A Tale of Two or More Cities (Sorry, Mr. Dickens).

Greetings,

I hope all is well with you and yours.

As you can see by my output here (or lack thereof) I don't blog often.  I have always thought myself more an Analog than Digitally oriented man and thereby I take some minor pride in avoiding social media except whereas it is needed for work or professional networking.

In the last few years I have undergone some radical changes in my life.  Six years ago, I owned a condo, had two cars, many friends, a great-paying job and was able to travel to Brazil at least twice a year.

Now, I live in a small efficiency apartment, drive an older though, thus far, dependable vehicle, have no friends and work two jobs to make ends meet.  One of these jobs has each of the last four years had a terminating contract which places me each June in the unenviable position of not knowing where my next pay check will come from.

Four years ago I lived in Houston, Texas and I had been a resident of the city for nearly 30 years.  I loved Houston and miss it terribly.  Now I live in Raleigh, NC and while this is a lovely city and state with many positives, it still doesn't feel like home to me.  Five years ago I was able to visit Rio de Janeiro twice sometimes even three times a year; now I can only dream of visiting that marvelous city as my two salaries leave no margin for exotic vacations.

All things considered, I could be worse off.  I know that there are hundreds if not thousands of people my age who are unable to find work of any kind and must depend on government programs or charities for food and shelter.  I certainly do have a perspective on Life and realize that things could be worse...even much worse.

All that stated, I am not about having a "pity party", rather I am constantly seeking ways to achieve a better life. I have been writing and hoping that soon I will be able to publish a work that will begin my career as a professional author.  I am exploring ways to once again travel, if not to Brazil then closer to home where I can enjoy a change of scenery and local cuisine.

Lately, I have been selling off some of my cherished collectibles on eBay.  And as much as it hurts to part with things I have owned for 30-plus years..they are, after-all, just things and at least I have them to sell and then convert them into funds that will pay rent, or bills or buy food.

Halfway into 2016 and I am facing challenges both personal, and financial but I am always hopeful. Recently, it appears that I have landed a new job which will start in August; between now and then, my boss at my part-time church job is giving me two weeks of full-time work to help cover my bills, and in July I have 16 days of part-time work in the Wake County Public Schools summer school session and after that it appears that I may become the technologist for a brand new school which opens in August.  The principal of this new school has told me she wants to have me as her site technology support...I hope that she is able to swing that...if not then I will likely be an instructional aide at that school.

In the last six years three cities have had major influence on my day to day...and even though it seems that two of those cities are at present in my rear view...I always have thoughts of taking a wide u-turn and returning to them.

So, there you have it.  It's funny how Life can take turns that you least expect but as Elton John sings, "I'm still standing".

2015 - Welcome to the Year of Cinema!

Greetings and fare thee well to 2014:

For me, 2014 was not a year filled with great moments but it was not entirely insufferable either.

I continue to adjust to my current home in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I have yet to really feel at home here but I continue to enjoy blessings and relative good health...so it ain't all bad.

I wish I could do more of the things I used to do in my old life back in Houston, but maybe with time and good fortune I will be able to restore some of the old fun back into my new life.

This new year brings with it a host of great movies!  I am super excited about some of the great genre offerings coming to a theater near me.

I am particularly jazzed about the following:

Furious 7 - April 2015

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron - May 2015

Star Wars - May 2015

Ant Man - June 2015


SPECTRE (The new James Bond film) - November 2015

Beyond those great moments of celluloid (actually more likely digital) joy, I hope to be able to make another trip to Brasil (my first in four years) and attend the wedding of my cousin, Telmo.  So 2015 looks to be a busy and entertaining year.

Seeya 2014, don't let the calendar hit you on the way out!

George B.

50 Years and Counting....

Greetings,

Bond is Back!  On November 9, 2012 (at least here in the USA) the new James Bond film, SKYFALL, opens and you know I will be there...probably first on line.  This year the cinema Jame Bond turns fifty with a current (official) total of 23 feature films; Beginning with Dr. No and running up to the new entry, Skyfall.

The New James Bond Film - Skyfall

Six men have played the movie incarnation of the world's best known secret agent - Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and now, Daniel Craig.

I was six years old when the first James Bond film, DR. NO, hit the screens in 1962 and though I wasn't able to go see it at the time (something about it being too adult for a six year old), I did see the very next one, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, the following year.  Later that same year I finally caught a double-feature of Dr. No and Russia so I was up-to-date with secret agent 007.  As a youth, I had no end of hero-worship for Sean Connery and I wanted so much to be like his alter-ego James Bond.  I had all the 007 toys one could imagine and regularly fantasized about being an international man of mystery with a licence to kill.

Even today, when I travel abroad, I think of myself as being a Bondian type character exploring exotic places, meeting exotic women and drinking exotic drinks.  Of course, the truth of my travels is far less exciting than any 007 adventure but one can always hope for the odd moment of excitement or romance where, for a brief time, you leave behind the mundane and cross into the realm of the fantastic.

