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A Few Ideas

I’m on a mission here at MonDAVES to provide loyal readers (you MonDavers know who you are) with fun content that gives you a little break from the work week and the daily insanity that is the world at large.

This is getting increasingly difficult to do.

While I was stuck trying to think of a topic for this edition, my wife handed me a book of writing prompts she bought for the kids to help them in their creative writing classes at school. This particular book, The Amazing Story Generator by Jason Sacher, is essentially a flip book. It allows the reader, or, um, flipper, to combine three different elements (setting, character, and plot) together to generate new story prompts. Most of them come across as pretty wacky, but that’s the fun of it. It should spark the imagination of pretty much any writer, and perhaps help bring a new story, poem, novel, or play into being.

Unfortunately, fiction is not my forte. I’ve tried many times, but I have yet to write much of anything fiction-wise that I would deem suitable for human consumption. However, being the creative type, I was intrigued by the concept. Even though this book may not spawn any stories from me, I did enjoy playing with the combos. I think you may enjoy them too.

So I now present to you the top ten story ideas I got from randomly flipping through The Amazing Story Generator. who knows, maybe one of these ideas will help one of you write something. If so, feel free to share it with me, I’d love to read it!

Let’s start with the first page. The flipbook reads as follows:
“Upon winning the lottery,
a reformed hitman
meets the ghost of Ernest Hemingway.”

Each part of the sentence, as I have typed it here, is flippable, so you can have any character in the book meet Hemmingway’s ghost. Or win the lottery. Or whatever. There are hundreds of combinations to choose from. The following are my favorite ones that I have chosen while flipping through the book. Put on your writing hats, if that’s a thing, ’cause here we go!

-After a monthlong fast, an avid comic book collector joins the mafia.
-In a post apocalyptic world, a clown in training leads the charge against a zombie army.
-After prolonged exposure to radiation, a talking dog has a showdown with a sheriff.
-Vowing not to bathe for an entire year, the illegitimate son of a king forgets to mail an important letter,
-After misreading an e-mail, the drummer for a punk rock band founds a nudist colony.
-Hoping to disprove a long held superstition, a wise garbage collector travels back in time.
-Forced to join the family business, an unsuccessful comedian is initiated into a secret cult.
-Longing for a simpler life, a former child television star develops the ability to fly.
-Having poisoned the soup, an Elvis impersonator receives a message from God.
-Blinded during a freak lightning strike, an apprentice bee keeper inadvertently starts World War Three.

And it goes on from there.

You know, even if you’re not a creative person, it can still be fun to flip through all of these ideas. Maybe order yourself a copy of the book. Maybe write something. Or don’t. I’m not here to pressure you or tell you what to do.

But I will be here again soon with another edition of MonDaves! Assuming I can generate any ideas that is.

Read A Book. See A Movie. Maybe These Ones.

Hey MonDavers. Things have been getting a mite serious on the ol’ blog here lately, and I have very much appreciated your indulgence while I’ve been working through some of my thoughts and feelings here in this space. Y’all are the best.

When I started this blog a few years back, the intention was to bring a little smile to what is otherwise a bummer of a day. This is supposed to be a place to escape from Monday (or whatever else is going on), even if just for a few minutes. I’ve gotten away from that recently, but let’s see if we can’t start getting back on track.

Speaking of escaping, I’d like to share with you a few of the ways I have been escaping lately, by sharing a few good books I’ve been reading (two rather new and one not so new), and also one movie that’s just absolutely bonkers. First, the books.

“GOD’S COUNTRY” by Percival Everett (1994)
-How this book and its author have managed to elude my consciousness for so long is surprising to me, almost embarrassingly so. Still, there’s never a bad time to discover a good book, and that is what’s happened here. I may be a latecomer, but I’m all in!
“God’s Country” is a Western that is both comic and gravely serious, often at the same time. It follows a man (I hesitate to call him a “hero”) named Curt Marder, a gambler, drunkard, liar, cheat, and all around no account character who is, of course, oblivious to all of these traits in himself, though keen to point them out in others. His obliviousness also extends to the world around him and, often, the true meaning of the situations he is in. The book opens with Marder’s house and farm being burned by marauders, resulting in him losing his home, wife, and dog in one swell foop. Sorry. Fell swoop. I like that though, “swell foop”, I think I might keep that one.
Anyway, Marder decides that the only thing a man in his situation can do is to go after the group, save his wife, his pride, and what little social standing he may have had. To do this, he hires the best tracker in the land, a black man named Bubba, who fits the traditional Western hero mold far more than Marder does, but being an African American in the old west…well, I don’t have to paint you that picture.
This is where you are likely to think “Oh, it’s like “Blazing Saddles”, but no. Sure, the book deals largely with race and social status, but the humor in the writing is much darker than anything Mel brooks (who is a genius) would have ever come up with. While it’s easy to laugh and smile at Curt Marder and his pathetic shenanigans, I couldn’t do so without feeling a twinge of (Guilt? Shame?) uncomfortableness. See, sometimes comedy has a lot of truth in it, and all smiles have teeth. Sometimes they bite.
The drama in “God’s Country” hits so intensely that the humor can’t quite soften the blow. This is what sets the novel apart from any other in the genre that I have read. It really is a fantastic read and highly recommended, whether you like Westerns or not.

