tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746Mon, 07 Nov 2016 02:20:45 +0000writingfashionwriter impossibleMercedes Benz Fashion Weekkitchen dispatchLiterary Fashionistasavannahthe writing lifebookswriterslifeuncle billHealth Care PlansUniversal Health CareafghanistanhealthcareArtBook Reviewsdogsbarack obamabloggingcakecatsfamilymilspousesthe writerly pausewarAl MartinezPhoto Huntchristmasfrank schaefferhomelifemilitary lifepoetrywestern writersAmerican WestAndyBail OutJim CroceLA TimesMental IllnessObamaSouthern California Firesamerican politicscharactersgardeningmilitarymonkey businessmoviesnovelsold housespoliticsstephen colberttraveluclawhaleswriters groupswriting as seeingyogaASYMCABlog Blast For PeaceFiresGreenGustavo ArellanoHBOHoward Seth CohenIndiaJim BelshawJohn PetersJonny CoppKevan HallMelanie O.Monday in AustraliaPatricia WoodPaul NewmanProp 8Tawny FeatherstonTucsonangry parsnipanysoldierarmyblogcriticscalifornia literaturecharlie roseconcrete beachcookingdeltadeploymenteditingenvironmentfashion disastersfictionfred astairegodgriefhoodburbian revolthope radioinner thoughtkidskurt vonnegutlanguagelos angeles timesmemoirsmiddle agemother's dayparenthoodphilanthropyracerecipesrobinson jefferssam zellsandra cormiersarah chayessaturday photo huntspiritualitysweet pveronika jeanvie fashionwriters blockwriting in chaos2009 dodge challenger9/11AWPAhney HerAndre HsuAndres MartinezBeautiful BoyBee VangBetteBob Del GrossoBrandon CrispCalifornia GOPCapri ShoesCarson KressleyCasa CodyChristopher M.Citizen of the MonthClint EastwoodClint Eastwood Gran TorinoDKCDavid NivenDavid SheffDominique BlakeDon miguel ruizDr. Carol FreyDr. John PryorEdith WhartonElmer AvenueElmore LeonardFalguni and ShaneFine Politics BlogFort HoodFree HawaiiFreerangeinternationalFullerton CAGMGay MarriageGentlemen's AgreementGila Bend Indian ReservationGlam GodGran TorinoGrandmotherGreg MortensonHillcrest ParkHole in the wall gang campHugh HefnerHumane SocietyHurricaneIRSIVFJulian FellowesKen ReichKent HarufKitty MarieLA ObservedLTC Victor FehrenbachLana FuchsLaura LinneyLemon Street MuralsLetters From HomeListeningLori DrewLotteryMFAMcCainMegan MeierMilitary KidsMissing BoyMonarchyNMFANPO'sNYCNathaniel AyersNeil KramerNew OrleansOffice of Hawaiian AffairsOperation Camp PurpleOpinion LAOrthopedic SurgeonPalinPat's Past ImperfectPeacePerry L. CrandallPetraeusPetsPhillip Seymour HoffmanPressmenQueen ElizabethReality TVRichard RogersRoad Less Traveled StoreRobin WilliamsRowdy Ridge Gang CampSCADSPCASTAYSam MaloofSarah DeAnnaScott Newman CenterSierra ClubSpecial NeedsSteve LopezSummer CampTaxesTesco Fresh and EasyThe Great Interview ExperimentThe PacificThe ReaderThe SavagesThe SoloistThe23Three Cups of TeaTimothy GeithnerTizTom DaschleTom HanksTripodUSOUllaVenusVermont FerretVeterans DayVictoria FiresVivica A. FoxWWIIalexandra pelosialfred hitchcockallie larkinamerican dietamy biehlandré leon talleyany soldier.comarmageddon in retrospectarmy field manualashley paigeaspen timesasperger'sattractionbabtimbaconbaseballben steinbill o'reillyblogshare mondaybobby mcferrinbrea and yorba linda firesbreakscaliforniacalifornia authorscamel toecamelscarbon fuel standardscathercensorshipcharitychildrenchumplet writeschurchcity infrastructurecleavagecoble familycollectingcolorcomedycritiquesdancedavid halberstamdean koontzdeathdebtdebut noveldesigndessertdialoguedictionariesdidiondirectingdiscriminationdistractionsdoerrdr. basil toledodrum hikedumb blondeseco-fashioneconomyemily dickinsonevan kasprzakeyesfacebookfailuresfaithfakesfarberfighter pilotfinal columnflannery o'connorflash fictionfoodfourth of julyfree range internationalfriendsfruitfruitcakegiftsgivingglen ivygolden globesgood byegowngregory the dog walkergrowing uphealinghealth careheath ledgerhomehometown buffethookhubbyian mcewanimperfect charactersimperial crownjames taylorjeansjeremy clarksonjohn robisonjohn steinbeckjohn yelvertonjournalismjourneysjulia childjulie carterjulie christiekarenkim ayreskindnesskittenskorean day spaskristin herbertles pleskolit journalsliterary theorylone rider of the healthcare apocalpyselouielovemajor steve hutchisonmake your own jeansmargaret b. jonesmarinesmarketingmary olivermary traversmass transitmassacremaxine hong kingstonmemorial daymichael ruhlmanmodelsmoneymotormovie stylingmusemusicmuttsnamesnancy pelosinatasha richardsonnaturenew yearsnikki bacharachninernotebooksnothing but netsoceanoctomomoctupletsoffsetsoscarspackagespaintpandorapanettone bread puddingpaul and marypeanut allergiespearl s. buckpenny morellpersimmon bread triflepete hamillpeter levittpeter o'toolephotography of coffinspigspodcastingprince of wales coronetproject valour ITpronunciationspublishingraymond chandlerreadingreportingrevealing oneselfrichard farnsworthrockyrod taylorromanceroutinesrudyryan kasprzaksacbeesatiresavingsscent and smellschoolshakespearesherman alexieshih tzusshort storiessick yoga cultureso you think you can dancesocial networkingstanley crouchstanley kunitzsteinbeckstingstressstupid pet tricksstylesuhtahnsurgeonsweat shopsswine flut. jefferson parkertall talested haggardthanksgivingthe birdsthe governorthe staight storythe white countessthe word mechanicthomas farbertiarastibetan