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GD Deckard

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76 comments on Open Comment Week

Open Comment Week

Time to discuss anything of interest in the writing life.

My first thoughts are about last week’s story mashup. I learned a few things. When more than one writer is writing into the same story, the lack of story discipline is a double-edge sword. Reading it was a bit like reading Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, without a theme. The characters stand out sharply and the story has unexpected energy. But the storyline takes awhile to emerge and the plot is uncertain. Still, I suspect that readers might eventually embue a good mashup story with their own sense of theme.

The unidentified flying objects we’ve been shooting down worries me. Are we poor sci-fi writers about to lose entire stereotypes? Alien life form cliches would vanish if we knew the reality. It could ruin my story about Roy luring aliens to earth with copies of Julie Brown’s song, “Earth Girls are Easy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz2y0GXBC3I

As you can tell, Open Comments Week is pretty open. Use the comments section to discuss anything of interest to you. 😏

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GD Deckard

Severely beaten as a child by a WWII hero and combat-induced-PTSD stepfather, the author, as a teen, faced the old man down with a shotgun and earned his blessing to join the military at the time Americans were learning about a country called Vietnam. The “lazy, no good son-of-a-bitch” opted out of combat and hard labor by becoming an Air Force medic, stamping out suffering and misery on Freedom’s Frontier at Clark Airbase in S.E. Asia and earning some kind of medal pinned on him personally by then Secretary of the Air Force, Harold Brown, for “Saving lives, etc.” There followed a summer in Europe ending in the first of happy marriages. Then graduation with University Honors, kids worth dying for and a career in business. Life is good. Author, The Phoenix Diary, Penguin, 2015. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-phoenix-diary-g-d-deckard/1122175645 Founding Member, Writers Co-op. https://WritersCo-op.com Co-Editor, The Rabbit Hole anthologies. https://www.amazon.com/Rabbit-Hole-Weird-Stories/dp/1691225355/ref=sr_1_1 Founder, SciFi Lampoon Magazine. http://scifilampoon.com/ Contributing Editor, A Celebration of Storytelling https://www.amazon.com/Celebration-Storytelling-GD-Deckard/dp/1951716167 Current WIP: Code Blue and Little Deaths, stories from Clark during the Vietnam War. Recipient of the Psi Young award for Creative Biography.

76 responses to “Open Comment Week”

  1. John Correll Avatar
    John Correll

    I had the same problem Sue had. By the time I developed a response for the mashup, it mashed somewhere else. I’m just too slow.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      That’s a big problem with a mashup. It may even be a fatal flaw. Maybe, as in the experience that Mike related, the final stage of the story has to be severe editing by a single writer.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
        Sue Ranscht

        This is where a relay form of story telling might be more conducive to a more cohesive plot with an integrated ending.

        Liked by 2 people

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  2. Mike Van Horn Avatar
    Mike Van Horn

    Earthgirls Are Easy was a delightful movie! Julie Brown’s boyfriend (minor role in the movie) was a friend of mine.
    Regarding the mashup here: I kept waiting for somebody to move it toward what the storyline was supposed to be, but it didn’t happen. Nature abhors a vacuum, and so do writers.
    How did you want it to unfold?

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      I didn’t know there was a movie. I had originally bought the album, Goddess in Progress. What a spoof of the sexist attitudes in the ’80s! I remember letting my kids listen to those songs because I trusted them to know satire when they heard it.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Mike Van Horn Avatar
        Mike Van Horn

        It would be hard to make a movie like this (or many others from the 80s) in these prudish, P.C. times. Alas.

        Liked by 3 people

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        1. GD Deckard Avatar
          GD Deckard

          A guy rushes into a pharmacy run by prudes…
          Goes straight to the register and says in a loud voice “Gimme one condom.”
          The cashier lady is outraged. “Young man! You mind that tongue of yours!”
          “Right. Gimme two condoms, then.”

          Laughter is the best cure for prudishness.

          Liked by 2 people

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          1. Sandy Randall Avatar
            Sandy Randall

            🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

            Liked by 2 people

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  3. Perry Palin Avatar
    Perry Palin

    I didn’t add to the mashup. I was hoping for a plot that I could move, and I didn’t see it.

    I once had one other person ask me to share in a two person mashup. I had a problem with just one writing partner. I would try to set up a direction for the story, and in her next addition she would turn off in a totally different direction. Interesting writing experience, but nothing that any third person would want to read.