So, a new James Bond movie hits the screen and early reviews indicate that it is a super exciting and fun ride.  I will no doubt see it numerous times and while I am still not completely on board with Daniel Craig as James Bond (still miss Pierce Brosnan), I am getting more comfortable with his take on the character and as he has signed for two more 007 films...I guess I will finally accept him as Bond, James Bond.

Assembled for One Final Time!

Greetings,

This weekend (May 5 & 6 2012) will be my last full weekend in Houston, Texas.  And it seems appropriate that this final Houston weekend would be the one in which I have my last Houston Movie Party.

I have been holding "Movie Parties" since 1975 with the first movie being "Jaws".  Since that impromptu gathering of college friends, I have had a movie party every year since.  Somewhere, in some long-lost word-processing file, I have a list of all the films that were the centerpieces of those annual parties...not having that list before me, all I can say is that it is long and covers almost every type of movie you can imagine.  Some of the titles that come to mind are, "The Empire Strikes Back", "Goldeneye", "Superman II", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Poltergeist", "The Rocketeer", "Lady Hawke", "Spiderman", "Captain America: The First Avenger" and many, many more.

This weekend I am getting together a few very close friends to see "The Avengers".  And while I know the movie will be a blast (reviews from last week's London open are fantastic!) the best part of these few hours of movie party madness will be sharing time with my friends...and making memories that I will cherish for all the days of my life.

George B.

Old Dog, New Tricks?

I think it was John Lennon who said, "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans."  Well recently, "Life" happened to me and I am now in the midst of a major "life change".  It turns out that within the next 3 to 5 weeks I will be picking up from Houston, Texas and laying down roots in Raleigh, North Carolina.  At the age of 56 it seems that I am ill-prepared for unexpected seismic shifts in the tectonic plates of my existence but there is something strangely liberating about having to strike out and start anew...even at this age.

Friends and family are full of advice.  Some say to "take time off", others say to "write that novel" and still others offer no advice as such but do sympathize with me and are praying for me.  This outpouring of support and advice is much appreciated and somewhat motivating but the stark reality of the situation I find myself in is actually quite frightening.  Now it becomes a matter of taking this fear and turning it into a positive energy which can power me to the next phase of my life.

So for the next several weeks, as I wrap up the Houston phase of my life, I will be packing boxes...lots and lots of boxes.

GB

A Traveler's Heart

Greetings,

2012 is proceeding nicely...I suppose.  Seventeen days in and no major incidents to report, so I guess that's a good thing.

My own person guilty pleasure, American Idol, begins again in 1 day.  So for the next few months I will be glued to that biggest offspring of Reality TV.  I guess I could be putting my time towards something more enlightening...but whatcha gonna do?

As the year begins anew I start to think about exotic places to spend my vacation days.  I have been traveling to Brasil on a regular basis for the last 12 years.  I love Brasil!  The people, the food, the scenery...it is so sublime.

But now my Traveler's Heart is thinking of other places to quench the wanderlust which fills my soul. The Dominican Republic has always held an allure as do Thailand, China, and Russia. But I must be practical especially in these days of economic insecurity.  Perhaps I will confine myself to South America but this time take in the wonders of Argentina or Peru.

The problem with the World is that it is so damn big.  There is so much to see, so much to experience...one lifetime is not enough to satisfy my need to walk strange lands and commune with folk from cultures other than my own.

I wish that I had started my sorties out into the world at a much younger age...at least then I would have been able to cover a little more ground that I have thus far.

March is coming and all things being equal, I will have a week off to visit some special place.  Perhaps I will keep it closer to home...maybe go visit Mickey at the Magic Kingdom...or President Obama in Washington D.C.

Or maybe I will continue walking the familiar path and take another trip down to Rio de Janeiro.

A Traveler's Heart is a fickle thing...


George B.

Tales from the What?

Greetings,

Well, here it is January 1, 2012.  I have spent the early part of the day mentally preparing myself to return to work, that and writing "2012" in the year spot on my checks so I don't fudge them up when paying bills.

I had a few people ask me "why is your blog called 'Tales From The Clock'"?

The reason is simple (if only obvious to my own warped mind).  "Tales From The Clock"  is a short story collection I have been working on for some time.  "The Clock" is a time machine based in a future version of Waxahachie, Texas where once we had a super-conducting super-collider...my stories (or Tales) are about "Clock Watchers" who are scientists that travel back in Time to view historic events and all too often get wrapped up in those events for better or worse.

At present, I have about seven stories completed in the collection with a novella entitled "The Christ Candidate" leading the set.  Someday, if I am fortunate, I will publish those stories either on the Web or through a more traditional pathway.

So, now you know..."The Clock", which this blog is titled after, is a Time Machine and in the context of this venue it is the forward, backward and sideways ramblings of yours truly.

George B.