Writers Weekly 24 Hour Contest

I guess I should stick to my day job. The results for Writers Weekly's 24 Hour contest came in at the end of last week. Me, not a finalist of any sort. But that does not mean I am giving up on writing (in fact I have already signed up for the Winter 2010 Contest on Jan 23). I love words and the way they can paint a picture, just as I love actual paint. So read my story, then take the time to read the winners' stories as they are definitely good reads.

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Rural Squall

Anticipation filled his chest as the cameras unloaded from the van to set up next to the entrance to the corn maze. Marcus hopped out of the passenger side of the van in his flannel shirt and jeans, trying a little too hard to fit into the rural atmosphere that he just emerged into. Today will be his first live segment interviewing a farmer in central Wisconsin in advance of next weekend’s county fair. The rains from the early afternoon made the ground underneath spongy, adding a little spring to his step.

“Hello!”

Weathered and jolly, an older man hurried towards the camera crew with two dogs trailing behind him. His chest puffed with impending pride as he introduced himself to Marcus.

They chatted about the dreary weather and the positive effects on the crops, as the crew finished setting up. Waiting for the segment to start, the farmer meticulously picked at his vest that he donned for the special occasion. Marcus envisioned how the farmer’s neurotic ways surely would earn him the blue ribbon for his biggest pumpkin.

As the farmer shared his tales of obsessive tending and gentle turning with the camera, Marcus instinctively turned his head toward an infant's cry. At the top of the hill, under an old maple, a pretty girl was shielding a bundle from the wind, fumbling with her blouse. Distracted by the sight of the woman’s ordinary behavior, Marcus stumbled through the rest of the interview.

As the camera equipment was being loading back into the van, Marcus glanced back up the hill observing only the silhouette of the old maple as the clouds turned shades of orange and pink from the sun setting.

“She is stuck up,” the farmer disclosed, irritated that the woman had interrupted his moment of glory.

“Who is she?” asked Marcus still gazing up at the painted clouds.

“That’s Elle, the daughter of the Hagens, who live next door,” He said conclusively. “She cares for no one but herself. Like I said, she’s stuck up.”

The cold wind started again and he shivered, watching the sky darken too quickly Marcus ambled into the town’s only pub to get out of the weather and have a cold one before heading back to the inn for the night.

Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was playing on the jukebox while a number of local farm boys on the far end of the bar pounded drinks like the frat boys did back in Madison.

Marcus pulled up next to a girl with her head down on the bar, soggy hair flowing around her ears. She looked vaguely familiar.

“Elle?”

She turned in his direction looking through him, not at him. The farm boys were now pretending to shear the bar stools as if they were sheep with wooden legs.

She giggled, prompting Marcus to look in the direction she was staring. He laughed along.

“I saw you on the hill today overlooking the Altenburg Farms. Where is your baby?”

Without blushing, she answered assuringly, “With my parents.” She cautiously continued, “I am living with them for a while, until I can get on my feet.”

Prompted by Marcus’s prodding questions, Elle continued to speak about life in a small town and her dreams of leaving the rural life to become a hair stylist for a fancy salon. With each question she became more intense, divulging more than he asked. Marcus was fascinated by her wisdom for such a young age. She was maybe 21 or 22.

He found out that she had grown up in Wisconsin Rapids her whole life. Her parents had been supportive when she became pregnant after being raped by some local farm boys, not unlike the rowdy boys at the end of the bar.

Even with all of her troubles, she seemed to have her life in order including step-by-step plans for fulfilling her passions.

It was late when Marcus walked Elle back to her car. Walking along the tree lined Main Street, he noticed for the first time that she was barefoot. She carried her shoes in her right hand swinging them in time with her stride, allowing the rain soaked sidewalks to wrinkle her toes. This prompted a smile on his face.

“It was great to talk to you tonight,” she said seriously. “I really needed that.”

