7 Fun Links from My Feed Reader

I was writing pinkies-up for a few days, because I need to re-take Knife Safety 101.

I’ve been slogging my way through NaNoWriMo. I’ll probably call this novel From the Ashes of Courage (or some variation thereof), because I think it reflects the theme and mood of the story: risking all in the face of defeat; and less Love Boat, more As Good As It Gets.

At this point, when it comes to NaNoWriMo, I’m about 15,000 words behind where I ought to be, and I don’t appear to be catching up. This, after I bragged that I wouldn’t have any trouble keeping up. (That’ll learn me to keep my big mouth shut!)

I could blame my accident last Saturday. I was cutting a tomato the wrong way, with my pinkie hanging in the air, presumably out of the way. I sliced the tomato with the just-honed, super-sharp chef’s knife (which is still the best instrument for slicing tomatoes) and ended up stabbing my finger. I rinsed it under cold water and might not even have gone to the hospital, except that the Missus insisted. There, a nice lady doctor sewed up my little finger with 5 little pieces of black nylon thread, turning it into Frankenfinger. Then a nice nurse wrapped it up in 22½ feet of gauze, turning it into Finger of the Mummy. This had me writing properly for a few days. (Remember, anything you do pinkies-up is proper.) And typing with only 7 fingers supposedly impeded my ability to get words out.

The truth, however, is much simpler. Writing this novel is turning out to be pretty emotionally draining for me, which I guess is a good thing, but not when it exhausts the writer. I write a scene and find I have no more energy to write any more. And in a wonderful display of unprofessionalism, I put off writing until tomorrow… or sometimes the next day.

But I’ve been telling myself that there’s a message in this story that needs to be told. And that keeps me going, even through the exhaustion and interruptions.

Because of NaNoWriMo, I haven’t written anything in particular to blog today. (And I won’t blog next Friday, because of the Thanksgiving holiday.) On the other hand, that means you’re getting an on-the-fly true story, rather than a pre-written post. (Not sure which is actually better.)

So today, I thought I’d post links to 7 of the websites I follow for fun, to unwind or distract myself. (And don’t worry; Facebook is not one of them.)

In no particular order…

1. Dilbert.com – As a former software development professional (and current software development goof-off), I see a lot of truth in the absurd situations and characters portrayed by Scott Adams in his famous daily comic strip. And I thank myself continually that I don’t have to deal with that anymore.

2. Doggy Style (Putting the pro in Prozac) – This is Mad Dog’s daily humor blog, on which he posts short daily quips on events of the day. I get all my news from Mad Dog, SNL, and Conan O’Brien. (Better than getting it from CNN and FoxNews.)

3. Dave Barry – As you may know, Dave Barry has been on hiatus for some time now. But the Miami Herald continues to run a classic column of his each week. No one makes me laugh as much or as hard as Dave Barry. Still a must-read column for any writer.

4. Oddee – Daily lists of the best, worst, and ugliest, including posts such as 10 of the World’s Worst Jobs, 12 Worst Photoshop Mistakes ever, and 15 Stupidest Warning Labels.

5. Hebrew Tattoos blog – A blog all about Hebrew tattoos, including tattoo designs, how not to get a Hebrew tattoo, and examples of Hebrew tattoos gone wrong. Knowing a little Hebrew myself, these can be pretty entertaining: backwards, upside down, misspelled, or like David Beckham’s Hebrew tattoo, just says something he probably didn’t mean. (It says something like, “I am my boyfriend’s, and my boyfriend is mine.” Instead, it should be: אני לדודתי ודודתי לי. Someone forgot to correct the popular Hebrew verse for his masculine gender. Oops.)

6. PsyBlog (Psychology studies relevant to everyday life) – London psychological researcher Jeremy Dean posts entertaining and informative posts about how our minds work. Drawing on real psychology studies, he explains why (in scientific terms) human beings are so screwy. A must-read for fiction authors.

7. Suldog-o-Rama (or some other “Suldog” title) – Jim “Suldog” Sullivan is a funny, likable guy who lives down the street from me. And we’ve actually never met, believe it or not. (Talk about the glories of the Internet, eh?) He ran MA State Rep on the “No Opposition” ticket, and I voted for him. He also originated the slogan “Thanksgiving comes first!” and the phrase “crotch taffy”–Don’t click this link, and don’t say you weren’t warned! Suldog is one of those ordinary “non-writer” bloggers who actually write almost every day and are worth reading. (Non-writer my ass!)

There are numerous other blogs I also read for fun, so I’ll probably post another of these lists someday. Hopefully, one or two of the links above will pique your interest.

Enjoy!
-TimK