Agnès Varda died yesterday. Though wildly famous in France, she was never particularly well known in the United States. She was one of the founders of the French New Wave, mostly known for using amateur actors and shooting on location at the height of the studio system. Like Stanley Kubrick, she started as a successful photographer and used that visual training on her films. Also like Kubrick, she was not prolific, preferring quality over quantity. Like most French auteurs, she directed, wrote and often edited her films.
La Pointe Courte
Cléo de 5 à 7
Le Bonheur
L'une chante, l'autre pas
Sans toit ni loi
Le petit amour, written with Jane Birkin
Jacquot de Nantes
Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma
She made more documentaries than feature films, which might be one reason she was never more famous.
Loin du Vietnam
Black Panthers
Mur Murs
Documenteur
Jane B. par Agnès V., written with Jane Birkin
Les demoiselles ont eu 25 ans
Les glaneurs et la glaneuse
Les plages d'Agnès
Visages Villages
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
E is for Excessive
I'm writing a new book. To make my life more complicated, I am going to do something a little different.
The story takes place over one week. There are nine main characters, a dozen supporting characters and various random extras. Rather than describe everyone's week in detail and end up with a 1500 page book, I am going to take advantage of the e-book format. Most people I know, including myself, prefer physical books to electronic files. Voracious readers, book collectors, book snobs and publishers all prefer something you can hold in your hand. I can understand the convenience of e-books, especially while traveling. Your phone can hold thousands of books. Your suitcase, not so much. But I have no intention of buying a reading device any time soon, and reading a book on my phone would drive me insane.
Publishers really hate e-books. The record industry always jumps on the latest technology. Maybe because they realized most people would augment their record collections with cassettes and 8 tracks, and then replace it all with CDs, and later replace those CDs with records. If you bought Abbey Road in four or five different formats, that was good news for EMI. But publishing is different. Any e-book is going to cost much less than a physical copy. There is less overhead for the publisher, and far less profit. A book has to be printed, shipped and stored. That costs more than copying a digital file, but it also means retailers can charge higher prices. If a printed book costs $20, the publisher might make $4, more or less. There are a million factors, but let's say their net profit is 20%. If an e-book costs 99 cents, the publisher makes just under 20 cents. If you ran a dying business, would you rather make $4 per sale or 20 cents?
All of my books are available in e-format. I have never read any of them that way, but I have never heard any complaints about formatting or font or whatever anyone might complain about. For the new book, I might have to find a way to read it digitally.
The plan is to have a normal, physical novel that tells the story of these people and their week. That will be the official book, more or less. Some of the couples, among the main characters, will also get an e-book about the week from their point of view. It will definitely not be the same scene written over and over again. Since the characters interact sporadically, each e-book will be mostly unique scenes that do not involve other main characters. If each e-book were the same thing, but from a different point of view, there would be no reason for the e-books.
This will not be a series. The e-books can be read in any order since they all happen concurrently, although reading one e-book will inevitably have spoilers for some of the others. Ideally, I would want people to read the main novel first and then all the e-books in whatever order they want. But that is not up to me. So each e-book will be a self-contained story that does not rely on anyone reading anything else.
The point of this little experiment is not to make more money. I don't have millions of fans who will buy absolutely anything I put out. No one expects each of the e-books to sell equally well. In fact, I have been told that the second release will be lucky to sell half as many copies as the first, and the numbers will plummet with each subsequent release. Everyone involved makes more money from physical books anyway.
My primary concern is to tell the story. As soon as I started writing the first draft, I knew that it would be too long for a single book. The last thing I want is a series, but I want to write everything that needs to be written. With the e-book plan, I can write everything and keep the book at a reasonable pace. It will also be a fun challenge to write from different points of view. Like witnesses to a car crash, the characters will not necessarily remember everything the same way. One e-book might contradict another, in some aspects. Some readers will probably assume that I screwed up, but I have faith that most people who read books understand the concept of an unreliable narrator. One of the e-books will be told by a vehemently reliable narrator, but I'm not going to tell anyone which one that is. Again, I have faith in readers.
I have discussed this with a few key people and no one thinks it is a stupid idea. Whether I can pull it off or not is another thing, but the idea polls well. All I have to do now is actually write the thing.
The story takes place over one week. There are nine main characters, a dozen supporting characters and various random extras. Rather than describe everyone's week in detail and end up with a 1500 page book, I am going to take advantage of the e-book format. Most people I know, including myself, prefer physical books to electronic files. Voracious readers, book collectors, book snobs and publishers all prefer something you can hold in your hand. I can understand the convenience of e-books, especially while traveling. Your phone can hold thousands of books. Your suitcase, not so much. But I have no intention of buying a reading device any time soon, and reading a book on my phone would drive me insane.
