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hey, I'm back!

Sorry I've been out of commission for the past week. I decided to complete the screenplay I've been working on for nearly a year. What this means is that I don't read any new books, glance through the newspaper (except the sports section, which Sophie and I check regularly) and I generally don't write anything other than the voices in my head. but, I have finished the first draft and once I proof read it, I will send it off to the manager I have been developing this with for over a year.

I also put off shaving until I turn it in. This is basically my own stupid ritual to keep me motivated. the first week or so, the beard is kind of cool. Julie hates it, but I kind of dig having the whole Serpico thing goin' on for a while. Usually around day 7, I start to itch and the beard drives me crazy. that's when I really light a fire under my rear. Since we're leaving on vacation next week, the beard comes off on Thursday and I send the script whether I'm happy with it or not.

Actually, I'm much happier with the state of this script than I was back in April. Back then I had submitted some 80 pages and told the manager I've been working with to just toss it. I hated what I'd written. I also conjured the balls to tell him I needed to just get the first draft done so I can feel like I've accomplished something in the past year.

Why am I laying this all out for you kind folks? Well, I've come to realize that I have some nice people reading the old "thunderbolt" blog, and I like knowing that you good citizens keep checking in. This is just my way to say "Yo, I haven't, like, lost your phone number or anything. Honest, baby!"

Obviously, the basement songs will pick up again in the next few weeks. I have one almost completed that I'll publish next week. I also want to expand and write some more about movies. Might as well put that film studies degree to some use. Speaking of which, I saw "SiCKO" last week and it was outstanding. Moore once again tapped into the American heartland to come up with a story that is scary and quite tragic. You may be reading these reviews that claim it's Moore's "Funniest movie ever!". I don't know what movie these big name critics were watching, but I wasn't falling out of my seat.

Then again, the whole health care situation and the mess that it's become hits a little too close to home for our family. I will admit to have several tiny panic attacks during the movie as I began to worry about Jake.

I'm also thinking of choosing an album or two to feature in the basement series. What the hey, huh? It's my house, and sometimes, the whole album experience is better than a single song.

So, that's all for this week. I'll be back next week. Then I'll likely be hit and miss while we're out of town. By the end of July, things should be back up and running smoothly.

Thanks again for reading "thunderbolt". I know now that there are more than 10 of you.

Comments

Ted said…
Congrats on finishing the first draft of your screenplay! At least you don't look like that dude in "Knocked Up" with your beard. :-)
Jeff Vrabel said…
Ignoring the Pumpkins record will save you valuable screenwriting time. Congrats on finishing, man - J.

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