Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Waiting for a train in Astoria)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's going on?
JOE: I went to Batavia yesterday to help my son take down his print exhibit. My car died. Actually it couldn't breathe because of a failed oxygen sensor. Fortunately it wasn't terminal and revived with a new part.
CALLIOPE: Did you get anything else accomplished?
JOE: Miraculously I did. I now have one article accepted with Ezine and two others in the works. I enjoy writing short informative and inspirational pieces and will continue this process as a way of sharing my thoughts and also as a marketing help.
CALLIOPE: Does this take you in any particular direction with the rest of your writing?
JOE: I have been thinking of another Commonsense Wisdom collection, mostly of columns.
CALLIOPE: What brought that on?
JOE: Writing out my goals and those of prospective readers. I have most of the material in hand but would have to organize and market it.
CALLIOPE: What about Commonsense Wisdom for Teens.
JOE: I will still work on it. But I know Commonsense Wisdom for Everyday Life had a fairly good reception even with practically no publicity. I think I can build on what I did with the first book and continue with the teen book.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like you have been thinking about strategy.
JOE: I have. I think I could do a better job of marketing now that I have more tools at my disposal.
CALLIOPE: Good luck.
JOE: Thanks, I'm excited about the prospects. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(My work space)
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How was yesterday?
JOE: Busy as usual. I worked on marketing and Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: How about your comprehensive marketing plan?
JOE: I decided to start with the big picture- how people approach the Internet.
CALLIOPE: Where did you begin?
JOE: With what I look for when I surf the web.
CALLIOPE: What did you come up with?
JOE: I look for free or reasonably priced information or tools for my writing or web presence.
CALLIOPE: Then what?
JOE: I wrote down what kind of readers I want to attract. I want readers who are intrigued by common sense and would like to learn how to focus their lives in a way which will benefit them but be beneficial to others as well.
CALLIOPE: And after that?
JOE: I listed what such readers might want. I think they want suggestions about how to be more comfortable with choices they make, avoid making enemies, decide how to act in an ethical dilemma and live in a way which does not harm themselves or others.
CALLIOPE: Will this form the basis of your writing and approach to marketing?
JOE: I think it already does although I never put it into words before. I will use it as my guide. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Keeping an eye on the horizon)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What have you been up to?
JOE: I'm easing into the day. I read the paper, did a couple crossword puzzles and tended to my mail so far and here I am.
CALLIOPE: What did you do yesterday?
JOE: Some editing of Marital Property. I also worked on marketing and development. I listened to Steve Harrison's presentations on What Rich Authors Know That Poor Authors Don't and Publicity Strategies.
CALLIOPE: What did you learn?
JOE: That it is important to start with a passionate dream. Earning money is not a good primary consideration. If you have something worthwhile to share with others, money follows. I learned how others approached and used media outlets to develop a platform for their sales and marketing efforts.
CALLIOPE: Do you think you can use what you learned?
JOE: I think I can incorporate it into a marketing plan.
CALLIOPE: Do you have one?
JOE: I did, but I have learned a great deal lately. I think it's time I reconsidered it to make sure it is complete and incorporates what I'm learning.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good plan. Is that what you will work on today?
JOE: Yes, in addition to continued work on Marital Property. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(With Carol at Letchworth Park)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I stopped by Amazon to read more about The Good Person's Guide which you reviewed for me yesterday.
JOE: And what did you think?
CALLIOPE: Of the reviews I read, two focus more on business applications. Yours seems to stress the usefulness for a wider audience.
JOE: I see myself more from a personal than a business vantage these days. I also don't see a distinction between my work and personal identity. This is a point made in the book too.
CALLIOPE: While I was at Amazon, I saw some discussion of Kindle, the electronic book reader Amazon offers. What do you think of it?
JOE: I haven't seen one yet. I read the same information and am more intrigued now that I was before.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I would prefer to read an actual book than something on a computer screen.
CALLIOPE: Do you think Kindle is more like a computer than a book?
JOE: They claim the opposite. I guess I would have to see one to know for sure. The price is a little high for me at the moment. Maybe I will run into someone who has one so I can take a look.
CALLIOPE: What attracts you?
JOE: The availability of a wide range of reading stored in a small space. I have limited storage room now.
CALLIOPE: Anything else?
JOE: Accessibility. I would like to be able to download books easily and have them ready for easy access. We shall see. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Good. I have something special to share with you, a review I wrote about Richard Bayer's The Good Person Guidebook (NY, Five O'Clock Club Books, 2008.)
CALLIOPE: I'm all ears.

