I’ve spent a little time lately promoting the CultureFeast name, listing my copywriting services in directories similar to MarketingTool.com. My copywriting company is listed under Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, as well as the major cities in Ohio and California (they use copywriters more in those areas than in most other parts of the country).

Some companies don’t look outside of their city for contract or freelance help, and that’s fine if they are comfortable with their local selection. I personally think it would be much cooler to truthfully be able to say that you have offices in another city or state in the country. That is one small benefit for smaller or young businesses. Another is extending the reach of your contacts and resources. It’s a strategic move to begin working with writers, designers, and programmers in other cities if you plan to cover more territory within the U.S. Those people function as new bases of operations in each new city. Their resources become your resources. Imagine the opportunities.

I recently printed new business cards. I’ve been wanting to show them off on the web, but the scanner I use keeps cutting off the last line on the back of my card. Just imagine that it shows my web address: www.culturefeast.com
My services aren’t limited to those listed on the back of the card. With limited room, I selected those most likely to be needed and which I have the most experience. I also offer brochure writing, creative ad copywriting, taglines, slogans, etc. If it’s creative, it’s up my alley.

If you or someone you know is looking for a professional copywriter in the Dallas area or anywhere else, let’s talk. I do what I say I’ll do, even if it costs me. There is nothing more important in business partnerships than a reputation for honesty and reliability.

In all honesty, you can find many cheaper copywriters and many that are more expensive. You can get your work done for pennies on the dollar if you go through India or auction your services on websites like elance.com. I started off working on elance, and I realized that I wasn’t going to make a living at it. Writers bid insanely low for projects that cannot possibly be profitable for them unless they farm the work out to contract writers in India, and I know some of them do.
Just FYI. I’m not the only fish in the sea, and I don’t pretend to be. I’m okay with that. My business relationships are less about negotiations and more about relationships. I like to keep in touch with people and help them out in any way I can.

Look, the “civilized” world is only getting busier and busier, with more gadgets that interrupt more of our days and steal precious moments from real relationships. You may not be able to reverse the bursting dam of Progress, but you can choose your business relationships carefully and intentionally work with people who remember how to be people.

I know it sounds crazy. Just think about it.

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Against my better judgment (and sense of self respect), I found myself watching the first two days of American Idol. It’s a contagious disease. Actually, it’s not that bad until you get down to the last 10 or so contestants and the majority of them don’t have the look or attitude to make it in the music industry.

Which brings me to my point. It’s obviously Simon’s show. Of course it’s literally his, but he also commands the screen with his presence and opinions.

I’ve been watching Simon as he watches and listens to the contestants. He has such black or white opinions most of the time, and he seems to form most of his judgments within the first 2 seconds of the song. To form an opinion that quickly, he’s obviously trying to weed out as many people as possible who obviously don’t have the look of a star and probably couldn’t be prettied up to fake it.

Let’s face it - Simon Cowell is a superficial guy. Whether that’s his real personality or a character he plays for this show is beside the point. All I know of him is what he presents to the world on American Idol. Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson (I had to look his name up) are mostly window dressing. They’re Simon’s little assistants - they’re the Ed McMahon and Paul Shaffer of American Idol.

Anyway, my point about Simon is that I question his ability to judge musical talent. I question his ability to judge potential star power and presence. He’s probably nixed some top notch talent because they didn’t fit what is likely his Elton John ideal.

Here’s what I propose: If they decide to create another season of American Idol, they need to add some mystery into the mix. Let Ryan Seacrest select at least one professional singer per year and toss him or her into the mix as a sleeper. For the first guy, I would pick the lead singer of Our Lady Peace - Raine Maida (he may technically be a Canadian, but he’s a great singer from a great band who probably wouldn’t be a dead giveaway if he stood before the judges). Seacrest would keep it a secret from Simon and the other judges. He could tell us about the star outside the judging room while we wait to see the performance and hear the verdict. We could get classic comments and reactions from superstars after the performance and judges decision. Some famous singers would probably get pretty hacked off at Simon for being such an ass.

My guess is that Simon would probably tell some very successful singers that they don’t have what it takes to become the next American Idol, which of course is nothing compared to being the real success they already are.