nuns projecttim gunntippi hedrentom higgstony vagneurtrade deficittrailstravistroy yocumtrudie stylerunexpectationsungulatesvaluesvetsvillanellesvivienne westwoodwall streetwarren buffettwilliam faulknerwilliam lobdellwindwriter impossible the writerly pausewriters conferenceszac sunderlandAfter a 5 year hiatus wandering in the wilderness, a writer gets back to writing, wondering if she can still do it.http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Kanani)Blogger769125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-5759064614356053523Fri, 01 Jan 2016 15:43:00 +00002016-01-01T12:40:27.218-08:00homethe writing life  The writer wanders. Says good-bye to a readership and community. A hiatus that lasts..... five years... or was it six or seven? It's all a blur. So let's put it this way:  it was another life ago. It was two kids ago. Two deployments ago. The loss of a good friend ago. Hiatus isn't the correct word, because it wasn't a vacation, but rather an extended trip that included lots of work, war, losshttp://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2016/01/picking-up-but-not-where-we-left-off.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-1263793864799716831Thu, 13 May 2010 17:11:00 +00002010-05-13T13:10:30.160-07:00final columnSoutheastern Utah: My logo for the Easy-Writer blog since the beginning. Symbolic of the writer's path.Today, the sky is blue, and in the horizon there are few clouds. Beneath my tires is well worn asphalt. I've driven through cities, red rock canyons, along streams and rivers. And finally, I have come to a fork in the road.Since March of 2006, it's been a good ride, but it's time to put this http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/05/end-of-road-time-to-retire-this-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-5471105753907724733Thu, 06 May 2010 17:02:00 +00002016-01-01T02:07:08.485-08:00First, read this article about a school in Northern California. They were kicked off campus for wearing t-shirts with US flags on Cinco de Mayo. Okay, I can't say whether or not those students who all decided to wear the same t-shirts and bandannas were doing to incite a fight. What I can say is those of Mexican heritage, the administrators and the alleged perpetrators were completely lacking http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/05/irreverence-requires-bit-of-knowledge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-7733176211631911926Mon, 03 May 2010 01:38:00 +00002010-05-02T18:39:19.535-07:00Watch the video at:The Kitchen Dispatch: Lessons In Balance In A Field In Afghanistanhttp://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/05/lessons-in-balance-in-field-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-5328416937546020668Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:00:00 +00002010-04-28T06:00:00.142-07:00So true.Especially when shouted by playwright David Mamet."THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS, REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER. YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC."Now, get to it.http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/david-mamet-writing-lesson-got-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-7219098991741662906Wed, 28 Apr 2010 05:12:00 +00002010-04-27T22:19:05.346-07:00“I don’t want to not have these memories, because they’re the moments that make me appreciate all that I have.” -From the documentary, RestrepoOver on The Kitchen Dispatch, I'm running an interview with filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington.Read the rest at:The Kitchen Dispatchhttp://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/kitchen-dispatch-restrepo-one-platoon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-5464393762746113672Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:15:00 +00002010-04-28T10:27:57.137-07:00schoolAt my daughter's school, technology now takes a firm foothold in the daily curriculum. By grade eight, all students are proficient in Word, Power Point and Excel. Unfortunately, under the sway of technology marketers, the school board has minimized former mainstays of the primary and middle school experience. Orchestra, chorus, art, photography and band are a glimmer of what they used to be whenhttp://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/power-point-oafish-bulleted-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-786786440610408573Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:45:00 +00002010-04-23T10:35:57.243-07:00AWPMFAthe word mechanicthe writing lifewritingToday, I was reading an piece in AWP's The Writer's Chronicle about "theme" in writing. Written by Eileen Pollack, she's the Zell Director (as in Helen, wife of Sam, owner of the bankrupt Tribune Company, and has induced the LA Times in a near coma...talk about irony) of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Michigan. She revealed that when she spoke about "theme" in her http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/writing-path-mfa-might-matter-less-than.