Sifter Stickers [the book] now available for Purchase!

As I may have mentioned to you sometime in the past few months, I've compiled the essays from my blog, Sifter Stickers, into a book.  I'm happy to announce that the book has been published, and is now available for purchase!

Sifter Stickers [the book] is a compilation of the 73 original essays published on Sifter Stickers [the blog], but not exactly.  When I decided to publish the essays in book form, I asked well known author, linguist and Curator of Interesting Things Joe Kissell to serve as the tome's editor.  And edit my friend Joe did, cleaning up and polishing my raw text in all sorts of ways, and along the way helping me understand just how much hard work is involved in actually writing a book!  So Sifter Stickers [the book] is, shall we say, a new and improved version of Sifter Stickers [the blog].

Keep in mind that all 73 original essays are still online at www.sifterstickers.com, albeit in their raw, unedited form.   And, beginning today, Sifter Stickers [the book] is available for purchase as a downloadable pdf, as well as a paperback book.  

You may purchase the paperback at your favorite online bookstore.  For example, click here to purchase it from Amazon.   You may also purchase Sifter Stickers directly from the publisher (lulu.com) by clicking here, where you'll be able to choose between the print and download editions, as well as browse through the first few pages of the book to get a feel for its content.

Sifter Stickers [the blog] was an absolute blast to write, and working with Joe on Sifter Stickers [the book] was a privilege as well as an enlightening experience.  Even if the servers at lulu don't spew out a single Sifter Stickers pdf, and its printers are not called upon to produce a single copy, the experience has been deeply rewarding.  But an author without readers is, well, not exactly an author, so I've taken the next step and put the book out there, with its own ISBN number and everything.  Now, dear potential reader, the rest is up to you. 

The End

One of the differences between Latin American "novelas" and so-called US soap operas (or daytime dramas, to be a bit more elegant), is that the "novelas" have a predetermined beginning and end, while the US productions simply run for as long as the ratings hold, creating series that have aired for decades.  The same is true, perhaps, for blogs, in that some are designed to run indefinitely while others begin and end on a predetermined schedule.

When I started Sifter Stickers almost four years ago, I followed the soap opera open ended approach.  I simply tried to post as often as I could, later settling on a weekly posting schedule, and didn't think much about the blog's lifetime.  However, that time has now come.

A few months ago I decided to publish the 73 original Sifter Stickers blog posts in book form,  and began working with well-known author, editor, and curator of Interesting Things Joe Kissell.   First off, I must say that I never realized the amount of work involved with converting a raw manuscript into an edited book, and I now have even more respect for professional writers and editors who must go through this time consuming process with each new project.  The experience (well, Joe actually) also taught me much about the craft of writing, and the subtle details and nuances which mark the difference between casual writing and material suitable for publishing.  I can't thank Joe enough for taking the time from his busy schedule to take on this project, and I can't think of a better person to have worked with me on my first publishing effort.

As you probably noticed, during the time that I've worked on the book I've basically stopped generating new material for the blog and instead recycled old essays, partly because of the increased workload but also because it seemed somehow wrong to publish essays online that would not be included in the book itself.  It seems fitting that the book will include every single original essay ever published on the blog, making the book's appearance the natural stopping point for the blog.  So this is, Dear Reader, The End.

Obviously if you are a Sifter Stickers (the blog) reader, you probably have little reason to purchase Sifter Stickers (the book) since the material is identical.  However, if you, for any reason, would like to purchase the book, I will include details on how to do so in my next (and last) post to the blog.  The book will be available in both electronic and bound form.  Also, please note that the sifterstickers.com will be online indefinitely, so you will have access to any of the essays online anytime.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to read Sifter Stickers (the blog).  Sifter Stickers was my first true foray into the world of writing (hopefully not my last), and it means a great deal to me that there were actually people out there even somewhat interested in what I had to say.

-jsa 10-21-08

Litmus Test (R)

(This essay was originally published on August 5, 2006.)

