Conversations with Calliope- Book Publicity

(Erie Canal Lock)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's afoot this morning?
JOE: I was just thinking over my weekend.
CALLIOPE: Were you satisfied with it?
JOE: I enjoyed all the socializing and even got a little work done.
CALLIOPE: Such as?
JOE: Distributing my book announcement to my readers, thinking about my next book and planning my publicity.
CALLIOPE: Tell me more ab out the publicity.
JOE: I will notify all my contacts on various sites, do some videos for Youtube and ask for an announcement in the local paper.
CALLIOPE: What focus do you plan to take with the newspaper?
JOE: Distributing my book for free, it's format as a dialogue which is unique as far as I know and what goes into being a writer.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good start. Do you ever pay for advertising?
JOE: I haven't yet and don't think that is a very efficient or productive approach at least for me considering the cost.
CALLIOPE: So you plan to rely more on word of mouth.
JOE: I do. At least for the time being. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Book Release

(Flying Free)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's new?
JOE: Our book is ready. Here is the release information:

Just Released

Conversations with Calliope: A Year With My Muse

Joseph G. Langen

Have you ever wondered about the day to day life of a writer? Is it fun, exciting, frustrating? If you are a writer, have you thought about how other writers’ lives compared with yours. Follow a year in a writer’s life through frequent conversations with his muse about writing, marketing, publicity, inspirations and distractions. This book is available free of charge. Read a selection at http://www.slidingotter.com/conversations.html.

Ten Reasons to Read Conversations with Calliope: A Year with My Muse

1. Find out where writers get their ideas.

2. Hear what a writer does all day.

3. Listen to what writers say about being a writer.

4. I want my muse to be more helpful.

5. See how to get unstuck when you write.

6. Learn how to talk with a muse.

7. Explore what else writers need to know besides how to write.

8. Discover what keeps a writer going page after page.

9. Determine who supports a writer’s efforts.

10. Unearth the sources of writers’ inspiration.

Ten Reasons Not to Read Conversations with Calliope: A Year with My Muse

1. Who needs a muse? Writing is the writer’s responsibility.

2. I don’t care how things get written. I just want to enjoy what I read.

3. I can write a book if I want to. Maybe some day I will. I’ll do it my way.

4. There’s nothing magic about writing. It’s just hard work.

5. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to write anything good.

6. Writing’s old fashioned. Everybody watches TV these days.

7. I don’t have time to read, much less write.

8. Most writers are just crusty alcoholics.

9. Writers are like teachers. They can do anything useful so they just talk about it.

10. If it's free it can't be worth anything.

JOE: Happy reading. Talk with you on Monday.

Order a free PDF copy of Conversations with Calliope: A Year with My Muse by Joseph G. Langen from Sliding Otter Publications at http://www.slidingotter.com/order_page.html.

Conversations with Calliope- E-book Distribution

(Now What)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Did you finish your column?
JOE: I did and found it went smoothly. Thanks for listening yesterday.
CALLIOPE: Now what?
JOE: I worked on distribution of our e-book yesterday.
CALLIOPE: How's it coming?
JOE: It's little hard to say. I checked with one person who was able to download it successfully but another could not access it and got a message that it didn't exist.
CALLIOPE: Strange.
JOE: I thought so too. I am able to access it easily in Firefox and Internet Explorer but then I'm not distributing it to myself.
CALLIOPE: What do you plan to do?
JOE: I will ask a few more people to download it and see what their experience is.
CALLIOPE: What do you think the problem might be?
JOE: It could be that his browser does not allow download of PDF files with passwords. But that's just a guess. I will try sending him the file by email.
CALLIOPE: Another mystery.
JOE: What would life be without them. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Tasting, Swallowing and Digesting Books

(Herb and tea market)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How is your column coming?
JOE: Glad you asked. It's finished and ready for the presses.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: I ended up writing about Sir Francis Bacon's quote about books.
CALLIOPE: Which is?
JOE: "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few others to be chewed and digested."
CALLIOPE: I remember the quote- seventeenth century wasn't it?
JOE: Precisely. I thought it made a good framework for my thoughts about why we read books.
CALLIOPE: Indeed. How did you go about it?
JOE: I gave examples of books falling into each category from my own recent reading.
CALLIOPE: And then?
JOE: I encouraged my readers to taste the delights, swallow learnings and enhance their lives with books.
CALLIOPE: Noble of you.
JOE: I wanted to support an endeavor which has brought me great satisfaction over the years. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Why We Read Books

