There are a lot of sad things people have to prepare for in life. Unfortunately this is one of them. Maybe if someone writes a good enough story about how upsetting this is for the people involved it might cause some change. If someone takes a little page out of Herman Melville's book White-Jacket there could be some good results from describing something so horrible.
My daughter told me about the bucket. She’s 16 and is just like her dad, in that, she is a worry wart. However, when I was kid there was no bucket just my brain making up scenarios. It hurts that her worry is actually based in reality.
This is a great video! It is crazy this is something we now have to worry about. School was a pretty safe place growing up with the exception of the occasional teen bullies. Called all my reps Monday after the news this week. I agree, we should not have to live in a world where we need the buckets.
When all the companies started locking doors and replacing secretaries with security guards, I kind of saw all this shit coming......... because you could still walk into any school........the Connecticut Lottery Shooting and Sandy Hook and yet we only lock up office buildings????
We just need to ban automatic weapons. Civilians obviously can't handle them. Automatic weapons are meant for the war zone, not public spaces at home. I have a kid, and this stuff is really worrying.
I can't believe they are still legal....I live next door to a gun manufacturer. I got a job doing inventory and it was awesome at first. I was shipping out bullets not to the government but average Joes in the Midwest and at least one of the bullets was going to kill a human and I walked out.......
That's what drew me to your stories. You write about untalked about things we all wish not to acknowledge. The humor, satire elements, style is like ornaments on a christmas tree. Wouldn't you say, what makes a great writer is someone who can tap into the uncelebrated honestly, and tackle that from an unexpected angle? Easier said than done.
Twenty years ago I was at a party where teacher friends were talking about coded announcements. "Recess will be held in the library" meant an active shooter. And "The lunch special is tuna noodle casserole" meant all-clear. Both I wrote into 'Choke.'
That's wild, and scary, yet seem a bit casual in a way.
How do you get people to reveal such stories? I got my theory, it's very simple. Is journalism an influence? I'm asking, since being a hermit makes me feel I'm missing lots of interesting stories from other people.
Writing is about listening. People need to talk about the unacceptable parts of their lives. And if no one does, reveal something of yourself, and that gives them permission. Beyond that their stories will escalate as people compete for effect. Then you sneak to the bathroom and jot down the best parts.
What's that favorite quote that I adore? "If You Want To Tell People the Truth, You’d Better Make Them Laugh or They’ll Kill You." Words to live by/buy...bye.
Writing about the thing that makes you look bad or humiliated is a liberating thing. It's a power not everyone wants to tap into. And it takes courage to be that gateway for other people. Crowd seeding.
“Once filled, the bucket should be placed over the door with the attachable door frame bucket holder (see further instructions on how to attach this tool below).”
You said "the Beverly d"Angelo cameo is her best work." Agree! I loved her first scene. It was very touching.
So I finished watching the movie yesterday and a made a few notes. Might watch it again Sat. I'm not gonna put them all here. And I doubt I can find what took you years in a matter of days. But I am scratching my head. Is there a takeaway from finding this obscure detail?
Here is what I don't get about horror movies. Why doesn't the main character just skedaddle at the first sign of fucked up? "Yeah, sure, this house is haunted by demons and ghosts and every night I'm plagued with nightmares but you know what? Let's just ride this out."
The whole time I was watching it I was thinking, “That’s kinda like ‘Rosemary’s Baby’”. Like the part where the main character is meeting all of her new neighbors, I half expected the Castavets to show up.
Ditto The Exorcist, ‘Salem’s Lot, The Shining, and The Amityville Horror. I don’t know about you but I think there was perhaps a theme going on in the ‘70s.
From a writing side of this, I'm reminded of my Chinese in-laws talking to me about life under communism. Under an unworkable set of requirements from an order handed down, there are outrageous solutions. If they work well enough to not fail immediately, the solution becomes the new normal.
The fictional fun and real terror is to see how far the "new normal" can be stretched.
wow. i love the honesty with the students. sad state of affairs that this is something students need to be prepared for. thanks for sharing.
There are a lot of sad things people have to prepare for in life. Unfortunately this is one of them. Maybe if someone writes a good enough story about how upsetting this is for the people involved it might cause some change. If someone takes a little page out of Herman Melville's book White-Jacket there could be some good results from describing something so horrible.
Oh, I love writing about stuff that no one writes about. The problem for me is idea management and deciding what other people will want to read about.
Don't you dare! The job is about charming people into looking at what they DON't want to look at.
I'm still learning that part of the job. I got some truly messed up stuff that I want to shine a big old light on.
*Scribbles in notepad:
Seducing > Flashing
My daughter told me about the bucket. She’s 16 and is just like her dad, in that, she is a worry wart. However, when I was kid there was no bucket just my brain making up scenarios. It hurts that her worry is actually based in reality.
