… He started feeling again like he was in some kind of fairy tale, where good was setting out to defeat evil. The furry edges of all the bustling silhouettes started glowing in the increasing light of a fierce bonfire as they neared their destination. The air was filled with the sounds of stomping feet in sand, grunts and panting, powerful ocean waves, the crackling of a huge fire, and the distant cawing of many crow-type birds. All the animal, jungle and beach smells were stunningly wild. The sky was almost dark overhead, where billions of watching stars had begun to twinkle. It was a night that would forever stretch, with its colorful events from the roots of history, up into the minds of the human race throughout all generations to come.
“Humanity presently finds itself in a state of important change — from its primitive, aggressive beginnings to a more loving, advanced expression of life. To do this, we must use a balance of force and self-sacrificing kindness to expel the brutal darkness in us, replacing it with the light of subtle, loving boundaries and interactions that make our lives together more blissful and spiritually productive.” … As he tucked each of them in like a loving grandfather, he touched them gently on top of their heads with his big hand. Oakee felt the spiritual, motherly energy that he often became aware of, rising now strongly up the center of his body and out of the top of his head like a river of soothing coolness. Then he slept.
Hi. It’s me again. Returning from the dead? Far from it, which you would know if you followed me on Facebook. 😉
When I first started blogging just over seven years ago, I was intensely gratified by the instant access to readers’ hearts and minds. Compared to conventional publishing it was a dream come true. Step up with me now to the EVEN GREATER WORLD of SOCIAL NETWORKING, where instant communication with an audience is taken to the next shining level. At least, that’s how it seems. Facebook and Twitter keep you front-stage on many people’s news-feeds, but there’s something about a blog that brings back the old feelings of leather-bound books, and … What’s a book? A book is a pile of papers stuck together on one edge, bound in a soft or hard cover, presenting worlds of nurturing information in a cozy old-fashioned way … Um, ah, a blog is a bit more like a book, although much more instant, where deeper thoughts and feelings can be laid out than on the social media freeways.
Anyway, I’m back, and glad to be here with you. It’s been a long break — over half-a-year — and you can still find me at edward.saugstad@facebook.com, but I intend to saunter back into this comfortable corner more often now.
This blog is not as cozy as a warm book, but in this fast motion world, I hope it will continue to provide you with a few moments here and there to catch your breath and feel your precious self.
Now, to prove that I’m really not dead, here’s a tiny bit of what I’ve been up to lately:
And I feel greatly honoured to know that over 108,000 times, fellow human beings have been drawn to the pages herein. (You in Italy who came here at 13:57 on June 3, let me know if you read this!)
You know the scene at the end of Back to the Future when the geeky dad is transformed into a cool dude, and the boxes of his new adventure novel are delivered to their home? … I feel a bit like that today!
stay tuned …
(official public release soon to be announced …)
Thousands of years ago, when cavemen still roamed the rest of the world, kingdoms and advanced technology thrived in the mysterious East. The oldest surviving story on Earth tells of a king who was forced to banish his beloved son to the wilderness. This noble heir to the throne is believed by some to have been a benevolent deity incarnated in human form, who came to teach mankind the highest qualities of selfless love. But our science could find no evidence of the fantastic events of that lost culture, when men and beasts spoke with each other and demons stole flying machines from the gods. There was no proof until a little boy from modern times stumbled back through the thick curtain of time, into the most thrilling period of prehistory, to participate in events that would shape the entire human race. At last, we know the truth….
In 1995 I was intending to buy a typewriter to start writing stories, but someone told me to get a computer instead, because you can delete your mistakes. They suggested I contact a mutual friend who had computer experience. It turned out (happily!) that he was one of the relatively few Mac users in Austria at that time (there was one small Mac repair/retail shop in the whole of Austria then). I ordered a Powerbook 150 (with 240 MB — not GB — hard drive! 4 MB RAM, and tiny black and white screen) from the USA. It was the beginning of a priceless creative relationship which is still improving and expanding today. I’ve since upgraded my hardware every four or five years (my second Powerbook enabled me to taste —in color! — the early fruits of the World Wide Web) and got my first iPod in 2002, before they became universally popular. (And I’ve had my @mac — now @me — email address and web services for ten years running, which I can now even access from my ‘iPhone’.)
Ed's first computer
PC users argue that there’s nothing special about Macs, but it comes down to a simple preference based on the user’s inclination to work more with the left or right side of the brain. A mechanical (dryer) user will find Windows just fine, thank you very much; but a more artistic (wetter) user will enjoy the fun/intuitive/elegant style of Macs much more, smiling occasionally down upon the sarcastic PC fan.
We’ve come a long way along the road of creative communication. Let’s hope there may be many more Steve Jobs’ out here among the creative generation of babies and youngsters growing up in our midst.
Happy trails, Steve.
Best wishes, Ed
Ed's first wirless router/storage device
Ed's third of five Mac laptops (+ endless USB toys)
As I clasp my hand tightly in yours,
from my heart emerges a solemn wish:
that happiness and wisdom will come freely to you,
and that your knowledge may be bountiful.
Also, hope that the winds of reality may be gentle,
and guide you peacefully through the tides of life –
for you are my brother, and my love for you is infinite.
Ed Saugstad, age fourteen, 1972
(a message to the human race)
(Ed’s cover for the Burnsview Junior High School yearbook, 1972-73, North Delta, Canada)
Mumble, mumble – write, write – headscratch – scribble, doodle . . .
Oh! There you are. So nice of you to drop in. I’ve just been jotting down some mental blogger notes. How did writers prime the pumps of their inspiration before the advent of Blogging? The distant, wobbly promise of publishing in a book or magazine and, maybe, having it read by someone couldn’t really have been enough to draw out all those precious waters of literature, could it have? Speaking of water, could you just pass me that glass of it over there? – yeah – thanks . . . Ahhhh, that’s better. YOU are indispensable 😉
