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Friday Drabble

Today, I learned that the term for a 100 word story is a "drabble" (not to be confused with comic strip or the novelist). The term comes from Monty Python's 1971 Big Red Book. In this book, "Drabble" was a word game where the first participant to write a novel wins. In order to make the game possible in the real world, it was agreed that 100 words would suffice.

I thought it would be fun (and a good writing exercise) to try to do a weekly drabble attempt or two. Since Friday's usually the day I feel the least desire to get any writing done, I figured it would be a good day to schedule my weekly drabble attempt.  Feel free to join in and write your own 100 word stories on Fridays and tag them with "friday drabble".  Link to them in the comments and/or on Twitter with the hashtag #fridaydrabble. Let's see if we can get a following going!

"Welcome to Hell," a voice growled from behind his back. Still groggy from the blow to his head, Mike didn't even attempt to turn around. His brain sloshed inside his skull with every minute movement, causing him to retch and collapse onto the hard packed dirt floor. The next blow arrived unseen and he descended into the depths of unconsciousness.

The lights snicked on, and he started peeling off the adhesive patches affixed to his forehead, scalp, and neck. "Damn, that was hardcore!" he told his friends, each anxiously awaiting their turn. "I'm only porting happy memories from now on."

I've always been a bookworm, but back in middle school, it was really pronounced.

In fact, it got me into trouble on more than a few occasions.

The most memorable time was in middle school, when the class bully was picking on me for reading The Hobbit during lunch.

I studiously ignored his insults and shoulder prodding. Finally, my temper grew short, I closed the tome, and swinging it like a tennis racket, slapped him silly upside his head.

I don't know if the pen is mightier than the sword, but a good hardcover book can definitely pack a wallop!

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I played this game once before here, so I'll follow it up with part 2 today.  It's about all I can handle this week, for personal reasons.  More hand-crafted content next week, but for now, have fun guessing!

The idea's courtesy of Ginger Sister, but the quotes are all chosen by me.  I didn't go for the most obscure quote from the movies, but I also didn't pick the most obvious.  Happy guessing, and I'll try to strike-out quotes today/over the weekend as the answers are guessed in the comments.  (SPOILER WARNING: Guess before you scroll to the end of the quotes, as the answers will be posted directly below the quotes area)

The Rules:
1. Pick 30 20 of your favorite movies. (A little shorter contest this time, but with some harder quotes on some of them.)
2. Find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.

NO CHEATING please.  Guess what you know, don't wikiquote them.

1) They say your whole life flashes before your eyes when you die. And it's true, even for a blind man.

2) I found a snipe, and I followed it under your porch, but this snipe had a long tail, and looked more like a large mouse. [sixbucksamonkey]

3) Dear Roberta Sparrow, I have reached the end of your book and… there are so many things that I need to ask you. Sometimes I'm afraid of what you might tell me. Sometimes I'm afraid that you'll tell me that this is not a work of fiction. I can only hope that the answers will come to me in my sleep. I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to. [crankypants]

4) She came from southwest Missoura, the hills outside the scratchy-ass Ozark town of Theodosia, set in the cedars and oak trees, somewhere between nowhere and goodbye. [sixbucksamonkey]

5) For us to live any other way was nuts. Uh, to us, those goody-good people who worked shitty jobs for bum paychecks and took the subway to work every day, and worried about their bills, were dead. I mean they were suckers. They had no balls. If we wanted something we just took it. If anyone complained twice they got hit so bad, believe me, they never complained again. [crankypants]

6) All right, if the applicant is young, tell him he's too young. Old, too old. Fat, too fat. If the applicant then waits for three days without food, shelter, or encouragement he may then enter and begin his training. [crankypants]

7) I am going to show you why we insist on such precautions. On the evening of July 8th, 1981, he complained of chest pains and was taken to the dispensary. His mouthpiece and restraints were removed for an EKG. When the nurse leaned over him, he did this to her.  [crankypants]

8) The rifle is the first weapon you learn how to use, because it lets you keep your distance from the client. The closer you get to being a pro, the closer you can get to the client. The knife, for example, is the last thing you learn.  [mariser]

9) Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today. [crankypants]

10) You see for the last two years the Nazis have had teams of archeologists running around the world looking for all sorts of religious artifacts. Hitler's gone nuts on the subject. He's crazy. He's obsessed with the occult. And right now, apparently, there is some kind of German archeological dig going on in the desert outside Cairo. [crankypants]

11) I ain't like that no more. I ain't the same, Ned. Claudia, she straightened me up, cleared me of drinkin' whiskey and all. Just 'cause we're goin' on this killing, that don't mean I'm gonna go back to bein' the way I was. I just need the money, get a new start for them youngsters. Ned, you remember that drover I shot through the mouth and his teeth came out the back of his head? I think about him now and again. He didn't do anything to deserve to get shot, at least nothin' I could remember when I sobered up. [(Fish)]

12) Nine million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister.  [Red Mosquito]

13) Criss-cross.

