Another possible cure for depression... or not...

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel so blue you think, "I'm going to sit in front of the TV and eat ice cream until I feel better..."?

Only you're not sure that much ice cream exists...?

While the Vic’s away…

Yesterday, I drove Vicky to the airport so she could catch a flight to the Midwest. Vicky’s gone away for a paralegal conference and I’m at home all alone… and ready to start some trouble!

… Wait. Let me clarify…

As much as I might like to think of myself as one of those crazy writers you hear so much about having sexual escapades while ingesting too many drugs – snorting coke off a model’s abdomen, for instance – the truth is… well, would you like to know the truth? Would you like to know how crazy I get when Vicky’s gone?

Here it is. Here’s the craziness this author gets into when his wife is out of town…

The first thing I did was to prepare myself for several days of sin and debauchery… I bought several large, frozen pizzas. Then, I made sure I had plenty of booze and Otter Pops. (I have this theory that Otter Pops would made amazing ice in vodka… we’ll see.)

After I dropped Vicky off at the airport, I immediately went home and began setting up my DVR to record every James Bond film shown on our movie channels until this weekend. That equals about a dozen James Bond flicks, and that includes Moonraker! (And, yes. I will watch Moonraker!)

At some point in the next few days, I plan to sit in front of my TV, with lots of booze, and watch James Bond flicks until I can’t stand it anymore…

… I know. I’m boring. But, truth be told, I’ve never sat through an entire James Bond flick. I think I’ve seen half of each of them but never an entire movie.

By the time Vicky comes home, I will be going crazy from missing her as will our pets. I’ll let her deal with that.

Life does not stink...

I was out at breakfast this morning with my friend, Sean, and I found myself saying, “Things are really different these days. I used to have a job that I went to every morning. I’d wear clothes I didn’t like very much and go to a job I didn’t like very much. I hardly ever got to do what I wanted to do. Now, I wear what I want. I do what I want. My whole career is about doing what I want. Even the things I don’t want to do aren’t really things I don’t want to do; I just want to move on to the next thing I want to do.”

I took a deep breath and realized, “Yeah, things do not suck.”

It’s a strange revelation for someone like me, that things do not suck. I spent a lot of my life caught in situations that sucked, that really sucked. I was in a divorce that sucked. I was in relationships that sucked. I worked at jobs where I wasn’t respected and that sucked. I worked at jobs with loathsome people and that sucked.

It’s just nice to know that things do not suck.

So, I thought I’d talk a little about that today. I wanted to get the word out. I wanted to share my happiness with those who love me. I wanted to share my fortune with my readers. I’ve seen how sometimes old friends who have stopped talking to me read this blog and I wanted to let them know. I even know of some who dislike me for unresolvable reasons and I thought I’d let them know, too.

Life is good.

I’m working on projects I can be proud of. I just finished a novel that I think is a lot of fun; my agent should like it (which is saying something). My next project is another memoir, another chapter in my life. I’ve put out some good plays recently and have garnered a little, dare I say, respect.

Mind you, I say things like “Life is good” and I cringe a bit. I look skywards for the anvil that may drop on my head. I’ve still got that superstitious streak everyone who was once religious finds so difficult to shed.

Saying “Life is good”, I also immediately think of my wife, Vicky. This is mostly her doing. She has gone out of her way to make this opportunity possible, for me to write for a living, and I like to think I’ve taken the ball and run with it. I hope my running will suffice. Actually, running – which in this case actually means “writing” – is what I’ve wanted to do for so long. Together, we’re putting me in that place where I can run.

Vicky’s going to go away next week and I’ll be on my own. I have a pile of work I can’t wait to get to while she’s gone. At the same time, though, I know I’ll miss her. But it’s that feeling, that knowledge that I’ll miss her, that makes me feel good. Knowing how crazy I am about my wife, and knowing she loves me as well, just adds to my feeling of well-being. It’s nice to have someone to miss.

Anyway, there you are. I’m running. I’m loving. I’m working. These are all active verbs, which is to say I am not just sitting around wishing things would get better or hoping for an opportunity. I am not alone. I am not aimless. My life is pretty darned full (and even fun) at this point.

Life does not stink.

10 questions...

Front Row Lit is featuring a 10 Question interview with me today: http://frontrowlit.com/?p=2356.

Please head on over, share and enjoy. And thank you for your support!

Where cut? Hair cut!...

When I was younger, I used to love growing my hair long. The problem, however, was that I could never grow it long enough! I’d get it just past my shoulders in length and I’d have to get a job or something – DAMN! If only, I would bemoan, I could live a life free of the restrictions jobs put on me. If only I could write for a living!...

And now… I do.

Sure, I don’t write for a living wage. I don’t write for a sufficient income, that’s for damned sure. But Vicky has been kind enough to see to it that I have this opportunity to capitalize on some huge momentum – a new book published, interest in another, a play production coming in November – to focus on making my writing career happen.

You’d think this would be the perfect time to grow my hair long.

Ummmmmm… no.

Because now I have other concerns to wrestle with and these are jogging and cycling. Neither one of those are what you might call conducive to long hair. Or, I should say that long hair is not conducive to either of those. Helmets don’t fit right and my hair falls in my face when I jog.

Rather than grow my hair long, I decided to go… the other way…

And so, Vicky and I found ourselves at Target recently purchasing a hair trimmer. We returned home and I sat on a chair in the middle of our kitchen.

Vicky nervously turned on the trimmer and nervously took it to my head and I nervously sat there and listened to Vicky nervously mutter, “Oh my… Oh my…”

Oh my, was right. When she was done, Vicky had shorn most of the hair off my head! My hair hasn't been this short since, well, perhaps since I was nine years old! The result is… well, I won’t say it’s attractive but it is highly functional and I kinda love it. In fact, I’m tempted to have her buzz it down even further!

I went jogging yesterday morning and never had to worry about my hair. Somewhere in there, my hair went from being my one feature I thought looked good to, well, expendable!

Is this it, then? Is this the end of the old – or should I say, the young – Ken? Do I have thirty or forty (or, let’s be serious, twenty) years of shorn scalp to look forward to?

… I don’t know. I guess it depends on if I ever get comfortable being seen in public without my hair…

I’ll keep you posted.

Always something new...

Dear readers,

My monthly article is up over on Recovering The Self. Please check it out as this month I talk about all that "Can't" can do...

And remember that www.kenlasalle.com is updated regularly, so please check that out as well if you find yourself so inclined.

... and buy me an ice cream if you get a chance...

Looking good in Jeanz...

Today, my friend Jeanz, who runs the great indie site "Jeanz Book Read'n'Review" has more features on me than I can shake a stick at. So, with that said... let's start shaking...

Click here to read the first part of her profile of some of my work online!

Click here to read the second part of her profile of some of my work online!

And click here to read her interview, in which I discuss writing (big surprise) as well as those I owe a great deal to, some of my favorite projects, and where this whole writing gig is taking me!

I hope you enjoy it. And please share it with friends. The only way this works is if you spread the word!

:)

I can jog 200 miles…

I decided to do something different this year and begin recording every time I jogged or went cycling.

I’ll tell you that the cycling part didn’t work out so well. As you might know, I have two bicyles: the Giant and the Tank. The Tank is a 20 year old mountain bike with road tires that weighs about 500 pounds (or so). I’ve ridden that a lot in the last few years because it has armadillo tires, that’s Kevlar baby! I never got a flat on the Tank so it was great for long rides.

