#Weeknotes S02 E11

Going to be a short one this week. Feels like I’ve been saying that a lot lately. Anyway, it doesn’t feel like I have much, if anything, to report but that’s not true. The writing-adjacent project I still can’t talk about yet is done. Just waiting on approvals and final sign offs, and then I’m sure every relevant announcement will be made.

Even though I’m a paper-pusher in the healthcare field by day, work was pretty hectic last week as you can imagine, what with the Andromeda Strain going around the world. Between that and the project I just finished, and yet another grab at another grad school opportunity… I’ve been tuckered out this weekend.

Depending on how long the Andromeda Strain lives, I may (or may not?) be at 4th Street Fantasy in June.

WRITING PROGRESS
Longest Writing Chain This Week: 3 days, but for 5 days total! I’m on my way, I think.

FEEDING MY EARS
I’ve been catching up on podcasts a bit, and caught an old (from about a month ago) episode of CONAN O’ BRIEN NEEDS A FRIEND with guest Keegan Michael Key. You should listen to the whole thing but if you do nothing else, do yourself a favor and listen about 18 min, 30 sec in when they get to talking about Billy Dee Williams. Trust me!

IN THE WILD

Oh, it’s on!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

#Weeknotes S02 E10

The writing-adjacent project I mentioned last time? That’s what I’m working on now, so this will be another quick one. Contracts have been signed (by me, anyway); more details when all the Ts are dotted and the Is are crossed… or, whatever.

Slight hint at the very bottom of this post, though.

WRITING PROGRESS
Longest Writing Chain This Week: 2 days, for 3 days total. Which, okay, isn’t a great start for the month but I still have plenty of time to outdo February. And that’s all I’m aiming for!

FEEDING MY… EARS(?)
I debated which section to put this video in. I overthink these things, what can I tell you?

Anyway, I’m still on a Huey Lewis kick so here’s a “What’s In My Bag” interview Huey Lewis did at Amoeba Music on his favorite albums. I, of course, am fully behind his pick of BACK TO OAKLAND by Tower of Power!

FEEDING MY HEAD
I got a few more pages in from Lydia Davis’s ESSAYS ONE. There’s a lot of good stuff in there, but the best thing so far is knowing the variety in what she reads.

Oh, I just picked up this anthology today because (a) free (at least for a little bit) and (b) how awesome is an anthology based on…

Three short lines, fired over social media in response to questions of why Senator Elizabeth Warren was silenced on the floor of the United States Senate, for daring to read aloud the words of Coretta Scott King. As this message was transmitted across the globe, it has become a galvanizing cry for people of all genders in recognition of the struggles that women have faced throughout history.

Download the Nevertheless, She Persisted Short Fiction Bundle For Free, Starting This International Women’s Day.

Yes, she was my preferred candidate. Yes, I’m going to vote blue, no matter who. Don’t @ me.

ROTTING MY BRAIN
Like last week, I didn’t have a lot of TV time. I only got in one episode of Jordan Peele’s THE TWLIGHT ZONE. Here’s my review of “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet”.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

IN THE WILD
Fulfilling my contractual obligation…

Quickie Review of THE TWILIGHT ZONE (2019) S01 E02: “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet”

An airline passenger has a dire warning for Flight 1015 in a story that doubles down on “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” — at least, as much as one can for only going an additional 10,000 feet up… in The Twilight Zone.

My first thought heard when I first heard this episode’s title was, “Really?” After all, I’d heard that this iteration of TZ would swear off direct remakes. But now it wouldn’t surprise me to eventually see yet another updated version of “It’s a Good Life.” Not that I’d complain, but still. Here are my other impressions…

  • Easter eggs abound in this episode: References to each of the folks who were a distant second and third for number of original TZ episodes written (Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont), to a familiar company that ended up making mp3 players, to the original “20,000 Feet” episode via a deliberately placed callback like the one in “The Comedian“…
  • …which is what makes me suspect that I was supposed to have my “Really?” reaction. Okay TZ 2019, you got me!
  • Ah, the risks of traveling “Privileged class”… for the traveler and everyone around them.
  • Wow, do I feel called out over my obsession a year or so ago over SERIAL.
  • You know what they say about how the more something changes…?
  • I don’t want to get spoilery at all, so I’ll just say that I don’t get the ending. Rather, I don’t see the logic for this story’s particular ending.

