HOLED UP IN AJO

Return to Ajo

2011-09-26T15:47:00.000-07:00

I got back to Ajo about may 7th. That was about two and a half weeks ago. Since my return I have been procrastinating. I've done some office work. You know how it is to organize files. I have to decide what magazines to continue. The New York Review of Books is my newspaper. It is costly but they will get a check. Poets and Writers, The Writer, Writer's Digest. They all want checks. What about the New Yorker? How can I be a writer without keeping up on my reading? The envelopes with bills are all stacked up. Which ones will I choose? When I got back Jovita brought me boxes of magazines and correspondence. Four months worth. So now that I am reading what are my priorities? For one thing, I must learn about search engine optimization. And I rebel. Why should I with limited time have to become an expert in search engines? I guess I am procrastinating because tops on my priority list is something I don't want to do. what do you think?

Mad Professor Book Reading Rexville Grocery

2011-07-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

Author Rupert Schmitt will give readings from The Mad Professor and The Interview and Other Poems.

Time: 3pm. Sunday August 7^th. Place: Rexville Grocery located on the country , close to the banks of the Skagit River, on the road from La Conner, Washington to Conway Washington.

The Mad Professor satirizes Western Washington Community Colleges, politician, bureaucrats, and big box store malls. The action takes place in Humalah which resembles Skagit County, Washington. In the past Rupert’s readings have included the outrageous where audience eats mangoes, makes jungle sounds and attempts to fly.

The novel includes the machine gunning of sacks of sugar, a new religion based upon DNA, and a variety of lies. Environmental author Thomas J. Lyon wrote, “Here is one fine book. It threatens to leave common sense linearity behind and dwell in wild supposition, laughter and the curious little squawks and squeeks of a free mind. In the end it tells a powerful story.” James Bertolino, poet, wrote, “Rupert Schmitt is a poet who is both playful and wise.”,