    In his book “Roughing It” Mark Twain has an amusing tale of a mashup published in parts in a western regional newspaper.

    Liked by 5 people

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    1. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      The best mashup I have read is “Good Omens” by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It took them years. And yes I think I was driving Mike crazy with a similar direction change. Go on Mike … I can take it! lol ( I will duck and dodge while Pal-oren-de swings his sword at me!)

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Mike Van Horn Avatar
        Mike Van Horn

        No problem! I enjoyed it! I think we were just getting to the interesting part. But you and I did kinda hog the whole thing. After you added something, I would wait a bunch of hours to see what others added, but often nobody did, so I jumped back in.

        Liked by 3 people

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        1. Sandy Randall Avatar
          Sandy Randall

          LOL I tried to do the same…

          Liked by 2 people

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      2. Sue Ranscht Avatar
        Sue Ranscht

        I was confused by Mike’s character apparently being the orange wavy thing (non-human, I think you called it.) I thought it was supposed to be one of those air blown fabric tubes that look so ridiculous bending and waving. The first time I ever saw those was during — I think — the opening ceremony at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics.

        Liked by 2 people

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        1. Sandy Randall Avatar
          Sandy Randall

          I was at first too, because my intent was the fabric balloons as viewed from the pov of someone who would have no idea what they were. But that was also the fun part of this mashup, trying to be agile enough to keep up. It was very much Improv writing lol.

          Liked by 2 people

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    2. Sue Ranscht Avatar
      Sue Ranscht

      I’ve co-written a YA Sci-fi novel. We spent hours discussing the basic world and plot before writing anything more than notes. “Throwing paint at the wall” my friend calls it. And because the process is always organic, every time one of us had an idea about changing direction, we’d write it, then discuss it, throw more paint, and either convince the other one or not. After two years of writing, four beta readers, and multiple drafts, we were pretty happy with the first part of a trilogy. Then we had to acknowledge we’d be better off with it as a stand alone with series potential. After deciding what we should cut out or change, my co-author said I should write it and he’d offer editorial comments as each chapter evolved. That took several months. Last year, it made the quarter-finals in the ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition.

      We’ve got a completely unrelated novel in the queue now, that he wants me to write so he can comment, but it has to wait till I finish my current WIP. I guess we’ve found the most effective and satisfying way of working together.

      Liked by 2 people

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  4. Sandy Randall Avatar
    Sandy Randall

    I agree, I learned a lot. I felt the need to draw characters together to move the story along, but I also had a weird panic that my character was gonna die! My initial thought was to do what Sue and John did and write something offline to add, but I found that didn’t fit the pace of the mashup. I found it best to read and respond, much like a conversation.
    For me it felt like “here’s a prompt, write as fast as you can and keep up.” Which I obviously enjoyed. I couldn’t stop writing! lol. It was also a lot of fun to trot out a character that was getting dusty on a shelf. I have not cracked Wenny’s story in about 6 months and even then I have only been working on background, world building, back story. So getting the character out and making her do stuff was helpful in reminding me what she’s all about. Even though it was tough to put her character in a more modern setting, it made me consider what someone in her situation would do. For instance, never seeing a car or an elevator. What would someone like that do? Even a highly polished floor was new.
    As a writing exercise to learn and grow as a writer … loads of fun.
    As an actual project with other writers, I think more structure is a must, like an agreement as to where the story ends. GD’s prompt or opening scene was a great launching point, but perhaps if there had already been a murder and a body? … I dunno …
    I hope we do it again and maybe learn from this one to allow other’s who want to participate, but don’t want the anxiety of speed writing.
    Perhaps the next time we do it turn by turn. GD sets the scene and hands everyone a number as to when they jump in and add their piece.
    I do think it adds an interactive opportunity, and a way to flex writing muscles in a new way. All of which I feel lends to inspiration.
    Anyhow, that’s my .52 cents (inflation you know).

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      I found it best to read and respond, much like a conversation.

      Thanks for the insight. I’m still thinking about it. But there is a real-time aspect to a mashup, much like conversing.

      And you’re right. The prompt for a mashup needs to set the plot. We should have started with the murder,

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Sandy Randall Avatar
        Sandy Randall

        And again, I think perhaps a rule of engagement that gives all writer types the opportunity to respond. I sense that you, me and Mike have fun with immediately reacting. From Sue, Mimi, Mellow, and Perry, it’s more of a read and consider the next move. Not everyone processes off the cuff. The more participation makes it more fun as well. Totally love the add of SM’s ghostly duo. I took the cue from you about adding my extra (MC Ollie and crew), which also added a whole different writing experience lol. Mike’s Marigold and Reggie and your Mario and Shamus. So brilliant.

