Welcome to the first of what I hope will be many fruitful and positive contests. Let's show everyone we can do this the right way. Let's be open-minded and accommodating to different viewpoints, and let's not forget that the contestants are real people with feelings. As you know from my last blog, I have had about enough of the nasty people, so keep it positive and let's put our best selves forward and enjoy seeing what people have to share. Any foul play, and I may have to send a few thousand people over to your profile to tell you what we think! ;-)  Thanks to everyone for the great input and suggestions for this contest. And finally, thank you all in advance for your participation, and good luck!

On a Special Note: Many heartfelt thanks to those of you who left overwhelmingly supportive and wise comments for me on my last blog. I would never want to have negative confrontations with people like that, and I hope they can get the message through your feedback. I knew your comments would be a passive and healthy response, without getting sucked into their trap.

The Winner Will Receive

 
1. A short-listed, nomination for 'The American Prize for Poetry' (www.arlj.com)
   This means that you will be officially inserted into the short-list for the The American Prize for Poetry, and that your work will therefore be judged alongside other shortlisted nominees for the actual award, which is to be granted only once every four years. Being on the shortlist is an accomplishment in of itself, considering that you will be bypassing thousands of submissions and the first elimination stage of judgment. Whether you win in the end, or not, your name will publicly remain as having been on the short list for the The American Prize for Poetry. Remember that ARLJ is still in its infancy, so please do read about our objectives on the site.
    
2. Publication on the American Review Website
    
3. Publication of your work on my official website (which receives around 50K visits a month)
    
4. Publication in the Inaugural Print Edition of the American Review Literary Journal
    
5. A listing of your profile or website on my "Bryant's Favorites" link section of my official website
    
6. You will be featured in my "Top 8" on my profile until the next winner replaces you
    
7. Your winning work will be placed in this blog and remain there for everyone to see.
    
8. I will send out a bulletin about you to my friends, which includes many industry professionals, suggesting they look at your work, subscribe to your blog, and add you as a friend.
    
9. You will receive a masthead title of contributing editor for the American Review for a period of time.
    
10. A congratulatory phone call with me, where you can ask me any questions you like.
     
11. An Autographed copy of my poem, "The Tree of Life."
     
12. $150 Cash (Personal Check or Paypal)
     
13. $50 Charitable contribution to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital which will be pledged in the name of the winner. (www.stjude.org)
     
14. Additional pledges in the name of the winner by the following participants:

Your Requirements & Responsibilities

 
• Follow directions and actually read everything here. I am not being sharp with anyone here; it is just a basic issue of time. I do not have time to answer questions that are already addressed here. Plus, myspace limits the number of messages you can send each day, and I run out often.
   
• Submit your work in a comment to this blog. You can submit as many pieces as you like, (Don't just post everything you have ever written please) but make sure you **SUBMIT ONLY ONE POEM PER COMMENT**. It also will not hurt for you to post a bio or a little something about you WITH the poem, so we can know something about the person behind the submission.
   
• NO HTML
   
• Add me as a friend if you like, but do subscribe to my blog for updates. And, remember that this is new and experimental, so things may change or not go perfectly. Just remember that we are here to have fun , expose our work to others, and meet new friends in a healthy and positive competition.
   
• Tell as many people as you can about this competition and motivate them to submit their own work. The more people who participate, the more exposure each entry will get, and the more feedback we will all get to enjoy. This is basic marketing here. Let's stir something up.
   
• No negativity, nastiness, or running people and their work down. If you don't have something nice to say then say nothing. If you see nasty behavior in the comments, or in someones blog politely ask them to cut it out.
   
• Even though you are in this contest, please be supportive of other people's work. If you see something you like, that someone else has submitted, please comment their entry and give them some support. This is IMPORTANT. Please give people some feedback! This nice person sent me this link supporting my stance that every writer deserves a lot of positive feedback. She wrote, "I normally don't ask people to read my blogs, but this is one I feel is very necessary and you'll see why. Why to leave comments supporting the work of others... Be sure that when you leave a comment, you use the REPLY TO THIS link associated with the poem you are commenting on, and NOT the main Add Comment link. If you see someone doing this incorrectly, please help them to understand.
   
• If you see something you like then support that person by adding them as a friend, subscribing to their blog, leaving them a comment, and decide right then to support them as an artist from that point forward.
   