JOE: Inspirational books often tend to wander, appealing to the imagination more than to the logical mind. Not so with Richard Bayer's The Good Person's Guidebook. On the first page he makes it clear that the good person is "a person of moral excellence, but not in vacuum." Being good does not mean standing on a pedestal for passersby to admire. It means acting morally and responsibly in interactions with others.

The author describes his writing as inspired by religious principles and applicable to the business world. People not driven by religious beliefs or immersed in business will still find this book applicable to their daily lives.

Rather than simply musing about being good, Beyer presents an organized and well reasoned approach. His book is divided into three sections consisting of ways to consider living ethically, deciding what kind person to be and how to implement ethical choices in daily life.
His Seven Stories exercise helps make sense of your life so far. His Fifteen Year and Forty Year Visions offer a framework for charting your future.

I have found that readers looking for inspiration often do not want to sift through page after page of reflections in search of suggestions on ways to handle a particular life difficulty. They like brief concise treatments. Bayer provides these along with frequent suggestions for practical applications. His comprehensive table of contents and index make it easy for the reader to find a particular topic of interest.

In these days of reckless self indulgence, The Good Person Guidebook stands as a compass for readers looking to reorient their lives and live in a meaningful way.

CALLIOPE: Thanks for sharing your review. I'll look for the book.
JOE: Talk with your tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

Astoria Blvd. Subway station, New York)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: I almost gave up on you today.
JOE: I've been busy. We're having people over tonight and I was busy preparing for them.
CALLIOPE: Are you ready now?
JOE: I am. I have a little time to work on writing.
CALLIOPE: I assume you got your newspaper article posted.
JOE: Yes. I have also been working my way through my most recent edit of Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: Anything else going on?
JOE: I realized this morning that with all my work on editing and marketing, I haven't done too much actual writing lately.
CALLIOPE: Does that bother you?
JOE: Yes. I wish I were writing. I realize there is much more to the whole writing undertaking that putting thoughts into words. Sometimes I wish the rest of the process would just take place on its own.
CALLIOPE: You could pay someone to look after those details.
JOE: If I had the money I could. For now, I have all the responsibilities.
CALLIOPE: Has there been any benefit to that?
JOE: I think I have reached an understanding of the writing and publishing world I would not have had otherwise. Time for me to stop complaining and get back to work. Talk with you on Monday.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(In the garden with Carol)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Restless.
CALLIOPE: What brought that on?
JOE: Yesterday afternoon I listened to a phone teleseminar by Steve Harrison about being perceived as an expert.
CALLIOPE: Did that make you restless?
JOE: One focus of the presentation was on deciding what is important and being passionate about pursuing it. I woke up this morning debating with myself about whether I want to be passionate about anything at this point in my life or whether I would just like to enjoy life for a while.
CALLIOPE: Does it have to be a choice?
JOE: Most of what I read indicates that it does. Being successful personally or financially is said to involve a passionate commitment to something close to my heart.
CALLIOPE: What would be ideal for you?
JOE: I would like to be able to share with others what I have learned about life and suggest alternatives to dangerous directions I see our society heading in. At the same time I would like to have some time to enjoy life after many working years.
CALLIOPE: So you want a compromise but read that it's not possible.
JOE: Exactly.
CALLIOPE: So what do you plan to do about it?
JOE: Find a way to reach this compromise in my way of life. How, I'm not quite sure. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Triboro Bridge, Astoria, NY)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. I'm feeling back to normal.
CALLIOPE: What threw you off course?
JOE: Not getting any email the past few days and feeling out of touch with the cyberworld.
CALLIOPE: And that's corrected?
JOE: It is. I was working on a way to include an autoresponder on my website during the course of which my email was accidentally short circuited. All due to the omission of one hyphen. But now it's back in order and I have a ream of emails to wade through.
CALLIOPE: You sound overwhelmed.
JOE: Sometimes I am. I have signed up for quite a few notifications of articles related to my writing. It feels like overload at times.
CALLIOPE: What are you working on today?
JOE: Editing and marketing. I think I am finally getting to understand about keywords and ways they can be used to gain more traffic for my website. Maybe I'm a little dense, but it takes me a while to figure these things out.
CALLIOPE: Maybe they are just complicated. How about your writing.
JOE: I am continuing to read The Good Person Handbook and have been planning a review to share with you and post on Amazon.
CALLIOPE: Sounds interesting.
JOE: It's new venture for me. Hopefully it will be ready in the next few days. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Geese on Oatka Creek, Leroy, NY)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you this morning?
JOE: Mixed.
CALLIOPE: What's going well?
