Journal of Pirate Lingo*

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* not an actual journal
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04.25.02 - 3:16 p.m.

The main Artist's Way task for this week is to avoid reading. No magazines, no books, no diaryland, no internet surfing. (Note to self: does restriction include porn? Investigate ASAP.) We're still allowed to read email. The no-reading edict ties into a recurring issue: is it harder to create original art if you spend lots of time consuming other people's work? When writing essays or music, it's all about finding your own voice. Maybe it's easier to do this if you stop listening to everyone else's.

Although I usually regard Artist's Way tasks with the utmost of disdain, I think this one will be interesting. I don't know if I can do it. I've never gone a week without reading for pleasure. Not even in the farthest reaches of Patagonia. I'll keep you posted.

Joshua Aaron Guthals and Nate Byerly are sitting upstairs, laughing at bits of a movie that Nate is editing. He recently purchased a digital camera and an I-Mac (one of the new ones that resemble lamps). This weekend Nate took his camera on a trip up north, through Sacramento, and he filmed footage of roadkill, wildlife and MacDonald's. At this moment he is interspersing the roadkill scenes with "commentary" from Josh, which Nate solicited at an earlier date.

[close up of Josh pontificating, director-style]

Josh: Well this scene came about rather strangely. Melinda came up to me that morning feeling frazzled, and she told me, 'I'm blocked. I just don't feel the flow... I need to loosen up. Help me be free.' And so I calmed her down a bit, and I told her something that my acting teacher used to tell me, back in New York. 'Just relax, and imagine that you're a little girl swinging on a swing, without a care in the world. Just be that girl, swinging gently in the breeze.' When she tried it, it worked wonders, and I think that looseness really carried over into the scene. Let's take a look.

[cut to footage of dead turkey... cars whooshing past]

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