Publishers really hate e-books. The record industry always jumps on the latest technology. Maybe because they realized most people would augment their record collections with cassettes and 8 tracks, and then replace it all with CDs, and later replace those CDs with records. If you bought Abbey Road in four or five different formats, that was good news for EMI. But publishing is different. Any e-book is going to cost much less than a physical copy. There is less overhead for the publisher, and far less profit. A book has to be printed, shipped and stored. That costs more than copying a digital file, but it also means retailers can charge higher prices. If a printed book costs $20, the publisher might make $4, more or less. There are a million factors, but let's say their net profit is 20%. If an e-book costs 99 cents, the publisher makes just under 20 cents. If you ran a dying business, would you rather make $4 per sale or 20 cents?
All of my books are available in e-format. I have never read any of them that way, but I have never heard any complaints about formatting or font or whatever anyone might complain about. For the new book, I might have to find a way to read it digitally.
The plan is to have a normal, physical novel that tells the story of these people and their week. That will be the official book, more or less. Some of the couples, among the main characters, will also get an e-book about the week from their point of view. It will definitely not be the same scene written over and over again. Since the characters interact sporadically, each e-book will be mostly unique scenes that do not involve other main characters. If each e-book were the same thing, but from a different point of view, there would be no reason for the e-books.
This will not be a series. The e-books can be read in any order since they all happen concurrently, although reading one e-book will inevitably have spoilers for some of the others. Ideally, I would want people to read the main novel first and then all the e-books in whatever order they want. But that is not up to me. So each e-book will be a self-contained story that does not rely on anyone reading anything else.
The point of this little experiment is not to make more money. I don't have millions of fans who will buy absolutely anything I put out. No one expects each of the e-books to sell equally well. In fact, I have been told that the second release will be lucky to sell half as many copies as the first, and the numbers will plummet with each subsequent release. Everyone involved makes more money from physical books anyway.
My primary concern is to tell the story. As soon as I started writing the first draft, I knew that it would be too long for a single book. The last thing I want is a series, but I want to write everything that needs to be written. With the e-book plan, I can write everything and keep the book at a reasonable pace. It will also be a fun challenge to write from different points of view. Like witnesses to a car crash, the characters will not necessarily remember everything the same way. One e-book might contradict another, in some aspects. Some readers will probably assume that I screwed up, but I have faith that most people who read books understand the concept of an unreliable narrator. One of the e-books will be told by a vehemently reliable narrator, but I'm not going to tell anyone which one that is. Again, I have faith in readers.
I have discussed this with a few key people and no one thinks it is a stupid idea. Whether I can pull it off or not is another thing, but the idea polls well. All I have to do now is actually write the thing.
Friday, March 8, 2019
Attack Of the 50 Foot Dancer
When I was in Amsterdam, I had to get a physical. This is nothing new or exciting, except that a few things have changed. In the past, when they asked if I was on any medications, I would say no. Now, I give them a list. Fortunately, I went off the anticonvulsants a long time ago. That one would raise a few eyebrows.
The part of the physical I actually looked forward to was when they checked my weight and height. I have been trying to gain weight for a while and their scale is probably more accurate than what I have at home. My bathroom scale might be broken. I can eat like Falstaff and it still reads the same thing. One factor is that I exercise a lot. Strenuous exercise is not conducive to weight gain. Even so, I make brownies, cupcakes and cookies all the time. They have to have some effect.
The big surprise of this physical was my height. I have been 5'7 since high school. That translates to roughly 170cm. When I was in the hospital in Beijing, they said I was 178cm, which is 5'10. It seems unlikely that I got 3 inches taller in China, so I just assumed they were mistaken. Then my Hong Kong hospital said I was 178cm. Maybe something was getting lost in translation. But no matter what kind of calculator you use, 178cm is 5'10.
My roommate and best friend has been 5'9 since high school. We can wear the same clothes, but anyone can see that she is taller. Does that mean she also got taller in China? None of this makes sense. Then again, she is from Canada. Maybe they use Canadian inches.
Generally speaking, it makes no difference if I'm 5'7 or 5'10, or something in between. As long as my shoes fit. The issue here is about weight. I am currently 115 pounds. I know that breaks a cardinal rule about women revealing their weight, but I consider this temporary and hope to gain more. When I get where I want to be, I can keep that a secret.
