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2023 Bust Commissions $15 each
Posted 2 years agoHi folks.
I'm doing fixed price commissions of busts; Upper body (usually above the waist) one character, any clothing, or no clothing, any props, can be NSFW, Only $15 each. No colour in this offer, but I can do colour, please enquire if desired.
Message me here by private message or comment if interested.
Thank you,
Scara
I'm doing fixed price commissions of busts; Upper body (usually above the waist) one character, any clothing, or no clothing, any props, can be NSFW, Only $15 each. No colour in this offer, but I can do colour, please enquire if desired.
Message me here by private message or comment if interested.
Thank you,
Scara
All Good Things… Defeating The Dragons In Life.
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Defeating The Dragons In Life.
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
12th July 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Back to doing something productive with this time and remembering these blogs are not a gimmick, they are a reason to keep me writing. They give me a bit of structure in what I do and encourage me to keep to a plan. What I am going to talk to you about today is why you should talk about the story, column, essay, or anything you are writing. Even something you are working on, whether it is art, music, or something else.
This was immensely helpful for me this week. I have a friend on Discord who I began talking to about the stories I write as well as many other things. We talked about the characters, the settings, the motives, and even an unhealthy dose of spoilers! What was great about this was that it gave me a renewed vigor and interest in what I was writing and it also straightened out some of the problems I had with the story, allowing me to fix problems that had been perplexing me for months, maybe even as far back as when I first started these stories.
This is immediately the advice I would give anyone struggling with any kind of block. If you cannot get past that wall in your story, or you do not know what to draw next, or you do not know how to solve a problem, then find someone willing to listen to you talk about it and do so. You should find someone you can trust, who will hopefully give you honest feedback and will also accept that this is something you are passionate about, so will not ruin it for you.
Specifically to creative writing, writers can worry about whether they are ruining a story for a friend who wants to read the thing or that they may be giving their baby away to someone who will misuse it. If you pick the right person, a good friend, and not a complete stranger, then this will not be an issue to contend with. They will accept that this is your story and look forward to it whatever guise it comes in. They will still be excited to read it and will not share it with the world. You just have to pick the right person to tell it to. Better yet, when they do come to read it, they’re likely to still find surprises, as some of the best writing comes during the editing phase.
This is equally true outside of writing. If you talk about drawings you have done, want to do, or admire from other artists, then it may well come to pass that inspiration strikes from that conversation. If you have a problem at work that you don’t know how to resolve, chewing the fat may at least give you a few ideas that you have not thought of on how to resolve it. Best of all, it might even bring to light some things to try later on that you haven’t considered as well.
Following on from this, I want to also add that talking out things is helpful beyond projects and creative aspects. At this point, I am going to discuss mental health too.
When any mental aspect of your life is affecting you, it’s hard to talk about it. Talking is as though you are admitting you have a problem and that it is defeating you. In your own mind, it suggests you are too weak and are letting down those that you love. It is also hard to find solutions on your own that do not feel like the darkest ways out are the best.
You are never weak to admit you need help. It is a strength to reach out to others because of how strongly and fiercely the creatures in our minds will try to keep us from doing that very thing. You are still fighting the good fight. You are just calling for backup to help you succeed and believe me, you will succeed. Even if others give you the nudge to the top, while you must not forget them, the triumph is yours alone and you must feel pride for that.
First, look above and see what I discussed when this topic was about writing and other projects. If you see, it starts with a realization that things are gloomy, such as feeling stuck, struggling with motivation, or having no options come to mind. However, those changes when you start discussing the problems, as solutions start to arise from other minds. This is not because those minds are clearer or smarter than yours, it is just because they are different, have had different experiences, so see things differently. The saying ‘two heads are better than one’ is no truer than at this point.
Second, know that by taking advice, you are still doing your thing. You are not having to credit someone else with your entire success because the talk or help is just five percent of the way to the end goal. It might have been a necessary five percent that impacted whether you continued or gave up, but it was still your strength that carried you to the end. Don’t forget them and remember to thank them, as I said before, but do not feel the victory is hollow either. The bulk of the journey and even the acceptance of the recommendations were all you.
Lastly, I’ll give you the words I gave that same friend which seemed to help them a lot.
“You've [...] had dragons in your life, physically and metaphorically. They've been dangerous, debilitating, and a damned nuisance to you in different ways. However, they do not rule you. They might scare you, anger you, and try to trip you. But they have no true power over you, as long as you remember that they [can be killed]. Every single dragon has a weakness and many times, the sword and shield are love and friendship. That is in abundance here. So do not fear dragons, my friends. Laugh at them and reach out to those who believe dragons do not exist.”
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
12th July 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Back to doing something productive with this time and remembering these blogs are not a gimmick, they are a reason to keep me writing. They give me a bit of structure in what I do and encourage me to keep to a plan. What I am going to talk to you about today is why you should talk about the story, column, essay, or anything you are writing. Even something you are working on, whether it is art, music, or something else.
This was immensely helpful for me this week. I have a friend on Discord who I began talking to about the stories I write as well as many other things. We talked about the characters, the settings, the motives, and even an unhealthy dose of spoilers! What was great about this was that it gave me a renewed vigor and interest in what I was writing and it also straightened out some of the problems I had with the story, allowing me to fix problems that had been perplexing me for months, maybe even as far back as when I first started these stories.
This is immediately the advice I would give anyone struggling with any kind of block. If you cannot get past that wall in your story, or you do not know what to draw next, or you do not know how to solve a problem, then find someone willing to listen to you talk about it and do so. You should find someone you can trust, who will hopefully give you honest feedback and will also accept that this is something you are passionate about, so will not ruin it for you.
Specifically to creative writing, writers can worry about whether they are ruining a story for a friend who wants to read the thing or that they may be giving their baby away to someone who will misuse it. If you pick the right person, a good friend, and not a complete stranger, then this will not be an issue to contend with. They will accept that this is your story and look forward to it whatever guise it comes in. They will still be excited to read it and will not share it with the world. You just have to pick the right person to tell it to. Better yet, when they do come to read it, they’re likely to still find surprises, as some of the best writing comes during the editing phase.
This is equally true outside of writing. If you talk about drawings you have done, want to do, or admire from other artists, then it may well come to pass that inspiration strikes from that conversation. If you have a problem at work that you don’t know how to resolve, chewing the fat may at least give you a few ideas that you have not thought of on how to resolve it. Best of all, it might even bring to light some things to try later on that you haven’t considered as well.
Following on from this, I want to also add that talking out things is helpful beyond projects and creative aspects. At this point, I am going to discuss mental health too.
When any mental aspect of your life is affecting you, it’s hard to talk about it. Talking is as though you are admitting you have a problem and that it is defeating you. In your own mind, it suggests you are too weak and are letting down those that you love. It is also hard to find solutions on your own that do not feel like the darkest ways out are the best.
You are never weak to admit you need help. It is a strength to reach out to others because of how strongly and fiercely the creatures in our minds will try to keep us from doing that very thing. You are still fighting the good fight. You are just calling for backup to help you succeed and believe me, you will succeed. Even if others give you the nudge to the top, while you must not forget them, the triumph is yours alone and you must feel pride for that.
First, look above and see what I discussed when this topic was about writing and other projects. If you see, it starts with a realization that things are gloomy, such as feeling stuck, struggling with motivation, or having no options come to mind. However, those changes when you start discussing the problems, as solutions start to arise from other minds. This is not because those minds are clearer or smarter than yours, it is just because they are different, have had different experiences, so see things differently. The saying ‘two heads are better than one’ is no truer than at this point.
Second, know that by taking advice, you are still doing your thing. You are not having to credit someone else with your entire success because the talk or help is just five percent of the way to the end goal. It might have been a necessary five percent that impacted whether you continued or gave up, but it was still your strength that carried you to the end. Don’t forget them and remember to thank them, as I said before, but do not feel the victory is hollow either. The bulk of the journey and even the acceptance of the recommendations were all you.
Lastly, I’ll give you the words I gave that same friend which seemed to help them a lot.
“You've [...] had dragons in your life, physically and metaphorically. They've been dangerous, debilitating, and a damned nuisance to you in different ways. However, they do not rule you. They might scare you, anger you, and try to trip you. But they have no true power over you, as long as you remember that they [can be killed]. Every single dragon has a weakness and many times, the sword and shield are love and friendship. That is in abundance here. So do not fear dragons, my friends. Laugh at them and reach out to those who believe dragons do not exist.”
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
All Good Things… Would You Rather…?
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Would You Rather…?
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
8th July 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Okay, so I wanted to do a “write and react” blog here, and to help me do that I’m going to enlist the use of YAGPDB.xyz bot (other bots are available) from Discord. I instantly regretted this when it posed it’s first question to me:
“Would you rather be racist or sexist?”
… Err… Neither.
Oh, so I should explain, to get this function to work you type “-WYR” in the chat, and it generates a random “would you rather…?” question. My Discord server fellowship could see, read and respond to this as well, with an easy A or B voting system. So, here we go, question number one, eyes down looking…
“Would you rather be A) telekinetic or B) telepathic?”
Most went for A on this one. Arguably, I would too. I already feel telepathic sometimes, the closest I get to the truth sometimes, or figuring something out before it is fully announced is scary. Telekinesis powers would be much fun to have, you could play about like a Jedi grabbing things from across the room without taking a step! Then again, you might end up like the people from Wall-E… I’ll take the risk. Next!
“Would you rather A) eat a five-course meal in front of ten starving children or B) steal the bucket from five salvation army Santa?”
… What is up with these questions? Okay, shoot. What would you do? I mean… I clicked A for a laugh, however, it would, OF COURSE, be the Santas. Or would it? AGGGH! Now I’m second-guessing myself!!!! Because if the Santas had a lot of money, that could feed more than ten children… RIGHT! I’m overriding this. I would eat the meal in front of the children BECAUSE I would then share it with them. I wouldn’t be a dick, I would find a mutha fuggin’ loophole, baby!
Most of my friends felt the Santa thing was less douchy, one pointing out that if the kids saw Santa then kick their ass in front of the kids, it would mean bonus points.
NEXT!
“Would you rather be A) telekinetic or--”
No, we’ve had that one.
“Would you rather be A) an Olympic tennis player or B) Olympic table tennis player?”
One friend immediately said tennis properly, because that would make them fit as fluff. This seemed to be the consensus with the group, so of course, I went against the grain once again, of course, I did. I said table tennis because, and I quote, “who wouldn't want to be Forrest Gump though.” Getting to meet that particular president, or Elvis, or Bubba… Ok, yes, we lost Bubba, but knowing him was worth the sorrow of losing him. One asked if I meant the movie or the book version - I meant the movie version. I have been too lazy to read the book version (my apologies, Winston Green).
Oh gosh, we’re in the big boy pants now, ladies and gents…
“Would you rather know A) when you will die or B) how you will die?”
Um… Neither? No, I’d rather know ho-- no… whe-- n-no… Agh! Too big a question! Okay, so, if I have to answer this, I’m going to say when. KNOWING that I’ll probably be late for my own death, I think it would be the more productive of the two. If I knew how I was going to die, I would spend my life wondering if this is the moment, I would fear it and would get nothing done. If I spent my life knowing when then I would at least try to fulfill as much as I could in the time that I had. Just like when you’re on holiday for two weeks and you cram in what you can before the flight home.
“Would you rather A) wear a dress or B) wear heels?”
Hahaha… Dress. I’ve worn a dress, I get it girls and Scots and everyone else who wears a dress, the air on you… thighs (gutter minds...) is actually very comfortable, more so than a pair of jeans strangling you every time you sit down. Dresses are going to become the fashion for men, more so than they are already, I am sure of it. HOWEVER, I will not rule out the other side. I get why some guys and gals like the height of a heel but, I am already six foot two, I don’t like low ceilings as is, I don’t need to get closer to them.
“Would you rather A) win the World Series or B) win the Superbowl?”
I am not up on my American sports as I should be so um… which one is which? I think World Series is the hittie-ball-with-batty and Superbowl is fake-rugby, right? I am a dumb English person with my tea, crumpets, and feather dusters. I’m gonna say World Series because if I am right about what I assume it is then baseball seems much cooler and more achievable to my limited skill range than American Foosball is.
I just checked with Alexa, I was right. Whoo! Go me.
Hold on to your butts, men, and women. This next one is the mother of all questions…
“Would you rather get A) an atomic wedgie or B) a swirly?”
Again, I had NO IDEA what a swirly was. I asked Alexa, she was no help. I asked a friend and they were not sure so we googled it;
“The Swirlie is a prank in which one's head is dunked into the toilet bowl and flushed. It was rather prevalent in the '90s, and is little more than a dare nowadays.”
(https://pranks.fandom.com/wiki/Swir.....are%20nowadays.)
… Wedgie. WHO WOULD AGREE TO HAVE THEIR FACE IN A TOILET BOWL? No, ew, yuck, blech! At least with a wedgie, it sucks for a bit and then you recover from it. Gathering all of the germs from the poop shoot is a Scaramouche-no-no, thank you very much. Plus, far more dangerous. What happens if you drown? Okay, we all know what happens if you drown…
I think this will be the last one.
“Would you rather A) watch your favorite movie on repeat for a full day, or B) watch Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist once.”
I have not watched Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist ever (what an uncultured swine I am!) so I think I will hit that up. I already watched Back to the Future Part III for a full day as a kid while I was trying to figure out how to build my own time traveling steam train, so I can tick that off the bucket list. Let’s live a little and try something new, eh?
Alright, that one was a little dull, so I’m going overtime to do one more, just to see if it’s any good…
“Would you rather...”
“A) Be the guy from Momento,”
“OR,”
“B) Be the guy from Groundhog Day?”
… I already feel like both of those guys. I forget who I am and I feel like I am living the same day over and over, never moving forwards or backward, trying to crash the Matrix and getting close but not close enough.
I think I’ll go with the guy from Groundhog Day though, because they learn that kindness and compassion have more impact on the world than you can possibly know, after a few selfish deeds and mistakes first. That’s the path to all good things, folks, learn from your fluff ups!
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
8th July 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Okay, so I wanted to do a “write and react” blog here, and to help me do that I’m going to enlist the use of YAGPDB.xyz bot (other bots are available) from Discord. I instantly regretted this when it posed it’s first question to me:
“Would you rather be racist or sexist?”
… Err… Neither.
Oh, so I should explain, to get this function to work you type “-WYR” in the chat, and it generates a random “would you rather…?” question. My Discord server fellowship could see, read and respond to this as well, with an easy A or B voting system. So, here we go, question number one, eyes down looking…
“Would you rather be A) telekinetic or B) telepathic?”
Most went for A on this one. Arguably, I would too. I already feel telepathic sometimes, the closest I get to the truth sometimes, or figuring something out before it is fully announced is scary. Telekinesis powers would be much fun to have, you could play about like a Jedi grabbing things from across the room without taking a step! Then again, you might end up like the people from Wall-E… I’ll take the risk. Next!
“Would you rather A) eat a five-course meal in front of ten starving children or B) steal the bucket from five salvation army Santa?”
… What is up with these questions? Okay, shoot. What would you do? I mean… I clicked A for a laugh, however, it would, OF COURSE, be the Santas. Or would it? AGGGH! Now I’m second-guessing myself!!!! Because if the Santas had a lot of money, that could feed more than ten children… RIGHT! I’m overriding this. I would eat the meal in front of the children BECAUSE I would then share it with them. I wouldn’t be a dick, I would find a mutha fuggin’ loophole, baby!
Most of my friends felt the Santa thing was less douchy, one pointing out that if the kids saw Santa then kick their ass in front of the kids, it would mean bonus points.
NEXT!
“Would you rather be A) telekinetic or--”
No, we’ve had that one.
“Would you rather be A) an Olympic tennis player or B) Olympic table tennis player?”
One friend immediately said tennis properly, because that would make them fit as fluff. This seemed to be the consensus with the group, so of course, I went against the grain once again, of course, I did. I said table tennis because, and I quote, “who wouldn't want to be Forrest Gump though.” Getting to meet that particular president, or Elvis, or Bubba… Ok, yes, we lost Bubba, but knowing him was worth the sorrow of losing him. One asked if I meant the movie or the book version - I meant the movie version. I have been too lazy to read the book version (my apologies, Winston Green).
Oh gosh, we’re in the big boy pants now, ladies and gents…
“Would you rather know A) when you will die or B) how you will die?”
Um… Neither? No, I’d rather know ho-- no… whe-- n-no… Agh! Too big a question! Okay, so, if I have to answer this, I’m going to say when. KNOWING that I’ll probably be late for my own death, I think it would be the more productive of the two. If I knew how I was going to die, I would spend my life wondering if this is the moment, I would fear it and would get nothing done. If I spent my life knowing when then I would at least try to fulfill as much as I could in the time that I had. Just like when you’re on holiday for two weeks and you cram in what you can before the flight home.
“Would you rather A) wear a dress or B) wear heels?”
Hahaha… Dress. I’ve worn a dress, I get it girls and Scots and everyone else who wears a dress, the air on you… thighs (gutter minds...) is actually very comfortable, more so than a pair of jeans strangling you every time you sit down. Dresses are going to become the fashion for men, more so than they are already, I am sure of it. HOWEVER, I will not rule out the other side. I get why some guys and gals like the height of a heel but, I am already six foot two, I don’t like low ceilings as is, I don’t need to get closer to them.
“Would you rather A) win the World Series or B) win the Superbowl?”
I am not up on my American sports as I should be so um… which one is which? I think World Series is the hittie-ball-with-batty and Superbowl is fake-rugby, right? I am a dumb English person with my tea, crumpets, and feather dusters. I’m gonna say World Series because if I am right about what I assume it is then baseball seems much cooler and more achievable to my limited skill range than American Foosball is.
I just checked with Alexa, I was right. Whoo! Go me.
Hold on to your butts, men, and women. This next one is the mother of all questions…
“Would you rather get A) an atomic wedgie or B) a swirly?”
Again, I had NO IDEA what a swirly was. I asked Alexa, she was no help. I asked a friend and they were not sure so we googled it;
“The Swirlie is a prank in which one's head is dunked into the toilet bowl and flushed. It was rather prevalent in the '90s, and is little more than a dare nowadays.”
(https://pranks.fandom.com/wiki/Swir.....are%20nowadays.)
… Wedgie. WHO WOULD AGREE TO HAVE THEIR FACE IN A TOILET BOWL? No, ew, yuck, blech! At least with a wedgie, it sucks for a bit and then you recover from it. Gathering all of the germs from the poop shoot is a Scaramouche-no-no, thank you very much. Plus, far more dangerous. What happens if you drown? Okay, we all know what happens if you drown…
I think this will be the last one.
“Would you rather A) watch your favorite movie on repeat for a full day, or B) watch Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist once.”
I have not watched Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist ever (what an uncultured swine I am!) so I think I will hit that up. I already watched Back to the Future Part III for a full day as a kid while I was trying to figure out how to build my own time traveling steam train, so I can tick that off the bucket list. Let’s live a little and try something new, eh?
Alright, that one was a little dull, so I’m going overtime to do one more, just to see if it’s any good…
“Would you rather...”
“A) Be the guy from Momento,”
“OR,”
“B) Be the guy from Groundhog Day?”
… I already feel like both of those guys. I forget who I am and I feel like I am living the same day over and over, never moving forwards or backward, trying to crash the Matrix and getting close but not close enough.
I think I’ll go with the guy from Groundhog Day though, because they learn that kindness and compassion have more impact on the world than you can possibly know, after a few selfish deeds and mistakes first. That’s the path to all good things, folks, learn from your fluff ups!
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
All Good Things… Happy Beat The Extraterrestrials Day!
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Happy Beat The Extraterrestrials Day!
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
4th July 2020
Happy Canada Day for the first July and Happy Independence Day for the fourth, my American and Canadian cousins! Hope you each enjoy these days where, as a country, you can recognize your own self worth in the universe.
Of course, as a damned-it-all Limey Brit, I had no idea what Independence Day as a kid and only got the vaguest idea from the movie. Even after that, I wondered why Americans were so happy to celebrate the day the USA beat up a bunch of movie aliens and stopped them destroying the earth for no discernable reason. It wasn’t until later that I understood the true celebration.
Equally, I did not know Canada had its own day until I dated a girl from Ontario and got updates on what they were celebrating and why. I don’t believe I ever got to see one of the days out during a visit but I certainly got photos of fireworks and pies. I really, really miss real pumpkin pie...
Of course, I still do not necessarily celebrate it myself, since I live in England where the day is basically a wet, windy Saturday with not much happening. However, I do try to remember to pop a message to the friends I’ve built up in both Canada and the US recognizing their time of celebration.
While this dumb (and very lazy) British writer cannot find a good reason to join in on these days personally without looking like a wannabe, I can still take the time to appreciate how much they mean to each country. Indeed, there are many holidays that my country does not observe but I can still understand the meaning they have to other parts of the world. For example, most might only know November the fifth from the V For Vendetta comic and/or film but not realize that it is based on an event when our Parliament was nearly blown up. Some still wish they’d been successful! Every fifth November, we go out into our gardens to light bonfires or visit public displays where a scarecrow effigy of Guy Fawkes, one of the perpetrators, is burnt and fireworks are let off.
While this can seem like mad rambling at the moment (or, “that’s interesting” as my friends say monotonously at me after I try to tell them about, well, anything) I do have a point that these events nicely raise. Independence, personality, and courage are things many have to face every day and some struggle to find. It’s made especially harder when they are facing matters that are deep in the consciousness of the public eye or the contrasting view of who they are is fiercely taught by celebrities, teachers, and parents.
Yet we should each of us remember that where we are at the moment has been fought and worked hard for by the people who came before us. People we have never met have fought wars to keep us safe, keep us happy, and ensure our freedom remains. Others have worked dangerous jobs and still do so that we do not have to know how hard they have it. Some deserve more than the blind eye we have so easily given them.
The point of this blog is to reassure you that you are not forgotten. Somebody thought about you before you even existed. Someone will think about you when you stop existing. Somebody, as they sit here and type this, is thinking about you now.
Do not feel ashamed about being afraid of what tomorrow brings, or what is being said about the person you are, or about the community, or race, or religion, or anything that you belong to. The people who hate and do not try to understand do not matter. The ones who support you, despite not understanding you, do. But most of all, you matter. You do. Don’t you dare shake your head at me, you do! Nodding now? Good.
I don’t know what you are going through today or what you’ll face tomorrow, but I know good things have to come about eventually. It may take a long time and you may feel like you’ll crack long before it comes, but I want you to keep trying and when you feel like you cannot try anymore, find someone good who will try for you.
I want to close with something I said to a friend of mine who felt awful about upsetting a friend recently: “You could be bad for a day, but you’ll never be bad for a lifetime.”
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
4th July 2020
Happy Canada Day for the first July and Happy Independence Day for the fourth, my American and Canadian cousins! Hope you each enjoy these days where, as a country, you can recognize your own self worth in the universe.
Of course, as a damned-it-all Limey Brit, I had no idea what Independence Day as a kid and only got the vaguest idea from the movie. Even after that, I wondered why Americans were so happy to celebrate the day the USA beat up a bunch of movie aliens and stopped them destroying the earth for no discernable reason. It wasn’t until later that I understood the true celebration.
Equally, I did not know Canada had its own day until I dated a girl from Ontario and got updates on what they were celebrating and why. I don’t believe I ever got to see one of the days out during a visit but I certainly got photos of fireworks and pies. I really, really miss real pumpkin pie...
Of course, I still do not necessarily celebrate it myself, since I live in England where the day is basically a wet, windy Saturday with not much happening. However, I do try to remember to pop a message to the friends I’ve built up in both Canada and the US recognizing their time of celebration.
While this dumb (and very lazy) British writer cannot find a good reason to join in on these days personally without looking like a wannabe, I can still take the time to appreciate how much they mean to each country. Indeed, there are many holidays that my country does not observe but I can still understand the meaning they have to other parts of the world. For example, most might only know November the fifth from the V For Vendetta comic and/or film but not realize that it is based on an event when our Parliament was nearly blown up. Some still wish they’d been successful! Every fifth November, we go out into our gardens to light bonfires or visit public displays where a scarecrow effigy of Guy Fawkes, one of the perpetrators, is burnt and fireworks are let off.
While this can seem like mad rambling at the moment (or, “that’s interesting” as my friends say monotonously at me after I try to tell them about, well, anything) I do have a point that these events nicely raise. Independence, personality, and courage are things many have to face every day and some struggle to find. It’s made especially harder when they are facing matters that are deep in the consciousness of the public eye or the contrasting view of who they are is fiercely taught by celebrities, teachers, and parents.
Yet we should each of us remember that where we are at the moment has been fought and worked hard for by the people who came before us. People we have never met have fought wars to keep us safe, keep us happy, and ensure our freedom remains. Others have worked dangerous jobs and still do so that we do not have to know how hard they have it. Some deserve more than the blind eye we have so easily given them.
The point of this blog is to reassure you that you are not forgotten. Somebody thought about you before you even existed. Someone will think about you when you stop existing. Somebody, as they sit here and type this, is thinking about you now.
Do not feel ashamed about being afraid of what tomorrow brings, or what is being said about the person you are, or about the community, or race, or religion, or anything that you belong to. The people who hate and do not try to understand do not matter. The ones who support you, despite not understanding you, do. But most of all, you matter. You do. Don’t you dare shake your head at me, you do! Nodding now? Good.
I don’t know what you are going through today or what you’ll face tomorrow, but I know good things have to come about eventually. It may take a long time and you may feel like you’ll crack long before it comes, but I want you to keep trying and when you feel like you cannot try anymore, find someone good who will try for you.
I want to close with something I said to a friend of mine who felt awful about upsetting a friend recently: “You could be bad for a day, but you’ll never be bad for a lifetime.”
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
All Good Things… I Have Done Nothing Productive All Wee...
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… I Have Done Nothing Productive All Week!
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
1st July 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Phew, it’s been a busy week, yet I don’t feel like I’ve been productive at all! The problem has been that I’ve had a lot of small things to do that have taken up a lot of time. I thought that, by getting the small things out of the way, I’d have time to do the big things without worrying about them. However, that’s not exactly how small things work.
Put it like this; one grain of sand doesn’t make a big impact if you find it in a sandwich, it’s pretty insignificant, you probably don’t know it’s there, right? Yet, more grains become a problem, and if the sandwich is covered in sand, it’s a write-off. This is the way life works too - one thing can seem really simple to move on from and sort out, more than a few soon become a chore. If you spend your whole day sorting out these things, you’ll find yourself exhausted and struggling to resolve the bigger things, even if you believe you have the time for it now. As soon as your energy is back, you’ll be facing small things again and the cycle continues…
So that’s the doom and gloom of it, let’s get straight on with how we start resolving it!
1 - Don’t feel bad about saying no! Okay, so you were raised to say yes, be polite all the time, never make a person feel bad, right? And yet, by following those conditions you were given as a kid, you are now finding that there is so much coming into your life that you cannot handle it properly. The best place to resolve this is where it started - say no. If you cannot say no, or you are worried about how it will affect someone’s mood with you, then try a different tact. Find out when the person wants the thing or the event, and if it isn’t feasible for you then be honest about that. Suggest a date and time when it would be more convenient for you and would give you the time to do what you want and need to do things. This will make things easier for you and hopefully not leave a bad taste in a friend or co-worker’s mouth.
2 - Plan your time better - Planning is something I am terrible with. I try to plan but don’t realize how long something will take or I think I will have more energy after something than I actually do. For example, I get extremely stressed and anxious when meeting people, even my own friends, and family, so after those meetings, I’m usually unable to concentrate for a good while. My solutions to these things are to make plans that I know are realistic to me.
Rather than sit down bang on the o’clock and do the thing, I will give myself a rough estimate of what I will need to do and when I will be free, then I aim to be there, doing that thing around that time, rather than expecting myself to be doing it and beating myself up when I’m not. If I know there’s an interaction I want to be at or have to go to, then I will ensure that there are very few of them at that time, to allow me to feel comfortable afterward. This way, when I come back to the big things I need to do, I know I have the time, energy, and concentration to do them.
3 - Big things first. Big things are big for a reason. They have the biggest impact on your life, can make things good or bad depending on how you handle them. So, no matter how much you wanna get the small fry off your chest and not have to worry about it, it’s far better to get the big meaty chunks out of the broth first, then you can enjoy the gravy afterward… I don’t know where that came from. I’m not even hungry.
