@EmptyHandshake

Thank you, Steve, great adventure. I enjoy photography of old graves and gravestones in far off forgotten places. I told my wife when I pass, I want to be cremated. She came and told me yesterday my appointment is next Wednesday!

Get a job, you have

          too much time on your hands.

Im schönsten Wiesengrunde

 Im schönsten Wiesengrunde Ist meiner Heimat Haus da zog ich manche Stunde ins Tal hinaus Dich mein stilles Tal Grüß ich tausendmal da zog ich manche Stunde ins Tal hinaus Müsst aus dem Tal ich scheiden wo alles Lust und Klang das wär mein herbstes leiden mein letzter Gang Dich mein stilles Tal Grüß ich tausendmal da zog ich manche Stunde ins Tal hinaus Sterb ich im Tales Grunde Will ich begraben sein singt mir zur letzten Stunde beim Abendschein Dir mein stilles Tal Gruß zum letzten mal Singt mir zur letzten Stunde beim Abendschein

his income was not enough,

     George Grey Barnard was a risk taker and led most of his life on the edge of poverty.

His success led him to adopt a somewhat romantic view of himself. He recalled bicycling across the French countryside and unearthing fallen and long-forgotten Gothic masterworks along the way. 

Römische Geschichte

 Sie stellten rasch eine große Armee auf, wobei ihnen zugutekam, dass die 

östlichen Provinzen

 wesentlich reicher als die westlichen waren.

Schlacht bei Philippi

 Nach der Ermordung Caesars (15. März 44 v. Chr.)

The more I saw of my fellow passengers,

        the less I was tempted to the lyric note.

STEVENSON 

Self Improvement Plan

Robert Louis Stevenson improved his writing skills through a disciplined, lifelong commitment to study, imitation, and meticulous revision. He famously described his training as acting as a "sedulous ape" to masters of literature, consciously practicing their techniques to develop his own unique style. 

His methods for improving his craft included:

• The "Sedulous Ape" Method (Imitation): As a youth, Stevenson trained himself by imitating the styles of authors he admired, such as Hazlitt, to Lamb, to Wordsworth, to Sir Thomas Browne, to Defoe, to Hawthorne, to Montaigne, to Baudelaire and to Obermann. He would read a passage, and then practice writing in that same style to absorb its rhythm and technique.
• Constant Practice and Observation: Stevenson always carried two books in his pocket—one to read, one to write in. As he walked, he practiced "fitting what I saw with appropriate words," treating writing as a craft to be practiced like carpentry.
• Meticulous Revision and Pruning: Stevenson viewed writing as a form of "pruning" and editing. He focused on choosing the mot juste (the exact right word) and removing unnecessary, "watered" phrases to ensure his prose was concise and impactful. He famously argued that if a thought could be expressed in one sentence instead of two, the shorter version must be used.
• Focus on Rhythm and Sound: He believed that literature, like music, should be pleasing to the "internal ear". He improved his writing by carefully arranging the rhythm of his sentences, utilizing alliteration and assonance.