Archive for the ‘Blogishness’ Category

What It Means To Be A Writer

Michael Anthony is an Iraq War Veteran and is the Author of: Mass Casualties: A Young Medic’s True Story of Death, Destruction, and Dishonor in Iraq.

Five Tips to Writing an MFA Personal Statement

So, I’ve decided to get myself an MFA in creative writing.  I’m applying to four different universities and I’ve been killing myself for the past few weeks trying to write my personal statement.  I’ve been scouring the web, reading books, talking to people and doing everything possible.  I’ve done over a dozen drafts and here’s what I’ve learned so far:

4 Tips That Will Make Your Job Application Stand Out

It’s hard enough to get the job of your dreams, but doing so in the middle of a worldwide financial crisis is an even bigger challenge for anyone. Fresh graduates from even the most reputable universities around the globe are unprepared to compete against experienced employees who have been laid off from their previous jobs.

If you’re in this kind of situation, you can simply give up your hands and try to find a lesser job that’s easier to snag. Or you can try to make your resume look as good as possible, whether or not you’ve had prior job experience.

Allergies: Neti Pot, EFT, Vitamin C, Local Honey and Allergen Removers – Update

So, I’ve been committed to getting rid of my allergies for the past two weeks, and here’s what I’ve come up with.  I decided the best approach to take care of something is to  do the burning head approach.  (Think of a person with their hair on fire, they’ll do whatever it takes to put the flame out–so that’s how I attacked my allergies.)  I tried out a Neti Pot, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) Acupuncture, increased Vitamin-C, new hypoallergenic pillow and a new allergen remover/air purifier.

(I’ll break down each technique and then let you know what worked, didn’t work, how it may help you, and how my allergies are now doing.)

Allergies: Neti Pot, EFT, Vitamin C, Local Honey and Allergen Removers

A lot of people came back from Iraq with a lot of different problems; some had PTSD, some had a TBI, and for me, I came back from Iraq and had allergies–had never had them before, and now I get them every summer.  I’ve decided that this summer I’m really going to get to the bottom of the problem and see if I can solve it naturally.  I’ve been researching for weeks and have researched about every natural way to deal with allergies.  Here’s the list that I’ve came up with.

New Youtube Video

Catness: What Makes a Cat a Cat

Do you ever just get those random thoughts that pop into your head?  Maybe its a fact, joke or quote that you heard from a professor, friend or family-member, but regardless of its source, it just pops up out of nowhere.

Today, for some reason, the idea of catness popped into my head.  What is catness?  What makes a cat a cat?  If most people were asked what makes a cat a cat, they’d most likely come up with a list like: a cat has four legs; a cat has fur; a cat has whiskers; a cat chased mice; a cat purrs, etc.

Battlestar Galactica – Can Emotions Die?

I’ll be the first to admit it, I’m a total Sci Fi nerd.  And I’ve been watching that TV show Battlestar Galactica…I won’t get into details about what the show’s about, but I’m on season 3 and the show has got me thinking about emotions.

There’s a certain spectrum of emotions that people feel and some people can and will live their entire lives without feeling certain emotions–and that’s a good thing in most cases, kinda.  A white, middle class, christian, protestant, male, etc, will most likely never know the feeling of oppression.  An African-American who grew up down south in the 1950′s, someone who’s still alive today, carries with him the memory of those emotions, the memory of what it FEELS like to be oppressed.   Like cigarette smoke on a carpet, it will always be there and you can’t wash or beat it out.  But here’s my question…

Bright Yellow Sun – Original Poem

Of my countrymen
I dreamed,
All of us looking
At each other
In different ways
Beneath white clouds,
On a tiny blue planet,
Rotating around
A bright yellow sun.

Me, my fellow Americans
And all creatures:
Laughing, crying,
Hurting? and loving?

We spin
And the rotation
Is felt
From planet to planet
And universe to universe
Nothing can stop our rotation
From being touched
By everything,
And nothing ever will

Michael Anthony is an Iraq War Veteran and is the Author of: Mass Casualties: A Young Medic’s True Story of Death, Destruction, and Dishonor in Iraq.

Veteran Wellness and The War Within – Guest Post – Part 2

The Veteran Code of Health’s fourth chapter focuses on Nutrition.  After subsisting on military rations for any extended period of time, the definition for what qualifies as food could easily get distorted.  Yet with the body turning over approximately two billion red blood cells every second, you literally are what you eat.  Thus, the following rules should be implemented when determining whether or not it should be on your plate:

–if God didn’t make it, don’t eat it.
–if you cannot pronounce an ingredient in a food, don’t eat it.
–if it hasn’t been on this earth for 5000+ years, don’t eat it.
–if it won’t keep your dog alive, don’t eat it.
–the more ingredients in a food, the worse it is for you.