JOE: I finished and posted my column, Sticks and Stones May Break our bones. You can read it on my web sit on Saturday.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: I read an article by Jodi Cohen from the Chicago Tribune in which she reported that high school students and their parents sometimes write nasty letters to colleges hoping to reduce their competition for freshman slots.
CALLIOPE: I never heard of such a thing?
JOE: I haven't either on the part of students and their parents but I saw an immediate parallel with political ads cramming the airwaves (or cable waves) lately.
CALLIOPE: What did you make of it?
JOE: I don't like the trend. As far as I am concerned it contributes to the disintegration of society.
CALLIOPE: Did you suggest any alternatives?
JOE: Yes, being more respectful of others and not feeling you have to trample others to get what you want.
CALLIOPE: Good for you. What didn't go so well yesterday?
JOE: I am having difficulty with my email hosting and haven't received any email yet this week. I'm still working on the problem. Hopefully I will have good news about this tomorrow when we talk.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Exercise in Astoria Park, New York)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Relieved.
CALLIOPE: On what account?
JOE: Because I finally decided I was spending entirely too much time on web site development. I was interested in web site optimization but everything else took a back seat including writing and editing. I realized I have other priorities.
CALLIOPE: Sounds sensible. What did you work on yesterday?
JOE: After I realized my morass, I worked on editing Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: And today?
JOE: I will be out for a while today. However I have a column to write and plan to make it a priority today.
CALLIOPE: What are you writing about?
JOE: I found a newspaper article about dirty tricks college applicants and their parents use against their competition, quite reminiscent of recent political ads. I thought I would write about the implications of such tactics for the author as well as for society and maybe some alternatives.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good topic. Good luck with it. Anything else going on?
JOE: I plan to continue working on editing Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: Is you website functional for now?
JOE: I think so. Why don't you take a look. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Night entrance)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I missed you Saturday.
JOE: I know. I got caught up in website development, e-commerce, etc. and never made it here.
CALLIOPE: Did you have a busy weekend?
JOE: Yes. We were out socially Friday and Saturday evenings and as I said I worked on my website. Yesterday I just felt a need to relax.
CALLIOPE: Not a bad idea. Did you mention a book review last week?
JOE: Yes. I have been reading Richard Bayer's The Good Person Handbook and am planning to review it.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about the book.
JOE: It approaches many of the ideas I pursued in Commonsense Wisdom for Everyday Life.
CALLIOPE: Does it differ in some ways?
JOE: He is much more structured than I am. He is organized from page one and presents an orderly flow of ideas, one building on another.
CALLIOPE: Do you like that approach than the one you took?
JOE: Not necessarily. Mine is organized into categories. although not as structured in its development. I have had readers say they like to be able to read a brief self contained passage on a particular topic without belaboring it.
CALLIOPE: How does his book compare with yours?
JOE: I think we have different approaches. Some people like ideas to flow in strict order and others like more spontaneity. I think there is room for both approaches. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(New York City)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Reeling from yesterday's market research.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I worked hard to find an affordable auto responder for readers to sign up for my columns online without advertising attached.
CALLIOPE: Did you find one?
JOE: Yes and I downloaded it. Then I found all sorts of complicated direction about things I have never heard of. I don't know if is even possible for me to use it. I wasn't ready for such a challenge.
CALLIOPE: Maybe it's the price of going cheap. Anything else going on?
JOE: I am busy reading Richard Bayer's The Good Person Guidebook which I agreed to review.
CALLIOPE: Sounds a little more manageable.
JOE: It is. At least I am on familiar ground. I am enjoying the book and have learned some lessons I can use in organizing Commonsense Wisdom for Teens, my next project after I finish Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: Have you thought any more about offering your book free?
JOE: I have and found that Booklocker has a program of offering most of a book free but not all. Since I have used them before, I will consider this program.
CALLIOPE: Probably easier than doing it on your own.
JOE: I agree. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Carol and Joe on Broadway)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine.
CALLIOPE: What have you been up to?
JOE: Trying to get back into a routine. I am catching up on my email and working on marketing.
CALLIOPE: What did you accomplish yesterday?
JOE: I worked more on search engine optimization, specifically keywords, and meta tags for my my websites.
CALLIOPE: Sounds a little involved.
JOE: It is. Not like the old days on Mt. Olympus.
CALLIOPE: Anything else going on?
JOE: I visited a physical therapist to see if I can increase the mobility of my hands which was compromised by my arthritis.
CALLIOPE: Any progress?
JOE: Nancy gave me some exercises to do. Hopefully this will help.
CALLIOPE: What's on for today?
JOE: More marketing work and revision of Marital Property. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Mike harvesting figs in Astoria, NY)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Welcome back.
