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Wednesday, June 28, 2006
An Author's Work Is Never Done
Good Lord, I just started another blog.
I was encouraged by lots of business-type folks, as An Author, to write a blog at amazon.com. Well, since my current business
cards claim I am An Author (as opposed to the old ones that heralded me as Music Director of good ole WAJI), and
the fact that my publishing house representative told me yesterday that amazon.com was responsible for the bulk of sales for
The Handyman's Dream, it seemed like a good idea.
I don't have a problem writing about myself and my first novel; as my close friends can tell you, I can talk myself silly
about either subject. I'm as self-involved as any other individual. I just wonder if the time couldn't be better
spent writing genuine fiction. Still, it IS the 21st century, and if you want to succeed, you'd better embrace the Internet,
and all of its possibilties. Therefore, here's more about Nick, and what he's thinking/feeling/doing.
There was a great editorial cartoon in this morning's paper. It showed myspace.com as the ultimate destination
for sexual preditors of children. I found myself nodding in agreement. Isn't it amazing how many ways there are
to reveal ourselves these days? What's even more amazing, I think, than the way we reveal ourselves, is
how careful we are to keep other parts of ourselves hidden.
I could take this whole thing in so many directions, and believe me, I'm laughing as I type this, just thinking
about "the possiblities." Didn't Angela Lansbury do a Mastercard commercial back in the 80's saying "imagine the possibilties?"
Or was it, "master the possibilities?" Either way, it meant to go joyfully into debt, and I sure as hell don't
want to go there.
Instead, I'll go back to where I was this morning. I was driving home from the dentist's office (yes, the broken
tooth can be capped, thank God), and listening to a tape I had blaring from the car's stereo. The only tapes I listen
to in the car are my homemade mix tapes, and if my nine-year-old car's CD player would play the CD's I make from my Itunes,
I'd probably play them instead. Anyway, The Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'" was blaring from the
speakers, and I was tapping out the beat on the steering wheel. I was thinking about a scene I had written
for the sequel to The Handyman's Dream where Ed and his friend, Gordy, are listening to "Gimme Some Lovin'" and updating
each other on their lives. Damn, I thought. I should go home and look that over, and maybe put
in some of the new ideas I have for that section of the book. So what I am doing this afternoon? Writing
blogs.
Oh well. That's part of being An Author in 2006. Wouldn't some of my dead favorite Authors -- say Shirley
Jackson and Gene Stratton Porter -- laugh their asses off? Jackie Susann, I'm sure, would love it. I
bet she would have been one hell of a blogger! (By the way, the only Jackie Susann novel worth reading is Valley
Of the Dolls. The rest of 'em suck. Since my late partner's grandfather was the Art Director for the movie,
I suggest you run out and buy the newly released DVD as well. The movie stinks, but the art direction
is FABULOUS! And Patty Duke is wonderful, even though she's horrible as Neely, 'cause she's PATTY DUKE. When
the hell will Me, Natalie be available on DVD???????)
Well, that's enough about Nick, and what he is thinking/feeling/doing. Now it's time to retreat to Porterfield,
circa 1981, and hang out with Ed, Rick, Gordy, Norma, Laurie, and the rest of of those folks.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Hot, Humid, and a Tornado Watch
I vowed when I first began to publish this half-assed webpage and blog that I wouldn't blah-blah about day-to-day
bullshit. I mean, everyone who needs to know about my broken tooth (dentist STILL on vacation), the cool guy I
met from Dallas the other day, Blake's trip to Franklin, Indiana, to help his cousin Amanda find an apartment, Tim's new job,
Robert's back surgery, Mindy telling me she's thinking about law school, OR the stories I could easily tell about
the chaos at the radio stations, already knows, right? (Although I have to admit I haven't told anyone yet about the
dream Darlene, the Controller at work, had about me earlier this week. She just told me about it today, and my
laughter roared through the sixth floor hall. Darlene, I repeat the pledge I made to you today: If gay marriage
ever becomes legal in Indiana, I SWEAR you will be invited to any ceremony I might have.)
