Why do “They” Get to Decide?

You’ve seen the posts…”10 best somethings,” “10 worst somethings.” “Things that Baby Boomers should stop doing.” Etc.

They’re all over the Interwebz.

So, yesterday morning I was thinking about this whilst in the pool at the gym.

And before we move on, a writing lesson. See, a good writer can tell you what was going on without telling you. I did not say “I went to the gym yesterday,” because that would be bragging. But I let you know that I was there with a subtle reference.

Show, don’t tell.

I digress.

Also, you’re welcome.

Those lists are annoying. They’re generally click bait because you have to advance through every “point” to the next page and a whole new set of advertisements.

As I was writing this one popped up to tell you why you should get rid of your china cabinet. Why is that anyone’s business but your own?

I really “love” the ones that tell Boomers what we need to stop doing.  Or what men shouldn’t wear.

Available at
The Write Side Shop
(click the pic)

With all due respect to the younger generations…we taught you how to wipe.

So maybe you should sit this one out…so to speak.

I get where these things come from. They’re produced by content mills and they’re there for the clicks.

And we keep clicking on them.

I won’t judge you for that. I’ve certainly clicked on more than my fair share.

But please, if you’re making a living “writing” these things get off your high horse.

You can have an opinion and list your favorite things or things you don’t like.

I think the most annoying thing about these lists are that, because we do indeed click on the posts, people are making money doing this.

So, those of us who are legitimate writers, good or bad, are forced to wade through the writing jobs that offer “exposure” or want to pay us mere pennies on the word.

This is why we can’t write nice things.

I can’t do anything to change this, other than not clicking on the links.

But, I can’t think about that right now.

I just found a sale on Crocs and cargo shorts.

American pianist, composer, and conductor, John Williams, was born on this day in 1932


 

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Meta threatens to SHUT DOWN Facebook and Instagram in Europe
Daily Mail
The social media company warned it could walk away from countries in the European Union – which does not include Britain after Brexit – if a new EU law is introduced restricting their use of Europeans’ data. Read More.

Getting more sleep reduces caloric intake, a game changer for weight loss programs
Medical Express
Overall, individuals who increased their sleep duration were able to reduce their caloric intake by an average of 270 kcal per day—which would translate to roughly 12 kg, or 26 lbs., of weight loss over three years if the effects were maintained over a long term. Read More.

‘Irate’ Chris Wallace reportedly ‘second guessing his decision’ to move from Fox News to CNN+ in wake of shocking Jeff Zucker resignation
Blaze Media
Former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace reportedly is “irate” over last week’s shocking resignation of CNN boss Jeff Zucker, and Wallace also is said to be “second guessing his decision” to move to CNN+ from Fox News because of it, RadarOnline reported. Read More.

Stacey Abrams Says She Doesn’t Have To Wear A Mask Because She’s A Governor
The Babylon Bee
Beloved Georgia politician Stacey Abrams was viciously pounced upon by conservative critics after being photographed maskless while she was surrounded by dozens of masked schoolchildren. But the haters quickly walked back their criticisms of the political firebrand after Abrams informed them that she’s the Governor and governors don’t have to wear masks. Read More.

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

Lana Turner
February 8, 1921 – June 29, 1995

1820 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (d. 1891)[34]

1828 – Jules Verne, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1905)

1921 – Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)

1925 – Jack Lemmon, American actor (d. 2001)

1931 – James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)

1940 – Ted Koppel, English-American journalist

1941 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer

1953 – Mary Steenburgen, American actress

1968 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)

WHAT I’M READING


 

BENEDICTION

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20–21

 

Ronald Wilson Reagan
February 2, 1911 – June 5, 2004

RECAFFEINATED MONDAYS: But, is my heart really in it?

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

I’m coming off of a decent weekend. Saturday I actually got some yard work done. Well, at least I trimmed the roses. And the older son and I did some work sorting through his stuff in the garage. Then we took a trip to the landfill.

But I’ve also been working on projects, including the writing that I’m doing here and should be doing elsewhere.

I mentioned last week that I was doing a m?ini course with Steven Pressfield. I finished that up on Saturday. I do need to re-read his books that I own, and perhaps pick up a few more. But for this course, this is what stood out to me.

Put your ass where your heart wants to be.

In other words, I’m a writer, so my backside should be in the chair in front of the keyboard.

I was reminded of a quote that my high school creative writing teacher had on her bulletin board.

Mug Shots
(click the pic)

“The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.”

That quote or a variation thereof has been attributed to a lot of people, but the best sources seem to point to Mary Heaton Vorse who gave that advice to young and impressionable Sinclair Lewis in 1911. By the way, Lewis was born on this day in 1885.

Works for me.

As does applying the backside to the chair.

One of my challenges these days, or perhaps an excuse, is having the space I need to spread out and create. I’ve been teleworking for the past 47 years of the pandemic, or maybe it’s just 23 or so months. But that means that I have to have my work laptop and associate files and paraphernalia on my desk. I put it away on weekends and it feels like I can breath at my smaller desk where I make notes and manage my calendar.

I realize how obnoxious and first-worldy it sounds that I have more than one desk to work at. At the same time, I worked hard to get it this way.

But as long as I’m still teleworking, I feel a little cramped with the work laptop.

And I don’t know when I’ll head back to the office. The date keeps changing.

It’s like that scene in Airplane when the arrival gate keeps changing. If you know you know.

Regardless of how many desks I do or do not have, or whether I’m working in a coffee shop or somewhere else, it’s about parking my behind in front of the keyboard.

And yeah, it’s putting my behind where I want to be.

In my defense, my behind spent a lot of time in doctors offices last year. Literally. I can’t really say that my heart was in it.

It did occur to me over the weekend, however, that there has to be a reason behind, so to speak, why I’ve survived cancer of the nether regions twice.

I haven’t quite figured out what that reason is. But when I do, I’ll probably write about it.

As long as I can keep my @$$in the chair.


 

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Spotify deleted over 100 episodes of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast
New York Post
Rogan has been off Spotify’s airwaves for a week. The podcaster apologized and pledged more balance on his wildly popular but controversial podcast on Jan. 30, after a rush of rock legends quit Spotify and accused him of spreading COVID-19 misinformation. Read More.

Sarah Palin v. the New York Times
National Review
At issue is a Times editorial in which the paper blamed the Palin campaign’s political rhetoric for the shooting of Representative Gabby Giffords. “The link to political incitement was clear,” the Times claimed. This claim was false — a fact conceded even by the Times itself. Read More.

Whoopi Goldberg Says Order 66 ‘Wasn’t About The Jedi’
The Babylon Bee
Whoopi Goldberg is in hot water once again after claiming that Emperor Palpatine’s controversial “Order 66”, which instructed his Clone troopers to murder all the Jedi in the galaxy, “wasn’t about the Jedi.” Read More.

BORN ON THIS DAY

1478 – Thomas More, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (d. 1535)

1804 – John Deere, American blacksmith and businessman, founded Deere & Company (d. 1886)

1812 – Charles Dickens, English novelist and critic (d. 1870)

1867 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (d. 1957)

1885 – Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)

1962 – Garth Brooks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

WHAT I’M READING


 

BENEDICTION

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20–21

 

Ronald Wilson Reagan
February 2, 1911 – June 5, 2004