• CLICK HERE TO POST THIS BULLETIN EVERY NOW AND THEN, which politely asks your friends to come and support you in this competition. Reading what your fans, friends and the public have to say about your work, and the impact it has on them WILL be a factor in this competition. They will be asked to leave their comments as a reply to your submission comment. Ask your friends to come and support you. If I see that a person has a large number of comments supporting their submission, and they have already been eliminated, you can bet I am going to be re-reading and re-evaluating that work. If you do not like this bulletin, then craft your own. I just created this to make it easy on you.
   
• You promise that when the winner is announced you will do your part in showering that person with congratulations and good will to make them feel great!
  

Other Announcements

New Free Rhyming Dictionary and Tools for Writers
I also have a bit of good news for you poets and songwriters out there. If you did not know, the electronic version of my rhyming dictionary is very popular. In fact, based on the current usage, in the next two months it will become the most used rhyming dictionary in the world. I worked on that dictionary for 9 years, and decided to give it away rather than charging as a way to pay my dues, and give to the community I love. I have never charged for it and have no intention of ever doing so.

The good news is that a new version is going to be released this year. I have incorporated all types of new tools for writers and songwriters in the new version. It has been improved, optimized and expanded in nearly every way. I am also negotiating with a new publisher now for a low cost printing of the full 14 volume print edition, which is the most extensive rhyming dictionary in the history of the English language. I will let you know when the new software is ready. If you have any friends who write music or poetry, or know any myspace musicians, please  be sure to tell them about it, and about the new edition that is to be released. You can have them subscribe to my blog for updates. Releasing that Dictionary for free was one of the best things I have ever done. I have gotten nearly 10 thousand thank you notes from people who use it. Do you have any idea how good that many thank you letters makes a person feel? Bless every one of you, and best of luck with your own projects and journey.

The software is available from over 400 locations. Here is a link to the main informational site.

UPDATES Notes, Questions & Comments

 
• 5/24/06 - Note:
  I am so impressed with what I am seeing here. The talent and good will everyone is displaying should make all of us feel better about the world. Keep it up. There is so much fine work being posted. There will be a lot of honorable mentions for sure. I have met some wonderful people through this contest, and have heard that many of you have too. That is what it is really about. I hope you are all having fun. I know I am. On another note I thought you would all like to know that your work has been getting a lot of good exposure. Since yesterday, you have all received over 12,000 views.
   
• 5/25/06 - Note:
  Since we started, your work has received over 21,244 views! We are getting close to breaking $1000.00 in charitable contributions in the name of the winner. How is that for just having some fun?
   
• 5/30/06 - Note:
  Since we started, your work has received over 45,600 views! 

Best wishes from a fellow traveler,

Bryant McGill

I can't thank all of you enough for promoting me and making my new home on Myspace so wonderful. As of the posting of this entry, I have been on Myspace for about four weeks. I feel I have discovered something wonderful; a vibrant community of diverse opinions, colors, images, sounds and people. The flavors, personalities and energy here are outstanding. I have never made use of an online community before. I am rather reclusive and private. After deciding I would use Myspace, I sent a letter to my fan e-mailing list, and suggested they join me here. In no time at all, my friends, fans and new Myspace friends started joining my profile and blog.  Myspace is one of the most amazing things I have seen. Be sure to join my friends list and subscribe to my blog if you like what you see. Your support is appreciated.

READING PEOPLE'S BLOGS ON MYSPACE
After joining Myspace, I discovered the blogging community here. It seems so much less pretentious than other forums I have seen. There are some fascinating blog entries on this site. As I mentioned before,  I am very private person, but even worse I am admittedly a book and computer geek. To be truthful, I am not very 'cool,' nor am I a 'pop culture' type of person. I am so not "emo," that I still have not figured out exactly what it means, even after having it explained to me. I have not even watched television in over 15 years, so you could say I am out of touch with many things. I do, however, read a lot. It would be shocking for most people to know the amount of print I consume. My house is filled with thousands of books. But now, I think I am going to turn my appetite for information primarily toward Myspace blogs for a while.

