Zelda's Inferno exercise: free write based on one of the following phrases, selected at random (more or less) from the Urbanite:
invites you to discover
increased from one decade to the next
they get only a fraction of that amount
not in the traditional sense
reduce their perception of pain
not in the traditional sense
not in the sense of tradition
no sense in traditional
traditional nonsense! nonsensical traditions!
all I want is simple hardware store fare
a sledgehammer and a can of Liquid Wrench (don't ask why) but
I am assaulted with giant inflatable Xmas decorations
in the aisles of Home Depot the first week of November
not in the traditional sense
do I celebrate your holidays
not in your traditions, anyway
when I talk about my visits to Japan, people ask if I felt out of place
if I'm in an honest mood, I tell them, no more so than I do here
in a land of giant inflatable holiday decorations
November has always made me melancholy, I've attributed it to the shortening days, the change of clocks
but perhaps all this time it's been the culture
the pathology of consumerism that comes around every year around this time
like hayfever in the spring, a seasonal affliction
cultural rather than biochemical but no less real for that
causing congestion, inflammation, and hypervigilance of the immune system
do you celebrate Xmas?
not in the traditional sense...
perhaps I celebrate its passing more than anything
the ending of this seasonal irritation