"As a result of that, you can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it's not Zimmerman," Owen says, stressing that he cannot confirm the voice as Trayvon's, because he didn't have a sample of the teen's voice to compare.Bingo.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Trayvon Martin George Zimmerman 911 call analysis: Two forensic experts say it's not George Zimmerman crying out for help - Orlando Sentinel
Trayvon Martin George Zimmerman 911 call analysis: Two forensic experts say it's not George Zimmerman crying out for help - Orlando Sentinel:
Trayvon Martin shooting grabs attention, but it won't stop violence against black youths | OregonLive.com
Trayvon Martin shooting grabs attention, but it won't stop violence against black youths | OregonLive.com:
"Everything about the Trayvon Martin case is a matter of contention. About this, though, there should be no doubt: If Martin had been shot by a black classmate, if he had been caught in a random crossfire, if he had looked at a gang member the wrong way, his death would have been relegated to the back pages of the local newspaper. Not a cause, not even a curiosity: Just another dead young black man. Nothing to see here. Please, move on. "
"Everything about the Trayvon Martin case is a matter of contention. About this, though, there should be no doubt: If Martin had been shot by a black classmate, if he had been caught in a random crossfire, if he had looked at a gang member the wrong way, his death would have been relegated to the back pages of the local newspaper. Not a cause, not even a curiosity: Just another dead young black man. Nothing to see here. Please, move on. "
I want to be alone: the rise and rise of solo living | Life and style | The Guardian
I want to be alone: the rise and rise of solo living | Life and style | The Guardian:
"The number of people living alone has skyrocketed. What is driving the phenomenon?"
"The number of people living alone has skyrocketed. What is driving the phenomenon?"
The man who raised a black power salute at the 1968 Olympic Games | World news | The Guardian
The man who raised a black power salute at the 1968 Olympic Games | World news | The Guardian:
"When John Carlos raised his fist in a black power salute at the 1968 Olympics, it changed 20th-century history – and his own life – for ever. How does he feel about it now?"
"When John Carlos raised his fist in a black power salute at the 1968 Olympics, it changed 20th-century history – and his own life – for ever. How does he feel about it now?"
Eugene O'Neill, master of American theatre | Stage | The Guardian
Eugene O'Neill, master of American theatre | Stage | The Guardian:
"O'Neill introduced psychological and social realism to the American stage. As his masterpiece Long Day's Journey into Night opens in the West End, Sarah Churchwell assesses his impact on modern drama"
"O'Neill introduced psychological and social realism to the American stage. As his masterpiece Long Day's Journey into Night opens in the West End, Sarah Churchwell assesses his impact on modern drama"
Friday, March 30, 2012
Stocks rise, extending best start since 1998 - Yahoo! News
Stocks rise, extending best start since 1998 - Yahoo! News:
Just think -- and with a socialist President!
Just think -- and with a socialist President!
Wet trip
Very wet at the coast yesterday ... more than usual storm ... looking forward to drier pdx days. Sent fm Kindle.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Adrienne Rich, award-winning poet and essayist, dies aged 82 | Books | guardian.co.uk
Adrienne Rich, award-winning poet and essayist, dies aged 82 | Books | guardian.co.uk:
"'She was a poet of towering reputation and towering rage who brought the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse'"
"'She was a poet of towering reputation and towering rage who brought the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse'"
Another reader gets it
From an old actor, director friend:
A note: I grew up "Bob," being a Jr., but always wrote under Charles and started going by Charles, my first name, when I reached the stage of life in the late 70s when my professional friends outnumbered my personal friends. This was when I moved to Portland from the Eastern Shore. A change of life after the breakup of my marriage (i.e. Deconstructing Sally material etc). A new personal name.
Started reading last night. Couldn't put it down. Really fine writing. Your presence bleeds thru...the same Bob Deemer I have always known. I realize the book deals with difficult, sometime tragic, issues, but your good cheer is always in the background. I think that character trait has allowed you to become(like me) an old fogey laughing your way into eternity."Couldn't put it down" is always good to hear. But this is the result of a conscious strategy because once I decided on telling the story in LAYERS, ala Dos Passos, I knew pacing would be a problem (as in the USA trilogy) and so I decided on a modular construction of VIGNETTES (ala Connell) so that the story spine would return sooner rather than later, despite the layers. In the first 20 pages, pretty much all the themes and techniques are introduced -- and hopefully, as with this reader, the short chapters suggest a "well, just one more" attitude before setting the book down. I thought long and hard about the construction of this story. It's working for more than I expected actually.
A note: I grew up "Bob," being a Jr., but always wrote under Charles and started going by Charles, my first name, when I reached the stage of life in the late 70s when my professional friends outnumbered my personal friends. This was when I moved to Portland from the Eastern Shore. A change of life after the breakup of my marriage (i.e. Deconstructing Sally material etc). A new personal name.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
For the record
| West | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Cent | West | Streak | L10 |
| Seattle Mariners | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | -- | 0-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | Won 1 | 1-0 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -- | 0-0 |
| Texas Rangers | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -- | 0-0 |
| Oakland Athletics | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1.0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | Lost 1 | 0-1 |
Ackley, Suzuki lead Mariners to 3-1 win in Tokyo - Yahoo! News
Ackley, Suzuki lead Mariners to 3-1 win in Tokyo - Yahoo! News:
"TOKYO (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki had four hits in his return to Japan, Dustin Ackley homered and then singled in the go-ahead run in the 11th inning, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1 Wednesday night in baseball's season-opener."
Mariners in first place ha ha!
"TOKYO (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki had four hits in his return to Japan, Dustin Ackley homered and then singled in the go-ahead run in the 11th inning, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1 Wednesday night in baseball's season-opener."
Mariners in first place ha ha!
Alan Lomax's Massive Archive Goes Online : The Record : NPR
Alan Lomax's Massive Archive Goes Online : The Record : NPR:
"Folklorist Alan Lomax spent his career documenting folk music traditions from around the world. Now thousands of the songs and interviews he recorded are available for free online, many for the first time. It's part of what Lomax envisioned for the collection — long before the age of the Internet."
This is incredible! There's a link in the article to the archive.
"Folklorist Alan Lomax spent his career documenting folk music traditions from around the world. Now thousands of the songs and interviews he recorded are available for free online, many for the first time. It's part of what Lomax envisioned for the collection — long before the age of the Internet."
This is incredible! There's a link in the article to the archive.
German town fears loss of U.S. Army base - The Washington Post
German town fears loss of U.S. Army base - The Washington Post:
"BAUMHOLDER, Germany — For more than half a century, this garrison town in the rolling hills of southwest Germany has been a small version of America, with Ford Mustangs and pickup trucks from the U.S. Army base next door threading through its medieval streets."
With dozens and dozens of bars crammed into several blocks, with hundreds of prostitutes to "service" the thousands of soldiers in town from war games in the nearby fields ... oh yes, I know the town well. Its surrealistic but accurate environment is at the heart of my novella, Baumholder 1961.
Paperback info.
Ebook info, all formats.
"BAUMHOLDER, Germany — For more than half a century, this garrison town in the rolling hills of southwest Germany has been a small version of America, with Ford Mustangs and pickup trucks from the U.S. Army base next door threading through its medieval streets."
With dozens and dozens of bars crammed into several blocks, with hundreds of prostitutes to "service" the thousands of soldiers in town from war games in the nearby fields ... oh yes, I know the town well. Its surrealistic but accurate environment is at the heart of my novella, Baumholder 1961.
Ebook info, all formats.
“If they leave, Baumholder is going to turn into a ghost city,” said Thomas Kiefer, 44, a German tattoo artist who speaks English with a Mississippi drawl and was eating Popeyes chicken at his shop one recent evening.Confidential magazine once called Baumholder "the Sin City of Europe." It was an under-statement.