If you have several big things to resolve, then don’t try to do them one after the other. Do at least one first, then do a maximum of three small things and have a chance to relax too before you try to tackle another big thing. This way, you’ll have your mind clear ready for it and won’t be thinking about how you handled the last task or getting the dreaded brain fog. Staring at a task not knowing what you’re supposed to do with it never helped anyone!
And finally, 4 - I touched on it in the last one, but probably the most important thing you can do is give yourself a chance to rest and recuperate. We go away on holiday for a reason - to get away from environments that feel like hard work. Careers and chores take up a lot of our lives and while they need to be done, they shouldn’t make us feel devolved into just doing that, day in, day out. Give yourself that time to do the things you want to do, see the people you want to see and then come back refreshed. Yet, on the same token, don’t overdo it if you want to be productive. If you spend all your time chilling, watching rubbish on Netflix, and not trying to get a task out of the way, you cannot then moan that life is boring or that it’s hard to be productive. It isn’t, mate. You’re just not trying. Sorry, but thems the facts. (Google Docs does not like that either, it kept trying to change thems to themes).
So those are my top tips and I am going to take my own medicine now. Time to get back to some hard graft and see what I can make of a story or two. We’re getting somewhere with Luna Switched thanks to… err, for the sake of Tumblr, I’ll call her Lady T.S. I have a project planned out called EarthQuestria and a plan prepared for Scoundrels too. So, things are moving nicely and I’m looking forward to sharing more too.
Last question - Patreon rewards, what do you think? What would YOU like if you were sending me cash to keep me writing and sharing my creativity? Answers on a postcard to this address...
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
1st July 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Phew, it’s been a busy week, yet I don’t feel like I’ve been productive at all! The problem has been that I’ve had a lot of small things to do that have taken up a lot of time. I thought that, by getting the small things out of the way, I’d have time to do the big things without worrying about them. However, that’s not exactly how small things work.
Put it like this; one grain of sand doesn’t make a big impact if you find it in a sandwich, it’s pretty insignificant, you probably don’t know it’s there, right? Yet, more grains become a problem, and if the sandwich is covered in sand, it’s a write-off. This is the way life works too - one thing can seem really simple to move on from and sort out, more than a few soon become a chore. If you spend your whole day sorting out these things, you’ll find yourself exhausted and struggling to resolve the bigger things, even if you believe you have the time for it now. As soon as your energy is back, you’ll be facing small things again and the cycle continues…
So that’s the doom and gloom of it, let’s get straight on with how we start resolving it!
1 - Don’t feel bad about saying no! Okay, so you were raised to say yes, be polite all the time, never make a person feel bad, right? And yet, by following those conditions you were given as a kid, you are now finding that there is so much coming into your life that you cannot handle it properly. The best place to resolve this is where it started - say no. If you cannot say no, or you are worried about how it will affect someone’s mood with you, then try a different tact. Find out when the person wants the thing or the event, and if it isn’t feasible for you then be honest about that. Suggest a date and time when it would be more convenient for you and would give you the time to do what you want and need to do things. This will make things easier for you and hopefully not leave a bad taste in a friend or co-worker’s mouth.
2 - Plan your time better - Planning is something I am terrible with. I try to plan but don’t realize how long something will take or I think I will have more energy after something than I actually do. For example, I get extremely stressed and anxious when meeting people, even my own friends, and family, so after those meetings, I’m usually unable to concentrate for a good while. My solutions to these things are to make plans that I know are realistic to me.
Rather than sit down bang on the o’clock and do the thing, I will give myself a rough estimate of what I will need to do and when I will be free, then I aim to be there, doing that thing around that time, rather than expecting myself to be doing it and beating myself up when I’m not. If I know there’s an interaction I want to be at or have to go to, then I will ensure that there are very few of them at that time, to allow me to feel comfortable afterward. This way, when I come back to the big things I need to do, I know I have the time, energy, and concentration to do them.
3 - Big things first. Big things are big for a reason. They have the biggest impact on your life, can make things good or bad depending on how you handle them. So, no matter how much you wanna get the small fry off your chest and not have to worry about it, it’s far better to get the big meaty chunks out of the broth first, then you can enjoy the gravy afterward… I don’t know where that came from. I’m not even hungry.
If you have several big things to resolve, then don’t try to do them one after the other. Do at least one first, then do a maximum of three small things and have a chance to relax too before you try to tackle another big thing. This way, you’ll have your mind clear ready for it and won’t be thinking about how you handled the last task or getting the dreaded brain fog. Staring at a task not knowing what you’re supposed to do with it never helped anyone!
And finally, 4 - I touched on it in the last one, but probably the most important thing you can do is give yourself a chance to rest and recuperate. We go away on holiday for a reason - to get away from environments that feel like hard work. Careers and chores take up a lot of our lives and while they need to be done, they shouldn’t make us feel devolved into just doing that, day in, day out. Give yourself that time to do the things you want to do, see the people you want to see and then come back refreshed. Yet, on the same token, don’t overdo it if you want to be productive. If you spend all your time chilling, watching rubbish on Netflix, and not trying to get a task out of the way, you cannot then moan that life is boring or that it’s hard to be productive. It isn’t, mate. You’re just not trying. Sorry, but thems the facts. (Google Docs does not like that either, it kept trying to change thems to themes).
So those are my top tips and I am going to take my own medicine now. Time to get back to some hard graft and see what I can make of a story or two. We’re getting somewhere with Luna Switched thanks to… err, for the sake of Tumblr, I’ll call her Lady T.S. I have a project planned out called EarthQuestria and a plan prepared for Scoundrels too. So, things are moving nicely and I’m looking forward to sharing more too.
Last question - Patreon rewards, what do you think? What would YOU like if you were sending me cash to keep me writing and sharing my creativity? Answers on a postcard to this address...
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
All Good Things… Time To Do The Write Thing...
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Time To Do The Write Thing...
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings
27th June 2020
Hello Chaps and Chapettes,
It’s about time.
I started doing these blogs when I was realising that I was struggling to find the motivation to write. I was putting off projects that I needed to complete or at least struggling to decide what I wanted to do with them. Now I’m at the precipice of the journey where I know where I want to go next, what I want to do, and how I’m going to do it. I’ve discovered that through these blogs. Unfortunately, something still stands in my way and that is… These blogs.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to stop writing to you, dear reader. I’ve really enjoyed writing to you and equally you writing back to me, teaching me things, encouraging me, and I thank you from the whole of my heart for that. I will not take likely all you have done to get me to this point, whether it is just viewing what I wrote, telling me what you thought, or giving me hints and tips. However, I must start a new journey otherwise I will get lost in this one.
You see while doing this has been brilliant at getting me motivated to write, helping me practice my touch typing skills, increasing the speed of my writing, and learning that I CAN BLOODY DO IT! It has also made me a bit complacent. I spoke earlier about how, even doing one thing can still be a win during your day, but there is also a danger to that. If you want to succeed, small wins can lead to a big win, yet you need to ensure that you are focused on the next step up too.
Let me put this forward, you do not have to step up. Doing little wins every day such as ensuring you pay that bill, or write one little thing, or go to work, or eat, or sleep, or put the garbage out, will keep you on a straight line. You can go in a straight line as long as that is what makes you happy. You’re still living, laughing, having fun and that’s great, there is nothing wrong with it. However, if you want to go up, then going in a straight line will not get you there. You have to make a sacrifice and try taking the stairs instead.
Don’t get me wrong, that sacrifice could feel like a mistake. Life is like a big game of snakes and ladders, you could be climbing one day and from no fault of your own, you’re sliding down the next day. Yet, even if you end up at square zero, the starting block of the board, there is STILL A LADDER IN FRONT OF YOU! And the best bit is, there are no snakes until you climb up it. So it’s literally free real estate. ;3
This is where I am. I want to move from doing these blogs every day to doing them when I feel I have something important to report. I could be about to climb a ladder or meet a snake and I’m not sure which, but that doesn’t matter. If I don’t do it, I will simply carry ongoing, off of the board, and not meeting anything fun in return.
At this point, I want to share a video with you that inspired me. It is a fan film supported by Disney. It is about what happens if you lead with your head and not your heart. It is the Spanish version BUT there’s no dialogue so you don’t need to worry about understanding it, the animation does a good job of that on its own. (BUT if you did want to find the English version, you can do so on Disney+)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-radLHmpQI
If you have watched that then you’ll find that when “Paul” followed his head over his heart, he discovered that the life he has followed so far has been risk-free, but also lonely, dull, and adventureless. It is only when his head realized that he was going to end up being sad for the remained of his life that he let his heart take over for a bit. To that end, “Paul” had a fantastic time and in the credits on the Disney+ version, you see images of him trying surfing with the surfer dude, sharing time with the old men doing a fun activity (thus changing their lives for the better too) and creating a family with the sunglasses peddler.
The reason I wanted to share that with you is that, at this point in my life, those six minutes had a profound effect on me. They MADE me want to do something else, to create, to try, to risk, and to see what happens next. So that is what I am going to do. Take a risk and even if it doesn’t pay off, I’m going to learn from the experience and try to do it better next time.
In short, please do not worry about me. Do not worry about there being fewer blogs, I will still be writing to you. I’ll schedule them, Ricky Gervais usually does a vlog once at the weekend and once on a Wednesday, I think I can manage to do the same with these vlogs too. So, this isn’t a goodbye to these, it is a see you later.
In the meantime, my thirty-minute challenges will continue with a new purpose. I’ve learned from these that I can write about a thousand words in thirty minutes. “Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone” is nearly seventy-seven thousand words long. That means, if written from cover to cover without editing or drafts, it would take seventy-seven days to write. That would be two months and sixteen days. That, on this time budget, is acceptable!
I’m first going to focus on a project I started called “Luna Switched,” - sorry, Tumblr, FurAffinity, Twitter and Facebook friends, you won’t be able to read that here as it’s very adult, but I will sink a link down below if you want to try. Honestly, if you’re innocent or family, please don’t. :D Thanks.
After that, other things will arise that should be more up your street. There will still be pony stuff for a while because I have ideas I need to see to completion before I can go on to actual publishable novel ideas. If I moved on from them now without finishing them, I would not be very happy with myself and my writing would suffer for it, so please bear with until we are at that point.
Until then, I’ll pop on a blog post every weekend and Wednesday. I’ll share thoughts on what I am doing, listen to your suggestions, and look forward to getting in touch. I hope that you will too.
Until then, this is Scaramouche saying, tatty-bye everyone, tatty-bye :D
Stay safe, stay positive, and always do reach out to me if you need to.
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings
27th June 2020
Hello Chaps and Chapettes,
It’s about time.
I started doing these blogs when I was realising that I was struggling to find the motivation to write. I was putting off projects that I needed to complete or at least struggling to decide what I wanted to do with them. Now I’m at the precipice of the journey where I know where I want to go next, what I want to do, and how I’m going to do it. I’ve discovered that through these blogs. Unfortunately, something still stands in my way and that is… These blogs.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to stop writing to you, dear reader. I’ve really enjoyed writing to you and equally you writing back to me, teaching me things, encouraging me, and I thank you from the whole of my heart for that. I will not take likely all you have done to get me to this point, whether it is just viewing what I wrote, telling me what you thought, or giving me hints and tips. However, I must start a new journey otherwise I will get lost in this one.
You see while doing this has been brilliant at getting me motivated to write, helping me practice my touch typing skills, increasing the speed of my writing, and learning that I CAN BLOODY DO IT! It has also made me a bit complacent. I spoke earlier about how, even doing one thing can still be a win during your day, but there is also a danger to that. If you want to succeed, small wins can lead to a big win, yet you need to ensure that you are focused on the next step up too.
Let me put this forward, you do not have to step up. Doing little wins every day such as ensuring you pay that bill, or write one little thing, or go to work, or eat, or sleep, or put the garbage out, will keep you on a straight line. You can go in a straight line as long as that is what makes you happy. You’re still living, laughing, having fun and that’s great, there is nothing wrong with it. However, if you want to go up, then going in a straight line will not get you there. You have to make a sacrifice and try taking the stairs instead.
Don’t get me wrong, that sacrifice could feel like a mistake. Life is like a big game of snakes and ladders, you could be climbing one day and from no fault of your own, you’re sliding down the next day. Yet, even if you end up at square zero, the starting block of the board, there is STILL A LADDER IN FRONT OF YOU! And the best bit is, there are no snakes until you climb up it. So it’s literally free real estate. ;3
This is where I am. I want to move from doing these blogs every day to doing them when I feel I have something important to report. I could be about to climb a ladder or meet a snake and I’m not sure which, but that doesn’t matter. If I don’t do it, I will simply carry ongoing, off of the board, and not meeting anything fun in return.
At this point, I want to share a video with you that inspired me. It is a fan film supported by Disney. It is about what happens if you lead with your head and not your heart. It is the Spanish version BUT there’s no dialogue so you don’t need to worry about understanding it, the animation does a good job of that on its own. (BUT if you did want to find the English version, you can do so on Disney+)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-radLHmpQI
If you have watched that then you’ll find that when “Paul” followed his head over his heart, he discovered that the life he has followed so far has been risk-free, but also lonely, dull, and adventureless. It is only when his head realized that he was going to end up being sad for the remained of his life that he let his heart take over for a bit. To that end, “Paul” had a fantastic time and in the credits on the Disney+ version, you see images of him trying surfing with the surfer dude, sharing time with the old men doing a fun activity (thus changing their lives for the better too) and creating a family with the sunglasses peddler.
The reason I wanted to share that with you is that, at this point in my life, those six minutes had a profound effect on me. They MADE me want to do something else, to create, to try, to risk, and to see what happens next. So that is what I am going to do. Take a risk and even if it doesn’t pay off, I’m going to learn from the experience and try to do it better next time.
In short, please do not worry about me. Do not worry about there being fewer blogs, I will still be writing to you. I’ll schedule them, Ricky Gervais usually does a vlog once at the weekend and once on a Wednesday, I think I can manage to do the same with these vlogs too. So, this isn’t a goodbye to these, it is a see you later.
In the meantime, my thirty-minute challenges will continue with a new purpose. I’ve learned from these that I can write about a thousand words in thirty minutes. “Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone” is nearly seventy-seven thousand words long. That means, if written from cover to cover without editing or drafts, it would take seventy-seven days to write. That would be two months and sixteen days. That, on this time budget, is acceptable!
I’m first going to focus on a project I started called “Luna Switched,” - sorry, Tumblr, FurAffinity, Twitter and Facebook friends, you won’t be able to read that here as it’s very adult, but I will sink a link down below if you want to try. Honestly, if you’re innocent or family, please don’t. :D Thanks.
After that, other things will arise that should be more up your street. There will still be pony stuff for a while because I have ideas I need to see to completion before I can go on to actual publishable novel ideas. If I moved on from them now without finishing them, I would not be very happy with myself and my writing would suffer for it, so please bear with until we are at that point.
Until then, I’ll pop on a blog post every weekend and Wednesday. I’ll share thoughts on what I am doing, listen to your suggestions, and look forward to getting in touch. I hope that you will too.
Until then, this is Scaramouche saying, tatty-bye everyone, tatty-bye :D
Stay safe, stay positive, and always do reach out to me if you need to.
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
Link to Luna Switched: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/17...../luna-switched
Link to Discord Server: https://discord.gg/9GEhvhf
All Good Things… Keep It Simple.
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Keep It Simple.
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings
26th June 2020
Hello Chaps and Chapettes,
Doing these two back to back because I have a couple of things I wanted to write about in this blog, so rather than stick to my rules I figured it was smarter to get things off of my chest that I will be focusing on when I write a story or anything that includes putting pen to paper really. It’s as simple a rule as this; keep it simple!
I watched a clip of an interview with Micheal Hauge, who is a story consultant, author, and lecturer, and was interested to hear him discuss how many screenplays can fail within the first act or two acts because they do not make the plot easy to follow. If you have something extremely convoluted going on within the first part of a story, show, or production, then the reader or viewer can get lost and alienated extremely quickly.
I have recently found this with “Fallout: Equestria’s Scoundrels - The Last Song” (even the name is overdoing it, right?) which I chose last week to unpublish (but not delete!) while I look at doing surgery on the entire story and make it something much more fun and exciting to read.
The problem with Scoundrels is that there were too many things going on at once, as Hauge points out, “if you have problems in the first to stages, it’s impossible for your [story] to work” (Hauge, 2016). Let me show you why Scoundrels was not only not going to work but also extremely broken;
“You meet a griffon in the Wasteland who is looking for her friend and he turns up with a skull on his head telling them to go into a stable because there might be food and shelter and they get there and and AND AND AND…”
There is a lot going on, BUT no motivation for any character to actually follow. For example, why should any character want to go somewhere on an ‘if’ possibility, IF there’s no drive for them to do so? Even IF I’d suggested it was a mere curiosity, this could have been a stronger driving force that “They just do”. There are greater problems when you get into the heart of the story too because there is so much going on. IF the story was simply this, it would make sense;
“Ponies live in a stable which forces every occupant into a singing contest, and every winner gets to go to a pony version of paradise, however, paradise is not what they assume it to be.”
How long did that take to read? Five seconds at most? Yet you get the premise of the story, right? Let me show you what my previously published version of that would have been...
“A griffon and a bunch of raiders break into a stable and are unable to escape, where the ponies who live there are forced into a singing contest, and every winner gets to go to a pony version of paradise, however, paradise is not what they assume it to be. However the griffon is torn between singing to find out what the paradise is, and the mare she just met and now loves. Also, there are changelings hiding in this stable who once helped ponies but are equally as confused as everyone else...”
Bad. Broken. Not good at all.
Do not get me wrong, it’s good to have subplots during the main plot. We do not simply go to work, come home, eat, drink, and sleep. During our lives, we encounter many “subplots”. Our friend is sick, we worry about them, they get better. We get a cat, they bring home a bird, we try to teach cat this is not the human way of doing cat things. The car breaks down. We call a mechanic. Mechanic takes five years to get to you and when they arrive, they report that the car is a write-off, thus a quest for a new car begins…
But, when these subplots become as big as the main plot, the story gets overwhelming. You’ve probably already felt this in real life. Think about the times when you’ve tried to go to work while dealing with a broken car, while worrying about a sick friend, and being upset about your pet’s behavior. Then work sticks redundancy on you. Then your debts are too damn high. Then, then, then…
And breathe…
A story is a place for you to escape.
If a story makes you feel overwhelmed, then you are not escaping. You are delving into something as great as your problems in real life, thus you will not enjoy it. If you’re writing a said story, you’ll discover that the story isn’t fun to write anymore either. Oh, you enjoyed it at the start, definitely! But as you went on you discover threads that lead to nowhere, matters that don’t matter, and issues that cannot be solved.
What you need to do is simplify.
Hauge uses the plot of “Inception” as an example. It’s a complicated film, he agrees, but in the end, it boils down to this;
“Several men intercept a person’s dreams and delve into the layers of them, interfering with them so that they are able to then adjust the future actions of the dreamer.” Five seconds.
And the subplot is even briefer. “The leading member lost his wife and her memory affects the ability to change these dreams effectively.”
If you cannot shrink your plot to this length, then you’ll have problems.
I’ll sign off with a motto of Hauge that explains how to bring yourself back to basics in a story; “If you’re having story problems, all roads lead to the hero’s outer motivation.” (Hauge, 2016)
Do not get lost in the themes, inner journey, depth or dimension of the character, nor create a premise so thick that there is no way out of it. Instead, focus on the visible goal that the hero wants to cross at the end of this story. Even if you’re writing a blog or a biography, then ensure there is a goal at the end which you want to reach. I think, herein, I have reached that goal.
If you want to watch the full clip, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGY.....pTeI&t=48s
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings
26th June 2020
Hello Chaps and Chapettes,
Doing these two back to back because I have a couple of things I wanted to write about in this blog, so rather than stick to my rules I figured it was smarter to get things off of my chest that I will be focusing on when I write a story or anything that includes putting pen to paper really. It’s as simple a rule as this; keep it simple!
I watched a clip of an interview with Micheal Hauge, who is a story consultant, author, and lecturer, and was interested to hear him discuss how many screenplays can fail within the first act or two acts because they do not make the plot easy to follow. If you have something extremely convoluted going on within the first part of a story, show, or production, then the reader or viewer can get lost and alienated extremely quickly.
I have recently found this with “Fallout: Equestria’s Scoundrels - The Last Song” (even the name is overdoing it, right?) which I chose last week to unpublish (but not delete!) while I look at doing surgery on the entire story and make it something much more fun and exciting to read.
The problem with Scoundrels is that there were too many things going on at once, as Hauge points out, “if you have problems in the first to stages, it’s impossible for your [story] to work” (Hauge, 2016). Let me show you why Scoundrels was not only not going to work but also extremely broken;
“You meet a griffon in the Wasteland who is looking for her friend and he turns up with a skull on his head telling them to go into a stable because there might be food and shelter and they get there and and AND AND AND…”
There is a lot going on, BUT no motivation for any character to actually follow. For example, why should any character want to go somewhere on an ‘if’ possibility, IF there’s no drive for them to do so? Even IF I’d suggested it was a mere curiosity, this could have been a stronger driving force that “They just do”. There are greater problems when you get into the heart of the story too because there is so much going on. IF the story was simply this, it would make sense;
“Ponies live in a stable which forces every occupant into a singing contest, and every winner gets to go to a pony version of paradise, however, paradise is not what they assume it to be.”
How long did that take to read? Five seconds at most? Yet you get the premise of the story, right? Let me show you what my previously published version of that would have been...
“A griffon and a bunch of raiders break into a stable and are unable to escape, where the ponies who live there are forced into a singing contest, and every winner gets to go to a pony version of paradise, however, paradise is not what they assume it to be. However the griffon is torn between singing to find out what the paradise is, and the mare she just met and now loves. Also, there are changelings hiding in this stable who once helped ponies but are equally as confused as everyone else...”
Bad. Broken. Not good at all.
Do not get me wrong, it’s good to have subplots during the main plot. We do not simply go to work, come home, eat, drink, and sleep. During our lives, we encounter many “subplots”. Our friend is sick, we worry about them, they get better. We get a cat, they bring home a bird, we try to teach cat this is not the human way of doing cat things. The car breaks down. We call a mechanic. Mechanic takes five years to get to you and when they arrive, they report that the car is a write-off, thus a quest for a new car begins…
But, when these subplots become as big as the main plot, the story gets overwhelming. You’ve probably already felt this in real life. Think about the times when you’ve tried to go to work while dealing with a broken car, while worrying about a sick friend, and being upset about your pet’s behavior. Then work sticks redundancy on you. Then your debts are too damn high. Then, then, then…
And breathe…
A story is a place for you to escape.
If a story makes you feel overwhelmed, then you are not escaping. You are delving into something as great as your problems in real life, thus you will not enjoy it. If you’re writing a said story, you’ll discover that the story isn’t fun to write anymore either. Oh, you enjoyed it at the start, definitely! But as you went on you discover threads that lead to nowhere, matters that don’t matter, and issues that cannot be solved.
What you need to do is simplify.
Hauge uses the plot of “Inception” as an example. It’s a complicated film, he agrees, but in the end, it boils down to this;
“Several men intercept a person’s dreams and delve into the layers of them, interfering with them so that they are able to then adjust the future actions of the dreamer.” Five seconds.
And the subplot is even briefer. “The leading member lost his wife and her memory affects the ability to change these dreams effectively.”
If you cannot shrink your plot to this length, then you’ll have problems.
I’ll sign off with a motto of Hauge that explains how to bring yourself back to basics in a story; “If you’re having story problems, all roads lead to the hero’s outer motivation.” (Hauge, 2016)
Do not get lost in the themes, inner journey, depth or dimension of the character, nor create a premise so thick that there is no way out of it. Instead, focus on the visible goal that the hero wants to cross at the end of this story. Even if you’re writing a blog or a biography, then ensure there is a goal at the end which you want to reach. I think, herein, I have reached that goal.
If you want to watch the full clip, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGY.....pTeI&t=48s
All good things,
Lots of hugs,
Scara x
All Good Things… Doris the Doggo’s Story.
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Doris the Doggo’s Story.
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings… .
25th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Boy, I can tell you I am looking forward to some cooler weather. It is hot as balls in England! Or, as hot as an Englishman’s balls can cope in this weather. It makes it very hard to concentrate on writing or telling any kind of story, you really have to find a wedge into the thing you are writing and make it as exciting for yourself as a writer as well as for the reader. If you don’t have that drive to get a story, blog, or miscellaneous writing going, it isn’t going to go anywhere what so ever.
It reminds me of a story I once wanted to tell as part of a bunch of children’s fables. You know the kind, like Aesop’s Fables or the Beatrix Potter tales of creatures getting into scrapes and learning valuable lessons. Well, before Hollywood took over and it was a rabbit who sounded like James Cordon and annoyed one of the Weasley boys...
My story was about a dog. I don’t think he or she ever had a name, but for the sake of argument, let’s call them Doris, Doris the doggo.
Doris was a very pretty dog. So pretty, she was incredibly vain. She wouldn’t have liked to have been called dog, no, no, that was far too inferior for her liking. She much preferred canine. It had a certain… je ne sais quoi. She was so sure of herself that she believed she was destined for greater things. Things like winning Crufts. Not the beauty show, all of it. Basically, completing all of the Crufts. If that wasn’t a thing before she arrived, she believed it certainly would be when she left.
After that, she expected there would be record deals. Appear in movie roles beside Tom Cruise and Scarlett Johansson. Rub shoulders with Beyonce and Drake. Throw tomatoes with Justin Timberlake at Justin Beiber. That kind of thing.
Unfortunately, Doris had not realized or not cared that one fact stood in her way. She was not a famous canine. She wasn’t even a barely recognizable canine. She did not belong to anyone famous, she was not a stunt dog. She lived on a farm and the farmer expected her to round up sheep.
This was the least interesting thing that Doris could ever imagine. She groused and whined and moaned in the morning when the farmer urged her to wake up and perform the task. She barked and whimpered and howled in the evening when she came home from the task. Every other animal on the farm was sick of it, they all got on with their jobs without fuss, so why was this annoying, noisy pup so complacent about her role. Most would just complain at her, which made her feel even worse.
Nobody understood her, not one single creature, and while she chose not to show them how sad it made her, she did feel alone and distraught. Her desires seemed like an impossible goal to reach.
Luckily for her, there was an old nag on the farm. Don’t worry, it wasn’t someone like mommy or granny when they’re having a bad day. This nag was a horse named Susan.
One evening, after Doris had got back from begrudgingly assisting the farmer with his sheep-herding, the beautiful canine tried to find a place to wail alone where she would not bother the other animals. She had no clue she’d slipped into Susan’s stable, as the nag was usually so quiet and calm. It was only when Doris gave a shrill “awoooooooooooooo~” that Susan piped up.
“Excuse me,” grunted Susan, “but can you not?”
“Oh no,” Doris replied, “not another animal annoyed at me! I’m so sorry, but I just feel so gosh-darned terrible about my life! I have to herd sheep, I’m not famous, I get mud on my fur every day, and the farmer doesn’t appreciate me! I might as well be a pig and roll around in their pen all day.”
“Ah, well, first off, I wouldn’t do that,” Susan trotted over, “you really would not like what they roll in. Let’s just say, they’re the only ones to be happy in it. Secondly, why do you not like herding sheep? You get to run about, have your freedom, and all you have to do in return is ask those fluffy-cloud-wearing blighters where you want them to go!”
“I think you’re confused,” Doris scratched an ear with her foot, “I have to bark and run after them to get them to go anywhere. I can’t just tell them where to go… Can I?”
“Have you tried?” Susan smirked the smirk of a horse who knew she was right, as the canine tilted her head at her. “Try this. Ask the sheep nicely tomorrow to go where the farmer wants them to go and then do everything you can to impress the farmer. If you can impress them, they might tell their friends! Then you’ll be one step closer to what you desire most!”
Doris gave it some thought. Eventually, she nodded, agreed to try what Susan was suggesting, and went back to the farm-house to rest in preparation for the challenge the next day
“You do realize that’s part of the plot of ‘Babe, The Sheep-Pig,’ don’t you?” whispered a spider from the corner of Susan’s ceiling.
“Hmm,” thought Susan aloud, “it hadn’t even crossed my mind…”
…
The next day, the old nag watched Doris walking out to the fields with the farmer and waited patiently for their return. The day was nice, sunny but cool, and the nag did not mind having to wait for news as to whether the plan had worked or not. Soon, just before the sun began to set, the farmer and canine could be seen returning up the lane. However, they did not simply walk. The farmer was running, yelling excitedly and waving their iPhone in the air like they just did not care!
