Owner: Tall Story URL:http://tallstories.wordpress.com Join Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 15:55:51 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: blog of novelist David Callinan exploring the human condition - comments on books, music, metaphysics, film, wacky and wonderful stories - and politics Site statistics:Click here
Dublin here I come 2007-03-05 09:38:22 The long awaited film meeting to discuss the development of my screenplay ‘Lark In The Morning’ is to take place this week in Dublin
- a city much changed since I lived there. I have no idea what to expect except that an option is the obvious outcome. The screenplay has been lying in a [...]
Catch a boat to England, baby or maybe to Spain 2007-02-21 18:52:07 I made my annual pilgrimage to a blues club in the Forest of Dean to bask in the superlative skills of guitar maestro John Renbourne - ex Pentangle - and someone I used to play on the same bill with when I was working in bands many years ago. Of course, John wouldn’t remember me. [...] Read more:Catch
, England
, Spain
‘Your earliest memory’ project: please take part 2007-01-24 12:38:26 This could be a web-wide project or experiment to document and record the earliest memories of anyone who takes part regardless of language, culture or creed. Curious? Read more:lsquo
Film deal, Bush goes green and the rise of PC 2007-01-24 10:58:02 A slight delay on the film deal meeting but I hear development monies have been put in place. I’ll be away from this blog for a week because I will be in Spain, in Almeria to be precise. I am assured the meeting will take place when I get back, possibly in Germany. So, there [...]
Film deal - yes or no? 2007-01-10 20:17:48 January 10th 2007: It’s my birthday so many happy returns to me. And the wings of fate have brought me a present. News that I may have a film deal, or at least a meeting to discuss a film deal (there’s a HUGE difference) has just arrived. Next week I am to meet some producers [...]
Prophecy: 2007-01-10 13:19:58 Look into SuperIching (http://www.superiching.com). I became transfixed by this different methodology of interpreting the I-Ching. It is quite remarkable and astonishingly accurate. The man who developed the system based on ancient Chinese wisdom is Alex Chiu - a Chinese/American living in San Francisco, I believe. He follows the movements of stocks and shares and [...] Read more:Prophecy
Science, religion and the alternative Holy Grail 2007-01-10 12:34:35 Unlike the huge schism there appears to be between science and religion, I see no conflict between scientific discovery, metaphysics and religion. I explore these themes in my book ‘An Angel On My Shoulder’. There is a link to the synopsis and first chapter on my home page. What is that old aphorism? What is [...] Read more:Science
, Grail
, Holy Grail
Literary agents: 2007-01-10 12:31:27 I have had a number of literary agents and when trying the backbreaking job of trying to interest them in my work was more than amused to find that literary agents appear to have developed an insider notoriety with websites devoted to discussions about honesty, dealmaking, performance tables. A good agent is worth their weight [...] Read more:Literary
Conspiracy theory: 2007-01-10 12:26:19 I blow hot and cold about conspiracy theories and I would love to uncover one. There are hosts of websites purporting to reveal the most insidious conspiracies and one of these covert exercises in mind seduction appears to be the Bilderberger Society. This association, for want of a better word, takes its name from a [...] Read more:Conspiracy
Travel writing: 2007-01-09 22:45:56 PERU - THE TALE OF A SECRET VALLEY AND
THE CREDIT CARD AT THE BOTTOM OF LAKE TITICACA
by David Callinan
If you care to slip into a wet suit and dive to the bottom of icy Lake Titicaca, somewhere between the island of Taquile and the Peruvian mainland, you may discover the highest navigable, or should that [...] Read more:Travel
, writing
The human condition and the God quandary 2007-03-11 18:48:46 Commentaries on the role of the novel in disentangling human
lies and deceit and scraping away at carapace of the human condition until we can shed some light on our humanity and destiny always compel me if they are elegantly written and argued. Few can match MILAN KUNDERA in this and there is a New [...]
Dublin here we didn’t go 2007-03-11 18:32:58 Can you believe it? With my air tickets emailed to me for the trip back to Dublin
to discuss a film project, the financier in Ireland postponed at the eleventh hour. The meeting is to be held in London in a couple of weeks. I’m not holding my breath. Will keep you informed.
Film project changes before my very eyes 2007-03-23 16:45:53 Who’d be a writer? In earlier posts I told you about a long gestating film project that I thought was dead and buried. Suddenly, ‘Lark in the Morning’ - one of my few romantic dramas - burst back into life (we are talking years later). The original erstwhile producer and financier I had originally made [...] Read more:changes
Barcelona and Gaudi - architect of nature 2007-03-23 16:05:22 I hadn’t been to Barcelona
for years, about 20 to be exact, and I had forgotten what a vibrant place it is. The architect who is responsible for putting Barcelona on the cultural map and keeping it there is, of course, Antoni Gaudi, who died in 1926 - hit by a tram. His work is [...] Read more:nature
Book Fair or not 2007-04-15 16:52:57 I usually trot along to the London Book Fair but find that, as a writer, very few people want to talk to me. It’s understandable in a way. It’s a trade show and every agent worth their salt is locked away in the IRC pitching to publishers. And this year, as last year, you don’t [...]
