Blogocentric Formulations (Book)

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I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.

Blogocentric Formulations

Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).

Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:

"JAFBG"

Thanks for stopping by!

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Jeff

about 3 hours ago
In response to "Writing Retreat"

Jayne

- You and I can enjoy the cozy cottage on the lake environment while those who prefer to camp can sleep on the ground in a tent and use a bathroom they have to dig themselves. LOL

Ren~Busy as Usual

a day ago
In response to "Free Speech, Gettin' Raptured, & People Worth Suffering For"

Well said on all points. The world is a different place than it was 50 years ago and not bad, some good. But lately? Scary.

Witchy Woman

a day ago
In response to "Free Speech, Gettin' Raptured, & People Worth Suffering For"

I agree that they'll go for Fallon and Myers next. The mud slinging has gone unchecked since Clinton was in office and has escalated to the point that situations are becoming dangerous for anyone not agreeing with cheeto.

1 Like

Seffi

a day ago
In response to "Free Speech, Gettin' Raptured, & People Worth Suffering For"

"Second Amendment's guaranteed right to bear arms is not the same thing as guaranteed right to assemble an unchecked, unaccountable armory that would make a Navy SEAL envious." That made me laugh. And I agree. Though I am an outsider, looking at the US like a fishbowl - everything looks slightly distorted and confusing, but is also vaguely familiar.

Charity Marie - <3

a day ago
In response to "Free Speech, Gettin' Raptured, & People Worth Suffering For"

What an interesting trifecta. The one that resonated with me most was the last one so it's the one I'm going to respond to because it's directly relevant to my life, especially right now. You could say I'm "sacrificing" for my relationship. If you know the history, it started as a FWB (friends with benefits) and a hard-boundary of nothing serious. But I'm relationship-oriented. I don't do anything shallowly - I'm just not wired that way. I like commitment - there's something about it that resonates in my nervous system and my bones. Out of 8 billion people, it's that person who says, "I see you. I value you above all others - now or future". It's experiencing life at a deeper level than you can with just friends. It's BATTLING through life together.

For the last year, the FWB relationship has worked because I was working on myself and dating casually, just living life. Eventually I reached a point of just wanting more in my life. Wanting a life partner. So I explored that with him to which he basically said he wanted to stay single forever. Okay, understood. You are another emotionally unavailable man. Noted. Moving on - no harm, no foul. I transitioned it to "friends without benefits" to open up room in my life for a life partner. My idea was to use a matchmaking service - because maybe someone could discern through the bullshit better than I could when they see it every day. Hoping someone would have a more attuned radar to pre-screen out garbage better than apps.

Except, when I mentioned it to him he kind of froze and said, "But what about me?" Then it all changed. We've been carefully, like two battle-scarred generals, navigating it ever since. Successfully I might add despite a misunderstanding that could have derailed the whole thing but actually made us stronger. He told me he'd known for a while that if he were in a better place in life, I would be someone he would want more with. Which floored me because I never even allowed my mind to go there. I labeled him very concretely as "boy toy" and "no feelings" except friendship. That's exactly where it stayed because I can compartmentalize like that unlike other people. I'm an INTJ - half computer, half human. LOL Which brings me to the sacrifice part: we've chosen to wait. Because he's living with a roommate and has a one year lease he doesn't want to break (unless he has to because of the roommate). He's trying to financially get on his feet as well as do some healing of his own.

I get it - there's work to do. I'm further along in my self-growth than he is but was just laid off two months ago so now I'm starting over in a rebuilding phase. So I'm simply waiting for him to catch up and for my own life to restabilize as someone self-employed. The sacrifice is waiting from now until up to one year for his lease to end before we can be together the way we really want. That's when the REAL relationship work begins.

We're doing some of it now - communicating, navigating it all, getting together regularly. It's almost like a long distance relationship because he lives/works 40 minutes away. So when you talk about sacrifice - that hit me pretty hard. But also reassured me because I've never been someone who shied away. I have grit and resilience. It's other people matching me that's been the problem. But finally, I found someone who is and does. So your post gave me hope and reassurance I'm right where I'm supposed to be. Thank you!

Annette

Sep 20, 2025 at 12:12am
In response to "Watch List - August 2025"

Jayne

and Jeff

Include me please.

Jeff

Sep 20, 2025 at 12:02am
In response to "Watch List - August 2025"

Jayne

- Any time you want to arrange a Zoom viewing party, I'm in!

Jayne

Sep 19, 2025 at 9:03pm
In response to "Watch List - August 2025"

I've had K-Pop on my list for a while. Nobody wants to watch it with me lol

1 Like

Jayne

Sep 15, 2025 at 8:57pm
In response to "Writing Retreat"

This sounds lovely.

