Eight Years Ago...

Hmmmmm

h/t: mojo4mojo

Booked Up

My friend Dutch and I met to outline our Dan Brown parody. We'll follow Da Vinci Code story elements, but the question remains: what are the shadowy organizations behind it all? So far we've auditioned PETA, the Kiwanis, the Knights of Columbus, and the National Hockey League. Nothing sticks just yet. But we're just warming up, swinging the bat around, getting a feel for the pine. This'll be good.

Physical Therapy Jam

Many people, few work-out stations. But I talked to my main guy and he said keeping building up the weaker muscles on my left side. I've been so down in the dumps - as well a heavy writing schedule - that I haven't been doing my "homework." Time to start again.

Meet tomorrow with my co-author on a book satirizing Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. We need to hammer out an outline and complain about the state of American letters and how we might hasten its decline while making a few bucks.

A Year Ago Today

I injured my knee on an eighteen-mile run and have yet to resume the activity with any consistency. Now I know it was only a matter of time before that knee folded. Nevertheless, it's been a long, frustrating 365 days with lingering soreness from the operation and gnawing doubts that I'll run again. But there's no direction but forward. Much writing, fleshing out on old story. When I finish this one, I'll double back and polish two shorter pieces, hopefully submitting them this week. Happy Labor Day. Whatever you do, don't celebrate by working...or rioting as it disrupts barbecues. h/t: Bolshevism

Scandanavian Jazz

This is a Swedish family performing Dixieland jazz 25 years-ago. Dig the nine-year-old girl on slide trombone.

h/t: erwigfilms

Master Advice

Cranking out a rewrite on a story I wrote five years ago. Close-but-no-prize on getting it published, but I'd send it out, wait, get a rejection, forget about it, send it out again, get another rejection then start on another story and abandon all efforts in favor of the new shiny thing. Now I'm committed to selling this sucker. (Or getting it published for free - number two on my list but it opens so many more markets.)

Actually, I'm not rewriting so much as laying in elements to add tension and underscore the theme of destructive self-absortion - something that has gotten me everything I lack today. Not bad as writing goes, but tricky since I don't want to scuttle the old stuff that still works.

From a neat 5k, I suspect the new version will top out in the novelette range of 7500 words. This reduces my shot at free, online placements, but does leave me well-situated for the prestigious, ill-paying, anthology route.

Every story needs so much space to be told. I've got four sub-3k pieces that should place easier than a mini-whale like my current assignment. But I like this mini-whale. I think all it lacked before was a theme, change in perspective, and a higher body count. I believe it was Dickens who once said, "Good Heavens, if a story doesn't sell kill a character with a wasting disease. Kill several and make them good ones. Then beat a begger with a cane. But not in print. Do it for real and your problems will evaporate while his will increase exponentially."

I may not do all of that, but its good to know what the masters thought.

For Paul Rugg

Though this guy never does "serious Jerry."

h/t: WGN

Occupational Hazard

Re-writes all day on a short-story, cutting out much, putting in more, and ending up with about the same word count. Sent out one story yesterday and the same story today to a different market.

But what is my job when compared to this:

Sunsets, Stories, and Randy Beaman's Pal at War

Smoke turned sunset into a fiery red ball, peeking out from behind a grayish wall of cloud/smoke. I was in Saigon a few years back, one of the pollution capitals of Asia. Sunset was similar - a huge ball of red, like an immense corporate logo, filling the sky. It seemed to take forever to set. Nothing like particulate matter to give the sky a little variety.

I remember setting some writing goals a few weeks back, but missed them all. Instead, I've opted for Ten-in-Six. I dug out ten short stories and have given myself six months to publish all. That includes rewriting, having them read, polish, lining up at least three markets to start, and firing them off. I wrote out a plan and it's really kept me jumping the last few days - which is what I need instead of focusing on the lousy fire. (Which will be with us at least two more weeks.)

