Miami Vice

Fuckin' brilliant. Michael Mann can do no wrong. I went to the first matinee on opening day, which I haven't done in a long time. As I sat there all I could think of was how little I go to the movies now. I used to go twice a week, sometimes more. Now, it's like once every two months. Until today, I had seen only two movies this summer: Mission Impossible III (sucked big donkey dick) and Superman Returns (sucked less, but still sucked).

But Miami Vice reminded me of how good movies can be. In today's New York Times, film reviewer A.O. Scott wrote that "Miami Vice is an action picture for people who dig experimental art films, and vice versa."

Is it too much to hope for a sequel?

How To Waste Time Getting a Master's Degree

Here is one of the reasons I really dislike the administration of the MFA program I graduated from: Graduating students aren't allowed to workshop. Now there was a "master" class workshop, but I doubt it would do a genre writer or a creative non-fiction writer much good since it is focused on literary fiction. I've done my share of workshopping genre stuff in lit fic workshops - not pretty. There was also a master class for poetry, but then again, the program is pretty poetry centric. (They just hired yet another poetry faculty member - soon they can get rid of all the fiction instructors) So, one solution of grads getting what they need would be to place popular fiction and creative non-fiction students in with (duh!) regular workshops within their genres. While that seems like a no-brainer to you and me, the administration thinks this would be too hard on us. The legitimate reason given in the student handbook is that graduating students are too busy during their last residency to do anything. OK, I had my reading (twenty minutes) and my seminar (an hour) and graduation rehearsal (45 minutes). That's just over two hours worth of stuff to do in ten days time. Averaged out, that's twelve and a half minutes of each day. I don't know about the other graduates, but I really needed that 23 hours and 47 minutes of rest each day. Thank you MFA admin for thinking of us.

OK, so what did I do with my time. Slept. Drank. Hung out with friends. Ate. Showered. Urinated a time or two. Saw Superman Returns. Went to readings. Went to seminars. Read. Went on a day trip to Cape Elizabeth. Watched Season 1 of Rescue Me on DVD. Wished I was home.

OK, so I didn't drink everyday of the residency - maybe three or four...and not until after noon. We're writers, what do you expect? For the talent show, which is held every residency, we got a keg - and we drained it in just over two hours! Not too shabby. One of the prouder moments of the residency.

One of the best time wasters was the brainstorming session with a couple of friends about starting our own writing conference. Well, let's hope that really wasn't a waste of time.

Back At It

So, after the graduation residency (of which, I'll blog about later) and a death in the family, it's back to writing. I have the rest of the novel's plot figured out, I just to write the last third. I also promised someone a short story, which I need to complete. And I have edits to do on a story that will be published this Fall. Maybe I'll write a little flash fiction to get the juices going. Those are usually fun, and I feel so productive once I have finished one.

And then there are the books I want to read. I glanced at John Irving's Until I Find You while I was at the residency, but it didn't capture my attention enough to plow through it. I've started Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov on the advice of my friend Sarah (I forgot how fucking long that book is. My god, it will take me forever to finish). But I've hit the pause button on that book so I can read Scott Smith's The Ruins; which kept me up late last night. I've waited about 13 years for this book. Loved A Simple Plan.

So, I have to find my groove again. Just a matter of discipline and dedication. No problem.

Don't you hate other people's vacation photos?

It's been nearly two and a half weeks since I last posted. During that time away I was earning a degree. See below.


I also spent time with some real scumbags...err...I mean friends.

I wish I had a lesbian gym teacher grab my man boob.

All masters of fine arts, except the bald-headed prick. He was just some weirdo we caught lurking in the women's bathroom. He was pretty pathetic.

And here is a photo of my reading from my point of view. It only covers half the room. They're scarier than they look. I have zero memory of this event. None. I could have gone up there and pissed myself for twenty minutes, and I wouldn't have known the difference.


I guess I offened a couple of people with my writing. It's a crime novel people, there are going to be a couple of foul-mouthed characters - get over it. But there's a small part of me that's just happy to shock a couple of prudes. It feels like victory.

Birthday

Today is the birthday of Ringo Starr and Michelle Kwan! Why can't I share my birthday with someone cool?

Karl Rove Has Found His Next Boss

Here is a viable candidate for President in 2008. He couldn't be worse that what we have now. At least he's honest about his tendency for evil.