“THE SPAMALOT DIARIES” by Eric Idle (2024)
-This book is exactly what the title says. Eric Idle (of Monty Python and The Rutles fame) kept a diary of his experiences in bringing the show “Spamalot” to the Broadway stage. Kind of like “The Producers” but in real life. Huh. Another Mel Brooks reference. Wild,
For those who may be unaware, “Spamalot” is a Broadway musical version of the film “Monty Python And The Holy Grail”, adapted for the stage by Eric Idle and John Du Prez, Eric’s long time musical partner. While it does help to have some knowledge about both the movie and the musical, I don’t believe it’s totally necessary for the enjoyment of this book.
Yes, this book is a diary, but it’s hardly boring. Being a comedian, Idle has a natural way of writing that is very funny. It is also honest, emotional, and charming. Being a diary, we don’t get too much technical gobbledygook to bore someone who knows nothing about the theatre world, but we do get a behind the scenes look into the arguments, egos, difficulties, breakdowns and breakthroughs it takes to bring a big time show to life.
If you are a fan of Monty Python, or just of the theatre itself, I believe there is much here for you to enjoy. I also believe that even if you’re not a fan, but you are interested in the creative process, or perhaps you are a project manager looking for a different perspective on how to get things done, this may also be for you.

“YOU LIKE IT DARKER” by Stephen King (2024)
-I know, I know, a lot of people don’t like Stephen King for a lot of different reasons, and many of them are justified. I’ve read a large majority of his work, and although I consider myself a fan, I have issues with a lot of his stuff too. Especially when you get into the longer novels.
That’s why I’m always excited when I hear there’s a new King short story collection. I love short stories of all kinds, horror and fantasy doubly so. When done right, the short story can encompass everything that’s great about the novel in a way that quickly cuts to the chase and doesn’t get bogged down in too much detail, less than interesting side stories, or it’s own self-righteousness. For my money, Stephen King is one of the best when it comes to short fiction.
Sure, some of the stories hit the mark better than others, but that’s the nature of these types of collections and you know that going in. There are some longer tales in this book that I could tell really wanted to be novels, but just couldn’t quite hit that mark. That’s assuming, of course, that a story is a living, breathing thing. Which it is. There are also a few that go by in a flash, stinging quick as a hornet, but leaving a mark that lasts much longer.
Favorite stories here include “The Turbulence Expert”, “Willie The Weirdo” (shudder), “The Fifth Step” (double shudder), “On Slide Inn Road”, “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream” and “Laurie”. I’ll tell you though, there was nothing here that I didn’t like and I quite enjoyed the ride.

Okay, now that that’s in the books (sorry), I now have the unenviable job of trying to figure out how to describe the out and out comic insanity that is the film…

“HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS” (Self release 2002-streaming/home release 2004)
-Let’s start with the official synopsis from the movie’s own website. “In this 19th century, supernatural epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers”.
That barely begins to cover it.
“Hundreds Of Beavers” is a slapstick comedy film that feels like one of the old Warner Brothers cartoons has come to life. Well, at least the first half feels this way, Comedy aficionados will also notice the influence of Buster Keaton, The Three Stooges, and Charlie Chaplin as well. Each gag lands with accuracy, and even the repeated gags don’t get old.
Then the movie takes a slight tonal shift into Dudley Do-Right territory with a little bit of “Return Of The Jedi” thrown in for good measure. There is also a brief parody of a courtroom drama, and what begins to feel like a video game play through, while still keeping the story together and not losing any slapstick elements.
Let’s face it folks, this shouldn’t work. But it does. Wonderfully.
“Hundreds Of Beavers” is a modern take on some old formulas, so it is self aware, but without being obvious or pompous about it. There’s lots of cartoon violence, but nothing overly disturbing. Unless you’re one of those. In which case you probably won’t like this film. For the rest of us though, it’s a blast.
Otherwise, there’s no profanity (apart from one well timed bleep), the sexual humor is mild, few references to smoking are made, and as far as alcohol goes, well, that’s what started our heroes problems to begin with-and he learns his lesson. My only complaint is that the movie is a little bit too long. I think trimming a few minutes here and there could have helped the flow overall and brought us to a quicker resolution. I feel that comedy movies work best at around 90 minutes, and this one clocks in at 108. Not bad, mind you, but the third act felt a little long. Still, if the only bad thing I can say about the movie is that it’s too much of a good thing, then how bad can it be? Also there are a few gross jokes, but nothing worse than an 11 year old boy would come up with so let’s let that slide.
Let’s see, what else? Oh, did I mention this was all shot in black and white? And that the Beavers (and other animals) are all played by people in Mascot type costumes? The physical and digital effect mix make the whole thing feel like the 30’s while being a masterful achievement of today’s technology.
And that’s the key to the success of this movie, I think. It’s all about the juxtaposition of ideas and styles that don’t go together, but do. “Hundreds Of Beavers” also pulls off one of the hardest things a comedy can, in that it’s stupid, yet smart. This in and of itself is a lost art these days, and it is refreshing to see. Quality stuff.
I’d recommend seeing this with a like minded friend (or more) for maximum fun and laughs. But even if you see it all by your lonesome, see it! “Hundreds Of Beavers” is on Apple tv, Amazon Prime, and Blu ray.

Aright. Well. That’s what’s been keeping me entertained. If any of these pieces sounds good to you, check ’em out, and tell me what you think.

See you next time!

Whistle While You Read

You don’t have to know me long to know that two of my passions are music and reading. When the two combine, I am a happy guy.

There are, of course, a plethora of books written by and about musicians and music itself. Most people would assume that the reader would need to have an interest in the artist or genre being written about to enjoy a given book, but I don’t believe that’s necessarily true.

So I submit the following books as recommendations of music books for non-music geeks.

Love Is A Mixtape: Life And Loss One Song At A Time-Rob Sheffield
Rob Sheffield is a contributing editor to Rolling Stone magazine, and this is his true, tragic love story. The book uses music and the mixtapes made by Rob and the love of his life Renee to frame their all too brief story. This book both will warm your heart and break it. It is a beautiful work that illustrates the power of music as a joyful expression, a melancholy reminder, and ultimately a healer. Music fans of any genre will no doubt relate. If you’re not a music fan, the story will keep you reading along, and perhaps give you some new music to discover. Recommended for everyone.
Traveling Music: Playing Back The Soundtrack To My Life And Times-Neil Peart
Neil Peart (RIP) was the drummer/lyricist for progressive rock band Rush. He is often referred to as the greatest drummer of all time, and is known for intelligent, thought provoking lyrics. His second career was as a travel writer, telling the stories of his (mostly) solo travels and adventures. This book tells the story of one such trip while discussing the music he brought along to loosen to in the car and discussing the impact these particular albums had on his life. The music featured is perhaps a bit more varied than one would think, from jazz to alternative rock and more. Part travelogue, part music review, part autobiography, all good.
The Facts Of Life And Other Dirty Jokes-Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson is a unique American voice, and this is my favorite of the several books he has authored. It features many stories from Willie’s life and career, along with the lyrics to related songs. There are wise observations, tender moments, and laugh out loud stories from all aspects of Nelson’s life. There are also, as the title implies, just a lot of dirty jokes. So if that’s not your thing, maybe give this one a pass. For the rest of us, it’s a fun read.
Man In Black-Johnny Cash
On the other side of the coin, we have this autobiography by Johnny Cash. Yes, it is his life’s tale, but it is also the story of his faith. Cash has always been known to have a dark side that balances the more evangelical bent to his work. This is Johnny Cash diving in to explain at least a little bit of both. Ultimately it is the story of his own redemption. I’ll tell you the truth, I read this book at the exact right time in my life, and it did more for my own spiritual journey than countless sermons, hymns, and Sunday School classes ever did.
Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changes Rock, R&B and Pop-Marc Myers
Okay, this one might be aimed a little bit more at the music obsessed, but anyone who is interested in the artistic process should find plenty to like here. While this book does not claim to include the greatest songs ever written (though some would qualify), it does do a very good job at putting the featured songs into historical perspective. There are tons of stories about the inspiration behind these tunes, and the sometimes strange stories of how they came to be. Informative and well written.