Talked with Deanna Oliver on Sunday. Son Colin is now on patrol in Afghanistan in one-hundred and thirty degree heat. His unit works with the Afghan Army, who are particularly keen at spotting IED (improvised explosive device) booby traps. Thick dust is a problem for men and weapons, along with staying hydrated. Colin made sure to call his mom and say: "Don't believe anything you hear on the media." In general, a good idea. All the best to Colin and his pals and may they return home safe.

Third World Auto Club Video

Don't leave the first world without them.


h/t: Friend Ken

Fire Photos

My friend Julie up in La Canada snapped these over the last few days. Her home is intact, but the neighborhood is now under mandatory evacuation. Julie and her family are safe.

The fire has quadrupled, feeding on 50 years of brush. Cell phone and media towers atop Mt. Wilson will probably be lost, affecting area communications. (Apparantly police and fire comm towers are elsewhere.) Two firemen have died. The smoke this morning was fog-like. More as matters unfold.

Smoke plus Animalia Emmy

Whitish smokey haze everywhere as the wind shifts, pushing the fire down toward the foothill communities. Mt. Wilson and its many communication towers are threatened as the fire widens to the east and west. I heard from my former TNT coach who just moved out of town before the fire hit. Her old home is fine, but threatened as the flames are a half-mile away.

Local news here.

On a less combustible note, Animalia was a CGI show I worked on in 2006 - 07 with Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner, and Deanna Oliver. Now airing on PBS, the show's composer Chris Elves won an Emmy last night. Congratulations to Chris and his designated driver, who are probably just getting home now.

Fire Forces Home Evacuations

No word on my friend, but as of 7:00 PM Pacific, no homes had been lost yet in La Canada. Seven-hundred and fifty houses have been evacuated and shelters established at most of the surrounding area high schools. The fire is only 5% contained and spreading as reported here.

Fire Update

Checked on another La Canada friend. They have fire two doors down from their home. Luckily, a fire truck just arrived. Meanwhile, they're hosing down the roof and helping the neighbors do the same. Keep 'em in your prayers.

August Fire Photo

Had breakfast with my friend Ernesto at a coffee shop affording a good view of the mountains. Fire flared and helicopters stuttered back and forth, water dropping the blazing brush. Within sight of towering smoke clouds, life went on pretty much as usual while fire engines zoomed past, sirens wailing, heading off to work.

Evacuations have taken place in some neighborhoods. One of my old TNT coaches, Katie, lives up closer to the advancing fire. Hopefully, she and her family are doing Okay as temperatures locally remain in triple digits. (Photo shows fires burning above the Jet Propulsion Laboratories. Possibly they can computer model the heat before running.)

Meanwhile, I'm burning up the calculator, adding up a dozen years worth of home repairs to avoid capital gains tax. I'm glad we sold when we did.

Hot and Smokey

This refers to the air and not lunch, as I had a Chinese chicken salad with Troy over in Burbank. We discussed graphic novels, the state of TV animation - lousy - and the old National Lampoon, respository of some of the sharpest satire around (Onion notwithstanding). Then it was back out into the 100 degree, ash-filed air for some after-lunch coughing.

Remembrance of Checks Past

Twin fires burning in the Angeles National Forest gave this end of town an Icelandic look as smoke billowed over the mountains. I spent a hot afternoon in a storage facility, digging through twelve years of taxes, trying to find major repairs on our old house for us to deduct. (We always do taxes six months later. There's an important reason, but I can't recall)

In any case, it was fun and depressing to see how much money I once made. In 1999, I made a ton. In 2000, the year my contract lapsed at Warner Bros., I made another ton. In 2001, I made a half-ton, but had massive amounts saved. In '02 to '03, I was into ounces and burning through savings. Back in tonnage for '04 and early '05. From there through '06, a few pounds, growing a bit heavier in the first half of '07, then down to grams where it dwindles still. (Though my wife has worked consistently part-time for almost a year.)

An upside would be spending my mutual funds before the market crashed, thus getting full value. There were many things I enjoyed about our old home, but the constant siphoning off of cash wasn't one of them. (And the rats, rabbits, and deer. Bees have been discussed.)

