13 June 2010...
Lots of changes in my life, just when I thought things were settling down.
I'm back to being a full-time rather than a semi-retired man. I want to work again, as I enjoyed the interactions and the intellectual challenge, albeit much of the work was drudgery. But I believe that for the most part work is what you make of it, regardless of its complexity. (When I was a building cleaner, for part of a university summer break, I made it a point to learn how to do the job properly.) While I also enjoy not working, I seemed to be in better spirits when I had my last job.
While I again look for work (part-time or full-time... I'm actually not that fussy), I've been amusing myself by working on my blogs a bit, and finally making some video blogs for my youTube channel. I'll be referring to them as talky blogs, as I find this Australian expression more descriptive and charming than the drier 'video blog'.
I've refined my blog contents by adding a third blog and reallocating some previous blog postings, that should complement anything I should do on YouTube.
# 1:
BI-FOCAL VIEWS is my original blog that serves as a file cabinet for the more personal topics about my life, my aspirations, my joys and disappointments. There will also be some opinion pieces on how I see the world.
michaelofbreton.blogspot.com
#2:
SCATTER-SHOTS originally contained shorter pieces on oddities, mostly commentary on books from my personal library. I have removed the pieces on books or authors, and will now use SCATTER-SHOTS for short comments on non-book-related people, things, and assorted oddities or ethereal interests.
michael-snaps.blogspot.com
# 3:
privateLIVES is the new blog dedicated to books, authors, book-selling, book-collecting, publishing and things of a bookish nature.
privateLIVESca.blogspot.com
privateLIVES will also be the name of my on-line bookstore for pre-owned or pre-loved books. There is no shortage of competition, and the industry continues in a state of flux, so setting up a physical location would be tricky and expensive. I may have retail and marketing talents, but I certainly do not have much money to put in a formal bookstore.
To compensate for the vagaries of the book business and the economies of scale enjoyed by the behemoths (Chapters and Amazon), privateLIVES will be a niche service specializing in biographies, some history and some politics. I've researched this, and there are very few outlets specializing in books about real people. Of course, if I can make enough money at it, I will open a store-front outlet, but that takes more money than I have, and may not come to fruition. Regardless, my passion for books will have an on-line presence just as my bound books have a home in my Library at Glenmont. The sobering thought is that I've seen a lot of stores fail, some died because of untalented or inexperienced staff, others because their love of books was not supported by a talent for creative frugality. I may not be a modest person, but I am a pragmatic one: if anyone can make a few dollars at this, it will be me. For the time being, I'll be writing on this blog, and will keep you posted as to progress.
