Cancer Claims Dale Woodson

Dale passed away two days ago. For almost three years I've chronicled his fight with cancer: here, here, here, and here. Seeing him every week, I watched the light in his eyes gradually diminish until finally, last Sunday, he was alive but no longer fully present. His struggle ended, but his family's burden remains as they wrestle with grief and the mundane tasks of dismantling a life's residue. Keep them in your prayers.

These last two weeks have been pretty sad.

But not as sad as the fear of Chuck Woolery.

Or the fate of a hapless burglar:

Little Boy Heroically Shoots, Mutilates Burglar

Just Like Family

Attended the service for Ashley's brother, Jamen. Sat near TNTers Van, Virginia and Kiley. TNT truly is like family: I only see them at weddings and funerals.

Walked one mile this morning around an all-weather track at a local high school. My friend Bernardette lives nearby and runs her morning workout there. So she joined me as we side-stepped the marching band, rehearsing under the directorship of a peevish man with a bullhorn. From what I could understand, they were given blue dots to mark their places. ("Everyone get on their dots. Aaron, I said get on your dot. Now. Run. Okay. I can be a lot harder, if that's what you want.")

I may pick up a few bucks writing for a website under a nom de plume - French for phony name. I'll know more today. I seem to be repeating my past: before animation, I was associate editor on a magazine and wrote many little articles. Maybe next month, I'll be a freshman in college.

Vid Shows Man vs Wild Fake

A sham survival show! But...but...how?

Glad

Glad to be around, glad to be here, glad all over, glad trash bags with drawstring tops, glad.

Free form good feelings for no particular reason.

Fallen Eagle

I didn't know Jamen. He was a young guy, former soccer player at Boston College and the brother of Team in Training teammate Ashley. Jamen died from lymphoma this Wednesday after a two-year battle. If it was possible for a sister to save a brother through sheer energy and devotion, than Jamen would still be around. After Ashley learned Jamen had lymphoma, she signed up to run the San Diego Marathon. Ashley raised enough money to finish third nationally, topping thousands of other fundraisers. (And ran a pretty good first marathon.) She returned for a second TNT season as a mentor. Jamen's initial treatment was successful and the disease went into remission, but it doubled back and finally got him. A great loss for the family. If nothing else, send along your best wishes and prayers.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to cancer research.

Big Old Finish

Finished the first draft of my no-longer-short story - it is now almost 60 pages of horror-suspense novella, over 12k words. (Pay by the word, do they?)

Had lunch with Dutch yesterday. His TV camera work has been slowing down to nothing, similar to my animation writing. (Which I now consider a hobby.) We're like leaves drifting to the bottom of the forest, en route to becoming mulch.

But we're both writing along with no one telling us what to put down or how. If not financially satisfying, it's liberating.

Beautiful fall day today. Blue skies, bit of haze, great diffused lighting. "Eatable light," I say. It's that good.

Soul Long

My good friend Eileen passed away on Monday. I visited last week, but she was fast asleep, body winding down. I believe this was a blessing.

Tiny Men Arise!

One has come from Nepal to claim the title of World's Smallest Man. Who will stand up to him?

h/t: Daley Gator

Oscar the Likable Ogre

Good friend Dutch has a story up at Ex Cathedra: The Second Doctrine about a small town's acceptance of an ogre who only eats unlikeable children. (Starts on p.61.)

No Snark Intended

Just a subtle reminder.

h/t: Tom Ruegger.

So Long, Physical Therapy

This was my last day at therapy. Since July, I'd gotten to know the assistants: two of the girls enjoyed Vegas, the office gal was a former dancer, while the main therapist was a triathlete who competed regularly. He said my future lies in weight loss and reverse lunges. (Building up quads and glutes for future running.) Starting next week, I'll walk a mile 3x a week, going by feel. Perhaps in January, I'll venture running a mile or so. Meanwhile, one of my short stories passed the first hurdle for a humor magazine. They're debating whether to include it in their upcoming December issue. That would be one down and nine to go on my sell-10-short stories-in-six-months plan. More info t/k when they say 'yes.'

