They rose to the occasion! On to the final ...
How to tell a story
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
Eugene fire
Civic Stadium burning as I write. In grad school, saw many AAA baseball games there, Phillies minor Ems team with Schmidt and Boone before going to majors, tons of good fun memories, including a dime beer inning in which 10 runs were scored! A very inebriated stadium.
Wow
Bernie Sanders Predicts He'll Win White House: http://crooksandliars.com/2015/06/bernie-sanders-predicts-hell-win-white
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Yep
Pope Francis I Calls Attention to Climate Change as Moral Issue of Our Time: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/G9EXb4rX4IU/
Yep
Scientists Detect Mysterious Warming in U.S. Coastal Waters: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/~3/iMMX1y4vy9k/
Saturday, June 27, 2015
2 Kindle moments: back in the saddle
Watching WC on one, writing here on second.
Great, exciting brooding on new "novel," quotes because it won't read like a traditional narrative. Happens in the landscape of the mind, where time and space are awash.
Three major characters: CJ, Author, Reader. Two major plot lines ... the "story" and the "process" of writing the story. Move in time from death of Socrates to Custer's Last Stand to the present, where Danny White Bird has taken hostages at the Whitman Mission and is in a standoff with the FBI. CJ becomes his negotiator.
Two huge themes: does history matter? does literature matter?
Layered, surrealistic, dialectical. Candy for the mind. Sadness for the heart.
O Socrates! O Sitting Bull!
But! ... do I still have the chops to pull this off????
Great, exciting brooding on new "novel," quotes because it won't read like a traditional narrative. Happens in the landscape of the mind, where time and space are awash.
Three major characters: CJ, Author, Reader. Two major plot lines ... the "story" and the "process" of writing the story. Move in time from death of Socrates to Custer's Last Stand to the present, where Danny White Bird has taken hostages at the Whitman Mission and is in a standoff with the FBI. CJ becomes his negotiator.
Two huge themes: does history matter? does literature matter?
Layered, surrealistic, dialectical. Candy for the mind. Sadness for the heart.
O Socrates! O Sitting Bull!
But! ... do I still have the chops to pull this off????
posted from Bloggeroid
Friday morning
Another gorgeous morning on the deck, a little writing done, iced coffee at hand, feeling like I'm on vacation.
Making great progress on Minor Swing, our first Django song. Wonderful series of sixth chords! I never would have figured that out myself. And I have some different shapes, voicings, to give the run my own feel. I'll record this here eventually. Very exciting to make progress so soon. Of course, I've done a lot of foundation work learning all the chord families. Makes me a quick learner now. The only ukulele in the class!
Have this silly idea to put political protest lyrics to these wonderful Django tunes, play them in Pioneer Square during lunch hour. Probably an idea that will end up in the novel ha ha.
Two great WC games today, starting at 1. If I do yard chores, should do them now before it gets over 90. But I may not. Not very energetic, and satisfied with the day's work after a good writing session. The dialectic part of the novel will be tricky but if it works, it will blow your mind! I am even thinking of putting some time travel into the mix ... get CJ on the fields of the Little Big Horn, escorted by Sitting Bull, of course. This may turn into a pretty surrealistic piece.
At least it is not a traditional narration that would bore me ha ha.
I've written too damn much for my own good. About most forms of writing, I feel, Been there, done that.
Birds are feeding up a storm this morning. Nice to watch.
Last night, a kind of celebration of a new "stability," relatively speaking, and of our tax return, we had an incredible meal at what may be the best Italian restaurant in town ... and H had a groupon, so we got $30 off the tab ... just first rate, everything, including the best spamonie I ever had in my life to cap the evening. My cioppino was a tad too spicy but this the only small qualification. We don't go there often because it is so spendy but it sure is first rate.
I feel like I'm on vacation!
Can the US beat China today? Will be tough, I think, and losing will not surprise me. I am not impressed and two of their best players have to sit from double yellow cards. And it gets worse ... if they win, they play the winner of France-Germany. A very hard haul for the US team. On the other side, Canada has an easier journey, and I'm rooting for the home team as well.
The Mariners. Yet again. Disappointment.
Need to get H up so she can get ready for a lunch date.
I think banking and ukulele practice sounds more inviting this morning than yard work ha ha. It's dry, not growing, it can wait.
Making great progress on Minor Swing, our first Django song. Wonderful series of sixth chords! I never would have figured that out myself. And I have some different shapes, voicings, to give the run my own feel. I'll record this here eventually. Very exciting to make progress so soon. Of course, I've done a lot of foundation work learning all the chord families. Makes me a quick learner now. The only ukulele in the class!
Have this silly idea to put political protest lyrics to these wonderful Django tunes, play them in Pioneer Square during lunch hour. Probably an idea that will end up in the novel ha ha.
Two great WC games today, starting at 1. If I do yard chores, should do them now before it gets over 90. But I may not. Not very energetic, and satisfied with the day's work after a good writing session. The dialectic part of the novel will be tricky but if it works, it will blow your mind! I am even thinking of putting some time travel into the mix ... get CJ on the fields of the Little Big Horn, escorted by Sitting Bull, of course. This may turn into a pretty surrealistic piece.
At least it is not a traditional narration that would bore me ha ha.
I've written too damn much for my own good. About most forms of writing, I feel, Been there, done that.
Birds are feeding up a storm this morning. Nice to watch.
Last night, a kind of celebration of a new "stability," relatively speaking, and of our tax return, we had an incredible meal at what may be the best Italian restaurant in town ... and H had a groupon, so we got $30 off the tab ... just first rate, everything, including the best spamonie I ever had in my life to cap the evening. My cioppino was a tad too spicy but this the only small qualification. We don't go there often because it is so spendy but it sure is first rate.
I feel like I'm on vacation!
