Five Little Known Facts

I always wanted to be part of the "cool kids" gang, especially in high school. It mattered less in college, but wherever large groups of people gather, I want to fit in. I want to be accepted as part of the gang.

So imagine my delight when I received a meme tag from Dawno! I grinned, I laughed, I clicked on the link. As I read the meme, I realized I had seen this before. On Kristin Nelson's blog! A literary agent! It feels like some sort of strange "six degrees" game, and I'm excited to play.

I'm supposed to write five things about myself that few people know, and then tag five others to do the same. I wonder how long it will take me to come up with these five things….

1. I attended a taping of The Price is Right in April of 2001. I think the episode aired in July of that year (I have the video tape somewhere). During the spring of '01 I attended classes in Los Angeles (filmmaking, screenwriting, interned), and one of the last things our small class did as a group was attend the taping. There is a secret to getting picked for Contestant's Row, by the way.

Audience members are interviewed by producers in groups of five. They ask you about the show, how often you watch, what you're memories are. I can a few canned responses, but one of my friends put on a show. She said she used to pretend to be sick in order to stay home from school and watch. She explained her favorite games, how much the show meant to her.
She was called down to Contestant's Row. I was sitting next to her, and for that brief three seconds it took the camera to find her in the audience, I was on TV! Woot!


2. I own seventeen foreign language phrasebooks (plus Spanish, Italian, German and French dictionaries). I bought the phrasebooks years ago while participating in a PBEM RPG game. My character was a linguist, and she spoke many languages, so I bought them for research. Most of them are Lonely Planet books, and besides the basics, I have Nepali, Hindi & Urdi, Quechua, Ethiopian Amharic, Hungarian, and Thai.


3. I collected Beanie Babies. Yes, those small, plastic-bean filled toys that TY mass-produced for years. I received my first in 1995 as a birthday present. It was a Goldie the Goldfish. I thought it was cute and immediately packed it away in a box. Fast-forward four years. Beanies are hot. My sister collects them, so I decide to collect them. We troll the Sea Shell Shop, Hallmark, Mizzen Mast, and several other small shops along Rehoboth Avenue. We check for the new releases, the rare ones, the cute ones, and especially the bears. We spend too much money and have way too many Beanies.

On the upside, my Goldie is worth about two hundred dollars. On the downside, I don't sell her, and now she's not. Most of the other Beanies have since been sold for about a dollar each at various flea markets. I hang onto a few of them.

One is a skunk. I bought her the night of a scary car accident, had her in the car at the time, and squeezed her tight for hours afterward. I kept a wolf and panther, in honor of The Sentinel (an old favorite show and TV fandom). I also still have Goldie, my birthday cat, and a few others given as gifts over the years. Haven't bought a new one in a while, though.


4. I am a Wing Nut. I adore The West Wing, and have faithfully watched all seven seasons. My roommate owns all but the last season on DVD, and we have had marathons. We even invented a drinking game. Almost everything I know about politics is from watching it (okay, so I do remember a few things from high school). That show introduced me to Bradley Whitford, for which I am forever grateful. The man has the cutest smirk in Hollywood. It also gave me an appreciation for Matthew Perry as a serious actor (something I never thought possible until his two-episode appearance that culminated in the Vice-President resigning).

I may not have always agreed with their politics, Will Bailey annoyed me in every scene he appeared, and we didn't get the series finale I was hoping for (where was the Josh/Donna wedding, folks?), but The West Wing will always be one of my top ten shows.


5. I can sing every song in the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer musical episode, "Once More With Feeling," and quote the lines verbatim. I can even do this while insanely drunk (and have done, at least once that I recall). It's quite scary. Or humorous, depending on your point of view.

Well, those are five things. Now I need to tag five other bloggers.

Sounds of Serenity in Chaos
Webb Pages
Zonked Out
MidnightMuse
Life, Writing, and Other Things

Ups and Downs

Yesterday was strange. Just an overall strange day.

