Howard Hughes and the Princess of Saturn (Chapter XXII)

[greygirlbeast]

fornikate writes, "I have found [Ayn] Rand is a great way to weed out people that suck." Indeed. Rarely can one find a useful, simple and reliable douchebag litmus test. But an appreciation of Ayn Rand does spring immediately to mind.

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Today is another muteday, if only to atone for yesterday's failure. Yesterday, I became very frustrated over work, and had to start speaking. I might have exploded, otherwise.

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Wonderfully rainy last night, with violent winds. I think the last scabby snow in our neighborhood is gone, gone, gone. Washed away. Okay, well, most of it.

Yesterday, was a day of panic recovery, a day of figuring out how to build a Tardis. I have nine days, but I need twenty. That sort of thing. Spooky read me all there is so far of the tenth chapter of The Drowning Girl: A Memoir, and then she read me the last section of the ninth chapter. Then I wrote a new closing scene for the ninth chapter, which came to 1,078 words. All that is left to do on the novel is to finish the tenth chapter (hopefully today), write the epilogue (hopefully tomorrow), read through the whole manuscript (much of it I've not read, or heard read, except in the writing of it), make about a zillion line edits, secure permission to quote three songs, and send it away to my agent and editor in NYC. Which is to say, the novel is very nearly done.

Two Worlds and In Between has become the much greater worry. We're still proofreading. Yesterday, while I wrote, Spooky proofed "The Daughter of the Four of Pentacles." Today while I write she'll proof "The Dead and the Moonstruck." That leaves "only" The Dry Salvages (a novella of over 30k words), "Stokers Mistress," "From Cabinet 34, Drawer 6," and "Houses Under the Sea." Spooky will do the latter for me tomorrow. Once all this proofreading is done, we have another zillion line edits to make before the ms. is ready to send to subpress.

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A bunch of eBay books and other things I owe people are going out today. ashlyme, I need your address (if you've already sent it to me, I lost it, sorry).

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Let me remind you of the Tale of the Ravens Kickstarter project. The good news is, we have 18 days to go, and the project is 164% funded (!!!). However, the farther over our projected budget we go, the better the finished product will be, and the better chance there will be of Goat Girl Press producing wonderful things after The Tale of the Ravens. There are still two of the four $500 pledge slots remaining, and we'd love to see those filled in the next eighteen days. Though, of course, any donation at all is welcome. Thank you.

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Last night, being not at all in the mood for gaming, we watched two movies. The first, Ulu Grosbard's True Confessions (1981) is a pretty good, though somewhat odd, story built around the Black Dahlia murder. However, the film's set in 1947, and not 1948, and Elizabeth Short is referred to as Lois Fazenda. The movie, staring Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall, is based on John Gregory Dunne's 1977 novel of the same name, and I assume the changes were taken from the book. So, yes. Pretty good film. But our second feature was Malcolm Venville's 44 Inch Chest, which is utterly fucking brilliant (especially considering it was Venville's directorial debut). Imagine Twelve Angry Men crossed with Guy Ritchie's Snatch, and you're sort of in the neighborhood of this film. Sort of. The entire cast delivers amazing performances, but John Hurt and Ian McShane pretty much steal the show. Presently streamable from Netflix, and a definite must-see. Though, if the word "cunt" causes you too much discomfort, you might want to sit this one out. But it is, after all, a British gangster film. That, by the way— "cunt" —was the only word I was forbidden to use while writing for DC/Vertigo, which I'll never cease to find utterly fucking befuddling.

Later we read more of Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire, which, I am happy to say, has completely recovered from those hurtfully dull first three chapters. Also, in my YA novels I will do all I can to avoid the recap infodumps. They piss me off to hell and back.

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And now, kittens, it's time to make the doughnuts. Comments! Especially about Sirenia Digest #63, please.

Yours in Joyful Sin,
Aunt Beast (the Haggard and Weary)

Comments

Rand

[fwcleve.livejournal.com]

> fornikate writes, "I have found [Ayn] Rand is a great way to weed out people that suck." Indeed. Rarely can one find a useful, simple and reliable douchebag litmus test. But an appreciation of Ayn Rand does spring immediately to mind.

Thanks Cait.

My Rand phase was strongest just after college -- about thirty-five years ago (so now I suck AND I'm old) -- but I still have an appreciation for some of her concepts. Her intensity and some of her quirks are legendary, of course, but she put her finger on some things that struck a chord with me, things that appeared obvious in retrospect, that had rarely been mentioned by others, possibly out of fear.

Rand had no fear of being shouted or argued down. That I admire, too.

I haven't re-read her works in recent times. I do remember that I differed from most Randists in that I did not consider Atlas Shrugged to be her supreme work. It was a fascinating Wizard-of-Oz-like fairytale -- but it actually violated principles she had formerly established in The Fountainhead -- the book I consider her masterpiece. I found that reversal odd.

Anyway, hey, I still proudly suck. Perhaps not as strongly as I used to, but...

--cleve

[ashlyme.livejournal.com]

I'm overfond of using the word 'cunt' myself. A bit strange that DC/Vertigo got squeamish about it.

You've made me very curious about "the female Quentin Crisp" comment. I could maybe see you in a lilac fedora and chiffon scarf, but I'm just being facetious. I've always liked the way he described himself as a "stately homo".

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

You've made me very curious about "the female Quentin Crisp" comment. I could maybe see you in a lilac fedora and chiffon scarf, but I'm just being facetious.

Right now, it's a straw Panama hat (with black band) and a green silk tie.

[ashlyme.livejournal.com]

Maybe you should do an Aunt Beast Hat Club, too. Maybe not.

Seriously though, well done on finding The End. Hope the silence is easier on you today.

[sovay]

The entire cast delivers amazing performances, but John Hurt and Ian McShane pretty much steal the show.

I've barely heard of this: I'll have to check it out.

[fornikate.livejournal.com]

I just pictured throwing Rand books at people and them turning blue. :)