MediocreMan

Hmm and Argh · 23 August 2025

I am not sure that Hmm and Argh are in the dictionary, but even if they are not, I am going to keep using them.

Hmm is a great little word. It is a word that is supposed to make you think. Or at least make you think about thinking. Hmm. See, you thought about thinking about thinking. Is that even a thing? Yes, it is something called metacognition. Thinking about thinking. It is quite the concept.

At any rate.

Thinking because you read the word “Hmm” is pretty cool. I use this word in my writing to indicate that I might be thinking. Or that I think the thought I have just had could use a little more thought. Or that I think there could be more to be said. Hmm. I suppose that I even use it in different ways than those, but I would need to think more. Hmm.

I also like Hmm because it has no vowels and it does not cause my word processor to have fits. You know what I mean. Sometimes words get corrected by your word processor and you need to change them back to whatever it was that you were writing. And sometimes words get those red squiggly lines underneath them. Which is extremely annoying when the words are exactly the way you want them. Sheesh. Okay. Having the word processor change them is more of a pain. Does that make it more annoying? Hmm. I will need to think about that.

(By the way, many word processors do not change words that start with a capital letter, especially when it is in the middle of a sentence. So I wonder if hmm will cause a squiggly without being capitalized. Nope. Just thought I would check.)

Argh is another great word. I love argh because it does not cause a red squiggly underline whether it is capitalized or not (I just checked). And I love it because of its emotive content. Argh! You can just see the writer or speaker being frustrated to the point of not having any words to say. Either that or you see Charlie Brown yelling at Lucy for missing a fly ball or saying something annoying or just being Lucy. I tend to see Shrek, even though I do not know that he ever says, “Argh!” And of course, many people see pirates when they think of argh. Argh matey!

Argh is also fun to just use in a blog post. Argh! I cannot find the words to describe what I am thinking about. It is so frustrating. Argh! See what I mean? It is the perfect word to show frustration. Or maybe that is just me. Hmm.

Like I said, I am not sure that Hmm and Argh are in the dictionary, but that does not matter to me. They get passed by in my word processor, so it does not matter whether they are officially in the dictionary or not. So if you are in need of a couple unique little words to show you are thinking or that you are frustrated, think about two of my favorite little words. Hmm and Argh.

Share on facebook

Comment

Do You Ever Wonder? · 16 August 2025

Do you ever wonder if you are doing what you are supposed to be doing? Yeah. Me neither.

I suppose that if I ever wondered what I was doing, I would not have over 1000 blog posts since 2007 (actually, late 2006). I would not have over two dozen books on Amazon (the latest two were released on August 1, 2025). And I would not keep having more ideas for blogs and books all the time. Or would I?

I suppose that we all think about what we are doing from time to time. Or if not, maybe we should. We should take stock of our skills and gifts. We should evaluate our goals and dreams. And we should compare them to each other and the time we spend doing them. Then, we could determine whether we were doing what we are supposed to be doing.

Or maybe we should not do any of that. Maybe we should just keep plodding along. Maybe we should operate in fool’s paradise thinking that we are doing okay and not worry about making progress.

Or maybe that is just me.

Now, I must say that I do take stock of my skills and gifts. I do evaluate my goals and dreams. But even though I am just a guy striving to become mediocre. Even though I am a writer trying to get noticed. Even though I am churning out blog posts and books that nobody reads I still write. And I still love it.

I know that sounds strange. It even sounds strange to me. Think about it. Who in their right mind would write and write and write when nobody reads? Okay. I know that I would. I wonder who else would. I would write if I was the only one who read my stuff. I would. And I know I would because nobody reads my stuff but me. Okay. Not quite true. I have a couple friends who read my blog. I have a couple friends who have read my books.

But it does not matter how many people read my stuff. I will continue to write. And no. That is not a threat.

The reason that I will continue to write is not because I think that one day I will strike it rich. That I will be like one of those overnight successes who worked and worked and worked in obscurity for years and years until he or she hit it big. (I bet you thought I was going to put one more “and years” in there.) No. It is much simpler than that.

The reason that I will continue to write even if I am the only one who reads my writing is because I write for an audience of one. Okay, two. I write for me. (Two.) And more importantly, I write for the Lord. (One.)

I know it might sound strange, but I want to do everything I do for an audience of One. I want to please the Lord and only the Lord. Nobody else matters. Even me. Which is why I write. I write because I believe it is what the Lord would have me do. And since that is true, I will write with whatever earthly audience I have. Even if that audience is just me.

So yes. I do take stock of my skills and talents. I do look at who reads my stuff and who buys my stuff (I cannot really see who buys unless you leave a review). And even though it seems that I should give up and quit throwing garbage onto the internet, I will persist. I will keep writing. For it is what I am supposed to be doing.

I do still wonder if I am doing what I am supposed to do. I wonder because I do not get any accolades from the world. But that is okay. Because even if it is just in my imagination, I can see the Lord smiling at my obedience. And that is worth everything to me. Even when I wonder if I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.

Share on facebook

Comment

My Other Latest Book · 9 August 2025

(#ad) click

I forgot to mention that I have another latest book out there. (I actually wonder if “another latest” is a thing. Hmm.)

I released six books on August 1, 2025. (Four of them are books of screenplays that I had already published digitally. But I figure that releasing them in print form means that I released them. So I am counting them.) I also released 101 DailyPrompt Pieces: Poetry, Prose, and Pith, which I wrote about in a previous post. But the other book I released is called The UnExamined Life.

You might have heard the Socrates quote, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I have heard it a quite few times recently, and decided that it deserved a bit more thought. So I wrote a piece of fiction about it. The first section is about a man who lived an unexamined life. He certainly thought it worth living, but that section of the book is pretty short, as you might imagine.

The second part of the book is a series of conversations with two characters. They just talk. I know. It does not sound like a book that lots of people would read. After all, we barely talk to each other these days. At least not in person. We just rant and rave to and about each other on social media. We think that is communication, but it is not. Okay. We probably do not even think it is communication, but we let is suffice. Strange beings we are.

The book is short. I did not intend it that way, but it sort of stopped itself. The story could have gone on, but the characters just wanted time to think about what they were discussing. So they wanted me to stop narrating. I know that sounds silly, but it is sorta what happened. My characters seem to have minds of their own. They take stories in directions that I may or may not intend. Ah well. It sometimes turns out okay.

I must tell you that if you decide to check out this book, it might make you think. It might make you examine what your foundation is. What your worldview is. And that is a scary proposition. Then again, if you do not want to examine your life, you would not want to check it out anyway.

At any rate.

I am not sure that people really want to examine their lives, but that might be why we have such depression and anxiety these days. So if you want to do a little self-examination, you can see how a couple fictional characters do it first. And you can do that by checking out my other latest book. The UnExamined Life.

Share on facebook

Comment

Older