Two Month Layoff

since I've written meaningfully, read anything powerful, or worked on anything related to economics.

I've used most of my free time to ride bike, go out, or play video games. Even now, I'm distracted with the TV while trying to write this blog post. Then I jump to websites. And AIM. In general, I'm neglecting these important activities for filler, which is pretty depressing.

So I'll propose something new in retaliation: a fixed daily time for writing and reading. A daily time slot dedicated to writing and a time slot for reading. 30 minutes each, nothing spectacular or extraordinary. These times will be fixed, but preferably as soon as I wake up. Best to bunch them together, so I'll have an hour daily to knock this stuff out.

We'll see how it goes.

Reading in October

has been limited because of exams and vicarious living. No complaints.

Right now? David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. Hoping to have it done by 11/1. Moving onto Stephenson's Cryptonomicon after that. Might revisit Hemingway, or even read The Sun Also Rises for once.

No work on Strunk & White. Again, I've been procrastinating.

EDIT: Forgot to mention I finished Nemirovsky and Fitzgerald. Both are gems in their different ways, and they both utilize great imagery. Cut "empty" adjectives; too many adjectives can bloat a composition.

Character Development Attempt

The logical introvert.

He uses ultimate logic as a standard of judgment. Are someones actions rational? Do they judge their own behaviors by how rational they are? Do they behave in agreement with a rigid value system?

Abstract problem-solver. Runs hypothetical situations internally. Risk averse. Fearful of confrontation, or much of social interaction. His few conversations end in judgment, criticism, or dismissal.

Possibly narcissistic. Very self-absorbed. Intelligent and arrogant about said ability, but very self-conscious in other areas. Uses online resources, lists to construct "creative" or artistic areas of personality so as to avoid criticism.

Needs to get his world fucking rocked.

Lack of absurdity in his or her life. Cliche descriptor: "plays by the rules, helped write them." What a disgusting description, but it gets the point across.

Lets make him look average. An average man who can't cope with average traits and an average, boring life. Escapist behavior results from daily monotony.

May be cliche. Based loosely off of Adam Ewing in Cloud Atlas, George Wilson (mechanic) in Gatsby, personal experiences.

Great writing is not just motivated by personal introspection. Writers have other goals in mind at times.

Examples: Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. I'll find some more later.

Beginnings of a character study:

The disdain comes from an intrinsic source. It's a feeling of disappointment that births the hatred for who he is. He does not hold any specific area of his personality in contempt, but his whole self for not existing on a grander scale.

These feelings drive him to accomplish many things of varying importance. On slower days, he invests his time in trivialities to ensure his schedule remains dense.

As I went over to say good-by I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby's face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.

Unintentionally funny sentence of the day:

Nine women and three men have been selected to judge O.J. Simpson and a co-defendant. They are charged with kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia dealers last year in Las Vegas.

I guess even alleged felons can serve on juries now.