This is a great video! It is crazy this is something we now have to worry about. School was a pretty safe place growing up with the exception of the occasional teen bullies. Called all my reps Monday after the news this week. I agree, we should not have to live in a world where we need the buckets.
When all the companies started locking doors and replacing secretaries with security guards, I kind of saw all this shit coming......... because you could still walk into any school........the Connecticut Lottery Shooting and Sandy Hook and yet we only lock up office buildings????
Locks don't even matter now. The most recent shooter shot through the glass of a locked door to get in. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heffXoGxcEQ
We just need to ban automatic weapons. Civilians obviously can't handle them. Automatic weapons are meant for the war zone, not public spaces at home. I have a kid, and this stuff is really worrying.
I can't believe they are still legal....I live next door to a gun manufacturer. I got a job doing inventory and it was awesome at first. I was shipping out bullets not to the government but average Joes in the Midwest and at least one of the bullets was going to kill a human and I walked out.......
"Chumps prefer a beautiful lie to an ugly truth." -Abe Lincoln
This makes me wonder if people would care to read about how poverty actually is. We do like looking down on people!
That's what drew me to your stories. You write about untalked about things we all wish not to acknowledge. The humor, satire elements, style is like ornaments on a christmas tree. Wouldn't you say, what makes a great writer is someone who can tap into the uncelebrated honestly, and tackle that from an unexpected angle? Easier said than done.
Twenty years ago I was at a party where teacher friends were talking about coded announcements. "Recess will be held in the library" meant an active shooter. And "The lunch special is tuna noodle casserole" meant all-clear. Both I wrote into 'Choke.'
That's wild, and scary, yet seem a bit casual in a way.
How do you get people to reveal such stories? I got my theory, it's very simple. Is journalism an influence? I'm asking, since being a hermit makes me feel I'm missing lots of interesting stories from other people.
Writing is about listening. People need to talk about the unacceptable parts of their lives. And if no one does, reveal something of yourself, and that gives them permission. Beyond that their stories will escalate as people compete for effect. Then you sneak to the bathroom and jot down the best parts.
That's what I thought, just needed to hear it from another voice other than mine. Listening and also, not judging, that's a big part of that.
What's that favorite quote that I adore? "If You Want To Tell People the Truth, You’d Better Make Them Laugh or They’ll Kill You." Words to live by/buy...bye.
Imagine having the biggest crush on someone and locking eyes while on the bucket
Things should go smoothly—assuming they have brown eyes.
Writing about the thing that makes you look bad or humiliated is a liberating thing. It's a power not everyone wants to tap into. And it takes courage to be that gateway for other people. Crowd seeding.
Agreed. When you risk looking bad you announce: "Relax, everyone, we don't have to be posing douches."
The instructions that came with it:
“Once filled, the bucket should be placed over the door with the attachable door frame bucket holder (see further instructions on how to attach this tool below).”
Starting The Sentinel now. It got Burgess Meredith, Jeff Goldblum, and Christopher Walken. I like these actors, this should be okay.
At the end is a very young Tom Berenger on screen for seconds, no lines.
Ava Gardner steals the movie. And Sylvia Miles. The Beverly d'Angelo cameo is her best work.
You said "the Beverly d"Angelo cameo is her best work." Agree! I loved her first scene. It was very touching.
So I finished watching the movie yesterday and a made a few notes. Might watch it again Sat. I'm not gonna put them all here. And I doubt I can find what took you years in a matter of days. But I am scratching my head. Is there a takeaway from finding this obscure detail?
Hope you have fun at the movie night tonight!
"Touching" is right. Nothing scarier than a woman touching herself. Embargo your notes lest you lose to someone on the Sunday post.
Here is what I don't get about horror movies. Why doesn't the main character just skedaddle at the first sign of fucked up? "Yeah, sure, this house is haunted by demons and ghosts and every night I'm plagued with nightmares but you know what? Let's just ride this out."
By the way, I typed "...demons and ghosts," before seeing it appear again in the description of Midwest Story Night #25, Ritual by Kelly Borton.
Weird.
The whole time I was watching it I was thinking, “That’s kinda like ‘Rosemary’s Baby’”. Like the part where the main character is meeting all of her new neighbors, I half expected the Castavets to show up.
And like Stepford Wives. All of those "fresh start" horror films.
Ditto The Exorcist, ‘Salem’s Lot, The Shining, and The Amityville Horror. I don’t know about you but I think there was perhaps a theme going on in the ‘70s.
From a writing side of this, I'm reminded of my Chinese in-laws talking to me about life under communism. Under an unworkable set of requirements from an order handed down, there are outrageous solutions. If they work well enough to not fail immediately, the solution becomes the new normal.
The fictional fun and real terror is to see how far the "new normal" can be stretched.