3 Days to London

I know that the time for my summer trip abroad is finally on me, because I had my first panic attack last night. Not really sure why I'm getting anxious, because it's only for 6 weeks, and not at all like my last trip overseas...to Iraq. Of course, this time, I won't be armed.

Don't think I'll be finishing my short story, "The Dream of Dr. Robaire," before Wednesday, and I'm not sure I'll be able to finish Michael Crichton's "Timeline" before then, either, but oh, well.

Taking the Kindle. Should prove useful when I'm standing on queue.

5 Days to London

I AM NOT A NUMBER!

I AM A FREE MAN!

If your response to these words is to laugh maniacally, then odds are you are a fan of "The Prisoner," a short-run British television show starring Patrick McGoohan from the late Sixties.

It centers around the travails of Number 6, a British spy who has abruptly resigned, and his minders want to find out why. He wakes up in The Village, a bizarre little village with whereabouts unknown. (Actualy, it's Portmeirion, an eccentric Italianate village built on the western coast of Wales.) Every episode features a new Number 2, whose mission is to crack Number 6. Number 6 schemes to escape each episode, and to avoid being broken. Take the tortured logic of a Star Trek: TOS plot, throw in some moddish British style, and a Cold War mentality, and you have "The Prisoner."

What do I find so great about "The Prisoner"? The patter, delivered with laser-like intensity by Patrick McGoohan. Example:

Woman (in tears): How can you doubt me?
Number 6: It's easy. I'm waterproof, and a little drizzle won't wash away my doubt.

Also:

Number 2 (speaking about Number 6): He can make even the act of putting on his dressing gown appear as a gesture of defiance.

And:

No.2: Well, be seeing you!
No.6: And you.” [Mumbling] “Not for long.”

I decided to stay in Porthmadog the night before I hit Portmeirion (about a 2-mile walk), giving me extra time to explore this strange little place. Hopefully I'll be able to leave the Village when I'm done!

1 Week to London

Time's running out on preparation, and the schedule is starting to firm up a bit. One item that has been added recently is a jaunt to Port Isaac in Cornwall. For those of you who have seen BBC's "Doc Martin," one of the costars of this quirky show is the picturesque Cornish seaside town of Port Isaac, known as Portwenn on the show.

Do what you need to do to see it. Martin Clunes, who played Barmy Fotheringy-Phipps on the old Jeeves and Wooster series and one of the leads on the original BBC production of "Men Behaving Badly," stars as a transplanted bigshot London doctor put back in his Cornish hometown as a GP. Unbeknownst (for a while) to the town, he has developed a case of haemophobia, but that is nothing compared to his abrasive, Dr. House-like bedside manner. The show is peopled with hilarious small-town quirky characters. Some people will complain about the languid pace for a medical procedural, but I think it's charming and totally fitting. You will want to move there!

I'll be hitting it late this month, and supposedly they will still be shooting the latest season of it when I get there. Supposedly townspeople and tourists are often used for extras. I have to admit that would be pretty cool.

Since there are no quick ways to get there from London (the closest I can approach by rail is Bodmin), I decided this morning to RENT A CAR, something I had originally committed to avoid. Bodmin is about 20 miles away by car, and after I've tired of Port Isaac, I can go out to the Bodmin Moors and see what a moor is. Perhaps I can even get a picture of THE BEAST OF BODMIN.

What I've found strange, however, is that that addition to my itinerary was a lot easier to add than another desired location, Portmeirion in Wales, the home of the Italianate villa known to fans of "The Prisoner," but more on that next time.

8 Days to London

Good news! "Ghosty: White Cloud, Blue Mountain" is now available on Smashwords. It's also available on Kindle.

The best part about Smashwords is that it's so versatile. Want to read it with a Kindle? Check. How 'bout an iPod? Check. A Nook? Can do. Kobo? Android? Got all of 'dose. Want to read it off your computer? They can accommodate that, too.