Ultra-suave gangster Sonny (his last name is never mentioned), brilliantly played by Chazz Palminteri in "A Bronx Tale" (1993), maintains that it's easy to determine if a woman is a keeper.  All you need to do is subject her to a simple test.  In Sonny's words, "You pull up right where she lives, right? Before you get outta the car, you lock both doors. Then, get outta the car, you walk over to her. You bring her over to the car. Dig out the key, put it in the lock and open the door for her. Then you let her get in. Then you close the door. Then you walk around the back of the car and look through the rear window. If she doesn't
reach over and lift up that button so that you can get in: dump her."  It's as simple as that.

So young Calogero 'C' Anello took Sonny's advice, and subjected the object of his desires to "the test".  That night, upon picking her up for their date, he gracefully opened the passenger door of his car for her, and lovingly guided her into her seat.  He then strolled to the back of the car, and peered into the rear window as he ambled across to the driver's side.  The moment of truth.  A palpable hush came over the theater, as the audience held its collective breath.  Will she, or won't she?  Then, relief.  The young woman elegantly leaned over toward the driver's door, and thrust a provocatively bare arm toward the 1960's-style plunger lock.  In a titillating display of balance and grace, she extended her index and middle fingers, inserted them gently under the protruding brim of the plunger, and, in one fluid motion, raised her entire forearm, bringing the plunger up with it.  Door unlocked.  Test passed.  Flying colors.  C stepped in and sat down, and while his ass was firmly on the leatherette, his head was somewhere in the clouds, and his stomach was in beautiful downtown Flutterville.  The collective sigh from the audience completed the effect.  The movie could have ended right there.

Ah, the simple test.  All the complexities of life distilled into an easily measurable result.  In an unpredictable world of cruel uncertainty, nothing is more reassuring than a litmus test.  Dip the magic paper in.  Red means acid, blue means alkaline.   No arguments.  No doubts.

From the petals of a daisy to an alphabet soup of standardized tests; from horoscopes to Bell curves, we all strive to find simple ways to predict complex behavior.  With varying degrees of success, we attempt to understand what makes things happen, and then take all the variables involved and somehow compress them into a simple, yet effective predictor.  And then we go on and use these predictors to make all sorts of decisions, once again with widely varying degrees of success.

The virtues of a woman are, alas, a bit more difficult to measure than the acidity of a liquid.  And despite Sonny's assurances, C's earnest acceptance and the entire theater audience's joyous suspension of disbelief, C's prospects for long term happiness do not really hinge on his girl's momentary display of common courtesy.  And yet, does that really matter?  Or is it the moment that matters?   The butterflies.  Sonny lovingly architected a foundation of passion for C to build upon.  A self-fulfilling prophesy, perhaps.  A predictor with daisy-petal accuracy, but just enough plausibility to make it work on an emotional level.

Truth is, there is no simple yet effective way to predict the future behavior of a human being.  So it seems best to instead simply enjoy its discovery.  By embracing the allure of  everyday kindness.  And feeling the butterflies when she unlocks the door.

-jsa  2006.8.5

Communism and Your (R)

(This essay was originally published on July 23, 2006)

My grandfather Joe used to say, and I'm paraphrasing here, "A person who never contemplates communism during his youth has no heart, but a person who is not a capitalist as an adult has no brain".  Harsh words, to be sure, but as in everything Joe used to say, there is wisdom to be found there.

In the outstanding 2004 movie "The Motorcycle Diaries", a twenty-something Ernesto "Che" Guevara is portrayed as a gifted, compassionate medical student who is transformed by his experiences on a 1952 cross-continental road trip with friend Alberto Granado.  During the 12,000 kilometer trip, which took Guevara and Granado from their home town of Buenos Aires down to the Argentinian pampas, back up through Chile, Peru, Colombia and, finally, Venezuela, Guevara is exposed to the colossal injustices rampant in the South America of his day, injustices sadly still rampant over 50 years later.  And whether one is on a motorcycle trip through the Peruvian hinterlands in 1952, or simply driving the streets of 2006 Bogota, as I often do, it is impossible not to bristle at the contrast between those who have it all, and those who have nothing.  And it is impossible not to want to do something about it, not to want to somehow cure the unfairness of it all.