That is too low no matter how tall I am. If we use American measurements and I'm 5'7, then my BMI is 18.0, which is underweight. If I'm 5'10, then my BMI is 16.5, which is severely underweight. If we use metric measurements and I'm 170cm, then my BMI is 17.9, which is underweight. If I'm 178cm, then my BMI is 16.4, which is severely underweight.
None of this made any difference as far as my work physical was concerned. They are more concerned with anyone being overweight. But it makes a difference to me and my career. I have been trying to gain weight for the past year. I thought I was making progress, but if I'm suddenly taller, that just means I have farther to go. A lot of women would love to be underweight, and I will never get any sympathy when I say that I eat and eat and never gain anything. But for me, I think it would be easier if I were trying to lose weight. I'm active enough and used to eat enough healthy food to take off a few pounds. Gaining weight is proving more difficult. Sitting on the sofa all day with a bucket of junk food might work, but it is not an option.
The bad news is that 115 is not getting any higher. The good news, for which I am always grateful, is that it is not getting any lower. My weight seems to have leveled off. Oddly enough, I might be getting taller.
The part of the physical I actually looked forward to was when they checked my weight and height. I have been trying to gain weight for a while and their scale is probably more accurate than what I have at home. My bathroom scale might be broken. I can eat like Falstaff and it still reads the same thing. One factor is that I exercise a lot. Strenuous exercise is not conducive to weight gain. Even so, I make brownies, cupcakes and cookies all the time. They have to have some effect.
The big surprise of this physical was my height. I have been 5'7 since high school. That translates to roughly 170cm. When I was in the hospital in Beijing, they said I was 178cm, which is 5'10. It seems unlikely that I got 3 inches taller in China, so I just assumed they were mistaken. Then my Hong Kong hospital said I was 178cm. Maybe something was getting lost in translation. But no matter what kind of calculator you use, 178cm is 5'10.
My roommate and best friend has been 5'9 since high school. We can wear the same clothes, but anyone can see that she is taller. Does that mean she also got taller in China? None of this makes sense. Then again, she is from Canada. Maybe they use Canadian inches.
Generally speaking, it makes no difference if I'm 5'7 or 5'10, or something in between. As long as my shoes fit. The issue here is about weight. I am currently 115 pounds. I know that breaks a cardinal rule about women revealing their weight, but I consider this temporary and hope to gain more. When I get where I want to be, I can keep that a secret.
That is too low no matter how tall I am. If we use American measurements and I'm 5'7, then my BMI is 18.0, which is underweight. If I'm 5'10, then my BMI is 16.5, which is severely underweight. If we use metric measurements and I'm 170cm, then my BMI is 17.9, which is underweight. If I'm 178cm, then my BMI is 16.4, which is severely underweight.
None of this made any difference as far as my work physical was concerned. They are more concerned with anyone being overweight. But it makes a difference to me and my career. I have been trying to gain weight for the past year. I thought I was making progress, but if I'm suddenly taller, that just means I have farther to go. A lot of women would love to be underweight, and I will never get any sympathy when I say that I eat and eat and never gain anything. But for me, I think it would be easier if I were trying to lose weight. I'm active enough and used to eat enough healthy food to take off a few pounds. Gaining weight is proving more difficult. Sitting on the sofa all day with a bucket of junk food might work, but it is not an option.
The bad news is that 115 is not getting any higher. The good news, for which I am always grateful, is that it is not getting any lower. My weight seems to have leveled off. Oddly enough, I might be getting taller.
Friday, March 1, 2019
Romance In the Air
I just got back from Amsterdam, and once again, I went during a holiday and there was no snow. It never dipped below zero at night or below 10 degrees in the daytime. Even if it had been cold enough, it was simply too dry. There was some fog one day, but it was mostly sunny. The holiday part is a stretch.
My last visit to Amsterdam was during Christmas. That is a major holiday in that part of the world, and where I come from. It was nice to spend Christmas in a place that actually celebrates Christmas. This time, it was Valentine's Day, which is not a real holiday anywhere in the world. China has two Valentine's Days, the chocolate and greeting card day and a real festival on the 7th day of the 7th month, called Qixi. Neither is a national holiday.
I spent Valentine's Day at Hong Kong Airport. My flight left in the afternoon, so I had to be there in the morning. No matter what I do to make everything faster, it still takes all day. If I have to check in at the airport, I try to use the self check-in machines, but that is not always an option, depending on the airline. More often than not, I check in at the Airport Express. That is simply easier than checking in at the airport, and the lines are always shorter. Plus, if you have luggage, you can drop it off at the station and not drag it around on the train or through the airport. Unfortunately, I could never use that when I worked in Tel Aviv because I always flew El Al, and they have their own procedure. With Amsterdam, I should always be able to check in at Kowloon Station.
