Showing posts with label just because. Show all posts
Showing posts with label just because. Show all posts

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Happy Veterans Day

Thank you to all those who have served, are serving, or who have waited at home for someone serving in the armed forces.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Choreographer or Dancer?

We are now a little less than three weeks away from my dance recital. Our group is now going to be in four different numbers: 1) Billion Dollar Baby (jazz), 2) Happy Feet (tap--not penguins), 3) Hold Your Dream (singing! as a gospel choir) and 4) Sing Sing Sing (jazz for a small part of the finale). That's a lot of time on stage.

A group of us are getting together as often as possible outside of class to go over the routines. "How many times do we do the Suzy Qs?" "Should the arms be up or down on that move?" OF course, the more times we do it, the better. As Reggie says, "Repetition is my friend." I'm feeling pretty good about understanding the routines. I know what step follows what and how they fit in with the music. Once we get started, I'm pretty okay at getting through to the end. So far so good.

However, I'm not happy with my execution of the individual steps. My feet feel sloppy. Part of that is being on heels, especially with the tap numbers. Most of the dancing should be on the balls of the feet, but my heels are dragging. It muffles the sounds so that you don't have that nice crisp tap sound.

On my own, I'm getting back to basics. Flaps, shuffles, time steps, paradiddles. That's what I really need to work on.

It's funny, because I feel that it's just the opposite with writing. I feel okay about the basics. It's how it all fits together. What follows what and how does that build on what comes before? Part of the issue is that the writer is both the dancer and the choreographer. I don't just have to learn the routine, I have create it.

So, where do you feel most confident? Choreography (plotting, putting it all together) or Dancing (characterization, dialog, action, grammar)? Or are you Bob Fosse, Merce Cunningham, or Suzanne--our teacher? Are you confident with all of it?

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

How Do You Sing?

NPR again, although it seems to have been a while since I referenced them. This morning, I heard an obituary piece about Ali Akbar Kahn. He played the sarod, a 25-string Indian instrument. Along with Ravi Shankar, he popularized Indian music in the west and influenced generations of musicians.

The journalist talked about visiting the musician in his studio. Kahn's rebuke to students was, "You're singing like a typewriter. Sing like handwriting."

Maybe that's why there's so much talk about pens and other tools on this blog and the ones I link to. If I'm missing the pretty in my writing, I turn off the computer and pick up a notebook and pen. Is there a way to sing like handwriting on a typewriter (or computer)?

Where else in your life can you learn to sing like handwriting?

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Books Into Movies

We all know that the movie is never as good as the book. Ever. Right? Hold on a sec. That ain't necessarily so.

Recent case in point: Angels and Demons. Now this is your basic summer action flick. Nothing too deep and meaningful here. But it is a fun watch. Tom Hanks is good, as always. And the movie is made just a tad bit more watchable because of the presence of Ewan McGregor, who makes everything a tad bit (or a lot) more watchable. But I digress. Most of the people I know who have read both books think that Angels and Demons was much better than The DaVinci Code. But there were still some problems with A&D. Time lines didn't always make sense. Laws of physics were broken. Etc. The movie drops a ridiculous bit near the end of the book that had me screaming "I call no way!" So, movie better than book.

On Twitter last week, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy of MST3K and now Riff Trax fame were compiling a list of movies that were as good as the books they were based on. My own imperfect list follows. The movies may not all be better than the books, but they are good movies, IMHO.

--The Lord of the Rings
--To Kill A Mockingbird
--The Godfather (in which the movie dropped an icky unnecessary storyline about a bridesmaid and her. . .uhm. . .attribute)
--The General's Daughter (read and then seen because of Jenny's shortlived Book/Movie group)
--The Secret Life of Bees
--Black Hawk Down
--The Bone Collector
--Pride and Prejudice
--Brokeback Mountain
--The World According To Garp
--The French Lieutenant's Woman
--Bladerunner
--The Hunt For Red October
--The Harry Potter movies, especially the more recent ones

I know I'm forgetting some. There are also movies that I really liked, but didn't read the book so those aren't on the list.

Anyone have some to add?

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Randomness

There have been so many things going on lately. Big things like our new President. Little things like knitting gloves. Things in between like a birthday party for my favorite 4-year-old. I keep thinking I should have enough material for a long, deeply thought-out post, but the truth is that all of this stuff just seems to crowd each other out. One minute a party is asking for attention. The next it's the idea that double-pointed knitting needles are one of the greatest inventions of all time.

