Why You Should Have A Blog

Spoiler alert: This post will seem to be completely self-serving, unless you’ve always wanted to communicate with a wider audience on any topic you deem important.

Rouzell Enterprises, D.B.A. Mousehelp, is available to help you create, host, and maintain your own weblog – commonly known as a blog. Your site will be up and running within an hour (assuming you can make decisions quickly) and you’ll have your first post live on the web after the first session.

Typical cost for the entire package - 10 hours of demonstration and hands-on instruction - is $900. For most people, sessions of one to two hours seem to work best, as the learning curve seems a bit steep during the first lesson. You take home new knowledge, complete with notes, and you work with what you’ve learned, then come back for more. It’s fun and easy, with personal instruction.

Why should you want a blog? The answers are as varied as personalities among writers.

Perhaps that is the first answer. You are a writer. That’s one of the very best reasons to have and maintain a blog. Some people just enjoy writing. For me, this is reason enough to write. And, of course, since I’ve been working with computer technology for about 30 years now, publishing my creations on the web is a natural fit for me. Are you a writer? If so, blogging is definitely for you.

You are a photographer. Sharing your beautiful images with the world is so easy, with a website or a blog. You may also use this kind of showcase to sell your creations, as one of my clients does, using smug mug.

Which leads perfectly into another reason to blog; you have something to sell. Or, maybe you just want to produce content relative to something else you are doing online, like your website, which is where you really sell your product or service.

This might open up the discussion of how blogging contributes to SEO, but that is a topic for a whole new article (to be posted later). SEO is something we do at moushelp.org – to help you get more attention on your website. Blog posts can be used by linking key phrases in your content to specific pages on your website. That’s all we’re going to say about this for now.

By the way, websites and blogs are technically the same thing, with a subtle difference. Websites are usually created with a much wider purpose and a weblog is intended to be a running stream of new content, produced periodically in a kind of sequential journal entry fashion. If a distinction must be made, a blog is a website, but a website is most often not a blog. Many websites include a link to a blog, in a kind of hybrid application.

In the interest of brevity, we’ll wrap up with this: Electronic Communications is the best way to get your message in front of the masses. Blogging is one of the easiest ways to get started with Electronic Communications.

One call or one email to Mousehelp at Rouzell dot com is all it takes to get started. Click any of the links on this page for more information.

Pursued by Bear

Watching CBS Sunday Morning almost always yields a few gems for me. The title of this post is the same as the name of wine produced by Kyle MacLachlan. That name (of the wine) comes from a bit of esoteric information, which is why I include it here. I’m a big fan of the little things.

The result is this: a wine he calls Pursued by Bear.  He took the name from a stage direction in Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale”:  Exit, pursued by a bear. The 2013 vintage, basically still just grape juice, is already showing promise. 

As always, here is a link to information about that segment, from their website. 

If you would like to read my diatribe about full attribution, click here to jump to Rouzell.net, where I discuss the importance of giving credit to the original source. I’m working on a compilation of material from a number of sources and am carefully requesting permission from each of them, prior to including their work in my production. It’s all about being positive and giving credit where credit is due.

Back to the bear and the pursuit - I just really admire the use of some little bit of seemingly insignificant information as the name of something truly meaningful to the new user. 

At the end of our last Toastmasters meeting, I quoted ZZ Top, from their “Degüello” album, released in 1979. The first line of the first song is this; “You didn’t have to love me like you did, but you did, but you did, and I thank you.” I said it and I meant it. 

One dollar and eighty-seven cents.

One dollar and eighty-seven cents.

If you are O. Henry, you get away with it. The first line of The Gift of the Magi is a phrase. Any reasonable spelling and grammar checker, or proofreader, would certainly call out the error. But this is no ordinary work of literature. This is from the venerable O. Henry and a story well known and well told through the years. 
Sickening it was for to me to find this book; “Tales of O. Henry” - it has been sitting on a shelf above and to the left of where I have written thousands of words for my blogs. I did finally manage to take down the hefty tome and discover this story anew.
“They are the magi.” Those words end this story. And now I have to go off and do my research, to find when and where, and who; was this author. How many great stories have I not read, and what shall I learn by studying the techniques of one of the greats.
“… with sniffles predominating.” 
How do you come up with something like that?!?

