AL: Plot Concept -- The Band

In Almost Lynched the constant sub theme, besides Frank's development, is what happens to the band over the course of the film. The short answer is: Not much good. They eventually break up (duh!), and after trying to change styles -- What if CSNY went Glam? or Punk? -- they fall apart airing their idiotic childish grievances, as if they were the "cause" of the bands breakup, when they are really the end after effects. But in this film, failure isn't as evil and harsh as it might be in other venues. There are always comebacks, if you ever built a fan base to begin with. You can usually find some ground to work with some members of the band in some way. Hell, even Paul and John had moments of non hatred. Paul and George even held on briefly to work in 1994-5. The great lesson that Frank could have learned from hanging out with the band is that you can be a total fuck up and somehow have everything still work out. He never gets that. Many of us don't!

Sunday Morning Tableaux

First: pot of coffee, near the end of the Trader Joe's French Roast. Must somehow get some from Porto Rico coffee in NYC, while their sale is on! (first pound is $0.85!) with cream and sugar, Before and After Science playing in the background.

Second, hashbrowns with onion and a lot of black pepper, topped with a fried egg, well, ok two fried eggs, each loaded up with hot sauce, mucho slices of bacon, (baked in the oven!), sourdough toast. A ginger scone for later, as a digestivo! It's too early for grappa...

Third, That Darn Interweb. It used to be the Sunday Times, at first just reading above the fold, but plowing through most everything. Now, blogs, blogs blogs! It may be a good idea to organize my blog bookmarks that way: "Above the fold/ below the fold." Were I not a lardy carcass, I'd do that; as it is, I assign it to my Invisible Personal Assistant to do for me.

Fourth, sunshine? Eh, maybe...

Fifth, writing. Oh, yeah baby...

Find what bliss you can on this, the day of freedom from your corporate masters.

Don't worry, I ain't ferget ya!

Sorry about not posting for a bit, but it's been a mess of small things holding me up, most of them not so good.
To wit:

I've again been having trouble sleeping, which this time is leading to panic attacks that last all night and into the morning. These are terrible; I feel like a leaf in the wind, and just trying to calm down is difficult.

My left foot is sort of swollen and sore. Every answer for 'why' I bet won't cheer me up.

I'm running around doing a lot of small tasks to try to make sure I'm not thrown out of the house at the end of the month. So far, only about 25% good. Panic sets in.

My lungs are having a very hard time breathing, and they hurt in a raspy way, such that I have zero breath. I feel like I'm a 100 year old man.

But still....All this writing about AL has gotten me to start writing scenes, and filling out the plot more this week. That and watching all my Kubrick movies.

When I'm not panicking, I'm oddly centered. I think this is because I've been making a lot of efforts to connect to people lately, and these have tended to be women with small children, whom I'm enjoying more as I get older. I've also been a help to people lately, and have had some help come my way as well (Camie's futon!)

I've actually had 3 interviews this last week; not a job yet, but this is more progress than I would have thought.

Except for the lungs and the foot, I feel surprisingly good, physically! I've seen this in myself before. Once I can clear up the lung problems somehow, I get quite a bit of good energy.

I have to get The Little Man a birthday present soon...suggestions?

Send what vibes you can.

AL: Characters -- The Women

I find it interesting that the only person who really changes over the course of AL is Frank, and this change is not in a good way. The two major female leads think that they can interact with Frank and transform themselves through this interaction, but this does not become true. They both underestimate how much they determine their own fates, through their own actions, and not through what might be called a traditional female "supportive" role.

Eva, in particular, is a person who is stuck in a particular moment. It's as if achieving a personal "nirvana" means that's it, you'll not need to change anymore. Eva senses that she will fall behind the times soon, and thinks Frank is a 'divining rod' for the future, but Eva will see that 1.) he is not, and 2.) she still likes the self she has established so she couldn't get rid of her defining traits.

Evil Mrs. Partridge, (EMP) despite constantly hanging around artists, doesn't really like them. She hasn't seen one whom she doesn't think is either slow-witted or gullible, which are terms that arouse a lot of disgust in her. She realizes that Frank is neither of those and yet, she perceives his artistic temperment, and latches onto him in an effort to create a more sensitively attuned version of herself. She can't grasp that Frank may have a sensitive sense of perception, but this doesn't make him any more caring about others than she is.

Still more to come about these two.

Transition

So, I was doing the dishes, using the very end of a bottle of soap, and having to use quite a bit of it to cut through the grease I had in a pan, when I broke down and opened up a new bottle of the soap, same kind, and this new bottle? It really worked, much better than the old one, and I had to use only a fraction of it for much better cleaning. Not too mention that nice apple scent! But it got me to thinking; do even our cleaning products weary of things? Are they bored at a certain point, and just phoning it in? Yeah, yeah, science, I know. But perhaps ennui sets in in your Palmolive, and it would tell you about it -- like you'd listen! -- but it knows the end is coming soon and it bravely suffers in silence... Would a soap named Weltschmerz sell to arty types? Could be a market!

Camie's Getting Married Today!!!!

Today, of all days, my best friend Camie Vog (and Mr. Vog) are getting married! Geez, I had to write this down because I can barely believe it myself! L'incroyable! What are there like, only a few of those crucial life markers to worry about, Birth, Death, Marriage, stuff like that? Hell, the House of Vog has two of those in the last month or so!! Old Hat really, how can the encore compete? Well, perhaps if the Fluffster scores one or so we can celebrate those then. Make no mistake, though; these are the good times and we should savor them better than any wine you'll ever drink.

So if you love Camie as we here at Fluffy Stuffin' do, go on over to her blog, and give it up! Don't hold back! Say great things, things you and everyone who reads it should remember the rest of the day! There aren't a lot of these days, days where you actually encouraged to say your heart of hearts praises, sing 'em if you must, make 'em rhyme, make 'em crazy, obscene, delightful, personally yours, just be, as the Manolo says, SuperFantastic!