She hugged him tightly, squeezing his chest to where he thought he wasn’t breathing. Before he could open his eyes, she was in her car driving away.

The tires splashing through small puddles of rain was the only sound on the town’s quiet streets as Marcus made his way back to his hotel.

Frigid morning air flowed through the van’s open window stinging Marcus’s face, as the crew headed back towards Madison. Marcus reflected on the evening with Elle and how he may have just ruined his chances for any future live segments due to his inability to focus during the interview. His thoughts were so distant that he was completely unaware of the news report on the radio stating police had found an infant drowned in the Wisconsin River.

Fiction 101

Every year, San Diego City Beat runs a contest called Fiction 101 (now in it's seventh year). The goal is to write a fictional story in 101 words or less. That is pretty much it. This was the first year that I entered and while I didn't win or have an honorable mention (psst... there really isn't a prize besides seeing it in print anyhow), I did want to put my stories out there for people to read. So here are the two short stories I sumbitted for your enjoyment:

Second Life
Behind the wooden bookcase, through the paneled wall in the study hides a door to the room where he spent his nights alone. His wife would never understand if she discovered the room he built to hide his deepest secrets. His second life gave him autonomy and power that his real life at home and working in the factory had always lacked. In his room, the Lilliputian people with their painted on smiles frozen in their stance waved up at him in his blue and white striped conductor’s hat, as he prepared the next miniature train for departure. All Aboard!

The above story was the first one that came to me. It really is inconclusive with no depth. I think I just really wanted to use the word "Lilliputian."

The Bouquet
An elderly man sat on the patio of a café savoring each sip of his wine. He arrived in Madrid that morning. Watching the pigeons scavenge crumbs from the cobbled streets, he thought about his family left behind, wars fought, and miracles witnessed. A young boy on a bicycle stopped to smell flowers at a cart across from the café. The man reminisced returning from the war, embracing his wife and the floral essence of her perfume. “It is time,” he whispered, as he walked back to his hotel, to swallow the pills that will take him back to her.

The second story sort of stem from my grandfather's trip to Spain. He flew to Spain for one day and then came home (no, he did not commit suicide). His trip to Spain at 82ish years old is one of my favorite stories from his many life stories and a true testament to who he was. Adventurous and caring (he went there solely to teach a friend to fly via Space A - military flights). The man was amazing. We charged me with helping him finish his biography/memoir when he passed away. I don't know if I could ever do him justice, but I will try.

Watching the Wheels

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round. I really love to watch them roll...

Driving back down from LA this past week, I was listening to John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels" on the radio. I believe it was KPRI but that doesn't really matter. The song sent me into a spiral of memories of when I was 16 years old living in San Diego and many of the people who made impact on me. It is amazing that a song can throw you back in this way.

People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away...

Hearing that song, made me think of the great rock writer, Paul Williams and his experience being a part of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Bed-in". I had the honor of meeting Paul when I was 16, prior to his bicycle accident and hearing many of his great stories of interviewing Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson. I remember sitting on the floor of my friend's apartment stapling copies of Crawdaddy! to get ready for mailing at a time when the magazine's budget was near it's lowest. I remember feeling that I was a part of something greater but also the normalcy of the occasion.

Emma Dennis, a budding rock journalist for the current incarnation of Crawdaddy! who also just happens to be Patrick Dennis's daughter, wrote an amazing piece on her blog, Whimsy in Dive Bars, about her first meeting with Paul which brought me to tears.

People asking questions lost in confusion. Well I tell them there's no problems, only solutions...

Thinking about Paul prompted me to think about the other individuals who helped shape me into the music-loving, community oriented being that I am today. I thought about Jackie Starr, a spunky musician who lived here in North Park, who I can directly pinpoint as the reason that I love the Pixies and Elvis Costello. Listening to Frank Black while petting her cat on the floor of her living room (I guess I spent a lot of time sitting on the floor as a teenager), I could only imagine the doors that were opening regarding musical influence. After I ran away from home (a story for another time), I continued writing Jackie. Yes, the handwritten letter type of writing. I am not sure if she realizes the impact that she had on me, but I still want to thank her.

