Paul R Smith Dot Com

Lochrann And The Curse of Retro Karma

It's been a rough few weeks for me as you may not have read.  I've been away for too long, gentle reader.

Someone answered my prayers (not bad for an agnostic) and built an Irish pub a few minutes from my house.  Now, it is a tad fancy smacy (it's a technical term - I'm sure of it), but it feels cozy which allows me to get some writing done to a really expensive lunch - both in price and in calories.  But I just love the atmosphere in there.  The wait staff is polite and attentive.  And the chef is trained by the Culinary Institute of America. They rock.

So, my mind has been dragging as of late with changes at work and the emotional aftermath of my dad.  I packed my stuff to go and realized to my horror that I accidentally stole their lunch menu.  Their lunch menu looks very much like one of my notebooks.  ( I can't bring myself to whip out my MacBook Pro in a restaurant like this as much as I really want to.)   So I've been procrastinating bringing back the menu.  And of course, being Irish, it's probably some ancient curse befalling me for menu pilfering that will land me with premature baldness or something.  All other attempts at creative solutions out of this ethnic faux pas have so far yielded no results.  In short, Bren caught me trying to leave the menu in her car.

I will stop by tomorrow and drop off the menu saying what I said above.  Just like I planned yesterday, and the day before, and the day before....

The Writer's Strike: Fighting Over A Fading Ice Cube

The first title was, "How I Lost All My Friends In Under 10 Minutes." 

Now, here me out here. If I were a judge with the power to end this strike I would give it to the writers in a heart beat.  I have no love for the media oligopoly in Hollywood. 

The media conglomerates announced that Late night TV will be returning to the air waves as the writers and the shows are negotiating without their bigger brothers.   There's nothing like remaining united.  This will further confuses the issue and will backfire on both sides, in my opinion.  Why am I seeing Leno, but not what happened in the next episode of Lost?  Where's the Daily Show?

Seriously, does Hollywood matter anymore?  I'm not just talking You Tube.  The Internet has taken the audience away from both TV and movies.  Leisure time has been shrinking.  That is what entertainment companies should be focusing on- our time, not our wallet.    Once upon a legend, free time was spent on watching sports, going to movies, bowling, and then picking one of 3 channels for a mild diversion.  Now, however, there's poker with college friends, role playing, video games, reading an increasing amount of books, increased exposure to unfamiliar music, scrap-booking, Chuck E Cheese, dinners out, clubs, and social get together with your Face-book buddies and a cup of Joe.  TV and movies audiences have been shrinking.  With 9 million people playing World of Warcraft, those people don't really care who's "the biggest loser" is.  In restaurants, TV is just background noise like a Muzak with a picture.

Hollywood keeps it's eye on how many people are watching the movies this week.  It also studies who is watching TV.  But no one surveys how we spend our leisure time on a regular basis.  Hollywood has lost track of what their customers want.  Most people don't want difficult to open DVDs with commercials you can't skip calling you a thief.  Is it Blu-Ray or HD-DVD?   Please.  They want entertainment, not commercials for 10 minutes before a movie they paid too much for while sitting in an unclean theater. 

I'm not big on unions.   I've read the requirements to join the Writers Guild of America.  For a mere $2500, I can be out of work too.  I don't see much about the young lady who maxes out her credit cards to create her first film?  Anything about the computer game company that just sold a million units?  Porn?  (all right I'm leaving myself wide open on that argument, but I'll bet you have been films that out-grossed Glitter.) Writers coming over from Korea or China?  What?  Outsourcing is only good enough for Information Technology?   

But, seriously,  I would like to see the writers win their current struggle.  But at the same time I hope we all see that times are changing and leisure needs an upgrade.  There are too many other avenues for the fan base to get lost.  What if there was a strike, and nobody cared?  We may not be there yet, but ask major league baseball and the hockey teams how their attendance suffered right after their work stoppages.

Writers have the talent and the ability to take their gifts in so many different areas.  The starving artist may have the opportunity to help draft the entertainment of tomorrow and not be reduced to begging for table scraps from broken business models.

Nanowrimo - 0 for 3

Nanowrimo 2007

Yeah, I know that title will annoy people.  But it's the only way I can really sum it all up.  I've come to the realization that I really hate December first.  For the last three years, it's been a reminder of the choices I've made and the short comings I face.  It's like always going to the candy store and finding yourself a few cents short. 

Now I know my opinion is selfish.  There are far worse problems in the world.  But it's hard for me to swallow what I can and what I allow myself to do.  Writing and running are important to me, but sadly they are very lonely occupations.  Maybe I made some wrong choices.  Like most people I have a deep chasm between what I desire and what I accomplish.  I need to change that.  Still, part of the costs for attempting Nanowrimo or training for a marathon is that I leave others behind.  Jade would be very upset when Dad would be gone for hours running in the dark and the cold.  Bren felt obligated to try to clear the way so I could sit in a corner somewhere and stare at a wordless screen.  These prices are too expensive for me.

There was some good out of trying.  There is value in going all out and trying to go beyond what was possible.  I've learned to write better in the company of others.  Cooking tomato sauce is a great cure for writer's block.  This year, one of my greatest accomplishments was completing that marathon.  Now, selfishly, I want to do it again.  But that cost time, money, and strained relationships.  I've been fighting the equations of friends vs. personal goals for a long time.  I don't know what a winning score is here.  It feels that sharing the victory with loved ones is sometimes answered with indifference. 

So I continue trying to find the balance.  Life lacks buzzers for mistakes.   But I'm faced with the same decisions without the 50,000 word goal hanging over my head.  I want to continue to write and run.  Can goals be shared?  Can I do this and be able to sleep more than 4 hours a night?  (Not tonight....)

I'm not asking for pity.   I'm not apologizing.  I'm just writing in my blog in the attempt to explain who I am.   I continue to finish my story I started on 11/1/07.  But, like most things, I have a long way to go before I reach the finish line.  I'm just afraid of being in the wrong race. 

The Writer's Strike

Jade's Plan

"Daddy, can you stay with me all night?" Jade asked.

"Jade, what about Mommy.  Won't she get lonely?" I said.

"Besides, you don't want Daddy to sleep on your floor all night."

Jade stares at the top of her bed a minute.  She coughs.

"Well, Daddy, you have to stay with me because I'm not feeling well."