30 Minus 2 Days of Writing (2014)
Day 10: “Zombies”
Day 11: “Succubus”
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For years, I’ve been revisited by a recurring dream that always leaves me unsettled and frustrated when I wake up. I guess you could call it a nightmare. I never remember much about these dreams except for a few recurring details, some blurry impressions, and the emotions I’ve felt in broad strokes.
Category: Human Condition
Do You, Mr. Jones?
30 Minus 2 Days of Writing (2014)
Day 9: “Dylan”
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It feels like Bob Dylan is singing directly to me whenever I listen to “Ballad of a Thin Man”. Granted, I’m not as thin as I used to be, and my last name isn’t Jones, but I have often felt like an outsider looking in on the world, documenting what I see but never fully understanding the things I observe around me. I guess that’s why I find it so hard to write fiction, even though I’ve always dreamed of completing a novel.
All is Vanity (Conversation with God Continued)
30 Minus 2 Days of Writing (2014)
Day 8: “Damn”
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GOD: What reason do you have to despair?
KEVIN: Judging by the current state of the world, I think the answer to that question should be self-evident.
The Stranger Inside (Reposted)
30 Minus 2 Days of Writing (2014)
Day 6: “Scatterbrained”
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The connection between the brain, consciousness, and human identity is really a bizarre thing. The brain is this squishy, unassuming organ that resides in the head, and it processes countless actions per second. It is the source of conscious and unconscious thought. It dutifully delegates commands to regulate respiration, digestion, muscle control, and immune system defense. It performs all of these actions in perfect concert with each other, and yet it perplexingly remains a mystery to itself. If it weren’t for the benefit of research and education, a person’s brain could potentially remain unconscious of itself throughout an entire lifetime. The thought of that is strange and unsettling to me.
Musings of a Sentimental Drunk
30 Minus 2 Days of Writing (2014)
Day 5: “The empty bottle”
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I was struggling with today’s writing prompt, so I decided to mine my old writing journal for something worthwhile. I came across something that I had drunkenly jotted down nearly ten years ago back when I was kid in my early twenties. I wrote it when I was at a party at a friend’s house where there were lots of people, plenty of beer, three guitars, and a joyful consensus of enthusiasm for group singing. I tend to get sentimental when I drink — and during those moments of shared joy, something moved me to commemorate the moment in the only way I knew how to.
Sympathy for the Sinners
30 Minus 2 Days of Writing (2014)
Day 4: “When hell freezes over”
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I find the Christian concept of Hell as a place for eternal damnation a strange idea. If Hell is the domain of the fallen angel, Satan, who was banished from Heaven for defying God’s will, then what is Satan’s motivation in his capacity as “The Devil” to carry out the will of God by punishing sinners for eternity? It really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
The Constant of Human Savagery
Image Source: Reuters It’s difficult to be frivolous in writing some days when there are so many reminders that the world is rife with cruelty and relentless suffering. Most recently, my thoughts have turned to Syria. I feel a need to acknowledge this most recent chapter of human tragedy, but I have no greater aspirations…
A Forgotten, but Familiar Tune
There is a line in that old Outkast song, “Rosa Parks“, that has long been echoing in my mind since 1998. Said baby boy you only funky as your last cut You focus on the past your ass’ll be a has what Damn straight, André. Every time I take a break from blogging, the moments…
The Perfection of Mediocrity
Let me start off by apologizing for falling off the face of the Earth. My last blog entry was posted just over two weeks ago — but from the feel of things, you’d think I’d been away for three months or something. Last week, my buddy, Alvin, busted my balls and asked me if I…
Excessive Perspective
It seems like these days, whenever I attempt to kvetch and vent about the little things that annoy me at my workplace, some smarmy contrarian will always chime in by saying, “Well, just be thankful you have a job in today’s economy.” Thanks for that, asshole. I’m very much aware that the American economic landscape…