As you read my work you may notice a great dichotomy:
The struggle between 🤡 Bozo The Magic Weasel (The Romantic - influenced by Eros, governed by desire)
and 🧙🏻♂️ Roger T. Slug (The Stoic - influenced by Thanatos, governed by "the reality principle").
"I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch.
He said to me, 'You must not ask for so much.'
Then a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door.
She cried to me, 'Hey, why not ask for more?'"
Leonard Cohen (Bird On A Wire)
More of The Story:
Around 2005-2006 I started getting interested in the Omaha music scene.
My friend Nick Miller (Danny and The Moondogs, Moonshadow) had also migrated from Boone to Des Moines to Omaha,
and was playing in local cover bands (Drunken Intentions, Party Favor) so it was cover bands that I first started listening to.
In 2007 I started becoming more interested in original artists. Monica Eby, Scott Severin, Matt Whipkey, and Sarah Benck
were among my first favorites.
By 2008 I had become really involved in local music. For years I went to at least two or three shows a week, including the
Monday Night Song Show at Barley Street Tavern every week. This lasted until around 2013 when I started tapering off a bit.
I joined MySpace and SLAM Omaha (SLAM = Support Local Art and Music) in 2007, mostly to connect with local musicians.
In 2008 I replaced MySpace with Facebook, which has a much broader scope.
For many years I’ve had sort of a love/hate relationship with Facebook.
I’ve left it and returned again many times since 2013. Hopefully I left it for good in early 2020.
I closed down my Facebook poetry page and my "Moondog Radio" music video page in 2020.
When I heard in 2008 that MSN Groups would be closing down in 2009, I joined Multiply and Yuku.
I decided to make Multiply my “personal website” and migrated my songs, poems, short stories, and photos there.
I also posted a collection of my grandmother's poetry there.
I decided to make Yuku my “archive site” and archived my philosophical, religious, and political discussions, etc.
from MSN Groups there.
In 2009 I joined AuthorsDen and posted some of my songs and poems there. At different times I’ve removed and
reposted my poetry there.
In 2010 I started a new (mostly philosophy) group on Yuku to replace my MSN Group “Lives of Quiet Desperation”.
It didn’t last long.
In 2012 I learned that Multiply was closing down, so I decided to make Yuku my "personal website" and migrated
all of my songs and poems, etc. there.
Over the next few years I put a lot of effort into perfecting my Yuku "website", trying to make it a reflection of who I was.
Throughout 2016, my first year as a recluse, I maintained a very personal blog on Yuku called "L'Histoire de L'Homme Solitaire"
where I expressed my innermost feelings. I don't know if anyone read it.
In 2017 I learned that Yuku was going to be converted to Tapatalk, so I created a Google+ community and migrated
my songs and poems there.
As I’d expected, when Yuku was converted to Tapatalk my “website” was a shambles, so I closed it to the public and made it
my “private archive”.
In 2019 I learned that Google+ was closing down, so I decided to make AuthorsDen my new “personal website” and to migrate
my songs and poems and a few of my philosophical essays there. So far, I’m pretty happy with it.
I've been working on making it nearly as comprehensive and unusual as my Yuku "website" was.
I intend for it to be my legacy - the place to go, after I'm gone, for anyone who might wish to know me.
In April 2008 I read my poetry in front of an audience for the first time at the Barley Street Tavern Monday Night Song Show.
In July I recited a couple of my poems at Mick’s Music and Bar.
I’ve read my poetry at the Barley Steet Song Show a few more times since then. Once I also played a medley of piano pieces I’d written.
In 2010 some of my poems and one of my short stories were printed in a local publication called "Found In Benson".
In 2011 I belonged to a weekly poetry group called Provoke Poetry that met at the Benson Grind, and read my poetry there.
In 2012 a Spanish love poem I'd written for my wife was included in a chapbook published by a Lincoln poetry group.
In 2013 I read a few of my poems at Big Al’s annual music festival.
My last time on stage was in December 2015 at the Brad Hoshaw Tribute Night at Barley Street Tavern.
I presented a mash-up of two of Brad’s songs with guitar accompaniment.
In the summer of 2008 I bought a new set of drums and started a new band with Danny Hull and Nick Miller called
Danny and The Red Ball Jets. But we hardly ever got together because Danny lived in Des Moines and Nick and I lived in Omaha.
We had one informal outdoor show in Des Moines in September. Six people attended. Two of them were our wives.
In March 2009 Danny and I played a set at the Louis Bar open mic show. It went pretty well.
In September 2009 we had our first recording session with Mike Kronschnabel at the Moose Lodge Recording Studio in Omaha.
See my “Where Did Our Summer Go?” video for one of the songs from that recording session,
and photos of Danny and The Moondogs, Moonshadow, and Danny and The Red Ball Jets.
I used another song from that session (“Finally”) in my “Sans Rêves” video.
