Hello and welcome! Thanks for checking out the Mindbla blog. I’m the owner, Dave Haskell, and I hope you enjoy reading my stuff here.

Please feel free to browse around and search through the available topics. You’ll find a fairly decent variety of content ranging from my thoughts on writing and blogging, music and travel, and more generally life and the internet. A little vague, I know lol. But I’m generally allowing this blog to grow organically and so I hope to be able to add some interesting thoughts and insights to a broad range of topics. On that subject, I spent some time thinking about blogging, and then I spent some more time thinking/stressing about what I should blog about. I finally had that “eureka” moment when I realized, just a few minutes ago, how to consider going about blogging. What I thought to myself was “what would I do if, suddenly, I had all the money I could want and the time to use it leisurely?”, the first and perhaps obvious answer was “travel”.

But what sort of traveling? I’ve been around the block a few times in my years, from buses and car trips in my youth (and one horrid Amtrak trip from Boston to Miami I’d rather not think about!), to several international trips in my later years including a few business related ones that were pretty upscale in terms of having the business class seat and a nice hotel when I arrived, all that jazz. But, when it really comes down to it, I’ve never truly had the means to just pick up and go in first class fashion (who does, really?) the way I would if I suddenly landed that winning lottery ticket.

So, what sort of travel am I thinking about? First class accommodations, for one. I got a taste for executive lounges back in my few trips as a business classer (is that a word?), and I didn’t mind it one bit. I’d visit lots of big cities, of course, sample the local cuisine and check out some museums, local shopping, some nice shows highlighting the city (I could spend an easy couple of months in New York or London doing a theater swing in a big way). I would certainly want to devote some time and energy to exploring the countryside, preferably behind the wheel rather than on a tour or anything like that. I’m not too into the whole backpacking, explore the whole world or bust sort of deal but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing something more than just the richest, most modern places. Egypt seems like it would be pretty awesome, and I’ve enjoyed the couple of 1 day trips into Mexico I’ve had in the past.

And cruising, can’t forget that. I’ve only been on one but I got the bug big time and I would love to do a whole lot more. Different ships, different ports of call, I could (no exaggeration) spend a year doing just that and be pretty happy about it. So, there you have it. That’s one thing I would do if I were loaded and chock full of free time.

In order to get to a point where I can do all the traveling I could set my mind to though, it’s going to take money. So while some of this blog will consist of wishful thinking, I’ll also be focusing on my career in the entertainment industry and in particular my recent work with novel writing and putting together some music shows and multi-media stuff, etc., which I enjoy doing and will hopefully sustain me and my family and provide enough income for us to do some of that good old travelling as well. So I suppose that’s what this blog will be all about, or at least partly. Travel and the arts. Oh, and I like Disneyland, too. Search engine crawlers, do your worst! I wonder what sort of people might be interested in such a combo!

Anyway, I’m still new at this but I’m a quick study and I’m very devoted to a project once I really get right down to it. I would also be interested in getting feedback, suggestions, you name it as far as travel recommendations are concerned, and I’ll hopefully be including some guest bloggers on here as well who may be more well travelled and knowledgable than myself, to make this effort a real community one filled with useful content people can enjoy and learn from.

For now, I suppose the blog will be a lot of talk about what I would or wouldn’t like to do, but hopefully as time goes by I’ll be able to accomplish some “live updates”, most likely starting here in Japan where I live but progressing outwards from there assuming people are interested in hearing what I have to write, talk or video about. I might also include a quick backlog of sorts, detailing my travels and work so far in hopefully not-too-painstaking detail for those who want to get the whole picture of where I’m coming from when it comes to what I know and what I don’t. That sort of info may also go into my “About” page, so be sure to check that out if you’re interested.

I’ve also been thinking along the lines of setting up a “life blog”, or a sort of Facebook idea on steroids. Really get down to the nitty gritty of not only what I’m doing, but what my thought processes are and where I’m heading or at least where I’m trying to head both online and in “real” life.

This idea came to me as I was checking out some “become a successful blogger” vids and I realized more than anything some of the stuff I do not want to do. I do not want to be a multi-level marketer. I do not want to be some sort of “guru” or self-proclaimed expert in any particular field (at least not of the online variety, since there are plenty of those folks out there already), and I don’t really want to be involved in selling stuff per se although I don’t really have any problem with reviewing products I think are cool for whatever reason, or having a bit of sales going on via Adsense or whatever. Might as well make money somehow, maybe, but as for getting directly involved with selling or marketing that’s just not for me. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, if someone is passionate or really believes in doing it, it’s just not what I’m about. Whenever I’ve encountered sales or pitches along these lines I’ve sort of shrunk away from them, it’s really hard to explain it much more directly than to simply say “that’s not me”.

That said, I’d be more than happy to promote and sell content or creative stuff that I, myself, either create or have a hand in creating. So for example there’s a website going up here in Japan that will include the sale of some of my drumming music which I will happily link to (and will probably have an entire blog post about at some point), and I hope to have more of that sort of thing in the future as my dreams and aspirations certainly do revolve around creative projects of all types including music, live shows, writing, storytelling, multi-media and on and on.

So, that’s where I’m at today. I’m already hard at work getting my first few blog posts ready to go and polished up nicely and all that so when I launch I’ll have at least a small amount of content for people to enjoy right off the bat. I’m also considering including some of my original music, drumming or otherwise, but we shall see how that goes. I will say right off the bat that if you hear any music or other media here it will be something I’ve created myself, unless I mention otherwise. So any background music and other links I might put up will be part of that whole “this is me” life blog effort.

Well, I’ve been at it now for a couple of weeks and so far, it’s been a lot of fun firing up a new blog. You may remember I first talked about what I wanted this blog to be about, and travel was one of my first thoughts.