(Windjammer Cafe)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How's you column coming?
JOE: Interesting you should ask.
CALLIOPE: Well?
JOE: You hit it on the head yesterday. My topic of addressing health and the environment exceeded the constraints of 500 words.
CALLIOPE: So now what?
JOE: I will put off the topic until I figure out what to do with it.
CALLIOPE: And in the mean time?
JOE: I woke up very early this morning wondering why people read books at all.
CALLIOPE: Any specifics?
JOE: I recalled Francis Bacon's quote about some books to be tasted, some to be swallowed and a few chewed and digested.
CALLIOPE: Do you plan to pursue that topic in this week's column?
JOE: I do.
CALLIOPE: Sounds interesting.
JOE: I'd better get to work on it. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Health and Environment

(Seaside)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's up today?
JOE: I'm taking a break from wrestling with technology.
CALLIOPE: What brought that on?
JOE: My commitment to writing a column and newsletter for the coming Saturday.
CALLIOPE: Do you have a topic in mind?
JOE: I do.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: I want to write about how our concern about finances and health intersect with the way we treat our earth.
CALLIOPE: It sounds like a task for a lifetime rather than a column.
JOE: I agree. Still I want to address it. The problem is how to say something meaningful in 500 words.
CALLIOPE: Quite a challenge. How do you plan to approach it?
JOE: That's what I have been pondering. Maybe I will present it as one of my life mysteries and just open up the topic.
CALLIOPE: That would be a start. Nobody seems to be thinking much about these connections.
JOE: I'll get my mental wheels turning and see what happens. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Technology Wins a Hand

(Dog Days of Summer)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Realizing I spoke too soon about my mastery of technology.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I thought I had everything under control with my websites and emails.
CALLIOPE: Not quite?
JOE: No. A while ago when I reloaded my websites, my e-mail got put somewhere else so it would not disappear. Friday I tried to put it back where it belonged but it got blocked.
CALLIOPE: So now what?
JOE: I called this morning to straighten it out and think it will be okay, but possibly not until tomorrow morning.
CALLIOPE: What are the implications for your e-book?
JOE: I want to make sure everything is working correctly before I post the file on my website.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like you're getting close.
JOE: That's the way it sounds to me too.
CALLIOPE: So now what?
JOE: I have correspondence to catch up with and then back to work on Marital Property. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Conquering Technology

(Don't Curse the Darkness)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Making some progress.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: I told you yesterday about my choice of how to distribute my book.
CALLIOPE: You did.
JOE: I got to work yesterday putting the technology in place.
CALLIOPE: With what results?
JOE: I needed another e-mail address to use to collect e-mail addresses from potential readers and distribute a password so they can download the book.
CALLIOPE: How did that go?
JOE: Making progress. I got one set up to handle an autoresponder.
CALLIOPE: Tell me what that is. We didn't have them in our heyday on Mt. Olympus.
JOE: I keep forgetting. An autoresponder is an automatic program built into an e-mail site which gathers and sends information automatically so I don't have to sit by the computer 24 hours a day waiting for people to write.
CALLIOPE: Sounds useful.
JOE: I think so. Next step is to build an easy to use order form for my website. A job for next week. Talk with you then.

