Remembering September 11, 2001

K called from Florida, "Planes crashed into the World Trade Center and one of the towers just fell." Unemployed in Los Angeles and half asleep at 7:30 AM, I shuffled downstairs to the TV, past Joy as she prepared for work. At first, all I saw was a dirty cloud obscuring southern Manhattan. Then a stunned announcer said the second tower had just collapsed. Joy joined me, work forgotten as we learned of the attack.

Other friends phoned throughout the day. Paul Rugg speculated about the pilots of the doomed aircraft, certain they weren't Americans forced to crash. TJ, a Vietnam vet, was incensed at the footage of jubilant Palestinians with their candy and AK-47s. He wished he could gift them with a nice buttering of napalm. In a grim mood, I agreed.

Watching TV and power-chewing Nicorette, I mostly felt numb — except when the subject was jumpers. Then I felt horror. Go to work, sip coffee, joke with your pals, then decide whether you'll suffocate, burn alive, or leap a quarter mile to certain death. Questions of etiquette arise: jump solo or hold hands with a co-worker? Perhaps several of you link arms and form a chain, finding courage in numbers. Or do you clutch a table cloth and step into the air, desperately hoping it slows your fall?



The journey takes ten seconds.


Air velocity rips away your shoes.


You explode on impact.


I will always be haunted by the jumpers of 9/11.


Oceans of paper were blasted from the towers, filling the New York sky like the Devil's ticker tape. Invoices and wedding invitations floated down to gray sidewalks.

My friend Cathy, who worked in D.C., reported chaos as the government sent everyone home at once following the Pentagon attack. One jammed intersection turned scary as a man leaped out of an SUV brandishing a pistol and attempting to direct traffic.

Being murdered is not a heroic act, though it can be. Flight 93 passengers fought back and died, saving many more in their sacrifice. North Tower Port Authority employees rescued over 70 people before perishing.


There were many heroes that day.

My sister Mary Pat and I had dinner at a coffee shop. She was passing through town, leaving a job in Mountain View, CA to return to Phoenix. Depressed by the day's events, our meal was not jolly.

Later, Joy tried to give blood, but the hospital was overwhelmed with donations and refused.

Vulnerability, grief, dismay, anger.

Such a beautiful morning with a sky so blue.

(Photos from: Little Green Footballs.)

Repost: Sept. 11, 2008

Update: Strange to reread this. TJ died in 2009 and K passed away just over a year ago. My wife, Joy, and I are doing well, as is Paul Rugg who now rides the train. 

Ink and Alchemy Page Promotes Artists

Emilia Elfe

Who couldn't use a little promo?

On Facebook, the goal of artist Robin Kalinich's Ink and Alchemy is to "encourage, inspire, and transform via networking and social media. I support and promote the work of artists from all over the globe because I believe that a rising tide floats all boats."

And while Ink and Alchemy aims at fine art, More Ink caters to poets and writers of most things written.

When the next rejection notice arrives, go relax among your peers in a place where your efforts are appreciated. You deserve it, artist!

Gothic Wallpaper

wall.alphacoders.com

As I'm writing a horror novel, a suitably dark and macabre image seemed fitting this morning.

Star Trek Reacts to Miley Cyrus

Friend Ken alerted me to the fate of the crew of the Federation starship Enterprise upon viewing the feral gyrations of Miley Cyrus at the MTV Music Awards.


h/t: Aries Head Films 

eBook Novel Writing Update

Novel Writer at Work

Chocked full of metrics, this update celebrated the completion of draft one. At that time I was still aiming for a publication date of August 31.

Then on August 14, I guest posed over at Rachael Rippon's Caravan Girl. There I stated:

"As I prepared to start the second draft, I realized that I wouldn’t meet my initial deadline of August 31. I need time to finish the second draft and let the beta readers do their job while I focus on publishing and marketing. However, I’m certain I’ll upload by September 15. And the organization and metrics I’ve gathered will help me shape the time and focus on what’s important."