Being so out of touch with so many things, it will be a true educational experience for me to read all of these blogs; the good, the bad, and the ugly. I am going to be subscribing to people's blogs wholesale; any profile that looks interesting, and especially not just people who echo my world view. I am signing up for anything and everything.  As a proficient speed reader, I have decided to dedicate a few hours a day to reading what people are saying here. I can subscribe to thousands of blogs, (a tiny fraction of the millions of blogs) and when people post new works, they scroll by my Latest Updates window in the blog section. This makes it very convenient and does not require my surfing around all day looking for new entries. I can then zoom in on titles that catch my eye, and if I like what I see, I can add that person to my private reading list.

On a related note, a hand full of people, believe it or not, have expressed shock, outrage and once, even (prepare yourself) fear, that I subscribed to their blog. I would like to point out that a subscription to a blog is just something that notifies me when you have a new blog post to read. People can and do read your blog, whether they have a subscription or not. I will painfully state the obvious here; if you don't want people reading your blog, then set it to private, or take it off of the I-n-t-e-r-n-e-t, where there are millions of people surfing around and reading blogs. If you do not want me subscribed to read your blog, then it would be best if you just blocked me. That way, I will not accidentally re-subscribe to your blogs in the future, which is very possible, since I may not necessarily remember your profile. When I am browsing through the top blogs section it would be possible for me to read your material, like it, and then re-subscribe to your blog. Also, unless your blog is set to private there is no guarantee I, or anyone else for that matter will not read it, subscription or not.

PUBLISHING NEW AUTHORS
I have had many people help me with my writing career. I am always looking for the opportunity to help others as I have been helped. One way I can do this is by allowing unknown authors and artists the opportunity to be in one of my books. For my last book project, EXISTENCE, I received over 2,500 submissions and chose 16 people from four countries for publication. I am going to be watching the blogs for exceptional works and will be inviting select new authors to publish in one of my next books. If you have a piece you are proud of and you want to draw particular attention to it, then please contact me, and ask me to have a look.

BUYING MY BOOKS? DON'T!
Frequently, people on Myspace ask me which of my books I recommend they buy. Or, they tell me they are going to buy one of my books to support me. Thank you for the sentiment, but please don't. I would not recommend you buy any of them. I am going to be putting most everything worth anything to date on this site for free at some point. I will have a new book worth looking into in the near future. But if you wait a while, I will put it online too. My objective is not to make money selling books. I especially do not want to take advantage of people's excitement and enthusiasm about meeting me here for the sake of making small amounts of money at their expense. I already make money at other things. I really just want to have fun and share with people. I make very little money on book sales, even when I sell a large number of books. The retailers make most of the money. Signing up as a friend and subscribing to my blog is a great way to support me.

I only publish for the convenience of my readers. Sometimes it is nice to have something to lay on the couch with, or to read in bed. I prefer to disseminate my work electronically. My official site receives from 50 to 100 thousand page views each month. I also do not use traditional publishers. Since enough people know about me and my work, I self-publish, and can move around 10 thousand copies of a book on my own. The only time I even publish in journals and magazines is when they approach me unsolicited, and ask me for a piece. I never submit my work and have no desire to  do so at this point. While I have been approached by traditional publishers, I do not expect to approach a traditional publisher myself for another 10 to 15 years when I have a large enough and mature enough body of work. So if you are determined to buy one of my books, then thank you, but otherwise just keep your money in your pocket, and your eyes on my blog, since I intend to start moving works here shortly, and for free.

CONTESTS & AWARDS
I am also thinking about creating an award for writers and artists on Myspace. It will be an Honorable Mention award that I will give out to people when I come across works I feel are noteworthy. What do you think? More on this soon. As far as contests go, I have already started one. It is for a signed book and video iPod. I thought this would be great fun. I think I should do these on a regular basis. What do you think?

ME AND YOUR TOP 8
If you have placed me in your Top 8, I want to tell you that I am honored and thankful. It means a lot to me that you appreciate my efforts enough to place me there with your true friends. If you have placed me in your Top 8, please let me know so I can come and comment your profile and say thank you.

COMMENTING ON YOUR WRITINGS & POETRY
Please do not ask me to comment on your poetry or writings. You are more than welcome to ask me to read something, and if I feel compelled to comment on it of my own volition, then I will. Just please do not request that I review your work. Commenting on someone's poetry, prose or creative works is tricky business, and best done in person.

