I believe in the principles of government outlined in the American Declaration of Independence. I believe we should have the right to do anything which does not harm others or take away their rights. I don't belong to any political party and I don't agree with any of them 100%. I tend to agree with Libertarian ideals more than any other. I am a strong proponent of the separation of church and state and I'm generally opposed to increasing socialism. I don't trust the liberal media or the conservative media much. I distrust Religious Right media sources the most and believe they do the most harm. There are a lot of brainwashed people out there and they frighten me. Especially those who worship a raving lunatic and are fooled by his false claims. (To be clear: I have NO RESPECT for anyone who continues to support Donald Trump.) P.S. I am disgusted with Christian Nationalists who are trying to transform America into a fascist theocracy. I don't wish to associate with any of them.
🌎 MUNDUS SINE CAESARIBUS 👑
The Enthusiast:
I can talk almost endlessly about subjects I'm interested in: music, movies, literature, poetry, philosophy, psychology,
history, religion, politics. Unfortunately I know no one who enjoys discussing these things like I do. I had much better
luck on Google+ than on Facebook. It was more topical which made it easier to find people with similar interests.
I discussed movies in classic movie groups, shared poetry in poetry groups, shared music videos in music groups,
shared my photos in nature photography groups, and enjoyed those that were shared by others. On Facebook I was
usually ignored when I brought up things I was interested in, and I often offended people when I expressed my views
on religion and politics. It seemed like the only people who ever read my posts were rural, religious, and right-wing.
My Legacy (A House with Many Rooms):
This website has evolved into sort of an autobiography and commentary on the human condition, but it's a bit odd.
It's not organized in a linear sequence. Most pages contain links to other pages so it's more like a house with many
rooms, each connected to other rooms. And there are many different ways you can wander from room to room.
Some rooms are connected to many other rooms. Others aren't quite so easy to find. But there are certain rooms
that allow access to my works alphabetically (Articles, Poetry, Short Stories) or chronologically (Things I've Written).
"It's the strangest autobiography you could ever read, filled with amateur poetry and philosophy, taboo topics,
weird sermons, unpopular ideas, recurring themes, hidden messages, and pure nonsense." - Karma Bingers
"I can't imagine his stuff ever catching on. He's a non-conformist in a time of trendiness,
and much of it is too difficult for modern readers to understand." - Kimber Garns
"Some people might call it dark, but I'd say it's just real. Perhaps too real for a lot of people." - Bram K. Singer
"Well, I think he's a dirty old man. And I don't like the things he says about God." - Marge Brinks
Reflections of a Hermit 🧙🏻♂️
I am not fooled by ancient myths.
I am not drawn to worldly delights.
Before I came, while I'm here, after I've gone:
The world is full of good things.
The world is full of bad things.
My presence makes little difference.
I accept my insignificance.
I'll spend the day with the one I love
and care little for anything else.
Mark Sebring (2015)
The Solitary Man:
I am a loner, a recluse, to a certain degree because I'm afraid of people.
I'm an unusual person, a misfit, who's afraid of rejection, afraid of being misunderstood.
And it sometimes bothers me that I'm not appreciated for who I am.
(I am an artist, but no one seems to recognize me as one.
I have something to say, but no one is interested.)
I became a Stoic because it was necessary, the only way to cope with things as they are.
As I've grown older I've struggled with desire and despair, but my Stoicism
has helped me to recognize that I already have what I want most.
Now that 2021 has finally arrived, I have committed myself even more to a
life of Stoicism and seclusion. I have my wife, children, and grandchildren,
the great outdoors, and my large collections of music, movies, and books.
Dreams die. Life goes on.
I accept things as they are.
Love, is the one dream that matters.
But the heart, it wants what it wants.
The Solitary Man must walk alone.
Τέλος
Swan Song (The Last of the Poet Recluse)
So many words I have wasted over the years.
So many vain attempts to uncover the truth.
So many clever clues, clandestine revelations.
How many misunderstood intentions
and apparently contrary positions,
the result of misguided misdirection?
But then, when finally I comprehended
what all of it was about:
It no longer mattered that no one was listening,
that no one understood, no one had cared.
Because, I realized: It was too private to share.
No one else could possibly understand
even if I wanted them to.
Did I really expect them to?
Vita pergit. (Life goes on.)
Accipio res ut sunt. (I accept things as they are.)
The Solitary Man must walk alone.
