I would love to help you reach your potential.

    Got a direct message this morning from a guy that works in public relations. He took a look at my amazon page and the books listed there and contacted me. The root of his message was; he loved the look of my stuff and would love to be a key part in attaining success. I gave him my standard response. Which is nothing but the truth.

    "I live on minimum wage. I can't afford you."

    I've yet to run into anyone who has taken the next step and said; "I hear you. I think we can work something out. You start making money I'll start taking a cut."

    I would meet with someone like that. I have no problems paying for services if I have the money. I just have no money to pay for services.

    This guy is in the same city too. Just because I thought he would think it fun I recommended one of my books that is set very visibly in Toronto.  

    A selection of people come to realize that they are not fully human. They are human alien hybrids. They have been created to help the aliens take over earth. Along with the alien DNA these people have developed many of their alien half's powers and abilities. These powers are mixed with the unique human ability to picture things that are not strictly speaking real and magnified to an epic degree. 

    In the end they are faced with a choice. Are they aliens with human blood or humans with alien blood? In that choice sits the future of the world. 

You can find the link to my amazon page below. 

You might want to check out my You Tube page as well. 

Being honest with yourself sometimes means disappointing others.

    I've reached the age when I know my limitations. You'd think that would be easy but it isn't. You have to have lived a while to know what you can and cannot do. Some people never figure it out and are constantly walking down dead ends to find they disappoint people hugely. At this point in my life I get the disappointing people over with up front and save time.

    That's not to say I don't stretch myself. I do try and I find new things I can do all the time. Funny thing is looked back at its always clear the THING whatever it might be was always a next step in the progression of something I knew I could do. This blog is an example.

    People tend to say to others, you can do this thing you must be able to do this other. The root skills are the same. I have news for those people. The root skills for everything are the same; work hard, practice, lather rinse repeat. 

    Its the specific skills that tell you that you can do a thing. If you try and push maybe you will pick up those specific skills. It does happen. It also takes a long time to happen. You have to start at ground zero. I've seen enough ground zeros in my life I need to be accepted for what I am. 

    I do have a book with a main character that knows his limitations. 

    

    Steven Pendergast has an Olympic gold medal for archery hanging on the wall in his living-room. These days he doesn't compete. He teaches middle school gym and feels secretly that he disappoints a lot of people. Then he hears a fairy singing a drinking song in his backyard in the middle of the night. The first night of summer break. 

You can find it here or click the link at the bottom of the page and visit my entire amazon page. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NPC783P/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p2_i9

Twitter

 Ok so I accidentally created a completely new Twitter account. They sent me instructions on how to delete it but let me tell you how hard it is. Its hard. 

Yeah, that's me being understated. I gave up after a short frustrated rant. Funny thing is, I can access my normal TEN YEAR OLD account on my phone and my older computer. I can't on the computer I accidentally created the new account on. 

So, how was everyone's holiday weekend. Cold I bet. Its Easter Sunday as I type this but yesterday I went out to a park to take some pictures and try and get a handle on the camera that comes with my new cell phone. It has a zoom. This counts as exciting. 

Problem being it was nice for a walk but it was also a bit brisk and my fingers got cold enough for me to not be able to work the camera. I love my home and yes I am aware that Toronto is lucky compared to Manitoba who got hit with a dang snow storm this week. 

I did enjoy the trip out mind you. A dog showed me his stick. He was very pleased with it. 

    

This was taken today. I did a whole you tube with this as a part but Blogger said it was to big so I picked this one.  Its how I feel right now. Chilly and waiting for something good to happen.

If you want to see the full video check my you tube channel by clicking the link below.

Stay warm. Eat lots of chocolate eggs. Brush your teeth. 

Remember it will eventually get warmer. 

When you get really tired.

     Anyone and everyone is really tired right now. I'm not talking physically tired. I'm not talking about those in war zones. I'm talking about the rest of us trying to have normal lives after two years and more of not normal lives. We are all tired deep down inside and M&Ms and Netflix isn't helping as much anymore.

    These days you can't comment on a Facebook post without someone calling you out and saying, well these people have it worse. Yup Mr. Sanctimonious I know that but it doesn't make me feel better. Its like telling a person to cheer up. Nowhere in the history of cheering up, has anyone been cheered up, by being told to cheer up. 

    I'm not talking about depression that's another subject which I am demonstrably unqualified to write about. Its something else and I think we need a deal.

1) You have a right to feel like crap. 

2) You don't have an obligation not to feel like crap just because others are far worse off.

3) Other people should just admit that pointing out the above doesn't help and a lot of the time it just substitutes for really listening to the why of another person.  

    Statements about having a right to be down notwithstanding, its not a bad idea to think of things that have made you feel better and do them. Action usually helps me. I know reading helps others. So, lets profile another book. 

    Below is a nice short light read perfect for cloudy, rainy, tired days.

    A man grieving over the loss of his wife and the loss of his job through retirement takes the advice of a caring friend and begins to build a new life. Also there's ghost mice. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085TRDC5X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1

Find it at this link or of the link isn't working my amazon page. That link is below.

