Sunday, January 31, 2010
TNT Birthday Bash
At an Eagle Rock bar near Occidental College, various Team-in-Training folk celebrated assistant coach Liz's 30th b-day. The crowd was mostly college-age. You got the feeling that if a fight loomed, the parties would threaten to produce laptops and write something cutting and wry. Congrats to Coach Dave, who is now engaged to Bethany. As always, I was the first to leave. Not a drinker, my departure was timed to avoid the odd mawkishness that can appear after several cocktails. ('I think of you as an older brother. Let's go to Europe.')
Friday, January 29, 2010
Finally
Jumbo short story went out today, just shy of 15k words. The story put me in mind of a large, overweight child that wouldn't leave home. Then one day, boom, he's gone.
And there's a sad emptiness.
But mostly relief.
And there's a sad emptiness.
But mostly relief.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Salinger-Zinn-Rubinstein: Connect the Dots
Coincidence? Reclusive author J.D. Salinger, Marxist professor Howard Zinn, diminutive actress Zelda Rubinstein all dead.
All of natural causes.
All famous.
All old.
All now silent.
Who stood to gain? And why? Let's examine the facts: Salinger—literary giant, unpublished in almost a half century; Zinn—an academic giant who never stopped publishing; Rubinstein—very short actress, who starred in a film 28 years ago and never really cracked the limelight again. Here we see only the outward strands of an intricate web of—
Okay, let me start over: Salinger—rejected fame; Zinn—courted it; Rubinstein—had it and lost it. Fame is a four-letter word, but that word is also a sinister acronym. F.A.M.E. stands for—
Hold on here. I'm just warming up. Salinger—Catcher in the Rye; Zinn—People's History of the United States; Rubinstein—Poltergeist, a movie, which she didn't write. Two linked by art, one an academic, all involved in espousing world views that unmasked the hidden cauldron of—
Well, they are all deceased.
All of natural causes.
All famous.
All old.
All now silent.
Who stood to gain? And why? Let's examine the facts: Salinger—literary giant, unpublished in almost a half century; Zinn—an academic giant who never stopped publishing; Rubinstein—very short actress, who starred in a film 28 years ago and never really cracked the limelight again. Here we see only the outward strands of an intricate web of—
Okay, let me start over: Salinger—rejected fame; Zinn—courted it; Rubinstein—had it and lost it. Fame is a four-letter word, but that word is also a sinister acronym. F.A.M.E. stands for—
Hold on here. I'm just warming up. Salinger—Catcher in the Rye; Zinn—People's History of the United States; Rubinstein—Poltergeist, a movie, which she didn't write. Two linked by art, one an academic, all involved in espousing world views that unmasked the hidden cauldron of—
Well, they are all deceased.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Short-Sighted
Doing the final polish on my 67 page "short story." MDW thought that it could easily be expanded into novel territory and very easily into novella world. I agree, but sending it out is all that concerns me now.
Struggling with this chi walking business. To work as exercise, it must first succeed as a means of propelling me across the living room to the front door. Since core muscles factor in, I'm exercising that area to increase strength. In the meantime, I've reduced my meal portion sizes as I try and drop 20 pounds. (For starters.)
But I will run once more. I'm not sure when or how far.
And if I want to build power, I can always print out my short story and press it over my head.
Struggling with this chi walking business. To work as exercise, it must first succeed as a means of propelling me across the living room to the front door. Since core muscles factor in, I'm exercising that area to increase strength. In the meantime, I've reduced my meal portion sizes as I try and drop 20 pounds. (For starters.)
But I will run once more. I'm not sure when or how far.
And if I want to build power, I can always print out my short story and press it over my head.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
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'Twas suggested I post a few episodes of my work in a pleasant spot. I've chosen here. Sadly, not everything I've written has y...
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Twice in the last eight years I've run the Santa Clarita 5k on Independence Day. Back in 2007 it was sizzling hot. Three years late...
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'Twas suggested I post a few episodes of my work in a pleasant spot. I've chosen here. Sadly, not everything I've written has y...