Well here we are, barely into 2020 (I mean, we only just turned the clocks forward, for crying out loud!) and we have a pandemic to deal with. Just lovely.
Cheddar Broccoli Salad. Photo from the original recipe I clipped from Taste of Home magazine, long before I replaced that subscription with internet and Pinterest.
In order to 'flatten the curve' on the progress of the Covid-19 virus, the powers that be are encouraging those of us who can, who are not essential or emergency workers, to 'self-isolate'. We introverts call this 'a regular day'.
While we're holed up waiting for the all-clear, seems like lots of folks are dusting off the to-do lists. Closets are getting cleaned (along with everything else). Gardens are getting tended. And at our house, old recipes are getting culled.
In fact, I foresee home cooking making a powerful comeback after this virus thing winds down. Even for people like me, who aren't exactly in love with spending time in the kitchen. When your favorite restaurants have shut down, and you're too spooked by watching Contagion and Outbreak to hit up the curbside or drive-through, your only option is cooking for yourself.
I should clarify that I use the term 'cooking' lightly. It's more of an assembly project. Throw a bunch of stuff together, maybe heat it; call it a day.
So i thought I would share this recipe with you in case you are also looking for something easy and relatively healthy to feed the hordes while you're cooped up together.
Notice I've improvised many of the instructions in this recipe because either I didn't have them on hand (hello, Covid Panic Shoppers), or I just don't like them and don't want them in my salad.
Cheddar Broccoli Salad
6 cups fresh broccoli florets *IDK about 6 cups. I just had about one and a half crowns on hand and snipped off the good bits on the top. I kept the stems, though. They're good for other stuff like soups.
1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese *I love me some cheese, don't get me wrong. But for some reason today I just wasn't feelin' the cheese in this salad. I grated a carrot instead. Looks like grated cheese, but way fewer calories. Don't worry, we'll have plenty of naughty calories in the dressing.
1/3 cup chopped onion *I didn't measure the onion. I just eyeballed it and cut a little chunk off a red onion, Any kind of onion is fine. I happened to have an overabundance of red onion on hand because last time I was HEB, they only had 3 lb. bags on offer and I couldn't buy any individually, like I usually do. So for a while, we will have red onion in everything we eat.
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled *I skipped the bacon. We had some already cooked , thanks to my hubs who likes to grill up a bunch of man meat every now and then, and did so recently, even though he got interrupted when he ran out of propane and we had to wait until a trip to Lowe's (while practicing our newly developed Social Distancing skills) before he could finish cooking. But I have cut waaaaay back on eating pork after watching (and ugly crying at the end of) Okja. So, no bacon for me. But if you want some, go ahead!
Not called for in the original recipe, but I threw some in anyway: 1 pint cherry tomatoes, each cut in half lengthwise (they were about to go bad) A few chunks of raw cauliflower (they were about to go bad)
The Dressing
And here's where we get to the naughty part.
I love this stuff
1-1/2 cups mayo *We don't usually eat a lot of mayo, but lately I have had some on hand because I went through a self-proscribed deviled egg challenge a few months back. I was determined to learn how to make them properly. I love eating them and can make a pretty good filling, but the peeling of the eggs part was just a nightmare. More on that some other time. So I had plenty of mayo, but 1-1/2 cups? Yikes, that's a lot. Then I remembered I had a little leftover Ranch dip that I made using a packet of their dry dressing mix and some plain Greek yogurt. It was really good btw - highly recommend making your own! So I used the rest of that, which was about a half cup. I filled out this mayo requirement with another half cup of plain Greek yogurt, and the final half cup of mayo.
3/4 cup sugar *Excuse me? 3/4 cup? I don't think so! Makes my teeth ache just thinking about it. Must be a typo. I used 1/4 cup instead.
3 tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar *Little known fact: 3 TBSP = 1/4 cup. I had a little apple cider vinegar on hand, but I use than in my smoothies and am about out and chose to hoard that for now. I did have a nearly empty bottle of rice vinegar, so I used that instead. I didn't measure, but it was probably about 1/4 cup. I don't think it matters much what kind of vinegar you use here. Maybe not balsamic, unless you substitute some feta for the cheddar . . .
That's it for the dressing. Just whisk together those three ingredients (mayo, sugar, vinegar).
The dressing recipe makes A LOT of dressing. I only used about half the dressing and it was more than enough to saturate the vegetables. Food porn note: that picture of this salad up there at the beginning of this post was clearly taken BEFORE they added the dressing. The dressing is a milky white and your salad will not look like that picture after you add it. It's not ugly or unappetizing, just different. Kinda like poppyseed dressing.
I did have a test taste of the dressing since I had made so many changes to it. It was AWESOME, if I don't say so myself. I will be keeping my improvised dressing recipe handy to use on other things.
The original recipe's assembly instructions are pretty simple: combine the veggies in a large bowl. Make the dressing; toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. If you are using the bacon, add it just before serving. Makes 8 servings.
My best to all during these troubling Covid-19 times. Here's to staying healthy and making the best of a bad situation - and of whatever random stuff is in the fridge/pantry. Stay well!
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Props to my stylist, Stephanie, aka The Miracle Worker
Spring is in the air here in South Carolina, a time of great anticipation and migration. The coots and geese are impressive, but they can't compete with the flocks of women gathering at their favorite beauty salons, lining up for the new spring 'do. I should know - I was one of them.
I had vowed to grow my hair out so that I could have a different look for my daughter's wedding, and was ever so close to having a chin-length bob. But I couldn't take it anymore. It was taking longer and longer to style my hair. My cowlicks kept subverting my efforts at Veronica Lake-style bangs. That side part was heaven-on-scalp for my gray roots. Finally, I succumbed to the siren call of the local salon and joined my fellow females for our annual Spring Makeover.
