NaNoWriMo and Bullies

November 1st is looming close now, and quite organically the seed of my novel idea is sprouting. I have 2 characters pretty well in mind. Unfortunately they are side characters. I have a hazy, incomplete idea for the plot and a couple of themes I want to present. I have differing ideas on setting, though I suspect Boston will win out. Most of this gelled over the last week. Some of this has been inspired by some conflicts going on with one of my wife's relatives.

This brings me to another point - bullies. I have always absolutely hated bullies. I see this as encompassing all those that subjugate through intimidation. So yes, the schoolyard bully earns my condemnation, but a special place in hell is reserved for wife beaters and rapists. I have always believed that it is the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak. Now I know we are all supposed to be enlightened these days and not think of women as the weaker sex, and in many ways I don't. Domestic violence is a very unfortunate fact of life however.

I have seen this relative become subject to threats and harassment on a continual basis. No one should have to live like this. It's not the first time I have seen this with someone close to me, and I fear one of these times I will lose control. (I am normally not a violent guy. I am far the opposite actually.)

Enough with such depressing subjects. Just suffice it to say that I have some dark inspiration for this upcoming project.

Hospitals

I absolutely loathe hospitals. It doesn't rise to the irrational abhorrence I have of nursing homes, but it's bad enough on it's own, trust me.

So my wife is sick. She is in a lot of pain that I cannot do anything about. So in turn, I was a raging asshole at times yesterday. This was mostly directed at medical professionals. (Not to the nurses though, God knows they get the worst from both ends.) So yeah, I am very happy to be home and away from that place, though I hate my wife being there alone. So in my frustration at this dichotomy, I am sitting here blogging.

Oh, and not only that, but my phone is out and mediacom is taking forever to fix it, so I can't call her. I am not a very fun individual right now. In fact I think I will wrap this up now.

A Warlock from Boston

According to various quizzes from the vastness on the internet, the Halloween monster I am is a warlock (the decidedly non-pagan/wiccan warlock that is) and the city that I am is Boston. Both sound fairly on the mark at least. A question did occur to me however. Have you ever noticed just how much time gets drained on tangential web bullshit?

My wife is out of town tonight, so I find myself with a good chunk of uncontested time to use the computer. I set out tonight to connect with a few folks that I haven't talked to in a few days, and the next thing I know, I hear the door closing sound from yahoo when they have signed off. I wasted the night with blogspot quizzes, forum threads that I'll never respond to and stupid videos! All this information at our fingertips and what do we do with it?

I did see a blog while aimlessly drifting today that put the rise of the internet in perspective:

When man invented fire, he didn't say, "Hey, let's cook." He said, "Great, now we can see naked bottoms in the dark." As soon as Caxton invented the printing press, we were using it to make pictures of, hey, naked bottoms! We have turned the Internet into an enormous international database of naked bottoms. So you see, the story of male achievement through the ages, feeble though it may have been, has been the story of our struggle to get a better look at your bottoms.

I can't see as I completely object to that characterization.

Last night I was much more productive. I wrote half to most of a short story, yay me! Then I tried installing Ubuntu Linux on the crappy laptop. After an hour or so I finally gave up on the install. I am just going to have to break down and take it in somewhere I think, or find a different solution for internet connection. It's still very useful for writing though I have no way to get my writing from there to my regular computer right now. I have the whole day off tomorrow, maybe I will get something done with it then.

Tattoos

So what is it about tattoos that does it for me?

It's a number of things. I like the feel of getting them. Even the ache for the next couple of days is fine by me. Yeah, I know I am somewhat of a freak in this regard, but you should keep in mind that I am also the kid that went out for goalie because he liked the sting of the ball as it hit his hands. I have come to terms with my oddities. If you can't, too bad.

I love coming up with the design. I will never understand the folks that go in and look at the flash and just pick something. To me that is as original as shopping at Walmart. I am overstating. It's not that you can't find anything worthwhile off the rack. Personally, I'm after original craftsmanship.

So I spend literally months or years thinking about, planning of and yearning for a new tattoo. The sacrifice of saving up for it is another factor. Consulting with the tattoo artist is a fun process too. You may have this picture in your head, but this guy (or gal) is a pro that knows what will work on your body. It is a fun talk with a kindred soul. After this, you eventually get the endorphin fueled release of getting the work done. The lasting image that you get to share with the world or cover up and show to a privileged few is the metaphoric afterglow. I enjoy the whole process, not just the end result.

Not everyone sees it this way, but that's my take.