The farmer’s partner came out of the house to see what the racket was, only to have the farmer race up to them, give them a big kiss, and hastily and loudly explain what had happened while showing them a video they’d recorded on their phone. The partner examined it, gasped, and began to speak in the same speedy, excitable tone right back.
Meanwhile, Doris padded happily over to Susan’s stable and smiled proudly at the horse.
“I take it you did what I told you?” Susan asked knowingly.
“Well, yes and no,” the canine replied to the nag’s ultimate confusion, looking down at her claws as if deciding whether to paint them.
“Did you ask the sheep to what the farmer wanted them to do?”
“No,” Doris giggled, “I asked them to do what I wanted them to do.”
“...And what was that?” Susan looked very perplexed, but the pretty, pleased-with-herself pup simply looked up at her with a doggy-dentures smile.
“I made them stand on the hill in such a way so that they spelled out the words, ‘GET ME AN AGENT’”
After that day, the farmer and Doris got visits from more than just their friends. The video went viral, and soon celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Miley Cyrus, Dwayne Johnson, and even Taylor Swift all showed up to have special messaged created for them by Doris and the sheep. Hanks had “LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES,” while Johnson got “I CAN SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING!”
Best of all, Doris realized that she would have never thought of this if it wasn’t for the old nag, so every night she ensured she shared all her stories with her new best friend, Susan. The canine became famous, but because this is a children’s story, it did not go to her head.
The moral here is that sometimes you have to do what you don’t like to get what you want, but that does not mean you cannot enjoy it in the process.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings… .
25th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Boy, I can tell you I am looking forward to some cooler weather. It is hot as balls in England! Or, as hot as an Englishman’s balls can cope in this weather. It makes it very hard to concentrate on writing or telling any kind of story, you really have to find a wedge into the thing you are writing and make it as exciting for yourself as a writer as well as for the reader. If you don’t have that drive to get a story, blog, or miscellaneous writing going, it isn’t going to go anywhere what so ever.
It reminds me of a story I once wanted to tell as part of a bunch of children’s fables. You know the kind, like Aesop’s Fables or the Beatrix Potter tales of creatures getting into scrapes and learning valuable lessons. Well, before Hollywood took over and it was a rabbit who sounded like James Cordon and annoyed one of the Weasley boys...
My story was about a dog. I don’t think he or she ever had a name, but for the sake of argument, let’s call them Doris, Doris the doggo.
Doris was a very pretty dog. So pretty, she was incredibly vain. She wouldn’t have liked to have been called dog, no, no, that was far too inferior for her liking. She much preferred canine. It had a certain… je ne sais quoi. She was so sure of herself that she believed she was destined for greater things. Things like winning Crufts. Not the beauty show, all of it. Basically, completing all of the Crufts. If that wasn’t a thing before she arrived, she believed it certainly would be when she left.
After that, she expected there would be record deals. Appear in movie roles beside Tom Cruise and Scarlett Johansson. Rub shoulders with Beyonce and Drake. Throw tomatoes with Justin Timberlake at Justin Beiber. That kind of thing.
Unfortunately, Doris had not realized or not cared that one fact stood in her way. She was not a famous canine. She wasn’t even a barely recognizable canine. She did not belong to anyone famous, she was not a stunt dog. She lived on a farm and the farmer expected her to round up sheep.
This was the least interesting thing that Doris could ever imagine. She groused and whined and moaned in the morning when the farmer urged her to wake up and perform the task. She barked and whimpered and howled in the evening when she came home from the task. Every other animal on the farm was sick of it, they all got on with their jobs without fuss, so why was this annoying, noisy pup so complacent about her role. Most would just complain at her, which made her feel even worse.
Nobody understood her, not one single creature, and while she chose not to show them how sad it made her, she did feel alone and distraught. Her desires seemed like an impossible goal to reach.
Luckily for her, there was an old nag on the farm. Don’t worry, it wasn’t someone like mommy or granny when they’re having a bad day. This nag was a horse named Susan.
One evening, after Doris had got back from begrudgingly assisting the farmer with his sheep-herding, the beautiful canine tried to find a place to wail alone where she would not bother the other animals. She had no clue she’d slipped into Susan’s stable, as the nag was usually so quiet and calm. It was only when Doris gave a shrill “awoooooooooooooo~” that Susan piped up.
“Excuse me,” grunted Susan, “but can you not?”
“Oh no,” Doris replied, “not another animal annoyed at me! I’m so sorry, but I just feel so gosh-darned terrible about my life! I have to herd sheep, I’m not famous, I get mud on my fur every day, and the farmer doesn’t appreciate me! I might as well be a pig and roll around in their pen all day.”
“Ah, well, first off, I wouldn’t do that,” Susan trotted over, “you really would not like what they roll in. Let’s just say, they’re the only ones to be happy in it. Secondly, why do you not like herding sheep? You get to run about, have your freedom, and all you have to do in return is ask those fluffy-cloud-wearing blighters where you want them to go!”
“I think you’re confused,” Doris scratched an ear with her foot, “I have to bark and run after them to get them to go anywhere. I can’t just tell them where to go… Can I?”
“Have you tried?” Susan smirked the smirk of a horse who knew she was right, as the canine tilted her head at her. “Try this. Ask the sheep nicely tomorrow to go where the farmer wants them to go and then do everything you can to impress the farmer. If you can impress them, they might tell their friends! Then you’ll be one step closer to what you desire most!”
Doris gave it some thought. Eventually, she nodded, agreed to try what Susan was suggesting, and went back to the farm-house to rest in preparation for the challenge the next day
“You do realize that’s part of the plot of ‘Babe, The Sheep-Pig,’ don’t you?” whispered a spider from the corner of Susan’s ceiling.
“Hmm,” thought Susan aloud, “it hadn’t even crossed my mind…”
…
The next day, the old nag watched Doris walking out to the fields with the farmer and waited patiently for their return. The day was nice, sunny but cool, and the nag did not mind having to wait for news as to whether the plan had worked or not. Soon, just before the sun began to set, the farmer and canine could be seen returning up the lane. However, they did not simply walk. The farmer was running, yelling excitedly and waving their iPhone in the air like they just did not care!
The farmer’s partner came out of the house to see what the racket was, only to have the farmer race up to them, give them a big kiss, and hastily and loudly explain what had happened while showing them a video they’d recorded on their phone. The partner examined it, gasped, and began to speak in the same speedy, excitable tone right back.
Meanwhile, Doris padded happily over to Susan’s stable and smiled proudly at the horse.
“I take it you did what I told you?” Susan asked knowingly.
“Well, yes and no,” the canine replied to the nag’s ultimate confusion, looking down at her claws as if deciding whether to paint them.
“Did you ask the sheep to what the farmer wanted them to do?”
“No,” Doris giggled, “I asked them to do what I wanted them to do.”
“...And what was that?” Susan looked very perplexed, but the pretty, pleased-with-herself pup simply looked up at her with a doggy-dentures smile.
“I made them stand on the hill in such a way so that they spelled out the words, ‘GET ME AN AGENT’”
After that day, the farmer and Doris got visits from more than just their friends. The video went viral, and soon celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Miley Cyrus, Dwayne Johnson, and even Taylor Swift all showed up to have special messaged created for them by Doris and the sheep. Hanks had “LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES,” while Johnson got “I CAN SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING!”
Best of all, Doris realized that she would have never thought of this if it wasn’t for the old nag, so every night she ensured she shared all her stories with her new best friend, Susan. The canine became famous, but because this is a children’s story, it did not go to her head.
The moral here is that sometimes you have to do what you don’t like to get what you want, but that does not mean you cannot enjoy it in the process.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… The Good With the Bad.
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… The Good With the Bad.
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
24th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
It might have seemed like I stopped for a little bit there, huh? In actual fact, I have still been writing, but more or less in the background rather than doing a full-on post like this. Does that mean I’ve been “neglecting my duties” or “forgetting the challenge” I set myself to write for thirty minutes a day? Well, sort of. I cannot lie.
Let’s see if we can analyze what happened here and correct the error, shall we? The main hiccup was actually on Friday where I did not write anything at all. I did end up writing that blog on Saturday and followed it up with the actual Saturday blog which I wrote and posted on Sunday, but by then I was already going back on several guidelines that I’d set myself. The first was to ensure that I wrote thirty minutes a day, this was missed on Friday, and the second was to have a break on Sunday.
I’ll come back to Friday in a bit and how I’ll resolve that in the future but I also want to talk about why Monday and Tuesday also didn’t happen.
Monday was an oddly exhausting day. The heat has been creeping up this week, today being the hottest so far, but Monday was still cool. I had to take a nap after work and then when I did sit down to write, what I wanted to write was not one of these. Instead, I wanted to work on “Scoundrels”, a story about colorful ponies living in apocalyptic times. They swear, take drugs, shoot guns, it’s fun to write.
The reason I wanted to write that, was because on Tuesday I attended an online workshop by a fellow writer who goes by the codename “Somber”. I know there’s non-bronies who read this on my Tumblr so, to summarise, they wrote a particularly famous FanFiction called “Fallout Equestria; Project Horizons”, millions of peeps have read it. It’s also a spin-off from an equally successful story called “Fallout: Equestria” (written by another fanfiction writer, KKat). Somber has a background teaching English so a class on Creative Writing was practically extra studies for my university course!
The workshop was brilliant. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to workshop my story as we ran out of time but I didn’t feel too down about this. I made friends with a few other fellow writers and so could happily learn and share ideas with them. This ran on quite late and by the time it had ended, the clock was telling me I wouldn’t wake up for work if I didn’t attempt to sleep.
That, neatly, leads me to today. As you can see, although I’ve had a busy day of work, walking to and from the shops and watching “Game Night” with my brother, I still managed to find the time to write this. That’s because tonight I had the time. That’s important.
Friday, the time wasn’t there. I had to be there for a friend who was in need and since my chat, I have it on good authority that their life is looking up. Sunday was father’s day and I wanted to see both dad and stepdad, which I accomplished. Both men had a great day and felt loved, which was another mission accomplished. Sunday night was blitzed by a migraine and it took two paracetamol two hours to put those fires in my brain out.
Monday, as said, was a very tiring day. But I also spent time writing something, even if it wasn’t this. So there was still something completed by the close of the day. Tuesday, there was work, I had my mother pop over for something, I had to cook dinner, and despite all of this still managed to make Somber’s workshop and find writing allies. Do you see where I’m going with this?
Basically, just because you don’t get done what you wanted to do, do not look at it as a wasted day. Even a rest day is a success, so long as it is used to let you prepare for some harder work ahead. You are not failing if you didn’t hit that word count, or forgot to do something you wanted to do, or missed that walk to slim down the spare tractor tyre your gut has become. Even little accomplishments are still a win in the grand scheme of things and believe me they make all the difference.
And sometimes, if someone you know, care about, or love is in need of you, then you should down tools to help them. Let me reiterate that it should be somebody you care about or at least someone who will return the favor along the line. There are people, even family, who can be a drain on your time, resources, and energy. I learned that the hard way last week (see my blog about bullies). Follow your head in these instances, especially if it is aligned with your heart.
Most of all, I want you to take this away with you. Did you wake up today? Do you know how many didn’t get out of bed? Pulled a sickie? Or gave up? You didn’t so in that sense you’re already winning. Now go treat yourself to some cake, champ, you earned it.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
Oh, eerrrr, still here?
Okay, let me square with you. Thirty mins just ran out but I wanted to include this; I am writing a spin-off of that “Fallout: Equestria,” series too, as I mentioned, called “Scoundrels”. I did have a lot of the story already up in my FIMFiction library, but I have unpublished it.
Here are my reasons; I didn’t like how confusing it was. It felt like it started in the middle of a story. I had made choices as a writer that took the story in some strange directions. I made the plot too complicated. I made some of the good characters unlikeable. I made it too long while not much/ too much happened.
So, I am holding onto what I wrote. I want to rewrite it, so that story that you may or may not have read does still exist and isn’t a waste of time, it just needs surgery. When it’s ready, you’ll be able to see it again. Until then, Here’s a sneak peek at “Scoundrels”, the story I while writing, have edited and polished before I publish it. Enjoy!
~
“War,” a voice, masculine and gravelly, haunted my hangover. “War never changes.”
It wasn’t much, but it was enough to stir me from where I’d attempted to make my early grave. My snout had the telltale feeling you got when you accidentally snorted water while submerged in a pool... Or hit too much Dash. I pushed my hooves out around me before my eyes were able to open and felt tiny canisters rattle away from me wherever I moved. My ribs hurt, telling me I hadn’t found a nice or even barely comfortable place to flop. The information fed back to me from all my senses came to the conclusion that I’d bucked up again.
Daring to wake, I cracked my eyes open for as long as I could muster and fluttered the lids ‘til I could make out the shapes of a flickering square of light in the night-time room. Black and white images flashed through the screen of ponies dressed in armor and uniforms, those in the foreground attempting an escape with their wounded while the “best and bravest” continued to fight, to injure, to die. The image changed to Wonderbolts tearing over a coal cloud that once belonged to a shining city. I realized it was Manehattan, the place I’d hailed from. I knew from the shadow of a building topped with a huge pony head choking on the fumes. The Pegasi just seemed like haunting crows over that havoc.
After the Manehattan skyline lingered for a few seconds, it switched to a shot taken behind ponies hiding from the invisible foe in a shady tunnel. Their silhouettes were huddled and perpetually expecting the worst of what was to come.
Image after image along with the low, tedious voice seemed to mingle with the throbbing headache I’d gained. It reminded me that as gloomy as these images were, they were only the precursor for the apocalyptic times that came after them. I watched, laid lazily on my side among spent stims I’d used to forget the woes of the new world. I couldn’t help thinking that those dumb saps who had lived nearly a hundred years ago never knew how lucky they were. They could still trust the folks either side of them and that was more than could be said for most ponies this side of a century.
“... But out of the devastation that arose from the wars, a few were able to reach stables that could house and shield them underground.” The narrator of the scenes kept going with his spiel regardless of whether I was listening or not. I looked about, but it quickly became apparent to me that the voice was just that. A recording from a stallion no doubts long gone now. There was nopony else in the place but for me that I could see. Nonetheless, he persisted.
“Your family was part of that group and took refuge in Stable Thirteen.” On-screen, a snap of the giant cog that had once locked up this subterranean vault could be seen.
“No, they weren’t, pal,” I grouched, squinting about the area still while battling with some persistently annoying amber locks of mane in my eyes. Something in this place was still trying to live, based on the squealing of a harmed fan spinning in the walls. Thanks to the projection lamp, I could see the tiles that dripped from the ceilings as age and erosion pulled them down. Wires knotted into nooses hung out from the ceiling gaps. Across dirty, rusted floors, the corpses of chairs lay on their sides and backs, stricken by the last unknown executions that had taken place here. Near me and my graveyard of used drug containers, a card crate lay on its side in a beaten state.
“You are the first generation born in this stable to have not known the-the-the--” Apparently, I still wasn’t to know what “the” was. Above me, the box that had created this depressing light and sound show for me fizzed, crackled, sparked, then died. All light failed and draped a veil casually over me and space.
Yet, this wasn’t as terrifying to me as might have been to somepony else. I sighed, relaxed, and let the gentle black patch encourage my head to heal. The festering stable was dead, the complaining sounds of the vents now a memory, and it was good. It was calming. I could maybe forget everything and fall back into a graceful slumber with it. After all, a ship in the harbor is a ship that’s safe...
Of course, fate intervened.
“Breeze! Breeze, where are you?” The voice was distant, but it was growing closer. “Gypsy Breeze, I swear on the spirit of Celestia, if you don’t get your ass into gear…” Fresh, battery-powered light began to dawn around the edges of the forever-open doorway into the corridors, confirming that the calling, living voice wasn’t far from finding me.
“Buck,” I grunted to myself and pushed back the pain sloshing side to side in my cranium. I had to get myself up before they found me and the evidence littered around me. My legs complained but lifted me, allowing me to stand and let my brain cease paddling about in my skull. I swung a hoof out, brought it down, then my face immediately met the oxidized floor once more as a giggling Dash inhaler tripped me and twirled away.
“Breeze?” They’d heard my tumble.
“Buck,” I hissed painfully and scrambled back up, firing up a spell. I knew the caller in the halls would see the light but hoped I’d be quick enough. Despite the magic throbbing behind my junked-out eyes, I gathered all the emptied Dash I could see in the enchanted light. Catching as many as I could levitate, I shoved them into the deteriorated box, managing to slip the last of them away when a blinding orb swung through the door. I covered my bleary eyes and snarled out at a feeling only a vampire pony in the baking sun would understand.
“Gypsy!” The dazzling sprite squeaked.
“That’s my name— Buck, Hayfever, could you drop the light of that thing? My bucking eyes are about to explode…” mercifully, the beam lowered to ground level, allowing me to partially see the mare I knew behind it. Her sunset orange wings were spread in preparation to once more admonish me while the expression on the pegasus remained concerned.
“You split from me again, Breeze. Ottawa said this stable is particularly dangerous, we shouldn’t be going off alone when--”
“Ottawa was wrong,” I skulked somehow towards the door and waved my hoof back the way she’d come from. “I caught a terminal back up that way and… I dunno, something about the water talisman failing? Either way, the pony meant to fix it shuffled out the main door, and never came back. After that, the rest of the dwellers overthrew the overstallion and let themselves out of their own accord. Probably likely that nopony’s been here since.” If I’d have sounded more sure of myself in that last comment, I might not have seen doubt spread across her freckled, gold-lit face.
“No, somepony has been here before us,” she suggested, “I found the mattresses pulled out of their rooms and laid together in the atrium. There was waste and broken gear that could only have come from outside too. Could be scavs, could be raiders, either way, we don’t want to take our chances.”
“It could have easily been the Stable Thirteen ponies too,” I countered, “especially if they were going back and forth in and out of here, not wanting to--” I interrupted myself, as a false step kicked something, which ricocheted off of the metal wall and swirled unfortunately into the light of Hayfever’s torch. It only took her a second to realize what it was and I was already cringing guiltily when the light raised back accusingly at me.
“Gypsy Breeze, you silly mare,” she scolded as well as any experienced mother could, “Using? Again? I thought you were beating this.”
“It’s not mine,” I played the part of a lying teenager as best as I could, “it’s from those raiders you were bitching about--”
“Oh, so now we believe in the raiders?” She had another quick examination of the inhaler and sighed, ruffling her wings in irritation as she walked past me, ensuring her hoofsteps echoed her annoyance. “When I agreed to hide your troubles from the rest of Helping Hooves, it was on the promise that you were going to make an effort to quit from them. Not so that you could privately indulge in the stuff.” She collected my saddlebag, discarded on a spineless chair, and was about to toss it to me when she had second thoughts. At my protests, she flipped the flap open first and rifled through up, digging out what she had expected to find almost instantly. Five more full inhalators of Dash were plucked out and tossed into the void of the room before she was comfortable returning my near-empty sack to me.
“I’m not doing it to be an ass to you, Gypsy,” she said as I mournfully took the bag and slipped it back on. “As mayor of Helping Hooves I have a duty to look out for everypony and that includes you. But if you’re going to endanger lives this way, I’ll have no choice but…” I waited for what kind of penalty she’d place on me. Yet, all she could do was gaze at me, not mad, just disappointed. I gave a low groan, both out of the pain of coming down and the guilt of letting down a mare who was just looking out for my best interests.
“Can we just get out of here?” I pleaded, “the air in here is making me feel sick.”
“You sure it’s just the air?” She thrust a hoof forward, directing me on the way to head next. “But you’re right. Let’s just get the spark batteries Ottawa needs and high-tail it out of here…”
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
24th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
It might have seemed like I stopped for a little bit there, huh? In actual fact, I have still been writing, but more or less in the background rather than doing a full-on post like this. Does that mean I’ve been “neglecting my duties” or “forgetting the challenge” I set myself to write for thirty minutes a day? Well, sort of. I cannot lie.
Let’s see if we can analyze what happened here and correct the error, shall we? The main hiccup was actually on Friday where I did not write anything at all. I did end up writing that blog on Saturday and followed it up with the actual Saturday blog which I wrote and posted on Sunday, but by then I was already going back on several guidelines that I’d set myself. The first was to ensure that I wrote thirty minutes a day, this was missed on Friday, and the second was to have a break on Sunday.
I’ll come back to Friday in a bit and how I’ll resolve that in the future but I also want to talk about why Monday and Tuesday also didn’t happen.
Monday was an oddly exhausting day. The heat has been creeping up this week, today being the hottest so far, but Monday was still cool. I had to take a nap after work and then when I did sit down to write, what I wanted to write was not one of these. Instead, I wanted to work on “Scoundrels”, a story about colorful ponies living in apocalyptic times. They swear, take drugs, shoot guns, it’s fun to write.
The reason I wanted to write that, was because on Tuesday I attended an online workshop by a fellow writer who goes by the codename “Somber”. I know there’s non-bronies who read this on my Tumblr so, to summarise, they wrote a particularly famous FanFiction called “Fallout Equestria; Project Horizons”, millions of peeps have read it. It’s also a spin-off from an equally successful story called “Fallout: Equestria” (written by another fanfiction writer, KKat). Somber has a background teaching English so a class on Creative Writing was practically extra studies for my university course!
The workshop was brilliant. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to workshop my story as we ran out of time but I didn’t feel too down about this. I made friends with a few other fellow writers and so could happily learn and share ideas with them. This ran on quite late and by the time it had ended, the clock was telling me I wouldn’t wake up for work if I didn’t attempt to sleep.
That, neatly, leads me to today. As you can see, although I’ve had a busy day of work, walking to and from the shops and watching “Game Night” with my brother, I still managed to find the time to write this. That’s because tonight I had the time. That’s important.
Friday, the time wasn’t there. I had to be there for a friend who was in need and since my chat, I have it on good authority that their life is looking up. Sunday was father’s day and I wanted to see both dad and stepdad, which I accomplished. Both men had a great day and felt loved, which was another mission accomplished. Sunday night was blitzed by a migraine and it took two paracetamol two hours to put those fires in my brain out.
Monday, as said, was a very tiring day. But I also spent time writing something, even if it wasn’t this. So there was still something completed by the close of the day. Tuesday, there was work, I had my mother pop over for something, I had to cook dinner, and despite all of this still managed to make Somber’s workshop and find writing allies. Do you see where I’m going with this?
Basically, just because you don’t get done what you wanted to do, do not look at it as a wasted day. Even a rest day is a success, so long as it is used to let you prepare for some harder work ahead. You are not failing if you didn’t hit that word count, or forgot to do something you wanted to do, or missed that walk to slim down the spare tractor tyre your gut has become. Even little accomplishments are still a win in the grand scheme of things and believe me they make all the difference.
And sometimes, if someone you know, care about, or love is in need of you, then you should down tools to help them. Let me reiterate that it should be somebody you care about or at least someone who will return the favor along the line. There are people, even family, who can be a drain on your time, resources, and energy. I learned that the hard way last week (see my blog about bullies). Follow your head in these instances, especially if it is aligned with your heart.
Most of all, I want you to take this away with you. Did you wake up today? Do you know how many didn’t get out of bed? Pulled a sickie? Or gave up? You didn’t so in that sense you’re already winning. Now go treat yourself to some cake, champ, you earned it.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
Oh, eerrrr, still here?
Okay, let me square with you. Thirty mins just ran out but I wanted to include this; I am writing a spin-off of that “Fallout: Equestria,” series too, as I mentioned, called “Scoundrels”. I did have a lot of the story already up in my FIMFiction library, but I have unpublished it.
Here are my reasons; I didn’t like how confusing it was. It felt like it started in the middle of a story. I had made choices as a writer that took the story in some strange directions. I made the plot too complicated. I made some of the good characters unlikeable. I made it too long while not much/ too much happened.
So, I am holding onto what I wrote. I want to rewrite it, so that story that you may or may not have read does still exist and isn’t a waste of time, it just needs surgery. When it’s ready, you’ll be able to see it again. Until then, Here’s a sneak peek at “Scoundrels”, the story I while writing, have edited and polished before I publish it. Enjoy!
~
Scoundrels
Written by Scaramouche“War,” a voice, masculine and gravelly, haunted my hangover. “War never changes.”
It wasn’t much, but it was enough to stir me from where I’d attempted to make my early grave. My snout had the telltale feeling you got when you accidentally snorted water while submerged in a pool... Or hit too much Dash. I pushed my hooves out around me before my eyes were able to open and felt tiny canisters rattle away from me wherever I moved. My ribs hurt, telling me I hadn’t found a nice or even barely comfortable place to flop. The information fed back to me from all my senses came to the conclusion that I’d bucked up again.
Daring to wake, I cracked my eyes open for as long as I could muster and fluttered the lids ‘til I could make out the shapes of a flickering square of light in the night-time room. Black and white images flashed through the screen of ponies dressed in armor and uniforms, those in the foreground attempting an escape with their wounded while the “best and bravest” continued to fight, to injure, to die. The image changed to Wonderbolts tearing over a coal cloud that once belonged to a shining city. I realized it was Manehattan, the place I’d hailed from. I knew from the shadow of a building topped with a huge pony head choking on the fumes. The Pegasi just seemed like haunting crows over that havoc.
After the Manehattan skyline lingered for a few seconds, it switched to a shot taken behind ponies hiding from the invisible foe in a shady tunnel. Their silhouettes were huddled and perpetually expecting the worst of what was to come.
Image after image along with the low, tedious voice seemed to mingle with the throbbing headache I’d gained. It reminded me that as gloomy as these images were, they were only the precursor for the apocalyptic times that came after them. I watched, laid lazily on my side among spent stims I’d used to forget the woes of the new world. I couldn’t help thinking that those dumb saps who had lived nearly a hundred years ago never knew how lucky they were. They could still trust the folks either side of them and that was more than could be said for most ponies this side of a century.
“... But out of the devastation that arose from the wars, a few were able to reach stables that could house and shield them underground.” The narrator of the scenes kept going with his spiel regardless of whether I was listening or not. I looked about, but it quickly became apparent to me that the voice was just that. A recording from a stallion no doubts long gone now. There was nopony else in the place but for me that I could see. Nonetheless, he persisted.
“Your family was part of that group and took refuge in Stable Thirteen.” On-screen, a snap of the giant cog that had once locked up this subterranean vault could be seen.
“No, they weren’t, pal,” I grouched, squinting about the area still while battling with some persistently annoying amber locks of mane in my eyes. Something in this place was still trying to live, based on the squealing of a harmed fan spinning in the walls. Thanks to the projection lamp, I could see the tiles that dripped from the ceilings as age and erosion pulled them down. Wires knotted into nooses hung out from the ceiling gaps. Across dirty, rusted floors, the corpses of chairs lay on their sides and backs, stricken by the last unknown executions that had taken place here. Near me and my graveyard of used drug containers, a card crate lay on its side in a beaten state.
“You are the first generation born in this stable to have not known the-the-the--” Apparently, I still wasn’t to know what “the” was. Above me, the box that had created this depressing light and sound show for me fizzed, crackled, sparked, then died. All light failed and draped a veil casually over me and space.
Yet, this wasn’t as terrifying to me as might have been to somepony else. I sighed, relaxed, and let the gentle black patch encourage my head to heal. The festering stable was dead, the complaining sounds of the vents now a memory, and it was good. It was calming. I could maybe forget everything and fall back into a graceful slumber with it. After all, a ship in the harbor is a ship that’s safe...
Of course, fate intervened.
“Breeze! Breeze, where are you?” The voice was distant, but it was growing closer. “Gypsy Breeze, I swear on the spirit of Celestia, if you don’t get your ass into gear…” Fresh, battery-powered light began to dawn around the edges of the forever-open doorway into the corridors, confirming that the calling, living voice wasn’t far from finding me.
“Buck,” I grunted to myself and pushed back the pain sloshing side to side in my cranium. I had to get myself up before they found me and the evidence littered around me. My legs complained but lifted me, allowing me to stand and let my brain cease paddling about in my skull. I swung a hoof out, brought it down, then my face immediately met the oxidized floor once more as a giggling Dash inhaler tripped me and twirled away.
“Breeze?” They’d heard my tumble.
“Buck,” I hissed painfully and scrambled back up, firing up a spell. I knew the caller in the halls would see the light but hoped I’d be quick enough. Despite the magic throbbing behind my junked-out eyes, I gathered all the emptied Dash I could see in the enchanted light. Catching as many as I could levitate, I shoved them into the deteriorated box, managing to slip the last of them away when a blinding orb swung through the door. I covered my bleary eyes and snarled out at a feeling only a vampire pony in the baking sun would understand.
