Busy Day at The Social Poets, Posts on Dan Browns Book The Lost Symbol and Obama

From Denny: There's so much going on with the news coverage about Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol. He sure has tapped into the popularity of conspiracy theories and fast-paced mystery thrillers.

The Today Show both interviewed him and did some short news stories as clues for unraveling the mysteries in the book, great fun! Take a look.

Video: Interviewing Novelist Dan Brown on The Lost Symbol, Life as an Author, Masons

Video: Good Stories and Clues 1 to 4 for The Lost Symbol

Video: Dan Browns New Book The Lost Symbol

Video: The Lost Symbol - Secrets of the National Cathedral, Masons on Dollar Bill, Todays Masonic World Power

Video: Obama Talks About Womens Issues

*** Note: Post 2 of the day

Photo by lepiaf.geo @ flickr

7 Summer Quotes

From Denny: I seem to be thinking about the ending of summer a lot lately, even wrote a poem about it: finally! Glad to have that off my plate and out of my head where thoughts of summer have been rolling around for weeks! :)

These are some lovely quotes I found on the subject of summer, some wistful in the passing of summer, some profound in their heightened awareness on a summer night, some amusing in how our culture views a time of the year that could be viewed negatively if it came at a different time.

Summer is a great time to relax and hear our creative thoughts. There is a magical quality to the summer night. Come on, even Shakespeare thought so and wrote a play for it! :) It's like a waking dream time full of promise and fun.

Have you entertained the thought to write your own summer poem before the season steals away? These quotes will get you sparked into your own creativity!

Quotes

"The summer night is like a perfection of thought." - Wallace Stephens

"In summer, the song sings itself." - William Carlos Williams

"People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy." - Anton Chekhov

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." - Sam Keen

"Summer afternoon: to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." - Henry James

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world." - Ada Louise Huxtable

"There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." - Celia Thaxter

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography @ flickr

How Authentic a Writer or Blogger Are You? Quote Included.

Image by Bern@t via Flickr

Blogging with all the other millions of bloggers

From Denny: A lot of people these days are starting up blogs. After a few months many get discouraged and quit; others find out how much work it is to post every day. Right now there are over 1 billion blogs on the planet and Technorati watches the top 100 million blogs. I'm thrilled to be in the top 400,000 as I never expected a quotes blog with my idea of commentary thoughts to do this well. I was just writing and living out loud as I advise others! (Practice what you "preach"!) :)

Technical issues of blogging

As a blogger and writer it isn't just about writing down our thoughts into words on the page; there are the time-consuming technical parts of working with a slowed down computer connection when everyone in the world happens to be online at the same time (usually Tuesdays and Wednesdays here in America), working with the online editor to post when Blogger or your other blogging platform decides to do maintenance and other pesky delays that eat up your time.

Divining readers' interests through free Lijit and StatCounter services

Personally, I love to write and always have; I plan on being here for some time to come. Already I look back at the beginning days of all my blogs and am quite pleased with how my vision has grown as well as the ability to fine tune the theme of the blog and its message and then respond to the readers for your needs and interests.

Responding to readers does take time to "divine" when you don't have a plethora of comments to gauge interest. There are various free services that tell a new blogger which of your posts people liked the best. Some provide the ability to vote up or down like Lijit does which is why you see a Lijit search widget on the sidebar. Others just count the numbers and about a week later let you know how a post on a particular subject did on that particular blog like StatCounter does. StatCounter is out of Australia so if you decide to join their site but you live in America be aware their 24 hour period is not quite the same time zone as yours! :)

Blogging helps you define, explore and expand "You"

As I grow in my knowledge of blogging I'll keep sharing what I've learned along the way to help you in your blogging. Always, I encourage others to write down their thoughts, their feelings, their aspirations. When you write regularly, God starts blessing you with the ability to access your inspirations that were previously locked up inside you all along, waiting to be released for others to benefit.

Authenticity and opportunities

Today's quote is more than about being perceived as authentic when you write, when you blog. Yes, your credibility is truly on the line with others who don't know you in person. But it's much more than that.

Today's quote takes us beyond the field of work outside ourselves to another angle of how to look at authenticity. It talks about every person on the planet is an author without perhaps even realizing it! It is through our authenticity that we become true writers: writing the plot line of what happens to us and how we choose to respond, writing the characters into our lives and how they decide to treat us, writing the theme of our lives as to what we find to call worthy.

Too many people try to do it backwards and start writing to find or create along the way their authenticity. Stop for a moment, consider where you are in life and where you would prefer to be if not satisfied, then step out from that authentic moment and begin writing.

Best attitude for successful writing

If you write just for profit the money will elude you; if you write to be admired or acquire status, it will elude you. If you write from an authentic inner place, choose to give of yourself to others, then your writing will ascend and grow steadily in popularity. Don't rush the process; rather enjoy the journey, continue to grow and your writing will show it! If you try to force the process into a certain little box you might just end up cheating yourself in the long run. Stay flexible, enjoy writing, enjoy interacting with others through the comment section or private email (some people are terribly shy online). Opportunities will come your way as you are patiently perfecting your craft of writing and blogging. So it is also true how we choose to author our lives.

Quote

"To be authentic literally means to be your own author." ~ Dan Millman

Was that not a great quote to write about?! Thanks for visiting and have a great day!



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Wisdom From Anne Frank

Image via Wikipedia

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.” — Anne Frank

Living vs. Existing

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." - Oscar Wilde

Photo by -Gep- @ flickr