The Writer's Life 9/13 - Winners & Losers

I’ve always been skeptical of charges of police brutality, but the arrest of former tennis pro James Blake smacks of rank injustice. Isn’t an officer supposed to announce himself and his intent when approaching an unarmed suspect? Since when is it okay to immediately use force? This cop has not only discredited himself but given ammunition to all those who wish to rein in policemen, and he has raised doubts in the minds of many who support them. In the least, he should be suspended without pay.

In an op-ed piece in today’s NY Post, Kyle Smith states the struggles of SONY, which has fallen to 478th on Forbes' list of the top 2000 public companies. He cites its growing bureaucracy as the main problem. Separate “silos” have developed and war against rather than cooperate with each other.

The gap between the top college football leagues continues to shrink. Yesterday three Mid-America Conference teams had notable victories. In a huge upset, Toledo beat an SEC team, winning at Arkansas. Bowling Green trounced Maryland of the ACC. And Eastern Michigan had its first non-conference road victory in 27 years, beating Wyoming. Unfortunately, my alma mater, Western Michigan, did not fare well, getting routed at Georgia Southern. Akron lost at Pitt. I mention that because the team has my favorite nickname in all sports -- the Zips, which is derived from "zippers," overshoes popular in the 20's and 30's, manufactured by BF Goodrich.

SS Troy Tulowitzki has been a fine major leaguer who has sustained many injuries. I was happy when the Mets did not trade a couple of their young studs for him. Friday night Tulo suffered a small crack in his left shoulder blade in a collision with a teammate. Since acquiring him, Toronto has won 31 of 40 games and taken the lead in the AL East. Yesterday the Blue Jays swept a double header vs. the Yankees without him. At the moment it seems the Mets will never lose again.

It all went right today. The forecast was completely wrong, which allowed me to set up shop in Park Slope, where I scored the ideal parking spot, which allowed me to display all my wares. Three of those I sensed would appeal to the residents were prominently displayed: Stephen Schumacher's Zen in Plain English, a collection of the poems of Jack Kerouac, and essays on Anarchism, which three men bought. My thanks, and also to Holly, another gentleman, who purchased A Hitch in Twilight.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5

Vic'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

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

The Writer's Life 9/12 - Whiplash

Last night I caught up to one of last year’s Academy Award nominees, Whiplash, courtesy of Netflix. Its accolades are deserved. The story is simple: a 19-year-old drummer wants to be one of the all-time greats. He practices hard and long, his hands bleeding. Enrolled in a prestigious jazz program, he comes under the tutelage of an old school tyrant who uses verbal and physical humiliation to draw the best from his students. In this day and age, I doubt such a teacher would last a single day in the classroom. It would have made more sense to set the action in the 1950’s, but so what? It’s compelling drama. The young man is so obsessed he isn’t able to maintain a relationship. The mates of great artists always have to put up with a lot. They will place second most of the time to the true mistress -- art. In the lead role, Miles Teller exhibits a soft-spoken, aloof drive, and arrogance. J.K. Simmons won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as the mentor. He is as solid as ever. It just doesn’t seem a difficult part to play. I really enjoyed hearing dialogue that would outrage the politically correct. One aspect I didn’t like was the complete lack of camaraderie among the orchestra members. I’m not sure how wide the appeal of such a work would be, but its rating at IMDb, 8.5, is impressive in that 282,000+ users voted. Although its box office take was small, it was successful financially, bringing in 13+ million on a budget of just 3+. Martin Chazelle directed his own screenplay, only his second full length feature. I’m sure he will be getting more work. The film runs just 107 minutes. It received five Oscar nods, winning also for editing and sound mixing. It is flashy and colorful. Anyone turned off by harsh insults should pass. Anyone who has an aversion to jazz should not fear it, as the music is more accessible than a lot of the genre. In fact, aficionados seem to hate the movie. The title refers to one of the compositions, done by Justin Hurwitz. An up tempo take on Duke Ellington's Caravan is more crucial to the story. On a scale of five, I rate Whiplash four.

The odds of Roberta Vinci defeating Serena Williams in the semi-final of the U.S. Open were 300-1. Brava, signorina. And kudos to Williams for a great run at the in-season grand slam.

On the eve of the NFL season, I don't see how the Giants or Jets do better than .500. Can anyone in the AFC keep the Patriots from the Super Bowl? Only a rash of injuries would. In the NFC, Seattle appears to have more roadblocks to the big game, but is still the favorite.

I'm disappointed but not surprised Rick Perry has dropped out of the presidential race. I've never sensed he really wants the job.