All right, that should get you started. There are tons more books I could recommend, and I may well do that soon, but these are, I think, a good introduction to the world of music literature for the uninitiated. Keep reading, keep listening, and keep coming back here for more MonDAVEs.

Literary Round Up

If you recall, last week I mentioned the fact that I am the type of reader who gets stuck into a book and needs a few days to linger in the world described. I have trouble letting go of the characters and their stories. Often I will think about which parts of the book spoke to me and why. Was this just entertainment, or is there a bigger message going on? For the record, this applies to both fiction and non-fiction.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share with you a few of the books I have read over the past few months.. You will notice that most of these selections aren’t very recent. As much as I like to go to the bookstore and peruse the new releases, more often than not I find myself buying from the marked down bargain bins, or picking up something used from the neighborhood charity stores. It doesn’t matter to me how old a book may be, if it’s good, it’s good and I will happily invest my time reading away. So here, in no particular order, are a few selections that have kept me turning pages recently.

ABOUT A BOY-Nick Hornby
I have enjoyed a few of the movies made from Hornby’s work, but never actually read any of his novels. Since this is one of the movies I hadn’t seen, I snatched this one up earlier this year. I enjoyed it a lot.

This is a coming of age story about not only a teenage boy, but also a slacker adult who acts like a boy. I found it to be both funny and sweet, also just British enough to please the Anglophile in me, but not so British that it made for a difficult read. I would definitely recommend this, and I will seek out more in the future.

AND IN THE END: THE LAST DAYS OF THE BEATLES-Ken McNabb
With the release of Peter Jackson’s mammoth “Get Back” documentary last year, pretty much everybody was talking about The Beatles. While the film covers the period just before the band split up, this book takes us to the bitter end and fills in some of the gaps in the movie narrative. The book is meticulously researched, and gives multiple points of view from interviews done both at the time and later on. While there is naturally a little bit of author speculation here and there, I can’t imagine a better chronicle of the band’s last year. It isn’t a happy story, but it is a human one and quite interesting for any Beatles fan.

DELIVERANCE-James Dickey
Yes, that “Deliverance”. Yes, that scene is in it. No, nobody says “squeal like a pig” in the book.

This one was released in 1970, but the prose feels a little earlier than that, like an early 60’s style of writing, maybe. This book was a little bit frustrating for me, but it was interesting enough to keep me reading. I am often more concerned with the story than the prose, and I think that sometimes too much detail can get in the way and slow things down. That happens more than once in this book, from descriptions of the countryside to the scene where our main character is climbing up a gorge on his own. More than once I wanted to just skip ahead a few pages and get to the good parts. It almost felt as though much of the book was padded out to make a full length novel out of what should have been a short story, or anovella at most. Still, the storytelling is good and the stakes are high, so it is an entertaining read overall. I’m not entirely sure who got deliverance though, and from what. Perhaps I’m not supposed to?

THE STORYTELLER: TALES OF LIFE AND MUSIC-Dave Grohl
This should appeal not only to fans of Nirvana and Foo Fighters, but also to anyone who has ever dreamed of being a rock star. Dave Grohl is one of the luckiest guys out there, and he knows it. His success story is one of hard work and dumb luck, and it makes for a very fun read. Some of his stories are genuinely funny, others touching. The book feels like a conversation with a friend over a few drinks, which is a welcome change from the “serious” rock journalism tone that many books have. Grohl almost makes you feel like you were there with him. It was highly entertaining and I hope he writes another one soon.

THE KEPT-James Scott
“The Kept” is a gothic western revenge story set in upstate New York, in the winter of 1897. It is a bleak, haunting work that deals with violence, deceit, the meaning of family, long kept secrets, obsessions, and the cost of all of those things. This book doesn’t let up much once it gets going, and I was always eager to read the next chapter and find out what would happen in the end, even if I knew it wasn’t going to be pleasant. The story may be a bit far fetched in places, and I’m not sure what I think about the way it ended (I understand why Scott used that ending, I’m just not sure I liked it), but these complaints are minor. This is a depressing read, but one I highly recommend.

Okay, before somebody decides to comment, yes, I agree, it is similar to “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy in some places. That book was clearly a strong influence on this one, but I think that “The Kept” is definitely stands on its own when compared side by side.

