Steady Progress

So, even though this annual Medicare enrollment is the busiest I have seen in six years and that is creating tons of overtime work at my day-job I continue to make progress on my next novel.

This week, since the overtime is optional and the stress of it has cause my psoriasis to flare, I have reduced my hours back to the standard 40-hour week. I am quite happy that when I laid out my plan for this novel, I made my daily word count goal a mere 1000 words per day. Many days I surpass that target and since October when I started there have been just three or four days when I failed to meet it. This demonstrates the importance of modest goals.

When your goal is modest you will achieve it more often providing a psychological boost and a sense of well-being while if you make your objective too ambitious then frequent failure can provoke despair and senses of failure which hamper meeting the goal again and creating a feedback cycle that ends in nothing being achieved.

I could have easily set my goal at 1500 words per day. That’s a level I have consistently achieved before but knowing that the busy season was barreling down upon me I went with a more modest target and because I did, I feel good about my achievement and the work in progress is actually ahead of schedule.

My calendar shows my plan was to hit 46,000 words out of an estimate 80,000 by this Friday and as of this morning I am currently at 45,000 words.

My method may not be for you and your writing style but I find an outline, a sensible goal, and a reasonable amount of butt in chair and fingers to keyboard yields consistent results.

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Reagan’s Party is Dead

Love him, loath Him, or be utterly indifferent to him there’s no denying that Ronald Reagan stood at the head of a massive movement in American Politics. Where Goldwater failed Reagan succeeded at seizing the Republican from the ‘Rockefellers’ and made it into the American Conservative Party. Ever since his victory over Carter in 1980 and his follow-up unprecedented 49 state crushing of Mondale in 84 Reagan has been the standard and the platonic ideal for every GOP national candidate until Trump.

The horrid truth, I think it is horrid no matter from where you approach it on the political spectrum except as a Trumpist is that Trump now commands the GOP more than Reagan.

In 1980 Reagan won nearly 44 million votes, about 19% of the entire American population supported him. 1984’s titanic victory came with Reagan winning 54.5 million votes and increasing the percentage of the population that supported him to 23%. (These percentage are of all people in the United States not just those eligible or just those who bothered to vote.)

With the 2016 election while losing the popular vote but winning the electoral college Trump gathers 62.9 Million votes, about 19% of the total population, comparable to Reagan’s popularity with more raw votes.

This year’s election the results are looking like Trump increased his vote total to 74.1 million votes representing a popular support of about 22% very nearly the same as Reagan’s but with a fanatical base of support willing to discount actual facts about the election outcome and equally willing to jettison decades of conservative positions for personal loyalty to Trump.

It has been 32 years since the GOP’s idol occupied the White House and with Trump his ghost has been exorcised from the party. The first real test of Trump command of the party and its candidates will come next month when we see how many national Republicans are willing the incur the child-king’s by attending the Inauguration of the new president.

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Series Review: Jordskott

Jordskott is a police/thriller/horror series from Sweden with two seasons currently streaming on the service Shudder.

The show follows Eva Thornblad a police officer returning home after her father death in a fire. Johan Thornblad led the family business in lumber and mineral extraction and with his death the fate of the company the heart of community’s economy is in doubt as environmentalists pressure for the local virgin forest to be kept pristine. Eva is haunted by the disappearance of her daughter seven years earlier and when local children began vanishing in similar manners she’s drawn by the local police force into the investigation. What she uncovers are dark family secrets, horrors in the forest, and a noirish plot to steal the company her family founded.

Jordskott, which means ‘soil shoot’ in Swedish, practices what is rare today the slow build-up and reveal of supernatural horror. While I watched the series, I was reminded of Twin Peaks and how what started as a hunt for a serial killer twisted into a tale of ancient evil and the corruption just under the surface of a small American town. Jordskott while having the same gradual reveal of supernatural forces and evil that lurks inside of people’s souls, takes its own approach and should not be considered as a ‘knock off’ production. Its similarity lies in tone not plot.

We have not yet started on Season 2, but I am very pleased with season one, which did not end in a cliff-hanger but rather presented a complete and satisfying story. If you have Shudder, and given its slim pricing it’s really one of the best deals out there for commercial-free streaming, this is something to give a spin.

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Documentary Review: Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist

This doc is exactly what it says on the tin, it is an hour and forty minutes of director William Friedkin speaking on The Exorcist the 1973 film he directed that terrified a nation and a world.

With supplemental footage from the movie and production documentarian Alexandre Philippe constructs an intimate discussion by Friedkin about one of his most well-known and iconic films. Friedkin’s voice, with the exception of one off-screen question from Phillippe, guides us through not only some of the production of The Exorcist including casting that was eventually discarded after Jason Miller convinced Friedkin to hire him as Father Karras, but also explores the artistic and musical influences that has motivated his long and controversial career.

Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist is an interesting, moving, and personal voyage into the artistic process. For people fascinated by art and artists and who consume Blu-ray bonus material by the hour this documentary currently streaming on Shudder is a can’t miss.

