Book Review: “Improvisation at the Speed of Life...

I Won’t Hold Your Hand

Posted on 2011/09/272011/09/30 by Jason Hensel

One of blogging’s cardinal rules is to always to let a reader know the importance of an entry, to tie content together. For example, if I work in the dog-walking industry and I post an entry on our company’s official blog about, let’s say, NASA, then I should state up front why it’s important you read the blog entry and how it’s relevant to you in the dog-walking industry.

I’d like to respectfully disagree with that nonsense. You’re not a baby. You’re an intelligent reader who knows how to make connections between topics. There’s no need for me to hold your hand when you’re reading.

Think about it. Wait. That’s exactly what this content-tying rule is helping you not do. It takes away thought. It takes away the opportunity for readers to do some of the work themselves. Reading is a partnership between the writer and the reader. The content-tying rule negates that partnership.

“Oh, but people don’t have time to read much nowadays, so you need to tell them why what they’re reading is important,” I can hear you say. You know what? If they don’t have time to read and think, then I don’t want them reading my writing. I write for readers who are thinkers (this is not to suggest that I write esoteric things). I write for people who don’t need to be hand-held and overtly pointed out things. I write for people who take responsibility for their reading.

My stance is not a popular one in this day of quick reads and SEO needs. But I’m not in it for that. I’m in it for the long haul. I’m in it to get you to think for yourself.

What kind of reader are you?

(Photo credit: close to spectacular / creative commons)

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Changing the World Through Yourself

Posted on 2011/09/222011/09/27 by Jason Hensel

I was originally going to write about a recent survey result showing that women use social networking more than men. In my research on the story, though, I came across another study that I found more interesting.

According to a Walden University and Harris Interactive survey, “more than nine in 10 (92 percent) Americans have taken action to engage in positive social change in the past year and that more than three-fourths (77 percent) say it is important to them personally to be involved in social change.”

The Social Change Impact Report’s “results show that Americans have a strong belief in their own power to effect change with nearly nine in 10 adults (85 percent) agreeing that they can make the world a better place by their actions. Fifty-two percent say they are most likely to personally get involved in social change in the future as individuals acting on their own or in informal groups.”

The 2,148 U.S. adults surveyed believe that the top social change issues are education, health, and poverty. They also believe that technology enhances social change by making it easier to follow news and increasing awareness. Finally, they feel that the best way to impact change is to begin at the local level.

This survey interested me because lately I’ve been trying to impact change in various aspects of my life, some successfully, some not so successfully. Really, the ultimate local level is yourself. You can have the biggest ideas for change in the world, but sometimes it’s yourself that needs to change before larger changes can occur.

I can totally hear in my head Gandi’s quote now, as I’m sure you can: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Personally, some changes I need to work on are learning better persuasion skills and becoming more accepting of the process of letting go.

We all have ideas and changes for the world. But before they happen, what are some of the changes you’re working on for yourself? What are your small changes that will lead to larger changes?

(Photo credit: love2dreamfish / creative commons)

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Live Aqua

Posted on 2011/09/142011/09/27 by Jason Hensel

My naked feet rarely feel the sun. I have nothing against going barefoot; I just rather wear shoes or socks whenever possible. Because of this, my feet are two extra pale parts on an already pale body. So when I’m out in the sun for an extended time, and I’m wearing very little, I make sure to wear sunscreen. A lot of sunscreen.

In Cancun, Mexico, though, I forgot to put protection on the tops of my feet. There I was on the beach, relaxing in a chair, under a wide umbrella, taking slow drinks from a mimosa, and reading Jitney. I stretched my legs, letting my feet linger in the sun just outside the umbrella’s protective shade. By mid-afternoon, my feet felt like fire ants were under the skin biting through to escape.

