Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

What an ambiguous title.

Well, all good writers will tell you that there are no rules for writers. Almost no rules. I mean, for the most part, there aren’t rarely any rules. Except don’t copy other writers, but even that’s up debate. Right? Translation is an art. Apparently. I’d probably respect it more if I knew another language well enough to translate anything, but since I don’t I can raise my nose in ignorance. That’s not the rule I’m talking about anyways.

There are no rules for writers. Sure, you should strive—perhaps if you are a prairie poet—to be extremely concrete. I don’t want to see the word abyss anywhere, especially if it uses some awful adjective. But there are no rules, except the one golden rule: You must read. This rule, by and large, is accepted by everyone. Except me.

I hate reading. It’s not that I hate reading. Reading is just the third thing I would like to do. First, I would like to be on my computer/internet. Second, I would like to watch TV. And for the record, just so that we all stay polite, Leah trumps all three (though I am sure she will have some comment about the first).

Rhett how did you get an English degree if you hate reading? Excellent question. I read Coles/Sparks notes. Or wrote down quotes, important pages, dog-eared and underlined pages. Took notes of plot-lines from the prof. Some times, I read the whole book. I wasn’t a great student. Delinquent, they say.

Other than being delinquent, I enjoyed the doing more than the consuming. And you might say that one has to do with the other. I am not sure. A large portion of my English classes were based around writing. Not just creatively, either.

But, these days I am a real writer. Or at least, I am being paid to write and edit. After not really writing (except blogging, etc) for a while, I needed to jump back in and quickly. And like all those conflicted with a certain delinquency, I started cramming. So I am reading again. Every night. Part of that has to do with the confidence I lost being laid off, but the bigger part of that is completely enjoying my job and want to be good at it. I want to be good at writing, so I am reading.

I know all you boomers and x’ers are rolling your eyes and saying just do it. But I am a Gen-Y’er. And I need to settle into everything. Re-learning how much I enjoy crafting words—even corporate ones—is such a joy. Now that I am reading and following all the rules of writing, I am settling into the definition of writer.

Currently, I am re-reading Green Grass, Running Water. Even though Thomas King was a jerk that one time I met him, I still love the way he tells stories. Hopefully, going forward, I will channel a little Coyote in my writing.

Photo by Jeremy Keith

This morning I went to work. Before I got to work, I had to drive there. Before I started driving, I turned on CBC Radio and listened to The Current.

This morning I tuned into a father talking about the loss of his son in Afghanistan. It was, to say the least, emotional. There I am slowing rolling down Southland Dr., trying my best not to break into tears, as a father reads a letter to his deceased son. He talks about the last walk and talk they had. His son spoke of his worries about combat, faith and his family. The father shares that last moment when his son is departing and they don’t want to break eye contact. The father is sorry for not saying more.

There’s a lump in my throat. Probably some combination of guilt, sadness, grief and a few other emotions. I am guilty because I am sitting there worried about whether or not the person next to me is going to think I’m totally crazy—sitting alone, crying in rush hour. And then it happens. They start to read the names of each of the 100 Canadian soldiers who died and their age. And all of a sudden 100 become incredibly important. How could anything else ever matter more?

I react very poorly to war, to death. I feel such grief and frustration. Powerlessness.

In any case, this is a great song. Beautifully sung. Nicely written. And makes me feel happy. Check out the Mario Kart Love Song:

I am not changing themes again. I promise. At least not for a long time. This is such a headache to change on a regular basis. So I am done. I am going back to writing. I have also removed my “creative” posts for now. It’s not necessarily because I didn’t like them (I didn’t), but because all my posts are creative on this blog. Some more than others.

Who is Tough Love Artist Management and Media Consulting? Tough Love is the management company of Josh Ritter. So what’s this all about?

I was toying with an idea. I was thinking about creating a Josh Ritter fan site. My reasons include: (1) I am a huge fan and (2) I wanted to test my ability to create a successful site. First step? Find a good name/domain. Just for giggles, I checked “joshritter” and I was amazed to find that joshritter.org was open. For a person of his celebrity—or anyone of any/no celebrity—should own every domain with their name on it.

The thing with people’s names, especially if they are trademarked or something (I don’t really understand it all), they can legally take their domain name and/or sue. The next step I checked Josh Ritter’s website and saw that Darius Zelkha, from Tough Love, is Ritter’s manager. I email him. I could have just bought the domain and held it ransom or done other terrible things with it and then they’d have to spend all kinds of money hiring a lawyer and pay all sorts of money to send me a cease and desist order, etc etc. Which would likely not be worth it. But I don’t. Not because I am afraid. But because that’s not how I roll.

I ask for permission. I send the following email:

Hello Darius,

I just need a minute of your time. I am a huge Josh Ritter fan and I would like to create a fan site for him. I would like to acquire a domain that would befitting of a fan site and I did a quick search and joshritter.org is available. Frankly, I would suggest that you purchase all domains having anything to do with Josh’s name. However, if not, I was wondering if I could get permission to purchase and use that domain name? Because it contains Josh’s name it would be within his right to request that domain and/or sue me, etc. Which I don’t want to happen :D, but I wanted to throw the idea past you guys.

Let me know,
Rhett

Not only do I ask permission, but I suggest that they should really be the owners of it. I see it as a long shot for me, but it’s always worth asking. joshritter.org would be a great domain and has great SEO value.

No response. Nothing all day.

The next day, I think to myself, I should just buy the domain and make sure that nobody else gets it and I can hand it over if Josh Ritter/management wants it. So, I check. The domain is bought. Registered by one Darius Zelkha from Tough Love.

So why am I frustrated? He did exactly what I told him to do. Because it’s the same as those people I let into my lane and I get no wave. You’d think, in this digital age, everyone would know that you should own all the domains. You’d think. But you’d think even more, if someone offers you a helping hand, you say thanks. That’s all I am looking for. You aren’t entitled to my help or my lane, but I offer it because that’s what I do, that’s what we all (should) do. And in response, you say thanks, you wave.

So I am frustrated. If someone lets you in, wave. It’s the right thing to do.

It’s a baby pygmy hippo named Monifa.

The Johnson’s were in town this weekend and that meant there was a significantly large attack of the babies. And even worse than babies, or even attacking babies, are babies who are attacking me. Chloe (on my shoulders) snuck up from behind, while Kaytlyn flanked me.

P.S. However, Chloe may have been distracted from the initial attack as she decided it would be best to eat her slightly younger cousin.

P.P.S. You can read a better account on Tanya’s (my sister-in-law) blog.