Michael's Musings

March 15, 2011

The following is an actual exchange of correspondence between a customer and the Irish Railway Company:

Gentlemen,
I have been riding your trains daily for the last two years, and the service on your line seems to be getting worse every day.  I am tired of standing in the aisle all the time on a 14-mile trip.  I think the transportation system is worse than that enjoyed by people 2,000 years ago.
Yours truly,
Patrick Finnegan

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Dear Mr. Finnegan,
We received your letter with reference to the shortcomings of our service and believe you are somewhat confused in your history.  The only mode of transportation 2,000 years ago was by foot.
Sincerely,
Irish Railway Company
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Gentlemen,
I am in receipt of your letter, and I think you are the ones who are confused in your history. If you will refer to the Bible and the Book of David, 9th Chapter, you will find that Balaam rode to town on his ass.

That, gentlemen, is something I have not been able to do on your train in the last two years!
Yours truly,
Patrick Finnegan.

You have a creative day.

Michael


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March 14, 2011

I had an Epiphany last week.

Somebody on FaceBook posted that director Steven Soderbergh had announced that he would retire from film-making after his next two movies, and a discussion began as to why he would do that.  After all, he's still a talented, relatively young man who could keep turning out movies for many years.

My reaction: "He's made several very good movies.  He's won an Oscar.  What else does he have to prove?"

And, as soon as I wrote that, I started thinking about myself and my own career. 

I may not have won an Oscar or any other award for that matter, however I have, over the years  accumulated an impressive body of work and there are several successful things that I've written, then seen produced or published of which I'm very proud.

So many people that I meet say to me: "You've led a very interesting life."

And, I guess I have.

Yet, I've always felt this inner "need" to do more; to have a new book or play or whatever out there every year or two.  So, as soon as I finish  one project, I've felt that I had to start another right away, because if I didn't, I would be a slacker...a bum.

But, I've now come to realize that what I said about Soderbergh also applies to me:  What more do I have to prove?

I have my resume'.  Financially, I'm comfortable.  I no longer "need" to write. 

Perhaps the writing of my memoirs has brought me to this realization.

Don't misunderstand.  I will continue to write, but in the future, I will write because I "want" to write a particular story, either for a fee or because it's a story that I will enjoy telling.

In the meantime, my next book, DRACULA MEETS JACK THE RIPPER  And Other Revisionist Histories, is still coming out later this year from BearManor Fiction...and, hopefully, there will be others after that.

You have a creative day.

Michael

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March 11, 2011

Here's something to make you think about for the weekend:

PSYCHOPATH'S TEST

Read this question, come up with an answer and then scroll down for the result.

This is not a trick question.

It is as it reads.  No one I know has gotten it right.  Few people do.


A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met a guy whom she did not know.  She thought this guy was amazing.  She believed him to be her dream guy so much that she fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him.  A few days later she killed her sister.

Question: What is her motive for killing her sister?

[Give this some thought before you answer, see answer below]









Answer:

She was hoping the guy would appear at the funeral again.

If you answered this correctly, you think like a psychopath. This was a test by a famous American psychologist used to determine if one has the same mentality as a killer.  Many arrested serial killers took part in the test and answered the question correctly. 

If you didn't answer the question correctly, good for you.

If you got the answer correct, please let me know so I can report you to the proper authorities.

:-)

Have a creative weekend.

Michael

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