With just one problem.

It weighs 500 pounds (or so).

So, this year I decided to retire the Tank and take more rides on the Giant. All I needed to do was get an armadillo tire for my back wheel and everything would be…

And that was it for cycling. (Seriously, I need to get to the bike shop!)

As it turns out, I’ve been jogging far more often than I’ve been cycling. With the middle of the year coming up, I decided to check the excel file in which I record all these things – and found that I’ve jogged over 200 miles!

Now, let me go on record here and say, “Sure. I know 200 miles is nothing for other people. But, for me, it’s really something!”

I used to love to jog long ago, before I started smoking. So, to be back in a place where I can jog six or seven or eight miles at a stretch, totaling more than 200 in just six months? Well, that makes me very happy.

I’m not saying it makes me very thin, mind you, because I’m still a big, fat pig. But, things could be worse.

I’ll keep jogging…

Climbing Maya - now in paperback!

Who needs a Kindle or a Nook?

Now, you can pick up Climbing Maya in paperback! (And I really hope you do, too!)

Just head on down to Amazon by clicking this link to pick up your copy of my philosophical memoir, Climbing Maya.

The Worth of Dreams The Value of Dreamers is now available!...

My Year-One compillation of articles from Recovering The Self, which I'm calling The Worth of Dreams The Value of Dreamers, is now available for the Kindle and Kindle-app e-readers! You can pick it up for the very low price of just $1.95!

Yes, it will be coming soon for all e-readers and an audio book is possibly out on the horizon. (Working hard on that!)

I hope you enjoy it and share the new with your friends.

The "Occupy" Philosophy...

Is philosophy dead? Does it hold any meaning for any of us in our day-to-day lives?

There are signs that philosophy is still alive, that its old heart is still beating and it's not just tired words from dead guys. Check out my recent article in the Journal of Humanitarian Affairs titled: The "Occupy" Philosophy.

Plugging along...

Yes, it's another entry where I'll be plugging something else. Makes you long for the days of my rants, doesn't it?

But, believe me, this is a good one! Skive Magazine has made this month's issue about dreams and has enlisted 58 authors to tell you theirs. I am fortunate to count myself amongst that number and if you'd like to pick up a copy for a low, low price, just click this link. You'll be glad you did!

Angela Kay Austin gives some love to Climbing Maya...

Today, Angela Kay Austin is featuring Climbing Maya on her website.

Stop on by and share some love. Tell some friends and, if you haven't already, pick up a digital copy! (Just stop by www.kenlasalle.com to see where it's available.) The paperback version is just around the corner!

You've got to give yourself permission...

This month on Recovering The Self, I talk about an important step for anyone pursuing their dream: Giving Yourself Permission.

Click this link to give it a read.

That’s us with the piles of food…

Vicky and I went out the other night because it was Vicky’s last night of freedom before teaching for another couple of months. Vicky’s teaching schedule gets so crazy – she tells me it’s because she loves it – that we knew it would be our last chance for a while, so…

Sunday night, we hit Bucca di Beppo because, well, I have a love affair with their spaghetti and meat sauce. We waited along with a hundred other people for a table – I was the idiot who thought they wouldn’t be busy – and were finally called up with another couple.

Is this how they’re seating people now? I wondered. Is this like a swing party but with food?

As it turned out, two booths had opened up next to each other. Couple #1 sat in one booth and we grabbed the other. Good… that would have been awkward…

As we perused the menus, the question came up as it always did: Should we order a small or large portion? For those who know Bucca, everything is served “Family Style” on a big plate so you can share. I love this because I’m a big fan of having a little of this and a little of that. We usually order the small portion, which turns out to be fine and we often have leftovers. But, with Vicky teaching every evening for the foreseeable future, I decided why not live wild for a change and get a lot of leftovers?

“Let’s get the large tonight,” I told Vicky. I ordered my beloved spaghetti with meat sauce and Vicky ordered the far less boring penne arrabiata.

And then, we sat back with our bread and Vicky’s wine and my soda and gabbed about school and work and writing and upcoming events until…

Enough food to feed a small army was laid out on our table! Two massive plates filled with pasta occupied our table like squatters and I could feel the eyes of the world turn our way.

“Good thing we wanted leftovers,” I announced, uncomfortably. It wasn’t bad enough that everyone in the restaurant seemed to be looking at us, my imagination was bringing in every starving child of the world.

Vicky didn’t say anything about how I was just pig enough to try and eat it all… but I could feel her thinking it.

We brought our leftovers home in industrial-strength tins, the kind they drop on starving nations out of modified bombers. As I carried them out, I thought about how some people must have thought we were pigs, while others just thought we were bad cooks.

Either way, I’m happy to stay home for a few weeks until the next time Vicky and I go to a restaurant and I embarrass us again…

Climbing Maya - now for your Nook!...

Barnes and Noble now has my philosophical memoir, Climbing Maya, available directly for your Nook! If you have a Nook, I hope you check it out. (Of course, it is still also available on Amazon and Smashwords as well.)

Just click this line to go directly to the Barnes & Noble Climbing Maya page and purchase your copy, with my thanks!

Front Row Lit Climbs Maya...

This morning, Front Row Lit is providing an excerpt of Climbing Maya for your reading pleasure!

If you like what you see, you can check out the trailer, go to my website, even purchase a copy of Climbing Maya (with my thanks).

Night of Sleep Wipes Insomniac Out…

As many of you know, I am an insomniac. What this means is I often go a week or two, or sometimes three, without a full night of sleep. Oh, I’ll sleep a couple of hours… um, cumulative hours, meaning I catch an hour here and an hour there. Sometimes, I’ll get really lucky and have four hours of sleep… straight through!

I’ll go like this for a stretch of time until, finally and thankfully, my body will crash and I will receive a restful, blissful night of sleep.

Ahhhhhhh….

And then, I wake up the next morning feeling like hell. My body aches all over. I am so tired I can barely stand.

What the hell, man?!

You’re supposed to sleep to get rest but my stupid body gets more tired when it gets sleep. I think that’s because it goes so long without a good night’s sleep that when it gets it it just wants more. And it hurts because it feels so very, very tired.

Kinda sucks.

That’s how I woke up this morning, by the way. I crashed last night around 10:30pm – Vicky was still up – and I went to bed before her. I’m sure she knew by now what that signified. After all, I rarely go to bed first and she was downstairs still watching TV (and working, of course). I slept until 6:30 this morning, clocking in exactly eight hours!

And felt like shit when I woke up.

After a few nights awake, I’m sure I’ll be back to normal…

PTO'd...

I’d like to tell you about how much my life has changed in the past few years. Some of this has to do with writing but I assure you it’s not fit for posting on the other blog. After all, it also has to do with Vicky.

Vicky and I were on the phone yesterday and she was telling me about how her Paid Time Off (or PTO) hours would be increasing because she’s been at her job for a long time. Vicky often tells me about how well she’s doing at work and I congratulate her because I really think she’s doing splendidly.

But, beneath all that, I feel a kind of envy, a jealousy, because I know I’m not going to reach that point. I’m not going to be at a job that long. It’s just not in the cards. My days of working in the corporate world appear to be over. I lost my chance.

As I thought this, another thought crept in – a realization.

I’ve got several books available online with more coming out this year. I’m having three plays produced this year. More things could be coming down the line; it’s only May!

I realized that now that I am devoting my time, my life, to writing I have no need for Paid Time Off! And if I ever did have Paid Time Off, odds are I wouldn’t take it! I’d stay home and write!

