Butterfly in the sun.
IT’S RAINING HERE AGAIN this morning.
We had a few days of blue skies and sunshine last week, but late yesterday afternoon the thunder and rain rolled in again. It was just about the time we were getting ready to have a cookout. Natch.
I’m beyond caring about the weather. What more is there to say about it?
Well, what more is there to say about it without resorting to swearing? And you know, gentle readers, that this is not that kind of blog.
Oh no, we keep it polite here at The Spectacled Bean. Or, at least, polite enough to not offend the delicate sensibilities of any reader over 40 years old.
• • •
OCCASIONALLY I WONDER IF I wrote in a more, shall we say, direct way using curse words, then readers would perceive me as being more authentic and edgy, therefore interesting.
If I’d done that kind of writing, which I easily could have, I wonder if I’d have been more popular as a blogger, than I am now.
Cherry tomatoes in the rain.
I’ve no moral objections to curse words, I say them irl. However when it comes to writing I hesitate to use them.
I’m content as things are on the blog, but observing the language used by revered bloggers, I do [sometimes] question my decision to keep it clean here.
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 
An interesting question you pose. Curse to increase popularity? Take a political campaign negative to garner more votes? Throw a spit ball or deflate a football to capture a game? They all happen every day, but yet to the truly educated & enlightened, such actions lessen their experience and, ultimately, ours as a result.
Bean, your blog is honest, intelligent and funny . . . and in all cases true to who you are. It inspires me to be that same kind of person, one driven by intellignce and integrity, regardless of whether or not it allows me to “win” in the outside world (which by definition is external validation that has never driven us). I believe too much in honor or integrity to wish you to do anything but what what you feel deep in your heart is most appropriate for you.
So blog on without vulgarity, Madame Bean, as it places you high esteem among those of us who understand and admire you the most. Few as we might be.
Then again, what the f*#% do I know . . .
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Zen-Den, you’ve explained the reality here, in depth, and perfectly. Thank you. I will continue on with my self-imposed curse word censorship [at least most of the time], but as you understand… it’s an issue.
I mean, when I hear reasonable people say that they love a particular blogger or author because he or she swears, I gotta wonder. To these people who aren’t wackos, content is secondary to the language used to convey it. And this seems weird to me.
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I’m like you. I don’t include “those” words in my blog. I want my granddaughters to be able to read it without flinching (old people don’t use those words you know!). Somehow when you see them in ink (or type) they are glaring. When I worked I was used to hearing them. Now that I’m retired I don’t hear them anymore so they are glaring.
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Kate, when I started blogging I had elderly aunts who read what I had to say, so I was vigilant in my language choices. They’re gone now, but somehow I’ve never really gotten into spicing up my blog posts [well, maybe occasionally in small ways].
I know what you mean about some words being glaring. I can type ’em, but find that I edit them out of my final post. I’ve trained myself well.
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Yes, my draft is always full of words that don’t see the light of publish. My biggest nightmare is that I hit the publish button instead of the preview button. I have done that but it was when I had 3 readers.
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Kate, I’ve done that, too. It’s a horrible feeling to know that your half-finished ditherings are already out there.
At one time there was a grassroots movement on WP to have the Publish, Preview & Save Draft buttons be different colors. Bold colors that would stop you from doing just what you described above. Nothing came from the movement, but I still like it.
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I love the way Zen Den expressed his opinion. I so agree! Nowadays, it’s nice to find someone who does NOT use glaring words or do insane things just to get attention. Those of us that follow you appreciate your fine taste of blogging. And your keen way of looking at the world. Makes us think!
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Beth, the fellow is a wordy guy, but does get to the essence of things! I’d prefer to get attention for writing meaningful content, not because I’m so cool ‘cuz I swear. Which is something I recently heard a woman say about why she liked an author. Made me wonder…
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I try to keep the swear words out of my blog posts as well. However, once in a while, I’ll use those funny symbols that Zen-Den used to get a point across or to get something off my chest. I don’t necessarily follow a blog because the writer swears, I follow it because it’s interesting or funny or captures my attention. Like yours 🙂
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bikerchick57, I do the same thing with the funny symbols [or occasionally with an acronym], but try to keep my posts PG-13. Like you said when it comes to blogging, it’s the message I’m interested in– & if someone swears I don’t care. I just don’t do it. [And thank you for the compliment.]
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Since when has it been “hip” or “cool” to swear? I know I drop the occasional “filth, flarn, and filth” in my posts, but that’s because I tend to write as I speak, and sadly enough, my vocabulary has degenerated as I’ve gotten older. I do manage to keep my speech clean in mixed company, around my elders, and around children under the age of 21, but beyond that, I could give a young sailor a run for his or her money under most circumstances.
What’s funny is that I will censor my characters in my fiction. I won’t let them be foul mouthed on the page, even though they may be in the fictional reality I’m creating. I’ll fade out their conversation or cover it with narration, choosing instead to describe what they’re saying rather than have the curse words show up in dialog. Not so sure why I make that distinction….hmmmm.
