Kyle Michel Sullivan's Blog: https://www.myirishnovel.com/, page 175
August 5, 2017
Took all day, but...
I finally have a way back to making Chapters 12 and 13 a bit better...I hope. Initially, since the beginning of 13 is Adam waking up, I was thinking of making the bit where he talks about the differences between his mother and father into a dream. Which I did not like. Very pedestrian...and seemingly the only way to shift out of the current trap of tedium. Besides, I had dreams in my first four books and they only worked because of the subject matter. I needed something better.
Then I started thinking...he's waking the next morning and probably still exhausted and achy, so he might lie there for a while and let his mind drift. Into reminiscences. Into comparisons. Noting similarities between his mother and Casey. Thinking about his father's fate. And if Casey's right beside him, sleeping, thinking about her. And it began to gel. Began to feel right. And so obvious, I could kick myself.
I've worked up an outline. Very basic but still good as a start. It combines his memory of reading Simone de Beauvoir's The Blood of Others and discussing it with his mother at his father's recommendation and pulls in more information about Casey's father and memories of his time with Cora, a woman he loved who dumped him...and maybe I can use it as a way to replay the story, up till then. Remind the reader of what's happened and what's been set up without being didactic.
I did most of it while waiting for new tires to be put on my car. My old ones were beginning to crack on the sides and lose air. I also got my new laptop but haven't figured out how to shift my Office for Mac over to is so I can use it for word processing. I did buy a printer and now have access to putting out my own sheets instead of having to pay at Kinko's or use Caladex's. It has its limits, but those may be just because I haven't learned all about it, yet.
As if I ever will...
Then I started thinking...he's waking the next morning and probably still exhausted and achy, so he might lie there for a while and let his mind drift. Into reminiscences. Into comparisons. Noting similarities between his mother and Casey. Thinking about his father's fate. And if Casey's right beside him, sleeping, thinking about her. And it began to gel. Began to feel right. And so obvious, I could kick myself.
I've worked up an outline. Very basic but still good as a start. It combines his memory of reading Simone de Beauvoir's The Blood of Others and discussing it with his mother at his father's recommendation and pulls in more information about Casey's father and memories of his time with Cora, a woman he loved who dumped him...and maybe I can use it as a way to replay the story, up till then. Remind the reader of what's happened and what's been set up without being didactic.
I did most of it while waiting for new tires to be put on my car. My old ones were beginning to crack on the sides and lose air. I also got my new laptop but haven't figured out how to shift my Office for Mac over to is so I can use it for word processing. I did buy a printer and now have access to putting out my own sheets instead of having to pay at Kinko's or use Caladex's. It has its limits, but those may be just because I haven't learned all about it, yet.
As if I ever will...
August 4, 2017
And here I go, again...
Well...Chapters 12 and 13 of The Alice '65 don't really work, yet. They're okay, but they need to be kicking ass, by this point, and they simply don't. They sit there, providing just enough interest to keep going but nothing more. So that's tomorrow's job -- making them sing instead of lip-sync.
Something that might help is if I could figure out Casey, better. She's working but I don't think I'm doing as well by her as she deserves. Adam, I've got. Lando, yeah...I got him; he's easy. Same for Veronica and Orisi. They're all off-center enough to make them fun and interesting. But Casey is still a bit too close to cliched. Same for Patricia, really.
There's a lot more to her than I've put in, I know. I just need to figure out how to do it without her explaining it. That may be the problem; I have her do that a couple of times and it's just not right. I got away from it when she talks about how she and Lando wound up together...but it's still too prevalent.
It was my hope to have this draft finalized and printed before I leave for Boston, on Tuesday. Don't think that's gonna happen. Still too much to make acceptable.
As is usual with me...
Something that might help is if I could figure out Casey, better. She's working but I don't think I'm doing as well by her as she deserves. Adam, I've got. Lando, yeah...I got him; he's easy. Same for Veronica and Orisi. They're all off-center enough to make them fun and interesting. But Casey is still a bit too close to cliched. Same for Patricia, really.
