A pitchers' duel with Texas takes the Mariners into extra innings, 0-0. In the bottom of the 10th, they load the bases with one out -- but can't score. In the 11th, they load the bases with no outs -- and can't score. Then they lose it in the 12th. Frustrating!
Worse, in the 11th, bases loaded, no outs, a squeeze play is called. And the batter squares up to bunt, then PULLS BACK HIS BAT, not even trying, leaving Ichiro, running from third, a dead duck. What was the guy thinking? Mindless error. I hate mental mistakes like this.
Friday, April 30, 2010
On a roll
To page 60 on the commercial project. A decent shot at finishing a draft this weekend. Eager to print it and go after it with the red pen, by far the most fun part of writing.
Online Movie Stores Go Out of Business – Deadline.com
Online Movie Stores Go Out of Business – Deadline.com:
"Forty two online movie stores went out of business last year, according to research firm Screen Digest."
Thursday, April 29, 2010
A recall that went nowhere
A recall that went nowhere:
"Avel Gordly knew the second recall campaign against Mayor Sam Adams was in serious trouble by mid-March, a little more than a month before the deadline for turning petitions into city election officials.
Money was not coming into the campaign as quickly as Gordly had expected. In fact, contributions were so slow that plans to hire a professional signature-gathering firm had been scrapped."
Money was not coming into the campaign as quickly as Gordly had expected. In fact, contributions were so slow that plans to hire a professional signature-gathering firm had been scrapped."
Progress report
41 pages into the commercial project. Better, got a great new idea today for the last act, true to the source but with a surprising context that will wow the audience if it works, and I think I can make it work. Writing this is more fun than I imagined. I thought it might be mostly grunt work.
A couple days free now to spend significant time on it. Hope to make considerable progress.
A couple days free now to spend significant time on it. Hope to make considerable progress.
| West | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Cent | West | Streak | L10 |
| Oakland Athletics | 12 | 11 | .522 | -- | 9-5 | 3-6 | 4-6 | 2-1 | 6-4 | Lost 3 | 3-7 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 12 | 11 | .522 | -- | 8-9 | 4-2 | 6-3 | 5-6 | 1-2 | Won 1 | 6-4 |
| Seattle Mariners | 11 | 11 | .500 | 0.5 | 7-2 | 4-9 | 3-0 | 4-5 | 4-6 | Won 2 | 5-5 |
| Texas Rangers | 10 | 12 | .455 | 1.5 | 7-6 | 3-6 | 2-7 | 6-4 | 2-1 | Lost 1 | 5-5 |
ATTN: Christian right
Leviticus 19:33-34 (NIV)When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
| West | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Cent | West | Streak | L10 |
| Oakland Athletics | 12 | 10 | .545 | -- | 9-5 | 3-5 | 4-5 | 2-1 | 6-4 | Lost 2 | 4-6 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 12 | 11 | .522 | 0.5 | 8-9 | 4-2 | 6-3 | 5-6 | 1-2 | Won 1 | 6-4 |
| Seattle Mariners | 11 | 11 | .500 | 1.0 | 7-2 | 4-9 | 3-0 | 4-5 | 4-6 | Won 2 | 5-5 |
| Texas Rangers | 10 | 11 | .476 | 1.5 | 7-5 | 3-6 | 2-7 | 6-3 | 2-1 | Won 2 | 5-5 |
America: the Story of Us
The new miniseries on the History channel is a lightweight disappointment. Broad strokes, the usual mythical highlights, very disappointed in this.
Out of gas
Unless I get an unlikely second wind, I've read all the midterms I can handle for one day. Finish up early tomorrow morning. About half are first rate, the rest have various problems but I have yet to see a "bad" script, just unrealized ones.
EPA Scientist Says East Coast Beaches Threatened by Sea Level, But Nobody’s Listening | Wired Science | Wired.com
EPA Scientist Says East Coast Beaches Threatened by Sea Level, But Nobody’s Listening | Wired Science | Wired.com:
"For most of the 20th century, Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, was known for its boardwalk, amusement park and wide, sandy beaches, popular with daytrippers from Washington, D.C. “The bathing beach has a frontage of three miles,” boasted a tourist brochure from about 1900, “and is equal, if not superior, to any beach on the Atlantic Coast.”
