I have no idea what to write. Actually, that's not true. I have a plethora of items to write about. I've saved several dozen. I've just been "composing" them in my head. Thinking about them. And doing no one, least of all me, any good.
Just to get something, anything, out, I'm going to attempt to write how I procrastinate. And I'm going to do this without editing or even pausing.
I've been having discussions at work with a Evangelical Christian, which may or may not be the same as a Fundamentalist Christian. Smart, personable, and funny guy -- who is as close to a polar opposite in politics as I've ever found. He lauds George Bush's leadership. I find Bush more of a follower. He says Bush is resolute. I say he's stubborn. He says Bush's respect of loyalty promotes effectiveness of purpose. I say Bush craves fealty and works in an echo chamber. He says Bush is simple and direct. I say Bush is simplistic and obtuse. And so on.
(I had to stop writing at the word "obtuse." I wanted to use "blunt" at first, but it wasn't blunt enough. So I headed for a thesaurus. And ending up almost derailing this post. Writers write. And the more I write the better command I'll have of the tools at my disposal. I have to stop studying the tools and start using them.)
Anyway, I enjoy conversations with this coworker because he has selective facts at his command, and wields them swiftly. I think often and hard about our conversations because I truly want to understand this group, their members' thinking, and how to have a better dialog about issues that can quickly inflame and polarize people, the electorate, and the nation. I don't want to live in a blue-state/red-state country. I want purple. Perhaps even "purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain."
There have been a multitude of articles I've read concerning politics, religion, debate, and so on. All of which I've bookmarked or copied, and none of which are linked here. I have to find the best tool to create those links and get on with the damn writing. Safari, my broswer of choice, doesn't employ all the javascript formatting buttons TypePad makes available in other browsers, such as Firefox. MarsEdit, from Ranchero Software, doesn't have the picture editing and position tools that ecto has. ecto is too clutters with drawers and panes. And so on.
I get into this vicious cycle of style and substance, form and function, and end up grinding down my will to write. That's one reason I redesigned this site with the bare minimum of graphics and fuss -- to stop distracting myself from the task at hand.
Enough. I'm sending this in an email to the Holbrook.tv, formerly Betterness, formerly a dozen other names.
Writers write. Just write. Start something and keep moving. Go. Now. Please.