Conversations with Calliope- Ebook Distribution

(Ship Communication Tower)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Not bad.
CALLIOPE: How's the e-book coming?
JOE: It looks ready to go.
CALLIOPE: What's the holdup?
JOE: Distribution. Never having done this, I found more options than I expected.
CALLIOPE: Such as?
JOE: PDF, Zip file, exe, word document are some of the format choices.
CALLIOPE: Have you decided among these?
JOE: After considering the possibilities, I have settled on PDF.
CALLIOPE: Okay. What about distribution channel?
JOE: I originally thought of doing it by email.
CALLIOPE: But?
JOE: It is a slow and unwieldly process given the size of my e-book.
CALLIOPE: So what are the alternatives?
JOE: The one I chose is posting it on my website and making it accessible with a password so I can keep track of who downloads it. More tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Twenty Reasons

(Portuguese Street Tile)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Ready to share your ten reasons project?.
JOE: Actually there are twenty. Ten for and ten against reading our book.
CALLIOPE: Lets start with the pros.
JOE: Okay, here goes:

Ten Reasons to Read Conversations with Calliope: A Year with My Muse

1. Find out where writers get their ideas.

2. Hear what a writer does all day.

3. Listen to what writers say about being a writer.

4. How can a muse be more helpful?

5. See how to get unstuck when you write.

6. Learn how to talk with a muse.

7. Explore what else writers need to know besides how to write.

8. Discover what keeps a writer going page after page.

9. Determine who supports a writer’s efforts.

10. Unearth the sources of writers’ inspiration.

CALLIOPE: Pretty good. How about the cons?
JOE: Okay.

Ten Reasons Not to Read Conversations with Calliope: A Year with My Muse

1. Who needs a muse? Writing is the writer’s responsibility.

2. I don’t care how things get written. I just want to enjoy what I read.

3. I can write a book if I want to. Maybe some day I will, but I’ll do it my way.

4. There’s nothing magic about writing. It’s just hard work.

5. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to write anything good.

6. Writing’s old fashioned. Everybody watches TV these days.

7. I don’t have time to read, much less write.

8. Most writers are just crusty alcoholics.

9. Writers are like teachers. They can't do anything useful so they just talk about it.

10. I’d never want someone to tell me what to write.

CALLIOPE: Are you trying to talk people out of reading the book?
JOE: No but I want to address possible reservations before readers think them up.
CALLIOPE: Anything else?
JOE: Yes. If people really believe the cons, I don't want them wasting their time reading our book.
CALLIOPE: But?
JOE: But maybe they will rethink their objections and have a look anyway.
CALLIOPE: Good thought. Let's see what happens.
JOE: Nothing to lose as far as I can see. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Moving Right Along

(Old Printing Press)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. I thought you might have gotten lost in your work and forgotten about me.
JOE: Never fear. We had early morning visitors who just left after lunch. So here I am.
CALLIOPE: I see. How did your work turn out yesterday?
JOE: I finished reviewing the draft and successfully converted it to a PDF.
CALLIOPE: And then?
JOE: I mailed it to my daughter for practice?
CALLIOPE: How did that go?
JOE: It arrived but so did seven copies. I'm not sure what to make of that but it took here a couple hours to receive the e-mails.
CALLIOPE: Not good.
JOE: I agree. It needs some investigation.
CALLIOPE: Anything else afoot?
JOE: I finished writing my seven reasons for and against reading our book.
CALLIOPE: May I see them?
JOE: They are just a draft. I hope to have them ready for you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Ten Reasons

(Odd Inspirations)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: The wheels are turning.
CALLIOPE: With what results?
JOE: Yesterday I continued my final review of Conversations with Calliope: A Year With My Muse. In the back of my mind was a question about how to market it.
CALLIOPE: Did something occur to you?
JOE: It did. I ran across a reference to something I tried with Navigating Life.
CALLIOPE: Don't be coy. Tell me.
JOE: I wrote and posted ten reasons to read the book and ten reasons not to.
CALLIOPE: I recall. Are you planning a similar adventure for our book?
JOE: I am.
CALLIOPE: What will you include in the lists?
JOE: That's my challenge for today. Want to help?
CALLIOPE: I'll get right on it and let you in on any ideas which occur to me.
JOE: Much appreciated. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope-Ready to Publish

