Seraphic Secret follows a pretty rigid daily schedule. I stumble out of bed at 5AM and take a three-mile walk. Usually, I bop along to a music playlist on my iPhone, but for the past few days I’ve been listening to the audio version of Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Lincoln.” It’s a thrilling book that makes me realize how little I know about central portions of American history. For instance: General Ulysses S. Grant suffered such a severe migraine that he was late for his appointment with General Robert E. Lee at Appamattox Courthouse. Such details make this screenwriter’s heart race with excitement.
Next comes a long hot shower—to hell with energy conservation, I like to be clean—shave, and morning prayer with Tefillin.
Ah, breakfast: a bowl of fresh fruit drizzled with non-fat plain yogurt and non-fat cottage cheese. While eating, I read the editorials in the Wall Street Journal, rare wisdom and common sense in the world of journalism. I blog for an hour or less, and respond to e-mail.
Work on my latest script until noon. It is always torture.
I break for lunch which is either a mixed salad with salmon, or another bowl of fresh fruit. You may notice the absence of fat, starch, grains, and refined sugar. Well, yeah. That stuff leads to weight gain, plays havoc with blood pressure and makes you a prime candidate for obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
Anyhoo.
My lunch break is a time to catch up on books. So: here’s what Seraphic Secret is reading and eating these days:
Karen and I wish all our friends and relatives a lovely and literate Shabbat.
Dear Earl: Thanks.
For instance: General Ulysses S. Grant suffered such a severe migraine that he was late for his appointment with General Robert E. Lee at Appamattox Courthouse.
What I read was that Grant’s migraine cleared up, the minute he got Lee’s note saying that the Confederates were willing to surrender. Also, Grant and Lee didn’t meet at Appomattox
Court House; they met in some farmer’s living room.
Appomattox Court House was the name of the village and the farmer was Wilmer McLean. Grant had a headache the night before and was still in pain when he rode off to meet Lee. (‘The American Civil War’, John Keegan)
I don’t believe Newt can be elected, but he dares to say intelligent and orignial things.
Barry
Posted December 9, 2011 at 9:06 pm | Permalink
I don’t believe Newt can be elected, but he dares to say intelligent and orignial things.
Barry
Dear Barry: According to Debbie Schlussel, Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton are cozy as kittens.
Two books on the Third Reich on my reading list are Wm L. Shirer’s classic and the memoirs of Albert Speer.
The book by Traudl Junge, one of Hitler’s secretaries, was interesting – and the movie The Downfall ak Der Untergang is based on Junge’s memoirs.
I think Fay Wray was lamenting the fact that she was forever known as King Kong’s love interest (I probably learned that here!)
Robert I think you exude that quality of Professional Writers that differs from all the pretenders.
You have the discipline to sit down and force yourself to write.
Whether you feel like it or not – whether you think you are inspired – or not.
Steven Pressfield write a wonderful little book for aspiring writers called The War Of Art.
He said that no matter how he felt he forces himself to sit down every morning and write – counting on what he calls his Muse to guide him.
I have to say I understand the Muse concept – while I, not a professional writer, will start something – a report for my car club – whatever – and once I start many times it seems an invisible power will guide me to the ending.
Now some may wonder if that invisible power might be drunk but that is another issue 😉
Bill:
All the successful screenwriters I know are disciplined, hard working people. Inspiration is overrated. Perspiration is the key.
I also recently read The End and quite enjoyed it. One thing that struck me was a comment Kershaw makes that the Nazis, having perfected the apparatus of terror abroad and against their own Jews, then turned it against Germany in order to maintain control in the bloody last months of the war. There’s a great Frankenstein story for you.
kgbudge:
Totalitarian regimes always turn on the people who initially supported them. It’s poetic justice and in the case of Germany and Japan, the devastation brought them to their senses and brought about modern democracies.
The last Hollywood bios I read was Kate Remembered and American Rebel about Clint Eastwood. I also read Pictures At A Revolution and taken together the three books give you get an interesting look at how Hollywood has changed from the days of the studio system to today.
I just finished your cousin Alice’s book The Battle for Wine and Love. Excellent book even though I doubt I’ll ever drink enough wine in my life to develop the palate she has. I do like her idea at the beginning of the book that there’s a movie to be made about her battles with the wine dragon Parker ratings. If Sideways could be made into a movie her book should be a slam dunk. At least her book is interesting and builds to a climax when she interviews Parker. It could also have numerous sequels, sort of a Rocky for wine. Then again I can see the wine industry not looking as favorably on her book as they did with Sideways.
I read Alice’s book too. It’s a pleasant and informative read. I don’t think palates of that sensitivity can be “developed.” You either have it or you don’t.
In college I drank a lot of beer and developed a pretty good feel for the better brews. Of course usually the review consisted of “hey, this is good beer’. Come to think of it, I think they all rated 100 on my scale.
Boy, life was a lot simpler in college.
Johnny:
Hollywood has changed and in some ways it is a better place—at least for writers. We make fewer movies, true, but we get a lot more money for our labor and we’re not at the mercy of producers who used to decide who gets script credit.
So glad you enjoyed Alice’s book. She writes beautifully.