Trust30 Day5; Magical Strangers

I had an odd thought while watching an advertisement for an old black and white Tarzan movie. In a lot of fantasy literature there is usually a humanoid race that the author uses to exemplify some aspect of humanity. Commonly elves are the race but not always. And the author usually discusses how this race has perfected that aspect of humanity that the author is focusing on.

In a lot of historical fiction the same thing happens but instead of elves, it is the noble savage. The noble savage being portrayed as an individual or small group of individuals who are associated with a "primitive" culture the hero encounters or must interact with.

I think hollywood still does this today in films where you have a the main protagonist wrestling with a problem, the solution to said problem is provided by another character who comes from a different cultural background than the protagonist, usually a culture the protagonist's society thinks poorly of. Even science fiction uses the trope, but via an alien or someone possessed by something alien.

Why is this trope so common? Where does the need come from for a writer to present a problem for her characters to struggle with and then have the solution provided as a gift. Is it lazy writing? Or is it near impossible to represent inspiration? Isn't that what mystery writers strive to do?

I do not read mysteries. I think I have read 6 or 7 since childhood, one of the first series I ever followed as a reader were the Encyclopedia Brown books. And maybe that is where I formed the opinion that mystery writers do not use the trope of a magical stranger to solve their riddles.

But back to my point. The device of a magical stranger who has all the answers the protagonist needs. Where does this come from? Does Far Eastern literature have the same trope? Does African?

It could be simply greek influence on western literature. The gods were always providing solutions to characters in their stories. Or does this go back farther? But I do not recall Beowulf receiving aid from a magical stranger.

Of course the old testament is full of magical strangers in the form of angels. Could this literary device be the result of Judeo myth being incorporated into western culture?

Trust30 Day4; identity and reputation

I just finished. Well - maybe 15 min ago, I finished the Day4 post. And as I was proofing it I decided not to publish it. Yes, I censored myself. Why? Simply put, I didnt want to take a chance that the subject of the post would get back to the people mentioned in the post.

Yes, I changed names and left out any identifying details but the situation described would be clear if one of the participants read it, to them at least. And at this time, I dont think anyone involved knows my true feelings concerning the situation and I want to keep it that way.

So I censor myself. Just to maintain a "web" persona that is seperate from my "professional" persona. In my youth I do not think I would have. I was brazen enough and idealistic enough to say, "Who cares". But, from my current perspective, I had less to lose back then. Or maybe I did but it meant less to me back then.

Or possibly I have just become another person who has lost his zeal with age.

Trust30 Day3; New Challenges

As if my personal writing malaise wasnt enough to keep me from completing the Trust30 exercise (I refuse to call it a challenge). Now I am having posting issues. The blogging app that has allowed me to post 30 odd pieces in a sporatic manner over a 3 year period has choked at posting two days in a row.

With the very helpful unhelpful notice that "Your network does not seem configured to post". But I will not be deterred. Screw the app - blogger has a web interface! As Microsoft says "To the Cloud!" (is that a stupid advertising slogan or what? to the cloud... Really? How many millions did they pay for that?)

Anyway, I was all set to ponder checklist's in this post (I just finished the Checklist Manifesto) but then the above got in the way - so maybe tomorrow.

Trust30 Day2; Well that was quick

So I start Trust30 and make one post and then skip a day. So much for my intent. Does that mean I can make two posts today and that will make up for it? Though I feel that working 14 hrs yesterday should qualify me for a pass, I did, after all write a number of emails that day. But of course thats just lazy, since this post is only taking a few min to compose.

Anyway, this is going no where so I am gonna call it quits here and try again.

Trust30

I heard an interview given by Seth Godin which lead me to his site "The Domino Project". The Domino Project seems, to me, to be about the effort of writing. As part of that effort the site is sponsoring a 30 day writing challenge they are calling "Trust30". They are drawing inspiration from the aniversary of the publication of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self Reliance". While I have never read "Self Reliance", and likely never will, I assume all sorts of lazy metaphors can be drawn regarding the struggle to record inspiration and the books title alone. Personally I prefer what Ray Bradbury had to say about writing. (Paraphrasing heavily) Writers write, good writers write everyday. I am a bad writer, I rarely write and when I do it is rather random.

Is it just me or did I get lost in stupid land?

From this past weekend:

Me: I would like to exchange this. It is the wrong size.
Home Depot: the smallest one we have is 2 3/4 inches.
Me: that won't work, I need 2 1/4 inches. That is the standard size, all of your pre-fabricated pieces come with that part at that size.
Home Depot: yeah, that part will come in the kit.
Me: I don't need to kit, I just need this one piece.
Home Depot: well sorry but we dont carry it in that size.
Me: ok, let me have a refund then.
Home Depot: do you have your receipt?
Me: not with me, I was planning on doing an exchange.
Home Depot: You don't need a receipt for an exchange.
Me: I know that, I am just telling you why I don't have my receipt.
Home Depot: Oh. Ok. Let me see the credit card you made the purchase with.
Me: I don't have that card with me, will this one work?
Home Depot: I need the one you made the purchase with.
Me: If you have it on record, can't you look it up. If you know which card is correct, can't you look it up off of my name?
Home Depot: sorry sir, it doesn't work that way.
Me: So I can't return this?
Home Depot: I can give you store credit.
Me: That's fine.
Home Depot: can I see you drivers license.
Me: why?
Home Depot: I need your drivers license to issue the store credit.
Me: why?
Home Depot: So I can write down your info.
Me: I can give you my info.
Home Depot: sorry sir, it's policy.
Me: look, I don't have my license and I don't have the card you want because I left my wallet at home. Are you going to not let me return this because I can't show you a license to verify my identity when you have no way to tell if I actually purchased this thing in the first place.
Home Depot: sir, they need the correct info on the store credit so when you use it the cashier can check it against your id to make sure it was issued to you.
Me: but if I tell you the right info when you issue the credit, it will be correct when I need my license. No problem
Home Depot: Sorry sir, it's the way I have to do it.
Me: your kidding me
Home Depot: Sorry sir.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Midlothian, Va

Movies that I recall as having influenced me

I was skimming another internet article listing the author's take on the best movies of all time and it got me thinking.  So far, during my lifetime, I have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of movies.  Most are a short repast from reality, a light diversion that is soon over.  A few have been great movies that captured my imagination and left me with a feeling of having seen something better than most everything else.  A Lion in Winter, Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back, Start Treck: The Wrath of Khan, Gladiator, Grand Torino are a few, a sampling.  Each was great and I have enjoyed watching them repeatedly.

But I have a fondness, a recollection of an even smaller group of movies that, while not necessarily great, left me with a sense of having learned something I can, or have, put to use in life.  I think the impact of each movie can be be attributed to when I first saw it and what was going on in my life at the time.

So here is that list:

Scaramouche (1952 w/ Stewart Granger)
Cyrano De Bergerac (1950 w/ Jose Ferrer)
From the Hip (1987 w/ Judd Nelson)
The Ninth Configuration (1980 w/ Stacy Keach)
American Beauty (1999 w/ Kevin Spacey)
Elmer Gantry (1960 w/ Burt Lancaster)
A Patch of Blue (1965 w/ Sidney Poitier)
HouseSitter (1992 w/ Goldie Hawn)
Hustle and Flow (2005 w/ Terrence Howard)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1991 w/ Gary Oldman)

I have the urge to ramble on about these movies but I don't think I have the words to succinctly communicate what it is I learned from each.  The lesson from each is more abstract, at least upon reflection it seems more abstract.  So I will just leave the list to stand on its own.