Dru, Steinbeck and the Book of Deer

Dear Juliet I'm worried... Should I be more assertive, should I be more pious and ethical, should I be more kind? I think kind wins it. I can't go around telling you what to do, but on the other hand it's all relatively simple. And if I don't you may end up stuck like Norma Desmond in some sordid mansion just off Sunset Boulevard... And yet I can't just tell you to call me so we can discuss it... It's a real Catch-22 situation. To be, or not to be, that is the question...  All right, all right... I don't think you should suffer many more of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, though letting them instead whistle  like the forlorn wind  past your cheek and by such opposition ending them may seem harder than scaling the world's highest, harshest peak. Will's going to have my guts for garters for that one... Well, I'll give voice to a little risk: you can call me if you like, but not if you don't want to. And no, the shoe won't dro...

Dear Juliet I think something's bugging you, but I'm not sure what. So, basics: You're fine and safe, even if you fuck up. Translation: I like you just the way you are, even if you can on occasion be a bit of a noodle. I don't sum up your value as a human being based on your most recent review. There's no catch, the shoe won't drop. That's why I used the Rocky II analogy. "If you wanna blow this thing, dammit I'm gonna blow it with you. You wanna stay here, I'll stay with you." That's all there is to it. You don't have to explain or justify yourself. I'm not your judge and no one has the right to be. I know a lot about you and I like you for yourself, good and bad. Take all the time you need. Now, I don't know if the thought of Dear Miss Landau /Dru Quartet-related possibilities are tearing you to pieces. I wrote them, so I'll tell you: don't worry about it. Take forever if you'd like. Incidentally, as a matter...

Dear Juliet I was just thinking of you, Vegas, the night, the music and the thousands upon thousands of Star Trek fans; and found myself a bit amused to remember that way back near the start of the blogs, I mentioned that I hoped "you weren't finding all the Star Trek analogies a little confusing..." I suppose all my references were only a drop in the ocean compared to five rumbustious nights trekkin' 'cross the Vegasverse...   Must have been a veritable forest of Spock ears... Sorry, this is bringing out my British tendency to take the piss but I suppose there's a serious subject lurking up my Jeffries tubes. I don't tend to talk politics much on here, but I just picked up that Las Vegas, pound for pound, has had some of the biggest losses in tourist revenue in America . And it looks like L.A. has had it nearly as bad . I do keep an eye on these things. I hope you'll be okay. And Trump's also pissed off Canada again... Perhaps one should ask whe...

Dear Juliet Here's a selection of other photographs from London, and I got a programme about Mockingbird for you from the Wyndham. Couple of candid shots somewhere ca. Seven Dials... Different angle on Trafalgar Square, with St. Martin-in-the-Fields in the background (it appeared at the start of Lawrence of Arabia ): And I see you went to a Star Trek convention in Vegas? Well, thanks for reading my blogs while you were there. I don't know if you saw the Starbucks patio on Fremont Street, but the oddest image came to mind. You quietly reading a blog of mine on your smartphone, leaning on a wall at night with the Strat in the distance and the Enterprise  high in the sky, top left... And your smartphone is flipped open like an original series communicator. I got a shot of the Strat back in 2010: Just a creative thought, although they considered building a life-size Enterprise hotel there in 1992: For now, I guess the Queen Mary will do... Love, James

Dear Juliet Risked the train going to London on the 18th (seats were like hard benches from the nineteen-thirties, complete with large spikes), but it was still warm in London town with the buzz of the city around me and opportunities at large. This quote on the side of a train at Euston somewhat summed it up: Helped an older lady find her way to Waterloo. She was a literary fan, told her she was sitting next to an author, made her day... Henry Pordes had a new/old copy of Cannery Row (1945) in, the Tartt was still on the shelves and I saw The Usual Suspects! Then I walked down towards Wyndham and Garrick theatres, and stumbled upon the one play in London I really did want to see. So here comes my confession. I got a ticket for Aaron Sorkin's To Kill a Mockingbird . Royal Circle, F26. And here's the thing, wherein lies the conscience of the king... I know you're a stage actress at heart, and of course I'd have casually told anyone who asked that you love the tread of t...

Dear Juliet Back from New Cross (ducks sent their love), just running/stumbling out to work, will cobble together something vaguely resembling a blog post when I get back... I haven't forgotten about you. Love, James