The Writer's Life

Thursday, July 7, 2016

The Writer's Life 7/6 - Goombahs Make Good

Enrico Colantoni popped up in last night's episode of American Gothic, playing a sleazy politician. Are there any other kind? Anyway, Colantoni is ubiquitous on TV. Only in his early 50's, he is in the midst of a remarkable career. IMBd lists 74 credits under his name, but that does not tell the full story. He was in 149 episodes alone of Just Shoot Me, 75 of Flashpoint, 64 of Veronica Mars, 35 of Hope and Gloria, 23 of Person of Interest, 20 of Remedy, and he has multiple appearances in several others. He attended Yale Drama School. A native of Toronto, he has managed to father six kids with two wives, despite his busy schedule. Well done, paisano.

Since 1900, players have had six hits in a game only 73 times. The rare accomplishment has occurred three times in the past week. Last night Chase Utley of the Dodgers went 6-7 in the team's 14-inning loss to the Orioles. He joins Wilmer Flores of the Mets and C.J. Cron of the Angels who each went 6-6 recently. Believe it or not, that is not the MLB record for hits in a game. Rennie Stennett of the Pirates went 7-7 in 1975.

"TWA Flight 800 crashed into the Atlantic shortly after takeoff from JFK airport on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 passengers on board. Although initial reports suggested a terrorist attack, FBI and NTSB investigators blamed a fuel tank explosion. Skeptics have long questioned the official story, and new evidence has surfaced that suggests a widespread conspiracy..." Those words describe a new book, TWA 800 by Robert Cashill, listed at Amazon. I just heard him interviewed on radio. I wavered on mentioning the book here, as I'm suspicious of conspiracy theories, since they are often so lucrative to an author. I ran an on site search and spotted three other books on the subject. I will not read the book. I did skim through a recent NY Post article on the doomed flight, and was shocked to hear that hundreds of eyewitnesses believe the plane was shot down. The official explanation is that an electrical fire caused the explosion. Other theories are an errant Navy missile and, of course, terrorism. I doubt it's the latter, as the slimes are always quick to claim credit and, as far as I know, no one has for 800. Cashill believes the truth was covered up because the presidential election was only months away. That doesn't ring true, either, although nothing seems beyond the Clintons. A cover up like that would require complete silence from so many people. I would love to see Billary crash and burn, but legitimately. If the media even bothers to mention this, it will be spun as desperation, part of the "vast right wing conspiracy."

This goombah had a surprisingly good day at the floating book shop. It was as humid as it gets out there. I felt a heaviness in my chest the entire the entire session. I kept envisioning the tall drink I would buy from CVS after I closed down. I had a dollar coupon in my pocket and a gift card to pick up the rest. I found an 80-calorie organic green tea listed at $1,57. The computer charged $1.27 and, when I was reminded to take my receipt, I found two other dollar coupons previous customers had neglected to claim attached to the long slip of paper. My thanks to CVS, and to the kind folks who bought books, including the two Shelleys, the little one purchasing Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and the big one choosing Nicholas Sparks' See Me. Thanks also to Kinesha's husband, who dropped off a bag of paperbacks she'd read in a couple of weeks. Some days you just get lucky.

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

The Writer's Life 7/6 - Fallout

The comments of FBI Director James Comey dominate today's news. Despite the fact that there will be no indictment, he seemed to suggest Hillary is guilty. Pundits and talk show hosts are using the term "Banana Republic" to describe the current state of the USA. One interesting side bar, noted in at least two articles in the NY Post, concerns a former CIA Director, John Deutch, who served '95-'96. He was accused of the same recklessness as Mrs. Clinton, pleaded to a misdemeanor -- and was given an eleventh hour pardon by Slick Willie just as his term was expiring. Many have noted that "the rule of law" does not apply to Billary. They have now besmirched the reputations of Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Who's next? Conservative pundit Jonathan Podhoretz quoted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's words on the Buchanans in The Great Gatsby to describe the Clintons: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” I recall another columnist making the same allusion years ago. It may have been Podhoretz then too.

