EXERCISE: Twisted Quotes

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I'm not sure why, but recently I woke up thinking, "A foolish consistency may be the hobgoblin of small minds, but favoring inconsistency is surely the mark of a lazy mind."

Today's quick writing exercise: Take a well known aphorism, quote, or phrase, and add a bit of commentary. Here, I'll even toss in a list of quotes:

1. "Listen; there's a hell of a good universe next door: let's go." e.e. cummings
2. "Knowledge can be communicated, but wisdom cannot. A man can find it, he can live it, he can be filled and sustained by it, but he cannot utter or teach it." Hermann Hesse
3. "There cannot be greater rudeness than to interrupt another in the current of his discourse." John Locke
4. "A woman is like a tea bag -- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt
5. "You can lead a man to Congress, but you can't make him think." Milton Berle
6. "I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make my dreams come true." Walt Disney
7. "The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis." Dante Alighieri
8. "Doubts are more cruel than the worst of truths." Moliere
9. "It is worse still to be ignorant of your ignorance." St. Jerome
10. "No amount of time and erase the memory of a good cat and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch." Leo Buscaglia

Take the whole thing, take a part - and give it a twist.

And now I'll go get morning tea.

TECH: Twist that suit of clothes

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The Handsome Suit

This was one of the movies on the flight. I didn't watch it, but the blurb in the movie guide was:

"In this comedy-drama, a homely restaurant chef/owner finds a magical suit that makes the wearer more attractive ("Handsome Suit") and hopes it will improve his chances with the object of his affections."

I did get to pondering that description. My somewhat garbled notes hint...

I think I've heard that story before? Someone wanted a white suit, I think. And as for aids for love -- I'll bet there's a recipe for that somewhere in the cave paintings along with some tales about how it goes wrong!

What's the underlying story?

A wants something (affection!)
A looks for help -- some artificial aid -- and finds X
Should A use X? Does X really help? What happens if the object of the exercise finds out? And so on...

Possible aids? Twist and turn

Magic objects -- suit, shoes, etc.
wig, makeup, clothes, jewelry
Car, house, boat, etc.
pheromone perfume
love potion
Cyrano gag - adviser
Pet
machine
restaurant
"e-puppet" digital avatar

Resolutions?

Learn to trust self -- honesty is the best policy
B goes away, with aid? -- speak for yourself
What's the cost? Blackmail, addiction -- some things cost too much
Taking off training wheels -- Doing it yourself may be scary, but that's when you fly
Everyone does it -- No they don't
Fake aid -- cheated, but a placebo is better than nothing
What's she doing? -- two can play at this game

What fun! There's a stack of stories waiting to be told. Twist that movie summary, paste in your characters and setting, and let the words roll. Come on, I'll bet you have a really fun version of this lurking right there in the grey cells just waiting to get out. So set it free.

Write!
tink
and when the Saints come marching in . . .