What's Your Lofty Mission in Life that Lets You Sneer at My Humble Profession?

I sit here silently, a pair of briefs on my head, sullen, lost in thought... questions, large and small, line up to take turns slapping, pinching, poking, prodding... I take it gamely, for now... but soon - perhaps quite soon - I will hit the snapping point... the silence will be broken, the briefs flung across the room, spittle flying from quivering, angry lips as I pound my fists on my desktop and scream one word...

Welcome!

OK, fine, I made it all up... sheesh! Can't a guy wax ridiculous around here?

I watched a History Channel special on the JFK assassination, called "3 Shots that Changed America". It was made up of live news footage shot the day of the assassination, all the way through to Oswald's death 2 days later. It was quite compelling, actually... no narrator, just the reporters grabbing the soundbites that they could from the courthouse as Oswald was trotted back and forth for interrogation, etc. It was pretty strange. They'd bring him out so he could answer some quick questions, letting him proclaim his innocence or complain about how he was being treated, then whisk him away again... I can't imagine they would do such a thing today. Then they announce they're going to transfer him to another jail, and that they aren't worried about his safety. That soon changes to "very worried," but they go ahead with it anyway... then, in the middle of dozens of armed policemen, Jack Ruby steps up and shoots Oswald, right there on live TV.

Anyway, it was compelling TV. I hope they make it available online somewhere. I want to watch it again. It was surreal to watch the people, hear them speak, you could almost taste the stunned grief that country was feeling, and here it was, 40+ years ago. Weird. That's ok... disillusionment is what little heroes are made of.

OK, enough of that.

What I ate today: 

Pancakes, fish for lunch, and chili for dindin.

What I didn't eat today:

The Goober: A burger topped with a cup of peanut butter and a big dollop of mayo.

Photo courtesy of This Is Why You're Fat. This is another one of those entries that I cannot imagine the creator actually ate... if he/she did, then he/she has my pity. That's about as repulsive an idea as I've heard in years!

I worked on my outline and character list some more today - for the novel I'm going to try to write in November. I'm getting into it, too, which is a good sign. Right now, my fear is that I'm making it too complex, too many characters. I'm an idea man by nature - my problem is follow-through. Instinctively I know that the simpler I can make the story, the more likely I'll actually finish it. But I keep thinking of cool characters to add, and how they will factor in. It's times like this I wish I had a writing buddy to bounce things off of, so that the buddy can tell me what to go with and what to avoid...

Still, I have set in mind to just plow through it, with full awareness that if the story has promise, it can be tweaked, rewritten and otherwise transmogrified on further revisions. The goal for me will be to write a completed narrative, regardless of the number of holes and inconsistencies. Still, I'm at a fun stage at the moment, figuring out who's gonna be who. In loading the story up with people I know, even if the story ultimately goes nowhere beyond my little circle, that should be cool enough... plus, I'll have the experience to dump into my next effort, whatever that may be. So it's a win-win... IF... I can keep it simple enough...

OK, fine, here's a "feel good" amazing coincidence story for you...



What are the odds? You can find out more info in this article, if you don't believe it...

By the way, if you haven't been to Worth 1000 in a while, they've recently released a series of graphic and audio editing tools that are free and web-based. If you go over there, the Design Tools bar should automatically appear along the bottom of the screen. If not, click the Tools tab, and have a look. It used to be just a fun Photoshopping Contest Website, but they've evolved...

I think I'm going to cut it short tonight. I trust that won't be a problem. I hope all of you are busy doing fun things, and that you have grand plans for the upcoming "Halloween to New Year" stretch that looms on the horizon. Pretty mellow today, I know... hey, I can't be manic 24/7... it ain't good for the health.

I will, however, toss a quick White Ninja comic in here, to tide you over...

Ah, absurdity... thou art my friend... it's not a pretty face, I grant you, but underneath its flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character...

Farewell, Ethel Barrymore! I must tear myself from your side! Until tomorrow, remember, I know a place right across the Brooklyn Bridge where they'll never find us...