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Since I mentioned coffee and donuts in the previous post about feeding all my cop muses, I was searching around for a screen cap to post for this week and came across this one from Starsky and Hutch…

That’s Arlene’s Donuts somewhere in Los Angeles. I coulda swore at one time I saw something about this donut shop on tv (the Travel Channel or the Food Channel or whatever) within the past few years but a Google search turned up very little about the place and there’s doubts it even still exists today. Apparently however, it was once a well known and successful shop.

Also interesting to note how Starsky’s Torino is almost like a rolling Coca-Cola sign…

See? I knew Brian wouldn’t be able to handle roman numerals. I ain’t even gonna comment on the number selection he made. 

I do, however, think ol’ Brian done baited himself pretty well with that last post.  Ya need some extra loose bullets, Brian? I can fire a few your way–

Whups. I mean, aim some in your direction–

Ahh…nevermind.

Feeding the muse! Well, I certainly got enough muses around this joint that the ol’ grocery bill is getting expensive. Especially the coffee and donuts. I’ll tell ya, feeding the cops and Feds around here is a full time job.  And oh yeah, they’re all willing to volunteer to deliver those loose bullets to Brian in the story if need be. Brian even knows me well enough to have the spin I’d put on it already figured out. Bleeding on the page, cousin, it’s what it’s all about.

Of course, I realize that’s not supposed to be literal but even some of the boys in blue around here might argue that I might take it literally. Considerin’ what some of them all have been through. Ah, ahem…

Anyway, if I were to make up a muse-box for Brian in an attempt to entice him over here, I wonder what I’d put in it? Hmmm lessee…black wrapping paper to start with, yep, and some packets of sugar for his coffee. Some tapes of Cheap Trick, AC/DC and Areosmith. A harmonica. A few beer nuts and pretzels. A gold plated pen. A bottle of Miller beer. A pack of cigarettes and a lighter. (Hmm…Maxwell cigarettes perhaps? Khee!). A swatch of leather. A key chain with a Chevy emblem on it. And ya know, for the heck of it, I think I’ll toss some fried chicken in too.

Gee. No bullets.

But I could toss in this boxing glove to represent my right cross.

Enticing ain’t it? Khee!

Brian’s number for his post technically shoulda been V. His next post should use VII. Knowing him, he’ll use X just because he knows he can annoy me with it. Heh!

Ah well, at this rate it seems we’re going from Inside Joke to The Cousins Coltrane School of Writing. Still, Brian did manage something of a pot shot in his last post, to which I’ll respond to in a minute.

First tho’, I wanted to add a comment about those quotes about voice, particularly the last one that talks about how some of what you write will be lousy. This is true. However, one should not be discouraged by this. I have long believed in the following writing maxim: “The first draft is always shit.” Once you’re comfortable with that, the rest of it isn’t as difficult.

I have times when I’ll write a scene and it’ll come out pretty good on the first go around. Then I have times when I write a scene and the wording is just sucky and awkward, but I at least got the thing down. And that’s the important part, and the core of what was said in that last quote. You gotta write it down! Otherwise, whatever it is you’re looking to say or express isn’t going to come out at all if you’re worried about it coming out pretty or perfect the first time through. You can shore up the scene afterward, revising it and such. But it’s getting the thing down that’s the first big step.

Aside from that, have I found my voice? I believe I have. (At least, I’ve bled on the page so that must qualify me for something!) And I know my voice certainly has a lot more it wants to say about my personal observations, my beliefs, my desires and my passions.

Which brings me to answering Brian’s question about the naked experience…

…in that ah ree-fuse to answer that question. 

Now, I wonder if it would be plausible for him to get shot in the story at this point…muhahahahaha…

While working on my previous post about Stephen Colbert and his “On Notice” list, I had to do a Google search of images to find that pic of him with the list board. I knew it was out there, as I had seen it, but it wasn’t an image that I had saved personally. While looking for that image, however, I came across this one of Stephen…

Remind you of anybody?

I learned something new the other day. As we know there’s all kinds of social networking sites out there, there’s actually an anti-social networking site out there. It’s called Snubster. There’s another one called iSolatr, which is just a mock up site. You can’t actually join up. But at Snubster, you can and you basically can mouth off and bitch about anything and everything that’s ever pissed you off. (What the hell do I need a anti-social network for? I got my blog.)

Anyway, I took a peek at it and found something about it strangely familiar. Familiar in that they make use of two lists for the mouthing off and bitching portion: “On Notice” and “Dead to Me.”

Gee, where have I’ve seen these lists before…

Yeah. Stephen Colbert with his “On Notice” and “Dead to Me” lists. Now I dunno if Stephen originated the concept of “On Notice” and “Dead to Me” himself or if he got the idea somewhere else but since becoming familiar with Mr. Colbert and his show two years ago I’ve noticed the two lists are used a lot in various other places by other people.  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but I think Stephen would just figure people are trying to rip ‘em off.

Or, as the case may be here, snubbed.