i've moved...

hey people. i've relocated. my new blog is over here. hope to see you there!

goodnight, mj

1959-2009

thread social

this is the photo that accompanies the current homepage for the fashion line thread social. the clothes are beyond lovely. this scene encapsulates my definition of sexy: beautiful dress, beautiful home, gorgeous gilt bookshelves stuffed with books & vinyl. i imagine that she stepped away from dinner simmering on the viking range to put something on the hi-fi. surely a glass of malbec or pinotage is nearby. all that is left is for her beloved to arrive with some sort of surprise. lovely.

ruud van empel

the beautiful artwork above appeared with my story in the oxford american. the artist is ruud van empel. i don't think i could have found a better match for my work. the works are world #23 and world #30.

elizabeth glibert on genius

i realize that i borrowed my kind of idea about genius from this talk:

fess up friday...

the happy birthday edition...

i have been quiet lately. on the blog and in real life. at least four times this week friends have made that particular statement to me. it is true. i can feel the quiet descending all around me like snow. i'm not saying much, but there is much going on beneath the surface. the book, once again, is teaching me how to write it. forcing slowdowns when necessary. whispering so that i will lean in closer and really connect. everything else is receding, making room for this work. i keep reminding myself to just show up and do the work each day, to proceed with a pace of grace. but still there is the urge to rush, to pull out the measuring stick and bemoan my process. but as my friend horton always says, "from the work, comes the WORK". so true, so true. there is no WORK without the daily mundane struggles, without the infinitesimal accomplishments. the workaday ritual becomes the spell that calls the genius forward. and when i am present, when i am patient the genius always arrives with more than i could have ever dreamed.

fess up friday...

whew, long time. i am a bit stunned that it is already may, my birthday month. what's going on with the novel? i am sinking back into the sea of it. the other day i was in such a dreamstate that i passed the turn to my own house! that is scary for most sane people, but that means i'm right where i need to be. in this space, everything feeds the novel and the novel feeds me.

renaissance-new

my boy b terry gives me a shout over on his blog. it always makes me proud when memphians get it. b terry and i hail from the same neighborhood in memphis, so i know that he knows the setting of my book.

amateur, player, beautifer, lover...

my long-range horoscope urged me to pursue those four roles this year. while channel surfing this week (technically i can't channel surf since the remote on my ancient tv finally gave up the ghost, but i digress) i found the perfect inspiration for those roles. introducing mr. dhani jones. nfl star, travel enthusiast, philanthropist, lover of fine haberdashery and all-around renaissance man. jones has a new show on the travel channel called, appropriately, dhani tackles the globe where he visits locations all over the globe and spends a week mastering the local sport. along the way he also immerses himself in the culture of the locales he visits. jones approaches each task with a sense of openess and fun.

as a writer i can get so immersed in the worlds that i'm creating on the page that i forget to look up and experience the world around me. he's a wonderful reminder to just get out there and experience the loveliness of the real world. and i will...just as soon as i finish this book ;o).