The Jack Elam Score for “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” (out of 5):

1: “And this lemon-sucker here…”
2: “Ain’t nobody been exonerated yet, that’s for sure!”
3: “Sharp boys, real sharp boys!”
4: “A regular Ray Bradbury!”
5: “CHECK ‘EM FOR WINGS!!!”

#Weeknotes S02 E09

A quick one this week. I’ve been a little scattered mentally and trying to catch up. So, remember that “writing-adjacent submission” I mentioned last week? Well, stick in a pin in that. Have to get my signature on some things first! That’s about the biggest thing to report this week. Here’s the other stuff….

WRITING PROGRESS
Longest Writing Chain This Week: 1 day, but for 4 days total. What’s important here is that I ended February having put in more writing days in than I did in January. This month, all I have to do is one-up that!

FEEDING MY HEAD
You couldn’t have told me in the ’80s that I’d be reading about Huey Lewis in THE NEW YORKER.

Who doesn’t like free stuff like high quality images from The Smithsonian?

I only learned about poet David Lehman’s latest book ONE HUNDRED AUTOBIOGRAPHIES last Monday when I read that he was going to do a reading last Thursday. I went to it.

And of course as if I don’t have enough of a backlog, I stumble onto a book from an author I know nothing about but whose jacket basically told me I needed to read it, RUST: A MEMOIR OF STEEL AND GRIT by Elise Colette Goldbach. I’ll turn in my book report once I finish it.

ROTTING MY BRAIN
Not a lot of TV time this past week, except for my slow binge of Jordan Peele’s THE TWLIGHT ZONE. My goal is to do a quickie episode review per week — here’s one for “The Comedian”. Next week will be one for “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet.”

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
Could there actually come a moment when my parents’ naturalization certificates won’t be worth the paper they’re printed on?

IN THE WILD
I hate feeling beaten to the punch…

David Lehman Reading

Went to a reading at the local indie bookstore Thursday night by poet, writer, and critic David Lehman, whose work I knew mainly through a couple of poetry anthologies. GREAT AMERICAN PROSE POEMS is a book I return to regularly every year or so. But I couldn’t find my copy for him to sign (waaah!).

I’d only heard about the event on Monday, which was shock number one. Shock number two was that I never knew he had an Ithaca connection. Shock number three was his new book ONE HUNDRED AUTOBIOGRAPHIES which, as you can probably glean of the types of things I like reading, is right up my alley. I picked up the ebook and read what I could before Thursday night.

The book is made up of writing he did as he underwent cancer treatment. In this way, its form reminds me of Harvey Pekar’s OUR CANCER YEAR. Interestingly, Pekar’s wife Joyce Brabner was a collaborator, much as Lehman’s partner Stacey Lehman-Harwood was with AUTOBIOGRAPHIES. I was only to about the 12th or 13th section by the reading, but I got a kick out of hearing a legend read out loud what I’d just read a few nights before.

Quickie Review of THE TWILIGHT ZONE (2019) S01 E01: “The Comedian”

A stand-up comedian gets advice for advancing his career, which works out about as well as you can expect… in The Twilight Zone.

Here it is — my first in a series of reviews of Jordan Peele’s TWILIGHT ZONE! I’ve purposely avoided having too much information about this series. The only things I couldn’t avoid gleaning were (a) there are homages galore to Rod Serling and the original series and (b) the show intends to shy away from direct remakes of old episodes. Fair enough. Here are my impressions…

  • The first thing I thought of when I saw this episode’s title was, of course, the PLAYHOUSE 90 special of the same title that Serling did in 1957. Hey, if Mickey Rooney can play the role of a comedian dramatically, why can’t Kumail Nanjiani?
  • Tracy Morgan upholds the tradition from classic TZ episodes like 1961’s “A Game of Pool” where comedians like Jackie Gleason play creepy.
  • I thought the episode went a little overboard with the camera work, but probably no more in 2019 than was considered overwrought in the 50s and 60s.
  • I wish the original series was this sweary.
  • I loved the reference to 1962’s “The Dummy.”
  • I forget how simple the old Twilight Zone-y elements are, but this episode leans on that simplicity: a comedian who wants to open his mouth and change the world…
  • …which of course, in this case, leads to the classic TZ trope of someone abusing the messed situation they’re in.
  • The episode was a little padded, IMO and I totally called the ending. Still, though, an awesome start!!