I have the type of hair that the best that can be said about it is that it's better than no hair at all. It's naturally very dark (or it was in my youth), which translates to 'high maintenance' once the Battle of the Gray commences. There's plenty of it, for now, but it's very fine. Last but not least, it's straight as a board.
When I was a teenager, long hair was in fashion. I'm talking down-to-the-waist long. This was also the era before blow dryers were commonplace, so washing and drying it was a headache. I dolled it up with sponge rollers on occasion; just the last few inches, to give it a little curl. Sometimes I used socks. Yes, socks. You place the hair in the middle of the sock, roll it up a few rotations, and tie the sock in a knot. This way you can put all the hair in a single sock rather than scores of little pink sponge rollers, which was faster, easier, and way more comfortable to sleep in. Yes, we slept in them overnight before the miracle of electric curlers arrived. But I digress.
In high school I girded my loins and cut my hair to shoulder length, which was big drama for me but what a relief, cutting both my hair and my grooming time in half. As time passed, I experimented with shorter and shorter styles. By the time I became a mom, there were plenty of men whose hair was longer than mine. And I loved it. Five minutes max, a little dryer, a little product, and you're out the door looking way better than those styles I spent ten times longer on. I must add I was living in Texas at the time. Short hair has an added bonus there in the summer months.
As much as I like the short styles, I have to admit they are not universally popular. I was shopping with my mom and her sister once. We all had short hairstyles at the time. The owner of the shop we were in was Middle Eastern. We were chatting, so he learned we were all related (as if he couldn't already tell by three 5'-9" women who came in together). When he felt comfortable, he asked us, 'why?' We said, 'why what?' and he said 'why do you wear your hair so short?' I guess he thought it was a family tradition, or a punishment of some kind. He may have been more used to women with long, thick, gorgeous Princess Jasmine hair. Princesses Jasmine, we were not. We stared blankly back at him and responded, 'why not?'
My biggest pet peeve about having short hair is how often I am called 'sir'. Granted, I am tall, as I mentioned earlier. I am not exactly svelte. But I never leave the house without earrings, mascara, lipstick, and the most essential grooming ingredient: eyebrows. I have a pretty respectable set of very obviously female equipment, if you get my meaning. My voice is not particularly deep. I no longer own a pair of overalls. Nevertheless, I wish I had a free partial foil for every time I have been called 'sir'.
I am sure there are also plenty of folks who assume I am a lesbian because I am the furthest thing from a girly-girl, have an active lifestyle, enjoy DIY projects around the house, and wear my hair short (never mind that I have been in a relationship with the same man for more than 30 years and have two grown children with him). I have no problem being mistaken for a lesbian. There are some exceedingly stylish lesbians out there. But mistaken for a man?? Sheesh!! Not the same thing at all!
80s era home perms. Do you begin to see why I wear my hair short now?
The first time it happened, I can't say I didn't have it coming. Strike one: I was living in Minnesota. Minnesota is a beautiful place full of friendly people, but it's not exactly a Vogue subscription hotbed. Strike two: I was at a home improvement store - stereotype alert!! Strike three: I was dressed casually: jeans, comfy boots, plaid shirt layered over a turtleneck sweater. From a distance, I admit, I probably looked like a man. The cashier said, 'thank you, sir' when we finished our transaction. Then she actually looked at me. As I stared back at her, somewhat stunned, she apologized and we went on our merry way. Immediately I resolved not to leave the house again in masculine garb if at all possible. But I shouldn't have worried. It has happened several times since then, regardless of what I am wearing. Sometimes I feel the urge to punch these people in their unobservant noses. But that would just validate their assumption - way too manly!
I like my hair short. I'll be damned if I'll knuckle under to societal stereotypes and waste another year growing it out. I have better things to do with my time. If I'm mistaken for a man, so be it. It's an unfair fact of life that men's haircuts are way cheaper. Maybe the gender confusion will save me some money on my next haircut.
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Greetings, fellow story craft nerds! Last post, I did a macro analysis of the 1997 movie Contact, applying the 5 Commandments to the entire story arc. This time, I'll apply them to a single scene. (If you're new to Story Grid, check out my initial post on the topic. )
https://youtu.be/GZDT-FsO9Uc
I'm sticking with the scene I mentioned last time as a front-runner for my choice today. It's a great example of an Inciting Incident, and I haven't covered an II in this series of posts yet.
The Inciting Incident for this film, in my opinion, is the ten minute scene that catapults the main character out of what is known in Joseph Campbell/Hero's Journey lingo as their Ordinary World. It occurs about 34 minutes in. That works out to about 25% into the film, which is a little over two hours long.
There are a few different ways an Inciting Incident can occur. It can be an accident/coincidence. It can be the result of deliberate actions. Or, it can be nebulous, mysterious, unexplained until the end of the story (if at all). In this story, the II is a direct result of the main character's training, combined with her grit.
Dr. Ellie Arroway's Ordinary World is something many of us can identify with. She is passionate about her career goal (finding proof of alien life) and resents the time wasted by bureaucratic nonsense. But she hasn't made any progress on finding extraterrestrial life. In fact, her boss is threatening to pull the plug on her project.
However, Dr. Arroway is one tough cookie. She is not a quitter. One day she has her listening equipment set up away from her main lab, at a location that offers some welcome solitude. Externally, this helps her listen because it is quiet out there among the radar dishes. Internally, I think she's just a big ol' introvert and enjoys the time alone. In any case, she's out there alone with her headphones on, and she hears something other than the seemingly never-ending radio static she's used to hearing. She's a pro. She realizes immediately this is significant. She races back to her lab and gets her two staffers involved.
Fun detail: back at the lab, her coworkers have overlooked the red alert on some of their computer screens indicating a signal from outer space because they are watching a television interview with a trendy lifestyle guru (who also happens to be the same guy Dr. A had a brief hookup with a few years back) talking about how despite all the great new science and technology at our disposal, humans feel more alone than ever. Classic! I love it!
