May 10, 2008
Week Seventeen
With each passing day this week, the kid has been feeling stronger and looking better, although he’s still really pale. Most of last weekend he spent as a lump on the couch but he finally got up and moved around. He even began thoroughly cleaning his room, a sign of vitality.
On Tuesday his counts were still trending down and Dr. Massaro he was likely at his nadir this week. They gave him platelets and fully expected him to need red blood cells on Friday. Sure enough, there was no question about it so yesterday he received two units of blood plus more platelets.
We spent part of the week making certain we had plans and backup plans in place for the coming week, when we attempt to go to Kate’s Graduation, leaving him with his Uncle in Redding. Fortunately, Brooke, his oldest pal, will is home from college and willing to take him to Clinic on Friday.
Meantime, last night Robbie learned that tiny Kasey Mitchell, only four, had passed away from leukemia on Monday. She was often at the hospital when Robbie was in for his rounds plus we’d see her and her mom Christina at clinic. Robbie and Christina chatted a lot since they were often next door to one another. When I didn’t see them on Tuesday I was surprised given how regular it had become but now we know. This is the first patient concurrent with Robbie’s treatment who has died while others he now knows have been back with recurrences. All reminders of how perilous this journey can be.
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May 09, 2008
A Fast Week Slips By
Where did the week go?
Well, let’s see. Monday was writing at the desk until the RTM meeting. It was our annual Budget meeting and promised to be long and possibly tense since various folk made noises about attempting to propose deep cuts. In the end, it wasn’t as late as I feared and the cuts never materialized. Instead, we passed the budget and are now focused on the new issues before the body.
Tuesday was clinic for Robbie and thankfully, the wi-fi meant I could keep writing. With the Early Peoples book delivered, I was cleaning up correspondence and beginning to research stuff for the next two projects. A 5 p.m. phone call about promised work failed to materialize and has yet to be rescheduled.
On Wednesday, I focused largely on researching one of my two projects while also expanding an outline for a media tie-in pitch an editor wants to see by month’s end. Interestingly, I find myself somewhat paralyzed because I want the editor to love it. I dawdle on some research and still can’t find the spark to tie it all up.
Yesterday, I did a ton of work on the website project I’ll talk more fully about next week. In fact, I wound up finishing reading a novel and watching a movie for the project so it ate up many hours. There was also time spent on the May RTM agenda and related conversations.
Today, I thought an hour or so on the website project was all I’d need but suddenly that became closer to three hours, plus writing something about it for the San Diego Comic-con. Some calls, some RTM work, and then a disc arrived that required my attention for one of the other projects resulting in a conference call at 4. Oh yeah, and responses to questions about writing Hellboy II: The Golden Army for a German publication.
All week long there has been time spent on the various ACE projects as our comic strip is running behind schedule and we lock down talent for other projects. This means tons of e-mails and frantic phone calls which ac as exclamation points throughout the day.
I’m busy and productive and frustrated that while I’m busy, I am not getting to the things I thought I was getting to. I have a stack of DVDs and books requiring attention, other e-mails to answer and maybe it’s time for lunch.
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May 05, 2008
Work Update
Things seem to be falling into place as my summer dance card fills in. I sent off the Early Peoples book yesterday and will no doubt be told it sucks and needs to be modified but I did all that I could with it at this point. Meantime, two projects previously thought to be in the offing have become formal offers.
As a result, here’s the current line-up of stuff:
About to be Published
Tales of Zorro, coming soon
Hellboy II: The Golden Army, coming May 28
The Essential Batman Encyclopedia, coming June 10.
The Encyclopedia of Storytelling: scheduled for publication July
Christina Aguilera, coming in September
Delivered
Biomes: Deserts
Bataan Death March
Early Peoples
How to Lose a War: three essays.
Back Issue #32: Interview with Len Wein and Marv Wolfman about Who's Who
The Brave & Bold Companion: Dick Giordano interview, Murray Boltinoff profile
Story for Captain Midnight collection
Wonder Woman: Essay for BenBella; awaiting edits and publication date.