14) Today… is Christmas! There will be a magic show at zero-nine-thirty! Chaplain Charlie will tell you about how the free world will conquer Communism with the aid of God and a few Marines! God has a hard-on for Marines because we kill everything we see! He plays His games, we play ours! To show our appreciation for so much power, we keep heaven packed with fresh souls! God was here before the Marine Corps! So you can give your heart to Jesus, but your ass belongs to the Corps! Do you ladies understand?  [mariser]

15) The ship brought me back. I told you she won't let me leave – she won't let anyone leave. Did you really think you could destroy this ship? She's defied space and time. She's been to a place you couldn't possibly imagine. And now… it is time to go back.

16) Your bones don't break, mine do. That's clear. Your cells react to bacteria and viruses differently than mine. You don't get sick, I do. That's also clear. But for some reason, you and I react the exact same way to water. We swallow it too fast, we choke. We get some in our lungs, we drown. However unreal it may seem, we are connected, you and I. We're on the same curve, just on opposite ends. [crankypants]

17) My name is Shosanna Dreyfus and THIS is the face… of Jewish vengeance! [mariser]

18) Do be careful! Don't lose any of that stuff. That's concentrated evil. One drop of that could turn you all into hermit crabs. [crankypants]

19) Well, I wouldn't argue that it wasn't a no-holds-barred, adrenaline-fueled thrill ride. But there is no way you can perpetrate that amount of carnage and mayhem and not incur a considerable amount of paperwork. [sixbucksamonkey]

20) There's a box of Twinkies in that grocery store. Not just any box of Twinkies, the last box of Twinkies that anyone will enjoy in the whole universe. Believe it or not, Twinkies have an expiration date. Some day very soon, Life's little Twinkie gauge is gonna go… empty. [Red Mosquito]

Answers:
1) Daredevil (not guessed)
2) Up
3) Donnie Darko
4) Million Dollar Baby
5) Goodfellas
6) Fight Club
7) The Silence of the Lambs
8) Leon [The Professional]
9) Groundhog Day
10) Raiders of the Lost Ark
11) Unforgiven
12) Die Hard
13) Strangers on a Train (not guessed)
14) Full Metal Jacket
15) Event Horizon (not guessed)
16) Unbreakable
17) Inglorious Basterds
18) Time Bandits
19) Hot Fuzz
20) Zombieland

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Friday-5

Cori put together this neat badge over on her book blog to indicate the Friday [5] – a meme where you post 5 things in the land of books and media that you're currently lovin'. Steve and some others have also started doing this, and since I'm still laid up on the couch this week and not feeling all that inspired (being house-bound against your will does put a damper on your creativity), I thought I'd try it out, too.  I'm going to extend it to include "writing" interests, too, since I'm getting interested in doing some writing and/or improving my writing a bit. So without further ado,

Here are five things in the land of books, media, and writing that I’m lovin’:

1. I've been catching up on episodes of this season's Burn Notice. The title refers to the "burn notices" issued by intelligence agencies to discredit or announce the dismissal of agents or sources who are considered to have become unreliable. When a spy is burned, they are wiped off the grid, without access to cash or influence. Each episode is its own self-contained story, with the "burn notice" story arc running through the background tying them all together. It's an interesting mix of spies, con-men, and trickery. I'm fond of the lead, Jeffrey Donovan, and he and the supporting cast keep the show interesting even after three seasons.
2. Neil Gaimain posted a link to a short story of his on Twitter. The story, entitled "Cinnamon", has never been published anywhere before.  It's a short read, but a nice gem. Reminds me a lot of Kipling's work, and not just because it involves tigers and parrots!
3. I got my hands on an ebook copy of The Princess Bride, by William Goldman. Although I expected it to be good, I didn't realize it would be THIS good. I'm really enjoying the "autobiographical" aspects of the text that Goldman includes.  He says in the preface that he adapted this from S. Morganstern's "Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure", but cut all of the boring parts and left only "The Good Parts". If you've seen the film (and who hasn't?) you'll find yourself comparing scenes of the movie to the same chapters of the book, and sometimes find the film comes out on top. But if you can put the film aside for a bit and just read the book in its entirety, I think you'll find it an enjoyable and humorous read.
4. Not so much media as a media platform, I'm finding I am really digging the Motorola Droid as a video-player. I already have the Creative Zen mp3/media player that I use most of the time, but the only benefit that has over the Droid now is that the Zen can output to the TV.  Otherwise, the Droid kicks butt – I can convert any video to .mp4 format using Handbrake, and the resulting file plays brilliantly on my phone.  Plug in some headphones and I have a beautiful little video player to watch a TV show or movie on while resting on the couch or in bed.
5. 750words.com has been getting a lot of attention recently, especially from the geek/writing community.  Conceived by Buster Benson, 750 Words is a website that enables you to do a private "brain-dump" on a very simple online word-processor.  750 words is the equivalent of 3 pages, and is the daily goal of participants of the website (originating from the idea of "morning pages" from The Artist's Way).  After you write 750 words about whatever you want (stream-of-consciousness style recommended), the website does a very cool text-analysis and visualization on what you typed.  (Example here, from my entry today)  I find once I start writing, the very activity of writing primes me to write more, so I'm looking forward to using this site not only to provide an outlet for private catharsis, but also to help get me jump-started on the day's writing. 

