Monday, July 10, 2006

I can't write

I can't write.

I've opened fifteen create-a-new-post windows (not all at once) and... nothing. Decided to take a break from the nothingness and fix some supper. Will blog more on the differences between and appropriate times to use "supper" and "dinner" at a later date.

I fixed Hamburger Helper. Cheeseburger Macaroni. Along with a delicious salad, composed of iceberg lettuce, chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, feta cheese, and a light raspberry vignagrette dressing.

And still, I can't write.

Imagine Pavarotti opening his mouth to sing and there being only silence. Michael Jordan taking and missing twenty jump shots in a row. Bobby Fischer forgetting the Grunfeld defense, going off into exile, forming anti-American opinions, and... Wait, scratch that last one. Bad example.

Imagine a bird grounded. Not being able to fly. Or sing. A fish not being able to swim. A cat with no purr or meow.

That's what it's like when a writer can't write.

"He says, Bill, I believe this is killing me, as a smile ran away from his face. Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star, if I could get out of this place..."

21 comments:

  1. Your salad sounds delicious! Like my fav.
    ;-)

    I am so sorry that you can not find your voice, but you just need to let your thoughts flow on the page, not worrying about if they are cohesive or judging them in any way. only then will you find your voice, hidden behind all of those things weighing upon your mind.

    I do really like that you compare your writing to Michael Jordan playing basketball and Pavarotti singing... you are that good. Keep the faith.

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  2. I hear ya... you could always photoblog or audioblog for something different.

    Thanks for the comment. Jawana and I didn't realize you had dated one of those.

    Also, thanks for the invite to the baseball game... next time we'll have to do that when we all aren't like working and such.

    Oh, and that bowling coupon thing expires next weekend I think, we'll have to go... should have gone when S&M were in town.

    Oh well.

    Peace out.

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  3. It seems we are in the same boat today. Maybe the rest of the week will provide us both with a more interesting entry topic.
    You could write about your improving dominoes skill ;)

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  4. I usually don't post when i have nothing to say. ;)

    Off to Vegas so I won't be around for a few days.

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  5. OCG: Ha. Well, I was obviously going for some humor in that comparison.

    Thanks for noticing the salad.

    Kyle: Yeah. I was kind of kidding about that. I haven't audioblogged in months.

    Melanie: You're right, I should have blogged about playing the computer in dominoes on Yahoo games this afternoon.

    I do have lots of topics in my head to blog about. It's just when I sit down to write about something, nothing I write sounds good to me.

    Renee: Very funny. I considered not posting. But I figured you'd be disappointed ;-)

    Besides, it's really more a post about my culinary skills, masked under the guise of me not being able to write :)

    Have fun in Vegas! And remember, what happens in Vegas... must be posted on your blog.

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  6. I loved it. There are many times that I have been unable to write, but I have never made any of those leaps

    OCG is right but I suspect that you already know that, and have a need for an audience. Blogging is great and horrible because of that

    The salad would sound a lot better with some other lettuce :-) Otherwise it sounds incredible.

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  7. That salad does sound delish...I love fruity crunchy salads with some kind of raw cheese on them. They are the best. See, even when you claim you can't write, you still can write. I've been void of any kind of decent stuff to post. I need to go to the beach!!!

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  8. Did you get the return email about the offer to write? I didn't know if I got spammed or you thought I was a bit cracked. ;) Either way is fine.

    I OD'd in college on Hamburger helper, and just can't bring myself to eat it anymore. :)

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  9. Personally I'm happy just to hear what you made for dinner...ahhh yes the dinner-supper debate...a topic of contention between my 2 Grandmothers for over 40 years.Would you like to know what Emily Post says about it?

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  10. it happens to the best. but hey, you didn't turn to the booze. how true of a writer are you? jk! ;)

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  11. Renee: Well, this is a family friendly blog, so keep it clean :)

    Pia: OK. But you can't make the lettuce statement without suggesting a more appropriate type :)

    Carnealian: Well, it was either this, or a pic of my facial hair. And I figured none of you wanted to see that.

    Lizzie: Somehow I always pictured your world to be slightly more exciting than this.

    Carmen: Yes. You should have an email from me :)

    Katie: Sure. Feel free to relay any Emily Post, Miss Manners, or Heloise information in my comments section at anytime.

    Ms. Sizzle: Hey! I was hoping no one would call me out on not being a real writer. Thanks, Ms. Sizzle :)

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  13. My daughter's favorite hamburger helper. Your salad sounds delicious!! I like a salad for supper in the summer time. It is nice and refreshing.

    You forget not being able to write is like a dog without his bark. :)

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  14. I tried to explain this to my feuding grandmas alas to no avail....According to Emily Post dinner is always your larger meal.If it takes place at noon,then your evening meal should be called supper.If it takes place in the evening then your noon meal should be called lunch.Everybody got that? And don't get me started on brunch......

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  15. Linda: It's my favorite, too. And I actually thought of the dog bark analogy :) But left it out for some reason.

    Katie: Sounds like a logical explanation. Hey, if there's brunch, why is there no lupper, or linner?

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  16. Wow, you're a big Reds fan if you don't mind a 3-hour drive. Of course I will do crazy things like that to see a bird, so I'm the last to judge. ;)

    I had to giggle at your CD woes...my CD player skips too...probably because I'm always advancing/fast forwarding over 2 songs to get to a good song.

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  17. I think the dinner/supper issue is one of dialect and not manners. Many in the midwest and south, particularly of the grandparent generation or older will refer to lunchtime as dinner. This comes from the time that the big meals were eaten in the middle of the day. Farmers and ranchers especially would eat their big meals in the middle of the day so that by suppertime, when they were exhausted, a bowl of bread and milk, or a soup and some bread would be plenty for an evening hankering. Besides, these same people often ate quite substantial breakfasts, not the Mt. Dew or Latte, with optional candy bar or donut. Dinner, over the past 30 yrs. has come to mean a more formal meal, often eaten out-of-home, whether it be a friend's home (ie.dinner party) or a fancy shmancy restaurant.

    I rarely use the word "supper" anymore. Although, to qualify to eat an early bird steak at 4:30 p.m. I once used the word "lupper". But then I had to hear about it from the guy with the space pen that still writes upside down.

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  18. Chickadee: Ah, I saw a bird at the beach I was going to send you a picture of. But you were off on vacation or something.

    Dorothy: Well, I'm not (quite) in the grandparent generation. lol I use supper frequently.

    Actually, the main time I use dinner for the evening meal is when I'm asking a girl out. You wanna go to dinner sounds better than you wanna go to supper :)

    Someone gave me an astronaut pen once, but then they took it back. He was an... one of those people who gives a gift then takes it back.

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  19. i have missed reading you while i've been gone..so its enjoyable for me to read, even if it is about you not having anything to write. you'll find it..

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