        Liked by 2 people

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        1. Mike Van Horn Avatar
          Mike Van Horn

          Pal-oran-de is an important character in another story I’m writing. This one was like his evil twin. Marigold just popped out of nowhere.

          Liked by 3 people

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          1. Sandy Randall Avatar
            Sandy Randall

            Which begs the question … are writers schizophrenic or vessels of the muses? hmmmm

            Liked by 3 people

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            1. GD Deckard Avatar
              GD Deckard

              Schizophrenic muses 😝

              Liked by 2 people

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  5. GD Deckard Avatar
    GD Deckard

    My take on the mashup is that inherently it is not a linear story, where things progress step-by-step. It doesn’t move forward so much as it just moves around. The various scenes are like social media posts where there is no “one thing” or plot to which the characters all react. But the reader can enjoy how the characters react to one another in the world they all share.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      I did enjoy that. It was fun to have my characters engage with everyone else’s. Pal – oran -de was exciting, scary and creepy. Wenny interacted with a Roy type in my story that she comes from (His name is Camron Liatrod.) But I did not have her interact with anything like Pal – oran – de. The beauty of this, I now have a whole other depth to explore with Wenny.

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        “The beauty of this, I now have a whole other depth to explore with Wenny.”

        That really makes sense. Having other writers’ characters interact with mine does teach me about my character.

        Hmm. Maybe a mashup is best thought of as a teaching exercise? One that we could do now and then to help us all better understand our own characters.

        Liked by 2 people

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        1. Sandy Randall Avatar
          Sandy Randall

          Oh most definitely … You, via Roy, taught me much … I think I used quite a bit of what I was learning in the MC Ollie portions.

          Liked by 2 people

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    2. Mike Van Horn Avatar
      Mike Van Horn

      GD, suppose you go into a bar and strike up a conversation. You want to talk about the latest election, but others grab the conversation and talk about the Super Bowl, the latest conspiracy theory, Putin, etc.
      That’s the way I see this mashup. Little point in trying to guide it onto one track.

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        As Sandy said, it’s more of a conversation.

        Liked by 2 people

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      2. Sandy Randall Avatar
        Sandy Randall

        OH geez … I read election wrong the first time around …🫣

        Liked by 3 people

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        1. GD Deckard Avatar
          GD Deckard

          😏🤣

          Liked by 2 people

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      3. Sue Ranscht Avatar
        Sue Ranscht

        “Conversations” where people just talk at each other about any subject each individual desires are frustrating exchanges. Not worth hanging around for if nobody’s listening. It seems to me that the parts of a mashup have to fit together or it’s just noise.

        Liked by 2 people

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  6. Mike Van Horn Avatar
    Mike Van Horn

    I’ve must admit, this was a lot more fun than working on my WIP the last couple of days.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      Ouch! Don’t remind me.

      Liked by 2 people

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    2. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      It was a nice diversion … like a weekend in the middle of the week …

      Liked by 2 people

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  7. Sandy Randall Avatar
    Sandy Randall

    Obviously, I also haven’t finished the blog post I told Victor I wanted to write … BUT I do have it started and am working on the third revision. Also have several attempts for showcase too … Plus we have several more submissions to read for RH6 … I’m doing one read a day …

    BIG HINT … RH6 submissions are still open until April 30th!
    Here’s the link for submission guidelines!

    The Co-op Anthology: Submission Guidelines

    Liked by 3 people

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  8. Mike Van Horn Avatar
    Mike Van Horn

    While waiting for the Super Bowl on this Sunday afternoon, I’m talking fantasy writing with you folks on one laptop, while discussing geopolitics with a former Soviet propagandist on another laptop. It’s a good day!

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      The geopolitics conversation sounds fascinating. Ask him who he thinks is behind the unidentified flying objects we just shot down over Alaska, the Yukon, and Lake Huron.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Sandy Randall Avatar
        Sandy Randall

        Yeah I’d like to hear his answer to that too!
        Good night guys… 2am comes quick for this scribbling barista!

        Liked by 2 people

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        1. Mike Van Horn Avatar
          Mike Van Horn

          It was the Martians, fer sure.

