A terrible calamity at sea!

ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE ILLEST REPUTE

Thursday, August 31, 2006

This is yet another page from CALAMITY and my own personal favorite so far.

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It’s my day off. I’m hanging out, playing with my re-animated laptop, and listening to the soundtrack from Jackie Brown.

I saw the movie a year or two ago, but I got the DVD set out from library last week, and I’ve watched it three times since then. The acting is fantastic, the soundtrack kicks ass, the characters are warm and living and breathing. Quentin Tarantino’s best movie, hands down.

It’s based on Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch, and just like any Elmore Leonard plot, as Martin Amis has noted, there’s a big bag full of money and everybody’s trying to get at it. Within this framework, the characters come alive. It’s a simple, genius formula.

Here’s a bit from Elmore Leonard’s website:

When Quentin Tarantino was a kid, he stole a copy of Elmore Leonard’s The Switch and got caught. Unrepentent, he later went back to the same store and stole the book again. Elmore Leonard was a beacon in the direction that he would soon head in his films. He wrote a movie directed by Tony Scott called True Romance which he said was “an Elmore Leonard novel that he didn’t write.” It certainly is an homage; it even opens in Detroit. After Reservoir Dogs came out, Elmore wrote Rum Punch which reprises the three main characters from The Switch. Tarantino read it and wanted to buy it but didn’t have the money. Elmore and his agent Michael Siegel offered to hold it for him. When he did acquire the book, Tarantino did not contact Elmore Leonard for a long time. When he did he said he was afraid to call. Elmore said, “Why because you changed the name of my book and cast Pam Greir in the lead? He said, “That’s Ok, just make a good movie.”

Dutch has said that he thought it was by far the best adaptation of his work. The DVD set includes some great interview with Leonard. (It also includes the hilarious, “Chicks Who Love Guns,” which QT wrote and directed specifically for the film.)

Anyways, if you haven’t seen Jackie Brown or read Leonard, you’re in for a treat.

ABANDONED

Monday, August 21, 2006

This week I’m going to post a couple of abandoned pages from The Book. Here’s one of them. (Ever notice how watching “Deleted Scenes” on DVDs makes you glad they were deleted?)

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Spent a good weekend visiting family, researching the Historical New York Times database, combing through census records, and sifting through histories of Fairhaven and New Bedford Massachusetts. My old research/genealogy bug is kicking in…

What will I be listening to today? The Studio 360 on Moby-Dick. What am I reading? The paperback of MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD (LITERALLY)

Friday, August 18, 2006

“…for most young writers, maybe for most writers, “theme” is a word they should just strike out of their vocabulary. Because if you think about it beforehand, what you’re really saying is, “I’m gonna control this bastard. This book is gonna be about the impression of the masses [held] by the elite.” Well, the book just died. Because you know too well.”

– George Saunders, interview

This story is giving me big problems. I’ve tried to strangle it into submission. And that never works. So, I’ve had to kill a lot of darlings. This is one of the victims. Maybe she’ll pop up again. You never know…

Whenever I get about as far along as I can for the day, I pick up the ukulele and try to vent my frustration by writing songs. Little soundtrack ditties for the book. This is one of them:

[audio:http://www.austinkleon.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/tiptoe.mp3] [MP3]

I recorded it using a crappy computer lapel microphone, a ukulele, and an egg shaker. That thumping sound you hear is my fist against the desk.

Tonight, we’re going to see the Ditty Bops.

BEAT THE HEAT, PT. 2

Thursday, August 3, 2006

This is kind of what my book looks like before the pages actually happen, which is fun, I think, because it looks nothing like the finished product…

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Meg was quoted big-time in a great PD article today about how sustainability doesn’t equal the hippie/granola scene or spending lots of money:

“There’s this preconceived notion that living green costs more, which isn’t necessarily true,” says Meghan Feran, architectural resource coordinator for the Cleveland Green Building Coalition. “The main things are that it’s healthier, more energy-efficient and better for the environment. It’s win-win across the board.”

AND:

Feran says the three fundamental principles of green-building — energy-efficiency, resource conservation and good health — address issues that help save the earth and the individual from illness and bankruptcy. She says many people inquire about green alternatives because of toxins in the home that put them or their children at risk. And although many people think that living green costs more, it actually aims to save you money.

“Look at what you’re paying at the pump,” Feran says. “Imagine what your utility bills are going to look like in six months.”

Meg’s ideas about bringing sustainability to the mainstream audience by appealing to the pocke book are really on target. We will be seeing lots more quotes from her in the future…mark my words!

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Two of my favorite writers were on NPR this week: David Milch and Etgar Keret. And Alison Bechdel returns with the NYTimes to setting of FUN HOME.

MAYBE THE GOAL OF ART SHOULD BE MAKING YOURSELF APPRECIATE BEING ALIVE WHILE YOU’RE MAKING IT

Thursday, July 20, 2006

I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, “The Beatles did.”

– Vonnegut, TIMEQUAKE