So, why I am writing a blog entry for today? 'Cause I want to call attention to the changes I've made elsewhere
on the website. That's all. As the title of this blog entry indicates, it's a hot, humid day in northeastern Indiana,
and a Tornado Watch is in effect. A stray gust of wind has rattled the windows while I've been writing this, but at
the moment the sun is shining. It's probably raining somewhere. I wish it would rain here. My petunias in
the front yard could use it, and I'm not in the mood to drag out the hose.
So for Christ's sake, scroll down and keep reading, 'cause that's about as profound as I can get today, June 21st, The
First Day of Summer, 2006.
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
R.I.P. Everwood
My favorite TV show, "Everwood," aired for the last time last night. For some reason the combo network of the WB
and UPN (I think it's called CW, or something) decided not to pick it up for a fifth year. It figures. As Entertainment
Weekly said, "Everwood" was too good for them.
"Everwood" debuted in the fall of 2002. I happened to read an article about it, and thought it seemed interesting
enough for me to check out. That's pretty rare. A show really has to have a certain appeal for me to bother to
turn the TV on for something new, and "Everwood" had just that.
It starred a bearded Treat Williams, who had first gotten my attention back in the seventies when he stripped down
in the movie Hair. The story was about a successful nerosurgeon (Williams) moving himself and his
two children away from New York City to a quieter life in a small Colorado town after the sudden death of his wife.
It was apparent that grief issues would be explored and talked about, and grief was on my mind that year. My partner,
Steve, had died in January, and the idea of a television drama dealing with death definitely got my attention.
I watched the first episode and was hooked. Completely. As the weeks went by, I was almost astonished at
the quality of the writing, directing, and acting. It quickly became my favorite TV show, and I couldn't help but wonder
how such a wonderful program had actually made it into the lowest common denominator land of TV. On the WB, yet.
Sometime during that first season I was happy to discover my mom was watching it as well. Everytime we met or talked
on the phone we'd discuss "Everwood." It was, I think, the first show we had both equally enjoyed since "Designing Women"
had left the airwaves.
As I mentioned, "Everwood" dealt with the grief of the Brown family over the loss of their wife/mother, and the grief
issues intensified with the story of Colin, a young man who was comotose after an accident. To make a very long story
short, the first season cliffhanger was whether Colin would live or die after some radical surgery performed by the famous
nerosurgeon himself, Dr. Andy Brown. I remember talking about it with Mom, and saying I was sure Colin would die.
Mom was sure Colin would survive. I was right. Colin died.
Here's the thing: Mom was, at the time, struggling valiantly with her second bout with cancer. Mom being
Mom, she didn't let on just how bad it was, and it wasn't until well after "Everwood" returned in September of 2003 that I
realized how hopeless Mom's situation was. I wonder now if her desire to see Colin survive his ordeal was her desire
to survive her own. I'll never know. Mom died in early November 2003, the day before the episode where Dr. Linda
Abbott (Marcia Cross, better known these days as Bree Van de Kamp), admitted she was HIV positive.
I remember watching that episode in that weird state of numbness that first sets in after seeing someone you care
about finally pass away from a terrible illness. I remember mentioning it when it was my turn to talk at Mom's funeral.
I mean, talk about irony: I had first tuned to "Everwood" because of grief, and here I was, dealing with it again, compounded,
so to speak, by the bond Mom and I had where the show was concerned.
I toyed with ignoring the show after that, but of course I couldn't. I was too sucked into the story, wondering
if Ephraim and Amy would ever get together; snickering at the exploits of Dr. Harold Abbott; puzzling over the sudden friendship
of Ephraim and Bright; loving Edna, Irv, Rose, Delia, Nina, and the other characters; curious to see if the relationship
between Dr. Linda and Dr. Andy was as doomed as I thought. (It was.)
