Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Scandal is Good for Creativity




I'm confessing- I'm the guy standing in line at the grocery store reading all the gossip magazines.  Scientifically speaking, writers are natural born busybodies.  And what better way to keep us wondering "what if..."

But here's my darkest secret- before it's print demise, I was the single greatest fan of the Weekly World News.  Now that it is available only online, I am still addicted.  It has such great headlines as "Bat Boy Found in Cave" and many other memorable news articles such as "Kim Kardashian's Butt Explodes."  Don't laugh- their stories are thoroughly researched.  In the interests of public service, they even have email alerts that will notify you whenever aliens land on earth.

You can see why my dream has always been to be a writer for this icon of creativity.

They tell you the things other news outlets don't.  Most of you probably don't know that a volcano erupted this week in Cleveland, Ohio or that Megan Fox is a man.  Or that L.A. real estate agents use predator drones to improve their business.

Also, in this week's issue, they unveil proof that not only does "Eating Causes Weight Gain," but also that "Yoga Causes Mental Illness."

So if you've got a bad case of writer's block or are desperately trying to kick start your creativity, go read the "Weekly World News."   It'll change your paradigm.

12 comments:

mafarivar said...

I'm going to Cleveland in March, I'll let you know about the volcano, and I'll get pics...I also once saw a clown doing yoga, and he had clearly been over eating..don't laugh.

BernardL said...

They're absolutely correct about Yoga. :)

Jessica Penot said...

I always suspected Megan Fox was a man. My most popular post was an April Fools post I did titled "Big Foot Photographed in My Backyard." Nonsense will draw readers.

Charles Gramlich said...

I agree with Bernardl. I was pretty sure of that connection already. Nice to have it confirmed.

Rick said...

Hey Michel! I want to see that volcano with you. It's too good to pass up.

Rick said...

Bernard, you're beginning to scare me. In fact, I'm beginning to scare me.

Rick said...

Oh my gosh, Jessica- you knew before I did! But did you know Brad Pitt is s Sasquatch?

Sage Ravenwood said...

I'm not surprised in the least. I've always said reality is stranger than fiction any day of the week. I'm sure the Weekly World News agrees.(Hugs)Indigo

Rick said...

I'm going to consider it confirmed. Yoga is evil. Pass it on, Charles.

Rick said...

You and I should start our own Weekly World News, Indigo. They could use some competition.

sage said...

When I was in grad school, I was friend with a Japanese student who would always bring such papers back from the grocery store to talk about the articles--on occasion we embellished the story including one that ended with us providing one of men in the stories with a funeral.

Rick said...

There you go, Sage. A creativity spark fanned into flames. I have it on good authority that every story James Patterson writes is in some way or other inspired by an event detailed in the National Enquirer.

Oddly, the entire US tax code is actually a compilation of Weekly World News stories written backward. Which explains- for the first time- the alien tax deduction.