"Steel & Chrome" in Age of War: A Classic BattleTech Anthology: manuscript turned in to editor on December 1, 2005; on indefinite hold.
On Going
Heroes Happen Here, daily web comic strip for Microsoft, running through July
Website writing -- Scifi.com, ComicMix.com, unnamed project
Editorial Work
Write Now! #18: Pitching in to help editor Danny Fingeroth get this late issue completed. Been proofreading, copyediting, caption writing, nudging, the usual.
Avalanche Comics Entertainment graphic novel 1: Pending deal with publisher
Avalanche Comics Entertainment graphic novel 2: In progress, needs publisher
Next
Haunting Museums - The Strange and Uncanny Stories Behind the Most Mysterious Exhibits – three essays due June
Media Tie-In non-fiction book
Media Tie-In editing project
Proposed Projects
Original fantasy duology cowritten with Aaron Rosenberg – being reviewed by editor
Original urban fantasy – begging me to finish promise
Media Tie-In novel – pitched December 2006, finally got editor’s interest, outline due May 31
Media Tie-In novel – I’ve been pitched as the writer, awaiting licensee approval
Media Tie-In comic book miniseries – Discussing with the publisher this week
Media Tie-In editing – awaiting formal offer
Media tie-in non-fiction book: Pitch to editor September 13, no response as yet.
Media tie-in book non-fiction 2: Pitch to editor October 2, no response as yet.
”Things That Aren’t” sequel: Co-writer Michael A. Burstein is at work on the first draft.
Actionopolis book: Started writing, awaiting revised deal memo.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 09:57 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
May 03, 2008
Week Sixteen
There are times I think he’s happiest at the hospital. He may grump about me and Deb camping out and keeping him company, but the doctors, nurses and the folk from Child Life give him people to talk to and things to do. He sasses and gets sassed back, everyone wearing big grins.
We had one incident this week as he reacted poorly to one of the new chemo drugs and it was another reminder that he’s there for a reason. Sarah, his day nurse for most of the week, said she’s actually surprised he wasn’t sicker. The side effects of the drugs tend to kick people fairly hard. Robbie, though, seems designed with a high tolerance which impresses them and us.
On Wednesday, we watched a DVD Tonetta, his former primary nurse, gave him to watch. She’s now working with the oncology team on the Heroes project, for people in remission for five years. To her, White Walls was as an upbeat documentary about teens surviving their cancer. It was fun, sobering, and very real. About halfway through we realized the 20-year documentarian was herself a survivor who had a bit of a scare during the making of the project. There were a few moments while watching it that got tough, especially as the kids talked about recurrence, an all-too real possibility. One twice-over survivor said, “I’m in remission every day, for the rest of my life.” It really brought home to us how long term this is and will be.
He finished round four on Thursday morning and came home. The window of opportunity was briefer than last round so Deb took him out for lunch and on Friday I took him to an Iron Man matinee. In the car, he admitted he was feeling the effects more this time. He’s tired, tires easily and can’t muster up the same energy and enthusiasm he has other times. So, now that he’s here, he watches TV, plays around on line, and paces himself. He’s turning in earlier, getting more sleep.
Robbie looks pale already and is likely going to need blood products at clinic on Tuesday. The doctors, though, continue to marvel at his strength of will and endurance. They remain happy with how he’s handling each round and recovering in-between. A few weeks to recover and right around Memorial Day we go in for the final round.
He’s already looking forward to having June to recover so he can really enjoy Shore Leave in July. More than that, he’s eagerly anticipating his one week of being a volunteer counselor at Hole-in-the-Wall Camp. While at the hospital, he received a packet of information in the mail and he read through it. Week nine is the week siblings come and experience the camp for themselves. The theme that week, appropriately enough, is super-heroes. Robbie already wants to raid my t-shirt and watch collection to come properly attired.
Looking to the future is good for him. And good for us.
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May 02, 2008
Iron Man -- Cool!