Today, on a cloudless spring afternoon, the resort town’s sweeping view of Chesapeake Bay is no less stunning. But there’s no longer any beach in Chesapeake Beach. Where there once was sand, water now laps against a seven-foot-high wall of boulders protecting a strip of pricey homes marked with “No Trespassing” signs."
Today, on a cloudless spring afternoon, the resort town’s sweeping view of Chesapeake Bay is no less stunning. But there’s no longer any beach in Chesapeake Beach. Where there once was sand, water now laps against a seven-foot-high wall of boulders protecting a strip of pricey homes marked with “No Trespassing” signs."
Heaven is a Mariners day game
Like today. Nice backdrop to reading midterms all day.
| West | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Cent | West | Streak | L10 |
| Oakland Athletics | 12 | 9 | .571 | -- | 9-5 | 3-4 | 4-4 | 2-1 | 6-4 | Lost 1 | 5-5 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 11 | 11 | .500 | 1.5 | 7-9 | 4-2 | 6-3 | 4-6 | 1-2 | Lost 1 | 6-4 |
| Seattle Mariners | 10 | 11 | .476 | 2.0 | 7-2 | 3-9 | 3-0 | 3-5 | 4-6 | Won 1 | 5-5 |
| Texas Rangers | 9 | 11 | .450 | 2.5 | 6-5 | 3-6 | 2-7 | 5-3 | 2-1 | Won 1 | 4-6 |
The Tea Party Agenda - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
The Tea Party Agenda -
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan: "More and more, this feels to me like an essentially cultural revolt against what America is becoming: a multi-racial, multi-faith, gay-inclusive, women-friendly, majority-minority country. The 'tea-party' analogy is not about restricting government as much as it is a form of almost pathological nostalgia."
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan: "More and more, this feels to me like an essentially cultural revolt against what America is becoming: a multi-racial, multi-faith, gay-inclusive, women-friendly, majority-minority country. The 'tea-party' analogy is not about restricting government as much as it is a form of almost pathological nostalgia."
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Home sweet home
And never felt sweeter. Now to relax for the evening, a little TV, crash, and presumably repeat the existential greeting of a new day, I ache, therefore I am. Onward.
On the down hill side
90 mins to go ... it's been a productive day, script pages written, tutorials on animation taken, plus the conference, plus meeting with students, running on adrenaline and ready to crash when I get home.
I'm check out Alice animation program for possible use in my videos.
I'm check out Alice animation program for possible use in my videos.
Short break
My short 30 min. break of the day ... better enjoy it!
But I'm jacked I got so much writing done this morning. It will be fun to try and sell this sucker. It's so high concept, easy as hell to pitch, which is to say, everyone quickly will know WHAT IT IS. Therefore, just a matter of finding the right producer at the right time. No wasted time because what it "is" is ambiguous. No one will ask for this out of "curiosity." It will be KNOWN quickly.
But I'm jacked I got so much writing done this morning. It will be fun to try and sell this sucker. It's so high concept, easy as hell to pitch, which is to say, everyone quickly will know WHAT IT IS. Therefore, just a matter of finding the right producer at the right time. No wasted time because what it "is" is ambiguous. No one will ask for this out of "curiosity." It will be KNOWN quickly.
DOJ Ups Intellectual Property Enforcement – Deadline.com
DOJ Ups Intellectual Property Enforcement – Deadline.com:
"Today 15 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 20 FBI Special Agents were added to the U.S. Department of Justice’s intellectual property protection task force to expand its ability to respond to these crimes."
TRUE OR FALSE? Screenwriter Says Hollywood Conservatives ‘Have To Meet In Secret’ And ‘Talk in Whispers’ – Deadline.com
TRUE OR FALSE? Screenwriter Says Hollywood Conservatives ‘Have To Meet In Secret’ And ‘Talk in Whispers’ – Deadline.com:
"But I've witnessed the atmosphere out here becoming far less toxic for politically conservative or religious right or other non-liberal Industry types. On the other hand, it's just as toxic that this guy characterizes his liberal biz counterparts as 'Anti-American'."