(Summer Jetsam)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Is your company gone yet?
JOE: Yes. They left yesterday. Back to normal this morning.
CALLIOPE: Where does our book stand?
JOE: I thought you might ask. In between visiting and swimming at our friends' pool, I managed to finish the table of contents, index and a few minor revisions.
CALLIOPE: So now what?
JOE: Next is final review of the text to see if I missed anything.
CALLIOPE: And then?
JOE: Then is conversion to PDF format and distribution.
CALLIOPE: How do you plan to go about it?
JOE: I will announce it to my readers who subscribe to my newsletter and also post notices on the websites of communities to which I belong.
CALLIOPE: Do you plan to automate distribution of the e-book.
JOE: Not at first. I will distribute it as an e-mail attachment to those who are interested.
CALLIOPE: What if you have a great response.
JOE: Then I will consider automating it. I thought the personal touch might be better if I can keep up with it.
CALLIOPE: It's nice that you have the time in this day and age of automation.
JOE: I think so too. At least I'll try it. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Another Journey

(Mayan Road)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. Just waking up?
JOE: You know better than that. We had overnight guests staying downstairs. I didn't want to disturb them using the computer.
CALLIOPE: Did they just wake up?
JOE: No again. We had to visit with them and then stop in at their family reunion in Attica.
CALLIOPE: I see. Glad we got that straightened out. What news?
JOE: I am nearing the end of my work on our book. My reviewing is finished, the table of contents is in order and the index I worked on yesterday is looking good but in need of a few corrections.
CALLIOPE: When will it be out?
JOE: Possibly next week. I have to give it a final going over and see if there is anything else to tend to first.
CALLIOPE: Is this your first e-book.
JOE: Two of my other books are available in e-book format through BookLocker but this is the first one I will offer directly.
CALLIOPE: There's always something new to experience.
JOE: So there is. I don't know where this will lead except to a new adventure.
CALLIOPE: Enjoy the ride.
JOE: I plan to. Talk with you on Monday.

Conversations with Calliope-Sleepy Ideas

(Sunset in Leroy)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Sleepy.
CALLIOPE: Didn't you go to bed last night?
JOE: I did but I kept waking up with new ideas for my writing.
CALLIOPE: I had a few ideas I thought I might share with you.
JOE: Thanks. I woke up early and wrote them all down before I forgot them.
CALLIOPE: I hope they help.
JOE: I'm sure they will?
CALLIOPE: Where do you plan to start?
JOE: I finished reviewing our book, Conversations with Calliope, and I think the text is adequate.
CALLIOPE: But?
JOE: It could use a little enhancement.
CALLIOPE: Such as?
JOE: I am going to try adding a cream background instead of white which seems a little boring. I will also rearrange some of the photos and complete an index I started yesterday. I also plan to add to the announcement and publicity ten reasons to read this book and ten reasons not to. I'm anxious to get going again. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Clunker Poison

(Giant Bugs)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: A lazy summer day I suppose.
JOE: I can't deny it. Getting started today seemed an effort.
CALLIOPE: What have you done so far?
JOE: My diary is about all the writing I could manage so far.
CALLIOPE: What about yesterday?
JOE: I finished proofreading about half of our book, Conversations with Calliope, and plan to work on it some more today.
CALLIOPE: How are you going about it?
JOE: One chapter at a time so I don't lose my concentration.
CALLIOPE: Have you recovered from your environmental trauma?
JOE: For the most part. I don't think I told you about the article I read on Saturday.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: Clunker poison is a chemical poured into the engine of a car traded in with the new government program. It seizes up the engine irretrievably and the car is demolished even if the rest of it is still usable.
CALLIOPE: Leading to more junk on our national trash pile.
JOE: Exactly. After reading about ecology and our responsibility for the earth, it threw me for a loop. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Gift of the Earth

(Sunset on Honeoye Lake)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Still meditating on last night.
CALLIOPE: On what specifically?
JOE: Sunset. I spent the day reading and talking about what we do to the earth and don't even seem to notice our destructive ways.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: Despite it all, the earth favors us with treats such as fantastic sunsets despite all our worst habits.
CALLIOPE: An interesting thought.
JOE: My question is where it will take me.
CALLIOPE: Do you have any ideas?
JOE: Not specifically. I realize I can't change everyone's attitude about the earth any more than I can change how people treat each other.
CALLIOPE: You're not God.
JOE: Exactly. Even God leaves it to us how we treat the earth and each other. Although we have free choice, we also must accept the consequences of our decisions.
CALLIOPE: Maybe you should write about the connection.
JOE: I have been, but maybe I need to do more of it. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Loving the Earth