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-6937499362614421156Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:50:00 +00002010-04-22T10:13:34.926-07:00Just a bit of Coldplay for you this morning.Complete with lyrics tossed in.I was listening to this music when I was struck by how much it resembles the fate of a popular journalist who seems to have fallen off the rails through a series of rambling Facebook posts. Perhaps it was predictable, given that he'd wrongly been compared to Ernie Pyle, a writer of great dexterity, wit and could jump http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/writer-unraveled.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-2226809887568586778Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:04:00 +00002010-04-21T12:06:00.263-07:00Really, now. We must expect that people will drive to the Coachella Valley, listen to music, get wasted and wear flip flops. The flip flop should be made fail proof! http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/case-for-better-flip-flop.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-1746405889770976208Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:01:00 +00002010-04-21T00:01:00.671-07:00It can be said that one can get anywhere in the world if they have money, time, or usually both.As for getting to Europe right now, I say a cruise would get around that nasty cloud just fine.http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/better-way-to-get-around-that-nasty.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-1049279339769647838Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:39:00 +00002010-04-21T08:35:15.155-07:00aspen timestony vagneurwriting"Sunlight filters through the tall, silvery stand of quivering, swaying aspens, throwing soft shadows across the verdant carpet of summer beneath my feet." -Tony Vagneur, Aspen Times, 20 April 2010There are times when I come across an article that is so well written, I simply gasp. I'm stunned by prose so beautiful that for a moment I am simply stunned.Such as the case with Aspen Times columnist http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/tony-vagneur-beautiful-prose.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-2757564020854815463Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:04:00 +00002010-04-16T16:48:47.441-07:00 Last Friday I started cleaning up the back yard, getting rid of pots, putting plants in the ground, when I realized that it was time to get ready for my trip to see a cousin in Carmel! Fortunately, I was driving so I didn't have to care how I packed. Since the trip was only three days, I didn't need to take very much.I had a lovely visit with Julie. She and her husband have a beautiful home in http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/carmel-pt-1-chair-famous-ass-and-almost.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-445191561383160914Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:48:00 +00002010-04-01T05:50:50.182-07:00afghanistanBook Reviewskitchen dispatchwarwritingLibrary, Greenwich Village, 2009"When I knew my husband was going downrange, I circled around the library a few times, trying to figure out what to read. Since I knew nothing about war, the military or Afghanistan, I decided to first find out about the country. So I decided to start off like a tourist being told she's leaving soon."Read the rest at The Kitchen Dispatchhttp://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/04/reading-afghanistan-taking-initial.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-4975156348570355815Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:11:00 +00002010-04-05T16:13:17.001-07:00dogsgregory the dog walkerlouietrailsIn 2008, we closed our practice and along with it went employees. I missed having them so much, I employed a dog walker, Gregory. He came with the recommendation of the Postlady, who after seeing what a raving lunatic my dog was when Louie greeted her at the door each day. Postlady suggested the furry mutt be walked more.Not that I hadn't been doing it, Louie went out every night on a little http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/dog-story-trail-meditations-with-louie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-3637453832346292117Sun, 28 Mar 2010 03:28:00 +00002010-03-28T14:22:22.584-07:00Every so often I have to go back to La Habra Heights because a veneer of sentiment washes over me. The heights is an enclave of Los Angeles County, which in an issue of National Geographic written in the 1920's, listed it as "one of the three most beautiful spots in the world" next to one in Africa and another in Italy.They still like to run this piece of old press by the newcomers. It's a speck http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/rural-country-living.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-6412889909912326275Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:27:00 +00002010-03-25T13:28:27.735-07:00I asked for a Blue Tardis for my birthday.My daughter obliged, and drew this for me!I think it's the BEST present ever!http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-blue-tardis.