Tuesday October 1st Yikes
October
Still mickeying around with dates on the spring trip. Pushed departure up to Feb 19th Then we can get into Javea Feb 27th.
won't work. kids on
vacation then. maybe fly sat march 1
arrive sun march 2 jetlag on mon march 3 see you guys on
tuesday evening march 4 fly to Spain weds march 5
no -- fly thurs feb
27
arrive friday 28
jetlag sat march 1
see you guys on sunday march 2
or monday march 3
fly to Javea Spain on tues march 4
"The beauty of the scenery around us was stupendous
and alarming." Knausgaard, 2.394
(UK)
OCTOBER 2013
Kailasa font
Apple Air Book
weds Oct 9 1: 26 pm
At last I’m the guy in the B&N cafe on his MacBook Air. Whoo Hoo. Who says consumer culture is not the salvation of us all? Even Lars and W. would be envious as sin.
Beautiful day out. Shame to waste it inside like this. Had my appointment at the Genius Bar in Nashua, Pheasant Lane, with Evan and than Ron. Whole shop seems set up like a therapy stop-in: so much personal attention and sincere concern. Still, was helpful and interesting to have Ron go over the problems of getting files from the old MacBookPro onto this sleek and sheen new Airbook. Still not completely sure he solved the question. He was baffled about why the documents would not migrate and open properly. Something in the composite Oct 2013 Folder was giving the whole process some snafu. He could not figure out why. Only solution is to take the folder apart and separate the items and load them by hand into the Cie or the USB20FD thumb file. Should have bought the thumb drive as the back-up in the first place. Much better for travel. External hard-drive thumb size instead of the big box in the orange case La Cie. Now I have both and now I am sure I will take the other one back to WalMart. If I understand, what I guessed on my own seems to be right. Drag and drop one by one rather than composite would work much better. Also be sure beforehand that the doc is really a doc and not something else. Maybe avoid docx? although that doesn’t seem to be that clear.
----
commercial break from Urban Dictionary
October 9: friend flash
Noun. An exposure of breast or genitalia by a good friend.
Katie just lifted her shirt to show me her boobs, it was a total friend flash.
-----------
Hmm. Not part of this generation for sure. Anyway, in the back of our shop talk was the option of buying Micro Word and/or finding the disc from the old installation and installing it on the new air book. Might end up doing that after a few weeks of things not meshing. Plus---Ron did carefully make clear that once I added Micro Word to the computer the meshing of Pages and Word would not necessarily be seamless. Nothing is seamless when it comes to these instruments, even after all these years. Not that many of course so far as new worlds and new technologies go, but still.
Oh, also learned how to Right Click on a Mac. So that was worth it all.
Looked up Phil’s new book on Amazon. Have to buy a copy to post a review. He’s sending a free one. Have told no one about my Chromenos book. Wonder if anyone will ever see it or mention it? I should be embarrassed by the sloppy editing but I’m trying to refuse to not be.
Meanwhile we have photocopied about half of Va’s dad’s novel. She wants a copy before she sends to archival box back to Milner manor.
Friday Oct 11 Already 12:30 almost. Warm and foggy sort of day. Virginia had a terrible night, coughing and reacting to all the dust from her dad’s book manuscript which she did finish photocopying while I was out having a drink and snack with Bob Feeny at Foster’s.
Canceled swimming this morning. I’m trying the fast recommended now by both Dr Mirkin and Brad Pilon. Was surprised to notice in an email notification how Mirkin had two posts on the notion and how perfectly they confirmed what Pilon has written about in his book. And the Catholic Church for centuries! Sort of. Pretty much.
Good news on the transfer scene. The docs from the thumb drive seem to be opening fine. Yay.
Nope. Spoke too soon. Some of the docs are not opening. In fact some docx’s do open ok. So it is something else. ??
Feeling pretty dopey now. almost 5. Caved and had some choc chip cookies Patsy left on the back stoop. Cheese too. Snacks and coffee. Now want to doze a bit.
Great short little face time with the kids around 3 pm. They were going to bed. Cold snap hitting Paris.
