oocRadio

The Big Get

2008-07-08T00:11:00.001-04:00

From Variety: the entertainment aspect of the Columbian hostage rescue...

The big "get," of course, would be the rights from Betancourt, who
just reunited with her children and received a hero's welcome in France
from President Nicolas Sarkozy. As rumors swirl about potential book
and movie plans, there will be an October reissue of "Until Death Do Us Part,"
a memoir Betancourt wrote in 2001, when she was a senator running for
president in Colombia, vowing to clean up government corruption.
She
also has a byline on "Letters to My Mother: A Message of Love, a Plea
for Freedom," which consisted mostly of a videotape and long letter
Betancourt wrote to her mother while in captivity. Several agents and
producers felt that hers is a strong vehicle for a top actress. Not
surprisingly, Julia Roberts'
production company has long been interested in telling Betancourt's
story, but it was unclear how her release would impact those
aspirations.
In an otherwise sluggish summer marketplace for
film material, the Colombian jungle tale has brought welcome activity,
even as agents and producers wondered whether it had the staying power
necessary for the several years it usually takes to bring a major
fact-based film to the bigscreen.

Day Template 20 (100 word post 2.20)

2008-07-07T23:28:00.007-04:00

I spend an anxious night, up late, up early. No reason for it. Today’s a day off, some errands to run, pretty laid back.

My cell phone rings. Familiar number, hard to place. Instant leisure to stress.

Next comes a meeting with a relative I'm in business with which takes a disorienting and difficult turn.

Then comes my father to make a bad day worse--a force multiplier.

But Susie rearranges the pieces of the day into a positive collage.

Finally we end up in her studio to see her new work. Rejuvenation on the balcony over an empty downtown street.

For Lance Mannion (100 word post 2.19)

2008-07-06T09:32:00.001-04:00

Naked, The Kaiser Dances With Geishas

Trans. From the German.

“Someday, they shall name a roll for me.”
The Kaiser lifts his left leg and places his foot against his right knee.
He steadies himself, his arm around the geisha on his left.
His immense body trembles sending ripples across his skin.
The geisha who serves as the audience smiles in earnest politeness.

The Kaiser throws out his right arm and bows his head.
“I have learned that love can only go so far.”
His helmet clangs on the ground.
“With your help I must learn to turn,
And balance.”

Behold My Mystical Opulence Continues (100 word post 2.18)

2008-07-05T18:11:00.004-04:00

You looked at me and said,
“Hovercraft? Around here we levitate.
Around here diamonds never touch our feet.
You’re like a painting of a commercial.”
I sat chastised, my palms upward, trying.
I thought, “I weigh a thousand pounds.
This must be a crisis.”
I felt as if I were sinking but it was only the roof rising.
You looked up and said,
“You are sinking. See? The roof is leaving you.”
You began to rise.
“See? I am leaving too.
And you with red paint on your feet.”
I inadvertently sat cross legged as I stared at my feet.

Gilad Is My Muse (100 word post 2.17)

2008-07-04T23:13:00.003-04:00

I’ve been listening to a lot of interviews with screenwriters and several have mentioned that they nap in their offices. The Coen Brothers are big on this. It helps them creatively, not so much by dreaming solutions to writing problems, I gather, but by clearing their minds or at least getting them into an imaginative frame of mind. I like a good nap too, but it rarely makes me anything other than groggy. I get creative when I’m exercising. If I ever write a novel, I’m going to be so ripped I won’t be able to wipe my own ass.

To The Slaughterhouse (100 word post 2.16)

2008-07-03T22:37:00.003-04:00

It is a bright Saturday in the late 80’s and I’m riding in an open jeep across the island of Puerto Rico with an archeologist named Mao. Considering I just threw up last night’s drugs and alcohol, I’m feeling pretty good. From the speakers Dominican meringue plays. In the back of a pickup truck in front of us is a big pig, jostling back and forth. Mao speaks for the pig: “I’m a lucky pig. All the other pigs are stuck in the mud, but my owner takes me for a ride on a beautiful morning. I’m a lucky pig.”