Can the US beat China today? Will be tough, I think, and losing will not surprise me. I am not impressed and two of their best players have to sit from double yellow cards. And it gets worse ... if they win, they play the winner of France-Germany. A very hard haul for the US team. On the other side, Canada has an easier journey, and I'm rooting for the home team as well.
The Mariners. Yet again. Disappointment.
Need to get H up so she can get ready for a lunch date.
I think banking and ukulele practice sounds more inviting this morning than yard work ha ha. It's dry, not growing, it can wait.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Yep
Bernie Sanders Was for Full Gay Equality 40 Years Ago : http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/97990690/0/alternet~Bernie-Sanders-Was-for-Full-Gay-Equality-Years-Ago
Poor France
Lose 5-4 on penalty kicks. So many missed opportunies! Missed short open shot in first 2 mins., another in last 2 mins. of overtime. Outplayed Germany most of the game.
Germany tied late in regulation on penalty kick ... dumb foul.
In other words, France blew it.
Germany tied late in regulation on penalty kick ... dumb foul.
In other words, France blew it.
Anthems
Interesting reactions before WC ... Germany anthem, I keep hearing the obscene lyrics sung by a guy in my outfit in Germany, a wannabe opera singer, who really belted them ... France anthem, the scene in Casablanca, who can forget it?
Quite a contrast!
Rooting for the underdog.
Quite a contrast!
Rooting for the underdog.
Animation
The Impact of the Supreme Court’s Gay Marriage Decision, in One GIF : http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122171/impact-supreme-courts-gay-marriage-decision-one-gif
Progress
It does happen, however painfully, however slowly, as evidenced by the legalization of same sex marriage today. But it also is over-hyped as often as realized and the notion that all change is for the better is absurd. Much of our food is worse. Our self-reliant skills are worse. Our meditative skills are worse.
But today delivers genuine social progress. I celebrate it.
But today delivers genuine social progress. I celebrate it.
Good question
College Is Wildly Exploitative: Why Aren't Students Raising Hell?: http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/97825930/0/alternet~College-Is-Wildly-Exploitative-Why-Arent-Students-Raising-Hell
Cartoon
Cartoon: Harmless bit 'o heritage: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/iuThPoCLT1s/-Cartoon-Harmless-bit-o-heritage
A brief history of the counterculture
Essay by Terry Simons at Counterpunch.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/06/26/a-brief-history-of-the-counterculture/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/06/26/a-brief-history-of-the-counterculture/
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Very interesting
Sanders' Socialist Message Translating to Fresh Gains in Key States: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/06/25/sanders-socialist-message-translating-fresh-gains-key-states
posted from Bloggeroid
Now this is overdue! May be most civilized country.
Dutch City to Experiment with Universal Basic Income: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/~3/yAYDvey6Rvw/
posted from Bloggeroid
Alt-Everything
Essays on history by Terry Simons, a new edition out today. I'm very fond of this and, in fact, published an earlier version years ago in Oregon Literary Review.
http://www.amazon.com/Alt-Everything-Essays-History-Terry-Simons/dp/0996526609/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435244901&sr=8-1&keywords=Alt-Everything+%28Essays+on+History%29&pebp=1435245135459&perid=1ZV6JY0N594R9VE5MWSW
http://www.amazon.com/Alt-Everything-Essays-History-Terry-Simons/dp/0996526609/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435244901&sr=8-1&keywords=Alt-Everything+%28Essays+on+History%29&pebp=1435245135459&perid=1ZV6JY0N594R9VE5MWSW
Scrapple Rules
As longtime readers of this blog know, before I began baking our bread, my major kitchen project was making scrapple. This wasn't traditional scrapple but an easy to make clone for the small home kitchen. I made a batch a week. You can learn more here: http://cdeemer2007.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-signature-scrapple-recipe.html
As a grad studen in the 1960s, I'd made traditional scrapple. Considerable work! I'll never forget the day I returned from class to find a box on the porch. In it was ... a pig's head! A gift from a farming buddy.
Scrapple has been hard to come by on the west coast. "Easy" scrapple, while not traditional, was close enough to subside the hunger pains and often fruitless searches for the real thing.
But now comes a Seattle company with the perfect name: West Coast Scrapple. It is excellent! Moreover, Seattle and Portland customers can avoid shipping costs ... see details at their website .. westcoastscrapple.com. Their customer service is first rate.
This is the best scrapple news I've heard in decades! Scrapple rules!
As a grad studen in the 1960s, I'd made traditional scrapple. Considerable work! I'll never forget the day I returned from class to find a box on the porch. In it was ... a pig's head! A gift from a farming buddy.
Scrapple has been hard to come by on the west coast. "Easy" scrapple, while not traditional, was close enough to subside the hunger pains and often fruitless searches for the real thing.
But now comes a Seattle company with the perfect name: West Coast Scrapple. It is excellent! Moreover, Seattle and Portland customers can avoid shipping costs ... see details at their website .. westcoastscrapple.com. Their customer service is first rate.
 |
| West Coast Scrapple Guys |
This is the best scrapple news I've heard in decades! Scrapple rules!
The Amazing Slow Downer
Jazz teacher turned us on to this incredible software. Slows down music without changing the pitch! Can play along with Django at half speed, increase as you improve. Fantastic tool, works with any mp3. And very inexpensive. What a find! Thanks, teach!
http://ronimusic.com/ to see it.
http://ronimusic.com/ to see it.
On the deck
Writing on the deck again this morning. This really is one of the best things about this house, the deck on a morning like this. Chores to do soon but first I'll enjoy the moment, sip my iced coffee, reread what I've written.
We have a major hot spell beginning, with a few days over 100, they say. Makes cooler morning especially pleasant.
Harriet trying to find an email that tells her which of two paintings are accepted for a show next week. She can't remember. Man, memory plays such an important role in daily functioning. To lose it ...
We met our tax guy, late sending it, but get a larger refund than usual, so we are taking some for a summer trip. Most to bills, of course. But we can get a week or ten day adventure out of this ... visit her grandson in an institution in Boise, daughter and another grandson in Baker City ... head east, in other words, between here and Boise. Maybe this month? Well, depends when we get the refunds. Usually they are pretty prompt.
