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2006-06-02

On the Serious Side, link to S.P.E.

"Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it." -- Colette

I think it was Stephen King who said sometimes, you have to kill your darlings. You know, those sentences or ideas you love and hold on to, but they just don't do anything for the overall story. I've only done this a few times, and it does feel like murder, but in the end, it was a sacrifice worth making.

Speaking of collateral damage, if you are not familiar with the STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT, click that link and watch the slide show, which includes a concise report of the six-day-long experiment. Last night we watched something on Court TV (because M.s. had heard about it on NPR) about human nature. Why a good person can, in the right situation, do bad things. In all, why those soldiers at Abu Ghraib were not, in fact, "bad apples," but slaves to human nature and pawns in a poorly-managed and constructed prison with no defined rules. Just click the link and watch the slide show, and this will all start making sense to you. That is, if you're not already familiar with the experiment, which took place over 30 years ago in 1971.

Psychology fascinates me. At the same time, realizing that few people are truly "special" or "better" is strangely disappointing. Just when you thought you were original, you look around and notice that no, you're not. Your behavior has upon it a stamp of the ages, a collective knowledge from your monkey predecessors, who revert to textbook responses in similar situations.

I think I may take some time to study up on the subject. Learning ain't never hurt nobody. Unless you count the sadness that can often come along with having your seemingly safe and pretty little ideas shattered by the truth -- like the lion devouring the antelope, life and those living it, at times, can be anything but pretty.

How's that for morbid before heading off to the gym?

-Barbarella

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2007-05-19
NEW SITE!!!!

2007-05-16
Links and Update

2007-05-09
Two Links

2007-05-06
Yes, Even MORE new pictures

2007-05-06
Mizz Asshole

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On the Serious Side, link to S.P.E. 2006-06-02 6:55 a.m. "Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it." -- Colette

I think it was Stephen King who said sometimes, you have to kill your darlings. You know, those sentences or ideas you love and hold on to, but they just don't do anything for the overall story. I've only done this a few times, and it does feel like murder, but in the end, it was a sacrifice worth making.

Speaking of collateral damage, if you are not familiar with the STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT, click that link and watch the slide show, which includes a concise report of the six-day-long experiment. Last night we watched something on Court TV (because M.s. had heard about it on NPR) about human nature. Why a good person can, in the right situation, do bad things. In all, why those soldiers at Abu Ghraib were not, in fact, "bad apples," but slaves to human nature and pawns in a poorly-managed and constructed prison with no defined rules. Just click the link and watch the slide show, and this will all start making sense to you. That is, if you're not already familiar with the experiment, which took place over 30 years ago in 1971.

Psychology fascinates me. At the same time, realizing that few people are truly "special" or "better" is strangely disappointing. Just when you thought you were original, you look around and notice that no, you're not. Your behavior has upon it a stamp of the ages, a collective knowledge from your monkey predecessors, who revert to textbook responses in similar situations.

I think I may take some time to study up on the subject. Learning ain't never hurt nobody. Unless you count the sadness that can often come along with having your seemingly safe and pretty little ideas shattered by the truth -- like the lion devouring the antelope, life and those living it, at times, can be anything but pretty.

How's that for morbid before heading off to the gym?