July 22, 2011

Multiple Personalities

One of my many problems is my online split-personality that have not easily melded. I realized this even more through a tool on Klout.com. I've called it a Meyers-Briggs for internet personalities. Fascinating.

I've been graciously labeled an "Explorer." I like that. Discovering new online tools has always been a fascination of mine. So now, I embrace my new label: Michael D. Bobo the Explorer.

Rest assured, I'll continue to share and to observe what's next online.

If you are interested in finding out about your web personality, visit Klout.com and sign in with your Twitter or Facebook accounts. Your analysis will reveal whom you've influenced and how wide your web personality extends.

June 25, 2011

Now on Burnside: "I Write Because"

photo © 2010 Sean MacEntee | more info   (via: Wylio)

"I Write Because" is an edited version of a series I did on this blog about what makes me write. Please read and comment on Burnside if you feel compelled. This is a very personal piece since it touches on the primal urges I feel when I take up the keyboard and write. I am self-conscious of it, but I believe it might strike a cord with some of my readers who also write.

June 9, 2011

I Write Because I Hate

photo © 2004 Dave Sliozis | more info (via: Wylio)

Sometimes the world is just not as I think it should be. So I write. My angst propels me to do something, but my virtual self is suffocated in the machine that I hate. 

I hate the fact that it is less loving, less pure, less appropriate. My passion for seeing, loving, and hating propels me forward as a nameless, faceless hater of all that is indecent. I consider the world - its virtual trappings - and I hate that a phone call, or God forbid, a face to face conversation takes so much work. 

I hate that I am who I am - part of the problem writing for solutions. How do we escape these virtual walls that shelter our virtual selves trapped inside of virtual profiles? Multiple personality disorders are rife in the postmodern, Internet mania in which we struggle to survive.

I hate these things and so much more. I write because I hate, and maybe I hate because I write. But my hope remains  possibly one thing will motivate someone(s) somewhere(s) to change. Until it does, don't expect to see me shut up.

Read The Bobo Blog

June 3, 2011

I Write Because I Love

photo © 2007 jmscottIMD | more info (via: Wylio)

Love is one of the most precious and perplexing phenomena. Words often seem paltry when expressing the thoughts, feelings and passions rooted in a loving moment. I struggle with this. Maybe it's my gender. Maybe it's fear of rejection.

Despite my almost eight years of marriage, I struggle. I tell my wife I love her. But that sounds hollow. Words are inadequate, but they are our best tools to express the depth of appreciation. Writing is a vehicle to transport those closest to us to see what we really have going on inside of our complex vessels. I find that I can write what I feel better than what I can say in those many moments of tenderness.

So, I write because I love. I love my wife, my son, my life. I love the goodness of God to give me the faculties to write, to live and to love. I love love. 

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June 2, 2011

I Write Because I See

Perception is a gift. Some see things in ways that are truly magical. As I consider why I write, I understand seeing is a huge element. When I began my journey many months ago, I saw something that made me get on a blogging platform. What about the future? I realized that little to no writing on the future happened in the Christian blog scene. Then I saw that art was under appreciated among many Christians. With the powerful image driven Internet world, wouldn't this be a great place to promote the great works of art once again, only to do so in a faith based way? And then I saw that my story might be something that moves others to live and aspire to improve themselves. 

photo © 2010 Pauline Roupski | more info (via: Wylio)

I write because I see. What I see may only be pertinent to me, but I've learned that one or two may likewise catch a vision of my vision. My "eye" may be a hazel shaped orb in my skull or a centered heart, but both are fundamental in my journey. The best pieces inevitably engage both optical and emotive lenses. 

Perhaps you, too, may see. So, I write.  

Seeing is a key. It unlocks a door of expression. Without it there is little content worth absorbing. I do not profess to see well all of the time, most of the time. However, my passion to communicate starts with this fundamental sense. I would not have realized this without writing. Hand in hand. I need my eyes to motivate my pen and my pen to express the world I perceive.

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May 20, 2011

My Farewell - A Life in Retrospect

photo © 2005 Andrew Kuchling | more info (via: Wylio)

Since the world is going to be forever different starting tomorrow 6am EST (thank God for no more Rapture talk), I figure I should contemplate my life and consider what could have been. Harold Camping's theory of the world's end has one personal benefit. It makes me grateful for a full life of 34 years. I've lived, loved, won, lost, believed, doubted...