Also, I will not be impugned by small minds who cannot understand that I can appreciate a particular piece written by someone who does not share my world view. If I comment positively on something someone has written, who happens to be [insert what you despise here], it is not my endorsement of that world view. Even the worst people, in your view, are often right about many things. Please do not send me messages speaking badly about people. I do not appreciate gossip, nor do I perpetuate it.

CELEBRITY CONTACTS
Do you really know X celebrity? Yes. Do you have their phone number? In many cases, yes. Do you have their private email address? Yep. Do you talk to them? Yes. - Will you introduce me? No. Will you give me their phone number? Hell no. Will you send them an email for me? Nope. Can you tell them something for me? Maybe in passing, if it is the right moment and the right comment. But, please do not ask me to divulge the private information of people I know. I would not know them very long if I handed that information out, plus it is incredibly tacky to ask.

RESPONDING TO YOUR MESSAGES AND COMMENTS
I do not think I am better than anyone and I love to respond to fans. While I am very interested in getting to know you it may take a long time to get back to you. Now, if I am available and inspiration hits me from something you said in your email or profile, you may hear from me quickly, or, you may not hear from me for six months or more. Please do not take it as a personal insult if I do not get back to you within a span of time YOU feel is appropriate.

I just looked at my email client in the submissions folder, and last year I personally received 5,576 submissions of poetry and hundreds of autograph requests. I also received thousands of photo submissions from models and photographers, several thousand business emails, and thousands of submissions from several journals and literary organizations for whom I screen submissions. All of that on top of that fact that I am often traveling or deeply engrossed in research. During the summer, of the few times I get out, I go opal and gem mining, on fossil digs and on gold prospecting expeditions. Not to mention, I also have a family and life. So please, do not send a hostile letter complaining about not hearing from me. I really try hard to comment peoples pages when they comment me, and I try to respond to people's messages, but sometimes I just can't keep up. If I fail to respond, it is probably because I got behind and your message slipped into oblivion. Write me again sometime, but nothing nasty please.

DISSENTING OPINIONS?
MY COMMENT AREAS ARE NOT YOUR BATTLEFIELD
On a final note, I love dissenting opinions. But, you will not see me going around posting my articles into your blog's comment area. If I am making an optimistic speech or presentation of my ideas, I consider long dissections of my work and objections that are posted into my comment areas as inappropriate heckles. I don't surf around and heckle people's negative rants with my optimistic speeches and counterpoints. If I want to express my opinions, I do it in my books and MY blog to MY audience. I'm here to mingle with my supporters, not my detractors. If you are a detractor, it will have to be on your dime, not mine. You are more than welcome to have a dissenting opinion, but my blog is not a forum that is designed to offer you free access to my reader base so you can insert your writings. You will have to build your own reader base and then disseminate your opinions to them directly.

You can place your opinions on your own blog like I do, which is why we both have one. I follow the following general rule. If I post a comment on someone's page, it is only when the comment is positive and supportive.  If I don't have anything nice to say, I would prefer to say nothing at all. If I want to engage in combat with someone's  viewpoint, I do it in my blog area, and to my readers. I have no desire to confront people about their opinions, or change anyone's mind. I am not going to argue with anyone, and my comment areas are not debating venues.

If you would like to put forth an argument, please do so on your blog. If you don't like what I am saying then go and insert your views into the open marketplace of ideas, and good luck to you. Rest assured however, that if you take the time to write me, even a hostile letter, I will consume it, assimilate the information, and if adequately persuaded, I will gladly change my opinion in the face of superior reasoning.

NEW UPDATES -- 4/5/06
First of all, out of a grand total of around 2800 messages and comments, so far I have only received and vetted two down right nasty messages, two photo comments calling me a fag and a queer (It's the bow-tie. Come on, it's a publicity shot. What do you want from me, overalls?) and one letter that suggested among other things, that I was promoting my message here, and trying to increase the reach of my readership. Well gee. No kidding! I am not trying to decrease it, that's for sure ;-)

Also, keeping up with the blog posts so far has been easy. Only 68 new entries to read today, even with thousands of blog subscriptions. You guys just do not post as often as I expected. One of those negative commenter's I mentioned suggested that the very respectful letter I sent in response to their less than respectful letter, was sent by another person, such as my publicity agency. Let me be very clear here. I hand write and respond to messages myself. I am here to MEET people, expose them to my work if they do not know me, take in their creations and interact.

