Max "Bunny" Sparber

I AM NOT SURE WHY I started writing my first journal. I suspect it was because I had stolen a blank book and so I had something to write in, and I wanted to brag about my shoplifting habits, and so I just started writing. I wound up documenting five months that I now remember as being pretty wasted. I had been a rather active member of the local anarchist scene for several years, but my political differences with other anarchists and as my willingness to publicly criticize them, as well as some depressing personal experiences with anarchists I knew, led to an abrupt break from the scene.

I worked part time at an office supply store, which I hated, and otherwise spent most of my time in the basement of a house I rented, doing very little except occasionally making forays out to steal trinkets. At least, that's how I remember it.

Transcribing the journal has reminded me of a lot that I had forgotten. I was a pretty active volunteer in the newsroom at KFAI radio for a few months, which, but for some theater reviews I had done for my college radio station, was my first experience with real journalism. I took advantage of that opportunity to interview two of the creators of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and director John Waters. Neither of the interviews ever got on the air, but this was when I first realized that doing journalism created the opportunity to meet and talk to people I respected. Eventually, of course, I would become a newspaperman (and, now, a Web content creator), and it is interesting to look back on the moment when I began on this career.

The journal ends with me dipping my toes into writing adult movies. Nothing really came of that, although my attempts to break into the industry are the subject of the next journal. I did get one adult movie produced, but it was years later; I shall discuss that a little in the postmortem for the next journal.

At one point in the journal, I complain that I don't seem to understand the purpose of a journal and don't seem to know what's worth writing down. In retrospect, I was right. It was probably wise for me not to detail my obsessive shoplifting, but I had developed a number of techniques for sneaking items out of stores, some borrowed from books I had stolen about techniques of stage magic. Since stealing was my major activity at this time, it's somewhat surprising I didn't talk about it more. From my current vantage point, however, it is a bit of a relief. I am not proud of my behavior back then, and it might have been uncomfortable to read too much about it.

Additionally, I seem girl crazy in this journal. In transcribing it, I have edited a lot of that out. I was ineptly chasing two girls, and eventually it becomes obvious they don't have much interest in me, which I obsess over, constantly complaining that they won't give me the time of day. I find nothing interesting in reading that now, except, I suppose, that it demonstrates that I was a bit of a romantic mess at that time. Worse still, on rereading, it couldn't be more obvious that both girls were a bad match for me, and so, had I managed to start up a real relationship with either, it would have been terribly frustrating and unsatisfying for everyone. It certainly would have made for a worse journal.

AS ALWAYS HAPPENS, I am losing myself in this new project. I ditched the radio station today in order to pick up some books on the adult film industry, as I did yesterday, in order to write 15 pages of my new script.

I am thinking of rewriting Red Hot Rompers, the script I wrote when I was in Hollywood. I sent a copy of it to Vivid Video, an adult film company, and contacted a director there, but then panicked. This time, I chose not to panic.

THE JOHN WATERS INTERVIEW was a huge success. I showed up at the speech with a tape kit and press card and managed to talk my way in. Afterward, I asked for a few minutes to speak with the director. My questions rapidly turned into a less formal discussion, and he gave me his home address and telephone number.

Waters was literally starstruck that I had interviewed Ramona Africa and asked me to send him information about the MOVE group. He particularly is curious about what happened to Sue Africa, a white member of MOVE.

I pretty much finished my first adult screenplay last night. All the major scenes are written, and some of the smaller scenes are sketched in. An hour's worth of revisions will cinch it.

I'VE BEEN LOST in radio dramas for the past week. My collection has expanded to well over 60 hours worth of shows. Along with episodes of The Shadow, I have Amos and Andy, Fibber Magee and Molly, Fred Allen, Groucho Marx, Jack Benny (my person favortie), X-Minus One, Suspense, I Love a Mystery, The Lone Ranger, etc. Most bookstores have exceedingly large collections of tapes, and, with my sticky fingers, my collection should soon be quite huge. The Golden Age of Radio spanned nearly 30 years, and certain shows, like Suspense, often ran for several decades.

I am working on a long piece for KFAI. A new truancy center has opened, where police can deposit teens who are skipping school or out past 11pm on weeknights. I spoke to Sharon Sayles Belton the other day, and observed the center on its first night of operation.

Tonight I hope to meet with director John Waters. He will be speaking at the University and me and JS hope to get into his presentation and interview him.

I have become a pornographer again. I wrote adult fiction when I was 20 for about six months, and made $50 here and there for selling these stories to men's magazines. Now I have written half of my first screenplay, and I plan to write five over the next few months. It's been surprisingly easy. The first screenplay, which I have named Naughty Robot, borrows heavily from Japanese popular culture, and is about two nerdy kids who build their own robot. The robot's programming gets contaminated by hardcore computer games, and the robot leads its creators on a series of sexual misadventures.

I intend to contact some adult filmmakers and see about selling these scripts or getting paid to write new ones. If this happens, I may well move back to Los Angeles. I need a new adventure. I have spent enough time as an anarchist and it has been terribly disappointing. That chapter of my life is closed, and I am ready for a new chapter to start.