Scream.
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Dam your judgements.
To hell with your hate.
Your heaven is hell.
Fuck your faith.
Fuck your god.
Fuck you.
Fuck.
. . .
.[/caption]
Lincoln on the bible
"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma."
— Abraham Lincoln , Speeches and Writings, 1832-1858
From Emo Philips
“Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!” He said, “Nobody loves me.” I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”
He said, “Yes.” I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?” He said, “A Christian.” I said, “Me, too!
Protestant or Catholic?” He said, “Protestant.” I said, “Me, too!
What franchise?” He said, “Baptist.” I said, “Me, too!
Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?” He said, “Northern Baptist.” I said, “Me, too!
Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?” He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.” I said, “Me, too!
Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?” He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.” I said, “Me, too!”
Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”
I said, “Die, heretic!”
And I pushed him over.”
— Emo Philips
It is normal to be abnormal
“The Conspiracy has been trying to squelch abnormality since time began.”
— Rev. Ivan Stang
The War of Art, or the amateur psychology and religious babbling of Steven Pressfield
Listening to Steven Pressfield personify “resistance” and then go on and on about his phobias regarding creativity is exhausting. I almost feel like sending him a bill for a psychiatry session. When he goes into religious babbling, well, I lost interest. Writing, creativity and storytelling isn’t an ongoing battle with some invisible monster named resistance. Creativity isn’t something whispered by angels into the ears of a transcriber. If you want to write, or create art of any type, you simply do it. If you persevere, you will create art. If you continue, and you improve along the way, you may create great and enduring art. Yes, you may have personal challenges, phobias and self-doubts to work through. But hearing Pressfield go on about his personal issues will be of dubious help. Skip this book and spend time creating something great on your own. Your time will be better spent.
A new perspective on the Jim Rohn quote
The original Jim Rohn quote: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
A new perspective on the Jim Rohn quote: “You are the average of the five people, dead or alive, that you spend the most time with.”
Meaning that if you listen to their podcast, or watch their video, or read their book, that is you spending time with them.
Their and back again.
I’m sittting in the Charles de Gaulle airport, leaving France. It almost feels like I haven’t been here.
I don’t feel at home in France. It feels like I am in “their” country (hence the title of this article). A month and a half ago, I spent two travel-packed weeks in China. April was Italy, where I spent the vast majority of my days waking up, traveling to a new city, lecturing, eating, then sleeping each day. Then repeating that over and over and over. Before that, China, much the same (work, work, work)
It might be that my time in Paris was needed to recover. My six days were spent relaxing. One afternoon I went out and visited my friend Yves, and his friend Alafrez. I almost missed that meeting because I slept in.
I planned to go see the Eiffel Tower on Sunday, but rain discouraged me. I saw it, the Mona Lisa, the Arc de Triomphe (and much more) about three decades ago. It felt nicer to stay in the AirBnB in north Paris, rather than venture out into old territory. I did make a daily visit to the McDonalds across the street. Sometimes, familiar food is what a Hobbit needs.
Well, let’s see how things progress. Amsterdam is completely new to me. If I stay inside the whole week, then I will have to evaluate if this trip was the wisest choice I have made in recent years.
Scrivener Superpowers
So, I am writing this review in Scrivener, which is fitting. I haven’t used Scrivener in years, as I have chosen to move on to a minimalist editor named Ulysses. I never used more than the basic features of Scrivener (in particular, the Binder and Compile features are Scrivener’s primary strengths, in my opinion), and its lack of an iOS version made the choice of transition easier.
When Scrivener Superpowers came to my attention, it seemed like a fine time to revisit the tool, and see what M.G. Herron has to say.
Writing is a journey, and finding the right writing tool is part of that. Is Scrivener the right tool for you? That is a question that you will have to answer for yourself. Download a demo of the software. Open it up. Go through the interactive tutorial. Write something.
And then read Scrivener Superpowers. Herron will hold your hand through this part of the journey.
You’ll meet friends along the way, and they will tell you of their trials and tribulations. You get to read a half-dozen stories of their heroic journeys. Even better, there is a link to interviews with each author, so you can see and hear them express their love of Scrivener.
Herron then walks you through the pertinent parts of the user interface. Given the depth of Scrivener, this is a real boon. You get a no-nonsense tour of what you need to know. Screenshots are included, and they will help you find your way.
He then dives into advice on how to structure your story. This is where Scrivener Superpowers shines. He breaks down the sections that you will pour your words, scenes, characters, settings and research into. This is serious information for writers that will take their writing seriously. There is even a link to his template, which you can download and use in Scrivener. For the aspiring student, the template is worth more than the price of the book.
