Top 100 TV Theme Songs

 

According to Rolling Stone. But there's plenty of nostalgia for all ages. 

Marathon Countdown

rt.com

Very little on the running front lately. I'm still depressed over the Dutchman's death and don't feel like blogging or Tweeting or working on my next book. I look for reasons not to do anything. But the marathon approaches this Sunday and I'm not so bummed out that I'd eat the race fee, hotel room, or months of training.

My goal remains to once again break five hours. Last year's Surfers Point race only counted a hundred or so marathon runners. Lots of elbow room. The CIM sports around 10k. That means close contact with my fellow humans in the first few miles. So I've factored that in as an asset to slow me down when every instinct cries, "Take off!"

Despite my grief, the race must go on. As Auden said in Musee des Beaux Arts: 

"About suffering they were never wrong,

The Old Masters: how well they understood

Its human position; how it takes place

While someone else is eating or opening a window or just

walking dully along;"

Based Black Friday/Cyber Monday Book Sale

 Back Again and Hungry for the Eyes of Readers

@AetherCzar

Yes, Hans Schanz, scientist and author, once again promotes free or .99 ebooks. Perfect for those holiday moments before the tryptophan kicks in. Choose sci-fi, fantasy, military sci fi, dystopian fiction or browse a selection of non-fiction including my very own Jury Doody. 

Go now, gather up these deals, and enjoy a fine read. At some point, the relatives will arrive and you can forget peace and quiet. 

So Long, Dave "Dutch" Heckman

Courtesy Angie Heckman

"Just Round the Corner"

He forgot more things than most people ever learned. 

Emmy Award-winning cameraman, passionate photographer, author and a brilliant funny guy, Dave Heckman passed away last week in Mar Vista, California, aged 71. We met in a bar across the street from KTLA back in 1979, later living in the same apartment building. When Dave bought a home in Hollywood, I moved into a guest house above the garage. 

Around 1986, he decided he wanted a nickname. For the next year or so, Heckman would correct people calling him 'Dave,' insisting he be referred to as 'Dutch.' In time, Dutch succeeded in giving himself a nickname on his own terms.

As Kurt Vonnegut might have said, "And so it went."

Below awaits a Heckman sampler. It's hard to believe there will be no more of Dave's hilarious acerbic comments. But plenty old ones remain.

Undistilled Heckman

What better eulogist than the Dutchman himself?

2007 - 2009:  Products of a Diseased Mind blog

Distilled Heckman

Write Enough! blog posts either mentioning Dave or featuring his writings.

2006: Getting Around with a Leg Cast

2007: The Value of Nothing

 Excerpt from The Value of Nothing

2008: 27 Years Ago

Time and Mrs. Murphy

2012: The Riots Recalled

The Dutchman Recalls the Riots

2019: Stalinfest

The Dutch/D G Heckman Reviews

If you miss Dave's outrageous humor, look no further than his books.

2014 Appalling Yarns

2017 Dreadful Outcomes

My wife, Joy, sent me the passage below. When it comes to the memory of Dave "Dutch" Heckman, I will be guided by this soothing wisdom:

Coyotes on the Fairway

sharetheoutdoors.com

Three of them. Rain kept away all by the most fanatic golfers. Same for runners as I had the trails to myself. But glancing over toward theWilson-Harding golf course in the early afternoon, I spotted a trio of coyotes, all with their heads down, still as oil paintings. Splashing past, I figured they were waiting for rain water to force up some gophers. But there have been a lot of coyotes out and about lately. Perhaps LA DA George Gascon releases them per his cashless bale ways. Feral bastard; same for the coyotes.

Speaking of running, my California International Marathon arrives the first Sunday of December. My training has been erratic, but I'm standing strong on my 4:59 finish. This training cycle, my longest run will be 16 miles. Because I'm so darn slow, a run of 20 miles ala last year takes almost as much time as the marathon itself. The body takes a beating and needs more time to recover. And since the benefits of long slow distance wane around three to three and a half hours, I'm game to discover the benefits of running less. (Should they exist.)

This time last year I was aglow from Surfers Point.

Let's see what kind of glow awaits in Sacramento.