The show would continue or increase its current popularity. People are obsessed with stars. Throw in a real star posing as an everyday person, show them before, during, and after their audition. Get the judges reaction after they’ve been told that they just critiqued a superstar. It’s brilliant.

Of course, you’d have to disguise many of the singers who aren’t a part of bands (Mariah Carey, Seal, Elton John, Josh Groban types) because they don’t blend in with a group of musicians. But take just about any lead singer of a band/group and I’d be willing to bet that he or she could get past all three judges unrecognized.

It’s a great idea, anyway. The only flaw is that after the judges are told that a star performed unnoticed, they’d be studying all the following performers to discern if each was a star. That would make it harder to maintain. The element of surprise is what would make it so cool. Maybe you bring five to ten different artists to the initial tryouts and video the whole thing and don’t announce anything to the judges until the last couple weeks of the season. That would be just one more thing to add to the end of season build-up.

Those are my thoughts. Some lead singers and artists I’d like to see sing in disguise are The Cranberries, Our Lady Peace, Evanescence, Weezer, Green Day, Pearl Jam (though Eddie Vedder is probably too old), Coldplay, Counting Crows (probably too old again), Natalie Merchant, Dido, Emiliana Torrini, The Fray, James Blunt, Sade, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and that chick from Mono.

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In 1998, John Mark was about 16 years old. I was 21. He was in a different world. John Mark was hell-bent on joining the Marines as soon as he was old enough. He had dreamed of becoming a Marine for years. It was probably his greatest ambition at that time of his life.

I saw him racing toward military service, and I was worried. I have never been the type of person to even consider joining the armed forces without a draft. Bloodshed is something I don’t want to see or cause, if I can help it. Violence is abhorrent to me. It makes me sick when people treat each other like pieces of raw meat to beat into a pulp.

I know that’s not what serving one’s country is all about. I just have very strong reactions to thoughts of going to war. People like me may not be born with whatever it takes to immediately understand the need for voluntary soldiers.

John Mark was, though, and I hated it. He had such a tender, compassionate heart toward people, especially women who had been mistreated. He was very generous and not so seared that he couldn’t express his emotions without shame. I was afraid of what war would do to him, assuming he survived.

Well, the time came and John Mark signed up. I don’t know where I was at the time. We hadn’t spoken in months. I was furious that he wouldn’t listen to reason. I was so worried about what war would do to him that I would have forced him to stay if I could, regardless of how wrong I would be.

Years went by, and one day I see a mutual friend of ours, Gabe, at a softball park. He hands me the phone and tells me to say hello. John Mark was on the phone from somewhere in the Middle East. He sounded different - tired beyond human comprehension. The kind of exhaustion that comes from experiencing things that your mind and heart do not know how to react to.

I was so glad to hear his voice. He’s like the younger brother I never had. During or after that phone call, I cannot remember which, I felt a new emotion toward John Mark: respect. He had become a man in ways that so many only dream of. He had faced the gritty reality of violent death. He had lived for weeks knowing that there was a real enemy nearby that wanted to kill him. Real men who would eagerly shoot him if given the chance.

It’s too much for my little mind to wrap around. I’ve not been there. I’ve not experienced it. I am merely a civilian. I am an outsider. I belong to that group of people who, like dumb sheep, need to be protected because they can’t protect themselves and they don’t know what’s going on in the world around them.

More to come….

photo belongs to CNN News

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these overcast skies
chase fears of burning heaven from my eyes
the overbearing gleam
can blind a mind so dull as mine
and the dazzling brilliant blue
an agonizing hue
forever etched behind my pupils
as eyes like mine
seek to crawl away and hide rather than to find
a crystal clear reflection
of what i thought i knew

and should i come unglued, perhaps,
before the light’s subdued
offer up a prayer, a wish,
or something misconstrued
perchance in undeserving kindness i’ll receive
your palm, upraised
before my eyes perceive
whichever token
destiny has chosen me to leave

and should we make it just in time
arriving breathless in the shade
as if by Fortune’s grand design
then i will dance for what we’ve made -
a solace, a shelter, a place to rest awhile
and setting sun will hide its face
relieved, you’ll manage half a smile
for this, our little saving grace
and pray that mem’ry soon will lose
the path we felt we had to choose

written by Daniel Dessinger
January 18, 2006

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A recent project has led me to learn about ATHA, bowhunting, and bowfishing. First of all, ATHA is the Association of Traditional Hunting Archers, and bowfishing is fishing with a bow and arrow (yeah… I didn’t get it at first either).