Most of this is due to Vicky. If it wasn’t for her hard work, my writing career wouldn’t stand a chance. I’m not making that much money from book sales, after all! Not only should I be happy that Vicky is doing well in her job, I should be grateful – and I am!

Once I realized this – once I understood that my life for the foreseeable future, at least, will be devoted to my writing career – the idea of PTO seemed silly. Time off? From writing? Why would I want that?

Somehow, when I wasn’t looking, I became a writer. And that's something I never want to take a vacation from.

Just a word on Stephanie Miller…

I wrote a piece several years ago, or so it seems, about how much I loved Stephanie Miller… and it became the most popular blog entry ever!

Seriously, I get a lot of hits from people checking out my relationship status with our favorite, sexy Liberal. Well, let me clear the air a bit. Stephanie and I, while we see eye to eye on so many things, aren’t in a relationship. In fact, we’ve never spoken to each other.

I’d love if things were different… you know, if she’d have me on her show to promote Climbing Maya, for instance. What do you say, Stephanie? Why don’t we do that?

… You probably shouldn’t hold your breath. I’m just a guy, no celeb, no pundit, nobody to help boost ratings… just a guy…

Still…

Steph? Drop me a line.

www.kenlasalle.com/contact-me

Maybe we can talk.

And check out Climbing Maya. You might like it!

Early reviews for Climbing Maya are in...

"Climbing Maya is a deceptively easy read of a complex subject laced with humor, compassion and philosophy... Try it and see..."

Nik Morton

Ken La Salle: Indie Writer...

Just found out a new interview has been posted online by Kris Wampler. Kris is the author of the awesome new book "Love Train". (You can check it out by clicking this link.)

Kris and I discuss the release of Climbing Maya, some other proejcts I'm working on, and what it's like to be an indie writer.

Many thanks to Kris for kindly coordinating the release of this interview with the Climbing Maya launch date!

Climbing Maya announces solidarity with Occupy Movement...

May 1, 2012 – Climbing Maya provides a fresh look at “success”in concert with the Occupy Movement’s May Day return.

A new philosophical memoir is hitting the streets on May 1st that is spiritually in tune with the goals and motivations of the Occupy Movement. Climbing Maya, by Ken La Salle, turns traditional ideas about success on their head and presents a view of success that is fundamentally different from our current materialistic, simplistic understanding.

Climbing Maya’s official launch date of May 1st is symbolic of its shared objective with the Occupy Movement: that we turn away from the superficial understandings that have gotten us all into so much trouble and that we look instead towards a definition of success that takes more than just money into consideration. Climbing Maya shows why the pursuit of greed is, in the end, not fulfilling and why empathy is crucial to any understanding of success. At their core, both Climbing Maya and the Occupy Movement are saying the same thing in different ways: that success is meaningless without context or reference.

“My goal with Climbing Maya,” La Salle recently said, “has always been to create a definition of success that is easy to comprehend, sustainable, and enriching for all people. I believe the Occupy Movement, in standing against those who would manipulate the system unfairly, are looking for the same kind of thing. That is why this release date feels so right.”

Climbing Maya is a philosophical memoir that asks “What is success?” and doesn’t let go until it has the answer. Is it fame? Is it family? Do the old answers of career and money really hold up? How can we have one word for something that means so many things? Why does the dictionary get it wrong? When Ken La Salle loses his job, and sees one friend taking care of his dying wife and another friend killing himself with alcohol, he decides to find the answer. Climbing Maya weaves his search for an answer in the storyline of what happened to his friends and himself as they came to terms with this pivotal question.

Author and playwright, Ken La Salle can be found on the web at www.kenlasalle.com.

The Occupy Movement is a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing each member has in common is that They Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. Occupy uses the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve its ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants. Occupy will be “rebooting” on May 1st with a general strike calling for solidarity in the 99%. No work – No school – No housework – No shopping.

Jeanie Pantelakis of Sullivan Maxx Literary Agency represents Climbing Maya. You may reach her at www.sullivanmaxx.com.

Climbing Maya is published by Solstice Publishing. Solstice is the fastest growing mid-market publisher in the USA. Since 2008, more than 80 authors have covered every category of fiction with a rapidly expanding line of nonfiction. Solstice books are available in every ebook format with paperback editions also available. They can be found on the web at www.solsticepublishing.com.

Climbing Maya launches!

Climbing Maya is now available!

You can find Climbing Maya for Kindle and Kindle-App readers by clicking this link.

You can find Climbing Maya for all a-readers by clicking this link. (I've got you covered!)

Please be sure to pick up a copy of Climbing Maya. Thank you!

For those who dream...

May brings a new Recovering the Self article a day early... which isn't exactly May but why split hairs?

This month, I get back to basics. What are dreams and why are they important? Please give it a read and share in your various social media tubes if you are thusly inclinated...

Occupy This Book...

I am proud to say that on the very same day the Occupy Movement is calling for a general strike, my philosophical memoir Climbing Maya is also being released. Climbing Maya shares and endorses many of the core values of the Occupy Movement, from a move away from materialism to a search for deeper meaning that what is in your wallet.

Check out Climbing Maya when it hits the digital bookshelves on May 1st!

Linguisa...

Leave it to Word not to know the word “linguisa”.

Today, I thought I’d write about a recent and awfully long overdue discovery: Linguisa. (There are many ways to spell it, and Word doesn’t recognize any of them.) If you know me, you know I love to cook (and eat), which is why I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never cooked with linguisa before.

Oh, I’ve heard about it. Back in high school, Sean Roberson used to talk about how his parents would cook with it. They weren’t rich or anything but my family was so poor we never went in for… you know… good food. I don’t think we ever saw pork, for that matter.

If you haven’t heard of linguisa before, WiseGeek refers to it this way: “The primary ingredient of linguiça is pork butt, which is cutinto rough pieces and mixed with spices. Pork butt tends to be lean, resultingin a leaner sausage with a more meaty flavor. Common spices in linguiça includeoregano, paprika, garlic, pepper, cumin, and sometimes cinnamon.”

That sounds pretty damned good!

I’m sure I’ve had linguisa at a restaurant but this weekend I decided to give cooking with it a try. How did that happen? Well, Costco had a display of scallops and linguisa and I thought about an amazing jambalaya I could put together… until I saw that the scallops were around $25. So, I stuck with the linguisa.

There’s not much else to say. I put together a rather rustic pasta sauce: tomatoes, linguisa, olives, mushrooms, oregano, garlic, wine, chicken stock, crushed red peppers, and maybe a couple of other things. I let that simmer and reduce and work its magic for a couple of hours and I was done. I decided to serve it over linguini so I’d have a nice, fat pasta to hold all the greasy, lovely goodness.

And it was good.

It was damned good.

I’ll tell you right now. I’m never going back to ground beef. Screw that! I am linguisa’s bitch from now on! (Not to mention now that we have mad cow in the states, I think I’ll stay away from ground beef…)

That is all. Go buy some linguisa and make yourselves some goodness.

Sweet Sweat…

As some of you may know, today is Vicky’s birthday.

Without going into too much detail about what she got or where she went, I do have one story to share. It involved my atrocious handwriting and her birthday card, two things that I assure you do not go together well at all.

Having signed her card and put it in the envelope, I wrote on the envelope: To My Sweety Birthday Girl. But my handwriting is so bad, as is my eyesight (that’s right, I’m turning into a mole man in my advanced old age), that I was afraid you could read that as: To My Sweaty Birthday Girl.

