Jamie Greening's Blog, page 57

WRITING PLAYLISTS

I’ve had several exchanges with folks on the twitterverse and interwebs lately about their writing playlist.  I’ve come to the conclusion that music, and what kind of music, helps me write.

Old Blue Eyes Is A Muse

The most important thing about a writing playlist is that it should be something I’m familiar with.  If my mind is focusing on the music or the lyrics, then my mind is not engaged in the work of writing.  That is why streaming music or listening to NPR doesn’t work for me when writing.  It has to be older stuff I’ve heard a million times.  So here goes some of my writing playlists.

Dialogue (generic)–Something instrumental.  For generic dialogue I don’t need words in my mind as I’m trying to find out what my characters are saying to each other.  I don’t want my characters quoting George Jones or Jimi Hendrix.  Classical is okay, but so too is blues and jazz.  Green Onions by Booker T. & The M.G.’s is excellent to just loop over and over until the scene is written.  Yo-Yo Ma is great for this too.

Dialogue (intense/arguing)–Church hymns.  I don’t know why, but something about church music makes me think about arguing.  Let the reader understand.

Dialogue (internal)–When I am thinking about what another person is thinking there is only one authority:   Johnny Cash.

Theological Themes--Pastor Butch Gregory stories always have theological themes, and for that I need to listen to Rich Mullins.

Dream Sequences/Flashbacks–Norah Jones, because she just sounds so dreamy.

Crime/Violence–I’ve got a playlist I call “War/Spy” that has a heavy dose of Talking Heads, James Bond theme songs, Blondie, U2, Hall and Oates, and Mumford and Sons.  I know that doesn’t make a lot of since genre wise, but it does to me.

Fight Scenes–Guns-N-Roses.  It is important to know where you are.  You’re in the jungle baby.

Travel Scenes–I’ve found that my characters seem to always be traveling somewhere, and when they do, Led Zeppelin Rambles along.

Plot Development–Frank Sinatra.  I’ve got him under my skin.

Romantic Scenes–I don’t put a lot of romance in my books, but when I do, I prefer Cole Porter.

Techno–While writing sci-fi, sometimes I need to describe technological things which may or may not be real, but which are technological.  There are two groups that help me with this.  One is R.E.M.  I mean, Michael Stipe may actually be a character from a sci-fi novel.  The other is ZZ Top.  In my universe(s), all megalomaniac evil scientists wear cheap sunglasses.

Michael Stipe, SCI-FI

When In Doubt–Sometimes you don’t know what is going to flow out of the fingertips, and when that happens I hit an 80s mix.  Duran Duran always gets the creative reflex going.

There are a lot of other artists and genre’s I listen to, but these are the ones that most often find their way into my ear bud while writing.  I’d be interested to know what you listen to when you write.

images from therecordingrevolution.com and aleim.com

WHAT ARE YOU MOST CONCERNED ABOUT?

There are a lot of things to be concerned about.

Does this picture make you jumpy?

I was wondering what gets your attention the quickest?  To vote in the poll, click on your choice and make sure and click the “VOTE” button.  I didn’t put the nebulous “other” button, but if you like feel free to post something in the comment thread.  Check back from time to time and see what the results are.  Share on your Facebook and Twitter to get as many opinions as possible.  Thanks!

Take Our Poll

image from nbc.com

A TOUCHDOWN FOR FREEDOM OF RELIGION

It wasn’t much of a game, but that doesn’t mean interesting things didn’t happen (full disclosure, I did not watch the game.  I was busy doing something else, but I just can’t remember what it was.)  Apparently the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the New England Patriots 41-14 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.  That is the boring part.

Holy Ground?

Now for the interesting part.  Here is how ABC NEWS (click here for whole story) described it:

Kansas City Chiefs’ safety Husain Abdullah, a devout Muslim, was penalized 15 yards for “unsportsmanlike conduct” after he kneeled in prayer. He had run 39 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter

Was Abdullah penalized for praying?  If so, it would be a terrible double standard, because many athletes make spiritual gestures/prayers/kneel when they score or do something important (for more info, c/f Tebowing).  What we have learned since, is that no, he was not penalized for praying, but was penalized for the slide.  The Washington Post quotes Abdullah:

“For me, I just got a little too excited,” Abdullah said. “I think it was for the slide.” The lesson Abdullah took away? “Stop before you drop.”

Interesting.  Interesting indeed.