Bowhunting is fairly popular around the country. We all know someone who takes his deer rifle and/or shotgun out on at least one hunt per year. People go for all kinds of game: whitetail deer, turkey, dove, etc. Many of you also know someone, maybe the same someone, who prefers the “natural” hunt with bow and arrow.

That’s all fine and good. I can understand the draw of bow and arrow to someone who already likes hunting. It’s a sort of getting back to basics, and in many cases it even qualifies as a dignified alternative to gun hunting.

But bowfishing?!?!? Who the heck needs a bow and arrow to catch a fish, right? Well, let me tell you, you haven’t seen a freshwater fish until you’ve seen what bowfishermen catch. I’m talkin’ about eight to twelve feet long Alligator Gar, weighing in at over 200 pounds!!!! Try catching that with your puny little plastic Zebco reel!

They’re called Alligator Gar because they have two rows of jagged teeth on the topside of their jaws. They are carnivorous, and they even eat smaller alligators! Their scales are so strong that some gunshots and divers’ spears have ricocheted off to the side without any damage!

Okay, these monster fish are ugly as sin too, and they’re not really good for anything. They eat all the preferred game fish, they’re not edible (unless you live in Southeastern Texas), and they’re just plain ugly. They are the red-headed stepchildren of the aquatic world (my apologies to all you red-headed stepchildren who took offense to that last comment…without you, how would we know what normal should look like? I’m joking, PLEASE!!!! Put down the garden hoe!).

Where was I? Oh yes, ugly as sin. I honestly have no intention of ever hunting these ugly bastards, just because I don’t want to see up close and personal one of God’s creations look so horrible. It’s like an alien catfish mated with an alligator and their devil spawn was thrust into our lakes and rivers! What’s up with that?

I apologize profusely to each and every one of you who Google’s Alligator Gar after reading this to see pictures. I do hope you weren’t about to eat before seeing those pictures… especially fish.

What was my point in all of this? Oh, right. Bowfishing is a hunting sport. You take this funky looking bow and arrow and shoot it into the water at fish above or near the surface. If you happen to be so lucky as to hit a rather large Gator Gar, you then receive the even better treat of being pulled around in the river by a fish larger than you and your uncle. Did I mention that people do this for fun?

Well, I suppose if you live closer to rivers than cattle, then this beats cow tippin’ for sure. Of course, I’d rather be able to eat what I catch. Then again, my last catch tasted like Gar anyway.

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Granted, Homer was required reading in sophomore world lit., but The Illiad and The Odyssey are forever burned into my literary consciousness, not to mention my soul. Grand, larger than life tales of adventure, colossal battles, and mythical heroes litter the ancient landscape. Homer took a collection of myths and wove them into a historical tale worth believing.

Two years after Homer, I found myself reading The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. It was my girlfriend’s (now my wife) doing, actually. She had read The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I had little to no interest in Tolkein at the time, but seeing as how everyone seemed to make such a big deal about him, I figured I had to at least attempt to maintain literary relevance.

I found myself stretching The Silmarillion over a summer, savoring a few pages at a time. It was a relatively new experience for me, really. I’d grown up hearing no epic tales outside of the Old Testament. I had loved superheroes and comic books, but I was never exposed to any other tales of heroism or fantasy.

What I found within the pages of The Silmarillion was nothing short of brilliance. This man had managed to create an entire world. Not just a story, or a novel, but an entire world. I was reading what can be best described as a combination of Old Testament, Homer, and other ancient myths. There was creation, fallen angels, elves, battles, adventures, tales of uncommon love, heroism, and many magnificent creatures. There was paradise, and the curse of rebellion upon the land. But through each tale, I could sense the thread of time as though it were real and history was being taught to me.