Ignoring the horrible grammar for a minute – seriously, I looked at it and asked, “What the hell does that mean?” – I realized this could turn out very bad. And recognizing the grammar for a minute, “Sweaty Birthday Girl” makes more sense grammatically. Was Vicky going to think I called her “Sweaty”???

So, let’s clear this up right now.

It’s “Sweety”. She’s my “Sweety”.

And I have horrible handwriting. I’m aware of this.

Bozeman News meets Climbing Maya...

Bozeman News has a feature on Climbing Maya, along with the new trailer!

Check it out!

Climbing Maya, The Trailer

Climbing Maya - the Postcards!

As part of the promotion for Climbing Maya, I've ordered a few postcards to help get the word out. I can't share with you the postcard over a blog but...
... oh wait....
Yes, I can!

I'm trying to get the word out as much as possible so if you could share these with - oh - everyone you know, I would be very appreciative.

On the topic of dreams...

It's been a year of blogging over at Recovering the Self and what a terrific year it has been.

You can read my latest piece at Recovering the Self by clicking this link!

Climbing Maya, coming May 1st from Solstice Publishing...

Writing is different with Vicky…

Lots of big announcements keep coming down the pipe.

As you know, Climbing Maya is coming out on May 1st from Solstice Publishing. I’ve also just lined up my first production in San Francisco – more on that to come.

As I was up working this morning – insomnia, again – I did a bit of reflecting on this, which is easy when you’re half asleep. I thought about how different things would have been – just where my writing is concerned – without Vicky.

I often tell Vicky how thankful I am that she’s in my life and I make sure she knows that this writing career of mine owes quite a bit to her. And I’m not just talking about how much money she makes, though that is very helpful to a starving (obviously not literally) artist like me.

If you look back on my body of work, you’ll find that most of it wasn’t written before Vicky came along. Somehow, I was writing for 20 years before I met Vicky and eight years since and yet most of my books and nearly every one of my plays came after we met.

Look at just the two most recent deals. Climbing Maya literally couldn’t exist without her. She’s in it! And then, there’s Murielle’s Big Date, which will be produced at The Dark Room Theatre in San Francisco during the first three weeks of November. Murielle is a play about love without the pain of love that had tainted everything up until then. It was really my first play celebrating love and it came after Vicky came into my life.

Now, I’m writing Dynamic Pluralism, a book so ambitious it changes the philosophy of ethics. I had been working on it for nearly 20 years, but it wasn’t until Vicky that I believed in myself enough to start writing it. Vicky helped me find that belief in myself.

Granted, she’s a pain in the ass and she gives me a lot of grief – and that’s just the start. But I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the benefit of her in my life.

Thanks, Vic.

Qualifying…

Vicky and I embraced our inner redneck (rednecks?) and went to watch qualifying at the Auto Club Speedway for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race. It is still bizarre to many people – least of which is myself – that I’ve embraced (and then some) Vicky’s love of NASCAR. But I have and so Vicky wasn’t exactly twisting my arm to get me out there.

We made it to the track in time and hustled up to the stands… and hustled up the stands… and up the stands… and up… and up…

By the time we reached our seats, I could touch Mars. We were high up.

Having been there before – yes, I’ve been to a hoe-down or two – I knew what to expect. I had my ear-plugs against the engine noise. I was familiar with how the cars would be scored, what to look for, and about how fast they should run. But… the vertigo and nausea were entirely new to me. I realized it right away, as I looked straight down at the cars, far out into the distance to follow them, and them closer to read the signs… and it was all making me sick.

Once upon a time, I would have shut it down and said, “That’s it. I don’t like this. Let’s go.” But I knew how much Vicky had been looking forward to this and I didn’t want to disappoint her. Anyway, qualifying would take only a couple of hours… of vertigo and nausea…

Fortunately, I made it. I watched my favorite driver (Juan Pablo) qualify fairly well – not great – and enjoyed the efforts that came in faster than him. We left through the sea of fat, white people smoking way too much – so, there are some parts of NASCAR I’m still not used to – and went out to Vicky’s car. From there, we headed off to Vicky’s brother’s place.

Vicky’s brother and his wife, Lani, have this very sweet little girl named Maddy. Maddy is a sweet girl, as I mentioned, but not used to big, white men walking into her house. I mean, beside myself, the only big, white guy who walks in is her grandfather, Steve, and he comes over only a little more than I do. So, it came as no surprise that Maddy was less than happy to see me. In fact, she kept a very safe distance as she looked at me as though I was some kind of oddity, not dangerous but certainly not welcome.

Now, the thing about me is that I know I’ve got to be honest here and it might not be right. So, let me apologize in advance to all involved. But I am very aware that Vicky loves her niece and wants me to love her too – and more importantly wants Maddy to love me. Things haven’t worked out exactly to plan with Vicky and me having children of our own and, while I can’t see into the future, I know her niece (and future nieces/nephews) may be all she gets. And I don’t want her to feel like she won’t get that either, because of me.

So, after playing with Maddy and throwing her kisses, which Maddy promptly threw back in the just-over-one-year-old kind of way of hers, Vicky looked at me and said, “Now, you do it.”

I felt kind of like an idiot. “I’m not throwing kisses to a baby,” I muttered. Yep, that’s how good I am with kids. Deal with it.

Vicky did. She said, “Come on. Just do it.”

So, me being me, I explained what I was going to do to Maddy and asked her not to leave me hanging. I blew a kiss… and got… nothing. I blew a second kiss, feeling like an ass… and Maddy returned it!

I felt like that big white dog in the Warner Bros cartoons who lets the little black cat make a bed on his back.

And when we left, Maddy leaned over to me and, in a sigh of acceptance, bumped her head against mine. What can I say? Kids just don’t communicate like we do.

Nobody can say my life turned out at all like I expected, least of all me. But the things is it did turn out… so I have no complaints.

More than one liners…

Insomnia again last night.

I was up and a bit dazed from lack of sleep… and beer, I must admit. Keeping me amused as I sat downstairs, having given up on finding anything on TV, was a stream of one-liners. I had no idea where they came from.

For instance:

That wasn’t an enema, that was Lake Mead.
That wasn’t an enema, you were trying to drill a molar.
That wasn’t an enema, you were checking for storage space.
That wasn’t an enema, you were looking for something I ate in the 5th grade.
That wasn’t an enema, you were drilling an escape tunnel.
That wasn’t an enema, that was five guys with a water pistol.
That wasn’t an enema, that was the Pacific Fleet.

And on and on they went.

I had no idea why the fixation with enemas but, being awake, I kept trying to outdo the last. I had no idea how many I thought of but there were a lot more than I listed here. These were just the ones I remembered. I have no idea what I’ll do with them – because, of course, I’ve squirrelled them away for later use – but you can be sure they’ll pop up somewhere.

For those wondering when I’m “off”… keep wondering.

A Tale of Two Litterboxes…

It’s a dirty story but one that deserves to be told…

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Harley, our Maine Coon cat had taken to peeing, oh, just about anywhere in our garage except in her litterbox, which was also in the garage. No matter what we tried, she just wouldn’t use it.

She had used it before but, for some reason, had stopped and found anywhere on the floor far more convenient.

It was pretty disgusting.

Then, Vicky suggested we get a second litterbox and put that in the garage. This seemed like a silly idea to me. “Why would she use a second litterbox and not the first?” I asked.

