Schedule Juggling

My new consulting job has kicked off respectably well, but I am worried about the time demands. I went into the first two production meetings with the writers armed with some good stuff. At this point, they are extremely receptive and grateful for the assistance. I am pleased with their own research and their willingness to grapple with the primary sources in trying to provide as much historical context as they can within the constraints of their theatrical vision. My input is being incorporated directly into plotline and script production and they have already structured the scenes of the pilot episode based on many of my direct contextual suggestions. I am also pleased that I will be given scripts to go over as they emerge in hopes of being able to identify potential problems before the script is finalized and sent to the director. So far, the working dynamic has been great and they are adding as much historical context as they feel they can feasibly afford. My main concern at this point is not losing too much time dealing with this because of my other academic commitments. I brought in help to split the workload and it looks like it can be managed. It will still be tough though. My other concern in terms of the show is how the writers vision will be executed during production and the demands of studio execs outside of the project. I am required to remain vague on the nature and specifics of the show at this point, but it has a respectable chance to turn out well based on the collaborative writing and the allotted budget. It still has to be properly captured on film though. We'll see. Other than this business, lots of grading and research in preparation for going home for Thanksgiving for a week. I do get a whole week though due to a scheduling advantage in my courses. It worked out favorably. Be well!

Apparently, I'm a Historical Consultant Now

I was offered the position as a historical consultant on a highly stylized TV show in my field of specialization. As long as I can make my schedule match, it could be a somewhat fun and entertaining way to make additional money. I was able to drag in a colleague of mine, whom I trust, in order to split some of the workload and have a degree of plausible deniability when the storyline deviates from the historical sources for cinematic reasons. We'll see how it goes. In other news, I have a fractured tooth from an old football injury that had to be re-resined in Italy during the dig this last summer. My original resin lasted 10 years then had to be redone 5 years later. I loved Italy, but the Italian dental work lasted 4 months before it broke apart. I also observed problematic medical care given to a couple of injured students in Italy. Despite the medical care issues in this country, reform needs to be done in a careful way that protects the overall quality of care while improving costs and accessibility. From my personal experience and observation, the European medical system is lacking in a variety of things. Believe me, you don't want to be in need of healthcare anywhere overseas.