I'd claim ADD, throw up my hands and have an excuse for not getting anything done, but we all know that I can focus like a laser (almost typed Lazar) when I put my mind to it. I think what the main roadblock has been is that the BIG thing has occupied a lot of my thoughts in the last few weeks. What it might mean for the country, indeed, the world. How high hopes, including mine, are and how that is going to both help and hurt Mr. Obama. Because we are a nation inflicted with a form of ADD. Yes, we're going to support him. Yes, we're willing to wait. Yes, we know it'll be hard work and what can I do to help. And, wait a minute? Didn't he say he was going to fix the economy? No, I don't remember saying anything about being willing to sacrifice and be patient and helping out. So that worries me a bit. But this isn't a political blog.

All I can think of to say about knitting gloves is that it's near instant gratification, unlike sweaters and afghans. If the cat agrees to sit on the arm of my chair instead of my lap, I can knock out one a night. You'll see my running count on the side bar. She's not cooperating. But the rhythm of knitting is soothing, therapeutic even. And double-pointed needles are a wonder. The knitting just goes round and round, seamlessly.

Elizabeth is a wonder. Not that I'm biased at all. Cute, smart and funny. Mostly funny. She can be so serious one minute and a complete goof the next. And she's at the age where she's making up stories. They go from first person to third to second within one sentence. Her cast of characters gets unwieldy and she drops characters without warning. But they are exciting tales of giant girls with green skin who climb mountains with Ariel and Belle (pronounced Bell-le). Somehow we never seem to reach the end of the story. And I think that's a good thing.

Facebook never ceases to amaze. Just a little over a month on it and I've reconnected with people from former jobs, other social networks (I guess that's what you'd call the old AOL MST3K message boards) and from high school. And here's a question: How can I not remember a guy from my graduating class when there were only 125 kids in it? Weird.

So that's the update for this week, such as it is. I'll try to be more focused next week. We'll see how that works out for me.

Friday, December 12, 2008

A Lovely Side Effect

So, you all know that I resigned my position on the Board of Directors of Pikes Peak Writers. Only one column was submitted directly to me. A couple were sent to editor@pikespeakwriters.com which meant I got one and the new editor got one as well. After this issue, that one won't forward to me any longer. Lots less hassle. With the exception of a flurry of activity the first week or so while the new editor asked questions, I sent extra articles I had on hand and information about the reporters, she asked me for the information I sent again, I sent it again, she asked again, etc. Funny how I never received any notification that my email didn't go through. Oh well.

The new editor seems like a nice person. And very optimistic. Yes, I remember being optimistic when I first started, lo these many months ago. I would no longer be working with aspiring authors who had poured their very souls into this master work of under 2,000 words. Their sad little souls. Their sad little, poorly written souls. No, I would be working with reporters. Hard-nosed, hard-drinking, tough-talking reporters.Serious-minded fact-based writers who took pride in their work, but weren't personally invested in it. Reporters. And then I woke up. The reporters were aspiring authors. This reporting gig was waaaaaay down on their list of priorities. As well it should have been. But that meant some less than best efforts. There were exceptions, of course. Linda and Fleur were always reliable and on time and polished like a new penny. And Deb C. really stepped in and stepped up toward the end of my run. Maybe the new editor will have more of those in her future. I hope.

But the lovely side effect of resigning? Loads less email to wade through. My name is now off the BOD and Steering Committee lists. It will drop from the Volunteer list soon (because I'm no longer allowed to volunteer for ANYTHING). But even better is that the email I do get because I'm a member still and on the PPW loop doesn't have to paid attention to if I don't want. I don't have an obligation to keep up with topics and make sure I send congratulations for every announcement. And that means more time.

I resigned because of time, I know. But I was thinking of the schlepping to meetings and reading submissions and editing and looking at layouts and scrambling to get more content to fill up the issue and all that good stuff. I didn't think about less email and what that would mean.

Are you on any email loops that you don't need to be? I'm thinking of another one I'm on that may be the next to go. Hey, I've got to do something so I have time for Facebook and Twitter.

Monday, March 17, 2008

I'm Baaack

Wow, what a change of scene. When I left Phoenix on Saturday afternoon, it was in the mid-80s even though it was overcast. Snow and rain the whole day on Sunday. But it was a good day to unpack and unwind and un-snit the cat.

The week was great. Miss Elizabeth was a trip. Her vocabulary is huge, although she mispronounces just enough to be cute. And her imagination has taken off. We played a lot of pretend. "I'm Annaliese and you're Erika," she'd tell me. (Barbie Princess and the Pauper for those of you who are confused.) She also does groovy claw hands as the Wicked Witch or the White Witch (we also watched Narnia a couple times). Three is a fun age.

Kelly, my nephew and Elizabeth's dad, and I played WII--I whupped his butt at bowling and boxing and beat his initial scores on the crossbow game (who knew that they had rapid-fire, automatic crossbows?) and went to see Vantage Point (good flick).