Food Bank Food Folies

2009-11-28T16:42:00.000-08:00

Much of Food Bank Food is not healthy. The food shows a lack of imagination. It seems designed to increase diabetes, obesity, and frustration. It encourages users to become hoarders. Examples are rampant. For Thanksgiving a chunk of processed turkey loaded with water filled with chemicals. After roasting this product bears little resemblance to real turkeys. Example: canned chicken: I have not found anyone who likes this product containing beakless chickens raised on factory farms injected I assume with antibiotics. This product is not good for chickens or people.Example: white rice. If you plant it it won't grow. Is it illegal to give out brown rice to food banks? Example: breakfast cereals. Instant breakfasts. Can't food banks give poor people oat meal which is supposed to be heart friendly? Peanut butter. Each month many cans of peanut butter. Are senior citizens to focus their dining pleasure on mostly eating peanut butter? Why their breath will smell of peanuts. The same for tuna. They will smell fishy after eating dozens of cans of tuna, even though some of the tuna tastes good. Word of the day for those directing food banks: VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE. GIVE THE POOR VARIETY. DON'T GIVE THEM CAKE OR PROCESSED FOODS. SOMETIMES I THINK THE FOOD BANKS BUY OR ARE GIVEN THE FOOD THE COMPANIES CANNOT SELL. OH I CONFESS. I GREW UP IN WISCONSIN. AS A CHILD I LEARNED TO EAT AGED CHEDDAR CHEESE. WE LEARNED TO DESPISE THAT PRODUCT CALLED AMERICAN CHEESE WHICH I ASSUME HAS BEEN AGED FOR TWO AND ONE-HALF DAYS TO CREATE A BLAND PRODUCT WITH NO TASTE. I HEREBY MAKE A SUGGESTION TO THE FOOD BANKS. CREATE TWO OPTIONS FOR YOUR "CUSTOMERS". OFFER THEM ONE OPTION CONSISTING OF QUALITY FOOD WHICH HAS VARIETY AND TASTES GOOD. GIVE THEM HALF AS MUCH OF THIS GOOD FOOD. MAKE OPTION TWO TWICE AS MUCH FOOD CONSISTING OF FLAVORLESS BLAND PRODUCTS WITH LITTLE VARIETY AND LOTS OF BEAKLESS ANTIBIOTIC LOADED CHICKENS. TO REALLY GET OUTRAGEOUS OFFER COOKING CLASSES FOR THE POOR SO THEY CAN LEARN TO COOK HEALTHY FOOD. AND ALSO DEVELOP COMMUNITY GARDENS FOR THE POOR SO THEY CAN HAVE HEALTHY FRESH GREEN ORGANIC VEGETABLES. REGARDING MY OWN EXPERIENCE THIS THANKSGIVING: I BAKED THE TURKEY PRODUCT AND AFTER IT WAS DONE I LOOKED IN THE PAN WHERE THE IMITATION TURKEY SAT IN A POOL OF TEPID WATER. I SLICED OFF TWO PIECES. THEY TASTED TERRIBLE. I AM GIVING IT AWAY TONIGHT TO SOMEONE ELSE AFTER WARNING THEM THAT TO ME IT TASTES TERRIBLE. I AM BEGINNING TO REALIZE I WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO BOYCOTT THE FOOD BANK. BUY BIG SACKS OF BROWN RICE. BUY BAGS OF DRIED BEANS. BUY BIG BOXES OF OATMEAL. GROW MY OWN VEGETABLES AND EAT THEM FRESH. BUY SOME MISO. SOME SOY SAUCE. SOME ONIONS. SIMPLIFY MY DIET. WEAN MYSELF FROM THE JUNK PROCESS FOOD STOCKED BY THE FOOD BANKS. PERHAPS THE GOVERNMENT CAN CREATE SOME NATIONAL CLASSES TITLED:HOW TO BE WEANED FROM FOOD BANKS NOW. I HAVE A DISCLAIMER: MOST OF THE PEOPLE WORKING IN THE LOCAL FOOD BANK ARE WONDERFUL KIND FRIENDLY PEOPLE WHO DONATE THEIR TIME TO HELP FEED THEIR HUNGRY NEIGHBORS. THEY HOWEVER HAVE NO INPUT IN THE FOOD THEY DISTRIBUTE. I WOULD LIKE AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER TO MAKE INQUIRIES ON HOW FOOD BANK FOOD IS SELECTED. IS IT BOUGHT? IS IT DONATED BY THE MAJOR GROCERY CHAINS AND BY THE FOOD MANUFACTURERS? DO THE PEOPLE DONATING THE FOOD GET MAJOR TAX WRITE OFFS? IS EVERYTHING ON THE UP AND UP? OR IS THERE SOME HANKY PANKY? ARE SOME THINGS DOWN AND DIRTY? FOR EXAMPLE: WHERE DID THAT DISGUSTING TURKEY PRODUCT COME FROM. WHAT FRANKENSTEIN LABORATORY PRODUCED IT? WAS IT MANUFACTURED IN A SHED ADJACENT TO THE SHED FILLED WITH JOYLESS BEAKLESS CHICKENS AND ANOTHER SHED FILLED WITH PIGS WHO HAVE NO ROOM TO ROAM? AND ANOTHER SHED FILLED WITH COWS FED THE GROUND UP CORPSES OF OTHER COWS? OH MY, THIS ALL MAKES ME SO HUNGRY, I CAN'T WAIT TO EAT MY DINNER. GET OUT YOUR CAN OPENERS. CALL THE FAMILY TO THE TABLE. AND SOON, IT WILL BE CHRISTMAS. I WONDER WHAT SPECIAL EXTRAS WILL THEN BE DISTRIBUTED TO TINY TIM.