Skip This Rant (100 word post 2.15)

2008-07-02T22:46:00.001-04:00

There are two common obstacles facing a cyclist that a walker or a driver can’t fully appreciate. One is elevation; you just haven’t felt gravity until you’ve climbed at ten degrees for twenty minutes. I’m fortunate because I like climbing, mostly because of the gift of the descent.
The real killer is wind. There is no redeeming value in riding into a 15mph headwind. And having it at your back is no compensation. It’s a deal breaker. Unlike, elevation it’s unreliable, able to cheat you of reward for your hard work. And folks, for whatever reason, it’s a windy summer.

A Nasal Passage (100 word post 2.14)

2008-07-01T23:07:00.001-04:00

Why should I care if you sneeze, really? You’re never going to get a ‘bless you’ from an non-believer like me, of that you can be sure; but, though I took two years in college, I’m not German either and I can’t help but give you a ‘gesundheit’. At one point I must have felt it was a secular way of wishing you well, now I resent the urge to mutter ‘health’ at you. Maybe it will make me feel better if I think of it as my own anti-germ spell. Politeness or prayer, either way, why should I care?

Sometimes The Gift Doesn't End With The Giving (100 word post 2.13)

2008-06-30T22:41:00.002-04:00

We never know what to buy my Dad; he’s 82 and really doesn’t need anything but a TV that gets Fox News and some Garcia Vegas. When we bring him a handful of $5 cigars, he protests, saying “I’ve still got the ones you bought me last time,” and “I know how much those cost.” So this Father’s Day after dinner, I asked Dad if he’d smoke one of his good cigars with me on the porch. He seemed genuinely excited (I don’t smoke) and we shared a pleasant half hour, smoking, drinking coffee and talking. "Nice cigar," he said.

Behold My Mystic Opulence, Again (100 word post 2.12)

2008-06-29T22:02:00.001-04:00

The sky was orange until the turquoise night. I painted myself into a corner with a roller and a silky shade of deep red. If I let the paint touch my feet all was lost. Fortunately the corner I was in was on the ceiling so I dropped to the floor to make my escape.
On the street the diamonds crunched beneath my feet. I forgot where I parked my hovercraft so I took an ambulance to the cafeteria where you waited with the rest of my pot of coffee. “This is the quiet time,” I said. “This is yesterday.”

Circle Jerk (100 word post 2.11)

2008-06-28T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today Susie and I discussed attitude and success. I mentioned Sidney Pollack who said he impersonated a director until one day he was one. It’s a funny thing about Pollack; I like him as an actor, but not so much as a director. On the other hand, I really liked his movie about the architect Frank Gehry. Maybe that’s because he’s on camera in that. And while I don’t like Frank Gehry’s work, I do admire that he took risks to achieve success on his own terms. See, I often confuse myself, but I resolve confusion by embracing it. Success.

We Should Just Drink The Stuff (or what I learned from Michael Pollan's excellent book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma", 100 word post 2.10)

2008-06-27T21:48:00.005-04:00

Human life cannot exist without nitrogen and, though our atmosphere is 80% nitrogen, until 1909 much was useless to life processes. Before the German scientist, Fritz Haber, discovered a way to artificially “fix” nitrogen, we relied on lightening and specialized bacteria on the roots of legumes, to free up the nitrogen. This capped the amount of human bodies the earth would sustain. Haber’s process enabled artificially created fertilizer and population size was liberated.
Unfortunately, the Haber process uses a great deal of energy. The result: it takes more than one calorie of fossil fuel to produce one calorie of food.