There's a lot more to her than I've put in, I know. I just need to figure out how to do it without her explaining it. That may be the problem; I have her do that a couple of times and it's just not right. I got away from it when she talks about how she and Lando wound up together...but it's still too prevalent.
It was my hope to have this draft finalized and printed before I leave for Boston, on Tuesday. Don't think that's gonna happen. Still too much to make acceptable.
As is usual with me...
August 3, 2017
City Lights (1931)
One of my all time favorite films...worth the $3...especially for the ending.
I've only seen it a dozen times...and I cannot recommend this movie enough. Comedy and tragedy and just what I needed to remember, right now.
I've only seen it a dozen times...and I cannot recommend this movie enough. Comedy and tragedy and just what I needed to remember, right now.
August 2, 2017
Genius or deluded fool?
I remember seeing a film about Charlie Chaplin, years ago, that discussed his method of making his greatest films, and I halfway think that influenced my writing, subconsciously. By that, I mean the way I keep rewriting...and rewriting...and rewriting because I rarely start a story with a definite outline but instead only an idea and some notes. Here's what his bio in Wikipedia says --
Until he began making spoken dialogue films with The Great Dictator, Chaplin never shot from a completed script.[353] Many of his early films began with only a vague premise – for example "Charlie enters a health spa" or "Charlie works in a pawn shop."[354] He then had sets constructed and worked with his stock company to improvise gags and "business" using them, almost always working the ideas out on film.[352] As ideas were accepted and discarded, a narrative structure would emerge, frequently requiring Chaplin to re-shoot an already-completed scene that might have otherwise contradicted the story.[355][
clarification needed
] From A Woman of Paris onward Chaplin began the filming process with a prepared plot,[356] but Robinson writes that every film up to Modern Times "went through many metamorphoses and permutations before the story took its final form."[357]
Producing films in this manner meant Chaplin took longer to complete his pictures than almost any other filmmaker at the time.[358] If he was out of ideas, he often took a break from the shoot, which could last for days, while keeping the studio ready for when inspiration returned.[359] Delaying the process further was Chaplin's rigorous perfectionism.[360] According to his friend Ivor Montagu, "nothing but perfection would be right" for the filmmaker.[361] Because he personally funded his films, Chaplin was at liberty to strive for this goal and shoot as many takes as he wished.[362] The number was often excessive, for instance 53 takes for every finished take in The Kid.[363] For The Immigrant, a 20 minute-short, Chaplin shot 40,000 feet of film – enough for a feature-length.[364]
"No other filmmaker ever so completely dominated every aspect of the work, did every job. If he could have done so, Chaplin would have played every role and (as his son Sydney humorously but perceptively observed) sewn every costume."[350]—Chaplin biographer David RobinsonDescribing his working method as "sheer perseverance to the point of madness",[365] Chaplin would be completely consumed by the production of a picture.[366] Robinson writes that even in Chaplin's later years, his work continued "to take precedence over everything and everyone else."[367] The combination of story improvisation and relentless perfectionism – which resulted in days of effort and thousands of feet of film being wasted, all at enormous expense – often proved taxing for Chaplin who, in frustration, would lash out at his actors and crew.[368]
Chaplin exercised complete control over his pictures,[350] to the extent that he would act out the other roles for his cast, expecting them to imitate him exactly.[369] He personally edited all of his films, trawling through the large amounts of footage to create the exact picture he wanted.[370] As a result of his complete independence, he was identified by the film historian Andrew Sarris as one of the first auteur filmmakers.[371] Chaplin did receive help, notably from his long-time cinematographer Roland Totheroh, brother Sydney Chaplin, and various assistant directors such as Harry Crocker and Charles Reisner.[372]
---
I don't compare myself to Chaplin in anyway except how damned long it takes to get to the core of the story. Which I am, apparently, still doing with a light little piece like The Alice '65...but which I can't help but do because I want it to be right.
And to paraphrase what someone once said about pornography, "I don't know that is, yet; I'll just know it when I see it."