Life is beautiful.
_____

Michael D. Bobo: A Life

Marriages: 1
Children: 1

Employers: Quakes' Stadium, Richard Nixon Library, TextMart, Saving Grace World Missions, American Chinese Institute, Korea Nazarene University, Arbor Education and Training, Altfillisch Contractors, Examiner.com, Citrus College

Jobs: hot dog cook, store clerk, missionary, pastor, teacher, administrator, executive assistant, freelance writer, college professor

Educational Benchmarks: B.A. Vanguard University, M.A. CSU Dominguez Hills
Educational Goals unmet: Ph.D.,  thesis published, academic book published

Countries lived in: U.S., Uganda, South Korea
Countries visited: Mexico, U.K., Israel, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, China, Thailand
Countries I wished I could have visited: Canada, Australia, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Egypt, India, Indonesia

Books written: 0
Books attempted: 4

Blogs started: 5
Blogs envisioned: 10

Movies watched: unknown, numbers in the 1000s

Movies wanted to see: Tree of Life, Waiting for Superman, Thor, X-Men: First Class

Favorite actor: Anthony Hopkins

Favorite recent movie: The Book of Eli

Favorite Website: Burnside Writers Collective

Favorite Podcast: Sklarbro Country

Favorite TV Show: Flight Of The Conchords

Favorite Band: The Decemberists

Favorite Book: Outliers

Favorite Sport: Ice Hockey

Favorite Team: Buffalo Sabres

Favorite Athlete: Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres Goaltender)

Regrets: considering this list - 0

Thanks for reading and I look forward to post-Apocalyptic endeavors. As you probably surmised I expect to be here on Monday and I'm excited about life after the Rapture.

Read The Bobo Blog

May 19, 2011

Is God in it?

photo © 2010 Sarah | more info (via: Wylio)
The first thing I consider is whether I write for God's glory or mine? Honestly, I must confess that this is unclear even to me. My motivation for writing stems from a catharsis that it produces. So in the purest sense my initial motivation is selfish. I write because I need to express my heart's passion, longing, frustration... I write because I am able.  It is unclear who will read, in what state of mind, in what state of belief/doubt. So blogging is ironically selfless and selfish all at once. I see God in this process. So I write. I envision what, when, where and why. Faith got me interested in writing. And faith propels me. I want to write for God's glory, but at the end of the day I write for me. If this makes me a villain, a narcissist or a bad guy, then I'll wear those labels.

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May 18, 2011

My Blogistential Crisis

Whether it's a blogistential crisis or just writer's block.  Recently I've been thinking. That's probably my first problem, but I've been wondering, contemplating, ruminating. Here's my thought:

photo © 2009 openpad | more info                                                        (via: Wylio)

Read more »

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February 11, 2011

tears for my creation

A humble expression of God's perspective on Creation

by Michael D. Bobo

Peering down from atop the world,

I see creation like no other.

The beauty takes even My breath away.

How is it that My creatures fail to see?

There is bliss to be found in a flower.

I created the intricacies of the deep ocean,

the vast expanse of the heavens,

the majestic valleys and awesome peaks.

For the joy of  My creatures,

for healing,

for delight in a child's eyes,

for love between Me, My Son and My Spirit.

Tears for my creation.

Yet I am labeled a cruel Deity?

Castigated, rejected, abused.

Some claim I hate and so should they.

Some deny My very being.

In the midst of chaos who hears the cries for aid?

Who comforts the downcast?

Who is in the eye of the storm?

Who has been there all along?

I feel the pain that none other feels,

the ache that longs for My creatures.

Come to Me All who labor.

I have come to give you rest.

Tears for my creation.

I am Peace.

The Shalom.

The Wholeness.

The Holy One.

I am Life.

The Source.

The Keeper.

The Sustainer.

I am Love.

The Lover of all souls.

Self-less sacrifice.

Omnipresent grace.

Tears for my creation.

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December 29, 2010

Now on Burnside: "Manna in my Wilderness"

Just posted: a personal reflection on a recent church shopping experience. I have intentionally left names and places nondescript. The lesson in spiritual testosterone brought my wife and I back to a place in our past where we've learned and grew and moved on. Please comment on Burnside Writers Collective. I love to know what moves you.

Read The Bobo Blog