I just heard that a friend of mine passed away a few days ago.

I haven't seen Peter Bryce for a while -- maybe even a year or two, except for a brief encounter about two weeks ago. I saw him outside of a store and I talked to him for a few minutes.

He was a talented man, and smart. He knew more about music than anyone I've ever known. He was a student of the nature of music -- what made something musical, what it meant, how it mattered. He was also a gifted musician.

Peter was a gentle soul, and though I rarely saw him in the last few years, every time we met I was glad to see him and always enriched by the meeting. He was smarter than I by a great margin, and I always suspected that he operated on a level of experience that I will never know.

He spent great amounts of time thinking and writing about esoteric ideas as to religion, history and music. Sometimes he would reference things that were completely unknown to me as if they were everyday knowledge. When I asked about details, he'd say he read the tidbit of knowledge in a four hundred year-old manuscript or out of print book.

Peter's greatest gift to me was his love of humanity. Over the years, we spent several hundred hours talking about the terrible way most humans treat each other, and what we could do to make things better. Ultimately, we always wound up at the same place: each of us can choose to be kind, and that's the best we can do.

On that score, Peter Bryce was a complete success. I will miss him.

Hilary Clinton: Stealth Presidential Candidate
Hilary Wants You, Iowa!

It's the worst-kept secret in politics. Hilary Clinton wants to be the President of the USA. She won't come right out and say it, but that's what she wants.

The above link will take you to story on Yahoo News. It appears that going to Iowa right now is rather inconvenient for the Senator, so she's inviting Iowans to come visit her in Washington.

I'm sure that Clinton's business with Iowa has nothing at all to do with the presidential caucus that is held there. Surely, New York (the state she represents in the senate) has some sort of urgent business with Iowa. Maybe there's a New York/Iowa Alliance in the works.

I don't have a problem with Hilary Clinton, really. While she would be a ridiculous candidate, I truly believe she would be a good president. In fact, I would vote for her in a second. She's smart, savvy, and let's be honest -- less morally compromised than her husband.

It would be nice to see a president in the White House that would be able to provide me a challenge if we were ever to play Scrabble. Don't get me wrong; I don't believe for a second that Bush is stupid. You don't get where he is today without having some brains. But words ain't his thing.

And I don't have too much of a problem with Bush, either. I think that people told him a whole bunch of stuff he wanted to hear, and he acted on what he heard. I think he really believed that it was important to invade Iraq. I totally disagree with him, but I don't thing he's some stupid evil person trying to take over the world.

But before he actually invades another country, I hope he gets in touch with me first. I'd love the opportunity to talk to him about it. But back to Hilary.

I think that she is a forward-thinking, intelligent and thoughtful person. She has some ideas I don't agree with, and some seriously bizarre baggage. But I believe that she would do good things as a President. It would be interesting (to say the least) to see who her cabinet and advisors were.

And I have to say, the Ditto-Cam footage of Rush Limbaugh's head exploding would be a whole lot of fun to watch.

The Big Decision
Here's the e-mail I sent to the editor of the paper that wants my exclusive services as a freelance reporter:

After careful consideration, I’ve decided to stick with [the paper] as a freelancer. As I told you the other day, I do have four or five stories in play for [the other paper], and since I took the assignments before I was aware of the [paper's] policy, I feel obligated to follow through on them. They should appear in the next four editions, but after that I will be exclusive to [the paper] until further notice.

I hope you guys know that I was unaware of the [paper's] requirements regarding freelancers. If I had known about it, I surely wouldn’t have taken other work at a competing paper.

Thanks for working with me on this. Talk to you soon.

Part of me feels like I traded my freedom for a little security, but I have to remember that there are more sides to this to consider.

There are a few reasons I chose this route:

1. I like working for this particular paper. They pay regularly, and they have offered me more work every month I've been with them.

2. This paper is the biggest one in the area, and my byline will receive more attention. This will help my business grow.

3. I've already learned a lot from the editors of this paper, and I expect to learn even more.

4. By limiting myself to one newspaper, I will have to pursue other types of writing in order to expand my business.

5. To be honest, they pay more per piece than the other paper did, and that's a factor I can't ignore. It's the last factor, however.