Finally, I want to say that I am very impressed with Myspace members. I am only receiving a fraction of the hate mail and mean-spirited notes I normally get through traditional email. Myspacer's seem to have an undeserved bad reputation. I admit that nasty letters upset me. When I used to screen mail for people I studied under, I saw these types of letters frequently, and at the time, they were even a source of great amusement to me. It is not as amusing when you are the subject though. Years ago, as more people came to know about me, I used to have my assistant Chris screen out all nasty letters, because they gave me feelings of extreme anxiety; and even heart palpitations. Logically, I could identify the fallibility of the content, but they still had negative power over me. It hurts when you work so hard to be nice to people, to share and to give, and then you get a letter saying such awful things. It is also difficult to respond to such letters, because you will seldom change someone's opinion. I am still not comfortable with such letters, but I try to face them with dignity and politeness. I wish I could say I was a stronger person, and that such things did not bother me, but for whatever reason it is an unfortunate weakness of my character that I am sensitive to.  I have to just accepted it that it comes with the territory. Thankfully, it is a tiny minority of people who act this way.

1. "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah
2. "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

1. "This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517

1. "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353
2. Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18

1. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Matthew 7:12
2. "...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6

1. "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" Analects 15:23
2. "Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3
3. "Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.4

1. "One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself" Mencius Vii.A.4
2. "This is the sum of the Dharma [duty]: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you." Mahabharata 5:1517

1. "(5) Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity."
2. "(11) Humanists affirm that individual and social problems can only be resolved by means of human reason, intelligent effort, critical thinking joined with compassion and a spirit of empathy for all living beings. " 5

1. "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 6

1. "Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor does he make others do so." Acarangasutra 5.101-2.
2. "In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self." Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara
3. "A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. "Sutrakritanga 1.11.33

1. "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18
2. "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
3. "And what you hate, do not do to any one." Tobit 4:15 8

1. "Respect for all life is the foundation." The Great Law of Peace.
2. "All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One." Black Elk
3. Roman Pagan Religion: "The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves."

1. "20: Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you." This is one of the 21 moral precepts that form the moral code explained in L. Ron Hubbard's booklet "The Way to Happiness."

1. "The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form"

1. Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world". Japji Sahib
2. "Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone." Guru Arjan Devji 259
3. "No one is my enemy, none a stranger and everyone is my friend." Guru Arjan Dev : AG 1299

1. "The basis of Sufism is consideration of the hearts and feelings of others. If you haven't the will to gladden someone's heart, then at least beware lest you hurt someone's heart, for on our path, no sin exists but this." Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order.

1. "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien.
2. "The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful." Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 49

1. "We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent of all existence of which we are a part." Unitarian principles.

1. "An it harm no one, do what thou wilt" (i.e. do what every you want to, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). The Wiccan Rede

1. "One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts."

1. "That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself". Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5
2. "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29

1. "May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me." (Greece; 4th century BCE)

1. "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you." (Greece; 5th century BCE)

1. "Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors," Epistle 47:11 (Rome; 1st century CE)

In a previous blog I wrote, "I can't thank all of you enough for promoting me and making my new home on Myspace so wonderful. ... I feel I have discovered something wonderful; a vibrant community of diverse opinions, colors, images, sounds and people. The flavors, personalities and energy here are outstanding. ... Myspace is one of the most amazing things I have seen."

As many of you know I have been reading people's blogs. For example, I subscribed to the blogs of people in several poetry and art groups, as well as the top blogs of myspace. I subscribed to any profile that looked interesting, and especially not just people who echoed my world view. I signed up for anything and everything. HOW COULD YOU READ THEM ALL you ask? I don't. A subscription just notifies me when a new blog has been posted. When people post new works, they scroll by my 'Latest Updates' window in my blog section. This makes it so that I do not have to surf around all day looking for new blog entries. Instead the entries come to me in one convenient list. I can then scan that list for titles that catch my eye, and if I like what I see, I can read it and then add that person to my private reading list.