H said today that we bought this house as our last home. Oh, okay. Will be a little tough when neither of us can drive, we're isolated. But I love it here. It was her idea to move, at one point she NEEDED to move. Okay. I bend more easily than she does. "The inside of my head is my country," as I once wrote in song lyrics.
My LA friend L. has become my closest friend. Wish we could hang together now and again, her laugh at the absurdity around us is infectious. I get it on the phone, at least. Kindred spirit.
Man. it's a beautiful morning! Retirement should feel like A VACATION, in my book, and that's what it feels like now, out here on the deck with the AlphaSmart, watching the birds feed.
I need to do some yard work today or soon. Before the heat settles in. That's the toughest part here, the yard work. Eventually have to pay someone but I will hang in as long as possible.
*
I don't understand why more writers don't use the AlphaSmart ... and why the company didn't market to writers, and add little features writers might like. It is a great tool, much better than a laptaop because IT ONLY WRITES, no distractions of the net or email or games or sport scores. All you can do here is write, and it is perfect. And the small screen also is great because it discourages rewriting ... this is for drafts, you can rewrite later on the computer. For what it is, it is just about perfect, and it is very sad that they are so hard to get now. I owned 3, one died, so I still have two, and now and again I check to see if any have become available ... you can get them pretty cheap now, and I like the security of having a backup. I have never used a better writing tool! But except for a few international journalists who love its 100+ hours battery life, I've heard of few other writers who have discovered it.
*
I wish H could find the mind set where she feels like she's on vacation. Life remains very troubling for her, in the transition into her new reality. It takes time. But if she could get there, we could have a lot of fun hanging out. But now it's pretty stressful around her.
*
Of all the things I make at home, buttermilk is the most improved from anything you can buy in a store. It is truly delicious and very different from the packaged buttermilk today. But you used to get this from the milk man, delivered to your porch. Progress?
*
This weekend has 4 exciting WC matches. I'd love to see a USA-Canada final. More likely to be Germany-Japan. But all four matches interest me and should be exciting. A good weekend for sports!
*
Two butterflies on the butterfly bush! Used to get them all the time but it recent years, very scarce. This is great.
*
We have a major hot spell beginning, with a few days over 100, they say. Makes cooler morning especially pleasant.
Harriet trying to find an email that tells her which of two paintings are accepted for a show next week. She can't remember. Man, memory plays such an important role in daily functioning. To lose it ...
We met our tax guy, late sending it, but get a larger refund than usual, so we are taking some for a summer trip. Most to bills, of course. But we can get a week or ten day adventure out of this ... visit her grandson in an institution in Boise, daughter and another grandson in Baker City ... head east, in other words, between here and Boise. Maybe this month? Well, depends when we get the refunds. Usually they are pretty prompt.
H said today that we bought this house as our last home. Oh, okay. Will be a little tough when neither of us can drive, we're isolated. But I love it here. It was her idea to move, at one point she NEEDED to move. Okay. I bend more easily than she does. "The inside of my head is my country," as I once wrote in song lyrics.
My LA friend L. has become my closest friend. Wish we could hang together now and again, her laugh at the absurdity around us is infectious. I get it on the phone, at least. Kindred spirit.
Man. it's a beautiful morning! Retirement should feel like A VACATION, in my book, and that's what it feels like now, out here on the deck with the AlphaSmart, watching the birds feed.
I need to do some yard work today or soon. Before the heat settles in. That's the toughest part here, the yard work. Eventually have to pay someone but I will hang in as long as possible.
*
I don't understand why more writers don't use the AlphaSmart ... and why the company didn't market to writers, and add little features writers might like. It is a great tool, much better than a laptaop because IT ONLY WRITES, no distractions of the net or email or games or sport scores. All you can do here is write, and it is perfect. And the small screen also is great because it discourages rewriting ... this is for drafts, you can rewrite later on the computer. For what it is, it is just about perfect, and it is very sad that they are so hard to get now. I owned 3, one died, so I still have two, and now and again I check to see if any have become available ... you can get them pretty cheap now, and I like the security of having a backup. I have never used a better writing tool! But except for a few international journalists who love its 100+ hours battery life, I've heard of few other writers who have discovered it.
*
I wish H could find the mind set where she feels like she's on vacation. Life remains very troubling for her, in the transition into her new reality. It takes time. But if she could get there, we could have a lot of fun hanging out. But now it's pretty stressful around her.
*
Of all the things I make at home, buttermilk is the most improved from anything you can buy in a store. It is truly delicious and very different from the packaged buttermilk today. But you used to get this from the milk man, delivered to your porch. Progress?
*
This weekend has 4 exciting WC matches. I'd love to see a USA-Canada final. More likely to be Germany-Japan. But all four matches interest me and should be exciting. A good weekend for sports!
*
Two butterflies on the butterfly bush! Used to get them all the time but it recent years, very scarce. This is great.
*
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Q.E.D.
5 Ways the Pope Is Making Right-Wing Heads Explode: http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/97623198/0/alternet~Ways-the-Pope-Is-Making-RightWing-Heads-Explode
posted from Bloggeroid
Start of the day
... toward a better day than yesterday, let's hope.
H off to exercise in an hour. I'll go to basement office, hope to write on project. Concept excites me. Not sure I can pull it off.
H off to exercise in an hour. I'll go to basement office, hope to write on project. Concept excites me. Not sure I can pull it off.
The future is here
Combating Climate Dangers Is Seen as Medical Emergency: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/~3/_4i7x3jRSVA/
Recovery
Tough day yesterday ... had to drag myself to class and glad I did. Baking, trying to recenter myself.
It was H's idea to sell the house. Yesterday she "attacked" me for wanting to sell "her" house. This is our irrational universe. I assured her I can stay here just fine. I give her a week before she asks when we're selling. In the meantime, I'll poke along cleaning the basement ... and try to stay sane.