And so, despite my logic, Harley kept peeing.

Finally, when a friend offered Vicky a free litterbox, I acquiesced, claiming that Vicky would see the error in her logic once she put in the second litterbox. After all, I reasoned again, why would a cat not use a first litterbox but choose to use a second? It made no sense.

And then, of course, Harley proved me wrong by doing exactly that. She used the second litterbox with no problem and still refused to use the first.

The second litterbox was an open tray box while the first was a booda box styled litter box, which are covered to keep in odors and provide privacy… but mostly to keep in those odors.

On an impulse, I removed the top to the booda box… and Harley began using the first box. And there you go! The reason she was no using the first box was because of the cover!

That said, we kept the second box all the same. After all, I’d been proved wrong once already…

Coming Soon to a Magazine Near You!... (but you have to have the magazine near you...)

Greetings dear reader,


As you may have heard, I'll be in next month's copy of Recovering the Self magazine. They just recently released a Coming Soon piece over on their website, the text of which I will reproduce here...

The coming issue of Recovering the Self (April 2012) takes the theme of “Starting Over” thorough the writings of people had those hard times in their personal and/or professional lives and had those “awakening moments” whereby we receive the gift of valuing life in the present as we have it in and around us.


This issue features the following articles:


Taking the Opportunity by Ken La Salle*
The Woman Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming by Dinah Dietrich
The Blue Dots by Nancy-Gail Burns
Forgiveness Is Not A One-Time Act by Rosana Brasil
Starting Over by Kat Fasano-Nicotera
Take Pride, Not Sorrow by Sarah Jane Conteh… and many others.


Also included in the issue will be a special interview with psychologist Steve Taylor of the Leeds Metropolitan University, author of the recent book Out of the Darkness, which explores the subject of how people transform spiritually after turmoil or hitting rock bottom at some point in their lives.


Inspirational, healing, and empowering, the April 2012 issue is all you want to read for your life to come live again!

Stop by the Recovering the Self website (or your favorite online magazine etailer - Amazon's a good one) and pick up your copy of April's Recovering the Self today! (You probably won't get it until April, though... I'm just saying...)





*Underlining and bolding may just be mine...

New Look/New Home...

There have been some big changes in my world lately.


First, as you can see, I’ve changed the look of the blog a bit. It’s a big more streamlined, a bit less cluttered. Vicky’s bound to hate it.

Next, well, there’s the new book – Climbing Maya coming soon from Solstice Publishing – the article in next month’s Recovering The Self, and continued work on Dynamic Pluralism, my book on ethics. You can say I’ve been busy. Really… you can say that.

The biggest change of all, however, has to be the new website. Yes! Check out http://www.kenlasalle.com/! It’s my new site with books and plays and – well, let me let the press release tell you the whole thing.

Author and Playwright, Ken La Salle, plants his Internet flag with a new website.


Ken La Salle has created a new website at http://www.kenlasalle.com/ to help celebrate and promote his exciting writing career. With areas for coming projects, his theatrical plays, and places where you can purchase his books, http://www.kenlasalle.com/ brings you Ken La Salle in all his Ken La Salliness… if such a thing is possible.


“Dynamic content?” La Salle asked. “We’ve got that. Exciting events around the corner? We’ve got that, too! Lots of cool stuff. Yes! Emphatically so! Future expansion into new and amazing directions? Well… no. Not yet. We’re still waiting for the future on that one.”


Ken La Salle is the author of many e-books available on Amazon and Smashwords for every e-reader, with genres spanning horror and fantasy, comedy and romance, and more. Later this year, Solstice Publishing will release La Salle’s philosophical memoir, Climbing Maya, which examines the illusory nature of success in the 21st century. You can also catch La Salle’s monthly articles on pursuing your dreams at the Recovering the Self website.


Ken La Salle’s plays have been seen on stages up and down the California coast and in New York as well. Last year’s OC-Centric New Play Festival featured La Salle’s short, The Myth of the Cubicle, to enthusiastic crowds. A shockingly true farce, Cubicle analyzes the absurdity of the American workplace and a social safety net chewed through by the rats of big business. Recently, Horse Trade Theatre in NY also featured a staged reading of La Salle’s comedy, Murielle’s Big Date.


La Salle recently stated that http://www.kenlasalle.com/ will feature dynamic content that will be regularly updated to keep fans, supporters, and haters alike up to date with new releases, appearances, and everything the struggling artist plans to do to make a little scratch in our changing theatrical and publishing world.


Ken La Salle is represented by Sullivan Maxx Literary Agency supported by a beautiful wife and abused by more people than he can or would like to name.

I hope you enjoy http://www.kenlasalle.com/. The big changes are only beginning…

A few things you might not know about Vicky…

I was sitting here, trying to think of what I wanted to write about this week, and all I could think about was Vicky. That shouldn’t be too surprising. Here at my desk, I am surrounded by five pictures of Vicky. I love seeing her face.

I’ve probably mentioned how terrific Vicky is but today I thought I’d tell you a few reasons why she’s so great. There are, of course, reasons why she is great for me. For anyone else, she’d be a nightmare – so keep away!

A couple of weekends ago, on a lark, we headed down to Metro Pointe. A lark? We had no reason to be there; I can’t even remember how we ended up down there! But there we were, talking about visiting the Barnes and Noble to languish through some books (sometimes, there is nothing better) or wandering to the Container Store to look at… well, containers. It really didn’t matter much. Vicky is just nice to be with.

I think that’s the key. I just like being with her.

Plump people that we are, we were both typically peckish and decided to drop into Boudin Café. I’d never been there before. My only experience with it had been walking by with Essex – so long ago that it such things as walk by with Essex – and talking about how good it looked. Well, Vicky found that a perfect reason for taking me.

We went in and enjoyed soup in bread bowls and we each enjoyed eating the bowl. It was great, just enjoying this simple pleasure with my wife.

Then, off we went to Barnes & Noble. Now that there’s no Borders, I really hope to find one of my books in there one day. For now, we wandered the aisles and gabbed. Vicky saw a Crock Pot and called my mom to see if she had one. That’s just the kind of person she is. Vicky will see things and say, “Let’s buy it for such and such.” Mind you, it’s hell on our budget but you have to love her generosity.

After a while, we went our separate ways, texting each other now and then. While I was there, I witnessed a couple of teenage couples kissing against the bookshelves. Okay, Vicky and I are no longer there but I’m okay with that, for the most part.

That’s the thing about Vicky. She has become my partner in business and love, my best friend, and the neatest person I know. I just wanted to share that.

This month's Recovering the Self...

Dreams can be downright silly at times and pursuing them is sillier still. But sometimes, you just have to go with it. Embrace the journey!

This month's Recovering the Self blog talks about just this kind of thing (click the link!), grabbing ahold of the weirdness any dream will take you on and enjoying every minute! Oh, there's a little name-dropping, too.

Hope you enjoy it!

to bury and not to praise...

What do we consider a successful life? When is someone’s passing considered a loss?


Andrew Breitbart lived a disingenuous life where every hurt he caused someone else was later shrugged off as a joke. Breitbart had a good laugh over the harm he and James O’Keefe caused ACORN. Breitbart acted like hurting Shirley Sherrod and the good that she was doing was hilarious. When Breitbart cost Anthony Weiner his job, for doing absolutely nothing illegal, he had a grand time.

