CUNTLINE. The space between the bilges of two casks, stowed side by side. Where one cask is set upon the cuntline between two others, they are stowed bilge and cuntline.
– The Seaman’s Friend : A Treatise on Practical Seamanship, by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
I want to restart my Music Monday series with a cover tune I took on as a challenge. I’m not a stellar guitarist, and I felt the chord structure of this Elton John tune would be a good test of my meager talents. If you’re a musician or an astute music fan, you’ll notice the flub in the second refrain that I powered through as best as I could.
I also find the storytelling of Bernie Taupin’s lyrics compelling: someone of humble beginnings who rejects being used as a social circle showpiece.
This was recorded about a half decade ago, when I was going through a particularly shaggy phase. Continue reading
Get this: Three detectives are run out of their hometowns and find themselves stepping on each other’s toes in Westport, California. A wealthy local businessman uncovers the secrets that drove them from their own cities and, for mysterious reasons, blackmails them into working together. The Trace Agency is born.
What is it? A historical television drama set in a fictional city during the 1930s that draws on classic detective fiction to pit different styles of private eye against each other.
Showrunners’ Strategy? The writers should familiarize themselves with the history of the period, with classic hard-boiled fiction, and with the character notes and the secrets that drew them into the agency. From there, they should simply write…
Normally, I post a synopsis of seasons or episodes, but this concept is more mood- and character-driven. Obviously the first season would focus on the circumstances that lead to the creation of the Trace Agency, and the following seasons would reveal each detective’s dirty little secrets, but beyond that it’s the writing team’s creativity that would drive it forward. So, here are the character sketches:
People who want to destroy ideas burn paper books. But, ironically, the love of paper books can become so zealous that it’s just as bad as burning them.