Here's more to make citizens cynical about politics. Governor Andrew Cuomo's Start-Up New York program has been in effect two years, burned through $53 million, and created 408 jobs, $130,000 per. The news was released at 4:30 PM Friday, just before the start of the Fourth of July weekend. Obviously, the powers that be were hoping it would go largely unnoticed. Government is much more efficient at job-killing than job-creation.

Fortunately, the news was not all negative. Actress Mila Kunis, 32, is featured in a spread in Glamour magazine's August edition. Her family emigrated from the Ukraine when she was seven. She is quoted as saying: "(My parents) came to America with suitcases and a family of seven and $250, and that's it. But growing up poor I never missed out on anything." Kudos, madam. Here's a pic of America's gain:

Boston cabbie "Buzzy" MacCausland showed the world there are still good people around -- outside of politics, of course. A fare left a bag behind. It contained $187,000. MacCausland turned it in to the police. The owner showed his appreciation by tipping the cabbie $100, which seems a tad low. Why the heck was the guy carrying so much cash?

It was the first hot day of the summer of 2016 in NYC. I shifted the floating book shop over about 20 feet so that it would be in the shade the entire session. A lot of people complained of the heat and were walking heavily, so it was no surprise business was slow. Fortunately, luck was again on my side. I was sure I'd already sold Janet a copy of Stephanie Meyer's Eclipse, the third of the four installments of the Twilight series. It turns out it was the one she was missing. And her fiance, Stu, called his mom on the cell phone and asked if she'd read The Wedding, Personal Gifts, and Blue, all by Danielle Steel. He bought her all three. My thanks, kids, and to Herbie, who donated a hardcover of Nicholas Sparks' See Me.

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

The Writer's Life 7/5 - Life's Trials

I'm not surprised Hillary is not going to be indicted. I just hope enough Americans understand that lower level government employees would have, in the least, lost their jobs over such behavior.

Since billionaire Carl Icahn purchased the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, he has poured in $86 million to keep it afloat. His thanks? Unionized employees have walked off the job, demanding restoration of the health benefits they enjoyed previously. Icahn has offered a lesser level. Customers have been crossing the picket line. Kudos.

From Weird But True in the NY Post: A British scientist may have found a way to protect livestock from predators in Botswana. Since lions attack from the rear, he painted eyes on the backsides of 23 cows. All survived the week, while three of the unpainted were victimized. How ingenious, although I suspect the lions would eventually figure it out.

The signing of Kevin Durant by the already powerful Golden State Warriors seems to make the team the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA championship. Only one question remains: with so many great players, will there be arguments about the lack of shots an individual may get on a given night? A friend posted an amusing lament on Facebook. He sees the next five finals as contests between the Warriors and Cavaliers, which definitely seems possible.

My thanks to the gentleman who bought the Vince Flynn thriller, Term Limits, the other who purchased the small, handsome pictorial on Monet, and to the two women who donated a bunch of books. I had two eye-opening conversations with acquaintances during the session. Barry Spunt, a professor at John Jay College and author of Heroin and Music in New York City, spent two weeks in Sloan Kettering Hospital recovering from an operation. He had a growth larger than a softball removed from his kidney. It weighed two pounds! Fortunately, it was benign... Later, Ruth, who's about 80, approached, a pained look in her eyes. She had just returned from sitting shiva for her daughter, who passed away suddenly. The woman had not been feeling well, but doctors were unable to pinpoint what was ailing her. She sat beside her husband in the car, leaned her head back, and died. The only thing I could do was give Ruth a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and say I wish there was something I could do for her. Given her age, this may kill her. I don't know if she has other children or grandkids and didn't dare ask.

I'll end with something life-affirming: According to Yahoo News, Sarah Mariuz and Leah Rodgers, twins, delivered babies at 1:18 a.m. Thursday. Rodgers' son was born first, Mountain time in Denver. An hour later, Mariuz delivered her daughter, Pacific time in La Jolla, California.