Maybe strange isn't the correct word. Exhausting is good, or even emotional. I started the day super-excited, because next week's work schedule allows me time to travel home for Thanksgiving. I had feared I couldn't manage the trip, but now I can be with my sister and parents, and my sister's three dogs. We're having dinner in her apartment (with those dogs), so it's going to be an experience.

Then I got cramps. So the day turned rather sour. Got home and discovered that two items I ordered online the day before had already arrived (!!!!). Yay! for Christmas presents. I took a long, hot shower to counteract the cramps (no dice), and then channeled my energy into the nerve to post a short story to the Share Your Work section of the AW Watercooler (I've gotten some very helpful crits, so Yay! for nerve). Got sleepy, made coffee.

Started another co-writing session with Serenity, and joined the StarChat. Always fun. Then I watched Grey's Anatomy.

Normally I love this show, but tonight I was angry. They gave George's dad cancer. I love George. He's the sweetest character on TV, and TR Knight (actor) is just an adorable person. And maybe I reacted this way because in September I found out that my own father has cancer, but I was furious. I spent half the episode crying, and could barely watch the rest of the George scenes. I mean, I know he's a fictional character, but I wanted to call him and say "I know how you feel." I barely paid attention to the other storylines (something to do with a nanny, Meredith's mom, and McDreamy in a bathtub).

So fresh off that downer, I start chatting with another AW member. He really liked my short story and agreed to help me fine tune it! We're meeting in the chat room on Sunday to go over it!!! I was just on Cloud Nine. He really thinks that - after some work - it's publishable. Woo Hoo!

Then I made the calcuated error of expressing this joy to my roomie, who had already had a bad day. Oops. But we talked it over later, and all is well now.

Tired as I was, it took a while to fall asleep. And then I dreamed about...something weird. I remember tracking someone through a series of island sandbars or something. With train tracks connecting them, and an SUV with split tires so you could drive it on the railroad tracks. Very odd.

But I woke up to find my kitty purring by my side. So that made me smile.

What made you smile today?

"Vibrating Moonlight" -- Available Now

I was going to blog about tonight's solicitation experience (no hookers were involved, I swear!), but have found a more worthy topic. Jason Tudor, a long-time member of the AbsoluteWrite.com forums has published his first book of poetry through Lulu. I was head-over-heels for him just from that, because Jason is a pretty great guy. Then I went all gooey inside when I realized he had thanked me (chaostitan), along with many other members of AW, in his Author's Notes.

I tell ya, there's just no feeling like it. That all of the hours I've logged on AW learning and (hopefully) teaching have paid off in some way. That someone found a nugget of gold in all the tailies that I've tossed out into the literary community.

So to say thank you, I'm posting Jason's press release and encouraging all to please check it out. I'll be ordering my copy soon.




Georgia author releases first book of poems

ATLANTA -- Real people whose lives succumb to fear, disgrace, joy and revenge are the subjects of a new book of poetry by author Jason Tudor, available now.

“Vibrating Moonlight,” a full-color, 64-page book, was released Nov. 7. The book is published by Lulu.com. “Vibrating Moonlight” includes 48 poems written during 2006 and while Jason was stationed in the Middle East.

The poems in “Vibrating Moonlight” include Jason’s full collection of “Blue Rock” works. These poems were included in the AbsoluteWrite.com collection of the same name. Readers will also delve into works about faith, women, life & death and more.

Other poems include:

• Looloo Lemon -- The story of a seemingly innocent girl whose wanton self emerges.

• Only Once a God -- A work that reflects on the mortality of everything.

• Last Minutes of an LA Stripper -- The tough life of a woman who tells people she’s working her way through medical school.

• Surgery on Aisle 5 -- What it means to be caught up in the vanity of a 21st Century society.

“Almost all of these works emanated from time spent writing the ‘Blue Rock’ poetry collection, an amazing collaboration of people and work, which I am most proud of,” Jason said. “This book wouldn’t have been possible without the spurning and motivation of people all over the world who brought ‘Blue Rock’ to life.”

In a book that Jason designed and oversaw the choice of illustrations, “Vibrating Moonlight” is available from Lulu.com by clicking this link:http://www.lulu.com/content/505096

For more information, visit Jason’s Web site at www.jasontudor.com.