Sometime afterward I was kicked out of the band because they misunderstood something I had posted on Facebook.
It started as an honest misunderstanding anyway. They simply jumped to incorrect conclusions. But then Dan,
who can't ever admit being wrong about anything, got angry and began to deliberately distort everything I said,
just to prove himself right. Ending a friendship was a small price to pay to avoid admitting he'd made a mistake.
The band changed their name to Monona and Coolwhite, and when the CD was released my drum parts had been replaced.
I still feel bitter about it and I’m no longer on speaking terms with either of them. There will be no reconciliation.
I started working for Ameritas Life Insurance in Lincoln Nebraska in October 2008.
I commuted there until I retired in July 2018.
I lost both of my parents in 2009, my mother in January and my father in December.
Go to "Things I've Written - Part 3" for "The Rest of The Story".
📘 The Story of My Life
My AuthorsDen website began as a simple collection of my songs, poems, short stories, and essays,
but I've gradually transformed it into a NON-LINEAR BOOK which is a combination of autobiography
and commentary on human nature. Influenced by William Faulkner's "The Sound And The Fury" and
"Choose Your Own Adventure" books, I decided to try to create something new and make my story
both non-chronological (like "The Sound And The Fury") and non-linear (unlike typical physical books).
I did this by making each of my songs, poems, stories, etc. a chapter of my story, and connecting them
by making each chapter contain links to several other chapters (giving the reader multiple choices),
so if you follow the links from chapter to chapter, you will find there are numerous paths from the
beginning to the end of the story. (Some paths and chapters are easier to find than others.) Though
there are many paths, there is a definite beginning to my story (my AuthorsDen front page) and a
definite ending. You would probably recognize the end if you found it, but whether you understood it
or not could depend on which path you took and how well you understood the various chapters along
the way. (My commentaries in the review sections of my pages are an important part of the story.
They explain a lot. The videos at the bottom of the pages are often helpful as well.)
"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
"Unfortunately, in this world, most people measure art by its popularity,
and even more unfortunately, many measure it by how much money it makes.
In our culture, money is the measure of everything.
In my whole life, I have never made art for money. I worked to make money.
I always made art for the sake of making art. And because I never wrote for
the purpose of making money, I didn't worry that much about pleasing others.
I wrote what I felt like writing, and said what I wanted to say, always hoping though
there might be others in the world like me who would understand and appreciate it.
My book is here for anyone in the world to read, and it costs you nothing."
Mark A. Sebring (L'Homme Solitaire)
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
The struggle between 🤡 Bozo The Magic Weasel (The Romantic - influenced by Eros, governed by desire)
and 🧙🏻♂️ Roger T. Slug (The Stoic - influenced by Thanatos, governed by "the reality principle").
"I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch.
He said to me, 'You must not ask for so much.'
Then a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door.
She cried to me, 'Hey, why not ask for more?'"
Leonard Cohen (Bird On A Wire)
More of The Story:
Around 2005-2006 I started getting interested in the Omaha music scene.
My friend Nick Miller (Danny and The Moondogs, Moonshadow) had also migrated from Boone to Des Moines to Omaha,
and was playing in local cover bands (Drunken Intentions, Party Favor) so it was cover bands that I first started listening to.
In 2007 I started becoming more interested in original artists. Monica Eby, Scott Severin, Matt Whipkey, and Sarah Benck
were among my first favorites.
By 2008 I had become really involved in local music. For years I went to at least two or three shows a week, including the
Monday Night Song Show at Barley Street Tavern every week. This lasted until around 2013 when I started tapering off a bit.
I joined MySpace and SLAM Omaha (SLAM = Support Local Art and Music) in 2007, mostly to connect with local musicians.
In 2008 I replaced MySpace with Facebook, which has a much broader scope.
For many years I’ve had sort of a love/hate relationship with Facebook.
I’ve left it and returned again many times since 2013. Hopefully I left it for good in early 2020.
I closed down my Facebook poetry page and my "Moondog Radio" music video page in 2020.
When I heard in 2008 that MSN Groups would be closing down in 2009, I joined Multiply and Yuku.
I decided to make Multiply my “personal website” and migrated my songs, poems, short stories, and photos there.
I also posted a collection of my grandmother's poetry there.
I decided to make Yuku my “archive site” and archived my philosophical, religious, and political discussions, etc.
from MSN Groups there.
In 2009 I joined AuthorsDen and posted some of my songs and poems there. At different times I’ve removed and
reposted my poetry there.
In 2010 I started a new (mostly philosophy) group on Yuku to replace my MSN Group “Lives of Quiet Desperation”.
It didn’t last long.
In 2012 I learned that Multiply was closing down, so I decided to make Yuku my "personal website" and migrated
all of my songs and poems, etc. there.
Over the next few years I put a lot of effort into perfecting my Yuku "website", trying to make it a reflection of who I was.
