MediocreMan

Blogging Is Strange · 17 November 2018

Blogging is a funny thing. Or maybe strange is a better word. Or maybe blogging is just strange for me.

I have been blogging for a long time now. Around a decade so far (since 2007). And it seems that it is getting easier to do. I have more ideas. I have an actual inventory of pieces that I could post. And I actually have time to write. Actually, I make time to write, because I just need to write.

The funny thing about the whole blogging thing is that I do not really have a niche. I am not funny all the time (or any time it seems), so I do not fit into the Erma Bombeck or Dave Berry category of humor. I am not serious all the time, so I do not fit into a normal columnist category either. Nor do I write about writing all the time, so I do not fit into the writing about writing category either. I just write about whatever comes into my head and put it out there for my readers (both real and imaginary) to read. (By the way, I have a reader I did not know about. Check out the comments on my Proof blog post.)

Maybe I just do not fit into any category. Maybe I just do not fit into any box. Maybe I am a square peg in a round hole.

Anyway. I mostly enjoy being a blogger. Writing and writing and writing just to write. And hopefully gaining a few readers now and then is okay with me.

But sometimes I wish that I was more focused and could just write in a specific genre or about a specific topic. But I guess the opposite, not being focused, is why I called my blog Musings in the first place. I just muse about whatever comes to mind. I just write without thinking. Or without thinking too much.

Well, I guess that is about it. When it comes right down to it, I wish I was funny and I wish I was focused and I wish I was an expert on something about which people would want to read. But alas. I am merely a blogger who likes to muse about life. So I muse.

No wonder I think blogging is a strange thing. At least for me.

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Books Made into Movies · 10 November 2018

One of my track and field athletes asked me a strange question early last season. “What book would you like to see made into a movie?” I had to think about it for a moment before I thought of the obvious answer. One of my own.

I am not really one to promote my writing where I work. I am a bit shy about it in reality. For one thing, I do not want to appear to be promoting myself to my students who are impressionable. And for another, I am just not much of a self-promoter. So when students tell me that they like my blog, I smile and say thanks. That is about it. I think it is nice that they tell others that they like my writing, but that is usually about the extent of the conversations.

Of course, some of them look me up on the internet and see what is out there. They see MediocreMan.com and MichaelTMiyoshi.com and my YouTube channel to be sure. Some of them will even find my Amazon author page.

Which is where the conversation led to after my athlete, Carter, asked me the movie question.

The question actually came up while the student-athletes were cooling down at the end of practice. Two of them were talking about a video one of them had made with a partner for the school district. Then came the question about making a book into a movie. I thought of a few books, but most of them had already been made into movies. I even thought of some of the movies that had been made from the Bible.

That was when it hit me. (Duh.) I am a writer. Or at least I claim to be. So why not say that I would like to have one of my own books made into a movie. Which is of course, one of my dreams.

Naturally, when I answered, my student-athletes’ eyes went wide as they asked, “You wrote a book?”

I said something like, “Sure, I have several out there digitally on Amazon.”

Their eyes went wider if that was possible. And that was about the extent of the conversation. Until the next day.

Carter said that he could not find my books. I did not think about it at the time, but I should have told him to look on Amazon for Michael Miyoshi instead of just Miyoshi. There are things out there with Miyoshi that are not associated with me, and even searching for Michael Miyoshi gets you more than just my stuff. But it does get you to my stuff. Like I said, I did not think of telling him to search for Michael Miyoshi at the time. And I do not know if he ever found any of my writing. Ah well.

I am not sure, but I think part of the reason I did not think of telling Carter to look for Michael Miyoshi or even Michael T. Miyoshi is that I am a bit shy about my writing. Sure, I put out my weekly blog post. And yes, I like to have people read my books. But when it comes down to it, as much as I like attention, I like to give others the attention even more. Which is probably why I could barely think of the right answer when I was asked, “What book would you like to see made into a movie?” (Next time, I will answer right away, “One of my own, of course.”)

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Pumpkin Carving Tradition · 3 November 2018

I called it silly, but maybe pumpkin carving is not such a silly tradition.

We used to carve pumpkins every year when the kids were younger. It was fun scooping out the guts and then cutting open those orange gourds to make fabulous creations. Well, they might not have all been fabulous. But at least they were creations. At any rate, we had a great time doing it.

As the boys got older, they did not want to carve pumpkins as much. Come to think of it, we probably stopped doing it as a family when Thing 1 moved out. The younger two were not as enthusiastic about the whole pumpkin carving. So as they got into high school, we got out of the tradition.

I could hardly stand it. I did not carve pumpkins for a few years, but I had to do start carving again. Even without the kids. So I did. I even invite Thing 1 over when he has the time. Which is what I was waiting for this year. I was hoping he would come over and carve pumpkins with me like when he was a kid. But alas, he was not able to make it.

I still carved a pumpkin anyway.

It was actually quick. I carved Pikachu. And a boo on the back. Just the word, “BOO.” It is always fun to carve the word backwards on the back of the pumpkin because the light shines out the back to show the word forward on the wall. Not that Pikachu ever says, “Boo,” but it is an easy word to carve.

Maybe one day my kids will want to carve pumpkins again. Or maybe the next generation will want to do so. But it does not really matter. I will still carve pumpkins. Because it is definitely not a silly tradition.

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