Random Thoughts

Trish Milburn, my guest blogger from October 19th, has advanced to the second round of the American Title contest! Yay, Trish! Voting for that round begins November 12. I'll try to post a reminder for anyone who is interested. Check out her blog tomorrow for some super-exciting news, too.

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My cats don't like each other. Well, they don't hate each other, either. Frisbee always licks Maya, usually right before they chase each other and fight. And we even saw Maya licking Frisbee once. But they never occupy the same recreational spaces. If we're on the bed watching TV, and Frisbee is with us and Maya jumps up, Frisbee jumps down. If Frisbee is in my window, Maya will wait until she's gone, then take her place. They won't sit look out the front door at the same time. In fact, the only time they're close and not fighting (or preparing to fight) is when we're feeding them.

So imagine my shock when I went to bed Monday night and found this:



They were there again last night! And I didn't have the heart to send them out. I contorted myself around them until Jim came to bed.

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I'm a mess.

I hate age-related generalization as much as I hate gender-related generalization. Forgetting stuff is more because of an overload of things to remember (or a lack of use of the brain) than age by itself. I've met 80-year-olds in better shape than I am. But it is really hard to dispute that recovery is slower the older I get, and wear and tear is taking its toll.

This week I've had:

Stapler Palm (from stapling 50 or so booklets for Number Two's reading program)

Folding Thumb (from folding those booklets before stapling)

Bowling Arm (and back and ribs)

Walking Legs (tight muscles from walking twice as long as I usually do)

Walking Foot (pain in the ball of my left foot from 4+ miles of asphalt)

Anger Fist (from slamming the side of my my fist--repeatedly--against the bedroom door after walking into it in the dark when it is never ever closed at that time of day)

But by far the stupidest was Pavilion Head. It was accompanied by a nice case of sideways whiplash and a bruised butt cheek from the card case in my back pocket. I'd been inline skating with Number Two, who was impressed with my skill. I told her I'd been skating for 30 years, and experience counts, even though I don't do it that much anymore. She wanted to see how fast I could go. I showed her.

Now, inline skates are nearly impossible for me to stop with. So I ran, deliberately, into the wall around the ladies room. No problem. Except the wall didn't meet the ground. So, yeah, my skates kept going, and there was nothing to grab. I didn't go down that hard, but did hit at an angle, which meant my head bounced off the side of the building.

Yes, I am stupid and prone to such when challenged.

What's that? Where was my helmet. Oh, um...in the trunk of the car. Number Two was all geared up with pads, but her helmet was soaking wet. I couldn't make her wear it. So I didn't wear mine. Which was fine, she never fell, and of course neither did I until...you know.

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I know most of my blog readers--the ones I know personally, anyway--are not that interested in football. But I can't help it, I have to talk about it.

The New England Patriots are 8-0, and have slaughtered all their competition so far, including the top-rated defense in the NFC, the Washington Redskins. Everyone thought Dallas would be tough...final score was 48-27. So then it was that Dallas was overrated, but Washington, well, we hadn't played anyone yet. They'd give us a run for our money. Yep. Final score, 52-7. Indianapolis, who is 7-0 and has beaten some teams who are arguably tougher than those New England has beaten, is our opponent on Sunday. It will be a great game, and is being hyped as such. (Two undefeated teams have not faced each other this late in the season since 1921.)

The problem is, everyone is turning on the Patriots. They're bullies. They have no class. They're evil to Indianapolis's goodness, mainly because they keep running up the score (I guess Indie doesn't do that, despite their 60-14 score differential the last two weeks).

I've found myself indignant about the whole thing, trying to argue why it's a good thing they don't take Tom Brady off the field earlier (he can't be expected to be in playoff form if he only plays half a game every week), that we go for it on 4th and 1 when we're up 38-0 (they could stop us and get the ball back and keep us from scoring again), that we don't take a knee (giving the ball to our fifth-string running back allows the other team to force a fumble and gives them a fighting chance--and it also gives that fifth-string running back some film for when a trade or free agency come into play).

The truth is...maybe it is wrong. Maybe we should rest Tom and let Matt Cassel play some football. Maybe we should sit down in the middle of the field in the third quarter and let the other team play without us (probably we'd still win). Maybe Bill (our coach) has an unreasonable chip on his shoulder and he's trying to punish everyone he thinks has some role in putting it there.

But I don't care. I want to watch my team play. I want to see the magic that is Tom Brady 83 yards to Randy Moss in double coverage. I especially want to see Wes Welker and his soccer-player body make sweet moves that cause defensive backs to fall over their own feet. I want Laurence Maroney--or, hey, Kyle Eckel--to run through a porous defensive line. I want Chris Hanson (punter) to stay on the sidelines. Give me record-setting touchdown numbers, gigantic offensive yardage, more points. And more. And more than that.

Because it's fun. And geez, isn't that what football's all about?

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I'm all set for NaNoWriMo! I finished redoing my website. I have my spreadsheets all set up to track my progress and chart my story info. I have little bits and pieces of the story and the world and the characters--mainly the latter two--jotted down and rubbing against each other in my head. So tomorrow I embark on a 30-day adventure.

NaNo's goal is 50,000 words. That's all I need to do to win. About 1668 per day. But last year I did just over 85,000 in 29 days, so I want to beat that. My last book was closer to 88,000, so I probably will. The word count, anyway. We'll see about the days.

What are some keys to success in NaNo?

Clearing your schedule is a big one. Which is why I signed up for four two-hour shifts at the kids' book fairs over the next two weeks. *sigh* I also have two proofreading/editing jobs coming soon. Jim will be home for six days over Thanksgiving, and we plan to redo the dining room. He wants a medieval castle, so I said we should use joint compound, carve the stones into it, paint it light gray, and then sponge dark gray over that. Yeah, that's a lot of work. there's only one real wall, though. The rest of the walls (one with a large bay window, the others just arches into other rooms) we can just paint.

Anyway. I shall have to go gangbusters on the days I am totally free to make up for the days I only get a couple of pages done. Last year I didn't miss a day. I have to do the same this year, and that means the Neo will get its first real strong workout.

I can't wait!

Oh, if you're also doing NaNo, let me know your user name so I can Buddy you. I'm Nuj. Good luck!

An Open Letter to Single Parents

Well, this is really not about single parents in real life, because I don't know many, and I can't say I've ever encountered the policy in real life. But it is everywhere in fiction. It abounds in category romances, and I just watched the episode of Gilmore Girls where Luke lets Lorelai throw April's birthday party.

The policy to which I'm referring is only applied to romantic relationships for some reason. Single moms don't want their kids to get to know the guys they date at all, or to know the women their kids' fathers date, because OMG the relationship might not last and the kid would be attached and they'd be devastated beyond recovery if they left.

So better not let your kid make friends. They might move away, or more likely, decide they'd rather be closer friends with someone else, and devastate your kid.

Don't let them go to school. It's sooooo easy to get attached to a good teacher and then wham, nine months later, they're out of their life. They'll never get over that, after seeing them day after day, more total time than they see their own family.

Definitely don't let them play sports. Attachments to coaches and teammates can be strong. And can you imagine, the trauma of a combined losing season and having to say goodbye?

Most of all, never, ever, EVER get a pet. Cats might be okay, if you get them young, because they can live 20 years. Unless, you know, they don't. They could get sick. So yeah, forget the cats. Big dogs only live to mid-teens, small dogs a little longer. "Starter" pets like hamsters have very short life spans. Stay away from those.

