Time for the annual review for 2024.? I was lucky enough to be in a short film in which I cast as one of the leads; when we filmed my role became even larger.
In February I auditioned for a friend's (Javier
Bonafont) "Introduction to Filmmaking" class at St.
Edward's University.? There were about
thirty-two students; after hearing nothing for several weeks, I assumed I
wasn't chosen.? Then I was contacted in
April by Bryan Lopez.? Filming was
scheduled on campus on a Sunday.? When I
arrived at the location, all the doors of the building were locked. I looked for someone who could let
me in and noticed a young woman seated nearby and asked for her help. It turned
out to be Alyssa Nicholes who was also in the cast and also waiting to get in. She
phoned the director who came down and let us in. It turned out that not only the
other three actors had failed to show up but his crew as well. We discussed
what to do and decided to adapt the script to fit the two actors and create a
"documentary" style film. We modified the script to fit the changed
status and did three takes. That provided Bryan with enough footage to create
his film. I don't think that he completed the film in time for the
end-of-semester screening, but he did finish it shortly after.? ?(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OLnJjdnbIs)
I was in one other film in 2024, a UT RTF pre-thesis film,
Donor, which will likely screen in May, 2025.?
I was an extra, appearing in two scenes as the uncle of a pregnant
mother at the gender-revealing event.
In 2023 I was in a student film by Aidan Alcala and I
didn't get a link in time for last year's newsletter.? I now have that film (In My
Brother's Footsteps) on my Youtube page (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QezgoXRj3nY)
along with a trailer () for that film.?
There's a link to Aidan's Youtube page if you want to see more of his
work.? He's currently in his second year
in UT's RTF program.
In January I noticed that a loaf of bread had a hole near
the bottom and realized that it might be a mouse. It started a months-long
battle against mice.? I first used mouse
traps, which initially were very successful, with dead mice in January,
February, March, and May.? In June a
mouse set off the trap, but escaped.? Somehow
the mice seemed to learn how to get the peanut butter from the trap without
setting it off.? They also started
chewing on the edges of the plastic bins I bought to protect the bread and were
even able to start chewing on the peanut bar jar lid while it was stored on the
second shelf up in a cabinet that was five feet above the floor.? One also chewed part of the lid of a bottle
of lemonade and another chewed part of the lid of a container I store potato
chips in.? More dead mice in June, August
and October.? In a few cases I saw the
mice in the kitchen, but they were very fast and moved too quickly to stop
them.? One time I saw one and was able to
catch it after a short chase, since it was moving more slowly, no doubt due to
the poison. I also used three different types of mouse poison, which helped
some.? I detected no more mice until late
December.? I spotted that mouse in my
bedroom in early January and was it moving so slowly (due to the poison) that I
was able to stomp him before he got away.
In March I visited Pease Park to see an eighteen-foot-tall
troll made of local and repurposed wood. It’s head took about one hundred hours
to build in Denmark.The rest came together in Pease Park over several weeks.
The sculpture cost around $300,000 to install and was funded by private donors,
They have a license to display the troll for 15 years.
?
I had cataract surgery in 2022. This year I learned
that my right eye had posterior capsule opacification, also known as secondary
cataract, a clouding of the eye's lens capsule that can occur after cataract
surgery. ?I had it taken care of in June
in a procedure that went relatively quickly and painlessly.? I had believed that the appointment was only
a consultation, but was glad to be able to drive home safely since my vision
was okay, only reduced by dilation.? In
2022 I was required to have a ride home.
?
In the fall I learned I had a condition known as
"dry eyes."? I went through
four bi-weekly sessions of Optilight Treatment which included bright lights
shining on my closed eyes.? This required
me to use a type of contact lens (to block the light).? One time I forgot to bring the contacts, but
since I live about three blocks from the optician, it didn't take long for me
to walk home and get them.? During the
treatment I was taking eleven drops of eye medicine (four different types)
daily.? I'm down to seven drops currently.
