Andrew Types

       I just finished reading Chuck Palahniuk's non-fiction Consider This , and there were a couple of quotes on which my mind continued to ponder. The first:      This is another reason to bother collecting stories. Because our existence is a constant flow of the impossible, the implausible, the coincidental. And what we see on television and in films bust always be diluted to make it "believable." We're trained to live in constant denial of the miraculous. And it's only by telling our stories that we get any sense of how extraordinary human existence can actually be.     To shut yourself off from these stories is to accept the banal version of reality that's always used to frame advertisements for miracle wrinkle creams and miracle diet pills. It's as if we've denied the real magic of life so that we can sell each other the sham magic of consumer products. Another example of the shop replacing the church. (186)      It's bec...

 A long time ago in a galaxy far, far way... I used to keep a blog. And then I had another blog. I wrote about movies I watched.* And then I had a travel blog. I wrote about a road trip I took. And then I had a work blog. I wrote about work.** Then, all of a sudden, I stopped. Cold turkey. I just didn't want to do it anymore. And that was that. But since then, the writing beast has been gnawing at my leg. Patiently. Persistently.  I've thought myself out of it numerous times, like a kid afraid to jump from the high diving board.  There are others who do it so much better. There are others who have stronger voices. There are others whose voices need highlighting and representation. There are others who have unique perspectives, insights, and experiences worth sharing. I encourage others to write, and to write daily and consistently. And that everyone's writing is important, even if just for themselves and their own reflective process. Yet, while I was telling everyone that...