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This newsletter is woefully out of date. As of autumn 2010 I have updated a few trips since 2008, and most of the info - though it originated in 2008 - is still valid. Please continue to read for general information - all links to photos and other sites are functional - and check back for a more updated version soon.
"You have to live Plan A, on any level. Make it a lowercase 'a' if you have to, but live your Plan A. Anything else belittles the importance of life.”
Our Country...
We know how the 2008 election turned out. I was very hopeful, and still continue to be despite the troubles lately. This is what I wrote early in the summer, 2008 about it:
... I'm excited about the upcoming historic election. Unless something goes seriously awry, we'll have our first something this election. I love that I'm living in a time when we will elect either a woman or a black man as president of the U.S., this country that purports to be on the forefront of democracy, and holds itself up as the model for the rest of the world in terms of social/cultural equality... which until now hasn't managed to get equal wages for women or equal opportunity for 'minorities' across the board.
Maybe we're there...!!
As for the world itself, I'm still worried. Food shortages, the high cost of oil (in all aspects - economically, ecologically, environmentally), the on-going occupation of Iraq, human rights abuses that continue unabated in various places around the world, the genocide in countries in Africa... the list goes on.
However, I am heartened. We also have good things: My current favorite person in the world is Richard Branson, and his new group of Elders. If this man and others like him continue their work, the world has a chance.
Current Publications:
Still have historical/travel articles on Lifeinitaly.com, a great site run by Paolo Nascimbeni. My articles are here,
here and here.
Published!
A Dream that Keeps Returning: Travels in the Italian Sun
The series of essays I wrote about Italy last summer is now available! See the cover here, and order a copy at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com.
My young adult novel One Eyed Jack is still being shopped around. New agent, and he continues to believe in the series Adventures with Jack as much as I do: The titles in order: One Eyed Jack, Texas Jack and Mountain Jack.
Two screenplays in Scriptapalooza contest as of April, 2008. Wish me luck!
International Travel:
2005 Turkey and Italy
2006 Italy and Germany toward the bottom of the newsletter.
2007 - No international travel in 2007! This was frustrating but was remedied October 10 - October 19, 2008 when I ran Scrivere in Italia!, a writing retreat/workshop in Bolsena, Italy. For more information on that venture, check out my partner/friend's website and our information at www.lifeinitaly.com, specifically here.
See here for write-ups about the event, and to find out more about upcoming TLC Cultural Writing Workshops.
2009, no international travel
2010 - May 2010 I went to Italy for three weeks. Five days alone, nine days running another successful and wonderful TLC Cultural Writing Workshop (see here for more info), and a week with Robin and the boys.
To see my travel journal from 2006 when I spent five weeks alone in Italy, then traveled to Germany with Robin Broyles for ten days, check out my previous newsletter. To see this trip check out: either PowerPoint or PDF file.
Domestic Travel:
Because
I finally got married... !, Robin and I went on a honeymoon in April, 2008.
A few wedding photos
Where did we go?
Robin and I went to San Francisco for a five day honeymoon, and had a wonderful time. We stayed at the truly lovely Omni Hotel and spent our days walking the city. We went to Chinatown (three blocks away) and ate dim sum at an amazing restaurant where they spoke no English and served incredible food. We went to the Botanical Gardens, the Museum of Modern Art, we rode the cable cars all over the city, we walked from Levi Square to the base of Coit Tower - up the steep, twisty wooden staircase up the side of the huge hill, where the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill sat on the wires above our heads and called down to us.
We discovered the London Wine Bar, theoretically the first wine bar in not only San Francisco but the U.S. - a hidden, almost basement venue with leather and dark wood, and a huge wine selection.
We had beer (yes, I tried it) at Jack's, where they proudly serve more than 80 types of beer. We hung out at Ghirardelli Square and had wine and appetizers overlooking the bay. We ate at what we both consider to be the best restaurant we've ever eaten in, Ana Mandara, right on the bay near the old Maritime Museum. And it really does look like that!
And we met Vladimir Vitkovsky and his wife. Vladimir is an amazing artist from Russia, and we enjoyed drinking and talking with him and his wife in his studio overlooking the streets of San Fran.
I'm working on a documentary on him and his work and it should be done this summer.
Overall, a fabulous trip.
And since the summer of 2007 Robin and I have visited Phoenix a couple of times, and to our house at Conchas Lake at least twice a month.
Previous trips:
Again, check out Italy and Germany from 2006, and to read about my trip to Turkey and Italy in 2005, check out my account here, and these pages: carpets, essay, and pictures.
Earlier trips have taken me to England & Scotland (1998) with my friend Nancy, to China (1999), and Ireland (2000). The year 2000 was also my first trip to Italy, and when I fell in love with Rome.
Politics and School:
I started my PhD program in August, 2008, studying the media relations between the U.S. and the Middle East, particularly Iraq and Iran. My focus has shifted a bit but was originally about how various images and language are used to shape our perceptions of the people and culture in the Middle East, and how this leads directly and inevitably to situations such as the current one. A short synopsis of my latest book project on this subject can be seen here.
I am STILL in the funding stages of a documentary involving the tragic looting of Iraq's antiquities. For more information on this specific project, email me. For a sneak peek at the subject, check out this article.
Projects:
I'm still working with Michael Hauge on screenplays, a number of them in the works.
I finished The Carpet Seller, a movie set in Turkey. My newest movie projects are about the Vaults in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Baghdad, Iraq.
For a more complete list of my current projects, check out Page 14 Productions.
Teaching:
I'm teaching my Magazine Writing Classes occasionally in both three-hour seminars and six week classes.
My screenwriting workshops will be starting again soon. A schedule will be posted.
I teach various film classes at the University of New Mexico, and am teaching at the University of Phoenix in the Humanities Department: Writing for College Students, Creative Writing, Film Studies, Mythology, Art History, English Lit, and more.
Friends:
The following info is up to date as of 2010.
My friends and loved ones are accomplishing amazing things. For links to their lives and work, check out friends.
Animals:
Sebastian (my half Corgi/half ?) left us last year, 2009. He passed away quietly with my hand on his chest, in the warmth of our living room. Emma wasn't sure what it was all about, and she pined for him for quite a long time. Eventually she recovered and is happy again. My heart was very glad to see her come back to herself.
She is also half Corgi/half?. Pictures of both Sebastian and Emma can be found here. And Nikki, a Golden Retriever, finishes up the pack.
Health & Fitness:
Robin and I are still swing dancing when we can, and I have discovered running. I love running and try for at least twice a week, between 2.5 and 3 miles each time.
We still belong to the gym and are going as often as we can.
I'm teaching my belly dance classes regularly as well.
Links:
I'd like to link to anyone who's interested - writer, editor, resource.
Please feel free to send me an Email me with your web address. Include a graphic if you'd like me to use that as your link.
And finally...
Please offer suggestions for this site or ideas for articles that may come up in your area. Give me an excuse to travel!
Until next time...
Ciao!
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