Close but no cigar

It wouldn't have taken much for UCLA to have won the game they lost by a field goal. Take back a bad throw that led to an interception and a Stanford score. Take back a face mask penalty on a third down stop that led to a first down and eventual Stanford score. Make the end of game field goal good for a tie and OT.

UCLA, the most penalized team in the nation, continues to shoot itself in the foot. But they are young. Presumably they will learn to play smarter.

Pac 12 Championship

Didn't get beyond a normal start on reading scripts ... not as much as I wanted to do ... ran out of gas. Now need a second wind for the big football game, UCLA's chance to go to the Rose Bowl. A longshot but certainly possible. Maybe I need a coffee.

Spring rolls!

Man, did I make good spring rolls for lunch. Seaweed ... matchstick vegies ... Korean marinaded asparagus tips. Man! The marinade blends several recipes I found ... half parts soy sauce and cola for base ... yep cola ... season with sesame oil ... rice vinegar ... soybean paste ... red pepper paste ... red pepper powder ... black pepper ... garlic ... scallions ... sesame seeds. Man!

Getting down to it

Will evaluate as many projects as I can today, getting a kick start on the work ahead. I pick up finals Tuesday. Should have my grades in a week from today.

Lots to do during the break. I never did get into a satisfactory work rhythm this term, so I need to correct this.

Water On Mercury: NASA Announces Discovery Of Ice At Planet's Poles

Water On Mercury: NASA Announces Discovery Of Ice At Planet's Poles:

Colonization, here we come!

Portland's tree

Photo by Harriet K. Levi

"We have to stop meeting like this."

Photo by Harriet K. Levi

Last day of class

Well, the last day has arrived. Now the real work begins. I pick up term projects and next Tuesday I pick up the take-home final exam.

Today I show the video of the only student who elected to make one. It's impressive. I'll go over some "what now?" marketing stuff. I have a couple things I want to read them, hopefully to inspire a few on their way out.

A good term. Now a break. And a new term. Onward.

Why Crowded Coffee Shops Fire Up Your Creativity | The Passive Voice

Why Crowded Coffee Shops Fire Up Your Creativity | The Passive Voice:

On Great Novels with Bad Endings : The New Yorker

On Great Novels with Bad Endings : The New Yorker:

 "Many of the world’s best novels have bad endings. I don’t mean that they end sadly, or on a back-to-work, all-is-forgiven note (e.g. “War and Peace,” “The Red and the Black,” “A Suitable Boy”), but that the ending is actually inartistic—a betrayal of what came before. "

Best Education In The World: Finland, South Korea Top Country Rankings, U.S. Rated Average

Best Education In The World: Finland, South Korea Top Country Rankings, U.S. Rated Average:

U.S. is 17th. Sad but hardly a surprise. Just look around.

What a morning!

...made scrapple
...converted a student video and got it online
...got Kindle working again
...doing laundry
...quality doggie time

House GOP Committee Chairs Will All Be White Men In Next Congress

House GOP Committee Chairs Will All Be White Men In Next Congress:

What a shock! What a future-oriented agenda! Somebody should hand these guys another shovel and help them get it over with.

Lamar Smith, Global Warming Skeptic, Set To Chair House Science Committee

Lamar Smith, Global Warming Skeptic, Set To Chair House Science Committee:

Only in America, or American Exceptionalism.

Kindle crisis

An unresponsive Kindle this morning. I'd been charging it overnight but couldn't get it off its "sleep" screen. Came downstairs, hooked it up to the computer, same thing. Hmm. No idea what was wrong, couldn't reboot it, nothing. So was doing some grunt stuff on the computer, the Kindle still stuck, when suddenly it awoke and began to act naturally -- except it had almost no charge, despite being plugged in all night. Hmm. So charging it again, now, off the computer, and we'll see what happens. Had minor problems with it being plugged in before. So glitch somewhere?

Life without Kindle would be sad. I'm spoiled.

COP18: Permafrost Melts While Government Negotiations Stall | Common Dreams

COP18: Permafrost Melts While Government Negotiations Stall | Common Dreams:

Elon Musk Wants to Build 80,000-Person Mars Colony | Wired Science | Wired.com

Elon Musk Wants to Build 80,000-Person Mars Colony | Wired Science | Wired.com:

I call this the Thornton Wilder Syndrome. Surviving by "the skin of our teeth." We destroy Earth, so let's escape to Mars!

John Boehner Naked Protesters: Group Storms House Speaker's Office

John Boehner Naked Protesters: Group Storms House Speaker's Office:

Perfect! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy ha ha.

Richard Cohen: James Bond and the new sex appeal - The Washington Post

Richard Cohen: James Bond and the new sex appeal - The Washington Post:

"Maybe the best example of the unmuscled hero is Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca.” "

Hear, hear! I recently blogged about the new muscular football player. Now Hollywood heroes are muscle bound. It's a new aesthetic. Well, aesthetics reduces to fashion, and fashion (besides being the first refuge of a scoundrel) comes and goes. A few generations from now, if anyone still exists, flab may be sexy.

(I'm not even opening the Pandora's box of female muscularity!)

UCLA Football: 5 Reasons the Bruins Can Win the Rematch with Stanford | Bleacher Report

UCLA Football: 5 Reasons the Bruins Can Win the Rematch with Stanford | Bleacher Report:

Well, let's hope.

Pac-12 Championship: Does Stanford Beat UCLA (Again) and Head to the Rose Bowl? | Bleacher Report

Pac-12 Championship: Does Stanford Beat UCLA (Again) and Head to the Rose Bowl? | Bleacher Report:

Henry Miller's Writing Commandments

1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.
2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to ‘Black Spring.’
3. Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
4. Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!
5. When you can’t create you can work.
6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.
7. Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.
8. Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.
9. Discard the Program when you feel like it—but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.
10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.
11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.

Rejuvenation

In a funk this morning until I hopped the bus to the university. I take a 30 minute milk run through old neighborhoods, the slowness of which relaxes me. And the changing leaves lift the spirit. The last words my dad spoke to me were, "I sure am glad I got to see the leaves change before I go," before dropping dead ten minutes later. Read about it here.

