— Deadline screaming down the pike. I’ve been immersed in this project for a month now. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s been a marathon not a sprint. It’s going to be hard to “let it go”, once it’s all over with. I’ll share more about the project when it’s further along, and feel comfortable making an announcement. Last night my whole family (mother, brother, two sisters) sat around in our respective states texting one another. All of my siblings have new babies, as I know I have mentioned. So my phone was filling up with cute pictures of babies, my new nieces and nephews. It’s awesome! As a joke, I took a picture of a page of my notebook, filled with writing for this particular project, and sent it to everyone. “And here’s what’s going on with ME.” Someone said, “How many pages do you have, Sheila?” I said, “40. But I need to boil it down. Obviously.” Then Mum said (texted), “It’s like the recipe for maple syrup. 40 gallons of sap to 1 gallon of syrup.” I LOVE that analogy. It’s perfect for the writing process! The end goal is 1 gallon of syrup but you need those 40 gallons of sap to get there. Challenging, when you are surrounded by sap, to believe that all of that will ever become syrup!
— Finished The Flamethrowers: A Novel
— My friend Dan Callahan wrote a beautiful tribute to Mickey Rooney. Speaking of Dan, his biography of Vanessa Redgrave (Vanessa: The Life of Vanessa Redgrave
— Took this photo the other morning, a rainy chill morning on the Hudson River.
I can’t comment on your Mickey Rooney RIP, but I have to say something about him. It’s been donkey’s years since I’ve seen National Velvet, even though I’m horse-mad. But The Black Stallion is my favourite movie (like all favourite movies it is also the most critically underappreciated movie ever — but seriously though it is). Grew up with it playing constantly. Its sounds and images are a part of me. The first time you see him he’s got a beard of shaving cream and he’s pissed. And as many times as I’d seen it I must have been ten when I finally realised that that scary guy with the bright white beard was actually Mickey Rooney. Just, memories of viewing. You know how it is. I love him so much for being a part of that. RIP Mickey.
Black Stallion!! Such a good movie!! Kind of a sequel to National Velvet – you could imagine that the character he played in Black Stallion was that kid all grown up.
I should see it again – that opening sequence on the desert island is just so magnificent, if I recall correctly.
The whole thing is stunning — rain, racetracks, fog, fields, watches, fires; there’s barely any dialogue even when they get off the island, most of it mumbled — but the island scenes are especially striking. And the island scenes are also when Carmine Coppola’s gorgeous and weird score are most prominent. Definitely worth a revisit.
Definitely will watch again!