RTT: "Oh what a tangled web we weave..."

When first we write so randomly.*
Or something.

- I don't get why I'm having what amounts to a writer's block whenever I sit down to write a post here lately. I don't seem to have any problem writing in general - I just seem to have a problem writing what's on my mind.

- Maybe it's time for me to work on that post idea I've had lying around for awhile - tentatively titled "The limitations of transparency" - about the decisions we all make concerning how much we want to reveal of ourselves. Not just on blogs, in life! And do the boundaries we establish make us dishonest in our dealings with other people? When does choosing not reveal something about yourself become dishonesty? (I get a few more good ideas together on that one and I'll have a new "Meaning Of Life" post...)

- This weekend, I edited down about the first half-hour of what I expect to be a great new instructional video on Chi Sao demonstrated by my good friend and teacher, Sibok Rocco Ambrose. If you live in the metropolitan Detroit area and are interested in the finest training in self-defense and martial arts around, for yourself or your children, you need to check out Ambrose Academy.

- Later this month, The Girl and The Boy will celebrate their 20th and 18th birthdays, respectively. Good God, I am old.

- So Pamela (from the dayton time) emails me today. She started reading Life of Pi on Friday - and finished the d*mn book in a day. Who the h*ll has time to read a whole 400-page book in ONE DAY? Doesn't she realize the kind of pressure that puts on me?!?!
(Pamela, it's just a joke, sweetie. I don't want to cause trouble again just because I don't know how to write stuff so that it's funny...)

- I don't feel old.

- Did I mention that it's really cool when your kids get older and they're not home all the time and you don't have to wait until they're asleep to have sex?

- I'm not advocating that anyone has to wait until their kids are asleep to have sex (but that is pretty much how the Middle-Aged Woman rolls, if you know what mean). But when one of the parties whose cooperation is essential in these pursuits generally has difficulty staying up much beyond 9 pm... I'm just sayin' - absence makes the heart grow fonder.

- Other things may grow as well.

- Have you ever noticed how underused the word "engorged" is?

- Since becoming a freelance writer, the Middle-Aged Woman has been making a lunch for me to take to work every day and preparing many fine evening meals. Tonight, she had a little mishap with some pork chops (I'm not a big pork chop fan anyway - she likes them though) - and so I had to leap into the breach and salvage dinner tonight. And, though I don't like to brag, I think it's fair to say - that I buy make a mean Crispy Strip**.

Bon appétit!

Take care.


PS: Did I mention that you are supposed to visit Keely at the Un-Mom immediately.

If not sooner.


* Apologies to Sir Walter Scott.
** "Crispy Strip" is a registered trademark of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

RTT: The "Not Dead Yet" Edition

So, two weeks ago (you remember - the last time I posted) work really s*cked.

Then last week, work didn't s*ck quite as bad - but it was still pretty bad. I found out the previous Friday that I needed to be in New York on Monday morning. Don't get me wrong - I don't mind traveling and I like Manhattan. But I always end up working long hours and don't get to enjoy the trip; this trip was no exception*. And, to close out the week right, I worked a couple extra hours Friday evening and didn't leave the office until 7:30 at night.

I'm hoping that work s*cks even less this week. Hope springs eternal.

Being called out of town last week resulted in my missing the first "Odd Couple" read-through. Although not the end of the world, it was rather awkward to be cast in a lead role one week - and the following week have to make excuses why I would miss the first rehearsal. Last night, I attended my first rehearsal and had fun, though. But, man-o-man! - I've got a lot of memorizing to do!!

Yesterday was the three-week anniversary of my wisdom teeth removal. And I can't wait till the "traumatized" areas of my mouth stop being so sensitive to hot and cold items placed therein. My teeth have never before been sensitive to temperature - and I can't wait for them to regain their brute indifference. That is going to happen - right, Leslie?

I finished a couple of books since my last post. First was The Powwow Highway (in preparation for a He Read/She Read post - unless Rebekah has dumped me) and, more recently, I completed (at long last) Vincent Bugliosi's massive work (1500+ pages) on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy called Reclaiming History. It took me months to finally reach the finish line of Bugliosi's magnum opus**, not because the book is poorly written or boring - but because the factual information regarding the assassination and, in particular, debunking of many conspiracy myths that have cropped up over the years (including a complete demolition of the Oliver Stone film, JFK) are covered in such great detail and with great authority. If you are like I was - having never read a book on the Kennedy assassination - or believing in a vague way (without knowing quite why) that there must have been a shadowy conspiracy behind Kennedy's death - you owe it to yourself to read at least part of Reclaiming History.

I'm getting sleepy now, so I'd better get this baby posted before I run out of steam. With any luck, I'll spend less time working and more time writing this week.

Hey! Stop laughing at me like that. It's impolite to ridicule the deluded.

Take care.

PS: If you need more randomness in your life (and who doesn't?), I would be remiss not to strongly urge you to visit Keely at the Un-Mom immediately. If not sooner.

* Get this: I took my little voice recorder and microphone with me to NYC thinking I might...{giggle} do a post or two in my...{guffaw} spare time. I wasn't kidding about the whole "deluded" thing.

