<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Ian Merkel &#187; the personal</title>
	<atom:link href="http://ianmerkel.com/category/personal/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://ianmerkel.com</link>
	<description>Creative writing, commentary, and then some.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:39:14 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>To My Dad&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/06/21/to-my-dad/</link>
		<comments>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/06/21/to-my-dad/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:16:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Honesty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Humility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Narrating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Respect]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ianmerkel.com/?p=93</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
NB:  This is something I wrote on my inauguration of my Dad&#8217;s website just a few minutes ago.  I figure I&#8217;d post it on my website as well.
Greetings!  I will be the first person to admit that this website should have come out years ago, but there’s no time like the present to start something [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/06/21/to-my-dad/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Move</title>
		<link>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/04/02/move/</link>
		<comments>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/04/02/move/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:44:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mobility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[willpower]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://colonbackslash.com/?p=58</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Movement is all about willpower. 
We are intricate machines, but useless without guidance.
Willpower is a form of guidance.  I will not be left offline.
I will not be left strewn on the floor.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/04/02/move/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Crisp</title>
		<link>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/01/21/crisp/</link>
		<comments>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/01/21/crisp/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:17:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poem]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://colonbackslash.com/?p=51</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The flavor of Granny Smith apples
My taste buds brought to attention by the watercress in my salad
The sting of wasabi mixed with my double black soy
The prose of a Shakespeare comedy
The intent in the command voice of a drill instructor
A mother&#8217;s imperative remark to her pestering child
The perfect application of white in a field of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/01/21/crisp/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Standing in bloom</title>
		<link>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/01/13/standing-in-bloom/</link>
		<comments>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/01/13/standing-in-bloom/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:51:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poem]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://colonbackslash.com/?p=33</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Standing in bloom amongst your peers
sharing the same common descriptor,
yet holding your own.
You are part of this composition in which we all belong,
yet you are so much different from the rest.
In your own beauty you defy being known as just another shiny pebble:
you are the brightest gem of the lot.
Everything grows in this city by [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/01/13/standing-in-bloom/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Untitled</title>
		<link>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/01/05/untitled/</link>
		<comments>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/01/05/untitled/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:30:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hollywood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poem]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://colonbackslash.com/2009/01/05/untitled/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The proverbial bird has been released
And the missing has since begun&#8230;
I pass by her street and all I can sense is my missing her even more.
I hope all the bards were correct in their assertion that the bird to whom I gave my heart might perchance return.
Soundtracks are best played to a great Hollywood production: [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://ianmerkel.com/2009/01/05/untitled/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Prime Example of Patriotism&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://ianmerkel.com/2008/09/21/a-prime-example-of-patriotism/</link>
		<comments>http://ianmerkel.com/2008/09/21/a-prime-example-of-patriotism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:07:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the habitual]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bbc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[britannia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elgar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God Save the Queen.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jerusalem]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://colonbackslash.com/?p=17</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have always wanted to during the summer to attend the Last Night of the Proms and be part of the massive audience enjoying and perhaps even singing along with the BBC Orchestra and Chorus...]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://ianmerkel.com/2008/09/21/a-prime-example-of-patriotism/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Returning to the Haberdasher</title>
		<link>http://ianmerkel.com/2008/09/15/returning-to-the-haberdasher/</link>
		<comments>http://ianmerkel.com/2008/09/15/returning-to-the-haberdasher/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:21:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[the personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the professional]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[centos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[discovering linux]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[server]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ubuntu]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://colonbackslash.com/?p=11</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What does clothing, open source solutions, and time have in common?  Lots.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://ianmerkel.com/2008/09/15/returning-to-the-haberdasher/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The nth time is the charm&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://ianmerkel.com/2008/09/03/initialize/</link>
		<comments>http://ianmerkel.com/2008/09/03/initialize/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:02:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[the habitual]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the personal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dev.colonbackslash.com/?p=1</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Five months later, some things haven't changed (much)... I'm excited about many things, personal, professional, and political (the three "Ps", go figure...)]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://ianmerkel.com/2008/09/03/initialize/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
