Day - 1247
Friday, July 24, 2020
I sort of went off on Rep. Yoho on my Facebook page today. I don't like guys like these who say something stupid and don't own up to it.
Hey fellow white male Yoho...you are blowing this moment, buddy. Your body language, tone of voice, desire to deflect to policy and indecisive narrative on what actually happened simply exposes you as not credible. Instead of owning up, you're doubling down on your own inability to accept responsibility. Identity politics? Dude, you're a white male. That comes with a boatload of privileges and entitlements from day 1 till the day you die. And you know it. I know it. And yet, you can't apologize and own your words expressed in the heat of the moment to a female colleague? Way to pour more gasoline on what can only be described as a stubborn refusal to come to terms with your own actions and your own character. I have very little patience with white guys like Yoho.
It is not honorable. It is not courageous. It is not admirable. It is, quite simply, cowardly. I expect so much more from white males in power. This interview was embarrassing to me. His PR person should be fired and replaced immediately, though it might be too late. Thanks for the teachable moment, Yoho. If any other white guys are called out for something like this, here's what you do: 1) own it; 2) apologize for it; 3) be sincere about your apology; 4) try not to do it again; 5) move on with your life, knowing you're flawed like everyone else, knowing you make mistakes, but also knowing you've got the guts and courage to accept responsibility for your flaws and mistakes. That's all that was required here. Instead, Yoho is going down an ugly road of shame and denial. Have fun, Yoho. You brought this on yourself, man.
Watched The Lion King outside with Richard, Lisa and a few neighbors. Didn't go to bed until past midnight.
Day - 1253
Saturday, July 18, 2020
In SF by 8. We went to Lowe's for fertilizer and Costco to return a few things and by supplies for Alice's parents. We came back by 10:45 and had toasted open-face tuna and cheese sandwiches with sliced tomato. The rest of the day we hung out in the back yard, taking care of a few things and relaxing. We got the new Eero wifi system that blankets the house with wifi. It works well. For dinner we had chicken tikki masala cooked in our big skillet and ate in the back yard. So nice. For dessert, I made cowboy cookies. Alice took four big ones and dropped them off at Amy's house. I talked to mom for a few minutes. She's in Show Low now for a few months. I caught up on the news, then went to bed around 10.
Day - 1254
Friday, July 17, 2020
One last round of edits with Chris in the morning and Grandudes is officially done, barring proofing edits, etc. Moving on to the next project!
Day - 1255
Thursday, July 16, 2020
Zoomed with Chris and Fred for two hours to hear Fred's notes on Grandudes. Such a great list of edits. We wrote them all down and will put them into the script tomorrow. It's so nice to have this project behind us. I love it! Great script and so many fun lines and scenes. I'm really happy with it. It's been a full month of work.
Zoomed with the Petty family immediately after our talk with Fred. I have a few family members who support Trump and believe Covid-19 has been hyped up too much and isn't as big a threat as the media has made it out to be. I believe one of my family members called Covid-19 the biggest frauds in history. I asked where the evidence is to support his conclusions? Maybe he'll send a link or two. I won't hold my breath. Was the 1918 influenza pandemic a hoax, too? The things people say when the world has turned upside down. I get it, things are falling apart and the future is uncertain, but let's not jump on the propaganda bandwagon and spread misinformation masquarading as evidence and facts. Another famiy member said everyone's entitled to their own opinion and you can't prove who's right and who's wrong. Yeah, wrong. Actually, you can. It's called critical thinking and the scientific method, running experiments to see what works and what doesn't, like wearing masks, social distancing and not interacting with people while the virus is circulating. We had five months of data to study and various strategies that have been used by countries and states. From all that data, we can come to some informed decisions. Try explaining that, though, to folks after their third glass of wine. In one ear, out the other. I'll be ready next with a few more facts and figures at the ready if I hear more nonsense from the arm-chair Trump supporters. The heat's increasing and I welcome it.
Day - 1258
Monday, July 13, 2020
Chris and I continued our fine edit of Grandudes. Work was slow in the morning, so we were able to cover another 40 pages. We included a new character, Sophie, on the golf team, replacing Pete Putty, just to mix things up. We stopped at 1. The rest of the afternoon was busy until 5.
