Conversations with Calliope- Cyber Boxing Day

(Aquinnah Light)

Cyber Boxing Day- The online version of Boxing Day is sometimes known as Cyber Boxing Day. In the UK in 2008, Boxing Day was the busiest online shopping day of the year.”[18] In 2009, many retailers with both online and High Street stores launched their online sales on Christmas Eve, but their High Street sales on Boxing Day.

JOE: Good morning Calliope. Happy Boxing Day.
CALLIOPE: You mean Cyber Boxing Day?
JOE:I was just thinking about how the original Boxing Day in England started as a day to share gifts with the poor.
CALLIOPE: A far cry from what it is now.
JOE: Right. Now it's a mad scramble to see how much one can buy on the Internet for how little money.
CALLIOPE: Seems out of whack for the Christmas season.
JOE: It depends on whether you mean the original spiritual meaning or the commercial explosion.
CALLIOPE: Can't argue with you there.
JOE: I wonder if it could be different.
CALLIOPE:What would you suggest?
JOE: A reverse Cyber Boxing Day in which people would take time to share spiritual resources with those less fortunate without expectation of remuneration.
CALLIOPE: An interesting thought. I wonder what its chances would be.
JOE: Hard to know but worth a try. Talk with you on Monday, the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

Conversations with Calliope- Getting Personal

(Moonflowers)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Thinking about yesterday's post and realizing I shared more personal information than usual.
CALLIOPE: Is that why you had to think about it a while before posting?
JOE: It is.
CALLIOPE: How do you feel about having done so?
JOE: I think it's a step in the right direction. Writing in generalities keeps my writing impersonal and harder for readers to feel a personal sense of contact.
CALLIOPE: I think you might be right. What's leading you in this direction?
JOE: I'm still reading Julia Cameron's book, The Right to Write. She has been quite an inspiration to me.
CALLIOPE: How specifically?
JOE: She shares quite a bit about her personal life especially as it affects her writing. I feel a kinship with her I would like to establish with my readers.
CALLIOPE: Ah, she's setting a good example for you.
JOE: Exactly. I hope to learn more from her. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I missed you Saturday.
JOE: Don't take it personally. BlogSpot was under construction or repair or something and I could not log on. But I did think of you.
CALLIOPE: Thanks for that. What did you get done over the weekend?
JOE: I was working mostly on networking. I found an organization called Linked In (http://www.linkedin.com/) which connects like minded business and professional people. I signed up and already have one person to consider doing a professional review of Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: Good. What else?
JOE: I finally found out where the writing forums are on My Space. I thought it was just populated by teens, but I have discovered I was wrong, fortunately. I will start doing some exploration to see what might be useful.
CALLIOPE: Anything else?
JOE: Yes. I also found some more forums for writers of various persuasions on Yahoo and will continue exploring these as well.
CALLIOPE: You have been busy. Did you do any writing?
JOE: Not on Marital Property. My couple are still in mid discussion of their conflict, trying to sort things out. I did get back to writing my personal journal the last few days. I will pay them a visit this afternoon and see if the three of us, or four if you would like to be included, can come to some resolution.
CALLIOPE: Thanks for the invite. I'll join you. You sound like you have a pretty full agenda. You had better get going.
JOE: You're right, I do. Talk with you tomorrow.

(Beefeater- Tower of London)

Journal Travels

In my writers' group last night, we shared pages from our journals. I knew why I kept a journal but was amazed to see the variety of approaches other took. Some chronicled their sensory observations, some their adventures, memories, impressions, dreams, discoveries or concerns. It is enlightening to see the variety of approaches writers can take to a seemingly simple daily ritual. Some write only when they have something of significance to say and others write several times a day. Some write for the writing, some for themselves and some for posterity. I was glad to be there and share it and appreciate the broadening of my experience. If you are wondering, that's me sitting in Herman Melville's pew at the Seaman's Bethel in New Bedford.