Sunday night -- October 13 Watching Revenge. Virginia has been sick past few days--bit of a wheezing scare last night but she seems recovering better tonight. Think I’ve found the jackpot apartment in Paris after over a week of obsessive looking at the websites. Right on Blv Grenelle a block from Dupleix (the park and little church). Privately glad that Gilles Muoy is not renting the Suffren place. Composed a mini-essay about the Stendhal syndrome of living in neighborhoods too close to monuments.
Also a week of leaf-peeping leaves you a bit hung-over, the intoxication of nature and sunshine and seeking what will ever elude every photo you can take.
Wednesday October 16 almost noon
Gibson’s bookstore cafe in Concord. A first: if you search on your computer here for Amazon.com you can’t get there---it goes to Gibsons. Fair enough in many ways. But in all ways? Maybe it just wants you to hit a button and then get to amazon? Haven’t explored just yet. Had a croissant sandwich and more coffee. Time to stroll now before relaxing more formally. So much has happened it seems. Mainly we booked an apartment for May in Paris. Took a lot of looking and two or three phone calls to Paris yesterday to get the right details straight and decide decide. Finally took one on Grenelle in a building set far back from the street and an apartment on the 5th/5th floor. Good small terrace and view of the tower so at night it should be a nice city view.
Sweet video this morning of Emma drawing a family of pigs for her papa. My day off. Feels so good to finally get the apartment decided and set. Now to get the plane tickets and all will be well. Decided to just ignore the kayak chart about when ticket prices rise and fall because it is after all another one of those “scientific” algorithmic things worked out from past situations and behaviors and as open to flaws as the red sox game the other night. I don’t know details about that but am just surmising from exclamations and posts/boasts on facebook. Have imagined a whole essay or mini-comment on the experience of re-imagining Paris over and over via web searches for apartments and hotels and slowly incremental experience over more and more visits. Can imagine how rich Donald’s sense the city must be after all these years of his wanderings. Feels especially special to have been brought to Paris under these situations---Dave and his family, Dave and Cécile and Emma and now the new babe on the way.
Now at Starbucks on Loudon. Settlement of the political crisis on the news. See, getting a massage to let the great world spin solves everything, it really does. Now the question is to spin through Penacook or not? Not that big a question, of course. Jeff the masseuse, had his hair cut and beard cut and looked totally unlike the fellow I had talked to two or three weeks ago. He had suggested a massage in the True Brew coffee house and I waited a while before taking him up on it. His Mindfulness place is right next to the Vision Shop, upstairs, so when I saw it today I thought, well, why not and went up to see if drop-ins were possible. He had an opening in an hour or so and I signed up. Glad I did. Terrific massage, with even a hot towel to sponge off the oil afterwards. Feel so relaxed now. Definitely something to continue with. Reminds me of being in Buenos Aires and being sorry ever since I didn’t go in to the Turkish bath I passed a number of times. I should have tried it. Just like regretting that we didn’t buy those little African carvings we saw on a dock somewhere back on our honeymoon.
Felt some resolution today some time too to get back to posting on the blog. Throw everything out there, for tomorrow we die. Gladiators into the internet to see who will win and who will not.
Seeing Anne and Basile in Woodstock was nice and a good prod to all sorts of energies.
Market sure to soar tomorrow. I talked with Bobby Dockrill yesterday, so we should be “selling high” in the transactions I ordered. Ha! Have to resist all temptations to play with the money, even on a small or controlled scale. Not really possible anyway, like everything else in my head, all in my head, all in my mind.
Think I will give Pat a call sometime this week. Maybe tomorrow while Va is getting her hair done. Amy will answer but I can ask her about the business and whether a call in the evening will work.
Monday evening Oct 21
Whole spring trip now BOOKED! whoo hoo. Now to get through the cold fall and winter. Yesterday we went to the Ice arena to see the Ice Dancing Theatre of New York. Super ice dancing. Various former ice skating olympic and other championship stars. About eight pieces. Good crowd. Cold in the arena but we were dressed pretty well and enjoyed it all.
We were walking in Concord at Gibson’s new bookstore when Jon Thibault called. He’s lost and lonesome in Littleton visiting his parents so wants to lunch on Wednesday. Amazing that he did call. Didn’t pull a Carter Peck or a Cliff Rames---oops, sorry I didn’t get in touch message after the fact. Jon is still in LA. No idea what he’s doing. On facebook he says he attended Pepperdine law.