I’ll admit it right up front; I grew up with Iron Man as my favorite Marvel super-hero. I can’t say why exactly, although I really liked the armor and the gadgets and when Gene Colan began drawing his adventures, I loved the artwork.
So, you might imagine, I was predisposed to enjoy the movie which opened today. The idea that Iron Man would ever become a feature film was one I never really imagined and all through the years o development, I kept hoping. Still, as cool as it might have been to see Tom Cruise as Tony Stark or see what Nick Cassavettes would have done as a director, I was perfectly content with Jon Favreau as the director. After all, from the moment he started writing on MySpace, you could tell he got it. He understood what set the character apart.
Whereas fantastic things happened to Peter Parker, Susan Richards and Bruce Banner, among others, what happened to Tony Stark was very real world. The notion of shrapnel threatening the munitions manufacturer was a just irony and showed that Stan Lee was very plugged into the Cold War fears of the day.
It took All-American ingenuity to fashion the crude armor that allowed Stark to escape his captors and return to his Military-Industrial complex. However, the experience changed him and he knew he had things to atone for.
Favreau updated the worldview to today and the switch from Vietnam to Afghanistan was smart. Seeing so much of Stark Industries’ wares in the hands of the bad guys was also a great wakeup call and yes, the near-death experience made him a changed man.
All the elements of those early Iron Man stories are excellently updated and made to feel fresh after the previous Marvel films. This one felt more grounded in our world and we could easily accept the higher level of technology. He made Stark Industries cutting edge and by integrating Obadiah Stane into Stark’s life is the one major change and it works for a film.
Robert Downey Jr. superbly inhabits Tony Stark and makes us care for him as he evolves from the callow genius to the responsible global citizen. He’s aided by Gwyneth Paltrow as the sharp-tongued Pepper Potts and Terence Howard, a tad underused as James Rhodes (although when he looks at the Mark II armor, he tells the audience, “Next time”). There’s another tip to the comics as Stark’s chauffeur, Happy Hogan is there, played quietly by Favreau himself (he’s now a sidekick in two Marvel franchise films, a neat trick matched by Sam Elliot).
There are other nice touches such as the animated theme music repurposed into a nice jazz piece for the Las Vegas sequence and Jarvis being the name of the A.I. butler along with the sly introduction of SHIELD.
The story themes of taking responsibility for one’s actions are nicely handled and help ground the film. It’s a very contemporary set of issues being raised and strengthens the film.
Where the movie veers into conventional Hollywood storytelling is the final act. Stane entering the Iron Monger armor to fight Iron Man was telegraphed and frankly, their fight wasn’t as awe-inspiring as one might imagine (especially after Transformers in similar circumstances). Fortunately, the film works for the most part and while the final act not may have been all it could be, the final scenes and the post-credit scene more than make up for it.
Kudos to Marvel for launching their first self-produced film in such a successful manner. It raises the bar for all others, including their second product, next month’s remake of the Hulk. A fine film for fans of action, adventure and super-heroes.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 05:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
April 29, 2008
According to Plan
After plowing ahead this weekend on the Early People book, I’m nearing the end of the first draft, which will leave me plenty of time for polishing and delivery on schedule. It’s been tough, as stated previously given the unique format.
Getting the draft done, hopefully later today, means I can also focus on a business meeting Thursday that should bring me a new assignment. Of course, my focus isn’t what it should be because I was up until 12:45 a.m. running the RTM meeting (its budget season so it was a long night).
And, one of the projects I’ve been talking to people about was sort of formally offered to me yesterday. That is, I have a deadline. I don’t have the full specifications of the project, a word count or a fee, but apparently the company has decided I am the man for the assignment and that’s swell.
As I said, I took Early People largely because it kept me going while waiting for some of these leads to become reality. That and Deb’s interest in the subject.
Now, things seem to be going according to plan and since that happens so rarely, it’s worth noting.
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April 26, 2008
Week Fifteen
The cumulative effects of chemotherapy are catching up with Robbie. The eyebrows and eyelashes are going and he’s been tired. Even a walk around the block with Dixie can tucker him out. As the doctors keep telling him at clinic, this is all typical. Even the infection two weeks back, serious as it was, was not a surprise.
