I have been writing a lot lately. As loyal readers may know, I’m working on my screenplay right now. Fortunately, a friend recommended Anatomy of a Story by John Truby. This book synthesizes all of the Joseph Campbell myth structure and the three act story structure to look at what is behind the story in the first place. I have made tremendous progress on my story and see it so much clearer in my mind’s eye now. In the meantime, I give you your Sunday night roundup.
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let’s jump ...
A Sad Day for Writers
Columnist Jimmy Breslin, bard of the New York streets, dies at 88 at WaPo
For an “unlettered bum,” as Mr. Breslin called himself, he left an estimable legacy of published work, including 16 books, seven of them novels, plus two anthologies of his columns.
What set him apart as a writer was the inimitable style of his journalism across the last great decades of ink-on-paper news, in the 1960s for the old New York Herald Tribune and later for the Daily News and the city pages of Long Island-based Newsday, where his final regular column appeared in 2004.
In that pre-Web era, before desk-bound bloggers saturated the opinion market, Mr. Breslin was a familiar archetype — the quintessential sidewalk-pounding, big-city columnist, loved and loathed all over town, a champion of the put-upon and a thorn to the mighty and the swell.
I will let Breslin speak for himself ...
From The “What Just Happened” Files
This week, we say goodbye to Lucky Peach magazine. “Lucky Peach’s death, like the food magazine’s existence, was chaotic, original and unpredictable. No one saw it coming — until they did.” Here’s the truly odd thing, Lucky Peach is the reigning James Beard Award winner for food writing. It’s like winning the Academy Awards for great food and then splitting up over “creative differences”. Commerce always win though, unless fame fucks you up first.
The mysterious demise of Lucky Peach magazine and its uncertain future from WaPo.
The thing is, I don’t understand. I don’t understand how a beloved and pioneering periodical suddenly goes belly up, particularly when the niche magazine industry is holding its own in a rapidly evolving market.
…
“Food journalism before Lucky Peach was mostly homogenous, boring and cliche-riddled, and they came along and spoke in a language that made many say, ‘hell yeah,’ ” wrote [LP writer Kevin] Pang via email.
“Casual observers might think Lucky Peach differentiated itself with brash prose and F-bombs, but it had the sharpest journalistic sensibility. I worked on a story about the state of prison food, where the editing session could be described as ‘death by a thousand cuts,’ but the resulting piece was the proudest story I’ve ever written.”
From the “You Have GOT To Be Kidding Me” Files
Pity poor Tim Allen, who feels like Conservatives in Hollywood are bullied and that it “feels like 1930s Germany”. Allen, who rose to fame through Home Improvement, riding the acting chops of Patricia Richardson, a guy whose face we never saw, and some cute kids has spent this decade as Last Man Standing. I don’t know. Haven’t seen it.
“You gotta be real careful around here,” actor Tim Allen said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” after stuttering through a confession that he attended President Trump’s inauguration. “You get beat up if you don’t believe what everybody else believes. This is like ’30s Germany.”
Yeah, they’re being targeted and outed and their lives are in danger ...
Apparently, though, the conservatives in Hollywood have a gripe ...
In liberal Hollywood, a conservative minority faces backlash in the age of Trump from the Los Angeles Times
For the vast majority of conservatives who work in entertainment, going to set or the office each day has become a game of avoidance and secrecy. The political closet is now a necessity for many in an industry that is among the most liberal in the country.
...
Friends of Abe — the industry’s largest conservative organization — alone counts about 2,500 people on its roster, having started a decade ago with just a handful of individuals led by actor Gary Sinise.
The organization, which keeps the identities of its members secret, holds monthly social events as well as lunches for new members. A new member can only join through a recommendation by an existing member. The group doesn’t endorse candidates, but does hold speaking events with past guests including Trump, Ted Cruz and Glenn Beck.
Fun Reading
THE DELICIOUSLY FISHY CASE OF THE "CODFATHER": New England’s seafood industry is in deep trouble—thanks in no small part to one mogul’s seriously shady business at The Atlantic.
The Codfather also ran afoul of the law. In the 1980s he was sentenced to six months in prison for tax evasion, and in 1994 he was indicted—and acquitted—for price-fixing. In 2011, federal agents confiscated an 881-pound tuna that had been illegally netted aboard his Apollo.
"I am a pirate," he once told regulators. "It's your job to catch me." Law-abiding rivals resented him and grudgingly admired him. "He has no compunction about telling you how he's screwing you," says one ex-fisherman.
So, as I said, I’m working on a screenplay. The story hinges on a chef at a mid point in her career when she loses her boss and mentor and must chart her own course through art, commerce, and fame to find the food that feels the most personal to her. The stumbling block comes from finding the balance between the three at a personal cost she can afford.
I dunno. Sound interesting? If not, go watch Altman ...
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TOP COMMENTS
from your humble diarist:
Unrepentant Liberal shares an important lesson in Walking in black folks' shoes by Denise Oliver Velez on the FP this morning.
EDebbs cuts to the heart of the matter in In first meetings, Rex Tillerson concedes key ground in U.S.-China relations. Did he mean to? by Hunter.
Crashing Vor brings the best [embed] of the day in Irony is Dead by se portland.
TOP MOJO
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the movie I wish I had written ...