          Liked by 3 people

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          1. GD Deckard Avatar
            GD Deckard

            I’d forgotten about Fredrick Brown! He had way too much fun, writing.

            Liked by 2 people

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            1. Sandy Randall Avatar
              Sandy Randall

              I just looked him up on kindle … he puts those dime store romance novels to shame with his body of work! 😂 too much fun indeed!

              Liked by 2 people

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              1. Mike Van Horn Avatar
                Mike Van Horn

                Since we’ve been writing a story using our characters, you might be interested in this interview with my heroine. She’s a friend of Pal-oran-de.

                INTERVIEW WITH SELENA M, NARRATOR OF MY TRILOGY

                Where did the “ditzy chick” label come from?

                Did you ever hear a man called a “ditzy guy?” No, only women can be ditzy—according to the men who diss us and bully us. The government spooks going after my spaceship laid that name on me. Even though I outwitted them at every turn, and have kept the spaceship—Star Choice—to this day

                TO READ MORE . .
                https://galaxytalltales.com/interview-with-my-heroine-selena-m-narrator-of-my-trilogy/

                Liked by 2 people

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            2. Sue Ranscht Avatar
              Sue Ranscht

              I’m in the process of re-reading all of Brown’s novels, which were a big part of my youth. I’ve finished What Mad Universe and The Lights in the Sky are Stars, and have just started Martians, Go Home. Many of his predictions for the ’60s through 2000 are surprisingly accurate, but he completely missed the advent of computer-assisted navigation in space and the ability for people to communicate over great distances any more quickly than telegrams.

              And even with his late ’40’s, early ’50’s romantic sensibilities, his MC’s romantic interest was always a powerful, intelligent woman — unfailingly beautiful, to be sure. But his stories are still enjoyable and worthwhile.

              Liked by 2 people

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  9. Perry Palin Avatar
    Perry Palin

    And another old thing . . .

    I was held up yesterday in the grocery store. I hadn’t seen Dan in a year, even though we live only five miles apart. Before the pandemic closed things down I wrote a lengthy review of his entertaining book of personal essays. The review appeared in a regional magazine with a target audience of several thousand. Whether that helped with Dan’s sales is unknown.

    Dan self-published his book with help from a consultant for cover design and those intricacies of publishing of which we amateurs are unaware. The first printing of 1000 copies paid for his consulting and initial production costs and provided a little profit. He is now on his third printing and contemplating a fourth.

    The book is still selling. But Dan is getting tired of the grind. He has the book in 48 regional outlets plus Amazon, and keeping up with the recordkeeping and correspondence is daunting. He makes more per book when he arranges a reading or signing. He has done plenty of those, and he has had to hone his talents as a performance artist.

    Anyway, Dan has shown us that it is possible for an unknown writer to sell a book, and he has shown us that it is a lot of work.

    This month my review of Carl’s book will appear in the same regional magazine. It’s a fine book, a big book, and Carl has a target, almost captive audience. He pre-sold 2000 copies before Christmas based on his reputation as a magazine contributor, volunteer for several non-for-profits, and small business owner. The book is self-published. His talented wife did all the formatting and cover work. They put a lot of money into the first printing, but the pre-orders gave them confidence that the book would succeed. Carl is on the road selling his book at readings and signings. Even a popular book is advantaged by a personal touch.

    I’ve learned that one of my cousins has written a small book about his recovery from addiction. I’ll buy the book, but I bet he doesn’t sell 100 copies. There are a lot of books like that in the market, and Fred is not the guy to get up and speak to an audience.

    So if I want to measure my writing success by sales, I have my role models.

    Liked by 4 people

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  10. mimispeike Avatar
    mimispeike

    I thank Sue again for creating Showcase. The beauty of it is that all I have to do is write a thousand words, I don’t have to think beyond that. I’ve got a thousand words roughly mocked up. The pressure is off. I’ve got the gist of the thing.

    I’m researching French insults and that ‘You talkin’ to me?’ speech of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver. Sly and Mavis the raven are about to have their first encounter. Mavis thinks she’s French, her name is actually Mauvais. (Means evil).

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      I agree Mimi. I love Showcase.
      Glad to see you writin’ n researchin’. I hope all is well!

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
        Sue Ranscht

        It makes me happy to hear that, Sandy. 😀

        Liked by 2 people

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    2. Sue Ranscht Avatar
      Sue Ranscht

      You’re welcome, Mimi. At the same time, I’m grateful you’ve found it a valuable enough exercise to participate with such devotion, so thank you.

