Salute to Supernatural--Ramblings on Wednesday

There were three essential elements to the convention: The Q&As, the photo opps, and the autographings.

The photo opps were pretty impressive. Once the line starts moving, it goes fast, which is great until you get in front of the camera. Then you barely have time to register "OMGI'mTouchingJasonMannsHisBackIsSweatyOMG" before it's done. Creation's FAQs say they take about 15 seconds, but it's really closer to 10. Megan and I got almost all ours together, so add the time it took to remind Chris we were doing two, and we got maybe 23 seconds with each celebrity.

But the quality is really good. At first glance, I would actually think "Wow, that's perfect." Then I'd realize my upper lip disappears when I smile, and I have a bit more double chin than I should, and even that Misha's conserving his smile in my copy.

And then I realize it's a picture with Misha Freakin' Collins and it goes back to perfect.

The autographings are the opposite. Not at all rushed, which is nice once you get up there, but realllllly slow until then. We were in row C (Lori in D) and probably had to wait half an hour before they called us to get in line, then another 15 or 20 minutes in the line itself--less time for Chad, who was alone, and because we only had about half the attendance on Friday, and more on Sunday with having four autographers at once.

Because I have the most awesomest best friend in the world, I got special autographs. She gave me a small notebook with pictures of Sam and Dean in it, and I used that for signatures. Every single person exclaimed at how cool it was and flipped through it. I'd printed and glued photos of the other actors so they had their own pages, too.

Which meant that Chad saw a picture of Jared shirtless, and joked about it, and then he wrote "Natalie, Sorry I don't have any shirtless shots like Jared." I teased that after his documentary, My Big Break, comes out, we'll have plenty. He laughed. I basked. (And when I got home, I changed his picture because he's a doll and needs a doll picture, not an Ash picture.)

Jason Manns signed stuff for free. I hadn't put him in my book or brought anything to be signed, because I was going to have him sign stuff for my friends who couldn't come. But when the time came, I panicked and went to buy a picture of him. It's an old headshot, and it's very nice but doesn't look at all like him anymore. And then Chris was handing out the photos from the photo opp, so I had TWO for him to sign. I ended up going through the line twice.

Saturday we got signatures from Richard, Gabe, and Traci. Richard said the pages were like sheet music, drew a few notes, and wrote "Play that!" Gabe's photo was Andy, and he identified the scene and wrote a speech bubble saying "Can I have it?" Traci drew a "(heart) & Rock n' Roll!" with a musical note.

On Sunday I got caught up in talking to the guests, so they focused less on the writing. But they had room so did more than just sign their names:

Malik: To Natalie All my Love Love is Great Charles Malik Whitfield 09 Baby

Todd: 2 Natalie What a Pleasure!

Misha: From One Angel to Another (which he also wrote on Lori's photo)
I also got my photo with Misha signed, and since that was with Megan, he wrote "Thanks for the Threesome!" Made me giggle. :)

Jim: Love and Luck

The Q&As are all a blur to me. I remember a few stories, which will be recounted all over the web. The highlights:

Chad Lindberg's documentary sounds intense. I really hope they get distribution for it. Check it out at My Big Break. It shows the seedier side of Hollywood, and I don't mean the hookers. Wait. He didn't say there weren't hookers...


Richard Speight, Jr., was a great speaker, very confident and smart and funny. He writes screenplays and said that's actually his first love, writing. He talked a little about Jericho and how in the episode where Eric's wife died, he was filming Supernatural so he flew in, put on his deputy uniform, drove up in a squad car, looked grave, and that was it. He flew back to Vancouver. The funniest thing to me is that I remember that shot, and how well he did it! LOL His promo moment was for Open Water 2, out now on DVD. I would never ever have watched it before I met him, but now I absolutely have to. Oh, for added appeal, he said we get to see Eric Dane's butt. (I think he referred to him as a Scottish shower aficionado--McSteamy.)


