The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
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    Scratching An Itch

    By barefooted on Sun, 02/15/2015 - 6:37pm |

    I've been feeling the urge to write something lately, and it's really starting to annoy me. I keep waiting for a spark, maybe something in the news or just a moment of personal introspection that demands expression. Anything to grab me and shake the words onto the page until my head hurts. And if it doesn't happen soon I may cease to exist.

    I received an email yesterday from a friend who complained that the "carrot people" weren't selling at his local farmer's market. Then he did it - "doesn't that sound like a bad science fiction movie?". BAM! I fired off a reply with a critic's review of The Carrot People Uprising. It was funny, but more importantly it was spontanious fun for me to write. That little paragraph in an email is a perfect example of what I'm craving on a larger scale. I itch.

    I'm not particularly good at working on something I'm writing for days on end. If it's a serious subject with an important point, sure. But my preference is to just let it flow naturally and see what happens. The biggest obstacle to that kind of writing is bizarrely simple. The balloon has to pop. And the only way to combat that obstacle is to find the right pin.

    So ... here I am writing about not being able to find something to write about. I think that may be the epitome of creative desperation. If we're lucky, I'll find that pin to scratch my itch and give you something worth reading in days to come. If we're not... well ... consider this fair warning.

    Comments

    You tease us with your movie review, but then don't include it?!  Come on, Missy, we want to know; Was it a four Bunny review for The Carrot People Uprising or was it only a half-Bunny?

    I see a whole franchise in the making ... Harvest of the Carrot People,  Carrot People; Uprooted and Angry,  and Revenge of the Carrot People; A New Planting ...


    by MrSmith1 on Sun, 02/15/2015 - 7:30pm

    Well, it was meant for single consumption, but here ya go ...

    The Carrot People Uprising digs deep into the buried, dirty world of the carrot people, giving us a glimpse of their life underground. The film surprises by scraping away commonly held stereotypes, forcing the audience to confront the raw defiance that years of vegetation can produce - watch as they turn their orange outrage into an angry root revolution. The Carrot People Uprising can be grating, even choppy at times, yet those moments add flavor and depth. The battle scenes that pit our unyielding heros against their surface dwelling, long-eared, flat-footed foes are spectacular! This is a must see!

    ---The Carrot People Uprising is an Elmer Fudd production.


    by barefooted on Sun, 02/15/2015 - 9:43pm

    You're so funny. Such great imagination. So get your something-something in gear and give us more, more....

     


    by Oxy Mora on Sun, 02/15/2015 - 9:56pm

    Hmmm ... any suggestions?


    by barefooted on Mon, 02/16/2015 - 4:33pm

    You have a "no carrots" meet moment at the market. He's cute. Latte. "Im a writer". Send him the review in an email. He misrepresents himself, things happen, he's a shithead, you win in the end  

     


    by Oxy Mora on Mon, 02/16/2015 - 6:45pm

    She followed him through the aisles, pausing only long enough to survey the baskets of fresh peaches when he glanced her way. He seemed not to notice her among the throngs of busy shoppers at the outdoor market, so keeping up with his leisurely pace was easy. A small giggle escaped her lips as she imagined, as she had so often, the look on his face when they finally met. And it was about to happen.

    When she tripped, spilling her juice down the front of his manicured business suit, he laughed. Apologizing profusely as she dabbed at his shirt with a napkin from her purse, she began a conversation that would last for weeks to come.

    He was everything she knew he'd be - charming, generous and incredibly kind. She began to trust him with her secrets, all the bits and pieces she had always been afraid to tell. Over time, he opened himself to her amid gentle kisses and pillow talk. She shared her dream to one day have her poems published, shyly letting him read them. He promised to pull some strings with his well connected friends. There were many of them and she knew all their names.

    Slowly, things began to change. Subtly at first, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was lying to her. When she tried to talk to him he ignored her, if she asked questions he snapped in anger. The morning he hit her, leaving her alone in his bed as he drove away, she remembered the day they met. She also remembered the passwords he had once so lovingly whispered.

    The market was bustling as usual, she could barely squeeze in to buy the carrots she needed. A wide smile crossed her face as she listened to the buzz around her - the news was spreading fast. Earlier that morning her boss had promoted her to senior political columnist, and she had treated herself to a new haircut. After all, she wanted to look good when he saw her interviewed ... she had become quite popular since she'd scooped all the bigger publications.

    REPUBLICAN US SENATOR FACING CORRUPTION CHARGES

    Heading back to the office, she was already composing her next poem.


    by barefooted on Tue, 02/17/2015 - 6:12pm

    Fabulous!


    by Oxy Mora on Tue, 02/17/2015 - 10:38pm

    Barefooted, this is a fine story. And I love your prose style---it falls easily on the ear. It moves, has a pace to it. And it's just remarkable to turn out a complete story in what  is about 400 words---I don't think there is one extraneous word in it. I hope you realize the talent you have. 

    A successful abstract visual artist I know set out a planned program for herself, starting off later in life. Her first stage was doing monotypes. When I asked her why---she went through everyone's family photograph albums to find source magterial---- she said, because I have to complete the project quickly and it forces me to concentrate. I have to pull the print before the paint dries too much.

    Just sayin' that if this under 500 word category works this well for you,  push it for a bit.

    So good on ya!

    Smith, where the hell are you, Missy may be up for another project challenge.


    by Oxy Mora on Wed, 02/18/2015 - 12:20pm

    I imagine Mr. Smith is busy working on, among other things, his next heap of haikus. Let's not distract him!

    Thank you for the kind words, I'm truly flattered and a bit overwhelmed by your encouragement. We should all do that for each other more often, don't you think? It might make life just alittle easier all the way around.

    Thanks again, Oxy.


    by barefooted on Wed, 02/18/2015 - 9:40pm

    I knew it would be worth it and it was!!  Thank you for sharing your private hilarity. 

    More public hilarity please.
     


    by MrSmith1 on Sun, 02/15/2015 - 11:55pm

    Oh damn!

    From the title I thought this was going to be a review of Fifty Shades of Gray or something!


    by Richard Day on Mon, 02/16/2015 - 12:30pm

    Ha! No, Dick, Dag isn't ready for my imagination to go in that direction.


    by barefooted on Mon, 02/16/2015 - 1:28pm