Saturday, January 7, 2012

On Jollification...


I’m sitting in the parking lot of a haunted house, waiting for the coffee shop to open. That’s a fine first sentence. I really like it.
I have a bizarre sense of becoming today. Not exactly certain what it is that I’m becoming (an adult finally…nah!), but I am changing into something hopefully better, definitely more.
I’ve been writing all kinds of things lately. Comedy scripts, research papers, a zombie novel and assorted other tidbits of horror fiction. Some of it doesn’t even suck.
I also got paid to act for the first time in the last few months and I’m going to be performing in a great big yummy vaudeville show at the end of the month at Skellington Manor, the aforementioned haunted house.
But enough about me. Happiness in a blog can be so depressing.
A young man died this week. I didn’t know him, but I know his mother since we went to the high school that she teaches at. I heard him play the violin at my local Italian restaurant. He was great. He was a brilliant student as well. His whole life and future ahead of him and a loss like that is difficult to put in perspective.
His mom expressed it beautifully in his obituary, “The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long.” I think that’s a beautiful sentiment and, if nothing else, inspires me to fan these various smolderings in my own life.
A piece of advice then, more directed at myself than you, gentle reader. Whatever the hell it is, do it. There will come a time when you can’t and you’ll hate yourself a little for settling for less.
From Gilgamesh:
        Why, O Gish, does thou run about?
        The life that thou seekest, thou wilt not find.
        When the gods created mankind,
        Death they imposed on mankind;
        Life they kept in their power.
        Thou, O Gish, fill thy belly,
        Day and night do thou rejoice,
        Daily make a rejoicing!
        Day and night a renewal of jollification!
        Let thy clothes be clean,
        Wash thy head and pour water over thee!
        Care for the little one who takes hold of thy hand!
        Let the wife rejoice in thy bosom!

Peace.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The sound of one hand typing

The title is a little more impressive than the content  in all likelihood. I'm trying to edit my blog on my kindle fire. It's working so far, but this is a slow process. For your edification, I will leave in all my spelling errors.
In any case, here we allare in a new year. Not terribly exciting for me as I've fonr it 43 times, but  there is still the notion of a fresh start. So now, I guess I make with the resolutions for 2012. In no particular order:
1) Cut another 20 pounds.
2) Finish the zombie book.
3) Write more for anthologies.
4) Write and direct a feature length film.
5) Find a way to reconnect with my lizard.
6) Look good naked.
Wow, now I feel all exposed, so to speak.
That seems a little cheesy, even for me, but I'm just kinda revving the engine. I have a letter to my brother-in-law to write and, hopefully, another 1000 words on the zombie novel mentioned above. I need to get more disciplined about making myself take writing time. I want to start trerating it just a little more like a task I need to complete, while still managing to enjoy myself.
To that end, I'm setting word goals, but not being aso concerned on what I'm writing. Letters/ blogs/ fiction/ scripts, it will all be one.
That's the guy I want to be in 2012. How about you?
Peace in the meantime.

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