The point is, kids are resilient. My mother was a single parent from the time I was seven and my brother was four. She dated, and we met most of the guys, because it was important that if there was going to be a relationship there, everything fit. That we liked them and they liked us. All of them left our lives, and it didn't hurt us. It taught us.

The way to raise mature, well-adjusted adults who can handle change is to give kids reasons to adjust, changes to which they can adapt. Life has pain. We all need to endure it, and the only way to learn how is by doing it.

The flip side is that you may deny them, and yourself, something wonderful. And that's an even bigger loss.

Thursday Thirteen #21

Thirteen Things About Current TV

I had a few other topics in the works, but I've been wanting to post on this one, so I thought I'd do it this way. Maybe I'll ramble less. :)

1. I stopped watching Prison Break.

First episode, I was meh. Second caught me, and I thought that was it. But a very big draw for me was Sara, and when I knew the actress wasn't coming back, it killed some of the interest. Still, the character was there, so there was always hope. And there was a reason. Then they cut off her head, and I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it since. I deleted the episode with the box and canceled my season pass.

2. I miss Prison Break.

I heard Michael Scofield either on a radio teaser or a TV spot when I was in the other room. It took a moment for me to understand who was speaking and why I had such a longing in my chest. I miss Michael and his brains and his compassion and his willingness to do anything for those he loves, not least of which is admitting that love. I miss Lincoln, too, the big lug who's got his own brains as well as an ohmygod body. If I get bored, I might have to catch up online or iTunes.

3. I stopped watching Ugly Betty.

I don't like Wilhelmina that much, and I hate the Willie/Dad plotline. And I hate the Alex plot line. As much as I love Marc and Amanda, I'm not thrilled with the Fay-is-her-mother plotline, either. Very unhappy with Henry leaving. The final straw was Santo's death and the way they handled it in the season opener. I'm not one to really notice emotional manipulation, or care. But this was way too much.

Plus, Betty should be out of those braces by now.

4. Numb3rs is like the Indianapolis Colts this season.

Nothing flashy, not the sexy show or the one getting all the hype (for those who don't know, that's the New England Patriots in this analogy). Just getting the job done, with solid quality.

5. Heroes is leaving much to be desired.

The reasons I'm unhappy with this show are the same reasons everyone else is. Nothing is happening. The same things are rehashed every damned week. And the things that are "fresh" aren't really. An amnesiac victim afraid of his past so he hides from it? Yawn. The geeky guy coaching the drunken stud so he can get the girl the geeky guy really wants? Yawner. Masi Oka and Dave Anders do their best, but even they can't make me care. I haven't yet watched the last two episodes, and from what I've heard, I'm not missing anything. I can plug in random scenes from any previous episode. Don't be surprised if this drops off the list, too.

6. Monday's replacement makes the loss of PB bearable.

I wanted to give Chuck a try, but my TiVo couldn't handle it. I got the pilot off SciFi and the second episode from Bravo, but after that they weren't rebroadcasting. I caught up online, though, because the first two eps were pretty good. Adam Baldwin rocks anything he's in, and I'm thrilled he's on every week. Sarah isn't bad, having some realness behind the hot chick exterior and some true acting ability. The sister is one of those too-gorgeous-to-be-real model types, but she has some acting ability, too, and I'm slowly getting past the plastic beauty. At least she's not blonde and skinny. Morgan is annoying, but not enough to hurt the show. I do see potential pitfalls, but I'm hopeful. So far the writing is pretty strong, and if they're smart, they'll deepen the relationships and up the stakes. Let this smart, fun, hard-working guy get over his woe-is-me past and move out of the Nerd Herd at some point. And tell his sister the truth, if not the idiot best friend. Don't be afraid to evolve, 'cause that's how the show will be more than a gimmick.

7. Who knew I wouldn't miss Veronica Mars?

Okay, Reaper isn't nearly as smart a show as VM was. The writing isn't as sharp, the world as tight. But Tuesday night isn't suffering. Until Scrubs comes back tonight, Reaper is the show that gives us a reason to laugh every week. Sock is a better lame friend than Morgan is, and the hot love interest is believable because she's not all about her hotness. I love that unlike in Chuck, the main character's secret isn't a secret. His parents and his friends know, which broadens the scope and offers flexibility. We will be annoyed, though, if he doesn't come clean with Andi. There's no reason to keep it from her.

8. Pushing Daisies is just okay.

I hate to say that. The premise is great, the characters great, the acting good, the writing fine. I really hate to say it because I love Jim Dale so much. But even though it's a show I enjoy, it doesn't drag me to my TV. I'll be glad it's there when there's nothing else to watch. Of course I wouldn't really be upset if it was yanked from the air, so it got a full-season pickup.

9. Speaking of full season pickups...

So did Private Practice, which I have not yet gotten around to watching. I hear a lot of disappointment about it, which disappoints me because it has such a great cast. But just because other people aren't thrilled doesn't mean I won't love it. I'll get to it eventually.

10. Bionic Woman sounds like it sucks.

My husband watched and was pretty disappointed, and his reasons for not liking it are definitely reasons I wouldn't like it. I'm still going to watch it--eventually--but my expectations are low. Plus, it's not on next week, which is always a warning sign. Maybe it's because of the World Series, but that started last night, and BW was still on. I guess we'll see.

11. Oh, yeah, I stopped watching Smallville, too.

There was absolutely nothing I liked in the first episode of the season, so I didn't watch any more than that. I catch glimpses at the end, because it's on right before Supernatural, and it looks like it is rehashing old storylines, just with new characters. I don't miss it at all.

12. We are so happy Scrubs is back!

Season premiere tonight. I don't have any particular love for any of the characters, but they sure make me laugh, and it's my husband's favorite show, so he'll be happy. I'm kinda glad it's the last season, though, because I'm sick of Eliot's whining and JD's idiocy and self-focus.

13. Of course, the best is saved for last.

Is anyone surprised that it's Supernatural? No, I didn't think so. Interestingly, the best part for me has been the caliber of guest stars on the last two episodes. From the crazy hunter to the freaked-out Mom, they've been mostly top-notch.

Of course, guest stars by themselves aren't enough. It's still all about Sam and Dean, and there's been much to love about them so far. I can't wait to see where the main story arc takes them, as the days tick past and Sam gets more desperate to save his brother.

I've read minor spoilers, synopsis-type things about upcoming episodes and a few things we're going to get about Bobby and Mary and even Ruby and Bela and oh, yeah, Henrickson (or whatever that FBI guy's name is). Put all together, it makes for a very rich season.

But best of all are the stand-alone episodes. Changeling kids? A rabbit's foot with real power? Fairy tales come to life...and death? Awesome.

Excuse me, now, it's nearly time to watch!

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Dual Purpose

JR Ward

Megan Padalecki

Brandon having sex with Megan

Chicken feet

Masturebation

Apparently, these strings will drive traffic to my site via search engines. So everyone who is reading this because they clicked a Google link...GOTCHA! Now go here.

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I got lax about bumping up my labels that only have one entry (purposefully, anyway--I did get a couple just by happenstance). So today the topics are "Love" and "News."

I'm in love. Been in love for nearly 20 years now. Every day there is something that reinforces that love. But there is a part of me that misses those early days, the feeling in my chest when I was falling in love. Misses the anticipation of searching the street in case he walked by, or of the first (or tenth or 500th) kiss.

Which is why I write romance, of course. To recreate those moments for others like me, and for those who may not have felt it yet. And to relive them myself.

