Personal Archives | Page 9 of 120

The REAL Tools of Change? People

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:May 3, 2013
Post category:Media Personal
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Yesterday's announcement that O'Reilly is retiring TOC came as a bit of a surprise at first, but in retrospect, it makes sense. Its focus on tools was a strength in the early days of the digital transition, but as the new shiny wore off, self-proclaimed "disruptors" faded away quietly, and viable business models came to light, it became clear that the tools of change that counted most were the people in the trenches, not the provocative pundits with plenty of ideas and little or no skin in the game.

Story Chairs, Pocket Poems, and the Fickle Flame of Inspiration

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:April 20, 2013
Post category:Personal
Post comments:4 Comments

Perhaps it's just the drama this week offered -- from the tragic and inspiring events in Boston, to some big things starting to shake loose at the day job -- combining with the unexpected introduction to some good poems, but I'm getting that feeling again, a tentative spark that danced unusually bright in my brain throughout my run this morning. It wasn't a full-fledged poem, just the beginnings of one, words and ideas tap-dancing to a vaguely familiar rhythm, a lucid dream that lasted for a couple of miles before threatening to fade if I didn't write them down. So I did, cheating my cooldown and stretching to get to the computer as fast as I could.

Don’t Stop Running

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:April 16, 2013
Post category:Personal
Post comments:4 Comments

The feeling of running across the finish line, whether it's a one-mile walk for charity or a local 10k, an Olympic sprint or the Boston Marathon, is supposed to be a special one. It's personal accomplishment mixed with exuberant community connection; an emotional high laced with varying degrees of physical exhaustion. It's not ever supposed to be a moment where death might lash out randomly. Where cowards make political statements. Where fear and suspicion take root.

Hate the Parents, Not the Video Games

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 14, 2013
Post category:Personal Pop Culture
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There are a wide variety of video games out there, and yes, some are extremely violent. Same goes for movies, TV shows, and even good, old-fashioned books. If you don't want your kids playing these games (or consuming any other similar media), be a responsible parent and deal with it, but don't go playing the blame game every time some senselessly violent act occurs too close to home, crying for government regulation.

Running into 2013

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 11, 2013
Post category:Personal
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Getting up at 5:30am to go running or do a cardio DVD slowly became, not just routine, but something I liked doing, and after completing that first Mudder in April, I really hit my stride, signing up for another in October, and adding a Warrior Dash event to the mix, too.

6Qs: Tobias Buckell, Traversing Publishing’s Diverse Fantastic

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 17, 2012
Post category:Media Personal
Post comments:3 Comments

In the beginning, when I was trying to sell my first novel, I had a weird experience of editors really wanting me to write, sort of magic realism set in the Caribbean, or about recent immigrants with a magical ability (I've had two editors actually give me that logline and ask if I'd be interested in writing that story, but it's just not there for me, I've got other stories still to tell). There was a strong sense that, hey, this is how you can be marketed as a Caribbean novelist.

Do the Right Thing: Postpone the NY Marathon

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:November 12, 2012
Post category:Personal
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During a week that's seen NJ Gov. Chris Christie step up the to plate and impress a lot of people who've had few reasons to say anything nice about him in the past, myself included, Bloomberg manages to follow up a shining moment of his own—a nuanced and rational endorsement of Obama—with a bone-headed decision to put business interests ahead of the well-being and safety of his constituents.