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Incoming BYTES
contains highly variable subject matter including commentary on the mundane, the extraordinary and even controversial issues. At Incoming BYTES
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Monday, March 5, 2012

The Boys in the Box

The Boys in the Box  (c)*

In the fascinating and challenging world of writing, bloggers are supposed to be cool,  trendy, terrific, run a virtual blogopoly  and be prolific too.
 Ideally, at Incoming Bytes   we  they  I should  post every day. Write, write , and write  right !    Be informative, tuned in,  exciting, and ultra-productive.  [ head shake ]  
 Like many others, ----well, um..... I don't always hit that lofty goal. 

We have yet  to  figure out  how to write with a blank mind.   The Muse is noticeably absent.  (that would be M.M. -- a.k.a.  Missing Muse)     Where is he?   (she?)  What gender is a muse anyway?
We must be creative,  perfect,  prolific.....tear our hair out brilliant  full of info,  and also be readable, well-paid and fascinating.  Haha!   Meditate...how to solve that problem must be the official question of the day.   Stay amused, contemplate,  while kid-sitting,  watch the boys playing in a cardboard box.
After only 11,006 hits and 146 posts later  at Incoming Bytes the tabula rasa  is blank.  Nada.   No Monday  brunch word crunch scratched in that clay.   We're compensating by  sabbatical-schmoozing, vegging, recovering from Sunday,  crumpling up old papers and drinking coffee,  but there's  nothing cooking up there in the gray matter.  How come?   

 Cooking?  I'm hungry. Maybe a sandwich. Food. Too early. The boys in the box are still playing.

(concentrate, read- read- read- read ).......Two hours later.......um....

 Eureka! the ultimate solution. Maybe......
   Out in Vancouver someone is offering a blogger, any blogger,   $50,000 to eat at restaurants every day and presumably blog daily  about the bad service, ptomaine poisoning and stomach-stapling required  upon retirement. Some kind of culinary  scam promotion to suck in lure hungry tourists.
...... Let's see, there are over 800 restaurants in  Vancouver, that could even turn out to be a two year job.  The mind might be empty, but the belly  would be full  of  roast beef,  French   fries, Sum Ting Dumb or sum ting Dim Sum .  And the wallet would get fat too,  tips bribes included.
  I can see I need a timely   fun food-filled  vacation in B.C.....



Maybe the  Muse is already  on vacation, maybe he (she ? what gender is a Muse anyway??   ) is mindfully playing out in the brilliant March sunshine.  Wearing cool  Elvis Presley  shades of course,  UVA and  UVB rays, get it, and boots and gloves and a toque--those funny Canadian hats that squeeze  your brain out onto the snow  and give you mid-day bed-head.      No wonder everybody's  pointing and laughing


  Ah,  so what, why not risk it,  the Muse needs fresh air too . Whiskey-Jacks in the Jackpines.  Muse walks a country road,  two inches of new snow. Push snow sticks.  That's a tall  walking stick  pushed nonchalantly and thoughtfully along  the road  in the snow in front of  Muse.  Kind of like reverse dragging, keep  in mind  the high end  is purposefully held in a safe position.   Burns calories.  Extra mundane stuff.      Walk fast or jog,   snow-stick  throws snow like a mini- snowplow on steroids.   Kind of cute.   Slow down,  road-clearing action stops.  Walk faster,  lazy Muse.  Toss that snow.  
Dreaming...   Back in the yard, Muse  draws funny faces in  pristine frozen rain.  Make snow art.    Smilies, three or four in a row -all different.  Why not use Muse's  snow art portfolio too.  


 Work at it,  persist,  patience, persist,  after all, -- so far, --- it  took  146 posts and 11,006  hits  to empty the mind.  With another 446,003  posts and 3,698,000 gazillion   hits yet to come,  can the mind be willfully  refilled ?
 If not, off to Vancouver for lunch.Only 2500 miles for lunch.
We'll see.  Drive or fly? Decisions.   Which restaurant would we bloggerate  first?  Sum Ting?   Chicken Boy? Beef Reef?  Pizza-La-La-La ? 
We'll  consult with Chef Le Muse.    Where does  Le (La) Muse apply? ommmm....ommmmmm.......dreaming  prolific already...Dreaming, dreaming....

 Back at it, wide awake.  It must have been the snoozing and  schmoozing.  The revelation.   Wake-up coffee.  Watch the Boys in the Box  playing some more.   "Hey, boys,  climb out of the box, time  for lunch!"  
 Think outside of the box.... there's no snow in Vancouver.
Ohh! ....Got it!  ...There it isoutside of the box...




Is that incoming I hear?