** I apologize for mispronouncing Mr. Bu-li-o-si's name twice. I never realized the "G" was silent.

They're Playing Right Into Our Hands

The Middle-Aged Woman passed this along seconds ago...



You can read more Frazz here.

You can read more about Lonesome Dove next Tuesday here.

Take care.

For Your Consideration: He Read/She Read

Click on the book at left to visit a brand new blog where men and women both get a chance to offer their perspectives on a book of their choosing.




Today's Installment:
Sprite's Keeper and I weigh in on
John Irving's The World According to Garp.

Tomorrow: I plan to get back to basics here at Speaking in CAPS.
In fact, I feel a Meaning Of Life post coming on.
Keep your fingers crossed and...

Take care.

15 Books

My friend, Khai, sent out a note on Facebook with her top 15 books of all time. And since I spent a goodly amount of time responding (picking the books was easy; writing the blurbs took a while), I decided to turn it into a two-fer - a Facebook note and a blog post. If you'd like to play the game too (I think the Middle-Aged Woman is posting her list sometime this week...), I have included Khai's rules (not mine - I don't play by the rules) below.

[Khai's Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including the originator, so your friends can see what books you chose. (To do this in Facebook, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, paste rules in a new note, cast your 15 picks, and tag people in the note - upper right hand side). These are the books I can read over and over and over again. I've read a lot of classics AND fluff books.]

Jim Styro's 15 Books:

The Bible (Various authors) - Yeah, I know...it's not an easy read. In fact, there are plenty of parts you could skip over - and I'm betting God wouldn't mind a bit. But there's nothing else quite like it. I prefer The Jerusalem Bible - but NIV or RSV are good too.

The World According to Garp (John Irving) - I love Irving...and this is still my favorite. His stories are rich, his characters are real. No American author in the second half of the Twentieth Century can equal the consistent quality of his novels.

M*A*S*H (Richard Hooker) - M*A*S*H is a phenomenon which I came upon in reverse order; TV show, film, then book. Each one has its unique value and charm. But I think so few people have read the book as compared to its video off-spring, that I feel the need to recommend it.

Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut) - I also love Vonnegut and it was either this or "Jailbird" (another wonderful book). But Slaughterhouse Five was the entryway for me to the rest of his stuff, so it gets the nod.

The Lord Of The Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien) - I guess this is a cheat - but it's a good cheat; three books for the price of one (choice). You don't have to love fantasy - you only have to love good writing and a good story to enjoy Tolkien. A reminder that every happy ending comes at a price.

Schindler's List (Thomas Keneally) - Keneally brings us both the horror of the Holocaust and a tale of unexpected redemption in the story of an unlikely savior. I have championed both the book and film since so many seem to have shied away thinking that the material is "too depressing". Neither life or this book is that simple; give them both a chance.

The Story Of Philosophy (Will Durant) - My life would be much poorer without having been exposed to some of the great thinkers of the ages through Durant's primer.

The Civil War (Shelby Foote) - If you don't care for history, then read Shelby Foote. A novelist takes on the greatest events in American history and brings them alive. If you've seen Ken Burns' documentary or read Michael Shaara's novels of the Civil War, you owe it to yourself to read Foote's three volumes.

Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry) - I would argue that this is the finest American novel of the second half of the Twentieth Century. No one book can cover all of what it means to be human - but this comes close.

Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton) - If you've only seen the film, you don't know the whole story. Crichton is an idea man - not always a great writer; but this book is a compelling page-turner - and it makes you think.

The Burden of Proof (Scott Turow) - I could never understand why Grisham got all the good press. Turow is a superior writer - and this is a great book which grapples with the complexity of relationships. (Which reminds me that I probably should have included something from John Updike - but I think Turow is more accessible.)

Catch 22 (Joseph Heller) - A tour de force. So funny and angry - full of horror, lunacy, despair - and a ray of hope. Too rich a diet for regular meals - but it sticks to your ribs.

The Complete Peanuts (Charles Schultz) - Watterson's "Compleat Calvin and Hobbes" is leaner and meaner. But Sparky is the original. The humanity is always shining through - even when it's a beagle.

The Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Abbey Road Studio Session Notes
(Mark Lewisohn) - An absolutely indispensable historical record for anyone who loves music. Because anyone who loves music, loves the Beatles.

The Stand (Stephen King) - King is, arguably, the premiere storyteller of his generation. And this is his greatest story.

Perhaps some of your favorites are listed above - maybe it's all new to you. If you love a good book, I'm betting that you would enjoy nearly anything listed above. If you do decide to try one out that you've never read before, let me know how it goes.

Take care.

All About My Father's Day

I had a great Father's Day this year!

The day actually began on the way home from Music Night - the Middle-Aged Woman and I didn't get home until about 1 AM. Once home, I finished writing my Father's Day post about/to my Dad. Then I went to bed for a while.

Before leaving for church this morning, I remoted to my Dad's computer (I use the tool available at www.logmein.com) and left him an initial Father's Day greeting (which directed him to check out my blog post). I went to church alone (as usual), got my car washed afterward and headed home. At home, I recorded the audio accompaniment to Sunday's post.