Time to earn more dough, I think.

The Onion Tackles Performance-Enhancing Genies

Caught! And it's about time.

Baseball Superstar Accused of Performance-Enhancing Genie Use

KFC and Signs of the Apocalypse

I'm not sure, but this should qualify.

h/t: My only friend without a web presence, Ken.

Running News

Emil battles a 50k as he continues Running Fever '09.

Kiley and I are exchanging aqua running recipes. My turn this week to jack up the pool cardio. I see the doctor in three weeks. Hopefully, he'll cut me loose to run meagerly.

Tom and Annie Ruegger returned safely from the Emerald Isle. (That's Ireland, not a Vegas casino.) Back to vulturing for Tom.

The Face of Fear

Mandom

Tough guy Charles Bronson in a 1970 Japanese commercial for the above product. Guys, check eBay for a complete line of Mandom products. Girls, sit back and wait. (Or not. As noticed by a commenter, count the babes in this commercial. Hmmm.)

h/t: swempire via Ace of Spades

Bridal Barbecue

SGV Team in Training threw a bridal barbecue for team captain Rouman and his great-with-child wife. I paid my respects and visited with the old team. Apparently, the recession is effecting the winter season as TNT participants are choosing half-marathons over full. (Less money to raise.) Gordie dropped in, his health improving, cancer receding. He offered to run a sprint triathalon with me, once I could again run. That was sporting, as I won't be doing any of that competitively for awhile. In any case, I had a fun day, which I used as an excuse not to work on any of the stories awaiting my attention.

Wow!

This'll be different.

Happy Birthday HPL

"P.S. Shoot Dr. Allen on sight and dissolve his body in acid. Don't burn it."Such an oh-by-the-way appeared in "The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward" by H.P. Lovecraft. (The author, not the band.) Howard Phillips would be celebrating his 109th birthday today, the candles on his cake, no doubt, human fingers cut from the hand of a poet gone mad dreaming of great Cthulhu. For those unacquainted with his horror stories, "The Call of Cthulhu" might be a good starting - or ending - point. Lovecraft's bleak, hopeless cosmos fascinated me once. He certainly was an original. No lovestruck teenage vampires for this guy.
h/t: Moe Lane

A Rose of a Different Color

Boldly, Keeper brings to the stage the rare and difficult ragtime Fudd.

Run Down

One year ago I commenced training for the 2008 California International Marathon, a race run on a net downhill course (which usually translates into fast times) CIM was intended to be my ticket to Boston. Training lasted three weeks. Then my knee introduced other plans. Looking back in my training log, I see that Sunday, August 17 was hot and humid. I ran a very hilly 16.8 mile course with a 7x1 run/walk ratio and no run/walk for the last two miles. I finished up in 2:42:45 which is around 9:41 a mile - a bit fast for a long training run. My last two miles were 8:25 and 8:45. At physical therapy yesterday, my therapist offered to write up an evaluation of my progress before I go see the doctor again in mid-September. If all goes well, I might begin modest running in October. CIM is still on the list, but maybe for 2010 - bearing in mind that anything could happen during that time, even good things.

Thanks from Keeper

As expressed in a video where he poster models. Keeper (and takineko) received autographed Freakazoid posters from Paul Rugg, Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner, Deanna Oliver and myself (obtained whilst we were vulture recording). A token of appreciation for "keeping" alive the memory of animation past.

Hospice for Two

Two friends await the Reaper: Eileen in a nursing facility and Dale at home. Eileen turned 80 this year and has gone downhill fast, deep in dementia, rapidly nearing the end with orders not to revive. She was my landlady when I lived in a Glendale apartment many years ago, a real fireball with a great sense of humor. But at this point, I believe death will be a blessing.