A long day begins
Came to the office very early. Ended up writing script, another ten pages done. Really moving along. If you have the story down, writing a screenplay in a week or two is not a big deal.
10 a.m. is when the day's work begins.
10 a.m. is when the day's work begins.
Sobering thought
Of Course, She's Running For President, Ctd
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan: "She has wanted to be president for much of her adult political life. She wanted it well over a decade ago. She risked a huge amount in saying yes to John McCain, a gamble of monumental proportions, in the pursuit of that goal. She believes sincerely that she is on a mission from God, that she is the Esther of the End-Times. Why is any of this hard to understand? By her words and her actions, she wants to be the GOP nominee. And at a time when Republican extremism is the brand, who better represents the party than she?"
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan: "She has wanted to be president for much of her adult political life. She wanted it well over a decade ago. She risked a huge amount in saying yes to John McCain, a gamble of monumental proportions, in the pursuit of that goal. She believes sincerely that she is on a mission from God, that she is the Esther of the End-Times. Why is any of this hard to understand? By her words and her actions, she wants to be the GOP nominee. And at a time when Republican extremism is the brand, who better represents the party than she?"
Monday, April 26, 2010
Second wind
Revived enough to write ten pages on the commercial project I've started. Working from an outline, so it should go quickly.
But still get tired just thinking of tomorrow ha ha.
But still get tired just thinking of tomorrow ha ha.
GOP, Ben Nelson Block Debate On Financial Reform Bill
GOP, Ben Nelson Block Debate On Financial Reform Bill:
"Democrats believe that public pressure and the scent of a Wall Street scandal have given them the upper hand. Republicans themselves have taken up the Democrats' Wall Street-bashing rhetoric and have voiced hope that a bill will ultimately pass. In that light, the path to final approval seems clearer than it ever did during the contentious debate over health care."
Bare essentials
A very low energy day. Managed to get done the bare essentials but not much more and without a second wind, the rest of the day promises to be a zombie dance. So much I should, could be doing. Maybe I'm already exhausted from thinking of what tomorrow will be like, first the committee meeting and then 20+ student conferences in a row.
Portland's high-stakes school plan will be unveiled Monday night | OregonLive.com
Portland's high-stakes school plan will be unveiled Monday night | OregonLive.com:
"Smith's main goal is to help reduce the stubbornly high dropout rate -- less than 60 percent of Portland Public Schools' high school students graduate in four years -- and end glaring inequities between the curriculum offered to most of the city's white and middle-class students and its minority and low-income teens."
The school system in Oregon has been a mess ever since I moved here in the mid-sixties. And now barely half the high school students graduate. But because we were the first to recycle bottles and today we have a lot of bicyclists, folks generally think of Oregon as "progressive". Not true where it counts, in education.
Russell Bishop: When Did We Become A Nation Of Victims?
Russell Bishop: When Did We Become A Nation Of Victims?:
"It seems to me that many of us have adopted whining, blaming, yelling and screaming as our form of response to things we don't like and to the unfairness of life."
Sunday, April 25, 2010
West W L Pct GB Home Road East Cent West Streak L10 Oakland Athletics 12 8 .600 -- 9-5 3-3 4-3 2-1 6-4 Won 1 6-4 Los Angeles Angels 10 10 .500 2.0 6-8 4-2 6-3 3-5 1-2 Won 1 7-3 Seattle Mariners 9 10 .474 2.5 7-2 2-8 3-0 2-4 4-6 Lost 3 6-4 Texas Rangers 8 10 .444 3.0 5-4 3-6 2-7 4-2 2-1 Won 1 3-7
Lynx
When I first got on the Internet in the late 80s, I think it was, Netscape was the most popular browser but I preferred a text-only browser called Lynx. Damned if it doesn't still exist! I just downloaded it and played with it. Even in today's multimedia web, Lynx has its uses, for example when I am after TEXTUAL info. It is small and compact, very fast .... I think I'll use it from time to time.
Stephen Hawking: Humans Should Fear Aliens
Stephen Hawking: Humans Should Fear Aliens:
"World renowned scientist Stephen Hawking believes extraterrestrial life almost certainly exists -- and humans should be extremely cautious about interacting with it.
'To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,' Hawking says in a new Discovery Channel series called Stephen Hawking's Universe. 'The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.'