Two things should be pointed out in this whole issue.  One, it showed something nice.  Almost instantly people were outraged when they thought he was penalized for praying as a Muslim.  That is a good thing about the United States, and demonstrates religious liberty and tolerance.  Religious liberty for everyone is a historic Baptist doctrine that is often neglected in the culture war salvos made from many pulpits and platforms.  That the knee jerk reaction this morning against what might have been perceived as religious discrimination was so strong that the NFL had to make a special announcement about it demonstrates that the stream of tolerance and freedom flows freely amongst Americans.

The second glaring item is an irony.  In many (all?) majority Muslim nations, any person who might demonstrate faith in Christ in a public way would likely face a far worse penalty than Abdullah received in the game.

image from http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/nfl-kansas-city-chiefs-player-penalized-prayer/story?id=25859886

2ND GRADE, 1979-1980

I posted this awesome class picture on my Facebook page for ‘throwback Thursday’ last week.

THE CIRCLED ONE IS ME

Isn’t it awesome?  I thought it was.  I don’t really remember that much about 2nd grade, but here are a few things.

1.  I remember that I had a “Six Million Dollar Man” coloring book.  I couldn’t color at all.  I never have had any kind of fine arts abilities, but I really, really liked the Bionic Man and the Bionic Woman.  Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers rule!

2.  I remember the teeter-totters.  I was so fat that it took two kids on the other end to balance me out.  Sometimes three.

3.  I remember that second grade was the first time I was aware of the sting of injustice.  It was a typical hot, dusty, summer day.  We’d played outside, hard.  All of us were thirsty and sweaty.  There was one drinking fountain, for which we all stood in line to get a drink.  I was near the back of the line, as were most of the boys.  The line was about half way through getting a drink, and some boy did something that made our teacher mad.  He probably said a dirty word or cut in line or something.  Whatever it was, it caused the teacher to declare, “That’s it, drinking time is over. Everyone back in the room.”  So, some kids got a drink, some of us (ME!) didn’t, and it was all because of the actions of one person.  Injustice bites.

4.  I remember being afraid of the girls.  I still am.

5.  It was in second grade that I saw the movie Jaws for the first time.  This was a time before movies on demand, cable, and DVDs.  It was even before VHS.  I was too young for the theatrical version, but that year they showed it on network television, as one of those “Movie of the Week” things.  Some of you might remember those.  I was dumbfounded.  I had seen Star Wars, of course, but I had never seen a live action movie like that before.  The effect on me was profound.  Every day I sat at my little wooden desk and drew pictures.  I must have gone through a whole ream of notebook paper that year depicting various scenes of the gigantic shark eating away at the boat, swimming, eating swimmers, exploding, and just about every action scene in the movie.  I even made a few up of my own.

THIS IS ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE MY 2ND GRADE DESK

6.  I remember I had a green and white shirt, mesh type (very popular back then) material, that had the word “Kawasaki” in white script.  It was a hand-me-down from a friend of my mother’s who had boys a little older than me.  Some older boys, boys from the unattainable world of fourth and fifth grade, asked me if I liked Kawasakis.  I said yes.  They asked me what kind I had.  Busted!  Not only did I not have a Kawasaki, I didn’t even know what a Kawasaki was.  I remember feeling like it was something that I should have know about, but didn’t.  I remember their mocking.  It is, I think, the first time I ever felt inadequate and inferior.  It was not the last.

desk image from allaboutprops.com  

THE FIRST RULE OF THE WORK IN PROGRESS IS THAT YOU DON’T TALK ABOUT THE WORK IN PROGRESS

I am just seven or eight thousand words away from the end of the first draft for my new novel.  I have been exceedingly hush hush about it, saying only that it is a sequel to The Little Girl Waits.  Hemingway warns against talking too much about a work in progress (WIP) because he says it kills the juice.  If he’d been alive to see Fight Club, which I’m sure he’d have loved, he would have restated it:  “The first rule of the work in progress is that you don’t talk about the work in progress.”

But today, I wrote a sentence, from the mind of my hapless protagonist, Pastor Butch Gregory, that I liked quite a bit, and wanted to share.  I think it is safe, as I only have a few elements to add, a little denouement, and then I’ll let it cure on the digital desk drawer until the Monday after Thanksgiving.

He didn’t have time for symbolism, or for a discussion of deutero-canonical literature of questionable origin and historicity, because he was nearing asphyxiation.

This sentence sums up kind of what the book is all about.  Of course, I can’t promise this sentence will make it into the final draft.  I may have new ideas between now and then.  However, I am eager to edit it, then publish it sometime in the spring for your reading enjoyment.