All of that though to echo the sentiments already posted here. You’re writing is moving, pleasing to the eye, well thought out, thought provoking, etc. It comes across as authentic and sincere. No need to go messing with something that works ;-).
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Satin Sheet Diva, I can swear like a sailor, too. Especially when I’m in the kitchen trying a new recipe and screw up a step. Just ask Z-D. It always makes him laugh. So I don’t write this post from the point of view of a saint!
Thank you for the compliment! I’m glad that my writing comes across that way here on the blog. And I agree, unless it’s one big f*#%ing event in my life, I’ll stay away from curse words. 😉
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Oh yeah, our Sweet, Dear Madame Bean can make my eyes tear with laughter when she gets into the “zone.”
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Uh huh, dear. You’re shattering my image as an articulate urbane writer. Hush.
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Ironically, we now could use a little rain. I’ve had to water! Sigh.
As far as The Language Thing, it’s not a conscious choice for me at the Dept. most of the time. My style is just that–my style, and I find that not too terribly many profanities are part of it.
I made a vow a few years ago to try and eliminate The Eff Word from my Spoken Vocabulary, period. I’ve been largely successful, and I’m glad. I hate it. Now, it takes something major to provoke its use.
The old adage that swearing is a sign of a weak vocabulary is plain silly. You and I both have more than ample vocabulary at our disposal. Swearing is a wonderful stressbuster. It gets the job done efficiently and satisfyingly. Don’t you think?
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nance, I agree. I use curse words when I use them because they are the perfect word for the situation. I have no problem with them.
But for some reason, maybe many reasons, I never swear on this blog. I clean up my thoughts before I stick them out there into the www. And probably will continue to do so.
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Don’t worry–I keep it clean on my blog too. I don’t want to offend anyone, and I find the curse words really aren’t necessary in my blog posts. I’ll use them in my fiction if they serve a purpose. But I don’t pepper every other sentence with them like some books (or films) do.
Hope your rain lets up and you get to enjoy summer!
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Carrie, I started out thinking that I’d write whatever I wanted here, in any way that I wanted to say it. But I’ve never been able to throw in the curse words.
This isn’t a problem, but it is interesting to me how some readers think that the existence of curse words means a better writer, more honest person. I’ve heard this more than once. Oddly enough.
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And I’ve heard the opposite–that using curse words is lazy writing. I guess it comes down to what a person is most comfortable with.
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Carrie, I agree. Whatever works, works.
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Everyone here, especially Zen Den, has expressed themselves much better than I will myself. These days, I’m having trouble stringing words together that make any sense whatsoever.
I rarely swear in real life anymore. Oh, I still do. I’m not opposed to swearing – except for the occasional fool who conjugates f*#% in a single sentence. Curse words, in my opinion, should be used sparingly. To make a point. To express oneself. I don’t know, when used less they have more impact.
I probably have used curse words on the blog at some point. Sometimes they fly out from my fingertips in moments of extreme agitation. I think that can be genuine. It seems less genuine to me to curse for the sake of cursing. To swear to seem cool or be popular?
Not, of course, that I know the motivation of those bloggers – the, um, more honest bloggers. Perhaps they just don’t know as many words as you do.
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Zazzy, you make perfect sense to me. I swear from time-to-time, but not here. I don’t care what other people write, but I agree that if FU is in every other sentence, then it loses its impact.
I enjoy your idea that I know more words, so I don’t need to swear. [Makes me think that I should be doing better on AlphaBetty than I am!] But you might be onto something there. Anyone with a larger vocabulary might not need to swear as often.
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I was raised in Alaska for 5 formative years, where (at least at the time), swearing was practically required. We would hear the preacher’s wife from the church next door exclaim, “It’s 35 god-damned degrees below out here!” Or, sometimes, worse. I had to learn to clean up my act when I came to California. My mom said, “In California, talk like you’re at your grandparents’ house”. What cleaned up my mouth for real, though, was my daughter. She doesn’t like it when I swear. It makes her uncomfortable.
So now, I save the swear words for when they are the best word for the situation. I knew my transformation was complete when I stubbed my toe, HARD, while home alone, and exclaimed loudly, “Christopher Columbus!!!!”
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J, I grew up just the opposite. No swearing anywhere in my childhood, except in clever hidden ways like your “Christopher Columbus.” I like how your mother explained life in CA to you. Interesting why Maya doesn’t like you to swear. I’ve known other adults who cleaned up their language when the kids arrived.
I swear in real life, but not too often. Cooking disasters and physical pain usually bring it out of me. But, following your lead, I need to train myself to say “Frostbite!” instead of the something more uncouth that I usually say. 😉
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I don’t swear much in real life or on the blog. I’ve had to train myself away from cursing, lest a word slip out accidentally at school. I do throw a few mild ones out on the blog, mainly the s word with an *. 🙂 I’m like you though; I try to keep it relatively clean.
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Margaret, teaching would keep your language on the straight and narrow. I can see that. I lean more toward “darned” and “frostbite” when I use curse words here, or any where. With an occasional “heck” thrown in for good measure.
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