Education by Diversion (100 word post 2.9)

2008-06-26T21:09:00.000-04:00

Declaring it unsuitable reading, my daughter’s best friend has been forbidden to buy Manga by her mother. Susie, who feels any reading is positive, is considerably upset by this and plans to bring this up with the mother. I’ve always believed that comic books taught me how to read. With all the writing I have been doing lately, most off-line, I can now add that blogging has taught me how to write. Not well, maybe, but with unprecedented persistence. Matter of fact, since I’ve been writing primarily for visual media, maybe comic books taught me how to write as well.

Liminality (100 word post 2.8)

2008-06-25T21:32:00.001-04:00

I buy a lot of used books and since I’m rough on them, I’m not usually too particular about their condition. But I won’t buy books with writing in them; it’s very distracting, sort of explicit subliminal advertising.
I never write in my own books either, but I have more trouble understanding that. For instance, I’m going over the Writings of Yves Klein for a writing project I’m about to undertake and would love to make notes in the book, but it is unthinkable.
From an artistic standpoint, though, I kind of like the idea. I can play along too.

I Don't Do Reviews, Just Lists and Some Links (sad excuse for 100 word post 2.7)

2008-06-24T20:45:00.002-04:00

Since I’ve recently bought new glasses, I’ve been reading with a vengeance. Currently I’m reading two books by New York lit kid Tao Lin, a short story book called Bed and poetry book called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I’m also reading Gen. Sanchez’ Wiser In Battle, quoted in an earlier blog post. I’ve also been dipping into Fitzgerald’s Pat Hobby Stories, which I am thoroughly enjoying. Finally, I’m just wrapping up Lawrence Block’s Lucky In Cards, recently republished by the excellent Hard Case Crime series, which I find absolutely addictive. Block, coincidentally, will be appearing on the Late, Late Show tonight.

Death Mask Tuesday (Mythical King, Real City Ed.)

2008-06-24T19:55:00.004-04:00

These death masks are from 16th century B.C. Mycenae.

This first mask was known as the "Mask of Agamemnon" until it was determined that it predated him. It is believed to be a mask of an actual Mycenaean king, though. A copy of it hung in our living room during my entire youth.
The ancient city of Mycenae was believed to be only a legend until an amateur archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, discovered it exclusively using the text of the Iliad as his guide.
These other guys are believed to be important warriors:

It Is A Mind Set

2008-06-24T10:58:00.004-04:00

Before anyone could answer Rumsfeld's question, President Bush launched into what I considered a kind of confused pep talk regarding both Fallujah and our upcoming southern campaign. "Kick ass!" he said, echoing Colin Powell's tough talk. "If somebody tries to stop the march to democracy, we will seek them out and kill them! We must be tougher than hell! This Vietnam stuff, this is not even close. It is a mind-set. We can't send that message. It's an excuse to prepare us for withdrawal.

"There is a series of moments and this is one of them. Our will is being tested but we are resolute. We have a better way. Stay strong! Stay the course! Kill them! Be confident! Prevail! We are going to wipe them out! We are not blinking!"

from page 350 of Wiser In Battle by Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez

Another Day, Another Omen (100 word post 2.6)

2008-06-23T21:54:00.004-04:00

I am waiting at a stop light in my open convertible. The sun is out and the sky is blue. A big bird, some kind of brown hawk, appears over the top of the trees. Dangling from its mouth is a small snake.
I get Roman when I see things like that.
Out of nowhere a small bird comes at the hawk’s head. And then another. The irritated hawk twists its head, but the two birds keep at the big one. I crane my neck to follow. Finally the little ones give up and the big one keeps his meal.

Tao Lin Answers Three of the Six Questions I Asked Him (100 word post 2.5)

2008-06-22T23:36:00.003-04:00

If you could create your own constellation what would it be called?

PERWOP-130921783092-4$$$$-22310923-13310931039103910938

Do you find your work is getting better or just getting different?

Different.

Marcel Duchamp believed that no art outlived its creator. In fact, he felt it was dead after 20 years at most. Do you believe art can outlive its context?