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Since I've still been couch-bound for the last couple weeks, I've watched a lot more movies than I normally would. I watched a lot of crappy movies, but did find a few diamonds in the rough. Here's some of the gems I caught:

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker

"Kathryn Bigelow directs this gripping drama (nominated for nine Oscars) following one of the U.S. Army's elite EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) teams operating in the ferocious war zone of Iraq. As the squad identifies and dismantles improvised explosive devices and other bombs, they must also contend with the frayed nerves and internal conflicts that arise from living in constant peril. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce star."

An incredibly powerful film that came at me from a totally unexpected direction. The whole movie felt like one long, tense shot. The characters seemed a lot more "human" than many of the more recent war-time movies I've seen; the EOD crew is composed of individuals just looking to do their job safely and efficiently so they and the people they're trying to help (U.S. soldiers and Iraqis alike) can make it through another day safely. The film focuses less on the action the team sees while on tour (although there is certainly plenty of that), and more on the emotional and physical interactions of the  people affected by the conflicts that take place every day. Surprisingly, most of the big-named actors have very small roles in this film, and the lesser-knowns standing in the spotlight do an excellent job of portraying troubled and entirely-too-real human beings. The end result is a fascinating and gut-wrenching look into the lives of people who just happen to be soldiers, for better or for worse.

Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity

"When Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) fear their San Diego, Calif., home may be haunted by a demonic presence, Micah sets up a video camera to document all the jaw-dropping, hair-raising action over a series of several nights in fall 2006. The paranormal occurrences increase in frequency and significance, leaving Katie more and more distraught — and determined to put an end to the terror."

I'm not usually a fan of the "handycam film" – you know, the shaky, intentionally "amateurish" handheld camera that "adds" to the action or suspense of the movie – but it worked pretty well for this film. Reminded me a lot of how effective it was in The Blair Witch Project. There were definitely some creepy moments to this flick. In fact, after it finished, my wife and I had to immediately start another movie because we didn't want to go to bed with the images the director leaves in your head at the end of the film. There were some points where I found myself wishing the pace of the movie would pick up a little, and I questioned the likelihood of the actions of the main characters at several points during the movie (is there one of these movies where you don't?), but overall, it was a pretty well-built film that will leave you wondering whether there really is something to all this paranormal activity stuff.

Zombieland

Zombieland

"An easily spooked guy, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), joins forces with wild man Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) to fight for survival in a world virtually taken over by freakish zombies. As they destroy scores of the undead, they meet up with two other survivors, Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) and Wichita (Emma Stone), and journey to a supposedly safe abandoned amusement park. Ruben Fleischer directs this horror romp."

This movie was easily the most funny and most gory movie I've seen in a while. Think Superbad meets 28 Days Later. Ditching traditional zombie-flick traditions from the very start, this film is a slaughter-fest of semi-witless zombies by the "last survivors in the world". Filled with subtle, sarcastic, and sometimes flat-out slapstick humor including some very hilarious one-liners, this film kept me smiling and laughing through just about every scene. Bill Murray joins in on the fun late in the movie as himself and steals the show in at least a couple scenes.

City of Ember

City of Ember

"Bill Murray and Tim Robbins head the cast in this sci-fi fantasy set in Ember, a city illuminated only by artificial light. When the town's generator begins to fail, two teens (Harry Treadaway and Saoirse Ronan) race to save Ember's citizens from darkness by solving an old mystery. Martin Landau, Toby Jones and Mary Kay Place also star in this eye-popping metaphorical tale based on Jeanne Duprau's best-selling novel."

Definitely meant for kids, this movie is a little too trite for adults to really enjoy.  In spite of that, City of Ember is a beautifully visualized film, and the premise is entertaining enough to keep you watching to see how it turns out.  I suspect the novel is excellent and may pick it up so I can find out if it is as good a piece of YA fiction as I suspect it is.  Bill Murray does an excellent job as the city's mayor, but look out for Saoirse Ronan (nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2007 for Atonement) – I suspect she's going to be tearing her way through Hollywood in a couple more years, based on what I saw in this film.

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