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/

Monday, July 4, 2016

The Writer's Life 7/4 - Independence

Today we celebrate America's independence, paid for with the blood of many. We are blessed to be living in freedom and must be vigilant to ensure that it is not taken away from us by politicians. Freedom by its nature is problematic. Many will exploit it reprehensibly, as "reality" TV often shows. One of our biggest internal controversies is the right to bear arms. In a nation of 300 million, too many will use a gun not in self defense but in criminal activity. Almost all of those who do so have obtained a weapon illegally. The greater majority of the media advocates for gun control. The liberal press will use every shooting to make this point, and it is valid. What it will not do is not report incidents that challenge their orthodoxy. Case in point, from Andrea Peyser's column in today's NY Post: "Early in the morning of June 26, Jody Ray Thompson, 32, got into an argument with someone outside the Playoffz nightclub and began shooting into a crowd, injuring three people. But he narrowly missed one man, who whipped out his legal weapon and shot the bad guy in the leg, halting the attack. No one died. Thompson was charged with crimes, including four counts of attempted murder. But the unidentified, armed knight in shining armor acted in self-defense and was not charged with anything," I am not a gun owner, but I support the right to bear arms, despite the horrific violence that occurs in this great country. Freedom is sometimes painful, but it beats the alternative.

Some writers are a mystery. Not much information is available on them even on the web. Such is Robert Tine, author of Blood and Wine, which I just finished. It is one of at least 21 novels in his name I counted at Amazon, many of them familiar as movie or TV titles such as JAG. Many have been translated in what seems Japanese. Oddly, he is not listed at IMDb, not a single credit. The work in question is a fast-moving mystery. It is at once well-written and chock full of errors that should have been caught. Since it was published by St. Martin's Press, which issues many paperbacks and is a subsidiary of Macmillan, I'll assume the slackness was the fault of the editor, I often worry about missing errors in my self-published works. All books have them, but there are simply too many in B & W. An established press should have more rigid standards of professionalism. As for the story, it is refreshingly simple, easy to follow. The 260 pages read more like 200. Tine is obviously talented. The copy I read was a tie in with the 1996 film adaptation directed by Bob Rafaelson, a native New Yorker. He has 19 credits at IMDb, the most notable being Five Easy Pieces (1970), which was nominated for four Oscars. He did not approach such glory again, although Black Widow (1987) and his remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) are good. His career has been defined by the offbeat. He directed six episodes of The Monkees TV show and their nutty film, Head (1968). The cover of the paperback of B & W lists its cast: Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Stephen Dorff, Jennifer Lopez and Judy Davis. I pictured them while reading. Only one user at Amazon has rated it, giving it the maximum five stars. I rate it three. I did not factor the errors into my rating. Since Tine receives no credit at IMDb, I assume he novelized the screenplay. That seems his stock and trade.

My thanks to the woman who purchased a Mary Higgins Clarke thriller, to B. S. Bob, who bought Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn, and Conspiracy Guy, aka Steve, whose eyes spread when he noted the large pictorial Cooking with Tomatoes. He says his garden is blooming with vegetables, so many he will be giving a lot to neighbors.

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/

Sunday, July 3, 2016

The Writer's Life 7/3 - Night & Day

RIP Elie Wiesel, 87, survivor and chronicler of the death camps, humanitarian, advocate for the oppressed worldwide. During WWII he was incarcerated at both Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He and two sisters survived, his parents and another sibling perished. He has written scores of books, fiction and non, his most famous being Night, which has been translated into 30 languages and sold ten million copies. He has received a boatload of honors, including the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986. The entrance of the Holocaust Museum bear his words in stone: "For the dead and the living, we must bear witness." Life has lost one of its giants.