Today I show the class a documentary, "Dreams On Spec," about three screenwriters trying to make it in Hollywood. Quite good. Thursday, the last day of class, I pick up their term projects for the last time.

A busy time ahead -- but the aftermath will be good.

Cooking trumps writing

Had planned to get some writing done today. Spent a lot of time at the market and in the kitchen instead. Will try again Wednesday.

Last week of classes. In about ten days my grades should be in. Followed by a long break. Look forward to it. Yes indeedy.

Home free

Guests in town changed breakfast plans. I was able to escape morning socialization and read scripts instead.

Looking good for a free Monday of writing and cooking projects.

Sunday challenge

Really want to finish student scripts today ... be a long haul ... get a late start besides ... "social obligations" ... I have the old age disposition of a desert rat ...

I'm so old that ...

... football players today look weird with their muscular biceps. I never spent a moment in the weight room. Who had a weight room? McElhenny with biceps? Ridiculous.

Of course it was McElhenny who after his first year in the pros after Udub said the only thing he didn't like about pro football was the salary cut. Ha! How times have changed.

Quack attack

I didn't buy into the fear that the Beavers were a threat to Oregon. Ducks would be angry at losing and take it out on whatever team was in the way. Poor beavers. I figured an easy two TD win.

But this assumed the usual game from Oregon State. Nope. Beavers were turnover city. So it became a slaughter. 48-17 and minutes to go.

UNEP Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report Finds Climate Change Goals Growing More Elusive

UNEP Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report Finds Climate Change Goals Growing More Elusive:

Zzzzz

Up an hour plus ago, too damn early, to write a bit. Need more sleep. Sketch rises around four, may have to deal with him first.

Grand Old Planet - NYTimes.com

Grand Old Planet - NYTimes.com: Paul Krugman

"We are, after all, living in an era when science plays a crucial economic role. How are we going to search effectively for natural resources if schools trying to teach modern geology must give equal time to claims that the world is only 6.000 years old? How are we going to stay competitive in biotechnology if biology classes avoid any material that might offend creationists?"

Oysters, pumpkin, apple

Made a very good oyster dressing this morning. H made a very good pumpkin pie from scratch this afternoon. And I enjoyed every moment of Wazoo's victory in the Apple Cup. A good day!

Party time in Pullman!

Huge winless underdog Wash St beat powerful Wash 31-28 in OT to win The Apple Cup and make Coach Leach's season. I rooted for them all the way. A season highlight. Great time to be in Pullman.

Hope

JFK

The 49th anniversary of the assassination. A few days later I added new lyrics to the tune of Woody Guthrie's "Dust Storm Disaster":  The Ballad of JFK.

More recently is this, from the chapter "CJ and the Shrink" in my novel Sodom, Gomorrah & Jones:

CJ cleared his throat and tried. Why was he so nervous? He continued.

“Take something that hits close to home. The political assassination of President Kennedy. That's what it amounted to. A political coup.”

“You really think so?”

The doctor seemed surprised.

CJ said, “There is no doubt there were front entry wounds. Every doctor who first saw the body said so, before the body was doctored to hide them. For Christ's sake, a cop walking behind the car was splattered with brain matter! Many people saw smoke, smelled gun powder, at the grassy knoll. This isn't made up. This is what witnesses saw. Front entry wounds mean more than one shooter. Which means a conspiracy.”

CJ stopped. He realized he was shaking.

“That was a long time ago. What about all this is upsetting you today?” the doctor asked.

CJ stood up.

“Why the hell aren't you upset? Why the hell isn't everyone upset? They overthrew your government, for God's sake! How can you live your life as if nothing had happened?”

There was a long pause.

“Maybe this is a good place to stop,” said Dr. Peters. “Is the same time next week convenient to you?”

CJ took a deep breath.

“There is no next time, doc. I'm out of here.”

And from my recent book of poems, In My Old Age:

American History In My Lifetime

So there was this President

and he actually was going to

change the power structure in

the country, which of course

threatened those who held the

power. They conspired to protect

what they considered theirs

and successfully assassinated

the sonofabitch President who

dared to think he could change

the status quo. They killed the

sonofabitch. They actually did.

And the plan was so good they

even had a fall guy and they

killed him too so he couldn't

talk. And there was so much

dirty laundry everywhere that

an actual honest investigation

was impossible without dire

consequences,"national security"

and all that, so they made

a half-ass investigation they hoped

would put the matter to rest

forever. Unfortunately a few loonies

didn't buy the official results

and investigated on their own

and came up with unbelievable

frightening theories about what

actually happened, which in fact

was pretty close to what happened,

and many people believed them except

for some reason they didn't get

pissed off enough to take to

the streets and demand full

disclosure. Instead they just

shrugged and said, Well politicians lie

and there's nothing to be done

about it. So nothing actually

changed even though many folks

realized they'd been duped.

They went shopping and forgot

about it. And the original

criminals who assassinated the

sonofabitch President in the

first place retained power

and now could relax because

they learned a profound lesson:

in the end shopping wins out

and if you let people shop,

hell, they'll put up with

anything.

"If you let people shop, hell, they'll put up with anything." Maybe the truest words I ever wrote, sad to say.

Not a turkey

Not in mood for politics ... traded Lincoln for Flight ... impressive ... stories about alcoholics challenging because so much is predictable ... conflict obvious but narrative surprise a challenge ... this story ingenious concept ... layered moral complexity ... Washington should get Oscar nomination ... one of more engaging films about a boozer I've seen ... like I said I was impressed.

Blind, Deaf, 3-Legged Dog Named 'True' Saves Oklahoma Family From House Fire

Blind, Deaf, 3-Legged Dog Named 'True' Saves Oklahoma Family From House Fire:

POV

Thanksgiving as metaphor

I've used Thanksgiving a lot in my work in various ways. Some examples:

• The Epistemological Uncle, a short story published in 1994 (and written ten years earlier).
• Thanksgiving, 1962, a chapter in my novel Sodom, Gomorrah & Jones.
• Reflections on Grief and Thanksgiving, a dramatic collage for four actors, performed at the Unitarian Church in the 1990s.
• Thanksgiving dinner as hyperdrama.

Other past reflections on Thanksgiving:

• Every day is Thanksgiving.
• Thanksgiving memories.
• Thanksgiving: a Native American view.

