A legend passed today. My childhood hero, Evil Knievel. Godspeed to you, Evil and your crazy American flag covered motorcycle.
In his prime:
To a Mobie bound geriatric.
See you on the other side, you crazy diamond. See you on the other side…
A writer, reloaded
The Last Track — Available Now!
Archive for November, 2007
Evil dead
Friday, November 30th, 2007Painting
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007At long last–no sooner could this day come–Project Bury Navajo white is almost complete. I say almost with great hesitation. There’s some touch up work in my office still, a few corners and the outlet plates. Plus the matter of the kitchen. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
Here’s a quick pictorial:
Before painting, it’s important to prep. Oedipus likes to start with a DVD.
Two coats of Coffee Au Lait later, the same bedroom says, “Enter and relax.” Note the Navajo white trim at the baseboards. Also Electra now rules the bed.
Hmm. Navajo white hallway. Yes floor to ceiling, it’s really better than a color. Glowing eyeballs on the left side are courtesy Oedipus.
A quick pit stop in the bathroom. Brandie new, with matching towels and mats.
Don’t look too closely at the kitchen walls. Krusty the Clown secretly replaced the nice yellow I imagined in the paint store with a shade right from Homer Simpson’s makeup kit.
After a good meal of Doh-nuts, enjoy a bottle of vino and kick back in the reading alcove. Considering doing this area in a light gray. Maybe.
The office needs a bit of work still, but the Ashley Beige fits well here. Believe it or not the CRT monitor is 7 years old, and the ghetto tower box even older. Next year I upgrade to a less decrepit system.
And last, the most impressive color in the palette. Living room by Norwood Spruce. And yes, the space does need furniture.
American Gangster
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007The state of the American box office lately straddles the line between tragic and unfortunate. Besides the Bourne Ultimatum, Transformers and Disturbia this year’s releases were–ahem, dare I say it–crappy and uninspired.
And so for much of 2007, I gave up on seeing movies in the theater. DVD’s were cheaper and more convenient, plus spared me from the hordes of whack-a-dus treating a darkened room with reclining seats as if they were watching the Super Bowl on a La-Z-Boy in their living room. Hence the paucity of movie reviews this year.
I set this malaise aside for American Gangster and was not only entertained, I was wowed.
Frank Lucas, a criminal mastermind who came to power at the tail end of the Vietnam War smuggling pure heroin from the Far East and unloaded smack twice as pure as the competition on the streets of Harlem. He made a lot of money, wrecked countless lives, and eventually spent 15 years in a federal prison, turning State’s evidence against former cronies.
But Frank Lucas was also a momma’s boy, who attended church every Sunday with his family, and handed out turkeys at the Holidays. He bought his mother a house the size of a football field and ran with dignitaries and sports legends. Plus his Momma chewed him out in front of other people.
Richie Roberts, a detective no one would work with because he ignored conventional wisdom on tracking the flow of narcotics. If there was anyone who could take down a drug dealer above the Mafia, it was his team. The work took a toll on his private life; he was an absent husband and father. These were complex men on a collision course. Which makes a film based on true events of his life so interesting.What works about American Gangster:
1) Casting. Absolutely critical. If it was anyone but Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, this movie would not work as well.
2) Pacing. Never a dull moment.
3) Story Arc. Though the director takes liberties with actual events, the dramatic license pays out handsomely. The conflict sizzles on the screen.
Recommendation: If you like crime movies, this is a must, plus own on DVD.
To the wire
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007Had some good news from Kerry about The Last Track this morning. December 11th is the delivery date for her final polish, which means it’s going to be down to the wire for getting the manuscript back to the agent before leaving for Moscow.
That’s all right, though. I’m up to the task.
It will happen.
Zen and the art of handing a draft to someone who can be neutral
Sunday, November 18th, 2007Late Saturday night I finished implementing all the edits from the beginning to end read-through, before sending the manuscript back to Kerry for a second pass. At this point The Last Track is in her able hands. Though I’m not sure exactly when she might finish, a matter my instructions no doubt greatly frustrated, unless Divine Intervention smites me, the agent will have the manuscript for further consideration before I leave for Moscow in late December.
The nicest thing about finishing up is that I can work on something else. And oh man, do I need to disappear in a new project. God damn. It’s been nearly four years since I started the novel once known as Velocity, the sequel to an unfinished manuscript I walked away from to protect my sanity. Yeah, I don’t feel old reading the previous sentence, I swear.
And now a beer before bed…or I’ll have dreams of Kerry’s pen dicing the pages like this:
Developments
Thursday, November 15th, 2007While tending shop at work recently, in the last hour of the day an unexpected proposition came by the phone. Last April my boss sold a non-fiction project for a six-figure advance to a major publisher, and it’s shipping in March. Now is the time to think about promotion, because one thing I learned from Editor person, after release a book has three weeks to grow legs and walk away or the publisher loses interest and yanks publicity–if there was ever a publicity plan in the first place. The corollary to that: the fate of a marketing effort is determined 90 days before a title ships. In other words, the battle is won or lost before the first sword is drawn. Very Sun Tzu, these publishers.
Anyway, the conversation went something like…
“We’re looking for someone to grow the online awareness of the book, and get it blogged about. Know anyone that can do this?”
To which I answered, “Let me sleep on that and get back to you.”
And right now, I’m about to sleep on it and make a decision.
Some news
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007A few things before a proper post tomorrow.
1) Painting: Project Eclipse Navajo White continues. Painting the apartment is halfway done, with the bedroom and office finished. Saturday, the kitchen! And then onto the living room.
2) Moscow beckons. My visa came through without a hitch, I need only pick up my passport from the travel agent. Another step closer to Russia in December.
3) Edits. Before emailing the novel to Kerry for a last polish, I started a page one to page end read-through. This experience was affirmative as it was enlightening, because I now unreservedly concur with the agent who passed while extolling, “…it’s 90 percent there…” Between my efforts and Kerry’s I’m confident we can get damn close to nailing that last 10 percent. I’ll finish my end by Monday; the baton then passes to Kerry. Right now, I have 44 more pages of reviewing.
Look for a more substantial post on Thursday…
UPDATE: As of 10:49PM, Thursday, November 15th, nearly half the read through edits are implemented. Roughly 220 pages left.