http://www.literaturepage.com/read/thefourmillion-10.html


Three Things - Once Again, With Feeling

1) There are many great people in my circles, so I could easily name three to satisfy this subject, but I won’t. I’ll count that blessing as only one of three, to leave room for two more. 2) We live in a world filled with awesome technology. It’s the kind that lets me take pictures of any beautiful thing I happen to pass by, without the need for any special camera equipment. My smart phone is always with me to record any image I may want to capture. And, I can instantly share those photos with Facebook, Twitter, or pull them into my computer for further editing. Nice, huh? Here are some roses that were growing right in front of a parking spot. 3) I’m married to a wonderful woman.  I could fill the rest of this page with praise for her. Instead, I’ll share one of my favorite (recent) photos with you. My wife, my best friend; Margaret Rouley. Enjoy!

Movie Review - The Counselor

I don’t make a habit of reading movie reviews, as I’m far more likely to write one. That said, I did read this one in the LA Times online article. The author agrees with me on so many levels, however, he or she has obviously done much more homework on the screenwriter and uses some pretty complex language to very accurately describe one loser of a movie script.

There were times when I just could not believe what was being said, or the behavior of the title character. In one scene, he calls his fiancee to tell her about the trouble he has created and instead of giving her clear instructions on how to save her own life, he tells her to stay home. This is just one of many examples of places where the writing is so far off the mark, it truly kills the plot, the character development and any interest I may have had in following this thing to its incredibly obvious conclusion.

As I write this, I’m struck by the idea that people assign stars or whatever to say how good or bad a movie is. If there is some negative value for number of stars I would give this movie, it is this - I want my money back! I want my time back. I wish I hadn’t seen this. I could have had lunch earlier, had we walked out….

Cheek to Jowl - Oddly Enough

This is an expression I had never heard before last week. Then, in this month’s issue of AAA’s Westways magazine, I read an article on the last page about an explosion at an electro-plating company in LA that happened in 1947. In this piece the author says; “Residential structures damaged in the explosion were replaced by low industrial buildings that now line the local streets cheek by jowl.”

This morning, on CBS Sunday Morning, almost the same expression was used in a segment about cemeteries.

When grown, I finally sought a home all my own in another Carolina town. The realtor complained, “Found you one great Victorian fixer-upper. Problem? Damn thing’s cheek-to-jowl against a Colonial cemetery.” 

Spoken by Allan Gurganus

Google shows me “About 588,000 results” for this expression, which I had never heard before last week.

There’s not much more to this blog post, except to say, that was an odd coincidence. Would you agree?

One Week

It is sometimes amazing how fast seven days may pass. Living this way has certainly influenced my writing.

My head is swimming, thinking about all I want to accomplish and how ineffective I often am. This must change. 

The good news is change is the ONLY constant. Any thing that tries to remain the same must perish.

New day, new plan, that is my new mantra. I’ve committed “heart and soul” to working on a new project. The only impediment is the need for income continuity. Were I free of that concern, quantum leaps would become commonplace.

That’s all I’m going to say for now. 

Join my Cause. It will cost you nothing to do so.

Hunger and Weight Loss

If you knew me and cared about me, you might one day say to me; “You are too thin!” I get that a lot. My wife complains incessantly about it. My close friends, which means those who know that they can say anything to me in complete honesty, say that very same thing. Being too thin is apparently a problem to those closest to me.

Often times, I’ll joke in my response - that I live on a diet of constant stress. That isn’t far from the truth, to be honest with you. But that’s not the subject of this blog post. And, I would not recommend to anyone that they ever emulate my stressful lifestyle for any reason.

So, here’s the thing. Hunger is OK with me. As much as I know when nature tells me I’m hungry I should eat, it just doesn’t motivate me enough to make me drop what I’m doing and go find food.

In fact, there’s always the conflict of not knowing what I want to eat at that moment. Do I want another sandwich, do I want another burrito, am I going to be happy with a burger, or Panda Express for fast Chinese food? What, WHAT am I going to have for lunch? Did I have chicken or fish or steak for dinner? That answer helps me to decide what I don’t want to have for lunch. This is an ongoing conflict for me. That very same conflict makes hunger all the more attractive. This is crazy talk!

Given that I don’t have a goal in mind for this blog post, I’m just going to save and close. I know I’m happier right after a good meal, so I should want that happiness three times a day. To be honest, I am more likely to eat two or three meals in a day. Seriously, I’m too thin and I know it. The change I need to make is purely psychological, I’m pretty sure of that fact.