Another Nanite Joins the Fray

I am very excited about participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year. I attempted the exercise last year, and fell on my face. My creative energies were just not in my chosen project, so I quit after about 15,000 words written (that WIP has since passed the 55k mark, so Yay, me!).

This year, it's a different story (literally and figuratively).

Serenity and I finished the first draft of our co-written, 114k word novel, The Third Side: Trinity, just a few weeks ago. I have never had so much fun writing a story, and we spend the two weeks leading up to NaNo plotting out Book Two. The characters are exciting, the world intriguing, and the storyline engaging (okay, so maybe I can't give an unbiased opinion here). I'm so glad I can spend the month in the minds of these folks, telling another story about them.

Plus the chemistry between Jeremiah and Alannah is positively explosive.

As of right now, we are 6160 words into the novel, with twenty more minutes of writing time until Grey's Anatomy. Not bad for two days work.

Review: Playing With Fire

Sometimes it doesn't matter that a book's title is an overused euphemism. "Playing With Fire: Tales of an Extraordinary Girl" by Gena Showalter easily overcame that small handicap and was an enjoyable over-too-soon read.

I've begun dabbling in the Paranormal Romance genre, and Gena's book is the second that I've finished so far (meaning yes, I picked up another by a different P.R. author and couldn't get past sixty pages of stilted, head-hopping prose by a well-known author of this growing genre). "Play With Fire" tells the tale of Belle Jamison, a girl who just wants to keep a full-time job, take care of her dad, and maybe get a boyfriend. When a mysterious man dumps a secret formula in her latte, Belle wakes up a week later with powers of control over the four elements.

And as hokey as the premise could be, Gena pulled it off brilliantly. Belle's powers are controlled by her emotions (fire from anger, ice from cold, etc…), which provide some amusing scenes early on. The handsome hero is Rome Masters, an agent who tracks down paranormal disasters and neutralizes them. It's love at first sight (and first singeing, apparently) as Rome decides to go against orders and help Belle, rather than turn her in. But he does have a secret power of his own (which I picked up on almost right away, so it wasn't any sort of shock when Rome finally reveals it to Belle) and an ulterior motive (and it's not just sex, which was refreshing).

Speaking of sex, holy cow, does this book sizzle! But with the promise of eroticism, of teasing, taunting lovers who can't consummate their intense emotions without Belle burning down the house (or car, or cabin, or wherever they are at the time). And the fun is in how they deal with their searing attraction, while helping Belle learn to control her newfound powers.

I've already picked up another of Gena's books ("Awaken Me Darkly") and definitely recommend the author to anyone who likes stories of the paranormal. The romance is just a perk.

Rummage Sale!

They are just the best thing ever. Like a huge, chaotic yard sale, but cheaper and with more people.

My town is hosting one this weekend at the local equestrian center to benefit a local hospital. I drove down this morning and spent almost four hours walking around the two huge rooms of donated stuff. The two sections I scoured the hardest were Books and Women's Clothing.

Dozens of tables and boxes of books. Hardbacks for $1, paperbacks for fifty cents (even the large trade!), kids book for a quarter. After a full hour poking and pilfering, I had nine new books for my collection (a modest number when many people were filling up boxes!), including One Hundred Years of Solitude, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Stranger Than Fiction, and a collection of JD Salinger stories. I found a kids book called The Empty Grave that I remembered by the cover alone, but have no idea what it's about. Plus a copy of the film Sheena. All for six bucks.

Then I wandered some more before entering the fray around the Women's clothing. Talk about a free for all. In boxes, under tables, on top of tables. This is from where the term RUMMAGE sale was taken. I ended up at the T-shirt/blouse table for over an hour, sorting through tops from Old Navy, Gap, Abercrombie, Aeropostale, JCrew, Nine West, Liz Clairborne, and more. Name brands. I bought nine new shirts for three bucks. Three dollars!!!

