To Say Nothing of the Dog
Connie Willis
RECENT
The Doomsday Book
Connie Willis
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
Extreme - An Accidental Collision of Atoms?
Pink Floyd - Echoes
The Neville Brothers - Uptown Rulin'
WDHA-FM - New Jersey's own rock station
Edy's Dreamery Ice Cream - Tiramisu
Chocolate Mousse cake
Veggie Quesadilla - from Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market salad bar
Pignolli cookies
I guess I should explain why my weblog is called From the Treetop. When I first came to the internet, I arrived via Prodigy back in 1988. They had an on-line game called The Maze that had me hooked from the moment I first clicked my way through the front door.
In a short time, I worked my way up to the third level, only to find that I'd overcome their developers. The Maze game wasn't finished beyond the third level, so they had set up a "lounge," where those of us who had been left gameless could chat. With nothing to talk about except to ask when the Maze would continue, I grew bored rather quickly, so having encountered my first "chat room," I explored further.
At that time, I was writing my first novel (never published, needless to say), so when I discovered that Prodigy had a "Writer's Board," (they called them bulletin boards back in the olden days) I was thrilled. I read a bit, then jumped into the conversation with both feet and great trepidation.
Talk about "Glory Days" - this was really the most incredible experience. Most of the denizens of the Prodigy Writer's board were intelligent, witty, delightful people who chatted about everything and anything including, but not limited to, writing.
I found myself drawn to those discussions which tended to be philosophical in nature. During the course of many of these discussions, I learned that I look at life and situations from a different perspective than many others. I've always believed this different perspective was the result of marching to the beat of the proverbial "Different Drummer," but I came to realize that the difference was not so much of tempo, but position.
When confronted with a problem, puzzle or situation, many people focus on the details. They pull them apart and analyze them, but often do not come up with a solution. Or they only see one solution. I began to think of this as concentrating on the trees. I hold that you can not solve a problem, puzzle or difficult situation by examining only the details. To truly find the best solution, one must step back (or climb up, as the case may be). One must look at the whole picture, the surrounding circumstances, the entire forest, if you will.
If one is lost in a metaphorical forest one may find a way out by stumbling around amid the trees, but often the most prudent choice of action is to climb a tree and take a look around. At the top of a tree, one could ascertain the extent of the forest. One might see a path or a stream that could guide one home. One might see a building or watch tower, or dangers lurking just over the hill. The top of a tree offers a much different view than the forest floor. It also offers, IMO, a better way to find a solution than the trial and error method of "lets take this route and see where it goes."
Following this forest/tree metaphor, I began to title my posts From the Treetop, after the cliché, "you can't see the forest for the trees."
I'll try to make these links hidden treasures - ones you won't find on everyone else's web page or blog.
Frogs Leap Winery
The Hobbit Name Generator
The Chameleon's Lair
Digital Dude
Coming soon ...