And just a few weeks ago, he accused people who were simply exercising their first amendment rights of rape. Of rape. He slandered them in the press and smeared them on the Internet; he went this far to hurt the reputations and yes the feelings too of those involved with the Occupy Movement. He then appeared on The Young Turks and responded to Cenk Uyngur’s sincere questions as if it was one big joke.

Andrew Breitbart, just like the Limbaughs of the world and the (what was his name? ) Becks, respond to the serious issues of the day by mocking those who try to help, by smearing those who care, by verbally assaulting anyone who would bother to lift a finger for those less fortunate. Now that he has passed, I wonder who would cry for such a person. Would even his family feel bad about the loss of someone who would rather hurt the innocent than help them? Probably, but I cannot imagine many others.

If a successful life is measured by those who touch the lives of others and help where they can, Breitbart’s must be seen as little more than a waste. Let’s hope whoever steps up to replace him remembers that.

Websites and the person…

This week I’ve decided to do something a little different. I’ll be writing on one topic but as two people: Ken La Salle, the person here and the writer over on the Ken La Salle blog.

The topic is websites.

Recently, I’ve been encouraged by my publisher and my agent and, hell, just about every other right thinking person on earth, to get my own website. Writers these days have websites and it appears to be time for me to step up to the next level and get one.

What will this website have? Blog feeds, twitter feeds, information on my plays and books, appearances and upcoming projects, and a store where you can buy Ken La Salle stuff. It’s all about branding and marketing and existing in the digital age.

And I know this. I do. But here’s the thing. I spent most of my life being told by people that I was too big for my britches (my mom), full of myself (my brother), arrogant (my old friend, Tim), and on and on. For most of my life, I was told that confidence meant cockiness. I was told that believing in myself was a bad thing. I was insulted for trying to achieve something in my life.

Cut to now, when those very traits are exactly what I need. I need confidence. I need to believe in myself. And yet, after being smacked down for so many years, I have found it really difficult. Vicky and I were in this room where I write and she watched as I worked myself up into nearly throwing up just over the idea of purchasing a domain name for a website. Just the first small step made me sick, because I heard all those voices say “You’re no good,” “You’re shit,” “You’re arrogant,” and on and on and on.

I never realized just how toxic all that negativity was in my life and if I could go back I’d smack the negativity right out of their mouths. These were people who were supposed to love me, who were supposed to be my friends.

Fortunately, now I know better. Just as I write every month on Recovering The Self about following your dream, I know there’s nothing wrong with doing just that. There’s nothing wrong with working towards a goal, even if it’s one only you can see.

With Vicky’s encouragement, I purchased the doman name for http://www.kenlasalle.com/. You’ll hear more about this as the weeks progress and I look forward to being about to share it with you and with the world.

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad… Wait…

One of my favorite movies of all time is It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It’s a veritable “Who’s Who” of mid-20th Century Hollywood. It’s a terrific California time capsule. But most of all its construction is perfect. The way it builds and builds is sublime.

So… how come it isn’t funny?

Seriously, I have loved this movie all my life but it almost always puts me to sleep. I love it on an intellectual level. As a comedy writer, I love the efficiency and technique; it’s beautiful.

But nobody’s funny.

Is it because of all the years that have passed? Is it dated? No, that can’t be it. Many silent comedies still hold their charm and wit. They make me laugh. Comedy does not need to come with an expiration date.

Is it familiarity, the fact that I’ve seen it so many times? No. Again, I’ve seen those silent films many times, too.

This wouldn’t bother me so much if this movie wasn’t so beautifully put together. But the fact is its construction is on the money. It makes sense. It builds. It surpri…

Wait.

I was going to write that it surprises. Like with Dick Shawn comes running after his mother after being so obviously high with a girl. Or when the cops get into the “game” of it. But, you know, those are the exceptions. I realize now that may be the problem with it

It’s like a gothic cathedral of comedy. Everything is where it should be, where you expect it. It’s a shout out to the classic jokes and actors – but without its own jokes. And maybe that’s where it goes wrong.

It may be Mad, Mad, Mad… but there’s very little that’s really crazy about it.

Still, I’ll watch it and enjoy it’s perfect lines and solid construction. After all, it is one of my favorites.

Climbing Maya: An Exploration Into Success --- PDF EBOOK - Solstice Publishing Inc

The Climbing Maya ebook has it's own Coming Soon page over at Solstice Publishing. A print version is also being released but, for now, I thought I'd share this with you just as proof that it's not all some grand hallucination on my part.

Please feel free to share it with your friends, spread the word, and ready your book-buying dollar for Climbing Maya!

Climbing Maya: An Exploration Into Success --- PDF EBOOK - Solstice Publishing Inc

Books…

As a writer, I have had a changing relationship with books. There was once a time in my life when I would buy and read books voraciously, never allowing the sun to set between finishing one book and starting another. Then, more recently, I eschewed reading for writing. I spend so much time writing that I hardly read at all. That said, they say a writer must be a reader as well and it’s been a very tight line to walk.

Vicky knows very well how I am about books because I have two huge bookcases crammed with books I never read. I read them once, though, and they tell quite a story about my reading history. One bookcase is packed with novels. This goes back to the days when I loved fiction and would read whatever I could get my hands on. True, I tended more towards science-fiction and fantasy novels but there’s also plenty of horror and mystery and just play commercial fiction in there, too. Once I began to write a lot of fiction, however, I really began to see how these books were written, what strings were being pulled, and once I understood the workings behind the scenes (if you will), my interests moved away from fiction… and that takes me to the second bookcase, which is filled with non-fiction. Most of the second bookcase is stuffed with philosophy and history but there’s plenty of other stuff in there as well. I use quite a bit of it for reference but mostly I hold onto it, as well as the other bookcase, because I dream of the day when I can go back and reread all those books!

I mention all of this because Vicky and I were at Costco today and Vicky found this stack of the most incredible, general knowledge kinds of books you can imagine. Two books covered philosophy and psychology and were called something like the “Big Book of Psychology” and the “Everything You’d Ever Want To Know About Philosophy.” (I’m not sure about the exact names but it doesn’t really matter.) There were also history books called “Amazing History” and “Bizarre History.” I had the hook in my mouth and Vicky could see I was biting down. I might as well have been spurting blood.

But the thing is, I’m already reading two books. I’ve been reading them for some time, too. Hell, I never have time to read – all I do is write! The first book is a thick tome we picked up in a second-hand shop in Cambria called The Hundred Most Influential Books Ever Written. I’ve been reading that monster for over a year! The second is Isaac Azimov’s I Azimov, a wonderful autobiography by a hero of mine. I bought that back in July from a beautifully dusty old used book store in LA.

The thing was, I couldn’t justify buying any new books – no matter how cheap they were! (They were only about $10 each, which these days is a great price.)

Vicky being Vicky, though, made it sound as though we would also buy them for her. Now, if you don’t know, Vicky is 100 times busier than I’ll ever be. If I don’t have time for reading, she’ll NEVER have time!

We ended up buying them, of course. Now, I have six books I need to read… one of these days…

Climbing Maya gets a cover...

The non-linear nature of dreams and Climbing Maya...

This month, I decided to use my monthly article over at Recovering the Self to talk about the journey I took in getting Climbing Maya published. Believe me, it was not as straight a path as you might image. Few things seldom are!


Read about how dreams rarely take you in a straight line over on the Recovering The Self site by clicking this line.

Climbing Maya on Diet Soap...

