The Catalina Mountain Foothills and La Encantada Shopping Center

One of the most beautiful areas in Tucson is the foothills of the Catalina Mountains. Driving east from I-10 along Ina Road, then staying the course on Skyline Drive and Sunrise Drive, you get a beautiful view of the area. To the south of the Catalinas is the valley with the city of Tucson bedded in the midst of various mountain ranges. Tucson must be one the most beautiful cities in the Southwest.

.

While making the drive last week I came upon the La Encantada Shopping Center. I'm not sure I can describe the place with words. The La Encantada is an outdoor shopping mall with multible levels and beautiful landscaping located just within the foothills of the mountains. From the upper levels as you look south you get a panoramic view of the Tucson valley area miles in the distance. The La Encantada has retail shopping for those in the upscale market, plus a sushi bar with an outdoor patio and various restaurants. At the center of this garden-and-flower-laden shopping center is a courtyard suitable for outdoor concerts and activities.

.

I've been back numerous times just to walk among the well-groomed trees and plants indigenous to the Tucson area. It is an architectural masterpiece as well. Although a shopping center, it's pretty close to being a work of art.

Check out these photos I took recently at the La Encantada.

Big Brothers and Sisters Benefit from Craft Fair

Last Saturday afternoon I was driving through the foothills of the Catalina Mountains area north of Tucson when I noticed an artist and crafts fair being held at a local shopping center. Benefiting the Big Brothers and Sisters of Tucson, the fair had 4o or so booths from local artists and craftspersons selling their wares. It was getting late in the day, so I didn't have as much time as I wanted to spend visiting all the booths. It made me a little jealous. I was wishing I was a local artist and had my own booth. Maybe some day I will.
..

One particular booth was wall-to-wall old photos and reproductions mounted on pieces of wood, then framed. Other wooden objects like stools and end tables also had old photos mounted on them. The woman in the photo at right was selling handpainted mugs and ceramic dishes.

Best New Fall Show: The Writer's Strike

The Writer's Strike is perhaps the most entertaining show to come along in years. Ironically, as they refuse to write new material for the entertainment industry, each day the strike produces some of the best writing now available. They have cut out the middle-man-producer-media-conglomerate and are delivering some topnotch entertainment directly to the public via the press and the Internet.

Let me say up front I'm on their side. The enormous media conglomerates would love to continue to make billions of dollars on the backs of writers and do away with residuals all together when the Internet becomes the major platform for delivering movies and entertainment. So, the WGA had better dig in their heels now and do what they can to protect the future. I see their struggle utlimately paying off for writers yet to be born. I may some day become a member of the WGA myself, so I'm going to benefit from their hard work.

Having said that, the strike is very entertaining. After all, they are writers.



One writer really makes a good case for their strike in an online Newsweek article. The main issue remains to be the Internet becoming a major delivery system of media. Writers want and deserve their fair share of the money. Who can blame them?

Wanted: Working Title for New Novel

Now that I've decided on a novel project, I need a working title. I suppose I could call it Southwest Novel Number 1. That seems appropriate and descriptive. For computer files and such I need to call it something.

I've yet to construct a suitable outline, though I do know the setting, time, and an idea of the main characters. The novel will concern the lives of three brothers living in New Mexico and Arizona during the 1860s, with the Civil War, Indian uprisings, the Overland Trail, and Catholic missions in the mix. I'm currently involved in the research phase, so the novel is a fuzzy image with few details.

I'll be tracking my progress here, so keep in touch. I'll post updates and be seeking suggestions along the way.

__________________________________

I can't think of a better time of year to start a writing project. The winter months lend themselves to indoor activities, although here in Tucson that's not the case. The winter months in Tucson are for the outdoors, with milder temperatures and little or no rain.

I'll be staying in the Tucson area for quite a while. I've much to do, researching the history of this area during the Civil War era. I've got the University of Arizona's library at my disposal.

One Brutal Session

I've never liked bad-beat stories and I promised myself to never talk about them. So, I'm not. However, I must remind myself that there will be days like this...days where all hell breaks loose at the poker table and things happen that can not be explained rationally.

