation, its beneficiiaries fail to recognize, much less appreciate, the debilitating health care issues these unpaid workers experience.

Impact of Caregiving on Caregivers’ Health

The psychological toll on unpaid health care providers is enormous. The Family Care Alliance claims that “Higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health effects are common among family members who care for an older relative or friend.” Moreover, some stress indicators are obvious; others are subtle. Manifestations of these health effects include:

  • Higher levels of depression
  • Emotional stress
  • Frustration over lack of progress
  • Loss of self-identity and esteem
  • Loss of control over their lives
  • Feelings of exhaustion
  • Cognitive decline

Sources of Stress for the Family Caregiver

Stressors beyond the lack of financial compensation can impact the health and performance of family caregivers. Canada’s in-home care provider The Key cites five factors that influence caregivers ‘ mental health:

  • Conflicting opinions regarding care–squabbles among siblings may necessitate consulting a health care professional
  • New routines–adjusting to the patient’s changing needs can promote caregiver stress
  • Juggling multiple roles–children, employees, and social groups also place demands on a caregiver’s time and emotional capacities
  • Health concerns–maintaining one’s health while giving care can add stress to one’s overall well-being
  • Lacking time to recharge–providing even a short respite from patient demands is essential to provide quality care and prevent provider burnout.

Stressed Caregiving Can Lead to Harmful Behavior

Without the safeguards mentioned above, the actions of the family caregiver can lapse into more dangerous behaviors to themselves and to their patients. Studies show caregivers are more prone to increased alcohol and substance abuse including psychotropic drugs. These studies also show that family caregivers tend to show more hostility than non-caregivers. Furthermore, family caregivers “who are at risk of clinical depression and are caring for a spouse with significant cognitive impairment and/or physical care needs are more likely to engage in harmful behavior toward their loved one.”

Family Caregiver Options

Nobody wants to entrust the well-being of a loved one to a potential Annie Wilkes. To avoid such a possibility, let’s celebrate , National Family Caregiveres Month this November in the same spirit we celebrated Black History Month this year. The Caregiver Action Network (CAN) offers the following advice to caregivers (if you are one) and their families (if you’re supporting one):

First of all, caregivers and family members must be specific about their help offers by stating explicity what task(s) they are willing to do. Identifying specific areas of responsibility lessens misunderstandings and conflict in the future.

Second, family members need to help the caregiver in performing the housekeeping chores necessary in the daily care of the patient.

Third, family members and friends must continue to invite them to family outings and special events. Even if the caregiver’s duties don’t allow them to participate, such invitations alleviate the caregiver’s sense of isolation and neglect.

And finally, family members should check in with the caregiver frequently. Many caregivers feel isolated and alone in discharging their duties.

In sum, money is not the sole compensation caregivers need for discharging family obligations. Love and loyalty deserve their own special recogntion. Thoughtful treatment and understanding among all involved parties can ameliorate the financial under-compensation, repressed resentment, and stress all family caregivers experience.

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Trump’s ‘Killer’ Figures of Speech

Donald Trump's Uses of Figures of Speech

Former president Donald Trump says he wants to unite America but the rehetoric of his speeches reveals his underlying sinister and destructive intent. This is not a new revelation. Scads of his speeches and diatribes before, during, and after his presidency refer to murder, bombing, or the “taking out” of people and/or problems with which he disagrees. What is novel is how the figures of speech in his rhetoric has become routine in our country’s everyday political discourse–the “banality of evil” if you will.

But is it? Has Trump kindled a new ferocity or beastlness in our speech? Or has the blood-thirst always been there, waiting for someone or something to tap into and reignite it? Let’s find out which.

Rhetorical Classifications

People employ numerous forms of rhetorical devices to communicate with one another. Our daily conversations contain both literal and figurative language. The former denotes the exact meaning of the word or phrase, the latter promotes an intensified or persuasive effect. Few of us speak in a literal fashion all or even much of the time. Instead, most of us employ the tropes and schemes of figurative language to persuade or convince others to conform to their way of thinking or behaving. A fine example of this occurred during Ruben Gallego‘s address to the Democratic National Convention last month (See my August newsletter for more details).

Figures of Speech Examples

De Epending on the source, figures of speech can be broken into over 250 sub-categories. Of the two major categories cited above, tropes, words that carry a meaning other than what they ordinarily signify, are more commonly used in everday speech. Some of the most common are:

  • Allegory–a metaphoric narrative in which the literal elements indirectly reveal a parallel story of symbolic or abstract significance
  • Aphorism– briefly phrased, easily memorable statement of a truth or opinion, an adage.
  • Euphemism–substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term for another
    • Hyperbole–use of exaggerated terms for emphasis.
  • Metaphor–an implied comparison between two things, attributing the properties of one thing to another that it does not literally possess.
  • Metonomy–a thing or concept is called not by its own name but rather by the name of something associated in meaning with that thing or concept
  • Snowclone–alteration of a cliche or phrase pattern
    • Zeugma–use of a single verb to describe two or more actions (cf. my August newsletter for a fine example)

Trump’s Most Characteristic Figures of Speech

The examples identified above reflect most of the tropes contained in language Trump commonly uses in his speeches and online postings. Among these, three merit special mention: aphorism, euphemism and hyperbole. Trump’s use of aphorism appears ad nauseum in his phrase, “Make America Great Again.” He employs hyperbole every time he characterizes one of his actions or those taken in his behalf as “perfect.”

