ConstantCommentary® Vol. II, No. 38, December 10, 1998

So Sue Me . . .

by Mike Jasper


No such thing as writer's block

There's no such thing as writer's block. Let me repeat that: there's no such thing as writer's block. Hmmm. I kinda like the sound of that. There's no such thing as writer's block.

Excuse me a minute. The microwave buzzer went off or I have to take a leak or maybe -- just maybe -- I need another beer. I usually don't write while drinking, but tonight's an exception. Besides, it's what separates me the musician from me the writer: As a writer, I can drink or not drink and you'll never know the difference. As a musician, I can drink or not drink... but everybody can tell the difference right away.

I swear to you, though, I'm totally sober right now.

Don't believe me? Prove it.

* * *

And for the last fucking time, no, that third picture I posted last week was NOT a real picture of me. It was doctored by Photoshop. As one of my friend's told me, "You're the only one I know who uses Photoshop to make you look WORSE than you really are on the Internet."

To which I replied: Whaddya mean worse?

* * *

Then again, maybe that third photo was the real me. You'll never know. Maybe I'm pretending to be something I'm not. Maybe I'm really a 23-year-old college girl with big tits. (Oh, yeah... I'd have big tits all right. And I'd swallow too.)

But I'm not a college girl. I'd have 2,000 hits a day if I were. Then again, maybe I'm a college girl pretending to be a middle-aged man. Maybe I'm the Misanthropic Bitch. Or maybe I'm Matt Drudge pretending to be a college girl who is pretending to be a middle-aged man.

Don't believe me? Prove it. (You know, video is going to kill the Internet star.)

* * *

By the way: Don't send this column to your parents. I thought we had an understanding here? But then I get e-mail that says, "I just sent item number #18 to my dad..." Stop. Just stop it. I don't care how well you think you know your parents, believe me, if they get the opportunity they will sue my butt.

* * *

You know what the worst thing about drinking is? Friends who think I black out. I don't black out. I wish I did. Here's a sample of a conversation I had to endure one morning after a particularly funzie party:

"Do you remember what you did last night?"
 
"Yes, I remember what I did last night."
 
"Do you remember slapping my wife on the ass?"
 
"Yes, I remember slapping your wife on the ass?"
 
"Do you remember taking off your clothes, standing on the kitchen table and quoting Schopenhauer?"
 
"Yes, I remember taking off my clothes, standing on the kitchen table and... fuck you, it was Sartre. And as I recall, YOU were cheering me on. I'm not Jodie Foster, pal, but you're skating on thin ice."
* * *

I have a new dog. New to me, anyway. I call him Spike. His name is Debo, but I still call him Spike. Funny dog. Looks like the laughing dog from the Grateful Dead logo. The other logo. I didn't even know I wanted a dog until I had a dog. I wanted a ferret. Got a dog. No more on this, cause I can sense a column here. You'll have to wait for more information on my dog.

* * *

Sent an e-mail of erotica to a particularly loyal fan. She said she came hard. Two thousand miles away and she orgasmed thinking of me. Or whoever she thinks I might be. Which could be Matt Drudge. Who's pretending to be a college girl pretending to be a middle-aged man.

Can I give you some advice? This is good advice. A lot of people on the Internet pretend to be someone they aren't. This is part of the fun. Likely, you've tried it at least once. Bald guys will pretend to have long hair, fat guys will pretend to be thin, men will pretend to be women and women will pretend to read my column. A whole lot of pretending going on.

But no one -- and I mean no one -- will ever get on the Internet and pretend to be a middle-aged man. It's just a bad, bad move.

* * *

Case in point: I'm in a baseball league for guys 40-years-old and over. Once I asked the manager, "How come no one ever asked me for proof of age?" He and the two coaches standing next to him laughed their collective asses off. He said, "Do you know ANYONE who will fake being 40 just to pay $300 to play baseball?" I admitted I didn't. Then he said, "Besides, Jasper, you play like you're sixty."

* * *

Politically Incorrect is on. Gotta take a break and check it out. Be right back.

* * *

Well... it wasn't a very good show. Always nice to see Tony Curtis, though.

Checked the newspaper while I was gone and Microsoft reports that it's working on some Year 2000 glitches in Windows 98. Apparently it's nothing serious, just some minor flaws. For example: Microsoft officials said that during laboratory tests they set the computer's year to read 2001 and yet they were still able to play Oasis recordings.

* * *

Got some e-mail the other day calling Norman Greenbaum the ultimate one-hit wonder. Guess so. "Spirit In The Sky" still makes money, maybe more now than when it was originally released. Some people use the term one-hit wonder derisively. Not me. Norman got one more hit song than I ever had.

* * *

Got another e-mail from a guy who described my writing as "on the cusp of absolutely nothing." I kinda like that description. That's my goal, by the way. To write nothing. And get paid for it.

* * *

Hey, I forgot to tell you about Thanksgiving. We ate turkey, dressing, mash potatoes, monkey paws, buffalo wings, buffalo burgers, pig lips and each other. We're sooooo thankful.

* * *

Anyway, there's no such thing as writer's block. There is such a thing as writing which sucks.

I think I proved my point.

* * *

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: This column aims to be funny. If you can read anything else into it, you're on your own. Copyright 1998 by Mike Jasper.