Until he began making spoken dialogue films with The Great Dictator, Chaplin never shot from a completed script.[353] Many of his early films began with only a vague premise – for example "Charlie enters a health spa" or "Charlie works in a pawn shop."[354] He then had sets constructed and worked with his stock company to improvise gags and "business" using them, almost always working the ideas out on film.[352] As ideas were accepted and discarded, a narrative structure would emerge, frequently requiring Chaplin to re-shoot an already-completed scene that might have otherwise contradicted the story.[355][
clarification needed
] From A Woman of Paris onward Chaplin began the filming process with a prepared plot,[356] but Robinson writes that every film up to Modern Times "went through many metamorphoses and permutations before the story took its final form."[357]Producing films in this manner meant Chaplin took longer to complete his pictures than almost any other filmmaker at the time.[358] If he was out of ideas, he often took a break from the shoot, which could last for days, while keeping the studio ready for when inspiration returned.[359] Delaying the process further was Chaplin's rigorous perfectionism.[360] According to his friend Ivor Montagu, "nothing but perfection would be right" for the filmmaker.[361] Because he personally funded his films, Chaplin was at liberty to strive for this goal and shoot as many takes as he wished.[362] The number was often excessive, for instance 53 takes for every finished take in The Kid.[363] For The Immigrant, a 20 minute-short, Chaplin shot 40,000 feet of film – enough for a feature-length.[364]
"No other filmmaker ever so completely dominated every aspect of the work, did every job. If he could have done so, Chaplin would have played every role and (as his son Sydney humorously but perceptively observed) sewn every costume."[350]—Chaplin biographer David RobinsonDescribing his working method as "sheer perseverance to the point of madness",[365] Chaplin would be completely consumed by the production of a picture.[366] Robinson writes that even in Chaplin's later years, his work continued "to take precedence over everything and everyone else."[367] The combination of story improvisation and relentless perfectionism – which resulted in days of effort and thousands of feet of film being wasted, all at enormous expense – often proved taxing for Chaplin who, in frustration, would lash out at his actors and crew.[368]
Chaplin exercised complete control over his pictures,[350] to the extent that he would act out the other roles for his cast, expecting them to imitate him exactly.[369] He personally edited all of his films, trawling through the large amounts of footage to create the exact picture he wanted.[370] As a result of his complete independence, he was identified by the film historian Andrew Sarris as one of the first auteur filmmakers.[371] Chaplin did receive help, notably from his long-time cinematographer Roland Totheroh, brother Sydney Chaplin, and various assistant directors such as Harry Crocker and Charles Reisner.[372]
---
I don't compare myself to Chaplin in anyway except how damned long it takes to get to the core of the story. Which I am, apparently, still doing with a light little piece like The Alice '65...but which I can't help but do because I want it to be right.
And to paraphrase what someone once said about pornography, "I don't know that is, yet; I'll just know it when I see it."
July 31, 2017
Still handling shifts and changes...
Well...after having a celebratory birthday dinner of a fairly decent steak and beer (the joint's Guinness tap was out of order and I damn near left, but decided it wasn't that important), I got back to adjusting parts of the first half of The Alice '65 to fit Adam's new height. Being 5'6" now means Orisi is even more intent on making him look good...which isn't hard, considering when he arrives he's wearing clothes meant for a man 6 inches taller than him.
So I'm using Daniel Radcliffe as my new image for Adam, to remind me. I'd post a photo of him on my blog, but I can't find one of him as a clean-shaven adult, and no way am I posting a Harry Potter picture. He might be too good-looking for Adam, but might not. The guy I worked with in Brighton was 5'6", had a nice face and compact body so I could use him, instead. I should've taken a picture of him...but he's a bit homophobic and I needed him to keep working till we were done.
Now I'm pretty much caught up to where I was, so can continue on to the part where Adam sneaks back into Lando's place via the back yard and meets Gertrude. His new size makes that a bit more possible, since he can now slip through a smaller opening in the cyclone fencing. And since he's now in shoes that have a thick sole so he comes across a bit taller than he is, when he loses one, he's going to hobble along. I'm sort of stacking the deck against him...but it's feeling okay, so far.
