I'm toast, so I'll toast two....

Corporate Bedrock is kicking my ass hard right now. So hard in fact, that I was originally planning to skip a day or four here to get caught up. But I'd miss it too much to be honest and for me, this writing and reading is the small bit of respite I need daily, to try and clear a few cobwebs off the edges of the mush stuffed up in between my ears. So on I plod.

Today's thoughts were actually quite simple to come up with.

See that list of Blogs over to the right there -->

It holds all of the places that help take me away from what ever it is that's trying to bring me down. A couple in particular have really grabbed my attention of late, and today I thought I'd suggest that you take the time to check them out.

A friend spent November writing like a fiend, for some NaNaNaNa boo-boo thingy that I know nothing about and will probably never have the skill, style or determination to participate in. But if the very first read from her effort is any indication, I'm damn glad she's taking the time to share her work with us! I suggest you read Kat's latest piece! For when I read it yesterday, I was transported to a stretch of open road where the image felt so real to me, I thought about getting a towel to pat down the rain on my arms, while I enjoyed the aroma of the freshly brewed Coffee.

Kat can be quite flippant about her writing at times and it almost always drives me crazy, but her self deprecating ways will never work on yours truly! She's a damn fine writer!

The first of what I know will be a bunch of great reads, can be found HERE.

Secondly, a newer blog to me has managed to become a bit of a must read every day. Ken Provo's Poker Perambulation is often thought provoking, humourous, honest and entertaining reading. It also frequently reads in a very familiar style that I enjoy, that of perspective without being over bearing, or too soft either. A straight shooting style that becomes increasingly more enjoyable for me to sit down to every day I get the chance.

If that sounds interesting to you too, I suggest you check Ken out HERE.

Well, I guess that little breaks over! Time to grind out another session at the workplace. With any luck at all, maybe I'll pull a Waffles and actually manage to break even when the day is done. Who knows! It could happen.

***EDIT*** MAKE THAT THREE !!! The December Truckin' just came out too!

Truckin' - December 2008, Vol. 7, Issue 12


1. The Last Christmas by Paul McGuire
I adore the way you look. But your mother disapproves. It's that black shoe polish you have on your lips. When I was your age, the only people who dressed like that were the whores who stood on corners down in the Mission.... More

2. I Remember Christmas by May B. Yesno
I looked down at my cup, lifted a hand to the waitress for another coffee and started looking around the joint, noting the yellow brown walls a glass could stick to, if you placed a glass on it, and listened to the Christmas music being piped in... More

3. American Half-Breed by David Peterson
It is bitter cold and everywhere around me is ice and dirty snow. At my side is one of my prized possessions, an American Standard Fender Precision Bass Guitar. I don't want to do what I'm about to do, but I've run out of options. I open the pawn shop door and feel a blast of heat and the smell of tobacco smoke and desperation... More

4. Of All The Bars In NYC by Betty Underground
You know when you see someone and maybe it is the job you do or the frequency you travel to the same places, but you sort of recognize them and for some reason you can't put them in the context of where you are right then... More

5. Corner of Hopelessness by Paul McGuire
I have this odd fear that I'm going to get shanked by a gangbanger with a spork or mugged by one of the homeless people who live behind the dumpster and feast on half-eaten Jumbo Jacks and pieces of raggedly yellow leaves that they pass off as lettuce... More


What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...
From the Editor's Laptop:

Thanks again for wasting your precious time with Truckin'. We have a special year-end issue with a couple of Christmas themed stories including a submission from David Peterson, who is making his Truckin' debut. Veteran writers Betty Underground and May B. Yesno returned with a couple of standouts. And I contributed two stories this issue; a piece of fiction I wrote about my neighborhood in L.A. and the other is a dramatic Christmas story about a dysfunctional family.

Truckin' needs your help with some grassroots promotion. Please tell your friends about your favorite Truckin' stories. The writers definitely appreciate your support, as do I. Spread the word on your blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and whatever social networking sites that you are addicted to.

Also, please let me know if anyone is interested in being added to the mailing list.

Thanks to the writers for writing for free. They expose their guts, blood, and soul to the universe. For that, I'm eternally grateful. The dedication to their art inspires me and I hope it inspires you too.

Be good,
McG

"It is difficult to keep quiet if you have nothing to do." - Arthur Schopenhauer


* * * * *
Tao of Pauly -- http://mcgrupp.blogspot.com
Tao of Poker -- http://www.taopoker.com
Truckin' -- http://mcgtruckin.blogspot.com
Coventry - http://phish-coventry.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/taopauly
FSL - http://www.fantasysportslive.com
Las Vegas Blog -- http://www.lasvegasvegas.com

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....