Tuesday 3/28/23
A newsworthy story in today's world would be if the person most qualified for something actually got it.
I went through "There Is No Young and There Is No Old" several times. There were a few changes, but none that anyone else would notice. A couple words. A comma. A modifier. This is the story that will close The Solution to the World's Problems: Surprising Tales of Relentless Joy. I have the cover idea. It will play off the idea of the Present Forest (which someone told me they tried to recreate in real life) in "Best Present Ever." The back of the child in shadow, the light from the glowing box in the background. But it will be a sort of cut-in of a cover. I don't want an overtly Christmas-type image. A cut-in, close-up. So that the viewer is in the shot, rather than beholding the shot at distance. The rendering should be like something one could find in a children's book, a story book. It should not be primarily "adult." Books that have an "adult" cover preclude children. Books that have a cover that appeals to children--because they recognize that it is for them--don't preclude adults. It is age neutral--age open.
Wrote an 800 word op-ed on Sergei Rachmaninoff and his Symphonic Dances.
Finished the piece on Paul Whiteman and his 1920 recording, "Whispering." I had written a piece in 2020, tied to the recording being named to the Library of Congress's historical registry. I was unable to use it. I took the old piece and made it over so that it wasn't pegged to the news item, so that I can sell it on its own now, and also include it in a book. 3200 words.
I wrote a story called "Laws Vary," which is told by a police officer about a dubious Google search.
Here's tonight's interview from Downtown with Rich Kimball, which was mostly about John Lennon's guitar playing in the Beatles. Near the end, they played the last part of the long medley from Abbey Road, so I could walk listeners through who was playing what with the nine guitar solos.
I was very impressed with the Bruins this weekend, particularly with that second game in Carolina. But: with Bergeron, Marchand, and Lindholm out of the line-up, it should be noted--though I am the only person in the world who is aware of this, apparently--that Charlie McAvoy played two less minutes than the Bruins' top ice-time getter (Dmitry Orlov, a third pairing d-man). I'm telling you, this organization does not think McAvoy is as good as people say he is. They think he's good. But they don't think he's great. Lindholm is their best defenseman. Certainly this year. He's the Norris contender. He will not win the Norris. But he could be a second team postseason All-Star.
I began an op-ed on Francoise Gilot, Picasso, and blackballing. Ran 3000 stairs and did 100 push-ups both today and yesterday. Did 200 push-ups and walked ten miles on Sunday. Also went to the MFA. Ran 5000 stairs and did 100 push-ups Saturday. Sunday marked 2450 days, or 350 weeks, without a drink. I finished the second season of The Wind in the Willows, and read Samuel Watkins' Company Aytch, a memoir of his time serving as a private for the South in the Civil War. A fine book. This man could write.
