Monday, October 17, 2016

# 26 Writing Fiction (31 Oct 2008)


Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:33:46 -0700
From: George  Bronax
Subject: Writing Fiction
To: "John" 

For good examples of episodic writing with sub plots and seperate
character stories, intertwined into the trunk of the main character,
go to
AETV, Sopranos, and study all the web pages.
    You can write a long book a la John Updike,
    as life as emotional and physical masturbation,
    and conceptual masturbation ( Kant) or
    Portnoy's Complaint, the addiction being not
    the chronic masturbation, but the need to
    relive it by telling someone about it ( Therapist)
    or writing about it ( Updike).  Just don't write
    it like most affected modern authors. Write it
    like Joseph Conrad or some one using direct
    speech. Message of all literature, Life is
    Masturbation, as we never experientially
    get out of ourselves, even when we are with
    another person or persons. We are always
    locked within our brains, only looking out
    at the world of others.

Happy Halloween. I am shutting down early to avoid this, as I stopped
celebrating about 7 years ago. Too much cost and work for too little
emotional reward. It became just another underpaid
job for me.
    
You might want to begin, toe in the water,
to remain as Univ. counselor, but write newspaper or magazine
articles, later books.
George

--

#25 Trial Lawyer & Director (30 March 2004)

To: John
From: Bronax

Search John Appleman. Wrote whole series of Insurance Law, that isn't it. It would be anything with word, Trial in title. He was local semi genius who roved midwest trying cases for others. Really organized trial practice into science and opened it up. Also, old and dated, yet still good for exploration of creative use of evidence would be any old books by Melvin Belli, Say, Encylopedia of Trials, Students One Volume Edition. Go to your local law school bookstore, and check out the paper back section, and the trial practice section.

Remember lawyer presenting trial is like director presenting movie or play. Complete, persuasive, creative, fresh. Works for jury as well as for audience.


Monday, October 10, 2016

#24 Fahrenheit 911 & pols (12 August 2004)


Date:   Aug 12, 2004
To:      John
From:  Bronax

Finally saw Farenheit 911 today. Me and one other person. For twelve or thirteen dollars the Marina Theatre just played away, to all but two empty seats. Economics of this makes me worry, about how much money they are making on a full house to do this. Powerful movie.


We got to see lots of clips that didn't make it to American TV. Lots of good questions about what the A team is doing there handling the reins of our carriage. Rest of presidential campaign boiled down to one side saying you are evil and immoral and other side saying you are heartless robbers. Clear that original idea of political parties, formed when country was small, uneducated, with no means of instant communication, no radio, no internet, no tv, etc. polarized to make things simple i.e. black and white, no longer makes sense. Neither "side" clearly has solutions to the changed world economy, the mix of cultures and races world over, ease of movement between nation states, changing economies from agro to mfg to service, etc. changing family and economic structures, so they fall back on what is safe, name calling. Screaming and hiding now has replaced problem solving. We are all in for a rough tide during the next 20 years or so.