[From the Editor: I must disgress for a moment here to ask some questions concerning THE AUDIO PORTION OF OUR PROGRAM - Does anybody listen to the posts? Or all you all just reading them? If you do like to listen to the posts, do you listen as you read - or primarily do only one or the other?

Did anyone not realize that I provide spoken versions of most posts? [The tool from Box.net that loads at the top of the page allows you to click on the MP3 filenames to listen.] Now that you know, do you think that you'll bother to listen?

I beg you - please let me know whether you find the audio posts cool or useless. They are enough work that - I need to know whether people feel they add something to the site - so I can summon the energy to keep making them available. And now, we return you to your regularly scheduled rant...]

At this point, it was around 2 PM and, having skipped breakfast, I was getting hungry. Snoplum had recently gotten out of the shower and asked if I could wait for her to finish getting beautiful (which she already was completely - but I told her I'd wait anyway). She chose that moment to present me with a few Father's Day gifts:

Thomas Keneally's Searching for Schindler (a memoir from 2007), the 20th Anniversary DVD of Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (this and The Fisher King are my favorite Gilliam films), and the 20th Anniversary DVD of The Times of Harvey Milk (which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 1984; Gus Van Sant's latest film, Milk, with Sean Penn owes a great debt to this earlier documentary film). Did I mention that my wife has extremely good taste (and knows how to easily access my Wish List at Amazon).

She also gave me a wonderful Father's Day kiss - at which point I may have mentioned that I had a little something for her as well. This part of the day is a little fuzzy for me now; I must have blacked out due to lack of blood flow to the brain. Anyway, one thing lead to another, and the next thing I remember, I was getting dressed so we could get some lunch. The MAW and I had a fine meal at Panera and I called my Dad to wish him a Happy Father's Day when we returned home.

The kids got home later in the afternoon (The Girl, from work; The Boy, from visiting a friend) and presented me with a great card and some additional loot (golf balls and tees - which will come in handy beginning next week). We all went to dinner together and then saw the latest Pixar film, Up (which is very much worth seeing). We even picked up some donuts on the way home as a Father's Day dessert. It had been a while since we had spent that much time all together - and enjoyed each other's company with no bits of bickering or human drama.

It was really nice. I'll take another day just like that one anytime.

Take care.

Further flash: Lonesome Dove and the joys of McMurtry

A couple days ago, I mentioned my love for the book, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. It was turned into one of the best made-for-TV movies/mini-series ever (one of the best Westerns ever, IMO) starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones (amongst others). Except for Clint Eastwood, though, the Western as a genre in film and fiction seems to lack appeal for many folks. I think that is why I have often sought to champion the story to anyone who will sit still long enough.

Apart from being extremely well-written (it rightfully won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for fiction), the book is a wonderful story of cowboys and the Old West - and, at the same time, those trappings of the story are irrelevant to enjoying the book as a tremendously rich and moving work of fiction. Or to put it more simply: you can love this book whether you like Westerns - or you hate them. All you need to enjoy Lonesome Dove is to love a good story (if you love a LONG story, that doesn't hurt either).

I'm telling you all that, so I can tell you this: While spending time thinking about and writing my "flash fiction" piece for The Raisin Chronicles*, I recalled that within the sprawling tale of Lonesome Dove**, there is a favorite passage of mine that almost qualifies as "flash fiction".

McMurtry has 600 pages to set the scene before this paragraph appears in the novel; I'll just tell you this: The following passage refers to a remembrance of July Johnson, a young sheriff from Fort Smith, Arkansas. One of the plot threads in Lonesome Dove involves July's search for his missing wife, which takes him from from Texas to Nebraska.

Listen to what Larry McMurtry can do with 216 words.***

All during the trip [July] had been haunted by the memory of something that had happened in Fort Smith several years before. One of the nicest men in town, a cotton merchant, had gone to Memphis on a business trip, only to have his wife take sick while he was gone. They tried to send a telegram to notify the man, but he was on his way back and the telegram never got delivered. The man's name was John Fisher. As he rode back into Fort Smith, John Fisher saw a burying party out behind the church. Being a neighborly man, he had ridden over to see who had died, and the people had all stopped, stricken, for they were burying his wife. July had been helping to cover the coffin. He never forgot the look on John Fisher's face when he realized he was a day late - his wife had died the afternoon before his return. Though a healthy man, John Fisher only lived another year himself. If he ran into someone on the street who had seen his wife on her sickbed he always asked, "Do you think Jane might have lived if I'd got back sooner?" Everyone told him no, you couldn't have done a thing, but John Fisher didn't believe them.

If you enjoyed that tidbit, I hope you'll pick up a copy of Lonesome Dove and give yourself a real treat.


Take care.


* If you haven't been to her site before, I highly recommend that you check out some of Jeanne's older posts. She is a wonderful writer - you'll find some gems. And new flash fiction pieces are still being submitted - some great stuff!
** 850 - 950 pages depending on whether you're reading hardcover or paperback. Of course, I have both.
*** Microsoft Word counted them for me.