2012 Year in Review Haiku

Here is The Blissful Adventurer 2012 Year in Review Haiku. Haiku was one of my most successful creative expressions here in the blog world in 2012 I want to share some of the best of the best with you all today for my final blog of 2012; easily the most successful year I have a had as a storyteller.

The cheese had no origin

but its Cheesy-ness

was undeniable

He saw his way out

of the cold and he knew the

evidence would melt

Joy is frequently

defined by images of life

although they can lie

The lazy girls talked
at length while stirring the cups
of their past short joy

just when he thought he

can't go any further she poured

herself into him

cutting corners was

not the way he liked to live

his life under the bridge

The source of our pain

is often the thing that makes

us the most happy

the only truth was

he had been wronged and someone was

going to pay for it

An ever swirling

breeze brushed the open window

while animals stared

So much madness

in the streets of life and only

so little solace

(Photo by Juliet Housewright from her upcoming blog SCHMEE JOURNEYS)

her final hope clung

to her clutching hands as the

tornado touched down

eyes have a way of

telling stories that perhaps

even the mind does not

She smiles on the walk
to deliver a simple
message of sure pain

Spaghetti with Clams - Le Marche

filled with old workers

this fluorescent spot of life

cooks food as god wants

Photo by Schmee

Feet seem happiest

when dappled lights and warmth find

a place to alight

here he comes riding

lands that were once his now not

because he is now dead

goaty goaty goaty
standing on the rocky slope
needing sunglasses

For final thoughts on 2012 I want to share a Facebook chat I had with George Weaver Yesterday. George is the author of the beautiful "She Kept a Parrot" and the photography blog "The Fuzzy Foto" This chat is why I am here and why I love this work.

George L Weaver Michael, it is people like you who unite us all in a world community. I never dreamed that neurosurgeons, artists, photographers, world travelers, and professional writers like you would visit an old woman from a provincial little town in Texas. People from India, Turkey, Japan, Germany, South Africa, Ghana, Colombia, Israel, Canada, Australia, and many other countries. And, they sound just like neighbors and friends from down the street! Some of my best blogging friends are down-the-street Americans too.

You folks are sophisticated world travelers and all are phenomenally talented and informed ... but all of you talk to ME. Can you imagine? Through your continual encouragement, I have come to know these people who have taught me about the world, and in the process, they've taught me something more important ... that we all belong to one human family. We are all the same. 

My life as a hermit has been limitless this year. The world is literally at my fingertips as trite as that may sound. I was always shameless, but you made me fearless, Michael. And I thank you. 

I am "blissfully" looking forward to 2013 and all of the discoveries the new year brings! 

Happy New Year to you and Schmee!

Michael Housewright Travel in all forms has been since the beginning of man the way in which we know what makes us so alike even though at middle distances we seem so far apart. In 2012 I learned for the first time in my life how small the differences are and how vain it has been of me to consider that some place where I was born makes me deserving of such privilege.

Your travel in this blog-world is the most enlightened way in which to experience the internet as it allows the distances to be shrunk and people to be reduced to their common archetypes.

Connecting: that is what I do and try as I may at times to hide in a closet, or on an island, or simply to exist selfishly, I simply cannot. I said to myself some 20 years ago in college that my life's work would not limit me in my constant pursuit of experience, adventure, and human connection. I have at times failed to remain on this path and the pursuits of other things seemingly more comfortable, attractive, or exciting have hindered my course.

I want more than anything for 2013 to be a time of greater embrace and attention to these parts of me that I know only increase my scope and especially my reach. I without thinking of it always want the best for my connections. I love stories of friends successes and of introductions that lead to lifelong friendships. This kind of thing happens with some pretty amazing frequency and I hope that never changes. So long as I can travel, I will. So long as I can write, I will do my best. So long as there is breath in my body I will love my connections and tell their stories.

Here is the annual report on The Blissful Adventurer WordPress blog - I am reluctant to share this as I do not think blogs are the place for perceptions of competition. At the same time I want to share with those who are new at this how much success one can have in only 1 full year of serious blogging. January 1 of 2012 I had less than 50 followers.

Friuli - Friday Photos Finale

Trieste Canal

Friuli Friday Photos Finale is my final Friday blog of 2012. These shots are from an extraordinary spring adventure in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and one from the Veneto just next door. We are in Northeast Italy here, in a land still seeking an identity after changing hands frequently in the 19th and early 20th centuries. I never would have thought I would have eaten the best sauerkraut of my life in Italy, and I did. Tall people, Fascist art, pork  in a dozen ways on one plate, my kind of weirdness shared with friends. Nicolas Emery, the famous Rubicon explorer, his fiancée Giulia Laveto (aka juujee), and of course The Schmee were all present and on board for wine, food, and Friuli.

The gang posed around the statue of the immensely accessible James Joyce (sarcasm intended)

These kinds of statues are all over Friuli. I imagine Mussolini placed these carefully about the country so he could have masturbation fodder in every town he visited.

