Delayed Reactions

Some days seem too long, yet not long enough to do all I want, which is why I find myself awake at this hour watching tapes of "NCIS," reading my first Ben Perkins novel, The Harder They Hit, and not wanting to go blogless too long.

Mike Tyson turns 38 today. Once upon a time, I enjoyed watching Tyson. I enjoyed what he, with his black socks, trunks, and no-nonsense approach, seemed to represent. Tyson has since become a parody of himself.

Spider-Man 2 premiered nationwide today, and I had no way of getting to a theater. Just as well. I haven't been able to muster up excitement for many movies in the past few years. I used to think there ought to be more superhero movies. No more. That said, I'm down for this sequel first chance I get. I'm also considering the DVD of the 1967-1970 Spider-Man cartoon.

In the chill of night
at the scene of a crime,
like a streak of light
he arrives just in time...

Gretchen Wilson

I freely admit to enjoying my fair share of country music, from Waylon Jennings to Garth Brooks, The Judds to Faith Hill. Lately I'd been hearing buzz about Gretchen Wilson's song, "Redneck Woman." Returning from vacation, I got around to ordering her debut CD, Here For the Party, which arrived to today, coincidentally Wilson's 31st birthday.

Theme-wise, "Redneck Woman" reminds me of Garth Brooks's "Friends in Low Places," an unabashed proclamation of the singer's roots (in Wilson's case, the farm town of Pocahontas, Illinois).

And now for some segue-less whiplash--it's also Derek Jeter's 30th birthday. Once mired in an early slump, Jeter is back to the winning ways that made him the hands-down choice for Yankee captain.

Wish You Were Here

If I keep posting Hawaii pics, I'll wish I were still on vacation. Here are three last shots which I hope take you there:


Leading down to the beach at the Westin Ka'anapali Villas


A Maui sunset


Finally, a Maui shore at dusk

Gather 'Round

I'm trying to give all of the travelers some face time.


A home-cooked breakfast in one of our rooms at the Westin Ka'anapali Villas on Maui. That's my cousin Dan in the foreground. If you can see it, I'm wearing a Spider-Man t-shirt.

The Road to Hana

Henry (middle) and I with our cousin Grace, at a stop on the Road to Hana, which winds its way completely around the island of Maui.



Cousins Gene, Irene, and Kristine (rhyme incidental) on the Road to Hana. Irene organized our trip from Newark to Honolulu to Maui and back.

Hawaii Pics

My brother Henry saved more than 800 photos of Hawaii with his digital camera and my cousin Gene's laptop. Some are of the road as we traveled to various spots in our rental van; others are curious studies such as our hotel bathroom sink. On this blog, I'll stick to distinctive pictures and those with me and family in them. Hope you enjoy.


The welcome sign at Honolulu Int'l Airport



L to R, my cousin Kristine, her father Tony, Tony's sons Nelson and Gene, along with yours truly



Dipping into the ocean at the Kahala Mandarin's private beach

A few more to come.

RoboCop Trivia

Checking IMdb today reveals that Peter Weller was born exactly three years before Nancy Allen. The two co-starred in RoboCop (1987), the movie that introduced me to the directorial tastes of Paul Verhoeven. Overall, I think Verhoeven is heavy-handed, but I enjoyed his work in Total Recall and Basic Instinct in addition to RoboCop.

There was a Canadian TV version of RoboCop that I watched mainly for Andrea Roth (pictured below) playing a supercomputer with the benevolent soul of a murdered secretary.

Which Marvel Superhero are You?

This result came up the most, so I guess I'm...



I really wanted to be Daredevil, but I know I would've had to say my ideal career was law and my nemesis was a King Pin of crime. Truthfully, I'd like to roam the world and battle all forces of evil. And yes, I'd like to be in a committed relationship like Scott Summers and Jean Grey. I'm not the ladies' man Matt Murdock is: Elektra, Black Widow, Karen Page, Heather Glenn, Glori...

