Pieces of My Reality Archives - Pointless Overthinking

Allow Me To Use This Space To Express My Opinion That I Have Too Many Spaces To Express My Opinions

April 1, 2022

So, as I have mentioned more often than is dignified, I have a theater company. Specifically, an online theater company we started in 2020. We did well critically in our first season, but the opposite of well in terms of making any money. We were also really bad at even breaking even. Frankly, we weren’t … More Allow Me To Use This Space To Express My Opinion That I Have Too Many Spaces To Express My Opinions

Art with a View

March 15, 2022

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

The Result of “Bad Living”

February 18, 2022

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”

Birthday Celebration

February 15, 2022

Today is my birthday. One step more towards the wise age. What am I going to do to celebrate it? First of all, I take the day off. No hurry, no stress. Second, I will go out for a long walk in nature. It is always regenerating to me. Third, I will buy that cake … More Birthday Celebration

Finding My Way

February 7, 2022

Today, my aim is to engage in a little self-care. I’m not sure how this is going to turn out, but I’m certain of my purpose. I want to get a few things off my chest. I want to look at myself in a kind of metaphorical “mirror” and write about what I see when … More Finding My Way

Active Listening

February 1, 2022

What is active listening? Do you like music? How do you listen to your favourite music? When I was a teenager, I used to learn by heart the lyrics of my favourite songs. Still today I try to do it. I can easily learn the lyrics if I listen carefully to the song and if … More Active Listening

Terry Allen: Writer, Artist, Musician, and Generally Cool Guy

January 30, 2022

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

Troy’s Law of Complexification

January 24, 2022

Several days ago, I found myself sitting in a Zoom meeting at work. My mind was wandering, mostly because I wasn’t even for sure why I’d been invited to participate. An idea suddenly came to me, so I reached for the notebook I always keep at hand to capture writing topics when they come. The … More Troy’s Law of Complexification

I Was Recently Interviewed

January 10, 2022

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

Writing is Good for Your Health

November 9, 2021

There are great therapeutic benefits to writing backed by science, that’s why I have been writing a blog since 2017 and I am in good health 🙂 Before that I used to write a journal. I started writing two books, finished and published only one (it is in Italian, not a big success yet, only … More Writing is Good for Your Health

What I Have Learned from Leonardo da Vinci

October 19, 2021

Leonardo da Vinci was the most creative genius in history. Of course, saying that I learned things from Leonardo is perhaps a bit risky, because in fact Leonardo is the very embodiment of genius. As we know, Leonardo lived in a particular era for humanity, the Renaissance, when literature, philosophy, science and the fine arts … More What I Have Learned from Leonardo da Vinci

HELLO SEPTEMBER!

September 1, 2021

Billy Osogo Hello September! It’s the ninth month of the year! Three more months and 2021 is a wrap! I know it’s been one heck of a year already! What with the mutating variants of COVID-19, what with the weather, what with the economy! We often set our goals for the year early in January. … More HELLO SEPTEMBER!

A FEW THOUGHTS ON WRITING FROM A FEW POINTLESS OVERTHINKERS

August 18, 2021

Billy Osogo Pointless Overthinking’s byline is: Understanding ourselves and the world we live in. Such an apt encapsulation of my experience here so far. One of the things I enjoy the most from being part of the Pointless Overthinking tribe is the richness of wisdom that manifests itself in our comment sections. It’s mind blowing! … More A FEW THOUGHTS ON WRITING FROM A FEW POINTLESS OVERTHINKERS

GOLD MEDALS, NATIONAL ANTHEMS AND THE OLYMPICS

August 11, 2021

Billy Osogo The Olympics are often an exciting time in Kenya. That we have some of the finest athletes on the planet is not contention. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics was another time to showcase our world class talent. Watching the Greatest of All Time, Eliud Kipchoge, dominate his race was a thing of beauty. A … More GOLD MEDALS, NATIONAL ANTHEMS AND THE OLYMPICS

The Nothingness of Writing

August 4, 2021

Billy Osogo Writing is a beautiful and intriguing undertaking. Like most things in life, it makes certain demands of its practitioners. These include monk-like dedication, soldier-like loyalty and child-like curiosity. Ideas are the fuel on which this art runs on. They are as diverse as the billions of writers on this planet. In my experience, … More The Nothingness of Writing

WRITING SPRINGS

July 28, 2021

Billy Osogo I ponder endlessly on writing. As an art, there’s so much to it that even those we look up to as its masters seem to be just scratching the surface. I recently came across an excerpt by Kenyan writer Bivanyanga Wainana. In his book, One Day I Will Write About this Place he … More WRITING SPRINGS

THE SATISFACTION OF SERVICE

July 21, 2021

Billy Osogo Last week, I wrote on the plight of South Africa. South Africa is still in my scope of focus. For good reason. Just three days ago, the world marked Mandela Day. A day named in honor of the South African-born, larger-than-life, global peace icon, Nelson Madiba Mandela. He is many things to many … More THE SATISFACTION OF SERVICE

HEALING A TROUBLED PAST

July 14, 2021

For most non-Africans, South Africa is Africa and Africa is South Africa. Make no doubt about it, that’s as ignorant as it gets. Nonetheless, the ubiquity of this thought speaks to the prominece of Africa’s most industrialized nation. Home of Nelson Mandela. Yet, if the events of recent days are anything to go by, Mandela … More HEALING A TROUBLED PAST

CALLING ALL READERS

July 7, 2021

Billy Osogo In my post last week I quoted Mario Vargas Llosa and made a clarion call to all writers. This week, I am maintaining Llosa as my source of inspiration and calling on all readers. In his amazing book Letters to a Young Novelist Llosa writes: “Read constantly, because it is impossible to acquire … More CALLING ALL READERS

CALLING ALL WRITERS: ASSEMBLE!

June 30, 2021

I find writing to be an immensely rewarding investment of time. Whether it’s writing poems like my friend Ellen or plays like my friend Jack Canfora. Whether it’s journaling, writing short stories or full length novels. I came across an excerpt that struck a chord. It’s by Nobel Prize Winner Mario Vargas Llosa. In his … More CALLING ALL WRITERS: ASSEMBLE!