Dale, who I've mentioned before, is a family man in his late 40s. Since January 2007, he's battled cancer and its complications. Doctors have finally announced his system can't handle any more "cure." Treatment has ceased and Dale's been sent home to wait for the end. I saw him yesterday and he's taking this a lot better than I would. There's anger at the unfairness, but he seems to be accepting the impending arrival of the big sleep. I remember times when Dale would bitch and complain about his job and the customers and the economy. (He was a salesman.) Now he's revealing a courage and grace I admire and hope to one day emulate - though not too soon.

May God welcome them both.

Congrats to 50K Finishers

A fine cool day with a heavy marine layer that muffles the street noise so that I can barely hear horns honking and the deafening thump of over-bassed auto music.

Congratulations to the indomitable Coach Kiley for completing a 50K run last week. That's around 31 miles, undulating across San Gabriel Mountain trails. Also congrats to Jimmy and Kate Freeman for finishing the same race only faster. More importantly, they've completed a year of marriage which is the longest ultramarathon anyone will ever attempt.

First Natural Rave

Another milestone from two generations ago involves the first natural rave. Held at a farm in upstate New York, the event featured dancing but no laser light or glow sticks. The music was a hash, lacking any techno or house bands. Typical of the groups present were The Who and Jefferson Airplane, none of whom could deliver the punch and rhythmic base lines of Infected Mushrooms or Nightcore. Nevertheless, the Rave used rain and mud to play up the "naturalness" and compensate for the lack of a decent fog machine.

What was the name of this inaugural bash?

Right you are: No-Frigging-Glow-Stick-Rave.

Man of Steal

Another victory in the fight over who owns what portion of Superman's life. I believe the original creators sold him to D.C. Comics for fifteen dollars and some soup. For many years now, Warners, D.C. and the family of co-creator Jerry Siegel have tussled over sundry legal aspects. I would guess we haven't seen the end.

Famous London Photo Explained

Forty years ago this month, the first non-solid, pedestrian crosswalk appeared in London. As you can see, there are white, unconnected bars for people to cross the street on instead of a solid rectangle as was customary at the time. This was originally proposed by the London City Council as a paint-saving measure, but met tremendous opposition from safety advocates. They argued that pedestrians who stepped off a white bar onto an exposed section of street would then be jaywalking and subject to fine, or else risk being struck by a vehicle as they were no longer "safe."

Calmer minds prevailed and the non-connecting bars were painted on a single road. In swinging 1969 London, they soon became a hit and were copied by street maintenance departments worldwide.

That road is now famous. Can you guess its name?

Correct. White Bar Road.

Area 51 Marathon

Out in the Nevada desert somewhere near cryptic Area 51 sits the start-line for a midnight marathon, pitting runners against the dark, flying saucers and black helicopters. Running machine Emil gave it a go and returned unprobed with this race report.

Shadow Over Santa Susana

...is the name of a new book on the Manson family. MDW and I visited a trendy LA art gallery yesterday to hear the author speak.
Part of the attraction involved a high-school author chum of MDW's who wrote the forward to 'Shadow' and was present to read it to the assembled crowd. (Mike is seen here wearing a bull shirt.) As for the book, it sprinkles the CIA's MK ULTRA mind-control experiments using LSD atop the 1960s sex-and-drug drenched LA celebrity scene with a healthy garnish of Charles Manson. Quite the mix, but it sounds like fun reading. (Author Adam Gorightly pictured here, awash in note cards.)

Events on August 9th

Forty years ago tomorrow tonight, Chuck Manson's kids killed Sharon Tate and six others up in Bel Air. Earlier that evening, Tate dined at El Coyote on Beverly Blvd. - still there - before returning home to a grisly fate.

In 1945, the plutonium bomb code-named "Fat Man" exploded over Nagasaki, killing 39,000 Japanese outright.

My friend Ken's birthday is tomorrow. He is five months older than me and I always count on his reports on how a year is playing out. I'll join him age-wise in December.

UPDATE: Almost forgot, in 1974 President Nixon resigned.

