Erik and Sharon Take on the Beaches of Sandyhook

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So Sharon (above) had a marvelous idea last Saturday: gettin' the hell outta Dodge for the day... (Odd, now, how Manhattan has suddenly become "Dodge", whilst some of the more secluded areas in the world have now become eminently desirable...) My cell rang at about 10am (well, 8:30am, then 9:30am, and then 10, at which point I finally gave in and picked up), this to the tune of, "Get up! Get ready! We're going to the beach!!"

You see, our very own Sharon had acquired a book not long ago--entitled something to the effect of "Weekend Getaways from New York City"--and, in said tome, it seems she stumbled upon something that, even though I'd lived right next to it for four years, I'd remained (regretfully, now) completely unaware of all this time: there is a ferry that goes directly to Sandyhook each Saturday and Sunday morning, and it leaves from the very spot where I do the vast majority of my reading most (weekday) afternoons... (See "Sunsets from Battery Park", under "My Photos" at right... Ducks, anyone?)

How this had slipped by me for so long God only knows (God also knows--amongst other things--that I'd been grumbling about my need to get away to some place warm and sunny on the water for eons now), but I wasn't about to pass up the perfect chance to get away, short notice be damned. After the single shortest shower and packing job of my life, I met Sharon in my lobby 20 minutes later, and off to the ferry we went.

Details for everyone, then: the New York Waterway runs from Battery Park City to Sandyhook Island on Saturdays and Sundays at 11:20am (SHARP! This is, also, about a 45 minute ride), and returns (from said island) at either 4:45pm or 6:45pm, your choice. Round trip fair is $30 per person, and once you arrive shuttle service is free to either one of two beaches (one, Garrison, being a clothing optional affair with--to say the least!--quite a bit of gay energy, whilst the other being a much more straightforward family and couples atmosphere; here, we opted for the latter, despite the tan lines Sharon would receive...).

And the beach, the weather, the ocean--all of it, of course, is gorgeous.

So indeed, a fantastic option for a day trip that I can't recommend highly enough--this to the Manhattan-ites that might be looking for a last minute getaway (however brief), no fuss involved (though we did get caught in a tropical storm around 3:30 that afternoon--it did, however, blow over half an hour later... And besides, in the grand scheme of things, what's a little more water, yes...?)

I'm going to try to organize a picnic of sorts on the very same beach this coming Saturday (or, possibly, next)--this time with a larger group of people and a bit more prep time involved (i.e. frisbee, parasol, sand castle building implements, and so on). Anyone want to come along, feel free to drop me a line--else I'll be e-mailing a few of you shortly.

(And though it's obvious from these pics that Sharon got quite a bit of tanning in, dare I say it, I even managed to get a bit of color myself... How 'bout that?)

Bio

In 1999 I was the founder and CEO of Fragments of a Hologram Rose Inc., pioneering live video on the Internet, as well as the creator, producer, and director of the "Here and Now" webcast, the first ever live, uncut broadcast of real life to the Internet, full motion video and audio, 24/7.

I am now the CEO of the production company Academy Leader / Tears in Rain Inc., and am a writer and director of film. My work has been featured in print, online, and on radio and television throughout the world. I live in New York City.

(And yes, Gore Vidal is my uncle--though certainly our choice of writing subjects differs widely: he's the historical novelist, I'm the blockbuster sci-fi screenwriter.) Those who'd like to write can contact me at the e-mail link above.

Current

Writing Outside the Home
Thank God, I say, that spring has finally arrived here in NYC, and I can now wake up at a reasonably early hour without it being dark out at the same time. More daylight hours equals more writing hours for this working writer--an interesting switch for me to be sure, considering, not long ago, I tended to write from the early evening on into the wee hours of the night, falling into bed shortly thereafter...

I've recently joined The Writers Room on Broadway and 8th--a perfect 20 min walk from my place in Tribeca if the weather's nice, or an easy 2 subway stops on the R or the 6 if it isn't. A big open loft on the top floor of a beautiful old building, the WR has already proven to be a Godsend in just the few weeks I've been working here: before, I'd dread waking up in the morning, knowing that, after I showered up and downed my coffee, my commute was all of several feet to my workspace. Like: there it was, right there, there was no escaping it, and it would never, ever leave...

There's something about writing a few feet from where you eat, live, and sleep that can, over time, be subtly soul crushing, as if you're never off the clock, never truly free from it. (Many might argue that this is just the curse of being a writer: like having so many homework assignments that are never really finished, with more being added to the pile all the time...) But I'm finding now that a big part of this mindset was in fact simply because I had no separation between my writing life and "everything else"--now that I have some place to go every day, some excuse to get out of the house, I'm finding more and more that writing CAN be something to look forward to, provided it takes place at a different location altogether, you pre-schedule a set number of hours that you'll be working at said location each and every day, and when you leave, you're done. That's it. Anything else writing-wise that comes to mind for the rest of the day, it gets bumped to the next.

Professional athletes don't work out at home, they join a gym--and I'm now of the mind that writers should adopt the same attitude. As a result of my joining and commuting to the WR each day, I'm now enjoying perhaps the most disciplined writing schedule I've ever had: several unbroken hours a day, 7 days a week. Of course, being single and sober certainly helps--a year ago my evenings and weekends would've been obligated to a girlfriend, or to my drinking buddies, or what have you--now it's just the work and nothing else. (As Nietzsche put it: "Give my art and a little bread, I need nothing more.") Still, one has to live a little bit (even us writers!)--here's thinking I'll be getting back into reading the Tarot, learning rock guitar, and finally getting my motorcycle license, all in the months to come. More soon... (Spring 2011)

Now Working On

Videopolis
A down-on-his-luck video journalist accidently shoots a sadistic murder, then finds himself on the run in near-future New York City. Neo-noir cyberpunk thriller: "Blade Runner" meets "Chinatown". Winner QUARTERFINALIST in the Nicholl and SECOND PLACE OVERALL in Script magazine's "Open Door" script competition. A top writer at Dreamworks referred to it as "The best script we've read so far this year."

Champion
The inspiring true story of Paralympic athlete Joe Perez. Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 6 months of age, Joe spends his entire life at the grueling task of simply learning to use his body. Overcoming every obstacle along the way, Joe repeatedly does the impossible: becoming the first person with CP to ever learn how to swim, the first to ever run a marathon, and ultimately, going on to become one of the world’s great powerlifting champions. “Rocky” meets “My Left Foot”.

The Godgame
Six strangers summoned to the home of an eccentric billionaire who, lying on his deathbed, has one thing to bestow upon each of them before he goes. Classic Hitchcockian tragedy in one room and in real-time, think: story by Agatha Christie, adapted for the screen by Ingmar Bergman, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Now my writerly and feature directorial debut, with fundraising in progress and shooting expected to commence soon.

I am Lost in Oceans of Light
The director of a world-famous live 24/7 glamour-opera falls in love with his star actress, yet can't reveal his feelings lest he jeopardize his masterpiece. Postmodern retelling of the classic Greek myth "Orpheus and Eurydice", told from the POV of Hades, God of the Underworld. Winner SEMIFINALIST in Creative Screenwriting magazine's "AAA" script competition. Originally slated to be my directorial debut, at a $2M budget "Oceans of Light" has since been pushed back to my second feature, with "The Godgame", at $200K, to be completed first.

Star Maker
A young orphan with seemingly magical abilities searches for his biological family in the far future. Epic fantasy space opera: "Star Wars"--as Stanley Kubrick would have done it. More on this one soon.

As always, those in the industry and/or who know me and would like to request material, simply use the contact e-mail above.