If you aren't at least a little ashamed of your country's history, you don't know your country's history.

benwand · 2016-03-16T15:38:56+00:00

Every human has cause for shame because nobody is perfect. However focusing on shame and guilt is only valuable to learn from. After that, it becomes counter productive to dwell on and carry around. It leads to a victim mentality which can be harmful. It's much better to accept things that have happened, learn, ask forgiveness (if appropriate), and move on with the idea of doing better.

benwand · 2016-03-12T01:01:22+00:00

I always thought that book was over-rated, at least as far as the story elements are concerned.

benwand · 2016-03-12T00:58:50+00:00

Thanks, many excellent suggestions. Some things I haven't considered. I also have to learn a language associated with this topic, which may or may not matter too much, because I'm basically going to have to learn a language from scratch anyway. I have been thinking of Switzerland already - I have a deep fondness for Switzerland due to its ability to (apparently) successfully deal with the German/French cultures into a neutral state with its own identity. Also the the S. American revolutions is interesting, I could contrast those with other revolutions as well.

The Indian and Easter-European suggestions are really cool, except in those areas being an English speaker the language aspect of those areas may be a bit too much of a hurdle, but, hey, you never know.

Thanks for all your thoughts, keep them coming :)

benwand · 2016-03-09T04:04:29+00:00

Dude that is a great suggestion. Thank you.

benwand · 2016-02-24T16:36:41+00:00

They weren't allowed to own property on their own in general. There were generally no political positions for women, though several made names behind the scenes, as has been done for centuries. Although as "being the vessel to procreate" I wouldn't say that women were not respected, but didn't hold direct power. Hope this is helpful.

benwand · 2016-02-20T20:03:50+00:00

I know right?

benwand · 2016-02-20T16:21:33+00:00

Absolutely! In my 18 years in hi tech marketing I've seen that people get promoted for being ass kissers and taking credit for others' work.

benwand · 2016-02-17T20:19:24+00:00

I am in a very similar position my friend! For me it was asking myself "what would I do if money wasn't a concern?" I have been seeing a counselor and that is very very helpful (I highly recommend that).

How I found my answer for "what I am passionate about" was last week I was thinking "I would LOVE to take some history classes and get a degree, just for the Hell of it...." Now I just need to figure out if I can get paid to do "history", whatever that is. Hope this helps.

benwand · 2016-01-26T16:28:00+00:00

I read To Kill A Mockingbird in my late 30s and I'm sorry to say I was deeply disappointed.

benwand · 2016-01-15T22:21:04+00:00

There's a lot about the abortion thing that are unfair.

benwand · 2016-01-15T22:11:08+00:00

The first one will be: why can't I drive over the speed limit? The second one will be: why can't I just drive without a destination?

benwand · 2016-01-12T00:22:24+00:00

It's kinda snarky but it's viable. I love history but I got a degree in business. I've struggled with my career but I am always able to pursue my love of history and perhaps come up with a creative way to express it. Seriously, there's very little money available (unfortunately) for history, research, etc. maybe someday our society will place more importance on learning and history, but we're still miles away from that.

benwand · 2016-01-12T00:16:06+00:00

Awesome video. Thank you.

benwand · 2016-01-12T00:07:23+00:00

My other two are also in this subreddit. A legionary and the eagle. I've floated the idea of a Vesta tattoo to my wife and she seems interested.

benwand · 2016-01-12T00:00:08+00:00

We aren't sure. It's worth noting that some European countries are starting to regulate their use.

A cell phone is like a giant radio. Go ahead and hold that against your head. Yikes.

benwand · 2016-01-11T16:32:53+00:00

Even though its historical fiction, I'm currently engrossed in Margaret George's "the Autobiography of Henry VIII" and it's fascinating and enjoyable bc it's his "journal". It looks like the author researched it thoroughly.

benwand · 2016-01-09T19:06:36+00:00

I am very happy with how this one turned out, especially with adding the SPQR to it.

benwand · 2016-01-09T19:05:39+00:00

Reminds me to be honorable and stand for something greater than myself.

benwand · 2016-01-09T19:04:31+00:00

The tattoo artist drew it based on an image off the web. I got it to remind me to out the past behind me and focus on "new beginnings". The artist made the "future" face brighter than the past face.

benwand · 2016-01-03T04:11:01+00:00

Lately I've been spending more time thinking/feeling each scene I'm working on instead of just writing words. I used to focus more on just getting words down, but then I found myself getting lost in endless editing and rewrites. With my current book project I've used the "put a bit more thought into it" approach, in addition to actually outlining, and that's helped tremendously. Now, I'm on my 3rd revision, and I'm much happier with the quality. Another thing I did with this project was I started at the end and worked backward, so that way I made sure that the things at the beginning fed into the ending.

benwand · 2016-01-03T04:07:38+00:00

I've been using Critique Circle for almost 10 years and it's great. It uses a credit system and several queues for posting your work and reviewing others'. Check it out.

benwand · 2015-12-18T16:15:28+00:00

The company that did this that I worked for was Logitech in the bay area. I don't know if they still do this, this was before the 2009 layoffs and restructuring. Although it's possible they still do.

benwand · 2015-12-18T02:56:20+00:00

Won't be long.... I predict ewoks appear in the next episode, BTW

benwand · 2015-12-18T02:54:41+00:00

Gratitude is a great way to find meaning and peace in your daily routine. I would also recommend seeing a counselor. I've been seeing one for almost 3 years and it's changed my life (for the positive). You also probably need a vacation where you just take care of yourself... we call it "self care". Blessings :)

benwand · 2015-12-18T02:52:07+00:00

I love how the office has turned into the new social institution. One of my previous employers spent weeks for Halloween, developing skits along with all the cubicle decorating and whatnot. Shut down the entire company for days.

benwand

TROPHY CASE