I stayed faithful to "Everwood" through a third year, and rearranged my TV schedule to feature it in its fourth year
when the WB stupidly moved it from it's wonderful Monday night slot to Thursdays. As many good TV shows do, the show
really hit its stride in the fourth season. I was completely enchanted with it this past season. It was something
I looked forward to each week, and always enjoyed a much-needed hour away from Real Life to engage with the citizens
of Everwood, Colorado.
I should have known something was up when the show went on an extremely long break at the first of the year, but couldn't
imagine anything as awful as cancellation was in the air. Sometime in 2006 the WB and UPN merged, and "Everwood" was one of
the casualties. The folks behind "Everwood" obviously did some re-writes, and wrapped up what should have been long-term
stories. "Everwood" ended happily last night with Andy proposing to Nina, and Ephraim and Amy back together.
I'll admit it: I cried during those last two hours last night. So much of what I've been dealing with these past
four years seems wrapped up in "Everwood" that to lose it felt like losing yet another loved one.
Still, Andy's scene at his wife's grave in New York City gave me hope. He told Julia (his late wife) he
was going to propose to Nina, and hoped to spend the rest of his life with her, and in doing so, "would never come back
again."
Maybe it's time for me to move on as well.
Whatever. I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Greg Berlanti, and everyone involved with "Everwood." I loved
every minute of it, and can only hope the last three seasons will be issued on DVD -- as the first was several years
ago -- so I can savor it all again.
And for what it's worth, when the movie version of The Handyman's Dream is made, I'd love to see Chris
Pratt playing Gordy.
Thursday, June 1, 2006
Too Easy
I just downloaded "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray from Itunes.
That in itself is weird. I remember the days when I had finally heard a song on the radio the right number of times that
some impulse told me to go to a record store and buy the 45. Now when I hit that point, I just go to Itunes, click a
few times, type in my password, and charge 99 cents to my credit card. Suddenly the song is on my computer, and I can
listen to it over and over, the same way I'd do when I got a precious 45 home, and eventually on the turntable.
Funny thing is, I don't have to leave home. It all happens right here at my desk. A couple of months
ago my friend Anj was visiting, and I so badly wanted her to hear "Cab," the new song from Train, that I downloaded it so
she could hear it right then. "Isn't that something?" I asked her. "Yeah," she replied, enjoying the song (she's
SUCH a Train freak), "but don't you miss the whole ritual of going to the store, getting the record, and taking it home?
Remember how we used to do that?"
Well, duh! Of course I remember. And she has a point. Something is lost in the 21st century digital
process. I'm happy I can buy and own The Fray's single and Train's single when the spirit moves me to add them to my
collection, but I have to admit, I wish I had a couple of 45's instead of audio files on my computer.
Lord knows, audio files are easier to maintain. I remember the hell I went through moving my record collection
(2,000 45's; 500 LP's; 200 12 inch singles) to my current residence. At this point in time, the needle on
my turntable needs to be replaced, and it sucks when I'm banging away on the computer -- totally inspired and into a story
-- and I have to get up and change records.
But something is missing. I don't know if it's the trip to the store and the anticipation, or just the physical
reality of a record (or CD). I remember grumbling about that back in '99 when we went from cart tapes and CD's to audio
files at the radio station. "The songs don't seem real, and somehow the whole idea of playing the music doesn't seem
real," I complained to anyone who would listen.
Oh, the songs still sound great, and I'm thrilled when a new song -- like that hit from The Fray -- comes along
and I like it enough to want to add it to my collection. Something IS missing, though. Anticipation? Maybe.
In my novel, The Handyman's Dream, Ed listens to Carly Simon's "Anticipation" while he's waiting for Rick to show
up for their first real date. A friend of mine read that and said that the anticipation was the best part of any date.
No, that's too easy of an explanation. And therein lies the answer. It's all too easy. THAT'S the
problem. It's all too easy, and too readily available. Anything you acquire without much effort doesn't really
mean much in the long run, whether it be a recorded song, a job, or a significant other. If I lost my books and records,
I would be devastated, but if my computer crashed and I lost my audio files, I'd just shrug. I lost a relationship through
death -- a relationship I worked really hard on -- and it still hurts.
