Random Post About Random Thoughts

As the title suggests, this is a random post about random thoughts. And here is a random picture of some blinds.

Why am I writing a random post about random thoughts? Because I am currently in the middle of a boss battle (see "Life Is Like A Video Game" from last week) and am too busy to come up with something less random while still sticking to my once-a-week posting schedule (which I have stuck to ever since this blog started back in 2012, with the exception of a couple of weeks in July 2021).

I apologize for the randomness. Hopefully I will be able to get back to writing actual content soon.

XOXO,

Brian

Life Is Like A Video Game

A Zelda-style video game

And right now I'm in a temple

With a puzzle I have to solve

To get to the next level

The game is giving me clues

That I need to decipher

Before my heart meter runs out

Wavemaker: A Rock Opera??

(Continued from last week's post, "Hold My Beer: The Musical??")

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Two people are here, sitting on a couch and watching "Spider-Noir" on Amazon Prime. They are FELICITY, late teens to early 20s, and JOEL, same age range. The show cuts to a commercial.

Felicity: You know, this is actually pretty fun.

Joel: I agree.

Felicity: To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect. But I'm glad we started watching it.

Joel: Me too.

Felicity: They should make a Spider-Gwen solo show.

Joel: I've heard they're making an animated Spider-Gwen movie.

Felicity: Oh, cool. Still, though, I want a live-action version.

Joel: That would be good.

Felicity: Hey, switch the show to black and white before the commercial ends.

Joel: Okay.

A middle-aged man bursts into the room. This is BRIAN.

Brian: Hey, you guys!

Felicity (sighs, to Joel): Pause the show.

Joel: Okay.

Felicity (to Brian): What is it now?

Brian: Remember last week, when I said I wanted to produce a stage play version of Hold My Beer?

Joel: Yes.

Felicity: I wish I could forget.

Brian: Well, I've changed my mind.

Felicity: Big surprise.

Brian: Instead, it's going to be a stage play version of the first book in the Joel Suzuki series.

Joel and Felicity exchange glances.

Brian (cont'd): I started working on the Hold My Beer adaptation, but then I realized it might be a little too mellow for live theatre. A play needs to be visual and dramatic. So then I thought, hey, Joel Suzuki would be a great fit for the format.

Felicity: Hold on a sec -

Brian: And instead of having to write a bunch of new tunes, we could just use songs from Second Player Score's catalog. I know a few that would go really well with the story.

Felicity: Wait. Back up. I -

Brian: We could call it "Wavemaker: A Rock Opera." I mean, I know rock operas are usually sung-through, and this would have dialogue like a standard musical, but the songs would all be rock songs pulled from what were originally concept albums. And there'll be costumes and props and sets. I mean, nothing too fancy or expensive, just enough to get the idea across. Also, we - 

Felicity: Dude. Stop.

Brian stops.

Felicity (cont'd): What do you mean by "the Joel Suzuki series"?

Joel: Um...I was kind of wondering that myself.

Felicity: Are you saying that there's a book series about Joel?

Brian pauses and looks around.

Brian: Oh. Yeah. Right. Never mind. Forget I said anything.

Brian hastily exits the room.

Felicity: He is so weird sometimes.

Joel: I agree.

Felicity: Anyway, let's get back to the show.

Joel: Okay.

To be continued...?

Hold My Beer: The Musical??

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Two people are here, sitting on a couch and playing a PvP (Player vs. Player) video game. One is FELICITY, late teens to early 20s. The other is JOEL, same age range.

Felicity: Ha! Got you again, dude.

Joel: How do you always do that?

Felicity: That's actually a good question. You're the one with the Sight. You should be able to see me coming a mile away.

Joel: I don't think that's how the Sight works.

Felicity: I thought that's exactly how the Sight works.

Joel: Um...

Felicity: Whatever. Hold on, I need a drink.

Felicity pauses the game and picks up a can of diet soda from the coffee table in front of her. As she takes a sip, a middle-aged man enters the room. This is BRIAN.

Brian: Hey guys, I have this totally wild idea.

Felicity (putting the can down): Seriously? Like, another one?

Joel: What is it?
Brian: I want to produce a stage play version of Hold My Beer. A musical.

Joel: Hold My Beer? You mean, that short film you made?

Brian: Yeah.

Felicity: You're right, that is a bat-sh- (exchanges glances with Joel; remembers that Joel hates swearing) -poop wild idea. Do you have any experience in theater?

Brian: I've seen The Book of Mormon. And that Behind the Curtain documentary about the Stranger Things play on Netflix. Also, I played the lead role in a sixth grade Christmas play. So yeah, lots of experience.

