Quotes for writers

  

 

“If you can quit, then quit. If you can't quit, you're a writer.”― R.A. Salvatore

 

 “Life is, in fact, a battle. Evil is insolent and strong; beauty enchanting, but rare; goodness very apt to be weak; folly very apt to be defiant; wickedness to carry the day; imbeciles to be in great places, people of sense in small, and mankind generally unhappy. But the world as it stands is no narrow illusion, no phantasm, no evil dream of the night; we wake up to it, forever and ever; and we can neither forget it nor deny it nor dispense with it.”   Theory of Fiction: Henry James

 “The crazy creatives are the creatives who never go completely mad. They aren't so easily disheartened by the seemingly endless amounts of scrutiny that creative individuals tend to receive because they,  insanity, are the ones who feed off of opposition and negative feedback and manage to continue along with a healthy ambition. It is the crazy that teaches us to use our gifts wisely and own all the attackers.”― Criss Jami, Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality

 “If you're waiting until you feel talented enough to make it, you'll never make it.”― Criss Jami

 “In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.”― Anthony Robbins

 “You know what I did after I wrote my first novel? I shut up and wrote twenty-three more."― Michael Connelly

 

Word for writers

 

 

Smarmy. Etymologists don't know where smarm (the verb from which it is based) came from, but they do know that it meant "to smear" or "to make smooth or oily" before gaining the meaning "to flatter." The adjective smarmy comes from the latter meaning.

Cynophilist (sy-NOH-fi-list)  One who loves dogs. From From Greek kyon (dog) + -philia (love). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which also gave us canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, cynic, cynegetic, cynophobia, cynosure, and canaille. Earliest documented use: 1890. A perfect synonym of today’s word is philocynic.

 

Hoity-toity means "pretentious, fancy, or pompous." Hoity-toity is believed to have been created as a rhyme based on the dialectal English word hoit, meaning "to play the fool." Hoity-toity can mean "foolish" (e.g., "… as though it were very hoity-toity of me not to know that royal personage." — W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor’s Edge), but it

 

LLR Books: Youth. A Narrative by Joseph Conrad

LLR Books: Youth. A Narrative by Joseph Conrad:     YOUTH A NARRATIVE By Joseph Conrad   ”... But the Dwarf answered: No; something human is dearer to me than the wealth of all t...

LLR Books: MR. BENNETT AND MRS. BROWN by VIRGINIA WOOLF

LLR Books: MR. BENNETT AND MRS. BROWN by VIRGINIA WOOLF:     MR. BENNETT AND MRS. BROWN VIRGINIA WOOLF     MR. BENNETT AND MRS. BROWN It seems to me possible, perhaps desirable, that I ...

LLR Books: Two Stories, by Virginia Woolf and Leonard Woolf

LLR Books: Two Stories, by Virginia Woolf and Leonard Woolf:   THREE JEWS By LEONARD WOOLF. It was a Sunday and the first day of spring, the first day on which one felt at any rate spring in ...

LLR Books: THE VEGETABLE a play by F. Scott FitzGerald

LLR Books: THE VEGETABLE a play by F. Scott FitzGerald:   THE VEGETABLE or from President to postman By F. SCOTT FITZGERALD     “Any man who doesn’t want to get on in the world, to make a million ...

The Cornfield Bomber and the Battle of Palmdale

In 1970, during a training exercise, a Convair F-106 Delta Dart, piloted by Captain Gary Faust, flung itself out of control and went into a tailspin near Great Falls, Montana. Captain Faust did what he could to regain control of the plane but was finally ejected out at an altitude of 15,000 feet.

A few seconds later, the plane’s nose dove forward and recovered from its spin. One of the other pilots on the mission was reported to have radioed Faust during his descent by parachute that "you'd better get back in it!"

The plane landed itself gently onto a farmer's field near Big Sandy, Montana, virtually undamaged.

In 1956, an experimental drone was launched over Southern California. After a short time, the drone stopped responding to commands, and it became clear that the drone had become a runaway.

 The Navy, who owned the drone, phoned  Oxnard Air Force Base 5 miles away and asked them to bring the drone down. Two F-89D Scorpions were scrambled and caught up with the drone at 30,000 feet but the drone suddenly southwest, crossing over Los Angeles, then headed northwest, and then circled over Santa Paula. The Scorpion pilots waited for it to fly over an unpopulated area so they could attack with their "Mighty Mouse" 2.75-inch folding-fin rockets

When the drone headed towards the mostly uninhabited Antelope Valley, the jets attempted to fire in automatic mode several times, but due to a design flaw in the fire-control system, the rockets failed to launch.

