Having a hard time relating to humans?

Well, you’re not the only one…

Subscribe and join Kurt Brindley in his effort to try to relate with those somewhat petulant and occasionally pernicious and always peculiar kind of beings called human… a kind that often makes it awfully hard for him to like them.

How can we possibly relate to these peculiar kind?

In his (futile?) effort to help himself and others do so, relate to human (un)kind that is, each Sunday Kurt publishes a missive that includes a main feature called Human Zen, a feature-length article scrutinizing and pondering and discussing and philosophizing about topical events, be they of politics, of sports, of entertainment, of the arts, of health, or of whatever it is this odd kind called human is mucking around with these days, and tries to frame it in a way that hopefully helps us understand just a little bit better what exactly is the Zen of being human.

Also included may be shorter features:

Literary Zen, where something from the global library of literature is cited - an author quote or literary passage perhaps, or maybe even a short book review - that somehow relates to the feature article and, hopefully, helps us to better cope with this incurable human condition from which we all suffer.

Zentropy, where just about anything relating to humans will be covered, but in as fast - and fun - a manner as possible.

And maybe there will even be an occasional one called A Moment of Zen(o) & Aurelius. Yeah, just a quick picture of Kurt’s monster Plott Hounds, nothing to fret about. Really, don’t worry, you’ll like it - guaranteed*!

Oh, and there will surely be an occasional original poem in a feature called Zentripetal?

Usually, these newsletter missives will be further developments of something he has shared on his website’s journal, which itself is usually an expounding of something he has found in recent book he has read or, for better or worse, in the MSM or on twitter.

When you subscribe, to show his thanks he will send you a free copy of his short story collection, LEAVE: And Other Stories Short and Shorter.

You’ve been warned.

~~~~

*not really


About Kurt

A husband and father of three adult children and, as mentioned above, two monster Plott Hounds, Kurt is a retired sailor who lives in Southern Pennsylvania in a house on top of a windy and rolling hill. He traveled much of the world while serving in the navy and, aye, he’s got some stories to tell…

While serving in the navy, Kurt earned an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Maryland and a graduate degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma.

In 1998, he took a hiatus from his regular navy duties as a navy telecommunications specialist to attend the U. S. military’s Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute. The institute is little known to most but is internationally renowned to those in the human relations field.

Upon graduation, Kurt was certified as a Navy Equal Opportunity Adviser and assigned the responsibilities of providing diversity management training and equal opportunity consultation and assistance to navy personnel throughout the navy’s Western Pacific area of operations.

Much of this work focused on awareness and outreach seminars in an effort to mitigate the harassment and abuse that resulted from the confusion and resentment surrounding the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

His assignment as an EOA was one of the most challenging, and rewarding, assignments of his navy career, and it served as the impetus behind much of his early writing, particularly his debut novel Inside the Skin and his short story “Leave.”

The author of three novels, one short story collection, two books of poetry, and one little book of inspiration, Kurt, in pursuit of new literary challenges, adapted his short story Leave into a screenplay in the summer of 2015. In October 2016, Leave was filmed and produced in Los Angeles with an amazing cast and crew. It premiered at the LA Femme Film Festival in October 2018.

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one man's attempt to discover the Zen of being human...

People

Kurt is a retired sailor who lives in Southern Pennsylvania in a house on top of a windy and rolling hill. He traveled much of the world while serving in the navy and, aye, he’s got some stories to tell…