I really am enjoying the relative solitude planned for today! We'll do the social dance for Christmas.

Stephen Spielberg's "Lincoln" reviewed by David Denby : The New Yorker

Stephen Spielberg's "Lincoln" reviewed by David Denby : The New Yorker:

He loves it. We plan to see it today.

Thanksgiving

H made a fist rate turkey dinner last night. Just the two of us was just right. However now I'm not sure I'm up to another feast today.

I've not been shy about thanking the gods for my blessings. I don't need a special holiday for that.

In the 1960s a tradition began with half a dozen couples in LA having Thanksgiving together, which continued for a few years after some of us moved away. Celebrations hosted in San Jose or Eugene would last three days. Incredibly good fun and friendship.

I fell out of the loop when I moved east but the core group in LA is going strong even as the hosts enter their eighties.

Aroma!

H off to drive a friend to her chemo ... leaving Sketch and I in a house filled with the smell of roasting turkey. Aroma builds appetite.

Stormy Wednesday

Divided student scripts into four piles ... Wed Fri Sun Mon ... Time off for turkey and football ... meanwhile off and on raging storm ... Sketch hates the thunder and hail ... H about to put bird in oven ... a solitary holiday ... which is fine.

Swamped

Student projects at hand ... last feedback before final submission next week. Very busy in other words.

H making our turkey today. Probably go to Nobbys tomorrow for old friends and change of routine.

Looking forward to break. Need to find better rhythm on own work. Kind of a blah term in that regard.

Old age is endlessly puzzling. It's like the melting of the witch. Wait wait!

Climate Reports Forecast Dire Future, Even If Action Is Taken

Climate Reports Forecast Dire Future, Even If Action Is Taken:

Too little, too late etc.

Juniper Tavern: After 25 years, we’ll drink to that

Art Scatter » Blog Archive » Juniper Tavern: After 25 years, we’ll drink to that:

Bob Hicks' tribute to my best known play.

As neatly as it strikes the historical chords of an outrageous cultural clash, in a larger sense Juniper Tavern belongs with a series of plays Deemer wrote in the 1980s about the social and economic strains of mostly small-town life in the Northwest. He included it in his 2006 collection Country Northwestern and Other Plays of the Pacific Northwest, which also included the title play plus Varmints, Waitresses and The Half-Life Conspiracy. Those plays mark a considerable achievement in documenting, with insight and humor, both the stubborn will of the region’s hardscrabble rural romantics and the fading of a way of life.

Here's a teaser:

Watch the original OPB video online! DVDs available (inquire via email).

Struggle Over, Philip Roth Reflects on Putting Down His Pen - NYTimes.com

Struggle Over, Philip Roth Reflects on Putting Down His Pen - NYTimes.com:

"But over the course of a three-hour interview — his last, he said — Mr. Roth seemed cheerful, relaxed and at peace with himself and his decision, which was first announced last month in the French magazine Les InRocks. He joked and reminisced, talked about writers and writing, and looked back at his career with apparent satisfaction and few regrets. Last spring he appointed Blake Bailey as his biographer and has been working closely with him ever since."

Missing Tom Lehrer

The times would benefit greatly from his wit and satirical songs. I was a very early fan, buying his original 10" LP in high school.

When I was still at Cal Tech, maybe it was spring 1958, several of us drove to Stanford to see a Lehrer concert. Two of our small high school FSAs (Future Scientists of America) had gone there, including Doug, with whom I recently reconnected. It was a memorable concert, more memorable than I thought, as I would find out decades later.

In the late 80s I wrote, directed and produced a hyperdrama called Cocktail Suite, because it took place in a bar-restaurant. Three intersecting plays running simultaneously through the large space. I wanted to use two Lehrer songs in one of the plays but couldn't afford royalties. I had no budget. (Ends up we made enough I could've afforded royalties). The agency representing Lehrer wasn't interested in giving us a break. I couldn't understand it. This was an experimental piece in an obscure location. No one would ever hear about it. Somehow or other, after being rejected by the agency, I got Lehrer's home phone number. I explained the situation. He didn't sound very sympathetic until I put in that I had seen the Stanford concert mentioned above. Ends up this was one of his more memorable gigs. Being there qualified me as a true believer and he immediately changed attitude. Yes, use them, he said, but I will deny ever giving permission if my agency ever finds out.  Of course, they never did. I got to use the songs and, much better, had a delightful phone conversation with Tom Lehrer that lasted almost an hour!

About Tom Lehrer

Korean Pantry Essentials - The Fifteen Things You Need in Your Korean Kitchen

Korean Pantry Essentials - The Fifteen Things You Need in Your Korean Kitchen:

"Soy sauce
Garlic
Sesame seed oil (chamgeereum)
Rice
Kochujang (Korean chili pepper paste)
Kochukaru (Korean chili pepper powder)
Daenjang (Korean soybean paste)
Ginger
Scallions (green onions)
Rice wine (chungju, mirin)
Dried anchovies (myulchi)
Roasted sesame seeds
Gim (dried seaweed sheets)
Noodles (somyun and/or dangmyun)
Tofu"

Stormy Tuesday

Leaky basement ... happens whenever we get two or more inches of rain a day ... not too bad yet ...

Three class days left ... big weekend of reading ...

Got a turkey but may go to Nobby's for Thursday meal ... play it by ear ...

Rain rain rain ... but we are the lucky ones ...

Stormy Monday II

Got soaked running errands but I return with dried anchovies and kelp! Mission accomplished. Hope this calms down tomorrow ... not good bus stop weather i.e. no shelter.

Stormy Monday

Wind and rain ... soon as the car is available, off to get kelp and dried anchovies for future Korean soup stock ... Meanwhile this morning I took care of some late work and finished online rec for former student trying to get into Austin MFA program ... Heard from advanced student and my script comments made sense ... She wrote the strongest splay I've read in a while ... Wouldn't surprise me if it did well somewhere ... Now she needs to learn endurance ... She has the talent and craft.

Should be able to do some writing this afternoon.

End of term ... last two weeks ... how time flies. During long break I'll get much done!

