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February 02, 2006
I Have Nothing To Say...
Empty.
This week, I've been reaching into my idea bag and finding nothing but dust bunnies... been spinning the giant Wheel Of Inspiration and landing on "Lose A Turn"... rolling the idea dice and coming up snake eyes... dipping into the creativity tank and finding I'm on fumes.
I have nothing to say.
Could that be? Me, who's never without an opinion he's just itching to share? Who's always deluding himself into believing he's funny and trying to toss out snarky thoughts or wisecracks? Who's made a living out of being the one who can come up with things to say? I'm the guy who's run out of ideas?
Sad but true. I suppose I could blame work; I'm on a new project that is both extremely daunting and extremely challenging (in the good way), and a lot of my creativity is getting channeled into it. So maybe trying to blog as the Mudge right now is like trying to hit the treadmill for a 30 minute jog after having just run the Boston Marathon. Or maybe it's just because between work and this site, I'm immersed in blogging for what feels like 24/7, the very word follows me around like a lost puppy, the lines between the professional me and the personal me are continuing to blur uncomfortably, and I'm just burned out on blogging for the moment. Maybe I'm just having a bad week. Maybe aliens came down from the planet Zepton and caught me without my tinfoil hat, and thus were able to use their super secret sucking ray to drain the creativity from my brain. Whatever the reason, my idea place is a bg giant echo chamber right now.
I'd say it's time to drop out for a while and restock my shelves, let the tank refill... but I pulled that stunt once already and so even doing that would be unoriginal. I think I'll just load up some blues on the iPod (courtesy of The Roadhouse), and turn it over to you guys. (And yes, I know that with readers like Beav and the Doc, I'm really asking for trouble here!) What do you guys want to read about? What do you think my next blog posts should be? Maybe this could be an exercise in creativity -- this weekend, I will write a post on every subject that gets suggested in the comments to this post. (I'll just ask you to please keep in mind that as I alluded earlier, my pseudo-anonymity is fading fast and people are beginning to connect this site to the professional me, so please don't be setting me up to blog about something that will cause professional embarrassment!) But - be the topic serious or frivilous, sarcastic or idealistic, one you take home to mother or one you just take home... this weekend, my blog belongs to you.
(Putting on my best goony radio DJ for a teenage top 40 station voice): "It's an all request weekend here on K-MUDGE... give us a call at 555-3825 and let me know what YOU want to hear!"
I leave you for now with a paraphrase of the monologue by the immortal Christopher Walken in "Pulp Fiction":
The way your Mudge looked at it, this blog was your birthright. He'd be damned if any of the slumps were gonna get their greasy tapped-out hands on his readers' birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something: his ass. Five long years, he wore this blog up his ass. Then when he died of dysentery, he gave me the blog. I hid this uncomfortable piece of Movable Type up my ass for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little readers, I give the blog to you.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with, guys.
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Comments
Amazingly long-winded entry for someone with nothing to say.
Posted by: Mike at February 2, 2006 03:02 PM
I challenge you to listen to at least 3 Zeppelin albums, pick your favorite song, and write about why it's your favorite.
Posted by: Sarah at February 2, 2006 03:59 PM
I like anything that involves Doc and The Little Giant infomercial.
Posted by: Erika at February 2, 2006 05:37 PM
I agree with Erika...assuming she is talking about Doc and The Little Giant as separate posts.
Sarah, the 'mudge only has a weekend. Maybe he can listen to one album. BTW, did you happen to read this week's story about the snowcrash...I mean, snowboarder in Steamboat? Take a saw and slice the middle of that piece of plywood, will you? :-) And send 'mudge some mp3's of your radio show so we can add 'em to our 'pods!
Posted by: The SpinMD at February 2, 2006 06:50 PM
I would like you to write about love, life, and the pursuit of the mysterious pubeless facial soap.
Posted by: thebeav at February 2, 2006 08:53 PM
Pardon me, but I've listened to 3 Zeppelin albums in 1 day. It's possible.
Posted by: Sarah at February 3, 2006 12:21 AM
Yeah, it's possible... if you're suicidal and want to die but haven't yet found the will. More than one Zeppelin song at a time will have you ready to slash your wrists in no time.