Been working on editing Maniac Tuba, my first book from 2000. Not exactly high literature, and not at all saleable, but part of the historical record.

Setting the itinerary for London, too. I have a small red notebook with all my info in it, a blank page for each day over there. I have 15 days with the BritRail pass, so I'm trying to schedule day trips to make use of all that. Should include Portmeiron, Oxford and Cambridge, Beachy Head, Canterbury, Hampton Court, and a cricket match at West Wycomb. There's also the big trip to Oban, Scotland, and Staffa Isle, which leaves about 5 days of train availability, so I'm thinking maybe I'll try to fit in Port Isaac in Cornwall, Tintern Abbey in Wales, and possibly the Lake Country or Dartmoor. Hard to say.

Tick tock!

11 Days Until London

The hot days of summer are upon us, and humidity covers us like a wet blanket. It's days like these that make a trip to the library a true pleasure, what with their AC and all the books.

Picked up a copy of Raymond Chandler's short stories. I've always wanted to do a private detective, and although I don't expect to get to him until later in the year, it's always cool to do research. Also picked up a copy of the latest Smithsonian magazine--there's an article about ancient Mayan ruins. Nifty!

A week from Wednesday I fly for London. My girlfriend is helping me pack, which is awesome, and I've put together an itinerary of the places I want to hit. Over the next few months I plan to post some of my photos on this blog.

Last night I saw the BBC remake of Sherlock Holmes. It takes our fave Baker Street characters and reimagines them as cast-together flatmates in modern London. Holmes has become a police consultant/web businessman, beset by crippling boredom and a withering disdain for the intellects of the people around him. Dr. Holmes, like his predecessor, is still a veteran of Afghanistan, is a brilliant doctor, a crack shot, and somewhat troubled by his experiences in the war. He also has accumulated a following on his own blog recounting Holmes's adventures. The show makes good use of CGI to follow Holmes's incredible deductions, but the clever patter and plotting is the real star. Professor Moriarty is excellently cast, and his whimsical, comic approach is a great counterpoint to the serious, acidic Holmes. Finally, the music does seem inspired by the recent Downey/Jude Law film, but overall, a fun time. I look forward to more, and encourage Anglo-philes out there to check it out.

I've thrown in the towel on trying to format my e-books myself. It's something I'd tried to pick up, and while I've no doubt gotten better at it, they're still not looking the way I want them to. So...I'm going to stimulate the economy a bit and outsource that labor, freeing myself up for writing. I'm not exactly running my business ('Ghosty Enterprises') at a profit here, but darnit! I have to use my time more efficiently. Besides, what's a day job for, if not to pay for expenses like these?

Speaking of which, I secured something very important for my trip this summer: a fedora! It's an authentic Indiana Jones-style fedora, and I love it. It's 100% wool, and it retains its shape. My #1 son is intensely jealous of it, and as well he should be! It's cool. Now I need to get a hat rack in order to fling it, frisbee-style. The girlfriend does not approve me flinging it across the house, or indoors, for that matter.

Don't oppress me and my hat, woman!

19 Days Until London

With one day left of students and one half-day left at school this year, the time has come for me to decide what to take with me to London. Man, do I hate packing. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

The laptop goes, of course. It's an Asus, and Rose calls it my 'toy computer'--but it won't take up a lot of space. Some clothes and toiletries. A couple of guidebooks. A converter a colleague loaned me. A camera.

I love souvenirs, so those things will have to be shipped home. I suppose I'll have to set up some rules with the family on when those can be opened.

I already have a list of places I want to go, but after school lets out, I'm going to start to get super-specific on the itinerary.

May start watching "Doc Marten" again before I leave. I didn't know until I started watching that show with Rose that I would need to go visit Port Isaac in Cornwall.

Fam is out of the house for the weekend, so it means that tomorrow is a big writing day. I've got a short story I want to try to finish, although I admit I'm losing interest in it. Bring in the man with the gun, perhaps?

Tonight I think I'll watch "Timecop."