When I returned home in the wee hours of the morning, I searched online for my past. Finding Jackie on facebook it made me smile to see her happily married in Massachusetts.

Surely you're not happy now you no longer play the game...

I also thought about Veronica Boyer who assisted in my escape plan and was a true friend. It was her floor that I sat on while stapling Crawdaddy! magazines. She introduced me to Guinness and the close knit community that is the San Diego Music Scene. I remember going to shows and walking through shops downtown with her. She always made me feel like I belonged and never treated me like I was just a kid.

I remember her telling me that she was moving to Washington state, where I never heard from her again. I tried to look her up but have been unsuccessful. I hope that one day I will get the chance to tell her

No longer riding on the merry-go-round. I just had to let it go. I just had to let it go.

Whip It! Jucket!

Junket is my new word for the week. I had never even heard of the word (amazingly) until yesterday when I actually went to one in LA for the movie, Whip It! starring Ellen Page and directed by Drew Barrymore.

Yesterday's junket for Whip It! was a larger-than-life event that took place in the LA Derby Dolls' Doll Factory in Historic Phillipino Town.

The excitement started out with Har Mar Superstar, aka Sean Tillman, performing the national anthem. I really didn't pay much attention at the time so I didn't realize that he was one of the actors in the movie (playing the coach to Juliette Lewis's team) and that he has a song on the soundtrack called "Never My Love".

Then the LA Derby Dolls Tough Cookies took the track against the Varsity Brawlers in the most publicized, over-the-top production for a practice bout ever. It was a thrilling bout that included a leg whip by Crissy Crassy and Leguna Beyatch, and at least one skater, Jacq Pot, flying over the rail. They will be playing again this Saturday for their regular season. The Tough Cookies won over Varsity Brawlers, one hundred and something to something less than that. Tough Cookies are currently undefeated, as are The Swarm (San Diego team).

Singer and actor, Landon Pigg, who plays Ellen Page's boyfriend in the movie, performed the song "Hightimes" from the movie during half time. Again, I really didn't pay much attention here, I was taking a look at the production booth, watching the emails fly in with questions for Drew.

At the end of the bout, the cast of the movie and Shauna Cross (aka the real Maggie Mayhem), skater and author of the book "Derby Girl" of which the movie is based, came out into the middle of the track for a Q&A session moderated by Axils of Evil, a popular KPCC radio host.

Here is the best photo I could get of the Q&A session with my camera phone right before it ran out of batteries.

Director and actor, Drew Barrymore plus Eve, Alia Shawkat, Landon Pigg, Zoe Bell, Har Mar Superstar, Juliette Lewis, Shauna Cross, Ellen Page along with LA Derby Dolls' Rachel Piplica (aka the real Iron Maivon) and Kristen Adolfi (aka Crissy Crash) all shared the mic for an inspirational Q&A session. My favorite moment was when Juliette Lewis shared that she really just wants to work on her form (getting low and her starts to be specific).

Over 2,000 people watched the event online at www.derbydolls.tv. You can watch the entire event (in two parts) on Justin.tv. Check out some photos from the event HERE.

I managed to walk away from the event with a a prize pack from Fox Searchlight that included promotional items including the soundtrack, the book (renamed to "Whip It!), pins, sweatbands, a cup and a t-shirt. Definitely a sweet package, but no celeb meetings. That's fine, I would rather see them on the track.

I did find out that the reason that celebs don't skate is that the insurance with the movie studios doesn't allow or cover it. I guess Patricia Arquette tried to join LA Derby Dolls in the past.

The Whip It! soundtrack comes out today via Rhino Records and the movie also officially premieres today at the Grauman's Historic Chinese Theatre.

