Mack, Mom, and Cheri went to Bellingham to meet my sister for lunch. Emily and I stayed around the house. In addition to walking the dogs and swinging underneath the big tree, we mainly stayed inside. Em caught up on a lot of vloggers. I made an enormous amount of progress on my silly little one act play: The Twilight Cone.
This pun-based title began as one of my weird, random Facebook posts. I asked my online friends what kind of flavors would be served at an Ice Cream Shop called the Twilight Cone. They came up with a lot of great answers, such as... Lime Enough at Last, Cookies and Scream, and my personal favorite: To Serve Mango.
Cheri liked that post quite a bit, and thought I should do something with it. And her encouragement led me to think of a one-act play in which we get to see different characters trying different flavors that have very different Twilight Zonish results.
I stayed up until half past midnight and almost finished the whole thing. However, there was one monologue that I didn't have the energy for, so I let that one simmer whilst I slumbered.
This ain't no Shakespeare. Silly, whimsical stuff. But it's fun to just work on something that's fluff -- and best of all I think there are six great roles for young female performers.
What am I reading / watching?
I'm still slowly working on Doctor Sleep. Creepy things are happening in this book, as one would expect from Stephen King. I finished watching an odd yet amusing film from Albert Brooks: Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. It didn't fulfill all of my expectations -- mainly because I really wanted the film to delve into the cultural differences (if any) between Muslims (of the Middle East and Asia) and Americans. At the same time, I got to watch Albert Brooks, playing himself, wander awkwardly on the other side of the globe, and how can that not be funny?
Friday, July 8, 2016
Thursday, July 7, 2016
The Great Doggy Escape (Summer - Day 49)
The blog title sounds pretty light hearted, but my daughter Emily had a rather harrowing, not to mention exhausting experience this day (Tuesday, July 5th).
My mom, Cheri, Mack and I went into town to patronize the local grocery store. Emily stayed at home with the dogs, because she's a home body. If given the choice to go shopping or stay at home watching Youtube on her phone, she will take Youtube 95% of the time.
We were gone about 45 minutes. As we made our way back home, we noticed a couple people running along the highway (average speed 50 miles per hour). As we slowed down we noticed one of those people was Emily! She looks scared and winded. The first thing we all thought was that the house had burned down -- or worse. But when she began to speak, she explained that the dogs had escaped
Our two wonderful / stupid mutts are named Chase and Lizzy. I have probably written about them before, but if I haven't let me sum them up in one word: TROUBLE. They love to get into trouble. And as dog owners, we Bradfords are not clever enough to train the stupidness out of these dum-dums. The result is that sometimes havoc reigns supreme.
Mom has an electric fence set up around the house, and for the past two and a half years the dogs have respected/feared the perimeter. However, today Chase decided he could jump off the deck and clear the wire, which is what he did. When Emily opened the fence to try luring him back inside, Lizzie got out, and then all hell broke loose.
The dogs ran around for at least a half hour, running into the neighbors yard, up and down our driveway, hiding in the bushes, and finally and most horrifyingly, they headed towards the two lane road at the bottom of the hill.
Emily, through her tears and pleas, kept trying to wrangle them in. The traffic stopped, and about a dozen nice people helped Emily. A lady managed to contain Lizzie and put her in her car so that Emily could focus on her mission to capture Chase. By then, Chase had bolted away from the road and went back up to our house, where Emily found him sitting on the front porch, panting his lungs out.
We are so thankful that the dogs are safe. And we are even more thankful that Emily is safe.
(Here's a photo of Lizzie aka Dum-Dum #1)
In the evening, we watched a story about another precocious dog -- this one was named Snoopy. That's right, we finally watched Peanuts the Movie. Very cute.
Here's a little factoid I noted, and subsequently posted on Facebook:
Finally watched The Peanuts Movie. Definitely captures the spirit of the Charlie Brown cartoons of my youth. When I watched the credits, wondering who did Snoopy's voice, I was amazed to find out it was Bill Melendez -- the original voice over artist, and the animation director / producer for most of the television projects. Then I discovered that Melendez passed away back in 2008 (at age 91). They had enough archived Snoopy sounds for the new film!
Creative News: I have begun a new one-act play based off of a very silly idea that came to mind a few weeks ago It's called "The Twilight Cone." So far, I'm only about six pages in, but I'm hoping to do a lot of writing over the next two days and finish it by July 7th.