Thanks to TS for alerting me to this.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Movie Interview - Jon Erwin, 'October Baby' Director : NPR
Movie Interview - Jon Erwin, 'October Baby' Director : NPR:
"'October Baby' Tells A Story Hollywood Wouldn't"
"'October Baby' Tells A Story Hollywood Wouldn't"
Why Conservatives Are Smearing Trayvon Martin’s Reputation - The Daily Beast
Why Conservatives Are Smearing Trayvon Martin’s Reputation - The Daily Beast:
"Some conservatives are deeply invested in the idea that anti-black racism is no longer much of a problem in the U.S., and certainly not on the scale of false accusations of racism. "
"Some conservatives are deeply invested in the idea that anti-black racism is no longer much of a problem in the U.S., and certainly not on the scale of false accusations of racism. "
On the Brink: Planet Near Irreversible Point of Global Warming | Common Dreams
On the Brink: Planet Near Irreversible Point of Global Warming | Common Dreams:
"We may have already passed the tipping points on global warming, say scientists at the Planet Under Pressure conference. At the London conference, scientists are giving a bleak view of the future of the planet due to catastrophic damage and growth by humans, saying we are close to the irreversible point of global warming."
Trayvon Martin Investigator Wanted to Charge George Zimmerman With Manslaughter - ABC News
Trayvon Martin Investigator Wanted to Charge George Zimmerman With Manslaughter - ABC News:
"The lead homicide investigator in the shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin recommended that neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter the night of the shooting, multiple sources told ABC News."
Very interesting indeed.
"The lead homicide investigator in the shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin recommended that neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter the night of the shooting, multiple sources told ABC News."
Very interesting indeed.
I didn't see this coming
In his articulate review of my recent novel Sodom, Gomorrah & Jones, Bob Hicks refers to "CJ’s increasingly hopeless and cynical view of the state of the nation," an accurate observation. Much of this is communicated with vignettes called "CJ Watches the News," sound bites from TV. I wanted to create the dark world that the media delivers to us all. But little did I expect myself to feel this: I didn't paint this world darkly enough! It's even more hopeless than CJ believes, or such is the message I've been getting from watching the news myself in the few weeks since the novel's publication. I didn't exaggerate matters for the novel. Quite the opposite! And in this regard, I find myself both shocked and depressed.
Can't hack it
After 100 pages or so I am abandoning the Irish quintet. I love the concept. I admire the storytelling. But I can't stay with the tone, melodramatic, flirting with soap opera. Too shallow and facile finally. Problem I usually have with pop lit, which this is. I'm a hopeless elitist ha ha.
No Innovation Until We Run Out of Energy | Underwire | Wired.com
No Innovation Until We Run Out of Energy | Underwire | Wired.com:
"We accept that solar power and wind power are nice, but not enough to actually sustain a civilization. We accept that atomic power is always going to be toxic and disastrous. We accept that electric cars are for yuppie douchebags and public transit is for poor, smelly people. We read science fiction and dream of a nicer future, while accepting that our current alternate-energy tech is as cutting edge as it could possibly be because we’re Americans and we invented Google and the iPad and microwave popcorn so if there was something better than oil we would have created it already, right?
Don’t believe it. There’s much more to be done, and we’re not going to do much of it until alternative energy stops being a Mr. Wizard sideshow rarely seen outside of car expos and the covers of tech magazines, and starts being the only way to drag our kids to the soccer field. I’d love to be proved wrong, but I’m not holding my breath."
"We accept that solar power and wind power are nice, but not enough to actually sustain a civilization. We accept that atomic power is always going to be toxic and disastrous. We accept that electric cars are for yuppie douchebags and public transit is for poor, smelly people. We read science fiction and dream of a nicer future, while accepting that our current alternate-energy tech is as cutting edge as it could possibly be because we’re Americans and we invented Google and the iPad and microwave popcorn so if there was something better than oil we would have created it already, right?
Don’t believe it. There’s much more to be done, and we’re not going to do much of it until alternative energy stops being a Mr. Wizard sideshow rarely seen outside of car expos and the covers of tech magazines, and starts being the only way to drag our kids to the soccer field. I’d love to be proved wrong, but I’m not holding my breath."
Black America Gets A Martyr - The Daily Beast
Black America Gets A Martyr - The Daily Beast:
"The U.S. journalist Mickey Kaus calls it “under-news”: news that never quite emerges into the national media, but that shapes the consciousness of millions of people. And what is being shaped is a conviction among many white people — especially fearful elderly whites in the South — that the Obama presidency has licensed a rampage of black-on-white violence. That’s not what the statistics say. But as Stephen Colbert would say: statistics are elitist."
"The U.S. journalist Mickey Kaus calls it “under-news”: news that never quite emerges into the national media, but that shapes the consciousness of millions of people. And what is being shaped is a conviction among many white people — especially fearful elderly whites in the South — that the Obama presidency has licensed a rampage of black-on-white violence. That’s not what the statistics say. But as Stephen Colbert would say: statistics are elitist."
The Euro Crisis Is Hurting Cultural Groups - NYTimes.com
The Euro Crisis Is Hurting Cultural Groups - NYTimes.com:
"In Europe, Where Art Is Life, Ax Falls on Public Financing
"
Where art is life!? Not a commodity in the marketplace? What a concept.
"In Europe, Where Art Is Life, Ax Falls on Public Financing
"
Where art is life!? Not a commodity in the marketplace? What a concept.
The company we keep
Capital Punishment: U.S. Ranks 5th On Global Execution Scale, Amnesty International Reports:
""If you look at the company we're in globally, it's not the company we want to be in: China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq," Suzanne Nossel, executive director of Amnesty International USA, told The Associated Press."
""If you look at the company we're in globally, it's not the company we want to be in: China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq," Suzanne Nossel, executive director of Amnesty International USA, told The Associated Press."
Good company
Can there be a better use of my book of poems In My Old Age than this?
(...your excellent old man's poetry, which I carry in my knapsack when I go hiking -- with Kenneth Rexroth's translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry, and Whitman's Leaves of Grass).Talk about being in good company! Thanks, Tom.
The Hunger Games fails to give teenagers food for thought | Film | guardian.co.uk
The Hunger Games fails to give teenagers food for thought | Film | guardian.co.uk:
"In spite of the censor's anxieties, Katniss's story, with its sexless romance, pain-free violence and adolescent mindset, isn't going to unsettle young minds. Nor, however, is it likely to expand their horizons."
Duh.
"In spite of the censor's anxieties, Katniss's story, with its sexless romance, pain-free violence and adolescent mindset, isn't going to unsettle young minds. Nor, however, is it likely to expand their horizons."
Duh.
Monday, March 26, 2012
This and that with iced coffee
Double-checked my grades. Done.
Tennessee plays Baylor today and will be a big underdog. I would love for them to win! I want anyone to beat Baylor. I dislike Baylor because their center is so tall, turns women's game into a men's game and everybody goes nuts when she dunks it.
TS at Round Bend Press was ahead of his time, making several dramatic videos in the 1980s, two of which I acted in. Now he's returning to the form, getting ready to shoot a video based on his memoir. I suspect it will be pretty engaging.
Have my syllabus roughed out, need to check it out and take it to printer at end of week.
Strange room assignment this term, blocks off of campus. At least it's a high tech room, which I demand.
I need to go the whole hog and get a grinder. Much more freedom in choosing coffee beans when you can grind your own. Some very inexpensive ones get rave reviews at Amazon, so it's not a major investment.
Headcheese sandwich for lunch, I think. Had comfort breakfast, scrapple on milk toast, egg on top.
Tennessee plays Baylor today and will be a big underdog. I would love for them to win! I want anyone to beat Baylor. I dislike Baylor because their center is so tall, turns women's game into a men's game and everybody goes nuts when she dunks it.
TS at Round Bend Press was ahead of his time, making several dramatic videos in the 1980s, two of which I acted in. Now he's returning to the form, getting ready to shoot a video based on his memoir. I suspect it will be pretty engaging.
Have my syllabus roughed out, need to check it out and take it to printer at end of week.