Alone, but not completely alone. Not entirely.
For I have Love, that one dream that matters.
The only dream that matters to me.
More important than pleasure.
(Despite desire’s insistence.)
As essential as intimacy.
Almost as crucial as Truth.
I shall spend my life with the one I love
and care little for anything else.
Mark Sebring (Τελικό, 2022)
I now have an AuthorsDen page for my final poem, "Swan Song".🦢
It contains lots of commentary and links, AND a hidden message.❔
(The commentary and links are important.◀)
🎭 There is no mask. Only a riddle.❓
A mask 🎭 is intended simply to conceal.
A riddle ❓, to selectively reveal: 🧩
The Two Sides of Me: 🤡 | 🧙🏻♂️ (I gave them names for poetic purposes.)
🤡 = Bozo The Magic Weasel, The Romantic (governed by The Id): "The Heart Wants!"
🧙🏻♂️ = Roger T. Slug, The Stoic (governed by Ego): "Life goes on. Accept things as they are."
From Leonard Cohen's "Bird On A Wire":
🧙🏻♂️ = The beggar leaning on his wooden crutch (The Stoic): "You must not ask for so much."
🤡 = The pretty woman in her darkened door (The Romantic): "Hey! Why not ask for more?"
🧙🏻♂️🚶🏻♂️ Roger T. Slug eventually becomes "L'Homme Solitaire" (The Solitary Man):
🧙🏻♂️ = L'Homme Solitaire, The Hermit, The Solitary Man (🚶🏻♂️ = "The Solitary Man walks alone.")
🦢 = Swan Song, The Last Time, Never Again... 😞 = Nostalgia... 🦋 = Despair, Death...💀
⭕🎸🤩 = Omaha Music Scene (🚩 = Nebraska)
🌕🐕📻 = Moondog Radio (my Spotify playlist collection)
🎵📺❗ = Music Videos Galore!!! (my YouTube Channel)
NOTE: My AuthorsDen pages are better viewed on a PC 💻 than on a "smart" phone.
🧩Phys ys e cyntra codcpypopyum sithal Y ymwampab phep ettaels pu da cunaphymj arca.
Err iuo hewa pu bu ys nanulyxa pvarwa teyls uf rappals phep codcpypopa ful aesh uphal,
emd pha fesp phep c emb s ep pha amb uf e vulb ela mup codcpypopab. Pha erpalmepymj
rappals vala shucam pu neqa nucp sithalab pazp tlumuomsaedra, cu phep yp ettaels pu da
em omybampyfyedra fulayjm remjoeja ymcpaeb uf e cyntra sithal. (Y jup pha ybae uf pha
omybampyfyedra fulayjm remjoeja flun Tua's "Pha Nolbals ym pha Loa Nuljoa".)
FINITO (finalmente)
Eventually there comes a time to put down the pen. 🦢
(The only part of this website I plan to continue updating is the "Currently reading"
section at the bottom of the commentary for my article "Poetry".)
But you can find more recent things I've posted in my YouTube Community.
The end of my story is there. (Roger won, but Bozo's not gone.)
▶ If you are looking for my YouTube Community,
YouTube has renamed their "Community" tab to "Posts".
(You can post Comments in my YouTube Community. Let me know if you've
discovered how to read my hidden messages or translate my cryptic language.)
Yes, the strange story that I spent so much time telling here in my AuthorsDen website
is finally finished. It was mostly about Inner Conflict (Id vs. Ego, Love vs. Desire) and the
difficulty of dealing with Desire and Nostalgia. There is a lot of dark stuff in it that might
upset people. Things that people may find hard to understand or accept. But, other than
the part about our country being destroyed by a fascist regime, my story has a happy
ending. This is because I eventually truly realized what I had previously only recognized:
That Love is the one dream that matters. Love is more important than Desire. 🧙♂️
It is important to note that in the end, in order to find happiness,
it was my own attitudes, my own priorities, that I had to change.
I am that beggar with the wooden crutch.
I say, "You must not ask for so much."
A path to apatheia: Accept things as they are.
Realize "Love is the one dream that matters."
🧙♂️ L'Homme Solitaire
Η επιδίωξη της απάθεια:
Accipere res ut sunt. 🧙♂️
L'amour est le seul rêve qui compte.
One Dream That Matters
There is one dream that matters,
only one meaningful thing,
one hope that I live for,
one desire that I need.
