NEW GULLIBLE AND TWITCHY

Fired GarageBand + switched to Audacity for voiceover + TA DA! new Gullible and Twitchy (plus clay).

BOOKS, READ AND HALF WRITTEN

Actually curled up with a book last night instead of hunching over the half light of my computer screen — actually, it’s 20 inches of incandescent shiny iMac glow, but half light sounds better, or at least gives a better visual. Decided to really try the Peter Drucker book, Adventures of a Bystander. It’s a collection of essays — episodes really, full of people he knew, ranging from his elementary school teachers to Freud and the upper management at GM in the 40’s. Drucker thinks and analyzes and remembers and parses life lessons with both astringency and warmth. It’s a good combination for me — bracing analysis plus a genuine enjoyment of the people Drucker has met and the situations he has experienced. His chapter on teaching and two of the women who inspired him to be curious and passionate about even dull subjects — although they never managed to improve his handwriting — reminded me how much I love reading Montaigne. The best essayists have a gift for mixing the personal with their philosophies. I’m looking forward to finishing the Drucker book; one of my favorite things about essays is you can read them in any order and even if you only have time for a few. And I’m going to see if I can find my Montaigne — I have one edition with illustrations by Salvador Dali – that’s a little mind blowing — and another with the translation that Shakespeare would have read. Bookman’s Alley in Evanston was the perfect environment for serendipity back when I rambled through it regularly.

Thanks to Sally of McGraw-Hill UK, I am working my way through “A Sense of Urgency” by John Kotter(and yes, I am susceptible to being cheered by getting a gift book in the mail), which impressed me in its FT review by Stefan Stern. The review is posted on my Opportunity Door, along with some ideas for next year’s Animation Magazine pitch party.

I am hoping the book would help with the focusing problem I seem to have about PROJECT PYE, which according to my blog on the subject, I’ve been wrestling with since August 18, 2006. It’s a great story — much of the trouble is all the other things I do, the other stories I want to tell, a lack of help, and an abundance of visuals. And I just really want to sit down and get the darn thing done. I think Calvin (one of the Lonely Ponders and my cohort in all things Gullible and Twitchy) doesn’t ever believe it will get done. I kept throwing so many possibilites at him that he just started to duck, I think.

While the Kotter book has a GREAT idea — be urgent, not hasty and avoid complacency at all costs, the style of the book doesn’t suit me; it’s very academic, I think, and I spent most of my college years in Northwestern’s gloriously tri towered library, wandering the Lakefill and writing poetry or in the few classes with professors I respected. My reading choices were Dante and Spencer and Shakespeare and Machiavelli and Lao Tsu and Hobbes and DeQuincey and Donne and Horace so modern business writing seems to stutter along without much style. I am finding “Urgency” goes a little better as I continue along but Drucker suits me so much better. People have names and problems are real and one or two words aren’t hammered at you as if there will be a quiz. And you are left to your own devices, conclusions and whatever list of bullet points or size of brain map you care to draw on your own.

Well, I guess we’ll leave the writing I found this morning while looking for a new notebook for reporting for another day…there are so many half started stories that get tangled up in other stories or left for other projects or just get lost. Even if “A Sense of Urgency” proves useful, I fear that I have already heard the only piece of advice that works and it comes from a character a person of sense might hesitate to take advice from, Lady MacBeth:

“Screw your courage to the sticking place.”

That’s what it’s really about. That’s the only thing equired: COURAGE. Nike’s “Just Do it” may be simplistic, but it is priceless advice. “Coraggio, bully monster, coraggio!” as Stephano says in the Tempest.

*Open free directing sample: The full Lady MacBeth phrase is this: We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we’ll not fail.’ Which makes me think is that the but is not the usual conjunctive but (there’s a phrase that sounds like a disease), but the adverb which acc. to wikipedia and Merriam means merely or only. And this fascination with the right phrase/meaning/inflection is why I spend many of my summers directing Shakespeare. Close free directing sample*

One of the best things about Drucker’s book for me is that he didn’t make the obvious choices or walk where expected. He followed the things that interested him and here I am, looking at his name on the cover of a book and learning from his successes. That encourages me. And as I reread this last sentence, I’m saying hmmm, look encourage — I recognize part of that, I bet it shares the same root: (and answers.com agrees: “[Middle English corage, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *corāticum, from Latin cor, heart.]” Close word lover sample*

