Lake Travis Film Festival: Our First…

We went to our first film festival this last weekend, the Lake Travis Film Festival. My wife and I had all-day passes to one day of the three-day event hosted by the cities of Lakeway and Bee Caves, which are suburbs of Austin.

We had no idea what we were doing, so we learned a lot about such things.

We saw about 10 films of various forms as we bounced back and forth between three venues that were showing student shorts (they weren’t so good), documentaries (which were very good), and an art gallery with static displays. We skipped the venue showing music video shorts.

One of the beauties of it was being exposed to things I would have never ever gone out to see otherwise. Three that most impressed us (with trailers for the interested):

The Act of Reading — Ostensibly about a quirky young man who decided to complete a book report on Moby Dick for his teacher after she flunked him for not doing it 11 years earlier. Strangely structured, but very engaging.

Motorcycle Man — A polished and emotionally engaging look at an old guy who can’t give up racing — living — motorcycles.

A Cut Above — And from the world of competitive Lumberjills, a clever look inside a sport and culture I’ve never thought about.

Listening to the directors after each documentary, it was fascinating to hear how much they each focused on the story, and the struggle to figure out what the story was they were trying to tell. Sometimes they did not realize what the story was until all the filming was already done. Though there were differences, much it sounded familiar.

Turn out was light, but I hope they have funding for a few more years so they can become better established and grow their attendance as well as draw in strong candidates.

They really need to step up their student entrants. I wanted to see them because though I knew the average quality was going to be worse, I had hoped for that rare gem from an unsung talent on the rise. Unfortunately, that one did not show up in what we saw.

Buckingham Palace, and the Buck Brothers

Buckingham Palace 2019
Buckingham Palace from my Uber 12 Dec, 2019. On my way back to my hotel after a business dinner. About 10:30, 35 degrees, and light rain. No crowds.

As it is for many families, it’s been a busy December. Business trip to Germany and London, then work deadlines and Christmas. Several family members in and out of hospitals. 

The trip to Germany was a mad dash through Heidelberg, Hannover, and Frankfurt, and then a quick trip through London to visit two customers there.

Though my phone’s battery had died and I was not able to take any photos, one of the most remarkable nights was a business dinner in the Heidelberg Castle. We got there late (in the dark and a light rain). In the court yard stood a single, huge Christmas tree, and the castle was dark and deserted. It was gorgeous and it was silent.

In London, my Uber driver took me home after a company dinner, and we spun by Buckingham Palace, so I took a photo with my phone. Again, the scene was deserted. And beautiful.

Back home, and after getting out of work, had some family time, and time to write again. Both have been nice. 🙂
 

Lone buck whitetail deer
One of the two “buck brothers” in our yard, Christmas Day, 2019

The Giant Sequoias are growing…and I’m writing again

It has been a hard couple years for professional and family health reasons, though I’m not going to detail it all here. The good news is that (knock on wood) things may be settling down a bit. 

I’ve started writing again. That is the good news. The bad news is that with 7 different novels in flight I’m all over the place…working on one for one week, and then jumping to another for a week then off to the third and fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh all in random order and for random durations. 

One of my major failings of late is not being able to focus. Needless to say I’ve not been able to stay focused for the last several years for more than a week or two at a time on any one writing project.

As an aside, my first novel — Youth in Asia — continues to sell surprisingly well given that it has been four and a half years since I published it. The novel has sold about 4,200 copies, and I’ve donated well over $2,000 from sales. Frankly, it is embarrassing to admit how long ago I published it. 

On a completely unrelated topic, my attempt at growing Giant Sequoias continues…

The Giant Sequoias

Preparing to transplant Giant Sequoias

Of the thirteen seeds that came in the little kit I bought on Amazon for $7, we have three sprouts. I’m not sure if any more have started but are not yet visible, so I will prep six pots. In addition to what you see above, I added a healthy helping of sand.

As you can see in the photo below, the small tube in front of my computer is where the seeds started. I laid out a sheet of aluminum foil to empty the contents of the tube into so I don’t make a mess or lose any of the seeds.

Where I normally sit to do my editing, I’ve set up a small station to do the transplanting.

We only found three seeds that had germinated, but we did find the other 10 seeds. As you can see below, the sprouts are small and very fragile. We are trying to keep as much of the original dirt around their root as we can.

Giant Sequoias starting small…in a tube I divided into quarters
Tiny Sequoia
Exif_JPEG_420

We got the three sprouts into the pots. The other ten seeds we put on the top of the fourth pot and sprinkled the dirt that they came with over them. I marked each seed with a small white rock. Odds are low that any will grow at this point, but thought we’d give them one more shot.