Writing Like Crazy But You Wouldn't Know It

The last few weeks I have started writing just for writing sake. I entered two short stories competitions: Fiction 101 with City Beat and 24 Hour Contest with Writer's Weekly. City Beat should be publishing the finalists in the next couple weeks and Writer's Weekly won't publish their results until almost Halloween. Win or lose, I will post the stories once the results have come in.

Deadlines seem to help drive my imagination, as do word limits. College was great for that. How can I say a sentence the most eloquently or creatively in the least amount of words? I guess that is another reason that I like Twitter. Sometimes it feels like a puzzle, re-arranging words and using the thesaurus to get the right phrase to give the right feeling.

I have always wanted to write a book, but I am a bit of a procrastinator. It is also hard to imagine writing on one subject for 100 plus pages. That is where blogging and short story writing comes in.

Ray Bradbury is my favorite author of all time. Well known for his novels "Fahrenheit 451" and the "Martin Chronicles", Bradbury composed most of his stories as chapters or short stories to be published in journals (he could make more money that way too). His short stories are descriptive and captivating. The endings are never what you imagine.

He also wrote a book on writing called "Zen and the Art of Writing". Inspiring, yet simple. He talks about why he writes and where he gets his inspiration from. You can see common threads that run through each of his stories that allow you to see pictures of the whole from only reading pieces.

If you have never read anything of Ray Bradbury's except for "Fahrenheit 451," try something new for a change. Here are my favorite novels and short story compilations:

"Dandelion Wine" My favorite novel of all time about a boy and one summer of his life. Horrible description on my part, amazing story from a child's mind.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" The carnival comes to town and the dark things that come with it. Again, from a child's view.

"The Veldt" Short story published in "Illustrator Man" and "The Vintage Bradbury"

"The Small Assassin" Short story published in "Dark Carnival" (Ray Bradbury's first published book of short stories, now out of print and pricey), "October Country", "The Vintage Bradbury" and "A Memory of Murder"

"Skeleton" Short story published in "Dark Carnival", "October Country", and "The Vintage Bradbury"

"The Gift" Short story published in "A Medicine for Melancholy" and "R is for Rocket"

"The Anthem Sprinters" Short story published in "The Machineries of Joy" and "The Vintage Bradbury"

"Yestermorrow" A collection of essays from Bradbury on projects that he worked on including Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland and the design of Horton Plaza mall. This one is hard to find since it is out of print.

Don't Let Concerts Pass You By: Tips for Concert Going with Your Baby

After going to this weekend's Flaming Lips concert at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and being complemented on our parent planning skills and concert preparation, I thought I would share a few tips about getting out to see shows with a small one.

Research the Venue
First off... is the venue all ages. This will help answer the first question of whether you should take him or leave him. There are lots of all ages venues in San Diego: the Marquee, Lestats, SOMA, Epicentre, Java Joe's at Café Libertalia, Club 8Teen (formerly Avalon, now called something else) and ChannelTwelve25. The Del Mar Fairgrounds holds concerts throughout the summer as do a number of communities (Bird Park Concerts, Trolley Barn Concerts, etc.)... Plus there are many street fairs and festivals that are open to everyone.

Take in consideration that you will need a place to change the baby that is inoffensive (sorry, no changing on dinner tables). The ground always a place as long as you have a quiet corner and the proper changing tools mainly a blanket or pad.

Make sure there is a place you can step away from the action for fussiness. This could be outside, another room, or just distancing yourself from the action. This is important in smaller venues where cries could potentially disturb the show.

Ear Protection
If you think the music isn't loud, you're wrong. You want your child to grow up with his or her full capacity to hear even the softest of noises. I have been to so many concerts and bouts where parents think that if they are sleeping or if they aren't reacting, that the noise must not be bad for them. I don't personally have a link to the research on this, but I know that theory is wrong.