Funny -- getting music is easier, but life in general seems harder, not just for me but for everyone I know. My
late partner, Steve, used to say: "it's all a big, greasy lie!" Maybe in some strange, twisted way,
21st century technology is just that.
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When I'm Not Writing...
UPDATE: If you are on Facebook I hope you'll join the NICK POFF Author of
the HANDYMAN series group for discussions, updates, and more.
The sad but honest truth is that most writers need to supplement their income with something other than writing.
I've worked in the radio industry since the tender age of sixteen, and for the same two radio stations for the past fourteen
years. We call it The Hotel California -- you can check out but you can never leave! It's amazing how people go,
but then seem to come back at some time, including me. Radio has been good to me, and although there are still times
I regret not sticking with the writing thing at an earlier age, it's been an interesting ride.
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Things I'm Enjoying....
In The Handyman's Dream Ed and Rick spend time at a cabin on a small lake in southern Michigan.
In a weird fiction-meets-non-fiction kind of way, John Sellers writes about just such a place in his latest
book, The Old Man and the Swamp. It is a must-read for anyone who, like me, has been intrigued by that strange part
of the world at the borders of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio; fears and respects snakes, and has enitrely too much
memory space dedicated to the 70's & 80's.
I enjoyed Joyce Maynard's latest, The Good Daughters.
I still can't believe All My Children is leaving ABC this September. I was a SLAVE to this
soap opera for 27 years. Even though I stopped watching every day back in '01, I've checked in occasionally, and talked with
co-workers about what was going on in Pine Valley. I mean......a world without Erica Kane? That, to me, is scarier
than facing the end of the Mayan calendar! I have, of course, read Susan Lucci's recent memoir, All My Life.
It's a nice, breezy read, but for diehard AMC fans only. Still...Ms. Lucci is on my list of people I hope to meet someday,
if only to say "THANKS!"
The wonderful thing about "All My Children" is that it was, for many years, more than "just a soap
opera." It was a second family of sorts to its most loyal fans. We can thank the amazing Agnes Nixon, the show's creator for
that, but I also think thanks must be given to the entire production staff, and those incredible actors who made those characters
so special to us. Did I learn some basic facts about life from watching this daytime drama? Yes. Did I learn how to write
a good story from watching "All My Children?" You betcha. Anyone who reads and enjoys the HANDYMAN books can be grateful
for the hours I spent in front of the TV, absorbing the finest writing in daytime television.
Just below is the link to the YouTube video from the intro of the 20th
Anniversary special from 1990. It contains some brief clips from the first 20 years of the show. Although AMC soared wonderfully
into the 21st Century, I gotta admit the best stories were from the first 20 years.
This show ain't dead yet, but it will be in September. Yeah, I'll probably be watching those
final episodes. In the meantime, I want to celebrate some of the best creative writing classes I ever attended. Thanks,
"All My Children!"
And I'm truly finding a great deal of joy in producing and broadcasting my little internet radio
show on www.live365.com. I hope you'll tune in some Wednesday evening for some wonderful old music and chat.
It's all RETRO here at the House of Nick. I also love the occasional old game show clip on YouTube.
I'm all about the retro fun stuff. I'd like to think it reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously in the here
and now. I celebrate old pop music on my internet radio show, NICK POFF RADIO 45.
As most writers do, I love word games, so I always enjoyed the game shows dealing with words. I loved the
$10,000 Pyramid (and the $20,000 and the $25,000 Pyramid, etc.). For those with a short attention span, here's Billy Crystal's
record-breaking trip to the top.
"I can't even watch The New Treasure Hunt anymore because you give me so much shit about it!"
(The above line of dialogue was deleted from the final draft of The Handyman's Dream. Ed's enjoyment
of game shows and Rick's dislike of them would continue to be a source of irritation.)
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Meet two potential victims of global warming.
If you want to save the bears as much as I do, vote wisely in each and every election, and check out the link
on my Favorite Links page.
Nick Poff
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