Catholics ARE Christians. They Really, Really Are!

Since living below the Mason/Dixon Line for the past thirty some-odd years, I’ve had the unfortunate occurrences of having to deal with certain forms of closed-mindedness due to being a practicing Catholic. And so with this blog entry, let me take a little of this cyberspace to sorta clear the air with some of those areas found to stem from these preconceptions.

To begin, Catholics ARE Christians. We really are! We believe in Christ and that he died on the cross for our sins. That He is the Son of God and was placed before us to convey God’s teachings and messages.

Second, just because characters in movies such as The Godfather trilogy or television programs like The Sopranos makes it look as though Catholics believe that you can go out and whack somebody then go to church and receive all kinds of forgiveness… that is FAR from the truth. Like all Christians, Catholics know that they’ll all have to answer for their actions, and that by going to Mass isn’t going to change anything.

Third, just because there is a statue of Mary in front of a church, it doesn’t mean that that is where Catholics go to worship Mary. And yes, I’ve had people mention that to me as well. The reason for the statues is not that we worship statues, but that the early Church used them as a way to help people pray who might feel better ‘looking’ at someone. That’s all.

As for confession and telling a Priest your sins? Though the old Church tried to keep the Priest in a higher regard, all of that has changed. By telling the Priest the bad things you’ve done, it was pretty much like getting something off ones chest – knowing it would be confidential while hoping for some type of peace from repentance. With some denominations, it’s not uncommon for those who have sinned to stand before the entire congregation and share everything they had done. Well, no thank you! To me that would just be giving material for others to gossip about. Of course who I am to judge. That’s just me.

Fifth, some believe that we worship the Pope. Uh, no! The Pope is the main, go-to guy when issues concerning the Catholic Church come about. However, if the Pope told all Catholics to jump off a bridge, I doubt you will see the multitudes lining up on its edges.   

Oh, and just to share? While dating a girl a few years back, I invited her to join me at Mass (a church service). And though the girl was very receptive to the thought, her aunt wasn’t. In fact, due to me being Catholic, this woman honestly believed that ALL Catholics, including myself, worshiped the Pope.  Seriously!  So to add some fire to her false perception, on the way back from church I told the girl to tell her aunt, that in the middle of the service, a large banner with the Pope’s image fell from the ceiling and then everyone prostrated themselves before it. Needless to say, after sharing with her aunt this tidbit of funny, she quickly pulled out the King James Version and tried to ‘save’ me. God bless her soul.  

Anyway… I know there are many other misconceptions of what Catholicism is all about. And though those mentioned above are just a few of the areas needing clarification, at least these have been addressed. And no, I am by far any kind of theologian –just a lowly ‘cradle Catholic’.

Oh, and other points worth mentioning: We don’t believe that only Catholics are going to Heaven. We respect other denominations and races - because who is REALLY able to judge others than The Man Upstairs? Right? The Catholic Church doors are NEVER locked – unless in maybe crime-infested areas - which makes one wonder with other churches - ‘Would God REALLY lock anyone out of His house? And one other thing…did you know that there are church services EVERYDAY – and not just on Wednesday and Sunday? Anyway, just to share.

Of course the Catholic Church isn’t perfect… far from it. But this is also true with other denominations. And what has been done by a few within its ranks doesn’t define the Church as a whole – and if you think that I’m gonna address any of those issues, well forget it. This post was mainly to shed some light on some misconceptions – harmless misconceptions by some strong-faith, church-going, well-meaning folks, who may have not known better. 

So just a heads up to those below the Mason/Dixon Line who might believe otherwise – Catholics ARE Christians. They really, really are!

When Opportunity Knocks, Open The Frickin' Door!

You know that moment when we’ve either seen a new product or have maybe noticed a new business idea and hit our heads with our hand and stated, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ Yep, we’ve all been there haven’t we? And though some of those concepts might not be worth the price tag they were attached to, there were those that truly were innovative and honest moneymakers.

Last Thursday’s blog entry I addressed one of those types of ideas that if done right, could become not only a financial windfall, but easily make those ‘outside the loop’ to smack themselves across the forehead in regret. And since it was mentioned in the lower portion of that days posting, I felt a need to share with all this full vision of a GREAT, and profitable idea.

I’m talking about The Indie Store!

Now don’t close your browsers just yet, folks. Let me share exactly what it is that I’m talking about.

Presently there are over 500,000 new indie books offered to the masses every month. That’s one heck of a lot of books to be seen by the average reader. An overwhelming amount! And quite honestly, most will never have the chance to really take off since most readers would never have a clue of their existence. And that’s a shame. Enter The Indie Store!

Presently an indie author can only have book signings in select locations, since the larger booksellers are understandably unwilling to host due to having to order print-on-demand books for their patrons. A cost the booksellers don’t want to ‘eat’ if all the books don’t sell. This makes it extremely difficult for authors to not only get face-to-face with the public, but also give the public a chance to fall in love with upcoming authors. Enter The Indie Store!