Photo credit    *(c) r.a.kukkee 2012
 

10 comments:

  1. My Muse is lazy, often taking long sabbaticals and irked that I am demanding two creative pieces a week from him/her/it. Meanwhile characters and ideas shake their fists and stick index fingers in my face accusing me of being derelict in my writing duties. The pain of the artist at it's finest.

    I love the picture of the boys. Since I've been passively been packing to move, my children have claimed one incredibly large box that they climb into with their portable DVD player and close the top, to make their own private movie theater.

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    1. Thanks, Storm Dweller ! It seems we have a common problem, I have to agree, the Muse can be SO reluctant and stubborn! I guess the anguish of writer's block may actually help hone the skill to some degree at times--but that doesn't make it any easier to break, does it.. ":)
      We have a cardboard box, vertical, the size of a small refrigerator, several years old now, it has a door, opening round hatchways, foam buttons, dashboard, lights, beepers and coloured plastic windows in the roof. It's a fine space ship ! The imagination of kids is amazing isn't it? I had to smile about your children's private movie theater! Thanks for visiting! ":) ~R

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  2. Hehe Raymond you made a post out of your thoughts and I am laughing! I have liked your blog from the first time I stopped by and wish your blog all the best. I don't live far from Vancouver and like restaurants... would I be a good fit?

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  3. Hi Christyb, I'm glad you enjoyed that, sometimes we get desperate, don't we? I might have to start putting poems on here, IPOs, incoming poem offerings.. ":) Mathematical quizzes, reviews of Poetic sites.... ":)
    Vancouver, that was a real deal I came across on Yahoo!, and you would be a fine fit if you're close enough to Vancouver. I don't know who it was, try Vancouver Tourism or restaurant associations. Good luck with that one! Thanks for visiting, Christyb...! ~R

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  4. My muse decided to take a vacation. Too bad she forgot to bring me along. I could certainly use one :) BTW I wouldn't mind having someone pay me to eat in restaurants, it would save a lot of money on the food bill......

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    1. hi Katley, that does happen. The muse takes off for parts unknown and returns 'sooner or later'. What do you do about that? I tend to 'just write anything' in the interim. Sometimes it works...maybe. ":))
      I wouldn't mind having someone pay ME to eat in restaurants too, but it would get tedious driving 2500 miles every day, ie. half way across Canada just for lunch... Thanks for dropping by, Katley! ":)

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  5. I do not have the time to blog daily.. or get around to visit as often as I'd like too.. Loved the image of the boys in a box... You know its amazing how children can find pleasure in the most simplest of things.. this brought back a memory I hope you do not mind me sharing with you..
    When my children were young we didnt have any spare cash for Christmas.. and we never bought what we couldnt afford.. So I made my son a Fort out of a cardboard box, covered it in paper that looked like brickwork.. It had turrets and drawbridge and I bought him a couple of bags of those plastic soldiers.. He had the time of his life and played with that fort until it dropped to pieces.. That same year I made my daughter a dolls house out of a box too, made curtains, furniture and bought her a small doll to fit the furniture.
    Years later when they had left home we had a family Christmas get together, and we started reminiscing about childhood memories of Christmas.. they both said that those were the best presents and for the life of them they couldn’t remember others which had been bought... Some times it is the love and simplest of things which leave their memories ...
    So to me its not how often we post.. but what we pour into them that counts....
    Love and Blessings Raymond and wishing you a good day every day.. DW

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    1. Dreamwalker, your comments warmed the soul and brought back a lot of memories to me. It is fascinating how some of the simplest things have indeed become the most valuable and persistent memories from childhood. I must agree that is clearly because of the love built into them, which is by far the most important anchor in any child's life.

      Your discovery during that adult get-together was probably typical of one of the most satisfying realizations we ever make as an adult. Thank you so much for confirming that concept which I have always believed.
      Thank you for reminding me that quality in posts, not quantity is what REALLY counts. I also enjoy reading your posts which are always wonderful -- and your visits, daily or not. Love and blessings to you too. Thanks for visiting, Dreamwalker! ":) ~R

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  6. The muse is out there, always.

    And I didn't know that boys came in boxes now. I should get a couple, just for the chores...

    :-)

    Pearl

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    1. Pearl, I've always thought that muse(s) have a secret hideout in another dimension someplace. I have trouble locating mine at times, so next time you see (it, he, she), 'out there' and and it's lallygagging around drinking tequila, stick it in a box and send it HOME. I'll even pay postage and send you a rose and a chocolate cookie for your trouble! ":))

      "I didn't know that boys come in boxes now" is the funniest comment I've read, heard, or received, for some time. ":))
      About boys, the good quality chore type, they come in boxes by the dozen if you don't mind paying extra shipping.
      Thanks for visiting. I do SO enjoy your blog -and your sense of humour! ~R

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