*open directing and word lover postscript — as I think over this, it comes to me that while courage is the essential quality required, the verb and the action — screw, do, dare –are what turns intent and whatever qualities you bring to it into success. Close directing and word lover postscript*

2:03 AM

Burning a promised DVD of my movie stuff ( Gullible and Twitchy, Hat Hair, Lonely Pond Productions trailer), including the top secret Jabberwocky near final edit for the NJ nephew and nieces (and my buddy Laurie in Georgia).  This way I can get it off my to-do list and not turn on my computer on the morrow.  Pause for checking that iDVD actually put some content on the shiny disk (And the fun grindy noises begin.) 

Enjoyed the weather today; colors are starting to change and air is that particular crisp clear that comes with October, a visual bite into a Macintosh apple.  Tomorrow, hair cut, I’m thinking of going buzz cut levels of short on the sides, but chilly weather might make my ears reconsider.  

Speaking of apples, have been having half of one each night — we really need to trek down to the apple farm.  I keep buying half gallons of cider I only drink half of (half is our word here for the night at lonelypond — I am currently half asleep).  When I was a kid, a trek to the apple farm meant apple cider donuts.  Now I read the ingredients on the grocery store version and am cured of any cravings. What I like is a nice simple apple crisp with some streuselly stuff on top. Cinnamon season is upon us.  And pumpkins.  And pumpkin seeds on the wind, but that’s another story.

I’ll add TV reviews here, just to score one for insomniac stream of consciousness versus organized for you WordPress wordtag searchers out there.  Oh, and a note, I checked for a Tarrell Alvin McCraney play at the alternate office but none was available, so maybe it’s time to talk to the nice interlibrary loan librarian again.

The Middleman — watched the Clotharian Contamination Protocol again; still funny.  Love all the Dr. Who/Star Trek references, Ida rocks, Fantastic Voyage references good — although if only they’d managed to fit in a Tick/Dinosaur Neil one (note to self, acquire Tick vs. Season One; must see “The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight”  plus second most glorious villain El Seed)– love the initial conversation between Wendy and Tyler by the hot dog stand — The Middleman always does an excellent job when many things are happening at once.  MiddleMatt does a great job of restraint and emotion when listening to Wendy’s Code 47, it really is a darn shame that great writing, great fun and great acting doesn’t equal great second season. Still think Tyler’s too smarmy and thought it odd when Gayle agreed with me, she’s usually a sucker for sentiment.  Next week, I figure out which episode I have yet to review — I’m pretty sure there is one, #3 maybe??????? Or the other one with Roxy???

Still not really missing Eureka much, although I get occasional twitter updates from S.A.R.A.H.  Yes, you too can either follow an artificially intelligent superhouse or lonelypond on twitter — the choices you get with the new generation of social media.

The Big Bang Theory opened well with a great fall by Johnny Galecki into the sofa — true tests of comedians: the fall and the spit take. Fairly solid episode, maybe a little too much Sheldon, although the bit at the DMV was great. Good reactions all round — nice that frequently the actors, especially Cuoco, just get to have these looks, these great great funny looks.

Also, I must confess to straying off the Disney channel to catch the occasional iCarly. Flash does not approve, but at long as it doesn’t interfere with her post medication Disney time, she refrains from actually expressing disapproval — don’t ask, cats are particular about so many things. iCarly is a crazy loud fast moving hoot of a show with small children as crazy as I remember them being. Funny, funny — looking forward to iGo Japan on Nov. 8th.

And it’s 2:44 a.m. and I think that’s enough meandering for now. Good night all. Pick random Shakespeare quote (Google, etc.): “What’s in name? that which we call a rose…”
May rose petals waft in your dreams amid apples halves and October air.

COMFORT FOOD AND TELEVISION

OK, this week’s Monday night plan is watch The Big Bang Theory, eat some form of comfort food — even though the restaurant (Keo) that supplies me with curry chicken rice is closed on Mondays — watch Top Gear with Gayle while reading the fun sections of the FT Weekend — FT lead art critic Jackie Wullschlager has written one of the better recent Lunch with the FT — and then finish off with The Clotharian Contamination episode of The Middleman, which will mean two weeks of aliens in funny hats and I hope enough laughter to get me over the “I’m coming down with something feeling.” Good thing my comfort food categories usually include the addition of garlic and maybe I can convince Gayle that an apple crisp or some form of cookie will be good for the morale. One can hope. Pongo is also a bit under the weather but he had his Cheetah Girls content last night (yes, Pongo is a Cheetah Girl fan, along with his other passions, Bjork, raw hamburger, and watching ESPN’s First Take on the couch with me) so tonight, he’ll just have to settle for Monday night laughter and raw hamburger.