Ecstatic over that one I kept going, ignoring my lunchtime hunger. I browsed other sections, such as Linens, Collectibles, Framed Art, Lamps, Holiday Items, and Toys with no luck. On my way out, I poked into a few boxes in the Housewares section and landed some new Tupperware containers for fifty cents each (sandwich size, small bowls, and butter stick holder). Another four bucks.

Not a bad haul for four hours and thirteen dollars. I'm tempted to go back tomorrow morning, since it's only a two day event. And my wallet definitely isn't cringing.

Deep Core Armageddon Day

Time for another round of the AW Chain. Number seven, to be precise. Previously, on Peregrinas, quidscribis wrote moving from Quebec to Sri Lanka. The differences in language, culture, landscape, and tradition. Things that make one human being seem so different from another, even though beneath those surface items, we are all the same.

The irony of writing this now is that while I read the previous post, the film Armageddon was playing on the TV behind me. The specific sequence of events was the launch of the shuttles into space, when the President gives a voice-over about saving ourselves from extinction, over half a dozen shots of men and women around the world, listening to translations of the speech. The eyes of the world are on the drillers, and we are all in it together.

Ever notice that it's always America that saves the world? We did it in The Core, Deep Impact (with a little Russian help), Armageddon (another token crazy Russian), and Independence Day (no Russians). Granted these films are made with an American audience in mind, but talk about self-aggrandizing. I want to see a movie where Tibet saves the world. Just because they haven't yet.

Let's share the wealth. Make someone else a hero for once. After all, every one of these movies make a point of showing just how similar Americans, French, Russian, Dutch, Japanese, and Egyptians are to each other. Prove it, Hollywood. Let Denmark save us all from a nuclear winter, or show how China blows the Boston-sized asteroid out of space.

I have only one request: no Ben Affleck.

Next up is Oswann at BCOM.

awchain

And the rest of the chain:

TaliaMana
Simran
Gillian
Bk_30
Peggy
Madderblue
Atomic Bear
Asorum
XThe NavigatorX
Cath
cesarcarlos
quidscribis
chaostitan
Oswann
razibahmed

In For It Now

It had to happen sooner or later.

I didn't want to, but felt I had no choice.

I turned on the heater. It's just too darn cold without it.

Oh the joys of autumn.

Huzzah Huh?

Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man? To be directed by Jon Favreau (Swingers)?

Did I miss something?

Cut Him Loose

What's the old saying? If you love someone, set them free?

A few days ago, I dove headfirst into a stalled WIP. I have written about 12,000 words since Monday evening, and still have a lot of steam left. I don't know where the energy is coming from. I just know that it's time to finish telling this story. These characters have something to say.

It's set in the same universe as "The Watchman Project," the book I'm querying to agents, only twenty-five years later. Several of the old characters are…well, older now. And there are two new characters that I adore. I can't get enough of them and their awkward love story (not Meredith/McDreamy awkward, but just as complicated).

They aren't the problem. The problem is one of the supporting characters. He's a nice guy with a nifty superpower, but he just doesn't have much to do. Even in the climax (God bless outlines), he serves mostly to feed information to the main protagonists. He doesn't affect the story enough to really justify his presence.

Ever read/see the stage play version of "The Outsiders" by SE Hinton? The character of Steve Randle is removed completely, and his lines are distributed to other characters. At first I was annoyed. Then I thought about it, and I realized that Steve served little purpose in the story, other than to be a counterpoint to Sodapop. The story works just fine without him (as staged, because I think the novel gave him a little more to do).

Well, my character reminds me of Steve. His lines could be reassigned, and his character removed completely without really hurting the narrative.

I just hate gutting a character. Especially when, in my mind's eye, he looks like David Wenham.

Stop! Or the Kindergarten Nanny Will Pacify You!

awchain

I nudged my way into the AW Blog Chain Round 6 pretty quickly this time. It's the closest I've ever been to the top of the list. My posts tend to end up in the bottom five (makes me sound like a contestant on American Idol).

Over at Mad Scientist Matt's blog, he wrote about Vin Diesel as inspiration.

Stop laughing.

