So, my son-in-law is in Dublin, Ireland, this week prepping to defend his MMA heavyweight title belt in a Saturday 5-rounder against challenger D. J. Linderman. Mike “300” Hayes (as in the gladiator movie) is the husband of my elder daughter, Meghan, and fights for the London-based Mixed Martial Arts organization Cage Warriors. They’re basically the British equivalent of UFC or Strikeforce and stage their tournaments everywhere except the U.S. Mike won his belt in Dubai back in March with a technically gorgeous inverted triangle and kimura. (Jiu-jitsu talk there.)
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Hand Out vs. Leg Up
So, just before Christmas five months ago I loaned $50 to a group of women who sew things. That’s them to the right.
They live in Cuidad del Este, Paraguay, and together they call themselves, Mujeres Virtuosas – that is, Virtuous Women. My micro-loan was a small portion of the $3,225 they had requested to purchase fabrics, thread, needles, buttons, and other supplies as they strive day to day to give their families the basics of a worthy life without hardships.
Last month they repaid my loan in full. That’s right; my $50 was back in my account, as was the other $3,175 into other loaners’ accounts. And 6,800 miles away in Cuidad del Este fifteen women are on a self-supporting path to a better life.
Blood Red Road – A Review (Loved it!)
So, I’m walking through an airport a few weeks ago, right at the height of the Hunger Games hype, and a book cover caught my eye.
I had read the HG books a year ago when a teacher friend gave me some sci-fi/fantasy recommendations, and like most everyone else I read them back-to-back-to-back in virtually one sitting. Me in the Stratolounger, cans of Diet Coke scattered about, Doritos dust smearing the buttons of my Kindle. “Just a couple more pages, honey. Seriously . . .”
Which means that while most others were reading the real books in prep for the movie, I’d already been there-done that and needed at least something even vaguely reminiscent of a Katniss fix to tide me over until HG movie D-Day. And this one looked promising. Just before boarding my flight I downloaded it to my Kindle and began reading soon after the 10,000-foot chime. And yeah, I was hooked after a couple of paragraphs.
Here’s my in-a-nutshell no-spoiler summary:
Hooptedoodle
So, I figure you either know that word or you don’t.
If you do, then you probably won’t need to read any further because I’ll bet you’re already familiar with the fellow sitting over there to the left. That’s author Elmore Leonard, he of the four dozen mega-popular crime and suspense novels, many of which have been adapted into equally mega-popular movies. Books like Get Shorty and Mr. Majestyk and Out of Sight. And he’s screenwritten and collaborated on and executive produced a ton of screenplays for the big and small screens. Such as the awesome series Justified on FX right now.
Well, the reason I bring him up is that I was cleaning out some files over the weekend and came across an article he wrote detailing his 10 Rules of Writing. It’s actually titled, WRITERS ON WRITING; Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points and Especially Hooptedoodle.
Ah, see, now you get it. The whole hooptedoodle thing. Well, if you don’t yet, you will. Just click on Mr. Leonard’s photo there and you’ll be whisked away to the New York Times and the original article. Writers: you’ll find sage wisdom there, from a pro among pros. Non-writers: it’s still a great article. And you never know . . .
Just a thought.
Know Your Place
So, I had a work gig a few days ago in the uber-rural town of Price, Utah, the political seat and largest town in Carbon County. I left my hotel in Provo, home of Brigham Young University, at 7:30am actually looking forward to 90 minutes of digital downtime. I’d been warned the Highway 6 route through tall-walled Spanish Fork Canyon plays havoc with reliable cell signals, and I was hoping for a quiet respite from my usual endless drone of phone calls and emails.
Before I knew it four paved lanes had narrowed to two, shoulders steepened, side-roads disappeared, and recently-patched asphalt began a serpentine wander through a desolate, rocky landscape straight out of some John Wayne oater. Stratified layers of limestone and shale towered above me on either side, their near vertical cliffs streaked with rosy pink sandstone. The occasional glitter of pyrite and mica flecks sparkled when the morning sunlight caught it just so. And then suddenly the steep walls dropped away and revealed an astonishing vista of ancient mesas more numerous than I could ever imagine.
Johnny and James
So, if you haven’t been following this phenom Joshua Ledet on American Idol, you’re missing out. The kid’s got insane pipes, as evidenced this week by his rendition of James Brown’s It’s a Man’s World.
Love this archived photo of the Godfather of Soul showing Johnny Carson what it’s all about.
And as a side note, I found this snapshot posted on a sweet blog that my buddy Tod turned me on to: http://www.mynameisandy.tumblr.com
Just a thought.
Not Far From the Tree
So, my kid’s a writer!
This is the younger daughter, Kylene. Former national jumprope champion, high school English teacher, Peace Corps volunteer to Thailand, and now Nintendo corporate trainer.
And exceptional blogger.
Her first blog focused on Thai cooking — check it out, it’ll make your mouth water: www.kycooksthai.com
Her new blog is all about living and loving life. Passion and existence. Rapture and essence. Like you might experience at a baseball game.
Follow her at www.raptureandessence.wordpress.com
Just a thought.
Glenn Gordon - Always Write 