Moving Through Uncertainty

Ok, I have to be brief because ideally I'll get my haircut today. I was going for Aveda but the opportunity passed so now I'm looking at you, Hair Cuttery. Would anyone ever want to go somewhere called the Cuttery? Apparently. I'll be sure to put up the sexy pictures if they happen.

Speaking of sexy pictures, no one comments about Will Smith? Come on! This is the Willenium!

I'm trying to write. Sort of? I'm looking at a finished script that isn't... formatted correctly? I'm trying to edit out some inconsistencies and maybe make it more script-standard, if that exists. But then there's always the possibility that I'll always be working on it so I never have to test its quality. Right. I think right now we're somewhere in the middle, which is ok, because it means I'm still legitimately working. I just need to be more consistent.
I also started working on an old script I wrote as a short film in college. I've always wanted to expand it into a feature length, but I don't know if there's a whole story there. Or if there is, it has nothing to do with what I already wrote, and I need to tear up the old stuff, which feels like throwing away the map when you're lost.

Ick. Haircut is tomorrow. I was reading through Madeleine L'Engle's Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art yesterday. I mentioned it a long time ago on that blog I used to have that wasn't here. She makes me think that art can be good regardless of the artist. Kurt Vonnegut says something similar. But I think there's an idea that because we are flawed, or corrupt, or self-righteous, we can't create something beautiful, or worthy, or desirable. In reality, with L'Engle or Vonnegut, the art becomes great because of what it tries to be, rather than what it is, or the artist. And I like that idea, that art and creation and the ways that we express ourselves make us greater than we are, that we can then rise above our faults without excusing them.

The Gears of History

On the train today I started reading over this guy's shoulder. He was reading a really long article from the Times called The Politics of God. It's really interesting, and while I haven't finished it, it got me thinking about a lot of things. But first, here's a quote:

At first, this modern political theology expressed a seemingly enlightened outlook and was welcomed by those who wished liberal democracy well. But in the aftermath of the First World War it took an apocalyptic turn, and “new men” eager to embrace the future began generating theological justifications for the most repugnant — and godless — ideologies of the age, Nazism and Communism.

Yeah, good stuff. He talks about how we have a different view as Westerners and I started thinking about Manifest Destiny, the idea during the 1800s that it was our God-given duty as white Americans to conquer the Western US and convert the heathens within. It seems similar to the rhetoric we hear from Iran or Al Qaeda.
I also started thinking about a really great book I've only listened to a bit, Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. He takes a panoramic look at history and anthropology to try and discover why Europe overtook the rest of the world while Africa rots. He's insightful enough to inspect all the science and possibilities for why we are where we are. It's a great book. And I'll read it soon.

This had nothing to do with me, except for the part where I read over someone's shoulder on the train, which is actually quite rude.

And the Deathly Hallows

I just finished Harry Potter. Finally. Finally.

In Case You Missed It

This story is at first hilarious and then kind of terrible and sad. It's really one of those WTF moments. Like, where did the peacock come from?

Indeed. I am finishing The Historian finally. I should be done with it by the end of the day if I stay on track. But I just took an unplanned nap on the couch and woke up caked in sweat, so things don't always go according to plan.

Tonight we're hitting up the Taste, which is the Taste of Chicago, which is "here's a lot of different food from all around the city, please stuff your faces." Very exciting.

Happy Birthday Katie

The Cavs (the Cleveland NBA team) just made it to the NBA finals for the first time in their history, which is really nice. It's like 15 years ago, only Michael Jordan isn't shutting us down every year.

I have a fear with my script. Not that it's badly written or uninteresting, because those are things that I can deal with as they come. My fear is discovering that someone has already written the same story, and even worse that they have done it better than I could. And the idea of someone reading my work and having those thoughts is worse than not liking it at all.

I always avoid volunteering information about myself unless people ask directly. Do you think that's residual shyness from 6th grade? Or is that the idea of being mysterious? All I know is that most people don't know I write or have a script. And these are three things I really really like without any idea as to why: Skyscraper architecture, ships, open spaces (water, fields). It's something I can't figure out but I'm hooked on them.

Reading The Historian might be more enjoyable for me (and you?) because I really enjoy history already, so hearing about real history in a fictional context is intriguing.

Today I worked for 11 hours straight

Happy Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is to honor fallen US soldiers. Not to be confused with Remembrance Day (which we call Veteran's Day) which is to honor the fallen soldiers from the world wars.

The World Wars. My upcoming novel. Soon to be released on trade paperback by Bantam Books! Isn't that the perfect title for a sci-fi paperback about a war between Earth and Mars? I seriously should get a $10,000 advance for that last sentence alone.

I worked from 6:15am to 5:30pm today. It was long. But that is nothing. Next week we will have an orientation for 12 new hires. Typically that number is around 4. So the next month will be quite a bit busier as we try to find a place where 12 people can all learn how to use a register together. But I have the weekend off, so I get to go home and visit some family and friends and celebrate a birthday and do laundry for free.

I've been reading on the train to and from work. It's really nice, especially because the book, The Historian, is very suspenseful. The only problem is that during rush hour its much more difficult to stand and read and hold on and not bump into people during the trip. But at least it's daily reading. And you need that when you're talking about a 660 page book.