Strange room assignment this term, blocks off of campus. At least it's a high tech room, which I demand.
I need to go the whole hog and get a grinder. Much more freedom in choosing coffee beans when you can grind your own. Some very inexpensive ones get rave reviews at Amazon, so it's not a major investment.
Headcheese sandwich for lunch, I think. Had comfort breakfast, scrapple on milk toast, egg on top.
Political fiction
After finishing the USA trilogy, with its political subplots, I found myself wanting to read more political fiction. I thought of rereading Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle, an old favorite, but decided to find something new, perhaps about the French Revolution or about the struggles in Ireland.
Researching the latter, I found Morgan Llywelyn's Irish century quintet, read samples, picked up the first for Kindle, 1916: a novel of the Irish rebellion, have started it -- and only 50 pages in I am a fan. If the long five-book story continues as engagingly as it begins, I am in for a real treat.
Atheists, please read my heathen manifesto | Julian Baggini | The Guardian
Atheists, please read my heathen manifesto | Julian Baggini | Comment is free | The Guardian:
"12 rules for heathens"
I'm not an atheist but this is really sane stuff.
"12 rules for heathens"
Journalist seeking truth about Khmer Rouge 'fears for his life' | World news | The Guardian
Journalist seeking truth about Khmer Rouge 'fears for his life' | World news | The Guardian:
"Award-winning film-maker Thet Sambath says he has been followed, harassed and chased during his research"
"Award-winning film-maker Thet Sambath says he has been followed, harassed and chased during his research"
from Kindle
Monday morn ... Spring break ... a few prep chores to do ... happy camper ... despite etc ... Kindle, LA Times, iced coffee ... mellow ... good women's bball later ... lucky me
Novel, Sodom, Gomorrah & Jones
Blog, The Writing Life II
Winner, 1997 Crossing Borders International New Play Competition ("Famililly")
Finalist, 2001 Oregon Book Award, Seven Plays
Micromovie (feature), The Farewell Wake
Micromovie (short), Deconstructing Sally
"I believe what really happens in history is this: the old man is always wrong; and the young people are always wrong about what is wrong with him. The practical form it takes is this: that, while the old man may stand by some stupid custom, the young man always attacks it with some theory that turns out to be equally stupid." -- G. K. Chesterton
Sunday, March 25, 2012
March Madness
Kentucky the only #1 seed to reach Final Four. Some good games this weekend in men's, women's mostly a blowout.
Baseball and audio books
Theories of Rhetoric and Composition Pedagogy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Theories of Rhetoric and Composition Pedagogy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
In this article I learn that I am a "radical expressivist." My 1967 essay "English Composition as a Happening" still rocks the boat! This is cool, always good to stir the pot. But I'm not a radical expressivist. Honest. I'm a Scorpio.
The essay was written for a seminar in grad school, and the professor suggested I send it off for publication. It was quickly accepted and published, appearing shortly before my literary short stories began to appear. But this comes from the same cloth. This was the beginning of my sense of writing from whole cloth, cloth now folded and put away. 1967-2012, 45 years. Not too shabby if I say so myself.
In this article I learn that I am a "radical expressivist." My 1967 essay "English Composition as a Happening" still rocks the boat! This is cool, always good to stir the pot. But I'm not a radical expressivist. Honest. I'm a Scorpio.
Radical expressivists Charles Deemer and William Lutz also suggest that English composition should be taught as and considered a sort of Happening. Deemer locates the problem with the composition course in its lack of subject content and asserts that writing demands inspiration that can be attained from teacher-induced Happenings, as “clear writing and clear thought follow only after clear periences.”[10]
The essay was written for a seminar in grad school, and the professor suggested I send it off for publication. It was quickly accepted and published, appearing shortly before my literary short stories began to appear. But this comes from the same cloth. This was the beginning of my sense of writing from whole cloth, cloth now folded and put away. 1967-2012, 45 years. Not too shabby if I say so myself.
Round Bend Press: Insulted
Round Bend Press: Insulted:
Founding publisher Terry Simons is not happy with Bob Hicks' reference, in his generous review of my new novel, to Round Bend Press as "small." I don't intend to get in the middle of what seems to me to be a semantic issue but I hope the occasion sparks awareness of the incredible revolution going on in the publishing industry today, much of which is scrutinized at the excellent blog The Passive Voice.
I applaud the vision of Simons at Round Bend Press and cherish my association with him. RBP published my last three books, each of which I consider important in my career: In My Old Age: Poems, which sets the theme for all my later work; Eight Oregon Plays, which brings together the work for which I'm best known regionally (not internationally); and Sodom, Gomorrah & Jones, the closest thing I'll ever write to a "swan song." None of these are commercial products. Round Bend Press is not in the commercial book business, though the culture at large, perhaps more than ever, still equates quality with a product's monetary life.
Simons and others have taken advantage of new technology to make quality work readily available that would have remained hidden by the rules of the prior print technology. This is not a bad thing. This is a revolution that should be applauded.
I think Hicks would agree and that his use of "small" was not meant to be pejorative but a literal statement of physical size.
Founding publisher Terry Simons is not happy with Bob Hicks' reference, in his generous review of my new novel, to Round Bend Press as "small." I don't intend to get in the middle of what seems to me to be a semantic issue but I hope the occasion sparks awareness of the incredible revolution going on in the publishing industry today, much of which is scrutinized at the excellent blog The Passive Voice.
I applaud the vision of Simons at Round Bend Press and cherish my association with him. RBP published my last three books, each of which I consider important in my career: In My Old Age: Poems, which sets the theme for all my later work; Eight Oregon Plays, which brings together the work for which I'm best known regionally (not internationally); and Sodom, Gomorrah & Jones, the closest thing I'll ever write to a "swan song." None of these are commercial products. Round Bend Press is not in the commercial book business, though the culture at large, perhaps more than ever, still equates quality with a product's monetary life.
Simons and others have taken advantage of new technology to make quality work readily available that would have remained hidden by the rules of the prior print technology. This is not a bad thing. This is a revolution that should be applauded.
I think Hicks would agree and that his use of "small" was not meant to be pejorative but a literal statement of physical size.
Robert Mapplethorpe show heads to remote Scottish town of Dunoon | Art and design | The Observer
Robert Mapplethorpe show heads to remote Scottish town of Dunoon | Art and design | The Observer:
I can't imagine this opening in Fossil, Oregon.
I can't imagine this opening in Fossil, Oregon.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
After A Lifetime Of Hard Work, The Indignity Of A Layoff
After A Lifetime Of Hard Work, The Indignity Of A Layoff:
"Linda Hall of Spokane, Wash. has worked hard all her life but hasn't earned any respect from the labor market. Laid off for the first time at age 62, Hall has no health insurance, not enough savings for retirement and almost no chance of getting hired again.
"A year ago I was absolutely certain that I had job security," Hall said. "Change is a part of life. But, truthfully, until a few weeks before [getting laid off], I just didn't see it coming and couldn't imagine such a thing happening.""
"Linda Hall of Spokane, Wash. has worked hard all her life but hasn't earned any respect from the labor market. Laid off for the first time at age 62, Hall has no health insurance, not enough savings for retirement and almost no chance of getting hired again.
"A year ago I was absolutely certain that I had job security," Hall said. "Change is a part of life. But, truthfully, until a few weeks before [getting laid off], I just didn't see it coming and couldn't imagine such a thing happening.""
The mysteries of "success"
When I look back at my long career, one of the more interesting puzzles to me is the total disinterest by the local theater community in what is clearly my most critically successful play -- and this at an international level. I speak of Famililly:
Fascinating. But I suppose it shouldn't be. A large part of "success" in the theater world, as in many places, spins around networking and I've been out of the local loop for some time now. I was very much in the loop in the 1980s but only because others, not myself, were serving my interests, in particular the three directors and theater critic to whom I dedicate my recent collection 8 Oregon Plays. I actually didn't do much networking at all; these folks more or less came to me. It really was a matter of being the right person (a playwright writing "Oregon" plays) at the right place at the right time. I got to experience "success," at least from the point of view of a big fish in a small pond (in the 1970s, I'd been a small fish in a big pond on three different occasions, i,e, Best American Short Stories), so I had something with which to compare later experiences of marginalization.
