10 things for which I’m thankful. No, really.

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Today is Thanksgiving, and here are some things for which I am thankful: I'm thankful that the Titans are so bad this year.  Time normally devoted to watching games is now directed to more educational programming, like "Breaking Amish,"…

“Like wind through my hand”

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I think it's hard to overestimate the emotional power of music. Not all music, mind you.  And not all the time. But given the right circumstance and frame of mind, a particular song or recording can really do a number on us. It's…

How to Journal: 6 Tips to Boost Creativity and Polish Your Writing

I like this article.  I especially dig No. 3: "Capture snippets of overheard conversations to use as prompts for working on writing."  What a great idea in this world of the coffee-shop workplace. How to Journal: 6 Tips to Boost Creativity…

Creativity tip: Become a question mark again

Blind acceptance is the mortal enemy of creative thought. I see it all the time in my day job.  "Because that's the way we've always done it," may possibly be the most irksome, wrong-headed statement ever uttered in a business environment.…

Interview with a semicolon | Tom Gething re: reading

Semicolons are odd things.  I'm fairly certain I use them correctly, but when I do, they almost always get edited out of my prose.  I suspect a prejudice exists against semicolons; Editors are confused by them and therefore don't use them.…

Tip o’ the day: Avoid redundant adverbs

  Adverbs often tell us what we already know. She ran quickly through the woods. He crept quietly through the window. The ship's horn blasted loudly. In each of these cases, the adverb could be omitted from the sentence…

Life is good

You'd think that, as a photographer, I'd have my camera at the ready always. Problem is, I'm a daddy before a photographer, which means my priority is usually the logistics of transporting my family here and yonder on Sunday mornings.…

Crockett’s death: What do YOU think?

I admit it. I’m “eat up” with David Crockett. Since researching the five or so years that Crockett lived in the Belvidere area of Franklin County, Tenn., for a July, 2011, Cooperator story, I have become fascinated…

Add inputs to pump up creativity

In a presentation I put together a couple of years ago entitled "9 to 5 Creativity," I compiled a top 10 list of practices that are "sure-fire" ways to make you — yes, YOU — more creative. What?!  Creative?!  But…

Don’t fall victim to “It’s not my time”

(Note: I wrote this two years ago, but I feel the sentiment is more important than ever.  Carpe diem!) Our 10-year-old daughter, Ava, learned how to ride a bike without training wheels this weekend. Wow, you might be thinking.  She's…