Tempus Fugit
By Paul | January 13, 2010
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Spinning the Tens
By Paul | January 2, 2010
And so a new year begins!
2009 was quite a year of huge professional and personal successes for both of us.
We started the year with the challenge of a new pregnancy. Yes, I realize that this would normally be a very happy thing, but for us, with what we had been through in 2008, it was hard to just enjoy it and be excited without that twinge of terror running through every moment of it. We figured that we’d be fine once we passed the time frame at which we lost Rose. To be honest, it wasn’t until she sat there on the table in the delivery room that we finally believed our dream was actually coming true.
Now, Ella just turned 5 months old and couldn’t be more perfect. Her arrival has led to many great things in our lives, both economically (we carry no debt, save our mortgage) and healthwise (I’m down 55 pounds since just shortly before she was born. Time to start setting good examples).
I’d continue on, but it’s taken me forever to get this far, and I’ve likely bared soul enough for tonight.
Happy New Year! I hope it’s good for you and yours!
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5 Hours…
By Paul | December 18, 2009
5 hours until vacation starts. Not that I’m counting or watching the clock or anything like that.
I’m just sayin’…
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2009: Faster than Heck!
By Paul | December 15, 2009
So where did the year go? It seems like it was just summer a few weeks ago. Maybe it’s the delayed winter, maybe it’s the fact that we’ve been so busy adjusting to, and taking care of, Ella. Either way, I can’t believe that 2009 is nearly over.
It’s been a busy year, and a productive one. There are still a few loose ends to be tied up, but all things in their time.
A big part of the year was getting our house, both metaphorically and literally, in order. Big renovations in April and May included replacing nearly all the floors in the house, and building a killer home theatre system.
Prior to that, we had paid down all consumer debt. Now the only thing we owe is the mortgage. People say that you can never be ready for a baby, but we were.
Then, after a long wait, she was here. It feels like it was just yesterday. The only reason I know that it wasn’t is because it got so damned cold all of a sudden. That and she got big. She used to fit in the crook of my arm. Not so now.
Not a bad year at all. Just a little quick. Here’s hoping that 2010 has a little smelling the roses time!
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Casting About
By Paul | October 1, 2009
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Because You Just Never Know
By Paul | September 2, 2009
I’m often nervous about watching something that I liked many years ago. It’s mostly the case with TV shows. Part of that is down to the evolution of TV writing, and the fact that TV shows, especially those of a certain vintage, make more extensive use of pop culture references and thus run the risk of dating quickly. The shelf life of TV shows was often considered to be much shorter before the advent of TV seasons on DVD. Other times, it’s just that standards of writing for television are much higher, generally speaking, than they were in the past.
The Filmation superhero cartoons I loved so much as a child of 9 years old when channel 29, out of Buffalo, they suffer from the other side of the equation. The only thing that makes them good is nostalgia. I’m a big fan of watching things for nostalgia’s sake, but these seriously tested the limits.
So, the other day, I put in the first disc of Season One of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose. This show was the epitome of late 80s/early 90s quirk and was sure to be completely dated, right? Not so much, as it turns out. Maybe part of it was the fact that I went to high school in the late 80s, but either way, it works. It’s quirky as hell, but it’s funny, and that’s the important thing. It’s funny, even without leaving nostalgia in the mix.
So, this becomes the challenge. Creating things that stand on their own, that are good not because of references you make, but in spite of them. It’s a daunting prospect at best, but one worth the taking!
Topics: Blog, Pop Culture, Reviews | 1 Comment »
A Perfect End To A Mostly Good Day
By Paul | August 19, 2009
It doesn’t get much better than this!
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The Fine Art of Surfacing
By Paul | August 6, 2009
Well, it’s been plenty busy around here the past three weeks. We’ve been getting used to life with Ella, and she’s been getting used to, well, life!
Everybody talks about how you just settle into a routine, and I don’t know that any of it has been “routine” at all. We’re very lucky. She’s a very settled baby, insofar as one can call a baby “settled”. Sure she could forego a couple of those afternoon naps and save it all up for the night, but that’s nitpicking.
She’s damn near perfect, and all the people who told us how difficult the first couple of weeks would be were exaggerating to a great degree.
In other news, because there actually is other stuff going on, I’ve been making progress on the spec script, and it’s really serving the purpose of developing the characters, finding their voices, and defining which ones are actually necessary and which ones will be going away.
Tomorrow, I’m off to golf for the first time in nearly 5 years. Good thing it’s a best ball tournament!
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Quick Reviews
By Paul | August 3, 2009
In between feedings, we’ve been watching some DVDs to keep us going. Ella won’t always sleep between feedings, so we’ve watched a few things.
First up:
He’s Just Not That Into You
A bunch of tangentially related stories interwoven to get across the points of the so-called funny self help book. I have to admit, I usually hate it when a non-fiction non-narrative book gets made into a film. The focus always ends up being about the agenda of the book, and never about the story, or worse, the complete watering down of everything so that you don’t even have the agenda anymore, as well as no story. That’s where this one lies. Now you end up with a movie that goes nowhere and is about nothing. Everyone involved in this project should be ashamed of themselves.
The Black Donnellys
When Paul Haggis got all that mad Crash cash, he decided to try his hand at TV again. This show, about an Irish crime family in New York didn’t last too long, which is a shame, because it wasn’t bad. I had a bee in my bonnet about it at the time it was on, because it took over the timeslot of my beloved Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, but watching all 13 episodes, I really enjoyed the structure of the show and the way it always seemed like it could just be the shaggy dog ramblings of a petty crook trying to shift blame around. The look of the show was as dark as a pint of Guinness, and as grimy as the alley behind the bar where they caved that guy’s head in. Yeah, I can understand why it didn’t last, but fans of crime fiction will probably have fun with this show. I know I did.
Now, I’m digging into season one of Mad Men. The kid seems to have worked into tonight’s schedule, so we’ll roll with it!
Topics: Blog, Pop Culture, Reviews | 1 Comment »
It’s a Girl!
By Paul | July 28, 2009
It’s a girl!
Ella Ivey French born 3:31 PM 7.5 lbs and perfect!
Mom and daughter doing well!
Topics: Blog, Daily Life | 5 Comments »