I went to a writer's workshop once where the token industry professional insisted he loved to sit in on these workshops because he got the opportunity to discourage people from becoming writers. Though an aspiring writer myself, I found myself sympathizing with him. I had been horrified enough with the quality of some of the other submissions, I realized I'd happily stop writing entirely if I could ensure half of these other writers would stop committing atrocities in print along with me.
Alas, they keep writing, so I keep writing, hoping maybe I can dilute various slush piles just a little with plain "bad" instead of "spork the eyeballs out" bad. I think of it as a service to poor slush pile readers. Maybe I should just send bleach and sporks in my submission envelopes. Or, better yet, find a way to flat-package good single malt scotch to dull the pain.
In California, everybody is named Chris. Okay, maybe only half of everybody.
In high school, I took my U.S. History course in a very small class setting. My teacher was a woman who was getting her Ph.D. studying the politics of the early Catholic church and was more than happy to lecture us on her specialty once we'd handed in our essays on states rights vs. slavery. I didn't learn a lot of U.S. History in that course, but one day we got to talking about Papal Infallibility. She claimed the doctrine was originally expounded upon by some enemy of the church who reasoned (incorrectly) that there were a finite number of things in this world the Pope could speak on and that eventually, all things a Pope had a right to speak on would be set in permanent doctrine.
I don't remember what his aim was. Was he trying to save the church from Bad Popes, essentially hemming them in with other Pope's infallible teachings so that they dare not speak themselves? Or was he hoping to show the people just how pointless it was to have a Pope, turning it into an empy ceremonial role that people could easily ignore?
Whatever it was, it didn't work. You'd need some mighty powerful judo to flip the Catholic Church farther than the Pope can spit in the wind. Even my mother, the former nun, finally gave up trying to change the church from within. I think she hangs out with the Unitarians now.
On a side note, the most ardent Catholic I've ever met was in a 20 year homosexual relationship. When he died, his lover was right there in the family pew during the service and was the first to speak. Whatever the official doctrine, individual churches still seem willing to preach tolerance and love by their actions.
(And is it a sign of something awful that my brain jumped to badgers with tricorders as members of the United Federation of Badgers?)
Hmmm... that would make the Klingons wolverines, I think. Which gives me a great idea for the halftime show at the next U. Wisconsin/U. Michigan football game.
Does that come under the "writing fan fiction about Captain Kirk as an ocelot" heading on the Geek Hierarchy chart?
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