After work, I took a long nap before dinner and didn't wake up until 6:30. Alice wanted to pick up some rubbing cream from Jay for her mom, so we went out around 8:30 and stopped at Safeway for some turnovers for Jay in exchange for his homeopathic medicine. We were home by 9:30 and I soon went to bed.
Chris and I continued our fine edit of Grandudes. Work was slow in the morning, so we were able to cover another 40 pages. We included a new character, Sophie, on the golf team, replacing Pete Putty, just to mix things up. We stopped at 1. The rest of the afternoon was busy until 5.
After work, I took a long nap before dinner and didn't wake up until 6:30. Alice wanted to pick up some rubbing cream from Jay for her mom, so we went out around 8:30 and stopped at Safeway for some turnovers for Jay in exchange for his homeopathic medicine. We were home by 9:30 and I soon went to bed.
Day - 1259
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Another day of edits with Chris. We went line-by-line for four hours, covering the first 15 pages and final later 20 pages. We'll continue tomorrow. We need to shave off a good five-eight pages or so.
Spent a couple of hours outside in the back yard. The weather was so nice.
Another day of edits with Chris. We went line-by-line for four hours, covering the first 15 pages and final later 20 pages. We'll continue tomorrow. We need to shave off a good five-eight pages or so.
Spent a couple of hours outside in the back yard. The weather was so nice.
Day - 1260
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Up at 6, off to Costco for gas at 8, then in the city by 9. We visited Michael in Napa today. We had a wonderful lunch in his back yard. Hot, about 90 degrees, but also very pleasant in the shade. Home by 4:30. I took a two-hour nap, then revised Grandudes for tomorrow's final draft session with Chris. Stayed up until 11, then off to bed.
Up at 6, off to Costco for gas at 8, then in the city by 9. We visited Michael in Napa today. We had a wonderful lunch in his back yard. Hot, about 90 degrees, but also very pleasant in the shade. Home by 4:30. I took a two-hour nap, then revised Grandudes for tomorrow's final draft session with Chris. Stayed up until 11, then off to bed.
Day - 1262
Thursday, July 9, 2020
Updated our outline for Grandudes and will study where to cut, edit, tighten.
Watched The Goodbye Girl on YouTube. This is one of my favorite films.
Updated our outline for Grandudes and will study where to cut, edit, tighten.
Watched The Goodbye Girl on YouTube. This is one of my favorite films.
Day - 1263
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
On the phone with Microsoft for more than an hour, dealing with the keyboard cover that came with the Surface Pro 6. It hasn't worked all week, so I'm returning it for a replacement. Luckily, our warranty is still valid for another few weeks.
Trying out new screenwriting software. Writer Duet seems good. Still learning it.
Tech meetings at work. We're putting together training sessions on Word documents for IT to identify types of docs (PDF exports, docs created outside the firm, and internal firm docs).
Today flew by. Lots of work and little time for reading and writing.
On the phone with Microsoft for more than an hour, dealing with the keyboard cover that came with the Surface Pro 6. It hasn't worked all week, so I'm returning it for a replacement. Luckily, our warranty is still valid for another few weeks.
Trying out new screenwriting software. Writer Duet seems good. Still learning it.
Tech meetings at work. We're putting together training sessions on Word documents for IT to identify types of docs (PDF exports, docs created outside the firm, and internal firm docs).
Today flew by. Lots of work and little time for reading and writing.
Day - 1264
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
A few long jobs at work today. I'm reviewing Grandudes script and checking out a few online screenwriting services. Final Draft is expensive and won't allow us to PDF anything unless we buy the product. That's not cool. There are about 10 screenwriting programs out there.
With Sophie's great edits, I wouldn't mind hiring her to read all my manuscripts to get her take on things. She's such a bright, amazing talent.
Talked with Nicole today, who's still experiencing morning sickness.
A few long jobs at work today. I'm reviewing Grandudes script and checking out a few online screenwriting services. Final Draft is expensive and won't allow us to PDF anything unless we buy the product. That's not cool. There are about 10 screenwriting programs out there.
