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Stocking Stuffer No. 1: Jim Jermanok’s “Beyond the Craft”

Having sat next to my brother at a number of his workshops, including stops at Harvard and the Seattle Film Festival, I know firsthand how incredibly inspirational his talks can be. Jim’s already worn so many hats in the entertainment world—talent agent to stars like Alan Arkin and Helen Hayes, screenwriter, director, theater director, documentarian, award-winning producer—and known so much talent that have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and others that have failed miserably. In fact, he’s distinctly qualified to understand and analyze why some people can make a good living pursuing their creative ambitions and others stuff those dreams away in a dimly lit office far from their film, art, or journalism schools. Take it from a guy who’s worked as a full-time travel writer and screenwriter for the past two decades, Spielberg is not going to call on line one and you’ll be marketing far more than you’ll be writing. 

Finally Jim has organized all of his thoughts and anecdotes into one book, Beyond The Craft, published this past September. Not only will you learn how to network effectively, creating a detailed marketing plan of follow-up phone calls, but you’ll understand the necessity of knowing everything about the business side, most importantly who are the players who can hire you or show your wares. Jim also delves into the psychological aspects of dealing with rejection and the importance of surrounding yourself with incredibly supportive friends. He’s literally been all over the world delivering his seminar on How to Live a Creative Life. In fact, Jim just returned from Amman and Tel Aviv teaching filmmakers and writers on how to best make their voices and visions shine. Beyond the Craft should be mandatory reading at every film and art school across the nation, a pragmatic step-by-step guide to making your dreams a reality. If you don’t believe me, take it from the guy in the picture with Jim, Martin Landau, who knows a thing or two about success. 
 

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Say No to SeaWorld

Several years ago, I wrote a story about taking the family on a road trip along the California coast. The trip started in San Diego, where we had the pleasure to “Dine with Shamu” at SeaWorld. My kids were amazed as we had dinner watching an orca whale doing backflips right behind us. So it came as a shock when I recently read that one of my mentors in this travel writing business, Arthur Frommer, wrote, “I am ashamed. I will no longer recommend that tourists patronize the various SeaWorld parks.” In the wake of the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau, Frommer received a letter from PETA’s Debbie Leahy, an expert on captive animal issues. In the letter, Leahy noted that 21 orcas have died in U.S. SeaWorld facilities between 1986 and 2008, and not one from old age. They died from severe trauma, intestinal gangrene, acute hemorrhagic pneumonia, pulmonary abscesses, chronic kidney disease, chronic cardiovascular failure, septicemia, and influenza. She also mentioned that SeaWorld has been responsible for the deaths of numerous dolphins, including three who died last year at SeaWorld Discovery Cove in less than three weeks time.

I’m paid to write travel stories, but some times I’m simply used as a pawn so companies like SeaWorld can make a large profit. I’m reminded of a hotel in Bali that had a spectacular beach. When I learned that the hotel had crushed the coral reef to bring in their sand, I was irate. As I grow older, I get wiser and try to dig deeper so that I’m convinced that what I’m promoting is ethical. Now and again, you make a mistake, but at least I’m not the only travel writer.

I’m leaving for Kenya on Sunday on a 12-day jaunt to pen stories for five publications. Next week, I’ll share those story ideas with you. The following week, I won’t be blogging. As always, thanks for checking in!
 

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The Map Thief is the Perfect Summer Read

New Brunswick’s Grand Manan Island is one of those idyllic locales where you have little or no distraction. So I took advantage of my free time last week to read the latest book by author Michael Blanding, a writer I’ve known for over a decade since his days as editor at Boston Magazine. Blanding’s subject this time is E. Forbes Smiley III, one of the foremost map dealers in the world before he was caught stealing a map from the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University in 2005. In a plea bargain, he admitted to stealing close to 100 maps worth more than $3 million from the foremost map collections in the world including the British Library in London, the New York Public Library, and the Boston Public Library. 
 
Working as a travel writer, I certainly have an affinity for maps. I even remember having a New York City subway map on the walls of my college apartment. But map collecting to me is about as exciting as stamp collecting and I thought this was going to be another obligatory read I had to slog through because I knew the author. Man, was I wrong!  This is an excellent character study that I’d love to see an actor tackle on the big screen, similar to Shattered Glass, the brilliant film about New Republic plagiarist Stephen Glass. In fact, the book was so compelling it was hard for me to put it down. Yes, Blanding delves into mapmaking and the impact on Colonial exploration, highlighting the gems, the “Honus Wagners” that fetch the most money at auction. But the meat and potatoes of the read is Smiley, an Orson Welles-type character who’s always the life of the party with a huge personality and laugh. The one who turns his college buddies on to great Blues records, fine wine, and entertains their kids at his summer home in Maine. 
 