There are options for protecting your child's hearing even as early as 2-3 months (before that you should really avoid taking you kids to places with loud music/noises... get a sitter). We use the Peltor Kid Ear Muffs. They cost less than $20, they last until your child is about 7 years old, and they come in three colors (pink, blue and black). If you start your kid young in these, they would be bothered wearing them. They can still hear the music but it takes the edge off. Thomas has enjoyed listening to Roger's band practice and has even fallen asleep while wearing them.


Pack Your Bags
Just like going out for the day, you need to be sure to pack food, milk or formula, diapers, wipes, clothes, a bib, a burp cloth and toys. Make sure that you think about the food temperature. In many concert situations you won't have access to heat a bottle. My child is not picky about temperature, so leaving milk or food out at room temperature is good enough.

Also don't forget about your needs. Often when I am packing for Thomas, I forget that I need a jacket or food. It will happen, but here is another reminder to take care of yourself too.

Your Arms Can Only Hold So Much
It really does suck if you have to hold a sleeping baby for hours. Consider the venue again. Think about whether a sling or stroller is more appropriate. If you are standing room only, a stroller is better towards the back of the room while a sling allows you to get closer to the action.

Bonus/luxury items include having a backpack style carrier or a wagon. We are lucky to own both (as gifts). The backpack we have yet to use but believe it will come in useful during street fairs. It will be great place to feed him on the go too.

The wagon we have is a portable, fold up wagon called Fold-It & Go Portable Wagon. It folds up like a PacknPlay to load in and out of your car. The wheels are large making it easy to go over rough terrain (like sand). It claims to hold up to 150 lbs. We use it as a playpen (for now) and a portable crib. The only thing it is lacking is brakes so supervision is heavily needed.



At the Flaming Lips concert we loaded up our wagon with a small cooler, a couple of chairs, and a bags of our stuff. On the way out, we hauled Thomas, passed out in the wagon with the earmuffs still on, back to the car while carrying the rest of the gear. It was perfect for this occasion. It should be also be useful for the Bird Park Concerts.

The biggest takeaway for me is all of the preplanning. It is no longer possible to just leave the house on a whim. Before I would preplanning for comfort, now it is a necessity.

If you have any additional tips on concert going with kids/babies, feel free to comment.

Alex's Lemonade Stand @ The Miller's House

Yesterday was the 4th annual FM94/9 live broadcast of Alex's Lemonade Stand at the Miller Family home on the corner of Redwood and Thorn. Roger and I have wanted to make it out for this event pretty much every year since it started. Now that we live five blocks from the Miller Family, it will become an annual tradition for us too. That is, if they able to keep it there.

Of the four years they have been doing this event, this is the biggest yet. The stands take over three of the four corners of the intersection, selling lemonade (both pink and yellow varieties) to passers by for donations to pediatric cancer. They also had a silent auction, live local music and guests from the local Star Wars Society, all part of the event.

Their fundraising goal was $10,000 which they had raised the previous year. By 11am, only one hour after they started, when our family stopped by, they had already raised $2,000. One of the big draws was the family four pack of Legoland tickets that they were giving away if you donated $80 to the cause. By 11:30am, the tickets they had on hand where gone and they had to start taking IOU's. As FM94/9's DJ, Hilary put it best "It is so California of us," referring to the the state tax returns.

According to Amy Miller, the event had much more press than in previous years including on-air segments on both KUSI and NBC 7/39. It was overheard Amy saying that she doesn't want this event to get any bigger. And neither do the neighbors. The cops came by at least twice in the hour that we were there, responding to neighbor complaints regarding music volume and crowds in the street and sidewalks. If it does get much bigger, they would have to look at a different venue, which would be a sad prospect to both the Miller Family and the community as a whole.

Our family hopes they continue this successful fundraiser at their home for years to come. Not just because it is within walking distance, but because it shows the collective power of good in our community.


--Thomas playing with his lemonade cup--