My output from this week's Zelda's Inferno:
1) write a piece using the following three phrases (selected from random texts):
check out the wow factor
even the amateur chefs among us can accomplish
that's the key, having a good staff
look inside and
check out the "wow" factor
of the inside of the mind
with a little focus
even the amateur philosophers among us can accomplish
a beautiful remodeling of the mind
repainting the windows of the skull
new carpet on the floor of assumptions
refacing the cabinets of memory
overseeing the workers, the various persona
the past and present and future selves
in the rennovation job
(that's the key, having a good staff)
replacing the worn-out appliances of thought
to remake the mind
refresh the spirit
2) the "four things" exercise: take an inanimate object, something from the landscape or geography, something from the newspapers or current events, and something from TV.
1 inanimate object: clock
2 landscape or geography: fallen leaves
3 newspapers/current event: insurgency
4 from tv: post-apocolyptic movies
news of battles on the other side of the world
insurgencies and terrorism and
the tv tells me I'm supposed to be scared
I remember when the tv told me to be scared of nuclear annihilation
the end of the world riding in on soviet icbms
I thought, if I knew they were coming, just 30 minutes left on the clock, maybe
go out in the field with a bottle of whiskey and a box of pills, go to sleep before the burning
and when I remember growing up with that in mind
somehow I can't work up the fear of terrorists,
even terrorists whp might get a single nuke seem like a mundane threat
i just can't be afraid like I'm supposed to
more affected by the coming of autumn, the falling leaves
than by death on the other side of the world
or vauge threats of disaster