I don't see any way to make sense of any of this. The opposite of success is not failure but invisibility, and neither experience seems to have as much to do with me as with the environment surrounding me. Contests, it turns out, are really about judges, as I learned when I started judging contests myself. Pity the screenwriter who writes horror scripts and has yours truly for a judge! To repeat a story I love to tell my students (I'm big on Reality101 when it comes to writing in America), I once was one of three judges charged to give ten scriptwriters a fat fellowship, selected from 70 finalists. In each of our individual "top ten" lists, not one writer appeared twice! We had no agreement whatever! This is the truth about literary competitions, my friends.
It's easier to embrace the fact that "success" is a crap shoot when you are not being selected, of course. In fact, winning an award is as circumstantial as not winning an award. It doesn't mean you're "good" when you win any more than it means you're "bad" when you don't win. No wonder the first thing Yeats said when being told he'd won the Nobel Prize in Literature was ... How much?
The only sane attitude to take in the fog of all this was expressed by J. D. Salinger:
Perhaps the most impressive of these awards is the New Century Writer Awards, which was a big deal at the time, but made no sense since all forms of writing were in competition with one another, an apples and oranges affair if ever there was one; nonetheless, the play was the highest ranking stage play and something like 8th or 9th overall (it was a long time ago). You'd think being a finalist locally for the Oregon Book Award might result in a look by a local theater company. Nope. You'd think its theme -- it's about "family values" from the point of view of gay parenting; its theatricality -- it's set around a costume party on the Bicentennial, with some of the "founding fathers" on stage; its small cast (3M, 3W) would make it attractive. Nope. Nobody in Portland gave (gives) a rat's ass about the play.Winner of the 1997 "Crossing Borders" international new play competition and the 1998 Buckham Alley Theatre Playwrights Competition. Also the highest ranking stage play in the 1998 New Century Writer Awards and a finalist for the 1998 Oregon Book Award.
Fascinating. But I suppose it shouldn't be. A large part of "success" in the theater world, as in many places, spins around networking and I've been out of the local loop for some time now. I was very much in the loop in the 1980s but only because others, not myself, were serving my interests, in particular the three directors and theater critic to whom I dedicate my recent collection 8 Oregon Plays. I actually didn't do much networking at all; these folks more or less came to me. It really was a matter of being the right person (a playwright writing "Oregon" plays) at the right place at the right time. I got to experience "success," at least from the point of view of a big fish in a small pond (in the 1970s, I'd been a small fish in a big pond on three different occasions, i,e, Best American Short Stories), so I had something with which to compare later experiences of marginalization.
It's easier to embrace the fact that "success" is a crap shoot when you are not being selected, of course. In fact, winning an award is as circumstantial as not winning an award. It doesn't mean you're "good" when you win any more than it means you're "bad" when you don't win. No wonder the first thing Yeats said when being told he'd won the Nobel Prize in Literature was ... How much?
The only sane attitude to take in the fog of all this was expressed by J. D. Salinger:
An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's.Amen, amen.
The coffee king
The more I use my new large French press to make iced coffee, the better I like it. What a fine tool! Just like the espresso hand press, designed to do the job at hand without hassle or complication. And both work perfectly and make me the best coffee in town, hot or cold.
As long as I use the right blend of coffee ha ha. H suggested I try Sumatra for iced cofee -- and boy is she right! That's what I'm drinking today and it's the first blend I've tried I like better than the Starbucks I've been drinking all these months. So Sumatra is a keeper but I still want to experiment.
Revisiting Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee as an audio book is a moving, sad experience. What would happen if a country actually owned up to its true history? Has this ever happened? I'm going to follow this with the audio book of In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, continuing the focus I began as research for the novel. But I don't think I can take this focus much longer. I'm really not a masochist.
I need to listen to something deeply comical, like Bellow's Henderson the Rain King. A note to myself.
As long as I use the right blend of coffee ha ha. H suggested I try Sumatra for iced cofee -- and boy is she right! That's what I'm drinking today and it's the first blend I've tried I like better than the Starbucks I've been drinking all these months. So Sumatra is a keeper but I still want to experiment.
Revisiting Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee as an audio book is a moving, sad experience. What would happen if a country actually owned up to its true history? Has this ever happened? I'm going to follow this with the audio book of In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, continuing the focus I began as research for the novel. But I don't think I can take this focus much longer. I'm really not a masochist.
I need to listen to something deeply comical, like Bellow's Henderson the Rain King. A note to myself.
Age of Ignorance by Charles Simic | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books
Age of Ignorance by Charles Simic | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books:
"Widespread ignorance bordering on idiocy is our new national goal. It’s no use pretending otherwise and telling us, as Thomas Friedman did in the Times a few days ago, that educated people are the nation’s most valuable resources. Sure, they are, but do we still want them? It doesn’t look to me as if we do. The ideal citizen of a politically corrupt state, such as the one we now have, is a gullible dolt unable to tell truth from bullshit."
Hear, hear!
"Widespread ignorance bordering on idiocy is our new national goal. It’s no use pretending otherwise and telling us, as Thomas Friedman did in the Times a few days ago, that educated people are the nation’s most valuable resources. Sure, they are, but do we still want them? It doesn’t look to me as if we do. The ideal citizen of a politically corrupt state, such as the one we now have, is a gullible dolt unable to tell truth from bullshit."
Hear, hear!
Resisting temptation
But I resist! I could fiddle with the book for the rest of my time. In fact, I could fiddle with just about anything I've ever written. Indeed, in the 90s, during a rehearsal of a revival of Christmas at the Juniper Tavern, I tweaked the ending, changing its rhythm a bit.
Never in my career, however, did I have more opportunity to change things than during the run of The Comedian In Spite of Himself, my play about Moliere, at the New Rose Theatre. The play was commissioned by artistic director Gary O'Brien. I never would have chosen this subject on my own. I had the opportunity to house sit in Bend and write the play. But I was immediately distracted by the Rajneesh phenomenon, which was getting much more press in central Oregon than in Portland. I quickly wrote Christmas at the Juniper Tavern, which initially upset O'Brien since he had paid me to write something else.
But I got the Moliere play done by deadline -- however, I didn't like it. O'Brien loved it. I didn't like it. We reached a compromise. We'd open as scheduled but I could continue rewriting the play. The result was extraordinary: the six week run presented six different versions of the play! Every Tuesday, after seeing the weekend run, I'd bring in pages of changes, which of course the actors hated, and O'Brien would put the changes in, and a slightly different play would result. And so on, for the entire run!
In retrospect, I wanted to write a different play than O'Brien wanted. He wanted the focus to be on the relationship of Moliere and the King. I wanted the focus to be on Moliere's fear that he may have married his own daughter. The play that resulted, in my view, was too long and too sprawling, a three-act epic. Consequently my changes were almost all cuts. Indeed, the final show was 45 minutes shorter than opening night! This wasn't because of tightening scenes in performance but because of my using the chain saw.
I had one argument with O'Brien about changes that I finally won. I cut the funniest scene in the play -- the scene that got the most laughs consistently. It was a scene between Moliere and La Grange, his buddy and the narrator, when both are drunk. It was a very funny scene actually. However, it had absolutely nothing to do with the story. It was a great scene in the wrong play. I don't think O'Brien let me cut it until the final weekend.
Even though some critics loved The Comedian In Spite of Himself and even Mr. Producer Hal Prince wrote me a kind note in admiration of it (a NY actress who had seen the play got the script from the theater and gave it to him -- she wanted to be in it in NY), I still didn't like the play. Because the play was commissioned, I had to share royalties with the theater for five years after the New Rose premiere -- but I shelved it. Ten years later I picked it up and redid it with my focus, changing the sprawling 3-act epic into a tight 2-act personal drama. I renamed it Sad Laughter, later adapting this as a screenplay, which my agent at the time called the best screenplay he'd ever read, and meant it, though we went nowhere with it, despite several typical false starts.