It was H's idea to sell the house. Yesterday she "attacked" me for wanting to sell "her" house. This is our irrational universe. I assured her I can stay here just fine. I give her a week before she asks when we're selling. In the meantime, I'll poke along cleaning the basement ... and try to stay sane.
Gypsy jazz
Interesting, small class: 5 guitars, 2 mandolins, 1 ukulele. Learned a lot about 6th chords last night, and a Django song.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Good idea
One Powerful Argument For Putting A Woman On The $20 -- Not The $10 - http://huff.to/1H9BJ31
Ah, Sweden ...
Female Masturbation Has A Brand Spankin' (And Sparkly) New Name - http://huff.to/1H9LtKw
Shameful
Fox TV showing Judge Judy instead of U.S. World Cup game. Fortunately I can watch it with Fox sports app but their decision sucks.
Perspective
Ancient Greece touches on a fundamental nerve in modern society: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/_VrIQp5b820/
No war film is more powerful than Homer.
No war film is more powerful than Homer.
Go, Bernie!
Bernie Sanders Rally in Denver Draws One of Biggest Crowds in Election Cycle: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/06/21/bernie-sanders-rally-denver-draws-one-biggest-crowds-election-cycle
Go, granny!
Hungarian supergranny closes in on world chess record: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/uuE7e3n_h5s/
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Yep
Dylann Roof is the face of terrorism Americans should fear most: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/Ng_TH86WZgQ/-Dylann-Roof-is-the-face-of-terrorism-Americans-should-fear-most
posted from Bloggeroid
Hard ball
Pope: 'Great Powers' Did Nothing When Jews Were Taken To Auschwitz - http://huff.to/1H7cwpM
The story
Australia shocks Brazil to reach Women's World Cup quarter-finals - @AFP http://news.yahoo.com/australia-shock-brazil-reach-world-cup-quarter-finals-185239780.html;_ylt=A0LEVjkiCYdVNHkAy51jmolQ
Backstory
Orwell, Huxley and America’s Plunge Into Authoritarianism: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/~3/ZzxmGPiRfYA/
Remembering history
They died so we could vote: James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/g1frxFSZDPQ/-They-died-so-we-could-vote-James-Chaney-Michael-Schwerner-and-Andrew-Goodman
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Mass extinction
http://news.yahoo.com/sixth-mass-extinction-us-study-210749359.html
Mars, here we come! Game's over here.
Mars, here we come! Game's over here.
Yep
Dylann Roof is America — and to pretend to be surprised by his crime is to be complicit in it: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/QSa2PUuItbg/
Yesterday on the deck
Coffee on the deck, a highlight of this house, a reason not to sell in the summer ha ha.
Finished a major yard chore. I did something today!!
Now to enjoy my coffee. Yesterday I saw a butterfly! Maybe another today.
***
The daily routine hasn't been easy or enjoyable since H's heart attack. Not at all what I had in mind for old age. And I am not a very good care giver, actually, but do the best I can, which seems to be enough. But I think H is her own worst enemy and could do considerably more herself to help her situation. Maybe that's just the existentialist in me talking.
I have no idea when we'll have the house ready to sell. I seem to be doing the necessary work alone. I've done a very small drop in the bucket. Maybe by next summer. Hard to imagine getting it done sooner, working alone. I'm still trying to get H to clean her dressing room -- 7 months I've been trying!!!
But, as ma used to say, things definitely could be worse. What an old gem that is ... it could be worse. True, too.
But things also could be bettr.
***
Why do I keep writing here? It's a question I ask myself more often as I grow older. Every day I grow a week older.
I started this blog for several reasons: out of curiosity, to learn the technology; as something that might interest young writers, as I was interested in journals of other writers when I was beginning; as publicity for my work. The first has been realized. The others partially, I suppose.
But has this become pissing against the wind? Well, I don't feel like I'm soaked in my own urine, not yet. I keep going. If nothing else, I have interesting conversations with myself here. Maybe it delays mental deterioration for a while.
I still think of that retired writer living in the Daniel Boone Hotel, meeting young writers at the bar during happy hour. I expected such a fate. Ha ha ha.
Well, the good news is: I bake bread! I make biscuits! I make buttermilk! There are worse ways to wind up.
And, in fact, I'm writing again, which is a little remarkable. I wrote a bit this morning on the new CJ, and it feels good -- daring, different, complex, difficult to pull off, all things that will keep me from getting bored with myself, which a traditional narrative would do pretty quickly. That's the problem with having written so much -- most things, formally speaking, are old hand and, well, a tad boring to me. This one is a real challenge! I need that.
No title yet, though. Maybe the first crazy one is closest but I doubt if that will be it.
The gist of the story, although the story actually is not what the novel is mostly about, is that Danny White Bird has formed a new radical American Indian group, which has taken over the Whitman Mission outside of Walla Walla, and threatens to dig up the bones of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman unless a list of demands are met: Indian artifacts returned from museums, denigrading sports mascot names changed, etc. Danny White Bird will only negotiate with CJ after the FBI gets into the act ... so the FBI finds CJ.
What fun. (Miss you, Jimbo)
Finished a major yard chore. I did something today!!
Now to enjoy my coffee. Yesterday I saw a butterfly! Maybe another today.
***
The daily routine hasn't been easy or enjoyable since H's heart attack. Not at all what I had in mind for old age. And I am not a very good care giver, actually, but do the best I can, which seems to be enough. But I think H is her own worst enemy and could do considerably more herself to help her situation. Maybe that's just the existentialist in me talking.
I have no idea when we'll have the house ready to sell. I seem to be doing the necessary work alone. I've done a very small drop in the bucket. Maybe by next summer. Hard to imagine getting it done sooner, working alone. I'm still trying to get H to clean her dressing room -- 7 months I've been trying!!!