The Twinkie Manifesto - NYTimes.com

The Twinkie Manifesto - NYTimes.com: Paul Krugman

"There are, let’s face it, some people in our political life who pine for the days when minorities and women knew their place, gays stayed firmly in the closet and congressmen asked, “Are you now or have you ever been?” The rest of us, however, are very glad those days are gone. We are, morally, a much better nation than we were. Oh, and the food has improved a lot, too.

Along the way, however, we’ve forgotten something important — namely, that economic justice and economic growth aren’t incompatible. America in the 1950s made the rich pay their fair share; it gave workers the power to bargain for decent wages and benefits; yet contrary to right-wing propaganda then and now, it prospered. And we can do that again."

World Bank Climate Change Report Says 'Turn Down The Heat' On Warming Planet

World Bank Climate Change Report Says 'Turn Down The Heat' On Warming Planet:

Elites Will Make Gazans of Us All | Common Dreams

Elites Will Make Gazans of Us All | Common Dreams: Chris Hedges

"The impending collapse of the international economy, the assaults on the climate, the resulting droughts, flooding, precipitous decline in crop yields and rising food prices are creating a universe where power is divided between the narrow elites, who hold in their hands sophisticated instruments of death, and the enraged masses. The crises are fostering a class war that will dwarf anything imagined by Karl Marx. They are establishing a world where most will be hungry and live in fear, while a few will gorge themselves on delicacies in protected compounds. And more and more people will have to be sacrificed to keep this imbalance in place."

Journalistic Cliches: 'Surgical Air Strikes', 'Rooting Out Terror', and 'Cyber-Terrorism' Cannot Conceal Reality | Common Dreams

Journalistic Cliches: 'Surgical Air Strikes', 'Rooting Out Terror', and 'Cyber-Terrorism' Cannot Conceal Reality | Common Dreams:

"And we journos are writing like performing bears, repeating all the clichés we’ve used for the past 40 years. "

Kindle Share of E-book Reading at 55% | The Passive Voice

Kindle Share of E-book Reading at 55% | The Passive Voice:

I'm a major Kindle fan, as readers of this blog must know by now. In fact it wouldn't take much tweaking to turn Kindle into a low end first rate tablet, perfect for my uses. More and faster web capability is all that's required. I don't even need color.

My hours spent reading have doubled with a Kindle. Well, some of this is semi-retirement and more time. But I definitely read more because it's so much easier to access the material.

Grantham To Climate Scientists: 'Be Persuasive. Be Brave. Be Arrested (If Necessary)' | ThinkProgress

Grantham To Climate Scientists: 'Be Persuasive. Be Brave. Be Arrested (If Necessary)' | ThinkProgress:

"Grantham’s key message to the readership of one of the world’s leading science journals is that humanity is headed pell-mell towards disaster, and scientists must speak out more:

President Barack Obama missed the chance of a lifetime to get a climate bill passed, and his great environmental and energy scientists John Holdren and Steven Chu went missing in action. Scientists are understandably protective of the dignity of science and are horrified by publicity and overstatement. These fears, unfortunately, are not shared by their opponents, which makes for a rather painful one-sided battle. Overstatement may generally be dangerous in science (it certainly is for careers) but for climate change, uniquely, understatement is even riskier and therefore, arguably, unethical."

Hear, hear! A sit down strike at White House among thousands of climate scientists!

Caught up

Prep for class done ... rest of day and tomorrow are mine.

Reading Korean cookbooks like novels. Looking for patterns. First try turned out well yesterday ... marinaded beef strips. Labor intensive and fun.

What a weekend for Stanford. Congrats to DL, h.s. buddy and retired physicist and boat captain.

Work a bit on my new project later.

13 hrs of football yesterday. None today. Not into pro.

Dust Bowl docu starts tonight. Past becomes future.

Read very good adv student script. Hope she gets a break with it. Very professionally done.

Sketch antsy in rainy weather. So am I.

Luck of the Irish

Can you believe this? #1 K State gets creamed by Baylor. And Oregon loses in OT to Stanford in a game they should have lost in regulation.

Notre Dame is #1! And Alabama is back in the mix. Amazing.

And UCLA rules LA for the first time in years. What a weekend of football.

UCLA topples USC to win Pac-12 South

UCLA topples USC to win Pac-12 South:

38-28 after blowing a 24-0 lead. They showed some character not to fall dead when USC caught fire. Their last 83 yard TD drive was especially revealing of good character. Go, Bruins!

No. 4 Stanford women upset No. 1 Baylor 71-69 in Hawaii, end Bears’ 42-game winning streak - The Washington Post

No. 4 Stanford women upset No. 1 Baylor 71-69 in Hawaii, end Bears’ 42-game winning streak - The Washington Post:

Yale-Harvard

One of two "big games" among usually unranked teams that are the highlights of football season for me. The other, and foremost, is Army-Navy.

I love this game because it's competitive and the players actually read books. I mean, read them well. I always root for Harvard because in high school I was one of the few teenager members of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, which is run by Harvard Observatory. However, I fell in love with Yale when I visited it for a hypertext conference in the 90s. So I guess I root for both.

Not so in Army-Navy. I was in the Army but always root for Navy. Childhood wins.

Heated rivalry

I've been a UCLA football fan since the late 40s when they ran, and were one of the last to give up, the single wing. I don't remember ever seeing such a fever pitch surrounding their crosstown game with USC. They are starving for a victory. I hope they keep their cool on the field. If they win, there's an even bigger mountain to climb ... Oregon.

Stanford women beat Baylor!

Incredibly good news! Hot off the press. Made my week.

Korean cooking

My new kitchen project. To this end thought I wd practice making egg strips but got it first time ... nothing to it. Now to use a vzriety of specialty items I got at the Asian market. Fun fun fun.

Early start

Got most of my student work done before 9 this morning! A few things left but the bulk of it is taken care of. Therefore, hope to get writing done this weekend.

And good football games tomorrow: Harvard-Yale .. UCLA-USC ... Oregon-Stanford ... Kansas State - Baylor. Onward!

Elizabeth Warren: The First Week in January

Elizabeth Warren: The First Week in January:

"On the first day of the new session in January, the senators will have a unique opportunity to change the filibuster rule with a majority vote, rather than the normal two-thirds vote. The change can be modest: If someone objects to a bill or a nomination in the United States Senate, they should have to stand on the floor of the chamber and defend their opposition."