6. I have specific goals in mind about my business, and at this moment, my relationship with this paper is the best way to acheive those goals.

So that's it. Now I have to deal with the folks at the other paper, which won't be at all pleasant. I really like them, and they gave me work. I'll have to disengage carefully and as professionally as I can. The last thing I want to do is step on anyone for any reason and the truth is, the other paper has been pretty good to me.

I haven't enjoyed the past couple of days, but I count them as a time of growth. I had to re-evaluate my goals as a writer and as a business owner, and that's always a good thing.

RIP Frank Gorshin
Frank Gorshin, most famously known as The Riddler on the Batman TV show from the 60's passed away today. Here's a link if you want to read more:

http://www.wnbc.com/entertainment/4503355/detail.html

I think this guy was immensely talented and I always enjoyed his work. I've heard tell that he was a decent human being as well.

When All Else Fails...
I'm still bugged by this business with the newspaper and even though I have stewed and pouted about it all night, I still haven't come to a decision as to what to do.

So, I went grocery shopping. Today is payday for me, and even though I worked the overnight shift last night, I am still pretty wound up.

Three things make me feel better every time I do them: fill the cupboards with food, fill the car with gas, and pay bills.

Those things, combined with loud music blasting through the house (I'm home alone until 3 PM today) will help me put things in perspective.

Plus, I'm making dinner. That's always therapeutic for me too.

A Not-So-Good Writing Day
I got a call from the editor of one of the newspapers for which I do freelance work, and they aren't happy that I am writing stuff that is appearing in other newspapers. Apparently, it is against their policy for freelancers to sell stuff to other papers.

I've signed no contract -- in fact, I've seen no contract. The editor said that I will be hearing from their legal department and chances are that if I want to write for this paper, I will have to be exclusive to that company.

Apparently, the "free" part of freelancer doesn't seem to apply here. Not only do they own my work, this company seeks to actually own me -- without hiring me.

So it appears that I have a choice to make. I derive more income from this client, but being exclusive to them will hurt me in the long run because I won't be building a client base that will allow my business to grow.

And part of me chafes at the thought that they want to control me without making me an employee. In fact, it really pisses me off. I can't make a decision when I'm in this frame of mind. Stay tuned; I'll let you know what's up.

Requiem for EULOGY
I watched a perfectly wretched movie called Eulogy last night. You’d think that with a cast that includes Ray Romano, Glenn Headly, Debra Winger, Hank Azaria and a whole bunch of other talented people, a movie wouldn’t blow chunks.

But you’d be wrong. This stinker is so chunky, you might want to watch it with a fork. Not even my fondness for Debra Winger (who stole my heart in Forget Paris) could make me enjoy this movie.

Rip Torn is a familial patriarch whose death brings together what is perhaps one of the most dysfunctional families ever filmed. There’s not a balanced person among them, and each character has all the depth of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. (The ultra cool Jonny Quest notwithstanding.)

I believe the producers were going for something akin to The Royal Tenenbaums, but instead wound up with some tired characters we've seen many times before:

Oldest son who feels that Dad never loved him? Check. (Ray Romano, doing his schtick. He's really funny, but maybe he should add some stuff to his routine.)

Middle daughter who is dutiful and bitter? Yup. (Debra Winger, who normally approaches goddesshood for me, but here is just plain sad.)

Second son who appeared to be the favorite but was really stuck in a pattern of trying to please someone who was never around? You bet. (Hank Azaria, how did they blackmail you into this movie?)

Youngest daughter who rebels by becoming a lesbian? Uh huh. (Kelly Preston, who looked as if she were sleepwalking through this film.)

Sultry lesbian girlfriend? Ditto. (Famke Janssen, slumming. I keep waiting for this actor to get a role worthy of her. Perhaps I give her more credit than she deserves because I think she's cute.)

Distraught mother who dismisses the father’s faults by saying “He made me laugh”? Gotcha. (Piper Laurie had the best lines in this show, if you ask me.)