This happened the first full day of my vacation and visit to Live Aqua, an adults-only all-inclusive on the northern end of Cancun’s hotel zone. Live (pronounced with a short “i”) Aqua is very contemporary, almost Vegas in aesthetics, that prides itself on appealing to the senses. When I walked in to the lobby, peppermint scents overwhelmed me. At the registration desk, I was offered some tea, which is some of the best tea I’ve ever had in my life. After check in, I was offered a hand massage. If you don’t want to hear about the resort’s time-share program, I suggest you leave for your room after your hands are properly rubbed and relaxed.

The hotel offers 371 guest rooms, and it’s worth the extra money to get an ocean-view room. It was comforting going to sleep with the sound of waves and nice waking up and seeing the ocean from my bed every morning.

For those that enjoy laying by the pool or beach, Live Aqua is your place, because there’s not much more to do than that. The resort features three restaurants, three bars and little much in nightlife entertainment. One night, I took part in a turtle release activity. Another night, I had dinner on the beach. The other nights, well, there was TV in the room.

The three restaurants were all good, with Azur offering the biggest portions and MB offering the best presentations. Siete is the largest restaurant and the only one that offers a daily breakfast. Every meal I had was well prepared (well, except for my steak at MB that I almost needed a hacksaw to cut through) and fresh. It felt like I was eating healthy while there.

You can definitely tell that Live Aqua is going for an upscale feel in everything they offer. Whether it’s their pristine pools or soft sand beach, the place exudes extraordinary. But much like the scents that greet you upon arrival, the extraordinary evaporates with a lack of nightlife entertainment.

Maybe I’m being too hard about that point. I’m sure there are people who just want to do nothing but sunbathe, eat, and drink. For them, this place is perfect. For others seeking a little more, the resort could up its game.

It’s just that one element, the lack of nightlight activity, that Live Aqua suffers from the most. Kind of like how I only got sunburned on only one area; the rest of my body perfectly fine.

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Handcrafted With Heart: Barking Rocks Vineyard and Winery

Posted on 2011/08/042011/09/27 by Jason Hensel

I wrote this piece for a magazine that decided not to publish it. Rather than let it linger away on my hard drive, I decided to publish it on here. Thank you.

Handcrafted With Heart: Barking Rocks Vineyard and Winery

A black lab wearing an Elizabethan collar greets you as the door opens. After a quick sniff, he turns away, flopping down next to a counter where two people taste their way through wine.

Tiberia, one name only, explains each wine sample: sweet or dry, full-bodied or light, earthy or airy. Even if you’re not a fan of red wine, his passion about it convinces you to try a sip.

The wines at Barking Rocks Vineyard and Winery in Granbury, Texas, are grown further west, closer to Lubbock than Dallas, and it produces 800 to 1,000 cases a year, a small number compared to larger operations.

“Robert Mondavi produces that amount in a weekend,” Tiberia says. “We’re more a boutique winery, which we’re perfectly happy with.”

As you drive to the winery, located a few miles north of the historic town square, you pass houses with huge green lawns adjacent to tawny wheat fields. Take a curving right past horses shading under an awning, and you’re here. Mesquite trees stand in full sun, while clusters of prickly pear cacti frame the entrance gate. A few rows of grapevines hang in the distance. Beyond is the forever-flat-top of Comanche Peak, an old Native American hideout that watches over Granbury.

The tasting and event room is a former horse and cattle barn made of rock and wood accented by a slanting tin roof rusted in spots. The unmarked entrance door is opposite wild watermelon vines showing first signs of fruit.

“Do I know you?” Tiberia asks, as you walk through the door. “No? Maybe? Let’s find out.”

Tiberia is a toned, tan man who looks like he’d be just as comfortable running a survival camp as he is serving wine. Despite all the awards his wine has won over the past 10 years, he’s humble, only opening up about them when prodded.

“Yeah, we’ve entered a few competitions, and when we do we usually medal,” he says. “But they’re so subjective, we don’t take too much stock in the awards.”