Phone chat with Pat Armstrong middle of last week. Not too satisfying, really. Same family drama going on there with the evil brother and the mother-in-law. They are still running the bedding operation over the internet and Pat is teaching one course for $3700 at Providence College. That makes him put on a tie and get out into the world so he likes that. Is meeting people around Providence, some profs at Brown. Has written a children’s book with drawings. Doesn’t seem too interested in really figuring out how to get together for a lunch, so that is going nowhere. End of story here I think.
Isei sent an email confirming that indeed a year ago this week we were in Japan. Hard to believe, so full has been the year. Photo on facebook suggests the kids are on vacation down at Banyuls.
Tuesday
morning email from Phil and my reply----
Haven't seen that stamp. Glad you liked the flyer, which I think had a photo of every painting in the exhibit. Like Rembrandt, the older Aho gets the more paint he puts on the canvas.
Do you remember Harley Winer? He was on Elaine's list, which I used to send out an announcement. But I put everyone on BCC so it looked like an individual email, rather than to a group. Winer emailed me inquiring how I got his email list. When I told him I used a list of people who might attend high school reunions he asked where I went to school.
I remember him vaguely as a Jewish guy who was sort of a jerk. I noticed Ellen Black was also on that list, but I don't expect any response from her. I think that after I refused to fuck her on a couch with her parents in the next room, she got pissed off at me. That girl had mental problems!
moi
I think I remember Winer---slight, pale kid whose face got very pimply in the unfortunate way.
Such a great line about Ellen Black. I am absolutely going to steal it for a paragraph I've got---I'll send it to you after I tweak it. I'm trying to write something---fictional memoir maybe, not sure--so I will teach myself how to do it by stealing other people's lines and memories and calling it fiction for me ! Is that kosher among writers? :) The seed of truth is that she got pissed off at me too---I suppose everyone pissed her off---she taught me to french kiss and maybe she wanted to fuck too but I was way too repressed and scared. Glad to know you refused. For memoir purposes that sounds so much better.
----------
late on Tuesday -- been sleepy all day--didn’t sleep after about 4 am today. Rainy all day and chillier. Tomorrow is lunch with Thibault. Not sure I really want to now. Oh well. Pourquois pas? What else would I be
doing? Formatting in Pages is weird. Wonder if it will make a mess of everything to not have MicroWord?
Made a car reservation with Avis. I like red more than yellow/gold. Hertz is the Nike of car rentals. Avis is the Target. Red.
Thursday late afternoon -- Just tallied up rough figures on expenses for early spring. 20k as I suspected if federal taxes stay at around 5k. They might be more this year?? The trips themselves should be under 20k.
Phil sent a piece about how he learned/taught himself to write--we were talking about a review in NYRB of a new book about writing programs. Neither of us have taken any. I guess I have taught a few writing workshop type classes over the years. I certainly recognize all the hallmarks discussed in the book review. Phil says in his editing days he mostly dealt with books he came to call me-stories books.
he writes Never took a writing course in my life - and very glad I didn't. I did go to two meetings of a writing group here in DC and decided it was ridiculous. Also took a course on script-writing, which was mainly about formatting your script. Double space for movies, triple space for TV programs, etc. In the end, I am my own writing creator and creation. I made a lot of early mistakes when I began in 1990 that slowly, oh-so-slowly, I managed to correct over time, but did it completely on my own. One's best instructor, in my opinion, is time. Write something. Put it away for a few years, and when one comes back to it one will see what is good and what is drivel.
I think my time as an editor in NYC was a big help in getting me to realize that most people's first book is what I ended up dismissing and calling a "bunch of me-stories." When I started writing on my own in 1990 I knew one thing: I never wanted to write a me-story about myself, my family, etc. In my books and stories I have, so far, managed to avoid the me-story, but tat editor at Brown wanted my article to be nothing but a me-story while I wanted to write about Tunisia. In the end, we compromised.
-------------
In this context I am forced to note that I taught a lot of writing, never really knowing how to do so or believing that it could do much good, after a while. But believing that there could be therapeutic value, priestly value, clerkish value etc. Maybe my own writing might seem me-storyish at the outset but I leave that mode pretty early and move into something more stupid and strange. And the Copenhagen story might not be that at all. Could be too none of this is worth worrying about at all. Nothing at all.
