MediocreMan

To Write or Not to Write · 14 September 2024

To write or not to write. That is the question.
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The indignation of critics and their critiques
Or to lay down the pen never to write again
And end the critiques. Ah to die, to sleep
No more to write. No more to hear the critics.
No more to suffer the heartache and pain
Of deadlines and writer’s block and idealess days
But what of ideas? What of the words that lie dormant?
What of the stories that will never be told?
To be silent, to rest – ay, there’s the rub
For who will tell the stories when no one writes?
Who will speak for those who have no voice?
Who will write the words to fill up the internet?
Whether they be high-minded or mediocre or even less
Ideas must be shared. They must be given voice.
Yet who is to say that this MediocreMan must share them?
That a man of low estate can speak for any but himself?
Ay, there’s another rub. For can any speak for all?
Nay, but only for himself. But that must be the point.
We must shout for joy and cry in sadness.
We must give utterance to our deepest hopes and basest fears
To our grandest ideas and most sublime poetry
To our most glorious triumphs and most inglorious defeats.
Yet who can determine which is which?
Who but Father Time has the wisdom to judge
What thoughts, what ideas, what stories shall stand?
What rhymes and reasons shall be given heed?
And therein lies the answer. To write. To write.
For without writing, ideas disappear never to be wrought
Stories unfold without pomp, never being retold
Victories are as worthless never to be regaled.
So write the stories whether they are ever retold
Regale the victories, sing them out bright and bold
Work through the ideas until they become clear
Write on. Write on. Though no one holds your words dear.

To write or not to write? That is a silly question.

[With regards and apologies to William Shakespeare (Hamlet) and his fans.]

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Save Often · 7 September 2024

When you post your blog, save often. When you post your blog, save often. When you post your blog, save often.

If you are wondering why I wrote the same sentence three times, I am about to explain. When you post your blog, save often. It is actually pretty simple. When you post your blog, save often. You see, it is a mantra. When you post your blog, save often. A mantra that I am going to have when I post my blog. (Bet you thought I was going to say, “When you post your blog, save often.”)

Actually, I do not really need to save often. I just had a problem with my blog post about the number 1 at the end of original movies that have sequels. If you recall, there is no number 1 at the end of original movies that have sequels. (And no. My head is not exploding.) You see, with that post, I had to put HTML tags in for italics words. And since there are movie titles in the blog post, I had to put many HTML tags (both opening and closing tags) into the blog post. After all, I put in several movie titles. Some many times in the same sentence. Or at least the same paragraph. And since convention says that movie titles go in italics, I had many HTML tags to put in.

Well, I was almost done putting in said tags when I hit the wrong button. Silly me. Trix are for rabbits. Oops. I hit a button that starts a new blog post. I tried to go back, but alas. My almost finished blog post was no more. I had to start over.

Which does not mean that I had to write it again. Oh no. I write my blog post on my word processor and then put it on my website. I just had to copy and paste it again. And then, I had to go through and put in my HTML tags again. So even though it was a pain. And even though it took too much time. (Did I mention that I was almost finished?) I got it done. Obviously. At least it is obvious if you have read said blog post. Which reminds me. Do not comment if I missed an italics or have too many. Well, okay. Comment if you must. After all, I like comments.

Which reminds me.

If you read any of my books or any of my blog posts, I would really appreciate reviews or comments. (I think I wrote a blog post saying that I would only mention that one time, but I could not help myself just now. Sorry about that. But I might do it again some time. Sorry about that too.)

At any rate. I need to remember to save often. Especially, when posting my blog. And in case you need a reminder. Here is my mantra again.

When you post your blog, save often. When you post your blog, save often. When you post your blog, save often.

Maybe that will help you remember to save often when you are working on your computer.

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There Is No Part 1 · 31 August 2024

When you have a sequel of any kind, there is no Part 1. Unless you are Star Wars.

I was on a kick about not being in a funk. Three blog posts on the subject. Apparently, I did the same with Kimchi a while ago. But with Kimchi I had four parts. Albeit, those posts were over about a year and only two were consecutive weeks. So apparently, writing blog sequels is a thing. Or at least it is a thing with me. Do not worry. This is not a fourth blog post about not being in a funk. It is a post about sequels. Rather, about what the original is called.

If you have ever been in a conversation about movies, you have probably heard somebody say something about Rocky 1 or Jaws 1. Those movies do not exist. They are called Rocky and Jaws. Period. No 1. Arabic or Roman numeral. No 1 at all. And yet people say it all the time.

“Oh yeah. Rocky 1 still works today.”
“I saw Jaws 1 again. I won’t even go in the lake for weeks.”
“I saw A Nightmare on Elm Street 1. It still scares the bejeebers out of me.”

I know the reason people do it. When you just say, “I saw Rocky last weekend,” somebody inevitably asks, “Which one?” So you just say, “Rocky 1.” Even though there is no Rocky 1!

Of course, you could just say, “The original.” Or you could cock your head sideways and not say anything. But when you do that, whoever you are talking to will undoubtedly say, “Oh yeah. Rocky 1. I love that movie.” And if your head explodes when you say, “There is no Rocky 1!”, your friend will say, “I know. I just like to see your head explode when you say, ‘There is no Rocky 1!’” With friends like that…

At any rate.

I simply do not have that conversation with people. I just let them go along their merry way thinking or at least saying that there really is a “1” at the end of the original title of a movie with a sequel or five. After all, I hate it when my head explodes.

There is, of course, an exception to the No 1 rule. Star Wars. (By the way. There is an exception to every rule. Right? Except that one. Or is that a paradox or a conundrum or something like that?)

Star Wars is a conundrum all by itself. After all, the first one is actually the fourth one. Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope was the original Star Wars, but you cannot call it Star Wars 1. Which is a relief. Unfortunately, it causes its own conversational nightmares. Nightmares not on Elm street.

Or maybe it gets rid of conversational nightmares. Think about it. Star Wars movies have their own numbering system. They are episodes. And those episodes are actually in the titles. Which is great! You can just say which episode you are talking about by number and people will know exactly what you are talking about.

Except they do not.

When you say, “Star Wars 1” or “The first Star Wars” or even “Star Wars: Episode I”, people will still ask you, “Do you mean the original? Or the actual Episode I?” Probably just to see your head explode.

At any rate. I hope this clears things up about ones.

Remember, if you are talking about the original of a series of movies, you do not put a “1” after the name. Unless there really is a one there. Which is an interesting thought. Somebody ought to make a movie with a “1” at the end of the title and not make a sequel. No doubt people would then ask if you had seen the movie but will leave out the 1. Probably just to see your head explode.

And with that ends part 4 of not being in a writing funk (just kidding). Just remember, the original does not have a “1” at the end. And remember. It is nothing like Star Wars.

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