Lost writing.

Is there anything more frustrating than losing something you've written?

I wrote a review for the blog here, of a Harold Pinter play that I saw not too long ago. I began writing the review the night of the play while it was all fresh in my mind. I thought I had clicked "Save as Draft" but it's nowhere around. I must have intended to save it as a draft.

While a part of me wants to put down in to writing some of what I found compelling and disturbing in the Pinter play, another part of me thinks, "Ah, hell. What's the point?"

Only time will tell if I will write down my thoughts about it. Tonight I'm off to another play.

Books.

Even though I tend to read more than one book at a time, I occassionally run in to the problem where none of the books I'm readig have captured my interest, and then my reading slows down to a crawl. This has been the problem with my current crop of reading material (and hence my earlier post -- how do you choose the books you read).

Actually, the book about the Globetrotters has really taken my interest in the last few days, and I'm certainly I'll be zooming through it soon. It's fascinating history and social studies. While I grew up in the 60's (an erea not yet covered in the book), I was not aware that the Globetrotters were treated like royalty nearly everywhere, except their own country. While they were used as propaganda the world over to show that "negroes" in the United States were not the victims of racial injustice, the truth was that only in the United States were they still not allowed to check in to certain hotels or eat at certain diners. So far a fascinating, truly fascinating book.

The Mike Lupica book, Travel Team, so far has only gone on to prove my theory that you don't need to be a good writer to sell a book and to have the publisher promote it mightily ... you only need to be famous. If you've ever wondered what your creative writing teacher means when s/he says, "Show! Don't tell!" then read this book. It is slow, dry, and so full of "telling" rather than "showing" that I want to slap the editor upside the head and yell, "What were you thinking!?"

Blogging time.

Upon some great soul-searching, and with my giving notice at my desk job, I've been looking at where my time goes. While not a major portion of my time goes in to blogging, a significant portion of my attention might go there. Having tried to post something new each day for a number of months, I've had to ask myself "why?" The answer was, "to see if I could do it." I believe that I can.

But now I need to focus on other forms of writing. To stop spending time wondering about what to write about next in my daily blog -- hence, it will not likely be a daily blog anymore.

Sometimes I will begin a blog one day but not finish it until the next (currently, my review of Old Times, a Harold Pinter play presented at Viterbo University was begun last night and will likely not be finished until tonight when I return home from work).

Fact is, I blog on more than one site, though this is one of the only ones of mine that is "public" (this and my book review journal).

I'm not signing off, but I did want to explain why there weren't new posts each day as there have been in the past.

Notice given.

Ahhhh.

That's a sigh of relief. Relief because I gave my notice at work. It's not a two week notice, as I could have given, but a three month notice (for a variety of reasons, including the very pedestrian idea of getting all that I can out of the company, such as holiday pay).

Still, it's a relief to know that the notice is given and time is soon up for that very small chapter of my life.

What's important?

Once in awhile we need to be reminded what's important, as this interview with a terrorist shows. Please watch this short clip. Clicking the black box here will open a new window, which will then download this short, windows media video clip. If your computer doesn't support windows media video... sorry.

What happens to art?

In the wake of hurricane Katrina and the potentially devastating hurricane Rita, what happens to art?

Certainly a person has more on their mind than going to a museum or to see a show in the days after homes have been decimated, but in the larger picture, what happens to art?

Many businesses have been hit hard due to the storms, but I suspect that businesses in the arts, which so often are perched precariously on the threshholds of bankruptcy anyway, will have an exceptionally tough time of it. Who wants to go see Timon of Athens or Medea when there's tragedy all around you? Who wants to listen to the 1812 Overature when the roar of 170 mph winds was more deafening and damagaing than any cannons used in a concert? Who wants to walk through a museum and look at The Scream when it's what we feel like doing ourselves?

What happens to art?

Art struggles. And it thrives.

At some point, people need a break. They need the opportunity to get away from everything terrible. The smart arts administrators will do what they can to cater to this. Let's not forget that entertainment was one of the few successful industries during the depression years.

At the same time, out of this tragedy (tragedies?) artists will create new and hopefully memorable, works. These artists will need to be encouraged and given the opportunity to express themselves.

I can only hope that we will not look at the arts as extravagant or unnecessary, but as vitally important.

looking for a few good authors

How do you choose what you read?

Publishers put out so many books these days, and of course there are an awful lot of small press publishers, and I wonder how you find a new author or book to read?

I'm always looking for a new author whose books I can look forward to, but making that initial discovery is often difficult.