Gabriel Tigerman kind of surprised me. I mean, he had two episodes, two years ago, and there's very little chance his character can come back. On Supernatural, of course, no one ever has to be completely gone, but getting your chest ripped out by a "little demon girl," as he put it, is pretty terminal. But he was very sweet, very funny, and 100% charming. He told the best story of the day, about his own fanboy moment. I can't do it justice, so I'll let you go find it elsewhere. He wrote an independent film, Skills Like This getting limited release as we speak. Look for it!


And finally, we had Traci Dinwiddie. She was as sweet as everyone else, a little shy, but so eager and willing to connect with us, despite being horribly sick. She was very much a girl, lugging a big purse up on stage with her, something I found amusing because I'm so not like that. She told an adorable story and was so embarrassed but plowed through and it wasn't as bad as she made it seem. I can't wait to see her back on the show. (I just checked, and it's tomorrow! Wheee!)

I'm going to stop there for today, because my volunteer period at the middle school book fair is almost up and I won't have time to do more than upload this later. So... stay tuned. The really good stuff is still to come.

Salute to Supernatural—The Part I Wrote on Tuesday

I was going to talk about a different aspect of the convention every day this week, breaking it into a variety of topics, and then I typed 676 words so boring I was dozing off. Which, you know, after three nights of four hours of sleep, isn't that hard, but you don't deserve that.

So I'm just going to talk randomly about different things until I think I've done enough for the day or the to-do pile caves in on me, and then post some more tomorrow.

If you want organized, comprehensive, hitting all the big highlights, you can read my Supernatural Sisters post, which went up today.

First thing that pops into my head:

Breakdown of Who Watches the Show and Who Doesn't (in order of appearance):

Chad Lindberg—Only watched the episodes he's in. Admits it with such a puppy-dog look you can't care.

Richard Speight, Jr.—Only watched the episodes he's in. Is so freakin' awesome all around, you don't care.

Gabriel Tigerman—Only watched the episodes he's in. And he was so sweet and endearing, you don't care.

Traci Dinwiddie—Watches it all, is a big fan of the show. I think everyone understood why the others haven't seen it--when you're in only two eps, and guest-starring on a bunch of different shows, it makes sense that you're not going to become an automatic viewer of all of them. But the crowd really loved that Traci is a big fan. Pam returns to the show, and one attendee asked her for tidbits and spoilers. The crowd didn't like that, but it didn't matter, because Traci, as a fan, is a big believer in not revealing cool or important stuff.

Jim Beaver—He didn't specifically say if he watches the episodes he's not in, but he's in enough that he knows the show and everything around it pretty well.

Todd Stashwick—Again, I don't think he specifically said, but he referenced things so that you could tell he's seen more than just his one episode.

Charles Malik Whitfield—He asked for the DVDs when he arrived on set and started watching from the pilot. Watched the pilot, got up and turned the lights back on. :) He's watched the whole series.

Misha Collins—Like Todd, I don't think he made clear how much he's actually watched, but he knows the show well enough that I couldn't tell for sure if it was from the inside or from watching it.

The way the convention went (which is presumably different than it would have been with Jared present), Friday was very moderately paced and only half-attended; Saturday was a big speedier, with more guests and more to do, but still with big gaps of time and lots of filler; and Sunday was boom-boom-boom, one thing to another, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (later for those who didn't score row C!).

Consequently, the guests on Friday and Saturday had more time to do the things they needed to do, which allowed for a more casual atmosphere and more approachability--as well as more opportunity to approach.

Friday and Saturday had more filler, too. Music videos (fan made, of varying quality, and with too much emphasis on seasons 1 and 2). An auction of vendor merchandise which was fun to watch because the emcee was amusing and, you know, Misha's face on a four-foot banner? Always delightful to stare at while people fight for it.

(Misha's banner was auctioned on Sunday and went for $500. The ones of the boys would probably have gone for more if they'd been there to sign them, but the banners that were going to be signed by all nine people in attendance sold for less than $200!)

They had a yes/no trivia game, where the last person standing won a $200 gift certificate (hi, Kayleigh!). I finally got up the guts to drag Lori up with me in the third round, and of course we got out with the first question. I know! But in our defense: The question was "The shapeshifter in the episode 'Skin' changed into three other people." There was no time to think, to count, and it sounded close, so we said yes. As did 26 other people on stage. Two were left standing after the first question. So we don't feel stupid at all.