JOE: Thank you.
CALLIOPE: How was your trip to New York?
JOE: Great as usual. Flying was uneventful. We had no plans for the time we were there but used all of it to good advantage.
CALLIOPE: What was the highlight?
JOE: Seeing the musical Spring Awakening. I had been wanting to see it for several years but didn't get the chance for one reason or another.
CALLIOPE: What did you like about it?
JOE: The depiction of the full range of human emotions through the lives of late nineteenth century teens.
CALLIOPE: Sounds a little dated.
JOE: It does sound that way. Although circumstances have changed, emotions and perceptions have not changed all that much in the past hundred years.
CALLIOPE: Did you learn anything about writing?
JOE: More about marketing. I read several articles about the future of publishing, one in particular about giving away writing.
CALLIOPE: Sounds self defeating.
JOE: Again I agree about first perceptions. Nevertheless I think there is merit to the idea and will explore it further. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Gulls on City Island, NY)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Are you finished with your marketing challenge?
JOE: Not quite. My web site is back functioning well. There are a few refinements I would like to make such as adding my podcast and some keywords.
CALLIOPE: Is that your plan for today?
JOE: If I have time. This morning I am taking Carol for some outpatient surgery and then we will shop and have lunch. I'm not sure how much time that will leave me.
CALLIOPE: What's up for the next few days?
JOE: Carol and I are leaving for New York tomorrow morning and will be back Tuesday.
CALLIOPE: Anything special going on there?
JOE: We're just going to visit Carol's son who is just back from Germany after a stint in The Barber of Seville. We just thought it was time for a visit.
CALLIOPE: Anything planned?
JOE: No. We will play it by ear. But I will stay aware of opportunities to discuss writing and marketing.
CALLIOPE: Enjoy your trip.
JOE: We will. Talk with you on Wednesday.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Monarch Butterfly)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. I was afraid you fell off the face of the earth.
JOE: I didn't but my website did and it took me until just now to get it working again.
CALLIOPE: What happened?
JOE: I spent yesterday working on search engine optimization with Steve Weber's website.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: I learned quite a bit that I was anxious to implement.
CALLIOPE: How did that go?
JOE: In the long run, okay. But along the way I managed to run into quite a few snags while trying to implement simplification.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a contradiction.
JOE: Simplicity is not always easy to achieve. Just ask anyone who tried to simplify his or her life.
CALLIOPE: Did it turn out okay in the long run.
JOE: Yes. I still haven't figured out how to post an interview on my website although I had it working before.
CALLIOPE: Something to work on.
JOE: I guess I need some sort of challenge. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Lift Bridge- Brockport, NY)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine.
CALLIOPE: How did your writers meeting go last night?
JOE: I heard from several members that they could not make the meeting. However only one other member showed up.
CALLIOPE: Were you disappointed?
JOE: It was not what I expected but Larry and I had a chance to compare notes on the literary scene and on marketing in particular.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like you made the best of it. How did you do with your writing yesterday?
JOE: I had planned to do some recordings but then realized the deadline for my next column was fast approaching.
CALLIOPE: What did you write about?
JOE: Credit and cash. I think personal and government choices to live on the basis of money we hope will come in creates problems at both levels.
CALLIOPE: You don't usually address political issues.
JOE: No I don't. I didn't approach it from a political point of view but rather one of responsibility.
CALLIOPE: Were you pleased with it?
JOE: Yes. I am considering venturing out into some other politically charged issues. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Sunrise over Leroy, NY)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Did you sleep in this morning?
JOE: If you consider 6:30 sleeping in, yes.
CALLIOPE: What have you been up to?
JOE: Yesterday I discovered a site called Internet Career Builders run by Steve Weber with whom I have been familiar for a while. He has quite a bit of information about using the internet for business. I have been pursuing what he has to offer.
CALLIOPE: Did you need more information.
JOE: I think so. I do have my website and blog but have not gotten much response from my efforts so far. I think I need to learn a little more about how to go about internet marketing in a more constructive and organized manner.
CALLIOPE: I hope this site helps.
JOE: So do I.
CALLIOPE: How are the videos coming?
JOE: I did not get to them yesterday with my interest in the new site. I plan to work on them later today after yoga and lunch.
CALLIOPE: Revived and fortified?
JOE: That's my plan. I also have writers meeting tonight where I plan to read a revision of one of my chapters from Marital Property for feedback on my first person approach.
CALLIOPE: Sounds busy.
JOE: Yes. and exciting too. I feel energized today. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Carol and Sharon- Breast Cancer Walk- Rochester)
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about your day yesterday.
JOE: One thing led to another. I started the day participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.
