--I THINK I LIKE TALKING TO YOU TOO MUCH

…I got some great news.  The other day someone from the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference called to tell me a story I’d written is a finalist in the short story competition.  Out of over 1,000 entries, there are 8 finalists.  The winner is announced at a ceremony during the conference next month here in Seattle.  You don’t get any money, but there is a dinner with a number of agents with the ability to make some important connections. 

So that made me happy.
The story is one I wrote specifically for the contest.  It’s not as dark as my usual stuff and even, I think so anyway, humorous in many places.
We’ll see what happens.  Keep your fingers crossed or me, okay?

...I went to see “Moonrise Kingdom,” the new film by Wes Anderson who also did “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Bottle Rocket,” “The Royal Tenenbaums” and others.

You should really see “Moonrise Kingdom.”  The title is odd and a little misleading, but the movie is wonderful.  It’s quirky and imaginative, funny, poignant, surprising with wonderful cinematography and spectacular acting.  Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand are in it, but really the two child actors steal the show.
I laughed and smiled the whole way through and even went, “Ahhh,” a few times.
You will, too.
That photo about is Suzie from the movie.

...Here are a couple of things I like today:

"I really think that if there's any one enemy to human creativity, especially creative writing, it's self-consciousness." Andre Dubus III

"If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can transform one million realities." Maya Angelou

Interviewer: "Which is more important: the ideas or the prose?

Kerouac: "Ideas are a dime a dozen."

"The truth is nobody gets over anything."  Martin Amis