Dis…trac…tions

Mike MacLean

The "inter-web" and I are good pals. When I first seriously started writing, it gave my voice a place in the world. There weren’t many print markets for short crime fiction out there, especially not the down and dirty variety. But on the web, bloodshed and bullets and brutal head bashing, were no problem. I had a home.

And let’s not forget the web’s role as invaluable research machine. With just a few clicks I can find information on muzzle velocity, illegal cheese smuggling, narcocorridos, whiskey stick fighting… the possibilities are endless.

Maybe too endless.

Often, my forays into internet research have left me…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg6bZSM48vU

…distracted.

I blame myself, of course. I should have more discipline. But the waves of words and images have gripped me in their undertow, ripping me away from my work. The biggest culprit is…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rABM8ZsFAGg

…YOU TUBE.

Where else can you find skateboarding dogs and crack smoking prostitutes, the Wiggles and Sadam Hussein swinging from a rope, all in one convenient location? I’ve visited the TUBE looking for inspiration or images to help bring authenticity to my work.

More often than not, I…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjEQARfQ524&mode=related&search=

…end up surfing through a sea of videos. Some funny. Some gruesom. Some awe inspiringly strange.

Am I alone? I think not. Several writers consistently include YOU TUBE links in their blogs, enabling my addiction (I’m looking at you JD!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMlnJLdV5VY

So the question dear Murderati readers, do you suffer from my calamity? If so, how do you avoid the siren call of the Internet while writing?

And, while this might sound like an alcoholic asking for a tequila shot…include some of your favorite YOU TUBE links.

11 thoughts on “Dis…trac…tions”

pari May 20, 2007 at 10:38 am

Mike,When I saw the title of your post, I thought it’d have something to do with your changed life . . . and the adventures of balancing it.

But noooooooooo, you have to bring up YouTube. Well, thanks for nothing.

Here are two of my favs:The first one is Christopher Walken dancing to some great music.

The second is the Helsinki Complaints Choir.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTFiHxju7Uc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATXV3DzKv68

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J.D. Rhoades May 20, 2007 at 12:04 pm

Hey, don’t blame me, McClean. I ain’t holding a gun to your head }:-)>.

You know my favorite part of that Bruce Campbell vid? It’s when he takes his hands off the keyboard to shoot the ladies the “thumbs up” sign and the music keeps playing.

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billie May 20, 2007 at 12:10 pm

I am not really tempted by YouTube, thank goodness. The only ones I even click on are the few that come to me via my Horsemasters group, which happens once in a blue moon.

But two of those ARE favorites:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tqHMiFU2oJs

http://youtube.com/watch?v=x11_gr71WmY

The second one is my horse dream version of getting published! If I can get to that level of harmony with a horse I’ll be very happy indeed.

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Mike MacLean May 20, 2007 at 12:32 pm

Pari,

Fatboy Slim and Walken, never has there been a cooler combination. I tried the hands-in-my pockets dance at the club. I couldn’t pull it off.

JD,

If you like Campbell’s song styling you’ll love Richard Cheese.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zysWtY-VPUs

This guy is my hero. (caution, explicit lyrics.)

Billie,

I can’t even stand up on a skateboard. That guy is insane.

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B.G. Ritts May 20, 2007 at 1:06 pm

About the only things on the ‘Net that don’t absorb big blocks of my time are videos — but then my computer hasn’t ‘felt like’ playing videos (or sound) for well over a year. However, that doesn’t keep me from spending much of my free time with my hands hovering over mouse and keyboard — reading text and looking at pictures.

The alkali metals and water is my favorite of the ones I’ve seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqeVEFFzz7E

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