The Beach of Atonement

G’day!

It is finally done.  Well, I think, it is done.  Two days of work, the hardest part being done by Chuck Rothman who prepared the covers for me.

THE BEACH OF ATONEMENT is up at Lulu’s.  I’ve ordered a copy of the paperback & hardback versions to check on how it came out.  I’ll actually see them when I get to my friend’s home in St. Louis.  I sent the books there. 

I’m out of here on 1 July for to Travel The Mother Road!

It is super neat to bring back into print a novel which was last and only published in 1930.

I’ll let y’all know when it will be for sale to the general public.  Then you can rush to Lulu’s web site and buy our very own copy!

G’day,

Not withstanding a minor problem with my hotel booking in Clinton all is go for me to head out today.

I drop my car off at Saturn for its 36K Service and some tarting up, it is getting detailed, then Saturn will drop me off at the airport for my flights to OKC.  I’ve got a car rented for the week.

Looking forward to meeting up with a bunch of folk I only know thru email.

See y’all on the road!

Violation of the Neutrality Act.

I was reading about the plot to overthrow the Laotian government.  The article mentions that involvement by American citizens violates “the Neutrality Act, which bars Americans from taking military action against nations with which the United States is at peace.”

Too bad this doesn’t apply to the US President.  Then again, Saddam did diss his daddy, and this trumps the law.

No surge protector?

Reading about the problems on the Space Station.  Supposedly a power spike knocked out the computers.

Sheesh!  Haven’t they heard of surge protectors?  Where is/was APC?  Even I have one!

Sometimes one wonders about the folk running this program.

Interesting words on how to manipulate the populace

I ran across this as part of a dialogue from the Nuremberg Trials.

It seems that Machiavelli would agree.

Göring: Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece?

Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.

Gilbert: There is one difference. In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.

Göring: Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

No dimming in Oz

G’day,

I noticed that Australia is in the process of banning the use of incandescent bulbs.

One minor problem is that phosphorescent bulbs, I use about 8 in my home, have one somewhat annoying drawback.

If one has a dimmer switch on the light, the use of phosphorescent bulbs will create a really annoying buzz. 

I guess, this will mean that when a movie begins in a cinema, theatre, etc., the lights will simply go out.  Full Stop!

Can anyone find a solution?  I have the feeling that no one in “power” really gave it a thought, as they don’t use phosphorescent bulbs. 

I even had a few lines before I was hit with the beer bottle.

Last night I was the bartender in a short local fim.  For my troubles I got hit wil a beer bottle!  Well, actually we hope, it will look as if I was hit with a beer bottle in the film.  Nice mats to fall on.

I’ve been messing around with film for the last few years.  It is actually the fault of Mary Satlin & Kim Smith.

Mary was working at the time as Registrar at Columbia College Hollywood, a small film school.  Kim had me employed as a paleontology teacher for 11 year olds for a month in the San bernardino Mts.  He writes screenplays & his writing partner had a film in a festival along the route I was taking heading home.

The festival was fun.  It got me thinking of hosting one in Albany for SF style films.

This never came to be, but I hooked up with Upstate Independents a local group of independent film makers. 

I’ve had the chance to work as an extra and as a PA.  It is great fun.

Film making is interesting, fascinating, boring, tedious, but never exciting.  If it is exciting on the set, then something is going very, very wrong. 

More anon!

The Beach of Atonement

Yesterday I went over the cover with my friend who is preparing it.  It is a photo of The Beach which I took back in 2000.

The text has been proofread.  Once I get the cover set, I’ll upload it as a pdf file to Lulu and see if it has been prepared in an acceptable fashion. 

Once it is accepted, I’m going to order a copy of both the hardbound and paperback to see if it came out well.  If so, then I will release it to the clamoring  public and the orders will flood in! 

I’ll actually be happy with a total of 50 sales.  This will get me back my basic outlay to get the book published again after 77 years.

It is a nice sunny day here in Albany.

Did a little bit more on preparations for the trek dow 66. 

I tend to make up a detailed checklist for a big trip as to what I’m bringing on the trip, remind myself to turn off stuff, etc.  It is more a memory aid.

I also love to prepare a detailed itinerary of the trip.  Heck, working out a trip is great fun.  Who knows, I may actually follow most of my itinerary.  It is not something I have to follow, but a list of things I found interesting along the way.  There is always things I don’t do and surprises I find along the way.

1 July is getting close!

Starlight & moonlight

An email to a friend sparked my memory of a test I did.

While travelling thru The Bush in Oz in 99, I decided to give something a test.  The night was lit by a fullmoon.  I drove about 10 km out in the countryside away from all other light sources, [not that there were many] stopped, got out with my book and began to read.

I could actually do it.  Yes, in the absense of other light sources and in clear air, one can read by moonlight. 

One can also see a lot of stars. 

Next time you are in the middle of nowhere on a night with a full moon give it a try.