Complaints about Reading People's Blogs
The above method has been very successful, but not without its problems. I have commented on hundreds of blogs and profiles and met many interesting people. However, because of a few bad apples I am changing my policy. A handful of people, believe it or not, have expressed shock, outrage and  even fear, that I subscribed to their blog. Several people have even emailed me hostile letters saying that they felt "violated" that I did not ask for permission to read their blogs! "How dare you trespass," one person commented. I have also received a number of messages asking impossible questions such as "Who are you?" and "Why are you reading my blog?" The answers to both of these questions are obvious, and therefore can come off sounding rude, even when no rudeness is intended. Who are you? Well, I am me. What else could you say to that? Why are you reading my blog? Well, I assume you wanted it read, which I guess is the reason you posted it publicly online for millions of people to see it. There are no graceful ways to address these types of inquiries without it just sounding terrible, and I do not like to ignore people either. I think part of the problem is that people do not know what a subscription is, since many people have said I was their only subscriber. I tried to point out as kindly as possible that a subscription to a blog is just something that notifies me when you have a new PUBLIC blog post to read. "Strangers" can and do read your blogs all the time, whether they have a subscription or not. Unless your blog is set to private (for friends only) there is no guarantee that I, or anyone else for that matter, will not read it, subscription or not.

"violated...suspicious...strange...creepy...why would someone who is obviously so well-read and well-traveled want to read my chicken scratches?  Strange....very strange..." Good God, people, I am just a person just like you, and like most people, I find other people and their lives fascinating and educational.

So what you have here are people who publicly post their blogs before millions for people to read, and then when someone dares to read them, they attack that person for doing so. Call me crazy, but I just don't want to deal with any part of it.

Another problem I have encountered is that a small number of these people have personally attacked me, my wife and my children, by saying offensive things. A few people have done some name calling, and a few have even said some very nasty things about my wife, which I did not like. Since I do not want to be rude by attempting to answer people's rhetorical and less than well thought out questions, I have decided to unsubscribe and quit reading people's blogs and poetry. I would like to point out that the vast majority of people have been very welcoming and happy to have me reading, but some of the others have just been so nasty and depressing, that I must change my direction.

Complaints about NOT Reading People's Blogs
So, since I started unsubscribing from blogs today, I am now getting a new type of complaint. "So, I guess you just think you are too important to be subscribed to my blogs now. ... and from your supportive comments I thought you cared. ... Are my writings that bad that you had to leave? Thanks for the insult a**hole!" That's right folks; damned if you do and damned if you don't. Look, I am just a regular person. I am not an arrogant person, and I do not think I am better than anyone, or "too important" to read your blogs! I can't stand people like that. I am just a tiny and insignificant poet with a modest following. Big deal! I am a regular person who enjoys writing what is in my heart, and looking for and contemplating the positive in life. I am not in this for the money. I make money doing other things. And, I am not in this for the fame. Anyone who writes poetry for fame and money is an absolute nut case. Poetry book sales are the lowest of nearly any other genre, and as far as fame goes, no matter how many people know about you, you will never be as famous as say, Garfield the Cat. So if you write poetry for fame and money you are destined for disappointment.

On the other hand, I know that I have been blessed. The support and encouragement I get from my fans is what makes me continue sharing. Of course, some people love what I do, but others think I am a worthless, no-talent hack. That is the way it goes. I can only do what I do, the rest is up to the reader.

***What Now? Blog Subscriptions...***
My new policy is this: If you want me to subscribe to, and read your blog, then make the request in the comment section of this entry. Several thousand people subscribe to my blogs here at myspace already, and I am grateful to each and every one of you. If you want me to continue reading your work, just ask, and I will gladly re-subscribe and try to keep up with what you are doing. I will of course subscribe to you if you are one of my subscribers, and I may also if you are listed as a Top or Popular blog on myspace, since you are likley used to subscribers. This is the only solution I can come up with that will please both groups of people.

If I have not unsubscribed from your blog yet, I will be soon. I will then re-subscribe to the blogs of people who let me know they want me to in this blogs comment area. I have also discovered that I cannot, for whatever reason, unsubscribe from some people's blogs.

The Literary Journal
As I have mentioned, one of my objectives in all of this has been to find writers to staff my new, up-and-coming literary journal. I need writers, editors, photographers and artists who want to do something positive and who have talent. I have been making a list of people I have met here through blog reading that I am going to contact in the future to invite to be a part of this project. I had hoped to find some of these people through my myspace travels and blog reading. We will see how it goes.

