Echoes in a Hollow Space

Kamala Harris was right in the Democratic debate to bring everything back to Trump each time. He's the real enemy here. There were Democrats on that stage who I like better than others but any one of them would be a better president than Donald Trump. But I think I've watched my last debate. I'm sure my Twitter timeline will be relieved, as I couldn’t stop live tweeting. I've watched all the debates so far and my opinion hasn't changed much. I have certain people I'd be quite unhappy to vote for but several of the remaining candidates I'd vote for happily. #AnyDem

An interesting side note: I’ve said uncomplimentary things about several of the candidates but the only time trolls have come after me is when I’ve said uncomplimentary things about Tulsi Gabbard. I am not the only one who has had this experience. And I am such small potatoes on Twitter. They must be very well organized. Good thing I don't respond to trolls. It's no fun for them if you don't engage and they stop playing.

Russian bot, Russian bot
Fly away home—
Your pants are on fire
And you're all Putin owned.
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Yes, there are many tragedies in the world we need to pay attention to, but that doesn't mean we can't take a day to remember the murder of nearly 3000 innocent souls. Politicizing that is pretty reprehensible, no matter which side of the debate it comes from. Especially since 9/11 is an ongoing tragedy. People are still dying as a consequence of what happened that day. In honoring the fallen of 9/11 we are also honoring those who still struggle with illness and death because of it.
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Every act of artistic creation is also an offering to the Universe.
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Dear Everybody Who Needs Money From Me: I'd love to donate to your project/cause/campaign but I'm on a fixed income. Doesn't mean I won't donate when I can but if I donate to one thing I probably won't be able to give to another thing that same month. My sincere best wishes to you.
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Even at my advanced age I can still sing all the lyrics of every Beatles song. You never forget the things you memorized in your youth. Unfortunately, this is also true of every commercial jingle I heard when I was young.
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Whenever I'm doing a piece of art and I say to myself, "I'll just eyeball it," every time I hear Louis Gossett Jr. saying, "Don't be eyeballin' me, boy." Every. Fricking. Time.
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I was reading about the psychological theory of behaviorism one afternoon, but each time the notifications rang on my phone I picked it up to look. The irony of this was not lost on me.
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I hit the wall of character motivation on the novel and had a painful slog trying to get through it. I wasn’t believing this character's reason for acting as he does so I couldn’t expect anyone else would. I did a partial re-read and reorganization to see if that would shake anything loose and after some reworking I came unstuck—at least for that particular problem. I'm not sure that part of the novel works, but it works for now, and I'm moving forward.

But not quickly. I pushed through a major hump a few days ago so at least that section of the story is finished. I’m past the 90k mark and closing in on the end of the book, but I still have a ways to go. I’ve never worked well from outlines. They usually kill an idea dead for me. Part of the problem with the current novel is that I know everything that happens until the end rather than making it up as I go along and that’s turned it into a real slog. However, I feel I have to finish this one, not only because I’ve come so far, but for the sake of my own spirit. I need to finish a substantial piece of work. To prove something to myself, I guess. That I’m still a writer?

I look forward to typing The End and putting this one in the trunk for a while and moving on to something else. It’s not my best work. Most writers I know feel that way at the conclusion of a novel, but in this case I may be write. Er, right.

Until I reread it many months hence, of course, and temporarily suffer from the “this is the best thing I’ve ever done” delusion.
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Euphomet, Jim Perry’s high strangeness podcast, has become my very favoritest. There are many fine podcasts out there, but I love Jim's sensibility and his openly inquisitive tone. Check it out here.

Random quote of the day:

“If you can’t distinguish people from lap-dogs, you shouldn’t undertake philanthropic work.”

—Anton Chekhov, The Princess

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

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