Because of you,
my life is worth living.
Because of you,
my heart knows of joy.
You show me that love is true.
The best part of being is being with you.
The story of Ron Hull, paralyzed in a surgical accident back in the dreaded polio epidemic days, was able to overcome most of the stigma and stereotypes and "pass for normal" for 30 years. As Ron's paralysis increased gradually through the next 20
The experience of a young adult trying to figure out what they want to do for employment or education can be overwhelming. My book will give them insight to what it means to be a carpenter. And the progress unions have made in discrimination.
Get
This book is a collection of short stories that depict events in Author's life while she lived in Romania, then in Greece, and last in America. It's a beautiful and very sincere account of a young woman's life and comming to age.
I can talk almost endlessly about subjects I'm interested in: music, movies, literature, poetry, philosophy, psychology,
history, religion, politics. Unfortunately I know no one who enjoys discussing these things like I do. I had much better
luck on Google+ than on Facebook. It was more topical which made it easier to find people with similar interests.
I discussed movies in classic movie groups, shared poetry in poetry groups, shared music videos in music groups,
shared my photos in nature photography groups, and enjoyed those that were shared by others. On Facebook I was
usually ignored when I brought up things I was interested in, and I often offended people when I expressed my views
on religion and politics. It seemed like the only people who ever read my posts were rural, religious, and right-wing.
My Legacy (A House with Many Rooms):
This website has evolved into sort of an autobiography and commentary on the human condition, but it's a bit odd.
It's not organized in a linear sequence. Most pages contain links to other pages so it's more like a house with many
rooms, each connected to other rooms. And there are many different ways you can wander from room to room.
Some rooms are connected to many other rooms. Others aren't quite so easy to find. But there are certain rooms
that allow access to my works alphabetically (Articles, Poetry, Short Stories) or chronologically (Things I've Written).
"It's the strangest autobiography you could ever read, filled with amateur poetry and philosophy, taboo topics,
weird sermons, unpopular ideas, recurring themes, hidden messages, and pure nonsense." - Karma Bingers
"I can't imagine his stuff ever catching on. He's a non-conformist in a time of trendiness,
and much of it is too difficult for modern readers to understand." - Kimber Garns
"Some people might call it dark, but I'd say it's just real. Perhaps too real for a lot of people." - Bram K. Singer
"Well, I think he's a dirty old man. And I don't like the things he says about God." - Marge Brinks
Reflections of a Hermit 🧙🏻♂️
I am not fooled by ancient myths.
I am not drawn to worldly delights.
Before I came, while I'm here, after I've gone:
The world is full of good things.
The world is full of bad things.
My presence makes little difference.
I accept my insignificance.
I'll spend the day with the one I love
and care little for anything else.
Mark Sebring (2015)
The Solitary Man:
I am a loner, a recluse, to a certain degree because I'm afraid of people.
I'm an unusual person, a misfit, who's afraid of rejection, afraid of being misunderstood.
And it sometimes bothers me that I'm not appreciated for who I am.
(I am an artist, but no one seems to recognize me as one.
I have something to say, but no one is interested.)
I became a Stoic because it was necessary, the only way to cope with things as they are.
As I've grown older I've struggled with desire and despair, but my Stoicism
has helped me to recognize that I already have what I want most.
Now that 2021 has finally arrived, I have committed myself even more to a
life of Stoicism and seclusion. I have my wife, children, and grandchildren,
the great outdoors, and my large collections of music, movies, and books.
Dreams die. Life goes on.
I accept things as they are.
Love, is the one dream that matters.
But the heart, it wants what it wants.
The Solitary Man must walk alone.
Τέλος
Swan Song (The Last of the Poet Recluse)
So many words I have wasted over the years.
So many vain attempts to uncover the truth.
So many clever clues, clandestine revelations.
How many misunderstood intentions
and apparently contrary positions,
the result of misguided misdirection?
But then, when finally I comprehended
what all of it was about:
It no longer mattered that no one was listening,
that no one understood, no one had cared.
Because, I realized: It was too private to share.
No one else could possibly understand
even if I wanted them to.
Did I really expect them to?
Vita pergit. (Life goes on.)
Accipio res ut sunt. (I accept things as they are.)
The Solitary Man must walk alone.
Alone, but not completely alone. Not entirely.
For I have Love, that one dream that matters.
The only dream that matters to me.
More important than pleasure.