The soundtrack to the short yellow bus is Led Zeppelin. They played Zeppelin songs outside of Waco to try and smoke the Davidians out. And by the way, you don't have to buy the albums. Every single freaking song will have been played to freaking death on the tired old "Classic Rock" formula station in every market.
That said, I agree with Doc. Show us the program!
Posted by: Curmudgeon at February 3, 2006 12:40 AM
I've got nuthin' this week. Nuthin'. Did you get my email?
Posted by: Jill at February 3, 2006 12:41 AM
I think you should film a certain other cousin of mine jumping into a fridgid ocean and post that.
Two Zeppelin songs at once make you suicidal, yet you can download "Teagan and Sara" and listen to it right after "Looking Glass." Whatever.
Posted by: Cuzin Jose at February 3, 2006 03:02 AM
OK 'mudge - POV on the cartoons of Muhammad - may be too explosive for the newer professional version of the blog... : )
Posted by: usefulguy at February 3, 2006 08:47 AM
Mike - nice shot. Of course you know this means war. ;-)
Sarah - Zeppelin would make me cringe more than doing a post on the experience of childbirth. I'll be lucky if I manage to get through 3 minutes, much less 3 whole bleepin' albums. Maybe I'll do a post reviewing the 9 million Zeppelin songs that are played constantly on K-OLD radio. However, you should listen to Doc and send us clips of your show. If Zeppelin's in it, that might be the only time they get into my blog again. :-)
Erika - that might be the first time that anyone has ever said the word "giant" in the same conversation as Doc. In fact, have you ever heard of Stuart Little?
Doc - well said.
Beav - I've read your posts re: waxes and all... so I'm kinda wondering where the "accidents" come from in your facial soap. ;-)
Sarah - you need serious help. The first step is admitting that you have a problem.
Jill - I hadn't yet... usually I only check the Curmudgeon e-mail on weekends (awful of me, I know!), so I hadn't seen it yet. Now I have. I'm responding today. But thank you for the kind words and for taking the time to write.
Jose - yeah, I'd rather listen to real women singing than female-sounding banshees screeching over overrated wannabe guitar and drunken drums.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at February 3, 2006 08:58 AM
well they obviously belong to my hairy roommate, because it's like a 12 year old belowdecks for me.
Posted by: thebeav at February 3, 2006 02:05 PM
I do NOT have a problem, and the classic rock stations overplay Stairway to Heaven, Fool in the Rain, Dazed and Confused, etc...
BUT THERE'S MORE ZEPPELIN THAN THAT.
And I don't like Teagan and Sara.
Listen to Metric's - "Monster Hotel"
Posted by: Sarah at February 3, 2006 03:40 PM
If you like Teagan and Sara, do you like No Doubt as well? I like real women singing too, but not if it's jelly-bean pop music. Maybe you should download some Pink to your Ipod.
I think Zep's longevity speaks for itself, I do not expect to hear Teagan and Sara 30 years from now.
To each their own, diversity is what makes the beauty of music.
Posted by: Cuzin Jose at February 3, 2006 05:21 PM
...philistines...
Posted by: Sarah at February 4, 2006 01:32 AM
Yes, Zeppelin *were* philistines.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at February 4, 2006 02:28 PM
I've not been able to post here for a couple of days but it seems now that I can.
My idea was to write a post about someone (past or present) who "gets" you. Someone you have a kind of verbal or mental shorthand with or to whom you don't have to explain your jokes or allusions. However you define it.
BTW: I used to despise Zep. Now I find they're pretty okay. Not my favorite band in the world but I do enjoy some of their songs quite a bit. What I always hated was the blind devotion they inspired in their fans.
Posted by: eden at February 5, 2006 03:50 PM
Eden, can I borrow that writing prompt? I think it may actually be the theme of all my writing, in a not-on-purpose-that's-just-how-it-happens-way, but I like the way you phrased it.
Posted by: Jill at February 5, 2006 06:09 PM
And if you're still taking requests, I'd like to see you pick a moment with an historical woman in your life that is absolutely seared into your brain, and give us the narrative. Just a moment. No more than 3 seconds worth of interaction. What were you thinking, what do you think she was thinking, what happened, what happened in the space in between what happened?
Posted by: Jill at February 5, 2006 06:16 PM