“Gypsy!” The dazzling sprite squeaked.
“That’s my name— Buck, Hayfever, could you drop the light of that thing? My bucking eyes are about to explode…” mercifully, the beam lowered to ground level, allowing me to partially see the mare I knew behind it. Her sunset orange wings were spread in preparation to once more admonish me while the expression on the pegasus remained concerned.
“You split from me again, Breeze. Ottawa said this stable is particularly dangerous, we shouldn’t be going off alone when--”
“Ottawa was wrong,” I skulked somehow towards the door and waved my hoof back the way she’d come from. “I caught a terminal back up that way and… I dunno, something about the water talisman failing? Either way, the pony meant to fix it shuffled out the main door, and never came back. After that, the rest of the dwellers overthrew the overstallion and let themselves out of their own accord. Probably likely that nopony’s been here since.” If I’d have sounded more sure of myself in that last comment, I might not have seen doubt spread across her freckled, gold-lit face.
“No, somepony has been here before us,” she suggested, “I found the mattresses pulled out of their rooms and laid together in the atrium. There was waste and broken gear that could only have come from outside too. Could be scavs, could be raiders, either way, we don’t want to take our chances.”
“It could have easily been the Stable Thirteen ponies too,” I countered, “especially if they were going back and forth in and out of here, not wanting to--” I interrupted myself, as a false step kicked something, which ricocheted off of the metal wall and swirled unfortunately into the light of Hayfever’s torch. It only took her a second to realize what it was and I was already cringing guiltily when the light raised back accusingly at me.
“Gypsy Breeze, you silly mare,” she scolded as well as any experienced mother could, “Using? Again? I thought you were beating this.”
“It’s not mine,” I played the part of a lying teenager as best as I could, “it’s from those raiders you were bitching about--”
“Oh, so now we believe in the raiders?” She had another quick examination of the inhaler and sighed, ruffling her wings in irritation as she walked past me, ensuring her hoofsteps echoed her annoyance. “When I agreed to hide your troubles from the rest of Helping Hooves, it was on the promise that you were going to make an effort to quit from them. Not so that you could privately indulge in the stuff.” She collected my saddlebag, discarded on a spineless chair, and was about to toss it to me when she had second thoughts. At my protests, she flipped the flap open first and rifled through up, digging out what she had expected to find almost instantly. Five more full inhalators of Dash were plucked out and tossed into the void of the room before she was comfortable returning my near-empty sack to me.
“I’m not doing it to be an ass to you, Gypsy,” she said as I mournfully took the bag and slipped it back on. “As mayor of Helping Hooves I have a duty to look out for everypony and that includes you. But if you’re going to endanger lives this way, I’ll have no choice but…” I waited for what kind of penalty she’d place on me. Yet, all she could do was gaze at me, not mad, just disappointed. I gave a low groan, both out of the pain of coming down and the guilt of letting down a mare who was just looking out for my best interests.
“Can we just get out of here?” I pleaded, “the air in here is making me feel sick.”
“You sure it’s just the air?” She thrust a hoof forward, directing me on the way to head next. “But you’re right. Let’s just get the spark batteries Ottawa needs and high-tail it out of here…”
To be continued...All Good Things… Can’t Draw, Won’t Draw!
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Can’t Draw, Won’t Draw!
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
20th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Welcome to another edition of “Scaramouche gripes about a part of his life rather than gives us a healthy dose of advice. Why do we even follow this again?” I’m just kidding.
Nobody’s following this. :P
What I’d like to talk about today is some of the hobbies I’ve attempted to kick off of the ground and why they haven’t worked out thus far, but also why that’s okay. As it was the main hobby that I thought would go somewhere, I’m mostly going to focus on art, but I’ll also touch on attempts to play a musical instrument, attempts to get fit by running, and anything else I can think of that I am currently doing far less off.
Art is my biggest bug to bear with as I still return to it sometimes. I do love drawing and creating pieces that I want to share. I suppose the sharing part is the problem.
You see, ever since I was little I loved to draw, paint, and basically do anything creative. When I was still in primary school, I’d start to trace images of Thomas the Tank Engine characters, soon perfecting them so that I could draw them without the need to trace. This skill became transferred to attempting other cartoon characters, and at one point I was drawing South Park characters and selling them to friends for 50p per character. They loved them and that made me feel good. If I’d kept up that little hobby-enterprise, I might be more successful at it than I feel now.
Skip ahead a bit and I got great marks for art at a GCSE level (that’s where Secondary school ends in the UK) thus decided to try for my Art A-levels, alongside English Lit and Lang. However, something changed for me in this year and among many things, the idea of seeing through an Art A-Level was sullied by a disagreement I had with my teachers about how the class was leading me away from a desire to build my skill and into experimental and revolutionary art practices. I got a good grade for AS-level but did not pursue and complete the A-Level in the following year.
Despite this, I still wanted to do something with my drawing and painting interests. I decided to draw and write a comic about some characters myself and friends from the furry fandom created called ‘Furlives’. It was my attempt at creating a funny, sometimes introvertly sexual story around my passions. I made it unprofitable by creating a furry version of Doctor Who and later attempted to revive it with a new story with new characters, this time called ‘FurFiction’. However, as I posted these in my galleries on FurAffinity and DeviantArt, I became disillusioned by the realization that few people were watching or liking what I posted. I did other pieces for people but never charged as I was losing faith in my abilities, comparing them to others, and finding myself lacking.
What seemed to be the real nail in the coffin came one Christmas when I was about twenty years old. I decided to offer to draw and paint bespoke commissions for colleagues in the call center office I worked in at the time. I charged a very small price so that I could earn some money to pay for Christmas gifts. I did pieces during this time that I was actually proud of, including painting a dog belonging to a woman to give to her terminally ill husband. This is still my favorite of all my works.
Unfortunately, it all came to a halt when I gave another commission to a different woman in the office. I went back to my desk and started to work when I saw them come in. I watched them go to the desk, look at the picture, and give it a blank stare. After a few minutes, they came over to me, waited for me to finish my call, and then gave me some rather blunt feedback.
They didn’t like the picture. They felt I hadn’t drawn the people from the photo correctly, the image I’d drawn looked nothing like them, and they didn’t want it. This, looking back, was fair feedback, yet they did this in front of all the colleagues surrounding me. There were no walls or barricades blocking what she said, so I was left feeling embarrassed and apologized, let her keep the picture which I’d also framed and did not charge her anything.
This act stuck with me like a blade between the shoulders of what I’d enjoyed ever since I was a kid. Now, every attempt to lift a pencil or paintbrush was marred by this, and the lack of likes or interest in anything I did share drove it deeper. In the end, I had to step away, because art became an albatross around my neck.
This has seemingly had an impact on most things I attempt to do, not just art. If I try to do something just for myself, I usually enjoy it. However, when I start to share it and I see no views or feedback that is critical of what I am working on, I feel foolish for falling into the trap of trying again. Additionally, if the ability to learn to get better takes too long, it often trips me up or can stunt my attempts to keep going as best as I can.
So why is this okay? Why should I feel that there’s something to gain from this?
For one, it’s made me realize that, with anything, you should not expect positive reviews. If you get them, great. If anyone even remotely glances at what you’ve done, brilliant! But DO NOT RELY ON IT. If you draw, write, play, whatever, for the sake of someone else’s applause, the lack of it will drive you insane.
And if you get it, no matter whether it is one person saying “I like this” or a full standing ovation, appreciate the heck out of that. So many people chase their whole lives and never get it. Some get disillusioned by the lack of it. Some hurt themselves over it. If your audience is kind enough to tell you that you’re doing a good job, make them feel like you are happy about it. Definitely don’t take them for granted, you never know when they’ll turn on you.
Lastly, don’t give up. If you’re an audience of one, then at least you’re entertaining yourself. You’ve got a good thing in the fact that you have something you can focus on and enjoy, many do not even have that. Love it, believe in it, and let it be what it is. Sometimes, you don’t really get to see what it will become, as we have learned from people like Van Gogh and Emily Dickinson.
You never know what you’ve got, so stick at it. It might be what people will be talking about for centuries to come.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
20th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Welcome to another edition of “Scaramouche gripes about a part of his life rather than gives us a healthy dose of advice. Why do we even follow this again?” I’m just kidding.
Nobody’s following this. :P
What I’d like to talk about today is some of the hobbies I’ve attempted to kick off of the ground and why they haven’t worked out thus far, but also why that’s okay. As it was the main hobby that I thought would go somewhere, I’m mostly going to focus on art, but I’ll also touch on attempts to play a musical instrument, attempts to get fit by running, and anything else I can think of that I am currently doing far less off.
Art is my biggest bug to bear with as I still return to it sometimes. I do love drawing and creating pieces that I want to share. I suppose the sharing part is the problem.
You see, ever since I was little I loved to draw, paint, and basically do anything creative. When I was still in primary school, I’d start to trace images of Thomas the Tank Engine characters, soon perfecting them so that I could draw them without the need to trace. This skill became transferred to attempting other cartoon characters, and at one point I was drawing South Park characters and selling them to friends for 50p per character. They loved them and that made me feel good. If I’d kept up that little hobby-enterprise, I might be more successful at it than I feel now.
Skip ahead a bit and I got great marks for art at a GCSE level (that’s where Secondary school ends in the UK) thus decided to try for my Art A-levels, alongside English Lit and Lang. However, something changed for me in this year and among many things, the idea of seeing through an Art A-Level was sullied by a disagreement I had with my teachers about how the class was leading me away from a desire to build my skill and into experimental and revolutionary art practices. I got a good grade for AS-level but did not pursue and complete the A-Level in the following year.
Despite this, I still wanted to do something with my drawing and painting interests. I decided to draw and write a comic about some characters myself and friends from the furry fandom created called ‘Furlives’. It was my attempt at creating a funny, sometimes introvertly sexual story around my passions. I made it unprofitable by creating a furry version of Doctor Who and later attempted to revive it with a new story with new characters, this time called ‘FurFiction’. However, as I posted these in my galleries on FurAffinity and DeviantArt, I became disillusioned by the realization that few people were watching or liking what I posted. I did other pieces for people but never charged as I was losing faith in my abilities, comparing them to others, and finding myself lacking.
What seemed to be the real nail in the coffin came one Christmas when I was about twenty years old. I decided to offer to draw and paint bespoke commissions for colleagues in the call center office I worked in at the time. I charged a very small price so that I could earn some money to pay for Christmas gifts. I did pieces during this time that I was actually proud of, including painting a dog belonging to a woman to give to her terminally ill husband. This is still my favorite of all my works.
Unfortunately, it all came to a halt when I gave another commission to a different woman in the office. I went back to my desk and started to work when I saw them come in. I watched them go to the desk, look at the picture, and give it a blank stare. After a few minutes, they came over to me, waited for me to finish my call, and then gave me some rather blunt feedback.
They didn’t like the picture. They felt I hadn’t drawn the people from the photo correctly, the image I’d drawn looked nothing like them, and they didn’t want it. This, looking back, was fair feedback, yet they did this in front of all the colleagues surrounding me. There were no walls or barricades blocking what she said, so I was left feeling embarrassed and apologized, let her keep the picture which I’d also framed and did not charge her anything.
This act stuck with me like a blade between the shoulders of what I’d enjoyed ever since I was a kid. Now, every attempt to lift a pencil or paintbrush was marred by this, and the lack of likes or interest in anything I did share drove it deeper. In the end, I had to step away, because art became an albatross around my neck.
This has seemingly had an impact on most things I attempt to do, not just art. If I try to do something just for myself, I usually enjoy it. However, when I start to share it and I see no views or feedback that is critical of what I am working on, I feel foolish for falling into the trap of trying again. Additionally, if the ability to learn to get better takes too long, it often trips me up or can stunt my attempts to keep going as best as I can.
So why is this okay? Why should I feel that there’s something to gain from this?
For one, it’s made me realize that, with anything, you should not expect positive reviews. If you get them, great. If anyone even remotely glances at what you’ve done, brilliant! But DO NOT RELY ON IT. If you draw, write, play, whatever, for the sake of someone else’s applause, the lack of it will drive you insane.
And if you get it, no matter whether it is one person saying “I like this” or a full standing ovation, appreciate the heck out of that. So many people chase their whole lives and never get it. Some get disillusioned by the lack of it. Some hurt themselves over it. If your audience is kind enough to tell you that you’re doing a good job, make them feel like you are happy about it. Definitely don’t take them for granted, you never know when they’ll turn on you.
Lastly, don’t give up. If you’re an audience of one, then at least you’re entertaining yourself. You’ve got a good thing in the fact that you have something you can focus on and enjoy, many do not even have that. Love it, believe in it, and let it be what it is. Sometimes, you don’t really get to see what it will become, as we have learned from people like Van Gogh and Emily Dickinson.
You never know what you’ve got, so stick at it. It might be what people will be talking about for centuries to come.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… Why I Might Create A Patreon...
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Why I Might Create A Patreon...
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
19th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
When you enjoy something, you want to do it more. This is especially true if other people watch what you do, comment on it positively, and are interested in seeing, reading, hearing, watching, ETC., more. However, there comes a point, if you do it often enough, that people will start to question whether you can do something else with the skill you enjoy so much. For example, I love writing. I also used to love to draw... Not so much anymore and I will be biting into that juicy topic in the next blog. On writing, I have started to be asked ‘why aren’t you writing a book, selling it, and making some money from it?’
This is probably the one thing that stands out in my mind from my friends and family outside of fandoms and internet writing clubs and whatnot. Even those who understand that to become as popular as J. K. Rowling or Dame Jacqueline Wilson means hard work, concentration, and a big, fat stack of luck, ask why I couldn’t be at least making a few pennies from it. While I appreciate the sentiment and interest in my attempts, there’s a couple of things I could say that would answer those questions. But first, I’m gonna grab a comfier chair because this one is not working for me…
That’s better! Okay, so, the first thing I would say is that this is currently a hobby for me. I do have a ‘real’ job, for the time being, that pays money, and while I could earn some pocket from my writing I don’t want to immediately turn a hobby into something I rely on to pay a few bills. That said, this opinion could change due to a number of factors, not least of one being that my ‘real’ job is ending in September. That is a big nervous bubble of energy that I’m tapping at and dealing with overtime but I am only getting so far at it. I have always said to myself that as long as I am flush enough to feel that I don’t need to ask people for money for something I enjoy, then I won’t. This has included writing, drawing, and creative ventures, and also when I’ve done spiritual/ psychic things as well. Apart from a handful of times, when I’ve agreed to do things for money, it has been because I really needed the money at the time.
Upon saying that, I am reminded of something my dad told me about doing anything creative but namely drawing. You have to factor in the time you took out of your own life to do the thing, the money it cost to do it, the materials, and anything else that was a cost in order to make the thing exist. Loosely, what he was talking about was a painting - You don’t just have to tally up the cost of the canvas, paints, any other items used, but also how long you spent on it when you could have been watching Grey’s Anatomy or Doctor Who.
I could do this with writing. I could say that I had to use electricity to type so that went on the bill at the end of the month, and I had to eat a sandwich to fuel myself up to write that chapter I wrote and posted for readers to enjoy for free, and I wrote said chapter while missing out on a walk or a relaxing time in front of the TV. Yet, what I find at the moment is that even if I reached out to people to ask for a bit of cash towards my hobby, I’d feel bad about doing so. I wouldn’t want people to feel as though they had to pay to see my work or else they’ll never, ever, ever see it again. Libraries don’t do that, other fandom writers don’t do that, so why should I?
I suppose, what this all boils down to is that I just don’t feel that I am good enough to charge people for what I do. Why should I ask for a profit from something that, I feel, people would not want to read, or would not even touch, or would completely ignore altogether? I would be a bum, basically, holding out a cup and asking for people to give me something for nothing. I don’t want to be that. So I have to decide how I want to handle this next chapter of my life. Whether I want to give this up and write something that will eventually have physical pages and a spine, or whether I want to stay on this train a while longer. Write things for free, give what I can to people in terms of advice and healthy outlooks, and try not to think about what the costs might be.
What I am thinking of coming up with is a health medium of the two. That is the reason for the title.
For a while, you may not see, hear, or read a new story or chapter from me. That will not mean I am not writing or doing anything or sodding off to a new planet. It means that I am working on it behind the scenes and making sure that it is ready to be read. However, what I may also do in the not too distant future is create a Patreon that will allow you to see and read it earlier, along with other rewards, while it is still in the workshop. It’s a spitball of an idea and I will do my best to make the Patreon a worthwhile endeavor if it is something I go with. All the while I will also plan to release work at a later date for others to read so that no one feels like they’ll miss out because they cannot afford it. I’ve been there, in that frustrating corner staring at a wallet with large minus signs and bailiffs almost at the door. I’d never judge or expect anybody who wanted a freebie.
But I’d love your thoughts. Honestly, if you think I haven’t got the talent, the drive, or the ability to hold this skill up or you think I’m being greedy, please let me know. I will value everything you tell me.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
19th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
When you enjoy something, you want to do it more. This is especially true if other people watch what you do, comment on it positively, and are interested in seeing, reading, hearing, watching, ETC., more. However, there comes a point, if you do it often enough, that people will start to question whether you can do something else with the skill you enjoy so much. For example, I love writing. I also used to love to draw... Not so much anymore and I will be biting into that juicy topic in the next blog. On writing, I have started to be asked ‘why aren’t you writing a book, selling it, and making some money from it?’
This is probably the one thing that stands out in my mind from my friends and family outside of fandoms and internet writing clubs and whatnot. Even those who understand that to become as popular as J. K. Rowling or Dame Jacqueline Wilson means hard work, concentration, and a big, fat stack of luck, ask why I couldn’t be at least making a few pennies from it. While I appreciate the sentiment and interest in my attempts, there’s a couple of things I could say that would answer those questions. But first, I’m gonna grab a comfier chair because this one is not working for me…
That’s better! Okay, so, the first thing I would say is that this is currently a hobby for me. I do have a ‘real’ job, for the time being, that pays money, and while I could earn some pocket from my writing I don’t want to immediately turn a hobby into something I rely on to pay a few bills. That said, this opinion could change due to a number of factors, not least of one being that my ‘real’ job is ending in September. That is a big nervous bubble of energy that I’m tapping at and dealing with overtime but I am only getting so far at it. I have always said to myself that as long as I am flush enough to feel that I don’t need to ask people for money for something I enjoy, then I won’t. This has included writing, drawing, and creative ventures, and also when I’ve done spiritual/ psychic things as well. Apart from a handful of times, when I’ve agreed to do things for money, it has been because I really needed the money at the time.
Upon saying that, I am reminded of something my dad told me about doing anything creative but namely drawing. You have to factor in the time you took out of your own life to do the thing, the money it cost to do it, the materials, and anything else that was a cost in order to make the thing exist. Loosely, what he was talking about was a painting - You don’t just have to tally up the cost of the canvas, paints, any other items used, but also how long you spent on it when you could have been watching Grey’s Anatomy or Doctor Who.
I could do this with writing. I could say that I had to use electricity to type so that went on the bill at the end of the month, and I had to eat a sandwich to fuel myself up to write that chapter I wrote and posted for readers to enjoy for free, and I wrote said chapter while missing out on a walk or a relaxing time in front of the TV. Yet, what I find at the moment is that even if I reached out to people to ask for a bit of cash towards my hobby, I’d feel bad about doing so. I wouldn’t want people to feel as though they had to pay to see my work or else they’ll never, ever, ever see it again. Libraries don’t do that, other fandom writers don’t do that, so why should I?
I suppose, what this all boils down to is that I just don’t feel that I am good enough to charge people for what I do. Why should I ask for a profit from something that, I feel, people would not want to read, or would not even touch, or would completely ignore altogether? I would be a bum, basically, holding out a cup and asking for people to give me something for nothing. I don’t want to be that. So I have to decide how I want to handle this next chapter of my life. Whether I want to give this up and write something that will eventually have physical pages and a spine, or whether I want to stay on this train a while longer. Write things for free, give what I can to people in terms of advice and healthy outlooks, and try not to think about what the costs might be.
What I am thinking of coming up with is a health medium of the two. That is the reason for the title.
For a while, you may not see, hear, or read a new story or chapter from me. That will not mean I am not writing or doing anything or sodding off to a new planet. It means that I am working on it behind the scenes and making sure that it is ready to be read. However, what I may also do in the not too distant future is create a Patreon that will allow you to see and read it earlier, along with other rewards, while it is still in the workshop. It’s a spitball of an idea and I will do my best to make the Patreon a worthwhile endeavor if it is something I go with. All the while I will also plan to release work at a later date for others to read so that no one feels like they’ll miss out because they cannot afford it. I’ve been there, in that frustrating corner staring at a wallet with large minus signs and bailiffs almost at the door. I’d never judge or expect anybody who wanted a freebie.
But I’d love your thoughts. Honestly, if you think I haven’t got the talent, the drive, or the ability to hold this skill up or you think I’m being greedy, please let me know. I will value everything you tell me.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… Be Kind, Rewind.
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Be Kind, Rewind.
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
18th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Let’s say you started a project, you got so far into it, and then the magic left you. For whatever reason, whatever you were doing became disenchanted to you, the spell was broken and you lost the drive or the interest in doing it. What do you do now?
Sometimes the idea you were working on was something you really had a passion for, other times it could just have been a possible opportunity that you were hoping would go somewhere, or just something you felt you had to do but hadn’t really got the eagerness to see it through. In this case, you first need to decide which of these is true and whether it is important to your core values whether you continue the work when you have had a (small!) rest from it. Would you want to continue it at a later date or see the task through to completion? If the answer to either of these is no, then the smart thing to do would be to step away from it. You’ll only do half a job if you do attempt it. If it’s necessary, then you may need to speak to somebody else to see if they can complete the task for you.
Now let’s say that you do want to see the job through to the end despite dropping off from it because you still have an interest in seeing the finished result. Again, ask yourself if you really have the energy to complete this. Do you really feel you are doing it justice by continuing with it? Do you feel you would not prosper from other projects if you were to drop this one? Again, if the answer to these is in the negative, you may want to review the pros and cons of your decisions first. Wherever the pros are strongest are worth considering when moving forward.
And here, we come to the point where you know this project is your passion, you know you are the right person to complete it and you know you want or need to finish this before you move onto anything else. Now, what do you do? Well, it’s a good idea to check what made the job hard for you in the first place. Was someone supposed to help you but didn’t pull their own weight? Did you simply get stuck and couldn’t get the right advice? Did you work yourself into exhaustion and lose steam rather than the fires go out completely? Whatever the matters are or were, you need to put actions in place to change these and solve them. If you do not, the same problems will return upon your next attempt. Don’t worry if there are several stops and starts, it just means you still need to find and resolve all the troubles keeping you back before you can proceed.
However, if you’ve done all of that, you’ve got the want to do the thing. You’re the right pony for the job. You thought you knew what stopped you before and you’ve moved, changed, and pushed away everything that stopped you but you’re still stuck, what now? There’s no way it’s going to happen, right? You might as well pack it up and call it a bad job, right?
Right.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
...
...
…
Just kidding.
Well, almost.
You see, sometimes you can continue with a project that you believe, hand on heart, is going to be good eventually, and labor on it until it drains you physically and mentally. However, this isn’t always a good thing. On Dragon’s Den (or Shark Tank) you often see people exhaust themselves inventing, manufacturing, and trying to sell a product they wholeheartedly believe in, but those with the knowledge know its not as grand or unique as they believe. Sometimes you have to take stock of what you’re valuing. Is it really as important to others as it is to you? Even if not, you should evaluate the importance vs the cost to you. If it is important to you, I would never suggest giving something up because others don’t get it. I would ask to check whether the cost is greater. Could you lose wealth, or health, or friends to it? If so, I would advise that this would be the time to stop, before the fee is greater than the reward.
Whether you choose to continue at this point or stop, the next point can be considered, as it is the last on my checklist. Can you rewind? Sometimes we think that, if we get to an unnatural end of a task, then we will simply have to walk away from it and never return. This doesn’t have to be the case. Look at what you’ve learned from getting this far! Can you not take that knowhow, turn back the clock, and make a fresh start? Regardless of whether people have seen the thing or not, there is still time to try again. There’s always an opportunity to look at a hobby, enterprise, or skill with fresh eyes. As they say, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Take what you know now and do it better the next time.
So those are my suggestions if whatever you are working on has become stagnant. This list has been fruitful for me, I hope it is for you too, and if you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
18th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Let’s say you started a project, you got so far into it, and then the magic left you. For whatever reason, whatever you were doing became disenchanted to you, the spell was broken and you lost the drive or the interest in doing it. What do you do now?
Sometimes the idea you were working on was something you really had a passion for, other times it could just have been a possible opportunity that you were hoping would go somewhere, or just something you felt you had to do but hadn’t really got the eagerness to see it through. In this case, you first need to decide which of these is true and whether it is important to your core values whether you continue the work when you have had a (small!) rest from it. Would you want to continue it at a later date or see the task through to completion? If the answer to either of these is no, then the smart thing to do would be to step away from it. You’ll only do half a job if you do attempt it. If it’s necessary, then you may need to speak to somebody else to see if they can complete the task for you.
Now let’s say that you do want to see the job through to the end despite dropping off from it because you still have an interest in seeing the finished result. Again, ask yourself if you really have the energy to complete this. Do you really feel you are doing it justice by continuing with it? Do you feel you would not prosper from other projects if you were to drop this one? Again, if the answer to these is in the negative, you may want to review the pros and cons of your decisions first. Wherever the pros are strongest are worth considering when moving forward.
And here, we come to the point where you know this project is your passion, you know you are the right person to complete it and you know you want or need to finish this before you move onto anything else. Now, what do you do? Well, it’s a good idea to check what made the job hard for you in the first place. Was someone supposed to help you but didn’t pull their own weight? Did you simply get stuck and couldn’t get the right advice? Did you work yourself into exhaustion and lose steam rather than the fires go out completely? Whatever the matters are or were, you need to put actions in place to change these and solve them. If you do not, the same problems will return upon your next attempt. Don’t worry if there are several stops and starts, it just means you still need to find and resolve all the troubles keeping you back before you can proceed.
However, if you’ve done all of that, you’ve got the want to do the thing. You’re the right pony for the job. You thought you knew what stopped you before and you’ve moved, changed, and pushed away everything that stopped you but you’re still stuck, what now? There’s no way it’s going to happen, right? You might as well pack it up and call it a bad job, right?
Right.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
...
...
…
Just kidding.
Well, almost.
You see, sometimes you can continue with a project that you believe, hand on heart, is going to be good eventually, and labor on it until it drains you physically and mentally. However, this isn’t always a good thing. On Dragon’s Den (or Shark Tank) you often see people exhaust themselves inventing, manufacturing, and trying to sell a product they wholeheartedly believe in, but those with the knowledge know its not as grand or unique as they believe. Sometimes you have to take stock of what you’re valuing. Is it really as important to others as it is to you? Even if not, you should evaluate the importance vs the cost to you. If it is important to you, I would never suggest giving something up because others don’t get it. I would ask to check whether the cost is greater. Could you lose wealth, or health, or friends to it? If so, I would advise that this would be the time to stop, before the fee is greater than the reward.
Whether you choose to continue at this point or stop, the next point can be considered, as it is the last on my checklist. Can you rewind? Sometimes we think that, if we get to an unnatural end of a task, then we will simply have to walk away from it and never return. This doesn’t have to be the case. Look at what you’ve learned from getting this far! Can you not take that knowhow, turn back the clock, and make a fresh start? Regardless of whether people have seen the thing or not, there is still time to try again. There’s always an opportunity to look at a hobby, enterprise, or skill with fresh eyes. As they say, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Take what you know now and do it better the next time.
So those are my suggestions if whatever you are working on has become stagnant. This list has been fruitful for me, I hope it is for you too, and if you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… The Value Of A Life.
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… The Value Of A Life.
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
17th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Have you ever seen Twelve Angry Men? If you haven’t, I cannot recommend it enough. It is a story that has regenerated several times, from a television show written by Reginald Rose to the stage, and twice as a movie (a 1957 film starring Henry Fonda and a remake in 1997). This story is as poignant today as it was sixty-plus years ago, not just for the black lives matter movement but for many impacts on justice happening today and how we respond to them.
The story revolves around twelve jurors who have just witnessed a court case about a 19-year-old who has been accused of the murder of his father. They must all unanimously decide whether he was guilty or innocent of the crime and if convicted they will be sending him to the chair. It’s taking place during the hottest day on record and most of the men want to get the case over with so that they can go enjoy the rest of their evenings. Yet, during the first vote, only one man holds his hand up to say that he believes they don’t have enough evidence to say the boy is guilty. Thus, they all have to stay and talk until they can all agree on the verdict.