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-8136758905863289331Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:30:00 +00002010-03-25T09:40:05.791-07:00health careWYNC radio station in NYC is having fun with health care haikus. The middle line has to be "This is a big F$*(&! deal," after what Vice President Biden had to say about this. Fortunately, I can kick out haikus faster than Paula Deen can use butter.Authorizations?This is a big F$&(! deal!Lost it. Try again.Ten billion dollarsThis is a big F$*$* deal!For the IRS.This isn't reformThis is a big F$&(http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/health-care-haikus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-3351451913398126599Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:44:00 +00002010-03-23T07:28:32.949-07:00Health Care PlansWell, Mr. Smartypants and the School President have gotten their little healthcare reform bill passed.The only thing is, this wasn't reform, this was adding a bedroom onto an ugly house so that their twenty nine year old son, and thirty two year old daughter could move back in.Anyway, the other day TriCare sent me an EOB (Explanation of Benefits) saying I owed the doctor $400. This didn't sound http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/article-7-why-dont-you-re-bill-that.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-8973316885799844652Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:23:00 +00002010-03-19T23:20:38.738-07:00barack obamaI wrote the following as a response to a post that I wrote on my milspouse blog about health care. This might get me into a heap of trouble with die hard Obama fans. I don't care that he went to Punahou, Harvard, or even had a bath in Chicago politics. What I dislike is his tendency to act like he's smarter than anyone else.I understand he has a difficult job, as every President has had -http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/mr-obama-smart-boy-in-class.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-5607750887231389905Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:45:00 +00002010-03-17T12:06:20.586-07:00Queen Victoria with Princess Margaret (Arthur's Daughter)Again, I find myself cozying up with books on unexpected subjects. This one, a biography of Queen Victoria offers a glimpse into a world boundaried by tradition, politics, and the morés of the time. Stuff like this is like chocolate to a writer. They offer a nice escape into a different time, where almost everything is foreign to us.She andhttp://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/odd-reading.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-4338647972016559446Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:17:00 +00002010-03-12T12:41:34.616-08:00booksHBOpoliticsreadingThe PacificTom Hankswestern writersThere's controversy about the off-the-cuff and woefully uninformed remarks made by Tom Hanks during the press conferencing for HBO's The Pacific. I think that Professor Victor Davis Hanson said it best, prior to correcting him in the same article on Pajamas Media:"Hanks may not have been quoted correctly; and his remarks may have been impromptu and poorly expressed; and we should give due http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/hbos-pacific-tom-hanks-and-library-full.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-4523298329643492462Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:59:00 +00002010-03-07T10:06:03.994-08:00drum hiketroy yocumWell, I got weepy.I mean, I was raised on the stories of John Muir, have often gazed at the photography of Ansel Adams. And when I see anyone hiking through the wilderness --especially with a deeper mission, it never fails to move me.Read the whole story here at Drum Hike. Starting April 17, 2010, Troy Yocum, a former US Army Soldier will begin his walk of 7000 miles across the USA to bring http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/your-daily-cry-of-gratitude-drum-hike.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-517137660130105836Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:38:00 +00002010-03-06T09:23:35.913-08:00californiapoliticsThis morning I woke up to find that the unemployment rate is 12.5% in California alone. Quite frankly, it feels higher than that.Our son, age 19, graduated from high school in the summer. He has been looking for a job, filling out online applications. Each one consists of about 25 mind numbing click and point pages, some have even more. Perhaps the new conventional wisdom is that if someone has http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/california-state-of-beggars.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24442746.post-3821772311320812881Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:09:00 +00002010-03-02T23:45:09.062-08:00facebookmarketingsocial networkingthe writing lifeLast year, a writer I had known only slightly, decided to give Facebook a go. She went through my Facebook friends and befriended them all. She even started appearing on their threads. I was baffled because the chances she knew these people from New Zealand, Tasmania or Australia was remote. These were non-writer friends, who I'd known through other ventures. Needless to say, I was incredibly http://easy-writer.blogspot.com/2010/03/facebook-whoring.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kanani)18