And communism, of course, seems to be the magic bullet.  From each according to his abilities, the doctrine goes, and to each according to his need.  Everyone happy.  Imagine all the people, sharing all the world.  But wait, Mr. Lennon, it's just not that simple.

I think the reason that my grandfather felt that adults would somehow "grow out" of communism is that as the idealism of youth graduates into the cynicism of maturity, we realize that human beings are a greedy, selfish lot, and although there are many notable exceptions, we pretty much focus on our own needs and the needs of those close to us first.  And so it follows that capitalism works (and communism doesn't) because of the way human beings are.  So although as we mature we neither lose our yearning for fairness nor our hatred of injustice, we simply realize that life is unfair because of human nature.  Greed trumps compassion every day of the week, most likely by Darwinian design.  And so, we are left with the realization that communism will not cure injustice, but simply reshape it.  And maybe when we are young we simply haven't seen enough of human nature to arrive at this unfortunate yet inescapable conclusion.

To put it succinctly, communism is the perfect system for the species that we would like to be.  Capitalism is the system best suited to the species that we actually are.  And that, Dear Reader, is certainly nothing to brag about.

-jsa 7-23-06

To Do or not To Do (R)

(This essay was originally published on July 17, 2006.)

There are few things as satisfying as crossing an item off a to-do list.    That magical stroke of the pen (or click of the mouse, more likely...) represents a tangible accomplishment.  Success.  Winning.  Fulfillment.   One less thing to worry about.  One more thing to feel good about.   Triumph, indeed.

During the past few years, I've tried to model my own to-do lists on David Allen's seminal "Getting Things Done" approach, where, among many other techniques, Allen suggests categorizing to-do items contextually, in order to make the best use of the resources available to you at any given time.  For example, one category could be "Online", where you would include all items that require an Internet connection to be completed.  Another category, "Phone", perhaps, would contain items that could be knocked off if you have a few spare minutes with only your cell phone available.  The idea is to match the to-do item with the proper context, thus avoiding the inefficiency of going through your entire to-do list in order to identify items that you are able to complete at any given time.  You simply look at the items in the category that matches your resource availability.

So, your to-do list is subdivided by context.  Now, at any given time and any given context, you are able to easily identify to-do items that you can get done and satisfyingly cross off your list.  And therein, Dear Reader, lies the problem.

A properly managed, contextually organized to-do list makes it easy for you to always find items to cross off, regardless of where you are and what resources you have available.  So, where's the problem, you ask?  Well, an inevitable by-product of a well-managed to-do list is the feeling that if you are not engaged in an activity that will result in a crossed-off item, you are by definition wasting time.  Sort of like cuddling, as opposed to, well, you know, in the sense of an activity without a definitive culmination.  And unless your to-do list includes items such as "spending a Sunday afternoon with your family at the beach", or "kicking a soccer ball around with your son", or "sitting in thoughtful silence", or even "sharing intimate moments with the person that you love", then those activities, surely among the most important activities in life, may easily become victims of the all-mighty to-do list.

David Allen argues that only by clearing your mind of the things you need to do by putting them down on paper (or, more likely, a hard disk somewhere) will you achieve the peace of mind necessary to truly relax, become productive, and perhaps be able to spend more time involved in the "off-the-list" activities that life is really all about.  But in the age of pervasive connectivity (did we just coin a phrase?) the difficulty lies in identifying the proper times to simply put the to-do list aside, and indulge in activities that will not, alas, result in the orgasmic check mark, realizing that those activities are perhaps the reason for the to-do list to exist in the first place.

And neither the undoubtedly gifted David Allen nor anyone else will help us with that one, Dear Reader.  Clearly, to do or not to do is, well, up to you.

-jsa 7-17-06