Wednesday, March 07, 2018

Broken In

From over a decade ago!

I bought these shoes *many* months ago - leather cross trainers - just before going on some adventure. When I first bought them, they were a little stiff. I was doing a lot of walking on whatever adventure that was, and these shoes were *not* comfortable. I probably ended up with some “new shoe blisters” - maybe you’ve had those, too.

But now, these shoes are completely broken in. Soft. Comfortable. They now completely fit my feet... and they are also worn out and ready to be replaced. Scuffed up, wearing out.

I just bought a new pair of Levis, and they are kind of stiff. It’s hard for me to find Levis that fit, because I’m tall... but not freakish tall. Though I could probably shop in some big and tall store, or go to somewhere that has extended sizes, my size of Levis can be found in a normal store. So that’s where I shop. But the strange thing is, Levis are *not* consistent in length size. So two pair that are supposedly the same size may be just enough different that one fits perfectly and the other is half an inch too short (what we used to call “floods” when I was a kid). So shopping for jeans requires a little work - and I own a couple of pair of Levis that are that half inch too short. The pair I’m wearing now are absolutely perfect. They were kind of stiff when I first bought them, but I’ve broken them in - and now they are perfect. The new pair of Levis is still in my closet - wore them a couple of times, but they just aren’t as comfortable as the pair I’m wearing now.

Of course, this pair of Levis came out of the washing machine with a hole in the right side back pocket - where I keep my comb - and I know that every time I wash them that little worn out section will wear out even more... and soon these perfect Levis will be worn out, and I’ll have to break in that new pair.

Why is it that just when something becomes broken in and comfortable, it’s days are numbered?

You can apply this to screenwriting any way you want.

- Bill

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

TODAY'S SCRIPT TIP: Understanding protagonists.
Yesterday’s Dinner: Soup on a rainy day - that chunky sirloin burger stuff.

DVD: VANISHING POINT - one of those 70s films that is simple and complex at the same time. Barry Newman delivers cars cross country. He makes a bet with a guy that he can get this Dodge Challenger to San Francisco over the weekend - which means driving non-stop at top speed. When a highway patrol cop wants him to pull over, he just says ef-it and keeps on going. This brings in more police, and road blocks and helicopters and all kinds of problems... but Newman just keeps going. Most of the police cars crash - usually due to their own mistakes. A pirate radio DJ played by Cleavon Little turns Newman into a folk hero - while broadcasting information from the police radio to help Newman avoid road blocks. Newman becomes an anti-authority symbol. Everyone wants him to avoid the police - and the police must stop him to retain control. The entire problems of a nation are played out with a speeding car and a police chase. Along the way, Newman meets a strange old man in the desert who gives him life advice and a naked babe on a motorcycle who wants to give him something else. Great car chase stuff, amazing stunts, things that make DEATH PROOF look mega-lame... and an ending that is simple, yet so complex you will be thinking about it for days afterwards.

Pages: Talk about strange - yesterday I had an idea for a new spec and wrote 5 pages on it. That may be all I ever write on it, who knows.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bill-
Why abandon those perfect jeans just because of a hole in the right rear pocket?? That makes them look lived-in, and the Right Woman will decide to offer to patch that for you. Just switch the comb to the left rear pocket.
Other than that, thanks for the hints of good DVD movies to watch. Here's one for you. THE GOOD OLD BOYS, with Tommy Lee Jones and Matt Damon and Wilfred Bromley. Good western that's not anything like a John Wayne western. Or Leone either.
-ObiDon

Anonymous said...

"Why abandon those perfect jeans just because of a hole in the right rear pocket?? That makes them look lived-in, and the Right Woman will decide to offer to patch that for you."


I agree. That "lived-in" look is quite the fashion craze. Especially for jeans...and especially if you look good in them.

And I'm sure that you do.

Now, a friend of mine says that the cross-stitch can be used to maintain that lived-in look.

Only thing, you'll have to take the pants off. Rather difficult for you to wear them whilst the "right woman" is ...offering to patch them.

I suppose you could put on a pair of those stiff new ones...or you could remain nekkid.

