Thunderbolt

This morning Jacob and I are running the Santa Clarita 5K race together. Right now, he's nervous about getting separated from me (which I'll never let happen) and not beging able o finish. I have complete faith in him. It's only 3.1 miles. However, it is currently 45 degrees and drizzling outside. That's what I'm worried about. Going to be a cold one, my friends. UPDATE- 3:42PM To say that the run was miserable would be a understatement, but we labored through it and I'm so proud of Jake for completing the race. Sometimes it isn't about running the fastest or posting your personal record; sometimes it's just about getting across the finish line and saying "I did it." That's what today was all about and we have the medals to prove it.

Images and scenes of sick or dying children have invaded my dreams. I don't remember most of what goes on in my head when I'm sleeping, but the past couple of weeks have contained some sad, but uplifting moments that obviously tie to my fears for my son and his health. This morning, my dream began with me losing control of my bladder and having to take refuge in a disgusting, two stall shopping mall bathroom to wait for someone to bring me a fresh pair of clothes. While I wait, the miracle of dreaming dries my shorts and shoes and I decide to leave. However, I run into Julie, carrying some jeans and a T-shirt, and she insists that I go back and change. I return to the crappy bathroom and now it's got a line nearly going out the door. Among the people waiting is a teenage boy, maybe 15, confined to a wheelchair. his leg is in a brace and his head appears to be the only normal sized portion of his body. The rest of him is withered and sickly, barely there. The boy- a blond, c...

Finally got a chance to see MONEYBALL tonight and it was an excellent film. Although it was not as emotionally compelling as I'd hoped, I still found the movie inspiring and Brad Pitt's work exceptional. I sometimes forget how good he can be. I guess when you have so many children to feed, you have to make some glossy Hollywood movies to pay the bills. This leaves room to make dream projects like MONEYBALL. There was a moment in the film when the story flashed back to Beane, at that time a washed up major league ballplayer, making the decision to become a baseball scout. "I'm not a ballplayer," he says, much to the amazement of some off screen person (I assume his agent). There are many times that I think about the move out here and the dreams I've pursued and where I now and I think, "I'm not a ball player." But, I did make a movie, which most people can not say, and I've been in the lives of my children since the day they were born instead ...

My writing partner, Jeff Marsick, is once again at the New York Comic Con and this year he has set up a wonderful looking display for our comic book, Wendover . As we continue work on completing issue #2, Jeff is selling copies of issue #1. Here is a picture of the display. The artwork for it was taken from the comic by, drawn by Jonathan Burkhardt, and finessed by my close friend, Villamor Cruz. Vill has kind of been the 4th man in the Wendover project. He also directed and edited the Wendover motion comic for issue 1, which will be online by Christmas. For those of you keeping track, Vill also photographed and edited King's Highway. Anyone who's interested in purchasing a copy of issue 1 (if you don't happen to be in New York) can do so by going to our website or by contacting yours truly! http://www.wendoverproject.com/

Thought I'd mention that the little movie I wrote and directed 10 years ago(!!) is close to 12,000 views on Netflix. Obviously not as many as many, many other films. But considering we've only had i up on Netflix since May and King's Highway is a microbudget movie, I'm pretty proud of the fact. Once we reach 12,000, maybe I'll have a contest and giveaway some copies of the movie.

Each time I stop by Facebook or happen to check in with my Link'd In (or however the hell it's spelled) page, I feel like the world is passing me by. Where do people get the time to continuously update their status and inform the world about their lives? I used to do that with thunderbolt and the time got away from me. I like the idea of Facebook and other social networks as a place for people to stay in touch. But damn, it's so much more than that and I constantly eel like I'm not doing enough. And Twitter, too? Son of bitch! It's too much. If I could just figure out a way to link everything from this site, my life would be so simple.

Steve Jobs died today. The man was, perhaps, the greatest innovator of my generation. Although I'm writing on a PC at this very moment, I would give anything to be using a Macintosh, instead. The first computer I ever wroekd on was a Mac. My college roommate, Dan, owned a Mac and he was the luckiest man we all knew. This was the early 90's, when everyone owning a personal computer was the stuff of science fiction writing. In the basement of the blue house, people would come over and type their research papers on Dan's Mac and then print out the documents on his dot matrix printer. It was the coolest fucking machine in the world. True story: I once put off writing a paper for an English/film class until the very last minute and couldn't find the energy or will power to spew out my amateurish opinions. I never completed it! The next morning, when it was due, I approached the professor and explained to her that I'd been writing my paper on my roommate's computer an...