Fast forward three years. Enter The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I had first heard Jordan and this series mentioned while in college some four or five years ago. I was undecided as to my source’s credibility, so I did not pursue at that time what I assumed to be just another collection of novels based upon some role-playing game.

How I came across him again in 2005 I cannot remember. Perhaps I was simply searching for fairy tales in the library and came across the familiar author’s name. I really don’t know. But I do know that since this past summer I have read four 600+ page books in the series and am well into the fifth. It appears that this author has no life; otherwise, how could he possibly have the time to imagine all that he has written. For those who are interested in checking out The Wheel of Time series, here’s a list of the books in chronological order within the story:

* New Spring: The Novel
* The Eye of the World
* The Great Hunt
* The Dragon Reborn
* The Shadow Rising
* The Fires of Heaven
* Lord of Chaos
* A Crown of Swords
* The Path of Daggers
* Winter’s Heart
* Crossroads of Twilight
* Knife of Dreams

And one more is expected to complete the series, with perhaps another two prequels.

I’ve worn myself out on Tolkein that I barely have the reserves right now to discuss Jordan, which is a grave disservice. He is a master of epic fantasy and adventure. After reading more than 2,500 pages of Robert Jordan’s massive project, I can say that he has more than my attention… he holds my anticipation.

How do I differentiate Homer, Tolkein, and Jordan? Well, each owns the right to a different slice of the Epic pie. Homer is the king of poetry, first of all. He has woven centuries, if not millenia, of mythology into brilliant tales of earth-shattering importance.

As for Tolkein, I have read no further than The Silmarillion and, for the time being, I have no desire to. That collection of tales stands alone as the pieces of another world’s history… conceivably our own, though too ancient for recorded memory. This collection of tales inevitably sets the stage for the four more popular books (Hobbit and the Trilogy), and without them those latter tales are incomplete at best. He weaves mythology, history, religion, and fantasy together in such a way as to convince the reader that one’s understanding the past must embrace all four as integral and irreplaceable.

How to describe The Wheel of Time? Truly, I do not yet know. With at least 4,000 pages yet unread, I hesitate to make any broad sweeping statements. I will say this: I am disappointed that so far I have not read enough of his world’s history to satisfy my curiosity. Each book drips with references to rich historical information which I have yet to be privy to.

From the Aiel Waste to Tar Valon to the land of Tear, Jordan’s world draws from mythology, Arthurian legend, Tolkein-like religious history (without exposing as much detail), and (dare I say it?) Star Wars’ Jedi qualities. Jordan causes the reader to sympathize with the main characters because of their initial commonality and lack of pretension. That they were thrust into the adventure of all times makes them all the more desirable. Tolkein did this to a lesser degree by resting the burden of Middle Earth upon the shoulders of meek little Hobbits. Hobbits are not human, however, and their dissimilar qualities and lifestyles prevent the reader from completely identifying with the little heroes.

I could go on forever, and perhaps I will pick this up again when time permits. For now, each author holds a place of honor, beside the only other deserving author in my mind - C.S. Lewis.

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we began this new year in intimate embrace
a symbol of the coming year
for to you i pledge my love afresh
and write to tell you what to expect

this year i draw near
nearer than before
this year i am unfettered
by the chains that bound me before
this year i will humble myself
and allow myself to be known
this year i will seek your heart
as a treasure without price
this year my pursuit will be marked by persistance,
endurance, and unyielding resolve
this year the yearning swells inside
for hearts to touch as delicately as i touch your skin
this year i will reek of the yearning
i will smell of it, drip with it, project it, embody it
this year, the yearning will drip
like scented oil from my beard
this year i will anoint your head with kisses
and shower your ears with praises
this year i will seek you
as the young man in Song of Songs
this year i will leap from mountain top to mountain top
to reach my beloved
to draw her into my bedchamber
to delight in the blossoming fragrance of her femininity
to prove what is the transforming power
in the heart of a woman
to prove to you and those who will admire you
that this power and brilliance in your smile
that the sparkle and gleam in your eye
is born out of the tender love and adoration
of your humble husband

i declare it because it is true
i prophesy it to the four corners of the earth
my words will be challenged
and tested for truth
and through it all you will see
that which you’ve longed for
and doubted you’d ever see
this is the year i will draw you to me.

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