I've decided I will have a draft ready for feedback by Labor Day. I have to. P/S is nudging at me, hard. Brendan wants his story told, and the sooner I get onto it, the better...considering how I rewrite everything a hundred times. Be nice to finally get it done after so many years of contemplation.
And considering I'm now officially a recipient of Medicare. Next year comes Social Security. I'm getting to be an old fart, and can barely keep myself from yelling out my 4th floor window at passing kids, telling them to keep off my lawn...even though the building doesn't have one.
Maybe I should get one put in, just for fun.
So I'm using Daniel Radcliffe as my new image for Adam, to remind me. I'd post a photo of him on my blog, but I can't find one of him as a clean-shaven adult, and no way am I posting a Harry Potter picture. He might be too good-looking for Adam, but might not. The guy I worked with in Brighton was 5'6", had a nice face and compact body so I could use him, instead. I should've taken a picture of him...but he's a bit homophobic and I needed him to keep working till we were done.
Now I'm pretty much caught up to where I was, so can continue on to the part where Adam sneaks back into Lando's place via the back yard and meets Gertrude. His new size makes that a bit more possible, since he can now slip through a smaller opening in the cyclone fencing. And since he's now in shoes that have a thick sole so he comes across a bit taller than he is, when he loses one, he's going to hobble along. I'm sort of stacking the deck against him...but it's feeling okay, so far.
I've decided I will have a draft ready for feedback by Labor Day. I have to. P/S is nudging at me, hard. Brendan wants his story told, and the sooner I get onto it, the better...considering how I rewrite everything a hundred times. Be nice to finally get it done after so many years of contemplation.
And considering I'm now officially a recipient of Medicare. Next year comes Social Security. I'm getting to be an old fart, and can barely keep myself from yelling out my 4th floor window at passing kids, telling them to keep off my lawn...even though the building doesn't have one.
Maybe I should get one put in, just for fun.
July 30, 2017
One little change...
And that starts an avalanche of other changes. I've got a good two dozen moments that need reworking. Some for details. Some because this makes them better. Bits that have to be updated. New ideas. Shifts in logistics. OMG, just by swapping heights between Adam and Lando. And more in the untouched part of this rewrite that show Adam's new size helps some actions make sense.
Today I got through the part where Adam gets kicked out of Lando's house. I'm waiting to re-re-rewrite the jet sequence till I've redone this part of the story. I guess this means I'm finally tumbling into the real story. Seems my main method of writing is redoing it until things start to jump before my eyes. Over and over and over...just like William Wyler made his films.
I just remembered it. He was notorious for doing dozens of takes because he didn't like what he was seeing. This was back when they were shooting on film, so he'd only print the takes he felt might be usable...meaning he shot a hell of a lot of film that was never even processed before he was happy.
There's one story about when he and Bette Davis worked together on Jezebel. It's set in New Orleans in the 1850s, and she's a Southern Belle known to be something of a hellion. Her big entrance is on the back of a horse that she's just tamed. She's wearing a riding dress, gets off, and goes into her house to greet guests coming to her party, even though she hasn't changed clothes.
Wyler shot the scene 45 times. Bette fumed and fought with him. But he printed every one of the shots then showed them to her, and she saw that her first 10 takes were very actressy and showy. It wasn't until the 45th shot that it seemed perfectly natural for her to pick up the train of her riding dress with her riding crop. So maybe I've taken some of Wyler into my style...
Jeez...that means I'll spend another 10 years on Place of Safety!
Today I got through the part where Adam gets kicked out of Lando's house. I'm waiting to re-re-rewrite the jet sequence till I've redone this part of the story. I guess this means I'm finally tumbling into the real story. Seems my main method of writing is redoing it until things start to jump before my eyes. Over and over and over...just like William Wyler made his films.
I just remembered it. He was notorious for doing dozens of takes because he didn't like what he was seeing. This was back when they were shooting on film, so he'd only print the takes he felt might be usable...meaning he shot a hell of a lot of film that was never even processed before he was happy.