Getting through immigration is the easiest thing in the world since I use the e-channel, but even in the traditional giant snake line, it never really takes that long. It always moves, no matter how long the line is. That might be the most organized part of Hong Kong Airport.
No matter what steps you take to get to security and how quickly you move through the process, you will always come to a dead stop as soon as you stand in line to get your bags x-rayed. Part of the problem is that every single bag has to be scanned. An even bigger part of the problem is that no one in 2019, after all these years, seems to know that they are waiting in line to get their crap x-rayed. Whether waiting in line for ten minutes or an hour, no one in front of me is ever prepared to put their crap in the bins that go on the conveyor belt, and they all have to be told not to cram through the metal detector in flocks. It baffles me. Can it possibly be everyone's first time at an airport every time I go? I can only imagine how tedious it is for security to constantly remind people all day, every day about the same things they should already know by now.
Waiting for the plane is easy because I try to get to the airport as late as I possibly can without getting there too late. Getting on the plane is even easier since I usually fly business class for work. Economy is a nightmare. In Hong Kong, they never load everyone in zones. Instead, they announce that it is time to board and 300 people all stampede to be the first on the plane, as if it is going to leave without them if they come in second. Business class is always treated better by the airlines. If you can get someone else to pay the bill, all the better.
But even on business class, through the e-channel, with a local ID and checking in off site, spending less than a day at the airport seems impossible. While some people spent Valentine's Day at restaurants, in bed, with chocolate or too much alcohol, I spent it at the airport. For my Valentine's Day dinner, I had microwaved rice and vegetables in douchi sauce. But since it was business class, they served their slop in porcelain bowls instead of plastic.
My last visit to Amsterdam was during Christmas. That is a major holiday in that part of the world, and where I come from. It was nice to spend Christmas in a place that actually celebrates Christmas. This time, it was Valentine's Day, which is not a real holiday anywhere in the world. China has two Valentine's Days, the chocolate and greeting card day and a real festival on the 7th day of the 7th month, called Qixi. Neither is a national holiday.
I spent Valentine's Day at Hong Kong Airport. My flight left in the afternoon, so I had to be there in the morning. No matter what I do to make everything faster, it still takes all day. If I have to check in at the airport, I try to use the self check-in machines, but that is not always an option, depending on the airline. More often than not, I check in at the Airport Express. That is simply easier than checking in at the airport, and the lines are always shorter. Plus, if you have luggage, you can drop it off at the station and not drag it around on the train or through the airport. Unfortunately, I could never use that when I worked in Tel Aviv because I always flew El Al, and they have their own procedure. With Amsterdam, I should always be able to check in at Kowloon Station.
Getting through immigration is the easiest thing in the world since I use the e-channel, but even in the traditional giant snake line, it never really takes that long. It always moves, no matter how long the line is. That might be the most organized part of Hong Kong Airport.
No matter what steps you take to get to security and how quickly you move through the process, you will always come to a dead stop as soon as you stand in line to get your bags x-rayed. Part of the problem is that every single bag has to be scanned. An even bigger part of the problem is that no one in 2019, after all these years, seems to know that they are waiting in line to get their crap x-rayed. Whether waiting in line for ten minutes or an hour, no one in front of me is ever prepared to put their crap in the bins that go on the conveyor belt, and they all have to be told not to cram through the metal detector in flocks. It baffles me. Can it possibly be everyone's first time at an airport every time I go? I can only imagine how tedious it is for security to constantly remind people all day, every day about the same things they should already know by now.
Waiting for the plane is easy because I try to get to the airport as late as I possibly can without getting there too late. Getting on the plane is even easier since I usually fly business class for work. Economy is a nightmare. In Hong Kong, they never load everyone in zones. Instead, they announce that it is time to board and 300 people all stampede to be the first on the plane, as if it is going to leave without them if they come in second. Business class is always treated better by the airlines. If you can get someone else to pay the bill, all the better.
But even on business class, through the e-channel, with a local ID and checking in off site, spending less than a day at the airport seems impossible. While some people spent Valentine's Day at restaurants, in bed, with chocolate or too much alcohol, I spent it at the airport. For my Valentine's Day dinner, I had microwaved rice and vegetables in douchi sauce. But since it was business class, they served their slop in porcelain bowls instead of plastic.
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