To Be Irish

    In eighteen something or other a blight hit the worlds potato crop. It hit everywhere. The problem with Ireland is the political and social pressures meant that for a painful amount of people potatoes were literally all they had. It was move or die for a lot of people and they did move. The world was introduced to a variety of dynamic world changing minds that brought social justice, unions to protect workers and a lot more besides. 

    I claim a few of those immigrants as my maternal ancestors though I don't know much more than that.  We weren't the sort of family that talked about family tree's or where we came from. I only know that generally a lot of Toronto Irish came from County Cork so that's a possibility.

    I have do have one story. It's that of a woman, a great great grandmother, who went into labor on an English ship. She insisted on being carried to land before giving birth. If she gave birth on the ship legally her child would be English and she wasn't having THAT. 

    Fast forward to this past weekend. St. Patrick's day might have been in the middle of the week but Sunday was when Toronto had the parade.  I'll be making a You Tube of some of what I saw. The link to my you tube is below this text. There was a really big crowd. Its clear the city in general was and probably still is parade deficient.

 

    One of the people there seemed to be warm weather deficient. Let me be clear. It was a nice day maybe 11 or 12 degrees C. That's, I think, upper 40s low 50s F. Someone needs to tell this guy its -dress for the job you want- not - dress for the weather you want-.

    I've actually made use of the Irish wave of immigrants in one of my novellas. 

    Its a ghost story set in a real school located in modern day inner city Toronto.  You can find it on my amazon page.

amazon.com/author/tabithabaumander

    On a side note I will point out most in the crowd still wore masks. I know that the lifting of the mask mandate not withstanding there are still situations when I will mask up. Our over crowded transit system to name but one. Be science smart. Think and if it makes sense mask up. 

Running on Empty

 The world is going to heck in a hand cart and I think most of us are running on empty. Very important point though; that's okay.

Its okay to be worn out from everything that's happened the last couple of years. 

Its okay to wonder if the world has ever been anything but falling apart.

Its even okay to wonder if it was dumb to make fun of those films that taught 50s kids to DUCK AND COVER. 

Now make a cup of tea or grab your caffeine of choice and listen for a minute. 

    I'm not going to stick labels on trauma that's a mine field I'm not qualified to walk through. Unless your reality involves holding out hands to help those running away or on the ground and in the fight its okay to walk away for a bit. See a movie, read, buy some honey because you know a piece of bread and honey late in the day lifts your mood. Or is that last one just me?

    If your reality involves counseling or personally dealing with trauma generations in the making; its okay to take a break from dealing with same and just drift for a bit letting your nervous system get grounded again before the next session of sorting things out. Crap like that does not get fixed all at once.

    Its okay to turn the news off.  This part is very important. Politics and other things that make your left eye twitch will be there tomorrow. 

    Here, think about reading something. There's a hero and a love interest and the action is far away from today's reality. 

There's even other adventures.

amazon.com/author/tabithabaumander 

Whatever you do take a break.

public art

    Its not something that I was that aware of growing up. It certainly wasn't an issue. I'll admit up front that's probably a -white privilege- point of view. That being said its nothing but the truth. When I was a kid that Victorian era statue in the park down town simply registered as a guy on a horse. It was someplace your school trip sat beside so the class could eat their packed lunches before going somewhere else. 

    Time skip and we have protests and riots pulling down statues in the American south. Even in Canada we have protests over statues of politicians that had (unpopular from a modern point of view) views over a great many things that I wont go into here because this isn't that kind of blog.

    Fact is if we take a step away and look at the statues dispassionately as art, most of it just isn't that great. It makes a statement and says THIS PERSON WAS HERE. The people who put the thing up never pictured that others in the future would be saying THIS PERSON WAS ALSO A TWAT. 

    A twat that's boring to look at. Can we have some nice art please. Mind you that's a bit of a mine field on its own. There's a bronze statue in front of Toronto city hall called the Archer. Its by someone named Henry Moor. He was very big in the sixties and seventies. Even back then the thing got a lot of flack from the ordinary man in the street because to be honest it looks less like a archer and more like a couple of pelvic bones trying to fit together at a very odd angle. That being said its interesting and no one is ever going to riot over the thing.

    So here's a suggestion. Teach people in school about the notable persons of the past. That way you can learn their good sides and their not so good sides. Both can be placed in a historical context and understood. Let public squares and spaces in front of government buildings be filled with images of what we want for the future. Or maybe just something interesting to fill the space. 

    

    Mind you I'm not sure this is the best example. Its in front of a condo building down town. To me it looks like a big silver noodle man. The sort that you see in front of car lots with a fan to make them dance around. It is metal and stands four stories tall. It fills the space and its not boring. I guess it will do.

TOKEN BOOK PLUG

If you thought having your teacher bug you to hand in your work on time was annoying, be glad you aren't being pushed to finish by aliens who wont even tell you why they want what they want. Two film students are trying to deal with reality but it feels like someone is playing a game. 

find it at    amazon.com/author/tabithabaumander