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Liberty, next to religion has been the motive of good deeds and the common pretext of crime...


Late afternoon in Salamanca, and here is a lamp no longer powered by whale blubber oil. It sits atop the entrance to the Salamanca Arts Centre, which doubtless is filled to the brim with testaments to man's inhumanity to man/woman/animals/trees/the planet/common sense and decency. Art these days can be a real drag.

Ahhh, but enough about that, today is Theme Thursday, and this week the theme is SHADOW. Of course, late afternoon is a good time to creatively utilise SHADOW in photographic endeavours, that seems too feeble a response. However, the neo-Marxist activities I alluded to yesterday coupled with my self imposed harsh deadlines have forced my hand to rush this week.

So here is a bit of short prose I have written right now for your amusement.
She liked to think of the world as black and white. The people that she knew were either good or bad. People could be good, but go bad, but he had not heard of someone go from bad to good. The men in her life were gay and straight. The gay ones were worthy, and the straight ones less so. Of potential mates, the interesting ones were arseholes and the boring ones decent. Her days were either splendid or terrible. She ran hot and cold and her passions frequently led her into trouble. Her Friday nights went right off or were write offs. The same was true of her Saturday nights. She was bored and she needed excitement.

Subtlety eluded here. She did not understand that life really existed in the shadows.

One really had to feel sorry for the poor cow.

There you go, straight off the presses, took me four minutes. Beat that Kerouac!

There is something very liberating about posting a first and final draft. It's like an exam.

Comments

Brian Miller said…
what a sad soul, not to see hte beauty in the shadows...

i am sure the whales are a bit happier these days as well...
Kris McCracken said…
Brian, you know whales; nothing but complain...
Tash said…
That's good! Nice shadows punch line. Nice picture too. (However, I missed Ezra's or Henry's face on my thumbnail roll.)
Kris McCracken said…
Tash, well, one of them goes up every evening! It will be Henry's turn tonight.
Tom said…
ha. moo! Jack can't top that!
Kris McCracken said…
Tom, "hit the road Jack", is what I always say.
Baino said…
Excellent. Four minutes! I feel so uncreative. She sounds like my brother, all black and white and no shades of grey.
Kris McCracken said…
Baino, four minutes is slow. The majority of my poems are out in 45 seconds.

Why waste time I don't have?!?!
Anonymous said…
Interesting piece!

Art can be a drag sometimes
Kris McCracken said…
Yoork, the modern 'art' around these parts seems to be accompanied by a distinct lack of technical ability.
yamini said…
I used to hate exams while in school and college. But now I think those were the "Best Days of My Life."
The photograph is alluring but more than that, I was surprised to read that it was taken during late afternoon. Isn't that too early to get dark?
Kris McCracken said…
Yamini, if high school was the best years of my life, kill me now!
yamini said…
I didn't get it. :-(
There is so very much in between. Beat that Kerouac!... great pun!
-Jayne
Anonymous said…
"Self imposed harsh deadlines"? NEVER SIR! I must say!
Betsy Brock said…
Four minutes? I'm feeling so uncreative now. ha-ha! You must be one of those people that do your best work under pressure!
Alan Burnett said…
That was one creative burst. I really enjoyed it. Thanks
Wings1295 said…
Great fun! Love the idea of a first and last draft! :)
Megan said…
Is there anything you can't do?
Kris McCracken said…
yamini, I hated school.
Kris McCracken said…
Jayne, poor old Jack.
Kris McCracken said…
subtorp77, discipline discipline discipline! Or, discipline³, as I like to say...
Kris McCracken said…
Poetikat, needs more rum...
Kris McCracken said…
Betsy, no, I am one of those people who talks rubbish!
Kris McCracken said…
Alan Burnett, no problem.
Kris McCracken said…
Wings, the easiest of all.
Kris McCracken said…
Megan, in order: drive a car; cry; keep my mouth shut; fly; and fail to impress!
Gabby said…
Great piece and holy crap! Four minutes is slow? I take ages to write something creative and good. Perhaps several glasses of wine can help me, eh? Maybe not.

Is this based on someone you know?
JeffScape said…
Oh, snap! You just called out Kerouac!
Kris McCracken said…
Gabby, it is based on most people I know!
Kris McCracken said…
JeffScape, the dude has been dodging me for years.

I say he's yella...
yamini said…
I loved school, college and university. How I wish I could go back to those days!!!
Kris McCracken said…
Uni was okay. The rest shocking. Boring and irritating for the most part.
Nice lol Very creative I might add...:)

xoxo
Roddy said…
Cry? Give it time, it will come. I too refused to cry, until I found a reason for it.

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