Overheard with Evan Smith finally resumed a normal schedule
and I saw all fourteen programs.? The
best of them were Jonathan Eig, Judy Woodruff, Bradley Whitford, and Ari Berman.
In October, in one of the highlights of the year, I saw
Doris Kearns Goodwin (again, I've seen her several times) speak on her wonderful
new book, "Unfinished Love Story" You can view it at .
In January I ordered a new refrigerator.? When it arrived, the deliverymen were unable
to get it through the door into the kitchen.?
I then ordered a narrower model and had my handyman Juan come by to
remove the screen and side door (which the deliverymen were not allowed to do)
and it fit.? Juan also fixed the two
speakers in the front room, which due to a problem with the receiver, had
stopped working.? Juan was back in
December to replace the side screen door and repair the screen in the front
door. Other purchases, new lawn mower in March and a six-Disc CD Player in April.
?
My health
was good.? In September I got my fourth
Covid booster.? As usual I walked a lot
and logged 6225 miles (the most ever), an average of 17.01 miles a day.? I had fifteen twenty-mile
days.? I walked at least 14 miles every day except three
(12.95 the least).?? I only drove my car thirty-two
days and needed to fill up the tank
only twice (The second time I was able to get my best price on gas since 2020).? ?In September I felt under the weather (flu?)
for a few days.? The grand total, since I
started logging them in 1999 is now 83,715 miles.
?
It's always a pleasure to see my former students and
this year I saw twenty-one of them: Mario Aleman, Stephanie Acosta,
Alfred Mendieta, Lonnie Gooden, Morris Haywood, Chandra Morgan, Rosland Bell,
Rosalinda Rodriguez Munoz, Raymond Cathey, Wendall Plunk Schoffstall,
and Andrew Bell. And I saw ten at the 35th McCallum reunion,
which luckily was a block from my home at Lazarus Brewery (Carol Augustine
McHorse, Angie Fiero, Randy Maynard, J D Balch, DeSean Roby, Chris Kimey, Scot
McCann, Amy Arredondo Hunt, Mark Calderon & Rylan Bosher).
?
I've been taking comedy defensive driving every three
years since the late seventies to get a discount on my car insurance.? For the first time ever, there were no
in-person classes offered, so I had to do it on-line.
?
When I needed a dentist after moving to Austin in 1976,
I used one recommended by my boss at the UT Law School, where I was working as
a senior clerk-typist.? That dentist
retired after a few years and his partner took over.? This year, the partner retired and I got a
third dentist, who took over the practice.?
?
In January my friend Deborah Abbott used my image as
part of a comic she wrote, which was very cool.
?
For several weeks in the first part of the year I had
to deal with a crazy woman who repeatedly told me to stop bothering her, which
was weird, since I was ignoring her.? it
got to the point where, for some insane reason, that she appeared to be filming
me with her cell phone any time our paths crossed, which was too often, since
she was often on the same streets as I was, as I went to the bus stop or to and
from the Hancock HEB.? I also suspect she
might have reported me to the police when two patrol cars stopped me, they
said, for walking across Airport Boulevard, which I have done thousands of
times over the years.? After I provided
my identification, as requested, they let me go.? A few times I noticed her sitting on the
sidewalk as I was approaching, so I suspect she might have had to move.
?
The best older movies I saw this year included The
Cassandra Cat (1963 Czech film), "Cinema Paradiso", "Not a Pretty Picture", "Donkey Skin", "All About My
Mother", " Burden of Dreams", "Roman Holiday",
"Winter Kills", "Seven Samurai", "The Store",
"Amadeus", "Tokyo Godfathers" and
"Fanny & Alexander."
?
The best newer films included "Srikanth", "Poor Things", "A New Kind of Wilderness", "Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya", "God Save Texas", and "Green Border"
?
As a big
fan of their work, I loved the documentary "Made in England: The Films of
Powell and Pressburger" (which aired on PBS in December)
?
In March I attended the South by Southwest Film
Festival (which I have never missed).?