I'm not going into any details about the seven hour session I just sat through, that would violate my promise to not talk about bad beats. Really no one cares. You don't care about my day, do you? Of course, not. But I am learning how to handle days like today.

The cards today were doing things totally unexplainable. The mind tries to make sense of things, make rational and logical conclusions based on evidence that is presented it, but sometimes at the poker table logic and reason are no where in sight.

What I learned from today's session is that life goes on, there will be other sessions down the road, and not all of them will be like this one. I'm trying my best to see my poker game over the long term of a playing career, rather than focus on any one session or even one month of sessions. Today was a mystery, the cards were doing things that made no sense, and I don't want to beat myself up over it. I need to just move on.

Therefore, if you ever have a round of bad beats, a session that just seems to rip your guts out (and that's literally how you feel, isn't it?), then let me suggest the following:

1. Don't get upset at the other players and berate them.
2. Leave the table and get as far from the casino as you can.
3. Take the next day off, or maybe the next week.
4. Look at the long term...this particular bad session is one session among thousands...they won't all be this bad.
5. Take a deep breath, ask yourself, "Did I play well?" If you can say "yes", if you indeed played your best, then there's nothing else you can do. It was just a day when the cards were acting weird. There is no making any sense of it.
6. Forget about the day and just move on. Try to learn something from the day.

Well. I do feel better, now.

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." Teddy Roosevelt

Yesterday I spent the day with the Afflecks, Ben and Jen. Or I should say, I spent the day watching their movies. I visited the cinema at the Foothills Mall to view Gone Baby Gone, directed by Mr. Affleck. I'll admit it...it was a good movie. Later in the evening I drove north to the discount cinema on Kolb Ave. that shows movies after they've had their initial run. The Kingdom, starring Jennifer Garner (Ms. Affleck) and Jamie Fox was my choice, since I'd seen all the other movies on the menu. Jamie Fox was able to sneak in another reference to Terrell, Texas, his hometown. I believe he's mentioned Terrell in every movie he's made.

Watching movies in public theaters is really pathetic these days: babies crying, fat women eating food they've sneaked into the place making all kinds of chomping noises, teenagers text-messaging their pals, couples having a running commentary on every scene, and little kids running up the aisles or sitting behind you kicking your seat. Some movies may be worth watching in a public theater (Lord of the Rings, 300), but no one in their right mind would watch a movie in a cinema these days when you can stay home and watch any movie you wish on your surround sound system.

After the movie last night I spent two hours at Starbucks writing. I'm getting into the habit of closing down the Starbucks at night. The particular one I visit each evening is usually full of people, mostly University of Arizona students, and I'm lucky to get a table. Last night one of the students asked me about my internet access.

"I just bought a new laptop today and was wondering how I can get online," she asks me.

"I pay T-Mobile each month for unlimited access." I could tell she didn't like that option.

"Oh, I need to pay for it." She looked disappointed.

I don't mind meeting people at Starbucks. It's a normal thing to do, a social gathering place that promotes strangers getting together, interacting. Just don't bother me when I'm watching Jennifer Garner at the cinema.

Thanks to Wil Wheaton for turning me toward Ficlets, a really fun place to play. Ficlets is a website that indugles in "collaborative short fiction." The brains behind the mayhem is John Scalzi.

The idea is this: you write a short fiction and post it to the site. Then others can read your work, comment on it, or if they choose, they can write a "prequal" or a "sequal" to your story. All kinds of various story lines can then develop as people add to your work.

Did I mention your story had to be short? You only get 1,024 characters.

On the site you can write prequels and sequels to stories from other writers, or just comment on their work. It's a lot of fun, actually.

I submitted my first "ficlet" tonight. Here's a glimpse of my first story:

"I trailed him to a bookstore in Tucson. He was wearing a sweater vest made of wool for some reason. He sat there looking like a statue, a cane resting between his legs like a third appendage hanging below his waist. He was reading a Time Magazine, the issue about the new iPod that Apple just released.

I did not care because I was sent to track him down and kill him."

To read the whole story, go here.