Tuesday, January 25, 2005

“I’m an idea man, Chuck, I get ideas. Sometimes I get so many ideas that I can’t fight them off!”

The Movie: Night Shift, 1982 (Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, screenwriters; Ron Howard, dir.)
Who says it: Michael Keaton as Bill Blazejowski, a morgue attendant with aspirations to higher things
The context: Bill is introducing himself to his new co-worker and supervisor, Chuck Lumley (Henry Winkler).
How to use it: When you’re inspired by an idea.

Down by the river, next to Harvey's Hardware, is a shabby-looking building painted bright orange. Its sign reads, "Tigertown Discount BEVERAGE & REDEMPTION." Of course, they're talking about redeeming bottle deposits; but every time I pass it, I think how great it would be if they really were offering redemption at a discount.

Cold as it's been, three ducks were swimming against the current in the Cobbossee Stream the other day. That stretch of the stream runs fast over rocks, so it doesn't freeze, but the ducks must wear themselves out trying to keep from being swept down into the frozen zone. Where do they think all their friends went? They are either the toughest or the stupidest ducks in North America -- or perhaps, as with humans, these traits sometimes go together.

Fans of crime fiction and short stories (or crime fiction short stories) should check out Sarah Weinman's blog, Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind, today. Several authors have written short stories on a theme, and posted them to their individual blogs. And I wonder why it's so hard for me to get my work done...

Oh, and for those of you following the brain-theft scandal, here's the latest. It is very sad, and I feel ashamed that I'm so fascinated with this. Really.

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