-----
Sunday noon We saw Les Mis last night at Silver. What a mess of a play as Va said, thank goodness. Big monster of a book turned into massive baggy spectacle and all about singing anthems of survival and goodness triumphant. Simplest possible vectors detailed in messy miserable faux miseries. Stageiness in every way I dislike but what’s to dislike, cheer on the human condition and have a good time any way you can. After our grim lunch in Lebanon it was a relief. Grim because at one point I pulled out the iphone to have our photo taken in celebration of our great friendliness and Virginia and everyone else jumped on me as if I were an eleven year old delinquent of the most vile sort. Apparently I interrupted Ted in a tale invaluable and now lost to posterity and I misbhaved in the most egregious ways possible. What a crowd of J-punchers.
Guess I’m still a bit pissed myself. Late night after watching SnL pen with Edward Norton I got off a good line on Facebook and now I have to tweet it. “a beautiful woman just whispered to me from a dark corner "pssst want to see my pedometer change to zero at midnight?"
Monday evening Oct 28
Trying to work on the second chromenos volume. To Rachel Beatrice, with all my love. Might use that.
double checking on this point: reading last few pages of Karl K’s second book--he is forty. Jon out in LA was just here last week to have lunch and talk. He is also forty. Wow what an astonishing difference. Jon still a child, pretty much. Or a teen-ager. Americans age so slowly these days, mature so slowly--or some do. Maybe not just Americans---anyone--development being so different. Jon Thibault from Wyndham and Littleton.
Today in Manchester I had lunch and then on the sidewalk ran into Sam Paul---he’s now twenty-six. World at Fosters for a while, and Docks, and now is on his own as a financial something linked with New York Life. Walking with a tall black colleague who is from Haiti. Older, thirty five. Sam graduated? four or five years ago?
Va wants us to drive over to Ogunquit tomorrow. See the halloween displays Kathie Early described to her. Back in time for trick or treating. Red Sox winning the series tonight.
Halloween evening -- Va posted at the door to hand out candy. In her black hat and black coat. We got over to Ogunquit for the day, very foggy and cool but a good meal at Barnacle Billy’s etc and then a short walk on the Marginal.
And in email Patrick is going for a tenure track position at Providence and wants a letter. Does he have a chance? Just asked him.
OCTOBER 2013
Kailasa font
Apple Air Book
weds Oct 9 1: 26 pm
At last I’m the guy in the B&N cafe on his MacBook Air. Whoo Hoo. Who says consumer culture is not the salvation of us all? Even Lars and W. would be envious as sin.
Beautiful day out. Shame to waste it inside like this. Had my appointment at the Genius Bar in Nashua, Pheasant Lane, with Evan and than Ron. Whole shop seems set up like a therapy stop-in: so much personal attention and sincere concern. Still, was helpful and interesting to have Ron go over the problems of getting files from the old MacBookPro onto this sleek and sheen new Airbook. Still not completely sure he solved the question. He was baffled about why the documents would not migrate and open properly. Something in the composite Oct 2013 Folder was giving the whole process some snafu. He could not figure out why. Only solution is to take the folder apart and separate the items and load them by hand into the Cie or the USB20FD thumb file. Should have bought the thumb drive as the back-up in the first place. Much better for travel. External hard-drive thumb size instead of the big box in the orange case La Cie. Now I have both and now I am sure I will take the other one back to WalMart. If I understand, what I guessed on my own seems to be right. Drag and drop one by one rather than composite would work much better. Also be sure beforehand that the doc is really a doc and not something else. Maybe avoid docx? although that doesn’t seem to be that clear.
----
commercial break from Urban Dictionary
October 9: friend flash
Noun. An exposure of breast or genitalia by a good friend.
Katie just lifted her shirt to show me her boobs, it was a total friend flash.
-----------
Hmm. Not part of this generation for sure. Anyway, in the back of our shop talk was the option of buying Micro Word and/or finding the disc from the old installation and installing it on the new air book. Might end up doing that after a few weeks of things not meshing. Plus---Ron did carefully make clear that once I added Micro Word to the computer the meshing of Pages and Word would not necessarily be seamless. Nothing is seamless when it comes to these instruments, even after all these years. Not that many of course so far as new worlds and new technologies go, but still.