Suddenly the drone turned back towards Los Angeles.

The jets switched to manual fire only to find out that the jet's gun sights had been removed, forcing the pilots to manually aim unguided rockets. The pilots in one plane fired 42 rockets, completely missing their target. A second interceptor unleashed another salvo of 42, the rockets passing just beneath the bright red drone, a few glancing off the fuselage underside, but none detonating. The pilots then unleashed the last salvo of 30 shots at the target with no hits.

 In all, the Air Force element fired 208 rockets and was unable to shoot the Hellcat down. Of the 208 rockets,  15 were discovered undetonated. The first set of rockets started brush fires 7 miles northeast from Castaic which burned 150 acres

 The drone descended in an easy spiral and landed in a desolate section of the desert 8 miles east from Palmdale Regional Airport. Just before crashing, the drone severed three Southern California Edison electric cables. One rocket bounced along the ground and started a series of fires near a park, while others set fire to oil sumps owned by the Indian Oil Co. The fires reached within 300 feet of the Bermite Powder explosives plant. Other rockets started fires in the proximity of Soledad Canyon, near Mount Gleason, burning more than 350 acres of rough brush.

Of the final set of rockets that were fired while the Scorpions faced Palmdale, many landed in downtown Palmdale. One chunk of shrapnel burst through the front window of a home, ricocheted off the ceiling, went through a wall, and came to rest in a kitchen cupboard.

More rocket fragments completely penetrated a home and garage on 4th Street East. One rocket landed right in front of a vehicle being driven west on California State Route 138 near Tenth Street West, of which one tire was shredded and many holes were punched through the car's body. Two men in Placerita Canyon had been eating in their utility truck; right after they left it to sit under the shade of a tree, a rocket struck the truck, destroying it. Many fires were started near Santa Clarita, with three large ones and many smaller ones in and around Palmdale.

It took 500 firefighters two days to bring the brushfires under control. 1,000 acres were burned.

A little kindness can go a long way.

  

Twenty years ago, Gladys Hankerson of Delray Beach, Florida, was trying to call her sister in Maryland where the area code is 410. Instead, she dialed a Rhode Island exchange where the area code is a similar 401.

Up in Rhode Island, Mike Moffitt answered the phone and politically explained to Gladys that she had dialed the wrong area code. So she hung up tried again, only to reach Mike again, an accident that happened several times over the next few weeks.

"It continually happened,” Mike said, “where she accidentally dialed the wrong number, but it eventually switched to just calling to say hi because one day I said to her, “Listen you're going to keep calling, let's chat”

So they talked. Many times. At a time in both their lives when they needed someone to talk to. Gladys had just lost her son and had come off of a rough divorce. “I was downhearted, and he (Mike) felt my sympathy and everything -- lifted me up,"

The phone friendship developed over twenty years until one day Mike and his family found themselves on vacation in Florida for Thanksgiving.

"The reason we ended up meeting was because a drawbridge was up," Moffitt said. "We waited 10-15 minutes at a drawbridge, and eventually decided to keep going. That's when I realized we were 2 miles away from Gladys' house."

After grabbing some flowers, Moffitt knocked on Hankerson's door and was welcomed with open arms.

"I walked in and said, 'Gladys, it's Mike from Rhode Island!' and she said, 'Oh, my friend Mike! I'm blessed,' and threw her arms up," Moffitt said.

Hankerson gave Moffitt a tour of her house, introduced him to her family and the two caught up like they would on the phone.

"I wish more people could be like that, you know," she said. "That would be so nice. The world would be better, too -- people would be better."

The case of Patty Stallings

 

In 1989, Patty Stalling, a store clerk in St. Louis, rushed her infant son Ryan to the hospital. He was vomiting excessively and was having trouble breathing. Doctors ran tests and concluded that the child had been poisoned with antifreeze. He died in care four days later and Patty was arrested for first-degree murder.