But, as ma used to say, things definitely could be worse. What an old gem that is ... it could be worse. True, too.
But things also could be bettr.
***
Why do I keep writing here? It's a question I ask myself more often as I grow older. Every day I grow a week older.
I started this blog for several reasons: out of curiosity, to learn the technology; as something that might interest young writers, as I was interested in journals of other writers when I was beginning; as publicity for my work. The first has been realized. The others partially, I suppose.
But has this become pissing against the wind? Well, I don't feel like I'm soaked in my own urine, not yet. I keep going. If nothing else, I have interesting conversations with myself here. Maybe it delays mental deterioration for a while.
I still think of that retired writer living in the Daniel Boone Hotel, meeting young writers at the bar during happy hour. I expected such a fate. Ha ha ha.
Well, the good news is: I bake bread! I make biscuits! I make buttermilk! There are worse ways to wind up.
And, in fact, I'm writing again, which is a little remarkable. I wrote a bit this morning on the new CJ, and it feels good -- daring, different, complex, difficult to pull off, all things that will keep me from getting bored with myself, which a traditional narrative would do pretty quickly. That's the problem with having written so much -- most things, formally speaking, are old hand and, well, a tad boring to me. This one is a real challenge! I need that.
No title yet, though. Maybe the first crazy one is closest but I doubt if that will be it.
The gist of the story, although the story actually is not what the novel is mostly about, is that Danny White Bird has formed a new radical American Indian group, which has taken over the Whitman Mission outside of Walla Walla, and threatens to dig up the bones of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman unless a list of demands are met: Indian artifacts returned from museums, denigrading sports mascot names changed, etc. Danny White Bird will only negotiate with CJ after the FBI gets into the act ... so the FBI finds CJ.
What fun. (Miss you, Jimbo)
Friday, June 19, 2015
Yep
It’s Not About Mental Illness: The Big Lie That Always Follows Mass Shootings By White Males: http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/96816282/0/alternet~It%e2%80%99s-Not-About-Mental-Illness-The-Big-Lie-That-Always-Follows-Mass-Shootings-By-White-Males
They are delusional
Why Republican Candidates Are Afraid to Admit That the Charleston Massacre Was About Race: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122093/what-we-talk-about-when-were-not-talking-all
Ideology v. Experience
The Charleston murderer almost didn't open fire because "everybody was so nice to him." The poisonous power of ideology!
Hmm
Bernie-mentum: Huge 2016 crowds stun observers — and even Sanders himself: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/JpTPUGBjWu0/
Thursday, June 18, 2015
The future
As Ocean Warms, 'Extensive and Unprecedented' Toxic Algae Blooms: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/06/18/ocean-warms-extensive-and-unprecedented-toxic-algae-blooms
posted from Bloggeroid
Yep
Our Racist History Isn't Back to Haunt Us. It Never Left Us.: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122073/our-racial-history-isnt-back-haunt-us-it-never-left-us
Yep
Corporate Media And The Dangerous Right-Wing Elephant In The Room: http://crooksandliars.com/2015/06/corporate-media-and-violent-right-wing
Need a job?
Help Wanted: Saudi Arabia Advertises for New Executioners as Beheading Rate Soars: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/udAXWHIzGN4/
Yep
Pope Francis's Vision of a Moral Ecology Will Challenge Both Republicans and Democrats: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122061/pope-franciss-vision-moral-ecology-will-challenge-both-parties
Yep
Pope Francis blames greedy profiteers for destruction of ‘our Sister, mother Earth’ in landmark encyclical (full text): http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/7lyBV-ZwHI8/
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Take it to the streets
Pope Calls for Moral Campaign on Climate Crisis: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/~3/JO6w34fiBlY/
Today's horror
Girl who watched Wichita cops gun down her dad grows up to see cops gun down her war veteran son: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/pyjV62MvVP4/
The future
Earth’s groundwater being drained at rapid rate: studies: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/yic7pGcUFdk/
The plot really thickens ...
The Rest Of Rachel Dolezar's Story: http://crooksandliars.com/2015/06/rest-rachel-dolezars-story
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Brooding
I have a wild new working title for my project:
O Socrates! O Sitting Bull!
Say what? is the reaction appropriate to this. And it's a tad Homeric in ambition and tone.
Socrates provides the form, Sitting Bull provides the content. Actually a logical title.
O Socrates! O Sitting Bull!
Say what? is the reaction appropriate to this. And it's a tad Homeric in ambition and tone.
Socrates provides the form, Sitting Bull provides the content. Actually a logical title.
Oo-ee!
Pope Francis says charity isn’t enough: True Christians give all their money to the poor: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/eYhBtlZC9Jk/
Classic issue
The Spokane white black woman affair boils down to a classic philosophical question: do the ends justify the means?
Does doing good justify fraud?
Does getting vital info justify torture?
What fun.
Does doing good justify fraud?
Does getting vital info justify torture?
What fun.
Confession
Did a little organizing on the new project. I hope I still have the chops to do it. It will be slower than past work, I'm sure of that. All I can do is give it my best shot.
Go, Bernie
Many Are Shocked by the Size of the Crowds Bernie Sanders Is Drawing: http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/96185336/0/alternet~Many-Are-Shocked-by-the-Size-of-the-Crowds-Bernie-Sanders-Is-Drawing
It's come to this
Anti-racism activists worried as British scientists hunt for Viking DNA in northern France: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/6uhLu2mE7zM/
Monday, June 15, 2015
The plot thickens
Rachel Dolezal accused historically black college of racial discrimination: records: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/sfW-Mq6bVms/
posted from Bloggeroid
Peeking at the future
Rich Conservative Californians Thumb Noses At Water Restrictions : http://crooksandliars.com/2015/06/rich-conservative-californians-thumb-noses
Energy
Fiddled with new project, came up with page design ... but not sure I have stamina for it. Be slow if it happens. Love the concept and story idea. We'll see.
