Let's Speak The Same Language
Thursday, October 23, 2014
PHYSICAL FITNESS AND OLD BEATNIK WRITERS
Today, I've been bent over my laptop for 4 straight hours at Starbucks. My bones and my back ache. I remember when I could sit 8 hours at a time, writing away, with nary a pinch of pain. I'm not the only person to realize this connection between physical effort and writing. Many writers have commented on the physical difficulty of the writer at his laptop i.e. the old typewriter. Let me tell you all, however, "The End" is soon, relatively soon, to be put to the Manning novel. I can feel it winding down in my aching bones, only a few chapters ahead. I can see it out there in the mists in the middle of the moors. Thus, I'm tired and this blog entry is kaput.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
ONE-HUNDRED-ONE-THOUSAND-THREE-HUNDRED-FIFTY-SEVEN
Six am. Did anyone other than myself catch the error in the title of my last entry? The title of this entry is correct. I was drowsing in my old man's recliner yesterday, thinking about that title and realized I'd made an error in writing out 101,357
ONE-HUNDRED-THOUSAND-ONE-THOUSAND-THREE-HUNDRED-FIFTY-SEVEN [no]
ONE-HUNDRED-ONE-THOUSAND-THREE-HUNDRED-FIFTY-SEVEN [yes]
But this blog is a writer's blog, not a mathematician's blog so
I forgive myself. Beside that, I've also surpassed that number with the writing I did yesterday.
Following the writing of this early a.m. blog, I'm going to send off The Man In the Mirror today for its first trial run into the hands of an agent. I believe it ought to be labelled "... something along the lines of Crime and Punishment" in the cover letter, plus "the story of a murderous little high school teacher"? Something along those lines. Speaking of Crime and Punishment, a couple of weeks ago, I caught Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" which I think is much closer to the way things might happen than the way they happen in Dostoievski's novel. Unless, human nature has really changed that much in a hundred or so years.
ONE-HUNDRED-THOUSAND-ONE-THOUSAND-THREE-HUNDRED-FIFTY-SEVEN [no]
ONE-HUNDRED-ONE-THOUSAND-THREE-HUNDRED-FIFTY-SEVEN [yes]
But this blog is a writer's blog, not a mathematician's blog so
I forgive myself. Beside that, I've also surpassed that number with the writing I did yesterday.
Following the writing of this early a.m. blog, I'm going to send off The Man In the Mirror today for its first trial run into the hands of an agent. I believe it ought to be labelled "... something along the lines of Crime and Punishment" in the cover letter, plus "the story of a murderous little high school teacher"? Something along those lines. Speaking of Crime and Punishment, a couple of weeks ago, I caught Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" which I think is much closer to the way things might happen than the way they happen in Dostoievski's novel. Unless, human nature has really changed that much in a hundred or so years.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
ONE-HUNDRED-THOUSAND-ONE-THOUSAND-THREE HUNDRED-FIFTY-SEVEN WORDS: THAT'S A MOUTHFUL
The current novel now stands at 101,357 words. The first of the secrets are being revealed to P.I. Charley Manning [and reader] as he pursues his investigation. His employer is still not clear. Manning is beginning to distinguish "bad guys" from "good guys", if only because one side seems to be doing the most damage. But who knows? Twists and turns are still in the offing. He must find out what "the research project" is all about, then he'll know which side is which.
Yesterday, I walked at Fred Meyers, and I observed a very old couple. The woman was in a wheelchair, and her mate was pushing her through the aisles. As I often do, I began to inhabit one of their minds as in a story point of view. I was in the wheelchair pusher's p.o.v., and I imagined him, feeling sad, because he remembers their days of intimacy. Then, I made fun of myself. Why should I think that, I wondered? So many stories could be told that didn't include their sexual lives. As if I don't already know, generalizations are impossible in the world of fiction. The man could just as well be totally pissed at his wife for making him wander so many aisles in search of things he could care less about.
Odd thing! In my internet search to find photos or art work that portrayed an old man pushing an old woman in a wheelchair, I couldn't find one. Does that speak a thousand truths?
Yesterday, I walked at Fred Meyers, and I observed a very old couple. The woman was in a wheelchair, and her mate was pushing her through the aisles. As I often do, I began to inhabit one of their minds as in a story point of view. I was in the wheelchair pusher's p.o.v., and I imagined him, feeling sad, because he remembers their days of intimacy. Then, I made fun of myself. Why should I think that, I wondered? So many stories could be told that didn't include their sexual lives. As if I don't already know, generalizations are impossible in the world of fiction. The man could just as well be totally pissed at his wife for making him wander so many aisles in search of things he could care less about.
FIND IT |
Odd thing! In my internet search to find photos or art work that portrayed an old man pushing an old woman in a wheelchair, I couldn't find one. Does that speak a thousand truths?
Saturday, October 11, 2014
FOURBYTWO IS A KNOCKOUT PUNCH
I now hold the latest FourByTwo in my hands, the Fall 2014 edition, the Los Angeles edition. I can't tell you how this tiny book affects me. Wait a minute ... yes, I can! It's delightful, magical, unique! FourByTwo is hand crafted by Jeremy Gaulke who has now departed for the East Coast, Virginia, making the book bi-coastal, and edited by klipschutz who still prowls his old haunts on the West.
Order an issue or subscribe here. I'm telling you it's production values will be remembered as time goes by. It's a visual and tactile sensation to hold in your hands. The book's uniqueness resides in the fact of how lovingly the fine poetry is treated within the structure of an imaginative and beautifully designed book. Artistic far beyond selecting cover art, each issue is one of a kind!