Alright friends, there we have it. Maybe one of these books will make it on to your “to be read” list soon. Maybe not. My own list still has three or four I need to get to, and it seems to grow every time I turn around. See you next week, and happy reading!

A Post About Art Which Is Trying To Say More Than It Does, But I Think You Get The Picture Anyway. Also I Use Too Many Italics. Sorry.

Okay, Netflix, we need to talk. I have an issue that needs to be resolved. Share this info with your buddies over at Hulu too.

Let me tell you about what happened last night. I was watching a movie from the 90’s that I never got the chance to see, and since it was due to leave your service today (making the argument for physical media over streaming, but that’s a discussion for another time), I was up late taking the movie in. It was one of those movies with a large cast of mostly character actors and I was curious to see who played a few of the parts. So as the credits began to roll, they disappeared into a little box at the top of my screen while an advertisement for some show I have no interest in at all filled my screen. By the time I grabbed my remote and clicked around the boxes to give the okay to watch the credits I had missed most of the cast list. So I rewound the movie to the beginning of the credits

IT HAPPENED AGAIN. I had to re-click the right box, and then try to read really fast so I could figure out where I was in the cast list and then pause the movie in order to see what I wanted to see.

My point is this: I want to watch the credits. I know it’s not your fault, Netflix, that the credits zoomed by quickly, but if I hadn’t had to mess around with the plethora of choices to click on so the credits could be watched in the first place I would have been able to read them correctly. I suppose having a watch credits option is okay, but why does it have to be difficult to do? Also, why do I only have a few seconds to decide before the next thing just automatically starts, or I go back to the menu?

It’s not just the technical aspect that annoys me here though. The fact is that the credits are part of the movie. If the film was any darn good, I need those few minutes to decompress a little, and absorb what I just watched. The credits can help do that by providing the right music to take the viewer out of the world they have just inhabited for a few hours and back into their own. Of course, many action movies and comedies have extra scenes tagged on, but you’re good about not cutting those off, aren’t you? It’s just the documentaries and dramas that don’t have extra scenes that get lopped off. That’s a shame, because these are the very movies that require some time to think about and live with, often well after the credits roll.

The same idea is true with all art forms though. How often have I attended live theater and spent the next few days thinking about it? I have attended several concerts where I can listen to nothing but the performer’s work for days after, and I keep replaying highlights from the show in my head.

Here’s a question for the book hounds I know: How can you finish a book and just pick up another one? I need to live in that world for a while. If I have invested time in reading about these characters and their lives (fictitious or not), I need a few days to shake the events out of my system and leave the fantasy slowly, and think about what I have just read, the emotions the story called up and perhaps why this work resonated the way it did. Yet I have friends who can finish one book and start a new one immediately, or the next morning.

How do they do that? More importantly, why do they do that? Are they just not present in the moment, or do they just want to have the accomplishment of reading so many books, that the art is lost on them? Or is it possible that reading on an e-reader, phone, or laptop takes away some of the physical, tangible experience that holding a book in your hands and actually turning the pages provides?

Also, how am I going to get this back on track to being about Netflix?

Anyway, I can’t do it. I can’t just move on right away. Perhaps my sense of imagination is too great, or perhaps I am just too sensitive to the stories, sights and sounds to dismiss the artistry of a piece that I relate to so well.

That’s the thing about art. Art gets inside of you, whether you want it to or not. Of course, what is and isn’t “art” can be debated ad nauseum, because what moves one person may do nothing for another. What some see as art, others see as mere entertainment and fluff. There’s nothing wrong with just wanting to be entertained mind you, but a true piece of art is something more. However, we are never all going to agree on what is or isn’t valid art, so it is up to the individual to decide.

That’s why we need the credits to roll. (Now we’re back on track.) That’s why we need to slow down when we watch, listen, or read. We are so obsessed with making sure we consume as much of what is available as possible that we don’t let it affect our lives, we don’t allow ourselves to see ourselves or others in a new light. We don’t allow ourselves to feel anything, which is a pity, because that’s what art is for.

It would be a whole lot easier to have a meaningful relationship with art if the very technologies that provide it to us with ease didn’t also get in the way.

Wait, did I just use a blog to complain about technology? I did, didn’t I? Well, that’s kind of weird. And slightly hypocritical? Maybe?

Huh.

Anyway…so, um, yeah. See you next week.