I read that and my brain read processed it as, "Marcel Duchamp r'eaoirjear that no airj'aeri aer'iojaer its ae'rijaer. Eeriae jrea, he feaofhaeofij it was ar'iojaer after 20 years at most. Do you e'raijraer a'iorjaer can e'riojaer its eareaorijea?" I am having problems answering that.

Mr. Context's Neighborhood (100 word post 2.4)

2008-06-21T23:06:00.003-04:00

The current energy crisis gives me hope for a return to neighborhoods. Big box stores depend on a mobile customer base and here in the Midwest we are becoming pretty immobilized.
When Susie and I lived on Miami Beach, we could walk to a bakery, a small grocery store, a drug store and a restaurant. Higher prices and less selection maybe, but a short walk to fresh bread sure made life more pleasant.
Of course, if I really want to dream, maybe the old Amtrak station in town will reopen.
Hell, I guess I should just move to a city.

Tinky Winky (100 word post 2.3)

2008-06-20T21:40:00.000-04:00

I find it unsettling that the strongest feelings of nostalgia I have are mostly connected to the openings of seventies television shows. Seeing Bob Newhart (a stand-in, by the way) in a long shot on his way to work, or Mary Tyler Moore exasperated, tossing a package of meat into her shopping cart, makes me feel safe and ten years old again. It shouldn’t bother me that my teddy bear is electronic, but it seems a little insidious that entertainment can be so ingrained in me. But, what bothers me more is that Teletubbies makes me feel the same way.

Interview With Myself (100 word post 2.2)

2008-06-19T20:23:00.000-04:00

Q: If you could only be either rich or famous, which would you choose?
A: Rich, because money can be given away.

Q: What is your favorite food and what does it say about you?
A: Well, I really like salmon. I don’t think it says anything about me. Why have you heard something?

Q: I’ve heard you aren’t fond of zoos. Why is that?
A: I like to feed the animals. I do like that zoo in San Francisco where the big cats eat humans.

Q: How do you feel about gay marriage?
A: Why, have you heard something?

23 (100 word post 2.1)

2008-06-18T18:15:00.002-04:00

(first in the second series of fifty 100 word posts in fifty days--and these words don't count, Jeremy)

How many people need to be in a room to make the odds better than 50% that two will have the same birthday? 23. It doesn’t seem right, does it? But it’s true. 365 days in a year, but it only takes 23. It’s enough to make you lose faith in omens and poetic justice. But like other cool things, coincidence is hard to force. How many people do you think it takes in a room for the chances to be better than half that one has your birthday? 253. Fun facts like that make me glad I don’t gamble.

Death Mask Tuesday (Naked Bootleg Ed.)

2008-06-17T21:09:00.002-04:00

This is the face that launched a thousand cute football games. Glenn Scobey Warner coached college football for 44 years with stints at Georgia, Cornell, University of Pittsburgh, Stanford and Temple.

During Warner's forty-four years as a head coach he introduced many
innovations to the game, including the spiral punt; naked bootleg;
double reverse; three-point stance; screen pass; single- and
double-wing formations; the numbering of players' jerseys; the
employment of shoulder pads, thigh pads, lightweight uniforms, and
safer helmets; and the use of blocking sleds and tackling dummies at
practice.

A quarter of a million kids play each year in the youth football league he helped promote. Not only that, but 2/3 of all NFL players came through the Pop Warner Little Scholars Program.

That's all for today kiddies...
...but tomorrow the 100 Post Challenge, Part II begins.

Lipstick Theory

2008-06-16T00:13:00.002-04:00

Cheap thrills make for big bucks in hard economic times. At least that's how Leonard Lauder, former Estee Lauder head figured it:

The thinking behind the theory is that consumers turn to inexpensive luxury goods such as lipstick to console themselves when they feel the economy is putting high priced luxuries out of their reach.

There's a joke about putting lipstick on a pig somewhere in here, but it's not worth finding.