Perspective
I Became a Black Woman in Spokane, But, Rachel Dolezal, I Was a Black Girl First: http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/95944914/0/alternet~I-Became-a-Black-Woman-in-Spokane-But-Rachel-Dolezal-I-Was-a-Black-Girl-First
Perspective
Mimicry Is Not Solidarity: Rachel Dolezal and the Creation of Antiracist White Identity: http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/95888862/0/alternet~Mimicry-Is-Not-Solidarity-Rachel-Dolezal-and-the-Creation-of-Antiracist-White-Identity
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Another tragedy
The disappearing Joshua trees of Joshua Tree National Park: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/1b3itmV7ZfU/-The-disappearing-Joshua-trees-of-Joshua-Tree-National-Park
Another influence
Fowles' The French Lt's Woman, esp the film version, characters on parallel narrative tracks.
Retirement
For me, I enjoy retirement most when it feels like being on vacation. Like now, with H off to a birthday party. Much harder when she is here and wants to reinvent the wheel.
Starting
My projects used to start at the level of content, story. But older, with half a century of writing behind me, this didn't do it. I needed a challenge in form as well. I've wanted to revisit CJ for over a year. This alone didn't get me started. I also needed the challenge of a new form. Churchill's dialectic was the insight I needed.
Now I'm brooding big time for a page design to incorporate the narrative elements I need, without being self-indulgent. It has to look natural, ala Brown for non-fiction.
Started research with an amazing recent book, Skull Wars.
Now I'm brooding big time for a page design to incorporate the narrative elements I need, without being self-indulgent. It has to look natural, ala Brown for non-fiction.
Started research with an amazing recent book, Skull Wars.
What is there to say?
Song and album by Gerry Mulligan, playing now, the album that made me a fan, Berkeley, 1959.
Ducks rule
For the first time, Univ of Oregon male and female track teams are outdoor champions at the same time. Quack, quack!
Page design
One of the striking things about the new Churchill play is that the page does not use the traditional stage play format. And her new form works without being artsy and self-indulgent!
I need a new design for the novel page as well. A traditional prose page is too limited. But it has to be simple, look obvious - both functional and radically new.
Norman Brown also designed a brilliant new page for LOVE'S BODY. I'm in good company ha ha.
I need a new design for the novel page as well. A traditional prose page is too limited. But it has to be simple, look obvious - both functional and radically new.
Norman Brown also designed a brilliant new page for LOVE'S BODY. I'm in good company ha ha.
Influences, metafiction
Out of the blue, got email from John Nugent, the talented composer of the DARK MISSION opera for which I wrote the libretto - and which plays a role in the new project (I.e. the Whitman massacre). So does the regional Kinnewick Man controversy. As before, old work and current events inform the narrative.
Formally, Dos Passos and Connell shaped my approach in SODOM. Here the formal influence is Churchill: moving her dialectic from stage to page.
Research to do. Reread SODOM for continuity. Reread libretto. Resesrch Kinnewick Man and Sitting Bull.
What fun, as Jimbo used to say.
Formally, Dos Passos and Connell shaped my approach in SODOM. Here the formal influence is Churchill: moving her dialectic from stage to page.
Research to do. Reread SODOM for continuity. Reread libretto. Resesrch Kinnewick Man and Sitting Bull.
What fun, as Jimbo used to say.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
A new project?
After fiddling with a personalized Churchill clone, I have a more interesting idea ... a sequel to the last novel, because I like CJ so much. I initially dismissed it because I didn't want to package it as before or in a traditional narrative. Now I can adapt the Churchill dialectic (which is what it is) and continue the CJ story ... and he can connect with a new radical group of Indians, adapting a story from an old screenplay. And since the form will be so unusual, the writing so different, I can give it a security blanket, using David Mamet's terminology:
part one ... once upon a time
part two ... and then one day
part three ... just when everything was going so well
part four ... when at the last minute
part five ... and everyone was sadder but wiser
my working title is
Ghosts of Sitting Bull
a novel as dialectic
it will find its own length, novel or novella
now ... do I actually have the energy for this? We'll see!
But the old juices are flowing ...
part one ... once upon a time
part two ... and then one day
part three ... just when everything was going so well
part four ... when at the last minute
part five ... and everyone was sadder but wiser
my working title is
Ghosts of Sitting Bull
a novel as dialectic
it will find its own length, novel or novella
now ... do I actually have the energy for this? We'll see!
But the old juices are flowing ...
Fall, 1957
Norman Mailer's essay in Dissent magazine, "The White Negro".
https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-white-negro-fall-1957
Ahead of his time here. Ref Spokane today, all the white Ivy league underground radicals drooling to be Black Panthers in 70s, also a theme in my award-winning story of early 1970s "Presenting the Annual Interracial Pig Roast" ... an historical legacy/nightmare that doesn't go away, conservatives denying it, liberals romanticizing it, on and on and on.
Hence Joyce, history as nightmare from which you never awake.
https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-white-negro-fall-1957
Ahead of his time here. Ref Spokane today, all the white Ivy league underground radicals drooling to be Black Panthers in 70s, also a theme in my award-winning story of early 1970s "Presenting the Annual Interracial Pig Roast" ... an historical legacy/nightmare that doesn't go away, conservatives denying it, liberals romanticizing it, on and on and on.
Hence Joyce, history as nightmare from which you never awake.
Ultimate reward ...
... for Spokane's white black woman. Book deal! TV movie! Lecture tour! Ah let's hear it for white power.
The plot thickens, or the inauthentic life
Black adoptive brother blasts ‘self-hating’ Rachel Dolezal: ‘It’s basically blackface’: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/S2zYUklTk_U/
Friday, June 12, 2015
Nothing is certain
Mariners begin important 3 game series at Astros tonight. I see that Hernandez is pitching. All right. The King will get them off on the right foot.
I just checked the score. The King gave up 8 runs in the first inning. EIGHT RUNS! Has this happened in his career before?