Last November, I recorded an interview for the Diet Soap podcast. This week, I'm happy to announce that the episode featuring my interview about my book, Climbing Maya, is available at this location:

http://dietsoap.podomatic.com/entry/2012-01-30T01_51_45-08_00

I hope you enjoy it. Doug Lain puts together a surreal mix of discussion and music and words. Be sure to check out the excerpt from his book, Wave of Mutilation, after the interview! And many thanks to Doug for having me on!

I can now announce...

Everyone is looking for success in their life but how can you be expected to find it if you don't know what it is?


Some time ago, as one friend was dying of leukemia, another friend succumbed to alcoholism, and I found myself unemployed, I decided to find the answer to “What is success?” If it’s different for everyone, why do we have just one term to describe it? Can it really be summed up in one word or do we need to broaden our understanding? And are the avenues of success we are so often sold – wealth, career, family – the answer to the question?

Now, I'm happy to announce that my philosophical memoir on success, Climbing Maya, will be published by Solstice Publishing.

Release dates and other details will follow...

Watch this space...

Sorry I've been so quiet of late. I've been working on some good news. I can't announce it just yet because things could fall apart at any point and then I'd even have to retract this hint that something may be coming so I'll just shut up now...

... but it's going to be pretty big...

Seizure Dog…

Wednesday night, Vicky and I were treated to something new. After she had already spent the previous week being sick and in and out of emergency room vets, Shipoopi revealed to us that she was also epileptic

… and she didn’t do it with a tasteful card, either.

Nope. We’re talking epileptic dog all over the floor.

Vicky scooped up the dog like a commando. “ER Vet! Stat!”

Okay, she might not have yelled “Stat!” but you get the idea.

As it turned out, Shipoopi’s seizure passed before we were in the car and, after a conversation with our vet the next day, we now have her on anti-seizure meds that are supposed to help. And I hope they help soon because we’re talking three nights in a row!

I don’t write just because of how sad I am for the poor dog but also because of how sad I am for our finances. The ER Vet cost a bundle – a big bundle! I don’t know how much more money we can spend on keeping this dog alive. And this bothers me because I have never been the type of person to advocate spending a bundle on keeping a pet alive. I’m usually the first to say “You can get a new one for far less.”

But love does crazy things to people and Vicky and I love Shipoopi. We must – considering how much we’re spending on her. It’s not really a rational train of thought but sometimes you’re not necessarily rational. You just do what you have to do.

So, Shipoopi is now Seizure Dog and she’ll be on seizure meds for the rest of her little life, however long that is… and I hope it’s a very long time.

Belly button logic...

Ken: If you think about it, your belly button is the youngest part of yourself.


Vicky: (disagreeing) Hair.

Ken: True... and skin... and every cell in your body which is replaced every seven years or so...

...
 
Vicky and I often have conversations like this, as strange as they may sound; I'm just glad I found a woman who speaks the same language as me. :-)

STAR WARS XXX: A PORN PARODY-official trailer

... I suppose it was bound to happen...

One night at the vet…

Shipoopi got sick this week and, of course, getting her better cost way more money than you want to know about – it was way more than I wanted to know about, believe me. Right when we’re getting back on our feet – kapow!

Vicky’s attitude is always, “Pay whatever it takes,” and while mine is more like “I have to pay what?!” I know better than to say that. I just look at Vicky with a smile and sign, sign, sign.

Ugh.

While I was sitting here, thinking about what I should write, I realized just how trite it all sounds. I mean, everyone knows someone who has been through the sick pet/sick child/sick whatever experience. It happens. So, I decided not to dwell too much on that.

There’s something else I wanted to mention, though, and it happened the second morning when we were at the emergency room vet. We had to bring Shipoopi in on Sunday night, which was a holiday, and pick her up the next morning, which was also a holiday – and that made getting her to the regular vet pretty damned interesting, too.

We’re there on Monday morning to pick her up – we were told to get there around 6am and through a series of mishaps stayed until after 9am – and Vicky is telling me about how she has to finish payroll for her employees to get paid. I, having nothing else going on in my life (it’s not like I was going to do any writing that morning or, for that matter, at all that day), said to her, “Go home and do it. I can take care of things here.” After a bit of our usual back and forth, she finally went.

And I was alone.

Inside a crowded pet ER. After a while, after I’d run out of things to kill my boredom (even my phone had died so there went that!), I began actually paying attention to the other people there. And it occurred to me that this is the last thing we do. We’re so isolated from each other, we live our lives as if we’re perpetually inside an elevator; at least, that’s how it seems to me.

I witnessed a family lose their pet. I witnessed two women fear for the health of someone they loved. I shared a moment with another couple of women as we both found ourselves caught in the same process. And it slowly began to dawn on me just how wrong it is that we are all so separated in this experience. There were easily 30-35 people in there and so many of us were distanced.

I wish I could say the experience made me a better person or that I was the person I hope to be. No. Not really. I exchanged a little small talk with the two women whose dog was also sick but that was about it. It did remind me, though, that I need to work harder at that. I tend to instinctively isolate myself and live within my own bubble and, in those instances when I’m sharing an experience with others, I need to remember to step outside that bubble and connect.

That’s all I wanted to say.

A look at ethics...

Here's why I am writing a book on ethics in one photograph.

This plastic display of plastic water bottles (in an office supply store of all places) will still be around (probably in the ocean somewhere) long after you and I are dead and, somehow, our present system of ethics doesn't tell us there's something very wrong here.

Clearly, we need a new system and I look forward to completing this book and sharing a new look at ethics soon.

Assessing and Reassessing for the New Year...

This month's Recovering The Self article comes just in time for the New Year!

http://www.recoveringself.com/guest-blogger/ken-la-salle/assessing-and-reassessing

Digital tunage, CDs, and about time I entered the 21st century…

No, I’m not selling another book… just yet. I know that what this place has been for a while but I’m taking a break… for now. (I would still appreciate if you bought one of my books, of course.)

So, I was out driving the other day, listening to some music when the cd ended. CDs are what I keep my music on. It’s a small, disk-like storage medium, which after the demise of records and tapes, lasted all of a quarter century or so. When I went to eject the disk, my cd player decided it had suffered enough embarrassment at me actually still listening to cds… and promptly died.

Aw.

Recently, I found out that Vicky is giving me an iPod for whatever the hell I celebrate as an atheist – for her, it’s Xmas or some shit – basically, it’s a day we shower each other with gifts. How’s that for an American holiday?

Knowing I was getting an iPod, I realized all my cds were going to become pointless. More than that, I realized I’d have to take each disk, one by one, and load them onto my pc so I could later load their contents onto my iPod… pain in the ass!

So, one by one, I went about it. I loaded music and audiobooks and comedy and spoken word and on and on and everything else until… actually, I’m not even done, yet. But it’s looking like I’m going to end up with 25 days worth of content for my iPod.

Twenty-five days!

Crap.

If you consider that my commute – yes, I got another job in the last few weeks. It’s a part-time tech writing gig but it pays the bills while allowing me to keep working on my writing career. Anyway, if you consider that my commute is 45 minutes long, it’s gonna take a shitload of commute for me to listen to all that shit!

Sounds like fun to me!

Holiday Shopping: A Hex Returns To Rynia...

With the holidays coming, all the Rynia books are available in digital format!