Amy, Kelly's wife and Elizabeth's mom, and I went to a place called Beads Galore. I got a few things for me and some 'thank you' beads for DB for covering for me while I was gone. And as bribes to teach me what she's learned so far.

Most of the time, though was just hanging out. Which I tend to like best on vacation. We caught up and watched DVDs and, mainly, played with Elizabeth.

Now it's back to work--work-work and writing-work. Yes, I was a almost a total slacker. I read a couple books. And I made note of a woman I saw at the play area at the mall. Interesting. There's a short story there. Eventually.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Storytelling

No excuses for not updating sooner.

I've been doing a lot of repetitive kinds of tasks at work over the past few weeks. No complaints. It's good to be busy at work. But not a lot of brain-power has been required. I found a radio station on i-Tunes that plays old radio shows. Amazing how many of the comedy shows aren't funny anymore and how many comedies and dramas both are incredibly racist--don't get me started on The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke and Have Gun, Will Travel. But the storytelling aspect is interesting.

There are three shows that I particularly like. One is Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar about a freelance insurance investigator. It's a fifteen minute show. Each story takes a week to tell. Johnny is reporting on his expense account and why he's incurring the expenses. Of course, he tells about how he figures out what actually happened, too.

Another is Suspense. It's an anthology style show. Some of the biggest names of the time are involved. I've heard James Stewart, William Powell, Cary Grant, Agnes Moorehead, Joan Fontaine, etc. The stories range from mysteries, horror and straight drama. But all are supposed to be suspenseful. Some work better than others.

One thing that is common to both of these shows is the combination of narration and dialogue. And the stories are told not shown. There is very little description of setting. You might get an occasional "It was a muggy night" or "The ramshackle house" but not much else. Still I have a very specific idea of what Johnny Dollar looks like. And, of course, I'm familiar with most of the actors on Suspense so I can picture them. But I see the settings in both shows too. Even though they aren't described in any detail. But if it takes place in a rural setting then I have a catalogue in my head I can access for rural settings. English manor house? Same thing. California ranch? You get the idea.

The third show I like is Lux Radio Theater. Another anthology program. But this one takes stage plays and movies and distills them into an hour-long radio play. I've heard a couple from movies that I'm familiar with. Suspicion and Sorry, Wrong Number. It's interesting to see how they took a two-hour movie and boiled it down to under an hour (commericals, you know) without losing anything. Again, setting suffers. But they still work.

I'm a writer who loves setting the stage. I think it can help set the mood. Not just spooky old houses, but details like faded floral wallpaper can tell you a lot about the person who owns the house in three little words. Mary and Moe really set scenes. And I love their work. I'm there. Everyone else uses varying amounts of stage dressing. And it seems to work well, too. So why is that? Is it genre? Style? Don't know.

My other question is, if these radio plays work so well with telling rather than showing, why don't books?

Discuss.

I'm out of town next week and may or may not check in.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Happy Leap Day

I think Leap Day should be a national holiday. It only comes around once every four years. Shouldn't we celebrate it? A few weeks ago, DB posted a prompt about making up a holiday. So, if Leap Day were a national holiday, how would you celebrate it?

I would sleep in a little. Then, since it is such a pretty day today, I would go for a hike. Spend an hour or so communing with nature, filling the well and clearing out the cobwebs. Looks like Leap Day is also cliche' day for me. Anyway, then I would spend the rest of the day taking leaps. Not physical, but creative. I would maybe start a story in a genre that frightens me. Or apply for an exclusive workshop.

So how would you spend Leap Day if you had it free? Like John, the rotter.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Wave Your Freak Flag High

Yes, my freak (and geek) flag are definitely waving when I say this, but "Happy birthday to Joel Hodgson creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000."

Best. Show. Ever.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

A Post on Evil Editor

No, I didn't submit a query or the beginning of a story. I didn't have a continuation or a fake plot published. But one of my comments made it through the moderation process **addendum: Face-Lift 482**. And a subsequent comment said it was the best laugh the guy had that day.

Okay, I'm grasping here. Busy Monday and didn't post. Off sick yesterday. If you can catch things online, it's either John's or Courtney's fault. Busy again today because I was off yesterday. Do you detect a trend? And I didn't want to get the refresh of Shane shame.

Has anyone here ever actually submitted a query or beginning to EE? Thought about it? Worried that if you did, especially the query, his comments would freak you out? Not that I'm projecting, mind you. Okay, I'm projecting. Had all those thoughts. But it also might be invaluable feedback. Yeah, I'm thinnin' about whipping up a query when the rewrite is just about done and sending it in. Just to see what he says. May need an emergency Pirate gathering afterward.

Back to work.