Ahem.

They also held a costume contest. Megan went as:



Dean's favorite food, of course.

There was the girl from "Bloody Mary," a female Sam and Dean, a crossroads demon, and someone who'd made up her own character, complete with backstory on why she died and why she was a vengeful spirit. Third prize went to two young guys--who didn't know each other--who were passable imitations of youngish adult Sam and Dean. The Sam was best, and really hammed it up, showing his anti-possession tattoo. :)

Bobby took second place, and I was surprised, because the guy looked simultaneously just like Bobby, and nothing like him.



First place was no contest, though. A guy in a giant teddy bear costume, with stuffing coming out of his blown-open head, complete with a copy of Busty Asian Beauties and a chalkboard with his suicide note. When the emcee asked him who he was, he said, plaintively, "I don't know why I'm here!"



I think that's enough for one day, so let me leave you with some random beauty:













And this video, which tied for my favorite of the tribute vids shown at the con:

Teaser

I don't have time to post yet about the Salute to Supernatural! First thing Tuesday (like, midnight eastern time) I'll have a highlights post over at Supernatural Sisters, and I'll have posts here all week with details of my TREMENDOUS experience, but for now, here's a teaser:

T minus 12 hours and counting...

In just over 12 hours, I will be on my way to an event I never dreamed I'd be able to attend. Okay, so a lot of the shine is off it, but I'm still excited. Besides the guests, they've got games and auctions and music videos, and I'm anticipating a vibe you wouldn't find anywhere else. Who needs stinkin' Jared Padalecki, anyway?

I'm taking my laptop, but honestly not expecting to have time or inclination to post anything before I get back. Stay tuned next week, I'm sure I'll have plenty to say.

In the meantime, the writing is going well (EEK that's a long book!) and I'll be done early next week. Stay tuned for screaming sometime this spring. Yes, I'm that confident. :)

And I guess that's really all I have to say. Two short posts in a row, can you believe it?

Have a good weekend!

Supernatural March Madness!

If you've been reading my blog for a year, you'll remember when my friend Gail did Supernatural March Madness last year. Well, she's doing it again! (That link takes you to this year's, not last year's.)

Head over and vote for your favorite episodes, and make sure to keep going back for upcoming brackets. If you scroll down a little, you'll see the explanation for how it works.

Be warned. Not all of the matchups are difficult, but some are very much so. Choosing between "Lazarus Rising" and "Ghostfacers"? Not fair, man, not fair. Well, for me, anyway.

So join in the fun! Right now! :)

Mommy and MeMe

This is going around the Internet. I wondered if my kids would answer the same, so I had them write their answers down. Number One is 13.5 and Number Two is almost 10.

Ask your kid these questions and write them down exactly how they respond.

1. What is something mom always says to you?

Number One: *blank stare* then "what do you want?" (with regard to snack choices)
Number Two: Chew with your mouth closed.

2. What makes mom happy?

Number One: Jensen and Jared.
Number Two: When I chew with my mouth closed.

3. What makes mom sad?

Number One: Jared ditching the convention.
Number Two: When I don't chew with my mouth closed.

At this point, Number Two was cracking herself up.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Number One: Sarcasm.
Number Two: By not trying to make us laugh.

5. What was your mom like as a child?

Number One: IDK, like me?
Number Two: Poofy hair.

6. How old is your mom?

Number One: 38
Number Two: 38

7. How tall is your mom?

Number One: approximately 5'2"
Number Two: 5'6", taller than me, way taller than me, huge

I'm actually 5'4", thank you very much.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Number One: Blog, IM, giggle over hot guys...basically being a teen.
Number Two: Write and read.

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?

