Set yourself free

Featuredthe author as a confident 20 year old. (1969)

The author, Mark Edward Jabbour, age nineteen, crossing East Maroon Creek, fifty years ago today. It was August of 1969 and I was camped on the east fork, across the water from the paved road, via my 1946 Willy's Jeep. I was spear fishing wild trout. It was summer break between my freshman and sophomore … Continue reading Set yourself free →

1976 versus 2026: A comparison

I subscribe to, read and watch, a variety of blogs, podcasts, and programs on WordPress, Substack, Goodreads, and YouTube. (Maybe, too many?) However, that's necessary to get a well rounded view of what's going on regarding the state of our union, our country and its people. Unfortunately, given that, it's impossible to say whether or … Continue reading 1976 versus 2026: A comparison →

Summer Nights

It's officially summer, as of last Sunday, so I thought this short video apropos. Have summer nights changed? All things considered. I made it back in the summer of 2009. Which, I can make the case for as the best of my life. (That might be worthy of blog--tier ranking summers.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2LZtXZNDGw Then and Now … Continue reading Summer Nights →

The Truth About Lying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hg8LMMkEY0 In this video (2008) I read from Attachment: A Novel of War and Peace, which I published in 2006. I preface the reading with a review from a reader. The reading is from "Trust", the second chapter. It is, I think, the truth about lying. The protagonist, Joe Burns, is in his first session … Continue reading The Truth About Lying →

Frowning Mountain

"Do you have a theory as to why he's frowning?" I asked her. She said, "He looks like he's more pondering than frowning." [What do you see?] Somewhere in Roosevelt National Forest, July 1, 2006, there was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF19l8BWLFI So that was twenty years ago this July. Through the years, going back over fifty, I've … Continue reading Frowning Mountain →

Hiking Then And Now

My first "handle" on The Internet was "hiker". That was then, as best I can recall, in 1999, when I first got in-home service (dial up). Then, in 2001, when I opened my bookstore at the Elk Bridge Center in Evergreen, Colorado, my handle was "BSGhikes", or Bookstore Guy Hikes. However, my love of hiking … Continue reading Hiking Then And Now →

Scenes From A Marriage

Scenes From A Marriage is a 2021, HBO, adaptation of a 1973 book and series by Ingmar Bergman. The modern version is depressing, moving, thought provoking; and might be true. I've not yet watched the final episode; but felt compelled to say something because it coincides with my reading Occult Feminism: The Secret History of … Continue reading Scenes From A Marriage →

OVERCAST: A Novel’s Mixed Media Event

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3wjmQxrL4A Overcast is a novel I wrote and published in 2014. Above is a six and a half minute slide show I made depicting, mostly, the setting of the novel. Overcast: a novel's mixed media event is something I created after I'd published the novel. I did it for fun. Because I could. The novel tells … Continue reading OVERCAST: A Novel’s Mixed Media Event →

Closer to Madness

"I know it's a pain," she wrote. "But every minute you spend on it, you're getting closer." Closer to what? I thought. Closer to Madness is an instrumental musical composition by Canadian guitarist Jesse Cook. He is an amazing musician whom I discovered when selling CD's out of my bookstore, twenty-five years ago. Or, did she … Continue reading Closer to Madness →