Quiet Time
Topic: WC - Daily Practice
Saturday 9:43pm 24Feb07

Not too much to say. Spent the last several hours trying to reorganize my files for my novel, White Wishes. I've got so many documents over the last ten years that I'm trying to narrow them all down. Putting all the versions of a chapter into one document and all the novel notes into one document etc. It's time consuming and my eyes hurt so it's time to stop for the night.

Went to see The Overcoat this afternoon. It was as enjoyable as expected.

Trying to watch the Chronicles of Riddick for any glimpse of Vin Diesel. What happened to that guy? He hasn't done anything in awhile.

Of course my back still hurts and I'm still icing it. The best part is that it hurts when I yawn or laugh. I've had some of the best laughs since the pain started and I'm pushing my fist into my back as I laugh. Of course Lolo was telling me some of the funniest stories today. It has to happen that way.

That's the kind of life I'm living.

EY

Idi Amin Dada
Topic: About Movies
Yahoo article

One of the only Oscar nominations I did see... I love Forest!
7 official wives and 40 official children... talk about a lot of siblings!EY



Idi Amin's son lashes out at movie
By KATY POWNALL, Associated Press Writer Thu Feb 22, 2:17 PM ET

KAMPALA, Uganda - Forest Whitaker is hotly tipped to win an Oscar on Sunday for his portrayal of Idi Amin in the movie "The Last King of Scotland."

But for the former tyrant's son Jaffar, the performance failed to capture the tall, powerful man he still describes as his "Big Daddy." The Amin family has shunned the media for over two decades, but now that the film has put the Ugandan dictator back into the spotlight, his son wants to set the record straight.

"Dad is the only person that has ever been accused and sentenced, incarcerated by opinion, without it ever reaching any courthouse," Jaffar Amin said in an interview with the Associated Press, calling for a truth and reconciliation committee to investigate that dark period in Uganda's history.

Jaffar Amin, a 40-year-old father of five with broad shoulders, confident demeanor and rich baritone voice, bears a striking resemblance to his father.

Though he doesn't deny the atrocities attributed to his father during his reign of terror, he says the film will compound many of the negative images on which he is now trying to shed light.

He acknowledges he faces a difficult battle trying to humanize Idi Amin.

"Dad's image cannot be changed," he sighed. "If I bring an understanding, it will be very little because he's in a compartment and getting him out of there will take a thousand years. But I believe my father would take it on the chin whatever they say about him."

Jaffar Amin has broken the family's vow of silence and is writing a book to counter his father's reputation as a brutal buffoon and cruel eccentric.

Rights groups estimate that up to 500,000 people disappeared under Amin's eight year regime. His secret police force was notorious for torturing and killing Ugandans they believed to be political opponents.

"I don't want to fight what has been written, but I want to show another side. I want to show a parent, I want to show my father," he said.

He is the tenth of Amin's 40 official children by seven official wives. "Father had quite an appetite for women," he said simply. "It's very African actually."

At six foot one he is also the shortest of Amin's sons.

"My father was 6 foot 4 but most of his male children towered over him. He used to joke that we would make a great basketball team," Jaffar recalled with a smile.

The "Last King of Scotland" premiered in Uganda last week and goes on general release Friday. Oscar-nominated Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy and director Kevin MacDonald attended the grand-opening along with Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni.

None of the Amin family attended the premiere, but Jaffar has since watched a DVD of the film.

"A lot of the mannerisms were right. But the problem was the walk — Forest didn't get that. My father strides and his hands would go like a paddle because of his wide shoulders. Whitaker is knock-kneed — my father was bow-legged."

Jaffar Amin's main complaint about "The Last King of Scotland," however, was the portrayal of Kay Amin — the dictator's forth wife — a woman he lived with at one of Amin's official state residences and whom he describes as a second mother to him.

In the film, Kay is killed for having an affair with Dr. Garrigan, Amin's physician, who Jaffar Amin also met. Her body is mutilated in the morgue — her arms stitched to where her legs should be and vice versa.

"The most painful part for me is degrading the character of one of our blessed mothers," he said visibly distressed. "She had a tragic death and they turned her into what she wasn't, she was a decent lady. She wouldn't have an extramarital affair the way it's claimed."

But he is vague about the circumstances of her death, describing it as a "sensitive issue." He adds that Kay's father cleared Idi Amin of any wrongdoing in his daughter's death.

The Amin family fled Uganda when Idi Amin was ousted by Tanzanian-backed Ugandan rebels in 1979. They lived in exile in Saudi Arabia, where many of the family remain to this day.