I suppose that will be up to you and the Right Woman to decide.

Or,

perhaps that pair of jeans' number is up.

Anonymous said...

Good Old Boys also has Sissy Spacek. I hope its on DVD; I saw it on VCR.

Anonymous said...

I believe GOOD OLD BOYS is on dvd. I mean it should be. Of course it is. Can't ignore that fact.

Tavis said...

(You should try a pair of 1969s-- best jeans I've ever bought.)

Some of my favorite screenplays are like worn-out jeans-- they're so enjoyable that you don't even notice the holes.

Anonymous said...

Hi Bill,

this is anon (11:29 p.m.).

My friend also says...if the "right woman" uses a piece of cloth to patch the hole, she should wash it first so that it is as worn as your jeans. She might want to do that with the thread as well.

Otherwise, you could have some weird stuff going on in your right rear pocket, after you wash your jeans for the first time (after the patchwork.)

But, listen...if you find that Right Woman, she'll know that.

p.s. Where are you looking? My friend says...look in the grocery stores...in the produce section.


Good Luck Bill!

Anonymous said...

GOOD OLD BOYS is not on DVD...yet. I asked at local video store and at Amazon. However, it's good 'nuff to justify pulling the VCR out of the closet.

Hugo Fuchs said...

Yeah, I know the problem with cotton jeans all too well. My most comfortable pair has holes in the knees, and worn out pockets. I just had to scrap them because they wore a hole through to my underwear. The newer the jeans, the less long they last. A much more recent pair not only wore through the pockets, but the rear seam let go. Luckily I noticed before going out.

I just replaced several pairs with Dickies Work Pants. I've found they last AGES longer, are about $20 a pair and seem to be standardized in sizing. You can get them in a number of different styles, and they look better than jeans. What I don't understand is why they last longer. Is it the type of cotton? The quality? The weave of the cloth?

When it comes to wanting jeans, though they cost a bit more (well depending on brand), You might want to go with hemp jeans. If they have a machine that uses the longer fibers to make the thread that makes the jeans, they'll last ALOT longer, they soften faster, and they shrink less. (If they don't last as long, that means that the manufacturer cut the fibers down to cotton-length so they wouldn't have to buy new machines.) Oh, and they are more ecological positive than cotton (Cotton uses way too much water and a ton of pesticides).

On a final note. It is better to buy them too long than too short. You can always get the legs hemmed up. Oh, and get a tape measure and measure the legs that are on the pair that fit right, then you know how long the legs actually should be on those you are buying.

Anonymous said...

**SEX IN A SUBMARINE
THE ADVENTURES OF A PROFESSIONAL SCREENWRITER AND FREQUENT FILM FESTIVAL JURIST, SLOGGING THROUGH THE TRENCHES OF HOLLYWOOD, WRITING MOVIES THAT YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD OF, AND GETTING NO RESPECT. SEX? VIOLENCE? POINTLESS NUDITY? IN MY FILMS: YES, IN MY LIFE? TUNE IN AND FIND OUT.

I bought these shoes *many* months ago - leather cross trainers - just before going on some adventure. When I first bought them, they were a little stiff. I was doing a lot of walking on whatever adventure that was, and these shoes were *not* comfortable. I probably ended up with some “new shoe blisters” - maybe you’ve had those, too.

But now, these shoes are completely broken in. Soft. Comfortable. They now completely fit my feet... and they are also worn out and ready to be replaced. Scuffed up, wearing out.**


Bill-

SAVE THE LEATHER CROSS TRAINERS!!!

LEATHER CROSS TRAINERS are very well built shoes. Oil Resistant. Slip Resistant.
A terrific shoe for slogging though the trenches of Hollywood.

From what I’m understanding, it takes years to prepare the material for “the leather cross trainer”. Sometimes more than fifteen years…this material goes through the toils of preparing to become your “leather cross trainer”.

It such a shame that after you slide your feet inside them and are just feeling comfortable. I mean you wear those shoes out…shoes that have been waiting over fifteen years, just to feel your feet inside of them. Oh well that’s life.

By the way: The Leather Cross Trainer is online…BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!

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