• Friendly accomplishments, part II

    November 10, 2013 / 1 Comment

    Last month, I wrote a blog entry highlighting the latest projects of some of my many creative friends and colleagues. Here are several more:

    Photographer Angus Bruce has a gift for capturing the beauty of Scotland. His photographs are stark, honest and breathtaking. I own several.

    A.J. Jacobs, editor-at-large of Esquire Magazine, wrote a fantastic book about “his humble quest for bodily perfection.” “Drop Dead Healthy” prompted me to move more, drink at least 50 oz of liquids a day, improve my dinner options and track my food/sleep/steps.

    Amanda Koster is an internationally acclaimed photographer who combines an anthropology background with media skills to create projects about human rights, cultural diversity and global equality. Click here to watch her inspiring TED talk.

    John Platt is a voracious reader, prolific writer and my favorite environmental reporter. If you’re interested in learning more about endangered species from around the world — and how to save them — check out his blog on the Scientific American website, Extinction Countdown. John also covers environmental issues for Mother Nature Network.

    Radio producer Kate Sweeney will publish her first book, “American Afterlife: Encounters in the Customs of Mourning” in Spring 2014. Pre-order your copy here.

    I’ll be showcasing the work of more friends in the weeks to come. If you have a new project you’d like me to promote, send an e-mail with the subject like “FEATURE ME!”

    dftba

  • Rest In Peace… and I really mean it

    November 3, 2013 / No Comments

    Granary Burying Ground in Boston

    The recently departed Lou Reed once said, “It always bothers me to see people writing ‘RIP’ when a person dies. It just feels so insincere and like a cop-out. To me, ‘RIP’ is the microwave dinner of posthumous honours.”

    As was his wont, Reed was able to succinctly sum up his thoughts with a clever turn of phrase. However, I have to disagree with the sentiment behind his words.

    People tend to die in three ways:

    * suddenly and unexpectedly
    * after a period of illness
    * peacefully while sleeping

    The first death is so startling in its appearance that those left behind can barely comprehend the unforeseen loss. Sure, we’re all going to die, but these deaths (homicides, accidents, natural disasters, fire) occur in ways that tend to be both violent and painful. To the deceased, I say rest in peace because light knows you didn’t die that way.

    The only silver lining of the second mode of death is that it frequently offers the blessing of extra time: time to get one’s affairs in order, time to do one last thing on the bucket list, time to say goodbye. However, the dying process can be fraught with distress. Witness enough of these deaths — bad deaths — and you too may find yourself wishing the deceased peace in their eternal sleep.

    To those who have the good fortune to die in their sleep, I simply say rest in peace and farewell. Silently I hope that their last batch of dreams were pleasant ones.

    –Photo of the Granary Burying Ground in Boston by Chaval Brasil. Used with permission.

  • My Bucket List v2.0

    August 24, 2013 / No Comments

    Here are the 50 things I want to do before I die (in no particular order):

    1. Write and publish at least a dozen novels
    2. Go on a cemetery tour of New Orleans
    3. Attend the Academy Awards
    4. See the aurora borealis
    5. Visit New Zealand
    6. Be a guest on “Fresh Air”
    7. Write/syndicate a column
    8. Play the piano
    9. Learn to fight
    10. Become fluent in French, German, Scottish Gaelic, Italian and ASL
    11. Get at least three more tattoos
    12. Write a screenplay that’s produced into a Hollywood film
    13. Host a radio show/podcast/interview program
    14. Go on a whale watching tour – and see a whale
    15. Take a hot air balloon ride over something beautiful
    16. See the earth from outer space
    17. Tour the Pyramids in Egypt
    18. Live in a house with an ocean view
    19. Hit the best-seller list
    20. Take a cruise around the world
    21. Buy and complete a Bob Ross paint set
    22. Spend Samhain on a moonlit beach next to a bonfire
    23. Have coffee with Henry Rollins
    24. Become a top-notch cook/baker
    25. Win the lottery
    26. Create a tour of a historic boneyard
    27. Become a better photographer
    28. Do the castle tour through the Black Forest
    29. Get my body into optimum shape
    30. Launch a podcast
    31. Launch a wire service
    32. Discover treasure (perhaps a rare and priceless book once thought to be “lost”)
    33. Finish/publish the Belva bio
    34. Plant a fruit tree and eat what it produces
    35. Win a bake-off
    36. Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
    37. Receive a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Fellows Program
    38. Fully organize and catalog my library
    39. Move to Scotland
    40. Build our dream home(s)
    41. Own a Manhattan townhouse
    42. Work on a movie
    43. Change the world for the better
    44. Appear in a photograph taken by Annie Leibovitz
    45. Live a life worthy of being the subject of a profile by Chris Jones
    46. Live a life worthy of doing a Not My Job segment on “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me”
    47. Live a life worthy of an obituary in The New York Times
    48. Become immortal
    49. If immortality is not an option, then live a healthy life until at least 104
    50. Appear in a quote book of famous (and awesome) last words

    GravesPhoto by ikitje

  • Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing

    August 20, 2013 / No Comments

    1. Never open a book with weather.

    2. Avoid prologues.

    3. Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.

    4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said.”

    5. Keep your exclamation points under control.

    6. Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.”

    7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.

    8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.

    9. Don’t go into great detail describing places and things.

    And finally:

    10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

    My most important rule is one that sums up the 10. If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. —Elmore Leonard (1925-2013)

    * * *

    Thank you, sir, for this wonderful advice, and for your many books.

    Farewell and rest in peace.