Two features there which I loved were "Yasmeen's
Element", and "Bob Trevino Likes It" (I was in its director's (Tracie Layman) first
film and was able to see it only because she comped me - the film had full
houses every screening because it won the Narrative Feature Competition Jury Award). The documentaries I most enjoyed there
were "The Truth vs. Alex Jones", "Every
Little Thing", and "She Looks Like Me".
I've only missed the Austin Film Festival once since it
started about thirty-one years ago.? (I
couldn't use my film pass in 2012, having been hit by a car a shortly
before).? I worked as a volunteer in the
early years and this year I posted a call for volunteers on my casting list
(which did the job) and was rewarded for it with a film badge, which enabled me
to get into films a bit earlier than the film pass folks.? "I'm Still Here", "Born for
You, " and "Santosh" were the best films I saw.
I've been a
member of the Austin Film Society for many years and have now seen 1545 films
at AFS Cinema.? This year I saw 222
(including a few shorts collections); more than ever before.? I was at AFS 162 days (actually much less
than the previous two years)
?
I discovered several albums of two of my favorite
singers: Maddie Pryor and Christine Lavin.?
A real treat.? I also am currently
reading Christine's delightful autobiography "Cold "Pizza for
Breakfast: A Mem-wha?".? Ironically,
I discovered that, although I am Facebook friends with Christine, I'd not
thought about her additional albums (and I added ten to my collection).? I'd seen her perform twice at the Cactus in
the '90s and both were wonderful shows after which she'd signed some of her CDs
for me.? I saw Maddie perform in 1973 in
San Antonio when she was with Steeleye Span and they opened for Jethro
Tull.? That was an amazing concert.
?
I've been a
member of the Austin Film Society for many years and have now seen 1323 films
at AFS Cinema.? This year I saw 294
(including a few shorts collections); more than ever before.? I was at AFS 212 days.? The only theater where I
had seen more movies was the Arbor, which sadly, closed in 2022; I saw1210
movies there.
?
I read one book more than most years: 366 (since it was a
leap year).? The grand total is now
11,727. About thirty-four were
books I found at Little Free Libraries and twenty-seven were ebooks.? Some of those are in the list below.? It was a real treat to discover some new
authors and find the books they've already written. I also discovered
two great YA authors.? A F Steadman has
written a series of books about a man who works with wild unicorns in his
Skandar books.? I've read the first three
and will read the fourth soon & the fifth is due out late in 2025.? The books have been compared in the Harry
Potter books.? The second author is James
Ponti, whose? "Dead City"
trilogy I loved.? He has more series that
I'll read in 2025.
Here are the best of those books.?
Autobiographies: "Being Reshma: The
Extraordinary Story of an Acid-Attack Survivor who Took the World by
Storm" (Reshma Qureshi), "My Name is Barbra" (Barbra Streisand),
"All Over But the Shoutin' " (Rick Bragg), "Bartleby & Me:
Reflections of an Old Scrivener" and "A Writer's Life" (Gay
Talese), "Flight from Dhahran: The true experiences of an American
businessman held hostage in Saudi Arabia" (John McDonald), "Don't
Look Back: A Memoir of War, Survival, and My Journey from Sudan to
America" (Achut Deng), "Crazy Loco Love" and "Burro
Genius" (Victor Villasenor), "Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake" (Veronica Lake), "Myrna Loy:
Being and Becoming" (James Kotsilibas-Davis), "Chasing Hope: A
Reporter's Life" (Nick Kristof), "The Teachers: A Year Inside
America's Most Vulnerable, Important Profession" (Alexandra Robbins), "Turnaround: A Memoir" (Milos Forman), "Swanson on
Swanson" (Gloria Swanson), “I Believe in ZERO: Learning from the World's
Children” (Caryl Stern), "An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of
the 1960s"? (Doris Kearns Goodwin)
Biographies:
"American Prometheus: The
Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" (Kai Bird), " King: A
Life" (Jonathan Eig), "Rain of Gold" (Victor Villasenor),
?