It's also, without a doubt, the reason for my crushes on such specimens as Jensen Ackles and Orlando Bloom--but don't tell my husband.

I don't watch the news.

There. Two more down, only three to go!

Out for Lunch

Last Thursday, Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers sponsored a booth at the Patriot-News/Wolf Furniture expo event, "Out for Lunch." Four published authors and a representative of our chapter were there, standing and talking almost non-stop for three hours. Hundreds of people came by, most excited and interested to see a group of local authors.


Prime Location

Thanks to the event coordinator (not sure her actual title, but she was our contact), Lisa Strohl, we had an excellent location. The Zembo Mosque is a gorgeous building, and we were in the tile room, which was gorgeous. We thought it would hurt a little, being in a smaller, not-main room, but we were positioned right on the end, next to the door from the room where they picked up their lunches, so everyone had to go right by us.


Megan Hart and Misty Simon, setting up their stuff

Misty had some fun giveaways ("melt-your-ex/boss/whomever" candles) and I had cute gifts-with-purchase. Most of which I still have.


Duckies

We talked to a lot of people, collected a lot of names for our drawing/mailing lists, and sold a few books. Not enough, I don't think, to make back any of our money spent, but the number of contacts we made could lead to future sales--you never know. And we had fun:


Megan Hart and Jacki King

Things finally slowed down about half an hour before we were allowed to pack up. There were a lot of people who write, or would like to write, or wish they could write. Maybe some will become members of CPRW!


Talking to Customers/Taking a Break


Misty Simon, Megan Hart, Vicki Smith, Jacki King, Me

Next year, we plan to take a male cover model in a tux and have him hand out kisses. If you buy a book, you can sit on his lap. I think that will go over even better than the duckies.

Tagged AGAIN

And to think I used to whine 'cause no one ever tagged me...

Cindy is to blame this time.

(This is the 8 things tag, BTW, and I have a feeling I'm repeating some things...)

1. I love Pringles Right Crisps Sour Cream and Onion but when I eat them, I lick off the sour-cream-and-onion powder so it's best if I eat them alone.

2. I wasn't much of a football fan (except playoffs/Superbowls) until I met my husband in college, and then, because we only got Cleveland Browns games (and he was a native of Cleveland's suburbs), I learned the game while watching the Browns. And I ended up a Browns fan for years. I got us into a Browns Backers club so we could go see games in a bar every Sunday (took Number One for her first year, too). Then, when Cleveland lost the team for a few years, I had to turn to my first team, New England. I've been a rabid fan ever since. And thank goodness for NFL Sunday Ticket.

3. Though I am not against (parental) corporal punishment (I grew up with spanking, and it was a very good deterrent), I have spanked my kids exactly once. Number One was about two, and she wouldn't pick up her toys. She was being willful and defiant and I was at my wit's end. I pulled her across my lap and whacked her on her diaper-covered butt about three times. Set her back down and demanded she pick up her toys. More willful defiance. I asked if she wanted me to spank her again. She crawled over and laid herself across my lap.

4. I was on the Equestrian Team in college, for at least two seasons (maybe 3). I rode English in the beginner classes and earned two fifths, a third, and a first. The first was won on April Fool's Day at Michigan State on a gigantic old police horse named Teacher's Pet. Fitting in all kinds of ways.

5. When my brother was about 2 or 3 years old, I fed him a bottle of vitamins I got down off the fridge while our parents were sleeping in on a weekend. I think we were playing doctor (the real way, you know, where you prescribe medicine). The vitamins were red and kind of like Spree candy. My parents had to feed him ipecac. It's a wonder he doesn't hate me, as this is only one of many indignities I visited upon him.

6. I have never been diagnosed with a broken bone. I used to say I've never broken a bone, but last year I jammed my left middle finger with a bad bounce by a football and I'm pretty sure I cracked it at the first joint. It has a bump now. I never went to the doctor, just borrowed a splint and tried not to open filing cabinets with that hand.

7. I love snakes. And owls. The local radio station had both in the studio last week to advertise Creatures of the Night at ZooAmerica in HersheyPark in the Dark. The on-air personalities were annoyingly squeally and squeamish. I worked at a nature center the summer of 1990 and did a lot of teaching with Joey, a barred owl, and Charlie, a six-foot boa. Joey had been orphaned as a baby when someone cut down the dead tree his family lived in, and he didn't get assimilated after he'd been cared for. He was dive-bombing the kids on the trails, so they kept him in the barn near the interns' farmhouse. We fed him dead, thawed mice and took him over to the center or to schools and stuff for classes. I don't think I've ever felt anything as soft as his feathers. Charlie was also a dead-rat eater. We fed him once a month or so, so he didn't grow very fast. He tended to be sluggish because of the heat, but when we took him out he occasionally got squeamish. He was my buddy, though. Snakeskin (on a live snake) is also very soft to the touch, and the power of the muscles underneath is amazing.

8. My mother had a Mac when I was in high school. I learned on it, then used my first PC in college (DOS-based Wordperfect). My Mac experience led to my first good adult job, the company that let me take the kids to work every day when they were babies. I currently have a desktop PC and a Mac laptop, and unlike pretty much everyone else in the world, I like them exactly the same.

I'm supposed to tag 8 people to tell us 8 things about themselves. I shall tag people with the following 8 first initials:

M, T, O, E, S

All My Thoughts on Bad Day at Black Rock

I planned from the first few minutes of the show to watch it again and type as I watched because there was so much I loved. So I did that.

1. Okay, this one is really funny. I made fun of Misty for not noticing the star in last year’s title, but it took me three episodes to notice the claws in this year's!

2. I still love the way Ruby’s eyes flare into demon eyes and back. It has more impact, for some reason, than when it’s an evil demon about to attack.

3. Is this a guy (Kubrik) I know from a dozen other things, or just someone who looks like him? Gotta be him--no one else could have that same mouth.

4. Hey, Gordon, shut up about Bobby! (Love that Gordon laugh, though.)

5. Sammy, you big liar. Tell him about Mom!

6. Is that hope in Dean’s hesitation for just a moment (about Ruby being able to help him)? Before he says “What is wrong with you?”

7. How cool is it that a guy like Dean can tell another guy, even his brother, that his weakness is him, and not have that other guy protest? I love that.

8. “Dude?!” Dean's all-purpose word.

9. Love that Dean’s so clever about the Dad-phone thing--but how does he keep the bill paid? How do they keep any bills paid, for that matter?

10. LOL at the Jesus-eyes-following-you bit.

11. Creepy storage unit building place. I’m excited about all the possibilities the stuff in here opens up. New weapons, new legends…

12. Sammy played soccer!!!!

13. “About the closest you ever came to bein’ a boy.” AHAHAHAHAHAHA

14. Poor Dean made a sawed-off shotgun in 6th grade. That’s really sad. :(

15. Flimsy lock on Dad’s curse boxes.

16. The casting in this episode was really exceptional. From Wayne and Grossman to Kubrik and Creavy, these are solid, well-drawn and well-acted characters.

17. Gawd these two have great voices. Sam and Dean come bursting into my house, guns out in front of them, yelling at me to freeze, I will be completely unable to. I’ll just be a puddle on the floor.