Tiberia’s trade is making sure your wine experience is good. The room houses two wooden tables, and stacks of folding chairs lean against the walls, ready to be used for monthly events. Several abstract and Western paintings hang on the walls, making the place more like an art gallery than a tasting room.

The atmosphere of high-brow and low-brow makes Barking Rocks an interesting place to visit in Granbury, a town that strives to keep one foot in the country while reaching for high-dollar tourism stars.

Money, though, doesn’t matter to Tiberia.

“Sure, if some restaurant wanted to buy a ton of cases from us, I’d do it in a heartbeat,” he says. “But, really, this is what we like, selling wine to walk-in customers, meeting people, making the experience more personal.”

He signs every bottle you buy, and before you leave, you hear him say to visitors, “Our sole goal is to make wines that taste good.”

It may not be Napa Valley, but Barking Rocks and its vintner has heart. And that’s the first essential ingredient to any great wine.

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One Day Only 17

Posted on 2011/06/302011/09/27 by Jason Hensel

I did it again. I participated in Rover Dramawerks‘ One Day Only festival. It was my second time to be a writer for the event, and it went really well.

The short play I wrote is called “‘Fraid,” and the acting and direction were really well done. The whole process of putting on a play in 24 hours can be stressful, frustrating and bewildering. In the end, though, it’s a rewarding experience for all involved.

Tetra Media Group filmed the plays, and below is mine. I hope you enjoy it.

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Going Mobile

Posted on 2011/06/21 by Jason Hensel

I finally uploaded the WordPress Android app to my phone.

Technology is cool.

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Review: The Architect of Flowers by William Lychack

Posted on 2011/06/042011/09/27 by Jason Hensel

My friend Danny introduced me to William Lychack’s writing a few years ago. The story he had me read was “A Stand of Fables,” which is about a woman who yearns for the sea, to return to what she was once before. The story is beautifully written with a vein of sadness streaming through it, like a red line of clay in limestone. And even though there was that sadness in it, there was also hope and redemption.

This duality of sadness and hopefulness is Lychack’s bailiwick in his collection of stories, The Architect of Flowers. Opening with “Stolpestad,” a story about an animal mercy killing gone wrong, Lychack bats the reader back and forth between grief and discovery. He doesn’t let up for the whole collection, and if you were to read this book straight through, you too may need to go for a walk in the dark woods to find yourself.

Lychack’s prose is lyrical and often sparse. It reminds me of Raymond Carver’s writing (or maybe I should say Carver’s writing heavily diced and sliced by Gordon Lish). There were several times I ended a story and had to pause, contemplating Lychack’s overall meaning, much like one does after reading a poem.

And much like great poets, Lychack knows how to construct a line that causes you to do exactly what he wants you to do. Here’s the beginning of the first line of “Stolpestad”: “Was toward the end of your shift, a Saturday, another one of those long slow lazy afternoons of summer…” Just try reading “long slow lazy” fast. I dare you. It’s impossible without sounding like half your tongue is cut off. Those three words slow the reader down, immediately putting you in the story’s time location.

Lychack’s syntax in these stories is like a short earthquake, often throwing you off balance, but never to the ground. This goes along with his major themes of grief and redemption, forcing you to re-examine the world, to re-evaluate what is important to you, what you can live with and without.

There are 13 stories in the collection. A lot of the stories feature birds. You’ll come away knowing more about flowers and gardening. You’ll learn where to properly kill an animal on its body. You’ll often pause and think and daydream a bit, much like most of the characters. Lychack sets his fabulistic stories in a world of truth to help secure your footing. And then he tells you that the world you know isn’t what you expected or hoped for. It’s up to you to imagine a new one, maybe even something better than was once here before.

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BaconFest 2011

Posted on 2011/05/242011/09/27 by Jason Hensel

We had another successful BaconFest this year, and I’d like to thank everyone who attended and everyone that entered the contest. Congratulations to our winners: Art, Michael, and Marj. Some photos can be found here.

And now, some poignant commentary.