Number One: Same as 8, then clean, go to the club, or work
Number Two: Watch TV and invite friends over

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Number One: Writing a bestselling novel
Number Two: Writing romance novels

11. What is your mom really good at?

Number One: Writing, listening
Number Two: Writing romance novels, cleaning

12. What is your mom not very good at?

Number One: Listening, yelling
Number Two: Making me laugh, tickling

13. What does your mom do for her job?

Number One: An author, and she does editing work on the side
Number Two: Editing and writing books and stories

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?

Number One: Pasta, chocolate, Pringles
Number Two: Popcorn

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

Number One: She achieved her goal of becoming a full-time writer, and she isn't that embarrassing
Number Two: She's a successful author who published many books

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Number One: Marge Simpson (from the movie, common sense person)
Number Two: Wanda from Fairly Oddparents (she likes things in order)

17. What do you and your mom do together?

Number One: Watch Supernatural, eat, and read
Number Two: Play games and read

18. How are you and your mom the same?

Number One: Infinite possibilities: we both like to write and read, we both have the same food tastes, we like the same TV shows, guys, have basically the same conversations, and impatient
Number Two: We both like to read

19. How are you and your mom different?

Number One: She's a little bit more temperamental *cringes in fear*
Number Two: I love to play soccer; Mom didn't when she was my age

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Number One: She tells me every night, and yells it out the door when I leave for school
Number Two: Hugs, kisses, smiles, says "I love you"

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?

Number One: Megan's, the movies, club
Number Two: Her office and the café

Teasing Day

A lot of people I know in other parts of the country are enduring snow and ice storms, or the aftermath, so I'm not complaining. But the weather today has been a big, noisy tease. Temps went up, sun came out...then it started spitting ice and the temp dropped again. Then the sun came out again. Now it feels bitter.

The revisions have been going well, but I was just about to tackle chapter 15 and it needs some bigger changes. Dinner hour is not conducive to that, so it's going to wait, probably for Monday, though if I can get some done on the weekend, I'll be much happier. My half of the tax stuff is done, and I did my weekly column update and submitted some editing/proofreading bids. Pretty productive day, all in all. Will spend the rest of the evening critiquing.

I've been spending a lot of my off hours watching Bones on DVD, and just finished season 3. I understand why the people I know who watch it love it. Boreanaz and Deschanel have as much chemistry (of a different sort) as Ackles and Padalecki, and they are surrounded by excellent secondary characters. The extreme forensics angle is cool, too.

Two small problems, though. First, of course, I'm just sick over Zack. How could they take him from us two seasons in a row? And I guess this time is pretty permanent. The other thing is regarding Bones and Seely. He's just about perfect. He does all this sweet stuff for her--the Christmas tree outside the prison, the Brainy Smurf, telling her she gave Zack a lot (a home, ref. the job offer letter, in the season 3 finale), even allowing her to use him to cast suspicion on her in her father's trial. But what does she do for him? I know she's very stuck in her own head, very bottled up emotionally, but she does nice things for other people. I'd like to see her think of him from time to time.

Now I have to find some way to catch up with this season. There are no repeats before the new eps start on March 12 (I have one recorded), but eps 11-14 are available online, for free. I hate to pay for all the rest at iTunes, but I'm not going to bitorrent (I can't decide how that's spelled) them, so I guess I'll have to. I saw that the Gravedigger is back--that was my favorite episode, I think. Except for the kiss one, under the mistletoe. Anyway, I do have other things to watch along the way. The little TV time I've had has been on the laptop waiting for the kids to go to bed, so tonight I shall catch up on some other stuff, like Lost and Terminator and maybe Leverage. If I can stay awake that long.

Everyone have a good weekend! That's an order!

Observations on Food

*I had a coupon today for Hostess. I realized that I'd never given my kids Twinkies. Obviously, there's a reason for that, but I figured one taste wouldn't kill them, and pop culture is full of Twinkie jokes, so they need to understand their origins. I also realized I hadn't had Twinkies in a really long time, either.

OMG they suck. I haven't eaten anything so horrible that was supposed to be good in, like, ever. I actually threw it away.