I'm always one to ask, by cabin (or camp), do you mean shack in the woods or cottage on the lake? I am too old for the former lol

1 Like

S 🤦

Sep 15, 2025 at 1:24am
In response to "Writing Retreat"

Here's my last one:
"20240405 Writing Retreat"

1 Like

July 18, 2011 at 4:41am

#728927

Getting High at The Hollywood Bowl

Saturday night, my wife and I went to a concert at The Hollywood Bowl. Sarah McLachlan performed with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and it was incredible. The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra began with some selected classical pieces, then Sarah performed several of her songs, the Orchestra did a few more pieces, and Sarah closed out the show with some more of her songs. It was an incredible night of music; hearing popular songs with the backing of a full orchestra was quite a treat.

What particularly impressed my wife and I was how classy the whole affair was. It was more akin to a classical concert at a music hall than a rock concert at an amphitheater. We were much younger than the median audience age, and the program had a feeling of sophistication and elegance.

And yet that still didn't stop someone in the vicinity of our seats from lighting a joint and reeking of marijuana for the entire second half of the concert. Really? During Sarah McLachlan and an orchestral performance? I mean, it's not like we're watching Kid Rock or something. Could you imagine someone getting high during a symphony at Carnegie Hall? (Please don't answer that if you have... I want to preserve my fond memories of New York.

)

I have to admit that Sarah McLachlan isn't my favorite artist... but the concert was excellent. She's an amazing performer live, and the full orchestra backing her was a real treat. In fact, the only bad thing about the whole evening was the parking. The Hollywood Bowl has stall-style parking, where rows and rows of cars park bumper-to-bumper in a line easily 50 cars deep. Which means that you're not going anywhere until all the cars can leave together. We spent 40 minutes waiting because one car was still parked in our lane and we couldn't get out until they came back.

Fortunately, there's a Park & Ride program that allows us to get a shuttle at any of a dozen locations (including one twenty minutes from our apartment), and it's only $5. Seems like a better deal than paying $16 to park and have to wait until thousands of people collectively decide to leave together.

All in all, though, it was a wonderful concert. The Hollywood Bowl actually allows you to bring food in, and several people around us brought picnics with them. There are quite a few good shows coming up, including John Williams conducting some of his Academy Award-winning scores, Blues night, and Moulin Rouge night (with fireworks) to close the summer concert series. We'll definitely be going again.

Comment • View 2 comments

July 15, 2011 at 6:51pm

#728729

Carmageddon

This weekend, they're shutting down one of the freeways in Los Angeles to do some major construction work. Granted, I-405 is reportedly the busiest freeway in the nation, and the construction they're doing involves closing a 10-mile stretch which happens to be the busiest section of said freeway (it's the section that connects the valley to the west side of Los Angeles, cutting through the Santa Monica Mountains), with some 500,000 vehicles traveling over it on an average day, but it's actually been dubbed "Carmageddon" by the media and people are positively freaking out over how bad the traffic is going to be.

They close the freeway at midnight tonight, and will reopen it at 5am on Monday morning... theoretically more than enough time to avoid any kind of actual weekday rush hour traffic, but even the mayor of Los Angeles is telling people to stay home or get out of town, avoid traveling long distances at any cost, etc. Business on the west side are closing down for the weekend; UCLA's medical center is keeping physicians overnight in nearby hotels; they're setting up emergency response teams just in case... the way the city is mobilizing, you'd swear we were headed for a zombie apocalypse or The Rapture or something.

It's just a freeway closing. For one weekend.

I was late coming into work today (got in around lunch time) and coworkers and friends that I spoke to during the drive were anxiously asking me, "My God, what's it like out there?" "Is it okay?" "How bad is it?"

I'm tempted to start telling people, "Oh yeah, it's awful. Cars abandoned on the freeway. People rioting and bodies everywhere. Someone just set a city bus on fire, and I'm pretty sure I just saw a National Guard contingent being mobilized."

Again, it's just a freeway closing. For one weekend. Take it easy, people.

Comment • View 4 comments

July 9, 2011 at 12:04pm

#728271

The Dark Society is Back!

It's been a long time in the making, but I'm finally pulling things together with my horror group, The Dark Society. Yesterday I redesigned all the group contests and forums, including brand new images (thanks to Brooke

for all the input!), which I'm particularly proud of:

Over the next couple weeks, we're going to be adding some activities, partnering up with some other horror contests on the site, and generally trying to re-establish ourselves on Writing.Com. Hopefully you all like the image and will consider participating if the thriller, suspense or horror genres are your thing.

Comment • View 1 comment

July 6, 2011 at 7:34pm

#728092

At the Halfway Point

Well, it's July, which means the year is practically half over already. I'm still hoping to read more books than I did last year, and I'm a teensy bit ahead of schedule... by a whole week. I have to do better than the 33 I read last year, and I'm currently at 17 for 2011:

FICTION

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Impact by Douglas Preston
Death Match by Lincoln Child
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Left Behind by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins
Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

NONFICTION

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Decision Points by George W. Bush
Poetics by Aristotle

I've got plenty more to read, including the nine Kindle books that I bought for $20 in celebration of purchasing my very own Kindle and not having to share one with my wife. It's been tough though; as always, it's time rather than interest that threatens to ruin my record-breaking run.

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