      Liked by 3 people

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    3. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      French insults? Oh, here 🙂 this may help.

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. mimispeike Avatar
        mimispeike

        I tried to find French insults of the sixteenth century. Got nothing there. Best I found, and I’m going to use it: seventeenth century – Oh la vache! (Oh the cows) an exclamation of surprise. The raven understands no French. She’s been taught phrases. Sly, having lived in France, knows knows it’s an exclamation, but he picks a fight, for fun, over it. Hey! You calling me a cow?

        Liked by 2 people

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        1. Mike Van Horn Avatar
          Mike Van Horn

          zut alors!
          I have a French-Canadian astronaut character and I tried without luck to find some suitable expostulations for her.
          She ended up borrowing “crikie” from her Aussie colleague.

          Liked by 3 people

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          1. mimispeike Avatar
            mimispeike

            I’ve read that zut alors is not said by native French, only by outsiders.

            Liked by 2 people

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            1. GD Deckard Avatar
              GD Deckard

              Remember folks, when Sly finds himself in a predicament, it’s probably a well-researched reality. Mimi’s as much an historian as she is a writer.

              Liked by 2 people

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              1. mimispeike Avatar
                mimispeike

                History, well-researched, then tied into knots. When I’ve really messed with it, I will add a footnote: Remember, please, this is a book about a talking cat.

                I’ve been researching on YouTube, what ravens’ cries sound like. Now I’m trying to figure out how to spell that. Ah-ba-ba-ba-ba. Gua-aaah. Uh-aaaaa. Ah-ah-a-a-a, but guttural.

                I’m still looking for the key to preventing an assassination plot. Hoping I’ll find an answer in one of the two bios of Sir Phillip Sidney I have coming. I read that Robert Dudley was very interested in science. I hope he was interested in astrology as well. Scattered around my house I have probably half a dozen bios of Dudley. I would have read them twenty years ago when I conceived this plot. Time to read them again.

                Liked by 2 people

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                1. GD Deckard Avatar
                  GD Deckard

                  I’ve always seen ravens/crows cries spelled CAW! CAW!

                  Liked by 2 people

                2. Sandy Randall Avatar
                  Sandy Randall

                  I have a novel (covered in dust, moss and likely some sort fungus because I have not unshelved it in fifteen years) that I entitled “TEKU … Threads Entangled, Knots Unraveled ” for the simple reason I didn’t know what else to call it beyond the basis of story writing, simplified. You introduce your characters, weave them into a fine mess and then pull the threads to get them out of their mess … One day I may revisit the tale and do something with it. I saw a Neil Gaiman interview where he answered the question, “Do you ever discard a story you’ve written.” His answer was along the lines of, ‘No, I revisit them like old friends and maybe find something new in them again.’ (Total paraphrase by me, but that’s what I got out of the answer).

                  Liked by 2 people

                3. Mike Van Horn Avatar
                  Mike Van Horn

                  Sandy, I have so many unfinished pieces, both fiction and non. Every once in a while I’ll unearth one when I’m looking for something else. Some of these go back into the 1980s. I never throw any of them away.
                  I’ve been assembling a library of all my completed pieces to put in our family archive. There’s a lot of stuff, some of it good.

                  Liked by 2 people

                4. Sandy Randall Avatar
                  Sandy Randall

                  A library is a good idea. My pre-computer, largely handwritten pieces, are in Rubbermaid tubs. Eventually I will have a proper office and studio ( it’s in the house plans … I’ve seen the drawings! 😂) then I hope to do something similar…
                  I found the first story I ever wrote on a little memo pad sized notebook. Mostly crayon drawings… but I was about six at the time. I now have it archived as a pdf 😂

                  Liked by 1 person

      2. victoracquista Avatar
        victoracquista

        That’s a great scene in a hilarious movie!

        Liked by 1 person

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        1. GD Deckard Avatar
          GD Deckard

          The Holy Grail was my first exposure to Monty Python. I was in Houston on business in 1975, had a few hours to kill, and walked by a theatre showing that movie. Went in and began laughing at the opening lines. After that, I raised kids who could quote Monty Python scenes.

