Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.  I talk about doing stuff much of the time, but rarely succeed in doing any of it.  If I’m not mistaken that makes me a member in excellent standing (…go ahead, I’m waiting…)

Here’s another idea.  I think some of our discussions are really interesting.  I also think others might find them so, and the interchange thus generated might be fun.  So here’s the proposal: give me a list of things you think would be fun for the LS to discuss/debate that you would be willing to discuss/debate with camera or audio recorder rolling.  They need not follow any particular theme.  Once we have a critical mass of sorts, if the idea still seems good, we can collectively select the first topic from the list of available candidates.  We’ll schedule a gathering just for the purpose (including the disembodied heads of our Left Coast friends on monitors) and discuss away.  I’ll commit to recording, editing, and posting.  I’ll also check into posting a blog so folks will have a place to respond and perhaps even suggest themes of their own.

So have at it.  Discuss the merits of the overall concept.  Make suggestions as to topics.  My only suggestion would be to suggest ideas for which everyone can provide some sort of contribution to the discussion.  Feel free to provide prerequisites to the discussion.  Here are a few ideas of varying merit:

The Best Worst Movies
Consequences of the Creative Urge
Beauty
(after watching the film) Artistic Merit in Zardoz

As I’ve mentioned in a gathering or two, I find the writing style and chosen topics of Wil Wheaton (formerly of Stand By Me and ST:TNG, now of this, this, and this) to be particularly evocative and enjoyable.  I also appreciate that he frequently writes about the challenges and joys of the writing process.  No, I’ve still not produced the long promised work, but I haven’t given up yet either.  I thought the opening paras of Wil’s LAWeekly column this week to be interesting on the subject of inspiration, and encouraging on the issue of choosing topics.  The full story is here, but the first para in particular is the bit that really caught my eye:

“Being a writer means I have to open myself to as much sensory input as possible, as often as possible. It’s like I have this giant sticky drift net that’s always open around me, trapping sights, smells, feelings, and sounds which will jar loose some long – forgotten memory, or find their way into some future work of fiction.

My son is home from college, visiting briefly before he goes back for his summer session, so I’ve been making a concerted effort to cram as much writing as I can into limited working hours each day, so my evenings are free to spend with him and the rest of our family. This weekend, my wife and I took him out to dinner, where I found myself in front of a Centipede arcade machine, drawn there by the unmistakable sound of the player earning an extra guy.”

cheap.