I admit it. I am a Vin Diesel fan. So what if he can't act his way around a brick wall? The man his seventeen-inch biceps and a deep, sexy voice! What more does a girl need?

A couple of days ago, I watched The Pacifier. Definitely not an award winner, but clever enough. Who didn't laugh at the sight of a muscular man dipping a naked, poop-covered baby into a toilet? Or doing the Peter Panda dance? It's a new take on an old concept that I've enjoyed for a long time: action hero forced to look after children.

Stop laughing. XXX and A Man Apart were no worse than some of Ah-nold's early stuff.

Anyway, The Pacifier is just the last entry into this sub-genre of the family comedy. Way back in 1993, we got to see Hulk Hogan dance around in a tutu in Mr. Nanny. It's been a long time since I've seen this one, but I seem to remember the kids causing Hogan to fall down the stairs (a tried and true staple of the genre, so what is it with kids and stairs?). And in a shocking twist….okay, kidding. Typical ending: kids melt his heart, and he saves the day.

Let's go back a few more years to 1990's Kindergarten Cop. There's just something hilarious about a former body-builder-turned-governor who makes a room full of five year-olds cry. Granted, I was ten when I first saw this one, so some of the more adult humor was completely lost on me (kind of like watching Spaceballs at age nine, I just didn't understand what it meant to "give good helmet").

So we've got Schwarzenegger, Hogan, Diesel.... Hey, how did Stallone manage to avoid falling into this genre? Oh yeah, he got Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Never mind.

Next up is At Home, Writing
Enjoy the Chain!


TaliaMana.com
Peregrinas
IndianRaj
Just a Small Town Girl
A View From the Waterfront
Southern Expressions
Mad Scientist Matt
Organized Chaos
At Home, Writing
Writing From Within
Pass the Torch
BCOM
Fireflies in the Cloud
Sounds of Serenity
Kappa no He
Infinite Vanity
Gillian Polack
Of Chapters and Reels
Curiouser and curiouser
The Road Less Traveled
Livien

Done, Done and Done!

Most writers have that Dreaded Trunk Novel, the one they started but can't seem to get quite right. It haunts them, remaining on the fringes of our subconscious, never letting us forget of its existence. Because one day, dammit, it will be good enough.

Maybe.

I pulled my trunk novel out its virtual trunk (the dreaded Idle Ficion Ideas folder) a few weeks ago, and began a total re-structure and polish. Scenes were moved, deleted and added. I added a frame to the existing story that encapsulates a major theme of the novel. I removed every "suddenly" from the manuscript, and removed some erronious moments of telling.

I think my baby is ready to present to the world. I just can't tell for sure. My beta has read two different incarnations of this story, so (as much as I love her) it's difficult to judge its improvement by her (always welcome) opinion.

(see how I suck up?)

I suppose finding a second beta is the way to go. Someone who can read a contemporary novel with fresh eyes, and give an honest opinion of the story. Is there a hotline I can call? Something like 1-900-RENT-A-BETA?

Hmmm...sounds like tropical fish store.

Happy September...Kinda

It seems somewhat ominous that a new month should begin so gray and rainy, as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ernesto crawl up the eastern seaboard toward my location. Certainly makes for a wet Labor Day Weekend.

But let's celebrate some good things about September. Cooler weather is on the way, after a summer of humidity and oppressive heat. The leaves will begin turning in a couple of weeks. Christmas is inching closer and closer. School starts, so there will be fewer children in my store, running amok with inattentive parents, breaking merchandise and being a general nuisance.

My longest-running PBEM is relaunching today, and I am excited about that. We have a new home, new forums, and lots of great plots waiting. I had hoped for more new players before we started, but I'm sure they'll come along soon enough.

I even submitted my Watchman Project query to Miss Snark's Crap-O-Meter. Suddenly I am very nervous.

It has also been a solid week since I found out my dad has cancer. Follicular lymphoma, to be exact, a non-Hodgkin's form. I got very drunk last Friday night and cried for a long time. But the doctors are optimistic, and gave him 70/30 odds. They're good, but I wish they were better. He had his first round of chemotherapy on Wednesday (first of three 3-week treatments), and had a bone marrow biopsy to make sure it isn't anywhere else. We'll get the results next Thursday. Arg!

