I.D. and ego

Just a word of advice.

OK, more than one word.

If you are flying domestically... even if the flight is less than an hour... take at least two forms of government-issued ID.

Case in point: I lost my drivers license during my trip to New York City. The only ID I had was a few credit cards, and some membership cards, none of which had a photo of me.

Now technically, you don't need a photo ID to fly in the US. Specifically, the TSA rules state:

"Passengers who do not or cannot present an acceptable ID will have to provide information to the Transportation Security Officer performing Travel Document Checking duties in order to verify their identity. Passengers who are cleared through this process may be subject to additional screening. Passengers whose identity cannot be verified by TSA may not be allowed to go through the checkpoint or onto an airplane."

It is helpful to know the above rule, and it is useful to cite it should a TSA agent attempt to deny you boarding simply because you do not have ID. That being said, everything is completely up to the discretion of the agent at that point. Despite the tacky uniform and weary expression, it is vitally important to remember that a TSA agent is not a mall cop. They are real federal agents. In this post-Patriot Act world, they can make your bad day become a very VERY bad day. Be polite, be contrite, and be sincere. Don't argue, don't threaten, and don't condescend.

Notes on Notes on Camp

I saw a fantastic one act play this past weekend. It is called "Leni Riefenstahl vs. the Twentieth Century", and it just debuted at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre's Rhubarb Festival (a Toronto fringe theater festival). In the play Susan Sontag and Leni Riefenstahl discuss politics, cinema, and body fascism while playing chess in Purgatory. The show is punctuated by perfectly executed cabaret musical numbers performed by a four-part male chorus. Following the climax of the show, Susan Sontag plays electric guitar while singing a song based on "Notes on 'Camp'". It's the most brilliant thing I've seen in years...

Here's the blurb for the piece, which really doesn't do it justice:

LENI RIEFENSTAHL VS THE 20TH CENTURY
9:45pm, The Chamber
An Ecce Homo Production
Written and Directed by Alistair Newton
Performed by Kaitlyn Regehr, Evalyn Parry, Noah Henne, Bryce Kulak, Chy Ryan Spain and Matthew Eger
Nazi propagandist and cinematic genius Leni Riefenstahl takes on superstar New York intellectual Susan Sontag in an ideological battle of the wills. It's fascinating fascism vs cultural camp as Ecce Homo looks cock-eyed into the icy stare of the fascist aesthetic; an expressionist cabaret on big themes for troubled times.

*****

I've been fighting this gnawing self-doubt about spending so much time writing a novel that might just turn out to be complete crap. I realized, though, that the amazing power of being the author is that I can actually jump ahead and peek at the ending. I just have to write it first. If it actually is crap, then I have a legitimate reason to quite all this nonsense.

So that's what I've been doing the past week... writing the end of the novel. Funny thing, though... so far it's not crap... or at least not complete crap.

So there. That's my writing advice for the day. Take it for what it's worth.