There's one story about when he and Bette Davis worked together on Jezebel. It's set in New Orleans in the 1850s, and she's a Southern Belle known to be something of a hellion. Her big entrance is on the back of a horse that she's just tamed. She's wearing a riding dress, gets off, and goes into her house to greet guests coming to her party, even though she hasn't changed clothes.
Wyler shot the scene 45 times. Bette fumed and fought with him. But he printed every one of the shots then showed them to her, and she saw that her first 10 takes were very actressy and showy. It wasn't until the 45th shot that it seemed perfectly natural for her to pick up the train of her riding dress with her riding crop. So maybe I've taken some of Wyler into my style...
Jeez...that means I'll spend another 10 years on Place of Safety!
July 29, 2017
Done deal...
I reworked my reworking of the reworked confrontation in the jet...and it's smoother and more acceptable if Adam is only 5'6" instead of 6' tall. So there it is -- my raison d'etre. He plays rugby every weekend so is solidly built, and his legs are strong, so when the whole group winds up in a scrum he can wriggle his way out of it and do what needs to be done much easier if he's small as opposed to tall.
I like the way the jet stuff fell together, once I got seriously into the new logistics. I also brought in a flight attendant, two cops, a co-pilot, and several other people, like something out of the Marx Brothers...and a bit like The Lyons' Den. All of that in the confines of a larger jet that has a decent range to it is even more fun. I don't think I'll specify the exact type of jet, except to have Adam comment that it's massive.
Keeping the story within the bounds of reality is still a top priority. I want events to proceed naturally, without the usual cell phone interrupts conversation to advance plot or we're avoiding difficult scenes by having a line of dialogue spouted by a character. Something that irritated me about a BBC show I watched on Acorn, The Level, was how the lazy-assed writers consistently ended scenes by having a character have to answer the phone or a text. Of course, they also had supposedly intelligent people do stupid things so they could keep the action moving, but that's become so typical on TV, it's almost a cliche to call it out.
I'm still catching up on my rest, it seems. I slept till noon, today...and may tomorrow, too. I woke up easy, even though I had a difficult time getting to sleep, last night. Lately it seems I'm dreaming about packing jobs.
Dunno how I feel about that.
I like the way the jet stuff fell together, once I got seriously into the new logistics. I also brought in a flight attendant, two cops, a co-pilot, and several other people, like something out of the Marx Brothers...and a bit like The Lyons' Den. All of that in the confines of a larger jet that has a decent range to it is even more fun. I don't think I'll specify the exact type of jet, except to have Adam comment that it's massive.
Keeping the story within the bounds of reality is still a top priority. I want events to proceed naturally, without the usual cell phone interrupts conversation to advance plot or we're avoiding difficult scenes by having a line of dialogue spouted by a character. Something that irritated me about a BBC show I watched on Acorn, The Level, was how the lazy-assed writers consistently ended scenes by having a character have to answer the phone or a text. Of course, they also had supposedly intelligent people do stupid things so they could keep the action moving, but that's become so typical on TV, it's almost a cliche to call it out.
I'm still catching up on my rest, it seems. I slept till noon, today...and may tomorrow, too. I woke up easy, even though I had a difficult time getting to sleep, last night. Lately it seems I'm dreaming about packing jobs.
Dunno how I feel about that.
July 28, 2017
Wondering about Adam, again...
I have a sort of joke in A65 about Adam being 6 feet tall and Lando being 5'8"...but I wonder if I have it backwards? If Adam should be short and Lando the ideal of Hollywood masculinity. If that would be even funnier, once Adam bests him. I got to thinking about this when I happened across a photo of Daniel Radcliffe, who's 5'5". Decent man. Very good-looking. And bolder than most other actors -- appearing nude in Equus and seeking out odd roles to play in films, now.