He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: 'We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.'
He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is 'a little too risky'. He said: 'If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans.'"
'To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,' Hawking says in a new Discovery Channel series called Stephen Hawking's Universe. 'The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.'
He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: 'We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.'
He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is 'a little too risky'. He said: 'If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans.'"
Mining & Merle Travis
Come and listen you fellows, so young and so fine,Or "Nine Pound Hammer":
And seek not your fortune in the dark, dreary mines.
It will form as a habit and seep in your soul,
'Till the stream of your blood is as black as the coal.
CHORUS:It's a-many a man I have seen in my day,
It's dark as a dungeon and damp as the dew,
Where danger is double and pleasures are few,
Where the rain never falls and the sun never shines
It's dark as a dungeon way down in the mine.
Who lived just to labor his whole life away.
Like a fiend with his dope and a drunkard his wine,
A man will have lust for the lure of the mines.
I hope when I'm gone and the ages shall roll,
My body will blacken and turn into coal.
Then I'll look from the door of my heavenly home,
And pity the miner a-diggin' my bones.
Notice Travis picks with just 2 fingers, not 3 as most guitarists today. Doc Watson learned from Travis and also uses 2 (and named his son after Travis). In fact, I learned the same with considerable less skill: but as a child, Mom used to drop us off at a TV station in the daytime now and again, which served as a daycare center unofficially, where an all afternoon country music show was on live and Merle Travis was a regular. So was Joe Maphis. Farmers Market was near the station, so mothers would drop off their kids and go shop!
What a wonderful youth I had in Southern California in the late 40s and early 50s!
In praise of low rent arts
Waterbrook Studio is Eric Hull's space for classes and performances, located in north Portland's industrial area not far from the new arts corridor along Mississippi Avenue, the latest "low rent" arts district for the city -- and going there last night to see "Poetry Off the Page" by Vox, I was reminded how important these "low rent" areas are. Here is where all the artistic risks happen, in environments before the stress and pressure of high rents, union wages, fat publicity budgets, many salaries, and all the rest of the business realities that chain "art for profit" (despite what they claim) institutions.
Last night I was reminded of the old Storefront Theatre space on Russell St in the 70s. The whole ambiance here is so different, so exciting, so "artsy". As an actor told me a few years ago, theater starts out as something to see and "progresses" into social activities to be seen at. In the 80s the Seattle Weekly compared its professional theater scene to Portland's not-quite-professional-yet theater scene and saw many advantages in the latter, such as more theatrical risk taking. Leaving the theater last night, H said, I'm glad places like this still exist. Indeed.
The performace itself, which we loved, was very well reviewed by Bob Hicks at Art Scatter.
And more history of Portland's "low rent" arts and the wonderful risks they embrace are here in my essay about the late Peter Fornara, Risk in Rep.
Look for a video profile of Eric Hull and Vox at a future Oregon Literary Review.
Last night I was reminded of the old Storefront Theatre space on Russell St in the 70s. The whole ambiance here is so different, so exciting, so "artsy". As an actor told me a few years ago, theater starts out as something to see and "progresses" into social activities to be seen at. In the 80s the Seattle Weekly compared its professional theater scene to Portland's not-quite-professional-yet theater scene and saw many advantages in the latter, such as more theatrical risk taking. Leaving the theater last night, H said, I'm glad places like this still exist. Indeed.
The performace itself, which we loved, was very well reviewed by Bob Hicks at Art Scatter.
And more history of Portland's "low rent" arts and the wonderful risks they embrace are here in my essay about the late Peter Fornara, Risk in Rep.
Look for a video profile of Eric Hull and Vox at a future Oregon Literary Review.
What do I call it?
This recent breakfast invention of mine is astoundingly good! But what do I call it?
Fill a bowl with cooked oatmeal. On the oatmeal put a slice of fried scrapple. On the scrapple put a fried egg. Cover with milk and enjoy!
What do I call it?
Oatmeal Stack? Scrapple Supreme? Oatmeal and Friends?
Fill a bowl with cooked oatmeal. On the oatmeal put a slice of fried scrapple. On the scrapple put a fried egg. Cover with milk and enjoy!
What do I call it?
