impromptu / veer

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A call from a great friend lent a much-needed comfort to my present consternations; thanks JL.

Following a rousing moment of creative inspiration / result of perspiration at the conclusion of the workday with MainFictionThing, I was greeted this morning with a brick wall. Veered off into AnotherFictionThing for awhile. Benefit of having multiple things going at once.

(Question remains with Another: where do I start? (At the beginning, wherever that is...))

Also considering a new little weekend challenge for myself on non-newsletter weekends like this one though it won't start for two weeks. Recording here so I don't forget which I probably will do anyhow.

DD + Cousin Larry

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Chilly though yet to be cold enough for the heat to kick on with any consistency in The Paintshop (I've taken to calling The Sanctum The Paintshop; it is thus rechristened) but I remain most appreciative that it's there (and looks good) and certain that it will help when come the days in which today's lows are the day's highs.

SHE-HULK finale fantastic (though I did hope for one last WongerSynn appearance) – especially Daredevil interacting with Cousin Larry (those who grew up with late 80s/early 90s, +/-, TGIF will know what I'm talking about) at a family BBQ.

Took a bit of getting used to (and it’s not without some weird iPadOS behavior), but I'm digging Obsidian 1.0: my brain is happy and tactile.

paintshop shambles

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Waiting on the heat people to come and extend ductwork so I have heat from the furnace back there for the first time in the howeverlong I’ve been working in this space. Anticipating manic dogchildren.

ComicsThing scene being is a total shit and I can't figure out why. Don't know characters? Not needed? Usually it's one of those two but this feels like something else: a hybrid? (Responsible for my writing this instead of hammering it out? Or is this indicative of the utility of these writings? Yes, no, maybe.)

Today I will vanquish you, Waterblight Ganon, you and your accursed ice blocks. That I can't use my runes on my little Link-iPad while swimming is a source of much consternation.

shake / rattle

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Efforts to "shake things up," as my therapist once advised, continue: little variations to the daily routine (Kirby off the leash instead of on in our morning trek into the out of doors for waking pissnshit, for example); bigger changes in the mindmapping pro/con etc etc stage (script drafted). Weary of feeling like a perpetual aspirant in this, my own little GROUNDHOG DAY loop minus Andie MacDowell or any other even moderately defined exit (most likely to another loop).

ruminative plate juggling, ctd

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Yes I know it's plate spinning. I prefer juggling.

Asking myself: if I weren't doing this what would I be doing?

Far from cut and dry because I know that even if I weren't doing "this" I'd still be writing: it's such a part of me at this point - as one friend somewhat dismissively said of me, I always have something creative going on - whether I'm any good or not, that it would be akin to stopping breathing – or at least holding my breath.

But maybe the "this" is the caring about the gaining ideas, about the things outside of my control, a perpetual, plaguing "this," wrangling the cats, etc etc. Weary weary.

(Common theme over course of life, of career.)

All of that, of the "this," however, has too become like breathing – more of an asthma, a chronic condition. Definitely want to retire from that part – but it'll take some doing. Any / all effort(s) – whatever form it/they may take: right now, considering moving second workchunk into the afternoon so I don't have such a long period of not actively doing The Work but my internal clock / habit seems to resist any shifting of worktime – towards "fuck it, write" will be worthwhile.

Oh, speaking of: Juggling continues. Think it will work - in spite of a morning spent staring (and ruminating).

narrative plate juggling, in theory

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Decided that the only way I'm going to get everything done that I want to get done is to work both MainFictionThing and ComicsThing daily, creating a chain across the daily workblocks. Hopefully the variety and interplay will help with both; that one is in my glitchy prose and the other a communicative script for someone else SHOULD, in theory at least, prevent too many unwelcome narrative similarities. In theory.

WEREWOLF OF LONDON (1935) test make-up

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At left, the first, unused test of Jack Pierce's werewolf makeup for WEREWOLF OF LONDON; at right, the final version (teeth definitely appear to be the same). According to the excellent UNIVERSAL HORRORS: THE STUDIO'S CLASSIC FILMS, 1931-1946, by Tom Weaver (no relation, at least that I’m aware of) and Michael and John Brunas:

"Rumor has it that Hull protested about the prolonged application sessions, so a more modified look was created. Cortland Hull put the lie to this story: 'Henry said his point was not vanity, but how the script was written... Valerie Hobson and Lester Matthews were to have recognized the werewolf as being Glendon... Jack Pierce's original design would have made this recognition impossible.'"

(The book then goes on to describe some rather delicious drama between Hull and Pierce involving pulling rank and werewolf life-casts. Do check out the book - fantastic stuff.)

Controversial opinion: while WEREWOLF OF LONDON is a lesser film than THE WOLF MAN and Glendon less endearing (to a fault) than Chaney's Larry Talbot, I far prefer Pierce's (well and truly resisted) Hull-werewolf makeup to his classic Chaney-werewolf 'do. There's something about it that I find far more haunting: perhaps it's how recognizable Glendon is inside the wolf. Makes the story that much more tragic?