18. The music during this silly fight scene is perfect.

19. Sammy got throttled! Everybody drink!

20. I wonder how many times they had to practice that gun-toss/catch? I wanna see the misses on the gag reel.

21. I can imagine the boyish glee Kripke felt at the whole fork gag. Heee! Gag. Get it?

22. Bobby can build curse boxes! But I betcha the lock wasn’t his. Flimsy thing.

23. I love the mythology of the curse. Very poetic.

24. Okay, Sam, your jacket pocket is a really dumb place to put something you can’t afford to lose. It should go deep into your front jeans pocket. Here, let me show you…

25. Dean’s ice cream headache. I’ll warm that nerve for you, honey…

26. Funny that Sam is getting hit on--funnier Dean’s expression--funniest the way they lean forward to watch her…and then, of course, it was obvious she’d taken it.

26. Bela is so smug. And deservedly so.

27. “Oh wow. You suck.” Poor hapless Sammy with the skinned knees.

28. I bet a lot of people will be unhappy that the expansion of the Supernatural universe means less screen time overall for Sam and Dean. But I’m loving it, for two reasons--they have interesting characters, mostly good acting, and well-written dialogue (“I like when they drop the whole onion in the fryer”) and Jensen and Jared don’t have to work so hard and be so tired.

29. Poor Sammy, tripping and knocking stuff over, and Dean already taking it in stride and not even turning around. "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm good."

30. Nice zoom on Dean with his little “I can read people speech.”

31. HAHAHAHAHA. Sam lost his shoe.

32. And they come rapid-fire now:
“Just…look out for your brother…ya idjit.”
“I lost my shoe.” Poor, hapless, little-boy Sammy.
“You, my brotha, are stayin’ here…” (Not funny, just funny, with his accent slippin’ in)
“Don’t even scratch your nose.” (And Sam's face! Again!)

33. I love that Sam’s going to do exactly as he was told. Little boy.

34. Wow, Bela’s got money! And she’s smart. The only thing better than a really dumb adversary is a really smart one. She keeps a gun in the wine cooler. What kind of men does she DATE?

35. Even better than a smart adversary is a smart hero. Love the alarm thing.

36. Don’t rock, Sammy! You’ll tip the chair and hit your head! Ooh, much better that the A/C unit catches on fire. LOL at Sammy’s whine. How cuddly can a 6-foot-four guy GET?

37. Stop drop and roll, Sam! Oh, how funny that those guys are right outside the window.

38. Man, Dean’s hot. Sorry,but he’s standing all wide-legged and sturdy, holding that gun on Bela. Let's pause that for a while...

39. Owww, poor Sammy smacked in the face.

40. Cool twist on a thief--communing with the dead.

41. Yay! Dean stole the foot! He can’t be shot! Go save Sam, Dean!

42. Headbutt him, Sam! (I think Creavey’s not fully on Kubrick’s bandwagon here.)

43. Gawd, I love cocky Dean. The pen in the gun! People knocking themselves out left and right. “I’m Batman!” AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

44. Oh, yeah, I forgot the preview. I always love how the show seems resolved but we've got 8 minutes left. So of course Bela's back!

45. Oh, Dean, cockiness goes too far. You got poor hapless Sammy shot!

46. “I can aim.”

47. Ha! He got you. "Think fast" always works.

48. “Not even a little.”

49. Or maybe this time you’ll hang him out to dry, huh, Bela? Dean, you fool. Bye bye lottery tickets. Sam won’t let you forget that!

50. I love that psycho Gordon thinks his new zealot is psycho, too.

So I read a blog post after I wrote this wherein said blog poster didn’t like the show very much, and a few people agreed.

Now, any show can be nitpicked. I didn't find it necessary to latch on to the weaknesses because the strengths (the things *I* found to be strengths, anyway) were far stronger than the weaknesses were weak. But I always find I have to address those nitpicks once someone points them out. *sigh* It's a weakness.

So here we go.

Z. Yes, it seems odd that Dad had a storage unit that Dean didn’t know about, and that he had all this stuff in it Dean didn’t know about. But it’s been well established that Dad did not share as much with either son as they (or at least Dean) wanted to believe.

Y. Yes, Dean not knowing about curse boxes stretches believability, but exposition has been the bane of all TV writers’ existence forever. It’s more awkward to do the “as you know” thing.

X. Dean getting giddy over the good luck didn't strike me as out of character. First, he’s a dork that way. He’ll take whatever good he can get, however he can get it, and he's often a live-in-the-moment kind of guy. Second, his current frame of mind lends itself to such a response. It’s not like he wanted to keep it or tried to stop Sam from destroying it or anything. I did wonder, however, why Dad didn’t destroy it when it was possible to do so. Maybe he didn’t feel it was necessary since he clearly hadn’t touched it.

W. It was asked, if Dad had an object that would bring him luck, why he didn’t use it (the luck) to catch and kill the demon. It seems like an obvious question, but if you think about it, the answer is just as obvious. He knew he was “getting close,” but like Harry Potter going after Voldemort, he had no idea how long it would take him to actually confront the demon. Going to retrieve the rabbit’s foot might have meant losing the trail, and taking possession of it was too risky. Losing it was almost a given--remember, Bobby said everyone loses it--and leaving the demon at large with his sons in danger was not something John was willing to risk (until the only other option was letting Dean die, and he obviously found that a worse outcome). Plus, what if demon magic trumped hoodoo magic?

V. There’s some annoyance at convenient writing, jumping to conclusions, etc. I find it amusing in the context of a television show, specifically, though it’s true of all fiction. Fiction is made up. Authors manipulate every single bit of the story to make it what they want it to be. It’s true that fiction has to be different from real life (e.g., the whole “out-of-character” thing, because real people act out of character all the time). But it’s fiction. Dean doesn’t exist. Dean ONLY ever does or thinks or says what the writers tell him to do or think or say. It’s not like he can decide to be suspicious of the rabbit’s foot because it’s “what he would do.”

U. I won’t criticize anyone for not finding the episode funny. Humor is probably the most subjective of all subjectivity. Not everyone finds the same things amusing in any context. But I don’t think it’s fair to be derisive of those who do find it funny, either. It just is what it is.

Overall, if 90% of the people who watch Supernatural find it great 90% of the time, that would be good enough for me.

Or, you know, whatever percentage will keep it on the air. :)

Heeerrre's....TRISH!

Getting Writing Inspiration from TV and Movies
by Trish Milburn

I admit it. I hate it when I hear someone call television the “idiot box.” Um, I like TV. Does that make me an idiot? Far from it. In fact, I am a big believer in writers (writing being one type of creative form) gaining inspiration from TV programs and movies (two other types of creative forms). I have proof in the form of my manuscript, Coven, which won the Golden Heart in the Young Adult category this year. Let’s go back in time a bit...

I call the months of June and July 2006 my Summer of Buffy. Why, you ask? Well, I was in the serious writer pits. I’d been writing a long time, submitting for several years, adding rejections to the file in my filing cabinet at about the rate I was adding gray hairs to my head. The weeks were counting down to another RWA National Conference that I would likely be attending as an unpublished author. Was it time to face the fact that selling a book just wasn’t in the cards for me? Was I supposed to be doing something else, something besides beating my head against the wall? Add to this the fact that I got sick with some type of crud, and moving from the bed to the couch was the highlight of each day. A friend loaned me the first couple of seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD. I’d heard about this show and its characters endlessly at writers’ conferences, but I’d never seen it. Time to figure out what all the hoopla was about. Besides, it’d help get me through the summer.