A Bit Behind on Responding to Messages and Comments :-(
Along with all of the bands and other artists, I am here to promote my work and meet new people. I have been touched by the wonderful and encouraging comments so many of you have left. I really do get a deep feeling of satisfaction knowing something I have said has in some way had a positive impact on someone. This is why most people in the spotlight actually persist in the face of nasty criticism. It makes it all worth it, or else who would want to put up with it? This is why I spend so much energy trying to respond to people, because it would be irresponsible to not do so. I try to be as personable, open and accessible as possible, and I have met true friends that I talk to nearly every day right here on myspace. I have been a bit scarce lately though, because of corporate obligations, but I will have more time soon and will be responding to as many of your wonderful comments as I can. Thank you for your patience.

My Latest Blog Entry
For those readers who have been asking when I will post a new blog I have an update.  I am working on The Secret to Success Part 2 now. It has been coming along nicely except for one problem: it is already over 17 pages long. Since I do not want to bore anyone to death, I am working on refining it. I am sorry it is taking so long. It also got a bit technical and less inspirational, and I am not sure how that will be received. So just know I am working on it and it is forthcoming.

InfoRocket Moving Along
For those of you who have been keeping up with this, I am hoping to move into a public beta with this project soon. I have been working on this software for two and a half years, and it is coming together very nicely. There are going to be some great tools in it for songwriters and, of course, for people who need to keep track of their projects and info. It will also help you organize and write your books.

Budget Juggler Almost Ready
This was another fun little project that has really come in handy. When it is ready I will let you all know.
http://www.bryantmcgill.com/Budget_Juggler/

Other Free Stuff
http://www.bryantmcgill.com/Free_Downloads/

CONTESTS & AWARDS
I am also thinking about creating an award for writers and artists on Myspace. It will be an Honorable Mention award with a cash prize that I will give out to people for works I feel are noteworthy. What do you think? More on this soon.

New Development Project
I have a secret development project underway just for myspace'ers that you will all love. As usual, it will be free too. I will drop you all some hints as soon as I am comfortable it is all going to work out.

New Free Rhyming Dictionary and Tools for Writers
I also have a bit of good news for you poets and songwriters out there. If you did not know, the electronic version of my rhyming dictionary is very popular. In fact, based on the current usage, in the next two months it will become the most used rhyming dictionary in the world. I worked on that dictionary for 9 years, and decided to give it away rather than charging as a way to pay my dues, and give to the community I love. I have never charged for it and have no intention of ever doing so.

The good news is that a new version is going to be released this year. I have incorporated all types of new tools for writers and songwriters in the new version. It has been improved, optimized and expanded in nearly every way. I am also negotiating with a new publisher now for a low cost printing of the full 14 volume print edition, which is the most extensive rhyming dictionary in the history of the English language. I will let you know when the new software is ready. If you have any friends who write music or poetry, or know any myspace musicians, please  be sure to tell them about it, and about the new edition that is to be released. You can have them subscribe to my blog for updates. Releasing that Dictionary for free was one of the best things I have ever done. I have gotten nearly 10 thousand thank you notes from people who use it. Do you have any idea how good that many thank you letters makes a person feel? Bless every one of you, and best of luck with your own projects and journey.

The software is available from over 400 locations. Here is a link to the main informational site.

Best wishes from a fellow traveler,

Bryant McGill

The winner's screen name is .`.Peaches.`. from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She does not know it yet! Please do me a personal favor and comment the heck out of her profile, message her, sign-up for her friend list and comment this blog sending your congratulations to her. This is your chance to do something nice for someone, and the best part is it is free! So get out there and make her feel good.

The WINNER'S PROFILE IS HERE

Thank you all again for participating, and the next round will be up shortly.

Best wishes to all,

Bryant McGill

Yes, the rumors are true! I am going to be Podcasting my poetry and songs in the future and thought this giveaway would be a great way to kick things off. I am buying some lucky friend and blog subscriber a 30GB Apple iPod with Video Playback, and a personally autographed copy of my book EXISTENCE!

I just want to tell everyone to go sign-up for my Free Friend Fun Giveaway! All you have to do to sign-up is add yourself to my friends list, join my blog for news about the contest, and post the bulletin below.

The winner will be picked from this blogs bulletin proof comment area, so posting more bulletin proofs increases your odds of winning. After this I have picked something even more fun to do since so few people seem interested in Video iPods.

You can post your bulletin proof in the comments. (Please post often)