Writing Inventory

As the year 2009 winds down, I've taken stock of my writing inventory. My goals for 2010 is to market some, if not all of my finished invemtory. Currently I'm editing - changing - and polishing the screenplay, EMPTY KAYAK. This should be complete in another week. That gives me a total of Six (6) screenplays and five (5) full length novels to sell. A sixth novel is almost complete. I could finish the first draft in a couple of weeks but I'll delay that task until after something sells. Being creative is fun but if nothing is generating income, this is just a hobby. I have story boards and outlines for two more screenplays and one more novel. In addition, I have started screenplays on two of my novels. I'm going to set those creative projects aside for three months. Perhaps with a full court press during the first quarter of 2010, I can generate some income.

Racism In Reverse

Seldom do I delve into politics or religion; a sure way to alienate friends and even family. However, I recently forwarded a joke to several of my friends via the Internet. The joke wasn't racist but appeared to be anti-Obama. Immediately, I received several e-mails that castigated me for being racist. What a crock!! No one who really knows me would accuse me of being racist.
Why is it that if one questions the current President they are automatically accused of being racist? Is that the only card the administration is able to play? What happened to justifying a position based on facts? Why can't the citizens of the United States of America poke fun at their elected officials? It appears that if we question their decisions, we're racists.
Well,since I have the name -- I may as well play the game. Here's some WHYS?

WHY #1 --Shortly before Obama and family went off on a ten day vacation to Martha's Vinyard, it was announced that Social Security recepients would not receive a COLA for at least two years? That ten day vacation cost the taxpayers over twenty million dollars. Why freeze the COLA and then spend like a drunken sailor?
WHY #2 -- Camp David is the designated Presidential get-away. Taxpayer dollars support this retreat that is constantly staffed. So, if one factors in the cost of Camp David, that ten day vacation to Martha's Vinyard cost the taxpayes even more. Why not use the existing infrastructure?
WHY # 3 -- A fourth grader can do this math. If the goverment keeps printing money, making it less valuable, and the government freezes the COLA for two years, the Social Security recipients actually have much less buying power. Why chastize the elderly?

Okay,I've asked three questions; none are racist. I'm curious to see the responses.

Baseball All Year

A Panamanian friend of mine asked me the other day why I liked baseball. I tried to explain that it was one of the few sports remaining that average size people played. Basketball has seven foot giants playing point guard. Football is populated by three hundred pound Sumo wrestlers, and even tennis is becoming a tall person sport. Baseball, on the other hand, is still played by average size athletes. Stars like Derek Jeter, in my opinion one of the best in the game, is six foot tall. Carlos Diaz, the Panamanian catcher for the Phillies, is five foot eight. Rodeo stars are for the most part average or smaller. Bronc and bull riders are usually five foot eight and weigh around a hundred and fifty pounds. Boxing leveled the playing field a century ago with their weight classes.
The world series is the end of MLB in the US. However, in Latin America, the season is just beginning. I'm able to view baseball from most latin countries on TV until mid-December. That's when the Panamanian league begins. Most games are broadcast on local TV and of course our local Chiriqui team plays their home games in the stadium not far from my home. I plan on attending most of them this year.

NEWS AND COMMENTS

After suffering from a back out of whack for about ten days, I was finally able to sit long enough to finish my latest screenplay, "Empty Kayak". The first draft is completed. Now the work begins; editing, changing, and polishing. I have four other scripts in different stages of this process. I switch from one to another whenever I get blocked or bored. It certainly keeps me occupied. I expect to have all five scripts completed and registered with SWG by Xmas. Marketing these scripts to the movie industy is my challenge for the year 2010. I expect to have the logline of EMPTY KAYAK posted by next week.

Stalled but not for long

I made a promise to myself that I would try and post something new on my blog once a week. Sunday morning seems like a good time. I try to take Sunday off from my writing unless I'm really inspired.
Since the MLB season is over, I find myself with more time to write. Unfortunately, the screenplay I'm currently writing is stalled -- not for the lack of creativity, but because I have reached a point where it can be a tragedy or the "life happily ever after". At the most, I have 20 - 25 pages remaining. Perhaps I will write it both ways. I'll decide later. This is a new genre for me -- a love story. Most of my work is action/adventure or romantic comedy. I'm not trying for a "chick flick" but just an honest man/woman story set in an exotic yet dangerous place.
Hopefully, "Empty Kayak", will be completed soon.

Time out for baseball

No matter who wins the MLB World Series, The Yankees or the Phillies, a Panamanian player will receive a WS ring.
Carlos Ruiz, is the mainstay catcher of the Phils. He's from Boqueron, Chiriqui -- A 20 minute drive from where I live. Mariano Rivera, the star closer for the Yanks, is from a suburb of Panama City. Both players have been to the World Series before. WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF THIS HAPPENING? One would think enormous. Actually, it's not. Panama, total population of 3.3 million people, (1/3 the size of Chicago) has sent many players to the Major Leagues.
I learned to play baseball in the Canal Zone. We had a league that covered not only the CZ but also Panamanian cities. Our coaches were players from the Yankee farm system. We learned from professionals. Many of the Panamanian teams were coached by Cuban players (this was before Castro-Cuba). The Fastlich league fostered many players who went on to become Professional.
So, since the early 1950's, Panama has adopted baseball as their number 2 sport. Only soccer (Futbol), is more popular in Panama.
Now, with Ruiz and Mariano opposing one another, it fosters mixed emotions. We want for both of them to do well. In game #2, Mo was pitching to Choocho -- I didn't know what to do.