The family was given a huge monthly allowance that allowed them to live an opulent lifestyle; in return Amin was asked to stay out of politics and remain silent. It was a promise he kept up his death in August 2003 at age 78.

Jaffar Amin, an animated, open man, punctuates his conversation with impersonations of his father and shows pictures of his own five children, one of whom he has named Idi Amin and describes as a "carbon-copy" of his notorious grandfather.

"I point at a picture and I say to my children 'that's your grandfather. He used to be the leader of this country,'" he said.

Jaffar Amin returned to Uganda in 1990 and worked for a courier company. He now does voice overs for advertisements.

"I'd ask dad, what happened? He'd look at me and say 'people fought me, I fought them but I never killed innocent people. God will be the one to judge me."

Backing outta here
Topic: WC - Daily Practice
Friday 4:58am 23Feb07

I didn't pay much attention to the pain last night. Thought I'd conk out because I was tired. Of course this morning I woke up with worse pain, the kind of pain that alerts me that my back is about to give out. sigh! I'm sitting at my writing desk with an ice pack on my back. I refuse to feel any pain. Absolutely refuse. I've got a busy week next week.

Zelda is bugging me more than my back pain. She's just knocked over my 3 hole punch to much noisy fan fare and I'm quite sure, waking up my downstairs neighbours.

The mildness of the last few days was only a brief reprieve. Seems we're back to that angry frigidness that slaps at the skin and causes that lovely dryness that no moisturizer seems to handle. Yippee!

Grey's Anatomy was a bit of a disappointment last night. The whole dying and being brought back as a story line is a bit overdone. I liked seeing Denny again and the bomb guy. I did like Meredith admitting that she'd given up on life. And who was it that said that Derek was an optimist despite everything he'd been through? I guess the most touching parts were when Ellis Grey told Meredith that she was anything but ordinary; and when Christina Yang finally broke and begged Meredith, "Don't leave me!" Yes, Meredith had to have some resolution with her mother before her mother left for good.

I guess Meredith may not be so dark and twisty anymore, which for character development will be a good thing. She can still be dark just a little less twisty.

Derek's losing it and Addison pulling him back together. I like that she still loves him and loves him enough to help him to bring it together for another woman. That's selfless love. That guy does a good break down. Addison's realization that Derek never loved her like he loves Meredith. What a great thing to find out to be able to finally move on after the end of a relationship. I don't know if I want to see Addison with Dr McSteamy. Alex may be the one to help her find what she needs and we still have yet to delve into who Alex Karev is. They show us flashes of Alex's soft side but I'm sure there are still discoveries coming down the pike.

Denny telling Meredith that the interns would never come back from losing her was touching and it makes you realize that you just don't know what kind of impact your living has on the people around you.

Christina seeing her dad bleed out when she was 9 years old! Phew! Now we know why she bailed when Burke's stuff was critical, when he needed her the most. And why she can barely forgive herself for it. Twice now, she's done something out of character and shown us that she's got the hard outer core and she's mush inside. When they had to face the chief over the Denny incident and she said that the old Christina never would have been involved and he saw how far she'd come. Giving up the silent war with Burke and saying she wanted him more than she wanted to win. Okay and the third time, losing it at the thought of losing Meredith, her person. She may be the one character that needs the most love and she's pushed it away the most because she's scared of losing it. I love Christina! I think if I had to choose, Christina Yang would be my favorite character. I understand where she comes from, her need to focus on the tangible, the things you can control and excel at.

Smiley face doctor saying to Bailey that she was the competition for chief. I wanted Bailey to say, "Damn straight!" But she said something equally as good.

Oh and to end off with Denny standing beside Izzie and her stopping for a moment because she feels his presence like the scent of an old boyfriend that pops up out of nowhere when he hasn't been in your house for several months. Go to the light Denny, go to the light.

Shonda did say that there were things that Meredith needed to see/hear/ feel and I suppose there was no other way to do it. Maybe I don't totally hate the bringing the character from the depths of dying but I still think it's over done.

EY

What's Up? - Progress
Topic: WC - Progress Log





Tuesday 6:28pm 20Feb07

I realize I haven't given a progress report in quite some time. Probably months!?

I've been keeping track of my writing hours for 8 weeks now. I'm in my 9th week. I have yet to hit 21 hours in one week and I figure I will eventually. Of course my New Year hasn't started yet, It's a week Thursday. NINE MORE DAYS! At almost 43 years old I'm still a giggly excited child about my birthday, probably because my birthdays in my 40's have been the best so far...but I digress! Right now I count every thing I write, my blog entries, my journal and my novel work... at some point, that may change to just my novel work but we'll see.