September 15 will come and go without seeing my eBook uploaded. Please close your wallets and stow the credit cards. Right now, I'm thinking October 15. But mostly I'm thinking of why I've never completed a novel up to this point: it's a lot of hard work. From a forty page long short story, I've expanded this particular tale to around a 200 page short novel. Characters cry out for more attention, back story, dialogue. Scenes rushed through to reach other scenes must be given their moments. It's easier to nap, read history books, or watch The First 48 than it is for me to craft a novel.

Not that I don't have fun writing. I've been doing it professionally for many years. But there are moments of doubt and hating my own work that lead me to tossing the whole thing into the Tartarus of slain books and starting again on something new. (Oh, the crafty witch called "something new.")

Today I'm on Chapter Five of the second draft and in motion. A third draft may be necessary to make the piece presentable to my beta buddies.

But I'm determined to complete this horror story and see it up on Amazon in time for Halloween.  

Image: Independent Voters of America

Lovecraft, Madness, and Lost Notes

en.wikipedia.org

My cousin James spotted a fascinating Slate article on recently discovered handwritten notes from H.P. Apparently Howard Phillips Lovecraft was living on the edge and used the back of an envelope to catalog thoughts for his 1936 novella, "At The Mountains of Madness."

See the scribbled musings of the master over at Slate's The Vault.

Writing Techniques of Famous Writers

How Hunter S. Thompson crafted his colorful prose is absent.

Interesting to discover how successful writers rolled out the words. Some literally banged them out on a typewriter, while others wrote long-hand. Still others stood or sat or wrote in chaos or skipped lunches with other famous people while they worked.

Here's a quote from Hemingway I liked:

"You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again."

I've also found it helpful to leave a little in the tank. My problem is leaving too much in the tank and veering off to other projects. Then I can't find my juice, though it's usually in a large sippie cup.

Read the rest of Maria Popova's article over at brain pickings. 

Image: junglemagazine.com

Rare Peter Hastings, Norm Abram, Freakazoid Photo

From right to left: Peter Hastings, Norm Abram,  Paul Rugg.
Above: John P. McCann (JP Mac) and Jean MacCurdy.

Peter Hastings, Norm Abram and Freakazoid walked into a restaurant . . . and that was it. They had no reservations and were asked to leave, later attending a play on the history of whistling.   

Back in 1996, when a free 90 hours of AOL came with everything you bought, the five of us had dinner at the Huntington Hartford in Pasadena. 

Norm, Paul and Peter were into carpentry. Norm is a master craftsman. But you should know that Paul Rugg and Peter Hastings are immensely practical men, capable of handling the lion's share of household tasks. Should the world again face extinction by water, Paul and Peter could construct very serviceable arks. I would try and avoid drowning by complaining to God about all the people who are worse than me. And Jean would be flying Virgin Atlantic, First Class.

From that dinner, as  Freakazoid! fans might know, came the wonder of Normadeus.

Originally posted as Wood You Look at That?

 (Props to Peter Hastings for locating this snapshot in his voluminous photo archives.)

Rita and Runt Remembered

In collaboration with Max Demski (aka King Yakko), Keeper1st has crafted a player-piano arrangement of "Let's Try for Two" from an Animaniacs' Season One episode entitled,  Phranken-Runt.

Directed by Mike Gerard, the story follows Rita (voiced by Bernadette Peters) and Runt (Frank Welker) as they seek shelter from a storm in the castle of a mad lady scientist (Adrienne Alexander) who is in desperate need of a dog brain.

 

Animaniacs "Phranken-Runt" Recollections

 In addition to the lyrics, this is one of the few episodes where I wrote music. "Rocky Horror" was clearly a musical influence, but that was the extent of it. We weren't trying to slip anything past the censors. Compared to later censors, ours were generally so indulgent that duping them would've reflected badly on us.

I used a cheap little keyboard I had in my office at Warners. Richard Stone accepted my barbaric scratch track and worked his noteworthy magic.