self filing for bankruptcy

2009-08-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

This summer started out with much stress. I self filed for bankruptcy. If you are considering filing your first step might be to check the bankruptcy courts web sites. They list the forms you need for a chapter 7 filing. well, I copied the forms from the web and then read the guidance information. Number one piece of information that hit me was, regarding exemptions it is adisable to consult an attorney. Now the reason a person self files is to avoid paying for an attorney. Attorneys cost often at least $2,000 and in addition there is the cost of filing which is about $300. For some strange reason about this time I started experiencing stress, a tight neck, aches and pains in my neck. Just to liven things up, I filed in Arizona using Washington State exemptions. I discovered several things. It is almost impossible to phone the bankruptcy court and speak to a live person. If you have any questions, if you in some way managed to talk with someone, you would be informed, sorry, I cannot answer legal questions. During the process, I went to Washington State where I am spending the summer. I visited the bankruptcy court in downtown seattle and talked with the bankruptcy clerk, and used the bankruptcy court library; everyone was friendly. Although they would not answer legal questions they let me look up the filings of other filers. Note: in a bankruptcy filing nearly all questions are legal questions. I also had some of the other filers filled in forms printed out. At that time, I thought, ah ha, now I know how to do this thing. I followed the same approach and then sent in my completed forms. After the passage of time I received word from the bankruptcy trustee saying I had not included enough information about my exemptions. Also, some information I had sent to the trustee by way of a friend never reached the trustee and had to be resent. Now, this was all done while I was on the move. I used the computer of my close seattle friend. It had a defective keyboard. whenever by mistake I hit the shift key on the right side everything I had written on the fill in form was deleted. After it got deleted I turned into a raving maniac, sitting at the computer pounding my head on the keyboard. eventually I lugged my files to the local library and used their computer. I was limited to one and one half hours. It had a beautiful shift key. finally I got the forms filled in and sent to the bankruptcy court and the bankruptcy trustee. When some of the forms were sent by mistake (due to my ignorance), to the wrong place, such as the trustee instead of the court, they had to be resent. And I was on the move. I learned, this summer, how to vigorously hate a variety of PCs, and printers. the printers were all running out of ink. the computers were all crashing. I learned to hate Vista. XP was better. None of my friends had Macs which I love. my files were continually getting mixed up. one major thing I learned. Arizona had different requirements regarding forms than Washington. Arizona has huge differences in what is allowed as an exemption. You can exempt lots of books in washington, and very few books in arizona. Arizona will let you deduct $5000 for your car. the folks in arizona have different ethical standards. Towards the end of the process I went to a seattle bookstore, Elliot Bay, and bought a magnificent book on the process of filing for bankruptcy. I should have had that book from the beginning. I also learned not all of my friends supportted my filing for bankruptcy. One friend is very critical of me. He claims that I am the reason the costs of government are so high. He and I have stopped e-mailing each other over this and other issues. Now, I assume everything has been sent to the courts and to the trustee. Now it is up to me to wait until the court determines what will happen to me and my possessions. Regarding yourself, look about your house, or your apartment, and think how you would like listing all your things. And then imagine going through the process of waiting, not knowing if the court will say, we want the following, which we will have trucked off to someplace for sale. Meanwhile, I am now staying with a close friend and two goats, two dogs, and four chickens. My neck again feels good. I am relaxing. Relaxing and waiting. In another month I shall return to Arizona where there is a distinct possability that the other members of my artist's colony will form a circle with me in the center, for the ritual stoning or hissing. All is not dark however. Everyday in the mail I receive offers of low interest loans for an automobile offered by seattle car dealers. After taking two counseling workshops, I will be more adept in the future with my finances. No longer will I buy BMWs, trips to Italy, cruises in the Caribbean, or expensive chocolates. I will continue to delay needed dental work due to a lack of money and the purchase of a hearing aid. At a Unitarian Church service this past sunday during a joys and concerns session I stood up and said, my joy was declaring bankruptcy. My glass is more than half full. Life is good. I am content. Soon the plums and cherries will be ripe. The rivers have much lovely swirling green water. I saw a bald eagle on sunday. It is a good summer.

The economics of writing

2008-12-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

Today, December 4th, 2008 I consider the plight of artists, writers, and artisans in economic distress. The American economy is not set up to facilitate the economic survival of writers and artists. I am unaware of unsecured bank loans available for artists. Instead the artist spend countless hours applying for long shot grants. Often the grants are for small sums of money, say $500. The artist not receiving grants or receiving too few grants is forced to use credit cards. As an example of this trap, one of my credit cards just upped my rate to 24%. A friend of mine relies on a credit card rate of 30%. His plan is to pay off the cards when he sells some paintings. My plan is to pay off my cards when I sell a book. I wrote and published a book of poetry, The Interview this year. The book, although enjoyed by readers, has not benefited from a nationwide poetry reading tour. Therefore the sales are only two or three copies a week. If I would have sales of 100 copies a month through some of the major sellers such as Amazon.com and barnes & Noble I would earn $300. a month for my book. Surely not enough money to live on. I have a proposal for the new Obama Administration. 1. Create micro loans for artists, artisans and writers of amounts ranging from $15,000 to $60,000. 2. Provide funding so as to pay off 50% of the outstanding credit card debt owed by Artists, artisans and writers. 3. Limit credit card companies to an upper interest rate of 16 %.