While I'm Procrastinating...

I might as well talk about aliens.
Seriously, they have to exist. I mean, we're talking about the entire universe: we can't be alone.

So on that note, the planets of Galifrey and Skarro must exist (or have existed). And clearly, that means Timelords and Daleks exist. And there must have been a Time War between them. And now there is only one Timelord left. And Daleks keep re-appearing despite the genocide of their race.

(There are no logical fallacies above. It's true.)

I bring this up because:
1. I recently watched Alien Autopsy.
2. I recently watched Doctor Who.
3. I really want Doctor Who to be real.
4. I am procrastinating.

Also, I finally changed my blog title. And it is Doctor Who related. Because River Song kept meeting The Doctor at the wrong times, and we didn't know who she was. But it was implied that she's The Doctor's wife. And she killed someone: the best man she ever knew. The Doctor? But it can't be The Doctor, because someone in an astronaut suit kills The Doctor. And River witnessed it. So she probably killed Rory (which we can only now begin to speculate). And someone told The Doctor, "the only water in the forest is the river". But that didn't mean anything. And Amy was pregnant, but she didn't know it because she was Flesh. And the people who stole her and created the Flesh version of her wanted the baby because it was to possess Timelord qualities. Probably because it was conceived in the TARDIS. And The Doctor and Rory go to save Amy and the baby which she names Melody. Melody Pond. Because for some reason Amy keeps her last name instead of taking Rory's when they get married. And then some girl (who has been waiting to meet The Doctor again, so has joined the army against him, but is still nice, and trustable) sews Melody Pond's name into something for good luck. But it's in her native language which originates from Forest People. And "the only water in the forest is the river". And River Song is Melody Pond. And she's a weapon against The Doctor. And oh my God.

This proably won't make sense to anyone, or be read by anyone, for that matter. But I needed to have a little freak-out about Doctor Who...so that I stop doing it in every single Freewrite Friday. Okay. C'est fini.

Jim Crow Laws

I think they're interesting. Not because I am racist or heartless or believe they should be implimented...but to realize that these laws, which looking back upon are ridiculous, were seemingly just and neccessary at the time.

Okay, so everything is crazy and kind of overkill, but the ones I found the most surprising were the juvinile delinquents/prisons and mental hospital laws. Even if people were bad and did illegal things, or if they had mental illnesses or were insane, they still felt it was necessary to separate them by race.
And they regulated marriages. And went as far as to make sure burials were done by separate people.
Even the militia which is supposed to be a patriotic and unified group was separated by race.

The context of these laws with Letter from Birmingham Jail demonstrate how humiliated and degraded the blacks felts in America. It shows how they were treated. And why they were fighting.

MLK, as well as others, used the word 'disease' to describe segregation. It is actually as if the white people thought the black people were diseases. They didn't want to be near them, or use the same facilities as them, or have the same people sell or operate the things they bought or used.

I actually really enjoyed reading Letter from Birmingham Jail, even with the very tedious CRJ attached to it. It was really powerful, and definitely had an 'FU' tone, in a classy and respectable way.

I also found it interesting to see how some of the laws parallel the issues of some social injustices today (mainly homosexuals in the cases of marriage and child custody and the army) and how perhaps someday people will look back on our laws and shake their heads at us.

In my opinion...

I think, in a sense, these essays are just more forms of "Why I Write". It's various authors describing distinct times in their lives which caused them to become writers.

My favorite one is probably eveyone's favorite one: William Kennedy's. I think everyone who has ever thought of being a writer (which potentially is any kid who has gone through first grade) has had their own 'Eggs'. I had quite an imagination when I was little. (Or young, rather, because I am still little). I used to tell my mom stories, and I would proceed to tell her about them for hours. And at the end, she would say, "Did that really happen?" And I would reply, "Well, no. Actually, I dreamt it." And she would ask, "Did you really dream all that?" And I would say, "Well, no. But wasn't it interesting?" And indeed, they were interesting stories. I had an abundance of ideas in my head, and as I got older I thought it was something I wanted to share with others. I tried writing many stories. They all sucked. But I always had ideas. I think Kennedy's essay is saying you have to take risks. You have to start somewhere, and you always have to be prepared for criticism so you can improve.

My least favorite one was Pat Conroy's. It wasn't my least favorite because it discussed a rather tragic event. It was my least favorite because I don't think it was very well written. It didn't have a huge impact on me, or a moment where I was like, *gasp*. Which I think was her goal. The ending wasn't powerful to me, either. It was anticlimactic, and the last line didn't leave thoughts lingering, or make me feel like she has put her father to justice, or whatever her intentions were with ending it that way. I just didn't think the length of her essay was long enough to get her point across effectively, or to bring out enough emotion. I actually read this one to my mom just to tell her about how poorly written I thought it was. Yup.

Overall, I liked these essays. They were short, but they had a lot of content. And I think it's cool to read about how various authors got their start, and what inspired them to write.

Why I Write

I used to write because I liked writing. I always had creative story ideas in my head, and I wanted to write a novel. When I was younger I always thought I would carry some sort of profession which involved writing. I grew out of that, though. My mind lost its creativity and I was never able to carry on a plot.

Now, I only write when it is assigned. I don't do a lot of writing in my free time or anything interesting. I have, on several occasions, tried journaling, but it never goes much past a few unproductive attempts.

So I guess I don't write, really. I write when I am told to write, and I think that makes my writing, often times, less passionate. I try to make my writing good when I do, though. And even when it is an assignment, I find a way to make it something that I want to write about.

Blog?

I don't blog.
This is awkward.

Sumer is over, that's obvious. I'm trying not to complain about it, though.

Last summer, I started something called a Complain Bracelet. Basically, it takes three weeks of consistently repeating an action for it to become a habit. I tried complaining less. I wore a bracelet as a reminder, the goal being to go 21 consecutive days without complaining. I would wear it on the same wrist every day, and keep track of how many I had successfully made it through. If I caught myself complaining, I would move the Complain Bracelet to the other wrist, and start over my day count.

It took me a long time, and many do-overs, but eventually I made it through 21 consecutive days without complaining.

It did help me improve on complaining less.
Admittedly, its effects have not been permanent.

I guess there are things that you just can't fix. Ughh.