That’s all for now. If anyone reading this is “overweight” - whatever that means - consider enjoying hunger as a feeling that is akin to getting thinner. Or, you could add a little stress to your life and have that for lunch. I’m kidding.

This is just something I’m writing for therapeutic purposes and if it has any value for you, well that’s just good luck for both of us!

Runner, Runner and other ponderings

Margaret and I saw this movie, with Ben Afleck and Justin Timberlake. It was merely OK. I don’t usually care to write about movies that don’t deserve a glowing review. So, I’ll just say, you might miss this one.

Movies you may have missed, that I will see again: Source Code, Safety Not Guaranteed, Molière, Sling Blade, there’s one more - I’ll have to go research it. I probably already posted something about it, so it shouldn’t take long. Yes, I did already post an article for, “The Spectacular Now.”

The links in that paragraph above are chosen based on Google’s searh results. So, if a movie completely dominates the SERPs, I post a link to the Google results. If not, you’ll get a more direct hit on a page about the movie, instead of the SERPs. And, just so you don’t have to go look up SERPs….

Lately, it seems like writing for myself is almost not enough. Then, I went to the Palm Springs Writers Guild and listened to the author of “Letters to My Husband” and she convinced me I should continue.

So, here it is. Change is hard, but life without it is pointless. More to come, as we muddle through.

A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace

By  John Knowles

This was one of the Book Daily book samples posted today. One of the first books I read in high school, it’s pretty hard to forget. Clearly today I can still see the image of two boys out on a limb and recall my imagining what he meant by, “two pistons.”

If you’ve read this book, you know what I mean. If not, you might want to have a look. It’s not “The Catcher in the Rye”, but it is compelling.

Somewhat apropos, as I’m alone again this evening.

Reading Beautiful Prose - Redux

Yes, we will return to this material, time after time, as it comes to mind. Read my review on GoodReads.

To avoid simply launching into a laudatory description of my subject, I’ll start by saying this article provides an excerpt from the book; “Pioneer Ranch Life In Orange: A Victorian Woman In Southern California”; By Clark, Mary Teegarden - editor: Clark, Paul F.

That link provides search results, to save you some time. If you leave me right now, to go find and purchase the book, I won’t mind. Continue here, for just a brief glimpse of the beauty that is realized in poetic prose. 

My heartfelt gratitude goes to Paul Clark, for sharing his manuscript with me. Having this treasure allows me to share passages with you. Also, for allowing me to become one of the first to purchase the final product; thank you, Paul.

Without further ado (below is one particularly moving passage):

We have stayed on, not one year or two, but nearly twenty, and the life at “Yale Grove” had become only a precious heritage of memory.  The pink crape myrtle tree still carries high its rosy head, though he who loved it, walks no longer through earthly gardens, and the Catalonian jasmine drops its pure snow on the walk, where little tots played so long ago, picking up its petals for a chain.  The old pepper tree, with its unused swing, looks in vain for the children who romped beneath its leafy shade, and the one mocking bird, that ceased to sing when the dear Master left, is seen and heard no more.

_________________________ 

That is the penultimate paragraph of the text written by Mary Teegarden Clark. Nearly moved to tears, as I re-read that passage, I offer it for your consideration, my dear readers. She has moved back to “the old home [La Porte] in Indiana” and is reflecting on and reminiscing about the old home in “Richland”, now known as Orange, CA, where her husband had died so many years ago.

The Palm Springs Writers Guild is back in session, with its first meeting concluded yesterday and a season of new workshops beginning soon. At PSWG, I met Paul Clark, the editor of this volume, (the first time, earlier this year) and had the privilege of providing assistance to him with some of the vagaries of Microsoft Word; thus helping him to push through to the final version of subject book for his publisher - The History Press. 

We’ve worked together to produce his website, where he shares his interests in History, especially as it applies to his beloved heritage in Orange County. Paul will soon be speaking at an event where he is scheduled to be a panelist at the Chapman University Book Festival on October 13th.

Write Something, Right

In the mail yesterday was a package small enough to fit in the mailbox. These things arrive sometimes, many days or weeks after I’ve placed an order for yet another gadget. Not so long ago, a pen that actually records video came in a similar small package. This pen plugs into a USB port for downloading data to your computer and I’ve tried it out and it works! The hard part is getting it turned on and then positioned just perfectly in your pocket, but with trial and error, I’m sure I’ll eventually get something useful. 