A NOT SO FRIENDLY GAME OF CHESS

Have you ever wondered what terrorists do when they’re not beheading journalists, blowing up shopping malls, or hijacking airplanes?  I suspect some of their free time is spent studying the Koran and listening to podcasts explaining the whole 72-virgins for martyrs thing.  But other than that, what do they do with their time?

I’ve decided that I think they play chess.  Here’s why.

Chess Anyone?

Saturday I played chess with one of the sprouts.  Chess is a great teacher of logic, problem solving, and strategy.  She is still working on strategy.

After some initial feigning moves, I sacrificed several pieces (a knight, a bishop, and two pawns) in order to get part of the board cleared out with my rooks and queen in place.  My daughter was giddy at the prospect of winning, because she was up several pieces.  She was already gloating that she was ahead and might actually win this time.  Three moves later she was in check, and six moves later, checkmate.

I then explained to her that I wanted her to take my pieces.  She was amazed that I would want to lose pieces.  I told her that sometimes you make sacrifices in order to get your opponent into a position where they become vulnerable, and to do that you have to make it look like you made a mistake, were careless, or just didn’t know what you’re doing.

Several weeks ago I wrote about (click here) how Vladimir Putin was playing poker with the Ukraine. By the way, he still is.  ISIS, though, is playing chess.   That is the only conclusion I can come to.  Why else would they taunt the United States by beheading journalists in such a public way.  They want us to attack.  It is a trap.

I don’t know what their reasoning is, but I am quite certain that we are falling right into their hands.

A THEOLOGY OF ZOMBIES (YOU READ IT RIGHT, ZOMBIES)

Dr. Zombie?

Zombies are everywhere.

Seriously, they are everywhere. I just read today that Dr. Who alumnus Matt Smith has signed on for a movie adaption of the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Yeah, that’s a real thing.

A couple of days ago I finally watched Brad Pitt fight zombies in World War Z, also an adaption of a book.  Oddly enough, when I turned the film off, the television news was on and it was about . . . the ebola virus. I thought the movie had started over again on me.

And those are just big budget ones. Go over to Amazon or Goodreads and search for zombie. You’ll be there a while.

What I’m want to know is why? A parallel question would be why are dystopian stories so popular now, but I’ll save that for another day.

First, let’s do the typical stylistic reasons, and then I’ll get to the real reason, or at least the reason I think zombies are everywhere.

1. For an action movie, there has to be an enemy that can be killed without remorse. This used to be the Nazis, the Indians, the other army, or whatever. You can’t do that too much now because we always put faces on those blocks of people. That leaves you with about three choices—aliens, robots, or . . . zombies. Those are really the only bad guys you can have in a film and let your hero/heroine kill on sight with no questions asked. I hear you saying, “What about Sharknado?” and I say, okay, but aren’t those really just aquatic zombies?

2. Zombies also can stand in as a symbol for “the system” or “the machine” or even “society.” That was the intention of the king of zombie flicks, Night of the Living Dead. The zombies represent the process by which teenagers grow up, take responsibility, and are consumed by the system into soulless cogs. The zombies in Star Trek, called The Borg, started off as stand-ins for communism but eventually turned into stand-ins for dictatorships. In Zombieland I think the zombies represent the pain the world inflicts on us. Although, I still don’t know why they had to kill Bill Murray.  Consider for a moment that The Matrix is really just a zombie movie, where machines steal the soul of people, but people fight back to regain their humanity.

3. One more artistic reason. Zombies are a ready-made template which require almost zero exposition. The reader/viewer knows what is going on, so the writer can spend most of the time on character development. Shaun of the Dead is a good example of this, so too is Warm Bodies. Those are both really just character movies that explore feelings and relationships. The Zombies are the canvas to work with. Take the zombies out of Warm Bodies and you just have Romeo and Juliet.

Locutus, Space Zombie

I think all of those are partial reasons why zombies are everywhere. They each have merits, and I don’t dismiss them completely. However, the over-arching reason zombies are everywhere is theological. There are three reasons why.

 

First, zombies (and that annoying dystopian predilection I mentioned earlier) are one way our culture is registering its comprehension that something is simply not right with the world. I got a root canal last week, and the dentist told me to raise my hand if I felt any pain. All these zombies everywhere is one way our world is raising its hand to tell us it is feeling pain, or at least, anxiety. Although zombies have been with us for a while, dystopia and zombies both emerged heavily after 9/11 . Click here to go over to Zombie Zone News and see the listings by year.  See how the list explodes after 2001. Think about it.

