Blogocentric Formulations (Book)

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I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.

Blogocentric Formulations

Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).

Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:

"JAFBG"

Thanks for stopping by!

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Jayne

about 14 hours ago
In response to "The Good and The Bad"

I skipped a full grade based solely on my reading/writing skills, and it should never happened. My math remained behind my peers for my entire life.

Also, I'm way better at fixing/adapting ideas than I am at consistently generating my own. Maybe we should swap stories lol

Witchy Woman

about 15 hours ago
In response to "The Good and The Bad"

I miss those days, I enjoyed my English and History classes, math I struggled with especially Algebra. Apparently I retained enough I tested out of it when I went to college after my divorce.

Stik to My Own Beat

about 15 hours ago
In response to "The Good and The Bad"

I did not get the luxury of dropping classes in high school thanks to the IB schedule. Of course, this meant that I took Algebra I in the fall semester of my freshman year and followed that immediately with Algebra II in the spring. The IB schedule format means I had to pass both of those classes in order to proceed. Thankfully, I did (although Algebra II was an uphill battle). It was still better than geometry, though, mostly because my geometry teacher straight up admitted to struggling to teach geometry due to being better at trig. Good times.

Jeff

a day ago
In response to "Writing Retreat"

Jayne

- You and I can enjoy the cozy cottage on the lake environment while those who prefer to camp can sleep on the ground in a tent and use a bathroom they have to dig themselves. LOL

Ren~Busy as Usual

Sep 21, 2025 at 12:33am
In response to "Free Speech, Gettin' Raptured, & People Worth Suffering For"

Well said on all points. The world is a different place than it was 50 years ago and not bad, some good. But lately? Scary.

Witchy Woman

Sep 20, 2025 at 9:05pm
In response to "Free Speech, Gettin' Raptured, & People Worth Suffering For"

I agree that they'll go for Fallon and Myers next. The mud slinging has gone unchecked since Clinton was in office and has escalated to the point that situations are becoming dangerous for anyone not agreeing with cheeto.

1 Like

Seffi

Sep 20, 2025 at 8:02pm
In response to "Free Speech, Gettin' Raptured, & People Worth Suffering For"

"Second Amendment's guaranteed right to bear arms is not the same thing as guaranteed right to assemble an unchecked, unaccountable armory that would make a Navy SEAL envious." That made me laugh. And I agree. Though I am an outsider, looking at the US like a fishbowl - everything looks slightly distorted and confusing, but is also vaguely familiar.

Charity Marie - <3

Sep 20, 2025 at 7:07pm
In response to "Free Speech, Gettin' Raptured, & People Worth Suffering For"

What an interesting trifecta. The one that resonated with me most was the last one so it's the one I'm going to respond to because it's directly relevant to my life, especially right now. You could say I'm "sacrificing" for my relationship. If you know the history, it started as a FWB (friends with benefits) and a hard-boundary of nothing serious. But I'm relationship-oriented. I don't do anything shallowly - I'm just not wired that way. I like commitment - there's something about it that resonates in my nervous system and my bones. Out of 8 billion people, it's that person who says, "I see you. I value you above all others - now or future". It's experiencing life at a deeper level than you can with just friends. It's BATTLING through life together.

For the last year, the FWB relationship has worked because I was working on myself and dating casually, just living life. Eventually I reached a point of just wanting more in my life. Wanting a life partner. So I explored that with him to which he basically said he wanted to stay single forever. Okay, understood. You are another emotionally unavailable man. Noted. Moving on - no harm, no foul. I transitioned it to "friends without benefits" to open up room in my life for a life partner. My idea was to use a matchmaking service - because maybe someone could discern through the bullshit better than I could when they see it every day. Hoping someone would have a more attuned radar to pre-screen out garbage better than apps.

Except, when I mentioned it to him he kind of froze and said, "But what about me?" Then it all changed. We've been carefully, like two battle-scarred generals, navigating it ever since. Successfully I might add despite a misunderstanding that could have derailed the whole thing but actually made us stronger. He told me he'd known for a while that if he were in a better place in life, I would be someone he would want more with. Which floored me because I never even allowed my mind to go there. I labeled him very concretely as "boy toy" and "no feelings" except friendship. That's exactly where it stayed because I can compartmentalize like that unlike other people. I'm an INTJ - half computer, half human. LOL Which brings me to the sacrifice part: we've chosen to wait. Because he's living with a roommate and has a one year lease he doesn't want to break (unless he has to because of the roommate). He's trying to financially get on his feet as well as do some healing of his own.

I get it - there's work to do. I'm further along in my self-growth than he is but was just laid off two months ago so now I'm starting over in a rebuilding phase. So I'm simply waiting for him to catch up and for my own life to restabilize as someone self-employed. The sacrifice is waiting from now until up to one year for his lease to end before we can be together the way we really want. That's when the REAL relationship work begins.

We're doing some of it now - communicating, navigating it all, getting together regularly. It's almost like a long distance relationship because he lives/works 40 minutes away. So when you talk about sacrifice - that hit me pretty hard. But also reassured me because I've never been someone who shied away. I have grit and resilience. It's other people matching me that's been the problem. But finally, I found someone who is and does. So your post gave me hope and reassurance I'm right where I'm supposed to be. Thank you!

Annette

Sep 20, 2025 at 12:12am
In response to "Watch List - August 2025"

Jayne

and Jeff

Include me please.

Jeff

Sep 20, 2025 at 12:02am
In response to "Watch List - August 2025"

Jayne

- Any time you want to arrange a Zoom viewing party, I'm in!

October 15, 2009 at 8:54pm

#671895

Specialists vs. Jacks (and Jills) of all Trades

In the film industry, there's a pretty big controversy over what kind of a screenwriting career is the best to pursue. Should one be a specialist and focus on one particular area of expertise (horror, comedy, action, etc.), or should one be a jack-of-all-trades and have the broadest possible range of experience?

The argument for specialists is that, in this day and age, people want experts to write for them. They don't want the guy who kind of knows how to write horror, they want the guy who has written horror, who's an expert in horror, who's been recognized for his accomplishments in horror. For much the same reason one would want a cardiologist and not a general practitioner to do their heart transplant, people like experts in their field.

Of course, the counterpoint to that argument is that a specialist is, by definition, limiting himself to what jobs he's considered for. A heart surgeon may be very much in demand for heart surgeries, but what about sprained ankles, sore throats and stomach aches? Nobody wants to pay a heart surgeon (or anyone else for that matter) for specialized medical treatment when a general practitioner can, in most cases, treat all of these ailments.

In the world of screenwriting, it's much the same. When a production company wants to produce a horror movie, their obvious preference is for a horror specialist to work on the script. But the problem is, that production company may not choose a horror movie for their next project. Their next film might be a thriller, or a sci-fi epic, or an action movie.

So it is better to be that horror specialist, and be more favorably considered for fewer jobs? Or is it better to be the versatile writer who may not be at the top of the list for any one specific project, but has the breadth of experience necessary to be considered for more job opportunities?

I'm genuinely interested to know your opinion on this issue, loyal readers. It actually seems my professional life has fallen into a similar predicament. In the film business, I have a very broad range of experience, covering everything from business affairs to corporate operations to marketing to physical production. And while that qualifies me for more job opportunities than some of my colleagues, I'm finding that I'm losing out on a lot of those positions (especially in this economy) to those colleagues who have more targeted experience in a particular field.

So what say you all? Is it better (as a writer, or in life) to focus on one specialty, or to get as broad a range of experience as possible?

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