          Like

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  11. mimispeike Avatar
    mimispeike

    Not good enough. Not the sounds I hear on YouTube.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      I found this link Mimi
      https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-write-a-sound-made-by-a-common-raven-in-the-form-of-a-text-I-know-there-s-croak-but-I-am-not-sure-if-that-s-a-verb-that-describes-making-the-sound-or-it-s-the-sound-itself-I-heard-there-is-also-kraa

      Liked by 2 people

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  12. victoracquista Avatar
    victoracquista

    Here’s something interesting–How To Annoy Your Readers:
    https://vweisfeld.com/?p=10269&fbclid=IwAR0xp908_wTC5a9mn6dUVRfC5WTzPRKNhHBCJgSD8OBjs8AtCmS_QpxkCHU

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      All good points.
      I wonder, are better writers also readers who don’t write what they would not want to read?

      Liked by 3 people

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  13. GD Deckard Avatar
    GD Deckard

    Graham Greene was bipolar. Virginia Woolf attempted suicide by walking into the ocean having lined her pockets with stones. Aldous Huxley self-medicated with LSD. Zelda Fitzgerald was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Philip K. Dick struggled with drug abuse and hallucinations. Hunter S. Thompson’s riotous affinity for drugs, alcohol and rebellious behavior is well documented. Edgar Allan Poe: gleefully crazy & a rumored alcoholic. Charles Dickens was an unstable ladies’ man, even in his old age and well into his marriage. Sylvia Plath attempted suicide multiple times before finally succeeding at the age of thirty. William Burroughs’ affinity for heroin made him a lifelong drug addict.

    Just sayin’.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Mike Van Horn Avatar
      Mike Van Horn

      My drug of choice is chardonnay. All of my sexual escapades were with my wife. Notice the word “were.”

      Liked by 2 people

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    2. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      I’m so lame. I’m a coffee and butter addict. And I can’t resist puppies.
      Actually, if being some whacked out emo is what it takes to be a famous literary genius… I’ll be happy with mediocrity.

      Liked by 2 people

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    3. Perry Palin Avatar
      Perry Palin

      And Enest Hemingway shot himself out of depression.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        FYI
        The Beretta, No. 5991, is a 12-gauge over/under that Hemingway acquired in Venice in the late 1940s. In 1963, two years after Papa’s death, Abercrombie & Fitch sold the gun on Mary Hemingway’s behalf for $250. Today it is on display in the Beretta Gallery in Manhattan.

        Liked by 1 person

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    4. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      And these are just writers.
      I spend a lot of time with musicians.
      Look back at the brilliant artists there that have expired too soon. When Kurt Cobain died they coined term the 27 club which includes Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison.
      Move over to the Fine arts and we have van Gogh and I’m sure others not in my ability to remember.
      I also remember thinking comedians were likely some of the most tormented people on the planet. They seem to expire like the writers mentioned above. (Robin Williams comes to mind)
      I’ve often wondered if the thoughts that live in all our heads are so intense for some folks, they can’t process them fast enough it burns them out.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        The writing, the music, the art, that they create justifies their existence to the public at large. Hopefully, it also does to them.

        Liked by 1 person

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      2. Mike Van Horn Avatar
        Mike Van Horn

        Our daughter, when she was younger and having trouble with her writing, told us she hadn’t had enough terrible things happen to her to be a good writer. She said it was our fault for giving her too good of an upbringing. We just weren’t abusive enough. (She was kidding, I think.)

        Liked by 2 people

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        1. Sandy Randall Avatar
          Sandy Randall

          I can totally understand her point though. I’ve always thought similar … which actually helped me not be too frustrated with my airline career. I considered it experience under my belt and a great place to mine for characters…

          Liked by 1 person

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  14. mimispeike Avatar
    mimispeike

    I’m afraid of spending too much time with my brother and his family. I can pretend to be normal for a few days, no longer. My sister is a different story. I believe she almost looks up to me for being the whacko troublemaker in the family, something she never had the guts to be.

    Liked by 3 people

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  15. Sandy Randall Avatar
    Sandy Randall

    I ran across this article about Bing’s new AI chatbot. It’s only been rolled out to a limited number of people, like the writer in the article in the following link. But while I believe this is inevitable in human society, all I can hear is HAL from 2001 Space Odyssey….
    https://news.yahoo.com/conversation-bings-chatbot-left-deeply-184639690.html

    Liked by 1 person

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  16. GD Deckard Avatar
    GD Deckard

    I wouldn’t worry about A.I. itself. I mean, we might mimic intelligence, but we cannot yet define it. The people who use sophisticated machine language to influence or control others are what would concern me.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      It’s not like we’re all that difficult to control either… look at what already numbs us and makes us look away…

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