How is that theological, you might say. In literature/film zombies come from outer space, disease, genetics, food, mutation, radioactivity, etc… It is the problem of evil. It is the idea that the world is not right. It is original sin.  A perfect world was messed up.  Eden was ruined.

 

Second, as stand-ins, zombies are the ultimate ‘undead.’ They have bodies and bodily functions, but there is no higher cognitive power (metanoia). They represent those who are governed by their instincts and fleshly desires. Again, consider the movie Warm Bodies. What is it, in the end, that heals the zombie? Love. It doesn’t have to be romantic love, just love.

Is that not, in some way, connected to the gospel which teaches that while we were yet dead in our sins, Jesus loved us and died for us?  Buddy, that’ll preach.

 

Third, and last, zombies ask us what does it mean to be a human being? If a person is only a body, then a zombie, even after being bitten/diseased/possessed is still a human being. But in these movies, once a human ‘turns’ zombie, he or she is no longer human. That means, de facto, that in the zombie universe there is something about a human being that makes him or her different. In one way, it is art shouting, even if it doesn’t know it, that no matter what scientists and biologists keep saying there is no way that a human being is just another biological entity. There is something different. Artists rarely come out and say it, but Christian theology calls this difference the imago dei–the image of God.

 

Of course, reverse this thought and another interesting idea emerges. In the zombie universe, a human can lose the unique distinctive, turning into a violent animal.  Perhaps that is a fear of the future without a spiritual center showing itself up in our societal art.

I have argued before, and will continue to argue, that the human desire for stories, and the way we tell those stories is evidence of God and of the gospel. For all their yuckiness, that truth applies to zombies as well. The reason why zombies are everywhere is because the world needs the gospel, as it always has, but it is a patient who doesn’t want to take the medicine, and therefore keeps complaining about the symptoms.

 

 

image from junkee.com and wikipedia.

REVIEW–U2’s SONGS OF INNOCENCE

Like the rest of the iTunes world, I got the new U2 album Songs of Innocence for free.  Of course I downloaded it to my iPhone as quick as I could.

I should back up a bit.  There are fans, and then there is me.  As regular readers here know I have an eclectic taste in music, ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to Johnny Cash to Led Zeppelin to the Cranberries.  But, for me, nothing comes close to U2.  It has been that way since I was a teenager and I heard “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” on the radio, and then that weekend bought The Joshua Tree cassette.  That’s right, it was a real cassette.  I wore it out within the first two months and had to buy another.  I think I bought about four copies of it on cassette.

So, I’m somewhat of an expert.

The most interesting thing about Songs is the free release to the public.  Some have mistakenly said that the album was free, but that is wrong.  It was bought by iTunes, and they are giving it away as a joint publicity for the iPhone 6 and iPhone watch release.  Trust me, U2 is getting paid.  They always get paid.

Now, to the music.  I assume that is why the one or two of you that have read this far are still with me.  Songs is a good album.  It is not great.  The first tune, “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)” gave me hope that the group might be going back to their punkish roots (think Boy or The Unforgettable Fire) or better yet the rock-n-roll feel of War or Rattle and Hum.

Sadly, that was not what I heard.  Songs sounds more popish to me.  I think they are trying to hit the great mix they achieved on How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb between rhythm and blues, pop, and rock.  I don’t think they quite achieve that.  I do think it is a better album than No Line On The Horizon, which, for me, was not that great.  It’s not as good as Achtung Baby, which was a rock-n-roll album for the 90s.  It’s better than Zooropa.  But even Zooropa had one of my favorite U2 songs ever, “The First Time.”  If you don’t know that song, you need to.

The top three songs on the album are:  “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)”, “Raised by Wolves”, and “The Troubles”.  “Volcano” is also catchy.  Those are my stated favorites from the album, but the one I keep humming is the opening from “California (There is No End to . . .”

The bummer of this album is they worked on it for six years.  For that kind of investment, I’d expect something a little better, or more moving.  Even a bad U2 album, say, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, is still better than just about anything else going on.  I mean, All That You Can’t Leave Behind was a terrible album but it still had one of the best U2 singles ever in “Beautiful Day.”  I think “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)” might have a similar lifespan.

Apparently they are working on a follow up called Songs of Experience. I wonder if this album is really just a teaser, and the real juice will be on the next one.  That would be nice.