Well, that's was a windy aside. The point is, as a writer said once, literary creations aren't ended so much as abandoned.
No, I am not going to fiddle with the novel. I'm done. ("What an extravagance! What a relief!" Lew Welch).
Art Scatter » Faith and ‘Gomorrah’: a hero grows old
Art Scatter » Blog Archive » Faith and ‘Gomorrah’: a hero grows old:
Bob Hicks' usual fair and thoughtful commentary.
Bob Hicks' usual fair and thoughtful commentary.
Deemer’s novel flips easily through flashbacks and current events, and it can hit lightly on some of its scenes, like a screenplay (and in fact, Deemer has taught screenwriting at PSU for several years). It also drops in frequently on CJ’s increasingly hopeless and cynical view of the state of the nation: he was, after all, a historian and a political activist. As offhand as these passages can seem, they’re a crucial part of the novel, both in defining its position in the culture and in reporting the core of CJ’s character.
Richard Eyre: why the best actors are British | Stage | The Guardian
Richard Eyre: why the best actors are British | Stage | The Guardian:
"'There's something even more important than Shakespeare, subsidised theatre and our love of ceremonial'"
"'There's something even more important than Shakespeare, subsidised theatre and our love of ceremonial'"
Online Isaac Newton
guardian.co.uk | Search | online isaac newton: "Face to faith: A new online Isaac Newton archive sheds light on an era when science and faith were undivided
The Guardian, 23 Mar 2012"
The Guardian, 23 Mar 2012"
Friday, March 23, 2012
'Big Government' Isn't the Problem, Big Money Is | Common Dreams
'Big Government' Isn't the Problem, Big Money Is | Common Dreams:
"Conservatives love to rail against “big government.” But the surge of cynicism engulfing the nation isn’t about government’s size. It flows from a growing perception that government doesn’t work for average people but for big business, Wall Street and the very rich—who, in effect, have bought it. In a recent Pew poll, 77 percent of respondents said too much power is in the hands of a few rich people and corporations."
"Conservatives love to rail against “big government.” But the surge of cynicism engulfing the nation isn’t about government’s size. It flows from a growing perception that government doesn’t work for average people but for big business, Wall Street and the very rich—who, in effect, have bought it. In a recent Pew poll, 77 percent of respondents said too much power is in the hands of a few rich people and corporations."
25 Worst Sports Uniforms of All Time | Bleacher Report
25 Worst Sports Uniforms of All Time | Bleacher Report:
The fix is on! The University of Oregon did NOT make this list. For shame.
The fix is on! The University of Oregon did NOT make this list. For shame.
Eagle Cam Watch: First Egg Ready to Hatch | Wired Science | Wired.com
Eagle Cam Watch: First Egg Ready to Hatch | Wired Science | Wired.com:
"We’re officially on Eagle Cam Hatch Watch. The first egg, laid on Feb. 17 in Decorah, Iowa should hatch on March 23 or 24. The other two will likely hatch in the next two weeks, so get ready for a long and exciting hatch-a-thon!"
"We’re officially on Eagle Cam Hatch Watch. The first egg, laid on Feb. 17 in Decorah, Iowa should hatch on March 23 or 24. The other two will likely hatch in the next two weeks, so get ready for a long and exciting hatch-a-thon!"
How to make perfect iced coffee
Took a while to get here but here's a great method.
- Get a large French press. I recommend the 1.5 litre Bodum, available here. Great functional design makes the process very easy.
- Fill container with 1 to 1.5 cups of coarsely ground coffee, your blend of choice.
- Add cold water (tap or filtered, I use tap), filling half way up. Stir with a wooden spoon.
- Top with water to about half inch from top, stir.
- Put on storage lid (Bodum has 2 lids) and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
- Take out. Replace storage lid with press lid. Slowly press grounds down. Makes about 40 oz of coffee.
- Pour over ice, water to taste (I add about 10% water in 24 ounce glass). Cream to taste (I usually have black).
- Cleanup, which is a breeze. Drink and enjoy! A foolproof method for perfect iced coffee.
How indie labels changed the world | Music | The Guardian
How indie labels changed the world | Music | The Guardian:
"Run by mavericks with little or no business sense, independent record labels turned the music industry on its head in the 80s. And their sound and aesthetic remains a huge influence to this day"
"Run by mavericks with little or no business sense, independent record labels turned the music industry on its head in the 80s. And their sound and aesthetic remains a huge influence to this day"
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Books, ebooks, audio books
I've been on, and will continue to be on, a major reading jag, more than I've done since graduate school. A prolific writer like myself had less time for reading than I would have preferred. I'm making up for lost time, perhaps.
I prefer reading on a Kindle, as I've said here before. It's simply easier on the eyes and hands. I can do everything with one hand: read, mark passages, look up words. Only when I make notes do I have to use both hands. I simply don't understand anyone interested in content preferring a bound book to a Kindle. Each is a content-delivery technology and should be compared as such.
Audio books are relatively new to me, and I love them. What I like about them, given a decent reader, is how they slow down the reading and emphasize the poetic quality of the language, if there is any. And an incredible reader, like David Drummond performing John Dos Passos, turns the book into a theatrical event. I'm listening now to Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, which I read years ago, and the experience strikes me as more moving than reading, perhaps because it's a slower process, with more time for emotional response.
Reading good books is one of the best things left to do in our dying world.
I prefer reading on a Kindle, as I've said here before. It's simply easier on the eyes and hands. I can do everything with one hand: read, mark passages, look up words. Only when I make notes do I have to use both hands. I simply don't understand anyone interested in content preferring a bound book to a Kindle. Each is a content-delivery technology and should be compared as such.
Audio books are relatively new to me, and I love them. What I like about them, given a decent reader, is how they slow down the reading and emphasize the poetic quality of the language, if there is any. And an incredible reader, like David Drummond performing John Dos Passos, turns the book into a theatrical event. I'm listening now to Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, which I read years ago, and the experience strikes me as more moving than reading, perhaps because it's a slower process, with more time for emotional response.
Reading good books is one of the best things left to do in our dying world.
The S-word, 2009
From Sodom, Gomorrah & JonesCJ WAS STANDING at the bathroom mirror, staring at himself. Molly was at the dining room table, sitting before piles of folders and documents, helping him make arrangements not only for the funeral and burial but for the various financial obligations that Helen, not CJ, had handled each month.CJ looked to himself as bad as he felt. Two days after his wife's death, he still felt as if he were dreaming, as if all the activity around him was not real. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. Maybe he hadn't. He couldn't remember.Helen's bottle of sleeping pills was on the counter under the mirror. Nearly a full bottle, strong pills requiring a prescription, pills to help her rest in the final difficult days of her cancer. It occurred to CJ that he could take the entire bottle right now and be done with it. This was a remarkable thought for a man who had never contemplated suicide before, despite his dark view of politics and the world at large. As much as he bitched about the lies and betrayals he found around him, he was content to live through them in order to expose them. He considered this his responsibility.But how easy now to throw in the towel. He already was beginning to realize how much he had depended on Helen and how difficult the ordinary routines of life would be without her. And for what? They had no children. He no longer had the academic pressure of publish or perish. The world wouldn't come to an end if he didn't finish the book he was struggling with. How easy to throw in the towel. For the first time he understood why his father had given up.“Are you okay in there?” Molly called from across the house.“I'm coming,” CJ replied, and the pills stayed on the counter.
Iced coffee!
Damn, my homemade iced coffee is good this morning! H can't believe I drink ICED coffee with snow outside. Makes sense to me, though. Warm blooded ha ha.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
It's a keeper
Clean up with the press is a snap. Yep, this is my iced coffee solution. Now to find the right blend. This will pay for itself in a month.
