{original post had no questions}

Thanks. And from where I sit -- which is mainly behind my
keyboard these days -- the idea of being bored is VERY appealing.

jms

John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Speaking of writing and the like, how is the carpal tunnel doing
> right now in your case?

Frankly, the carpal tunnel is not good right now. Yesterday it
shot up from my left elbow to wrist...it's hard to describe unless you
take a shishkabob skewer and drive it from your elbow to your wrist
real fast a few times. Mainly it's a dull but constant
weight/discomfort in the wrists, fingers and forearms; the ring finger
of my right hand is now constantly turned inward...I have to sleep on
it flat under my pillow at nights to straighten it out by morning.
(The left hand just started doing the same thing a few days ago.)

This is the worst part of the year for this, at this point in
the writing. Last year at this time, I had to write 20 minutes, then
ice my arms down for 20 minutes, then write 20, then ice 20. And so
on. The discomfort is pretty chronic now, but not always as acute,
because I'm doing the exercises, and wearing the wrist restraints, and
doing all the things I should be doing.

But the bottom line...to write this season means writing over
1,000 pages of scripts in less than 10 months. Not counting interim
drafts and the like. That's the equivilent of a novel every 5 months.
That's going to take a toll on you no matter what you do. (Dictating
or voice recog doesn't work for me; I write through my fingers.)

When these last two scripts are finished, though, I'll have a
fair amount of time to recuperate before doing it all over again.

jms

{original post had no questions}

I'd just distract myself....

jms

{original post had no questions}

...selling my ears....?
~~~~
WHERE THE HELL DID *THIS* THREAD COME FROM?

jms

John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Whne it gets to be this bad, what do you do for it, short of not
> typing on the keyboard for two days? Have you considered the
> surgery for this condition? In the meantime, take care of
> yourself, okay?

Actually, no, the plan next season is not to write all of them;
it only happened this season because so much gets changed that it's
hard to bring in freelancers. Next season, things will have stabalized
enough to bring in freelancers again.

jms

Phillip A. Cochran <75667.241@compuserve.com> asks:
> You mean there's *something* you don't think you own?!?!?!?!

Now, now...it's common knowledge on the nets that all B5
viewers have my ear when they want it....

jms

John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why don't you scan your ear and upload it to the graphics
> library? What do you think folks, who votes for a gif/jpg of Joe's
> ear?

I think it's a terrible idea.

jms

Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can you schedule the outside scripts to give your hands a rest?
> Are you going to talk to Peter David about at least one??

As Ted Kennedy might say, I'll drive off that bridge when I
come to it.

jms

Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Just as a point of reference, does it actually cost less for you
> to write an episode than it does to have someone else do it? You
> still get paid your writer's fee when you write the episode don't
> you?

Whether I write the episode, or a freelancer does, the fee per
episode is exactly the same. No money is saved in the budget. Under
WGA rules this is a requirement.

jms

John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Stabilized, huh?
> Does this mean that you'll be looking for a script editor once
> more? I seem to recall that Larry DiTillio left the series, so
> that would mean that you'd be taking over the script editing as
> well, right?

During Larry's last year with us, I did most of the rewriting
on freelance scripts anyway, so it doesn't really save me much on
typing. (If anything, the process is longer and more difficult than
just writing 'em myself.) Doing it this year was an interesting
experiment, and necessary, but I don't think I'd opt to do it again
anytime soon.

jms

Lynn Dimock <74471.3131@compuserve.com> asks:
> Has anybody brought up Vincent Van Gogh yet?

It was a mild Spring day, warm, clear, sunny, when Vincent Van
Gogh picked up his easel, and some paints, and walked a mile and a half
to an open field where he often painted landscapes. He set up his
easel, sat under a tree for a while, ate part of an apple, composed a
brief note to his brother Theo. Then he pulled out a derringer and
shot himself in the chest.

After an hour, realizing that he was not going to die for a
while yet, he picked himself up and staggered the mile and half back to
Theo's house, where a few hours later that evening he passed away in
Theo's arms.

Some say his sad ending came about because he felt he was a
burden to his brother Theo, and the guilt did him in; others because he
sold only one painting during his life, for 48 francs, and he felt he
would never become a painter of any worth.

On reflection, perhaps it was the thought of people bidding for
his ear that did it.

You wanna see the end of this story or not...?

jms

The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is it legit?

Both All-U and Creation make B5 t-shirts.

jms

Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com> asks:
> This isn't part of that "Joe's body parts" thread is it?

> (YES, we want to see the end.)

"This isn't part of that "Joe's body parts" thread is it? :-\"

Hey! Don't butt in....

jms

Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> asks:
> have you called Guiness yet?

Nope, not calling anybody until I've actually *done* it, and
there's still one more to go. One doesn't mention the term "perfect
game" while the pitcher is still on the mound in the 9th.

jms

Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> I assume she's misinformed about this?
> ?

She had to be referring to the arc overall, because if next
year's scripts are already written, I'd sure as hell like a copy of
each; it'd make my job a LOT easier.

jms