Once Ellie jerks their attention back to the signal, the three work feverishly to reject or confirm that this signal a) is not a natural phenomenon; and b) it is not coming from Earth or any Earthly technology in orbit such as satellites, space stations, and so forth. The film sets up a sense of urgency beautifully here with a couple of progressive complications. The signal stops. We wait breathlessly for it to start up again. This plants the seed of doubt that it could vanish at any time. The three astrophysicists also discuss briefly why they will need to rely on partners on the other side of the earth when the signal is no longer audible because of the orbital paths of the various celestial bodies involved.
As the three frantically discuss this incredible new development, they are deeply troubled by the many unanswerable questions that arise. Specifically, the apparent origin of the signal doesn't make sense to them. The pattern is clearly recognizable (all prime numbers) which makes them wonder if it's some kind of Earth-bound hoax. The Crisis in this scene is whether or not to report this event immediately, and risk even further discredit and disdain from their peers if they're wrong, or wait until they have fully validated their findings, and risk not being the first to report.
The Climax is Dr. Arroway's decision to announce their discovery, even though there are many unanswered questions. She feels she and her staff have done their due diligence. If they are going to be first, and validate their years of unappreciated work with this historic discovery, they must act immediately.
The Resolution unfolds in the following scene with government officials rushing to Dr. Arroway's lab to join in the heretofore ignored project to make contact with extraterrestrial life.
This is a very condensed ten minutes of film. The discovery of the signal changes everything, not only for Dr. Arroway but for her staff, her bosses, the government, the country, and yes, the world. It ushers us into the Middle Build of the story, which is a good mix of internal and external story progressions. If you haven't seen the film, I highly recommend. And I really need to read the book, just based on this article I stumbled across today while researching this post. Dr. Sagan, you are missed.
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Have I mentioned that as a child of the 1960s, I'm a huge space nerd? This month's pick for a Story Grid analysis is the 1997 film Contact, one of my favorites. It's based on Carl Sagan's book by the same name. I haven't read the book, but I understand the film is a very close representation. Contact (the film) has been on my mind because our local book club recently read another of Sagan's books, Cosmos.
Spoiler alert: if you haven't seen the film, I will be spoiling the main reveal in the paragraphs below. You have been warned.
Contact has two very strong story arcs. The external arc is a quest arc IMO. Dr. Eleanor Arroway is a brilliant astrophysicist. But because she has chosen to devote her career to the search for life on other planets, the science community largely dismisses her as a crank. When she discovers an intriguing signal emerging from deep in the cosmos, the narrative drive for the external arc is all about will she find something, or won't she?
The internal arc is more about Ellie's worldview. Although she is very book-smart, her interpersonal relationship skills could use some improvement. She's a classic left brain personality - just the facts, please. She's definitely not into what she thinks of as metaphysical mumbo jumbo, and she doesn't understand why so many people are. But after she makes contact with alien life forms, she finds herself struggling to convince others what exactly it is that she has experienced.
The film begins by showing us Dr. Arroway's Ordinary World. She's a brilliant scientist, but she's in a much-derided fringe specialty (SETI) with her merry band of SETI nerds, constantly struggling for funding to keep their project alive. We also learn through flashbacks that Ellie's mom died early and she had a very close relationship with her dad until he also passed away when she was young. Her father inspired her love of science and space. An underlying theme is her childhood wish to somehow use their family ham radio set to make contact with the spirit of her dead mother.
(I know what you're thinking, but this aspect of contacting her mother is very subtle, brief, and believable in the film, so that we don't stray off into a path of adult Ellie appearing as too much of a nut job.)
Flash forward to adult Ellie bouncing around from one research facility to another, splitting her time between listening for distant signals from space and soliciting funding from the private sector, neither of which have much success.
A romantic subplot is introduced. She has a one night stand (her choice) with a charming stranger. She enjoys his company, but when he brings up the topic of her dad, she freezes up and heads off to a new posting without leaving him any way to contact her. (See what I did there?)
Just when she thinks she's at the end of her rope career-wise, we arrive at what in my opinion is the Inciting Incident: she hears a clear, repeating signal originating from outer space. This signal is confirmed by fellow researchers. Suddenly the nutty professor now has some agency. Mentors who previously ignored her now want to get on board with her efforts. Funding appears. The press gets involved. If this film were set in present day, Dr. Arroway would be trending.
As the information from the alien signal is analyzed, Dr. Arroway and her much larger and better funded staff soon realize this is not just some random signal. Whoever is sending it is sending information to help whoever receives it create the machine to allow them to physically meet; to make contact. But there's only room for one.
It has to be Dr. Arroway, doesn't it? I mean, after all these years, and all her efforts, the lone voice crying out in the space wilderness? Who else could they possibly choose?
I'm waffling on what I've identified as the Turning Point/Progressive Complication. As you can see in my infographic, I've identified the scene where she learns someone else has been selected as the person to attempt to make initial contact with the aliens sending this signal. Ellie is crushed. And to add insult to injury, it's made clear the person they've chosen is just better connected, and has had the sense to pander to the interview committee's strong preference for someone with some religious beliefs; something Ellie is clearly lacking, and refuses to pretend otherwise.
My waffling is due to the very tempting choice of the scene when the very expensive, very complicated device built according to the alien specs is destroyed by an uber-religious terrorist. The scientist wonk that was chosen for the mission is killed. Although she is extremely disappointed to have been passed over, she still supports the mission. Ellie is devastated at this turn of events.
I would not push back much if you feel this should be the TP/PC. I just felt like the choice of a man, a former mentor, who did little to support Ellie's efforts until they showed some results and benefited him personally, was more of a gut punch.
But wait! There's another choice for our Turning Point! If you consider both the choice of representative and the terrorist attack Progressive Complications, one might argue this third option is the true Turning Point: Ellie learns all hope is NOT in fact lost. A second, backup device has been under construction. It is funded privately, by a quirky Howard Hughes-type billionaire she met previously while trying to drum up money for her research. He was impressed with her then, and remains so. He wants her to take a ride in his secret alien space thingy.