Rather than talk to you about why I think it’s a great film to rewatch or play to perform today, I’ll share with you twelve lines that I believe can offer a different outlook on your world. This isn’t an essay or a lesson, just an idea of how you might see a point of view or understand the way another person might think or feel.
“If there is a reasonable doubt in your minds as to the guilt of the accused . . . then you must declare him not guilty.” Said by the Judge in the opening line.
‘Reasonable doubt’ becomes the theme and reason why the story exists. If the twelve jurors had gone into the room and not one had a doubt, then the story would have ended an hour and twenty sooner than it does. It is due to Juror 8, who first votes not guilty against the rest of his peers, that the debate continues and the group are forced to discuss the reasons the accused is or isn’t guilty. It’s like the quote from the first Harry Potter book; “it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your peers, and a great deal more to stand up to your friends.”
Additionally, it is important to add that while none of the characters are named, all have their own personalities. There’s an older man with the experience of his years, a younger man who grew up in a similar neighborhood to the accused, an immigrant from another country, and a man who is estranged from his son. All of these characters show how different people view the guilt of someone they had never met.
“It's not so easy for me to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.” Juror 8 after the first vote. Juror 8 never suggests the boy is not guilty. He admits he was not a witness to the murder, so he could not give a definite answer. What he does advise is that he took all of the evidence and statements were given and that gave him cause to doubt the boy’s guilt. We never know if we are seeing the full story. The social media, politicians, even the news can still be biased, no matter what channel or reporter is delivering it. They may claim not to be, yet there will often be a nudge one way or the other. You have to check your own instincts and question them to make sure you are still on the right page.
“You know why slum kids get that way? Because we knock 'em on the head once a day, every
day. I think maybe we owe him a few words. That's all.” Juror 8 again. How many times have you heard somebody say they knew what race or age or gender a criminal would be when they hear about a crime? We always suppose that we already know everything about the villains in our lives based on where they came from and who raised them. It’s not to say they are not guilty of the crime but few people outside of courts ask what drove that person to commit such an act on a fellow human being. Would things change if we gave people a greater amount of our time?
“Too many questions were left unasked.” Juror 8, regarding the accused’s court-appointed defense council. Similar to the above quote, so many slams down fists on the tables and yell guilty the moment they read a headline. I know I’ve done it myself too. We take the first thing we hear and react to it. We don’t question because we trust that what we are being told are the truth and the full story. Is it?
“This gentleman chose to stand alone against us. That's his right. It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone even if you believe in something very strongly. He left the verdict up to us. He gambled for support, and I gave it to him. I want to hear more.” Juror 9, the older gentleman who admits voting not guilty in a second secret ballot vote. Most believe Juror 5, the youngest Juror, is the one who changed his mind in the second vote, and nobody expects it to be the older Juror. Yet, when they find out, they angrily challenge why. His answer shows what most feel but few, such as Juror 5, are too nervous to attempt. The pack mentality is a thing and when we see a group going one way, it is easy and safe to follow the pack. We are less accountable when we are more than one person, it is built into our instincts. This is why, every now and again, we should check whether our instincts are correct.
“Nobody knows him after seventy-five years. That's a very sad thing. A man like this needs to be recognized. To be questioned, and listened to, and quoted just once. This is very important.” Juror 9 again, after discussing why an elder witness may have given false testimony. The oldest jury member notices something in the oldest witness that the younger members do not because he shares age and experience with them. The ninth Juror tells his peers that he does not expect the oldest witness thought he was lying in court, but relished the attention they so rarely got and thus forgot or imagined some of the facts in order to remain relevant to the case. How often is experience valued? How often do we dismiss someone because they said something too slowly, or quietly, or without confidence?
“Let me go. I'll kill him. I’ll kill him!” Juror 3, after being called a sadist for wanting the guilty verdict by Juror 8. Before this, Juror 3 and those still upholding the guilty verdict point out that the boy was heard by the older witness telling his father that he’d kill him. Juror 8 seemed to deliberately rile Juror 3 up, since he asks after this if Juror 3 really would try to kill him, causing him to give a blustering admission that he did not mean it. How many times do we say the cruelest things, not thinking what it might mean to somebody else? Equally, how often do we hear things and assume it is meant as gospel truth?
“Maybe it wouldn't hurt us to take a few tips from people who come running here! Maybe they learned something we don't know. We're not so perfect!” Juror 5, said to Juror 7 who called Juror 11 out on not being from the same country as the rest of the Jurors. Juror 11 is the immigrant, seemingly from a country they had to escape from due to war. Juror 5’s point, as the viewpoint of a younger generation still willing to listen and learn, is that it is easy to believe you know everything when you’ve lived in one place for long enough. When you’ve been the same skin color, the same gender, or in the same mentality your whole life, you cannot easily see it from the viewpoint of others. It’s not their fault but they must try to understand from the shoes of somebody else. If they do not try, then they can equally be to blame for the failure of society around them.
“Switch knives came with the neighborhood where I lived. Funny I didn't think of it before. I guess you try to forget those things.” Juror 5, when challenging how the knife could have been used. The knife could be seen as a McGuffin in the story as it is first shown how there could easily be a similar knife acquired by Juror 8, despite the prosecution claiming there could only have been one knife of the kind used in the murder. The second part is this, where it is pointed out that the way the deceased was stabbed from above the rib cage did not match how a switchblade would be used, in an underarm attack instead. Yet this line also shows the terrible things that can become so common an occurrence for many that it can be passed off as a formality. Should such things really be considered normal?
“What kind of a man are you? You have sat here and voted guilty with everyone else because there are some theater tickets burning a hole in your pocket. Now you have changed your vote for the same reason. I do not think you have the right to play like this with a man's life.” Juror 11, to Juror 7 after he changes his vote just to speed things along. Going back to the pack mentality, many can change their minds to suit their survival. When Juror 7 sees a way to resolve the situation faster, they change their vote to suit themselves, not the cause. Juror 11 explains that while Juror 7 might be doing the right thing, they’re doing it for the wrong reason. Another quote, I think it’s from the cartoon Rugrats of all places, is “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”
Nearly there… “I've known a few who were pretty decent, but that's the exception. Most of them; it's like they have no feelings. They can do anything. What's going on here?” Juror 10, suggesting that race made the boy do what he is accused of. The story makes no point of telling us who the boy accused is, other than that they are 19 years old and that the victim was their father. However, Juror 10's comments suggest that the boy is not of the same race as the Jurors. Steadily through the story, Juror 10 makes many comments about the boy, referring to ‘their kind’ rather than the race, yet the reaction of the other Jurors when he finally does have a long rant about the boy’s origins is to shun Juror 10. Finally, they call him down and sit him in a corner away from them. This act alone shows that discrimination, even when not delivered face to face, is still as problematic. Reinforcing a dislike for color, creed, or religion of a person even when they’re not in the same room is still breeding antagonism and bad feelings that are carried into the times they are in the room with you. Is it really okay to say something bad about someone, just because they’re not there?
And, lastly, “It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone.” Juror 9 to Juror 3. It comes full circle. Where Juror 8 was the only one at the start to stand by not guilty, Juror 3 now tries to stand by a guilty vote alone. Yet, it is realized that Juror 3’s motives are based on the comparisons he makes to his relationship with his estranged son. When he is gently told that the accused is not the same boy as his son, he is the last Juror to accept a vote for not guilty.
In conclusion, I love this film. It may have overtaken Hitch, 21 Again, and Star Trek - Into Darkness as my top favorite films of all time. It has so many levels and interesting twists and points to make yet does so without making the audience feel silly or bamboozled. If you have the time, I fully recommend watching it. I know I will definitely be watching it again.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
17th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Have you ever seen Twelve Angry Men? If you haven’t, I cannot recommend it enough. It is a story that has regenerated several times, from a television show written by Reginald Rose to the stage, and twice as a movie (a 1957 film starring Henry Fonda and a remake in 1997). This story is as poignant today as it was sixty-plus years ago, not just for the black lives matter movement but for many impacts on justice happening today and how we respond to them.
The story revolves around twelve jurors who have just witnessed a court case about a 19-year-old who has been accused of the murder of his father. They must all unanimously decide whether he was guilty or innocent of the crime and if convicted they will be sending him to the chair. It’s taking place during the hottest day on record and most of the men want to get the case over with so that they can go enjoy the rest of their evenings. Yet, during the first vote, only one man holds his hand up to say that he believes they don’t have enough evidence to say the boy is guilty. Thus, they all have to stay and talk until they can all agree on the verdict.
Rather than talk to you about why I think it’s a great film to rewatch or play to perform today, I’ll share with you twelve lines that I believe can offer a different outlook on your world. This isn’t an essay or a lesson, just an idea of how you might see a point of view or understand the way another person might think or feel.
“If there is a reasonable doubt in your minds as to the guilt of the accused . . . then you must declare him not guilty.” Said by the Judge in the opening line.
‘Reasonable doubt’ becomes the theme and reason why the story exists. If the twelve jurors had gone into the room and not one had a doubt, then the story would have ended an hour and twenty sooner than it does. It is due to Juror 8, who first votes not guilty against the rest of his peers, that the debate continues and the group are forced to discuss the reasons the accused is or isn’t guilty. It’s like the quote from the first Harry Potter book; “it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your peers, and a great deal more to stand up to your friends.”
Additionally, it is important to add that while none of the characters are named, all have their own personalities. There’s an older man with the experience of his years, a younger man who grew up in a similar neighborhood to the accused, an immigrant from another country, and a man who is estranged from his son. All of these characters show how different people view the guilt of someone they had never met.
“It's not so easy for me to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.” Juror 8 after the first vote. Juror 8 never suggests the boy is not guilty. He admits he was not a witness to the murder, so he could not give a definite answer. What he does advise is that he took all of the evidence and statements were given and that gave him cause to doubt the boy’s guilt. We never know if we are seeing the full story. The social media, politicians, even the news can still be biased, no matter what channel or reporter is delivering it. They may claim not to be, yet there will often be a nudge one way or the other. You have to check your own instincts and question them to make sure you are still on the right page.
“You know why slum kids get that way? Because we knock 'em on the head once a day, every
day. I think maybe we owe him a few words. That's all.” Juror 8 again. How many times have you heard somebody say they knew what race or age or gender a criminal would be when they hear about a crime? We always suppose that we already know everything about the villains in our lives based on where they came from and who raised them. It’s not to say they are not guilty of the crime but few people outside of courts ask what drove that person to commit such an act on a fellow human being. Would things change if we gave people a greater amount of our time?
“Too many questions were left unasked.” Juror 8, regarding the accused’s court-appointed defense council. Similar to the above quote, so many slams down fists on the tables and yell guilty the moment they read a headline. I know I’ve done it myself too. We take the first thing we hear and react to it. We don’t question because we trust that what we are being told are the truth and the full story. Is it?
“This gentleman chose to stand alone against us. That's his right. It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone even if you believe in something very strongly. He left the verdict up to us. He gambled for support, and I gave it to him. I want to hear more.” Juror 9, the older gentleman who admits voting not guilty in a second secret ballot vote. Most believe Juror 5, the youngest Juror, is the one who changed his mind in the second vote, and nobody expects it to be the older Juror. Yet, when they find out, they angrily challenge why. His answer shows what most feel but few, such as Juror 5, are too nervous to attempt. The pack mentality is a thing and when we see a group going one way, it is easy and safe to follow the pack. We are less accountable when we are more than one person, it is built into our instincts. This is why, every now and again, we should check whether our instincts are correct.
“Nobody knows him after seventy-five years. That's a very sad thing. A man like this needs to be recognized. To be questioned, and listened to, and quoted just once. This is very important.” Juror 9 again, after discussing why an elder witness may have given false testimony. The oldest jury member notices something in the oldest witness that the younger members do not because he shares age and experience with them. The ninth Juror tells his peers that he does not expect the oldest witness thought he was lying in court, but relished the attention they so rarely got and thus forgot or imagined some of the facts in order to remain relevant to the case. How often is experience valued? How often do we dismiss someone because they said something too slowly, or quietly, or without confidence?
“Let me go. I'll kill him. I’ll kill him!” Juror 3, after being called a sadist for wanting the guilty verdict by Juror 8. Before this, Juror 3 and those still upholding the guilty verdict point out that the boy was heard by the older witness telling his father that he’d kill him. Juror 8 seemed to deliberately rile Juror 3 up, since he asks after this if Juror 3 really would try to kill him, causing him to give a blustering admission that he did not mean it. How many times do we say the cruelest things, not thinking what it might mean to somebody else? Equally, how often do we hear things and assume it is meant as gospel truth?
“Maybe it wouldn't hurt us to take a few tips from people who come running here! Maybe they learned something we don't know. We're not so perfect!” Juror 5, said to Juror 7 who called Juror 11 out on not being from the same country as the rest of the Jurors. Juror 11 is the immigrant, seemingly from a country they had to escape from due to war. Juror 5’s point, as the viewpoint of a younger generation still willing to listen and learn, is that it is easy to believe you know everything when you’ve lived in one place for long enough. When you’ve been the same skin color, the same gender, or in the same mentality your whole life, you cannot easily see it from the viewpoint of others. It’s not their fault but they must try to understand from the shoes of somebody else. If they do not try, then they can equally be to blame for the failure of society around them.
“Switch knives came with the neighborhood where I lived. Funny I didn't think of it before. I guess you try to forget those things.” Juror 5, when challenging how the knife could have been used. The knife could be seen as a McGuffin in the story as it is first shown how there could easily be a similar knife acquired by Juror 8, despite the prosecution claiming there could only have been one knife of the kind used in the murder. The second part is this, where it is pointed out that the way the deceased was stabbed from above the rib cage did not match how a switchblade would be used, in an underarm attack instead. Yet this line also shows the terrible things that can become so common an occurrence for many that it can be passed off as a formality. Should such things really be considered normal?
“What kind of a man are you? You have sat here and voted guilty with everyone else because there are some theater tickets burning a hole in your pocket. Now you have changed your vote for the same reason. I do not think you have the right to play like this with a man's life.” Juror 11, to Juror 7 after he changes his vote just to speed things along. Going back to the pack mentality, many can change their minds to suit their survival. When Juror 7 sees a way to resolve the situation faster, they change their vote to suit themselves, not the cause. Juror 11 explains that while Juror 7 might be doing the right thing, they’re doing it for the wrong reason. Another quote, I think it’s from the cartoon Rugrats of all places, is “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”
Nearly there… “I've known a few who were pretty decent, but that's the exception. Most of them; it's like they have no feelings. They can do anything. What's going on here?” Juror 10, suggesting that race made the boy do what he is accused of. The story makes no point of telling us who the boy accused is, other than that they are 19 years old and that the victim was their father. However, Juror 10's comments suggest that the boy is not of the same race as the Jurors. Steadily through the story, Juror 10 makes many comments about the boy, referring to ‘their kind’ rather than the race, yet the reaction of the other Jurors when he finally does have a long rant about the boy’s origins is to shun Juror 10. Finally, they call him down and sit him in a corner away from them. This act alone shows that discrimination, even when not delivered face to face, is still as problematic. Reinforcing a dislike for color, creed, or religion of a person even when they’re not in the same room is still breeding antagonism and bad feelings that are carried into the times they are in the room with you. Is it really okay to say something bad about someone, just because they’re not there?
And, lastly, “It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone.” Juror 9 to Juror 3. It comes full circle. Where Juror 8 was the only one at the start to stand by not guilty, Juror 3 now tries to stand by a guilty vote alone. Yet, it is realized that Juror 3’s motives are based on the comparisons he makes to his relationship with his estranged son. When he is gently told that the accused is not the same boy as his son, he is the last Juror to accept a vote for not guilty.
In conclusion, I love this film. It may have overtaken Hitch, 21 Again, and Star Trek - Into Darkness as my top favorite films of all time. It has so many levels and interesting twists and points to make yet does so without making the audience feel silly or bamboozled. If you have the time, I fully recommend watching it. I know I will definitely be watching it again.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… The Carrying Stream.
Posted 5 years ago#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
16th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Life is like a caterpillar.
This is a story I learned from a traditional folk-tales teller called Mike Rust tonight, who was told it by a fellow storyteller called Duncan on the day they lost a good friend. He didn’t want to hear this story at the time and refused it being told, opting that they sit on a bench before a beach in Whitby in absolute silence. Just the waves, the gulls, and the reflections. Yet, after an hour went by, the storyteller insisted he finish the story and so Mike let him. It turned out it might have been the most important thing he was told that day.
I won’t tell you that yet. I will save that for a very poignant end. Instead, I want to talk to you about storytelling and why we should do it much more than we do.
Storytelling was an art that was fading out. You may think I am crazy for saying that but do not mistake ‘storytelling’ for ‘writing a story’ or even ‘reading a book out aloud’ (audiobooks, Audible, etc). Instead, storytelling, or ‘the carrying stream’ as they call it in Scotland, is about telling tales, short stories, and even poems or short anecdotes, more or less without a source material in the front to tell the tale from. Occasionally, those stories could be written down, but these tales usually had embellishments, personal changes, and important meaning in the end.
We tell each other things, certainly, but we rarely tell stories as much as we used to. We seem nervous that our words will be taken as preaching when that’s not the case at all. Our words, the things we find important to share, aren’t simply interesting or funny. They are a window into learning that many didn’t realize existed. Often, it can be the case that the audience wasn’t all that sure they needed to hear it until they heard it, and then they’ll tell it again.
What can often scare us is a fear that we don’t have a story to tell. Nonsense. We all have a story to tell. The difference is having the bravery and voice to tell it. What you have to do is imagine you have a story that is so important that it hurts unless you do tell it. Then, after telling it, you will feel better, until the next story comes, and the next, and the next. Soon, it won’t hurt anymore, you’ll enjoy the experience.
Never be afraid to tell the stories that interest you. Remember the golden phrase, sharing is caring. You give a story, you get respect for it in return or even just relief. Both are golden. Regardless though, if you fear not having that story, simply go back to day one. Being a child. Think of all the stories you made growing up. All the troubles you got into. All the imaginary monsters vanquished. Start there.
Then, you’ll find, the world is your oyster. You’ll realize there were stories built out of the time you put a dent in your car, or broke a favorite mug, or were late to an Elton John concert. Things develop out of little details and a message soon follows. It doesn’t have to be an Aesop’s fable, but it often will have an important point to share. Start there and never stop.
Life is but like a caterpillar.
A caterpillar crawls through the cold, wet dirt from its first moments on earth. It eats, it grows, it follows paths where it knows it will survive. It could be picked off at any time and it has such a short time to make an impact, so it puts its mark on as many leaves and foliage as it can. Finally, it grows tired, wraps itself away in a cocoon, and waits for itself to transform, where it can be a butterfly, able to fly free and see the rest of the world.
That’s what it’s like for us. Just have a look at a butterfly, because a butterfly goes from flower to flower to flower, flying with the sun on its wings. If there’s one beast on earth that can be the definition of happiness, it’s the butterfly.
So when you’re on earth, thinking of a memory of loss or sadness, think of butterflies.
Life is but like a butterfly.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
Also, I’ve built a new Discord server that you are welcome to join, for people who need friends and are accommodating to whom they might rub shoulders with.
The Good Things Gathering Discord Server (Furries, Bronies and Kind-Hearts welcome) https://discord.gg/G6cykw
16th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Life is like a caterpillar.
This is a story I learned from a traditional folk-tales teller called Mike Rust tonight, who was told it by a fellow storyteller called Duncan on the day they lost a good friend. He didn’t want to hear this story at the time and refused it being told, opting that they sit on a bench before a beach in Whitby in absolute silence. Just the waves, the gulls, and the reflections. Yet, after an hour went by, the storyteller insisted he finish the story and so Mike let him. It turned out it might have been the most important thing he was told that day.
I won’t tell you that yet. I will save that for a very poignant end. Instead, I want to talk to you about storytelling and why we should do it much more than we do.
Storytelling was an art that was fading out. You may think I am crazy for saying that but do not mistake ‘storytelling’ for ‘writing a story’ or even ‘reading a book out aloud’ (audiobooks, Audible, etc). Instead, storytelling, or ‘the carrying stream’ as they call it in Scotland, is about telling tales, short stories, and even poems or short anecdotes, more or less without a source material in the front to tell the tale from. Occasionally, those stories could be written down, but these tales usually had embellishments, personal changes, and important meaning in the end.
We tell each other things, certainly, but we rarely tell stories as much as we used to. We seem nervous that our words will be taken as preaching when that’s not the case at all. Our words, the things we find important to share, aren’t simply interesting or funny. They are a window into learning that many didn’t realize existed. Often, it can be the case that the audience wasn’t all that sure they needed to hear it until they heard it, and then they’ll tell it again.
What can often scare us is a fear that we don’t have a story to tell. Nonsense. We all have a story to tell. The difference is having the bravery and voice to tell it. What you have to do is imagine you have a story that is so important that it hurts unless you do tell it. Then, after telling it, you will feel better, until the next story comes, and the next, and the next. Soon, it won’t hurt anymore, you’ll enjoy the experience.
Never be afraid to tell the stories that interest you. Remember the golden phrase, sharing is caring. You give a story, you get respect for it in return or even just relief. Both are golden. Regardless though, if you fear not having that story, simply go back to day one. Being a child. Think of all the stories you made growing up. All the troubles you got into. All the imaginary monsters vanquished. Start there.
Then, you’ll find, the world is your oyster. You’ll realize there were stories built out of the time you put a dent in your car, or broke a favorite mug, or were late to an Elton John concert. Things develop out of little details and a message soon follows. It doesn’t have to be an Aesop’s fable, but it often will have an important point to share. Start there and never stop.
Life is but like a caterpillar.
A caterpillar crawls through the cold, wet dirt from its first moments on earth. It eats, it grows, it follows paths where it knows it will survive. It could be picked off at any time and it has such a short time to make an impact, so it puts its mark on as many leaves and foliage as it can. Finally, it grows tired, wraps itself away in a cocoon, and waits for itself to transform, where it can be a butterfly, able to fly free and see the rest of the world.
That’s what it’s like for us. Just have a look at a butterfly, because a butterfly goes from flower to flower to flower, flying with the sun on its wings. If there’s one beast on earth that can be the definition of happiness, it’s the butterfly.
So when you’re on earth, thinking of a memory of loss or sadness, think of butterflies.
Life is but like a butterfly.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
Also, I’ve built a new Discord server that you are welcome to join, for people who need friends and are accommodating to whom they might rub shoulders with.
The Good Things Gathering Discord Server (Furries, Bronies and Kind-Hearts welcome) https://discord.gg/G6cykw
All Good Things… Say No To Bullies...
Posted 5 years ago#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings… #Blacklivesmatter
15th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
I had my break on Sunday as I promised I would and goodness, I needed it. As much as I enjoy writing these and getting into a steady flow of writing something almost every day, I do burn myself out now and again. It is good to have a scheduled break to stop and take stock that I have done enough to be proud of the achievement so far.
That said, today wasn’t a great day. Somebody set out to attack me on one of the places online where I enjoy meeting and conversing with friends. I am not going to give them air time, this blog is not about them. It’s not really about me either, I want it to be for you so that you do not fall into the same pitfalls and traps laid out by unkind people the way I seem to.
Bullies.
They come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes you get a feeling from how they treat you or others straight away, sometimes it is a slow burn. Yet, we as a culture seem to link them to at least one place commonly which is schools. There is an assumption that bullying only occurs in those big grey houses of (a semblance of) learning and that when we leave there we are all big enough and dumb enough to never be bullied again. I’m afraid that is not the case and the world is waking up to that very, very slowly.
My experience at secondary school was horrible at times. There were some occasions when I enjoyed it but for the most part, I was pushed about, beaten up, called names like "lanky" and "Snowman" for being pale, blonde with a white puffer jacket (by kids of all races, before you make assumptions), and found it very hard to make and keep friends. One time I got my hand hurt to the point it no longer straightens properly. Another time I got pushed in front of a moving car and had my fear of nearly being run over laughed at. A particularly sweet child suggested something evil would happen to my mother.
I was happy to get out of that place but I also told myself I probably deserved it, because in primary school I’d been a nasty piece of work. At the start of that school, I befriended a kid called Anthony. By the time I finished and moved up to secondary, I had teased and belittled him for his mental capabilities, how he dressed, his cleanliness, and his attempts to continue to befriend me despite how much of an ass I was to him. I wasn’t alone in this but as an adult, I hold accountability for being a bully to someone who hadn’t deserved it. I don’t know where they are or what they do now, but I am sorry now for how I treated them then.
The problem with bullying, as I said, is that it has stuck to being a word used in playgrounds and told to teachers who seem to regard it as a buzzword rather than a call to action. While that in itself has been a big problem that as of yet still hasn’t been resolved, an equally problematic issue is that bullies grow up. Some grow out of it, the one who damaged my hand apologized, turned out pretty cool, and is still on my Facebook somewhere. Some don’t. Some get worse.
There are more facets than ever to be bullied on and more opportunities to be attacked. It could be on social media for using ill-judgment and sharing a thought or post you thought would be okay. It could be for knowing a person who isn’t popular. It could simply be because people saw you as an easy target. It could even happen if you starred in an innocent movie or sang a song that riled up the hordes of fans who wanted their vision, not yours, or that of a company or a director.
Even if you think you could be safe from social media because you aren’t on it that often or that influential, there are still plenty of places where the bad ones can find you. They could trick you into a friendship or even a relationship. I know a lot of strong people who have got themselves out of nasty situations with not-so-nice and sometimes abusive partners. I know a lot of strong people still in those situations too.
Closer still, it can come from the workplace. Bad apples, as they often like to call them, may not be as vocal about how they treat you, they may not resort to name-calling or rude gestures, but they can put you down in other ways. Refusing you the promotion you deserve, putting you on plans to ‘improve your performance’ when others feel you’re doing the same work like them, pushing you out of roles, making you feel stupid for trying your best and never meeting ‘their’ expectations… The list, I’m afraid, is endless.
Last, but not least, how close to home can you get but family. These people you trust the most and yet I’ve known people who have been treated poorly by their parents, their siblings, distant relatives, or their own children. It’s hurtful to think that the people you could not choose in your life could become cruel and unnecessarily nasty yet it can and does happen.
What is the purpose of this time? It all seems and sounds dark, doesn’t it? My purpose in sharing this is simple; to tell you that you are not alone. You don’t have to fear or be sad or angry at the world but it is okay to be because sometimes the world is the hardest hurdle to overcome. You can get help. Sometimes just reaching out to someone who does care can make the biggest change and if you’re even afraid of that, it’s okay.
If you are at rock-bottom, there are numbers to call and I’ll share a link to all of the international ones below. Additionally, my friend Dave Vickers has a wonderful little saying for rock bottom; it’s the best place to be because the only way to go now is up. My advice is to seek help from those you trust, get yourself as far from the bullies as you can, and never forget this. If you cannot see kindness in the place you are in, put your own kindness into it for those that deserve it so that somehow, more goodness can grow.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
#Blacklivesmatter
https://checkpointorg.com/global/
Also, I’ve built a new Discord server that you are welcome to join, for people who need friends and are accommodating to whom they might rub shoulders with.
The Good Things Gathering Discord Server (Furries, Bronies and Kind-Hearts welcome) https://discord.gg/G6cykw
15th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
I had my break on Sunday as I promised I would and goodness, I needed it. As much as I enjoy writing these and getting into a steady flow of writing something almost every day, I do burn myself out now and again. It is good to have a scheduled break to stop and take stock that I have done enough to be proud of the achievement so far.
That said, today wasn’t a great day. Somebody set out to attack me on one of the places online where I enjoy meeting and conversing with friends. I am not going to give them air time, this blog is not about them. It’s not really about me either, I want it to be for you so that you do not fall into the same pitfalls and traps laid out by unkind people the way I seem to.
Bullies.
They come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes you get a feeling from how they treat you or others straight away, sometimes it is a slow burn. Yet, we as a culture seem to link them to at least one place commonly which is schools. There is an assumption that bullying only occurs in those big grey houses of (a semblance of) learning and that when we leave there we are all big enough and dumb enough to never be bullied again. I’m afraid that is not the case and the world is waking up to that very, very slowly.