Oatmeal Stack? Scrapple Supreme? Oatmeal and Friends?
Mornings
Front burner today, finish the MFA novel so I have time tomorrow to put together my thoughts about it. Later, if the weather is good, yard work.
Getting coffee this morning, I was swept away in a flood of memories about past morning conversations. Most of my best conversations have been early in the morning, either over breakfasts or even, years ago, after a long night of drinking, sobering up conversations, waking up conversations. All those conversation partners have passed -- well, except a couple in L.A. I talk to Sketch now but he has a limited vocabulary for talking back.
It's going to be a tough week. But when it's over, I'm on the downhill side of the term. And sooner than I think, the Summer of Downsizing will begin.
I'm going to try to finish this novel with enough hours left in the day to do more. We'll see.
I also had this imaginary conversation with my doctor as I was waking up.
D...Are you depressed?
C...Unfortunately, no.
D...Unfortunately?
C...Depression today is a sign of sanity. However, I'm too egotistical to be depressed. I feel blessed.
D...Blessed how?
C...That I was born when I was born. Look at my good timing. A teenager at the birth of rock and roll. Too young for Korea. Too old for Vietnam. My parents stayed married. I saw Citation run. I saw Mickey Mantle play. I saw Hugh McElhenny play.
D...So you're not depressed but wish you were depressed?
C...That's not what I said. I said if I were depressed, well, it would show I have more sensitivity to the world at large than I do. But I focus on tending my own garden instead. Thus, I feel more blessed than depressed.
D...Do you want to try some--
C...Doc, I don't want to try anything. Don't worry about me. I ache, therefore I am. This is better than, I don't ache, therefore I'm not.
D...Do you want to see a psychiatrist?
C laughs....Why is medicine so predictable? Have a nice day.
Getting coffee this morning, I was swept away in a flood of memories about past morning conversations. Most of my best conversations have been early in the morning, either over breakfasts or even, years ago, after a long night of drinking, sobering up conversations, waking up conversations. All those conversation partners have passed -- well, except a couple in L.A. I talk to Sketch now but he has a limited vocabulary for talking back.
It's going to be a tough week. But when it's over, I'm on the downhill side of the term. And sooner than I think, the Summer of Downsizing will begin.
I'm going to try to finish this novel with enough hours left in the day to do more. We'll see.
I also had this imaginary conversation with my doctor as I was waking up.
D...Are you depressed?
C...Unfortunately, no.
D...Unfortunately?
C...Depression today is a sign of sanity. However, I'm too egotistical to be depressed. I feel blessed.
D...Blessed how?
C...That I was born when I was born. Look at my good timing. A teenager at the birth of rock and roll. Too young for Korea. Too old for Vietnam. My parents stayed married. I saw Citation run. I saw Mickey Mantle play. I saw Hugh McElhenny play.
D...So you're not depressed but wish you were depressed?
C...That's not what I said. I said if I were depressed, well, it would show I have more sensitivity to the world at large than I do. But I focus on tending my own garden instead. Thus, I feel more blessed than depressed.
D...Do you want to try some--
C...Doc, I don't want to try anything. Don't worry about me. I ache, therefore I am. This is better than, I don't ache, therefore I'm not.
D...Do you want to see a psychiatrist?
C laughs....Why is medicine so predictable? Have a nice day.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Pro basketball
Looks like the Blazers win to make it 2-2 ... but I can't get into pro basketball. Not at all. Maybe if they raised the basket a couple feet. Too much dunking, which I find boring, and too many fouls at the end of the game. I'm not a fan, which means Blazermania around here doesn't much excite me, though I can be happy for the city when they win.
I am much more into baseball -- and for the second game in a row, bottom of the 9th home runs defeat the Mariners. This time they blew a 4-2 lead. Terrible way to lose.
Going to a dramatic reading tonight. I need a battery charge first.
I am much more into baseball -- and for the second game in a row, bottom of the 9th home runs defeat the Mariners. This time they blew a 4-2 lead. Terrible way to lose.
Going to a dramatic reading tonight. I need a battery charge first.
Vertical books
I'm still thinking about the evolution of the screenplay into a "vertical book" shaped specifically for reading on electronic devices. I think the writing would look something like this:
IN THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE
Emil dresses after an exam.