The Literary Cemetery

The Literary Cemetery:

"If you want to know where your favourite author ended up after their death then The Literary Cemetery should provide you with all the information you need."

The nature of aging

From this ...

... to this

Willamette Landscape

Photo by Charles Lucas

Crime, No Punishment: BP Gulf Settlement Deal "Pathetic" say Groups | Common Dreams

Crime, No Punishment: BP Gulf Settlement Deal "Pathetic" say Groups | Common Dreams:

 "British oil company BP plead guilty to 14 felony and misdemeanor charges and agreed to pay $4.5 billion in fines on Thursday, over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

However, the resolution was reportedly made in exchange for a waiver of future prosecution on the charges, and critics say it will not come close to covering the untold damage caused by the disaster and outstanding federal civil claims."

Time to start putting more of these white collar crooks in prison. Fines mean nothing to them.

Obama Won. Now It's Time to Change the System | Common Dreams

Obama Won. Now It's Time to Change the System | Common Dreams:

Grandma's turkey sandwich

| Starbucks Coffee Company: "Grandma's Turkey Sandwich
Sliced turkey breast with traditional dressing, cranberry-orange relish and leaf lettuce on wheat bread."

Had this for a late lunch. Great sandwich!

Astrophysicists Find First Nomadic Planet | Wired Science | Wired.com

Astrophysicists Find First Nomadic Planet | Wired Science | Wired.com:

 "A planet without any gravitational ties to a star has been discovered roaming through space.

The nomadic planet — known as CFBDSIR2149 — has been described as “homeless” by astrophysicists at the University of Montreal who made the discovery, due to the fact that it does not orbit a star."

Obama Must Be Willing to Leap Off the Fiscal Cliff : The New Yorker

Obama Must Be Willing to Leap Off the Fiscal Cliff : The New Yorker:

USC at UCLA | College Football Week 12: Predictions for Every Game | Bleacher Report

USC at UCLA | College Football Week 12: Predictions for Every Game | Bleacher Report:

Prediction of a UCLA victory. Man, this would be nice! But I'm nervous. Bruin fans can't help it. It's been a long time.

The Voters Were Bribed! - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Beast

The Voters Were Bribed! - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Beast:

"Romney gives his own explanation for his loss to the only people he really cared about: his donor base. As usual with Republicans these days, there is no real personal responsibility. They do nothing wrong ever. They confess to no mistakes themselves. And we now kinda know that Romney's "47 percent" remarks were actually what he deeply believes."

The wackos only get wackier after the election. Appalling, really.

Give a book for Christmas

Recommendations for gift giving.

• The Twilight of American Culture by Morris Berman. Where we are and how we got there.
• Genesis Angels : the Saga of Lew Welch and the Beat Generation by Aram Saroyan. Best book ever written about the Beats. Out of print. Get a Kindle edition or used hard copy.
• Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality by Manit Kumar. The human drama behind a revolution.
• USA: The 42nd Parallel / 1919 / The Big Money by John Dos Passos. And to think "the Great American Novel" was already written decades ago! If you want a complete experience, get the Audible audio book and spend an intense 40+ hours with a master storyteller.
• Seven Plays by Charles Deemer. Oregon Book Award finalist (2001).
• Alt-Everything by Terry Simons. Alternative "radical" essays by the founder of Round Bend Press.
• Variations by Bill Deemer. Revised edition of 1999 book of poems nominated for the Oregon Book Award.

Physics Breakthroughs - Shows - Coast to Coast AM

Physics Breakthroughs - Shows - Coast to Coast AM:

A strange radio show, about 90% pseudo-science and quackery, but now and again a genuine cutting edge scientist shows up, as last night, Cal Tech physicist Sean Carroll. (He was plugging a book.)

A cooking fool

Scrapple as morning project ... now a soup of various leftovers ... hopefully writing after lunch.

Howard Fineman: David Petraeus Morality Play Offers More Comic Hypocrisy Than Hollywood

Howard Fineman: David Petraeus Morality Play Offers More Comic Hypocrisy Than Hollywood:

"The story teaches an old lesson: It's virtually impossible to overstate the comical hypocrisy of our leaders, especially those lionized to the point of canonization by a credulous media in search of uplift.

The other lesson is for presidents: Just when you think that you've "won" and can kick back and watch ESPN, a story blows up that reminds you what you didn't like about the job in the first place."

Forecast: Drought And More Drought | ThinkProgress

Forecast: Drought And More Drought | ThinkProgress:

Steve Duin: Maybe the GOP is flat-out wrong | OregonLive.com

Steve Duin: Maybe the GOP is flat-out wrong | OregonLive.com:

Ta da!

Human Intelligence Peaked Thousands of Years Ago: Study | Common Dreams

Human Intelligence Peaked Thousands of Years Ago: Study | Common Dreams:

"Humankind's intelligence peaked thousands of years ago and advanced civilization has made life so easy for so many that our trend towards stupidity will continue as the ingenuity and intellect once needed for basic survival erode even further."

So that's it ha ha.

Michael Hogan: Is 'Lincoln' A Memo To Obama From Liberal Hollywood?

Michael Hogan: Is 'Lincoln' A Memo To Obama From Liberal Hollywood?:

"Memo to President Barack Obama from your powerful friends in Hollywood: You are the president of the United States, clothed in immense power.

Now use it."

Achilles and Patraeus

A torrid tale of infidelity and jealousy? Hmm, think I've heard that one before,.a few thousand times over. Must be something like water running downhill.

Nightly "Taps" makes neighbors take notice - CBS News

Nightly "Taps" makes neighbors take notice - CBS News:

"TACOMA, Wash. - Residents of a quiet little neighborhood in Tacoma have been hearing something wonderful for the past couple of years just as the sun begins to set over Puget Sound. That something is a song. Twenty-four of the most poignant notes ever strung together, "Taps."

One neighborhood resident said "when you hear the first note, everything in our house comes to a complete halt.""