I just checked the score. The King gave up 8 runs in the first inning. EIGHT RUNS! Has this happened in his career before?
Longevity
A piece of writing can earn reward long, long after its composition.
Today I deposited a check from a screenplay co-authored over 30 years ago.
Today I deposited a check from a screenplay co-authored over 30 years ago.
American exceptionalism
Stingy, White and Fat: Here’s What the Rest Of the World Thinks of Americans: http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/95514514/0/alternet~Stingy-White-and-Fat-Here%e2%80%99s-What-the-Rest-Of-the-World-Thinks-of-Americans
A good day
Something about depositing a big check that raises my spirits. Now I hope S. cuts a deal, buys me out and I deposit an even bigger one.
Ate at cafe where I pick up the scrapple. Great discovery!
Ate at cafe where I pick up the scrapple. Great discovery!
I love the name of WEST COAST scrapple!
Surprises
Now and again I read or see a work of art that kicks my ass. It gets my juices flowing. It makes me want to join the parade.
Thr latest is the recent Caryl Churchill play LOVE AND INFORMATION, so new in dramatic strategy I want to tinker with the approach myself.
Maybe I'm not "done" afterall.
Thr latest is the recent Caryl Churchill play LOVE AND INFORMATION, so new in dramatic strategy I want to tinker with the approach myself.
Maybe I'm not "done" afterall.
Perspective
Paul Krugman on How the Big Lies Told by the Powerful Have Come to Rule the World : http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/95497554/0/alternet~Paul-Krugman-on-How-the-Big-Lies-Told-by-the-Powerful-Have-Come-to-Rule-the-World
Hither and yon
Scheduled to sign contract at 10, giving cowriter from 1980s option to buy me out at any time. Price set, get $ for offer. If it happens, he gets sole writing credit (I.e. heavily rewritten), I get co-created by credit. All works for me.
Deposit check, then across town to pick up scrapple I ordered. Back for chores before U.S. game against Sweden.
Deposit check, then across town to pick up scrapple I ordered. Back for chores before U.S. game against Sweden.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Solution
Solved TV problem in 30 sec live text chat with support ... my ignorance.
posted from Bloggeroid
Q.E.D.
What Ten Years in Kenya Have Taught Me About the Perils of American Ignorance, ‘Aid,’ and Narcissism: http://www.thenation.com/article/209449/farewell-kenya-or-what-i-learned-about-perils-american-ignorance-aid-and-narcissism
posted from Bloggeroid
R.I.P.
Remembering Ornette Coleman: "A Visionary" Jazz Legend: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/democracynow/hVoT/~3/8Hm14pVfuzQ/a_visionary_remembering_jazz_legend_ornette
posted from Bloggeroid
Icelandic exceptionalism
Iceland Jailed Bankers and Rejected Austerity—and It’s Been a Success: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/~3/Itgjn5QfmmQ/
posted from Bloggeroid
Dumbing down
A software update for our smart TV has screwed me over by making a menu less technical, more "user friendly" because it removed icons to access 2 ports that run my two main devices, which are better than the Samsung counterparts (I.e. I use TV mainly for the screen, not the access, where Fire TV rocks).
Called support.
I don't think I ever got a software update that was a significant improvement.
Called support.
I don't think I ever got a software update that was a significant improvement.
Scrapple
There's a Seattle company called West Coast Scrapple with a pickup cafe here, saving shipping costs. Bought a pound to check them out, pick up Friday. In Seattle, they deliver to your home!
Yesterday sucked, the usual crisis, reinvent the wheel mode, all too common ... need a better day today. At least both WC and NCAA track are on.
Mixed some buttermilk. Back to bed.
Yesterday sucked, the usual crisis, reinvent the wheel mode, all too common ... need a better day today. At least both WC and NCAA track are on.
Mixed some buttermilk. Back to bed.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Signing contract ...
... Fri morning, I expect, re selling purchase option to my half of co-authored splay from 1980s. Never know when something will generate income.
O [ ] New World
Echo boggles my mind .. and raises so many basic questions about AI etc ... never realized tech had come this far, intelligent in such an interactive way ... Something horrible about a child raised on this, dependent in this way ... an old man's toy is one thing but ...
The amazing Amazon Echo
Arrived ... a bit mind-boggling and scary ... it follows commands:
Play Gerry Mulligan. It does.
What time is it? She tells you.
How many miles to Seattle? Tells you.
Play latest NPR news. Does.
How many tablespoons in a quart. Ditto.
Very human female voice. No hesitation. Excellent sound quality playing music.
Here it is:
Play Gerry Mulligan. It does.
What time is it? She tells you.
How many miles to Seattle? Tells you.
Play latest NPR news. Does.
How many tablespoons in a quart. Ditto.
Very human female voice. No hesitation. Excellent sound quality playing music.
Here it is:
Hope Solo
3 extraordinary saves in first half yesterday kept score at 1-1, though Australia dominated play. U.S., led by veteran Rapinoe, got it together in second half for 3-1 victory. Solo a major factor.
Play like yesterday won't win cup for U.S. Germany very impressive. Nigeria looks like a spoiler.
Play like yesterday won't win cup for U.S. Germany very impressive. Nigeria looks like a spoiler.
Blessings In A Foreign Country
in this foreign country
I still call home
endlessly assaulted by noise
ads and hype and promotions
opinions and lies
where even the escape of a sporting event
requires using the mute button
the past is a sane santuary
filled with old friends
from Aeschylus to Dos Passos
from Aristophanes to Brecht
and many others
who remind me that literature
used to rise above the obscenities
of Filthy Lucre and popularity
and the search for meaning
used to be honorable work
who remind me how blessed I am
to be old enough to remember
I still call home
endlessly assaulted by noise
ads and hype and promotions
opinions and lies
where even the escape of a sporting event
requires using the mute button
the past is a sane santuary
filled with old friends
from Aeschylus to Dos Passos
from Aristophanes to Brecht
and many others
who remind me that literature
used to rise above the obscenities
of Filthy Lucre and popularity
and the search for meaning
used to be honorable work
who remind me how blessed I am
to be old enough to remember
Monday, June 8, 2015
Sum sum summertime
A hot day ... ice cold buttermilk even more refreshing than beer/Kaliber.