With Sophie's great edits, I wouldn't mind hiring her to read all my manuscripts to get her take on things. She's such a bright, amazing talent.
Talked with Nicole today, who's still experiencing morning sickness.
Day - 1265
Monday, July 6, 2020
Wow, what a busy day today, juggling work, meetings, phone calls, and Zoom meetings. The most important meeting of the day was of course my and Chris's Zoom meeting with Fred. We Zoomed at 1 and went over his comments and edits of Grandudes. He didn't have much, aside from a few typos and a few scene suggestions. He loves the script and has 12 contacts he's ready to send it to. We'll go through one final draft before sending to Fred to send to his contacts. How exciting to at least have the script land in readers' hands. It's commercial and has a few laughs so who knows. Big crap shoot but anything's possible. Fred suggested removing the hockey scenes with the football scenes we had earlier. We're transferring the text from Word to a screenwriting program called WriterDuet. I'm playing around with the software now. I like it.
I also spoke with Sophie Young, who read through Grandudes and gave me so many fantastic comments and suggestions. She has a wonderful ear for language and really knows how kids talk these days. I'll incorporate many of her suggestions into the script.
Chris and I will go through the script again this Sunday.
Work was demanding today. I'm hoping things will quiet down tomorrow. Busy times.
Day - 1266in
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Alice has a week to herself starting today, no Austin, no me, just a week of solitude and doing her thing, which she needs, just like me. I came home around 10 a.m. and started planning for the week and cleaning a little bit. We have our meeting with Fred tomorrow and will need revise Grandudes one more time.
Book club was today and we talked about Capital in the 21st Century. This is an important book. It's surprisingly readable and full of detail. I watched the documentary Capital, and though the film is a bit different from the book, it touches upon the primary theme of the disparity of income and wealth inequal in the country. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and according to the data out there, that's not good for society.
The book is 700 pages and apparently there's a followup that's 1100 pages. Wow.
Alice has a week to herself starting today, no Austin, no me, just a week of solitude and doing her thing, which she needs, just like me. I came home around 10 a.m. and started planning for the week and cleaning a little bit. We have our meeting with Fred tomorrow and will need revise Grandudes one more time.
Book club was today and we talked about Capital in the 21st Century. This is an important book. It's surprisingly readable and full of detail. I watched the documentary Capital, and though the film is a bit different from the book, it touches upon the primary theme of the disparity of income and wealth inequal in the country. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and according to the data out there, that's not good for society.
The book is 700 pages and apparently there's a followup that's 1100 pages. Wow.
Day - 1268
Friday, July 3, 2020
Set up our meeting with Fred for Monday at 1 on Zoom. It will be exciting to discuss Grandudes with him. Working with Fred is a treat! Thrilling.
Had coffee with Richard and Sophie at Peets, then chatted with Lisa, Richard and Margaret about the news of the day. So much fun chatting with them.
Came home and played bridge in Alice's place for three hours from 1-4. Enjoyable, though I am rusty, having last played bridge a month ago.
At 8, I headed over to the park in front of Richard and Lisa's to watch an outdoor viewing of Hamilton, streaming on the Disney channel. This was a 2016 performance with the original cast. Wonderful! Richard set up a large screen with a projector and good sound. We loved it. Watching the second time was even better.
Came home at 12:45 and went right to bed.
Set up our meeting with Fred for Monday at 1 on Zoom. It will be exciting to discuss Grandudes with him. Working with Fred is a treat! Thrilling.
Had coffee with Richard and Sophie at Peets, then chatted with Lisa, Richard and Margaret about the news of the day. So much fun chatting with them.
Came home and played bridge in Alice's place for three hours from 1-4. Enjoyable, though I am rusty, having last played bridge a month ago.
At 8, I headed over to the park in front of Richard and Lisa's to watch an outdoor viewing of Hamilton, streaming on the Disney channel. This was a 2016 performance with the original cast. Wonderful! Richard set up a large screen with a projector and good sound. We loved it. Watching the second time was even better.
Came home at 12:45 and went right to bed.
Day - 1269
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Not as slow at work as I would have liked.