Some days it seems the odds of selling a book are 300-1. My thanks to the elderly woman who made a three for one swap, and to Conspiracy Guy, who bought a book on UFO's, naturally. He asked where I'd be tomorrow. I told him in Park Slope in front of John Jay H. S., which happens to be his alma mater. He claims that as a sophomore he was the boyfriend of his English teacher, and rode around proudly in her Mustang convertible.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5

Vic'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

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

The Writer's Life 9/10 - Relapse

I thought I had a cold, but it must be something else, and it has returned full force. I was just at WebMD, checking symptoms. I've ruled out tonsillitis, viral infection and strep throat. I'm guessing it's an upper respiratory infection. It's concentrated from the base of my throat to my nose. My throat is not sore, just feathery, causing a constant cough, and my nose is running. I feel as feverish as I often do but not that weak, so I'm reluctant to take ibuprofen. I was able to do a number of chores on this rainy day without a problem other than the coughing. If it were possible to sweat out, I would have done so already, given the heat and humidity. I've never perspired like this during normal activity. I'll take some generic Nyquil to insure a good night's sleep. I'm glad I didn't pour it down the drain when I started to feel better.

I've done my last work for a while on the file of the short works collection I plan to publish after the start of the new year. The last part was the most tedious and difficult -- inserting page numbers. It was only a partial victory. I wanted the numbering to begin on page five with the opening short story, Rude Awakening. It begins on page two with the dedication and the acknowledgments. It's not as professional as I'd hoped, but better than having the numbering start at the title page. Maybe I'll figure it out down the road. I don't know why it's not as simple as a single click on "begin page numbering here." Somehow the file has shrunk to 351 pages, which means it will cost a little less per copy than Rising Star, which is 400. It will be somewhere between $14 and $11.60, the price for Close to the Edge. The Kindle will be a buck.

When the Mets lost two of three in their previous series and their lead was shaved to four games, naysayers, their own fans included, predicted disaster in D.C. against the pre-season favorite to win the division, the Nationals. I had no idea what would happen. I was hoping they would take one of three, so they would still be ahead by three. I'm shocked by their sweep. The moves their much maligned management pulled off have been a boon. Why in the world did Oakland, then Detroit, then the Red Sox trade Yoenis Cespedes?

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

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

The Writer's Life 9/9 - Percentages

Rain at last! For a while it looked like it was again going to be just sprinkles. I pulled the plug on the PC for about 20 minutes when the thunder and lightning got intense. I can't remember the last time I lost a session of the floating book shop to the weather. I'd guess June. I haven't heard or read anything about this being a drought, so I assume the reservoirs have seen precipitation. Neglected grass in Brooklyn has finally found relief. Sheepshead Bay Road will not stink for a few days. Cars have been washed by the downpour. Now the sun is shining again. Has the heat been quashed or will we have to wait until tomorrow? Rain doesn't always drive away the heat. A new front has to push it out. But temporary relief is also good.

A few months ago my buddy Bags and I were discussing long-term contracts in sports, how they seem to be detrimental rather than beneficial. One of the players we cited was Cincinnati Reds' first baseman Joey Votto, who was limited by injury to only 62 games in 2014, and whose first half production in 2015 did not even come close to justifying his great salary. In the second half he has resembled his old self. His on-base-percentage is 575%. That would be astonishing in any softball league. Now 31 and in his ninth big league season, the Canadian-born slugger has a lifetime BA of .311 and OB% of .433. He's more than half way to the Hall of Fame. Way to go, goombah.

What percentage of the immigrants flooding into Europe will assimilate? Hopefully, most will realize how foolish it is to follow Muslim rule and embrace western values. Predictions of the collapse of Europe have been made for years. The naysayers will point to the influx as another step on the road to ruin. Even if one of the stipulations of entry were assimilation, what would stop any immigrant from lying to get in?

I have one last step to complete in the file of the collection of short works I plan to publish after the start of the new year -- page numbers. I worked on it for a half hour this morning without success. I want the numbering to begin on page five and don't remember how I did for Rising Star and the re-working of Close to the Edge. It's frustrating!

My thanks to the kind folks who made purchases today despite the heat. A couple of late sales made the session worthwhile.

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

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

 

The Writer's Life 9/8 - Hot

In an op-ed piece in today’s NY Post, Karol Markowicz writes about the increasing violence among women. In the past 30 years there has been a 646% increase in female incarceration. I guess that old adage, “You’ve come a long way, baby,” applies to the negative as well as the positive. Is this just a blip in society’s painful evolution, or a permanent trend, the new normal, the natural result of a democracy's tilt leftward?

I’m almost done with the first phase of putting together the collection of short works I intend to publish after the start of the new year. I have six versions of it on my desktop and three in Google Docs, so wary am I of the evil forces that have access to my PC. I’d duplicated one of the stories and forgot to include one of my favorites, The Best Revenge, increasing the total to 31 plus four plays. The elimination of the extra one saved me about ten pages and, since the files of the screenplays fragmented, putting them in proper order saved me even more. I was able to go from ten to eleven point font and still come in under 400 pages, 388 so far. Eleven of the stories and a teleplay have not been published in magazines. Next comes the tedious task of acknowledging the publications that first published the others. Then I will let the file rest for a while.

I now have 401 followers at Twitter, more than I have at Facebook. I accept every request except those from people who want to sell advertising. I don't know if it leads to any book sales, but it's free, and I have had three unexpected web purchases lately. I'd guess they came from FB.