Easter weekend and it still isn't getting any easier with our issues of breather anxiety. There has been so much resistance and anger recently. Julie takes the brunt of it, which I'm sure accounts for the tension she's feeling in her neck and shoulders. I've tried reasoning and keeping my anger in check. I hate when she gets yelled at. But what is J to do? He's nine. He's acting out and voicing his feelings in the only way he knows how to. Afterward he feels so guilty and there are so many tears. Lost a of tears, lately. I feel the tension, too. Last night I felt like I'd been hit by a f'n truck and was ready for bed by 10:30. Maybe I'm just getting old. Still, it's been a long time since I've gone to bed before 12:00 on a Saturday night when I didn't have a run the next morning. We went to church this morning and I felt a sense of relief during the service. I can't say that I'm a religious man, but I am spiritual and this morning...

I've had a difficult time writing these past few weeks. It seems that every time I click on Facebook or check out one of hte posts my colleagues have written for Popdose I find myself sinking. So much of what I read sounds so much more interesting that what I have to say. All of these friends of mine on Facebook. I check in on their little blurbs of life and feel like I have nothing to contribute. It doesn't help that my body is fighting me and I can't get up and run in the morning. Without that extra jolt of adrenaline in the a.m., I feel thinks slipping away into a haze. I'm working on it, thought. I just have to push through this malaise. I've been in this situation before and it became a very dark time in my life. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.

So far its been a pretty good week in Malchusville. First of, an interview I did with the BBC has gone live on their website for a week. The link is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ programmes/b008mj7p Last winter, after I wrote a Basement Songs column for Popdose about Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring , (the link: http://popdose.com/basement-songs-aaron-copland-appalachian-spring/) I was contacted by Rosie Burton, a producer for BBC Radio, who was doing a piece on the tune, "Simple Gifts." Having read my column, she asked for my participation in her project and in January I was interviewed. I don't know how I wound up on a program featuring Woody Guthrie's daughter reflecting on how her parents met, but it was quite an honor. I hope people check it out. I listened to it this afternoon and I thought I sounded awkward and stilted. You be the judge. Other news down the pipeline is that Wendover, the comic I co-wrote with Jeff Marsick (the link: http://www.wendoverproj...

It wasn't my intention to watch the last two Best Pictures within a span of three days, but it happened. The King's Speech , which I saw on Saturday night, is a superb film that has two wonderful messages of perseverance and hope. Colin Firth well deserved his awards. Geoffrey Rush was also deserving of his accolades. His role was less flashy, but it was essential to the film and essentially a second lead part. Unfortunately, awards this time of year are rarely handed out to performances that are just good acting. There has to be flash or starvation or wigs and heavy makeup. I like Rush and shouldn't complain, though. Would he have even been in this role if he hadn't won his own Academy Award? And what did he win the award for? Well, for playing a mentally ill piano player which was all... flash. I haven't seen The Social Network, so I can't be a judge as to which film is the "best" picture. But I've reached a point that I don't care. Any mov...

Hello again, It’s that time of the year when we once again reach out to our friends and family to help support us in our quest to find an end to cystic fibrosis. Each year, our family walks in Great Strides, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s 5K Walk-A Thon, in support of our son, Jacob, now nine-years-old, and all people who suffer from this life threatening illness. As you may know, Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. It also obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. Because of the illness Jacob, must sit through at least two daily breathing treatments and take an assortment of oral medications, including enzyme pills with each meal. We’...

It's been quite some time since I've written a blog entry here at thunderbolt, I fear that I've questioned what worth I have in adding my voice to the blogosphere. Anything I wanted to get out of me usually wound up in the Basement Songs posts over at Popdose, so what else could I really say? Today I have wonderful news I want to share. This week the Cf Foundation made a reamrkable announcement that has spiked the hope of every CF parent. I'd rather give you a link to the NY Times article than to try and explain it myself. So here it is: http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/vertex-says-cystic-fibrosis-drug-helped-patients-breathe-easier/ Pretty exciting! Another reason I haven't written much has been my efforts to get my first novel complete. After two years of writing, though, I sent it off to NY in hopes that it will get read by a publishing company and stir up some interest in my skills as writer. With the manuscript out in the world, it seems like ...