**I wanted to get some nuts today, too, and the store had Planter's cashew halves and pieces on sale. I'd recently decided I like the halves and pieces better than whole cashews, because they're crunchier and have more of a roasted flavor. Bonus: they're cheaper. So the ones I bought today have "Pure Sea Salt" on them. I didn't know what that would mean. The stuff I've eaten with sea salt before didn't have a regular-salt equivalent.

OMG, these are good! I have no idea if there's a health benefit to sea salt (i.e. lower sodium level?) but yuu-uum.

***Have you noticed the new trend in fundraising? Instead of spending way too much money on junky trinkets or teeny containers of nuts/candy/cheese or whatever, you go out for dinner. Ten or twenty percent of your bill is donated to the school, library, charity, organization, etc., sponsored that night. It's nice because no one is keeping a tally of who participated or not, you don't have to try to sell junk to friends/family, and you're getting something you like.

Only problem is, we can't afford to eat out often enough to support Number One's academic team, her school's PTO, Number Two's school's PTO, the soccer club, the local library, and Operation Wildcat (the organization collecting for needy local families).

****My cats are weird. They get the exact same amount of the exact same food in their bowls. About halfway through the meal, they switch. BG goes to the bathroom, so Maya starts eating out of her bowl, and Frisbee goes to check if the dog left anything in hers. BG comes back, but Maya's in her bowl, so she goes to Frisbee's, who, disappointed by the licked-clean dog dish, comes over to Maya's.

It wouldn't be an issue except Maya keeps gaining weight (she's way beyond chunky now) and BG had glucosamine on her food now, and if she doesn't eat it, she's not getting the benefit. And if Frisbee manages to score dog food, she goes all demon-cat on us when we shoo her away.

Your turn. What food-oriented observations have YOU made recently?

Oh, Yeah, And...

About Lost this week.

I haven't been inspired to talk about it much, until this ep. (Tracy, I totally forgot! We'll talk tomorrow!)

I've read a couple of media blogs and no one has said anything close to this:

When Ben said he had something to do, or a promise to keep, or whatever he said, did no one else scream "No!!! Not Pennyyyyyy!!!!" at the TV? Did he not promise Charles that he would punish him for taking his daughter, Alex? Which means killing Penny?

My hope is that Penny totally kicked his ass.

Enough of That

Let's talk about some happy stuff.

This makes me happy, even though it's still 17 days away:



So much to squee over. Something good? My favorite reaper? Evil Dean? Superhero Sammy? EEEEEEEEEEEEEE! March 12 can't come soon enough.

Let's see, what else?

My mammogram today was negative. My mother died of breast cancer, and first contracted it at age 37, so I've been getting them for the last five years. This year, they also provided a probability profile for me. I'm 0.9% likely to get breast cancer in the next five years. That's three times more likely than the general population, but as risks go, it's pretty low.

Despite the FB debacle and the mammogram and the other errands I ran while I was out (bagels from the place that makes them by hand, yum; library; gas), I had a pretty productive day. I got through one and a half chapters, and plan to finish the second one before tonight. I also sorted the receipts for the taxes. It's a much less overwhelming job if I break it into pieces. I'll be done by the end of the week.

Tomorrow Number Two has after-school club, and Wednesday she has after-school orchestra, giving me an extra half hour of work time both days.

I'm excited about seeing Race to Witch Mountain. I don't remember if I posted about this before. I read the first book again recently (Escape to Witch Mountain, and am about halfway through the second (Return from Witch Mountain) now.

Of course, when reading books this old, you have to allow for the decades that have passed. The first book was fine, but the majority of it had little happening, and the ending was sooo disappointing because suddenly we're not in the kids' POV anymore, so we don't actually see Witch Mountain or what it's like for them to be reunited with their family/people. The second book starts with an absolutely ridiculous scene, even for 1978. The uncle is rewarding the kids with a little vacation, so he drops them off at the Rose Bowl and leaves them for a week. WTF? Who does that with kids? There's absolutely no reason for him not to stay with them. They have to take a taxi to their hotel, but of course it all goes awry. Once again, despite the inherent action in the premise, it's a pretty passive story.