My experience at secondary school was horrible at times. There were some occasions when I enjoyed it but for the most part, I was pushed about, beaten up, called names like "lanky" and "Snowman" for being pale, blonde with a white puffer jacket (by kids of all races, before you make assumptions), and found it very hard to make and keep friends. One time I got my hand hurt to the point it no longer straightens properly. Another time I got pushed in front of a moving car and had my fear of nearly being run over laughed at. A particularly sweet child suggested something evil would happen to my mother.
I was happy to get out of that place but I also told myself I probably deserved it, because in primary school I’d been a nasty piece of work. At the start of that school, I befriended a kid called Anthony. By the time I finished and moved up to secondary, I had teased and belittled him for his mental capabilities, how he dressed, his cleanliness, and his attempts to continue to befriend me despite how much of an ass I was to him. I wasn’t alone in this but as an adult, I hold accountability for being a bully to someone who hadn’t deserved it. I don’t know where they are or what they do now, but I am sorry now for how I treated them then.
The problem with bullying, as I said, is that it has stuck to being a word used in playgrounds and told to teachers who seem to regard it as a buzzword rather than a call to action. While that in itself has been a big problem that as of yet still hasn’t been resolved, an equally problematic issue is that bullies grow up. Some grow out of it, the one who damaged my hand apologized, turned out pretty cool, and is still on my Facebook somewhere. Some don’t. Some get worse.
There are more facets than ever to be bullied on and more opportunities to be attacked. It could be on social media for using ill-judgment and sharing a thought or post you thought would be okay. It could be for knowing a person who isn’t popular. It could simply be because people saw you as an easy target. It could even happen if you starred in an innocent movie or sang a song that riled up the hordes of fans who wanted their vision, not yours, or that of a company or a director.
Even if you think you could be safe from social media because you aren’t on it that often or that influential, there are still plenty of places where the bad ones can find you. They could trick you into a friendship or even a relationship. I know a lot of strong people who have got themselves out of nasty situations with not-so-nice and sometimes abusive partners. I know a lot of strong people still in those situations too.
Closer still, it can come from the workplace. Bad apples, as they often like to call them, may not be as vocal about how they treat you, they may not resort to name-calling or rude gestures, but they can put you down in other ways. Refusing you the promotion you deserve, putting you on plans to ‘improve your performance’ when others feel you’re doing the same work like them, pushing you out of roles, making you feel stupid for trying your best and never meeting ‘their’ expectations… The list, I’m afraid, is endless.
Last, but not least, how close to home can you get but family. These people you trust the most and yet I’ve known people who have been treated poorly by their parents, their siblings, distant relatives, or their own children. It’s hurtful to think that the people you could not choose in your life could become cruel and unnecessarily nasty yet it can and does happen.
What is the purpose of this time? It all seems and sounds dark, doesn’t it? My purpose in sharing this is simple; to tell you that you are not alone. You don’t have to fear or be sad or angry at the world but it is okay to be because sometimes the world is the hardest hurdle to overcome. You can get help. Sometimes just reaching out to someone who does care can make the biggest change and if you’re even afraid of that, it’s okay.
If you are at rock-bottom, there are numbers to call and I’ll share a link to all of the international ones below. Additionally, my friend Dave Vickers has a wonderful little saying for rock bottom; it’s the best place to be because the only way to go now is up. My advice is to seek help from those you trust, get yourself as far from the bullies as you can, and never forget this. If you cannot see kindness in the place you are in, put your own kindness into it for those that deserve it so that somehow, more goodness can grow.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
#Blacklivesmatter
https://checkpointorg.com/global/
Also, I’ve built a new Discord server that you are welcome to join, for people who need friends and are accommodating to whom they might rub shoulders with.
The Good Things Gathering Discord Server (Furries, Bronies and Kind-Hearts welcome) https://discord.gg/G6cykw
All Good Things… As Yet Untitled...
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… As Yet Untitled...
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
13th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Over the course of doing these blogs, I’ve mostly discussed what has been on my head during that day or at the time of writing them. There’s plenty I could talk about today based on what I’ve been experiencing, I’ll give you a quick rundown;
I took part in a planned roleplaying game (like Dungeons and Dragons but with apocalypse ponies) on Second Life this morning. That lasted for four-five hours and was hilarious fun, after Lunch l moved my room around and put up some hooks on the doors so now my dressing gowns have a place to hang up, not laze around on the floor or a chair. While doing this, I logged onto Discord and talked with friends I hadn’t spoken to since February. Next was a fun family (on dad’s side) quiz which was the one I’ve performed strongest in so far, thirteen-fourteen questions right out of twenty! Finally, a nice twilight walk a chippy supper and touched up the mohawk I gave myself for charity (please see the link below).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0U.....HXY&t=262s
Plenty to talk about from a busy productive day, yet it could have been different. I only found out early this morning, while signing on to play the RPG which I’d agreed to do a few weeks before, that there was a social-distancing party taking place for a family member from the other side of my family. If you were wondering why I said dad’s side earlier, now you know. The problem with this is that I haven’t seen that part of the family forever and would have quite liked to, but finding out at that point in my day just wouldn’t have worked for me.
There were already plans in place that I’d agreed to and was looking forward to. I wasn’t going to change those for a last-minute offer. You can probably all agree with that. Yet, if I had been free, would I still have gone? Personally, this time I might have made the effort as my ideals and resolves have changed with the effects of the coronavirus. I currently see what it is to value the people around you. However, if I had, it would have also been dipping of the toe into the water to see if the change was only on my part.
It’s not something I want to rant about, simply discuss, however before lockdown I was feeling pretty jaded with this part of my family. While I am something of a hermit, I also do not want anybody to feel like I have done them wrong and would rather have the chance to make some sort of amends. Instead, I feel like I’m not a member of the family to that side, I simply don’t exist. Birthday wishes on messages get ignored, no hints of wishes for a good time on my birthday and when I do go to meetups I may as well have smeared myself in manure.
However, it could be that this is my overactive mind taking over. A mere indifference or a simple message or expression can be lost in translation for my brain, turning into suggests that I’ve annoyed that person, or that they don’t want me around, or worse. I don’t know if everybody gets that or if it is just me but sometimes I shut up, seal up or hide away in my own flat because I assume that I am not liked. Even on the format of the internet where I can be more comfortable, I still get pangs of this.
So, what can I offer you here? What can I give that is the big take away from this? If anything, it can be that if you have ever felt this way, then you are not alone. You now know at least one other person who has felt the same and if you need to reach out and get a message of positivity back then you know where to come. The next thing I can add is that sometimes you do need your personal space and you do need to do the things that others do not understand, but that is important to you. They will accept that if they are true friends and family and if they do not, then accept them but do not pander to them. A good friend taught me that.
Lastly, don’t let their feelings, should they truly feel the way you think they feel, stop you from seeking out the people right for you. There will always be people you cannot please and if you are someone who needs that acknowledgment, it can be hard, but have faith in yourself. There are always people out there who can accept and befriend you for who you are, so do not stop looking. Let those who cast stones at you alone and let those who heal your bruises stay, and if you have to bend over backward for someone, let it be because you wanted to, not because you felt obliged to.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
13th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Over the course of doing these blogs, I’ve mostly discussed what has been on my head during that day or at the time of writing them. There’s plenty I could talk about today based on what I’ve been experiencing, I’ll give you a quick rundown;
I took part in a planned roleplaying game (like Dungeons and Dragons but with apocalypse ponies) on Second Life this morning. That lasted for four-five hours and was hilarious fun, after Lunch l moved my room around and put up some hooks on the doors so now my dressing gowns have a place to hang up, not laze around on the floor or a chair. While doing this, I logged onto Discord and talked with friends I hadn’t spoken to since February. Next was a fun family (on dad’s side) quiz which was the one I’ve performed strongest in so far, thirteen-fourteen questions right out of twenty! Finally, a nice twilight walk a chippy supper and touched up the mohawk I gave myself for charity (please see the link below).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0U.....HXY&t=262s
Plenty to talk about from a busy productive day, yet it could have been different. I only found out early this morning, while signing on to play the RPG which I’d agreed to do a few weeks before, that there was a social-distancing party taking place for a family member from the other side of my family. If you were wondering why I said dad’s side earlier, now you know. The problem with this is that I haven’t seen that part of the family forever and would have quite liked to, but finding out at that point in my day just wouldn’t have worked for me.
There were already plans in place that I’d agreed to and was looking forward to. I wasn’t going to change those for a last-minute offer. You can probably all agree with that. Yet, if I had been free, would I still have gone? Personally, this time I might have made the effort as my ideals and resolves have changed with the effects of the coronavirus. I currently see what it is to value the people around you. However, if I had, it would have also been dipping of the toe into the water to see if the change was only on my part.
It’s not something I want to rant about, simply discuss, however before lockdown I was feeling pretty jaded with this part of my family. While I am something of a hermit, I also do not want anybody to feel like I have done them wrong and would rather have the chance to make some sort of amends. Instead, I feel like I’m not a member of the family to that side, I simply don’t exist. Birthday wishes on messages get ignored, no hints of wishes for a good time on my birthday and when I do go to meetups I may as well have smeared myself in manure.
However, it could be that this is my overactive mind taking over. A mere indifference or a simple message or expression can be lost in translation for my brain, turning into suggests that I’ve annoyed that person, or that they don’t want me around, or worse. I don’t know if everybody gets that or if it is just me but sometimes I shut up, seal up or hide away in my own flat because I assume that I am not liked. Even on the format of the internet where I can be more comfortable, I still get pangs of this.
So, what can I offer you here? What can I give that is the big take away from this? If anything, it can be that if you have ever felt this way, then you are not alone. You now know at least one other person who has felt the same and if you need to reach out and get a message of positivity back then you know where to come. The next thing I can add is that sometimes you do need your personal space and you do need to do the things that others do not understand, but that is important to you. They will accept that if they are true friends and family and if they do not, then accept them but do not pander to them. A good friend taught me that.
Lastly, don’t let their feelings, should they truly feel the way you think they feel, stop you from seeking out the people right for you. There will always be people you cannot please and if you are someone who needs that acknowledgment, it can be hard, but have faith in yourself. There are always people out there who can accept and befriend you for who you are, so do not stop looking. Let those who cast stones at you alone and let those who heal your bruises stay, and if you have to bend over backward for someone, let it be because you wanted to, not because you felt obliged to.
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… Why The Cinema and The Library Don’t...
Posted 5 years agoAll Good Things… Why The Cinema and The Library Don’t Mix.
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
12th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
A warning to begin with. I’m going to give spoilers for Artemis Fowl. However, only the film, so if you want to read the book, you’ll find no spoilers here. Confused? Read on.
I love a good book. The thrill of opening a story for the first time, smelling that fresh book smell if it is particularly new, and starting a new adventure always excites me. The idea of creating a new world and new people within my imagination is what has urged me towards telling my own stories someday when the time is right for me. You may even see a few shorts in these blogs in the not-too-distant future. Alongside that, I also love the cinema. I love seeing clever stories told and performed, I love the nuances of what scenes mean and when witty dialogue and plots take us to places we didn’t expect.
But I am not fond of adaptations anymore.
I have to add any more to the end of that sentence because in the past, I got really excited when my favorite book series as a child, THE favorite book series for many children (the one about the wizards) were being made into movies. I remember sitting in front of the computer trying to watch the trailer and constantly pulling the status bar back to the start to watch the bits that had loaded while waiting for the rest to finish. I couldn’t wait to see all the characters I knew become flesh and magic on screen, and the teaser didn’t disappoint.
I went to see the first film with my dad and, while I remember enjoying it, I also remember thinking, “well, they missed that bit, and this bit, and where’s that character, and why does this look like that and not how it looked in my head…” I didn’t leave disappointed on that occasion but a few films down the line I would. The fourth book in the series was pivotal for me, it showed to me what power stories had and how they could shock and scare you, even when the characters were not real. However, when it came to the film, the same characters I’d worried about and mourned for were… well, lackluster. The story felt rushed, there were more bits missing, the charm was gone and I was left feeling as though they hadn’t cared for that story the same way I had.
There were other times this has happened to me. Obviously, I was talking about the Harry Potter series there, films which I enjoyed but held in a different light to the books. Another such occasion was the Golden Compass, by which I mean the first time they tried to make it, not the better (but not perfect) BBC version. Then there was the first Tomb Raider movie, based on the games (and movies adapted from games are not much better) yet I found the novelized version of the film before it was released, read it, and… it was SO. MUCH. BETTER! There were reasons for the character motivations, a plot that felt whole not rushed, and genuine peril. Any of these could have been the icing on the cake, yet they’re not the cherry. That accolade goes to the latest adaptation of a book which I watched just an hour ago.
Artemis Fowl. These books were brilliant reads when I was growing up. They were clever, the anti-hero was a genuine anti-hero who you did not know whether to love or hate, the plot made sense and the narration did not treat you like you couldn’t follow the story. The world of the fairies was made to feel like it was New York if New York was underground and populated by magical creatures with potty mouths. The film, however, released recently on a streaming service instead of into cinemas, seems to completely ignore everything which made the books good.
I will be honest, I did enjoy parts of this movie. I liked the comedy of Mulch, a dwarf character played fairly well (I saw him as a far gruffer, dirtier character in my head) by Josh Gad and while I love Judy Dench, her character was much more of a Bronx bruiser than a grumpy queen in my imagination too. These were niggles that I could have overlooked, if the film had followed the initial plot of the first book, yet it didn’t. Instead, it took Artemis Fowl (Jr) from an ACTUAL criminal mastermind, who was such as he was simply smart enough to do so and not get caught, to a kid who is only motivated to stop moping around his manor when his dad, Artemis Fowl (Snr) goes missing. Gone is the kid who has proved he’s smart in the first act, now we just have to take the word of the narrator that he’s smart. As for a criminal? He has hardly done a criminal act until the epilogue and even that is excusable at best.
As a stand-alone film, it was okay. Fun but condescending. It forgot the rule that you show your audience what is going on, you do not tell them. The big disappointment was that I was excited to see a book I had enjoyed being shown in front of my eyes on the screen. For that, I’m still waiting.
So what’s the problem? Why can’t a good book be made into a good film? The issue lies in at least two parts as far as I can see. Once, it used to be the limits of what cinema could do, but now with computer technology, those limits are getting less and less. Then, there’s the length a story takes vs the length of a movie. Yet, it is possible to make movies based on books that inspire and films like Lord of the Rings, Green Mile, and Shawshank Redemption have proven that.
No, the conflict for movies partially comes from the fact that our minds are built in such a way that many of us can take a few words and create worlds, civilizations, conflicts, and victories. We can go way beyond the scenes in our heads and visualize our beloved characters and lands in ways that movies simply cannot reach. Some have got close, few have gone all the way. A film can say things in fewer words than a book, but a book will tell you it is a far more enchanting way.
The last issue depends on who makes it. Make no mistake, I have great admiration for actors, directors, and every single body who has a hand in making a film. However, that is a vast cast and crew each having a hand in weaving the same vision one person with a pen had before them. When you include the demands, urges, and lusts of the people who pay to have these films made, who will push you off a cliff if they think it will make them back the money they gave you, then you have a problem. The story is no longer about an author wanting to tell a tale. It is about a greedy beast wanting riches and success.
Yet, I will always live in hope with each film I wish to see that it will inspire and urge me to create the way films, television, music, and books did when I was little. If all the stories I’ve absorbed have taught me anything, it is that nothing is won if you don’t want it to be a success in the first place.
If you agree, or disagree, please tell me so in the comments. I love hearing from you and always read what you write :) Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
12th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
A warning to begin with. I’m going to give spoilers for Artemis Fowl. However, only the film, so if you want to read the book, you’ll find no spoilers here. Confused? Read on.
I love a good book. The thrill of opening a story for the first time, smelling that fresh book smell if it is particularly new, and starting a new adventure always excites me. The idea of creating a new world and new people within my imagination is what has urged me towards telling my own stories someday when the time is right for me. You may even see a few shorts in these blogs in the not-too-distant future. Alongside that, I also love the cinema. I love seeing clever stories told and performed, I love the nuances of what scenes mean and when witty dialogue and plots take us to places we didn’t expect.
But I am not fond of adaptations anymore.
I have to add any more to the end of that sentence because in the past, I got really excited when my favorite book series as a child, THE favorite book series for many children (the one about the wizards) were being made into movies. I remember sitting in front of the computer trying to watch the trailer and constantly pulling the status bar back to the start to watch the bits that had loaded while waiting for the rest to finish. I couldn’t wait to see all the characters I knew become flesh and magic on screen, and the teaser didn’t disappoint.
I went to see the first film with my dad and, while I remember enjoying it, I also remember thinking, “well, they missed that bit, and this bit, and where’s that character, and why does this look like that and not how it looked in my head…” I didn’t leave disappointed on that occasion but a few films down the line I would. The fourth book in the series was pivotal for me, it showed to me what power stories had and how they could shock and scare you, even when the characters were not real. However, when it came to the film, the same characters I’d worried about and mourned for were… well, lackluster. The story felt rushed, there were more bits missing, the charm was gone and I was left feeling as though they hadn’t cared for that story the same way I had.
There were other times this has happened to me. Obviously, I was talking about the Harry Potter series there, films which I enjoyed but held in a different light to the books. Another such occasion was the Golden Compass, by which I mean the first time they tried to make it, not the better (but not perfect) BBC version. Then there was the first Tomb Raider movie, based on the games (and movies adapted from games are not much better) yet I found the novelized version of the film before it was released, read it, and… it was SO. MUCH. BETTER! There were reasons for the character motivations, a plot that felt whole not rushed, and genuine peril. Any of these could have been the icing on the cake, yet they’re not the cherry. That accolade goes to the latest adaptation of a book which I watched just an hour ago.
Artemis Fowl. These books were brilliant reads when I was growing up. They were clever, the anti-hero was a genuine anti-hero who you did not know whether to love or hate, the plot made sense and the narration did not treat you like you couldn’t follow the story. The world of the fairies was made to feel like it was New York if New York was underground and populated by magical creatures with potty mouths. The film, however, released recently on a streaming service instead of into cinemas, seems to completely ignore everything which made the books good.
I will be honest, I did enjoy parts of this movie. I liked the comedy of Mulch, a dwarf character played fairly well (I saw him as a far gruffer, dirtier character in my head) by Josh Gad and while I love Judy Dench, her character was much more of a Bronx bruiser than a grumpy queen in my imagination too. These were niggles that I could have overlooked, if the film had followed the initial plot of the first book, yet it didn’t. Instead, it took Artemis Fowl (Jr) from an ACTUAL criminal mastermind, who was such as he was simply smart enough to do so and not get caught, to a kid who is only motivated to stop moping around his manor when his dad, Artemis Fowl (Snr) goes missing. Gone is the kid who has proved he’s smart in the first act, now we just have to take the word of the narrator that he’s smart. As for a criminal? He has hardly done a criminal act until the epilogue and even that is excusable at best.
As a stand-alone film, it was okay. Fun but condescending. It forgot the rule that you show your audience what is going on, you do not tell them. The big disappointment was that I was excited to see a book I had enjoyed being shown in front of my eyes on the screen. For that, I’m still waiting.
So what’s the problem? Why can’t a good book be made into a good film? The issue lies in at least two parts as far as I can see. Once, it used to be the limits of what cinema could do, but now with computer technology, those limits are getting less and less. Then, there’s the length a story takes vs the length of a movie. Yet, it is possible to make movies based on books that inspire and films like Lord of the Rings, Green Mile, and Shawshank Redemption have proven that.
No, the conflict for movies partially comes from the fact that our minds are built in such a way that many of us can take a few words and create worlds, civilizations, conflicts, and victories. We can go way beyond the scenes in our heads and visualize our beloved characters and lands in ways that movies simply cannot reach. Some have got close, few have gone all the way. A film can say things in fewer words than a book, but a book will tell you it is a far more enchanting way.
The last issue depends on who makes it. Make no mistake, I have great admiration for actors, directors, and every single body who has a hand in making a film. However, that is a vast cast and crew each having a hand in weaving the same vision one person with a pen had before them. When you include the demands, urges, and lusts of the people who pay to have these films made, who will push you off a cliff if they think it will make them back the money they gave you, then you have a problem. The story is no longer about an author wanting to tell a tale. It is about a greedy beast wanting riches and success.
Yet, I will always live in hope with each film I wish to see that it will inspire and urge me to create the way films, television, music, and books did when I was little. If all the stories I’ve absorbed have taught me anything, it is that nothing is won if you don’t want it to be a success in the first place.
If you agree, or disagree, please tell me so in the comments. I love hearing from you and always read what you write :) Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… Burning The Midnight Oil.
Posted 5 years ago#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
11th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Late one here! Actually, kinda cheating (again) as it’s the 12th of June, 1.30 AM. However, I never consider tomorrow to be today until my head has hit the pillow and my dreams have come true in my head at least. Then, and only then, can I truly accept that it is a new day. Is anybody else like that or is it just me?
I developed the ability to keep going late into the night from partaking and later hosting ghost hunts. During these events, it was required not only to stay up until the wee hours but to also attempt to still be interested in what was happening, or more often than not, not happening. There was also the matter of getting home afterward unless I was given the option to sleep the night in wherever the hunt was occurring. You may think, “oh, no, I’d never sleep in a haunted hotel/ castle/ pub”, but believe me, if you’re tired enough, you end up telling the ghosts to sod off until you’ve had your forty-plus winks.
However, I am saving those stories for another day. I have some epic stories about ghosts because I don’t just believe, I’ve had conversations with them, but not everything is a ghost and not every spirit turns up to the whispering chambers just because you did. We’ll talk about that another day.
This blog is about late nights and why you’re not at all bad for staying up late or even having insomnia, even if you know you have school, work, or a pressing engagement tomorrow morning. You should weigh up the pros and cons of what you are choosing to stay up for and whether it is more important than being alert for what you face tomorrow. Sometimes it is, sometimes it really isn’t.
I struggled with this. My addiction to not-sleeping for the average, healthy length of time came with my addiction to the internet. I’ll admit it now, I have had a fraught relationship with the worldwide web. In my teens, I’d find ways to sneak onto the computer the family shared and stay on it until daylight reappeared, just to talk to friends and furs (see the previous blog) from around the world. Because of the different timezones, and because I didn’t have strong friends offline the way I did online, I did everything to continue to talk to them. This angered my parents no end and very regularly I was given a bollocking, threatened with a loss of computer privileges, and even forced them to unplug the computer for everyone. This did not make me popular with my five other siblings.
It sounds the way alcoholics and drug addicts would act, right? Selfish, unable to stop, looking for the next fix? You know it, I know it, it was bad, it IS bad… and while I control it better now, I know I still have a problem because I can’t stop. I’d be lonely if I stopped and I have people who worry and depend on me to be around, I’d not only be hurting myself, I’d be hurting them…
Seems like I should have made this blog about that… Heh, okay, put a pin in that. We’ll come back to it. There’s a whole part to that which needs its own time dedicated to it. For now, we’ll stick to what the benefits are to late nights.
As I’ve pointed out, the world isn’t on the same midnight oil as you, and by spending those extra hours up, you get to meet people at their most relaxed, who have just finished work or school (when I was younger, of course) and are easy to talk to. You also have the benefit of having a full day to think about things, so having that hour at night allows you to put things in perspective and arrange them ready for a mind cleared in the morning. And also, you simply have time to yourself that is quiet, without fuss, nonsense, and responsibility.
I’m not going to ignore the problems with the midnight hours; health certainly plays a key factor in it - you won’t get the full time your body needs to recharge so you go into tomorrow with a half-full battery. You have less focus, especially after a long, exhausting day. Sometimes, you can also be wasting your time. If you wait into the night hoping to meet someone online, they might not show up. Their social lives may be stronger than yours. They may not care about the relationship in the same way as you.
So where am I going with this? What is the point? I think that late nights do have benefits. I think there are times when you should have a few extra hours out of bed to finish that essay, meet that person online, or get caught up on things. Yet, I do not think it should be a bad habit. Even if your not tired, your body thrives on the rest it can achieve in the twilight hours, so you should give it every chance to do so.
In this case, here are my top tips. Stay up sometimes and limit it, don’t do it more than a handful of times in a month. Ensure you have a good reason and try to only do it when there are few or no commitments the next morning. If you’re struggling to sleep or have insomnia, try reading or listening to light music, try to avoid the dreaded blue light. If nothing will cure it, then go to bed anyway and tell yourself this, “I don’t have to sleep, I just need to rest”.
I learned this from a podcast by Kate Cocker, a brilliant and inspiring coach if you ever need inspiration (https://t.co/YpxITF6PD3?amp=1). Her explanation was that she couldn’t sleep as a kid until she heard a suggestion that you get as many benefits from resting in bed as you do from sleeping, so she’d tell herself this every night and felt better for it!
Lastly, don’t let people call you bad or tell you that you’re wrong for being a night owl. Some people are early birds, some are night owls and some are permanently exhausted pigeons. Whichever you are, you’re brilliant. You’re doing things your way and if it isn’t hurting anyone then no one can put that down. Now, why don’t you close this down and get a little shut-eye, hmm, poppet?
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
11th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Late one here! Actually, kinda cheating (again) as it’s the 12th of June, 1.30 AM. However, I never consider tomorrow to be today until my head has hit the pillow and my dreams have come true in my head at least. Then, and only then, can I truly accept that it is a new day. Is anybody else like that or is it just me?
I developed the ability to keep going late into the night from partaking and later hosting ghost hunts. During these events, it was required not only to stay up until the wee hours but to also attempt to still be interested in what was happening, or more often than not, not happening. There was also the matter of getting home afterward unless I was given the option to sleep the night in wherever the hunt was occurring. You may think, “oh, no, I’d never sleep in a haunted hotel/ castle/ pub”, but believe me, if you’re tired enough, you end up telling the ghosts to sod off until you’ve had your forty-plus winks.
However, I am saving those stories for another day. I have some epic stories about ghosts because I don’t just believe, I’ve had conversations with them, but not everything is a ghost and not every spirit turns up to the whispering chambers just because you did. We’ll talk about that another day.
This blog is about late nights and why you’re not at all bad for staying up late or even having insomnia, even if you know you have school, work, or a pressing engagement tomorrow morning. You should weigh up the pros and cons of what you are choosing to stay up for and whether it is more important than being alert for what you face tomorrow. Sometimes it is, sometimes it really isn’t.
I struggled with this. My addiction to not-sleeping for the average, healthy length of time came with my addiction to the internet. I’ll admit it now, I have had a fraught relationship with the worldwide web. In my teens, I’d find ways to sneak onto the computer the family shared and stay on it until daylight reappeared, just to talk to friends and furs (see the previous blog) from around the world. Because of the different timezones, and because I didn’t have strong friends offline the way I did online, I did everything to continue to talk to them. This angered my parents no end and very regularly I was given a bollocking, threatened with a loss of computer privileges, and even forced them to unplug the computer for everyone. This did not make me popular with my five other siblings.
It sounds the way alcoholics and drug addicts would act, right? Selfish, unable to stop, looking for the next fix? You know it, I know it, it was bad, it IS bad… and while I control it better now, I know I still have a problem because I can’t stop. I’d be lonely if I stopped and I have people who worry and depend on me to be around, I’d not only be hurting myself, I’d be hurting them…
Seems like I should have made this blog about that… Heh, okay, put a pin in that. We’ll come back to it. There’s a whole part to that which needs its own time dedicated to it. For now, we’ll stick to what the benefits are to late nights.
As I’ve pointed out, the world isn’t on the same midnight oil as you, and by spending those extra hours up, you get to meet people at their most relaxed, who have just finished work or school (when I was younger, of course) and are easy to talk to. You also have the benefit of having a full day to think about things, so having that hour at night allows you to put things in perspective and arrange them ready for a mind cleared in the morning. And also, you simply have time to yourself that is quiet, without fuss, nonsense, and responsibility.
I’m not going to ignore the problems with the midnight hours; health certainly plays a key factor in it - you won’t get the full time your body needs to recharge so you go into tomorrow with a half-full battery. You have less focus, especially after a long, exhausting day. Sometimes, you can also be wasting your time. If you wait into the night hoping to meet someone online, they might not show up. Their social lives may be stronger than yours. They may not care about the relationship in the same way as you.
So where am I going with this? What is the point? I think that late nights do have benefits. I think there are times when you should have a few extra hours out of bed to finish that essay, meet that person online, or get caught up on things. Yet, I do not think it should be a bad habit. Even if your not tired, your body thrives on the rest it can achieve in the twilight hours, so you should give it every chance to do so.