How does thing work, exactly?
I will not push back much on this choice, either. But I like it better for the Crisis. When Dr. Arroway learns about this second machine, that sets up her Crisis: should she trust her life to this project that has gone on behind the scenes? Who knows who was involved building it? After all, this rich guy is a little nutty. She knows very little about him. Definitely not part of the government space in-crowd. This could get her killed.
As with so many Crisis points, though, there is really not much of a decision to be made. We know she will go.
As an aside, my SHEG (Super Hardcore Editing Group - inspired by this Story Grid blog post) writing group was discussing this aspect of the Crisis recently. How important is it that we wonder/are unsure what choice the character will make? Or do we okay with pretty much knowing what they will do, and want to get on with the action we know will follow the main character's choice? Something to ponder.
Anyway - back to our 5 C's. The Climax of this film occurs when Ellie survives the surreal transport to the alien meeting place, interacts with the alien(s), and returns home safely. Suffice to say, her mind is officially blown.
Which brings us to our Resolution. It's one of the best examples of a Win, But Lose ending I've ever seen. Ellie achieves her life goal of proving there is life on other planets. She is chosen to make first contact with them. She survives the very dangerous journey, and lives to tell about it.
But what does she tell? And who will believe her? Turns out the alien device which transported her to the confab did some wonky stuff with time. To the scientists monitoring her progress on Earth, Ellie did not appear to have traveled anywhere. The machine seemed to have failed. When Ellie tries to explain what she experienced, yet again she is written off as a kook.
Thankfully we are shown enough of a conversation among the government wonks that indicates they know full well SOMETHING happened to support Ellie's claims. But for the usual government conspiracy reasons, they choose to stay mum about it.
Also in prime Story Grid fashion, even though the external arc is something of a downer, Ellie's internal arc ends more positively. Earlier in the story, her paths cross again with the charismatic stranger from her one night stand. He is now a well-known spiritual adviser and becomes involved in the project to make contact. Although she doesn't share his religious beliefs, she now better understands why people choose to believe in something that is difficult, if not impossible, to quantify. He supports her; believes her. She's had a rough go, so this means the world.
If you haven't seen Contact, I highly recommend. Next time we will apply the 5Cs to a specific scene in the film. Top consideration now is the scene where Ellie discovers the alien signal. Stay tuned to see if that's the one I stick with. There are so many good ones to choose from.
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January 2001 was our third winter in the Great White North that is Minnesota. By then we had adjusted somewhat to the infamous Minnesota winters, mainly due to two things: an excellent road-clearing infrastructure, and the extreme weather clothing industry.
We lived in Minnesota for eight years, and I kid you not - we had TWO snow days. In eight years. Think about that for a minute. We had two snow days the first six months after we moved to South Carolina. That doesn't mean it didn't snow all those years in MN. Oh no. It snowed. Not inches. FEET. All those pretty little white flakes contributing to the PSC - the Permanent Snow Cover - from about December to March. But the snowplows were out there like banshees. Roads plowed pretty as you please in plenty of time for the school buses to come chugging along. Man, my kids were ticked off.
Mine wasn't this shaggy
I had so many different types of coats when I lived there. Along with all the windbreakers and hoodies and sweaters and parkas, I had two super heavy, beastly thick coats. We're talkin' Jeremiah Johnson here. One was a sheepskin-type coat, buff color suede on the outside and the woolly business on the inside. But as a brunette (a 'Winter' for you gals who know your season colors) that buff color never looked particularly good on me (dead giveaway - people always asking me if I felt okay when I wore it), so when I found a similar style coat in a gorgeous dark chocolate brown for a sweet deal at a consignment store in St. Paul, I snagged it. You look at this coat and your first thought is 'buffalo hide'. A really stylish, well-tailored buffalo hide. Talk about warm! It was like walking around in a toaster oven. They were some of the first things I gave away when we got word we were transferred to South Carolina. Absolute rock-solid guaranteed lock I was never, ever going to need those coats south of the Mason-Dixon line.*
And then there was the temperature-rated footwear. I was not aware such things existed until I moved to Minnesota, and boy was I glad they did. Let's not forget the special socks, underwear, hats, gloves for wind, snow, ice, sleet, fog, and all the various combinations. Minnesota is a very clothing-intensive place. If you go there in any month other than July, you will need to pack lots and lots of extra items. Layer!! If you move there, buy a house with lots of closets and storage space - you will need it.
But I digress.
Snowplows and cold weather gear notwithstanding, I was born and raised and lived most of my first 30+ years in a warm weather climate, and not just any warm weather climate. I am a Native Texan, and when I say warm, I mean HOT, and not just your garden variety hot. We're talking preheat the (electric) oven, open it up and take a deep breath, singe your nasal hairs hot. People say if you live in a warm climate, your blood is thinner. I don't know if that is true or not but I think it is true in spirit - you just never get used to cold weather. In addition, based on my informal survey aka Common Sense, there are way more people moving south or traveling south to escape cold weather than there are those going in the other direction. Just ask Ohio and Long Island how many of their former residents now have a South Carolina zip code.
It was a struggle for me, getting through some of those long, cold winters. I remember the time I got an ice cream headache walking into a headwind from the parking lot into the grocery store. I think it was 4 degrees (F) before wind chill calculation. Hey, at least it was above zero! Here's how crazy my thinking got after a few years up there: it wasn't cold as long as the temp was in double digits (above zero, of course). So as long as it was 10 or warmer, I could usually trick myself into bearing one more day of winter. It didn't take me long to get my thinking straight after we moved to South Carolina, where everyone knows anything below 50F is cold. That reminds me of the time my folks (also Native Texans) were visiting and my mom kept asking me why the children we passed playing happily outside weren't wearing coats. It was probably about 50 outside, and to a Minnesotan, that's downright balmy!