I often listen to recommendations by people who's taste in literature I respect. I also tend to scan more than a few on-line 'zines and if an author's work catches my eye I'll search out his/her books (a recent discover for me in this fashion is Steve Almond). I will occassionally pick up a book of collected essays or stories, hoping that one of them will hit me in just the right way. And finally, I will also just scan the bookshelves in the stores and the libraries for something the strikes me as interesting.

I am wondering if any of you out there have any other means of searching out authors/books. Do you have any recommendations? Do you read any magazines/journals that you've found to consistently supply the kind of writing that you like to read?

to the moon, Alice!

Read some news yesterday which I found to be rather exciting. NASA is making plans to put people on the moon again, perhaps as early as 2018.

You can check this story out at space.com.

Just last week I rented a DVD from Netflix which incorporated NASA video and television coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. I watched it with my son. For me, it was a wonderful chance to relive history. I told my son how I remember being called in from outside where I was playing in order to watch the grainy, but accessible, pictures, live, from the moon. How heart-stoppingly exciting it was! And here I was, watching that exact same footage, combined with some color footage taken from Buzz Aldrin's camera inside the lunar module. Wow!

For my son, it was interesting, but history, of course. Even in his short life-time there have been a couple of shuttle launches and other than one disaster, nothing remarkable about them (per the eyes of an 8 year old).

What a wonderful opportunity for him to witness, or even be a part of!, another moon landing.

Let's hope we're all here to see it.

Argus

Something I look forward to each day is reading comedian Argus Hamilton's column. There is almost always something that has me laugh out loud. Yesterday it was the following:

Howard Dean caused a storm Friday by saying President Bush didn't care about the people of New Orleans because they were black. That's just completely untrue. President Bush didn't care about the people of New Orleans because they were French.

You can read Argus Hamilton's column yourself, either in your local newspaper, or on-line at www.argushamilton.com/argus.htm.

Taylor duet

Before the final match of the U.S. Open, the match between Agassi and Federer, there was a nifty duet rendition of America, The Beautiful. The duet was sung by Ben Taylor and James Taylor. A pretty cool sound those Taylor boys make!

so long

No, I'm not quitting the blog. I'm waving good-bye to my time. Only a week and a half in to school and I already seem to have lost any free time that I once had.

Days like yesterday, and today, remind me that I need to say "no" to many of the volunteering positions I take on.

fire fighters

Last night's blog reminds me of another old-time radio show which I had never heard of until someone sent me an MP3 CD of the 140 episodes that still exist. The show was called Fire Fighters.

From the mid-to-late 1940's Fire Fighters was both an entertaining as well as informative program. Lots of shows (both radio and television) have focused on police and detective work, but this might well be the only radio show of this kind.

Each episode was only about twelve minutes long, and I admit that it took me a few episodes to get caught up in the story, but once I did, I looked forward to each new episode.

There are some things about the series which were probably pretty standard in the 1940's but which seem rather goofy today, primarily the "gosh golly!" attitude of the youth in the series.

If there's a down-side to the series it would be the fact that it focused on one particular fire fighter -- a fresh out of the academy young Tim Collins, whose father was a former chief of the fire department but who died fighting a fire. By following one person, that young man tended to move around to different departments a lot, and because of his status as Chief Collins' son, he seems to get some special privileges.

That aside, I felt that the series did a great job of "showing" how they fight fires, and even how panic ensues in the event of a major, catastophic fire. One storyline of a major building fire had me thinking of the 9-11 disaster it played so well.

A really excellent series, and one most people have likely never even heard of.

thinking of Eddie

Thinking of fire-fighter, Ed. Hope the recovery and the nightmares have come to an end.

Project Book Share

Here is information about the "local" groups sponsoring book drives for the hurricane refugees...:

Project Book Share for Children Affected by Hurricane KatrinaPlease donate NEW (preferred) or look like new books for the children affected by Hurricane Katrina. Books for babies, wordless picturebooks, children's novels, children's nonfiction and teen books arebeing collected.Twin Cities drop off sites (from September 9th to September 19th)- The Bookcase of Wayzata, 607 East Lake Street, Wayzata, MN- The Loft at Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Mpls, MN- The Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Avenue, St Paul, MN- Incarnation Lutheran Church, 4880 Hodgson Road, Shoreview, MN- Red Wing Book Festival, Anderson Center, noon - 5 Sat 9/10/05 ONLYAdditional drop-off sites outside the Twin Cities and in the southmetro will be posted on the CLN website:www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org. A flyer (8.5x11) and a poster(11x17) as well as book lists for the very young are also availableas reproducible Acrobat PDF file.We've heard stories about the orphaned children, the people who havenothing to do, the tight quarters, the anger and stress. Will bookssolve their situation?No. But we're hearing that many, many people wish they had somethingto read -- it would help to pass the time. As members of the bookcommunity, we know how books can soothe, calm, and change a bad day.Providing books to read may change a life.Although the status of the people coming to Camp Ripley is stilluncertain, the books will go to where they are needed. Thank you inadvance for being so generous.Organizations who have become co-sponsors of Project Book Share are:the Bookcase of Wayzata, Children's Literature Network, the Loft, theMidwest Booksellers Association, the Minnesota Reading Association,
Illustrators and the Silly Sisters.To contribute other items, such as games, books for adults, toys,clothing, food, health items, please visit: http://www.kare11.com/news/katrina/hopeforthecity.aspx