In this case, here are my top tips. Stay up sometimes and limit it, don’t do it more than a handful of times in a month. Ensure you have a good reason and try to only do it when there are few or no commitments the next morning. If you’re struggling to sleep or have insomnia, try reading or listening to light music, try to avoid the dreaded blue light. If nothing will cure it, then go to bed anyway and tell yourself this, “I don’t have to sleep, I just need to rest”.
I learned this from a podcast by Kate Cocker, a brilliant and inspiring coach if you ever need inspiration (https://t.co/YpxITF6PD3?amp=1). Her explanation was that she couldn’t sleep as a kid until she heard a suggestion that you get as many benefits from resting in bed as you do from sleeping, so she’d tell herself this every night and felt better for it!
Lastly, don’t let people call you bad or tell you that you’re wrong for being a night owl. Some people are early birds, some are night owls and some are permanently exhausted pigeons. Whichever you are, you’re brilliant. You’re doing things your way and if it isn’t hurting anyone then no one can put that down. Now, why don’t you close this down and get a little shut-eye, hmm, poppet?
Stay safe, stay happy.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… The Greatest Test of These Thirty Minu...
Posted 5 years ago#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
10th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
When I started to do these challenges, I was very clear that the point was to sit for thirty minutes with no distractions, just my keyboard attached of course to a computer and a screen, and maybe a cuppa. Then, whether I sat staring blankly at the white page for thirty minutes or wrote a small essay, I would let what would be, become, and would not be, not come…
That last bit sounded smarter in my head but my idea with these is to make corrections, not rewrites.
Therefore, tonight’s challenge is to write something when nothing is springing to mind. In several of the past few blogs, I’ve had at least one topic I’ve had rattling about in my head that I’ve wanted to cover. This time, I’ve had nothing-- Wait, no, that’s a lie, I have a LOT of things that I want to cover but I don’t want to use up all my ammo in one go. It’s easier to hold some pennies back for another day than to spend them all at once and be penniless. See what I’m saying?
So I turned tonight into the true test of my challenges. Can I write one of these, based on no topic I’ve previously considered covering? Can I sprout something from just ensuring my fingers keep hitting the keys? The answer so far seems to be yes, since this does seem to be a coherent blog so far. It’s got a point and if there’s anything that makes me happy, it’s something having a point. It’s frustrating watching a movie or reading a book, getting to the end and discovering it was all pointless, isn’t it?
The point in this instance is that I am able to use this as an opportunity to evaluate my progress so far and what I will be able to do with them going forward. I can see from writing this that these blogs have been extremely beneficial for me if no one else. I’ve learned that if I set myself a task daily, or as near to daily as I can make it and make it as simple as possible, I can achieve it. By not forcing myself to do anything other than to take half an hour out of twenty-four hours in a day or thirty minutes out of one-thousand four-hundred and forty minutes, I’ve written well over the ten-thousand-word count. When you put it like that, the timestamp is minimal. That is just from eleven blogs I’ve written by the time I finish this one.
The idea now is to continue to write these days, missing Sundays, until the end of the month. Once I get to the end of the month, I will start to spread these out, most likely changing my schedule to write one on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The reason for this is because while I am enjoying writing these, I don’t want to burn myself out by writing them. I am the sort of person who can struggle to tell people what I did in a month, let alone a day. Doing that over and over could create a sour taste for this project.
That’s not to say I will be lazy in the days that I’m not writing. My plan is to ensure that the time I regain not writing blogs will be put to use writing other projects, or in other areas such as my vlogs, online reading, learning, and relaxing. Like I said in one of the previous blogs, relaxing is key to smashing goals.
However, for me personally, it’s an achievement to get this far. I said at the start, it is rare for me to start something and keep it going and at times I’ve considered stopping, only to enjoy it when I finally do start landing fingers on the keys. There are a few important learnings I have found I need to take away from this and one of them is certainly that I am not so weak-willed as I believe I am. It is very easy to put yourself down and assume your past failings are forever yet if you do that, you’ll never release there’s much more you can achieve. You can put your heart to anything if you believe in it.
The other thing to take away from this is repetition. As I touched on yesterday, it always helps to cement a thought or idea by repeating it, and in this instance, creating a cycle of always doing a blog for thirty minutes a day has helped them become something I stick to daily. It’s like brushing your teeth - do it however often you do it per day every day and you’ll always do it that way. Don’t, the habit will slip and you’ll forget to do it more often than not. We’re creatures of habit, so give us a cycle to follow and our unconscious brain will love it, no matter what our conscious brain thinks.
Finally, I have discovered that there is much more to my thoughts that just random jumbles and odd noises. The great responses I’ve had to them have been inspiring to hear and read, encouraging me to keep these up. There’s kindness out there and sometimes it is as simple as telling someone that they did a good job that lightens their day.
How many times do you think the thing you discarded as just being your own nonsense might have made a difference to at least one person, hmm?
I hope you’re staying safe, happy, and strong. You got this, whatever it is you’re tackling right now. Stand for something, don’t fall for anything.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
10th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
When I started to do these challenges, I was very clear that the point was to sit for thirty minutes with no distractions, just my keyboard attached of course to a computer and a screen, and maybe a cuppa. Then, whether I sat staring blankly at the white page for thirty minutes or wrote a small essay, I would let what would be, become, and would not be, not come…
That last bit sounded smarter in my head but my idea with these is to make corrections, not rewrites.
Therefore, tonight’s challenge is to write something when nothing is springing to mind. In several of the past few blogs, I’ve had at least one topic I’ve had rattling about in my head that I’ve wanted to cover. This time, I’ve had nothing-- Wait, no, that’s a lie, I have a LOT of things that I want to cover but I don’t want to use up all my ammo in one go. It’s easier to hold some pennies back for another day than to spend them all at once and be penniless. See what I’m saying?
So I turned tonight into the true test of my challenges. Can I write one of these, based on no topic I’ve previously considered covering? Can I sprout something from just ensuring my fingers keep hitting the keys? The answer so far seems to be yes, since this does seem to be a coherent blog so far. It’s got a point and if there’s anything that makes me happy, it’s something having a point. It’s frustrating watching a movie or reading a book, getting to the end and discovering it was all pointless, isn’t it?
The point in this instance is that I am able to use this as an opportunity to evaluate my progress so far and what I will be able to do with them going forward. I can see from writing this that these blogs have been extremely beneficial for me if no one else. I’ve learned that if I set myself a task daily, or as near to daily as I can make it and make it as simple as possible, I can achieve it. By not forcing myself to do anything other than to take half an hour out of twenty-four hours in a day or thirty minutes out of one-thousand four-hundred and forty minutes, I’ve written well over the ten-thousand-word count. When you put it like that, the timestamp is minimal. That is just from eleven blogs I’ve written by the time I finish this one.
The idea now is to continue to write these days, missing Sundays, until the end of the month. Once I get to the end of the month, I will start to spread these out, most likely changing my schedule to write one on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The reason for this is because while I am enjoying writing these, I don’t want to burn myself out by writing them. I am the sort of person who can struggle to tell people what I did in a month, let alone a day. Doing that over and over could create a sour taste for this project.
That’s not to say I will be lazy in the days that I’m not writing. My plan is to ensure that the time I regain not writing blogs will be put to use writing other projects, or in other areas such as my vlogs, online reading, learning, and relaxing. Like I said in one of the previous blogs, relaxing is key to smashing goals.
However, for me personally, it’s an achievement to get this far. I said at the start, it is rare for me to start something and keep it going and at times I’ve considered stopping, only to enjoy it when I finally do start landing fingers on the keys. There are a few important learnings I have found I need to take away from this and one of them is certainly that I am not so weak-willed as I believe I am. It is very easy to put yourself down and assume your past failings are forever yet if you do that, you’ll never release there’s much more you can achieve. You can put your heart to anything if you believe in it.
The other thing to take away from this is repetition. As I touched on yesterday, it always helps to cement a thought or idea by repeating it, and in this instance, creating a cycle of always doing a blog for thirty minutes a day has helped them become something I stick to daily. It’s like brushing your teeth - do it however often you do it per day every day and you’ll always do it that way. Don’t, the habit will slip and you’ll forget to do it more often than not. We’re creatures of habit, so give us a cycle to follow and our unconscious brain will love it, no matter what our conscious brain thinks.
Finally, I have discovered that there is much more to my thoughts that just random jumbles and odd noises. The great responses I’ve had to them have been inspiring to hear and read, encouraging me to keep these up. There’s kindness out there and sometimes it is as simple as telling someone that they did a good job that lightens their day.
How many times do you think the thing you discarded as just being your own nonsense might have made a difference to at least one person, hmm?
I hope you’re staying safe, happy, and strong. You got this, whatever it is you’re tackling right now. Stand for something, don’t fall for anything.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… Don’t Even Think About It...
Posted 5 years ago#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
9th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Firstly, I am getting a smattering of comments about these, which is really nice to see and read. Even if you’ve only read one or two of these, thank you for taking the time and interest to do so! It really makes a difference and I love hearing other people’s experiences, ideas, and suggestions. Thank you and do keep it up if you can!
I’ve had a new pre-owned bike (that doesn’t necessarily mean it is new, does it? But it is new to me and I am very happy to have it!) and I keep meaning to ride it more. Unfortunately, I got it at a time when the weather went from tiringly hot (for the UK) to drizzling, sodden, and grey. That’s made it a lot harder to get out and give it a proper ride. Or at least, that’s the excuse I’m using.
You see, whenever I am feeling lazy, boring, or simply lethargic, I find one thing that comes very easily to me; my ability to talk myself out of doing something. It could be something ordinary like getting the hoovering done, washing the dishes, or making my bed, to things such as doing a bit of exercise or going out for family and friends. Sometimes I’ve missed out on some great experiences because I over-thought about it and eventually said no or left it too late to respond.
Sidenote - Why do I overthink invitations? That is the billion-dollar (other currencies are available) question. I know often that there are occasions where I will enjoy myself. I also know there are occasions when I’ll regret it. Ultimately, I know I won’t know unless I make a decision one way or the other. There’s a bigger point to this that I think I’ll cover in another blog but the upshot is that I can remember plenty of times when I’ve enjoyed a night out, however, I can also remember many times when I have been left out, ignored and felt like most have wished I wasn’t there. It’s not necessarily a ‘good things’ story, but I do feel I’ll need to get it off my chest sooner or later…
My point isn’t to cry or sob about that. My point is that the more you think about things, the more time you leave it until you are late and have to make a last-minute snap decision. Ofter, I’m afraid that last-minute decision is the wrong one. Take doing these blogs for example. I was not going to do this blog until after I’d been out, however by finishing work a bit earlier as I’d worked late yesterday and by giving myself some time to arrange it, I will be able to complete this, post it and then get a quick ride on my bike before my flatmate gets home and starts dinner. Result!
This is because I cut down the time I spent thinking about how I was going to approach this afternoon and “JUST DID IT!” (wouldn’t Nike be proud?). I did plan a little, hence why I know that I will write this, post it, and then get changed into clothes suitable to get sweaty in, before taking a ride out to see if the bike agrees with me. Overall, I made my plans swiftly, without bother or fuss and that has given me the time to act on them. This can work for many things, from invitations to projects, from work to home and everywhere in-between. You’ll find that as soon as you become a yes man/ yes woman/ yes person, you’ll get more done, experience more, and enjoy life a lot more too.
And yet, there’s still a little bit of a warning label that comes with that suggestion. Sometimes, you can throw yourself into some that you end up not enjoying and I’m sure many of you have thought, “why did I agree to do this? I knew I would not look forward to it and now I’m stuck here when I wish I was somewhere else.” Sometimes, this cannot be helped, such as work or family matters. You cannot get up in the middle of Uncle Bob’s funeral and say, “I thought this was going to be fun, sorry vicar, sorry everyone, see you at the next reunion” and toddle off home. Yet, you can excuse yourself early from other things, so long as you do not have an obligation to be there or are impacting somebody else who wants to be there. In that case, suck it up and play on your phone for a bit, Bub.
There’s a much easier way to avoid those situations before you’re in them. I call it the rule of three, it’s based on the actual rule of three where things happen in threes, both good and bad. However, in my version, I weigh up the pros and cons. If there are three pros to doing what I want to do, then I’ll do it. If there are three cons, I don’t. The rule of three has helped me make up my mind about hundreds of things in the past and is really useful if you’re otherwise struggling whether to agree or disagree on what you should do.
Use my bike for example; three pros could be that I’ll get healthier if I do it, it’ll be great training for when I want to ride to work on it, and I’ll be able to get some fresh air which I feel I’ve been lacking for too long a time. This would sway me into doing a bike ride. If I came up with three cons, such as it needs too much work to make it rideable, the weather is rubbish and I don’t have anywhere to ride it, then the result would be negative instead. In this instance, my pros win out because some of those cons aren’t true - the weather is grey but not wet, not yet anyway.
The rule of three is great, yet it doesn’t work all the time. My advice is to use it when you’re really struggling to make the decision, otherwise, trust your gut and go with it. Your head usually knows long before you admit it whether you want to do something or not, so listen to what is between your ears sooner and follow its advice. Who knows what you may achieve if you do?
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
9th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Firstly, I am getting a smattering of comments about these, which is really nice to see and read. Even if you’ve only read one or two of these, thank you for taking the time and interest to do so! It really makes a difference and I love hearing other people’s experiences, ideas, and suggestions. Thank you and do keep it up if you can!
I’ve had a new pre-owned bike (that doesn’t necessarily mean it is new, does it? But it is new to me and I am very happy to have it!) and I keep meaning to ride it more. Unfortunately, I got it at a time when the weather went from tiringly hot (for the UK) to drizzling, sodden, and grey. That’s made it a lot harder to get out and give it a proper ride. Or at least, that’s the excuse I’m using.
You see, whenever I am feeling lazy, boring, or simply lethargic, I find one thing that comes very easily to me; my ability to talk myself out of doing something. It could be something ordinary like getting the hoovering done, washing the dishes, or making my bed, to things such as doing a bit of exercise or going out for family and friends. Sometimes I’ve missed out on some great experiences because I over-thought about it and eventually said no or left it too late to respond.
Sidenote - Why do I overthink invitations? That is the billion-dollar (other currencies are available) question. I know often that there are occasions where I will enjoy myself. I also know there are occasions when I’ll regret it. Ultimately, I know I won’t know unless I make a decision one way or the other. There’s a bigger point to this that I think I’ll cover in another blog but the upshot is that I can remember plenty of times when I’ve enjoyed a night out, however, I can also remember many times when I have been left out, ignored and felt like most have wished I wasn’t there. It’s not necessarily a ‘good things’ story, but I do feel I’ll need to get it off my chest sooner or later…
My point isn’t to cry or sob about that. My point is that the more you think about things, the more time you leave it until you are late and have to make a last-minute snap decision. Ofter, I’m afraid that last-minute decision is the wrong one. Take doing these blogs for example. I was not going to do this blog until after I’d been out, however by finishing work a bit earlier as I’d worked late yesterday and by giving myself some time to arrange it, I will be able to complete this, post it and then get a quick ride on my bike before my flatmate gets home and starts dinner. Result!
This is because I cut down the time I spent thinking about how I was going to approach this afternoon and “JUST DID IT!” (wouldn’t Nike be proud?). I did plan a little, hence why I know that I will write this, post it, and then get changed into clothes suitable to get sweaty in, before taking a ride out to see if the bike agrees with me. Overall, I made my plans swiftly, without bother or fuss and that has given me the time to act on them. This can work for many things, from invitations to projects, from work to home and everywhere in-between. You’ll find that as soon as you become a yes man/ yes woman/ yes person, you’ll get more done, experience more, and enjoy life a lot more too.
And yet, there’s still a little bit of a warning label that comes with that suggestion. Sometimes, you can throw yourself into some that you end up not enjoying and I’m sure many of you have thought, “why did I agree to do this? I knew I would not look forward to it and now I’m stuck here when I wish I was somewhere else.” Sometimes, this cannot be helped, such as work or family matters. You cannot get up in the middle of Uncle Bob’s funeral and say, “I thought this was going to be fun, sorry vicar, sorry everyone, see you at the next reunion” and toddle off home. Yet, you can excuse yourself early from other things, so long as you do not have an obligation to be there or are impacting somebody else who wants to be there. In that case, suck it up and play on your phone for a bit, Bub.
There’s a much easier way to avoid those situations before you’re in them. I call it the rule of three, it’s based on the actual rule of three where things happen in threes, both good and bad. However, in my version, I weigh up the pros and cons. If there are three pros to doing what I want to do, then I’ll do it. If there are three cons, I don’t. The rule of three has helped me make up my mind about hundreds of things in the past and is really useful if you’re otherwise struggling whether to agree or disagree on what you should do.
Use my bike for example; three pros could be that I’ll get healthier if I do it, it’ll be great training for when I want to ride to work on it, and I’ll be able to get some fresh air which I feel I’ve been lacking for too long a time. This would sway me into doing a bike ride. If I came up with three cons, such as it needs too much work to make it rideable, the weather is rubbish and I don’t have anywhere to ride it, then the result would be negative instead. In this instance, my pros win out because some of those cons aren’t true - the weather is grey but not wet, not yet anyway.
The rule of three is great, yet it doesn’t work all the time. My advice is to use it when you’re really struggling to make the decision, otherwise, trust your gut and go with it. Your head usually knows long before you admit it whether you want to do something or not, so listen to what is between your ears sooner and follow its advice. Who knows what you may achieve if you do?
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
X
All Good Things… What’s Age Gotta Do, Gotta Do With I...
Posted 5 years ago#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
8th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Happy Monday! What’s left of it, anyway. Tell you what, it’s been one of those days when you cannot help but reflect on the past. It had been coming all weekend actually, what with friends discussing everything from the Pick n Mix at Woolworths, films like Land Before Time and American Tail, TV shows like the Rugrats and Doug, and those funny attachable showers you could get for bathtub taps where, if you turned the tap on too fast, it would force off and spray you with devilishly cold or hot water.
It’s strange to me to think that there are adults today who have never experienced the same childhood as me. The 90s still feel like they were less than ten years ago, we’re already into a new decade far beyond it. However, you may also be from a generation beyond mine, in the distant past where moon boots and tall hair were the crazes, or teddy boy hairstyles and swinging music. You might even remember when steam locomotives didn’t belong solely at museums and expensive day trips or when rations were still an important part of life. At the rate we are going, little brown books and stamps may make a resurgence in my lifetime too…
This might seem like old nostalgia, better left for people in the past while ours is the culture for always moving forward. Yet, so many still hold the years they’ve spent on the clock from day dot as a badge of honor, sometimes using it to lord over others. That goes for all generations, not simply old or young or in the ugly middle bit. How often do you hear, “they don’t know how good they’ve got it...”, or “back in my day…” or “it’s different these days…” or the now famous, “OK, Boomer.”
These things have come from each generational side not realizing that the other has had different experiences, challenges, and seen changes in many different ways. Our elders can reveal wisdom from their years to us, while our newest generations are seeing things with new eyes and thus providing perspectives without the rose-tinted fingerprint-smudged glasses affecting their visions. What occurs on all sides, is what Captain in ‘Cool Hand Luke’ called a “failure to communicate.” Yet, drastic measures are not required to help impact this for a positive change.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Part of what can make things less strained and more helpful for all generations to work together is if we are all prepared to listen to each other. That means everybody, the young’uns have to accept that the folks with a few more miles on their clocks than them have some important pearls of wisdom. Equally, those of us who have had a few rotations of the sun should be willing to hear what our kids and their kids have to say. Sometimes they do think of things that you haven’t thought of and give you a great deal of food for thought. Let’s not forget as well, they’re the ones picking a care home out for us one day, so a few niceties don’t go amiss.
The other part is the willingness to teach. That word there is TEACH. T.E.A.C.H. Not lecture. Not argue. Everyone must care enough about how to help each other that they gladly give the metaphorical keys that unlock the door of knowledge. Everyone learns something new every day, so long as they are open to doing so. Education is not over once you leave school to get busy earning a paycheck, or graduate, or however, you escape the school buildings. Learning can come to each of us in many forms, whether it is from hard knocks or a family member showing us the ropes. The deal is if you learn then you must also teach, but teach respectfully.
When those we want to teach are unwilling, it can seem frustrating. It can lead to us trying to force a lesson. This will not help resolve the fact that the listening has shut down, in fact, it will aggravate it. There are several ways to resolve this, all of which I could write a blog on alone (which I probably will do at a later date) but for now, here are my suggestions.
Firstly, listen to those you are attempting to teach. You might think their points are wrong but listening shows you are willing and open to their views, not closed off and demanding. This will ease those tensions. Next, try a Socratic approach. Ask questions of them, understand their view, this will help to advise on how your view might be beneficial to them. Finally, accept that they may not get your point straight away or may have to experience for themselves what your message was before they can understand it. This has certainly happened to me more than once, to the point that I loathed saying “oh no, mum was right again.”
My time here is up for another night, so I will finish with this question. What was the coolest thing you can remember from your past and what was the biggest bummer? When we take steps ahead into the bright or mysterious unknown, we shouldn’t forget to check where we’ve come from. It’s just important to recall not to look so far back that we start to return and ruin all the hard work we’ve done.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
8th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Happy Monday! What’s left of it, anyway. Tell you what, it’s been one of those days when you cannot help but reflect on the past. It had been coming all weekend actually, what with friends discussing everything from the Pick n Mix at Woolworths, films like Land Before Time and American Tail, TV shows like the Rugrats and Doug, and those funny attachable showers you could get for bathtub taps where, if you turned the tap on too fast, it would force off and spray you with devilishly cold or hot water.
It’s strange to me to think that there are adults today who have never experienced the same childhood as me. The 90s still feel like they were less than ten years ago, we’re already into a new decade far beyond it. However, you may also be from a generation beyond mine, in the distant past where moon boots and tall hair were the crazes, or teddy boy hairstyles and swinging music. You might even remember when steam locomotives didn’t belong solely at museums and expensive day trips or when rations were still an important part of life. At the rate we are going, little brown books and stamps may make a resurgence in my lifetime too…
This might seem like old nostalgia, better left for people in the past while ours is the culture for always moving forward. Yet, so many still hold the years they’ve spent on the clock from day dot as a badge of honor, sometimes using it to lord over others. That goes for all generations, not simply old or young or in the ugly middle bit. How often do you hear, “they don’t know how good they’ve got it...”, or “back in my day…” or “it’s different these days…” or the now famous, “OK, Boomer.”
These things have come from each generational side not realizing that the other has had different experiences, challenges, and seen changes in many different ways. Our elders can reveal wisdom from their years to us, while our newest generations are seeing things with new eyes and thus providing perspectives without the rose-tinted fingerprint-smudged glasses affecting their visions. What occurs on all sides, is what Captain in ‘Cool Hand Luke’ called a “failure to communicate.” Yet, drastic measures are not required to help impact this for a positive change.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Part of what can make things less strained and more helpful for all generations to work together is if we are all prepared to listen to each other. That means everybody, the young’uns have to accept that the folks with a few more miles on their clocks than them have some important pearls of wisdom. Equally, those of us who have had a few rotations of the sun should be willing to hear what our kids and their kids have to say. Sometimes they do think of things that you haven’t thought of and give you a great deal of food for thought. Let’s not forget as well, they’re the ones picking a care home out for us one day, so a few niceties don’t go amiss.
The other part is the willingness to teach. That word there is TEACH. T.E.A.C.H. Not lecture. Not argue. Everyone must care enough about how to help each other that they gladly give the metaphorical keys that unlock the door of knowledge. Everyone learns something new every day, so long as they are open to doing so. Education is not over once you leave school to get busy earning a paycheck, or graduate, or however, you escape the school buildings. Learning can come to each of us in many forms, whether it is from hard knocks or a family member showing us the ropes. The deal is if you learn then you must also teach, but teach respectfully.
When those we want to teach are unwilling, it can seem frustrating. It can lead to us trying to force a lesson. This will not help resolve the fact that the listening has shut down, in fact, it will aggravate it. There are several ways to resolve this, all of which I could write a blog on alone (which I probably will do at a later date) but for now, here are my suggestions.
Firstly, listen to those you are attempting to teach. You might think their points are wrong but listening shows you are willing and open to their views, not closed off and demanding. This will ease those tensions. Next, try a Socratic approach. Ask questions of them, understand their view, this will help to advise on how your view might be beneficial to them. Finally, accept that they may not get your point straight away or may have to experience for themselves what your message was before they can understand it. This has certainly happened to me more than once, to the point that I loathed saying “oh no, mum was right again.”
My time here is up for another night, so I will finish with this question. What was the coolest thing you can remember from your past and what was the biggest bummer? When we take steps ahead into the bright or mysterious unknown, we shouldn’t forget to check where we’ve come from. It’s just important to recall not to look so far back that we start to return and ruin all the hard work we’ve done.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
All Good Things… Skip Leg Day Sometimes.
Posted 5 years ago#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
7th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes and welcome to the only Sunday when you’ll find me writing one of these. “What a lazy so and so you are likely to become for doing so, Scaramouche,” I hear you cry. Bear with me and I’ll explain why, on this occasion, it is quite alright to give yourself a regular rest day.
Technically, I’m almost writing this on the 8th June, with ten minutes to go before tomorrow, as I woke up late (2 PM!), had a late-night singing karaoke online with friends from the Brony community and spent a lot of my day chilling, catching up with my mum at a social distance, eating a delicious dinner (my flatmate made shakshuka for the first time) and watching Jurassic Park for the first time. Today has been nice. No responsibilities, no work, no worries!
You might think it was a wasted day. I didn’t write anything until now, I did a little bit of hoovering but in the grand scheme of things that’s hardly a task unless you make it particularly difficult. However, I call it one of the most productive days this week, more so than yesterday when I spent three extra hours doing some overtime for my paying career. The reason I feel it was such a good day is that it gave me a chance to rest, to recuperate, and to build some ideas for what I wanted out of the week ahead. It even allowed me to play to write this blog, while I was still going to take a day off from it.
You see, you can tire yourself out no matter what profession, hobby or interest you enjoy. You can be doing stocks, shares, legal work, building models, playing computer games, writing, painting, traveling, physical training, the list is endless and yet they all require periods of rest. If you don’t, you risk burning yourself out or creating a negative atmosphere for the thing. You do not want that as it will cause you to disassociate and move on from it or even give up completely and become depressed.
Think back on the things you’ve done in the past, in childhood, at school, or as an adult at work or at home. Were there any times when you were looking forward to something, only to go to town on it for a few days or a week, month or more, and then find it slowly lost its appeal? That is because you put so much energy into the start of the project that you burnt it out completely, thus making any problems become roadblocks rather than challenges to overcome. Rather than your idea being a steady slope to the top, it is a mountain. You can level it off again, but you need to do one important thing, and it comes full circle to what I said at the start.
You need to rest.
The rest will give you many benefits. It will allow you to recharge your batteries, it will let you reinvigorate your passion for the thing you are working on and it will let you come up with new approaches to improving it. The places where most people come up with great ideas and solutions to problems they face are usually when they have to stop and take a moment away. Two particular places are in our bathrooms, well, not solely our bathrooms. You do not have strangers lining up to use your lavatory in order to get a brainwave on the next big invention. However, it has been suggested that many innovators have had their eureka moments in the shower or while sitting on the loo. This is because they have to take themselves away from the forced thinking they were doing at a desk or in an office.
So, if you find yourself flagging, losing the will to do something, or simply getting bored, do yourself a favor. You don’t need to go sit on the toilet if you don’t need it for, ahem, other business, but giving yourself a well-deserved bath can do wonders. Don’t have a bath? A shower can be equally as therapeutic or you can go and meditate if you feel your cleanliness levels are still satisfactory. There’s no secret technique to meditation that must be taught to you by a guru or monk over decades in a monastery, it’s a very simple thing to do.
First, sit down. Somewhere comfortable preferably. Doing that? Good. Now… do nothing. That’s it. It’s that easy. Really! Okay, so there are a few other things you can do, such as take a few deep breaths to regulate your breathing and closing your eyes, but you can meditate with eyes open too. Stare at a wall or let yourself look around if you get stiff but don’t look at anything that will make you worry or feel like you’re not doing anything. Give yourself a time limit so that you know you don’t have to do it forever, otherwise just sit, drift and let your mind ease itself into that comfy chair…
Think of it as training for a boxing match. You could go through a full training montage like Rocky, punch bags, jog up and down the marble stairs of a courthouse, learn how to float like a butterfly, AND sting like a murder hornet or whatever those scary-looking things are. However, you get to the big match, you’re facing your opponent and the bell rings. The crowd is cheering, cameras flashing like a silent lightning storm, you go for your first punch… and it’s lame. Twenty seconds in, your opponent has won and you’re exhausted. Why? Because you spent so much time training that you didn’t give your body or mind a chance to rest and prepare for the fight. Training is important but only as important as the time spent recovering and healing for the next task.