(Despite desire’s insistence.)
As essential as intimacy.
Almost as crucial as Truth.
I shall spend my life with the one I love
and care little for anything else.
Mark Sebring (Τελικό, 2022)
I now have an AuthorsDen page for my final poem, "Swan Song".🦢
It contains lots of commentary and links, AND a hidden message.❔
(The commentary and links are important.◀)
🎭 There is no mask. Only a riddle.❓
A mask 🎭 is intended simply to conceal.
A riddle ❓, to selectively reveal: 🧩
The Two Sides of Me: 🤡 | 🧙🏻♂️ (I gave them names for poetic purposes.)
🤡 = Bozo The Magic Weasel, The Romantic (governed by The Id): "The Heart Wants!"
🧙🏻♂️ = Roger T. Slug, The Stoic (governed by Ego): "Life goes on. Accept things as they are."
From Leonard Cohen's "Bird On A Wire":
🧙🏻♂️ = The beggar leaning on his wooden crutch (The Stoic): "You must not ask for so much."
🤡 = The pretty woman in her darkened door (The Romantic): "Hey! Why not ask for more?"
🧙🏻♂️🚶🏻♂️ Roger T. Slug eventually becomes "L'Homme Solitaire" (The Solitary Man):
🧙🏻♂️ = L'Homme Solitaire, The Hermit, The Solitary Man (🚶🏻♂️ = "The Solitary Man walks alone.")
🦢 = Swan Song, The Last Time, Never Again... 😞 = Nostalgia... 🦋 = Despair, Death...💀
⭕🎸🤩 = Omaha Music Scene (🚩 = Nebraska)
🌕🐕📻 = Moondog Radio (my Spotify playlist collection)
🎵📺❗ = Music Videos Galore!!! (my YouTube Channel)
NOTE: My AuthorsDen pages are better viewed on a PC 💻 than on a "smart" phone.
🧩Phys ys e cyntra codcpypopyum sithal Y ymwampab phep ettaels pu da cunaphymj arca.
Err iuo hewa pu bu ys nanulyxa pvarwa teyls uf rappals phep codcpypopa ful aesh uphal,
emd pha fesp phep c emb s ep pha amb uf e vulb ela mup codcpypopab. Pha erpalmepymj
rappals vala shucam pu neqa nucp sithalab pazp tlumuomsaedra, cu phep yp ettaels pu da
em omybampyfyedra fulayjm remjoeja ymcpaeb uf e cyntra sithal. (Y jup pha ybae uf pha
omybampyfyedra fulayjm remjoeja flun Tua's "Pha Nolbals ym pha Loa Nuljoa".)
FINITO (finalmente)
Eventually there comes a time to put down the pen. 🦢
(The only part of this website I plan to continue updating is the "Currently reading"
section at the bottom of the commentary for my article "Poetry".)
But you can find more recent things I've posted in my YouTube Community.
The end of my story is there. (Roger won, but Bozo's not gone.)
▶ If you are looking for my YouTube Community,
YouTube has renamed their "Community" tab to "Posts".
(You can post Comments in my YouTube Community. Let me know if you've
discovered how to read my hidden messages or translate my cryptic language.)
Yes, the strange story that I spent so much time telling here in my AuthorsDen website
is finally finished. It was mostly about Inner Conflict (Id vs. Ego, Love vs. Desire) and the
difficulty of dealing with Desire and Nostalgia. There is a lot of dark stuff in it that might
upset people. Things that people may find hard to understand or accept. But, other than
the part about our country being destroyed by a fascist regime, my story has a happy
ending. This is because I eventually truly realized what I had previously only recognized:
That Love is the one dream that matters. Love is more important than Desire. 🧙♂️
It is important to note that in the end, in order to find happiness,
it was my own attitudes, my own priorities, that I had to change.
I am that beggar with the wooden crutch.
I say, "You must not ask for so much."
A path to apatheia: Accept things as they are.
Realize "Love is the one dream that matters."
🧙♂️ L'Homme Solitaire
Η επιδίωξη της απάθεια:
Accipere res ut sunt. 🧙♂️
L'amour est le seul rêve qui compte.
One Dream That Matters
There is one dream that matters,
only one meaningful thing,
one hope that I live for,
one desire that I need.
Because of you,
my life is worth living.
Because of you,
my heart knows of joy.
You show me that love is true.
The best part of being is being with you.
Mark Sebring (2012)