We heard back from Fred today and will meet sometime next week on Zoom to discuss his thoughts and suggestions. Fred has many connections in the industry and is putting together a list to send the script and seek advice. Fred wants to play John and he'd actually be excellent in the role. He used to play along side Brian Taylor on a Canadian program called Jake and the Kid back in the 90s. He thought Brian would make a great Bert.
One thing Chris and I will need to do is place Grandudes into one of the screenplay software programs like Final Draft. The font in Word is not the correct Courier font, only Courier New.
Aside from script stuff, I responded to a message from my cousin Lisa on Facebook. She sent me a video by Candace Owens, who I've really really listened to before. I listened, then responded.
Here's what I said to my cousin Lisa:
Not as slow at work as I would have liked.
We heard back from Fred today and will meet sometime next week on Zoom to discuss his thoughts and suggestions. Fred has many connections in the industry and is putting together a list to send the script and seek advice. Fred wants to play John and he'd actually be excellent in the role. He used to play along side Brian Taylor on a Canadian program called Jake and the Kid back in the 90s. He thought Brian would make a great Bert.
One thing Chris and I will need to do is place Grandudes into one of the screenplay software programs like Final Draft. The font in Word is not the correct Courier font, only Courier New.
Aside from script stuff, I responded to a message from my cousin Lisa on Facebook. She sent me a video by Candace Owens, who I've really really listened to before. I listened, then responded.
Here's what I said to my cousin Lisa:
Well that was quite a month, June 2020. I'll reflect upon the past 30 days for the
rest of my life. I may need all of July
just to process all the news, reactions, protests, outrage, conversations and
newfound commitments that played out, both in my own life and around the
country. I'm still listening to all
perspectives and taking everything in, but every now and then I will articulate
my perspective as an American white male.
I don't speak for American white males, only as an American white
male. There's a difference. But because my life experience is as a white
male, I find myself compelled to push against my fellow white males from time
to time. I want to challenge my fellow
white males to become better white males, starting first with listening. White males, by and large, and not good
listeners. In fact, we're often the
worst listeners you'll ever find on the planet.
I know this because I'm often a horrible listener. I'm trying to become a better listener, and
oftentimes I succeed, but there are also days when I'm just really bad at
listening and really good at talking.
Oh, white males are great talkers.
OMG, white males can talk. We
know things, we have answers, and the best part of all is we're rarely if ever
called out for anything when we're talking out of sheer ignorance or
stupidity. Just look at Trump, the
greatest example of white male talking without consequence in modern American
history. I challenge my fellow white
males to do this one thing for the month of July. Listen.
Just listen. Listen to your
friends of color without debate, judgment or rebuttal. Listen and acknowledge what you've heard, but
don't talk. Don't add your two
cents. For one month. Give it a try and see if you can do it. White males are not trained to do this, which
is too bad, because conversations about race, racism, white privilege, white
entitlement, white arrogance and white supremacy demand good listening skills
from my fellow white males. They demand
it.
One last thing about Black Lives Matter: for my fellow white males who love to respond
with "All Lives Matter," you're missing the point. You're not getting it. "Black Lives Matter" is a phrase
that draws attention to the feelings and realities in America that "Black
Lives Don't Matter". They mean the
same thing. That's how the movement came
about in the first place. It's an
example of the beauty and power of language.
"Black Lives Matter" and "Black Lives Don't Matter"
are linguistic twins, and yet, there is a certain poetic majesty that comes
from dropping the "Don't".
Nearly every person of color gets this.
Some white males get this. Many
white males are not getting this. The
entire history of America is inundated with examples of "Black Lives Don't
Matter," so we now have a movement to confront this, called "Black
Lives Matter." Make sense, white
males?
Okay, I said my piece for the moment. Back to listening...
We had our regular Thursday night Petty Zoom chat for an hour. It was fine but a little boring tonight. After that, it was off to bed.
Day - 1272
Monday, June 29, 2020
Spent the day reading through our draft of Grandudes, looking for errors, cleaning up the formatting. Looks good. I'll send tomorrow morning.
Spent the day reading through our draft of Grandudes, looking for errors, cleaning up the formatting. Looks good. I'll send tomorrow morning.
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