Prayers for the world (and the film saga goes on) 2007-05-09 11:19:19 I heard from my agent in the US that the author of ‘The Celestine Prophecy’ James Redfield and his wife have begun a global prayer project for all faiths based on twice monthly prayer sessions by phone internet and small groups. "Our twice-monthly gatherings have been making a powerful difference, both in people's individual lives [...]
The Common condition 2007-05-20 20:40:16 Every so often (probably most days) something happens that drives me to distraction. I have long learned not to let these moments cause my blood pressure to rise. I guess wherever you are in the world and whatever state of the human condition your destiny has cast you in, similar events will take place that [...] Read more:Common
Is God a delusion - are babies a miracle? 2007-05-29 09:34:00 It has surprised me that an eminent scientist such as Richard Dawkins can many spend thousands of words writing a well argued polemic on the science versus religion theme. When you read between the lines, he avoids the ‘What is God’ discussion in order to argue that mankind essentially invented a supreme being that actually [...] Read more:miracle
New book, new crime thriller hero on the way 2007-06-13 12:10:13 I am half way through writing a new crime
thriller novel. It is the first of a series featuring a new kind of hero. I’m not going to say too much about him except he is kind of a cross between Father Brown and Jack Reacher. But comparisons are odious and so is that one [...]
Conspiracies are good for your health 2007-06-26 03:04:16 Below is an extract from the front page of an interesting site that documents just about every conspiracy or perceived conspiracy that exists. I love a good conspiracy theory and one part of me wants to believe it all. Much of this stuff COULD be true. The site has a similar name to the [...]
My album has become a collector’s item 2007-07-06 16:53:48 I was quite amazed when I found out that an album I made in 1972 has become a surprise underground rare hit and been sought after by fans and collectors all over the world. Here’s one site that people are dowloading tracks from http://www.last.fm/music/Callinan-Flynn”
They are calling it folk-psych (whatever that is). A new wave Irish [...]
The Cheltenham Screenwriters Festival 2007-07-18 08:55:42 It’s not often I go to festivals like this - in fact I don’t think I have ever been to one. For the UK film industry it did seem to attract some big names well worth listening to. There were people such as screenwriters Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix); William [...] Read more:Cheltenham
, Screenwriters
, Festival
What’s wrong with US literary agents? 2007-07-24 02:45:17 It makes me mad. I contacted a UK-based film production company recently in the hope of getting a chance to pitch some film and TV projects. This, after spending time and money being stimulated and encouraged at the recent Cheltenham Screenwriters Festival. “We only accept submissions via literary agents’, I was told. That’s fairly normal. [...]
The art of the thriller 2007-07-31 09:19:13 I have just finished the first draft of my new thriller. The result is a quite unnatural feeling of longing. It’s almost as though the book you couldn’t wait to finish writing you now cannot bear to end. I plan to leave it dormant for a while and let it stew in its own juices [...]
JK Rowling in my local pub - by ‘Mugglewort’ Wood 2007-08-05 12:23:39 It seems that either the day before or after the premiere of the latest Harry Potter movie, author JK Rowling
was seen having lunch at “The Bell’, a pub in the village of Littledean in the Forest of Dean. No idea what she had but what was she doing there? A number of things come [...] Read more:lsquo
Could Noah beat political correctness? 2007-08-16 05:07:35 I am indebted to Roy Tallis for this new spin on the Noah’s Ark tale (with sting attached). A real TALL STORY.
In the year 2007 the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in England
and said, “Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh [...] Read more:political
, correctness
So, what is reality when it’s at home? 2007-08-13 17:04:05 I guess that the most fundamental question any one of us on this fragment of dust can ever ask ourselves, and one that can sound profound or pretentious is - what is reality
? It’s an interesting question. It’s one that another blogger I’ve come across has had a stab at answering http://omniverse.blogspot.com/. But how many [...]
The battle of Trafalgar 2007 - one act play 2007-08-20 16:27:33 Nelson: “Order the signal, Hardy.”
Hardy: “Aye, aye sir.”
Nelson: “Hold on, that’s not what I gave to the signal officer. What’s the meaning of this?”
Hardy: “Sir?”
Nelson (reading aloud): “England expects every person to do his duty, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion or disability”. “What gobbledygook is this?”
Hardy: [...] Read more:Trafalgar
Everyone’s jumping on the sacred bandwagon 2007-09-12 12:01:16 I am sitting on a story that could shake the world.
No, it’s true.
My US agent has been shopping ‘An Angel On My Shoulder’ to a receptive bunch of editors and they have universally praised it while rejecting it. It is a dramatised true story that reads like a spiritual thriller. Well, that’s exactly what it [...] Read more:sacred
Everybody who’s anybody in film & trade publishing - hurry, hurry! 2007-09-02 11:55:10 For those of you who have never heard of Gerard Jones then it’s time to check him out. Gerard is a 65 year old writer living in the US who started to chronicle the 500,000 rejections he has so far received for his books and suggested screenplays.
In so doing he compiled an online directory and [...] Read more:Everybody
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