Joel: Um...

Felicity (shaking her head): Dude, that's a terrible joke.

Brian: No, I'm not joking. I really want to do this.

Joel: Why?

Felicity: Because he enjoys causing trouble for himself.

Brian: There are a lot of reasons. One is that some of our original actors from the film have backgrounds in theater. Also, I know a few people who are involved in the theater scene, so I can try to get them involved or at least ask for their advice.

Felicity: Not sure either of those are reason enough to do something so far out of your wheelhouse.

Brian: There's more.

Joel: Like what?

Brian: Live theater is basically the origin of show business. Plus, I feel like it's the future as well. I mean, not that it's not relevant right now, but I think it just might be one of the last forms of entertainment that won't involve AI.

Joel: What about robots or holograms?

Felicity: Ugh, let's hope not.

Brian: Even if that happens, I don't think it'll be for a long time.

Joel (as if he knows something we don't): Well, maybe.

Brian: Huh?

Joel: Um, any other reasons?

Brian: Vancouver's arts and culture scene is growing. Venue-wise, we already have Magenta Theater, and the city wants to build not just one, but two performing arts centers, one downtown and one on the east side. I could even try applying for one of the city's new grants. 

Joel: I've heard of those.

Brian: Plus, you know, if Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Green Day can do it...

Felicity: Dude, those guys are legends. You're, well...

Brian: I know, I know. But either way, I'm always up for a new challenge. I didn't know a whole lot about filmmaking before I made Hold My Beer, the film.

Joel: True.

Felicity: Well, good luck, man. You'll need it. Can we get back to our game now?

Brian: Sure. Just wanted to let you two know.

Joel: Keep us posted.

Felicity (slapping Joel on the arm): Dude, why'd you say that?
Joel: Aren't you kind of interested?

Felicity: What do you think?

To be continued...

Volumes Eight And Nine Status Update

This is still bonkers to me every time I think or talk about it: I continue to make steady progress on Volumes Eight and Nine of the Joel Suzuki series.

As I mentioned in this post, I actually finished a first draft of Volume Eight a few weeks ago. I was originally going to put it aside for a while, but instead, after a three-day cooling-off period, I dove right back in and started doing first-pass edits. Mind you, these are just to check for minor issues like missing words, punctuation, and such (I'm saving the heavy-lifting story revisions for later), but still, it's something. So as of right now, I've reviewed up through Chapter 15, which leaves 14 more chapters to go. And as for Volume Nine, I am now up to 17,500 words, or about 70 pages.

Will this continue? We shall see!

A Show? Yes, A Show!

Remember in this Band Update post from March when I said that Second Player Score, my now-mostly-a-multimedia-production-team-but-still-sometimes-a-band, had shows booked for May and June? Well, the time has arrived!

If you're in the Vancouver, WA/Portland, OR area (or happen to be passing through, or have frequent flyer miles to burn), you can check us out THIS SATURDAY, May 16th, at The Snug in NE Portland. We'll be playing with Six Sundays and Craig James & The Hawthorns, so you know it'll be a rockin' good time. There's no cover charge, and as a bonus for old people like me, the show starts relatively early at 8pm and should end by around 11:30pm at the latest (it actually does kind of have to end by then, since The Snug is in a residential neighborhood). We'll also be debuting our brand-new song "Edge Back," along with a new-old song (written in 2018 but never officially recorded or performed live until now) called "Think About Baseball."

Hope to see you there!

Momtistic

Recently, I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reader copy of Momtistic, a forthcoming memoir by my friend and fellow author, Laura Donovan.

It's her story about becoming a mother, having two sons on the autism spectrum, and discovering as an adult that she might be neurodivergent herself. And I have to say, I absolutely loved it. Here's a review I wrote for Goodreads:

"This was the first "unputdownable" book I've read in a while. It was funny, touching, and I could relate to it in so many ways. The tone reminded me of Jenny Lawson while the style and voice were uniquely the author's own. Highly recommended for parents, anyone with a connection to the autism community, and/or fans of memoirs (or just good books) in general."

I was introduced to Laura by Shamim Dana aka The Autograph King, who you might remember from this post from last year. Both Laura's book and a documentary film featuring Shamim are scheduled to come out this September, and I'll be interviewing Laura for the Fall issue of Spectrum Life Magazine (I previously interviewed Shamim last summer).

In the meantime, you can pre-order Momtistic from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Walmart, Target, or the publisher, Cynren Press. All the links are here. Do it now, you know you want to!