So, what IS The Indie Store? Good question and glad you asked.

The Indie Store would be a chain of stores that catered solely to independent authors, composers, bands, etc.? The financial structure would be based off the same principles as a consignment establishment, with the store first receiving an initial fee and then a small percentage off each sale after that. As for the stock, the books/CDs/or whatever would then be shipped by the creators themselves from the print-on-demand or other houses – making the cost per item extremely inexpensive. The stock would include the top tier sellers (either rated by local patrons or general national interest), some mid-range sellers, definitely ALL local artists, and then new releases. There would also be computers available for eBook information.

During the day, the stores would host a multitude of book signings and be a social gathering/reading/coffee/lounging type of environment. There would also be a side room to host book launching events. As for the evening, well that’s when the stores would come alive by spotlighting songwriters, local bands, etc. (laid back music throughout the week and then the other styles during the weekend.) 

The stores would be located in large metropolitan areas, as well as university and college towns. By placing the stores in those locations, both the indie authors and musicians would be given the best possible coverage to listeners and readers.

So… that’s pretty much the gist of it - The Indie Store - the great middle ground between the large booksellers and the trunk of cars. All that’s needed now are some interested parties who want to be a part of this exciting opportunity; this future of indie publishing.

Drop me a line at tljbryant@aol.com and don’t miss out on this. I would love to hear your feedback. And keep this in mind … when opportunity knocks, OPEN THE FRICKIN’ DOOR!

Sometimes Out Of Nothing, Comes Something!

As I sat in front of the computer watching the annoying blinking from a cursor that anxiously waited for me to begin, I realized in reality that I had nothing. Nada. Zilch. Not even a HINT of viable possibilities to incorporate into this Thursdays blog entry. Oh, such is the life of a writer. Sometimes it comes; sometimes it doesn’t.

In an effort to distance myself from freaking out too much – due to an earlier promise of providing the masses with TWO posts a week – I decided to get up from my desk and grab one of the multitude cups of coffee I’m accustomed to drinking every day. A practice that would also give me an opportunity to check my phone for any emails or messages. Now, in the past I really wouldn’t have been that interested in any communication received, but I had recently been trying to line up some out-of-town book signings – so I made more of an effort than usual to stay on top of incoming emails and such.

Well, amid the emails focusing on erectile dysfunction, Russian escort services, weight loss systems, free credit scores, coupons, female hygiene, slow computers, and an assortment of dating sites, there it was – an email from one of the major booksellers in response to possibly hosting a book signing in that area. And so, with a sense of its contents being that of good news, I eagerly opened it.

However, that wasn’t the case.

You see, due to my books being print-on-demand, and not published by a ‘regular’ publishing house, that particular bookseller – as probably are others – declined my offer. Why? Well it seemed that due to previous signings done by other indie authors, they have had to financially ‘eat’ any remaining copies (and by that I mean, those books that the bookstore pre-ordered but didn’t sell during the signing).

Now folks, I TOTALLY understand where the booksellers are coming from. I really do! It’s just unfortunate that the above scenario happens to be the case with pretty much all indie artists trying to sell their wares this day and age. And though some avenues ARE available, needless to say, those are extremely crowded – and that’s not going to be changing any time soon.

Then that’s when it hit me! Why not the creation of a chain of stores that catered solely to independent authors, composers, bands, etc.? The financial structure would be based off the same principles as a consignment establishment, with the store first receiving an initial fee and then a small percentage off each sale after that. As for the stock, the books/CDs/or whatever would then be shipped by the creators themselves from the print-on-demand or other houses – making the cost per item extremely inexpensive. The stock would include the top tier sellers (either rated by local patrons or general national interest), some mid-range sellers, definitely ALL local artists, and then new releases. There would also be computers available for ebook information.

During the day, the stores would host a multitude of book signings and be a social gathering/reading/coffee/lounging type of environment. There would also be a side room to host book launching events. As for the evening? Well, that’s when the store would come alive by spotlighting songwriters, local bands, etc. (laid back music throughout the week and then the other styles during the weekend.)  

Okay… I’m gonna stop. I’m getting WAY too excited thinking about the possibilities! I mean, talk about a great opportunity and an important, much needed avenue for all independent artists. No more selling books or cds from the trunk of a car, and finally a place where the public could actually discover new and exciting talent. Oh my gosh!

In closing,… well it looks like I penned a blog entry after all, huh? I guess it just goes to show that sometimes out of nothing, comes something.  Oh, and for anyone out there with dark thoughts? Sorry but the above idea/concept has now been protected. Cheers.

Failure Isn't A 'WE' Thing. Failure Is A ‘ME’ Thing!

