Friday, September 15, 2023

Walkabout Thoughts #64.5

My thoughts, Stream of consciousness, rough and ready, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts…

Walkabout Thoughts #64.5

.5?

Yes. Well? Here's the deal.

I had a minor accident. Three weeks ago. I tripped over something that caught my foot. Slammed my ankle into something which it then slipped down on, leading to a blister from a kind of "rug burn". That was doing well until it broke open and got infected. I was taking care of it, but apparently something got into it.

It's pretty bad. I thought I may have broken my leg. Yeah, that bad. I had it looked at for a third time in three weeks yesterday and indeed, it's not broken (finally got x-rays taken), but definitely infected. the wound was cleaned up, antibiotics administered, and next Tuesday I'm seeing a "wound clinic". So, no more 5 mile walks for a bit.

Yeah, that bad. I was told it's superficial though, I won't lose my ankle (oh, gooood). But it needs some serious attention and may take months to finally heal. 

Damn.

First I'll say one political thing today that I'm borrowing from a "Tweet" of mine yesterday, just because this is so aggravating

Considering continuing Republican rogue actions, the Insurrection "Freedom" Caucus in the US House of Reps, illiberal "Republican Party" laws, illiberal "Republican" Gerrymandering, "Republican" coup attempts, an insurrection, ongoing voter suppression, anti-pro-choice crap, electing of all people, life long criminal Donald Trump...only ONE NAME now fits for the once GOP: GOVP. The Grand Old #igilante Party. Because these are ALL Vigilante actions.

Considering how anti-governmental Republicans are, esp., MAGA, hating government, always trying to disable it, defund it, destroy, cripple it, then blame Democrats for it...I'd also settle for the name: "Grand Old Vigilantes". The G.O.V.

There is little more dangerous than a religious leader shunned by his flock, for another. Or a conservative cult divested of their self-infatuated leader. Beware MAGA, once Trump has fallen. For lost, they will need purpose, other repositories for their hate, and ignorance.

Right. OK. Moving on...I'd been using a crutch to walk with (tried a cane but it wasn't enough). Now that it's been cleaned by a medical professional (thing was, it's on my outer left ankle and hard to get close to by myself), antibiotics administered, 2x daily Epsom salt soaking, so it's doing better. Now that I know the leg bone isn't fractured, and with the infection more local to just the wound area, I can walk (limping a bit) without a walking aid.

And that's why there is no "Walkabout Thoughts" lately these past three weeks. I know I'm a bit intermittent on them normally anyway, but this time will be a bit longer... apparently.

I've gotten a lot of work done on my new film companion book on "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" (not a simple book to write), but as the infection got worse, I'd not been in a state of mind where I can maintain writing a book for very long. While the film continues to garner international awards at film festivals. Which is always nice.

In fact, in the past three weeks I had entered two different film festivals, the Tabriz Cinema Awards (İstanbul, turkey) and, the Brandenburg International Film Festival in Germany. I had entered two films, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" and my film noir, "Gumdrop", a short horror, as well as my already award winning screenplay, a true crime biopic, "The Teenage Bodyguard. I won for all three, at both festivals, within a week of one another.

The first win of three was a surprise. The second was a big surprise!

In other good news is, my book "Suffering Long Covid" is selling well at the regional health food chain a few counties over (long story). I just had to send them another shipment of ten as the Covid season approaches.

So, I'll end with that and...that's what's going on. 

Not a lot, but kind of a lot. 

I wish you all great success and health! Until next time!

Cheers! Sláinte!



Friday, September 8, 2023

Pvt. Ravel's Bolero - an antiwar, filmic poem, historical documentary film

In 2022 I produced a film, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero", based on a poem I wrote of the same name, some years previous. It seems to be a well-received endeavor. To date I've received over 30 international film festival awards.

[9/12/23 update: Pvt. Ravel's Bolero now has 43 international awards!]

You can see it now, free, if you sign up for a free trial subscription on ThrilzTV.com. It's a safe site, you can watch the film free, then unsubscribe. No worry. I built most of the site myself with a few others and we're not trying to cause anyone problems. In January we're shifting into a large endeavor of which ThrilzTV will be a part of, with much more to come. So maybe get in on the beginning?

It's a serious film. But if you're a classical music, or if you're a history buff, especially of WWI, France, trench warfare, Maurice Ravel, Bolero, War...or a variety of other things...do check it out! I didn't get all these awards because it's not worth checking out. This isn't the kind of film that gets a standing ovation. It's about serious issues. But done in a way that is innovative and affecting. 


Documentary, Biography, War, Music, Independent, V (Violence), D (Suggestive Dialogue), 14-Jul-2023

The international multi-award winning, antiwar "filmic poem" and historical documentary, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero". Experience WWI as told through music (played by Ravel), actual documentary footage and a poem that proposes a question:

"What if the composer of Ravel's Bolero, Joseph Maurice Ravel, had not simply been a truck driver in WWI, but had actually been the trenches?" What if he had drawn the French and German enemies lining both sides of their deadly "no man's land", to enter the deadly, horrific space between the soldier's trenches, and played his new song? A ghostly meeting of soldier musicians and the dead...all among the horrors of their shared zone of death which laid horrifically between them.

Forty-Two International Awards, including:

BEST WAR SHORT - Arthouse Festival of Beverly Hills.

BEST DIRECTOR EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM, Indiefest Film Awards

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY - New Orleans Film Festival.

BEST HUMAN RIGHTS & SOCIAL FILM - RunDoc Film Talent Award, Hong Kong.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM - World Film Carnival, Singapore.

DOCUMENTARY-BEST FILM - Grand Jury Prize Bronze Award - Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival.

EXCEPTIONAL MERIT - Docs Without Borders Film Festival.

And over many more...

Cast

Brel Martínez "Adelaide", Ravel's Truck

Jey Martin, Narrator

Joseph Maurice Ravel Pianist/Conductor

Crew

JZ Murdock, Director