"My pants are falling down and I am missing my diaper. Let go of my head damn bird!"

We discovered Giulia loves bright green and so this classic Fiat 500 was just the ticket. We could have carried this car in our packs.

I love street scenes. I see beauty in the edges of things. I find myself happiest in a place when I know I see something most people simply pass by and rarely notice.

This shot is only about 1 thing. Do you see it? If you comment on this post I want to hear your guess

I love these terraced vineyards. We were not far from the Slovenian border here. After all this time traveling I am never bored seeing a vineyard.

This winemaker in the Veneto outside of Verona was showing us where he buried a bull horn full of manure in the natural wine tradition. I am not kidding, all the growers do it around the world. He made killer pizza, good wines, and was pretty damn funny. This was my first time in the Veneto countryside and the first time I heard the Veneto Italian accent. It sounded like someone from Cuba speaking Italian. Quick, with a rising cadence, and quite lovely to hear.

Every year I return to Italy I find many reasons to return to Italy.

Auguri di buone feste e di un buon anno in arrivo

Final Haiku Sunday (Christmas in LA) of the Year is Next!

Christmas Card to my Wife

Look what's under my tree

Sweet freedom whispered in my ear
You're a butterfly
And butterflies are free to fly

Someone Saved My Life Tonight - John and Taupin

I met Juliet Williams on the night of Dec 11, 2006. We went to a restaurant beyond my means for dinner and we have been exceeding my means dining out for the six years since we met. I encountered the most complimentary personality to my own that day in December. I knew I would likely never meet another so carefully balanced in her deeds and demeanor that could so effortlessly be herself in the presence of my naturally overbearing disposition. As far as I was concerned it was a done deal within weeks and we would save our families the embarrassment of hasty nuptials and hold off on the wedding as long as we could. I have spent 6 nights away from Juliet in the past 6 years and I hope that I say the same number 6 years from now.

In modern love science we are likely labeled some sort of afflicted couple with some unnatural dependence upon the presence of one another. That may be true, and at the same time I have no idea how many days I have on this planet so if you don't mind I would prefer to spend them with Juliet. I don't want a sweat lodge, or a Vegas romp with the boys. I don't have any drive to be a solo travel writer running off to exotic places and drinking myself calm on lonely flights across the globe.

This Christmas, like last Christmas will have been spent in the company of friends rather than our families home in Texas. If Juliet was not here this would not have been an option. Juliet is my family and represents that grounding love I have with my blood kin. This is what I love about being human. I can meet someone, fall in love with her and then eclipse that level of love by accepting Juliet into my true kinship. I am certain that our married life is the joining of two beings to better exist as a couple. I have always heard and was counseled to believe we are one and indivisible and that we should remain so even in marriage. Well, then why the hell would I get married? I got married to become a state of "Us" to become the company of 2 in 1. I do not think this is about completion so much as it is about ascendance. It is simply the fact that I am a better man married to Juliet than I was before. If you ask 20 people who knew me before Juliet and after, I am confident that 20 of 20 would agree with my prior sentence.

Juliet, in the course of this year you have put our journey on a map where before there were only outlines of dreams. Where there were tiny islands of hope now stand continents of joy. It has been a real challenge to seek a path dictated by the "whimsical" pursuits of bliss and personal direction. You work every day in a world in which you know you could bypass were it not for us. You choose this path because it has allowed us to flow in a time when the planet seems to be immersed in glaciers of stagnation.

In the past 6 years we have seen a much higher percentage of the planet than in our prior years combined and the joy we have experienced from the souls we have encountered on this journey is worth every moment we spent in consternation debating the paths and means to our goals.

This Christmas does not bring trees of gifts, gobs of fudgy sweets, nor the occasion to sit and watch our nieces and nephews lose their minds. No, this Christmas brings us upon a different landscape reminding us all the time that life exists presently and hopefully forwardly. Our memories cannot be relived lest they putrefy and remove themselves from the pantheon of our storied pasts. We have chosen something so much more than ordinary because you have made it happen. Your creative and diligent being, inspire me everyday to push forward.

You facilitate my being and I can only hope that what we create together will in turn facilitate your ultimate freedom from the current constraints of the path as it evolves. You simply are the greatest gift I have ever been given and although cliche', you are the gift that keeps on giving. This may be more of a philosophical rant than most of you expected to read on Christmas morning and if so, go back to sleep or have another piece of ribbon candy. Juliet is the reason I am here and if you have ever enjoyed a single post on this site then she is to thank because without her I am certain I would be toiling away; looking for her and knowing she must be out there somewhere.

Thank God when I looked in my stocking this morning, she was there just like she always is. Merry Christmas Juliet , you are the most blissful adventure of my life!