RIP Michael Cimino, 77, who had one of the oddest careers in cinematic history. He was a successful director of commercials before he was given a chance at the big screen, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), by Clint Eastwood, the star of that odd thriller/buddy flick. His second and only great film, for which he won an Oscar, was The Deer Hunter (1978), for which he also wrote the screenplay. The rest of his movies are failures, although all have good moments. In all, he directed only eight, and wrote only nine screenplays. Heaven's Gate (1980) is always mentioned among the all-time silver screen disasters, critically and financially. From that point he lost creative control. He piled up what Wiki describes as "unrealized projects," including adaptations of Dostoevesky's Crime and Punishment, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, and Andre Malraux's Man's Fate. He also wrote two novels: Big Jane, and Conversations en miroir, on which he collaborated, according to Wiki, with Francesca Pollock. Here's a quote attributed to him: "Nobody lives without making mistakes. I never second-guess myself. You can't look back. I don't believe in defeat. Everybody has bumps, but as Count Basie said, 'It's not how you handle the hills, it's how you handle the valleys.'" The Russian Roulette sequences in The Deer Hunter are riveting and will likely be studied by film students and enthrall movie buffs forever. Well done, sir.

Last night C.J. Cron of the Angels went six-for-six in a victory over the Red Sox. Today the Mets' Wilmer Flores did it against the Chicago Cubs.

The floating book shop stayed open an extra hour today in Park Slope. Despite an impressive array of books, it took more than three hours to attract serious attention. My thanks to Francis, a repeat customer, who purchased a huge tome on Mediterranean cooking and Ed Behr's The Artful Eater. Until that point I was seriously thinking of dropping Park Slope, allegedly the most literate neighborhood in Brooklyn, from the schedule. I'll give it another chance next Sunday.

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/

Saturday, July 2, 2016

The Writer's Life 7/2 - Pedigrees

When I was a kid way back in the 50's and 60's, one of the most notorious films mentioned in our discussions was High School Confidential! (1958), which somehow I, a movie buff, had never seen. I finally caught up to it last night, courtesy of Netflix. It was not as bad as I'd feared and different from what I'd expected. I thought it would be episodic, a lurid series of incidents. While it was that to an extent, it's major focus was the growing drug usage among teenagers. Most of the action in the second half occurs outside the school. Of course, the hipster dialogue seems silly in retrospect, and describing marijuana as addictive and a gateway drug is passe or, at least, debatable. It's always amusing to see actors well into their 20's playing teenagers. That's the way it was at the time. The talent pool of the very young wasn't as large as it is now. I was never bored, the running time less than 90 minutes. Was it sincere in its cautionary theme or simply exploitation? A little of both, in my view. Although it is always fun to see the bodacious Mamie Van Doren fill the screen, her part as Russ Tamblyn's "auntie" was ridiculous, superfluous. Both of those stalwarts are still alive and kicking. Tamblyn will appear in the reboot of Twin Peaks, which is in post production. He is the father of Amber Tamblyn, who is in the midst of a successful career, 47 credits listed under her name at IMDb. His brother Larry was a founding member of the Standells, whose Dirty Water peaked at #11 on the Billboard Chart in '66. Van Doren, 85, has been married five times. She was known as The Blond Bombshell and wrote an autobiography, Playing the Field. Since 1962 she has been married to Randy Starks, a founding member of The New Christy Minstrels. The most interesting common denominator of High School Confidential! is the pedigree of its cast. The late Jackie Coogan, the major villain, known to baby boomers as Uncle Festus of The Addams Family, made his first silver screen appearance in 1917, and his career lasted until 1984. His cohort in the flick, Lyle Talbot, amassed 332 credits in his long run. John Drew Barrymore, the son of the great John Barrymore, is the father of Drew Barrymore. He was rebellious, his career derailed by drug use. He wound up living in isolation in a mountain cabin, and dying at 72, his daughter paying his medical bills. Given the long, amusing soliloquy on Columbus he delivered in HSC!, he was talented and not simply trading on his family name. Charles Chaplin Jr., who had a minor role, had an even tougher act to follow -- son of the most famous, beloved man in the world. He has only 14 credits. He died at 43. Jan Sterling, who played a teacher, always garnered glowing reviews but fell short of entering the top tier among her peers. She was a descendant of John and John Quincy Adams. Michael Landon played a clean cut member of the football team. Jerry Lee Lewis appeared, belting out a couple of songs. The men behind the scenes also had successful careers. Jack Arnold, a master of the B movie, directed. He was at the helm of Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and Revenge of the Creature (1955), as well other horror classics. Robert Blees and Lewis Meltzer received writing credit. Meltzer, who has 34 credits under his name, wrote the screenplay for another drug addiction story, The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), which starred Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak. Blees has 45 credits, many in TV, among them Colombo, Airwolf and Flamingo Road . I love this stuff.