feeble FEMA?

I just can't believe the reports that I continue to read about the lack of relief and how the survivors of the hurricane were treated as they tried desparately to get out of towns and sought water and food.

Will there really be any accurate accounting for all this? Even my friend Oz, who always has a kind word for everyone, writes negatively about the FEMA relief (Winona Boys blog).

If this is the response to an "expected" disaster, how will we come through an unexpected disaster of a grand scale?

I use this theme in a new play I've been working on, though I approach it from a different point of view. As a viewer, I am insensed. As an artist, I am inspired.

sick as a dog

I've been sick as a dog. I start a blog but don't finish it until days later.

Will probably work a 10 hour day today then go home, put the kids to bed, and crash.

How does one catch a cold in late summer, anyway?

...and nothing to read

There is so much about the Katrina disaster that I can't even begin to comprehend, not the least of which is ... what the hell would I do for 24 hours a day cooped up in the Astrodome?

Apparently I'm not the only one, and I've since heard of two different groups organizing a call for book donations to be distributed to refugees. The first one I heard mentioned was from sci-fi author David Brin's blog davidbrin.blogspot.com. Look for his blog of Septempber 5, 2005. He seems fairly uncertain about it, though it's being organized by another respected name in sci-fi/fantasy, Jennifer Robeson.

The other group organizing a book relief is the Minnesota Society of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators (for which I am their web master). I'm still not certain as to how organized this group is, but I do know that if I were hanging out in the Astrodome, I would probably read just about anything that I could get my hands on and would greatly appreciate some books.

With all that's going on, it seems crazy to think about donating things like books, but once the needs of food, water, and shelter are satisfied, the rest of our needs -- exercise and stimulation for brain and body -- are slow(er) in coming.

the characters culled from disaster

As a writer, I am absolutely fascinated by the characters I am discovering as I watch the news and read the reports out of the hurricane zone. Who doesn't love the image from CNN of the grizzled old man using a tire as an inner tube and his pulling a vodka bottle up from underneath him?

And from The New Republic (you can read the entire article by clicking here -- don't forget to use bugmenot.com when it asks for a login) comes this paragraph:

As we head out of Beachwood and to our car, we encounter a young man with braces who is wearing bright blue overalls. "Do you have any idea what street this is?" he asks. He tells us he's an insurance adjuster from Oklahoma City and that he can't find the home he's been sent to evaluate. He clutches a piece of paper--a printout of a map from Yahoo.com--and looks in vain for any street signs. We tell him we're not sure where the home he's looking for is but that it's probably gone. He shakes his head. "I know," he says, "but I've got to check." And he walks off into the wreckage.

This is the kind of character that can really make a written work of fiction (or non-fiction, as in the case of this article) stand out. Don't you immediately form a mental picture of this young man, perhaps on his first insurance assignment? And a Yahoo map -- he's internet savvy, he doesn't buy the big atlas or the gas station folding map -- what does this say about him?

It's a great feast of characters.

Candy Matson

I only recently discovered this little gem of an old time radio show -- Candy Matson YUkon 2-8209. There seem to be only 14 (or 15, if you count a remake) surviving episodes of this great lady detective radio series.

Set, and originally produced in San Francisco, Candy Matson is good-looking (so they say), wise-cracking female detective whose best friend is an artisitc photographer by the name of Rembrandt Watson. Her beau (in the later episodes) is city police detective Ray Mallard. The show premiered in in 1949 and ran through 1951.

I was very impressed with the writing in this show. I often laughed and wondered how they could get away with some of their double-entendres back in that era. And while it was never said outright, the character of "Rembrandt Watson" was likely the first "gay" character on the radio. You only have to listen to how the character is written and performed to get that impression -- and of course he is an artist in San Francisco!

Ifthere are any down sides to the program it would be first the organ music which is played as mood music but which I found invasive. i suspect in '49 it was a bit more common to hear an organ during a radio program.

