Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
My biggest influences are not necessarily writers. The people who spur
me on are the people who refuse, and I stress the word REFUSE,  to
compromise their beliefs, credo, morals etc. 

I realize that's an old fashioned concept in this world that only
acknowledges fame and fortune. But I am so, so bored by the famous.
Yeah, like it's interesting to see people put their self esteem in the
hands of any, and I do stress ANY,  publication that will take their
picture. NO. 

But  every so often I meet someone who has their own light and it
gives me the inspiration and motivation to keep going.  That probably
sounds corny but I'll live with that label. 
  

    

I love that.

Someone said it's not hard to make a million bucks if you don't care how you
do it.  I'm a 48-year-old emerging singer-songwriter, 25 years too late to be
entering that guild if you look at how the business works these days, but I
am having the time of life out there singing my song my way.  And keeping my
day job.

There's a speech by Richard Gault near the end of "Secret Celebrity" that I
really like, and I think it fits here:

"In the end, all you can do is whatever you can to help the species evolve up
a notch, score more points for the creative side.  And have as good a time as
you can while you're doing it."
  

    

Isn't it Charles Foster Kane in "Citizen Kane" who says, "It isn't hard to
make a million dollars if all you want to do is make a million dollars."?
  

    

Carol, who are some of the folks you've met who have impressed you with 
their own true light?  
  

    
Before I answer that I should add that even those who have managed to
hold onto their light don't have it all the time. Keeping it requires
what a friend of mine described as "eternal vigilance". It's a daily
challenge.  Some days it's there, some days it's slipping.  I think the
key thing is that one's intent doesn't change. And I love people whose
intent is to keep  their light going. 
Examples of that:  (Some on this list you'll know, some you may not) 
Sean MacPherson: He owns  (and creates) restaurants on both coasts.
Try pulling up the profile the New York Times Sunday magazine did on
him a few years ago. You'll see what I mean.

Jack Nicholson because he's a true artist. His next movie "About
Schmidt" , written and directed by Alexander Payne might be his most 
quietly powerful performance yet.

Ted Demme: A director who tragically died earlier this year. Teddy was
one of those guys who brought life into a room with him.  And there
are others, of course.  But  I thought I'd just give you the short
list. 
  

    

Thank you for that.  What happened to Ted Demme?  Thank gopod for 
www.imdb.com!  His picture looks so familiar.
  

    
Ted died of a heart attack while playing basketball.  He was so young.
37.   All his friends were devastated.  As I said earlier, he was one
of those guys who could change the mood of a room (for the better) just
by walking in.  He had a gigantic spirit - which still lives on in his
wife and kids.
  

    

That's really terrible, Carol.  I'm so sorry to hear it.

Listen, this is really a sad note on which to end this discussion, but our 
two weeks is up, so let's not consider it over if you would like to stick 
around and chat with us some more, and maybe we can get to a more upbeat 
ending.  Thank you so much for being with us.

I am enjoying the discussion and hoping to learn more.  
  

    
You guys have been great .  And I'm all about upbeat endings. Real
ones, not Hollywood ones. 
  

    

Thank you so much for joining us!  We can keep this conversation going as
long as we like...
  

    
I've been a fly-on-the-wall for this conversation and I've learned a lot,
and been impressed no end by <carol-wolper>.  Brava!  And thanks to the
hosts for setting this up.
  

    

        One of my orthodontists died playing basketball.
        A theme in the book that kept whapping me was the characters' fear
of aging. I'm forty-three and a half, so each time Christine freaked out
about being thirty-five was a jolt. Jennifer and PsG seemed even more hung
up on it, despite being a dozen years younger, and then William told the
reader he was unable to consider being with a woman who had a varicosity
on her leg.
        I've always known that age acceptance is a gender issue, and read
about it being amped up some in show business, but were you exaggerating
much for satire there or is that stuff just reporting?
  

    
I live in L.A.  (Hollywood)      Age is a huge issue here.  On this
particular playing field, anyway.   I'm not saying it's that way all
over the city - but in my world it is. And I'm not exaggerating.  Of
course it's worse with actresses because so many of them get hooked on
being lust objects. Watching them trying to deal with losing that
attention  is not a pretty sight.  However,  the good news is I know a
lot of women over thirty five who are having a much better time than
they did in their twenties.  More flaws (maybe) but fewer fears. 
  

    
I have known a few people who would be lame enough to reject a woman on the
basis of a varicose vein or two.  Hard to believe,but there are people who
are that shallow.
  

    

Too true.
  

    
But actually I understand that character's choice. As he explains it -
that's his no go zone.  There are certain things that  can clash with
one's sensibility. In a Nick Hornby book it might be someone who
listened to Mariah Carey.  How many women will say that in their search
for a guy, bad shoes is a deal breaker? This all sounds very
superficial  but I think you've got to distinguish between deleting
someone from your potential date list and deleting someone from your
friendship list.  The male/female dating hook-up is tricky. And you
can't fake it. Either you're attracted to someone or you not. And if
you do fake it, that's a bigger problem. Don't you think? 
  

    

Bad SHOES???!!! 

Oh, Carol, this could explain SO much! 

I'm not even sure what shoes would be bad, and whether mine count. 

But you've given me another reminder why I keep myself in one of the other 
LA universes, one that runs almost parallel to the one in the book and 
only bumps up against it now and then, leaving a ding on both, though 
undoubtedly the larger ding is on mine. 
  

    
Now I'm wondering how you define bad shoes? As in old & worn? Or cheap?
  

    
I'm just using shoes as an example. Don't we all have things that just
clash with our sensibility? Doesn't  matter what it is. Could be
anything.   One of the things that I tried to do with the character of
William is show that he understood how easily changeable this whole 
falling in and out of lust thing can be.  I'm not saying he liked it
but he got that that's the way it is and if you wanted to call him
shallow, he'd understand. By the way, even though he falls out of lust
with the girl, at that moment he also acknowledges his appreciation and
respect for her as a person. Separate issues. 
  

    

Okay so you've whetted my appetite!

How do I buy the book?
  

    
Amazon.com?  Or if you live in Los Angeles, Book Soup on Sunset. 
Barnes and Noble in Santa Monica. Brentano's in Century City.  Tecalote
in Santa Barbara.   After you read it, I'd love to hear what you
think.  It seems to inspire a variety of reactions.  Which I guess is a
good thing.