But I've been "matching" the bits from the trailer with the book, and I'm eager to see what they've changed. It looks like they've reversed Tia and Tony in terms of age/leadership, and given the cab driver a bigger role than the two pages he has in the book (maybe he shows up again in the book, I don't know yet).

Anyway, looking forward to that. Unfortunately, I'll be in New Jersey not seeing Jared Padalecki when it comes out, so we'll have to wait a week (assuming the family doesn't go see it without me!).

Okay, your turn! Tell me something positive.

Facebook F*****s

A while ago, tired of all the plants and vampires and pokes and quizzes on Facebook, and not seeing any real value in being there, I deactivated my account.

Recently, more and more authors have been doing Facebook and talking about Facebook. I wasn't interested in going back, but three weeks ago I was looking for someone and they appeared to have a Facebook page, which I couldn't see without membership, so I reactivated my account. It was supposed to be temporary--I had huge misgivings being there, because I had just read about the 419 hacking scam, and Facebook seems to be very vulnerable. But I got friended by friends, and my family has become active on FB, and FB has been all the rage in writing circles, so even though I still don't see the value, I stayed.

Big f****g mistake.

Yeah, I got hacked, and I am pissed. It happened last night but I wasn't online so I didn't find out until this morning. I deactivated my account, apparently still logged in (and the bastard reactivated it immediately). So I changed the password, sent a message to the affected people who got the spam from my account, and deleted the account permanently.

What a freakin' waste of time.

This is Why It's Called "Crushed"

Jared Padalecki canceled on the NJ Salute to Supernatural.

I am shocked at the magnitude of my disappointment. I mean, I've been saying for months that I'm almost more excited to see Jason Manns and Misha Collins. Apparently, I've been lying.

I found out when M texted me last night, though I didn't see the text until this afternoon. It was exactly like someone had wrapped me in a bubble and started drawing the air out of it. I had to buy some dark chocolate toffee medication, and then I bought Cheetos. I let my kids drink Coke with lunch. Classic signs of depression.

The whole idea of being crushed at not getting to meet a celebrity feels ridiculous. I mean, I have friends who've lost loved ones recently. And jobs. And book contracts. There are so many far worse things going on even among the privileged, never mind the underprivileged and worse. And yet, I still feel...crushed.

Intellectually, and even somewhat emotionally, I get it. And I'm not even surprised. He was scheduled for three cons this month, and many people thought that would be too much. Maybe his "unforeseen personal commitment" is a serious or unavoidable thing. And from his perspective, we're just a bunch of nobodies. The faceless mass of interchangeable bodies aren't important, compared to, say, a nephew's birthday party or a meeting with a producer regarding a movie role to film this summer. But I'm not always a naive idealist, and I can't help imagining him partying with a couple of well-endowed twins in Malibu while we trudge through slush in Joisey to commiserate with each other.

Creation Entertainment auctioned off a private lunch with Jared, for $2,300 each. I found that kind of squicky, since the money wasn't going to charity. It's like...paying someone to be your friend, or something. I figured Creation was being greedy, because you could just set a flat fee and do a lottery of all those people willing to pay. And Creation is charging a $7.25 shipping and handling fee for tickets they are E-MAILING. That's EACH TICKET. So if you buy two photo ops, you pay $14.50 to get one e-mail. It still pisses me off to think about it. Anyway, now I find myself changing my opinion a little. If that lunch had been for charity, and the lunch is now canceled, either the people who paid wouldn't get what they paid for and are out the money, or the charity would lose thousands of dollars.

They've added four new attendees, all of whom I expect to be good speakers, and we are getting refunds for the photo ops so I'll probably use that money to get one with Jim Beaver, instead. It won't NOT be a fun time. It's just...

Now how am I going to tell Jared he's not allowed to be in any more horror movies?

TIH, FT13, and UTM

I could not wait. I wanted to gather a group of friends to have a movie night, but I can't see it happening soon enough. So I rented Ten Inch Hero this week.

(That link takes you to the Blockbuster Online page. Blockbuster has exclusive rental rights, so sorry, no Netflix. The stores should have it to rent--that's where I got it--and the clerk and other fans have all said it can be ordered to buy. The TIH people also just announced that it will soon be available to buy in other outlets, like Amazon, too.)