Minnesota is a gorgeous place and I love my Minnesota friends. But after eight years there, I am convinced hell is not a place of fire and flame. Nope. It is icy and cold, dreary and overcast. The wind is always in your face, you are always one layer short, you've lost your only hat, and you are out of lip balm.
* Extra points if you actually know where the Mason-Dixon line is. Google if you must.
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Another absolutely horrific winter weather day here in the south, which for you uninitiated/Yankees means it was below 50 degrees, so off to the movie theater we go. Now that the Oscar nominations are out, some films that I missed the first time around have circled back for another go. One of these is Silver Linings Playbook. I wanted to see it because a) Bradley Cooperlicious and b) is unnecessary, see a). Seriously, I was interested in seeing it because it is set in Philadelphia and my hubs is a Philly native. I thought he would get a kick out of it. Plus, he would be my BS-o-meter in case anything Philly-ish was misrepresented.
Silver Linings is a mash-up of Rocky (if Rocky had a handsome, tall lead actor for whom English was a first language, and was about ballroom dancing rather than boxing) and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (if it had a handsome, tall lead actor whose mother sprung him from the nut house in the first five minutes of the film). Soooo, not a whole lot like those two films, but whatev. It is basically a romantic comedy with colorful Philadephia neighborhood characters and mental illness serving as the backdrop. Which of course is a match made in heaven, since just about everyone in the movie lives in a Philadelphia neighborhood and suffers from some sort of mental illness.
Bottom line: the movie was cute and I recommend you see it. Some particularly delightful bits include:
the meet cute between Cooper's character and his love interest, played by Jennifer Lawrence. I may be the only person within 75 miles of an American urban center who has not seen or read Hunger Games, but I believe she was in that? Anyway the meet cute was, well, cute.
Even though his role felt tacked on, it was good to see Chris Tucker back on the silver screen. I adored him in Fifth Element and of course 1.5 of the Rush Hour movies.
My hubs was delighted with the diner featured in one part of the film. It is an actual place and he has been in there scarfing carbs after a night of partying. Props for authenticity.
Robert DeNiro's character being 'banned for life' due to too many fights at the Eagles games. My hubs assures me this is a real thing.
Tailgating scene at the Eagles game - Cooper's character's Indian therapist - hysterical in Eags face paint! Love it!
This last one pains me to mention, but again, props for authenticity: use of the Eagles/Cowboys rivalry crucial to the climax of the film. At least I can say we know this film is fiction, because it depicts the Eagles making it to the playoffs.
Delicious
If I had one criticism it would be that there was only a brief mention of cheese steaks and absolutely no mention or sightings of pretzels. No Philly pretzels? This is a travesty. And also a good excuse for Silver Linings 2: Eagles Lose to Cowboys - Again.
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The Universe has aligned to steer me in a direction. When the Universe calls, I answer.
The two events that have aligned are as follows: 1) I just finished reading our local library's January book club selection, and thoroughly enjoyed, The Current by Tim Johnston; and 2) I discovered a writing craft-centric reading challenge at one of my favorite writing resources, Gabriela Pereira's DIY MFA website.
As a dyed-in-the-wool autodidact, I purchased the DIY MFA book several years ago. One of its #protips, if you will, is absorbing information with intent. This means when you are consuming information, regardless of whether you are reading, or listening, or viewing, be aware not only of the surface entertainment value, but also the behind-the-scenes structure. What is the point of view? What archetype best describes this character? When does the story transition from the second act to the third? How is the author creating likability for the protagonist? and so forth.
I know what you're thinking. Doesn't this make reading/viewing/listening more like work? I suppose some may feel that way. But not me! Reading between the lines, peeking behind the curtain, enhances the experience for me.
If you are not of my tribe, this would be a good time to stop reading this post and move on to something more to your taste. No hard feelings.
But if you do enjoy improving your writing craft skills, and, as the old gum commercial used to say, doubling your pleasure and fun, the #WriterIgniter #ReadingChallenge might be for you.
I'll let Ms. Pereira explain how it works and direct you to her website at the above link for the details. Super easy to sign up. The gist is, you choose a book to read. Using the prompts she metes out to us, you analyze the book, reading with intent. The idea is to come away with an enhanced understanding of the craft by analyzing what other writers are doing.
Pereira also suggests keeping challenge notes. I've decided to use my blog, specifically this blog post, to track my progress on the challenge. I'll update it as necessary as we work through the various challenge prompts, and alert you to updates via my Twitter feed.
The first prompt in this challenge is to select a book. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I've chosen The Currentby Tim Johnston. It's not exactly in my current genre. But before I knew about this challenge, I had already decided I wanted to go back through it for two very specific reasons.
I loved what he did with point of view. I'm still writing from a single point of view in my current WIP, but in my next book, I want to put on some Big Girl Writing Panties and try multiple POV.
I also want to up my description game. I felt Johnston did an admiral job of adding just the right amount of detail, in the appropriate voice of the character. What he chose to describe, and how he described it, impressed the heck outta me. Not a single cliche in the book.
If you're participating in this challenge, I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Which book did you choose, and why? In the meantime, stay tuned for my next update here. The second prompt in this challenge is about analyzing the protagonist.
This prompt encourages us to not only determine which character is the protagonist, but to analyze their role and classify them as one of the above character types based on their wants and needs in the story. I encourage you to listen to the details on how to do this. It's very thought-provoking.
Let me digress for a moment to mention that the challenge-within-a-challenge here is to discuss the process without spoilers. So pardon me if I seem like I'm tap dancing in this segment. I really enjoyed this book, and I don't want to spoil anything for you if you decide to read it.
