Conversations with Calliope- Writing, Reading, Understanding

(Just Stuff)

I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.~Robert McCloskey

JOE: Good afternoon, Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. Did you sleep in?
JOE: Not this long. I was busy getting some exercise and ordering a new computer.
CALLIOPE: I see. Sounds like you have communication on your mind.
JOE: Here's a little story. My girlfriend received an MP3 player for Christmas. She asked me to load some songs on it for her.
CALLIOPE: Sounds simple enough.
JOE: I thought so too. In order to load songs, the device must be synchronized with Windows Media Player (WMP). Although the computer recognize the device as attached, WMP did not.
CALLIOPE: A problem.
JOE: Indeed. The directions referenced a website URL where all was to be explained. Of course there was no such site attached to the URL.
CALLIOPE: Still stuck.
JOE: Well, I found the site eventually and downloaded a PDF manual for the device. The first instruction advised opening a file which does not seem to exist.
CALLIOPE: Customer Service?
JOE: There was no number to call but I did find an e-mail address. My post was acknowledged but no help has been forthcoming. After much ado I discovered that the files I wished to download had indeed ended up on the device along with quite a few other files I did not wish to download. They were a mishmash instead of being in any particular order.
CALLIOPE: So now what?
JOE: I'm done. We agreed that it is going back to the store in favor of something with directions which make some sense. 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.

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

(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

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Feeling energized.
CALLIOPE: By what?
JOE: I followed my good friend Gerry's advice yesterday and started looking at the styles of popular writers to see what makes them successful.
CALLIOPE: Is this a new venture for you?
JOE: Not really, but I am looking in different places now.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: Before, I think I had a somewhat snooty attitude about good writing, feeling that "literary" writers were somehow superior to "popular" writers.
CALLIOPE: So have you lowered yourself to consider "lesser" writers.
JOE: I have. Gerry suggested I start with Danielle Steele. I resisted. He insisted. Finally I got her book Safe Harbor from the library and started reading it yesterday.
CALLIOPE: What did you discover?
JOE: There is a reason she has sold over fifty novels. Her writing is immediately accessible to ordinary writers. She writes the way most people think, including observations of mannerisms, mixing together reflection, behaviors and speech in a way which I think mimics everyday experience. I think she meets writers where they live.
CALLIOPE: Sounds impressive. Will you continue your explorations?
JOE: I have a few other books I will explore and carefully note each author's voice and how they approach readers. An interesting challenge. Thanks Gerry.
(Sunrise- Nantucket Sound)

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Hot, but otherwise fine.
CALLIOPE: Did you accomplish anything yesterday?
JOE: A swim, but not much else. I had little ambition yesterday and didn't even follow through with the few plans I had. However I did enjoy an outing last night with my grandson and favorite clown.
CALLIOPE: I guess we all deserve a little down time. How about today?
JOE: I don't have much time. I am baking bread and have coleslaw to prepare for this afternoon. I think the most I will accomplish will be to post my column on my website. Tomorrow I have little on the agenda and will get serious about planning my videos. I spent some time yesterday reading Maugham's Of Human Bondage, recommended for its description, particularly of characters.
CALLIOPE: And your conclusion?
JOE: Cindy was right. He does an excellent job. Recent literary fiction of my acquaintance is tricky and intricate but does not seem to have much of a plot. I think that is a missing element.
CALLIOPE: Why do you suppose this is?
JOE: Maybe life is seen as not having much purpose any more. I guess I'm not really sure. This phenomenon does not seem to appear in short stories I have read.
CALLIOPE: Something to consider. Anything happening with Commonsense Wisdom for Teens.
JOE: I have posted questions on several sites about the need for and process of obtaining teen permission for inclusion of their input.
CALLIOPE: Is there a consensus of opinion?
JOE: Questionnaire data seems OK to include but narrative seems to require parental input. The process remains somewhat of a mystery. But I will give it further thought. Talk with you Monday.
(Dishes drying- Batavia, NY)

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine and ready to go. I am planning a trip to the Strong Play Museum with my grandson for his birthday today to see the Grossology exhibit. So I'm not sure how much time I will have for literary pursuits.
CALLIOPE: Grandchildren are important too. Have fun with him. How about yesterday?
JOE: I was quite busy. I started working on a comprehensive marketing plan I found at Authors on the Net. I am excited about the prospects of getting organized.
CALLIOPE: Good. What else is going on?
JOE: I started corresponding with some other writers at Book Marketers' Network. I am starting to develop some contacts. As part of my marketing plan, I set a goal of fifty network contacts in the next three months. I also found time to edit a couple chapters of Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: You are busy. What's on deck for today in your limited time?
JOE: I have a column due Saturday and plan to do it on what I have been reading of Eckhart Tolle in The Power of Now.
CALLIOPE: What did you like about his book?
JOE: I haven't finished it yet but was impressed by his statements that depression is associated with the past and anxiety with the future, while all we have to live in is the present. I thought it was a profound insight.
CALLIOPE: I can't wait to hear what you do with it.
JOE: I will post the column on my website on Saturday. Let me know what you think.
(Carol contemplating Lagoon Pond- Martha's Vineyard)