J.N.R Dutton's Writing Journal

Shooter Jennings (the son of outlaw country pioneers Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter) is more than just the son of legends.

He's a man of many talents in his own right. Especially,beyond being a musician, he's also a producer.

As I understand it, he grew up in recording studios the way some kids grow up on a playground.

Bonus information, for any who don't know.

First hand he knew John Cash (who according to some sources is his Godfather), as well as Willie Nelson & George Jones.

These aren't trivial or superficial associations, these are people who were essentially family to him.

Waylon & Willie's collaborations are famous.

and he also inherited his storms

They Loved each other and the music

That was always true to their core

Their bond though was never an easy one

Because they knew each other in their rawest forms

There's a photograph taped upon the dash

The car stereo is playing Johnny Cash

The day is already what is called

"a mixed bag",

The morning coffee is a bitter brew,

But that sun is big, beautiful, and bright

coming through the windshield

fresh & new

What they might not know,is that his personal loss actually changed the music industry at large. Especially, accessibility for disabled musicians who came after him.

It inspired various manufacturers to build innovative tools and custom riggings.

What Allen thought would spell the end of his career actually helped open a door for the careers of many others.

He was arts oriented from an early age. A creative fire burned in him that could neither be put out, nor tamed.

His wildfire personality was beloved by his friends, but misunderstood majorly by the community he grew up in at large.

Sadly,that misunderstanding eventually turned tragic, and the Texas region he lived and died in has been scarred forever.

since his whole world took a turn,

More like it went up in flames

& he had to watch it burn,

He's been out of prison a little while now,

but that sweet time can't be returned

Even though his wrongful conviction

was overturned, for him he's got to admit,

It's now hard being free,

His daughter grew up without him

It's such a strange thing to see

That where a little girl once stood

There is a young lady,

He doesn't know if he'll ever get back

His sense of normalcy

This is a continuation of my study of Stephen King. He doesn't just write monsters for the sake of writing monsters.

He uses his writing often to confront his past,as well as relatable human struggles at large. The monsters are often substitutes or metaphors for those struggles.

He struggled with alcohol during the Carrie era. In fact, I read once that the man was so gone during that time he didn't even remember writing the novel and that his wife Tabitha rescued it from a waste bin.

a handshake across the divide

for a Scottish poet friend

Who was too young when he died

When he covered "Shattered Cross"

It had such a mournful tone

and to this day, hearing it,

sends a chill straight

through my bones

At night it shimmers like a diamond

Quite the sight to behold

The one in Mississippi, 1965

He had a wild childhood

It's a wonder he made it out alive

He was taken in by his grandparents

and finally was on solid ground

Years later, with just a pen and a dream

Pouring his heart onto a page

He turned his life around

The worry,like a thief,

stealing his peace,

But then a single Loving word from her,

it brought such sweet,

sweeping relief

By: J.N.R Dutton

Earlier I did a deep dive into the life and work of Stephen King. Specifically to be able to write this post.

Whatever one thinks of him as a person (and for me, that's a mixed bag) he is a layered and fascinating craftsman of literature.

I once said I'd never read his work again, and I do understand why some people think that the way he writes is reason to check his hard drives.

He's kind of a weird dude, even apparently glaringly mentally ill to some extent, but I don't actually think he's a monster himself from what I know of him.

Quite frankly, his take was a refreshing one. He simply believes in letting his fans make up their own minds on such things.

I'm not saying musicians should not or can never be politically active, I'm just saying I'm grateful for the ones who don't try to dictate how others should or should not vote.

In reality, it actually learns patterns, relationships,etc. A good model does this extremely well, and then uses that knowledge to create.

It's not as different from a human mind as people would like to think.

For example, it learns what a cat is, and what a cat looks like. Colors, textures,etc. and thus can from there make a cat.

It's not like it's ingesting Van Gogh and then spitting out Van Gogh remixed. I know people like to scream such things from the rafters, but all that screeching doesn't make it so.