While she was in jail awaiting trial, Patty gave birth to another son, David Jr., on February 17, 1990. He was placed in foster care, had barely been near his mother, but yet, in March, he developed similar symptoms as those that had killed his brother.
Putting the evidence together, a Doctor diagnosed David with methylmalonic acidemia (MMA), a genetic condition in which the body produces propionic acid, a compound that differs from ethylene glycol by one carbon atom and can easily mimic antifreeze poisoning.
With the correct treatments, David recovered but was still kept from his mother.
The Prosecution didn’t buy it. They were convinced that Stallings was a murderer. For them, the diagnosis was wrong, plain and simple. Adding to their case was the fact that Patty’s lawyers couldn’t produce more evidence of her innocence.
In May 1990, defense attorney Eric Rathbone managed to get copies of notes written by assistant prosecutor John S. Appelbaum that indicated that the doctor who pronounced Ryan dead had considered the possibility of an MMA diagnosis, but also that he had not tested Ryan for that.
After the case was featured on national television, biochemist William Sly agreed to test Ryan's blood and gave it to Dr. James Shoemaker, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Metabolic Screening Lab at St Louis University.
Shoemaker immediately confirmed that Ryan had had MMA. Shoemaker asked the prosecutor for the methods that had been used to measure ethylene glycol in Ryan's blood, and McElroy supplied that information. When the method was used on blood from Ryan and DJ, it was seen that propionic acid, which is produced in methylmalonic acidemia, caused a result that careless observers might mistake for ethylene glycol.
Shoemaker then sent samples of propionate-spiked blood to several laboratories, who tested it with the same methods used in the Stallings case. Some of the laboratories came to the incorrect conclusion that the blood reflected ethylene glycol poisoning. Finally, Prosecutor McElroy was convinced that Ryan wasn’t poisoned.
By then Patty had been in prison for two years. She was finally released in 1991. She sued the hospital and laboratories that were involved in Ryan's care and reached an out-of-court settlement. Prosecutors later apologized to her. Still, in 1994, McElroy ran for reelection as Jefferson County prosecutor, and Stallings donated $10,000 to his opponent who won the election.

Art for the Blog of It: Wow....stop and look at this, the shapes, the size...

Art for the Blog of It: Wow....stop and look at this, the shapes, the size...: The Cartwheel Galaxy by NASA Hubble  

Smart man, that Plato. We writers need to make this saying part of our writing code.

Its alright if other writers seem to be whooshing pas you....step aside and let them whoosh or whatever it is. WRITING ISN'T A RACE. Take your time, do it right.

 

my writing assistants

This is Zen, with the bear guy, (left) a toy that has gone through three dogs 

The second and third picture is of Zen, not a well chosen name for him.

 

Words for writers

 

Obfuscate means "to make difficult to understand" or "to be evasive, unclear, or confusing."  Obfuscate comes from the Latin prefix ob- (meaning "over" or "completely") and fuscus ("dark-colored"). That fact gives an idea as to how the word can refer to making something difficult to see or understand—much like how dark, dirty water makes it hard to see the bottom.

 

  Jovial means "markedly good-humored" and describes people and things that are cheerful or full of joy.  In Roman astrology, planets were named after gods, and people were thought to share the personality traits of the god whose planet was rising when they were born. Jupiter, also called Jove, was the chief Roman god and was considered a majestic type who was the source of joy and happiness. The Latin adjective jovialis means "of or relating to Jove." In French, this had become jovial, which English borrowed and used to describe people and things full of cheer or joy.

Art for the Blog of It: Herself, Robert Henri, 1913,

Art for the Blog of It: Herself, Robert Henri, 1913,:     Robert Henri painted Himself (1924.912) and Herself (Irish terms of endearment for a husband and wife) during a summer trip to Ireland;...

Writers under surveillance

  

Writers under surveillance

 

By Sarah Mangiola

In the height of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI, men and women armed with a pen were sending shockwaves down the government agency’s spine. Accused of spreading ideals that supported communism and anti-war efforts—among other “dangerous thoughts” of the time—the FBI started surveying certain authors they considered to be a threat.

Included in this list were literary giants like James Baldwin, Ernest Hemingway, Ray Bradbury, Susan Sontag, and more. Some, like Baldwin, knew they were being surveyed—while others had no idea. MuckRock obtained the files through a Freedom of Information Act request, giving the public access to the pages and pages of surveillance the FBI did on these authors. The new book, Writers Under Surveillance: The FBI Files, collects the files of 16 authors—spanning from writers in the early 1900s to those still active today. The following four writers were targeted by the Bureau for everything from potentially writing an exposé to visiting enemy territory during a war. 

