I spent a good portion of this past Saturday helping my wife with her small business. She is a master baker and makes a variety of Mediterranean breads and desserts. Her goodies are artisanal and high-end. She sells them each Saturday at a farmer’s market located in Boerne, Texas, a town with a large German-speaking … More Sacred Places
So my muse decided to take a holiday recently. He packed his bags and went to Hawaii or somewhere. And I know he’s been sitting in the sun drinking Pina Coladas the whole time. That smug bastard. Now, I should say I told him to take a break. The problem is, I’ve found it hard … More A Creative Leave of Absence
I’m a busy guy. I manage two writing centers at a community college in San Antonio, Texas, USA. That takes fifty hours per week. My wife has a business that I help with. I take care of her purchasing, public relations, and I occasionally assist her with sales. On top of all that, I write, … More Pardon Me While I Ramble
Emerging through hardship … More On the Duality of Life
In Japan, they believe that folding 1000 origami cranes may bring good fortune. Today, this ancient Japanese practice has spread around the world, embodying faith, hope and peace. And God knows how much we need them now. According to an ancient Japanese belief, folding 1000 paper cranes can bring good fortune in your life. The legend … More 1000 Origami Cranes
Note: This blog was originally published as an Op-Ed in the San Antonio Express-News. I’m republishing it here today because it relates nicely with Learning to Question: A Pedagogy of Liberation, a book I’m reading and one I wrote about in my most recent Pointless Overthinking blog. *** I am an American educator. My job … More Community Colleges Are Helping to Transform America
Hemingway said you should write your story, and then take all of the “best” lines out. Would we like F. Scott Fitzgerald, or Toni Morrison, or James Baldwin half as much if they took our their best lines? S … More How To Kill Your Darlings. In Your Writing, I mean. Obviously. Not In Some Creepy Jim Jones Way.
Some weeks ago, I checked out Learning to Question: A Pedagogy of Liberation, by Paulo Freire and Antonio Faundez, from the library at the college where I work. Yesterday, after having the book sit around unread since I’d taken it home, I decided the time was right and opened it up. I’m not far enough … More Participating in Something New and Special
Not long ago, I wrote a piece about thinking that prompted lots of reaction. After publishing it, my mind moved on to other topics. Recently, though, like in the last couple of days or so, I started thinking about thinking again. As you can probably tell, thinking is one my favorite activities. We think for … More I’ve Been Doing Even More Thinking about Thinking
Last Saturday I went to visit the private art collection of Proximus, a Belgian digital service provider. In 25 years the company has collected about 600 artworks and last December they opened the doors to visitors. For the moment, only 200 paintings and photos are displayed. The exhibition is called Art with a View, because … More Art with a View
As someone who manages a couple of writing centers at Palo Alto College in San Antonio, Texas, USA, I’m often asked, by faculty members of one sort of another, to do writing workshops for students. Exactly one week ago today, I did a critical thinking activity with a class of writers. It’s a workshop I’ve … More I’ve Been Thinking about Thinking
I almost never have writer’s block, but I’ve had it recently. That’s at least partly a function of having published somewhere between 150 and 200 pieces on this website. Here’s the thing. Writer’s block does exist. It’s often a byproduct of mental fatigue. It can also be caused by what I’ll call “bad living.” In … More The Result of “Bad Living”
The unfolding of beauty … More The Unmasking of Beauty Within the World
I didn’t really have a topic in mind for this week’s blog. I was running out of time, and then, miracle of miracles, late on Saturday evening, I watched Austin City Limits, a weekly TV program, run out of Austin, that features hour-long musical performances. This week, they had a concert by Terry Allen and … More Terry Allen: Writer, Artist, Musician, and Generally Cool Guy
Hi, all. Not long ago, I was contacted by “Ay,” a blogger who asked if I’d mind being interviewed. After we’d corresponded a bit, she sent a list of interesting questions that I responded to. The full interview can be found here. After checking out my responses, you should look at Ay’s piece about pointless … More I Was Recently Interviewed
By Troy Headrick It’s that time of year again when people think about the new year and how they’d like to make changes in their lives going forward. We often refer to these proposed life modifications as “new year’s resolutions.” The other day, while stepping out of the shower, the idea hit me—insights come as … More The Importance of Language When Making New Year’s Resolutions
Have you noticed that you feel different in different environments? I’m sure you have so you probably wondered how is that impacting your life, besides your mood, thoughts and emotions. As for everybody, this pandemic had a huge impact over my life, especially since I’m working from home since March. Because of this and the … More Can environment kill creativity?