The Human St(r)ain

MUSIC: Stone Sour

This posting is the first to appear under in a new category on this blog.

In order to be able to create real and interesting characters you have to pay attention to the details of their lives. I remember hearing a podcast about what they teach in a class for baseball umpires. The first thing was on how to remove your protective face mask while keeping your cap on. You see the cap represents your authority. If you lose it while taking it off the face mask it appears like you have lost some type of control. There was the famous story about the band Van Halen not wanting to have any brown M&M’s backstage at their concerts. It seems like a prima donna rock star type of request. The reason was the band needed specific technical items for their concerts which they laid out in the contract. They knew if they saw brown M&M’s in a bowl then promoter had probably not read the contract. And there was about to be problems for the band.

I mention these things because they are the small details about a person that can be made into interesting characters. In order to write better characters you have to notice the small details of their behavior. Character (or characteristics) is what really make their actions seem believable. What am I mentioning this? I have been going back to basic with the writing. There is an exercise in which you just do people watching and try to write scenarios based on how they go about doing things. It is really amazing to quietly watch and listen to others without passing judgment on them whether you agree with them or not.

I have been making a lot of notes lately on these observations. I will post them from time to time in this blog category.

However, I have to be fair to start. If I am going to be writing about others then I have to also at times point the “looking glass” at myself too. And if I really did not want the attention then I would not be writing a blog. Friedrich Nietzsche said, “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.”

Fashion and being practical are two separate issues. They have nothing in common even though people try to force them together without a lot of success. I will never be a fashion icon. But I do have a trademark when it comes to clothing. I like it to simple and practical. In my case, it means economical and easy washing instructions on laundry day.

I have always been a quiet person. In college, for the winter months I wore a camouflage Army field jacket. It was warm. It was affordable. However, would never be in “fashion”. And that was the problem. I wish someone would have told me. No one is going to approach the quiet person wearing an Army jacket while wearing headphones listening to the music I like. I was basically dressed like mosquito repellant.

I guess I should have been able to write a better Manifesto. I should also been a better engineering student. That way I could have really delivered the fireworks.

Like this guy.

I know many of my friends at the time were hoping that sketch artist rendering would be close enough for them to get the reward money.

Guess who the prize was for once.