Michael Billington on playwrights' seasons | Culture | The Guardian

Michael Billington on playwrights' seasons | Culture | The Guardian:

"'Forget the single play – give me an entire oeuvre'"

Jane Unger at Profile Theatre stage

Portland is ahead of the curve: Jane Unger founded Profile Theatre in 1997, and it's been going strong ever since, even after her recent "retirement" as artistic director. First rate work.

Out and about

Finished scripts ... stir crazy ... car available ... off on adventure ... at market for scrapple stuff ... at Asian market for fun ... try this ... try that ... home to find H on phone with old roommate she hasn't seen in fifty years ... the day is young ... maybe downstairs to write.

Book publishing crisis: Capitalism kills culture

Book publishing crisis: Capitalism kills culture

But it makes millionaires!

Saturday: UCLA - USC

Last year USC beat UCLA 50-0. The Trojans have ruled LA for years. This year, however, a magical turnaround is in progress: UCLA is ranked higher than USC.

The best football stadium in America

They meet at noon in the Rose Bowl, UCLA's home. If UCLA wins, well, it will be a very, very big deal in Westwood. Moreover, if the Bruins win, there's a good chance they then will play Oregon for the Pac-12 title. Unthinkable.

UCLA-USC is a hell of a rivalry that hasn't been competitive for too long. This might be a game to remember.

And maybe not. Alas, UCLA's pass defense still sucks, despite their success, and both USC and Oregon should score handily. UCLA's hope is to win in a shootout. Not a confidence builder. All the same, it's nice to feel competitive going in for a change.

The only team I see with a chance against Oregon is Oregon State. The emotional factor. Beating the Ducks would make the season for the Beavers.

I hope either K State or ND loses a game, so we don't have a controversy for the title. Of course, if all three lose one ha ha ... Going to be a very interesting end of a great season!

Philip Roth: “I’m done” - Salon.com

Philip Roth: “I’m done” - Salon.com:

"The most decorated living American author quietly announces his retirement in an interview with a French magazine"

Roth said that at 74, realizing he was running out of years, he reread all his favorite novels, and then reread all his books in reverse chronological order. “I wanted to see if I had wasted my time writing,” he said. “And I thought it was rather successful. At the end of his life, the boxer Joe Louis said: ‘I did the best I could with what I had.’ This is exactly what I would say of my work: I did the best I could with what I had.

“And after that, I decided that I was done with fiction. I do not want to read, to write more,” he said. “I have dedicated my life to the novel: I studied, I taught, I wrote and I read. With the exclusion of almost everything else. Enough is enough! I no longer feel this fanaticism to write that I have experienced in my life.”

He should be the next American to get the Nobel in lit.

Goofing Off Suite

This was the name of a Pete Seeger banjo piece way back when. Came into my head as something that fits my afternoon mood.

Got all the hard copy student scripts read. 4 or 5 email attachments yet to consider. Tomorrow, I bet.

Did some writing on the novel, or novella, however it turns out. Taking my time and having fun with it.   Another old man buddy story, a genre I've really come to like. I can write wonderful imaginary conversations as if my dead buddies were still alive.

Otherwise a chilly rainy day in Portland.

Here we go again

Washington State coach Mike Leach

Coach Leach at WSU is once again being accused of being abusive by a player, this time by a star who just quit the team. I'm not politically correct on this one. I am on Leach's side until facts prove otherwise. I think what we have, as we had at Texas Tech before, is a spoiled jock unable to cope with an old school coach who doesn't offer special favors.

I do know this -- spoiled jock stars are everywhere today, thinking they deserve special treatment.

A shame, after such an inspired game against UCLA, coming back from 30 pts down to almost win. Leach can turn this program around but he has to do it his way. If his players play like zombies, he says so. Why is that abusive?

The joys of teaching

Two unexpected happy surprises this weekend.

I received pages from a student that blew me away, they were so close to professional screenwriting. Maybe it shouldn't surprise me. She's an "older" serious student, who asks good questions in class and has come to office hours with questions. She's a quick learner. What impressed me most, however, is nothing I could teach her, a writer's talent for creating full characters and designing a compelling narrative, the kind of instincts that go beyond the textbook principles. Very exciting.

And I heard from an advanced student, also very talented, who finished the draft of her first screenplay. Reason to celebrate! And lots of time now to polish it for the Nicholl contest.

Nice to get surprises like this.

Early morning

Veterans Day. Important holiday in my Navy family. Still is to me. I have radical ideas about this. At eighteen every citizen has to register for mandatory service. A two year commitment starting within ten years. Includes military, Peace Corps, CCC etc. In exchange govt provides modest lifelong stipend. How radical is that?

...Alabama finally loses. UCLA escapes. Oregon and K State look unbeatable. Be a great championship if it holds. But Beaver season now defined by beating ducks.

...Finish student scripts today. Work on novel tomorrow. The Plan.

Football junky

Got school work done in morn ... now lots of games of interest to me ... switching between three now ... ucla tonight ... couch potato fan.

A Six-Word Story Contest

A Six-Word Story Contest

A good exercise.

Here is one ... You told me we would win.

Twilight

A productive morning

Good writing and even better decision making on The Reluctant Suicide this morning. My new protagonist, Brinkley, is a retired opera singer, who never really made it, and a wannabe composer who has been working on his Ipad on the road, using a keyboard app, on something he calls "musical and dramatic notes for a chamber opera" with the working title "The Reluctant Suicide." Ah, how life becomes art and vice versa! Maybe the border disappears with age and that's when I'll be an old fart mumbling to myself all the time. Interesting idea, more comic than frightening.

At any rate, I think I have the set up I want now. I see a 3 part structure ... the set up ... a flashback section of the relationship between Brinkley and CJ ... and back to present, scattering CJ's ashes -- and whatever happens to Brinkley. Matt is major in parts one and three.

Something to work with, at any rate. In no hurry whatsoever. The slower I work, the less I have to write later ha ha!

What Karl Rove's Election-Night Meltdown Says About The GOP's Stance On Climate Science | ThinkProgress

What Karl Rove's Election-Night Meltdown Says About The GOP's Stance On Climate Science | ThinkProgress:

"When GOP strategist Karl Rove lost his cool on Fox News Tuesday night and refused to accept the network’s decision to call Ohio for Obama and effectively end the race, it illustrated the Republican party’s belief-centric approach to this year’s election.
More importantly, it perfectly encapsulates the Republican party’s stance on climate science. Rather than trust all those scientists who use complicated models and observation, the modern Republican politico uses his “gut” and his “belief” to determine reality."