The doctor says,
"In a few weeks, I think
you'll want to consider
moving into a hospice.
In the meantime,
I'm increasing your
pain medication."
Emil asks,
"How much time
do I have?"
and so on, telling the story in a vertical stream of words down the small screen of the electronic device. "Vertical reading" already is an established concept in spec screenwriting, made necessary so that scripts can be read quickly and understood quickly, in the "buyer's market" of the real world reading environment for screenplays, and this form of writing, a minimalist, vertical way of writing, is easily adaptable to the rhetorical style above, a well as to others, which are perfectly suited for reading on small screens.
If I were younger, I'd found a publishing company dedicated to this new literary form. Someone should do it. I think the concept has a future, both commercially and aesthetically.
IN THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE
Emil dresses after an exam.
The doctor says,
"In a few weeks, I think
you'll want to consider
moving into a hospice.
In the meantime,
I'm increasing your
pain medication."
Emil asks,
"How much time
do I have?"
and so on, telling the story in a vertical stream of words down the small screen of the electronic device. "Vertical reading" already is an established concept in spec screenwriting, made necessary so that scripts can be read quickly and understood quickly, in the "buyer's market" of the real world reading environment for screenplays, and this form of writing, a minimalist, vertical way of writing, is easily adaptable to the rhetorical style above, a well as to others, which are perfectly suited for reading on small screens.
If I were younger, I'd found a publishing company dedicated to this new literary form. Someone should do it. I think the concept has a future, both commercially and aesthetically.
West W L Pct GB Home Road East Cent West Streak L10 Oakland Athletics 11 7 .611 -- 8-4 3-3 4-3 1-0 6-4 Won 2 5-5 Seattle Mariners 9 8 .529 1.5 7-2 2-6 3-0 2-2 4-6 Lost 1 7-3 Los Angeles Angels 9 9 .500 2.0 5-7 4-2 5-2 3-5 1-2 Won 1 7-3 Texas Rangers 7 9 .438 3.0 4-3 3-6 2-7 3-1 2-1 Won 2 4-6
MFA candidates
The rest of the weekend brings reading front burner, an MFA candidate's novel I must read before her committee meeting Tuesday. I started it. So Tues is very busy because I also have student conferences, looks like a 10 or 12 hr day. My reward is Wed, reading midterms, which usually are quite good, the break through work for many in the class.
So this week should rush by.
So this week should rush by.
Where do they get these people?
I swear, some of the support crew hired by computer services are, well, either very dumb or really have trouble understanding English. I have an issue with a domain forwarding problem. So I ask and in the asking, say I do x and blah blah. The reply comes back, You must do x. Well, that was the question, doing x doesn't do what it is supposed to do! Jesus.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Grunt work
Spent 3 hrs this morning doing some necessary grunt work that I've been putting off, some research of sorts that needed doing before I can begin a project. A commercial project, which I generally avoid in my old age. But this one has staying power and if it doesn't sell this year, it's no less commercial next year and the year after that -- which is to say, it's a new take on a classic. I've had the idea for over 20 years. Thought I'd better do it before someone else does, and the culture is more ready for it now than before. And somebody else will think of it if they haven't already. It's not hard to do once the research is done but the research, well, it was like pulling teeth, just good old-fashioned grunt work, and I tend to avoid this in my old age and stick to activity that is FUN in some way. Grunt work is rarely fun.
But it's done! Now the fun part of the project can begin. Let me go out on a limb. I will finish this before summer and sell it before the end of the year. Famous last words? We'll see. I accept the challenge.
But it's done! Now the fun part of the project can begin. Let me go out on a limb. I will finish this before summer and sell it before the end of the year. Famous last words? We'll see. I accept the challenge.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
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Mariners in first
Tied for first place!?