The other negative would be that Candy seemed to be "saved" a few times by the sheer luck of Lt. Mallard being near by with gun in hand.

Since I first listened to this, I've discovered that Candy Matson is generally considered to be the finest of the lady P.I. programs, and though I haven't listened to many, I would agree based on how much I've enjoyed this. I hope that someone uncovers the missing 70+ episodes.

radio

There was a time, I'm sure, when the good ol' U.S. of A. was the best a radio broadcasting. Just think back to that golden era of programming when everyone knew about The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, Suspense, etc etc etc.

Unfortunately, we are no longer the best. We've abandoned radio as nothing more than up-to-the-minute news, traffic reports, and incessant music to fill the backgrounds of our lives. But as entertainment in and for itself? Nah. I bet most of you would be hard-pressed to name a radio program that exists for entertaiment purposes other than Prairie Home Companion or Howard Stern.

The British, on the other hand, have kept radio entertainment alive and continue to produce excellent radio entertainment. Did you kow there was a new Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series? A new Dr. Who series? Were you aware that they produce radio plays nearly every day? Do you even care? Probably not.

I love radio. To me, radio entertainment is almost the purest form of entertainment and requires excellent, careful writing. Perhaps that is why I enjoy listening to the BBC radio stations on the internet. If you're curious, I'd encourage you to check out the BBC at BBC Radio. My favorites are BBC 3, BBC 4, and BBC 7.

I also happen to really enjoy listening to OTR (Old Time Radio) programs. In the days ahead I may discuss some of these shows.

she's at it again

My sister-in-law is a nurse at a hospital in upstate New York. In September of 2001 she packed a backback full of emerency gear and worked her way to the front lines of the 9/11 disaster zone. While she doesn't talk much about it, the report from other emergency personnel at the scene is that my sister-in-law was single-handedly responsible for making sure all the firefighters and other excavation people were given proper respiration protection.

Now she's in Mississippi.

She took an unpaid week off of work, flew down at her own expense, but was given permission by FEMA to work "for them" for a week.

Sometimes I wonder why she does this, but as my wife explained, "she became a nurse for a reason, and it's that same reason which drives her to insist on being where she can help."

boardgames

If you think that boardgames are either of the standard, Monopoly, Life, Sorry!, buy-it-at-Wal-Mart-or-Target ilk, or the more complicated Dungeons and Dragons and wargames sort, then you are missing out on a vast world of gaming.

Although there are more and more specialty gaming stores opening all the time, the incredible world of game-playing still seems to be a well-kept secret.

My family really enjoys playing games, and our stock of games is fairly impressive. I discovered a wonderful website, full of unusual games at pretty decent prices. It's funagain.com, and it really is a treasure trove of gaming.

If you are into the deep-thinking, strategy games like chess, try Dvonn or other games in the Gipf project. Enjoy the standard boardgames but want something more? Try the hottest game on the market, Settlers of Catan. Can't find enough people to play? There are plenty of two person games such as Lost Cities, Hera and Zeus, and Odin's Ravens. Want a tile-laying game that's got more strategy involved than dominoes? How about Carcassone?

If you like games but are bored with what you find in your local retail store, check out funagain, or drop me a note here and I'll recommend something for you. There are even great games for kids that you may never have heard of, so put away Hi-Ho Cherry-O and Candyland and get something a little more interesting.

(Yes, I've just played three hours of games, which is what's made me think of this.)

illness

I've been struck down by a bug -- a virus perhaps. Cold? Flu? I'm not sure. I know only that I'm feeling miserable, but can't sleep and can't retain concentration on anythig for any reasonable amount of time.

is it literature -- again

I'm coming back to this question again about what makes writing "literature" as opposed to just fiction or non-fiction. I read today, an article about Ray Bradbury in the on-line Slate magazine. You can read the article yourself by clicking here.

Basically the article mentions that Ray Bradbury is now accepted as a literary icon, has won numerous awards, has books which are regular readings in school, but some of his best work is still his pulp fiction.

Give the article a read and tell me what you think. And while I've gotten some good suggestions as to what makes a particular written work "literature" or not, I'm still looking for more thoughts.

Katrina

I find that I am completely absorbed by news coming out of the New Orleans area dealing with the aftermath of the terrible hurricane and have not much to say.

I did enjoy the reporter for CNN who was talking to one of the state's governors -- the governor started praising congress for holding a special session to appropriate money for disaster relief. The reporter interupted her to say, "You know, I just saw a body floating down the street and you're here patting other politicians on the back. Can we just talk about how these people are going to get relief instead of thanking other politicians?"

Bravo.