(Nature's Beauty)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Feeling productive.
CALLIOPE: What did you produce?
JOE: My column for Saturday, My Great Life and The Dream of the Earth.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: It's a long story. The highlights are that I read three books connecting my thoughts about stewardship of the earth rather than raping it and leaving a pile of junk in our wake.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a strong statement.
JOE: The more I read the more troubled I become about our throw-away society and what we are doing to our environment in the process.
CALLIOPE: And you wrote about this in your column?
JOE: I did.
CALLIOPE: Don't you think you might stir up some controversy?
JOE: I hope I do. Sometimes I feel like Chicken Little but the voice of one crying in the wilderness is usually not a popular one.
CALLIOPE: Getting people to change never is a comfortable pursuit.
JOE: I agree. But I think it's time to speak. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Tears in Church

(Sunflowers)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Are you back to work or still in vacation mode?
JOE: Back to work I guess. But I am still working on refreshing myself.
CALLIOPE: Such as?
JOE: Yesterday I attended Spiritus Christi Church as they celebrated the tenth anniversary of their men's addiction recovery program.
CALLIOPE: How did that affect you?
JOE: I got to thinking about my granddaughter and her struggle to cope with her alcoholic father while he struggles with himself.
CALLIOPE: Where did that lead?
JOE: To a great sense of sadness that she has to endure pain, sorrow, and worry about her father.
CALLIOPE: Is there any hope for change?
JOE: He seems to be nearing bottom and possibly getting serious about some help.
CALLIOPE: Good. Anything you can do in the mean time?
JOE: I wondered that too. I wrote my granddaughter a letter yesterday telling me of my sadness about her situation and her father's and sharing my prayer for their peace with God and with each other.
CALLIOPE: At least you did something.
JOE: I wish I could do more, but at least I let her know I understood and cared about her. I guess that's a start. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Where Were You

(Spring Flowering)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. Where have you been?
JOE: Carol has a vacation this week. I guess the mood is contagious.
CALLIOPE: I guess so. We were in mid discussion about Grass Roots and you promised to elaborate.
JOE: I did. I was telling you about hearing their song Where Were You When I Needed You on Wednesday night.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: They came out with it in 1966, during my first year out of the monastery. It reminded me of feeling like an alien on earth in a culture which had emerged while I was away.
CALLIOPE: Did it bring back memories and feelings about those days?
JOE: In a way, but it didn't through me into chaos as Michael McDonald did.
CALLIOPE: How did you react?
JOE: I quickly moved on to thoughts about all the friends I have developed since then and how much I have learned and grown.
CALLIOPE: So it was a good reaction?
JOE: It was.
CALLIOPE: What's next on your horizon?
JOE: The books I am working on as well as a new awareness of my place in the cosmos and my feeling of responsibility to make the most of it. I'll tell you more next week.

Conversations with Calliope- Grass Roots

(Wagon Wheels)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon, Joe. I missed you this morning.
JOE: I was off to a busy start.
CALLIOPE: Doing what?
JOE: Going for a massage, shopping, and manual labor edging the lawn.
CALLIOPE: Are your musical adventures over?
JOE: Hardly.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: Last night several of us drove to Finger Lakes Race Track for a concert by the Sky Coasters and then Grass Roots.
CALLIOPE: Go on.
JOE: I have seen Sky Coasters quite a few times, a band from Rochester which plays quite a variety of songs and I always enjoy them.
CALLIOPE: And Grass Roots?
JOE: Another story. I must admit I didn't remember them from the old days, at least until they sang, "Where Were You When I Needed You?"
CALLIOPE: Did that song have some special significance for you?
JOE: It was their first big hit in 1966 the year after I left the monastery and was just getting back into the real world. It brought back memories of those days. I'll tell you more tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Grass