As with the hand press, I'm thinking, What took me so long to find this?
As with the hand press, I'm thinking, What took me so long to find this?
Iced coffee, step one, A+
First step of my iced coffee experiment, prep and delivery, and nothing could have been easier. If the cleanup is as easy as advertised, this is a winner. The large press holds 52 oz, a batch making two large beverages. I am not terribly fond of the blend I used but this is not a problem when I'm testing the methodology. I can always buy the Starbucks blend at the store but I'll experiment first, which will be more fun. Find my own special blend for my tastes.
So I can make the perfect cup of hot coffee with my espresso hand pump and soon I'll be making the perfect iced coffee in the large French press. Both gadgets, by the way, are designed terrifically for the task at hand. Both made in Europe (too bad). Both reasonably priced, especially the press.
I'll have another this afternoon so I can test the cleanup. I suspect it will be easy, as advertised. Then it's finding "my" blend.
So I can make the perfect cup of hot coffee with my espresso hand pump and soon I'll be making the perfect iced coffee in the large French press. Both gadgets, by the way, are designed terrifically for the task at hand. Both made in Europe (too bad). Both reasonably priced, especially the press.
I'll have another this afternoon so I can test the cleanup. I suspect it will be easy, as advertised. Then it's finding "my" blend.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
90 Degrees in Winter: This Is What Climate Change Looks Like | Common Dreams
90 Degrees in Winter: This Is What Climate Change Looks Like | Common Dreams:
"It’s hard to overstate how impossible this weather is—when you have nearly a century and a half of records, they should be hard to break, much less smash. But this is like Barry Bonds on steroids if his steroids were on steroids, an early season outbreak of heat completely without precedent in its scale and spread. I live in Vermont, where we should be starting to slowly thaw out—but as the heat moved steadily east ski areas shut down and golf courses opened."
"It’s hard to overstate how impossible this weather is—when you have nearly a century and a half of records, they should be hard to break, much less smash. But this is like Barry Bonds on steroids if his steroids were on steroids, an early season outbreak of heat completely without precedent in its scale and spread. I live in Vermont, where we should be starting to slowly thaw out—but as the heat moved steadily east ski areas shut down and golf courses opened."
"Mommy porn" is hot
With Foreplay Almost Over, Will Steamy Novel '50 Shades Of Grey' Climax In 7-Figure Movie Deal? - Deadline.com:
"Those who do get it say that the author has tapped into a perfect storm of female sexuality and taboo romance with an unattainable man, themes common to works like Twilight Saga and True Blood. They say the book has stimulated an elusive zeitgeist hot button that every studio wants in a book to movie franchise. Guys might not get it, but it’s spreading like wildfire among females age ranging from young women to grandmothers."
The mommy porn blockbusters are EBOOKS, which can be read by women (mostly) on e-readers without revealing what is being read. Interesting if depressing cultural development indeed.
"Those who do get it say that the author has tapped into a perfect storm of female sexuality and taboo romance with an unattainable man, themes common to works like Twilight Saga and True Blood. They say the book has stimulated an elusive zeitgeist hot button that every studio wants in a book to movie franchise. Guys might not get it, but it’s spreading like wildfire among females age ranging from young women to grandmothers."
The mommy porn blockbusters are EBOOKS, which can be read by women (mostly) on e-readers without revealing what is being read. Interesting if depressing cultural development indeed.
New toy
Last leg
Here to pick up take home finals and leave. Shooting for grades in by Friday.
Cal - Notre Dame women this eve but will they telecast it? Probably not.
Cal - Notre Dame women this eve but will they telecast it? Probably not.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Two dances on TV and radio
The Tennessee game, which isn't close, is on TV instead of Gonzaga, an underdog in a close game -- the women's dance covered by only one station, the way the men's dance used to be done. It sucks. You never get to see what you want to see. This year the men's dance used 4 stations! All the games were on! It was great. You can't even get all the women's games on computer, though you can pay for them on DirecTV, I believe.
I think I may almost be done with both dances, at least as far as watching with real interest is concerned.
I think I may almost be done with both dances, at least as far as watching with real interest is concerned.
David Drummond performs John Dos Passos
After almost 50 hours of listening, tonight I finished the USA trilogy as audio books, read by David Drummond. Strike that. Performed by Drummond.
Dos Passos layered his epic drama about America in the early 20th century with four different narrative strategies: a collage of current events called Newsreel; personal impressionistic prose called the Camera Eye; short bios of important people of the era; and a traditional dramatic narrative following a large number of characters, whose stories intertwine. Drummond brings a different voice to these layers, and to differences within a single layer, giving the reading great variety and interest.
Listening to this trilogy is an experience I put high on my list of memorable audience experiences. Dos Passos' writing is tailored to a dynamic approach like Drummond's, his prose cinematic and theatrical, the broad sweep of his story, which embraces the full demography of our sprawling country, rich and poor alike, made more dramatic by Drummond's different vocal attitudes toward it. His accomplishment here is major. Dos Passos couldn't ask for a better reader.
Yet 50 hours of listening is more dedication than many listeners might be willing to spend. If you listen to just one of these three novels, listen to the last, The Big Money. But if you have the time, go for it. It's an extraordinary ride and reinforces my vote, first made decades ago, for the USA trilogy being as close as we'll ever get to the "great American novel."
The 42nd Parallel
1919
The Big Money
The story strategy here influenced my recent novel. Instead of the Newsreel, I have "CJ Watches the News." Instead of the impressionistic Camera Eye, I have CJ's poems. Instead of the topical bios, I have "CJ's Heavy Reading," defining the intellectual environment of this intellectual man. And finally I have the traditional narrative but focused on one character, CJ himself. From Connell (Mrs. Bridge) I add a construction by vignettes, most chapters a page or less, none over three pages.
The strategy slows down the reading, I think, each vignette "food for thought," the build and relationships developing slowly but effectively (at least for readers who get into it) -- and by the end, the last fifty pages or so, I think the narrative is moving along, driven by new clarity and a need to find out the resolution. Well, that's the theory ha ha , and it works, in this or some other way, for a number of readers, which pleases me. But obviously this is not for the pop lit crowd ha ha. They would find this slow and convoluted, I think.
I think this is as true a book as anything I've written. Of course, "my truth" may not be yours. CJ, my protagonist, feels pretty isolated and lonely until he meets Kayla, re-discovers Emerson and Thoreau, and discovers Lew Welch and James Baldwin, and understands he's not alone, after all.
Dos Passos layered his epic drama about America in the early 20th century with four different narrative strategies: a collage of current events called Newsreel; personal impressionistic prose called the Camera Eye; short bios of important people of the era; and a traditional dramatic narrative following a large number of characters, whose stories intertwine. Drummond brings a different voice to these layers, and to differences within a single layer, giving the reading great variety and interest.
Yet 50 hours of listening is more dedication than many listeners might be willing to spend. If you listen to just one of these three novels, listen to the last, The Big Money. But if you have the time, go for it. It's an extraordinary ride and reinforces my vote, first made decades ago, for the USA trilogy being as close as we'll ever get to the "great American novel."
The 42nd Parallel
1919
The Big Money
The story strategy here influenced my recent novel. Instead of the Newsreel, I have "CJ Watches the News." Instead of the impressionistic Camera Eye, I have CJ's poems. Instead of the topical bios, I have "CJ's Heavy Reading," defining the intellectual environment of this intellectual man. And finally I have the traditional narrative but focused on one character, CJ himself. From Connell (Mrs. Bridge) I add a construction by vignettes, most chapters a page or less, none over three pages.
The strategy slows down the reading, I think, each vignette "food for thought," the build and relationships developing slowly but effectively (at least for readers who get into it) -- and by the end, the last fifty pages or so, I think the narrative is moving along, driven by new clarity and a need to find out the resolution. Well, that's the theory ha ha , and it works, in this or some other way, for a number of readers, which pleases me. But obviously this is not for the pop lit crowd ha ha. They would find this slow and convoluted, I think.