This issue of FourByTwo features the poetry of Paul Fericano, John Tottenham and klipschutz. Sample below.
THE SIGN OF THE DOUBLE CROSS
In the name of the Bogart,
and the Cagney,
and of the Holy Edward G.
Amen, see?
Paul Fericano
Delightful, eh?
Order an issue or subscribe here. I'm telling you it's production values will be remembered as time goes by. It's a visual and tactile sensation to hold in your hands. The book's uniqueness resides in the fact of how lovingly the fine poetry is treated within the structure of an imaginative and beautifully designed book. Artistic far beyond selecting cover art, each issue is one of a kind!
This issue of FourByTwo features the poetry of Paul Fericano, John Tottenham and klipschutz. Sample below.
THE SIGN OF THE DOUBLE CROSS
In the name of the Bogart,
and the Cagney,
and of the Holy Edward G.
Amen, see?
Paul Fericano
Delightful, eh?
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
BEATNICK SENDS OFF DAUGHTER TO A HAPPY MARRIAGE
News of the day. The writing is speeding along for the Manning novel. Soon, I'll break 100,000 words. It will be the longest novel I've written to date. Below, is the wedding toast I put together for my daughter's wedding to Mr. Scott Furuta. I'm very happy with it and with how well it went as I uttered it. I sent this version of it on expensive paper to the couple for a memento of their special day. Of course, there were spontaneous exclamations along the way that are missing, but, roughly, this is it:
FOR THE WEDDING OF SCOTT
KIYOSHI FURUTA AND EVA THOMAS
Delivered
on 20 September, 2014
As the father of the bride, I’m
upset with Scott and Eva
I thought I’d never have to buy
another suit
I was hoping they’d get
hitched in a hot air balloon
Somewhere above the Arizona
dessert
Instead, they got married in
Cle Elum, Washington
And I’m the only hot air
balloon in sight
Eva gave me two orders about
this wedding
I was to cry when I gave her
over to Scott
And when I told her I
thought my toast would probably be short
Since there are many years
when she was not in my care
She teared up and told me I
was a writer and could do better than that
To please Eva I did my
internet duty
And read over several examples
of wedding toasts by fathers of the bride
And I got lots of advice
from many people too
Such as My god, George, you can’t say that!
And Keep it short!
The sample toasts I read ran
about five minutes
So does this one
One wedding toast tradition
is that the father must embarrass the bride
By relating some memory from
her past
I’m sure most of you know
that Eva cries very easily
She’s one of the most
tenderhearted and gentle women I know
When Eva was about three,
sometimes she’d cry so hard she couldn’t catch her breath
She’d cry and cry and cry
until she couldn’t breathe
Then she’d pass out, fall
down and pee her pants
I hope you don’t have to deal with that too often, Scott
One of my favorite memories
of Eva comes from that same period
For about a year, while her
mother was finishing up her first nursing degree,
Eva was in daycare at the
Lutheran Church in Cheney
Every weekday morning I put
her on my shoulders to carry her to daycare
It was our routine to sing
“You Are My Sunshine” as we traveled along
That’s my happy memory of it—our
singing that song together
Eva’s memory is a bit different
Only recently she told me
that during our walk to daycare
While we sang that happy
song together, she was filled with dread
She knew I was about to drop
her off and leave her behind
When I think of Eva up there
on my shoulders
Being carried along, singing
happily away and filled with dread
That memory can make me cry
However, Eva, I’m unable to
shed any tears at this wedding,
This joyous beginning is
also the culmination of so many things in your life
So many things that make you
the woman you are today
The daughter I so much love
and admire for her courage and intelligence
And the perfect loving
partner to Mister Scott Furuta —
The joining of your two
lives together
It’s just too happy an
occasion for me to feel any sadness
Which brings me to the groom
Toast tradition says I must now
speak about the groom
Brace yourself, Scott
Happily, Scott Furuta is the
perfect mate
For the loving and
tender-hearted woman that Eva has become
Scott is supportive and
funny and a gentle person himself
He’s got a warm laugh and
he’s a real gentleman
The first time I met Scott,
he shook my hand,
And very sincerely and
respectfully called me, “Mister Thomas”
I looked around to see who
he was talking to
Scott Furuta is a very
bright fellow also and a college teacher
He learned that the
Thomas family is very competitive in games like Trivia and sports
My two sons are still
injuring themselves in sporting competitions to this day
After one or two Thomas family
gatherings
We quickly learned that
Scott Furuta plays a mean board game himself
I think we all agree he’s
the best among us with his quick and ready intelligence
Of course, none of that
competitive stuff means a thing to Eva
She knows and we all
recognized immediately that Scott
Is one of the most gentle
dudes around
Finally, another wedding
toast tradition is to give marital advice to the couple
I have only one good piece
of marital advice to offer both of you
I got it from my oldest son,
Sean
He and his wife, Sheila,
will celebrate 30 years together next year
A couple of years back I
asked Sean what he owed his long marriage to
He said, “I watched what you
did, Dad, and I do just the opposite.”
Well that’s my five minute
toast
Families and friends of the couple,
As the British say, "will you please all be upstanding"
And raise your glasses and your
hopes
In a toast to Mr. and Mrs. Scott Kiyoshi Furuta
With love for the newlywed
couple,
Dad
Saturday, October 4, 2014
BEATNIKING AROUND FOR LAUGHS
Man Preparing To Leap From A Mirror |
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