However, hIs employment of euphemism is particularly notable. A 2019 USA Today analysis of 64 of his rallies held between 2017 and 2019 revealed Trump used the word “invasion” nineteen times when discussing the topic of immigration. He employed the zoomorphic term “animals” in regards to the immigrants themselves. But among them all, “killer” proves to be Trump’s euphemism of choice. It appeared almost three dozen times in his speeches at those rallies.

Benefit of the Doubt

Some including myself back then dismissed such characterizations as political rhetoric designed and confined to appeal to the prejudice of his followers. And on one level, it is just that. Yet, on another, why does it appeal to them at all? Does his audience actually believe all, most, or even many of the people crossing our borders are cutthroats and murderers?

Probably not. Certainly, many Americans customarily employ the term “killer” in their daily conversations. How often have you heard “[Name of your favorite sports team] really killed them in the fourth quarter.” Or, “I really killed [Name of my opponent] at [card game, sports activity]today].” Examples of hyperbole, sure, but they also express the speakers’ emotional attitude, their satisfaction in annihilating their opponents to the extent they had no recourse left. In short, they lost.

On a personal note, I grew up in Wisconsin, a place where following the Green Bay Packers is, if not a religion, a certain conversation starter. Among all their great players and coaches over the years, the one who most stands out, who headed them during their glory years was Vince Lombardi. His motto: “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”

So What?

My father preached Lombardi’s aphorism like a mantra to me and my brother during our teenage years. Certainly, fathers in dozens of Wisconsin households and all across the country advocated the same to their families. Yet, as important as the content of the expression is the brevity of the idea it expresses. Those same people would shy away from endorsing a concept like winning at all costs is an acceptable form of moral behavior. However, embedding the idea within a witty turn of phrase renders it more supportable and justifiable, ennobles it, in fact.

The same logic applies to winning football, or any endeavor for that matter. If sports aphorisms serve as a metaphor for our daily lives, then the amassing of yardage, the imposition of will becomes a justifiable, even honorable pursuit. Better yet, beating our opponents and by extension, those who disagree with us, into submission becomes a laudatory pursuit. To do so, such that these others, the opponents, have no recourse, no means of fighting back thus becomes an enviable goal in itself.

Connection to Trump’s Figures of Speech

But, one might say, that’s just Trump being Trump. What impact can his language have over the rest of American society?

Plenty. His role as a former president and current Republicqn nominee gives his language an outsized status and power few other individuals possess. His customary hyperbole kicks up a duststorm of obfuscatory ideas, some contradictory, others unrelated, from which he can shield the identity of his true intentions. In short, the quality of his rhetoric transforms him into a figurative Loki of ideas, a veritable shapeshifter in expressing his ideas and opinions.

Moreover, the amorphous quality of his language resonates with others to do the same. Case in point: Mark Robinson, current Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. At a July church gathering, Robinson declared during his address that “some folks need killing.” Spoke in the context of dealing with “evil people,” his target of such violence remained unclear. What was clear, however, was the absolutist nature of his solution–the total annihilation, the killing of the other–applicable to anyone different from him and his beliefs.

The Upshot of Trump’s Figure Language

Robinson exemplifies the “banality of evil” mentioned above and cited so often by mainstream media. The ordinary quality of his speech combined with the hyperbole contained within it reflect the absolutist, right vs. wrong quality of his thinking. For him and for Trump, the world is a battleground between good and evil. In such a dystopian worldview, there can only be winners and losers because the only ones fit to live are those who possess the correct qualities that merit living. What those qualities might be are reserved to the individual who defines them.

That condemns everyone to the fate of isolation from everyone else–alone to fight with whatever powers one has. That is a fine working scenario if one believes in a merciful god willing to provide assistance, but what about those who don’t believe in such a deity? Or those who believe in a deity that differs from the one the first person has chosen? Or those who believe in none at all?

Based on the evidence, an alternative solution may be to resonate with those individuals whose language patterns contain figures of speech which acknowledge the uncertainty of human existence and which accept the inclusion of new ideas, beliefs, and life styles.

However, embedding these figures in the everday speech of our leaders is not enough. Perhaps the best way to dampen the evil that pervades the human spark of life is to counter it with a backfire flame of compassion, unity and tolerance. It might not extinguish the evil that exists within us, but it may help in recogizing and accepting its existance in all of us while nurturing the good impulses within ourselves as well.