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Returning to Bond: Goldeneye

A few years ago I started re-watching, and in some cases watching for the first time, all of the canonical Bond Movies starting with Dr. No. This was done via the Netflix DVD in the mail program which allowed access to the bonus materials on the Blu-rays. When I canceled my DVD in the mail account the Bond re-watch fell by the wayside.

Last night my sweetie-wife, who had participated and enjoyed the series suggested we continue, and we streamed the next one from where we had left off queueing up Goldeneye, the debut of Pierce Brosnan as Bond.

After disappointing box office returns for the two previous films in the franchise which had attempted a grittier and darker tone for the series follow the lighted hearted turned brought by Roger Moore the producers opted to U-turn and bring a level of levity back to the films.

Dealing with a collapsed, corrupt, and capitalistic Russia Goldeneye has Bond chasing down a Soviet-era EMP weapon subverted by Russian and British traitors. The film boasts the usual array of gadgets and gals, plenty of action that is quite over the top, and serious attempts to be relevant with computers in a slightly pre-Internet period. I literally did laugh when the ‘good Bond girl,’ playing the part of someone about to spend serious coin o desktop computers listed the 500-megabyte hard drives and 14400 modems as requirements,

In the film Bond at one point steals a Russian tank and uses it in a chase which reminded me of the deranged man who the same year as this movie’s release stole a tank here in San Diego causing serious damage but luckily, other than himself, no loss of life.

Overall I found Goldeneye a tad too comical, too aware of the camera and still prefer the Current series, with all it faults, to the comedic Bonds.

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Thanksgiving 2020

First a Note: Posting has been sporadic this month because this is when the day job starts swinging into high gear as the Annual Open Enrollment Period of Medicare Advantage Plans opens up and that means I get to work overtime. I don’t have to work it, but I do like the extra cash and that means I will often miss regular updates to my blog.

I don’t need to tell you that 2020 has been a trying, taxing, and tumultuous year. No matter who you are or what you do your life has been impacted by this year’s seemingly endless calamities. I have lost a dear friend to the pandemic and another friend has lost his spouse and partner.

And yet setting aside the distinctively American historical roots and traditions I think I can be thankful for a least a few things this year.

I have my health. Neither my sweetie-wife nor I have contracted COVID-19 and we are both still fully employed. This year saw the publication of my debut novel and, despite the pandemic hammering books sales around the globe, my relations with the publisher and editor remain strong. Science has promised a brighter future with multiple effective vaccines seemingly just around the proverbial corner.

Our celebrations will be simply this year. Just my spouse and I maintaining social distancing for ourselves and our community. May your days be brighter and may the coming season bring you a bountiful harvest of things to be thankful for.

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Streaming Review: Blood Vessel (2019)

With a cast as inauthentic as the movie’s painted prop gold bars Blood Vessel disappoints.

Hailing from the land down under, Blood Vessel is the story a small group that has survived the sinking of their ship during WWII and find themselves aboard a German warship, whose crew has met mysterious and gruesome deaths. An intriguing premise the film fails almost straight out of the gate. The survivors are a collection of cliched and cardboard caricatures instead of living breathing characters. At no point throughout the films 97-minute runtime does a single character present any sort of inner life, growth, or surprising turn. They are all exactly who they appeared to be when we met them floating in raft in the cold frigid waters of the North Atlantic, presumably in the winter of ’44-’45.

The lack of care or attention to detail in this film might be best typified by the scene where the greedy, brassy, and loud-mouthed character from New York discovers a cache of gold bars presumable looted by the NAZIs from their Romanian allies. Examining the gold, he lifts the bars easily even turning in the light while grasping it with just two fingers.

Had the characters been fleshed out and developed that film’s slow pace and attempts at building tension during the first half of its runtime may have worked. A derelict and deserted ship, particularly an enemy one, would make for a rich and atmospheric setting to explore characters and conflict but if you populate it with tired cliches then the lack of action becomes a drag and not a slow burn.

While watching Blood Vessel it was impossible not to think of similarly themed and flawed films such as 1980’s Death Ship. It isn’t until the third act that the monstrous cause for the carnage that befell the crew is revealed and released forcing the characters into a desperate fight for survival, but by this time it had become impossible to have any emotional stake in their escape or victory and the enjoyment comes from predicting which horror film tropes will rule the script and its ending.

I can’t but also feel that the cinematography also fails the film. While the sequences are well shot and atmospherically lit, there is something in the crispness of the images that works against the story’s period setting.

While some may enjoy the basic monster fight nature of the film, particularly its final act and resolution, I cannot recommend Blood Vessel as a movie worth your time.

Blood Vessel is currently streaming exclusively on Shudder.

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Why is Trump’s Support So Damned Stable?

Why is Trump’s Support So Damned Stable?