The Jack Elam Score for “The Comedian” (out of 5):

1: “And this lemon-sucker here…”
2: “Ain’t nobody been exonerated yet, that’s for sure!”
3: “Sharp boys, real sharp boys!”
4: “A regular Ray Bradbury!”
5: “CHECK ‘EM FOR WINGS!!!”

#Weeknotes S02 E08

Well, whatever Andromeda Strain I was fighting off for the past two weeks knocked me out last Thursday and Friday. Stayed home from work because I wasn’t capable of doing that much else except sleeping. I did get some writing in when I could; it was only a little bit but more than I’ve managed in awhile.

Still waiting to hear on an iron that’s been in the fire for a few weeks now. Added another iron in the form of a writing-adjacent submission. I don’t expect anything to come out of that one, but you never win unless you play, right?

WRITING PROGRESS
Longest Writing Chain This Week: 4 days with 5 writing days total!

On track for my basic, ultra-low bar of “just write more days in February than you did in January.” Because that’s where I am right now. It’s keeping my fingers warm, looking over old projects, adding a little here in there just to keep myself writing. The important thing is to keep doing it daily. And I know, “You must write every day” seems prescriptive and ableist, and it is if you mean it as general advice for everybody, for all time. Still, I’m compelled to keep trying for that goal. The only difference is not judging myself as weak if I fall off the horse.

FEEDING MY HEAD
I forget exactly how I stumbled onto the Backstory Cleveland newsletter, wherein editor and writer Matt Winkam reads his way through every novel set in Cleveland. That alone made me bookmark the link. I have some of the material he lists, and I’m curious to see this take on it.

FEEDING MY EARS
Wrote up a little thing on WEATHER, the latest album from Huey Lewis & the News

I’m also finding myself diving into my collection of Chick Corea Elektric Band albums, and hearing things now that there’s no way I could’ve comprehended when I pretentiously got these albums after college. I’ll probably distill some thoughts on them soon.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

IN THE WILD

I’m ashamed that despite being the hard core TWILIGHT ZONE fan that I am, I didn’t shell out for CBS All Access to watch this, and so I missed out. But I’m rectifying that now! Episode reviews coming soon, rated with my customized “Jack Elam Score,” in honor of the actor in my favorite Twilight Zone episode ever, “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?”

1: “And this lemon-sucker here…”
2: “Ain’t nobody been exonerated yet, that’s for sure!”
3: “Sharp boys, real sharp boys!”
4: “A regular Ray Bradbury!”
5: “CHECK ‘EM FOR WINGS! CHECK ‘EM FOR WINGS!”

Quickie Review of WEATHER by Huey Lewis & the News

MTV actually did what everyone was afraid it would do to a 10 year-old child in the 80s, such as myself: lure me into The Devil’s Music. I saw this concert on cable TV late one weekend night, and that was it. Jesus — I mean, Satan — those harmonies! That harmonica! The Tower of Power! The end-of-concert tag line that I got to hear when I finally caught them live — “I’m Huey Lewis… and you just heard the News!!”

Fast forward mumblemubmlemumblesomething years later, and what else could I say about this quote from ESQUIRE except, “It me.”

So of course I had to pick up their newest album WEATHER. I have the rest of the catalog, so why not? Anyone’s opinion of a Huey Lewis & the News album will depend one’s opinion of the band. If you don’t like them, there’s nothing for you here. If you do, WEATHER is solid stuff, because it’s always solid stuff. I’ve never met a fellow fan who was like “X album sucked, compared to the rest of them.” (Not even their 1980 debut.) WEATHER maintains the groove from PLAN B (and the last 4 tracks of their TIME FLIES compilation, except a little more stripped down and not as “produced.” A couple of tunes like “Her Love Is Killin’ Me” have a little bit of hints of the 80s, but not enough to call it a retread by any means.