I've written about my dad on this blog before, and I don't know what I'd do if....nah, positive thoughts.

I just wish I would stop dreaming about my grandmother (my dad's mother). She died in June, and I've dreamed about her two nights in a row. Do you think she knows I'm worried about her son?

AW Blog Chain, Round Four

I should have saved my previous post for the Blog Chain, as the subject of parents came up in Simon's post at The Hal Spacejock Series. Alas, I shall endeavor to write something new for my entry into Chain #4.

His mention of Australia jogged my memory a bit. I still keep in touch with a small group of friends from high school, mostly guys my own age (I was always the girl that guys were friends with, but never dated). For the last few years, we've been tossing around plans for a trip to Australia one summer. Go over for a week, hang out and see the lovely country. I'm not sure why we picked Australia, but I'd love to go. I've always wanted to go.

The trouble is that I am poor. I work in retail, and I'm lucky if I net $20 grand a year. I have student loans, credit card bills, car insurance, rent, and utilities every month, which leaves very little grocery and fun money. That last few times I tried to save some money up, my car broke. So I'm not tempting fate again.

One of my best friends called me a few weeks ago, and he mentioned the Australia trip.

Did I still want to go?
Of course!

But they are thinking next year or the year after, and I don't know if I can save that much. And I tell him that.

What if money wasn't an issue?
Um, Eric, my friend, money will always be an
issue.
But what if it isn't?
Then I guess I'd be in.

He offered to pay for me. Out of the blue and like it wasn't even a big deal. Eric and I have known each other since the first grade. Twenty years, next month. Even if I don't end up taking his offer (I teeter very close to that "too proud to accept charity" line), I am amazed at his generosity in offering.

It's a wonderful feeling, to know that I have friends like that.

The next link in the chain is Of Chapters and Reels.


Also, here is the entire Round 4 Line-Up.

Peregrinas
Pass the Torch
The Road Less Travelled
Fireflies in the Cloud
Even in a Little Thing
The Secret Government Eggo Project
Curiouser and Curiouser
At Home, Writing
Mad Scientist Matt's Lair
I, Misanthrope - The Dairy of a Dyslexic Writer
Beyond the Great Chimney Production Log
Flying Shoes
Everything Indian
The Hal Spacejock Series
Organized Chaos
Of Chapters and Reels
Just a Small town girl
Midnight Muse
Kappa no He

Parental Protection Rights

I love my parents. I really do. But one of these days I will smack them both upside the head with something hard.

They have a bad habit of not telling me when something medical is happening with my dad. He has high blood pressure and a history of clogged arteries in and around his heart. Two angioplasties (I'm too lazy to look up the proper spelling) in the past seven years, plus a handful of operations to relieve numbness in his leg. Nine times out of ten, I find out about these surgeries AFTER they have taken place. I hated it when I was in college, and I hate it now.

I've lived on my own (as on my own as I can be with a roomie and two cats) for the last three and a half years. I'm twenty-six years old. I'm not a child, and I don't want them to continue to protect me from my dad's medical problems. They've worried about me my entire life. I think I have earned the right to worry about them once in a while.

I called my dad last Friday night to tell him I'd be visiting for two days. Here's the conversation...

Dad: When will you be here?
Me: I'll drive in Sunday morning, and leave early Tuesday, because I have to work that night.
Dad: I--hold on.....{muffled sounds, speaking to my mom}...going into...hospital.... {more muttering and mumbling} Okay, never mind.
Me: What about the hospital?
Dad: Oh, she heard me. I'm going in Wednesday for some test.
Me: For the thing that was wrong with your foot?
Dad: No, I've just been having some backpain.

Okay, so I accepted that. Sunday night, it's dinner with the 'rents, plus my older sister. She hadn't a clue about the hospital tests until I told her, so we both attacked after dinner was over.