History:
"Profiles in Ignorance: How
America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber" (Andy Borowitz),
"There Will Be Fire: Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes That
Changed History" (Rory Carroll), "Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an
American Town" (Warren St. John), "Checkmate in Berlin: The Cold War
Showdown That Shaped the Modern World" (Giles Milton), "The
Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara" (David Kertzer), "The
Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights" (Steve
Sheinkin), "After Long Silence" and "The Escape
Artist" (Helen Fremont), "Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump
and the Breaking of America" (Maggie Haberman), "A Sniper in the
Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders" and "Bad Boy from Rosebud: The
Murderous Life of Kenneth Allen McDuff" (Gary Lavergne), "Leadership:
In Turbulent Times" (Doris Kearns
Goodwin), "Blood and Money: The Classic True Story of Murder, Passion, and
Power" (Thomas Thompson), and "The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris,
Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War" (Erik Larson)
?
I
read several great Ann Rule books, "If You Really Loved Me", The
Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story" (her first book
(1980), originally 350 pages, I read the 2021 edition which was 500 pages,
which lots of updates. She was a friend of Bundy & they exchanged many
letters) , "Everything She Ever Wanted: A True Story of Obsessive Love,
Murder, and Betrayal", "Small Sacrifices", "Too Late to Say
Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal", "And Never Let Her Go:
Thomas Capano: The Deadly Seducer", "Dead By Sunset: Perfect Husband,
Perfect Killer?" "Bitter Harvest" (a case in Kansas City which
was centered near where I lived for six years), "Heart Full of Lies",
"Every Breath You Take: A True Story of Obsession, Revenge, and Murder"
?
Comics:
"Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips, Volume 7: Pockets Full of Pie"
and "Pogo: The Complete
Syndicated "Comics Strips, Vol. 8: Hijinks from the Horn of Plenty" (Walt Kelly)
?
Society:
"Thy Neighbor's Wife: A Chronicle of American Permissiveness Before the
Age of AIDS" (Gay Talese)
?
Young
Adults: "City of Orphans" and "The Secret School" (Avi),
" A Very Large Expanse of Sea" (Tahereh Mafi) ?"I Am the Walrus" (Neal Shusterman),
"The Smartest Kid in the Universe" (Chris Grabenstein),
"Counting by 7s" and "I'll Be There" (Holly Sloan),
Thursday's Child (Noel Streatfield),
"One for the Murphys" and "Fish in a Tree" (Lynda Hunt).
?
Novels
"Swamp
Story" (Dave Barry), "News of the
World" (Paulette Jiles), "Her Mother's Hope" and "Her
Daughter's Dream" (Francine Rivers), "The Heart's Invisible
Furies" (John Boyne)
?
Climate
Jeff
Goodell "The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched
Planet" (2023)
?
Language
"The
Bride of Anguished English: A Bonanza of Bloopers, Blunders, Botches, and
Boo-Boos" (Richard Lederer)
?
I
added some new BBC shows to my collection.??
I've greatly enjoyed listening to these shows and have many more hours
of them to listen to.?? I continued
listening to "My Word" (and found a few "new" ones), "Quote
Unquote", "Just a Minute", "The Now Show" (which ended
its run on BBC, but I'm enjoying re-listening to the series, dating back to
2000), "Composer of the Week" "You
Bet Your Life" (I found seventeen ones I didn't already have) and "Dead Ringers ".? I also discovered a wonderful show which
includes John Cleese (of Monty Python) from the 1960s "I'm Sorry I'll Read
That Again".? Some of these shows
can be downloaded at ?
?
Some podcasts
I enjoy are "The Texsa Standard", "The Al Franken Podcast",
"Fresh Air,", "Here and Now,", "A Way With
Words," "WTF with Marc Maron", "Cautionary Tales",
"Le Show", "On the Media" and "Wait Wait. . . Don't
Tell Me."
?
Hoping that 2025 is a great one.
?
All
previous newsletters are at
/g/DanEgglestonChristmasNewsletter
They date back to 1939, which is
before my folks had their 3 sons
?
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