Imagine my surprise when those two seasons didn’t last more than a few days and I was hitting up my friend for more seasons. I was a woman possessed with the need to know what happened next. Seriously, I was watching eight to ten episodes a day. When I finished all seven seasons of Buffy, I moved on to the five seasons of Angel, then the first season of Supernatural. And while I was lounging away on the couch crying for Buffy and Angel and eagerly anticipating the start of the second season of Supernatural that fall, my excitement for writing was building in the back of my mind. By the end of the summer, I had an idea for a paranormal YA percolating in my mind. The excitement kept building and didn’t wane as I started to write what would become Coven, not even at the point that should have been the sagging middle. Because of the inspiration I got from watching TV, I’d regained the joy of writing and actually pulled myself out of my funk. That’s pretty powerful if you ask me.

I, of course, don’t lift entire plots or characters from programs or movies, but elements of those shows spark ideas of my own. It could be a line of dialogue (Dean Winchester from Supernatural and Spike from Buffy and Angel have some of the best lines!), some characteristic of a character, even the look of a character. Jared Padalecki, who plays Sam Winchester on Supernatural, was the inspiration for the hero in Coven. I like those tall, lean guys.

Out of Sight, my finalist in the current American Title contest sponsored by Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine was partly inspired by a what-if question and partly as a result of my fascination with characters with special abilities, superpowers. Characters like Superman, the X-Men and the Bionic Woman.

I don’t think a writer’s brain ever truly turns off, even when the owner of said brain is taking a break. If you’re parked in front of the silver screen or the small screen, more than likely some part of your brain is processing the stories and characters you’re seeing, trying to figure out if there’s something there to spark a story idea of your own — something unique from but inspired by someone else’s creation. And that’s pretty cool.

Is that my TiVo calling me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trish Milburn is a several-time Golden Heart finalist and winner (most recently in 2007 with her YA Coven and author of Heartbreak River, soon to be released by Razorbill/Penguin. She is also, as previously mentioned, a finalist in the American Title contest, so don't forget to go vote!

Thursday Thirteen #20

Thirteen Things I'm proud of this week

1. My First Guest Blogger

Don't forget, tomorrow my first guest blogger, Trish Milburn, will be talking about "Getting Writing Inspiration from TV and Movies," one of my favorite topics. She's a finalist in the American Title contest going on right now, so don't forget to go over and check it out.

2. Mary's Sale

I haven't mentioned this yet, I don't think, and that's not being a very good friend. Besides the fact that I've mentioned MaryF on this blog several times (she's the one who always tags me *g*), she has been poised for this moment for a very long time, and is one of the most deserving writers I know. Besides her very discriminating taste in things like Supernatural and music. Anyway...she sold her first book! *raucous cheers*

3. Filing

I caught up on Sunday/Monday on about three months worth of filing; it was nearly a foot high. But what's more remarkable than that is that my filing spot on my desk is still completely empty. Yes, I have filed every day this week. I know it's not much, but hey, it's longer than I've ever gone before.

4. Soccer bags

I was feeling guilty because I coordinated ordering soccer bags for Number Two's team, and we just got them this week, and there are only three games left in the season. There are several reasons outside of my control why it took five weeks to get them from the day I started coordinating, but I still felt guilty. But they are in and distributed and very, very nice and all the kids are thrilled and the parents pleased and no one at all was annoyed that it took so long.

5. Brochures

The brochures I made for today's author event came out very nice, even if they didn't stand out next to postcards of this.

6. My husband

A more fun, steadfast, willing, supportive, easy-going, responsible, loving, hard-working, tolerant man doesn't exist.

7. My kids

I've said enough on here to explain why.

8. Unanimous 5.0 ratings on Elance

It's nice to be appreciated for the things you feel are your strengths.

9. My MySpace

My blog readership on MySpace has gotten huge. At least, huge to me. :)

10. Supernatural

Well, not the show, of course, I have nothing to do with that. But I've successfully gotten to Thursday without having withdrawal symptoms, and I only watched last week's episode once. So far.

11. My weight

I'm below a certain psychologically significant number for the first time since I stopped nursing Number Two.

Yes, she's eight. And a half.

12. The New England Patriots

6-0 is a pretty darned good start. "They" say we haven't played anyone yet, but the teams we've played outside our division so far were playoff teams last year. "They" also say the NFL as a whole stinks. That may be, but the Patriots have still put together a damned good team, and it will take a lot to keep them from going all the way.

13. That I came up with 13 things I'm proud of, just so I could brag about the filing thing.

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Whack and Non-Whack

Things that are whack today:

1. The Otherworld Diner blog got an unusual spam comment on Friday. (It's deleted now--sorry.) In addition to being some incomprehensible mumble-jumble about gods and reincarnation and football and people in India and technology and college classes, it was over 122 pages and nearly 49,000 words long.

That's Craziness, Extended.

2. Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, saying the New England Patriots are definitely not the best team in football, without stating any evidence to back up his assertion.

Dallas was 5-0. New England was 5-0. Now New England is 6-0, after winning against Dallas 48-27. I'm not sure if he was implying that Dallas is the best team in the NFL, or someone else is. Some other team might certainly be better than New England. We'll get a chance to test the idea when we play Indianapolis in a few weeks. But Dallas is absolutely below New England on the list of the Best Teams. You can claim all you want that New England didn't beat Dallas, that Dallas beat themselves (and yes, 12 penalties for 100 yards goes a long way toward beating yourself). But then, a truly good team wouldn't beat itself, either, would it?

3. I dreamed I was back in school. Again. This time it was supposed to be Ichabod Crane, though the school was not, and my home was not. The most vivid part of the dream was walking home along a stream that ran along carved rocks, including between two rows of trees and inside a cavern. That didn't exist on the route to my house back when I was really going to that school. I was also supposed to be a senior but I gave my married name to people and my kids raced me back to the house.

Things that are not whack today:

Trish Milburn!

The American Title IV contest run by Romantic Times has opened for voting today. Trish is one of the ten finalists. Usually I know more than one finalist, and the notion of voting for people you like instead of the best content kind of rubs me the wrong way*, but this year not only is Trish the only person I know, her line really is the best! (Trust me--if I liked another one better I'd vote for it and never tell her :) )

Trish is one of those super-nice people who works really hard and is finally achieving some of the success she deserves. Because of that, she will be My Very First Ever Guest Blogger this Friday, 10/19. She'll be writing about something near and dear to my heart, getting inspiration from TV/movies. So make sure you check back Friday to get her take on this topic!

Don't worry, I'll remind you. ;)

In the meantime, head over to the American Title IV contest page and vote on the line you think is best. I'm betting you'll think it's Trish's. :)

*Those of you who've been around a while may remember me soliciting votes for The Romance Studio feature-of-the-month when they used to do that. I admit I encouraged everyone I knew to vote--but I did say to vote for whichever feature you liked best and pointed out why my competition was pretty great, too. So I'm really not being a hypocrite just because Trish is my friend. Honest.

Book Tag

I'm sure I have more to say, but I'm tired, so I'll just go with this tag from Mary:

Total number of books?


Like, in my whole house? Counting the ones in my office, the ones on the four sets of shelves in the family room, the ones in the bedroom (mine and Jim's), and the ones in both kids' rooms? Thousands, for sure, and what a futile task, logging them.

Um...no offense to those who log their books.

I'm down to about 30 on my TBR pile. *panics* Help! I need a conference!

Last book read?

Prom Dates From Hell by Cabot, Myracle, Harrison, Jaffe, and Meyer

Last book bought?

Technically, it's three copies of each of five of my own titles, for an event next week. But not my own, it's Crazy in Love by Lani Diane Rich.