Anyway -
Identifying the protagonist in The Currentwas an interesting process. Often we assume the point of view character is the protagonist. But what if, as in this book, the author uses several POV characters? Uh-oh! I had several to choose from, but eventually went with the one the story started and ended with.
My choice of protagonist did not fit neatly into one of the four categories in the above graphic. They were definitely Ordinary Joes/Janes. But they didn't so much want to Preserve or Change their current status as wish away a horrific past event (and to make matters more complex, it wasn't even the same event for many of them!) and go back to happier times. I guess you could say several of them would like to Change their present circumstances in such a way that it would Preserve those happy times?
But because that is not one of my choices in said box above, I will go with Change. That results in identifying the protagonist as an Underdog.
UPDATE: I heard from Gabriela about this conundrum via Twitter, and she views a situation where a character wants things to go back to the way they were before as more of a Preserve situation. So that would put the protagonist I've identified in The Current as a Survivor rather than an Underdog.
Good stories set up early. ideally, authors should make five promises to the reader very near the beginning of the story.
Who are we meant to root for? This is a tough question for me because as I mentioned in Prompt 1, there are several different characters' points of view throughout, and I was rooting for all of them whenever it was their turn on stage. Because the plot intertwines two different story lines with two different protagonists, I am having a hard time choosing an answer here.
What is the narrative voice? The narrative voices rotate among several different characters within the story, as opposed to having an omniscient narrator outside of the story. All are relateable and sympathetic, each in their own way.
What world is the story set in? The setting is present day. Because it is a mystery, it's a combination of a procedural and rural upper Midwest. Think Fargo, without the wood chipper.
What is the problem facing the protagonist? We have a relatively banal problem that kicks off the story and leads us to a life-changing problem soon afterward. Very Butterfly Effect.
Where does the story begin, and why do you think the author chose to start it there? The story begins by showing us the evolution of a relationship between two college students. To be honest, I don't know why the author chose to start there. It would've been tempting to start with one of the more jolting events that occur later in the story. I need to go back and re-read this to see if I can come up with a better answer. I'm not saying I was bored by it, because it did hold my interest. But in contrast to the events that followed, it's pretty tame in comparison.
The Character Compass is a handy visual analytic. It reminds me of the Story Grid spreadsheet; specifically, the value shift columns. When you learn how to use tools like these, they can show you very specifically and objectively how a sorta squishy, nebulous component of story can be quantified and analyzed. Gosh, my Left Brain loves this stuff!
Specifically, the Character Compass can show you if you're leaning on a particular tool or strategy to get your point across, when you could be using some different methods to keep things fresh. Using this charting method, you can indicate which of the four methods is being used to show us what's important to know about the POV character. Click on the Prompt #4 link above to hear the full explanation of the chart and how to use it.
Behold the fabulousness that is Rocketbook
In the true spirit of DIY, this is my hand-drawn Character Compass for two different scenes from The Current. #1 on the top is a scene from the sheriff character's POV. The second one is from a different character's POV, that of a widow. I've placed the dots to show that Action is relied upon to tell the reader what the sheriff is thinking in that particular scene. And in the widow's scene, there is very little dialog or action or description of her appearance. It's mostly her thoughts that clue us in.
It's obvious from the two very different shapes created by the placement of the dots on the axes that two different methods are being used by the author. THIS IS COOL, PEOPLE. Because I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts, if we charted every sheriff scene from The Current, it would look very similar to my #1 up there. And if we charted all the widow scenes, same. So what this means is, not only are we now able to read a story and say, Aha! i see what you did there! We also now have another clearly defined tool for differentiating multiple points of views in our own work.
This prompt requires us to identify an event that sets the story in motion, and from which there is no turning back. It's hard to discuss this prompt without spoiling the book for you, but I'll try. The character I've identified as the main protagonist gets a ride home from college with a friend. Something happens during this journey that I consider the inciting incident, and I'll stop there to avoid spoilers.
We are asked to identify five of the various types of character archetypes if they are present in our story. They are as follows:
The Villain - in a thriller like The Current, the villain is usually pretty easy to identify. No spoilers, but that is certainly the case here. In fact, I think there might be two antagonistic forces. One is human; the other is the Upper Midwest in winter. Brrrrr!!!
The Love Interest - there is no love interest or romantic subplot, for the protagonist anyway, in this story.
The Sidekick - there is a sidekick of sorts, although it is not in the traditional sense. If you've read The Current and would like to discuss further, please leave a comment so any spoilers won't be in the main body of this post.
The Mentor - I don't think it will be spoiling much if I say I consider the protagonist's father as the Mentor archetype in this story.
The Fool - This is a tough one. The challenge says this character serves to tell the protagonist information they need to hear, but perhaps don't want to hear. I'm tempted to say the same character I think of as the Sidekick sometimes serves as the Fool as well. I need to give this some more thought.
This is an interesting take on the midpoint. I'm more used to focusing on the so-called 'midpoint shift', where the protagonist transforms from reactive to proactive. This aligns with my strong interest in external action plots like thrillers. But the challenge is presenting this middle moment as more of an internal shift, where the character realizes they need to make some changes in their outlook as well as their behavior.
I think the midpoint shift in The Current is when something happens, I won't say what exactly to adhere to my No Spoilers policy, and the protagonist realizes they have to take matters into their own hands. I'm curious to check and see where this event lands physically within the book. I'll get back to you on that.
UPDATE: The event I've selected as the protagonist's realization happens in pages 130-140. The book is about 400 pages. So this even occurs a little before the mathematical middle of the book. However. At page 141, we have a new chapter with a different character's POV. We don't get back to the protagonist for some time, so that when they do start to show us their change in approach, it is closer to the literal midpoint of the book.
This prompt is my favorite so far. It's a meaty and meaningful discourse on the role of theme, and how various thematic elements support the theme throughout the story.
The external arc of The Current is a whodunit, so for the external theme, I'm going with 'good triumphs over evil'. And yes, I'm aware some of you might consider that to be a spoiler. Apologies.