Having allowed things to progress pretty much organically, I’ve taken note on which articles got more interest (still in its’ infancy though this place is), and what I enjoyed writing about and all that good stuff and I came to the conclusion that the heading above, “Navigating the Treacherous Waters of Life and the Internet” is pretty much where I want my focus to be, although I leave room for the possibility that could change as well if the blog heads off in a different sort of direction, and I will certainly not hold back from writing about more specific things like writing, travel, music, the arts, and other topics of interest. Also, given the fact I live pretty much down the street from Disneyland (the one in Japan) and worked there for a long time as you might have guessed from the videos I put up here, that’s bound to come up from time to time as a topic, anyway).

One reason I decided to set the travel aspect on the back burner is, frankly, I ain’t goin anywhere anytime soon. That does tend to put a damper on a travel blog, where I’ve been and where I’d like to go someday only stretches so far. And in that context, it certainly could come up under the heading of “life” in any case, given the fact that for me traveling is one of the most exciting aspects of life, and it’s something I intend to do more of as time goes by and opportunities arise. So, when some travel plans do crop up, I’m sure I’ll write about it. I just don’t think it’s particularly fair to call this place a blog about travel (or writing, or music), since someone might venture in here assuming they’d be able to read about it and not find a whole lot about it save for my neat little gallery (do check it out, some fun pics of some fantastic places).

So, there you have it. Though it’s certainly subject to the whims of circumstance, I think I now have a pretty good bead on what my focus and attention for this blog will be. I did seriously consider the description “On Writing and the Arts”, and if you looked quickly enough you’d have seen it right up there in the headline. Although interestingly enough even those two things tend to run together for me in terms of my work and my aspirations and what I like to talk about. I would be just as happy to work on a musical theater project, for example, as write a book, discuss arts and leisure, or play some drums. It’s all part and parcel of the creative expression of life to me, although clearly my level of ability in those areas vary widely depending on the forum and the circumstances. Turns out I have a knack for playing drums on trash cans. Who knew?

I also considered adding entertainment to the mix, with a description of “writing, the arts, and entertainment” or something like that, but decided against it in favor of simplicity. For me stories and music and art and all those sort of pursuits are entertainment, so the label “entertaining” is already inherent to what I’m going for here, life topics both online and in the ‘real’ world, and I hope to make that idea for a blog compelling or at least interesting through my articles and multi-media offerings and links.

Having said all that, my next article will actually be travel related, though it won’t have anything to do with my personal itinerary. I’ll be writing a little about life in Japan right now, what a visitor might expect if one were planning to see Japan in the near future (which I highly recommend, by the way), and a little more about how Japan is getting by coming up on a year now since that huge 9.0 earthquake rocked Japan literally and figuratively right down to its’ foundations. I do hope you’ll check back to read it, and in the meantime please subscribe and, if you feel like it, leave a comment. Until then, enjoy life and all it has to offer! Until then, take care!

Well, I’ve been at it now for a couple of weeks and so far, it’s been a lot of fun firing up a new blog. And I’ve gotten over 2000 page views already, thanks to all who’ve stopped by! Your interest is very much appreciated, I intend to create a space here that lives up to your expectations and even, hopefully, exceeds them from time to time.

Having allowed things to progress pretty much organically, I’ve taken note on which articles got more interest (still in its’ infancy though this place is), and what I enjoyed writing about and all that good stuff and I came to the conclusion that the heading above, “Navigating the Treacherous Waters of Life and the Internet” is pretty much where I want my focus to be, although I leave room for the possibility that could change as well if the blog heads off in a different sort of direction, and I will certainly not hold back from writing about more specific things like writing, travel, music, the arts, and other topics of interest. Also, given the fact I live pretty much down the street from Disneyland (the one in Japan) and worked there for a long time as you might have guessed from the videos I put up here, that’s bound to come up from time to time as a topic, anyway).

One reason I decided to set the travel aspect on the back burner is, frankly, I ain’t goin anywhere anytime soon. That does tend to put a damper on a travel blog, where I’ve been and where I’d like to go someday only stretches so far. And in that context, it certainly could come up under the heading of “life” in any case, given the fact that for me traveling is one of the most exciting aspects of life, and it’s something I intend to do more of as time goes by and opportunities arise. So, when some travel plans do crop up, I’m sure I’ll write about it. I just don’t think it’s particularly fair to call this place a blog about travel (or writing, or music), since someone might venture in here assuming they’d be able to read about it and not find a whole lot about it save for my neat little gallery (do check it out if you have some time, lots of fun pics of some fantastic places).

So, there you have it. Though it’s certainly subject to the whims of circumstance, I think I now have a pretty good bead on what my focus and attention for this blog will be. I did seriously consider the description “On Writing and the Arts”, and if you looked quickly enough you’d have seen it right up there in the headline. Although interestingly enough even those two things tend to run together for me in terms of my work and my aspirations and what I like to talk about. I would be just as happy to work on a musical theater project, for example, as write a book, discuss arts and leisure, or play some drums. It’s all part and parcel of the creative expression of life to me, although clearly my level of ability in those areas vary widely depending on the forum and the circumstances. Turns out I have a knack for playing drums on trash cans. Who knew?

I also considered adding entertainment to the mix, with a description of “writing, the arts, and entertainment” or something like that, but decided against it in favor of simplicity. For me stories and music and art and all those sort of pursuits are entertainment, so the label “entertaining” is already inherent to what I’m going for here, life topics both online and in the ‘real’ world, and I hope to make that idea for a blog compelling or at least interesting through my articles and multi-media offerings and links.

Thanks for stopping by, and please do subscribe via email and make use of the comments section if you have anything to say. I’d love to hear from you!