Great 3-3 game between Sweden and Nigeria. Moral victory for latter. U.S. plays them and better watch out. I fear U.S. is going to bust. Something doesn't feel right.
Reading DAYS OF RAGE about America's radical underground, intense, gripping, comprehensive at 600+ pages.
Not long until U.S. game ...
Great 3-3 game between Sweden and Nigeria. Moral victory for latter. U.S. plays them and better watch out. I fear U.S. is going to bust. Something doesn't feel right.
Reading DAYS OF RAGE about America's radical underground, intense, gripping, comprehensive at 600+ pages.
Not long until U.S. game ...
Perspective
Black America's Forgotten Film History: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121994/black-life-remembered-film
Yes!
Yard work this morning before the heat ... good routine to adapt ... now iced coffee, Chris Connor, mellow relaxation ... like it.
WC this afternoon and first game by U.S. I fear they want it too badly, might be tight.
WC this afternoon and first game by U.S. I fear they want it too badly, might be tight.
Retirement!
Grades in ... only one missing student who might surface before deadline next week ... expected more, given loose structure of class.
A few days to relax before tackling basement, house. WC to enjoy.
A few days to relax before tackling basement, house. WC to enjoy.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Morning
Biscuits in the oven. As good as the last batch?
To Sat. Mkt. next week for lard from a farmer.
To Sat. Mkt. next week for lard from a farmer.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
World Cup
Man, I hope the Spanish app picks up the games ... otherwise I can only see the few on main Fox channel ... forgot ESPN lost the contract. If the app works, EVERY game available to me.
6 more scripts to go.
Did a bit of yard work ... really hard, too old for it. But onward.
Triple Crown Belmont in a few hrs, along with WC.
6 more scripts to go.
Did a bit of yard work ... really hard, too old for it. But onward.
Triple Crown Belmont in a few hrs, along with WC.
World Cup
We start today! But Fox not ESPN has all broadcast rights, and their app won't run on Sling. HOWEVER I think I found a Spanish station app that will work! I'll find out at 3.
Friday, June 5, 2015
I love retirement!
Even though I still am grading projects, the lack of class prep ahead is very liberating! Soon my responsibilties to students are over for good. A huge relief! No stress, is my old age mantra (H makes this difficult, alas).
The irony of dark classical music
It is so invigorating! It transfuses positive energy.
It's as if the truth will set us free ...
It's as if the truth will set us free ...
The optimist
“We Are In a Revolutionary Moment”: Chris Hedges Explains Why An Uprising Is Coming — And Soon: http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/94297635/0/alternet~%e2%80%9cWe-Are-In-a-Revolutionary-Moment%e2%80%9d-Chris-Hedges-Explains-Why-An-Uprising-Is-Coming-%e2%80%94-And-Soon
Changing university III
How Universities Turned Themselves into Global Franchises: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121976/university-satellites-export-local-culture-world
So far, so good
Graded some papers ... biscuits in the oven ... yard work later ... days of great weather ahead!
New toy arriving next week, digital robotic personal assistant, Amazon Echo, which I signed up for a year ago as early tester ... curious! A little scary as well.
New toy arriving next week, digital robotic personal assistant, Amazon Echo, which I signed up for a year ago as early tester ... curious! A little scary as well.
Changing university II
The Hostile Renegotiation of the Professor-Student Relationship: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121973/hostile-renegotiation-professor-student-relationship
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Veg
Dead tired ... back from bday dinner for H, no energy whatever no way nohow.
Start grading tomorrow.
Start grading tomorrow.
Ha ha ha
Eng Dept "invited me" to come out of retirement and teach in the fall. NOOOO ha ha! This time, retirement is going to stick. Class applauded, nice ending.
Q.E.D.
The High School Valedictory Address You Weren’t Supposed To Hear: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/democracynow/hVoT/~3/fNIem6muydY/the_high_school_valedictory_address_you
Crunch time
Last day of class ... pick up projects ... hope to finish grading on Sunday.
Rooting for Triple Crown winner on Saturday.
Rooting for Triple Crown winner on Saturday.
 |
| American Pharoah goes for Triple Crown at Belmont |
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Lazy afternoon ...
Ms day game, trying to avoid sweep by Yankees ... new buttermilk quart brewing, ambrosia! ... excited about softball final ... and Belmont on Saturday! possible TC ... last class tomorrow, pick up projects, closing remarks ... try to get grades in Sunday, start week fresh ... prsctice uke big time, get back up to speed for class ... Django Charlie!
Kitchen sink biscuits
Had a bag of leftover flours, all mixed together. Used it for biscuits this morning.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Michigan ...
... with the greatest fight song in the NCAA, just did the improbable and beat Florida, taking the softball series to a deciding playoff tomorrow.
I'm rooting for them, in memory of my old buddy John Basham, with whom I saw the Rose Bowl second half comeback of Jim Plunket's Stanford against Michigan, oh so many years ago.
I'm rooting for them, in memory of my old buddy John Basham, with whom I saw the Rose Bowl second half comeback of Jim Plunket's Stanford against Michigan, oh so many years ago.
Q.E.D.
Dear Class of 2015: You’ve Been Scammed!: http://www.thenation.com/article/208873/dear-class-2015-youve-been-scammed
In class
Students giving coverage of one another's scripts ... I was surfing for gypsy jazz resources, a bunch! Getting excited about this.
Kick in the pants
Signed up for 7 week summer class in gypsy jazz, all instruments, getting ok for ukulele. Hope it energizes me. Some impressive stuff on YouTube, a new uke style for me.
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