Baldwin was a novelist and playwright, known for his social criticism. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), is one of his most popular stories, as is Giovanni’s Room (1956)—which was met with much controversy at the time of its publication due to its explicit sexual content involving two men.

In a 1964 interview with Playbill, following his Broadway run of Blues for Mister Charlie, Baldwin mentioned that he was planning to write a book on the FBI. The thought of a potential exposé terrified the Bureau, spurring their own investigation into the author. Accused of being a communist, the FBI went on to collect thousands of pages on Baldwin before dropping the case a decade later.

Arguably best known for his science fiction story Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury started being surveyed by the FBI when they suspected him of being a communist sympathizer. Though you’d think his commentary on censorship in Fahrenheit 451 would draw interest from the FBI, Bradbury wasn’t on the Bureau’s radar until 1956—three years after the publication of his popular book—when he was named as a literary figure possibly involved in the Cultural Congress of Havana in Cuba.

Though the FBI could not find proof of his membership to the Communist Party, they scrutinized his writing—looking for hidden messages. Using a comment Bradbury once made about the ridiculousness of making members of the Screen Writers Guild swear they were not members of the Communist Party, informant Martin Berkley twisted Bradbury's words and actions to make it seem like the author used his own science fiction stories to instill fear in Americans.

Susan Sontag was a writer and social critic, flagged by the FBI for her anti-Vietnam War efforts. Her file begins in 1968 after she was arrested for “disorderly conduct” following a protest. Even more, the FBI was tipped off that Sontag travelled to Northern Vietnam after receiving an invitation from their government, which was a violation of her passport at the time. Though they initially lacked evidence, the trip was essentially confirmed when an Esquire feature was published—depicting her trip to Hanoi and her conversation with Prime Minister Pham Van Dong.

The investigation stretched on for two years after that, until a final report—dated in March 1972—stated that Sontag was more of a nuisance than a credible threat, and speaking to her might cause embarrassment for the Bureau since she was writer.

In contrast to the other writers on this list, Hemingway actually acted as an FBI informant while living in Cuba. Moving to the island after finishing For Whom the Bell Tolls, published in 1940, Hemingway began working for the American Embassy in Havana after forming a relationship with Ambassador Spruille Braden. He recruited barmen, waiters, and others for the low-budget program, which was unimpressive to the Bureau. At one point, Hemingway referred to a government official as a member of the Gestapo, and also constantly showed his contempt for the Bureau. Even J. Edgar Hoover stated that it would be the last time they would use someone like Hemingway as an informant., Hemingway was still doing work for the Navy, before going on to publish The Old Man and the Sea and win the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

Writers opportunities

 ** HUNTER COLLEGE MFA PLAYWRITING PROGRAM ***

The Hunter College MFA Playwriting Program is accepting applications through January 15th! The program is a highly selective, rigorous, and affordable two-year playwriting program located in the heart of NYC. We seek writers eager to develop their craft and challenge assumptions about what theater is and will become.

 

Students study with award-winning writers, working theatre professionals, and esteemed guest artists. The program offers workshop opportunities and fosters a collaborative, close-knit artistic community. Teaching Assistantships and tuition waivers are available. 

 

Current and recent faculty include: David Adjmi, Clare Barron, Mia Chung, Lisa D'Amour, Maria Striar, Lloyd Suh, and Anne Washburn. Visiting artists for 2020-2021 include: Daniel Alexander Jones, Hansol Jung, Martyna Majok, and Lauren Yee.

 

For more information, visit: https://www.huntertheatre.net/mfa

*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***

Carlow Little Theater International Playwriting Competition 2022

The competition is open to all writers over 18 years old, both members and non-members, local and international. The play submitted must be in English and be an original work of the entrant that has not yet been published, nor performed on stage previously, nor received any awards previously. No entry fee is required.

***

Creative Circuit Studios is gearing up for Volume three of the “In the Moment: One Act Series”. We want to feature talented playwrights from all walks of life.

One acts are not TV shows. Works should focus on the script (writing) and the acting. Your one act should be no longer than 30 minutes. Plays with extensive technical requirements will be considered but those with fewer demands will receive stronger consideration.

***

Live & In Color is looking for playwrights, composers, and lyricists of color and/or other underrepresented communities interested in developing their new musical.