I think this is as true a book as anything I've written. Of course, "my truth" may not be yours. CJ, my protagonist, feels pretty isolated and lonely until he meets Kayla, re-discovers Emerson and Thoreau, and discovers Lew Welch and James Baldwin, and understands he's not alone, after all.
Elway gets his kindred spirit in Manning - AFC West Blog - ESPN
Elway gets his kindred spirit in Manning - AFC West Blog - ESPN:
"Manning’s head was leading him to San Francisco, but his heart was with Elway and the Broncos. The relationship between Elway and Manning is a major reason Manning is going to play in the Rocky Mountains. Legendary quarterbacks like to hang out with one another. "
"Manning’s head was leading him to San Francisco, but his heart was with Elway and the Broncos. The relationship between Elway and Manning is a major reason Manning is going to play in the Rocky Mountains. Legendary quarterbacks like to hang out with one another. "
Barry Schwartz: 'Human nature' is often a product of nurture (Wired UK)
Barry Schwartz: 'Human nature' is often a product of nurture (Wired UK):
"However, there is something about "idea technology" that differentiates it from most "thing technology". Whereas technological objects and processes generally don't affect our lives unless they work, idea technology can have profound effects on people even if the ideas are false. Let's call idea technology based on false ideas "ideology"."
"However, there is something about "idea technology" that differentiates it from most "thing technology". Whereas technological objects and processes generally don't affect our lives unless they work, idea technology can have profound effects on people even if the ideas are false. Let's call idea technology based on false ideas "ideology"."
Soraya Chemaly: 10 Reasons the Rest of the World Thinks the U.S. Is Nuts
Soraya Chemaly: 10 Reasons the Rest of the World Thinks the U.S. Is Nuts:
"The rest of the civilized world thinks this country has lost its mind. It's no wonder. Look at this list of frenzied misogyny:"
"The rest of the civilized world thinks this country has lost its mind. It's no wonder. Look at this list of frenzied misogyny:"
The State of the World
From Sodom, Gomorrah and JonesCJ WATCHED THE NEWS on a 1975 portable Toshiba color TV. It had been a birthday gift from Helen when it was new and considered “the latest technology,” a set for his upstairs office in the sprawling Victorian house they were buying in Northwest Portland. They had a larger set in the den (not the living room) but CJ spent a good deal of time in his office, a converted bedroom, where he read, wrote, and prepared classes. Helen thought a second TV in there would let him watch news shows that didn't interest her. Her husband, she knew, was more of a news junky than she was.When CJ sold the house after Helen's death, he got rid of most of what they owned. But he brought the portable TV with him to a downtown apartment.The first time Matt saw his friend's new apartment, he kidded him about the TV.“It's a goddamn antique. It belongs in the Smithsonian.”“It still works fine,” said CJ.“Amazing. It's so small. My computer screen is larger.”“I don't need to see the starving children in Africa any larger, believe me.”Matt said, “Whatever.”CJ smiled.“That's my point,” he said. “You respond honestly, humanly, to horror and what happens? Your response is dismissed. It's not the horror but the response that upsets you! The most sensitive among us are locked up in loony bins.”“So you've told me. You ready to get out of here?”They left the apartment to go to breakfast, and the state of the world was, if not forgotten, ignored for the rest of the morning.
2012 NFL free agency -- Peyton Manning picks Denver Broncos; Tim Tebow to be traded? - ESPN
2012 NFL free agency -- Peyton Manning picks Denver Broncos; Tim Tebow to be traded? - ESPN:
I love this. Every pundit I heard on radio or TV predicted the 49ers if professional reasons went first, Tennessee if personal reasons went first. No one thought Denver had a chance. I love it when pundits are wrong. Love it! (In sports, that is. I hate it when weathermen are wrong, which is often.)
I love this. Every pundit I heard on radio or TV predicted the 49ers if professional reasons went first, Tennessee if personal reasons went first. No one thought Denver had a chance. I love it when pundits are wrong. Love it! (In sports, that is. I hate it when weathermen are wrong, which is often.)
Done?
Even through three double-seeded teams made it to the Sweet Sixteen, with the West eliminated (Waco is most western location left!), there's not a single team left in the tournament I have the energy to root for. Guess I'll watch women's basketball. I can root for Stanford, Cal, Gonzaga (all still in) and for anybody playing Baylor.
Friday was the highlight of the men's tournament. Hard to beat that.
Friday was the highlight of the men's tournament. Hard to beat that.
Are video games just propaganda and training tools for the military? | Technology | The Guardian
Are video games just propaganda and training tools for the military? | Technology | The Guardian:
"It's a shadowy and lucrative relationship. But just how close are video-game developers with various military outfits? And how does it affect the games we play?"
"It's a shadowy and lucrative relationship. But just how close are video-game developers with various military outfits? And how does it affect the games we play?"
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Dylan's debut album 50 years on: the birth of an enigma | Music | The Observer
Dylan's debut album 50 years on: the birth of an enigma | Music | The Observer:
"Released on 19 March 1962, Bob Dylan's debut remains a landmark of popular culture"
"Released on 19 March 1962, Bob Dylan's debut remains a landmark of popular culture"
Into the stretch
Only half a dozen projects left to do ... pick up finals Tues, grades in by Friday, I think. Then some brooding time about redefining my rhythm in retirement as a (serious) writer. Feels strange but I know it's the right thing to do. Nothing sadder than a jock who plays the game too long.
Round Bend Press: Mark Wilson/Babysitter's Song
Round Bend Press: Mark Wilson/Babysitter's Song:
Terry Simons on what I consider Portland's Golden Age. And a poet who was part of it.
Terry Simons on what I consider Portland's Golden Age. And a poet who was part of it.
The west is done
All the Madness teams from the west, or even close, have been eliminated. Today I can root for the two 15 seeds to move on, especially Norfolk State, but my interest in the tournament might be greatly reduced by the end of the day.
Missing John Leonard
What a lovely notion! Surely part of the goal of my recent novel is to "complicate" the reader with dramatic actions that raise interesting questions. But this use of books was more true in the past than now, when books themselves have become a mainstay of pop culture. I think this is especially true with the rise of ebooks and ereaders. As one observer recently noted, you can read erotic on an ereader and no one knows -- and the same is true of any kind of genre writing (not that readers were ever embarrassed to read these).
Hopefully there's a flip side to this, books that complicate us becoming available more easily as well.
I miss John Leonard. He always had something to say that made me think and reflect on his meaning.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Food for thought
Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.Is this true any more? It seems to me that "quiet desperation" has become "noisy distraction" in the culture. Many, I'm sure, still "go to the grave with the song still in them." Not festering, though. Drowned out by the noise.
Henry David Thoreau
Small world department
Today's email brought:
This is what makes being a writer really, really cool upon occasion.
This novella has worn very well with me. I consider it among my best works. (Available at both Amazon and Smashwords.)
Dear Mr. Charles Deemer,
I stumbled across Baumholder 1961 on Amazon, downloaded it to my Kindle, and only then realized that you must be the guy I knew at Monterey in 1960 as "Bob" Deemer, singing folksongs with Mel Chase and playing softball with Larry Knauff, Pete Gall, Marshall Bump et al. Your novella brought back a lot of memories, most of them actually good. While on active duty I carped and complained about the Army as much as anyone, but I look back on those 3 years now as an experience for which I'm actually grateful.
I just looked at your blog for the first time and see that you still follow college basketball closely. My hoop days are long over, and I can't tell you how much I miss them, but it's just too hard to dunk at age 75.
Thanks for the novella. I enjoyed it immensely.
This novella has worn very well with me. I consider it among my best works. (Available at both Amazon and Smashwords.)
Amateur night
In my drinking day, St Patrick's Day was considered one of the unfortunate "amateur nights" in the bar of choice, a night when hordes of amateur drinkers would upset the rhythms of the bar regulars, in this case drinking green beer and making fools of themselves. The scene would be louder and more crowded than we were used to. Many of us avoided our regular stomping grounds and drank at home instead. (The major amateur night was, of course, New Year's eve.)