Oh, also learned how to Right Click on a Mac. So that was worth it all.
Looked up Phil’s new book on Amazon. Have to buy a copy to post a review. He’s sending a free one. Have told no one about my Chromenos book. Wonder if anyone will ever see it or mention it? I should be embarrassed by the sloppy editing but I’m trying to refuse to not be.
Meanwhile we have photocopied about half of Va’s dad’s novel. She wants a copy before she sends to archival box back to Milner manor.
Friday Oct 11 Already 12:30 almost. Warm and foggy sort of day. Virginia had a terrible night, coughing and reacting to all the dust from her dad’s book manuscript which she did finish photocopying while I was out having a drink and snack with Bob Feeny at Foster’s.
Canceled swimming this morning. I’m trying the fast recommended now by both Dr Mirkin and Brad Pilon. Was surprised to notice in an email notification how Mirkin had two posts on the notion and how perfectly they confirmed what Pilon has written about in his book. And the Catholic Church for centuries! Sort of. Pretty much.
Good news on the transfer scene. The docs from the thumb drive seem to be opening fine. Yay.
Nope. Spoke too soon. Some of the docs are not opening. In fact some docx’s do open ok. So it is something else. ??
Feeling pretty dopey now. almost 5. Caved and had some choc chip cookies Patsy left on the back stoop. Cheese too. Snacks and coffee. Now want to doze a bit.
Great short little face time with the kids around 3 pm. They were going to bed. Cold snap hitting Paris.
Sunday night -- October 13 Watching Revenge. Virginia has been sick past few days--bit of a wheezing scare last night but she seems recovering better tonight. Think I’ve found the jackpot apartment in Paris after over a week of obsessive looking at the websites. Right on Blv Grenelle a block from Dupleix (the park and little church). Privately glad that Gilles Muoy is not renting the Suffren place. Composed a mini-essay about the Stendhal syndrome of living in neighborhoods too close to monuments.
Also a week of leaf-peeping leaves you a bit hung-over, the intoxication of nature and sunshine and seeking what will ever elude every photo you can take.
Wednesday October 16 almost noon
Gibson’s bookstore cafe in Concord. A first: if you search on your computer here for Amazon.com you can’t get there---it goes to Gibsons. Fair enough in many ways. But in all ways? Maybe it just wants you to hit a button and then get to amazon? Haven’t explored just yet. Had a croissant sandwich and more coffee. Time to stroll now before relaxing more formally. So much has happened it seems. Mainly we booked an apartment for May in Paris. Took a lot of looking and two or three phone calls to Paris yesterday to get the right details straight and decide decide. Finally took one on Grenelle in a building set far back from the street and an apartment on the 5th/5th floor. Good small terrace and view of the tower so at night it should be a nice city view.
Sweet video this morning of Emma drawing a family of pigs for her papa. My day off. Feels so good to finally get the apartment decided and set. Now to get the plane tickets and all will be well. Decided to just ignore the kayak chart about when ticket prices rise and fall because it is after all another one of those “scientific” algorithmic things worked out from past situations and behaviors and as open to flaws as the red sox game the other night. I don’t know details about that but am just surmising from exclamations and posts/boasts on facebook. Have imagined a whole essay or mini-comment on the experience of re-imagining Paris over and over via web searches for apartments and hotels and slowly incremental experience over more and more visits. Can imagine how rich Donald’s sense the city must be after all these years of his wanderings. Feels especially special to have been brought to Paris under these situations---Dave and his family, Dave and Cécile and Emma and now the new babe on the way.
Now at Starbucks on Loudon. Settlement of the political crisis on the news. See, getting a massage to let the great world spin solves everything, it really does. Now the question is to spin through Penacook or not? Not that big a question, of course. Jeff the masseuse, had his hair cut and beard cut and looked totally unlike the fellow I had talked to two or three weeks ago. He had suggested a massage in the True Brew coffee house and I waited a while before taking him up on it. His Mindfulness place is right next to the Vision Shop, upstairs, so when I saw it today I thought, well, why not and went up to see if drop-ins were possible. He had an opening in an hour or so and I signed up. Glad I did. Terrific massage, with even a hot towel to sponge off the oil afterwards. Feel so relaxed now. Definitely something to continue with. Reminds me of being in Buenos Aires and being sorry ever since I didn’t go in to the Turkish bath I passed a number of times. I should have tried it. Just like regretting that we didn’t buy those little African carvings we saw on a dock somewhere back on our honeymoon.