The selected musical submission will have a two-week workshop in the fall at The Bingham Camp in Salem, Connecticut culminating in a staged presentation to an invited audience. 

*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***

*** SONDHEIM ***

Stephen Sondheim, one of Broadway history’s songwriting titans, whose music and lyrics raised and reset the artistic standard for the American stage musical, died early Friday at his home in Roxbury, Conn. He was 91.

His lawyer and friend, F. Richard Pappas, announced the death. He said he did not know the cause but added that Mr. Sondheim had not been known to be ill and that the death was sudden. The day before, Mr. Sondheim had celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner with friends in Roxbury, Mr. Pappas said.

An intellectually rigorous artist who perpetually sought new creative paths, Mr. Sondheim was the theater’s most revered and influential composer-lyricist of the last half of the 20th century, if not its most popular.

His work melded words and music in a way that enhanced them both. From his earliest successes in the late 1950s, when he wrote the lyrics for “West Side Story” and “Gypsy,” through the 1990s, when he wrote the music and lyrics for two audacious musicals, “Assassins,” giving voice to the men and women who killed or tried to kill American presidents, and “Passion,” an operatic probe into the nature of true love, he was a relentlessly innovative theatrical force.

More...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/26/theater/stephen-sondheim-dead.html

***

The Steven Sondheim Society

I guess this is goodbye, old pal

You've been a perfect friend...

It’s with great sadness that we report the death of our friend and patron Stephen Sondheim. He passed away at the age of 91 early on Friday morning at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut.

His friend and lawyer Richard Pappas announced his passing, which he described as “sudden”. Indeed, only the previous day Mr Sondheim had celebrated Thanksgiving Dinner with some friends locally. 

Only an hour after this news was released the BBC News Channel included a five minute tribute which included excerpts of Millicent Martin singing ‘Send in the Clowns’ - “his only hit song”! - along with Adrian Lester in Company and Maria Friedman in the original NT production of Sunday. Also included was a live interview with Sierra Boggess in New York. Undoubtedly the lights on Broadway will be dimmed in his honour. 

More...

https://www.sondheimsociety.com/single-post/i-guess-this-is-goodbye-old-pal

***

Stephen Sondheim, the legendary Broadway composer, has died at 91. In 1988, Diane Sawyer profiled Sondheim for 60 Minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPfnubkFD8

***

A COMPLETE ROUNDUP OF EVERY SONDHEIM MUSICAL

One of the most recognizable names in all of Broadway history, Stephen Sondheim is beloved by many for his extensive repertoire of musicals ranging from short-lived off-Broadway productions to best-selling, multi-revived Broadway hits. Throughout his career, Sondheim has written the music and lyrics for 16 full-length musicals and has written the lyrics for three more. In addition to his beloved full-length musicals, Sondheim has also contributed music and lyrics to other theatrical works, film and television projects, and several revues and anthologies. Over the course of his nearly 70-year career, Sondheim himself has been nominated for — and won many of — over ten Tony Awards, nearly 20 Grammy Awards, and an Academy Award, among dozens of other awards, with his musicals earning even dozens more. His body of work has left the theatrical community with an unforgettable legacy, and his repertoire is honored and adored by artists and audiences alike. We’ve rounded up a complete list of every full-length Sondheim musical — all 19.

More...

https://broadwaydirect.com/a-complete-roundup-of-every-sondheim-musical/

***

SWEENEY TODD - 1980 British documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JomtvXVj9VY

***

There are few things that remain constant in life, but for me one of them is this: Stephen Sondheim’s work has touched me for more than half a century. It did so when I was first listening to records as a child, when I didn’t know his name or much else, and it does so right this minute, as songs of middle-aged regret like “Too Many Mornings” and “You Must Meet My Wife” are randomly shuffled into my headphones by iTunes. It’s unusual to remain so loyal to a single artist. We tend to outgrow our early tastes and heroes. It’s even more unlikely to have that artist materialize in person and play a crucial role in one’s life—as Sondheim first did when I was 21 and he was 40. Since then, with some lengthy intermissions along the way, he’s been a mentor, an occasional antagonist, a friend, and even an unwitting surrogate parent.

More...

https://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/stephen-sondheim-2013-12/

***

Original Cast Album - Company [1970] Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IU80Ium0dM

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