Five meaningful books?

Man, that's tough.

First on the list has to be Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which is slightly different than what I saw on the other lists. This first book in the series launched my entire family on an odyssey of love and obsession. She had us with the cat reading the street sign.

After that, I really don't know. "Meaningful" is such a heavy word.

I'm going to say:

The first book I ever read by myself (no idea what it was).

The first time I read a book because of the romance in it (probably Little House on the Prairie when I was six).

The first book that made me consider being a writer (though I don't recall such a thing).

The last book I will ever read (and may I please not realize it at the time).

OMGs All Around

First, the short ones.

This will crack your a$$ up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday it was over 80 degrees and we had the A/C on.

Today it didn't reach 60, and we're running the furnace.

Yeah, THAT'S a stable climate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not quite OMG worthy, but notable:

My 12-year-old has been picking up books from the library that target an age group a little older than her. Normally YA readers read "up." So a 12-year-old will read about a 15-year-old, who will read about an 18-year-old. But she's been getting stuff for highschoolers and above. Not because of the content so much. One book was called Caribbean Cruising and she got it because of the Caribbean, as in Pirate of the. But it was about a girl the summer before her first year of college who wanted to have a one-night stand to lose her virginity. Another is a novella by Meg Cabot, part of Prom Nights From Hell. She adores Meg Cabot, but that book is targeting 9th grade and above.

I don't forbid her from reading the books, but I read them first. I know about them because the notification from the library that they are in comes to my e-mail address, so I check them out (in two ways! LOL) and if they seem like they might be too old for her, I read them first. I'm not averse to doing so because she begged me to read Cabot's Avalon High so we could talk about it and it ended up being one of my 10s for the year.

It has other side effects. I have just added all of Michele Jaffe's non-historical books to my Amazon Wish List, and I'm considering reading Stephanie Meyer, even though I hate vampire novels.

I am soooo glad YA publication has exploded. There was a dearth for a very long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, now the biggest OMG. Yes, it's Thursday, so it must be SUPERNATURAL!

And what a kick-a$$ show it was.

I loved every single minute of it. It felt a lot smoother and more natural than last week's episode. Sam didn't have enough of a role, but I just now realized that--it didn't bother me at all in the episode (and of course, the ending made up for any dearth of Sam, but we'll get to that).

The creepiness factor ranked higher than any season 2 episode, and probably ties with "Bloody Mary" for ongoing tension. Which made up for the fact that secondary characters had way more screen time than usual (are they trying to lighten Padackles' work load or something? How dare they!). The mother of the little girl was spectacular. The casting was great--the women were more diverse, less plastic than usual, even the gorgeous Lisa.

I like Ruby. Katie Cassidy is a good actress. She had a little less drama this episode, especially at the end, and OMGtheending.

One of my fellow obsessed fans has said she is so over Sam being the Chosen One. I can understand that, but I gasped three times in that final scene. I'm hella intrigued by what's going on. I mean, come ON! A not-so-bad demon? Who hunts other demons? And who can maybe help Sam save Dean? What she wants has to be pretty big if she's willing to offer that. Of course, this is episode two, and they've got to carry the Dean-dying arc over the whole season, so this was just a teaser, I'm sure.

Backing up. Ben was awesome. I wasn't too enamored of his smarmy eight-year-old love of the "chicks." But the way he helped and reassured the other kids, and his resourcefulness getting them out, and his bravery and quick-thinking--I would be proud to have him as my kid, and I never wanted boys!

I'd heard the premise of this ep in advance, and saw a couple of negative fan reactions. I figured the kid wouldn't be Dean's because it would either make him either an absent father (which is bad) or require his parenthood to be an ongoing element of the show (which is worse). But as I watched the beginning, when Dean was wondering, I thought, "Of course he's like Dean. She would have gone for other guys who were the same type. Most women do." (Right, Megan? ;) ) So I was really happy that she said that very thing at the end. And it's logical, given his randy reputation, to think there's a possibility of Little Winchesters somewhere. It was a good factor to address, especially in the context of his "new reality."

Of course, Sera Gamble wrote the episode, and hers always rank among my favorites. She layers nuance in there very well, all kinds of subtle things not just relating to Sam and Dean, like the motherhood stuff.

"Does that make me Pokey?"

*sigh* Is it (next) Thursday yet?

Bugger That

I haven't watched last night's Prison Break yet, but I indulged in spoilers since I figured I knew what was in the box. I was right. It totally sucks, and I blame the show, not the actress.

It's easy to say it was a mutual thing, that the producers tried hard to bring her back, and that it's understandable that she didn't want to cut her original 22 intended episodes to 13, 10, or 4. None of that really matters. Why?

Because killing her is the stupidest move they could have made.

I don't get the reasoning that Michael has no motivation if she's alive. Have these people never been in love? Dramatically speaking, it would be much more understandable for Michael to give up completely upon knowing that the woman he loves is dead. He has little reason to do what they want now. Yeah, yeah, LJ is still in danger, but come on. Is saving LJ REALLY a bigger incentive than saving Sara? I don't think so, and suddenly all my interest in the show has disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other "I can't believe they did that" news, it's been known for some time that Rachel Weis is not returning for Mummy 3, and her character is now being played by Maria Bello.

Bello is a good actress, one of my favorites, and I'm sure she'll do a decent job overall. But she's nothing like Weis and I find it hard to believe she can fill the roll of Evie believably.

Harming the film's interest is also the fact that it's been written by the guys who do Smallville. I deleted last week's show unwatched and canceled my Season Pass. So that doesn't excite me.

However, there is one damned good reason for going to see the movie anyway:

Things I'm Looking Forward To This Week

It's a messed-up week. My kids were off yesterday and today, which wreaks havoc on my schedule. I cleaned almost all day yesterday, got two pages written and the rest of the book planned in the evening.

Got a decent night's sleep, but even sleeping in today didn't really help me. I ended up with eight hours sleep and must have needed ten, because all day I've been wanting to close my eyes and doze off.

I keep thinking today is Wednesday. Which is whack, because I know Number One has practice tonight, and she only has practice on Tuesday, not Wednesday.

It should be illegal for it to be 87 degrees on October 9th in Pennsylvania. I'm tired of sweating, for Pete's sake!

So anyway, here are the things I'm looking forward to this week:

• Gilmore Girls: On Friday, my disk was cracked. I reported it right away, but they don't send stuff on Saturdays and yesterday was a stupid postal holiday, so I shall have two new disks tomorrow.


• Supernatural: This week's episode looks better than last week's. Creepier, anyway. And really, no episode of Supernatural is truly bad.


• Boot Squad: Friday I meet with my writers support group. Some of us really need the boost. Some of us need a kick. *raises hand* All of us need the recharge.


• Pay Day: No explanation necessary.


• Finishing Hummingbird: Last night I summarized the final scenes, which should make it very easy to write the last 40 pages. It WOULD make it easy, if my brain wasn't so frickin' fuzzy.


• Soccer: Both kids play away (pretty far away) on Saturday, but it's in the same town, so that's good. Of course, it's six hours apart. That's less good. Except my sister-in-law and her family live out that way, so that's great.


• Patriots football: I was going to say they're going 6-0 on Sunday, but that's not a given, especially after the Browns showed how to exploit our weaknesses. It should be a good game.
  

What are you looking forward to this week?

Ridiculousness

According to this article, Warner Bros. (the movie studio) is no longer interested in making movies with female leads.