The challenge asks us to select one of the thematic elements and demonstrate how it supports the theme within the story. Two different thematic elements stand out in my mind. One is nature, since the story is set in the upper midwest in the winter. Another is the use of what you might call supernatural elements. Various characters describe, or are shown experiencing, hard-to-define, almost metaphysical events that allow them to think or perform beyond their natural abilities. I don't mean they turn into Superman or anything. It's more like when you are having trouble with a plot point, so you go for a walk or take a shower or brush your teeth and boom! the solution just comes to you in a light bulb moment.
It's hard to describe without spoiling anything.
But I think it ties in perfectly with the 'good triumphs over evil' theme, because these events only happen to the 'good' people in the story, and leads them toward various positive outcomes in both the internal and external arcs. One example: the protagonist recalls a key detail during one of their visions, if you will, that impacts the investigation. In another example, a secondary character (also 'good') follows their gut, seemingly without any other concrete information or motivation, and performs a simple act that has a very profound impact on the fate of the antagonist.
In this prompt, we are asked to focus on the ending and identify some key features. In The Current, the protagonist experiences a second life-threatening situation as they deal with two different antagonists.
The challenge also requires us to look deeper into the ending and describe the outcome and its effect on the protagonist using this handy chart.
This is very tricky for me because I feel what the protagonist wants changes as the story progresses. I consider the ending bittersweet. So I would add a category here, or rather, I will ask Gabriela where she thinks a bittersweet ending fits into the above grid. Perhaps in the 'careful what you wish for' block. But the protagonist doesn't regret what they 'wished for'. Like many other characters in this story, and like many of us in real life, we regret the negative events that effect us and often wish they never happened. Does that qualify as one of the above quadrants?
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A previous version of this post first appeared in 2016.
I blogged previously about the history of some of the world championship hardware teams earn when they win a championship. I promised to follow up with the real reason all those players are smiling as they hoist those trophies: their financial bonuses.
According to various sources, the winners of Super Bowl L (50, but as a former Latin student, I'm going old school there) won $97,000.00 each. That's right. Every player on the Denver Broncos roster earned more for winning that game than many people earn in a year. The Panthers each received $49,000.00 for losing it. That will pay for a lot of tissues for wiping away the tears on the plane ride home.
2015 Super Bowl bling
Ninety-seven grand is very grand indeed, but here's the kicker (pun intended): the Super Bowl bonus is literally pocket change for most of the players. The average player salary in the NFL is over $2 million per year. The regular season consists of 16 games, so that works out to about $125,000.00 per game. Teams who reach the Super Bowl have also received bonuses every time they advance in the post-season, so the total bonus take for the champs is closer to $165,000.00 per player. That doesn't include the ring each player will receive after several months of design and manufacture. The rings for the 2015 champs, the New England Patriots, are valued at $36,500.00 each.
Salaries are just the tip of the income iceberg for many professional athletes. Endorsements are where the real money is. Peyton Manning is not only the master of the endorsements game. He's an expert in product placement. Some estimate his mention of Budweiser products in his post-game interviews to be worth billions to the company, which trickles back down to him in the form of profits at the two Anheuser-Busch distributorships in which he owns a stake. And that doesn't even include the Papa John's and Nationwide contracts and his latest entertainment ventures. (Come to think of it, I'm surprised he didn't deliver part of his canned Super Bowl speech to the tune of the Nationwide jingle.) Estimates of the elder Manning's annual endorsement income is $12,000,000.00. That's twelve million if all those zeroes are starting to make your eyes spin. Remember, that's on top of his 5-year, $96 million contract for actually playing football. That's just over $19 million per year, so it's more than the endorsements, but with the endorsements, 350-lb linemen are not threatening to separate your head from your shoulders on every play.
Is it me, or doesn't Grange favor Manning just the tiniest bit?
In the early years, football players were paid per game. Player salaries fluctuated wildly based on perceived skill as well as the budgets of the various teams. The first player to play under season-long contract was Red Grange in 1926. He was paid $100,000.00 for a 19 game season with the Chicago Bears. That may not seem like much compared to the numbers I was throwing around earlier. It's certainly less than what many players earn per game today. But factoring in inflation over the last 90 years, that works out to about $1,300,000.00 in today's money. Not bad, considering he had to wear a helmet that looks like it was inspiration for a Coneheads skit.
The players union made progress in standardizing salaries starting in the 1970s. Thanks to the popularity of the game, broadcast rights, ticket prices, and licensing revenue, there's a lot of green to go around for the players who get the hooey knocked out of them every Sunday for our entertainment. From the look of their celebration dances (and their bank account balances), they're enjoying it as much as we are.
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A version of this post was originally published in 2016.
It’s the final game of the season. The clock winds down. The whistle blows, the buzzer sounds, time runs out, and it’s over: one team wins it all. Along with the excitement and glory of finishing first, winning teams often receive a trophy to honor their achievement. For professional teams, the trophies are often beautiful works of art and quite valuable. Some have colorful histories every bit as exciting as the contests they honor.
Dirk Nowitzki posing with the O'Brien trophy.The Dallas Mavericks won the title in 2011.
Youth sports team members often receive individual trophies when their teams win a tournament or championship. But the trophies for professional sports are much too expensive for one to be made for each player (although some sports like baseball and football sometimes give each player a fancy ring to wear instead). Instead, one trophy is given to the entire team. The Larry O’Brien Trophy is given each year to the winner of the National Basketball Association series winner. Standing two feet tall and weighing sixteen pounds, the gold plated figure looks like a basketball about to fall into a net (or a fancy garbage can, if you're feeling less charitable toward basketball). A new one is made for each year’s winning team. The NBA first awarded a team trophy in 1978. It was renamed for a former NBA commissioner in 1984.
Attractive, but looks rather fragile IMO. There should be bats. Wooden, not blood-sucking.
