So THIS is growing up!

What with the loss I've had over the past ten months or so, there has been plenty of introspection going on. Last November I lost my only brother, six weeks later my last grandmother, and just the week after Grandma's funeral I found out that my favorite uncle had been to the Mayo Clinic where he learned that he had terminal cancer. He passed in May. Then, though he wasn't family, I suppose the loss of Joe Ranft brought a lot of my 'stuff' to a head. My wife and I just finished watching Empire Falls, a mini-series that had been on HBO this summer. I didn't get a chance to see it on television, since we don't have HBO, and it just came out on video. You are no doubt scratching your head now, and wondering what an odd turn I've taken. Trust me, I'll get there. I had read the book Empire Falls, by Richard Russo, and thought it a wonderful book. The only way a movie could have done it justice was by mini-series, and I am happy that Paul Newman and company complied. In any case, it is a blue collar look at issues we all face, the loss of parents, the loss of marriage, the loss of love, and what we gain by all of these things. Oh man, I could go on for days about this one, but perhaps you'll be good enough to take my word for it and just watch the thing, okay? You won't be sorry. By the way, this would perhaps be more interesting for a more mature audience, if you get my drift. I don't mean ancient, as I'm in my 40's, but I meant it in the same way that I would say one gets more from Hamlet as one gets older. I read it in my teens, and wondered what the heck was going on. Read it in my 20's, and started to get the picture. Read it in my 30's, and things were falling together for me, and then at 41 I lost my father, and read Hamlet again. I get it. So, use that as a gauge, perhaps.
I've been busy writing up the technical stuff for a magical release that will really rock the boat. This effect is one that has been sought for about four or five years, and it will finally be hitting the marketplace in 4 - 6 months. I'll not spill the beans yet, but it is a rare thing that I see the video explanation from an artist and I'm *still* fooled! This one is incredible. The writing is taking a ton of time, because there is nuance after nuance, and they are all important. The psychology behind the effect is included as well, and that makes this one of the few magic effects that promises a result in the rest of your magic, and it delivers.
Finally, my friend Tom Frank is off tonight, enroute to Ohio to visit his mother. She received her new heart on Saturday, the gift from a 22 year old man, and she is doing well. Tom will be there a few days, and he goes with the best wishes from the Alki session crew. Be well, Tom, and the same for your mother.