I started this project on a lark, but now that they are growing I’ve been giving more thought to where to plant them on our property when the time comes. Though they reportedly can grow in central Texas, when full grown (long after I’m dead and gone), they can consume more than 500 gallons of water per day. Though we have a ‘wet weather’ creek behind our home, and I’m assuming the water table is not too far below it, and though I can plant at least one in reach of where our sprinkler covers, I can’t imagine pumping 500 gallons of water at it a day. I’ll let my descendants figure that out if it lasts that long…

IfalGiant Sequoias on the window sill

 

If all goes well, I figure I’ll put them in big pots next summer, probably of the 5-gallon variety. I’ll put those on the deck. Then after the trees are at least six feet tall, move them to the yard.  

Now that is done…on to Thanksgiving and more writing and editing. Hopefully I can focus on one thing at a time. 

Novels and Giant Sequoias…start small

Giant Sequoia
Big Things start small…like these Giant Sequoias

I’ve bought seeds for Giant Sequoias. I was impressed with how very small they are, and of course, how very big they become. Assuming they out last me and grow to maturity, they will still be early in their lives when I’m an enfeebled old man. 

I’ll provide periodic updates on how these progress. I figure they will be in the house for at least a year. If they get off to a good start, I’ll have each of the four in its own pot within a few months. 

At some point, probably in about 18 months, I’ll put them in 2 or 3 gallon pots on the deck. After that, maybe 10 gallon pots on the porch or along the driveway for a few more years. After they get to 10′ or 12′ tall they will proably will be ready to go into the yard. 

We live near Austin, and along a “wet weather” creek.  That is to say of the creek that it runs when it rains, of course, but if the ground is fully staturated, it can run for a a couple months after the rain ends…but it can also be dry for several months in late summer. 

So I’m going to have to be thoughtful about where I plant these on our property. We live on 2/3rds of an acer on a bit of a slope in a rural area with lots of critters, to include deer. So figuring out where to plant them is about both making sure the soil and mositer is right as well as making sure the deer don’t eat them. 

Labrador

 

Of cousre we have something else in the house that is small…but growing. Our latest dog: a Lab that is now up to 28 lbs. This picture makes it look like it is all in his head, but he is really well proportioned and growing fast. He is happy and healthy and energetic. Never had a lab before. They are fearless and smart…dangerous combination. 

As to writing…slowly but surely grinding along…growing…and I’ll leave it athat for now. 

A Famous Actor Stopped by our Porch this Morning…

This morning we spotted this young man on a porch off the end of our driveway…

Bambi hiding between two pots on our porch.

I was also able to get a photo of him from the other side peaking over the wall. 

Bambi peaking at me over a wall between our porch and backyard.

Mother deer will often leave their little ones behind in hiding places while they forage or otherwise carry on with their business. We left him alone (after a few photo ops), and a few hours later when I went to check on him, he was gone. 

So I headed to our mailbox, which is up a hill past a small side yard that is wedged in between three tall hedges, so well hidden and protected. Bambi was there with his mother, and they were both watching me.

I retreated to the house so as not to disturb them, but we watched from the window. Bambi was practicing walking and running, which was a bit of struggle and made us laugh. He did not have full command of his legs just yet.

When we checked on them a few hours later, they were gone. We live on 2/3rds of an acre beside a lake with a number of ravines and forested areas, so hopefully, they have plenty of room to grow and mature safely. There are also a pair of coyotes in the neighborhood, and foxes, and cars, so it is dangerous out there. But it looks like he made it through the first day or two. Let’s hope for the best. 

 

Moon Castle and Black Lights

Moon poster 1970s blacklight
Moon Castle, early 1970s, black light and black felt

I have no idea what made me think of this today, but while I was washing off the patio, for some reason I remembered one of the posters I had as a kid, and with a bit of searching found an image of it online. The copyright may be held by a company called Western Graphics, but they don’t seem to be in business any longer.

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Entering my Writing Workshop

Twenty years ago when they were building the house in which we live — which is on a steep slope — they belatedly decided to add a walk out basement. The only way to add it to the house’s design, though, was to punch a 6-foot square hole through the first floor and put a spiral staircase in. At the bottom of the stairs is a short hallway into a dark room which you pass through to get to the well-lit basement.

We’ve made the dark room you pass through our study, which is where I do much of my writing.

The prior owners added wall sconces to lighten up the descent and chamber. I thought it fitting to swap them out for something that looked a bit more like torches. My family thinks I’m easily amused.

I think I’m just a writer entering my next adventure…

The Writer’s Life: Sunday morning walk near our home

It is too nice to sit inside and stare at a computer. Took the dog for a walk in a greenbelt near our home in Austin. And one of the challenges of the writer’s life is sitting around too much, so figured I’d get a walk in before it gets too hot.

The first novel — Lonely Hunter — in my upcoming Science Fiction novel has a lot of action in rural settings. I have long enjoyed being outside while I was in the military, to include my time as an infantry officer in the Army. So it feels very comfortable to include such settings where it makes sense.

Are First Novels Emotionally Autobiographically?

Sunset, sunrise, life metaphorI remember in a literary theory class once having a discussion about first novels being emotionally autobiographically. The essence of it was that especially first novels tend to reflect writers’ deepest emotions and their emotional journey, though the plot and setting may not resemble their actual lives.

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