Felt some resolution today some time too to get back to posting on the blog. Throw everything out there, for tomorrow we die. Gladiators into the internet to see who will win and who will not.
Seeing Anne and Basile in Woodstock was nice and a good prod to all sorts of energies.
Market sure to soar tomorrow. I talked with Bobby Dockrill yesterday, so we should be “selling high” in the transactions I ordered. Ha! Have to resist all temptations to play with the money, even on a small or controlled scale. Not really possible anyway, like everything else in my head, all in my head, all in my mind.
Think I will give Pat a call sometime this week. Maybe tomorrow while Va is getting her hair done. Amy will answer but I can ask her about the business and whether a call in the evening will work.
Monday evening Oct 21
Whole spring trip now BOOKED! whoo hoo. Now to get through the cold fall and winter. Yesterday we went to the Ice arena to see the Ice Dancing Theatre of New York. Super ice dancing. Various former ice skating olympic and other championship stars. About eight pieces. Good crowd. Cold in the arena but we were dressed pretty well and enjoyed it all.
We were walking in Concord at Gibson’s new bookstore when Jon Thibault called. He’s lost and lonesome in Littleton visiting his parents so wants to lunch on Wednesday. Amazing that he did call. Didn’t pull a Carter Peck or a Cliff Rames---oops, sorry I didn’t get in touch message after the fact. Jon is still in LA. No idea what he’s doing. On facebook he says he attended Pepperdine law.
Phone chat with Pat Armstrong middle of last week. Not too satisfying, really. Same family drama going on there with the evil brother and the mother-in-law. They are still running the bedding operation over the internet and Pat is teaching one course for $3700 at Providence College. That makes him put on a tie and get out into the world so he likes that. Is meeting people around Providence, some profs at Brown. Has written a children’s book with drawings. Doesn’t seem too interested in really figuring out how to get together for a lunch, so that is going nowhere. End of story here I think.
Isei sent an email confirming that indeed a year ago this week we were in Japan. Hard to believe, so full has been the year. Photo on facebook suggests the kids are on vacation down at Banyuls.
Tuesday
morning email from Phil and my reply----
Haven't seen that stamp. Glad you liked the flyer, which I think had a photo of every painting in the exhibit. Like Rembrandt, the older Aho gets the more paint he puts on the canvas.
Do you remember Harley Winer? He was on Elaine's list, which I used to send out an announcement. But I put everyone on BCC so it looked like an individual email, rather than to a group. Winer emailed me inquiring how I got his email list. When I told him I used a list of people who might attend high school reunions he asked where I went to school.
I remember him vaguely as a Jewish guy who was sort of a jerk. I noticed Ellen Black was also on that list, but I don't expect any response from her. I think that after I refused to fuck her on a couch with her parents in the next room, she got pissed off at me. That girl had mental problems!
moi
I think I remember Winer---slight, pale kid whose face got very pimply in the unfortunate way.
Such a great line about Ellen Black. I am absolutely going to steal it for a paragraph I've got---I'll send it to you after I tweak it. I'm trying to write something---fictional memoir maybe, not sure--so I will teach myself how to do it by stealing other people's lines and memories and calling it fiction for me ! Is that kosher among writers? :) The seed of truth is that she got pissed off at me too---I suppose everyone pissed her off---she taught me to french kiss and maybe she wanted to fuck too but I was way too repressed and scared. Glad to know you refused. For memoir purposes that sounds so much better.
----------
late on Tuesday -- been sleepy all day--didn’t sleep after about 4 am today. Rainy all day and chillier. Tomorrow is lunch with Thibault. Not sure I really want to now. Oh well. Pourquois pas? What else would I be
doing? Formatting in Pages is weird. Wonder if it will make a mess of everything to not have MicroWord?