CALLIOPE: Does that have a personal significance for you?
JOE: Yes. My girlfriend Carol is a three year survivor of breast cancer. Her mother and one of her sisters died of it and she has another sister and a fair number of friends who are survivors.
CALLIOPE: How did participating affect you?
JOE: I didn't realize it at the time but then spent last night looking at my life, what it means and what I need. I tend to ignore these most of the time and concentrate on what I can offer others.
CALLIOPE: What did you do specifically?
JOE: I spent some time playing the guitar, drawing, reading The Mastery of Love by Ruiz and listening to music.
CALLIOPE: What kind of music?
JOE: I discovered a new music site, Pandora Radio, which lets you create music stations to fit your own taste. It also learns your taste, suggests and supplies music which fits them.
CALLIOPE: What was that experience like?
JOE: Extremely comforting and relaxing. I am listening to Enya Radio as I am talking with you. See you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Acrobats- New Orleans)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. I thought I might not see you today.
JOE: Never fear. I got involved in a movie this morning and then a floor project in the utility room.
CALLIOPE: There's always something.
JOE: No doubt about it.
CALLIOPE: What did you do yesterday?
JOE: Mostly worked on Marital Property. I am in the process of reading it aloud to see how it sounds.
CALLIOPE: Then what?
JOE: I'll decide whether it needs more work.
CALLIOPE: What kind of work?
JOE: I need to decided if it's interesting enough for me and then get some feedback.
CALLIOPE: What kind of feedback?
JOE: Another point of view. I will take a chapter or two to my writers' meeting on Tuesday and then have Carol, Bob and possibly others read it.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like you're on the right track. What about the publicity videos.
JOE: I'll get back to them on Monday and continue recording until I feel ready to post. Talk with you then.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Metropolitan Opera- New York)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Doing well. I have been busy already.
CALLIOPE: Doing what?
JOE: Planning our cellar party for a couple weeks for now, doing AM Yoga with Rodney Yee and my journal. Now I'm here with you.
CALLIOPE: Glad you could fit me in. What did you accomplish yesterday?
JOE: I finished reviewing Gerry's annotated comments on my Marital Property manuscript. I also worked on the videos.
CALLIOPE: What's next on the manuscript?
JOE: I have Gerry's general comments to review again and then go through the manuscript to see how it reads out loud.
CALLIOPE: And the videos?
JOE: I recorded them and reviewed them for style and content. I could see ways where they could be improved.
CALLIOPE: Do you still think you can do them yourself?
JOE: I'm inclined to think so but will reserve judgment for a few more takes.
CALLIOPE: Keep up the good work.
JOE: Thanks for the encouragement. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Carol examining jewelry)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What have you been up to?
JOE: I was in Batavia all day yesterday getting my car fixed and helping my son set up a print show as well as photographing his most recent prints.
CALLIOPE: Does that mean you had no time for literary pursuits?
JOE: Unfortunately it does. I guess I can't count on having every day available for writing.
CALLIOPE: I guess you're right. What about today?
JOE: A different story. I plan to get back to work.
CALLIOPE: Doing what specifically?
JOE: Further takes on my promotional videos for one thing.
CALLIOPE: Do you think you can produce acceptable ones on your own?
JOE: Good question. I was just thinking about that. I don't think they need to be highly professional for YouTube or MySpace. If I'm not satisfied I am considering looking for a communications student at Genesee Community College who might be in need of a project.
CALLIOPE: Good thought. Anything else planned?
JOE: I plan to get back to revision of Marital Property and consideration of my friend Gerry's comments which he sent some time ago.
CALLIOPE: How come you have not looked at them yet?
JOE: I wanted to finish my first person oriented draft first. Now it is ready. On with the show. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

Old Handyside Factory- Wyoming, NY)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What news?
JOE: Progress on the marketing videos. I found the activation key for my editing software and got that working.
CALLIOPE: And then?
JOE: I recorded a video clip with my Kodak still camera and was able to edit it with Movavi Movie Suite and Windows Movie Maker.
CALLIOPE: Are you satisfied with the results?
JOE: Not yet. I plan to work on takes until I am satisfied with the results. Then I will move on to posting them on MySpace and YouTube.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like good progress.
JOE: So far so good.
CALLIOPE: Keep at it. I hope you're patient.
JOE: I usually am but sometimes I get frustrated.
CALLIOPE: Any other progress yesterday?
JOE: I started looking on the Internet for teen writings to use in Commonsense Wisdom for Teens.
CALLIOPE: How's that coming?
JOE: I'm just getting started but at least I'm on the move. One step at a time. Talk with you tomorrow.