Now, I know nothing about boxing. Earnestly, I know nothing about anything, I’m one human who has had thirty-plus years on an Earth which is four-billion, five-hundred and forty-million years old. I can only offer shavings of what experience I’ve been told, ignored, and discovered is in fact important after all. This, I think, tops the bill, as it helps every other thing you want to achieve.
So my question to you is this, what haven’t you picked up, done or enjoyed in a while? Do you think, after a period of rest, you might have more enthusiasm for it? There’s only one way to find out…
… And that is to chill out.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
7th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes and welcome to the only Sunday when you’ll find me writing one of these. “What a lazy so and so you are likely to become for doing so, Scaramouche,” I hear you cry. Bear with me and I’ll explain why, on this occasion, it is quite alright to give yourself a regular rest day.
Technically, I’m almost writing this on the 8th June, with ten minutes to go before tomorrow, as I woke up late (2 PM!), had a late-night singing karaoke online with friends from the Brony community and spent a lot of my day chilling, catching up with my mum at a social distance, eating a delicious dinner (my flatmate made shakshuka for the first time) and watching Jurassic Park for the first time. Today has been nice. No responsibilities, no work, no worries!
You might think it was a wasted day. I didn’t write anything until now, I did a little bit of hoovering but in the grand scheme of things that’s hardly a task unless you make it particularly difficult. However, I call it one of the most productive days this week, more so than yesterday when I spent three extra hours doing some overtime for my paying career. The reason I feel it was such a good day is that it gave me a chance to rest, to recuperate, and to build some ideas for what I wanted out of the week ahead. It even allowed me to play to write this blog, while I was still going to take a day off from it.
You see, you can tire yourself out no matter what profession, hobby or interest you enjoy. You can be doing stocks, shares, legal work, building models, playing computer games, writing, painting, traveling, physical training, the list is endless and yet they all require periods of rest. If you don’t, you risk burning yourself out or creating a negative atmosphere for the thing. You do not want that as it will cause you to disassociate and move on from it or even give up completely and become depressed.
Think back on the things you’ve done in the past, in childhood, at school, or as an adult at work or at home. Were there any times when you were looking forward to something, only to go to town on it for a few days or a week, month or more, and then find it slowly lost its appeal? That is because you put so much energy into the start of the project that you burnt it out completely, thus making any problems become roadblocks rather than challenges to overcome. Rather than your idea being a steady slope to the top, it is a mountain. You can level it off again, but you need to do one important thing, and it comes full circle to what I said at the start.
You need to rest.
The rest will give you many benefits. It will allow you to recharge your batteries, it will let you reinvigorate your passion for the thing you are working on and it will let you come up with new approaches to improving it. The places where most people come up with great ideas and solutions to problems they face are usually when they have to stop and take a moment away. Two particular places are in our bathrooms, well, not solely our bathrooms. You do not have strangers lining up to use your lavatory in order to get a brainwave on the next big invention. However, it has been suggested that many innovators have had their eureka moments in the shower or while sitting on the loo. This is because they have to take themselves away from the forced thinking they were doing at a desk or in an office.
So, if you find yourself flagging, losing the will to do something, or simply getting bored, do yourself a favor. You don’t need to go sit on the toilet if you don’t need it for, ahem, other business, but giving yourself a well-deserved bath can do wonders. Don’t have a bath? A shower can be equally as therapeutic or you can go and meditate if you feel your cleanliness levels are still satisfactory. There’s no secret technique to meditation that must be taught to you by a guru or monk over decades in a monastery, it’s a very simple thing to do.
First, sit down. Somewhere comfortable preferably. Doing that? Good. Now… do nothing. That’s it. It’s that easy. Really! Okay, so there are a few other things you can do, such as take a few deep breaths to regulate your breathing and closing your eyes, but you can meditate with eyes open too. Stare at a wall or let yourself look around if you get stiff but don’t look at anything that will make you worry or feel like you’re not doing anything. Give yourself a time limit so that you know you don’t have to do it forever, otherwise just sit, drift and let your mind ease itself into that comfy chair…
Think of it as training for a boxing match. You could go through a full training montage like Rocky, punch bags, jog up and down the marble stairs of a courthouse, learn how to float like a butterfly, AND sting like a murder hornet or whatever those scary-looking things are. However, you get to the big match, you’re facing your opponent and the bell rings. The crowd is cheering, cameras flashing like a silent lightning storm, you go for your first punch… and it’s lame. Twenty seconds in, your opponent has won and you’re exhausted. Why? Because you spent so much time training that you didn’t give your body or mind a chance to rest and prepare for the fight. Training is important but only as important as the time spent recovering and healing for the next task.
Now, I know nothing about boxing. Earnestly, I know nothing about anything, I’m one human who has had thirty-plus years on an Earth which is four-billion, five-hundred and forty-million years old. I can only offer shavings of what experience I’ve been told, ignored, and discovered is in fact important after all. This, I think, tops the bill, as it helps every other thing you want to achieve.
So my question to you is this, what haven’t you picked up, done or enjoyed in a while? Do you think, after a period of rest, you might have more enthusiasm for it? There’s only one way to find out…
… And that is to chill out.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
All Good Things… Creative In An Uncreative Place
Posted 5 years ago#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
6th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Have you ever felt that you are being stifled? You know what you want to do and you may even have all of the energy to do it, but there’s one big ol’ problem that’s stopping you. You’re not in the right place and it isn’t the right time. There’s hope, but to get to that hope we have to crawl through the dung first.
Let me put this into a context. Some jobs are not made for people who want to get up, do something, and enjoy what they are doing. There are jobs that are necessary where the fun has to grind to a halt because if it didn’t, nothing would get done and there would be nobody around to have fun with. Sometimes, that job is not for you, but you have to do it because A) you have bills that you cannot contentedly screw up and ignore because then ALL OF THE FUN WOULD STOP AND HOMELESSNESS WOULD START, and B) no matter how much you want to enjoy life, a livelihood has to be a staple to overcome first.
You’ve probably heard a lot of people say that if you’re looking for a job you enjoy, then you should go out there, quit what you’re doing and go get it! Or, you should work hard for it and eventually the hard work will pay off! While I cannot say the former would work, because I frankly haven’t had the balls or the healthy bank balance to try it, I can say with certainty that the latter is extremely hard. Especially if you have spent a lot of your life saying ‘I’ll do it later’ and sitting on your ass doing just enough important stuff to get by without people shouting at you. For me, it was mostly raised voices but nothing that constituted an actual bollocking (that means getting a serious talking to, to those not familiar with it).
There’s another reason why being creative is hard, while trying to keep up a job, pay bills, do everything to make your home feel like you definitely ARE NOT homeless, and all the other fun stuff that constitutes being human. That reason is that it is tiring. You come up with a great idea, maybe MANY great ideas, and they’re all exciting and wonderful, and you jot some of them down, you make a start on them, and you’re not even halfway through when… What? Where’s the energy for this gone? Where are the enthusiasm and eagerness and promises that THIS TIME it won’t fall on its arse?
The answer is that a lot has happened since the point you first got excited. You’ve been to work, you’ve made a meal, you’ve done laundry, done the shopping. Maybe you’ve rested but then done all that again, probably spoken to a few people in between, get excited about something else, even gotten invested in somebody else’s visions on TV or in a book. In the space of an hour of having an idea, you’ve already thought of a hundred other things and done at least a couple of them. The matter is that your body and mind is constantly doing the Tasmanian Devil from the Looney Toons, spinning about and yelling and spitting, but we’re not cartoons and it is tiring after one rotation.
So, where is the hope for any of your projects to see a finishing line? This is the hard lesson I’ve had to learn and it was summarized nicely in a chat I heard Ricky Gervais having with his fans online the other day:
“I've got my next idea, but I mustn't even think about it yet because you've got to put everything you can into every series. Leave it in the ring, don't leave it up to the judges.” (Gervais, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qlOJPEeGDc, 2020)
If you are coming up with exciting new ideas while working, and paying bills, and breathing, then it is best and easiest to task your mind on only one of those things until you have mastered it. In Gervais’ context, he was discussing his own projects, explaining that he wanted to keep his mind on his current one (Afterlife on Netflix) and complete that before he started anything new. He realized in himself that if he tried to do too much at once, he did not make a satisfactory job of it. Here’s another quote I like that explains the same premise.
"Never half-ass two things. Whole ass one thing." (Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, Sweet Sixteen” Season 4, Episode 16, Parks and Recreation)
This does not mean you must dismiss other ideas while working on your current one. There’s nothing wrong with writing things down and holding onto them for future endeavors. In fact, in the Creative Writing degree, I’m currently studying, it actively encourages keeping a writing journal at all times for scribbling all the new ideas, titbits and potential plots that come to you from the world you live in. That also leads to another good point.
Don’t treat your world, work, even bill-paying life, as an albatross around your neck. Instead, treat it as inspiration. Look at work with new eyes, look at the characters you meet, the crazy things that happen, the serious stories that come from that happen to you, and the people around you and use that. Don’t use people by name, of course, because that could get you in hot water, but perhaps there’s more to it than just a grindstone. Dawn from the office could inspire that lady with all the juicy gossip in your next play, story, or drawing. The trouble you had paying that last bill will encourage you to find a new, better way to help people with their money or stress. Just because the world is a grindstone, doesn’t mean you can’t imagine it as a carousel with lights and a jaunty tune instead.
The world, no matter how big or small yours is, has a lot more going for it than you think.
So next time you feel bored, fed up, lonely, sad or angry, ask yourself one thing.
How can I make something more interesting out of this? Don’t let boundaries get you down.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
6th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Have you ever felt that you are being stifled? You know what you want to do and you may even have all of the energy to do it, but there’s one big ol’ problem that’s stopping you. You’re not in the right place and it isn’t the right time. There’s hope, but to get to that hope we have to crawl through the dung first.
Let me put this into a context. Some jobs are not made for people who want to get up, do something, and enjoy what they are doing. There are jobs that are necessary where the fun has to grind to a halt because if it didn’t, nothing would get done and there would be nobody around to have fun with. Sometimes, that job is not for you, but you have to do it because A) you have bills that you cannot contentedly screw up and ignore because then ALL OF THE FUN WOULD STOP AND HOMELESSNESS WOULD START, and B) no matter how much you want to enjoy life, a livelihood has to be a staple to overcome first.
You’ve probably heard a lot of people say that if you’re looking for a job you enjoy, then you should go out there, quit what you’re doing and go get it! Or, you should work hard for it and eventually the hard work will pay off! While I cannot say the former would work, because I frankly haven’t had the balls or the healthy bank balance to try it, I can say with certainty that the latter is extremely hard. Especially if you have spent a lot of your life saying ‘I’ll do it later’ and sitting on your ass doing just enough important stuff to get by without people shouting at you. For me, it was mostly raised voices but nothing that constituted an actual bollocking (that means getting a serious talking to, to those not familiar with it).
There’s another reason why being creative is hard, while trying to keep up a job, pay bills, do everything to make your home feel like you definitely ARE NOT homeless, and all the other fun stuff that constitutes being human. That reason is that it is tiring. You come up with a great idea, maybe MANY great ideas, and they’re all exciting and wonderful, and you jot some of them down, you make a start on them, and you’re not even halfway through when… What? Where’s the energy for this gone? Where are the enthusiasm and eagerness and promises that THIS TIME it won’t fall on its arse?
The answer is that a lot has happened since the point you first got excited. You’ve been to work, you’ve made a meal, you’ve done laundry, done the shopping. Maybe you’ve rested but then done all that again, probably spoken to a few people in between, get excited about something else, even gotten invested in somebody else’s visions on TV or in a book. In the space of an hour of having an idea, you’ve already thought of a hundred other things and done at least a couple of them. The matter is that your body and mind is constantly doing the Tasmanian Devil from the Looney Toons, spinning about and yelling and spitting, but we’re not cartoons and it is tiring after one rotation.
So, where is the hope for any of your projects to see a finishing line? This is the hard lesson I’ve had to learn and it was summarized nicely in a chat I heard Ricky Gervais having with his fans online the other day:
“I've got my next idea, but I mustn't even think about it yet because you've got to put everything you can into every series. Leave it in the ring, don't leave it up to the judges.” (Gervais, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qlOJPEeGDc, 2020)
If you are coming up with exciting new ideas while working, and paying bills, and breathing, then it is best and easiest to task your mind on only one of those things until you have mastered it. In Gervais’ context, he was discussing his own projects, explaining that he wanted to keep his mind on his current one (Afterlife on Netflix) and complete that before he started anything new. He realized in himself that if he tried to do too much at once, he did not make a satisfactory job of it. Here’s another quote I like that explains the same premise.
"Never half-ass two things. Whole ass one thing." (Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, Sweet Sixteen” Season 4, Episode 16, Parks and Recreation)
This does not mean you must dismiss other ideas while working on your current one. There’s nothing wrong with writing things down and holding onto them for future endeavors. In fact, in the Creative Writing degree, I’m currently studying, it actively encourages keeping a writing journal at all times for scribbling all the new ideas, titbits and potential plots that come to you from the world you live in. That also leads to another good point.
Don’t treat your world, work, even bill-paying life, as an albatross around your neck. Instead, treat it as inspiration. Look at work with new eyes, look at the characters you meet, the crazy things that happen, the serious stories that come from that happen to you, and the people around you and use that. Don’t use people by name, of course, because that could get you in hot water, but perhaps there’s more to it than just a grindstone. Dawn from the office could inspire that lady with all the juicy gossip in your next play, story, or drawing. The trouble you had paying that last bill will encourage you to find a new, better way to help people with their money or stress. Just because the world is a grindstone, doesn’t mean you can’t imagine it as a carousel with lights and a jaunty tune instead.
The world, no matter how big or small yours is, has a lot more going for it than you think.
So next time you feel bored, fed up, lonely, sad or angry, ask yourself one thing.
How can I make something more interesting out of this? Don’t let boundaries get you down.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
All Good Things… Be Kind, Keep Moving Forward...
Posted 5 years ago#Blog #Bloggerstribe #AllGoodThings…
5th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Got to the end of the week! Happy Friday, hello weekend, and hello… cold weather and rain. Typical. Mind you, at the moment we still cannot go too far and even if restrictions are being lifted, I am not sure we should be gearing up for the world to return ‘to normal’ or ‘the new normal’ as only business people and the news reporters like to call it.
Seriously, have you heard anyone normal actually call it the new normal? Neither have I! (I am assuming you answered that in the negative, otherwise, you will be making me look very silly). While I talked not long ago about the benefit of not being normal, I do think there are several levels to what people consider to be normal as well. What is the usual daily grind for one person is a joyful and challenging experience for another. We shouldn’t expect that what is going to feel new and unusual for one person isn’t going to feel like more of the same for another in the distant or not so distant future.
What would you like out of the rest of this year? That sounds like one of the old interview questions, doesn’t it? “Where do you see yourself in five years?” I hated that question because I can barely think past my next meal or paycheck, let alone a year or five ahead. However, that isn’t what that question means. Let me help you out a little.
What would you hope for when we do reach the New Year and are able to bid this wretched one goodbye? Would you just hope for health, family, and friends to be with you? I certainly would. There have been times so far, because we are not out of the woods yet, where I have genuinely feared for family and friends. I’ve been scared of losing them and I never thought I’d have to think of that in my thirties. The longer you live, the more you think the people you live with and love will ride the rest of the journey with you, but as we all know, that’s not how the path of life works.
How about the wealth, wellbeing, and happiness part? Personally, I thought this year was going to go far differently than what I am currently facing. I was made redundant last year, but given an extension (secondment is the proper term for it) in order to continue working until the latter quarter of this year. I was looking forward to taking the money and earning a short break, see and do some of the things I wanted to do and then try to get into a new career closer to my heart than my current occupation. Now, I don’t know whether to follow through with that or to find something at a place that will still be secure for the foreseeable future…
In the end, I think there are three important questions we should all ask ourselves about this moment - what am I going to remember about this, what lessons will I learn and how will it shape me to be the person I want to be when I walk out of this?
What I am going to remember, personally, is that while there were a few bad eggs in all walks of life, whether in the political streams or the social ones, when the chips were down, many people stepped up to help each other. People who hadn’t spoken for years, or even ever, talked to each other. Communities reached out. People cared more than they had since the days of the World Wars. Knowing that we can be better people and show our children how to act as good neighbors, family, and friends has made me feel a little more hopeful for the future.
The lesson I will take away from this is to trust my instincts. I don’t feel the world is as safe as some are telling us and that has been proven to me by some new cases that are a lot closer to home than are comfortable. Time and time again, our leaders have proven that they have not gotten any wiser than they were when they told the soldiers to go over the top at the Battle of the Somme. There are analogies of the soldiers then being lions led by donkeys, and I think we have seen both the same resilience from the people caring for, saving, and protecting lives as those lions and the same assery from our donkeys. You have to trust yourself and look out for those who cannot look out for themselves.
The person who will walk out of this will hopefully be wider eyed, more hopeful, and more honest to themselves than the person who locked down several months ago. I would like to think that they will put the cost of all lives, not just their own, at the heart of everything they do. If anything, I’d like them to just be kind, not walked on, but positive and a force for all that is good, just like the motto they adopted from an English teacher half a lifetime ago.
If nothing else, I hope that whoever you are when you find the world renewed, whenever that might be, you find ways to love yourself, to share that love, and to know that you are loved.
Be kind, and be kind to yourself, and remember that bad things come, but they always go, and leave the door open, for…
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
5th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Got to the end of the week! Happy Friday, hello weekend, and hello… cold weather and rain. Typical. Mind you, at the moment we still cannot go too far and even if restrictions are being lifted, I am not sure we should be gearing up for the world to return ‘to normal’ or ‘the new normal’ as only business people and the news reporters like to call it.
Seriously, have you heard anyone normal actually call it the new normal? Neither have I! (I am assuming you answered that in the negative, otherwise, you will be making me look very silly). While I talked not long ago about the benefit of not being normal, I do think there are several levels to what people consider to be normal as well. What is the usual daily grind for one person is a joyful and challenging experience for another. We shouldn’t expect that what is going to feel new and unusual for one person isn’t going to feel like more of the same for another in the distant or not so distant future.
What would you like out of the rest of this year? That sounds like one of the old interview questions, doesn’t it? “Where do you see yourself in five years?” I hated that question because I can barely think past my next meal or paycheck, let alone a year or five ahead. However, that isn’t what that question means. Let me help you out a little.
What would you hope for when we do reach the New Year and are able to bid this wretched one goodbye? Would you just hope for health, family, and friends to be with you? I certainly would. There have been times so far, because we are not out of the woods yet, where I have genuinely feared for family and friends. I’ve been scared of losing them and I never thought I’d have to think of that in my thirties. The longer you live, the more you think the people you live with and love will ride the rest of the journey with you, but as we all know, that’s not how the path of life works.
How about the wealth, wellbeing, and happiness part? Personally, I thought this year was going to go far differently than what I am currently facing. I was made redundant last year, but given an extension (secondment is the proper term for it) in order to continue working until the latter quarter of this year. I was looking forward to taking the money and earning a short break, see and do some of the things I wanted to do and then try to get into a new career closer to my heart than my current occupation. Now, I don’t know whether to follow through with that or to find something at a place that will still be secure for the foreseeable future…
In the end, I think there are three important questions we should all ask ourselves about this moment - what am I going to remember about this, what lessons will I learn and how will it shape me to be the person I want to be when I walk out of this?
What I am going to remember, personally, is that while there were a few bad eggs in all walks of life, whether in the political streams or the social ones, when the chips were down, many people stepped up to help each other. People who hadn’t spoken for years, or even ever, talked to each other. Communities reached out. People cared more than they had since the days of the World Wars. Knowing that we can be better people and show our children how to act as good neighbors, family, and friends has made me feel a little more hopeful for the future.
The lesson I will take away from this is to trust my instincts. I don’t feel the world is as safe as some are telling us and that has been proven to me by some new cases that are a lot closer to home than are comfortable. Time and time again, our leaders have proven that they have not gotten any wiser than they were when they told the soldiers to go over the top at the Battle of the Somme. There are analogies of the soldiers then being lions led by donkeys, and I think we have seen both the same resilience from the people caring for, saving, and protecting lives as those lions and the same assery from our donkeys. You have to trust yourself and look out for those who cannot look out for themselves.
The person who will walk out of this will hopefully be wider eyed, more hopeful, and more honest to themselves than the person who locked down several months ago. I would like to think that they will put the cost of all lives, not just their own, at the heart of everything they do. If anything, I’d like them to just be kind, not walked on, but positive and a force for all that is good, just like the motto they adopted from an English teacher half a lifetime ago.
If nothing else, I hope that whoever you are when you find the world renewed, whenever that might be, you find ways to love yourself, to share that love, and to know that you are loved.
Be kind, and be kind to yourself, and remember that bad things come, but they always go, and leave the door open, for…
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
All Good Things… A Time to Listen.
Posted 5 years ago4th June 2020
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Old Scaramouche here with another thirty seconds to write about whatever might be on my mind. Here it is, my mindless thoughts with what matters most to me and what I care about…
Do you get bored of hearing somebody talk about themselves all the time? You probably get it from a colleague, a friend, a family member. Maybe all three! Maybe you can’t think of anyone, which probably means you’re the one everyone thinks ‘gosh, I wish they thought about me for once!’ But don’t worry too much about it, it isn’t really a bad thing.
Let’s start with the reassurance. You’re probably not selfish. You probably give a damn about everyone you know, otherwise, you wouldn’t really have taken the time to get to know them, unless you have an ulterior motive. If that’s why you’re ‘befriending’ someone then I cannot help you, sorry, you’re screwed.
I’m kidding around but seriously if you think ‘I like that person because I get this or that from them’ and not ‘I like this person because I just do’ then re-evaluate your mission, soldier! Those paths don’t lead anywhere except a very lonely place.
For everyone else not getting that forewarning, seriously, don’t worry about having a lot to say about yourself when you meet up with people, especially those you’ve not seen for a long time. It’s natural to want to tell people about your achievements and your losses because as a species humanity thrives on sharing. It may not seem like it when you hear tales of fellow humans not being ‘who Mr. Rogers believed we could be’ but we literally get boosts of hormones that make us feel good when we have positive interactions.
Think about it. It always feels good when somebody listens to you, especially when they respond with questions. That shows that they’re also learning from you, and that they care, and want to know more, sometimes even help. Knowing you are making a connection that will improve a relationship for the future is an extremely gratifying experience. Yet, that is also why you must not simply tell your side of things, but hear others out and ask how their lives are going too.
If you read back a couple of days ago, I spoke about how difficult it is to be funny and a few ways you can be funnier. When someone tells a joke or a funny story or observation, one way to make that person feel good and to show them that you listened is to double down on that joke. For example, one could be telling a story about a close encounter with a bear, and add ‘I guess I didn’t have the right to BEAR arms!’ This could prompt a response, ‘at least it wasn’t a GRIZZLY end!’
It’s not just cheesy, it’s immature cheese we have here, yet the response would turn that first bad joke into a bonding experience, and both people feel good by sharing it. This is why, whenever you get a chance, you should ensure that you learn at least one or two things about someone whenever you meet up. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but by proving you aren’t just preaching the church of your life to the world, whether they want to hear it or not, and care about what is going on outside of your bubble, you’re taking an active step to make a change.
Hopefully, I’ll get two final points across in the last eight minutes I have to write - the first is this. Sometimes, questions can put people on the spot. ‘How was your day?’ is nice to hear, but generic, ‘what can you tell me?’ is great, and open, but sometimes so far open that people haven’t got a clue how to answer it. Still ask these things, but if you see someone floundering, trying shortening it to something that might help. Here’s a suggestion;
“What’s the most awesome thing that happened to you this week, and what was the most rubbish thing to happen?” Sure, that last bit seems negative, and if you do not know the person really well you might want to avoid that bit. However, what people often find is that they can pick out negatives a lot easier than positives, and just getting something bad off of their chest can be a good thing. Just be careful how and when you use it and be more specific depending on what you know about the person. Take a runner, for example, you could ask them what was the hardest bit this week and where they went or what they achieved that made them feel good in the end.
With two minutes remaining, my last point is this. There’s a big calling at the moment to listen to people. People who are in danger, who need help, who have needed it for a long time and are finally getting their words spoken. If you see this, then it is a good idea to listen. You may not agree, you may feel you have more important words to say but try this. Think back to your first weeks at school. If you’d spoken over your teacher every single day, how little would you have learned that you rely on now?
Then ask yourself, is this any different? The answer is yours and yours alone.
Thank you for reading, for supporting, and for being strong.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
Hello, Chaps and Chapettes,
Old Scaramouche here with another thirty seconds to write about whatever might be on my mind. Here it is, my mindless thoughts with what matters most to me and what I care about…
Do you get bored of hearing somebody talk about themselves all the time? You probably get it from a colleague, a friend, a family member. Maybe all three! Maybe you can’t think of anyone, which probably means you’re the one everyone thinks ‘gosh, I wish they thought about me for once!’ But don’t worry too much about it, it isn’t really a bad thing.
Let’s start with the reassurance. You’re probably not selfish. You probably give a damn about everyone you know, otherwise, you wouldn’t really have taken the time to get to know them, unless you have an ulterior motive. If that’s why you’re ‘befriending’ someone then I cannot help you, sorry, you’re screwed.
I’m kidding around but seriously if you think ‘I like that person because I get this or that from them’ and not ‘I like this person because I just do’ then re-evaluate your mission, soldier! Those paths don’t lead anywhere except a very lonely place.
For everyone else not getting that forewarning, seriously, don’t worry about having a lot to say about yourself when you meet up with people, especially those you’ve not seen for a long time. It’s natural to want to tell people about your achievements and your losses because as a species humanity thrives on sharing. It may not seem like it when you hear tales of fellow humans not being ‘who Mr. Rogers believed we could be’ but we literally get boosts of hormones that make us feel good when we have positive interactions.
Think about it. It always feels good when somebody listens to you, especially when they respond with questions. That shows that they’re also learning from you, and that they care, and want to know more, sometimes even help. Knowing you are making a connection that will improve a relationship for the future is an extremely gratifying experience. Yet, that is also why you must not simply tell your side of things, but hear others out and ask how their lives are going too.
If you read back a couple of days ago, I spoke about how difficult it is to be funny and a few ways you can be funnier. When someone tells a joke or a funny story or observation, one way to make that person feel good and to show them that you listened is to double down on that joke. For example, one could be telling a story about a close encounter with a bear, and add ‘I guess I didn’t have the right to BEAR arms!’ This could prompt a response, ‘at least it wasn’t a GRIZZLY end!’
It’s not just cheesy, it’s immature cheese we have here, yet the response would turn that first bad joke into a bonding experience, and both people feel good by sharing it. This is why, whenever you get a chance, you should ensure that you learn at least one or two things about someone whenever you meet up. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but by proving you aren’t just preaching the church of your life to the world, whether they want to hear it or not, and care about what is going on outside of your bubble, you’re taking an active step to make a change.
Hopefully, I’ll get two final points across in the last eight minutes I have to write - the first is this. Sometimes, questions can put people on the spot. ‘How was your day?’ is nice to hear, but generic, ‘what can you tell me?’ is great, and open, but sometimes so far open that people haven’t got a clue how to answer it. Still ask these things, but if you see someone floundering, trying shortening it to something that might help. Here’s a suggestion;
“What’s the most awesome thing that happened to you this week, and what was the most rubbish thing to happen?” Sure, that last bit seems negative, and if you do not know the person really well you might want to avoid that bit. However, what people often find is that they can pick out negatives a lot easier than positives, and just getting something bad off of their chest can be a good thing. Just be careful how and when you use it and be more specific depending on what you know about the person. Take a runner, for example, you could ask them what was the hardest bit this week and where they went or what they achieved that made them feel good in the end.
With two minutes remaining, my last point is this. There’s a big calling at the moment to listen to people. People who are in danger, who need help, who have needed it for a long time and are finally getting their words spoken. If you see this, then it is a good idea to listen. You may not agree, you may feel you have more important words to say but try this. Think back to your first weeks at school. If you’d spoken over your teacher every single day, how little would you have learned that you rely on now?
Then ask yourself, is this any different? The answer is yours and yours alone.
Thank you for reading, for supporting, and for being strong.
All good things,
Love, Scaramouche.
x