However, a solution to this sorry state of affairs was to do one's drinking in the morning. Even on St Paddy's day, the Gypsy at 7 a.m. was without amateurs ha ha.
However, a solution to this sorry state of affairs was to do one's drinking in the morning. Even on St Paddy's day, the Gypsy at 7 a.m. was without amateurs ha ha.
Lost history?
It's hard to say but yesterday the Madness might have been even more historic with a 16 seed, UNC-Ashville, beating a 1 seed, Syracuse, but for two very questionable calls against Ashville in the waning moments. Consequently I am rooting for Kansas St against Syracuse right now. Big game today is for Gonzaga to move on.
NCAA tournament 2012 -- Norfolk State Spartans take center stage with upset of Missouri Tigers - ESPN
NCAA tournament 2012 -- Norfolk State Spartans take center stage with upset of Missouri Tigers - ESPN:
"Then came the announcement that only two of the 6.45 million participants in ESPN.com's bracket challenge still had perfect records -- mainly because of No. 15 seed Norfolk State's 86-84 victory over Missouri on Friday at the CenturyLink Center. "
How many with the second upset later, I wonder?
"Then came the announcement that only two of the 6.45 million participants in ESPN.com's bracket challenge still had perfect records -- mainly because of No. 15 seed Norfolk State's 86-84 victory over Missouri on Friday at the CenturyLink Center. "
How many with the second upset later, I wonder?
Drink: let's raise a glass to Irish whiskey | Life and style | The Guardian
Drink: let's raise a glass to Irish whiskey | Life and style | The Guardian:
"Irish whiskey has long played second fiddle to Scottish malts as far as the purists are concerned, but are those days drawing to an end?"
My most memorable Irish whiskey moment: my soul brother Dick in town in the 1980s with lots of money in his pocket, we spent an afternoon at the deserted bar of an uptown restaurant, drinking an aged Jameson's at $7 a shot, a fortune in those days. We hadn't seen one another in a while and caught up in a fine four-hour conversation before moving on to "slum it" at a local tavern, later crashing early for the night. In those days we were still young enough to sip for hours and hours and more or less maintain a semblance of respectability. But this afternoon is remembered not only for the good whiskey but for the quiet abandoned bar, just right for intimate conversation. A special memory.
"Irish whiskey has long played second fiddle to Scottish malts as far as the purists are concerned, but are those days drawing to an end?"
Q&A: Donald Sutherland | Life and style | The Guardian
Q&A: Donald Sutherland | Life and style | The Guardian:
"What is your most treasured possession?
My imagination.
Where would you like to live?
With my wife."
My imagination.
Where would you like to live?
With my wife."
Punk rock … alive and kicking in a repressive state near you | Music | The Guardian
Punk rock … alive and kicking in a repressive state near you | Music | The Guardian:
"Punk rock is ancient history here, but elsewhere disaffected young people are discovering its anarchic energy – despite the enormous risks they face from their oppressive regimes"
President Karzai casts doubts on US version of Afghan village massacre | World news | guardian.co.uk
President Karzai casts doubts on US version of Afghan village massacre | World news | guardian.co.uk:
""On the question of the account of the one person, supposedly, who has done this, the story of the village elders [in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province] and the affected people is entirely different. They believe it is not possible for one person to do that," Karzai told journalists after the meeting."
""On the question of the account of the one person, supposedly, who has done this, the story of the village elders [in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province] and the affected people is entirely different. They believe it is not possible for one person to do that," Karzai told journalists after the meeting."
Friday, March 16, 2012
Madness history!
In the history of March Madness prior to today, there have been four #15 seeds beating a #2. There were TWO today: Norfolk State and just now, Lehigh over Duke. Both underdogs tried hard to give it away, too. But the "better" teams didn't rise to get through the open door. In other words, lousy play by both teams at the end.
A 13 also won, Ohio over Michigan. An 11 won. A 10 won. It's upset city today. I love it.
A 13 also won, Ohio over Michigan. An 11 won. A 10 won. It's upset city today. I love it.
Norfolk State Spartans vs. Missouri Tigers - NCAA Tournament Game - Recap - March 16, 2012 - ESPN
Norfolk State Spartans vs. Missouri Tigers - NCAA Tournament Game - Recap - March 16, 2012 - ESPN:
"They became the fifth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 and the first since fellow conference member Hampton in 2001.
When it was over, O'Quinn led Norfolk State back to the locker room shouting, "We messed up some brackets! We messed up some brackets!""
"They became the fifth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 and the first since fellow conference member Hampton in 2001.
When it was over, O'Quinn led Norfolk State back to the locker room shouting, "We messed up some brackets! We messed up some brackets!""
#15 seed Norfolk State wins!
I was born in Norfolk, so this is really sweet. Major upset over Missouri! Well, NS tried to lose: 2 pt lead, 2 seconds left, 2 free throws -- and missed them both! So M got a final shot but missed.
Earlier #14 see St. Bonaventure blew a lead, collapsing at the end, which is par for Davids. And Norfolk gave Missouri a chance to win here.
This is sweet, only the 5th time it's happened in the tourny, I think.
Earlier #14 see St. Bonaventure blew a lead, collapsing at the end, which is par for Davids. And Norfolk gave Missouri a chance to win here.
This is sweet, only the 5th time it's happened in the tourny, I think.
Recent reading
Cole Porter
I love Porter's music but this biography got tiresome by its repetition of parties of the very wealthy. Yep, they sure are different.Angry Mobs and Founding Fathers: The Fight for Control of the American Revolution
"The meaning of the American Revolution is still debated more than 200 years later. The ideological descendants of the angry mobs believe that the principles of liberty espoused in the Declaration of Independence are most important, whereas the followers of the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution believe that the political system established by the Constitution must be strictly maintained."Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
Quantum Enigma : Physics Encounters Consciousness
"But before we look, the atom is simultaneously in both boxes. The atom is in two places at once.
“But you’re saying something crazy about the world!” the questioner exclaims. “You’re saying that what previously existed is created by the way we look at something.” Most heads nod in agreement; others just seem baffled."
Having written
 |
| Dorothy Parker |
But I don't even get to do that any more. This is the end of the trajectory The whole cloth has been folded and put away. It's a whole new ball game.
It's going to take me a while to get used to it.
4 for Saturday
There are only 4 of yesterday's survivors I care about: VCU, Colorado, Gonzaga, New Mexico.
Maybe there'll be more upsets today. Probably fewer. I'll likely have 5 or 6 in the sweet 16 to root for, then 1 or none after that, and so switch to the women's dance. That's the way it usually works. In women's, I have a passion for someone to beat Baylor.
Maybe there'll be more upsets today. Probably fewer. I'll likely have 5 or 6 in the sweet 16 to root for, then 1 or none after that, and so switch to the women's dance. That's the way it usually works. In women's, I have a passion for someone to beat Baylor.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Inside Story of How John Carter Was Doomed by Its First Trailer -- Vulture
The Inside Story of How John Carter Was Doomed by Its First Trailer -- Vulture:
"“This is one of the worst marketing campaigns in the history of movies,” a former studio marketing chief told Vulture before the film opened. “It’s almost as if they went out of their way to not make us care.” If that was the goal, it worked."
"“This is one of the worst marketing campaigns in the history of movies,” a former studio marketing chief told Vulture before the film opened. “It’s almost as if they went out of their way to not make us care.” If that was the goal, it worked."
Heart stopper
Colorado played great for most of the game, had a 20 pt lead with less than 10 mins -- and fell apart. With 3 mins left, UNLV was 2 behind -- and Colorado remembered how to play again. The rest of the game was a heart stopper, Colorado missing free throws late that could ice it, finally held on for a 4 pt win, advancing as an 11 seed, only the second upset of the day. But this team falls apart on a full court press. I'm sure their next opponent noticed.
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