Storyboards, drafts and targets are covered next. These are followed up by meta-data, revisions and compiling. There is just enough substance here to keep you informed, but not so much that you get lost in technical details.
Herron closes with tips for pros and additional resources. Although brief, they are valuable.
Scrivener Superpowers is a fine book to read as you explore Scrivener. It will help you, it will move you into action and, at times, it will inspire you. If you have an interest in Scrivener, Herron’s book is well worth your attention.
Write Right Rite
Here is a method for writing right, made into a rite.
Schedule a time to write every day.
Make the time short, so that it is easy to commit to. For me, fifteen minutes is good.
Then, at that time, sit down and write.
If you don’t know what to write, think about what you want to write.
If you know what you want to write, think about what you want to say.
If the words don’t come, simply sit and stare at the blank page. For every one of those scheduled minutes.
When the words come, write them. Don’t edit. Don’t correct. Just pour them onto the page.
You can always go back and edit them before you hit the publish button. And in today’s digital age, you can even fix errors post-publication.
The idea is to get comfortable with writing at a regular time.
Get comfortable with creating.
Get comfortable with that glaringly white page.
Make the practice into a rite to help you write right.
Bringing the dead back to life
Way back in the day, I created my first CMS (Content Management System) type of website. This was in the mid-nineties, so it was before CMS types of websites were even an idea.
It was driven by a forum, which fed posts onto the front page. I used the forum as a personal blog, making posts into sub-forums as a way to categorize content.
In the early 2000’s, I moved to WordPress. The old site languished, but I kept it running. I wasn’t sure why at the time, but it felt like the right thing to do.
Recently, the site’s server upgraded PHP and MySQL, which finally broke the site. Nothing but errors if you tried to visit it. So I faced a undesirable decision: troubleshoot an antique, or completely retire it.
I let it sit. After all, no one complained. No one missed it. Why invest time into it?
Well, last night, I invested time into it. And I couldn’t be happier. It is like reconnecting with an old friend. Or more precisely, finding an old diary and dusting it off.
It isn’t perfect. The front page no longer pulls content from the forum. I had to correct a few graphical issues. And I had to remove and/or clean up a lot of code to get the forum back up. But it is back. And it is a hell of a lot of fun to look at content that I created way back when.
There probably are a few issues here and there. And I don’t know if I will ever add new content to the site. But just knowing that it is alive again is oh so satisfying.
And I still get a kick out of the pair of “eyes” that follows your cursor around on the main page. It is fun to see them chase and watch your actions. Big Brother is watching you!
If you want to take a look at it, the main page is here. And the forum is here. Just keep in mind that it has been years since new content was added. If nothing else, it inspired me to write this post, so the creative spark is alive and well.
Enjoy!
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Lecter.org CMS[/caption]
Trumped
So I was playing cards with some friends, one of whom is new to cards.
They asked about trumps.
One friend responded, “Trump always wins.”
I immediately added, “Unless he is running for president.”
Desk.pm
Desk 1.4.1 has fixed the paragraph issue that I experienced through various versions. In short, I am happy with it again!
Tired of taxes?
Feeling taxed? Why not start a religion? They are tax-exempt after all.
Wait—I get the feeling that you think I am being facetious. I’m not.
For example, imagine a science fiction writer, unhappy with being paid poorly, and then taxed on top of that. He starts a religion, mixes in a smattering of psychiatry and then, for good measure, obscures facts with a bit of scientific façade. Throw in an alien overlord and bits and pieces from the pages of yesteryear’s pulpy science fiction. Extort the IRS into turning a blind eye—and voilà—a “religion” is born!
Ok. You got me. Clearly, I’m making all of this up. Forget that I brought this up, and go about paying your taxes. Sometimes, my imagination runs wild.
"Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion."
Playing the Matrix
Yesterday, 2/22, I attended Playing the Matrix by Mike Dooley in Long Beach, CA.
Mike is a dynamic speaker, who intersperses natural humor into his talks. I walked away filled with inspiration and motivation—he is that good.
If you get the chance to be at one of his presentations, don’t miss it. Until then, sign up for his Notes from the Universe. The notes are delivered every night, Monday through Friday. They always make me smile!
Warlords of Draenor Cinematic
Another beautiful cinematic from the fine folks at Blizzard:
[youtube=[www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLzhlsEFcVQ&w=640&h=360])