Then again, going steady with Famke Janssen...

Joss Whedon Turns 40

Love-him-or-hate-him mad genius Joss Whedon turns 40 today, sapping him of coolness cred he might have needed to continue writing Buffy or Angel. "To everything, turn, turn, turn..."

Having caught some of the "90210" reunion on VH1, it's freshly apparent to me that all trends have their time, and to stay on people's minds, artists, performers, etc. must adapt. The Firefly movie Serenity is next from Whedon, and then what?

Also celebrating birthdays today are Selma Blair (32) and former Red Sox second baseman Marty Barrett (46).

C'est Moi

I'm testing Picasa's free picture-posting service, Hello. I hope to post some pictures from my Hawaii trip if this works. For now, here's a recent picture of me. Whatcha talkin' bout?

More Haps While I Was Gone

At 1:03 a.m. Mountain Time on June 10, as I was winging my way to Hawaii, my friends Matt and Kim Tedesco welcomed their first child, Sophia Rose. Good pick considering Matt's commitment to wisdom as a philosopher. Later this summer, the family will move from Boulder, Colorado to Wisconsin.

I joked that if they wanted to stick with a theme, they should name their second child Ken. Some things will be beyond him, but these could be powerful motivators...

Is this thing on?

Also, the short story "Munchies," by writer friend Jack Bludis, was nominated for a Shamus--the award given by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA). "Munchies" was anthologized by Michael Bracken for Hardbroiled, and reprinted by us at The Thrilling Detective Web Site.

Congrats to the Tedescos and good luck to Jack.

Tracy Pollan

Yesterday was a birthday for Tracy Pollan (44) who played Alex P. Keaton's first girlfriend, Ellen Reed, and later married Michael J. Fox. I'm always interested to see real-life couples act onscreen. There's something extra in knowing that no matter what their roles are, these two ended up together for real.

From my viewer's perspective, their relationship seems to have the substance that makes marriage work. They've no doubt been tested by Fox's Parkinson's Disease and come out stronger for it.

Incidentally, Pollan's father is financial advisor Stephen Pollan, author of the book, Die Broke.

Poetry Appreciation

While I was away, Nerve Cowboy #17 arrived, featuring my poem, "Cool." The poem was accepted almost a year ago, and since then I've had more poems rejected than accepted. Normal, I suppose. Even so, poems haven't come easy and I'm in the process of reevaluating my motivation, finding my voice--call it what you will.

I considered myself a fiction writer first, virtually abandoning poetry for five years between high school and grad school. It's ironic, then, that my first print credit was a poem. I caught the bug and now I refuse to view poetry as puff or less important than fiction. I want to juggle both deftly.

One advantage I have is the knowledge that I'll keep at it 'til I get it right.

Aloha (On My Return)

I got home (physically into my house) just over an hour ago. Aside from checking my e-mail twice via my brother's T-Mobile Sidekick, I went eleven days without the Net and loved it.

Our vacation was mildly hectic, spending the first two days at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental (featuring a bust of Jack Lord, who apparently frequented the hotel), the next five on Maui, and the last two at the Hawai'i Prince Waikiki--site of my first trip to Hawai'i (native spelling, pronounced properly by Tom Selleck on "Magnum, P.I.") four years ago.

Despite the pace, I enjoyed myself thoroughly, remembering to make the most of each moment (including the plane rides and baggage claim). One highlight of the trip for me was overhearing a local vocalist's cover of Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby." I was standing across from the Cheeseburger in Paradise on Front Street, Maui, and had to sing along.

Alluding to the song "Cheeseburger," while visiting a Maui art gallery, my cousin Gene and I were schmoozed by a salesman who looked like Jimmy Buffett. Of course, a few days later, back in Honolulu, I saw someone who looked like Joe Mantegna at Wolfgang Puck Express.

Another highlight was watching the Pistons thump the Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, a defeat that spelled the end of Phil and (I hope) Shaq and Kobe in L.A. See my story "Forgive Me Not" (right, under Publications) for more.