Throughout 2016, my first year as a recluse, I maintained a very personal blog on Yuku called "L'Histoire de L'Homme Solitaire"
where I expressed my innermost feelings. I don't know if anyone read it.
In 2017 I learned that Yuku was going to be converted to Tapatalk, so I created a Google+ community and migrated
my songs and poems there.
As I’d expected, when Yuku was converted to Tapatalk my “website” was a shambles, so I closed it to the public and made it
my “private archive”.
In 2019 I learned that Google+ was closing down, so I decided to make AuthorsDen my new “personal website” and to migrate
my songs and poems and a few of my philosophical essays there. So far, I’m pretty happy with it.
I've been working on making it nearly as comprehensive and unusual as my Yuku "website" was.
I intend for it to be my legacy - the place to go, after I'm gone, for anyone who might wish to know me.
In April 2008 I read my poetry in front of an audience for the first time at the Barley Street Tavern Monday Night Song Show.
In July I recited a couple of my poems at Mick’s Music and Bar.
I’ve read my poetry at the Barley Steet Song Show a few more times since then. Once I also played a medley of piano pieces I’d written.
In 2010 some of my poems and one of my short stories were printed in a local publication called "Found In Benson".
In 2011 I belonged to a weekly poetry group called Provoke Poetry that met at the Benson Grind, and read my poetry there.
In 2012 a Spanish love poem I'd written for my wife was included in a chapbook published by a Lincoln poetry group.
In 2013 I read a few of my poems at Big Al’s annual music festival.
My last time on stage was in December 2015 at the Brad Hoshaw Tribute Night at Barley Street Tavern.
I presented a mash-up of two of Brad’s songs with guitar accompaniment.
In the summer of 2008 I bought a new set of drums and started a new band with Danny Hull and Nick Miller called
Danny and The Red Ball Jets. But we hardly ever got together because Danny lived in Des Moines and Nick and I lived in Omaha.
We had one informal outdoor show in Des Moines in September. Six people attended. Two of them were our wives.
In March 2009 Danny and I played a set at the Louis Bar open mic show. It went pretty well.
In September 2009 we had our first recording session with Mike Kronschnabel at the Moose Lodge Recording Studio in Omaha.
See my “Where Did Our Summer Go?” video for one of the songs from that recording session,
and photos of Danny and The Moondogs, Moonshadow, and Danny and The Red Ball Jets.
I used another song from that session (“Finally”) in my “Sans Rêves” video.
Sometime afterward I was kicked out of the band because they misunderstood something I had posted on Facebook.
It started as an honest misunderstanding anyway. They simply jumped to incorrect conclusions. But then Dan,
who can't ever admit being wrong about anything, got angry and began to deliberately distort everything I said,
just to prove himself right. Ending a friendship was a small price to pay to avoid admitting he'd made a mistake.
The band changed their name to Monona and Coolwhite, and when the CD was released my drum parts had been replaced.
I still feel bitter about it and I’m no longer on speaking terms with either of them. There will be no reconciliation.
I started working for Ameritas Life Insurance in Lincoln Nebraska in October 2008.
I commuted there until I retired in July 2018.
I lost both of my parents in 2009, my mother in January and my father in December.
Go to "Things I've Written - Part 3" for "The Rest of The Story".
📘 The Story of My Life
My AuthorsDen website began as a simple collection of my songs, poems, short stories, and essays,
but I've gradually transformed it into a NON-LINEAR BOOK which is a combination of autobiography
and commentary on human nature. Influenced by William Faulkner's "The Sound And The Fury" and
"Choose Your Own Adventure" books, I decided to try to create something new and make my story
both non-chronological (like "The Sound And The Fury") and non-linear (unlike typical physical books).
I did this by making each of my songs, poems, stories, etc. a chapter of my story, and connecting them
by making each chapter contain links to several other chapters (giving the reader multiple choices),
so if you follow the links from chapter to chapter, you will find there are numerous paths from the
beginning to the end of the story. (Some paths and chapters are easier to find than others.) Though
there are many paths, there is a definite beginning to my story (my AuthorsDen front page) and a
definite ending. You would probably recognize the end if you found it, but whether you understood it
or not could depend on which path you took and how well you understood the various chapters along
the way. (My commentaries in the review sections of my pages are an important part of the story.
They explain a lot. The videos at the bottom of the pages are often helpful as well.)
"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
"Unfortunately, in this world, most people measure art by its popularity,
and even more unfortunately, many measure it by how much money it makes.
In our culture, money is the measure of everything.
In my whole life, I have never made art for money. I worked to make money.
I always made art for the sake of making art. And because I never wrote for
the purpose of making money, I didn't worry that much about pleasing others.
I wrote what I felt like writing, and said what I wanted to say, always hoping though
there might be others in the world like me who would understand and appreciate it.
My book is here for anyone in the world to read, and it costs you nothing."
Mark A. Sebring (L'Homme Solitaire)
Ron