He had a quiet, relaxed weekend, largely enjoying the sunshine, reading his Manga and having Dixie hang out with him. Tuesday we were scheduled to readmit him for round four but when we arrived, Dr. Massaro suggested that since he was still on the antibiotic, he would do better finishing that medicine before beginning chemo. Still, he had the lumbar puncture and bone marrow biopsy in anticipation of the admission, which would now happen on Friday.
We were cleared to let him eat in a restaurant so he picked Chili’s and we treated him to a lunch out. The rest of the week was low key although he experienced increasing back pain from the lumbar procedure. He also had a serious headache that wouldn’t quit on Thursday so he checked with the doctors. Apparently, spinal headaches are a common occurrence and the pressure eased as he lay flat.
Friday we arrived to a very crowded clinic. In fact, things were so busy they drew his blood and sent him back to the waiting area rather than await the results in the infusion room. His back, though, was troubling him so when I went to see what could be done, Dr. Beardsley said there was no use keeping him in clinic since he was going upstairs anyway. A quick call later, we were back up in 7-West. Before he even got his room assignment, the nurses were busting his chops for not arriving on Tuesday as planned. He grinned all the way to his room.
His familiarity with the staff – residents, nurses, child life – and the procedures gives him tremendous confidence. Robbie can speak up for himself when it comes to medications and anticipate what will be asked of him. The staff likes him and most now stop in just to say and chat him up which is great. At one point yesterday, he wound up with two of his oncologists and both nurse-practitioners in the room and it was mainly a social call which made him feel good.
Round four began yesterday and lasts until Thursday morning. Given the medications involved, it has to be carefully timed out and Tricia, his nurse, and Deb worked out the mental math to give Robbie some options for starting the treatment.
Unlike round three, where no one visited, last night he already had company with more coming today and tomorrow which most certainly helps him kill time.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 10:14 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
April 25, 2008
When the Day Runs Away
Another pitfall to being a freelance writer is rearranging your time when you day spirals beyond your control.
Yesterday, for example, I headed downstairs intent on accomplishing two different projects before lunch so I had all afternoon for my Early Peoples project. I was feeling the pressure of not getting much done all week so needed to gear up.
All well and good until the phone rang. It was our First Selectman, calling to chat about this week’s Standing Committee meetings prior to next Monday’s RTM meeting. It’s budget season and there are some volatile issues before the body.
I was then asked to participate in a conference call about the Microsoft comic strip at noon. It was important that we catch up so we chatted and caught up and figured out where we were and what needed doing.
Suddenly, it’s almost 1 and I’m still working on the second part of my morning workload. I’m closing in on the end of it when the exterminator comes and I spend some time with him, walking around the exterior, trying to figure out what might be making noise in the attic.
Lunch becomes coffee and pretzels and yogurt, at the desk, as I finish the morning’s work…at 2:30 or so.
By this point, there’s still something I need to write for a website and figured, so much of the day is shot, I’ll get that written now so Friday is clear for the Early Peoples. So, I’m writing away and then the phone rings.
Suddenly, I’m on the phone for 73 minutes with my pals at ComicMix, talking about the oft-delayed Phase 3. We’re making some serious progress which is nice and overdue. But, when I hang up, it’s now 6:00 and time to make dinner, but first, a quick run to collect a prescription for Robbie.
The evening should be downtime: some television, some reading, some time with Deb and Robbie. But then the phone rang. This time, it was a member of our Board of Education, calling to chat about…the budget. There went another 35 minutes although it was another necessary conversation.
As far as the Early People of the arctic are concerned, this was a lost day. They still want me to finish writing about them by May 9. On the other hand, I served my town and I got other stuff done and managed to do cash-generating work. The trick now is to get back into the groove and get more of the book written.
Fortunately, with Robbie back in the hospital for round four, there will be fewer home distractions. Already, today, I managed three chapters and feel much better. A few more days like this and maybe there will be a finished draft in time for a polish and still make the deadline.
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