Turns out that the backpain is a lump, situated between his kidney, liver and pancreas. The Docs are doing a biopsy on Wednesday (TESTS???? Gee, thanks for downplaying it, Dad). So far blood tests are normal, and he doesn't have any other symptoms, so the Docs are pretty sure it's not malignant.

So I throw the whammy question: If I hadn't overheard you on the phone the other night, when would you have told us about this biopsy? The day after, or when you got the results back?

Mom and Dad share a look. "When we got the results back."

I almost threw my corncob at his head. I know they want to protect us, but I want to know these things! I don't want to find out that not only did he have the biopsy without telling us, but that it's cancer (but pray it's not). I've told them, but it never sinks in. Ever since, I have had two lines from The Patriot stuck in my head.

Heath Ledger: I'm not a child!
Mel Gibson: You're my child!

But Mom called last night, and the biopsy went well. Dad will be home tonight or tomorrow, I think. Now it's just waiting until his appointment next Thursday....

And now to end this rant on the immortal words of Inego Montoya: I hate waiting.

Gee, How Original.....

I love the idea of Alexander Siddig(Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest starring on 24. The man needs more work, and more exposure. Julian Bashir was one of my favorite characters on DS9. Did I mention the accent?

My problem with Alexander Siddig guest starring on 24 next season? He's a recurring baddie. Siddig is of Middle-Eastern descent, so it leaves no question about who the big bads are. Again. ::sigh::

On the upside of casting news, Eric Balfour is back as techie Milo, reprising the role he played way back in season one. Someone new for Chloe to torture. I love continuity.

I just love spreading good news. One of my favorite actors is coming back to TV. For a few episodes, anyway. But I'll take what I can get. I don't normally watch House, but for David Morse, I'll make an exception.

House Exclusive: David Morse Joins Cast!
Here's some fresh House prattle for you kids: The show has recruited former Hackster David Morse for a multi-episode arc. According to exec producer Katie Jacobs, Morse's character — a cop named Michael Tritter — will face off with Hugh Laurie in a battle of egos. "House is going to piss off the wrong guy, and
that guy just happens to be a cop," Jacobs reveals. "[Tritter's] really going to hold House accountable. We're going to have some fun with that."

Productivity

I have to give myself and my co-author a huge pat on the back. I don't think I've ever had such a productive writing day. Between the two of us (over both MSN and Yahoo Messenger), we managed to write 7900 words of our novel (31 pages). The novel now stands at just over 55,000 words. It's difficult to project a final word count, but I'd guess somewhere in the neighborhood of 90,000.

Time to listen to some Chevelle and go to bed. My butt needs a rest from this desk chair.

JLo A Psychic?

She must be, since she saw the obvious failure-in-the-making that is the big-screen Dallas movie, and dropped out of playing Sue Ellen.

Now the question on my mind is this: When will Shirley MacLaine come to her senses?

More Eighties Remakes?

You know, I think Hollywood is in trouble. And the first sign of trouble is the lack of creativity spewing forth from the local cineplex. And perhaps the most troubling sign of all is the proliferation of remakes. Not just TV show-turned movie. I'm talking about remaking a movie that's less than twenty years old.

The two most recent (and horrifying) examples? Revenge of the Nerds and Adventures in Babysitting. I kid you not.

How do you top Anthony Edwards, Robert Carradine, Timothy Busfield, Curtis Armstrong, and Brian Tochi? Seriously. How???? You don't. If this becomes another Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn vehicle, I think I'm going to vomit. Nevermind the fact that they are too old for the parts....

And AiB? Starring Raven-Symone? I think my heart just stopped as I typed those words. Um, anyone remember the story? Suburban white kids lost in the bad streets of Chicago? Elisabeth Shue singing in a black jazz club? Can you really see Disney allowing Raven to utter the infamous line, "Don't f*ck with the babysitter"?

I mentioned remakes to my roommate last night, lamenting to her: "Why do they have to keep remaking the classics?" I paused, thought about it, and then deadpanned, "I guess it wouldn't make sense to remake a bad movie."

Unfortunately, what tends to happens is that remakes of good movies become bad movies.

Another vicious cycle.