So many planets, so few telescopes

So many planets, so few telescopes:

Climate Change, Not the National Debt, Is the Legacy We Should Care About | Common Dreams

Climate Change, Not the National Debt, Is the Legacy We Should Care About | Common Dreams:

"Worry about the grandchildren? Then stop global warming, but don't pretend deficit reduction by slashing pensions is for them"

Time for Higher Education to Take a Stand on Climate | Common Dreams

Time for Higher Education to Take a Stand on Climate | Common Dreams:

"Higher education is the crown jewel of the United States system of education, and it remains the envy of the world.  Higher education has always been dedicated to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.  If our nation’s colleges and universities will not take a stand now, who will?"

Robert Creamer: 6 Reasons Why the 2012 Election Will Be Considered Historic

Robert Creamer: 6 Reasons Why the 2012 Election Will Be Considered Historic:

"1). This election was truly a battle for the soul of America. It presented Americans with the clearest choice in my lifetime between traditional progressive American values -- a vision of a society where we are all in this together on the one hand -- and a vision of a society in which everyone looks out first and foremost for himself alone on the other."

Dear Republicans

If Obama only won the election because Romney's momentum was interrupted by superstorm Sandy, as some of you are now saying, then consider the obvious: God wanted it this way.

Daily Kos: Joe Biden: unsung hero and key player to Obama victory.

Daily Kos: Joe Biden: unsung hero and key player to Obama victory.:

Daily Kos: Romney Donors Complain They Were Ripped Off And Lied To

Daily Kos: Romney Donors Complain They Were Ripped Off And Lied To:

Hilarious and pathetic.

The Real Dead Poets Society: How America Buries Its Famous Writers - Alexis Hauk - The Atlantic

The Real Dead Poets Society: How America Buries Its Famous Writers - Alexis Hauk - The Atlantic:

Global Warming's Terrifying New Math | Common Dreams

Global Warming's Terrifying New Math | Common Dreams:

"Three simple numbers that add up to global catastrophe - and that make clear who the real enemy is"

Giddiness Redux

Still feeling like I avoided disaster on election night. Immigrants and other minorities may yet save this country. It's clear old white men are incapable of doing it.

An old notion for a project has returned to haunt me: "dramatic and musical notes for a chamber opera," in which I'd write the script and musical line for someone else to fill in later, probably posthumously, if at all. Hearing riffs. No story notion yet, which is why it hasn't gone anywhere. Yet I haven't forgotten it.

An easy day, showing Wag the Dog. But I also pick up scripts for a very busy weekend of reading. End of the term rhythm begins.

---

About readers and audience

Here is my ideal reader:

From English Composition as a Happening by Geoffrey Sirc ("this book-length homage to Charles Deemer's 1967 article, in which the theories and practices of Happenings artists (multi-disciplinary performance pioneers) were used to invigorate college writing." --Amazon):

"One of the Composition-specific articles in this genre of radical sixties pedagogy, one which I have never been able to forget since the day I first read it in the dimly-lit stacks of my university's library, was written in 1967 by a young graduate teaching assistant at the University of Oregon, Charles Deemer. His article, "English Composition as a Happening," did what many of these articles did, but did it in a formally compelling way (the article is a collage of brief sound-bite snippets, alternating between Deemer's own poetic reflections-as-manifesto and quotations from Sontag, McLuhan, Dewey, Goodman, and others), and Deemer's ideas seemed to catalyze my own discontent with what passed for Composition during the 1980s." 

I love the image of my work being discovered this way (two decades after it was written!). Somehow this is more appropriate than being on a best selling list or something, which offers money but little else; here we have discovery in the shadows and a reaction of being blown away. I have a sense here of actual important "same wave length" communication, which is rather the point of writing in the first place. Here's how I see it, you have faith that someone else can see it the same way.

Writers don't often get concrete evidence that this actually happens. You can get it more often as a playwright if you observe a live audience reacting appropriately. I forever will remember the lights coming up after the first act of my MFA thesis play, when I was in grad school. Facing me across the stage in the small theater in the round was a woman in tears! I had moved her to tears! This actually scared the hell out of me and I spent the second act outside, pacing. What a responsibility! It had not occurred to me. Eventually I accepted it. Okay, let's play hardball.

Special moments, these, reminding me why I spent my life as a writer. It's not about entertaining anyone. It's about engaging someone.

Profound relief

A Pres. Romney would have been so depressing, rewarding the most arrogant and ignorant energies in the culture, that escaping it is a great high today. A psychic celebration! A Thornton Wilder moment.

What Obama's Re-Election Means For Coal, Climate Change, And America's Energy Future | ThinkProgress

What Obama's Re-Election Means For Coal, Climate Change, And America's Energy Future | ThinkProgress:

"From the streets of New York ravaged by Hurricane Sandy to the mountains of Appalachia ravaged by mountaintop removal, and from the mother watching her son struggle to breathe to the grandfather watching his granddaughter sleep and worrying he is leaving her a dangerous, unstable planet, Americans are ready to move beyond coal.
President Obama can only help lead the nation there. We are going to have to do the hard work ourselves. But his re-election means we have a fighting chance."

Researchers Quantify Greenhouse Gases From Melting Arctic Permafrost: 'Potential To Alter The Planet Is Very Real' | ThinkProgress

Researchers Quantify Greenhouse Gases From Melting Arctic Permafrost: 'Potential To Alter The Planet Is Very Real' | ThinkProgress:

Elizabeth Warren On Her Senate Victory: 'We Stuck To Our Values'

Elizabeth Warren On Her Senate Victory: 'We Stuck To Our Values':

The first female president down the road?

Washington Approves Gay Marriage In Referendum 74 Vote (UPDATE)

Washington Approves Gay Marriage In Referendum 74 Vote (UPDATE):

The most progressive state in the NW. Not Oregon.

BBC Radio 4 - Letter from America by Alistair Cooke

BBC Radio 4 - Letter from America by Alistair Cooke:

"Alistair Cooke’s weekly talks on American life, history and politics. Over 900 programmes, as broadcast from 1946 – 2004."