That led me to Seth Green, who played the werewolf, Oz, on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. He's 5'4" but never seemed like it, and has done a lot in film and television. Same for Breckin Meyer, Michael J Fox, Alan Ladd, Claude Rains...so I wonder if I'm making too easy a joke out of something that has already been joked to death instead of going for a harder, more relevant joke.
Would making Lando be perfect in every way except brains just be another version of a joke that's been worn down to nothingness? Should I bother making fun of appearances? I've got Casey as perfection but also with brains...and a vindictive streak that causes a lot of pain and chaos. Would it be funnier if Adam was not only slimmer than Manny, when he has to borrow clothes to wear after being vomited upon by a kid, but also shorter? So that Manny's high-water jeans are like clown pants on Adam?
Matthew Lewis is 6 foot while Russell Tovey is about 5'10, same height as me...and I've been using them as the image of Adam...but it feels like I'm taking easy pot-shots at short people with this height joke. Truth is, I like guys who're shorter than me. I've been with perfection and found it criminal and vicious. Beauty does not equate to decency, even though most people subconsciously believe it does. So should I let Adam be shorter than Casey? Would that work, in a rom-com?
Great...yet one more thing to have to figure out on this story...
That led me to Seth Green, who played the werewolf, Oz, on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. He's 5'4" but never seemed like it, and has done a lot in film and television. Same for Breckin Meyer, Michael J Fox, Alan Ladd, Claude Rains...so I wonder if I'm making too easy a joke out of something that has already been joked to death instead of going for a harder, more relevant joke.
Would making Lando be perfect in every way except brains just be another version of a joke that's been worn down to nothingness? Should I bother making fun of appearances? I've got Casey as perfection but also with brains...and a vindictive streak that causes a lot of pain and chaos. Would it be funnier if Adam was not only slimmer than Manny, when he has to borrow clothes to wear after being vomited upon by a kid, but also shorter? So that Manny's high-water jeans are like clown pants on Adam?
Matthew Lewis is 6 foot while Russell Tovey is about 5'10, same height as me...and I've been using them as the image of Adam...but it feels like I'm taking easy pot-shots at short people with this height joke. Truth is, I like guys who're shorter than me. I've been with perfection and found it criminal and vicious. Beauty does not equate to decency, even though most people subconsciously believe it does. So should I let Adam be shorter than Casey? Would that work, in a rom-com?
Great...yet one more thing to have to figure out on this story...
July 27, 2017
Taking another trip...
Buffalo to Boston to NYC and home, again. This time by cargo van. It ain't as elegant as a Town & Country and I can't use the parkways to avoid the 95, but compared to the last 5 weeks, it'll be a breeze. I'm looking forward to it.
I'm also one step closer to another trip to the UK...but this time set in the middle of nowhere. I'm debating getting a car but may not need one, and they are expensive to rent, there. It's not like I have a problem driving on the left side of the road; I've done it several times...in Ireland, England & Scotland. But it can be confusing, finding your way around. Especially in the countryside.
Meanwhile, it's back to work on A65. I'm still honing in on the final shape of the story, but the plot is as thick as a stew, right now. I have to be careful something that's too obvious doesn't make its way into the mix. And while stews are nice, a pot roast is better and more savory. Hmm...maybe I'll make one over the weekend. I have a crock pot and can cook it slow for a couple days.
I was in a foul mood, yesterday, so wound up bingeing on a BBC show called The Level. It's six-episode murder mystery about cops in Brighton that is closer to what Quantico thought it was than Quantico could even think of being, with the twists and turns and who's doing what to whom and no one can be trusted stuff...but still doesn't quite gel. Characters take each other at their word too damned much. The lead character does some stupid things that I don't think a decorated cop would do...especially one who's supposed to be a smart detective. But it was okay.
I have Jake do some stupid things and jump to wrong conclusions and miss connections in The Vanishing of Owen Taylor, but he's not a detective. He's a rank amateur who gets to the bottom of things because he's willing to do what it takes to find out what the hell's going on...and doesn't give up. Even when slapped in the face by the truth.
I dunno. I'm trying to keep the actions of Adam and Casey honest in The Alice '65...but maybe that's a mistake. Maybe I should write stupid or simplistic. Doing it my current way hasn't done much for me.