The Knicks continued what looks like a very successful off-season, signing Center Joakim Noah, a former running mate on the Bulls of the recently acquired Derrick Rose. He is the type of feisty, high energy player whom fans will love. I doubt this is a championship roster, but I'll be surprised if the team doesn't make the playoffs, barring injuries.

Last night Mets rookie Brandon Nimmo, recently promoted from the minors, hit his first major league homer against the Cubs, who the Amazin's seem to have the number of. If the young outfielder has a long career in the Big Apple, he may one day be Captain Nimmo. Sorry, couldn't resist. After all, this blog has literary pretensions.

My thanks to Jack of Chase, who bought a thriller by Carl Hiaasen, to the woman who bought

Personhood: The Art of Being Fully Human by Dr. Leo Buscaglia, and author Bill Brown (Words and Guitar, A History of Lou Reed's Music), who bought a collection of Mark Twain short stories. Last week he bought Michael Crichton's The Terminal Man, which led him to research the author, who was a skeptic on global warming. Bill has become a convert. Welcome aboard, sir.

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/

Friday, July 1, 2016

The Writer's Life 7/1 - Life & Death

Working back to front, it seemed today's NY Post would yield nothing fresh, then I got to page three, which had a blurb about suicide rate by profession, which contained several surprises. The highest rate occurs in farmers, lumberjacks and fisherman. The latter do seem a lonely lot often in isolation, but farmers and lumberjacks? Number two was a complete surprise: construction workers, although I suppose those who fail to land steady work might be susceptible. Number three also seems odd: mechanics. No explanation was suggested. Number four is not surprising: factory workers. The monotony might drive anyone off the deep end. The most surprising is Number Five: architects and engineers. That kind of work seems so fulfilling. Number six is the group I would assume would be first, at least the latter two, who see so much of the ugly side of life: fireman, cops and correction officers. The least likely? Librarians and teachers. There was no mention of writers. Whew!

From Yahoo Odd News: One man was determined to take his grudges to the grave. Hubert Martini published his own obituary in a newspaper in western Germany. The deceased, who described himself as "open, honest and unforgiving," banned his five siblings and their families from his memorial service. It is unclear what made Martini want to have the last word, but the 64-year-old noted that in life: "I have hurt some people — and that's good." A popular bromide states: "Don't speak ill of the dead," which I believe is hogwash. There's nothing wrong with it as long as it's the truth. Will someone now have to come up with a phrase for when the dead speak ill of the living?

Also from YON: Political killjoys in the city of Boulder, Colorado have ordered an end to the selling of ice cream and other unhealthy treats at parks and pools. Fortunately, people are still able to bring them in on their own.

There is great news for New Yorkers out of the NBA. The Brooklyn Nets are hosting a return of "Linsanity," the fan mania that accompanied the heroics of point guard Jeremy Lin when he played for the Knicks. He signed a three-year pact at $12 million per. Last year he averaged 11.7 points and three assists per game for the Charlotte Hornets. Best of luck, young man.

For the first three hours it looked like the floating book shop would follow its recent pattern of poor returns. I sold only the excellent Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson, which chronicles the devastating Galveston hurricane of 1900. As I was packing up, a young Asian male approached and asked if I had any fantasy. He bought six books. And on his heels another young man came along and bought Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. My thanks, gentlemen, and to the woman who donated two bags of novels the library around the corner refused, most of them best sellers.

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/