One thing about this record (I just dated myself with that word, didn’t I?) that I did like is that it did remind me of The Joshua Tree in that the latter songs are, as a whole, my favorites.  It is what we would have called the “B” side when I was a kid.  Has there ever been a “B” side as good as The Joshau Tree?

“Red Hill Mining Town”
“In God’s Country”
“Trip Through Your Wires”
“One Tree Hill”
“Exit”
“Mothers of the Disappeared”

No.  I’ll go ahead and answer that.  Songs reminds me of that because the last half of the album, from “Volcano” to “The Troubles” is darker, but more emotionally moving than the first half.

So that is my opinion.  Oh, I miss the 80s and 90s.

OPINION POLL–MEATLESS MONDAYS

Take Our Poll

First, let me admit my bias and prejudice.  I love meat.  I love steak.  I love chicken.  I love pork.  I love seafood and fish.  Lamb, duck, goose, turkey, alligator, and so much more.  If it walks or flies or swims, chances are good I’d like to taste it, or maybe smother it in chili, cheese, and onions.

Okay, glad I got that out of the way, because it matters in relations to what I’m thinking about today, which is meatless Mondays.  A local school district near where Mrs. Greenbean and I live recently announced it would be instituting a policy of not serving meat on Mondays in the school meal program.  Click here for a news story about it.  It didn’t take long for the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Todd Staples, to weigh in on the subject and accuse the school district of starving children to death and worshiping satan.  Okay, maybe he didn’t go that far, but I read his op/ed in the newspaper, and that was kinda the tone of the whole thing.  Staples really seems worried about the vegetarian/vegan agenda.  Here is a part of what he said:

“Restricting children’s meal choice to not include meat is irresponsible and has no place in our schools . . . This activist movement called ‘Meatless Monday’ is a carefully orchestrated campaign that seeks to eliminate meat from Americans’ diets seven days a week—starting with Mondays.”

Now, here is where I stand.  As much as the Greenbeans love meat, it is not always the healthiest thing to eat.  It is also wise to cut back on the amount of meat you eat for health reasons.  Americans eat way too much meat, with many thinking it should be served at every meal, which is ridiculous.  For most of human history, meat has been a treat, something special, something to celebrate.  Periodically our household will intentionally cut back on our meat consumption, specifically during Lent or the summer months.

So, I’m not against meatless Mondays.  It might be a good thing.  But what I want to know is, how do you feel about it?  Please take a moment to vote in the opinion poll at the top, and please share on your social media so we can get as many votes as possible.  Thanks!

 

 

 

“IF I STAY” (MOVIE) FEATURING THE NASTY BRUISES

What would you name your rock band?  It is something I’ve given a lot of thought to, and it came up again this weekend.

Last week I had the joy of watching yet another teen flick.  Okay, I was taken kicking and screaming and but that is beside the point.  My youngest sprout had read the book If I Stay and wanted to see the movie.  So off we went . . . to the matinee, of course. There is no way I was paying full price for this.

Here is a quick review of the movie–Throw in a dash of Romeo and Juliet, a bit of Titanic, sprinkle some Walk to Remember and now one teaspoon of The Fault In Our Stars and viola–If I Stay is born.

The Sequel Should be Titled ‘Portland, My Heart Will Go on’

The acting was uneven.  Stacy Keach plays the grandfather, and he is, as always, terrific.  The mom and dad roles are done well, but the two main actors, the girl and the boy, are dreadfully wooden and uninspiring.  That’s okay, I wasn’t expecting much more.  As I said on my Twitter feed that night, the real star of the movie, as far as I’m concerned, is the city of Portland.  The producers did a great job of portraying the delightful oddity of that wonderful city.

There was one cool part in the movie.  The father had been in a band (I presume back in the 90s) that was named Nasty Bruises.

To me, that was the most creative part of the movie, the name of his band.  I have absolutely no musical talent whatsoever, so I will never be in any kind of band.  I was once kicked out of a church choir and the only thing I can play is the iPod.  But if I ever had a band, naming it would be the most enjoyable part.  I’ve been working on a list for a few years.  Here are some of my hypothetical band names, in no particular order.

1.  Crusty Theologians

2.  The Downspouts

3.  Tolkien’s Revenge

4.  Banana Sandwich

5.  Nietzche Was Wrong

6.  Leather Bound Edition (LBE for short)

7.  Assimov

8.  Then There Was Light

9.  Broken Wheelbarrows

10. Gag Reflex

 

Every now and again a new one comes to me.  What would you name your hypothetical rock band?

 

image from imbd.com