I crafted a couple of Rita and Runt episodes but never met Bernadette Peters. Andrea Romano would always record her over the phone or via balloon or some such old school thing. But I surely enjoyed her singing.

Tom Ruegger came up with the idea of having the rat, Mr. Squeak, constantly slipping on an over waxed floor.

UPDATE: Another influence was Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

UPDATE: On Facebook Ron O'Dell wrote: "Max made the arrangement. I just arranged to get it to play on a real instrument, recorded it and made the video."

Here is the episode, courtesy of BloodyWellDone.

Seven Pitch Meeting Taboos

Executives at Nickelodeon after Higgins Benzine and I pitched Sea Dentist.

If you're in the aTV animation field, or aspire to be, than pitching original series ideas is a bread-and-butter task. Abundant resources are available to tell you how to nail it. But few take the time to guide you around the rocks and shoals of artless questions often asked in haste and regretted in leisure. Here are a few no-nos culled from novices and veterans alike.

(Originally posted Dec, 2011, I again present my thoughts on seven key sentences that can lead to an EBT card.)

1. Why doesn't this studio ever buy anything I bring in here?
In the animation world, ask and you shall not receive.

2. How many dim bulbs get to make notes on the scripts?
This query ensures you won't remain around long enough to count them.

3. My agent says you have fecal incontinence.
Possibly so, but a seasoned animation veteran leaves medical issues for a more relaxed time.

4. Pilots are for timid losers. People with nuts go directly to 65 half hours.
Brashness can lead to ample free time.

5. I worked hard on this pitch and all you do is smile and nod like a dog hanging out a car window.
Pithy observations are best shared with peers and not animation executives.

6. Hey, this office has a killer view. I can see the car I'm living in!
Sadly, economic prejudice is alive and well in Hollywood.

7. When I worked here before, I would lock my office door and inflate a plastic woman.
This sort of provocative anecdote demands a strong response such as 'be silent and go away now.'

Image:  corcodilos.com

5. I worked hard on this pitch and all you do is smile and nod like a dog hanging out a car window.
Pithy observations are best shared with peers and not animation executives. - See more at: http://writeenough.blogspot.com/2011/12/seven-things-not-to-say-in-pitch.html#sthash.lfofHHzI.dpuf

5. I worked hard on this pitch and all you do is smile and nod like a dog hanging out a car window.
Pithy observations are best shared with peers and not animation executives. - See more at: http://writeenough.blogspot.com/2011/12/seven-things-not-to-say-in-pitch.html#sthash.lfofHHzI.dpuf

5. I worked hard on this pitch and all you do is smile and nod like a dog hanging out a car window.
Pithy observations are best shared with peers and not animation executives. - See more at: http://writeenough.blogspot.com/2011/12/seven-things-not-to-say-in-pitch.html#sthash.lfofHHzI.dpuf

io9 and James Rollins Teach Scifi Exposition Tips

"Here's where you'll live, kids. You did bring a lifetime supply of water? Yes?
Gabby, gabby, talk-talk all trip and now you've nothing to say."

 A problem I'm facing now is how to tease out information without using the dreaded exposition avalanche. Sci-Fi author James Rollins lists a few tips, plus many techniques and tools to smarten up your science fiction—or, in my case, horror—tale so that it shines like the accretion of hydrogen on the surface of a white dwarf star igniting into nova.

On the topic of clunky exposition, Rollins writes:

"The bane to all fiction, no matter the genre, is called “info-dumping.” Whether it’s trying to fill in a character’s backstory or explaining the science behind quantum physics, never stop your story to lecture or teach. So how do you get that necessary information into the book without bringing your story to a grinding halt?

 By remembering the adage: story = conflict. Information should be revealed to the readers through a variety of techniques: shared through an argument between characters, or perhaps teased out within the scope of an action scene, or left unresolved as a tool of suspense. Use that spoonful of sugar to help that medicine go down. And it works. After I wrote my novel Black Order, I received a flurry of emails stating “I never understood quantum mechanics until I read those three pages in your book.'"

Read more over at io9.

Image: mst3