Howdy, folks. I'm sure you all saw last night's Biden interview with George Stephanopoulos. I thought he did fine, and yet the pundits and some Democratic politicians are still yapping. If he loses the election, it won't be his fault but the Dems who won't stop calling for his head. Listen: do you ever see the Repubs break ranks? Even with Trump being a rapist and a convicted felon who tried to overthrow America, and also the biggest a-hole in American history? No, you don't. Republicans stick together, even nice guy Mike Johnson toes the line. But Dems? Nope. They whine like the namby-pamby wimps they are, which is one reason I can't stand most of them. And the whiners are the ones who wanted Bernie Sanders last time, they're all a bunch of commies who see this as their chance to get rid of Joe. I saw one op-ed on CNN or MSNBC that proposed a ticket of Harris and Whitmer and said it could beat Trump. To even write that with a straight face shows you where these people are at. Biden had a good rally yesterday in Wisconsin, and as he said in the interview, he knows how to do the job, so stop focusing on his communication skills (which are very good for a man with a stutter in the early stages of dementia) and start focusing on the fact that if you kick Joe off the ticket, Trump wins. End of story. I mean, seriously...Kamala Harris is going to defeat Donald Trump? What planet are you living on? Time to get real, Democrats.
Well, anyhow...
Happy July. Did you have a nice Fourth? I spent the afternoon listening to Soundgarden's "Superunknown" and "Jar of Flies" by Alice in Chains, two of the greatest albums ever made, both released in the watershed year of 1994. I found a PDF of an amazing, rare book called "The Ringmakers of Saturn" by Norman Bergrun, which has photos of enormous spaceships lurking within the Saturnian Rings. Bergrun was a highly regarded aerospace engineer, so - as always - don't laugh, just read the book (and look at the pictures). However, you'll probably have to use the online PDF (Google the title) because a hard copy of the book is difficult to find.
I also had a nice CSUN walk, down to the Turtle Pond, then back up to Maple Hall to visit my feline friend Einstein, who was chillin' in the shade on a very hot afternoon. That night, I drove to my parking spot at Nashville Avenue and Key West Street in Porter Ranch, then walked almost a mile and a half to Shepherd of the Hills Church for their awesome fireworks show, the best you will ever see (tied with Disneyland). Pastor Dudley hosted the proceedings. It was my first 4th of July at the church since 2019, pre-pandemic.
And, it's been quite a week...(drum roll please)...On Monday, the proof copy of my book arrived in the mail, and while it had a design flaw (a white border around the cover due to incorrect image sizing on my part), it looks fantastic nonetheless. I have already re-sized the cover and ordered another proof copy, which I should receive soon, but it already looks like a "bookstore book" and I am over the moon with the result. It is so great to read the words in print, on paper, between covers in an actual book. I began work on it around Valentine's Day 2022, so it has taken almost 2 1/2 years, but boy has it been a joyous experience! I can't wait for people to read it. Who will be the first?
I guess I can now tell you the title. It's called "Pearl the Wonder Girl", and it's the story of a 13-year-old girl named Pearl who believes in magic, so magic happens to her. The book is based on the stories and anecdotes my friend and godmother Pearl told me during the years I was her caregiver. She loved to tell me about her childhood, and one day in February 2022, when I had finished the first draft of the other book I am working on, I was sitting around musing and a phrase came into my head: "Pearl the Wonder Girl". That was Pearl's pet nickname for herself, or at least it may have been in adolescence, because she would say it on rare occasions to no one in particular, when I was the only one around. We'd be out walking or just sitting in her house, and she'd say, "Pearl, Pearl the Wonder Girl", in a rhythm that suggested a jump-rope rhyme. I never asked her about it, but I figured it was her nickname, maybe in junior high or high school. And as I continued to muse, that day in February 2022, I thought, "Y'know...that'd be a great title for a book," and I began writing it shortly thereafter. Actually, I should say that we began writing it, because it was based on Pearl's stories, (which I had memorised), and it felt like she was with me every step of the way. In fact, I have given her a co-writing credit on the front cover. We are co-authors, and in a sense, it feels like the book was channeled. I can remember taking my CSUN walks at night that Winter and trying to think of as many Pearl Stories as I could. I came up with about ten, plus five or six memorable anecdotes. Then I said, "Okay, Pearl. From these we will build our book." I didn't have any idea how we'd link the stories (most of which were brief), or how the book would fill out, but imagination was the name of the game and we gave it a whirl, and now here we are.
For a time, I had a question about the title. I wondered if I should I use two "Pearl"s, as she used in her own recitation of the rhyme ("Pearl, Pearl the Wonder Girl") or if I should just use one. In the end, I went with one, figuring it would look better on a book cover, so "Pearl the Wonder Girl" it was. We began with a single sentence of just four words, "Pearl the Wonder Girl paused". That sentence went through some modification and became longer...
...and, as noted, the rest of the book just kind of channeled itself. It's fun, it's weird, it's heartfelt, and it's magical.
Here's the tagline: "She believes in magic, so magic happens to her."
The story begins in the Summer of 1938, in Pearl's hometown of Mankato, Minnesota, when she is 13 going on 14. One day, while reading (her favorite pastime, besides riding her bike), she has a daydream in which she is visited by a special Fairie. Her Summer (and her life) changes after that, and that is all I will reveal, except to say that the story also features her family members (five siblings, her parents and grandmother), as well as several very interesting characters who seem to have either supernatural powers or strange backstories. She also has a very special best friend. And, if you like Halloween, the book has an epic Halloween tale that could be considered the book's centerpiece. I love this book, and I feel it is a blessing, gifted to me by Pearl. I loved being her caregiver. As I've said previously, it's an unusual book, featuring sections of what you might call "streams-of-consciousness." It's non-linear in places, and sometimes seems to go off-the-rails, but there's always a cohesive storyline that holds the whole thing together, and it's a lot of fun. So there you have it: "Pearl the Wonder Girl". She believes in magic, so magic happens to her. I know I said I would have a purchase link for you, but there will be a slight delay of a couple more weeks until I receive my latest proof copy with the revised cover. Then we'll be good to go. I'll keep you updated, and in the meantime I'm working on a Facebook page...
July 7 edit: here is a link to see the FB page in progress, including book covers -
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122102897570396127&set=a.122101862642396127
My music for the last few days has included: "The Harmony Codex" by Steven Wilson, "Blue Angel" by The Strawbs, George Harrison's final album "Brainwashed", and "Past, Present and Future" by Al Stewart. I don't have a Montgomery Clift movie for you this time, but I did see "A Quiet Place: Day One" last Tuesday and thought it was very good, though more like an apocalyptic Zombie movie ala "28 Days" than the previous two "Quiet Place" films, which were much more suspenseful and story-driven. This one is a pure action flick, a straightforward sci-fi monster movie with good acting by the leads and a very cool cat. I give it two thumbs up.
And that's all for now. A shorter blog than usual, but we'll have more movies next time, more news about "Pearl the Wonder Girl", and hopefully some good news for Joe Biden (and bad news for Trump). Stay tuned.
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