The Commissioner’s Trophy goes to the winner of baseball’s World Series. Like the O’Brien Trophy, a new trophy is made each year. Made of sterling silver but covered with a gold plating, the Commissioner’s Trophy features thirty flags representing each of the major league baseball teams. It is two feet tall and weighs about thirty pounds. The first Commissioner’s Trophy was given in 1967.
The Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Trophy is also made each year for the best professional football team. It is a sterling silver trophy about the same size as the basketball and baseball trophies. It features a full-size football perched atop a silver column.
It's been far too long since the Cowboys earned one of these *sniff*.The Lombardi Trophy is nice, but I'm all about the bling.
Some sports don’t make a new trophy each year. Instead, there is a single trophy. The winning team gets to keep the trophy for the year they are the champions. Soccer’s FIFA World Cup trophy is given to the winner of the World Cup competition. Like the Olympics, soccer’s World Cup is held every four years. Soccer has a rich history. Its original trophy was designed in 1930. Known as the Jules Rimet Cup, it was about 14 inches high. It featured a base made of blue stone, supporting a gold woman’s winged figure with a cup above her.
The FIFA World Cup Trophy aka the Rimet Cup
The Rimet Cup led an exciting life. During World War II as German troops marched across Europe, an Italian soccer federation official hid the trophy in a shoe box under his bed to keep it from falling into enemy hands. In 1966, the trophy disappeared while on display in England. It was later found buried near a tree, dug up by an enterprising dog named Pickles. The FIFA trophy disappeared again in 1983 while in the possession of the Brazil team. It was never found and is assumed to have been melted down by the thieves.
When the original FIFA trophy disappeared, it was not the only soccer trophy in existence. After Brazil had won the World Cup for the third time in 1970, they won the right to keep the trophy forever. FIFA ordered a new trophy made for subsequent winners. The new trophy was called the FIFA World Cup Trophy and the trophy rules were changed at that time. The trophy was no longer given to the winning team. Instead, the original trophy stayed with FIFA and replicas were given to the winning teams. The 1974 design is about 14 inches tall, made of 18-carat gold with a green stone base. It features two figures standing with arms upraised, embracing the globe. The trophy is engraved with the names of past winners.
Andrew Shaw enjoying the moment when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2013, bloody face notwithstanding. Hockey players are tough.
Hockey’s trophy also has a colorful history. The hockey trophy is known as the Stanley Cup, named for Lord
Stanley, Earl of Preston, one of the game’s early supporters. The first Stanley Cup was awarded in 1892. It was not designed by an artist or sculptor – Lord Stanely just went out and bought a silver cup for the princely sum of $50. It resembled the bowl-like piece atop today’s trophy. Winners’ names were simply scratched into the silver with a knife or a nail. The original cup is now on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
From 1890-1930 thick silver bands were added to the base of the cup to accommodate more winners’ names. The trophy underwent some changes, but eventually came to its modern form in 1958. It is by far the largest of the major sports trophies, at three feet tall and about 35 pounds. The largest silver bands, or rings, that make up the base take thirteen years to fill with the names of the winners. Once a ring is filled, it is removed and sent to the Hall of Fame for safekeeping. It is replaced with a blank ring and the process begins again.
The Stanley Cup is given to the winning team for the year they are champions. Each team member is allowed to take the trophy home for one day to share with friends and family. This has resulted in some interesting adventures for the cup while it is in private hands, including being drop-kicked onto the frozen Rideau Canal during a post-championship celebration in Ottawa.
Despite wars, thieves, and enthusiastic athletes, these trophies from the world of sports hold great meaning for the fans and players of the game. Hoisted aloft, glittering in the glare of camera flashes, they truly represent the fun and excitement of winning. That's all well and good, but in my next post which btw is just in time for the Super Bowl, I'll explain why they're really smiling by sharing with you the amount of money the players earn when their team becomes league champion.
Handy size comparison. FIFA trophy is not shown, but would be the smallest of the five.
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Some Broncos fan worked hard to carve that snow in the background
When I was a kid growing up in Dallas, Texas, there was a show on television called Bowling For Dollars. I rarely watched it as bowling was not super popular at my house. But somehow the name of the show stuck with me. I find it a handy metaphor for situations where people are trying to earn money, sports-related or otherwise. As time has passed, it has inadvertently circled back to a literal meaning when bowl season rolls around (see what I did there?).
When I watch a sporting event of any kind, my brain kicks into History Mode and I start thinking about its prehistoric precursors. Competition springs from our deepest survival instincts. We no longer have to run for our lives from saber-toothed tigers. But some of us still have incredible physical skills designed for survival. Technology has outrun evolution. The only hunting most of us do is digging through the sale bin at the local Piggly Wiggly. So instead of Usain Bolt chasing deer on foot, he chases world records. He runs fast for the same reason: to outrun whatever or whomever is chasing him. He probably still feels an incredible sense of relief and accomplishment when he succeeds. But today his prize is a paycheck. His prehistoric counterparts had to settle for not being eaten alive.
It's also human nature to want to watch. We want to see feats of greatness. Some part of our dinosaur brain wants to see the train wrecks, too, bless our hearts. We want to see the outcome, the drama. Sports is a world-wide, multi-billion dollar industry built on the most basic of human instincts. And long ago, someone figured out people will pay to watch. The Greeks had their Olympics. The Romans had their gladiators. Aztecs had their wacky, tongue-twisting soccer/basketball hybrid, ullamaliztli. Medieval knights jousted. Men sailed and jumped and ran and wrestled and swam and fought. And, sporting short-sleeved shirts and crew cuts on a small, snowy black and white TV screen, they bowled.
The TVs have changed (thank goodness). Some of the haircuts have changed. The 'bowling' has changed. The paydays certainly have changed. But it still all boils down to the same thing: some people wanting to prove they're better than the other people. And we still like to watch them prove it.
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