We have all experienced it at one time or another. And if you don’t think that YOU have, then it’s time to get off your ego trip and stop at reality.

Be it work, relationships, family, goals, or even personal issues, there HAVE been times when you may have failed at whatever it was you were trying to achieve at the time. Maybe it was not making that sale; not completing something on time; breaking up with someone/leaving a marriage; not calling your parents enough (which is one of my major failures); or just trying to quit a vice like smoking (another one of my failures). Situations like those are just the tip of the iceberg that makes us face failure every single day of our lives.

Of course nobody aims to fail – making that a goal in itself (unless maybe you are a parent playing a game with your child). We don’t start our days proclaiming to the world ‘Today I’m going to fall flat on my face!’ That’s just not how we’re made. For the most part, we all like to succeed in some way or the other – whether the urge had been handed down to us from our family or we’ve had to find it ourselves.  And I’m not talking monetarily successful either. Pretty much just trying to go through life without making any mistakes.

So, how’s the best way to deal with failure? Well, coming from someone who is just a layperson on the subject, I think the easy way out would be to, of course, blame it on either someone else or on an array of other factors. Hey, we’re all good at doing that… aren’t we? However, since we are all big boys and girls, probably the best way to face our failures would be to accept, correct, and then learn from each one. Just as you might take ownership for doing something good, then it would only be right to take ownership whenever doing something bad. Don’t cha think?

But don’t fret. Keep in mind that it’s the multitude of those failures that eventually made up who we are today. For whenever we failed in the past, we learned from them so that the next time a similar project or situation came along, we knew what worked and what didn’t. And I think that it’s also a very humble, yet smart person, who is willing to accept, address, and correct their flops – and not act like they never occurred or simply blamed them on others. And yes, it’s okay to admit to not being perfect because, I mean, we ARE only human, right?

In truth, the best thing about failure is what it leads to … success! Though we might seem to remember them the most, it’s those failures that make us effective. And it’s from those epic fails that have not only given us strength, but also wisdom and drive. 

I know… deep, huh? Well, personally I’ve recently been dealing with some pretty good-sized failures, so this subject is front-and-center in my train of thought. And yes, I know tomorrow will come with its share of more unfortunate bombs, but I also understand that from those will come a multitude of successes.

And so own up to the failures around you and remember this:  No matter how much you would like to believe… failure isn’t a ‘WE’ thing. Failure is a ‘ME’ thing.

Man, I Hate Long Weekends!

Just to inform all my great followers ‘across the pond’, this past weekend The United States celebrated Labor Day – a National holiday that was established back in 1887 to celebrate the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. Many of you might also know this holiday as either Labour Day (Canada), as well as International Workers’ Day. But anyway… enough for the history lesson.

However, this entry has nothing to do with this particular holiday – which was a great idea at least on paper – it has more to do with honoring all holidays that make up three-day weekends - weekends that ALWAYS run from Saturday thru Monday.

Now don’t get me wrong. I really DO enjoy taking the time away from the office, but calendar events like those come with so many corollaries that they seem to make our day-to-day lives much more of a challenge. 

Hold on and don’t get your keyboards in an uproar, let me explain.

First, since coming back on a Tuesday, everybody has to start the week in ‘catch-up’ mode – raising his or her stress level just a bit more than usual. And you can easily see this during that mornings commute because it looks as if everyone is trying out for an upcoming NASCAR race.

Second, the workload has probably doubled when returning to work – since only a day was spent away from the office, that didn’t necessarily mean the workflow slowed down.

Third, the day back from a long weekend is pretty much like that when coming back from vacation – becoming the LONGEST DAY imagined.

And finally, God forbid if you are in sales! Whenever a long weekend comes around, trying to contact clients, get payments, settle orders, or attempt to get answers to important questions is pretty much a dream. This is because that most of these decision makers have decided to not only take the previous Friday off, but the rest of that next week as well! So… there goes your commission.

So, how would I structure three-day weekends? Well, how about if they ran from FRIDAY thru Sunday? Think about it! Nobody does very much work as it is on Friday and by late afternoon; everyone has already left for the day. And the commute issues? Well, driving like a stock car racer is pretty much the norm on Friday afternoons, isn’t it? So no change there.

Now as for the Labor Day long weekend? Well, instead of being given one day off, I would suggest that everyone be given a full WEEK off – I mean if the employers businesses wouldn’t suffer. But think about it! If everyone were able to take a full week, then not only vacations would be taken but it would also give folks not traveling a chance to take care of long ‘honey-do’ lists. And if we were to REALLY be patriotic and respectful to the American labor force, don’t you think it would be more deserving than offering just one day off? Hmmm?

However for now, as I sit in my cubicle dealing with a workload that is larger than the norm while also trying to accept that it’s actually one day and not another, I can’t help mumbling to myself, ‘Man, I hate long weekends!’