Taste

The Weekly Journal



According to the ads -- it's America's favorite pizza -- now either they're lying, or America has no taste...


January 22, 2007

A friend asked the other day why I don't just write something that will sell. It wasn't meant to be an insult. "You know you can write," they said. "So just write something commercial, so that you can do what you want."

At first I wanted to smack that person. I was insulted. Can you imagine saying to Van Gogh, "Nobody wants sunflowers, paint fruit; that we can sell."

But once I calmed down, I understood that they were only trying to help. I'm not afraid of rewriting, or hearing constructive criticism; in fact, I love taking on feedback and folding it into what I've got. But I can't write what's not me. I wouldn't be any good at it. It's one of the reasons why I'm not down in Nashville trying to crack the country market.

I know too many songwriters trying to sell songs who don't listen to country music. "Can't stand it," they admit. "But it's the only market that buys songs, so I'm writing for it."

They might get lucky, but they stand a better chance of winning the lottery.

The successful Nashville writers eat and sleep country. It's in their veins. I learned a lot about how to craft songs down there, and I often incorporate that structure to support my voice and musical vision, but I know better than to waste my time selling something that isn't right for the market.

My opportunity is doing me the best I can.

The same applies to the writing.

I enjoy commercial fiction and read a lot of it. Often, it’s the overtly literate writing of a Foer and Pynchon, that turns me off. But I'm not mainstream. The same goes for TV. Deal or No Deal, America's Number One TV show, makes me sick. Most of the reality shows bore me. But I will admit -- I enjoyed the first Survivor, the first two Apprentices, and one of the Idol seasons. After that, the category became a blur.

Looking outside of culture for examples might hammer home the point. Subway is the number one sandwich chain in the country. There's a better sandwich shop in almost every American town, and yet, Subway is tops. The same could be said about the cool,local pizza joint compared to a national chain.

I could start a sandwich shop or a funky pizzeria, but the odds of me making money would improve dramatically if I bought a Pizza Hut franchise. But I don't like their pizza. I'd be miserable in all that wealth. If it was just about the money, I wouldn't go into the restaurant business anyway, let alone a chain-pizza joint; I'd go into something that would assure me huge profit, something like what Haliburton does.

The same can be said about my writing. And ultimately, for better or worse, that's why I can't just whip off something commercial. I have to do just stay true to myself and hope that it resonates with others

To surge or not, that's the question

The Weekly Journal



I wonder what Dr. King would advise on Iraq?


January 15, 2007

There are no easy answers for Iraq and the risk of failure is enormous, but most of us go on about our lives as if the fate of the world is not being wagered at a high stakes poker game. Not that the average guy on the street could do anything about it anyway. But it is odd, that here in America, most of us are still not affected by what could become Armageddon.

Listening to the so-called experts last week on TV, most say that 20,000 more troops is not enough. The number is more like 200,000. The generals who believe we should have pulled out, were replaced two weeks ago, by generals who support this new Bush strategy. That doesn’t fill me with optimism about this surge.

The new plan assumes that the Maliki government can function effectively. What are the odds of that? I believe Iraq is already separating into three different countries, like Yugoslavia in the '90s.

I don’t think pulling out fast is the answer either. Regardless of how or why we’re in this mess, a stabilized middle east is in everyone's interest. Therefore, the entire world from France, China to Syria, should play a role in resolving the situation. There has to be a part for the UN too. But this means that the US must share the spoils. Share the decision making. Share the redevelopment projects, and most important, share the oil.

I watched a smug Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, tell America last week that although mistakes were made in Iraq, the Bush policies are working because we have succeeded in preventing another domestic terror attack.

If Al Queda wanted to strike the US, they could do it at any time, any where, and there is little either republicans or democrats could do about it. Not even Jack Bauer could stop them.

That’s not to say there aren’t good people working in the government, or that they haven’t foiled several terrorist attempts already. I’m sure they have, and they’ll stop others too, but the only way to end terrorism is to create a world where people have more reason to live than die. At the moment, much of the planet simply has little hope or opportunity. From Darfur to Port-au-Prince – even parts of the South Bronx, the situation is so hopeless for so many, suicide becomes a viable option, a great career move.

There is enough wealth on this planet to ensure that nobody goes hungry. I'm not so far to the left to think it's all capitilism's fault. But seeing the deposed Home Depot President walk away last week with hundreds of millions is just as disgusting as seeing a deposed dictator live the high-life in South America. The system is broke and it contributes to further this cycle of terrorism by creating another generation of children with no hope.

US policies continue to alienate rather than embrace. Somalia is the latest example. For over a decade, we’ve ignored the plight of those living there, but as soon as an Islamist leadership came to power, we backed the war lords, and now we’re engaging in air strikes. I read an article this week about how the Islamists recruit teenagers for the militia. I’m sure they do, but the war lords have been doing that since the start of the civil war; but that got no coverage. This AP article ran throughout the nation. It was propaganda, a subtle vehicle to promote the idea that Islamist regimes are all evil, that only they would do something so heinous as to recruit teenagers.

Americans don’t pay attention to details. They’re more interested in 'Deal or No Deal,' than to understanding what’s really going on in Somalia. This upcoming week, most of the US will be more interested in getting to know the new contestants on American Idol, than the new generals who are now in charge of our forces in Iraq.

Is it really that surprising that we’re in this mess?

Deal or no Deal -- 20,000 more troops...

Winter Heat

The Weekly Journal



Mild temperatures keeps this woodpile unused.





January 7, 2007

It's been so warm in Yaroslavi, a city about 150 miles northeast of Moscow, that Masha the bear, a resident of the city zoo, woke up last month from his hibernation after only a week.