Where was I? Cookies + The Middleman. I must review blog entries to see if there’s any I missed reviewing or maybe I’ll just rereview a few — the initial ones were a bit bare. Anybody have a suggestion for next week’s? And don’t forget to vote for Gullible and/or Twitchy (see Gullible and Twitchy for President entry.)

Reviews by Wednesday or so. Tomorrow, I’m trying the sun and fresh air approach to feeling better. Cheers.

GULLIBLE AND TWITCHY RUN FOR PRESIDENT

YOUR VOTE COUNTS:  

 

SKATE PUPPET

How can you not love them?

IN NEED OF LUNCH

Internet still a time sucking engine of chaos — sometimes chaos good; sometimes chaos bad. For a great read about the chaotic effects of butterflies, bellwethers and Barbies, read Connie Willis’s Bellwether. I myself am having a read P.G. Wodhouse urge thanks to the blurb on the cover of the FT Weekend Home and Garden section about Dahlia’s — I keep getting a mangled quote in my head about Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia vs. Aunt Agatha, the one who eats broken glass, small children and howls at the moon — I did say mangled, right.

I think I’ll give up attempts to be obsessively productive this week; finish (actually start) the Roller Derby story due next Tuesday and try again next week. I did get pastelling done and bought cool props for the new Gullible and Twitchy I’m going to shoot as soon as I have another movie night scheduled. I need to do something active like have fun with puppets. Try it yourself. It’s fun. Or at least check out Gullible and Twitchy.

Smallville season premiere tonight — Justice League, Antartica and can we hope Lois. Well, I always do. Cheers.

all right my fellow insomniacs, first glance at the new Gullible and Twitchy; see what daylight’s like: http://ping.fm/Iui0q

REPORTING

It’s a different kind of writing and I’ve been grumpy about it all week, so grumpy I’m even tired of hearing myself.  It’s not that it takes away from other projects — I spend too much here in my office on the computer tracking how many people have looked at my animations as it is.  I just hate phone tag, waiting to get hold of someone, trying to schedule getting hold of someone and then waiting for the call back.  And I’m not that fond of the phone.  But interviewing Tamora Pierce reminded me of why I thought it might be fun to do a little freelance reporting.  I had fun — it’s nice to talk to people about the things they are enthusiastic about and successful at, the activities and ideas that move them.  It’s invigorating and yes, I will say it, darn it, even inspiring.

 

Usually, you have to get me on Shakespeare to hear a topic that I care so much about I’ll drag people along by magnetic enthusiasm, although I can do a good job on why “In the Bleak December” should be read by more people– Jane, Sally, Mary and John are great characters, there aren’t enough gay characters in straight books or straight characters in gay books and I always enjoy rereading it (yes, yes,  I should post it online somewhere but it’s caught between computers and word processing programs and I have to add the new opening chapter– The DaVinci Code taught me cliffhangers really work for readers) and why working with orange cat puppets(aka Gullible and Twitchy) is a very satisfying thing to do — I have discovered I love problem solving and how to get them cling to things without losing major clumps of their fur is a problem. I also get that good solid charge when I’ve finished an episode.  

 

Now, where was I…oh, reporting, Tamora Pierce…the only bad thing is that after talking to someone for thirty minutes, you are left with quotes you can’t use.  This allows you to distill the interview, use the best responses and write a better more focused article as a result, but I still look a little sadly at the conversations left in my notebook sometimes.  I’m glad to have had them, but writing well means choosing well so people only get a glimpse.  The Tamora Pierce glimpse seems to be “go with your gut” and you can achieve what you want if you are willing to work very hard at it.  Not a bad message.

 

Oh and I can recommend “Defender of the Small:  The First Test.”  Got it out of the library, read it this morning before the interview, enjoyed it and will look up the next book in the series.  It’s hard to find new fantasy authors.

 

Gullible and Twitchy after a hot afternoon shooting