Conversations with Calliope- Hawaiian Hula

(Coconut Palm)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Doing well. I got some exercise yesterday morning and went to say goodbye to my brother Bob and his girlfriend Carol who are returning to Hawaii this morning.
CALLIOPE: Any further musical adventures?
JOE: As a matter of fact yes.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: Carol takes lessons and is in a traditional Hawaiian Hula group. She performed a couple dances for us last night.
CALLIOPE: Sounds interesting.
JOE: I thought so. It went beyond the typical Luau dancing. She also took time to introduce and later explain the movements of each dance.
CALLIOPE: A treat.
JOE: Indeed. It reminded me of the unbounded creativity across the world.
CALLIOPE: Any personal message for you?
JOE: It encouraged me to continue exploring my own creative side and express whatever you and the other muses might bring me as gifts.
CALLIOPE: Glad you appreciate them.
JOE: I do. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Mozart on the Beach

(Portuguese Street Tile)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What news today?
JOE: I continued my creative restoration program yesterday.
CALLIOPE: How?
JOE: Carol and I spent the afternoon at her cousin's cottage on Canisus Lake, one of the New York State Finger Lakes.
CALLIOPE: And you relaxed all day?
JOE: For the most part. However the afternoon was punctuated by a musical surprise.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: Zack, a thirteen year old grandson of one of Carol's cousin's friends, began talking about his interest in opera. It turned out to be more than an interest.
CALLIOPE: How so.
JOE: He had amassed quite a bit of knowledge about opera, favored Mozart, particularly La Nozza de Figaro and Die Zauberflaut. In mid discussion he broke into song favoring us with several arias from each of his favorite operas.
JOE: How a mature baritone voice could emanate from a thirteen year old boy astounded me.
CALLIOPE: I wish I had been there.
JOE: Some of your more musically inclined sister muses would have been impressed.
CALLIOPE: Perhaps one of them had a hand in drawing him to opera.
JOE: Perhaps. In any case it was a pleasant surprise, bordering on a peak experience.

Conversations with Calliope- Lost in Translation

(Dream of the Earth)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. You were going to tell me more about the book you were reading.
JOE: You mean Lost in Translation. I finished it Saturday after we talked.
CALLIOPE: So tell me more.
JOE: The story portrayed an archaeologist in search of the lost bones of Peking Man in China. The translator for the archaeologist was the protagonist and she balances dealing with her own father, Chinese culture and her attraction to a government representative accompanying the expedition.
CALLIOPE: What did you like about the book?
JOE: I mentioned my interest in the subplot of a priest, Teilhard de Chardin, his book The Phenomenon of Man and his relationship with a woman in the 1930's as well as his involvement in possibly trying to preserve the Peking Man bones.
CALLIOPE: Tell me more about him.
JOE: He wrote about evolution of the earth and mankind at a time when the Catholic Church was not ready for his thoughts. He lived and worked under a cloud.
CALLIOPE: Did you have some personal involvement.
JOE: Yes. I fell under a cloud as well when I read his works and discussed them in the monastery in which I lived.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like you were a bit of a rebel.
JOE: No doubt. While the cats were away, several other monastic mice and I attended a week long conference at Fordham University which further cast suspicion on all involved.
CALLIOPE: I see. And now?
JOE: I still like to challenge peoples' perceptions with my writing but now try to do it a little more subtly. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Recharging

(Rock's Secrets)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: I assume your arrival at this late hour reflects your efforts to restore yourself.
JOE: If you mean was I sleeping until now, I wasn't. I've never slept that late in my life.
CALLIOPE: Don't get defensive.
JOE: I'm not. I was up before 6:00AM. But I have been relaxing, at least a little.
CALLIOPE: What did you do?
JOE: Read two newspapers, completed a crossword puzzle, fed the birds, fertilized my plants and flowers, walked to the farmer's market and started exploring Google Checkout as a possibility for my website.
CALLIOPE: A good mix of activities. Anything else to report?
JOE: Yesterday I continued reading Nicole Mones' book, Lost in Translation.
CALLIOPE: What interested you in that book.
JOE: I saw the movie based on it and wasn't particularly impressed. I found a copy at our library book sale and decided to try it.
CALLIOPE: What's it about?
JOE: The story of an archeologist and his translator in search of the lost bones of Peking Man.
CALLIOPE: Any surprises?
JOE: One. The substory is about Pierre Tielhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest who helped discover the controversial skeletal evidence. That's a story I will share with you on Monday. Talk with you then.