The series concludes (for now) with the final book of the Sons of Rynia trilogy: A Hex Returns to Rynia

In the first two volumes of the Sons of Rynia trilogy (A Hex To Save Rynia and A Hex Beyond Rynia), Tsurtor attacked the realm of Rynia with weapons of magic and technology, scattering its defendants to the winds. How can Tsurtor be defeated when A Hex Returns to Rynia?


You can find A Hex Returns To Rynia for all e-readers:

For the Kindle (and Kindle-app): http://www.amazon.com/Hex-Returns-Rynia-Sons-ebook/dp/B005O0QHX0/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_8

For all e-readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/90200

Holiday Shopping: A Hex Beyond Rynia...

With the holidays coming, all the Rynia books are available in digital format!


The series begins with the stand-alone: A Hex Upon Rynia
This is followed by the Sons of Rynia trilogy: A Hex to Save Rynia, A Hex Beyond Rynia, A Hex Returns To Rynia

A Hex To Save Rynia witnessed the first battles in the war between Rynia and its old enemy, Tsurtor. Tsurtor launches that war with devastating effect in the second book of the Sons of Rynia trilogy: A Hex Beyond Rynia.

You can find A Hex Beyond Rynia for all e-readers:
For the Kindle (and Kindle-app): http://www.amazon.com/Hex-Beyond-Rynia-Sons-ebook/dp/B005MGFL0Q/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3
For all e-readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88008

Holiday Shopping: A Hex To Save Rynia...

With the holidays coming, all the Rynia books are available in digital format!

The series begins with the stand-alone: A Hex Upon Rynia
This is followed by the Sons of Rynia trilogy: A Hex to Save Rynia, A Hex Beyond Rynia, A Hex Returns To Rynia

A Hex Upon Rynia was just the beginning. The Sons of Rynia trilogy kicks off with Tsurtor’s return, dragons, a conspiracy against the king, and a war-ravaged planet. When Hex is imprisoned back on Earth, will there be A Hex To Save Rynia?


You can find A Hex To Save Rynia for all e-readers:
For the Kindle (and Kindle-app): http://www.amazon.com/Hex-Save-Rynia-Sons-ebook/dp/B005I571HM/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_4
For all e-readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/82603

Holiday Shopping: A Hex Upon Rynia...

The book that began the Rynia series, A Hex Upon Rynia, is now available as an e-book!


Hex is a wizard unlike any you’ve seen before. He creates living toys from twigs and brings his skates to life! When he mistakenly brings himself and a boy named Vincent to the world of Rynia, however, he’ll need to win a war to get them home again!

You can find A Hex Upon Rynia
For your Kindle (and Kindle-App): http://www.amazon.com/A-Hex-Upon-Rynia-ebook/dp/B004ZZMS24/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2
And for all e-readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/58564

Holiday Shopping: The Incarnations of Death...

Death! Just in time for the holidays!

When Robert Erwon Mitchel finds a way to kill Death, he sets off a chain of events that gives birth to a new breed of superheroes. Now it is up to these heroes - Night Stalker, Fade, and Force - to find a way to stop the insane replacement for Death, one who can wipe out entire cities at a whim and who is hunting down the scientist who killed his predecessor!


Pick up The Incarnations of Death this holiday season
For your Kindle (and Kindle-App): http://www.amazon.com/The-Incarnations-of-Death-ebook/dp/B004XJ4MNU/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_9
Or for all E-Readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/54829

Timely Holiday Shopping: The Rohan Scripts...

Here's a blatant ploy in time for the holidays:


The Prophesies of Nicoli Rohano, The Rohan Scripts, were the stuff of legend and were all but lost to history… until now! The Rohan Scripts, the latest sci-fi adventure from Ken La Salle, brings you psychics and scientists, assassination plots and time paradox, with a single man flung through time and recording everything into a book of prognostication called: The Rohan Scripts!

You can find The Rohan Scripts
For your Kindle (and Kindle-app device): http://www.amazon.com/The-Rohan-Scripts-ebook/dp/B004Y752MG/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_10
And for all e-readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/56224

Do Something Impossible...

This month on Recovering the Self: Do Something Impossible! (Just click the link to check it out!)

(Yes, I know this was a short entry but - never fear - there's plenty more over at Recovering the Self!)

Holiday Shopping (now with IRONY): Vampire Society...

Who can spot the irony in my suggesting you purchase Vampire Society as a gift this season?


"Vampire Society is a guided tour through the social and political evolution that opened our century. It is a love story and an indictment against our culture of consumption, answering the most important question about love: Is real love possible in the Vampire Society?"

You can find Vampire Society
For Your Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Society-ebook/dp/B0016NACSK/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_11
For All E-Readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52031

Holiday Shopping: A Grand Canyon...

Subtitled, "“How to Meet the Love of Your Life in Five Short Years… and mean it this time!”


This is for anyone curious what life was like before Vicky...

Find it for your Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Grand-Canyon-Journey-Depression-ebook/dp/B004TGSRGA/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1
Or for any e-reader: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52601

Enjoy with my many thanks!

Dear Muppets: We Like You...

So, Vicky and I went out to see The Muppets last night... it wasn't a terrible movie...

But to see the Muppets (or, for that matter, The Muppets) and come out with "It wasn't terrible," is, well, terrible. It's the Muppets, for crying out loud! It should have been great!

It could have been great!

The problem, however, was that the Muppets were so damned insecure - as were the writers, director, and just about everybody. They kept trying to impress on the audience how downright good they are, how wholesome, how much a reminder of a by-gone era. Yes, I get it! The 70's were a simpler time but that doesn't mean you have to suck up so much! We already like you! Just perform!

I kept expecting a commercial for the line of toys, because it kept feeling like the setup for a line of toys.

I'm not saying it was bad. It wasn't. It just wasn't all that good. Next time, maybe the Muppets will have a bit more confidence in themselves. Or maybe they'll just recapture that spirit of going on an adventure without having to constantly comment that they're going on an adventure and doesn't that make this a great opportunity to learn a lesson...

Just go in with your expectations low. They need your support. And maybe a hug.

Holiday Shopping: Evertime and Evermore...

Buy some poetry for Christmas


It's real sweet but not with HFCS (pronounced "Hif-cas")



In Evertime and Evermore, playwright and author Ken La Salle collects some of his favorite poems for the first time. Some were taken from the darkest places from his life, like The Slaughterhouse (It is industry that has a reason in a world of others who wish to slaughter, themselves). Others are far more whimsical (Even organ donors have to face a little rejection. Might as well enjoy yourself a little pickle-type confection).



Pick up Evertime and Evermore

For the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Evertime-Evermore-collection-poetry-ebook/dp/B004TGV64A/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_5

Or for all e-readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52257

Death Misses this Christes... mas...

Looking for goofy tales of death this Christmas? Who isn't?!

"These works by Ken La Salle range from the bizarre to the morbid and even further beyond still. In Death Misses and other tales of death, Ken La Salle treats you to a dozen deadly tales to keep you up at night."

Be sure not to miss Death here:
For the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Death-Misses-other-tales-ebook/dp/B004URUWN4/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_6
And for all e-readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53208

Holiday Shopping: Blue Food...

If you're looking for the perfect holiday gift, why not try a little Blue Food?

"The works of Ken La Salle range from the bizarre to the whimsical and even further beyond still. In Blue Food and other menu items, Ken La Salle treats you to a dozen tales, hilarious and deeply strange."


You can find Blue Food in digital formats:
For the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Food-other-items-ebook/dp/B004TYYX1A/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_7
And all e-readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/51617