An extraordinary resource!

Blessings

On the deck, sunny with a fall nip in the air, watching Sketch on lawn below sniffing for a bathroom, I couldn't help feeling damn lucky in this crapshoot we call life. One of the fortunate ones ... born at right time with right parents and right genes ... right place ... with right lessons and encouragement to hit the road and make my way. Opportunity.

And now I even have the right dog sitting close beside me.

So it's time to go downstairs and pay some bills. Literally ha ha.

Obama Wins Reelection, Now Must Become A Climate Hawk To Avoid Dust-Bin Of History, Dust Bowl For America | ThinkProgress

Obama Wins Reelection, Now Must Become A Climate Hawk To Avoid Dust-Bin Of History, Dust Bowl For America | ThinkProgress:

Election Takeaway for Fossil Fuel Industry: Money Can’t Buy You Love | ThinkProgress

Election Takeaway for Fossil Fuel Industry: Money Can’t Buy You Love | ThinkProgress:

Rhetoric

Alas, Obama's "inspiring" acceptance speech did not impress me. Any third-rate playwright could have written it. Filled with the usual idealistic cliches. Worse, it gives no evidence that he learned anything after facing four years of Republican obstruction. Same o same o won't do, Mr. President.

The goal should be to elect a Democratic House in two years. You do this by playing hard ball and showing the truth and publicly embarrassing the Republicans if they play the same old games. The public is on the side of the President but he has to play his hand and not cave. He should tell the people, Give me a Congress that will work with me! If the coalition holds, they will. The days of rule by white men is ending.

It's time to shit or get off the pot, Mr. President. Politics is ugly. Deal with it. FDR did. He's a good model.

A Victory for Obama and Obama's America : The New Yorker

A Victory for Obama and Obama's America : The New Yorker:

The west coast rocks!

 "By a small but significant majority, it has rejected the insular, backward-looking, feed-the-rich, extremism of today’s G.O.P., even when that extremism has a standard bearer who is relatively moderate—or, at least, flexible. It has reëlected to office a President who, for all his failings, tried during his first term to address some of the biggest problems facing the country, and did so in a spirit of pragmatism and civility that the Mitt Romney who governed Massachusetts would have appreciated.

More rancor and gridlock may well lay ahead. But yesterday the right side won."

Who Won the War on Women? : The New Yorker

Who Won the War on Women? : The New Yorker:

 "It now appears that the number of women in the Senate could go from seventeen to twenty-three. If it hadn”t been for those antediluvian attacks on contraception, we”d be calling this the Year of the Woman. If there was a war on women this year, it looks like the women are winning."

Power in a divided land

A new coalition kept the president in office ... women and minorities and young people. They expect him to lead and address their needs. Kissing the right wing ass will not do.

I applaud the new coalition. Educated white men join them. Now let's see real leadership for a change. Crossed fingers. And wondering what the next dirty trick will be.

Best news ... a more liberal Senate ... Warren! ... measures for same sex marriage and legal pot. Defeat of Tea Party.

Much saner night than I imagined.

Looking good

Hope it holds and my fears are wrong.

Who won?

This is quite clever.

Robo-call Says Election is Wednesday - Holliston-Hopkinton, MA Patch

Robo-call Says Election is Wednesday - Holliston-Hopkinton, MA Patch:

"The call said "Hi, I'm one of your neighbors in Holliston and ... I want to urge you to vote for Elizabeth Warren and Barack Obama on Wednesday, November 7." The date, said the call, had been changed because of Hurricane Sandy."

Can you believe this shit?

Poem of the day

a politician is an arse upon
which everyone has sat except a man

 --e. e. cummings

2012 Elections: Long Lines, Suppression, Voting And Ballot Issues Reported At Polling Places

2012 Elections: Long Lines, Suppression, Voting And Ballot Issues Reported At Polling Places:

Why Obama Will Disappoint Progressives and I Voted for Him Anyway | Common Dreams

Why Obama Will Disappoint Progressives and I Voted for Him Anyway | Common Dreams:

Eleventh-Hour GOP Voter Suppression Could Swing Ohio | The Nation

Eleventh-Hour GOP Voter Suppression Could Swing Ohio | The Nation:

The Painful Impacts Of Climate Disruption: Responding To Hurricane Sandy | ThinkProgress

The Painful Impacts Of Climate Disruption: Responding To Hurricane Sandy | ThinkProgress:

In The Wake Of Sandy, A 16-Year Old Climate Activist Speaks Her Mind | ThinkProgress

In The Wake Of Sandy, A 16-Year Old Climate Activist Speaks Her Mind | ThinkProgress:

Study: We're Headed To 11°F Warming And Even 7°F Requires 'Nearly Quadrupling The Current Rate Of Decarbonisation' | ThinkProgress

Study: We're Headed To 11°F Warming And Even 7°F Requires 'Nearly Quadrupling The Current Rate Of Decarbonisation' | ThinkProgress:

Math Problems Can Be Physically Painful | Wired Science | Wired.com

Math Problems Can Be Physically Painful | Wired Science | Wired.com:

Hey, I knew that in high school!

The S&M Election | Common Dreams

The S&M Election | Common Dreams:

"There are a few writers and artists who give us a view of the dark, corrupt heart of power. The 1972 film “The Ruling Class,” a black comedy based on Peter Barnes’ play, does this, as does Jean Genet’s play “The Balcony.” So does Noam Chomsky, Elias Canetti’s “Crowds and Power,” C. Wright Mill’s “The Power Elite,” Karl Marx’s “Capital,” Thomas Pynchon’s “Gravity’s Rainbow,” Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” and Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s “Castle to Castle.” The astute explorations of the pathology of power, however, are buried in the avalanche of Disneyfied popular culture and nationalist cant. The elite deeply fears any art, literature, philosophy, poetry, theology and drama that challenge the assumptions and structures of authority. These disciplines must appear to the public only in bastardized forms, packaged as froth, entertainment or sentimental drivel that celebrates the established hierarchy."

The morning's most pressing question

Waiting at the bus stop, I kept obsessing about the morning's most urgent issue. No, not who wins the election. Whether the SU will have any maple bars left when I reach campus.

And I got the last one!