For the past several weeks business at the floating book had been better, for some bizarre reason, during high heat. That changed today. My thanks to the woman who purchased Lauren Weisberger's runaway best seller, The Devil Wears Prada, for her teenage daughter. I also received a large donation from one of the custodial staff at the large co-op that stretches from East 13th to Homecrest Avenue. 95% of it is non-fiction. The person who gave up the books must have been into global spiritualism. There is also a beautiful tome on jazz piano, and Jack Kerouac and Gunter Grass readers. The stuff's not as marketable as that of the most popular authors of fiction, but I'm thrilled to offer interesting alternatives to the same ol' same ol'. Thank you, Robert.

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

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

The Writer's Life 9/7 - Hygiene

Here are highlights from George Will's op-ed piece, which appears in today's NY Post, pared and edited by yours truly:
"We have a new national passion for moral and historical hygiene, a determination to scrub away remembrances of unpleasant things, such as the name Oklahoma, which is a compound of two Choctaw words meaning “red” and “people.” Connecticut’s state Democratic Party has leapt into the vanguard of this movement, vowing to sin no more: Never again will it have a Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner. Connecticut Democrats shall still dine to celebrate their party’s pedigree but shall not sully the occasions by mentioning the names of two slave owners. The Washington Post should join this campaign for sanitized names, thus purging of disquieting references to the past. The newspaper bears the name of the nation’s capital, which is named for a slave owner who also was — trigger warning — a tobacco farmer. Washington, DC, needs a new name. Perhaps Eleanor Roosevelt, DC. She had nothing to do with her husband’s World War II internment of 117,000 persons of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were native-born American citizens. Hundreds of towns, counties, parks, schools, etc., are named for Washington. The name of Washington and Lee University is no mere micro-aggression, it is compounded hate speech: Robert E. Lee probably saluted the Confederate flag. Speaking of which: During the Senate debate on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, when Virginia’s Willis Robertson waved a small Confederate flag on the Senate floor, Minnesota’s Hubert Humphrey, liberal hero and architect of the legislation, called this flag a symbol of “bravery and courage and conviction.” So the University of Minnesota should seek a less tainted name for its Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Princeton University can make amends for its Woodrow Wilson School, named after the native Virginian who aggressively re-segregated the federal workforce. Even secularists have feelings. And the Supreme Court says the First Amendment’s proscription of the “establishment of religion” forbids nondenominational prayers at high-school graduations. What, then, of the names of St. Louis, San Diego, San Antonio and numerous other places named for religious figures -- including San Francisco, the Vatican, so to speak, of American liberalism. Massachusetts’ flag shows a Native American holding a bow and arrow, a weapon that reinforces a hurtful stereotype of Native Americans as less than perfectly peaceful. This is liberalism’s dilemma: There are so many things to be offended by, and so little time to agonize about each." Kudos, sir.

The temperature rose and so did sales, continuing a bizarre trend for the floating book shop. My thanks to the kind folks who made purchases.

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

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

The Writer's Life 9/6 - Morsels

The Sunday NY Post is always loaded with tasty items. Here are the ones I found most interesting today:

In the past 18 months the remains of more than a dozen mutilated animals have been found in NYC parks. It is believed they’ve been used in ritual sacrifice.

Another writer has taken a crack at James Bond. Anthony Horowitz, creator of the BBC/PBS WWII mystery series Foyle’s War, has written a novel with a great title, Trigger Mortis, set just weeks after the events in Goldfinger, and with Pussy Galore as a major character. The news had me wondering how many other writers have used Ian Fleming’s creation to their advantage. I was surprised to find just how many. Kingsley Amis, John Pearson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver and William Boyd have each written one Bond opus, Christopher Wood two, Raymond Benson twelve and John Gardner 15. If that isn’t enough, Charlie Higson came up with eight installments of a young Bond series. Like Sherlock Holmes and Dracula, it seems 007 will live forever.

According to a study, almost 75 million Americans, many of them women, will participate in fantasy football this year. Although I loved football pools, I’ve never been interested in this wildly popular craze.

The post-Paterno era continues to be challenging for Penn St.. Yesterday the Nittany Lions lost to Temple for the first time since 1941, a span covering 39 games, one of which ended in a tie.

Mets phenom Matt Harvey is balking at going past the innings limit that was set for him following an injury and surgery to his valuable right arm. In the long run, he may be doing the franchise a favor. They have a surplus of pitching. Trade him to any team but the Yankees. The Red Sox, for one, have a lot of impressive young position players and are in desperate need of a good pitcher. If Harvey decides to continue pitching in 2015 and does well, forget what I just said.

I was taken completely by surprise when I arrived in Park Slope. Construction crews were working. 4th street between 7th and 8th Avenue was blocked. There were cones along the parking spaces in front of John Jay H.S.. Fortunately I found spot about a hundred yards way. I understand why work was being done in front of Jay, as classes begin Tuesday and they probably want to finish before then, but why in the world was the sidewalk in front of Radio Shack being torn up on a Sunday?
My thanks to the woman who bought Ophira Eisenberg's Screw Everyone, and Why Did I Do That?, a question everyone who has walked the earth has probably asked him/herself. Given the drop-off in business, I suppose I should hope for a return of high heat -- nah!
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5

Vic'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

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/