I have 4 habits that I'm working toward:
1 - getting up at 4am at least five times a week. 4:30am is close enough, if all else fails. I originally wanted it to be 7 days a week but have since determined that everybody has to sleep in sometimes, especially a sleep loving girlfish!

2 - 1 hour nonstop writing - mind cleanse. Freeflowing all the junk and complaints and rants and funnies and pieces of gratitude. Vomiting every thing in my mind onto the page to free me to work on my writing without inhibitions and distractions.

3 - 1 hour nonstop writing - novel in progress. I just added this habit the other day after getting The Writing Coach's first five days of her ebook.

4 - Weekend Contest - "How much can I accomplish, if I commit?" I've been failing miserably on this one because of groceries and cooking and cleaning and laundry and goofing off and staring into space and napping and watching television ... you get the idea.

Last week I wrote more than 15,000 words in total which as any writers reading this sure know, that's writing to the max for even some full time writers. So I can't be mad at myself for not getting to the 21 hours a week. It will take a lot more discipline and persistence.

Last night, I was close to nodding off at the writing desks so I stopped and did a little Tae Bo and some crunches. I figure I can work in my work outs that way. Get a little shape happening and be ready, when the time comes and that man arrives. ha ha! I want the goals and the man!

On the television front, I've been real good. I've been programming my VCR for the week. I watched Heroes this morning because I have to. That show is FANTASTIC! If I don't watch Grey's Anatomy Thursday night then I'll watch it Friday morning. Naw! I'll watch it Thursday night. If it makes me cry I can go to sleep but going to work after I've been crying all morning just doesn't work for me. Eyes are all puffy. I'm super sensitive. I have no reserves left to be aggressive if I need to be and working with men a girlfish has to be aggressive sometimes. "Am I speaking Swahili? Don't make me tell you again!" ha ha

In the one hour nonstop writing for my novel, I'm finding ideas popping up for other chapters like crazy and I'm starting to see the full novel as if I'm peering over it all in a suspended out of body sort of way. That rocks!

What I've found about the Writing Coach's original 30 days that she did one day at a time back in June is that she really gives you permission or the focus to work on your novel and discover what you will need as you are writing it. It can be so daunting thinking about research and tone and viewpoint and all the mechanics of what goes into the novel. You can stop yourself before you even get any where. And that may be what has been happening to me over the years. Writing is work, no doubt about it but for me it's fun work and sometimes I forget that.

Having read her whole first draft when she posted it on her blog, I'd recommend it wholeheartedly. I'd even consider using her as a writing coach. She's in the U.K. though so I think the long distance calls could make me cry like a baby getting that phone bill. But we'll see once my finances are organized!

So that's me and the writing progress. I find the blogging comes in fits and spurts and that's okay. I wanted Writing Zazen to be more about using writing exercises (writing scales, as I like to call it) and that hasn't been happening as much as I wanted. This blog is about daily practice, sitting down everyday and writing what's in my thick shaved skull and thinking up challenges that I can add or move over to Writing Zazen.

I am focusing more on my real writing goals so some of my blog entries will be write offs. But there are days like today when I post more than one entry so hopefully one of them is worth something. It's not like you have to pay for this crap. Hey, I started to write the blogs to get me writing and I'm writing, with serious regularity. In my world, that's all that matters.

By the way, if you want to drop me a line, ask me a question or send me a comment but don't want to comment at the blog, my email is poeticpieces at gmail dot com. I don't check it daily but I check it. Just put writing2live in the subject line so I don't delete you as spam without having opened. I hate spam!

EY

Something I Didn't Think Of
Topic: Inspiration
Tuesday 6:16pm 20Feb07

I've been reading Wabi Sabi for Writers by Richard R. Powell. Under Inspiration he has a section called Listening to the Masters. In that section he discusses listening to audio books. Now I've always thought why listen to audio books when you can sit down and read the book but I will definitely start doing both.

He says, "I found that sometimes the power and richness of a work would trigger an overwhelming desire to write... Over the years, I have gone back to some favorite audio books to inspire and motivate me."

And the more I think about it, most writing instructors will tell you to read your writing out loud because when you hear your words you often can find problems in the language that you don't see when you are reading them. Of course! Why wouldn't I listen to audio books to hear the language?

Crazy! So that's yet another thing to add to my list of things to buy when the money is less funny or as I've been saying more, "when my finances are organized." In the prosperity literature it's not good to say that you are broke or poor.

Hmm! I think itunes has audio books too. ha!

EY