My love always,

Michael

Lost Images of 2012 - Venice

Surreal, Haunting, Spectacular

Lost Images of 2012 is my year-end series of photos that did not make a blog post and that have the merit to stand on their own. In celebration of the Holiday I chose Venice for its perpetual capacity to wow a lens and evoke awe. I encourage you all to click the images and view them in large format.

I love the looks on the faces of these gondoliers.  Clearly they don't love these happy tourists, but they sure love their ribbons.

Getting my turn at rowing on the grand canal. Yeah, that's a water taxi just ahead of us. Yes, it was one of the coolest things I have ever done.

I swear sometimes these clothes are hung out to "dry" for effect. They are always staged so perfectly.

Like these sheets with stitched branding just outside this bright red house in Burano. Italians have more style in their big toes than I do in my whole existence.

Rowing in and out of canals with 2 amazing women gave me so much time for perspective and I was amazed just how often we were completely alone and rowing silently.

The skill of the men and women who make their life on the water is like watching ballet on a constantly moving stage.

Anna was so much better than I ever could be at rowing. I loved being forced to work on my Italian and my rowing. My brain was in knots and I worked up quite an appetite.

As our day on the canals came to an end I could never have expected that 5 hours removed from an international flight that I would still be flying. Thank you Nan* for one of the best Italian days of my life.

*Nan McElroy is the author of Living Venice - a must read for anyone traveling to the canal city

Most Influential Blogs 2012

True for me and these fine bloggers

The Most Influential Blogs of 2012 is my tribute to some of the finest work on the web done by caring curators of quality and passion. These individuals and their work gives me cause to pause on my birthday today to celebrate along with them because of what their influence means to my work. For those of you looking to find truth in advertising, look no further than these fantastic sites.

Honest Blogger of the Year  Mike Fiveson: Mike's Look at Life - If Mike does not post something I get worried. Prolific in his posts and deliberate in his commentary, Mike is one of my blogging heroes. I found Mike early this year and his no-nonsense no gimmicks or tricks approach to photography, travel, and life are constant reminders of how to live well on this planet. Mike responds to comments timely and always with wit and charm. This is a blog about being alive and what it means to see beauty in that life everyday. Most of all Mike has become my friend and someone I cherish and respect.

Poet Foodie of the Year Barbara Bamber: Just a Smidgen - Barbara is easily the kindest person I have never met in person. When my work was in its doldrums and I was not feeling up to the task, she found me and engaged me in the most supportive dialog I truly needed. Now, add to that the sheer fact that this woman can cook, write, and blog like nobody's business and you have a real recipe for success. I would imagine that 2013 will be the year that The Smidge goes big time! Jump on this very happy bandwagon and thank you Barabara for making many of my days.

Connecting Blogger of the Year Susie Lindau: Susie Lindau's Wild Ride - If there is a single person who may have rescued my blog from a death sentence it is Susie Lindau. Known for her irreverent humor, dance videos, and the wildly successful Use Me and Abuse Me days, Susie is one of the most original bloggers on the net and one of the most connecting. Susie wants her readers to succeed as much as she wants to succeed herself. She curates her work and inspires others to do the same. Susie and I met in Colorado and she has even more energy than her blog suggests. Susie's Wild Ride has a real chance to become syndicated in my opinion and I would not be surprised to see Susie hosting her own Wild Ride Live show sometime soon. If you do not know this blog, you should.

Photographer of the Year Sam Krisch: Just Tango On - Sam is a special person to me as his work with iPhone photography has inspired my developing plan for the future. Sam's writing in his blog which details his travels is excellent and his photography on his website I linked to his name is truly spectacular. I am rarely moved to simply run out and find someone but when I saw his work in the Denver photography show that Juliet entered I knew I had seen something unique and gloriously spectacular. I owe Sam for inspiring me to keep learning this craft and continue to let my voice come through in my work. Sam's work will be coming to a museum near you in 2013. I urge you all to meet him on the web before then.

Most Influential Blogger of the Year - (Here it is folks, the big one). My award of the year goes to....... George Weaver: She Kept a Parrot - Known as Granny by those of us that love her, George is easily the most influential blogger for this aspiring author. Granny pulls no punches, hides no opinions, and will not hesitate to tell me if something I am doing is bullshit. Granny and I have a familial relationship without having ever met and there is a reason for this: her work. From her stories of local heroes in her town to the edgy, gritty photographs she gleans from rusty scrap yards George constructs stories of real life that LIFE magazine only hoped to deliver its heyday. If you want to read words and experience images that will transform you and take your mundane and make it magic, follow George Weaver. She has expanded to include the stark and beautiful photo site The Fuzzy Photo so although technically retired she is one of the hardest working women in the blog biz. I have such fondness and love for George and I am not alone. I have never seen so many awards and accolades heaped on anyone and all of them utterly earned by her prodigious efforts in the field of photography, writing, and friendship. Big Love to you dear friend and congrats on influencing the hell out of me!

There you have it and Happy Birthday to Me!