After splicing together freewrites about Tarantino’s Django Unchained and researching other people’s criticism, I realize I don’t really have anything especially new or insightful to say that hasn’t already been said. The movie has been out for over 6 weeks, after all, and everyone has pretty much taken their shot at it. However, I am going back and forth about whether I should write it anyway. While I’m trying to decide, I…
- Download “The Walking Dead” video game episodes for my xBox 360.
- Read online articles from David Walker, Erin Aubry Kaplan, and Jelani Cobb about Django Unchained to see if there’s something there I could riff from, but then feel that merely restating and organizing what they’ve already said is kind of cheating, especially when I can’t think of something new to add.
- Make breakfast.
- Read email – which is mostly notices of deals from businesses whose mailing list I’m on.
- Read Twitter feed, become absorbed in reading Neil Gaiman’s retweets after he says he’ll post 12 questions for his twitter followers to answer, one every hour, each pertaining to a month of the year, each answer a potential seed for 12 stories he plans to write.
- Write answers for Gaiman’s questions for February (Q: strangest thing that ever happened to you in February? A: I was a high school nerd who got a secret valentine from the most beautiful girl in class. Cliché, but true) and March (Q: What historical figure does March remind you of? A: William Blake. His angels look blown in from March winds.)
- Laugh at Wil Wheaton’s tweet about his dog’s confusion over their owner dancing to Public Enemy.
- Clean Bedroom.
- Sort Laundry.
- Become obsessed by reading other people’s answers to Gaiman’s questions. Latest question: Where would you spend your perfect June?
- Become disturbed that I can’t pinpoint the times for the other more nostalgia based questions (weirdest gift in May, happiest memory of April). Am I getting old and my memory is going?
- Realize I’m hungry and figure out what I should be having for lunch, but instead of making lunch I just sit at my desk listening to my stomach growl.
- Realize this means the procrastination has crept from writing into more vital areas of my life and wonder if I should be worried about this.
- Also, realize that I downloaded the “Walking Dead” video game but haven’t bothered to play any of it yet. I’m even procrastinating my procrastination.
- Continue to be stumped about Gaiman’s June question but wrack my brain for an answer anyway.
- Become discouraged when Gaiman doesn’t retweet my answers. For a second, I take this to mean I’m a boring writer.
- Become fearful over my obsession with Gaiman’s exercise because this means I’m screwed for the next 6 hours.
- Finally admit that I am reacting to Gaiman’s twitter feed for the sake of his writing exercise instead of being proactive with my own writing and finishing today’s damn blog.
- After answering Gaiman’s question for July (Q: What is the most unusual thing you have ever seen in July? A: I was 8 and visiting my grandparents in Chicago the first time I saw Ultraman, Speed Racer, and Doctor Who), I again realize how heavily mediated my life is. I wonder if this is a good blog topic and realize I already wrote about it last week. At least I was ahead on something.
Derek Fetters Writes 
To the June question: I would spent it in Puerto Rico with closest friends and famiily. That would mean going to Old Juan and watching Spanish language TV shoiws on the TV there in the town square. I would have to walk through Casino Jack’s in the Caribe’ Hilton samd possibly eat breakfast at the Red Rooster across the street from it. I would goto Rio Piedras, where the University of Puerto Rico is. I’d also go to Loquillo Beach and maybe swim the condado (county) public beach. I would also travel to Viequs and hope to get a tour of the frenchman’s arcadia hacienda and visit a 15 century castle there. A trip to Dock’s Cove oin Montego Bay might be in order. If I get bored there, I might hop a boat and head to Charlotte Amahlie in the Virgin Islands. I would also seriously consider a trip to Jamaica, but not to the tousist traps. I would want to go to Accompong, the Maroon village. I would want to spend time watching the Independece Day parade on the Queens’ highway in Kington. Maybe even go to Duppy Gate (the police barracks) and Curphy Place (the Jamiacan VFW) and the Caribe’ Hilton, where I once bet on Muhammad Ali to beat Sonny Liston. Oh, and I’d also be a tourist and go on a rafting trip to Dunne;s River Falls.
Can you say all that in less than 140 characters? That’s the limit on Twitter.
I had to think about this one. My own wedding in a basement (it rained in the garden, so we couldn’t do that). Bill “Butterball” Crane from radio station WVON spun records at the reception, which was held in the same place. In 1969, all those “white” people and all those “black” people in the same room, enjoying themselves.
[…] when I feel I am accomplishing nothing. This is not simple procrastination (which I wrote about three weeks ago). This instead feels like a loss of vision, a lack of passion, and a straying from, not merely my […]