Speaking of my stories, my one spending splurge was a $21 t-shirt from Crazy Shirts picturing a plane that resembles a Grumman Goose, the favored plane of my character, C.J. Stone. The shirt reads, "Get away from it all on the Tropic Express. Paradise is just a flight away."

The thread running through this entry? Just get me close, and imagination will do the rest.

Aloha

As alluded to in my previous entry, I'm preparing for a vacation in Hawaii, running Thursday, June 10 to Wednesday, June 23. I last went to Hawaii with my brother and several cousins four years ago and had a great time.

In the meantime, I've learned more about how to relax, basically not to look too far into the future or the past.

Keep your concentration here and now where it belongs.

I used to focus on one crucial event at a time, use a tremendous amount of energy preparing to face said event, blurring smaller events around it. And as we all know today's smaller events become next week's big events if we lose track of them completely.

There is some good to be taken from every moment of every day, and part of our minds should be free to recognize it. In recognizing it, we nourish our imaginations, our creativity, that which helps us through life.

Back with tales of my travels...

Just Like Old Times

Took the train to Penn Station yesterday to meet with friends from Font, Hofstra's Literary Magazine. My friend John Ricotta, who is about to become a father for the first time, was trying to decide on a male name that would not subject the child to ridicule. I say that's nigh impossible given kids' imaginative capacity. It's a role of the dice. You hope the kid is good enough to make a name for himself. After all, without the buildup, the names James Bond, Indiana Jones, John Rambo and others wouldn't be cool.

"You were named after the dog?"

Another friend of mine starts summer sessions at the University of Minnesota next week, going for her secondary ed certification and Master's. I hadn't seen her since John's wedding last August, but we chatted as if it had been two weeks. Maybe there's something wrong with this picture; maybe there should have been something more indicative of the passage of time. Over the years I've learned there's no way to be brought completely up to date on friends' lives. Our meeting last night came with John and his wife about to catch interleague baseball games in Boston and Baltimore, my friend Deshant headed to Toronto for a wedding, and me preparing to get away to Maui.

There is some part of the best friends that remains constant; it's that part that friends recognize in each other from the beginning, leading them to become friends.

A French Open Classic

I had lost interest in this year's French Open when Jennifer Capriati lost to Russian Anastasia Myskina (who went on to win the title), but by chance I had the set on with Gaston Gaudio losing to Guillermo Coria (both of Argentina). The unseeded Gaudio was down 0-6, 4-6, looking outmatched and dispirited, when the stadium crowd did the Wave. Both players smiled, and the tension lifted.

From there it was a seesaw match, with Gaudio coming back from match point down to take the fifth set 8-6. Gotta love when a sport encompasses the range of human emotion.

"Makin' Their Way, the Only Way They Know How..."

One of my favorite shows growing up was "The Dukes of Hazzard." The first season was released on DVD this week, and I'm happier'n a pig in mud (and I don't even have the DVD yet). The show was just such good-natured fun, which again leaves me dreading the Dukes movie remake purported to star Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Simpson. No, no, no, no, no...

Ever think of the Dukes parallels with the Star Wars saga?

Luke Duke.................Luke Skywalker
Bo Duke...................Luke's cousin, Bo
Daisy Duke................Princess Leia
Uncle Jesse...............Obi-Wan
Boss Hogg.................Vader
Roscoe....................Boba Fett
Coy and Vance Duke........Clone Soldiers

Turn Back the Clock: Pistons vs. Lakers

With both men in VIP seats, Joe Dumars's Pistons beat Larry Bird's Pacers. As predicted, Detroit now faces L.A., setting off memories of the three classic series between Pat Riley and Chuck Daly. I was a Laker fan then, and but I always respected the Pistons' play-together mentality. Now that two of my favorite NBA people (Dumars, Larry Brown) are on the Pistons, I hope they Beat L.A. Again.