Now because of Huey’s current struggle with Meniere’s Disease, there could be some truth to the hype that this “could be their last album.” Now I thought of Johnny Cash’s AMERICAN sessions while I listened to this and thought I was being a little overwrought. No one was dying while this was being recorded. But then I heard the last track…

If WEATHER really is the last album we’ll get from Huey Lewis & the News, I’m really going to be sad.

#Weeknotes S02 E07

It’s gonna be a short one this week. Last week was a struggle. I got hit with something — not 2019-nCoV but some other nasty thing going around work. I managed to get through my workweek, though. All I had to do was sleep 9-11 hours per night as soon as I got home. Hey, if nothing else I’ve banked more time off that I can theoretically to go 4th Street Fantasy maybe.

I was thinking of maybe skipping, but I realized that this weekend marks the second Boskone in a row I’ve had to miss for money/logistical reasons. As if it didn’t suck bad enough, I find this piece of nostalgia on their website this year. I miss you Boskone. I WILL RETURN! (Well, gods willing and the creek don’t rise.)

Bet you can’t find me in this picture!

WRITING PROGRESS
Longest Writing Chain This Week: 1 day.

I’ve decided that for February at least, it’s not so much about the chain, as much as getting more links in my calendar than I did in January. If I can do that much, then I won’t feel quite as bad. Maybe. At least I can accomplish that, though.

FEEDING MY HEAD
Inspired — okay, guilted — by 12 Books from My Backlist I Swear I’ll Read in 2020, I’m going to come up with my own list this week.

I’ve taken just as much artistic advice from musicians as from writers, even in matters of writing. A lot of it is really applicable. Case in point, Chick Corea’s 16 Pieces of “Cheap But Good Advice for Playing Music in a Group” (1985)

9.Guide your choice of what to play by what you like–not by what someone else will think.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
Because Dot’s always been an inspiration.

#Weeknotes S02 E06

I was in the mood to listen to the kind of music you’d hear on a lazy weekend day wandering through the type of hipper-than-thou record store that sells the “For Tobacco Use Only” paraphernalia behind the sales counter. So right now I’ve got Jefferson Starship’s BLOWS AGAINST THE EMPIRE in my ears. Mmm, I can smell the packaged incense in the air.

In other news, it looks like I have another serious shot at another potential job opportunity. More to report when there’s more to report!

Other than that, it’s been a rough week. Lot of craziness this week, what with everyone in my day job field worried about 2019-nCoV. Which didn’t leave me with much energy after the 9-to-5 to do much besides read a bit and idly kill things in DESTINY 2.

WRITING PROGRESS
Longest Writing Chain This Week: 1 day. And that was the only day I wrote this week. I suck, I know.

FEEDING MY HEAD
I did go through some of the books on my TBR pile, but I discovered these pieces that I missed the boat on when they first came out…

I’d never heard of the surrealism of photographer Grete Stern, but I plan to look for some.

…Stern produced a photomontage that recreated some aspect of the reader’s dream. These illustrations usually depicted women struggling to free themselves from the oppressive patriarchy of Argentinian society.

I’m always curious about artistic beefs, especially in music and literature. From a NEW YORKER piece on writer Joanna Russ…

Privately, to mutual friends, Russ accused Le Guin of being accommodating to men, of refusing to write as a woman. In some ways, Le Guin conceded the argument—she claimed to write under the influence of her male “animus”—but in other ways she resisted. After all, wasn’t her freedom not to write “as a woman” precisely the point?

Not that I ever could imitate George Saunders, but there are some tips in this piece in THE PARIS REVIEW

…one of the most important aspects of the Saunders aesthetic is something that might be termed “bonelessness.” A boneless story doesn’t begin with an idea for a central conflict, or with an outline, or with any other structural design. A boneless story has no skeleton. That doesn’t mean that there’s no action. To the contrary, Saunders’s stories are packed with incident. But the stories accumulate beat by beat. As a general rule, Saunders doesn’t conceive of plots in advance, but rather tries to write one funny, interesting moment, and then another funny, interesting moment, and so on. A Saunders story grows like a fungus.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
On the price of being an early adopter…

IN THE WILD

If only I could….