I opened the book thinking Smiley was another petty thief or con man with a Blue Blood name, not unlike the despicable Clark Rockefeller. But the beauty of this book is that you end up empathizing with Smiley. He has to compete against incredibly cutthroat map dealers, he’s spurned by collectors after assembling their phenomenal collections, even the New York Public Library reneges on its deal to let Smiley sell some of their wares after he persuades a collector to donate his entire collection to them. Then he has to deal with a redneck neighbor in Maine who wants to build a motorboat marina across from his quiet lakefront property. So in the end, he steals maps from libraries that can’t even keep track of them, incompetent at cataloguing what they acquire. Do I think it’s wrong that he stole a map from a book once owned by Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury killed by Henry the VIII? Absolutely. Would I like to down a pint with Smiley the next time I’m on Martha’s Vineyard, where he now resides? Absolutely. 
 
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Christmas and New Year’s Day Savings on Lift Tickets with Liftopia

I know where I’ll be this Christmas Day, skiing with my family on the slopes of Sunday River in Maine. It’s one of my favorite days of the year to ski, because there’s far less people on the trails and no lift lines. New Year’s Day is also universally slow, especially in those early morning hours. Hard to do First Tracks when you’re staying up 2 am the night before. Liftopia is doing their part to get people on the slopes Christmas and New Year’s Day by offering up to a 72% discount off lift tickets. A lift ticket at Jay Peak is only $42, a 42% savings. Bolton Valley, just down the road from Burlington is only $20, a 59% discount. Out West, Oregon’s Mount Hood is $50, 34% off. Check it out before you hit your favorite ski area. 

 
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Spending All Next Week with The Trustees of Reservations

While Crane Beach is still the best-known Trustees of Reservations site in Massachusetts, the group maintains more than 112 locales in the state, from Field Farm in Williamstown to the recently acquired Dunes Edge Campground in Provincetown. The William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington is a pastoral landscape of pastures and fields of wildflowers, largely unchanged for more than 150 years. Slocum’s River Reserve in Dartmouth is a 47-acre coastal farm on the shores of Buzzards Bay, an ideal place to view warblers during the spring and fall migration. All next week, I’ll be traveling around the state introducing readers to at least 20 Trustees sites—research for a story I’m writing for The Boston Globe on my personal favorites. So please check back! 

 
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The Debut of the Nantucket Hotel

If you’re fortunate to have spent a night or two at the Winnetu Resort on Martha’s Vineyard, you quickly realize that owners Mark and Gwenn Snider have a passion for entertaining, especially the little ones. The parents of three go overboard to keep kids happy, whether it’s a drive aboard a 1947 fire truck Mark found on EBay or free lemonade and fresh baked cookies every afternoon at 3 pm. Expect the same genuine welcome at their new property, the Nantucket Hotel on the neighboring island of Nantucket. One of the last grand dames still standing on the island, the Nantucket (previously the Point Breeze) was built in 1894 in a sprawling neo-classical style. Smack dab in the heart of Nantucket town, the resort will undergo a major refurbishment, retaining the classic façade while vastly improving the interior, making its debut on June 29, 2012 with 60 guest rooms and suites. 

 
With a high-speed ferry that connects Martha’s Vineyard with Nantucket in a little over an hour, the Sniders have the unique opportunity to offer their guests the first ever two-island resort package. Spend the first part of your vacation at the ultra-sybaritic Winnetu, waking up to morning yoga on the resplendent front lawn, walking to that long stretch of fine white sand at South Beach, swimming in the pool, playing tennis on one of the many courts, and savoring an authentic New England clambake. Then simply shuttle over to The Nantucket to stroll on the cobblestone streets, under gas lamps and gaze at more than 800 buildings that were built before the Civil War. The historic setting is so remarkably preserved that you’ll feel like young Herman Melville himself, doing research on the book that made him famous, “Moby Dick.” 
 
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Wine Tasting in Humboldt County

Humboldt County might be best known for its largest cash crop, but if you want to keep it legal, they’re also producing exceptional wine. We realized that over dinner last week at the Victorian Inn in Ferndale when we ordered a 2006 Briceland pinot noir. The fruit was lush with nice hints of cherry and pepper to cut down the tannins. Humboldt Wine Association is now home to 22 vineyards. One of the finest is Fieldbrook Winery, located just outside of Arcata. Owner Bob Hodgson, a former professor of oceanography at nearby Humboldt State University, has been making wine at his glorious country home since 1976. His wines have received their fair share of acclaim throughout the state, especially after winning the “Best of Show” at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. But you won’t find many of the 1000-1500 cases of wine he produces each year outside California. Hodgson wants to keep his merlots, pinot noirs, cabernets, and pinot grigios reasonably priced with more than one third of his wares going to a local wine club. 
 

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