'Lessen You're a Hog or a Cattle'

So long, John Hughes. My wife and I still watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles around Thanksgiving. (A friend used to work for John Candy and recalled he kept the trunk in his office.) Rest well and remember...we'll always have Stubbsville.


h/t: snowmoch

Something Scary This Way Comes

Here is a show for children. If you are on hallucinogens, it will appear normal.

h/t: Viral Footage

This Isn't Nice...

...but I'm posting it nonetheless. Here are 40 time-wasting websites. I barely got through the first nine without clicking on something.

h/t: PC World via American Digest

Tribute

Peter Hastings crafted a moving film in memory of his late wife, Rosina.

From the East

Takineko ponders the power of Japan's newest thing: Tarako.

Vultures and Therapy

On the vulture front, Tom has assembled vocal tracks and continues with the artwork. Perhaps something early in 2010.

At physical therapy today, the therapist emphasized the importance of strengthening the pelvis - hips and glutes - for future running. For years, conventional wisdom promoted a strong core and stretched legs. Pelvic exercises were only mentioned in relation to Hula Hoops or Paris Hilton. So for the next two weeks, I'll do physical therapy homework until the therapist returns from vacation. Then more evaluating. But progress is being made.

Hear Hear

High drama at the neighbor's place this morning. The young daughter screamed and wailed for mother, far beyond normal screaming and wailing. As it turned out, the mother had dashed off to the store. The father explained that mom had gone to "the market." The daughter misheard and thought mom had gone to "Mars." Fortunately, Mars sells groceries as mom returned with several bags and all was well.

Lebowski Note and Freakalink

The bowling alley in "Lebowski" was located in Hollywood. My friend was there for a farewell party in 2003 (?) just before they tore it down. He said the bartender was getting pissed at hearing, "Another Caucasian, Gary."

H/T to MetaFilter and their link-rich article on Freakazoid.

Why?

This appeared today about a guy making a documentary about Big Lebowski festivals. Somehow this 1998 Coen brothers film, that barely recouped its budget, became a huge cult hit.

I didn't like it the first time around. After Fargo the movie seemed disjointed and gratuitously odd. (Which I'm not against in general, but my expectations were high and "Lebowski" left me puzzled.) A few years ago, they ran the movie a lot on cable. Every time I surfed, there would be "Lebowski." I'd watch a little and move on. Next time I'd watch a bit more. Finally, I'd drop anchor and see it through. Then I read an article that "Lebowski" was the Coen's homage to 40s noirish detective films. Sure enough, behind the bowling pins lurked a lot of Chandleresque characters and conventions from the Sheriff of Malibu, to the crippled soldier, to deceptive females. Instead of a hard-bitten protagonist seeking justice in an unjust world, there was Dude, a lazy bum with a passion for bowling and White Russians who finally figures it all out.

Now I'm a fan, but content to be alone in my fandom, not seeking out my kind, but, like the Dude, I simply abide.

h/t: FaffandNatter

Thanks for Your Heart

I just had a meeting like this, only no coffee.

Plus Mr. DeNiro gets testy.

h/t: decay1966

The Emperor's New Phone

I'm getting one.

h/t: Mary McCann

Troy Benjamin's Graphic Novel

Congratulations to Troy Benjamin - Freakazoid DVD director extraordinaire. His graphic novel series Only in Dreams has been optioned by Fineprint Productions. Troy was also featured on a podcast, opines on the late Michael Jackson, and is scoring a new opera to be sung by members of the Department of Fish and Game. More here on Troy's busy creative doings.

Hip News

My physical therapist is a young guy who digs sprint triathlons - 800 yard swim, 12 mile bike ride, 3.1 mile run. Examining my knee, he said we must locate the weakness that led to excessive stress. A few more exams and the culprit was unmasked: weak glutes and hips. In addition, my calves are stiff as an oak table. So I received six exercises to perform daily. I'll go back next week and, if the indicated parts have strengthened, obtain even more exercises. I like this guy. He understand the whole exercise/goal-setting paradigm. Hopefully, he's not a vision.