The date was January 4th, 2024. It was a cold winter day at the park. Snow had fallen a few days prior and still glistened on the skeleton-like tree branches. Steps, one after another forged through the snow, pushing forward as one does while exercising.
BAM! Oh shit!
A patch of ice, hidden under a patch of snow caused the walker to fall back, onto her wrists, putting a quick end to the fast-paced walk.
Kate had performed the same ritualistic walk for months, beginning in the Summer and continuing through the harsh conditions of Winter.
About 30 minutes later, Kate lay in a hospital bed in the Emergency Room, surrounded by a group of nurses, doctors, and X-ray technicians as they did their thing.
It had taken several shots of sedatives before she was out enough to do what had to be done next. All eyes were on the doctor as he held Kate’s arm before manipulating the broken wrist bones back to their rightful place below the surface. An x-ray confirmed the act was successful. The bones were perfectly aligned.
As she came out of her daze, the medical staff worked their magic applying a splint to her arm, wrapped several layers of bandages.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention that the wrist in question is her right, and she is indeed right handed.
Once a sufficient amount of pain killers had entered Kate’s bloodstream, an appointment was made to see a specialist the next day.
The doctor studied the x-rays and seemed pleased, shocked if we’re being totally honest. He had never seen this type of alignment done so well in the emergency room before.
The idea of surgery was floated but dismissed as at this point things looked like they would heal without the invasive intervention. Unfortunately, three weeks later, the pain worsened and x-rays showed movement. Things were no longer looking as promising as they once had. It was time to consider surgery.
Once again, we made our way to the hospital, this time without the urgency of an emergency. We checked in, filled out paperwork and Kate got settled into her room. Hospital staff came and went, preparing for the surgery.
About an hour and a half past the scheduled surgery time, the nurse came in and said it was time. I kissed her and they wheeled her off to the operating room. I went to the waiting room.
A couple hours later, the doctor came to show me the post-surgical x-ray which showed a large titanium bracket holding the bones together with the power of a cybernetic organism. Kate was officially part Terminator.
While the bones were locked together, a new problem arose at the follow up visit with the orthopedic surgeon. Kate was one of the few where the break came with a side of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), which is a chronic pain condition you can get with breaks of this nature.
Being part Terminator, she vowed to never stop until she overcame this new obstacle. She’d be back!
At this point, five weeks had passed since the fall.
For the next three months, Kate went to physical therapy and relentlessly performed her prescribed exercises on the hour, every hour. Slowly, her new Terminator-like wrist became usable.
The road to recovery has been long, difficult, and painful, but she persisted, not allowing the CRPS to win. Fuck that shit.
Kate continues strengthening her new cyborg wrist with different exercises, red light therapy, and copious amounts of alcohol vitamins. Kate is almost as good as new. She’s back at the park, outpacing me with each step shouting “Hasta la vista, baby” (after all, she is part Terminator).
So now, as we approach the end of the first half of 2024, it seems as though we have remained in place while life has continued around us. As we plunge into the creative process, we come face to face with the realization that we are several months behind schedule.
And, to add insult to injury, the plan we made all those months ago looks off somehow. Something about it doesn’t feel right.
Losing six months to a challenging experience injects a certain perspective into your thinking. The idea of creating a “Between Two Cocktails” imprint no longer seems worthy of our time. To do Concrete & Steele the right way means we wouldn’t release anything until next year.
This plan wouldn’t work. Our trajectory has changed and we’re in a much different place now than we were when this plan was forged.
Like Kate’s wrist bones after her fall, things are no longer aligned.
The last half of May and first half of June were spent searching our plethora of ideas for something that screamed “pick me, pick me”. As we sipped Martinis, we knew our attitude was completely different now. WE were different. We were also the same.
Coming up with ideas comes easy for Kate and I. Too easy. Some are good, some aren’t so good, while others scream to be let loose into the world.
As I look at our projects board, nine project ideas that have not yet been green-lit, eight projects have been green-lit but aren’t on the production schedule yet. These include “Concrete & Steele”, “A Walk In Darkness Universe” an app and a couple of new series.
Finally, seven projects ranging from fiction podcasts to games to music sit in the “active green-lit” section of our board. These are the ones that feel right. You have to go with your gut. We need to do that more – trust our gut to show us the way.
Our guts are telling us this new plan is exactly what we need.
For now, the details of these new projects will stay secret, but after the long wait, a small peek is deserved…
- A Disaster Series. Each season will tell a different story. This one is going to be a lot of fun.
- A “Sci-Tech” Series. It’s similar to Black Mirror, but with a BoozeHound twist. Like our disaster series, each season will tell a different story.
- A Music Project. Yes, it’s an actual album, with music and everything.
- A Music-Related Podcast. It’s not what you think. It’s pure fiction and full of nostalgia.
- Sorry! Hit Man Edition Game. It takes the game Sorry! to a whole other level. Sorry, not sorry.
- BoozeHound BattlePong Game. If you’ve seen one of the first shows BoozeHound ever produced, you’ll recognize this one. This will be the first release under our BoozeHound Games imprint.
Outside of BoozeHound, Kate has been working on a children’s series off and on over the last year or so and we’ll be moving forward on that as well. It’s really more than a series – it’s a pretty massive thing. You should see the way Kate’s eyes light up when she talks about this one.
But wait, there’s more. We’ve also been working on new merch. Not your normal “logo merch” like we have now, but stuff you actually need to have in your repertoire of collectibles. We’re treating these new pieces as we would an episode of a show. Some of this will only be available to members of our Bad Influence Club, so if you’re not a member, you should become one immediately, if not sooner. We dare you.
If you’re an artist or creator of things, let us know what you’re working on. We’re always open to collaborations and promo swaps.
Thanks for reading, and until next time, LATER!
-Phil
P.S. Kate yells “Hi” over the sounds of her stirring a gin martini (with her right hand).