I only read a page and a half of comments, but they were starting to piss me off, where the original story only amused me (in a disgusted way).

Several people defended the "decision" as being based on numbers and named certain movies, like Catwoman and Elektra and Stepford Wives as solid reasons why female lead = tanking box office, and that it is not a sexist decision.

I say it sure the hell is.

Besides the list of examples consist of very poorly conceived and even more poorly written movies, there are also plenty of successes. The Devil Wears Prada, anyone? How about Hairspray?

It also amuses me how people distort what they read. The article said WB doesn't want to make ANY movies with female leads. The commenters often addressed action films and comic book characters, but those are a very small sampling of the overall release schedule.

Of course, movies with any kind of single lead are rare, anyway, and usually artificial. A big name is perceived to sell tickets, so whoever the biggest name is in a movie gets top billing. The reality is that the top grossers every year are ensemble movies or movies with equal male/female leads...when they aren't animated, that is.

This is all indicative, though, of a bigger, long-term problem. Women are still undervalued in Hollywood (except maybe as studio heads). In every interview with a "hot" actress, she makes reference to the lack of good scripts for women. Female directors are rare, and female screenwriters are even rarer. Next time box office tallies are not inflated by a Harry Potter/Pirates/Spider-Man trifecta, I have one suggestion for those nearsighted studio heads:

Betsy Morris. :)

Random Friday

It is 85 degrees here in Central PA. It has been since Wednesday, when the average temperature was 13 degrees higher than normal.

My kids are in a soccer tournament this weekend. Number One did the same tourney last year, and we wore gloves and hats and wrapped up in blankets and ran from the wind to huddle in the car between games. This weekend it will be 85 all the way through.

Who'd know it was October?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So I've been missing Planters Cheese Curls/Balls for a long time. I can never find them anywhere, and figured they'd been discontinued. But I also figured nothing ever gets COMPLETELY discontinued, right? Like, you can go online and buy candy that was popular in the 50s. So last night I finally thought about it and decided to do a search.

All I found was a bunch of threads with people lamenting the discontinuation. I don't get it. They were the best cheesy junk food EVER. I don't like Cheetos nearly as much, and the big barrels of cheese balls are pretty terrible.

Not that, you know, the junk food isn't all terrible anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the past few days I've managed to use several of the "one post" tags I had here. One I haven't used yet is "Law." That one's tough. Let's see...I got nothin'. I might have to delete that one.

Hey! I just talked about it! Two-post tag, it is!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The CW has made some of their season and series premieres available at iTunes for free. They had Supernatural yesterday, and I downloaded it about ten hours before it aired on the network. It was torture not watching it.

Why didn't I? Partly because it's a show I watch with my husband. Partly because I had a lot of work to do. Partly because seeing it in advance, on my little monitor instead of my big screen TV, even in better clarity without commercials, would kinda kill the fun of the anticipation. I'll tell ya, though, by 7:30 I was really jonesing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How SPN stacked up to my hopes:

1. Yeah, baby!

2. They did do something new, I like the stone look, and the connection to season one with the electric zap thing--but nothing changed. Half a point. :)

3. We didn't get to see much of Ruby, but she sure intrigued me. Kick-ass characters always do. :) I want a knife like that. The moment when Sam knew he was being followed, and she disappeared, was way cool. I see a very adversarial relationship there.

4. Full point! I should keep a spreadsheet, see how many eps Sammy gets throttled in.

5. No Dean-wall-slamming. :(

6. There was no jerk-bitch routine. But Sam slamming on the car window was pretty funny.

7. Don't think JP got bigger, but his voice might be deeper. He's carrying himself a little heavier, a little more world-weary. Dying from a severed spine will do that, I hear.

8. N/A in this ep

9. Yes, not really, and very much. Not that it helped.

10. Sadly, no t-shirts.

11. Hope for the future

12. SO not.

13. Okay, so I didn't race to the computer (I watched Eureka and did laundry first) and I didn't really squee. There were plenty of great moments, such as the camera shot of Bobby when Isaac hit Dean and Dean was lying on the floor. And this line:

"Oh, so he kills somebody and we just sit here with our junk in our hands?"

The interaction between the brothers was still squeeze-worthy, and Bobby rocked the...well, the junked muscle car he was driving. :)

Next week looks verrry creepy. Sera Gamble wrote the ep, so it's sure to be one of my favorites. Can't wait!

Thursday Thirteen #19

Thirteen Things I'm Hoping About Supernatural Tonight/This Season

1. I hope they don't use the same "Saving People...Hunting Things...the Family Business" opening they've used for two years. It's a nitpicky thing, but I'm ready for new stuff.

2. I hope they do something new again with the show name, like last year they had the flames and the A turn into a pentagram. I especially want to see how long it takes Misty to notice whatever is new/changing. :)

3. I hope the actress who plays Ruby is better than her split-second moment in the preview indicates.

4. I hope Sammy gets throttled (I saw the preview, I already know he does *VBG*).

5. I hope Dean gets thrown up against a wall.

6. I hope they do the "Jerk" "Bitch" routine.

7. I hope Jared Padalecki is even bigger and his voice even deeper than last year.

8. I hope Dean doesn't do the single emo tear anymore. The finale last year kinda broke that dam wide open. Probably he won't do any crying, but if he does, I want it to be intense, heartbreaking, macho crying. Not "look how much control I have" because that's what it will be if he reverts to it.

9. I hope Dean has sex, and I hope we get to see some of it, and I hope it's got better lighting than "Route 666."

10. I hope the boys wear more T-shirts.

11. In fact, they can get shot in the shoulder again, either one of them, and have their T-shirts torn for repair, because man, have they got gorgeous arms.

12. I hope Sam matures a little and starts thinking about his brother and not just himself. Megan pointed out once that Dean wanting Sam to stay with him is just as selfish as Sam wanting to go off on his own, and I can't disagree--Dean's relationship with his brother has become very codependent. But Dean always does what Sam wants, always makes decisions to safeguard his brother, and if Sam truly wanted to go back to school, Dean would argue but wouldn't stop him. He didn't stop him in "Scarecrow." But Sam's focus has always been on what was happening to him and how things affected him, and rarely on what Dean was feeling and needing. I'd like to see a little outward focus this year. (Please note this is not a criticism of the show in any way.)

13. I hope, no matter what happens with any of the above, that at 10:00 p.m. I will be racing to my computer, eager to discuss the awesomeness of Supernatural with my fellow squee-ers.

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My Favorite Date

Today is my 15th anniversary. In honor of that, here are 15 random things I'm thinking/doing today:

1. I'm trying really hard not to watch the Supernatural Director's Cut. One more day! I can wait!

2. My keyboard started acting up this afternoon--and it's not even Merc retro for 9 more days! It was typing in all caps when the caps were off, and not in caps when the caps were on, and the * key on the keypad was stuck down. So I popped off the left Shift key and ohmylord, the cat hair. Ended up popping all the keys off to clean it (which doesn't freak me out the way it does Shannon). It has an odd touch now. Like it's smoother, but also takes more effort to depress.

3. While popping and cleaning the keys, I noticed that not only is my E completely worn off, my L is nearly so. S, M, and O are not far behind, and those I get. But L?

4. I bought the new Supernatural comic today. Don't know why I bother. The art is not to my taste and the story line doesn't thrill me. Saw the cliffhanger coming, though not until the end. I'm just always hoping to see more Wee!Dean and Baby!Sam, I guess.

