Quote Them: Zing!

“You didn’t hear much talk about the success of his Administration—and that’s because there isn’t much."

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio,
concerning President Obama's SOTU address


Time for another tarmac confrontation.

VIDEO: Debt limit made simple. And funny. And freaky.

What if you, as in you, were making the same spending/buying/saving decisions as the federal government? Imagine the mess the feds are leaving you. As in you. 



I'm not paying that off that debt. No way. Oh, but I am. As in me.

Quote Them: Because "stuff" happens

"On Tuesday at the State of the Union, I laid out my vision for how we move forward. I laid out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last, that has a firm foundation. Where we're making stuff and selling stuff and moving it around and UPS drivers are dropping things off everywhere."

President Obama,
during campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada this week 


The complex made stupid simple. Why does Obama's description of the economy sound a lot like Santa's workshop? Or a lemonade stand?

Trailer VIDEO: Monumental

Hmmm....

During a youth writing class last summer, a very talented, and equally stubborn, 13-year-old argued her case against history. Specifically, she argued a visit to a museum I had scheduled to take my class that afternoon.

Her arguments?
It's boring.
It isn't interactive.
No entertainment value.

We debated the validity of her claims (I asked her if she believed the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a rather dull story, or if there was simply nothing stirring about Titanic - both major motion pictures). Eventually, she relented to go, especially after I asked her if movies, those great bastions of education, where interactive. And, if so, how theater management felt about her running her hands all over the projector screen.

"You're saying I need to learn to like it," she said.
"I'm saying you've never really experienced it," I answered.

When we arrived, I challenged her to absorb the stories around her. To use it to build upon her writing. To take it in and make it part of who she was, who she would be. To recognize the priceless worth of the stories being told. 

When we left, she pulled me aside, her eyes wonderfully overwhelmed. "I never saw history like that before," she said. "I just never saw it. I'll never look at a museum the same again."

That, my friends, is getting a sweet drip of history on the tongue. And realizing it's far sweeter than imagined.

VIDEO: SOTU deja vu

Obama's speech writers are plagiarizing themselves. As a writer, that is one sweet gig. 

VIDEO: What can Obama do in three years?

This, obviously. 



Hey, it takes time to complete a task. This is the argument from liberals. Give him more time! But the problem isn't with what he hasn't accomplished, it's with what he has. Take this pretty little chart colored in soft, nonaggressive blues:

Unemployment? Higher. Federal debt? Higher. Gas prices? Much, much, much - to the tenth power - higher.

Like them or not (he does, we don't), these are Obama's accomplishments. This is the kind of job he does. Time to put him on unemployment. If he loves it for so many other Americans, he can love it for himself, too.

99 Ways to Improve Your Thinking

To think better, or even at all, Eddie Morra took a pill.

It worked. Sort of. In Limitless, Morra's skills in critical thinking, observation and problem solving increased, as did his overall troubles. For a chemically-enhanced smart guy, he was mournfully clueless.

So that's one option. Pharmaceuticals. Make sure you read the warning label.

Or, there's one possibility your liver will sit up and kiss you for, as creepy as that might be. And that's creative writing. 

It's great for witty Facebook posts, snazzy Tweets, and that dusty unfinished novel. What many don't realize is that it is also an unheralded, even hushed, protein-serum for the brain. In fact, The University of Georgia now requires all students to pass two Critical Thinking through Writing courses to obtain their bachelor's degree. No matter the major.

What do they know that the public doesn't?

That creative writing is the simplest, surest, as a writer I must also say the most entertaining, technique for critical thinking. It's like Jazzercize for the mind. Or, if you're partial to the Latin culture, Zumba.

During my 99 Ways to Improve Your Creative Writing class, you'll learn how to shake up your mental lags, to razor-wire your observations, to rocket yourself to a new terrain, to see things no one else does, while also discovering an arsenal you didn't know you possessed and the ability to shoot with precision.

Each Thursday night in February, we'll spend two hours learning these techniques and creative writing boons. You'll realize that fresh ideas aren't only for the few creatives in the world. They are available to all.

It starts with learning the technique to step outside of your thinking limitations. Strike that. There are no thinking limitations. With creative writing techniques, you can be limitless.

Enroll now! The class closes in a few days. Contact TCC, 918.595.7200.