One undeniable fact of the entire Trump administration and his candidacy both in 2016 and 2020 is that his popular support from the voters of the Republican party remained steadfastly high no matter the external factors.

When Trump arrived on the major political landscape via that golden escalator ride down, (in cinema elevators and escalators down are symbols of trips to hell but this was for us and not for him though time will ultimately tell) he leapt to the head of the GOP pack has remained there ever since.

His policy proposals were outlandish and often violated Republican ideology such as promising to raise taxes on the wealthy and promising to give every American access to full, cheap health care. Some took this to be a sign that the GOP base didn’t have the same policy desires as the GOP elite.

Once in office however his administration when it took decisive legislative stands stood firmly for the usual GOP goals including a massive budget busting tax cut for the wealthy, a legislative attempt to repeal the ACA, continuing judicial attempt to repeal the ACA, and massive deregulation. Hardly the package he ran on, but his voters clung tighter to him.

Trump also repeatedly violated GOP trade policy, instigating trade wars that directly and adversely impacted the rural communities that are the core of GOP voter support, but the GOP voters stayed true to the man.

A pandemic swept the nation and as of this writing a quarter of a million American have died of the disease and Trump shows no remorse, no sympathy, and no cares for anything dealing with the outbreak other than his own political fortunes and yet his support from the GOP voters is unwavering.

His corruption and graft are plain. His administration is filled with people charged with serious crimes. He turned a blind eye when an American resident was murdered. Unemployment exploded. But his support is unchanged.

Why?

He has given them judges, but all Republican presidents have given the base the judges that lean towards gun right and restricting abortion and yet their approval rantings rise and fall with the news unlike Trump’s.

The answer may lie in what has remained unchanged in Trump since that escalator ride. It isn’t policy. It isn’t programs or the economy or the health and wealth of the nation.

It is his petty vindictive cruel treatment of those not of his tribe. The mocking, insulting, crude treatment of all those outside of his circle and the circle that his base consider ‘true Americans’ is his only constant. This is what they love. This is the clarion horn that calls them to battle and devote themselves to this corrupt man.

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Steady Progress

Steady Progress

My newest novel and WIP is coming along nicely. I have made or exceeded my daily writing word count targets every day since I started the project in early October and this week, tomorrow in fact, I will hit the 40% completed mark.

For this project I have kept my daily target a manageable 1000 words. I know that normally that I can actually hit 1500 to 2000 words per day with only a little extra effort, but two factors led me to decide on a smaller goal.

The first was that this is in a genre I have not written before and when venturing into unexplored territory it’s best to go slowly as you learn the terrain.

The second is that this is coinciding with the busy period at my day job. Right now is the open enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans for the whole population and the dramatically increases my work load bringing with it overtime hours. Last week I worked 12 hours above my scheduled shift. Given that this is going to last through the period when I write most of the novel, I thought it best to keep my goals modest.

The importance of a modest is goal is that it can be met while not being so small as to slow the progress. If a goal is too large, then you will miss it too often and that can emotional effects that dampen one’s ability to sit and do the work. Too small and you’re too tempted to stop early and then the lack of progress becomes an emotional impediment.

If I maintain this level of productivity and if the novel lands about where I am expecting in word count, then the first draft should be complete by mid-February.

 

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Review: Mildred Pierce (1945)

The Criterion Channel has a collection of Joan Crawford films and I decided to give Mildred Pierce, adapted from a James M. Cain novel, a spin.

Crawford plays Pierce, a role which won her an Oscar, a middle-class woman who’s forced to survive and flourish after her husband leaves her stranding her with two daughters to raise, one, Veda, with expensive tastes and a growing sense of snobbery. Navigating lecherous men, back-stabbing business deals, heartbreak, and the growing gulf between herself and Veda’s increasing obsession with money and status Mildred also find friendship, loyalty and a strong sense of self as she carves out success founding a small chain of restaurants.

Unlike the novel the film centers around a murder investigation hen Mildred’s second husband is shot dead at his beach house, providing a flashback framing device for the film’s script. This adaptation also eliminated several sub-plots from Cain’s novel due to the restrictive production code enforce on all Hollywood productions at the time.

Crawford delivers a compelling and powerful performance. I was pleasantly surprised to find Eve Arden, whom I had primarily known for her much later career work in the 70s, here as Mildred’s sharp toothed friend. Arden displays a talent for delivering a cutting the remark that would serve her well throughout her career.

Directed by Michal Curtiz the film is competently produced and never lacks for pacing or a strong sense of style despite being hampered with an overly melodramatic scrip and more than a few dry performances in addition to the, even for the period, overly racist caricature of Mildred’s servant girl Lottie, played by Gone with the Wind’s Butterfly McQueen.

While the tacked-on murder plot adds a criminal element Mildred Pierceunlike some of Cain’s other works can only be considered noir adjacent and not noir itself.

HBO has produced a limited series adaptation of the novel which hewed much closer to the original story and not shying away from elements of infidelity and incest.

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