Hot post-adolescent (but not quite adult) granddaughter struggling to find meaning? Oh yeah. (Zooey Deschanel, who can be mesmerizing and really really really tries hard to make this role work.)

Wacky neighbor who knows a ‘startling’ family secret? Mmmm-hmmm. (Glenn Headley, who is most of the time quite remarkable, is wasted here.)

Finally, the sensitive boyfriend who knows exactly what to say? Sure. (The immensely forgettable Jesse Bradford.)

We’ve seen all of these people before. We’ve seen them in better movies, with better scripts, and it was hard to care about any of these people. The only character that viewers come to care about is the granddaughter, because she’s as close to ‘normal’ as this movie lets the viewer get. She's the most like us, so we are supposed to care. It's an 'okay' performance, but Winona Rider did this 20 years ago in Mermaids.

The plot, such as it is, lurches between 'funny' bits of lowbrow comedy that is so pedestrian and predictable that I could check it off as we went: Everyone gets a grand entrance. Everyone gets a moment to display an idiosyncrasy. Everyone gets to quip about the dead father. Contrivances abound to escalate the conflict. Things build up to a boiling point and then there’s a release. And without spoiling the movie for anyone, a comedic explosion in which no one is harmed.

Then these disparate character make up with each other, after a fashion.

And that's the end. And there's no need to thank me for watching this awful flick so you don't have to. It's all part of the job.

A Pet Peeve
You know what really bugs me?

I hate when you know someone has a problem with you, but that person tells everyone who will listen – except you.

I hate it when people come to me and say that this person said this or that about me, only to find when I go to the source that they won’t tell me what the problem is.

They even deny that there’s a problem.

I was in a play a few million years ago where a director did this very thing. Before rehearsal, I would go to the director and tell him some ideas I had for my character and ask him if it was okay to try them out.

“Well I think that’s just fine, Michael,” he would say. After rehearsal the director would give notes to the actors about what just happened. He never gave me a note. Normally, that’s a sign that the director liked what you did.

But just before I would leave the theater, someone would come up to me and tell me the director didn’t like this or that part of my work. They would give me detailed notes (gratefully received, by the way) about what the director would want me to do next rehearsal.

The next day, it was the same thing. To my face, everything was fine. Behind my back, there was a problem.

I hate that. I mean, really hate that.

I face a similar situation right now. Someone I know has a problem with me and has told everyone but me about it.

Since this is someone I have to deal with, I thought I should face the situation head-on. I went to this person and tried to put everything on the table, only to have him deny there was a problem at all. Everyone else is lying, he said.

I told him that if there really is a problem, that’s okay. We can work around it, but please stop going to other people and come directly to me. After all, we’re both adults. We both are about the same age, about the same experience, and we have a lot in common. We can work this out, I said. And he agreed.

It may surprise you to know that this has actually made the problem worse. It’s almost to the point where I’m going to have to rearrange things as to avoid this person.

That drives me crazy.

Movie Review
Most Patient Wife and I went to see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy yesterday. We both liked it.

No, it's not as clever as the books, or as funny as the BBC series. But it's a fun movie with some laugh-out-loud moments and some strangeness in just the right places.

And for me, Trillian was just the right combination of brains and looks. If this were an American film, Trillian would be a super-model wearing glasses to indicate that she's smart. But this is a British film, thank goodness.

Arthur is a Brit everyman, just as he's supposed to be. There's nothing special about him, but he's in the right place at the right time.

He even makes a few right decisions.

Go in with reasonable expectations, and you'll have a good time. The details (and some funny bits) aren't here as I remember them, but what is here is a sweet boy-meets-girl tale disguised as a fun ride through the universe.

And they got that part right. So go see it already!

A Good Writing Day
Yesterday went into the Good Day column. I opened a new bank account with my first freelance writing check. The amount wasn't all that impressive, but I got a thrill out of it anyway.

But even better was when I got home. An editor I used to work with offered me a job out of the blue: three guest editorials that will run in June! This is great. We're talking about two hours of work, high exposure and a little cash. Not too shabby.

The lesson we learned today, folks, is that writing is only part of the deal...it's also muy importante (going for a wider audience with the Spanish lingo, there) to be kind to all editors.