Nonfiction – Page 34

September 5, 2020September 4, 2020

World Beard Day

The first Saturday of September is World Beard Day. The description on WBD website is humorous to say the least. As a member of bearded community, this is the first time I’ve heard about this international holiday. I’ve grown a beard for many years. I prefer how my face looks with one versus cleanshaven. In recent years beards and manbuns have become trendy. But I remember a time when beards where no so popular. People still had then but it wasn’t trendy. I had facial of some kind since I was about 14. I had a full beard by 16 and it looked nice and thick by 18.

Fast forward to 2014 when beards became trendy. Everyone accused me of trying to be hip by having a beard. Never mind that I had grown a beard for the last ten years. I like to tell people I had a beard before it was cool. I do think everyone should try growing a beard once in their life. Try different versions as they are so many. More often than not I keep my trimmed short. I may grow it slightly longer by fractions of an inch. But I’ve never had the ZZ Top beard. As I write this, I realize I need to trim my beard again.

Face masks have made me lazier with beard grooming as most people never see it. That is the only negative thing I have to say about face masks. If you partake in the bearded-ness, share some photos. It can be a fake beard. I don’t care. As long as it’s not a glitter beard. This is a glitter beard free zone.

Here’s a link to a poem I posted a few weeks ago about my beard.
I Grew a Beard Before it was Cool

September 2, 2020

What’s New Wednesday: September 2

I’ve tossed around the idea of adding premium content to my blog. This means certain posts would be reserved for paying subscribers. I thought this would be a fun way to share some of my unfinished work. Think of it as an exclusive sneak peak. I would probably charge $1 to $5 per month for something like this. There would be unpublished poetry and fiction. Some of it might even be first draft material. Is this something in which you, my readers, would have interest? I have tried Patreon and crowdfunding sources with no success so I’m reluctant to try this before having a larger readership.

I will need to search for more words for Wacky Wednesday before the end of the month. I am open to suggestions. Overall, not much will be new with the blog. I am working on getting a hard bound edition of “The Morbid Museum” for anyone interested in such things. I’m still working on the formatting and cover as I’ve never done those for a hardback book. I have a couple other works that are close to completing but I have not set a publishing date yet. I’ve spent so much time focused on this blog I’ve let the writing of my novel’s first draft fall away. I will attempt to return my focus to that this month.

Nothing too drastic is changing for you all. I’m dealing with some personal matters like dentist appointments and such. This has shifted my focus away from many things that I hope to return to soon. Hopefully, I’ll have more exciting updates and new things this time next month. As always, if there is something you would like to see done with this blog, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message. Thank you all who continue reading my work and my thoughts.

August 30, 2020

Coffee and Contemplation: American Artists Appreciation Month

We’re coming to the end of August and I wish I had posted about this sooner. August is American Artists Appreciation Month. In simple terms, appreciate artists from the United States. This recognition is more for traditional artists with their work in galleries, I imagine. However, I want to recognize two artists who’s creations have shaped pop culture for over 75 years. The first is Bob Kane, co-creator of The Batman with the writer Bill Finger. They also created a number of Batman’s early villains. After retiring from DC Comics in the 1960’s Kane focused on fine art and had many works featured in galleries though many of them were completed by ghost painters.

The second artist I wish to recognize is Jack Kirby. He co-created Captain America with Joe Simon as writer-editor. In the 1960’s, he teamed up with Stan Lee and co-created the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Thor, the Hulk, and Iron Man. In the early 70’s, he left Marvel to work at DC where he created the Fourth World saga, to include characters such as Darkseid, Granny Goodness, Mister Miracle, and hundreds of others. Many of these characters are my favorites in all of comics and they don’t get much recognition in the mainstream. That is why I wanted to share my appreciation for Jack Kirby. Dear DC, I want to see more from the Fourth World saga.