My mom, Cheri, Mack and I went into town to patronize the local grocery store. Emily stayed at home with the dogs, because she's a home body. If given the choice to go shopping or stay at home watching Youtube on her phone, she will take Youtube 95% of the time.
We were gone about 45 minutes. As we made our way back home, we noticed a couple people running along the highway (average speed 50 miles per hour). As we slowed down we noticed one of those people was Emily! She looks scared and winded. The first thing we all thought was that the house had burned down -- or worse. But when she began to speak, she explained that the dogs had escaped
Our two wonderful / stupid mutts are named Chase and Lizzy. I have probably written about them before, but if I haven't let me sum them up in one word: TROUBLE. They love to get into trouble. And as dog owners, we Bradfords are not clever enough to train the stupidness out of these dum-dums. The result is that sometimes havoc reigns supreme.
Mom has an electric fence set up around the house, and for the past two and a half years the dogs have respected/feared the perimeter. However, today Chase decided he could jump off the deck and clear the wire, which is what he did. When Emily opened the fence to try luring him back inside, Lizzie got out, and then all hell broke loose.
The dogs ran around for at least a half hour, running into the neighbors yard, up and down our driveway, hiding in the bushes, and finally and most horrifyingly, they headed towards the two lane road at the bottom of the hill.
Emily, through her tears and pleas, kept trying to wrangle them in. The traffic stopped, and about a dozen nice people helped Emily. A lady managed to contain Lizzie and put her in her car so that Emily could focus on her mission to capture Chase. By then, Chase had bolted away from the road and went back up to our house, where Emily found him sitting on the front porch, panting his lungs out.
We are so thankful that the dogs are safe. And we are even more thankful that Emily is safe.
(Here's a photo of Lizzie aka Dum-Dum #1)
In the evening, we watched a story about another precocious dog -- this one was named Snoopy. That's right, we finally watched Peanuts the Movie. Very cute.
Here's a little factoid I noted, and subsequently posted on Facebook:
Finally watched The Peanuts Movie. Definitely captures the spirit of the Charlie Brown cartoons of my youth. When I watched the credits, wondering who did Snoopy's voice, I was amazed to find out it was Bill Melendez -- the original voice over artist, and the animation director / producer for most of the television projects. Then I discovered that Melendez passed away back in 2008 (at age 91). They had enough archived Snoopy sounds for the new film!
Creative News: I have begun a new one-act play based off of a very silly idea that came to mind a few weeks ago It's called "The Twilight Cone." So far, I'm only about six pages in, but I'm hoping to do a lot of writing over the next two days and finish it by July 7th.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Happy Birthday, America! (Summer - Day 48)
We have been feeling rather patriotic around the house today. Everybody has 4th of July themed shirts -- except me. The best I could rummage up was a Hawaiian shirt.
We had an open house party/gathering. Lots of food. Lots of family. Cheri's parents, brothers, some sisters, and some cousins. Fun was had by all, especially when we started blowing up fireworks!
All fingers and toes are accounted for.
Monday, July 4, 2016
Campfires and Firecrackers (Summer - Day 47)
My sister and my niece came out to visit us on Camano Island. When went for a hike along a local nature trail. Mom was very brave. She brought her portable stool in the event she grew tired, but for the most part she kept a steady pace.
Cheri and I went grocery shopping for the festivities tomorrow. Some family and friends will be coming out to the island for the 4th. After dinner, we lit up a fire in Mom's new fire pit. The girls found some old fire crackers (the Navy Seal kind) and threw them into the blaze. Fun was had by all... Except when a spark burned through Kenzie's compression pants! (Note: she is unharmed and the hole is very small.)
The dogs are rather angry about the explosions which have been taking place in the evening. They will be very unhappy tomorrow.
Cheri and I went to the local casino, Angel of the Winds, about a twenty five minute drive from where we are. We lost. But not too much. I blew twenty five bucks, and Cheri only gave up sixteen dollars to the one-eyed bandits.
The girls and their cousin Maddy had a good time staying up late into the night, giggling.
I wrote the opening lines of the new one-act, only about two pages in. But I have a feeling I'll have it finished by July 7th.
Oh, here's a photo of our neighbors. The dogs are desperate to get close to these guys, but I know better!
Past the Halfway Point (Summer - Day 46)
Well, summer is all down hill from here. We're past the halfway point, people!