Made a car reservation with Avis. I like red more than yellow/gold. Hertz is the Nike of car rentals. Avis is the Target. Red.
Thursday late afternoon -- Just tallied up rough figures on expenses for early spring. 20k as I suspected if federal taxes stay at around 5k. They might be more this year?? The trips themselves should be under 20k.
Phil sent a piece about how he learned/taught himself to write--we were talking about a review in NYRB of a new book about writing programs. Neither of us have taken any. I guess I have taught a few writing workshop type classes over the years. I certainly recognize all the hallmarks discussed in the book review. Phil says in his editing days he mostly dealt with books he came to call me-stories books.
he writes Never took a writing course in my life - and very glad I didn't. I did go to two meetings of a writing group here in DC and decided it was ridiculous. Also took a course on script-writing, which was mainly about formatting your script. Double space for movies, triple space for TV programs, etc. In the end, I am my own writing creator and creation. I made a lot of early mistakes when I began in 1990 that slowly, oh-so-slowly, I managed to correct over time, but did it completely on my own. One's best instructor, in my opinion, is time. Write something. Put it away for a few years, and when one comes back to it one will see what is good and what is drivel.
I think my time as an editor in NYC was a big help in getting me to realize that most people's first book is what I ended up dismissing and calling a "bunch of me-stories." When I started writing on my own in 1990 I knew one thing: I never wanted to write a me-story about myself, my family, etc. In my books and stories I have, so far, managed to avoid the me-story, but tat editor at Brown wanted my article to be nothing but a me-story while I wanted to write about Tunisia. In the end, we compromised.
-------------
In this context I am forced to note that I taught a lot of writing, never really knowing how to do so or believing that it could do much good, after a while. But believing that there could be therapeutic value, priestly value, clerkish value etc. Maybe my own writing might seem me-storyish at the outset but I leave that mode pretty early and move into something more stupid and strange. And the Copenhagen story might not be that at all. Could be too none of this is worth worrying about at all. Nothing at all.
-----
Sunday noon We saw Les Mis last night at Silver. What a mess of a play as Va said, thank goodness. Big monster of a book turned into massive baggy spectacle and all about singing anthems of survival and goodness triumphant. Simplest possible vectors detailed in messy miserable faux miseries. Stageiness in every way I dislike but what’s to dislike, cheer on the human condition and have a good time any way you can. After our grim lunch in Lebanon it was a relief. Grim because at one point I pulled out the iphone to have our photo taken in celebration of our great friendliness and Virginia and everyone else jumped on me as if I were an eleven year old delinquent of the most vile sort. Apparently I interrupted Ted in a tale invaluable and now lost to posterity and I misbhaved in the most egregious ways possible. What a crowd of J-punchers.
Guess I’m still a bit pissed myself. Late night after watching SnL pen with Edward Norton I got off a good line on Facebook and now I have to tweet it. “a beautiful woman just whispered to me from a dark corner "pssst want to see my pedometer change to zero at midnight?"
Monday evening Oct 28
Trying to work on the second chromenos volume. To Rachel Beatrice, with all my love. Might use that.
double checking on this point: reading last few pages of Karl K’s second book--he is forty. Jon out in LA was just here last week to have lunch and talk. He is also forty. Wow what an astonishing difference. Jon still a child, pretty much. Or a teen-ager. Americans age so slowly these days, mature so slowly--or some do. Maybe not just Americans---anyone--development being so different. Jon Thibault from Wyndham and Littleton.
Today in Manchester I had lunch and then on the sidewalk ran into Sam Paul---he’s now twenty-six. World at Fosters for a while, and Docks, and now is on his own as a financial something linked with New York Life. Walking with a tall black colleague who is from Haiti. Older, thirty five. Sam graduated? four or five years ago?
Va wants us to drive over to Ogunquit tomorrow. See the halloween displays Kathie Early described to her. Back in time for trick or treating. Red Sox winning the series tonight.
Halloween evening -- Va posted at the door to hand out candy. In her black hat and black coat. We got over to Ogunquit for the day, very foggy and cool but a good meal at Barnacle Billy’s etc and then a short walk on the Marginal.
And in email Patrick is going for a tenure track position at Providence and wants a letter. Does he have a chance? Just asked him.
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