David J. Bookbinder's Blog
August 14, 2019
Moving!
The new Internet address for this blog is: https://davidbookbinder.com/theartofb... and the name is "The Art of Balance: Stay Sane in an Insane World." This move reflects a change not only in name, but also in focus. At a conference called Creativity and Madness in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I recently presented some of the concepts in my little book The Art of Balance: Staying Sane in an Insane World. I realized, as I…
November 28, 2018
Is it live or is it Memorex?
(Faking it till you make it and the cure for hypochondria) If you’re old enough, you might remember the iconic Memorex television commercials from the 1970s in which jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald shatters a wine glass with her voice. Then, the playback of a recording of Fitzgerald on Memorex tape shatters another. The announcer asks: “Is it live or is it Memorex?” More on Memorex in a moment. But first, a brief trip…
November 17, 2018
Stuck? Find the bottleneck.
A few months ago, I took a business bootcamp course from Mirasee, an organization that helps build and scale businesses using a combination of audience-building strategies and online courses. The intention of the course designer and company founder, Danny Iny, was to teach participants how to jump start a business. I’m not sure, yet, whether the course will help me do that, but it’s already made a difference in how I approach problems…
October 19, 2018
The Reluctant Carnivore
Last week, I happened upon a Facebook video that gave me pause. Until a few years ago, I'd always eaten meat. I love a good hamburger, a steak, turkey breast, salmon, grilled chicken. And I'd always been aware that I was indirectly killing a sentient creature. But, I thought, I'm also an animal, and other animals eat animals. I could hunt for my food if I had to. In April, 2014, a rogue…
October 3, 2018
Dive Deep to Live Creatively
Creative activities—and the creative approach to life that often accompanies them—can help us better withstand the huffing and puffing of life's Big Bad Wolf. Creative activities are rewarding outlets for self-expression. They give us a sense of accomplishment, often have a centering effect, and they’re usually fun to do. But besides these obvious benefits, creative activities can also enhance how we approach our lives. When we work creatively, we dive deep into ourselves.…
September 26, 2018
Clean Up Your Cat Hairs!
Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay is desperate ground. - Sun Tzu, The Art of War Stress is one of the most insidious challenges to building resilience. It can be a constant strain on our natural balancing mechanism, gradually wearing down its efficacy and slowing its response time. Basic ways to reduce stress that therapists often recommend include changing your emotional relationship to the stressor…
September 11, 2018
Stories Within Stories
A Story Within a Story or The Story of a Story Eugene K. Garber's Eroica Trilogy is a sustained exploration of the powerful impulse to tell stories and the impediments all storytellers face—an exploration that climaxes in The House of Nordquist, a fascinating blend of detective story, gothic novel, epistolary tale, and social critique. Gene briefly comments on one of the novel's central issues below: In The House of Nordquist Alice, misfortunate wife of…
September 5, 2018
The View from 30K
I recently flew from Boston to the West Coast to see my oldest and closest friend. I don't fly often, but when I do, I try to get a a window seat. Yes, there's less legroom, and yes, I have to step over people if I want to use the restroom, but there's no other way to get the view from 30K, and the view from 30K is important to me. On this…
August 25, 2018
A Change of Pace: The Eroica Trilogy
Something Different This Way Comes Transformations Press (i.e., David) is extraordinarily pleased to announce the resurrection of two iconoclastic novels by Eugene K. Garber, as well as the imminent birth of his latest novel, The House of Nordquist. Gene was my mentor in fiction writing when I was a graduate student in the early '90s. We've maintained a friendship ever since. With his first two Eroica books now out of print and the…
August 15, 2018
Stay Sane with the Personal Craziness Index
NOTE: This post is adapted from my new book The Art of Balance: Staying Sane in an Insane World. I’m posting it here because it’s the key to staying balanced when the road gets rocky. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill. – Sun Tzu, The Art of War To stay sane in an insane world, we need more than new tools and techniques. We also have to keep doing…