Much of today -- July 2nd -- was spent at the computer, formatting the new one-act play. I also revised and enhanced "12 Angry Pigs" and sent it to Pioneer drama.
Mom and I went to the local grocery store. The parking lot is packed because all of the island is getting ready for Independence Day.
Cheri and the girls returned to Camano Island around 6:30 pm. They had a splendid time in the Everette area, visiting Grandma Judy, going shopping and whatnot.
I created a character outline for a new (and very silly) one-act play based off of a random idea I posted on Facebook. It's called "The Twilight Cone." It's about a very unusal ice cream shop.
Let's hope the second half of my summer vacation is as creatively productive as the first.
Much of today -- July 2nd -- was spent at the computer, formatting the new one-act play. I also revised and enhanced "12 Angry Pigs" and sent it to Pioneer drama.
Mom and I went to the local grocery store. The parking lot is packed because all of the island is getting ready for Independence Day.
Cheri and the girls returned to Camano Island around 6:30 pm. They had a splendid time in the Everette area, visiting Grandma Judy, going shopping and whatnot.
I created a character outline for a new (and very silly) one-act play based off of a random idea I posted on Facebook. It's called "The Twilight Cone." It's about a very unusal ice cream shop.
Let's hope the second half of my summer vacation is as creatively productive as the first.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
A Writerly Day (Summer - Day 45)
July 1st proved to be the most productive writing day of the summer, so far. It will be a difficult one to top, because I completed a new one-act in the course of two days. (80% was written today!)
Suffice to say, there's not much to journal about. I was here on Camano Island, typing away on my iPad. Walked the dogs twice. Visited with Mom between scenes. Allowed myself a bit of Facebook / email distraction every 30 minutes. Mom and I even went back to the cinemas. We watched the sequel to Independence Day. Cheesy good fun, though it did feel very rushed in places -- as if they were in a hurry to get to ID3... (Will it be another 20 years until the next film?)
(Here's the Stanwood Cinemas... a bit run-down, but still a great place to visit in this small Washington town.)
Cheri and the girls are having a treat-yo-self kinda day. I believe pedicures are involved
It felt really good to write a script that flowed so easily. I was detmermined to complete it before going to bed. The coolest writer's moment for me was when I wrote the final line of dialogue, looked at the clock, and saw that it read 11:59pm... Just one minute until July 2nd.
Suffice to say, there's not much to journal about. I was here on Camano Island, typing away on my iPad. Walked the dogs twice. Visited with Mom between scenes. Allowed myself a bit of Facebook / email distraction every 30 minutes. Mom and I even went back to the cinemas. We watched the sequel to Independence Day. Cheesy good fun, though it did feel very rushed in places -- as if they were in a hurry to get to ID3... (Will it be another 20 years until the next film?)
(Here's the Stanwood Cinemas... a bit run-down, but still a great place to visit in this small Washington town.)
Cheri and the girls are having a treat-yo-self kinda day. I believe pedicures are involved
It felt really good to write a script that flowed so easily. I was detmermined to complete it before going to bed. The coolest writer's moment for me was when I wrote the final line of dialogue, looked at the clock, and saw that it read 11:59pm... Just one minute until July 2nd.
Friday, July 1, 2016
The BFG and Bucket Lists (Summer - Day 44)
I haven't posted it yet, but a couple weeks ago I made a lengthy Bucket List, or perhaps more optimistically, a Wish List of Things to Do in Life.
I will post the extensive list and talk about it more in this blog in the near future. but for now, let me mention that some of the accomplishments are oretty simple: watch certain movies. Star Wars 8 and 9 are on the list, so is Indy 5, and so if The BFG. I'm happy to report that I checked the BFG off the list last night. It was a wonderful, soft spoken film filled with sparkling color and imagery. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I love being alive in the age of Spielberg.
What else did I do yesterday -- the last day of June 2016?
Well, Cheri and the girls left early to visit relatives. I stayed at the house to do some writing and hang out with the dogs. Got to spend a lot of time talking with Mom and catching up on our lives. (And we watched the movie together -- there was hardly anyone at the 7pm showing in Stanwood!)
I worked on the finale scene of the Radio Play (that doesn't mean it's near comppletion -- we're working on the play out of order). Then, I began a new project, a one-act play about a drama teacher's worst day. Didn't get more than two pages in, but I'm hoping I make more progress tomorrow.
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