See also: Jan 2022 (View all)
I’ve changed to blogging whenever the mood hits me to writing monthly topics and then incrementally adding to it until the end of the month. So far I’ve done Robert’s Roundup of Ebook Deals (monthly), Linkdumps (2x a month), Musical Discoveries (monthly), RJ’s Geeky Explorations (monthly). Now I’ve decided to add another category — Shallow Puerile Thoughts. It’s just going to contain incidental observations about nothing which don’t belong in my other monthly categories. Listen, I’m just starting out, I don’t know what the heck I’m doing! I may end up developing these ideas into something more substantial. Hopefully it will be a combination of aphorisms and idea fragments.
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Movies and TV shows rely way too much on flashbacks and end up simply burdening the current narrative. It is an attempt to offer clues about motivation or explanation; instead, it simply feels like it is jerking the viewer or reader around by selectively revealing details. Most stories are good enough to stay in the present. These time jumps merely delay action or insights into the present time, which is all that matters. (True for literature too — I call this the “italics effect.” I really hate sections entirely in italics in a novel or novella. The italics is to denote an event removed in time, but most of the time I can skip these things. Indeed, when I’m watching movies with these kinds of flashbacks, I frequently get lost and am unable to tell the difference between what is supposed to be Past 1 or Past 2 or present or Future 1. Don’t make things difficult for the audience!
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Larry David revealed several secrets of living: Pee Before You Leave and (one other, I can’t remember). Here’s my rule for living: Go out of the house only once a day. In other words, combine all your errands and outings as much as you can. I don’t mind going out for exercise to to walk the dog, but in general, the goal is to maximize the days where you don’t have to put on your shoes and get caught in traffic.
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