West W L Pct GB Home Road East Cent West Streak L10 Seattle Mariners 9 7 .562 -- 7-2 2-5 3-0 2-1 4-6 Won 3 7-3 Oakland Athletics 9 7 .562 -- 6-4 3-3 3-3 0-0 6-4 Lost 3 5-5 Los Angeles Angels 8 8 .500 1.0 4-6 4-2 4-2 3-4 1-2 Lost 1 6-4 Texas Rangers 5 9 .357 3.0 3-3 2-6 1-7 2-1 2-1 Lost 6 3-7
Social networking
I tried both Facebook and Twitter a while back and abandoned both of them. They took up too much of my time. Each had cool moments. On Facebook, I found friends from my past. On Twitter, I read in shock as Iranian students "twittered" while being beat up by cops in Tehran. So I can see the uses of each. However, they still took far more time than I have and most of what I did with them was completely and totally frivolous.
This came to mind because this morning, and regularly now and again, I'm invited to join these or other networks, and I always refuse. I guess I'm just not a social networking kind of guy.
This came to mind because this morning, and regularly now and again, I'm invited to join these or other networks, and I always refuse. I guess I'm just not a social networking kind of guy.
Skype
H has discovered Skype and is having a ball talking on video to kids and friends around the world. I downloaded it but except for a friend in Bali, not sure who the hell I'd use it with. It's quite a program, though. As I write, H online with a friend in London. O brave new world!
Sen. Ron Wyden: The National Guard Needs Your Help
Sen. Ron Wyden: The National Guard Needs Your Help:
"Imagine that reality for a second. You left your home, your family and your job to serve your country in harm's way for ten months only to be welcomed back with no job and no source of income to pay for your home or support your family. My home state of Oregon is facing the largest group of returning veterans since the Second World War -- at a time when our state is also experiencing one of the higher unemployment rates in the country. Our country owes our returning warriors who served their country in time of war the help they need to transition to civilian life."
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
99 y/o loves her Ipad
Video of 99-year-old Lake Oswego woman with iPad goes viral
By Lynne Terry, The Oregonian
April 21, 2010, 12:53PM
A 99-year-old Lake Oswego woman stars in a YouTube video that’s gone viral.
Virginia Campbell sits on a sofa in her apartment in Mary’s Woods Retirement Community.
She never looks up at the camera. She’s totally focused on her new her toy: an iPad.
Read more
The Filter That Protects Palin From Scrutiny - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
The Filter That Protects Palin From Scrutiny -
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan: "The problem here is not really Palin. Every delusional, ignorant nutcase should have a chance to get away with running for national office. The problem here is the system - a system that allowed someone no-one knew anything about to get very close to being a 72-year-old's heartbeat away from the presidency, a system that deems some questions unaskable, a press that is more concerned with maximizing ratings and avoiding offence than in getting answers. This system is dangerous."
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan: "The problem here is not really Palin. Every delusional, ignorant nutcase should have a chance to get away with running for national office. The problem here is the system - a system that allowed someone no-one knew anything about to get very close to being a 72-year-old's heartbeat away from the presidency, a system that deems some questions unaskable, a press that is more concerned with maximizing ratings and avoiding offence than in getting answers. This system is dangerous."
Where have I heard this before?
"Drama is Dead," Say Hollywood Agents
That was the message for budding screenwriters at today’s London Book Fair seminar on writing for Hollywood. Andy Briggs, a British screenwriter who’s worked for Paramount and is currently rebooting the Tarzan and King Kong franchises, said US agents he’d spoken to during his most recent trip to Los Angeles advised him to avoid drama. These days drama is seen as being the purview of television, which does it so much better than movies, he said. Read more
Gray
A gray damp day is perfect to staying inside, reading student work. That's my Wednesday.
I've been dragging ass on a number of projects. Friday is the day to get in gear!
I've been dragging ass on a number of projects. Friday is the day to get in gear!
West W L Pct GB Home Road East Cent West Streak L10 Oakland Athletics 9 6 .600 -- 6-3 3-3 3-2 0-0 6-4 Lost 2 5-5 Seattle Mariners 8 7 .533 1.0 6-2 2-5 2-0 2-1 4-6 Won 2 7-3 Los Angeles Angels 8 7 .533 1.0 4-5 4-2 4-2 3-3 1-2 Won 5 7-3 Texas Rangers 5 8 .385 3.0 3-3 2-5 1-6 2-1 2-1 Lost 5 4-6
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
You've gotta be kidding
Found a used copy of FAMILILLY for sale at Amazon as follows ...
Now this is absolutely ridiculous. | ||||||||||||
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