And here in Westport, CT, I sit on my deck with bandana and shades, writing the weekly essay in mid-January. The low hanging grey-and-white clouds march eastward overhead. The sharp-angled sun breaks through and warms my face. It grows dark again, as if the curtains have been drawn. The wind kicks up. It feels like rain, and then those curtians open up and it's blue sky for as far as I can see. I swear it feels like summer.

The two cats are on the Jacuzzi cover, sunbathing too. I don’t know if this is global warming, but it hasn't been this mild in these parts, at this time of year, maybe ever.

----------------

I’m playing in the open mic finals at the Towne Crier, a hip club about an hour from here. Top folkies often play there. Christine Lavin, Chris Smithers, and Leon Redbone are scheduled in the next month. I’m pumped, but it’s at the same time my beloved Eagles are playing the dreaded Giants in the first round of the playoffs. By the time you read this, the game will be over, and my gig will be done; but as I sit here in the hot sun on my deck, I’m hoping that I can get through the show without hearing the score. I’ll have the game taped and I'll watch it when I get home.

Chuck Morgan, the protagonist in my new novel, My Year as a Clown, is also a die-hard Eagle fan. I chronicle the 2003 Eagle season as Chuck tries to find his footing after his wife leaves for another man. The football narrative is about loyalty and commitment.

Claudia disliked sports and never understood why I stuck with the Eagles. “I don’t know anything about your American football," she’d say, "but I know they will lose."

She was right, but I stayed faithful.

"Why don't you support another team?" she had said when we lived in San Francisco while Joe Montana was tearing the league apart.

I tried to explain that it wasn't that easy.

"Just move on," she had said.


This has been one of the more unlikely Eagle seasons. After last year’s disaster where they failed to make the play-offs for the first time in five years, they got off to a tremendous start. Then they nosedived, losing five of six, with McNabb going down with a season-ending injury in week nine. At 5-6, it could look no worse, but somehow they turned it around, winning their last five games. They won the division, taking three on the road – Washington, New York, Dallas – and now they host the Giants in the playoffs.

No matter what happens Sunday night, the Eagles were entertaining this year, but I’d be lying if I said it I'd be okay with a loss to the Giants. The Eagles have hit their stride and are the hottest team in the league. It's this sort of unpredictable year that results in a trip to the Super Bowl.

Why not?

As a Philly fan, I know not to get too carried away. We haven't won a major championship since 1983. The Eagles last won it all in 1960...

But here I am again, thinking this will be our year...

Happy New Year

Weekly Journal



All the best for a great 2007!


January 1, 2007

2007 is upon us. Y2K seems like another century. It was.

Instead of doing a recap of the year (snzzzz), or resolutions for the upcoming one (ugh), I thought I'd share my experience with the GRE this week, the graduate entrance exam. It's a requirement for MFA programs and I spent the last month preparing.

Thank God it's over. It was like reliving high school -- geometry, simultaneous equations, reading comprehension. All I was missing was homeroom and Mr. Johnson's gym class.

The last standardized test I took was the GMAT back in 1984. I scored in the 96% that year. I'd taken a course, studied my butt off, but in 2006 it was all on computer and I struggled.

Like all advancements, there were pros and cons to this change. Computer tests are offered daily and that's damn convenient. You can still take a paper administered test, but only a couple of times a year. I'd missed the date because I made the decision to apply to these writing programs after my visit to Oxford, Mississippi, back in October.

I practiced at home on my PC to simulate the testing environment and quickly uncovered an issue with the reading comprehension section. The text in reading comp is intentionally dense and obscure. The questions are awkward, and because it is a timed test (you have roughly a minute per question), it is really a verbal scavenger hunt. In a paper based test, I could ace this, but the words just don't jump out at me on screen.

I improved with practice, but the testing center didn't have the nice LCD flat screen that I had at home; they had much older CRTs. My eyes fatigued quick on those screens, and by the time I got through the preliminary questions and tutorial, my eyes were red and throbbing.

I had a splitting headache two hours in, just in time for the most important part of the test, the verbal section. If only I could have popped a couple of aspirin, or drank some water, but everything was prohibited from the testing area including coffee, snacks, even wallets and purses. They actually checked your pockets and there were several video cameras keeping watch.

I was dying of thirst and I've had a brutal bronchial infection for almost two months. The proctor confiscated my water, but he didn't catch the cough drops I'd slipped into my underwear in anticipation of the pocket search. It was tricky fishing them out without getting caught on camera or looking like a pervert, but I managed.

The computer administered tests had other quirks too. The worst was not being able to skip something for later. Once you moved on, there was no going back.

It was also a computer adapted test, meaning questions varied depending on how well you did. If you missed a few early, the computer assumed you were an idiot, and started feeding you easier problems. If you blew the first part of the test, it was impossible to get a top score.

I thought I did well on the first half of the verbal, but I took too much time, and had to rush the 2nd half. And that's where the dreaded reading comprehension section was. I had three passages and by the 2nd I was too far behind. I was forced to guess on numerous questions and made unlucky choices.

When the test was done, I got my scores -- in the old days you had to wait 6-8 weeks. I was bummed, I landed in the 65th percentile on the verbal, a long way off from GMAT '84 -- and yet it wasn't a total diaster.

I didn't prepare nearly as much as I had back then. I crammed using a book I picked up at Barnes four weeks ago, but I still would have done better with a paper test. Hopefully it doesn't matter. The stories I submit are the most important part of the application process. At Iowa, GRE scores aren't even considered.

I'm also hoping to get a break for being an older student.

There were also two essays on the test. That score takes a few weeks to arrive. I'm sure I did well on that part, and I actually did okay on the math part.

Still, it was a humbling experience, one I hope never to repeat.


Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by.





I won't be needing this book anymore.