Fast Mad Men

Here's a popular cable series for those short on time.

h/t: Landline TV

Chicago Marathon 2009

In 2007, the temperature was sultry. This year's Chicago Marathon saw the thermometer dip below 36 degrees with a stiff wind. Nevertheless, Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru set the course record at 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 41 seconds. Nothing slows these guys down. A fast Russian chick won the women's marathon, with American Deena Kastor, back from a broken foot, finishing sixth.

I hope they all had fine Italian beef sandwiches and deep dish pizza.

Go Rogers Park

My Rogers Park chums of forty-plus years are having a reunion today, celebrating everyone who is still around. Life no longer seems like a sure thing and I wish them the best.

Meanwhile, today at breakfast the waiter offered me a meal reserved only for seniors. I accepted, even though I'm a few years shy of the cut-off. As a teenager, I lied about my age to buy beer. Now I'm tacitly lying to get a cheaper breakfast. Maybe I should stop lying about my age? Alas, these cunning restaurants lay out senior menus that are nothing less than moral hazards. Born to be wild!

Double Down

Rewrite has expanded the story size. Once it was 25 pages, now it's 50, a shade over 10K words. But all is well as I try to finish by Sunday.

I'm getting carried away by this "pay-by-the-word" thing. Maybe it should be by the pound.

For Your Safety

Heed all warning signs.

What I Learned at the Dentist Office

1. My dentist knows all the songs on his office muzak and hums along.
2. His assistant just moved and doesn't have enough space to give the two boys their own rooms.
3. Female office staff refer to the building's basement as the "dungeon."
4. There is a leaking water pipe in the dungeon that is effecting phone service. Only a single line is operative.
5. The woman who handles billing loves animals and recently went to Las Vegas in order to see white tigers, lions, and a bird sanctuary that features rare species and video poker. (Just kidding about the rare species.)
6. The son of my dental hygienist has been offered a management position at Dreamworks Animation. (I asked her to guilt trip him into giving me work. Mom's are good at stuff like that.)
7. I'm really glad the government isn't in charge of my dental work.

Big Darn Rewrite

A new market opened, looking for material. I had a short-story that would be great, but it needed rewriting. Actually, not so much rewriting as additional stuff. So far, I've added 2,000 words of additional stuff turning a short story into a novelette. (Since this market pays by the word, that can't be all bad.) I'll probably spend next week polishing, then out it goes. Then another, then another. Writing, incidentally, is a great way to gain weight, giving new meaning to the phrase "pounding the keys."

Cover Up

What else has been hidden?

h/t: tikanda

How Many Do You Recall?

You Tube's 100 Top Viral Videos in 4 Minutes

h/t: Hadouken! via Hot Air

Important PSA

h/t: Moe Lane

Happy B-Day, Keeper!

A search engine, an email, some form of web crawler has informed me that it is Keeper's birthday today. Let the rag time ring out (as much as rag time can ring) to the man who plays upbeat piano and isn't afraid to sing like Elmer Fudd.

Torrid Riverside and a Lost YouTube Opportunity

Is Riverside County really that warm? I'll find out as we are scheduled to visit my cousin out that way this afternoon. With triple digit temperatures around home, they must be four or five digits out in the desert. In any case, I'm going. So that's settled.

I was hoping to post a fight video from last night, but the parties involved never got past the yelling stage. A guy cautioned a driver speeding down the street to slow up as there were kids playing. The driver didn't like being lectured. Harsh, non kid-friendly words were exchanged. But by the time I got my camera, the driver blinked first and drove off. Just as well. Still, I had excellent position for a great down angle shot.

There's plenty of high-drama in the neighborhood. Something active will occur soon.

Magazine Mania

Various magazines have been arriving lately: sample copies of publications I'd like to place a story in. What a wonderful excuse not to spend so much time online. Unfortunately, I'm still online. So are you. Well.