Yesterday’s package contained two USB drives that have a built in sound recorder. Seriously, they look just like any other flash or thumb drive, as people like to call them, except there is a switch to turn on or off the recorder. The instructions for using this device were written by someone who doesn’t have English as his first language, but hey, I’m a guy, so I just did what I thought was right and read the instructions later!

Turns out, there was just one little subtelty in the instructions that made a difference. Other than that, I had it right. Of course, like most people might, I held the thing up to my face and spoke in a clear strong voice that completely over drove the little microphone, so I sounded pretty foolish in playback mode. If you just leave the gadget laying on the desk and speak in a normal tone, the sound quality is remarkably good. 

Did I mention I got two of these? I did. Maybe Margaret would like to have one. I’ll see what she thinks. Time will tell if any of these things make any sense at all. As in, if they are not used routinely, then it was probably yet another senseless purchase, based on “gee whiz” technology sales (to an easy mark).

Salinger

Like so many people who read Catcher in the Rye, I was awestruck by what I thought was the most clever writing I might ever have seen. The part about, “like so many people” is made abundantly clear in the movie, “Salinger”, which we saw today at the Cinemas Palme d’Or in Palm Desert.

This documentary is based on the book, Salinger, by David Shields and Shane Salerno. And, unless you really like documentaries, or, like me, really have an interest in writing and writers, you may find this movie somewhat tedious. It made me squirm. It drives home the idea of success and the loss of privacy that may result from fame. This is a contradiction for most people, I think. “Rich and famous” seem to be joined at the hip for most people aspiring to become someone special. For me, I’ll take the riches and do without the fame, if possible.

There is one part of the movie that really hit home with me. One of the last people in the film is Betty Eppes and she reports on her encounter with Salinger. I’m sorry to say I don’t have a direct quote from the movie, so I’ll post something here that I’ve found online. In essence, he says you should “write for yourself.”

I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m doing here.

It was comforting to hear that that was advice given by someone as big as J. D. Salinger.

Salinger, as quoted in this article: I love to write and I assure you I write regularly. I’m just not publishing. I write for myself. For my own pleasure.

Loving All Animals

What a great event they had tonight in Palm Desert. There were hundreds of people, dozens of dogs, exotic birds, a pond with flamingos and koi, a waterfall, food and drink. I never did find the kittens, but I heard they were there someplace.

So many nice people, all drawn together by their love for animals. The event was hosted at the Bird Gardens of Lindi Biggi a great big home in South Palm Desert.

I’m sure I would have much more to say about this, were I not so tired. So, perhaps I’ll post a few more memories tomorrow. For now, let me just say that there are photos and video on Facebook. Look me up as Mousehelp and you’ll find my page.

 

Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird

It’s a sin. You can find this stuff for yourself, although you are as likely to find quotes from the book, as from the movie.

“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy … but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

This is one of those movies that just doesn’t move along so simply. It almost requires the kind of patience that goes into reading a good book. The plot moves along slowly, switching between adult themes and childhood innocence and boogie-man fears. There were a couple of times during the movie where I had to remind myself that we had come to see it on the big screen for the experience. Had we been at home, I would definitely have been out of my seat from time to time, just so I would have something else to do, while waiting to further developments.

That’s one of the benefits of going to a theatre, I suppose. The fact that you are there for a singular purpose certainly helps to focus your attention on the entertainment. Often, I find myself watching so much more than the movie - little details of things; like peripheral objects, lines spoken that seem out of place, expressions on faces, anything physical that should not be in the scene.

I neglected telling you in my last review that at the end of Roman Holiday, there’s a scene where you can see the bottom of the boom microphone. It moves along left to right as Gregory Peck stands there, drinking in the import of his situation. That kind of stuff fascinates me - the idea that they didn’t see that in the editing room and filter it out for us.

Back to our movie; To Kill a Mockingbird is a study in culture. It shines a light on ideas like racial prejudice, assumptions made, irrational fears, community standards, and integrity. You can’t help but love the children in this story. And, of course, you get to feel the pain of Atticus, as he is simultaneously burdened and enlightened in his role as a single parent.

This is not one of those movies you can easily rate. No number of stars would seem to spell it out clearly for your readers. Would I see it again? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing. The big screen experience and the intimacy of a movie theatre definitely made it worth a second look.