During the Movie

Young Saroo ran.

“Eleven,” the writer said.

“What?” I answered.

“Saroo,” Noor called.

“Eleven dimensions,” the writer replied. “Think about what eleven dimensions mean. Add it to your research list.”

Ah, time for a back up to an explanation.

My wife and I saw ‘Lion’ at the theater yesterday. The movie began at 12:40 PM. With logistics and travel, we needed to leave for the movie at 12:10. That then, was my target time. To reach it, I needed to leave the coffee shop by 11:55 for the walk to my car and the drive home. Two hours of writing required me to be in my seat with my drink by 9:55. To do that, I needed to reach the coffee shop by 9:45 to set up and order. That meant I needed to leave the house by 9:35, if I didn’t get a pre-writing walk in, 9:25 if I limit my walk to ten minutes, etc.

The ten minute walk was a compromise but acceptable. Regardless, when it was time to pack up and head home to go to the movies, I was still writing. Just when of those days when the faucet is turned on and scenes and words pour out. Cool. I enjoy that.

But the bottom line of it is that the writing day was truncated. That happens. Except, in this case, the writer kept talking to me during the movie.

“Eleven dimensions is not key to the story but do some research for how it might fit into it.”

“Okay. Noted.”

Dev Patel made his appearance as Saroo.

“The key is chi accumulation,” the writer said. “Think chi less as energy and more as particles in this application. It’s like ice, in a manner. An accumulation is what causes a sense of ‘now’. A past and present doesn’t exist; there is only now. The greater the accumulation of chi, the more intense and certain it becomes that now exists.”

“Okay.”

“You need to remember that.”

Saroo began his class in Melbourne.

“Don’t you mean we need to remember that?” I asked my writer.

“Sure, sure, quit splitting pubic hairs. Also, everything has a chi particle variant.”

“Right.”

“But Brett’s chi is like an isotope.”

“Uh huh.”

Saroo is later considering colorful pushpins in a map. He’s frustrated. The pushpins are presented in various perspectives.

“The phenasper,” the writer said. “He needs to see the colors to understand it. Seeing the colors allows him to be an empath but not a telepath. He develops the skill sufficiently to be a hyper-empath and see the saikis but to be a true telepath, he must see through the colors.”

“Ohhhhh.”

“When he can see through the colors, he becomes telepathic. The colors are emotions and sensory outputs as experienced and filtered by others.”

“Right, right.”

“But also, as he develops, he cultures an affinity for the electronic communication spectrum.”

“Right, right.”

“And the energy the machines put out.”

“Right.” Forgetting the movie for a second, I pursued that. “Of course. The machines and their chi help create the now. And they have their own memories.”

“Yes.”

That satisfied the writer’s need for the day. I finished watching the movie without any further interruptions. This morning, then, I had to wake him up as I was walking to write. “Hey. Writer.”

“Hmmm?”

“Wake up. Time to get up. We’re going to go write. I need you to remind me what you were telling me during the movie yesterday.”

“What was I telling you?”

“About the eleven dimensions, chi as ice creating now, and, um, the phenasper and becoming telepathic?”

“Right, right.” The writer awoke.

Got my mocha. The writer is fully engaged.

Time to write like crazy, at least one more time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheru

We saw ‘Lion’starring Dev Patel and Mara Rooney at the theater today. Now I’m suitably grounded. Stories of refugees are heard and read daily. Less often do we hear of the orphans and poverty in places like India. All whip me for my smugness about my ‘difficulties’. Yes, we all recognize there are different types of struggles along Maslow’s hierarchy, and when we overcome the basic needs of food, shelter and security, we find new intellectual, technological and emotional complaints. My first world complaints about poor television quality available when I’m streaming, our ‘outrageous’ prices for goods and services and the lack of restaurants should be vanquished for a while.

As for the movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. No flaws were noticed. The story is that of Saroo Brierly, who became separated from his family and lost when he was five years old in India in the late 1980s. Dev Patel plays the adult Saroo Brierly.I’ve always admired Dev Patel’s acting skills and he didn’t let me down. Sunny Pawar, the actor who played young Saroo, gave an excellent performance. It was impressive work for a first role. Nicole Kidman gave a strong performance, as did many others.

The first twenty to thirty minutes, exploring and developing what happened to Saroo and his brother, Guddu, were taut and gripping. My shoes were drenched by the film’s end, from my wife and others crying during so many emotional scenes. I, being a testosterone loaded man, didn’t cry nor sniffle. Yeah, right. Throughout, I admired Saroo and his relationship with his mother and brother and the desire to find them, cheering him on as he struggled through the effort. Adapted from the true story, the film is based on the book, ‘A Long Way Home’.  Besides the title differences, HistoryvsHollywood.com reports few factual differences from the book.

The film has been nominated for six Academy Awards. It’s as worthy a contender as ‘LaLa Land’, ‘Hidden Figures’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘Silence’, ‘Arrival’, ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’, Manchester by the Sea’, ‘Loving’, and ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’. We’ve see all of these for this awards season.

We’re going to see the Oscar nominated short documentary films this afternoon. What of you? Have you seen any Oscar nominated flicks?

Today’s Theme Music

It’s a springly day again. Yes, Winter still wields a razor edge wind. Circling and prowling the valley, his blade sometimes scores your cheeks and hands. The sunshine helps keep him away. Everyone believes there is one Winter but there are several. The more aggressive ones that roam the U.S. have gone East. The one remaining with us makes many threats but he’s mostly benign. Sunshine intimidates him and drives him into the shadows.

Sunday, of course, is quiet. This area, southern Oregon, is a realm of traditional American values that developed in the last century plus as trade unions successfully campaigned for having weekends off. Sunday mornings are not for working unless it’s an essential service. The list of essential services has grown, and fewer people dress and go to Church, but Sunday remains a quieter and more relaxed morning than the week’s other days.

Into that scenario, I introduce a little Led Zeppelin. From ‘Led Zeppelin II’ and 1969, it’s time once again to ‘Ramble On’, a very good walking song.

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