But...when I start back on Place of Safety, I have to be ready...and this is good practice for at least trying to tell the truth.
I'm also one step closer to another trip to the UK...but this time set in the middle of nowhere. I'm debating getting a car but may not need one, and they are expensive to rent, there. It's not like I have a problem driving on the left side of the road; I've done it several times...in Ireland, England & Scotland. But it can be confusing, finding your way around. Especially in the countryside.
Meanwhile, it's back to work on A65. I'm still honing in on the final shape of the story, but the plot is as thick as a stew, right now. I have to be careful something that's too obvious doesn't make its way into the mix. And while stews are nice, a pot roast is better and more savory. Hmm...maybe I'll make one over the weekend. I have a crock pot and can cook it slow for a couple days.
I was in a foul mood, yesterday, so wound up bingeing on a BBC show called The Level. It's six-episode murder mystery about cops in Brighton that is closer to what Quantico thought it was than Quantico could even think of being, with the twists and turns and who's doing what to whom and no one can be trusted stuff...but still doesn't quite gel. Characters take each other at their word too damned much. The lead character does some stupid things that I don't think a decorated cop would do...especially one who's supposed to be a smart detective. But it was okay.
I have Jake do some stupid things and jump to wrong conclusions and miss connections in The Vanishing of Owen Taylor, but he's not a detective. He's a rank amateur who gets to the bottom of things because he's willing to do what it takes to find out what the hell's going on...and doesn't give up. Even when slapped in the face by the truth.
I dunno. I'm trying to keep the actions of Adam and Casey honest in The Alice '65...but maybe that's a mistake. Maybe I should write stupid or simplistic. Doing it my current way hasn't done much for me.
But...when I start back on Place of Safety, I have to be ready...and this is good practice for at least trying to tell the truth.
July 25, 2017
New Laptop...
I'm getting a new MacBook Pro. Caladex will pay for part of it as a sort of bonus for the jobs I did on the west coast. Wow...never expected that...and so happy and thankful for it. I can get a new 13" one for $1700 with 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage...well, $1850 with tax. It'd be worth it. My little beast is at the end of its rope.
I think my copy of Office will be fine, for it, and I may get Adobe CS to use at the shop. Being able to do graphics came in handy when I could work my old Photoshop program. With CS, I can do even better visuals for the cover of A65. Woo-hoo.
I'm caught up on all my financial crap and neatening up of the mess I made unpacking. Now I can get back to rewriting. Get away from the filth that's going on in Washington...and I mean try not to let it destroy me. I am having far too difficult a time understanding why people still support Czar Snowflake, even though he's doing all he can to hurt them...with the gleeful help of the GOP.
I used to think I had a fair grasp of human nature...but I now see I never did. The stupidity of what's happening, let alone the cruelty of it, is beyond my ability to comprehend. I now understand sadism, at least. It's the joy of seeing pain brought to others, so long as you, yourself, are not affected. And there are far too many Americans taking pleasure in this devil's dance.
I'm ashamed to be a natural-born citizen of this country, right now.
I think my copy of Office will be fine, for it, and I may get Adobe CS to use at the shop. Being able to do graphics came in handy when I could work my old Photoshop program. With CS, I can do even better visuals for the cover of A65. Woo-hoo.
I'm caught up on all my financial crap and neatening up of the mess I made unpacking. Now I can get back to rewriting. Get away from the filth that's going on in Washington...and I mean try not to let it destroy me. I am having far too difficult a time understanding why people still support Czar Snowflake, even though he's doing all he can to hurt them...with the gleeful help of the GOP.
I used to think I had a fair grasp of human nature...but I now see I never did. The stupidity of what's happening, let alone the cruelty of it, is beyond my ability to comprehend. I now understand sadism, at least. It's the joy of seeing pain brought to others, so long as you, yourself, are not affected. And there are far too many Americans taking pleasure in this devil's dance.
I'm ashamed to be a natural-born citizen of this country, right now.
