I spent the night creating separate plot lines for all the characters in my screenplay, while listening to the talking heads deconstruct the president's speech. I still don't know what I feel about the country going to war with Iraq. I wish there was an easy diplomatic solution, but there isn't one. I've already scenes reports on the Net saying that the Iraqis have started destroying evidence of their activities, and moving everything to the off limits presidential palaces. The Iraqis have proved over and over again that they're not to be trusted, and that they will do everything they can to thwart the UN inspectors. I don't expect their behaviour to change.

With that said, I do agree that Sadam must be contained. But to go in without world or UN approval is not a good thing. I don't think our military is prepared to fight and on the ground house to house war. Too many budget cuts over the years, have decimated the once almighty powerful US military. A military I might add, as evidenced by the Pentagon witnesses before the attack on Afghanistan, is still unprepared as they were in Vietnam, to fight a terrorist style war. My biggest fear is that the cost of war with Iraq will irreperably harm the US economy, as the war in Afghanistan in the 1980's crippled the Soviet economy and hastened the collapse of the communist government. The US won the Cold War by default, because the russian economy tanked. It was not a triumph of democracy as Reagan declared at the fall of the Berln Wall, but a triumph of economic principle. Spend too much money, and you go bankrupt. It applies to individuals as well as countries.

But if we don't go to war, I'm afraid the alternative would be fo us to just sit around and wait for a terrorist to attack us again. And I don't think that's a viable alternative either.

One thing is for sure, whether we fight Iraq or not, the terrorists attacks will never stop. But perhaps what I will say, is that I prefer the country remain in action in the fight against terrorism, and not give into fear or complacency or the naivete that if we just leave other countries alone, they will leave us alone. 9/11 proved that we can no longer remain naive and trust the world like a wide eyed innocent, who thinks that if we're peaceful, we won't be harmed, that if we just stopped making war with other countries, it will solve all our foreign policy problems. NOT!!!!

Japan Nikkei -331.18 -3.67%

South Korea Seoul Composite -19.51 -3.00%

Taiwan Taiwan Weighted -150.73 -3.71%

What does this mean for the USA stock markets tomorrow? I'm afraid to think about it.

S&P Futures (Globex) Dec 2002 -740.00

Nasdaq 100 (Globex) Dec 2002 -850.00

I don't think tomorrow is going to be a very good day for the stock markets; pretty darn bloody on the street I would think!

I changed the colours again. I'm trying to replicate the colours of this print I have of a japanese fall scene, "Autumn at Oirase, Towada, June 1933" by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) from the series "Collection o Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Provinces".

We never get a proper fall here the SF Bay Area, with the falling beautiful red, gold and brown leaves. Fall is the one thing I miss about not living in a four season climate. I think it's my favorite season. But we get an Indian Summer here in San Francisco, so the Fall does it have perks here. Like today. The weather was balmy and 80 something degrees all dayand night. Nights in Hawaii are like this; hot, sultry and delicious. I love walking around at night in shorts. If only there was a warm ocean bay beach to swim around here with no nasty undertow, then I would really feel like I was living in paradise again.

What I submitted to my screenwriting teacher as a second draft, and her comments.

Working Title - "Going Home Again"
Genre - Family Drama like "Field of Dreams" and "Frequency".
Proposed Length - 110 pages.

While at home for a baseball series, a 38 year old baseball player comes to term with his unspectacular career and his impending retirement. During the night of his birthday celebration and a family reunion, the journeyman baseball player confronts his strained relationship with his dying father, his trouble relationship with his wife and estranged 10 year old son, and the old sibling rivalry with his younger brother.

The Story
Shots of San Francisco.
Voice over by main character setting up strain of returning home and family reunion.
Alternating scenes with family talking about main character, his career, the family renunion and the upcoming birthday party and;
scenes in visiting baseball team locker room with main character and team mates talking about his batting slump, his birthday, family reunions and the poor performance of the team.
Scene outside baseball park where main character runs into his little league coach. They discuss his career, his father, etc. Little
league coach asks about retirement, and tells main character how great retirement is.
Plot Point 1 - main character runs into manager after little league coach. They talk about his batting slump, and being benched for a younger player coming up from the minors. Manager hints that maybe it's time to retire. Main character is reluctant. They talking about careers, fathers and family reunions.
Scenes with family, trip to the brother's school, confrontation with father, mother, brother, and son. Main character finally confronts father and makes up with dad.
Plot Point 2 - Father has a heart attack right after conversation with dad.
Family at hospital. Scenes of resolving issues with wife and brother. Dad dies. Main character decides to play in tomorrow's game and decides not tell anyone.
Scene in visiting team locker room. Main character hits well in game and gets congratulated by team members. Meets with manager and tells him dad died, would like time off, agrees to be benched for younger player, and announces his retirement.
Final scene - funeral reception for father at parent's home. Scene with main character and son talking about grandfather, looking at the old clippings, tells him afterwards they'll play catch in the backyard just like how grandpa played with him.

Notes from Julie O:
to have the ending I have, main story is really about the main character's strained relationship with his 10 year old son - it's the A story, everything else, story with dying father, brother and wife, is a B story. Son represensts hope for the future, so that he doesn't end up like his father, and make the grandfather's death be in vain.

Julie O suggested I craft four plots or spines:
main character and son
main character and dying father
main character and brother
main character and wife.

Then weave all four plots together into one story.