Weird

The Best Weird Compliments

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this bright and beautiful day? Things are finally slowing down here, doctor appointment-wise, though Dad does keep bringing home more of them. At least the newest one is a month away. All of my doctors seem to be retiring. It makes me feel old, but that’s okay. Just means I get to meet people like Dr. Lucifer. Her name is actually Lussier, but the guy who left the message telling me she was my doctor didn’t enunciate and my ears heard what they wanted to, so she will forever be Dr. Lucifer. And since there’s a chance she could read this, I totally mean it in a Tom Ellis way, not a Mark Pellegrino (Supernatural) way. Anyway, I’m rambling and off topic. I’ve recently been thinking about weird compliments I’ve received. I even posted about it in a Facebook group in order to socialize a bit. But I thought I’d share a few of the ones I’ve received for you to laugh (or cringe) at.

1. So, I was hanging out with a friend and some of his friends when he stops mid-sentence, stares me in the eye, and says “I never noticed before, but your eyes are like blue crystal. I want to cut them out and hang them on my wall.” And, as you know, I appreciate all of the creepy things in life, so this was basically the best compliment ever. It inspired one of my serial killer stories (“Lying Eyes”). Who doesn’t love friendly serial killer-esque compliments from friends? To be fair, it came from the guy who also once told me that he keeps forgetting I’m creepy too after he apologized for some other weird remark. Creepy friends are fun.

2. Another time, I was texting a long-distance friend when I got bored and asked if he had any single friends. He told me that all of his friends were either married or assholes and he wouldn’t give me to an asshole. I still don’t know if that was weirdly sweet or just super unhelpful. I’m going with sweet just because it’s him, but I’m still single so it also wasn’t helpful at all.

3. During grad school, one of my fellow pop ficcers sent me the best feedback ever. He told me that my story had the potential for EVA-level mindfucks. Being the Neon Genesis Evangelion lover that I am, I admit I squeed. I squeed hard. I can only aspire to EVA-level mindfuckery, but to think someone had that much faith in me was super sweet.

I can probably think of other weird compliments, but this post is feeling a bit awkward. I’m not used to nice things. What are some of the weird things that have been said to you? Were you creeped out or did you think it was sweet? As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!

Mindless Games and Why I Play Them

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Happy new year, everyone!  I hope the year has started off pleasantly for you.  I’ve just been working on revisions to G&G and relaxing.  I have a tendency to play mindless games when I relax.  You know the ones.  Candy Crush, Diner Dash, Papa’s Pizzeria.  Pretty much anything with an alliterative name is bound to be mindless.  Match three games or hidden objects games or time management games.  The types of games that give you something to do with your hands and pretty images to stare at, but require little to no deep thinking.  However, some people don’t really understand why I play them and even pick on me for it (in a funny haha way, not a mean one), so I thought I would explain a little bit.

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May your year be filled with love and light!

Mindless games are simply a way for me to shut down my brain and stop overthinking things, especially when I’m dwelling on something.  They allow me to focus on something mundane and ignore the voices in my head for a while.  When I’m upset at life or stuck on a story or whatever, the games help to clear my thoughts.  It’s kind of like when you get sucked into a TV show or a movie or a book and everything else fades away for that hour or however long.  It’s a way to bring peace into my head, like my own little meditation.  When your brain is constantly on high speed over the stupidest things, it’s a really nice feeling to just relax.

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I can stop whenever I want.  I just don’t want to.

There’s also this weird side effect of mindless games that I don’t get from TV or books: I find solutions to plot problems when I play.  With TV and books, I have to focus on their plots and follow along.  Mindless games don’t require that much interaction, so my subconscious is free to roam wild.  In its roaming, it finds solutions to problems organically.  It finds things I would never come up with even after hours or days of plotting.  I know a lot of people who have these revelations in the shower, and others who keep dream journals for this type of stuff, but not me.  Mindless games are where it’s at for me.

So, laugh at my stupid games all you want, but there’s a method to my madness.  Plus, and this is important, I enjoy the games.  I like matching games.  I like the games that simulate tasks like waiting tables and cooking and all the other stuff I can’t do.  It’s fun and stupid and makes me a huge nerd.  I fully accept that.

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I’m right here!

Do you play any mindless games?  How do you go about clearing your mind?  Do you find your aha moments in the shower or driving down the road or in your dreams?  Thoughts, comments, questions, and everything in between are welcome in the comment section here or on my social media pages.

Inspiration Time!

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hi all!  It’s been another week.  If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, you know that I randomly post inspirational images (like inspiration for stories, not those motivational posters).  Recently, I’ve had some people who were interested in how I find these images, why them and not others, etc.  Today, I guess we’ll talk about art!  Or ekphrastic writing (no, it’s not limited to poetry) at least.

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“Pagan Poetry: The Devourer” — Photographer: Kay Klages Model: Felipe García

Lately, I’ve found most of the pictures I share (as well as the ones here) on Dark Beauty Magazine’s Facebook page.  One reason I gravitate towards them lately is because of all of the credits they provide (often with links), so if I find a particular artist or model I enjoy, I can follow them.  I like places that give credit where credit is due.  Not to mention that it frustrates me to no end when I want to find a particular artist, but no one seems to know their name.  Other places I find art include DeviantArt, a lot of the pictures of models or bands I like, artist websites (Nene Thomas for example), and random Google searches.  If you had asked me ten years ago where to find art, I could’ve listed at least fifty sites without effort, but I suppose I’ve become more selective as I grew up (or just too lazy to keep track of so many things).

As far as why I choose certain images, I honestly don’t know.  Something about them speaks to me.  The one above, contrary to popular opinion, attracted me because of the blood, not the very lovely man (he’s a bonus).  I enjoy dark themes, so I lean toward creepier artworks.  I tend to prefer night to day, black and white or muted colors to vivid ones, water and fire to earth and wind, things like that.  Granted, there are exceptions, and keep in mind that these preferences refer to images that inspire me to write.

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Photographer: Johann Kopf Makeup/Model: Tina Lakos

On the other hand, some images simply tell their own stories.  You can’t look at them without formulating a tale leading to that particular moment captured by the camera (or the brush), or what you imagine is going to happen from that point in time on.  You’re story will probably be different from mine, but a story will be conjured nonetheless.

Take the Johann Kopf picture for instance.  My first thought upon seeing it was “what post-apocalyptic hell is this?,” but the more I look at it, the more ideas I get.  Is it post-apocalyptic or is it an alien planet?  What’s with the axe?  Are the doggies going to survive?  And then my brain has to answer all of those questions.  It’s the same thing for less chatty images (ones that intrigue, but don’t give you much of an outright story to work with), like the one below.  The questions just start flowing.  Who is she?  Why is she in an alley?  Is it an alley or is it a portal to another world?  And on and on and on…

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Photographer: Digital Art by Rachid de Wind Model: Queenie Constancia

I suppose what all this means is that I really don’t know why I pick certain pictures over others.  It’s not that other images don’t speak to me (I can come up with a story for just about anything if I try), they just speak louder than the rest.  I try to post things that my followers might respond to, so I choose from a wide variety of styles in case some of you don’t find something particularly inspirational.  Then again, maybe I’m just weird.