5. Tom Brady is totally hot.

6. We watched our wedding video with the kids tonight. OMG, the hair. 1992 hair was an awful lot like 1987 hair. I couldn't believe all the women who wore it in that frizzy perm but pulled it all forward over their shoulders so there was no hair hanging in the back. My favorite part of the video is still at the end of the ceremony, where someone opened the side door as we started down the aisle, and my very long veil swept sideways and across the crowd, causing Aunt Phyllis to duck or be strangled.

7. We also watched Heroes (both eps) tonight. From the reviews and comments I was expecting to be underwhelmed, but I really enjoyed it. Better than the whole first season, I think. I love Matt and Mohinder taking care of Molly together, and Mohinder and HRG's plan to take down the Company--and winning, so far! I love Badass !Peter and Hey-I-Can-Heal!Kensei (I could just eat David Anders up), and I REALLY love that there was no Nikki/Jessica yet. I could do without the twins, and would have preferred Angela die first instead of Sulu. But overall, a good showing. Oh, but TiVo cut off the end because I didn't have it set to go over a minute or two, and we didn't see what happened after the Flying Kid saw Claire cut off her toe and it grew back. She ran outside, and freeze. So what happened?

8. My book will not be done by my self-imposed (19th) deadline. I only have about 35, 40 more pages, but I'm also doing a proofing job, and since that's paid work and the novel is the fifth in line to be shopped/sold, there's no rush on it.

9. I'm also quite convinced the book sucks, it definitely isn't as good as the three that came before it, but I'm not gonna worry about it now. I'll lament it during edits.

10. The comments trail at PubRants today is very amusing reading.

11. My next Gilmore Girls disk is coming from Lansing, MI, because that's apparently the closest warehouse that has a copy. Which meant it did not get shipped yesterday like it was supposed to, and even worse, it will take two days to get here AND two days to get back, delaying the NEXT disk. Geez, you think I'm spoiled much? It shouldn't matter. I had TV to watch with J tonight and tomorrow is Supernatural, and we still haven't watched Numb3rs and I have a new Prison Break and the season finale of Eureka to watch. I don't need the Gilmore Girls DVDs, especially since I'm not thrilled with the current Dean situation (Rory broke up his marriage and now it seems to be awkward between them unless it's about sex and I know he only has about half a dozen episodes left and I shall MEEESS HIM even though I know he does Supernatural during GG season 6 and I wouldn't trade THAT for anything in the world). But I'm like a junkie. A fast-paced, witty dialogue junkie.

12. Karmela is right. TV is evil. Well, that's not really what she said. But it's gotta be, right? Taking over our lives like this...

13. I got J an iPod for our anniversary. I was running errands tonight so Number One was showing him how to use iTunes and work his iPod. She told me "that's how it goes, the kid always shows the parents." I told her that's not how it is for ME, thank you very much, and she said, "Well, no, Moms are smarter." HEE. Someone's raising my kids right.

14. October 3 is my favorite date of the year. Not just because it's my anniversary, because we only make a big deal out of it maybe every two out of five years or so (not evenly distributed, as we did a cruise for 10 and Manassas for 11). But October 3 is the date German reunification was officially completed, associated with the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Cleveland Indians played their last game at Municipal Stadium on October 3. And the date just rolls nicely off my tongue, and looks good, too.

15. It wasn't always that way. J and I met the first week of school my freshman year, 1988. On October 28 we went to the Barn Party his frat threw, and then November 5th the pledge formal, and we've been together ever since. He graduated in May 1990, and proposed that August. We weren't going to get married until after I graduated in May 1992 (I ended up graduating early, December 1991) so we'd have two years before the wedding date. I knew I wanted October, and fall is his favorite season, too, so he was all for it. So I counted ahead and said "Okay, let's get married October 4th." I forgot the leap year in 1992! I think his parents checked a calendar and said, "Ummm, that's a Sunday?" But for the longest time I kept saying October 4th, both before and AFTER the wedding.

Road Trip! Or...not

So the movie Ten Inch Hero has a special screening on October 27 at noon, in conjunction with some Supernatural Fan Gathering.

In Vancouver.

Totally great road trip, right? Megan has the Impala, there's a great movie and a gathering of fans in a place where we could totally get a chance to see Padackles in action, right?. Load all my fellow Supernatural freaks into the car, head on out for the Best. Trip. Ever.

Except it's, like, a two-day drive from Pennsylvania to Vancouver. And most of us have kids, and/or day jobs. And flying is still 12 hours and costs, like, $800.

So I guess THAT'S not gonna happen.

Premiere Week Results (and label issues)

I was looking at my tags, or labels, yesterday, and I realized I've been remiss. This is my 450th Blogger post (not sure which for MySpace and LJ) and I have three tags I use a lot: Writing, TV, and Supernatural. But I have 16 labels I've used only once. And that's appalling.

There's something pathetic about that lonely number one, so I'm going to make an effort with every one of the next 16 posts to address one of those tags, in order, so that (1) becomes (2).

Today's label is "birthdays." Kind of surprising that I only have one post with that. I'm sure I've mentioned MY birthday, for example. Which is the next one in my immediately family. Last year I was post migraine and my husband was sick in bed all day, so my kids watched TV while I read most of the day. He felt bad, but I did no chores and made no meals, and that was all that mattered. :) I always look forward to "My Day" and it doesn't matter if this year is any different than last (though we can do without the migraines and the flu, thanks.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, on to Premiere Week.

I admit to being pretty disappointed overall, but there are some bright spots.

Prison Break
I was uncertain after the first episode, which was a week earlier than anything else. Like a lot of people, I was turned off by the violence. I also am very unhappy about Sara being off the show. But the final moment gave me hope--it lent urgency and personal emotion to the situation. It didn't bother me, though, that all the people had wound up in Sona. Some of it was orchestrated, as we saw at the end of season two. Mahone and Michael being there was, at least.

The second episode really locked me in, though. I LOVE LOVE LOVE when they are smart! Michael blowing up the blocked pipe so water would flow again. Lincoln being told he's the dumb brother, but having TWO copies of the bird guide and handing over the wrong one. GENIUS. I also love the moments they have at the fence. When Linc told Michael he'd trade places with him in an instant, and Michael put his hand on the fence and said, "I know." My heart sighed.

Ugly Betty
Eh. Fat Amanda looks ridiculous. I don't mind her being fat--I do mind the way they did it. I hate them for the Santos thing. Part of the reason I wasn't looking forward to the new season was because they'd killed him. Then they say, "Nope, he's okay!" I suspected she was hallucinating him except Justin had no negative emotion. They wrote it that way to not give away their oh-so-poignant big reveal at the end, but it backfired. First, I hate that Santos is dead. He was my favorite character because of the effort he was making for his son. Secondly, Justin being totally unconcerned that he lost his father? Making fun of his mother for not coming out of her room for three weeks? Bad job.

I can't dredge up any interest in the rest of it. I'll keep watching because Betty is a great character and I love her relationship with Daniel and Mark and Amanda are hilarious, but I am tired of Wilhelmina and Bradford and I can only roll my eyes that they have made this a true soap opera with an amnesia plot line.

Smallville
Stupid. I am going to stop watching.

I haven't watched Heroes or Numb3rs yet because my husband hasn't been in the mood. Tonight is a Patriots game so probably not until later in the week will we catch up. And, of course, I'm holding off on Chuck, Private Practice, Bionic Woman, Pushing Daisies, and Reaper.

Supernatural starts in three days!!!!!