Dr. Lee Plays It Safe

Dr. Lee said no matter what I did, he wouldn't recommend running or walking for exercise anymore. This was his official, legal response. Then he acknowledged that someone in my condition might, in a month or so, cautiously begin testing his knee on a soft surface such as a local all-weather track. Things to Do: A. Lose weight - maybe 20 pounds. B. Strengthen left glute and quad - weakness there contributed to the injury. C. Learn to race walk/run with my foot landing under center - no more overstriding. D. Once I begin, limit myself to three run/walks a week with cross-training in-between. Dr. Lee and I parted with the understanding that I'd be guided by my body and would back-off or retire should there be any persistent pain. A murky athletic future, to be sure. But if I do all the above and still have knee pain, I can release running secure in the knowledge I did my best. God bless marathon running. It arrived in my life at a time when I needed something. If it is departing now, I wish it well and hope the marathon lands with favor on someone new looking for a good test. Or sore feet. They'll get both.

Best of the Worst

Yes, he sells books by the long ton, but can Dan Brown write? Dutch tells me a British newspaper has weighed in.

Ancient Improv via Bob and Ray

Bob and Ray - working without a net.

h/t: MYCOMICRELIEF

Tough All Over

Report: Growing Ranks Of Nouveau Poor Facing Discrimination From Old Poor

Outline

Working on the Da Vinci Code satire; more accurately, the outline for the satire. Tedious work. I've gotta put my head down and finish a draft so my partner and I can work out the story. I want to hurry up, since Dan Brown's latest book is hot. But if you get the foundation wrong, the building collapses. Then your stuck in rubble trying to finish an outline.

Gym Dandy

Ran into my friend Ernesto at the gym today. We worked out on the ellipticals and talked History Channel for 40 minutes. I was telling him my big meeting with the doctor is next week. (My guy at the physical therapy clinic said he'd write me up a good progress report.) I'm thinking of telling the doc I don't want to run yet. Maybe just walk 3 miles, three times a week for a month and see how that goes. That'll help convince him I'm not gonna bust out my knee sprinting. I couldn't anyway. I'm the heaviest I've been in four years. I can barely sprint to the door for a Dominos pizza. But I got a haircut, so that helped. Plus I still have hair to cut, so that's encouraging. Good things everywhere.

Anamalia Emmy Celebration

Producers, actors and writers at Tom Ruegger's soiree for Chris Elves, Aussie Emmy winner for music composition on Anamalia. Based on an illustrated book by Graeme Base, this CGI series aired internationally from 2007 - 08 on BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Network, Network 10 in Australia, as well as Nickelodeon and Discovery Kids.

That's me kneeling in the foreground, flanked by Tom Ruegger and Deanna Oliver. Chris is behind us in black. He's the guy smiling and holding the gold statue. Standing to the left of Chris is anime voice over ace Kate Higgins who played Allegra the Alligator. Everyone got home safely.

Write Away

Busy working on outlines and short stories. The advantage of satirizing a popular book is that you don't have to worry about setting up things. Just fire away, though right now my partner is doing most of the firing.

I'm watching 300 on TNT and feel like working on my abs.

Dirty Old Thoughts on Writing

Bukowski may well have written this way. For all his boozing, the man was a word machine and really cranked it out. He never even kept copies of his early poems, just sending out the originals back when submissions were via snail mail. I've written stream-of-consciousness and I've written drunk. And I've written in large houses and small apartments with lots of money and none. I don't know how he did it without rewrites, though I suspect there may've been a few.

h/t: opchidexo
Nevertheless, as a challenge, I sat down yesterday and cranked out a story of 1492 words - about six pages - exploring facades and the importance of respecting them when you have little else. I let the words pour out, typing as fast as I could, with no side trips to the Web. I did read it over and rewrite small sections, mostly trimming unnecessary words. Then I sent it out to an anthology. The whole process took about five hours.

I haven't read it over today and I'm not going to. Let's see how this one sails. Alas, I learned how much I can get done if I don't procrastinate. And I'll explore that lesson some day.

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.