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One Day Only: Part 3, The Show

Posted on 2011/02/212011/09/27 by Jason Hensel

Busted poster — Poster for my play, "Busted," at the One Day Only Festival

I saw my 10-minute play, “Busted,” on Saturday night as part of Rover Dramawerks‘ One Day Only festival. This is the first time anything was performed for an audience that I had written. It turned out great.

I was concerned that what I had in mind, as far as how the dialog should be delivered and how the characters should act, would not come through to the director. That was a needless worry; the director, Ashley White, did a wonderful job. The actors were great, too. The casting was just who I had in mind for the roles.

My play seemed to be shorter than the others. Maybe it was, or maybe I was just concentrating on it so much that time went by quicker. I was confused during one part of the night, because my play was supposed to be the first one after the intermission. It ended up being moved to the second to last play of the night. Nothing wrong with that.

One thing I learned is to make sure I include specific technical directions in the script. For example, I envisioned a quick lights out at the end; however, the play ended with a slow fade out. That’s not a huge issue, though. I just think that a quicker lights out would have made the last line pop more.

I had a great experience participating in the festival, and I’m planning on doing it again in June. I’m not sure if it was recorded (Rover recorded shows from the last one); but if it was, as soon as a copy is available I’ll post it on here.

Now, I need to write more plays and get them on stage.

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Writing at the One Day Only Festival

Posted on 2011/02/19 by Jason Hensel

I wrote my 10-minute play last night for Rover Dramawerks‘ One Day Only festival. After a meet-in-greet that included a speed-bonding exercise, we writers were stationed with laptops as the directors and actors went home.

The suggestion I drew from the hat was, “When I go walking I strut my stuff. I just might stop to check you out.” Ah, the Violent Femmes, a band I hadn’t listen to in a long time. It made me want to listen to them as I was writing my script; however, I didn’t bring my headphones with me. A couple of the other writers did; that was smart. Another writer changed into soft pants. Maybe smart?

I wrote my script first in long-hand. I kept remembering what my playwriting teacher kept telling me–overwrite at first, then cut. Writing it out long-hand really helped with the pruning round, because when I started to type, I automatically started cutting out lines and merging dialog.

In a 10-minute play, it’s hard to, as people say in improv, burn the leaves (really exploring a topic for awhile). I could have done that; however, I wanted to make sure I told a story while at the same time defining the relationship between the two main characters. I realize, in the end, my script may be brisk.

What I ended up writing about, and what I put as the play’s synopsis, is how being noticed carries a price. There’s some physical fighting between two women, some cattiness throughout, and, I hope, some questions raised about what it means to be noticed in the world and why one would or wouldn’t want to be noticed.

I think that’s a topic that can be explored in a future, longer play. I’ll be keeping it in my back pocket, for sure.

The writing experience was fun. I’m looking forward to watching all the plays tonight. It will be interesting to see how my play is brought alive by others and how they interpret the theme.

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One Day Only Festival

Posted on 2011/02/18 by Jason Hensel

I’m participating tonight in something I’ve been wanting to do for years—taking part in Rover Dramawerks‘ One Day Only festival.

I’ve either been out of town or forgetful about signing up the last couple of years. This year, though, I made sure I was at my computer at the correct sign-in time. I had trouble signing up at first; the website wasn’t refreshing in my Chrome browser. I switched over to Firefox and made the cut, no problem.

The One Day Only festival brings together seven playwrights, seven directors, and approximately 40 actors. I’m participating as a playwright. I go to the theater tonight at 9 p.m. and work on an original 10-minute play throughout the evening until 5:30 a.m. The directors and actors arrive early in the morning and work on the plays all day, which are then presented at 8 p.m.

I’m not sure what my theme/suggestion will be (it will be drawn from a hat), so I’m not certain what kind of story I’ll write. I’m not worried, though, because I’m primarily there to have fun and experience the energy of producing a festival of plays in a 24-hour period.

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