Busy with more deadlines…and when I get around to it, I'm going to write a long piece here about deadlines. It won't tell experienced writers anything they don't already know but I think a lot of beginners get very confused about when it's vital to meet a deadline and when you just have to come close. The work I'm doing today is about 85% vital.
An article someone should write — and it won't be me — is how those of us who were horrified by Mr. Trump's election can or should deal with folks we know who did support him and are now kinda mystified as to what they're getting for their vote. As I mentioned the other day here, every time I turn on MSNBC — admittedly, not that often — I see Trump supporters saying things like, "Uh, we thought he was going to 'drain the swamp' of the kind of people who've run Washington and he seems to be putting them in charge." Or someone is waking up to the idea that their health insurance or Medicare may now be in jeopardy.
Yelling at these people, "Didn't you listen to this man? Didn't you notice how often he lied?" isn't going to help anyone. Nor is hollering at the folks who are thrilled he's in office because, you know, unemployment was at seven million percent under the black guy and that's why Trump got the biggest landslide ever. But there may be a more constructive way to talk to these people than hurling insults…although come to think of it, people hurling insults are doing pretty well in America these days.
Sorry to hear of the passing of Alan Thicke. I never met the man. I have no anecdotes or observations. Just sorry when anyone dies before they get to be really, really old unless of course they prefer it that way.
If you live in the Los Angeles area, there is an Instaplay this weekend. And if you don't live in the Los Angeles area, there will still be an Instaplay this weekend and I'm hoping to be there for it. Instaplay, as I've explained here, is something done now and then by the best comedy improvisers I've ever seen. They take a suggestion of a title from the audience and then proceed to create an entire musical comedy — complete with songs that sometimes rhyme — right before your astonished, laughing eyes.
I wrote about them here and everything I said there still applies. It's Saturday evening, it's in Culver City, it's in a tiny and unfancy theater. It's cheap to attend and the entertainment value is very, very high. Come and bring along a title to suggest for the play, preferably of a holiday, non-political theme.