It was a far better movie than most of the romantic comedy crap that's been in the theaters lately. Sweet and funny and heartwarming. People make mistakes and do idiotic things but care about each other enough to both help and tell them when they're being idiots. The cast chemistry was excellent, and the best part of the film.

I know you'll think I'm biased, but out of a very talented ensemble, Jensen Ackles stood out. Okay, Clea Duvall made me cry, but Jensen Ackles made me fall in love, over and over again during the hour-and-a-half film. I really hope he gets copies of this to show to studios and stuff. He's so much better than so many actors getting big roles. I know that as a TV star, his schedule is limited, and both being on The CW and filming in Vancouver hide him even more, but man. One viewing of one of his scenes in TIH, and anyone should want to hire him.

I do have a few nitpicks with the film. (minor) SPOILER ALERT!!!! How can a sandwich shop with four paying customers a day afford a staff of five people? There was never anyone in there! :) I liked how all of the story threads played out, but I wished Tish was a little more developed so we could see more likable things about her, and I wished Jen had gotten courage herself, especially after Priestly called her out (and rightly so!). And as much as it made my heart swell, I was a little bothered by Priestly's ending. His willingness to do what he did was courageous and telling, but he shouldn't have had to do it. (Plus, where'd the holes go? LOL)

Those are small things, though. I can't wait to buy it and watch it again, and heartily encourage everyone who loves sweet, emotional movies to give it a try!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I went to see Friday the 13th this week, too. I would say "spoiler alert" again, but it's kind of hard to spoil something so predictable. I mean, we all know how many people are allowed to survive in a slasher flick, right?

So here are my thoughts on FT13 summed up in 4 points:

1. Jared Padalecki is hot, and so big no one makes a motorcycle big enough for him.

2. A movie that keeps showing potential gory weapons but fails to use them adequately, if at all, is lame.

3. A movie with absolutely no plot (the story line was "kill the a**hole, kill the sl**, kill the sweet guy, kill the stoner, kill the nice girl, kill the di**" [listed in no particular order]) and no logic (why did no one get killed in 20 years?) isn't worth the price of admission, unless it's a matinee. Or stars Jared Padalecki.

4. Why can't a hero just be a nice guy doing the right thing? Why does he have to have a jerky backstory for which he is trying to atone?

We screamed a lot, which was fun, even for the three people in the theater who weren't part of our group. At one point I was trying to stop myself from hiding my eyes, but then I thought, "Jared's not in this scene, you don't have to look." I appreciated that permission. And I'm totally telling Jared he's not allowed to do any more horror movies. I can't take it. (If the miraculous happens, and Jensen shows up because, like, he's lonely or something, I'll tell him that, too.)

All in all, My Bloody Valentine was better; our opinions were unanimous, of those of us who'd seen both. It had more story, more characterization, more tension, more motivation, and much more Jensen than we got of Jared. Plus, the 3D rocked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things are going really, really well on Under the Moon. After the struggle to get chapter one right, I'm in love with the book and characters again. And what I learned from chapter one is really helping add depth and emotion to the rest of the book. I'm almost halfway through and expect to finish by the end of the month, barring any unexpected work uprising.

So that's all tonight! Have a good weekend, everyone!

Bloggin' Around

I'm not blogging around, not right now. But here are some interesting things to visit:

Vicki Smith has some sage advice about not just dreaming, but working hard to make them happen.

Tracy Madison, whose book comes out next week, has been hosting guest bloggers. This week's guest is Denise Lynn, and she's giving away 3 copies of her latest book. There's still time to comment and get a chance to win one!

Jody Wallace has the latest interview of an author and her cat dog (the horror!).

And finally, so far this week at The Gab Wagon we've talked about brightening days, contest burnout, and reader giveaways.

Toss a link into the comments if you've seen something interesting lately!

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Who is Your Ideal TV Boyfriend?

More on Gossip Girl. Created by BuddyTV

Who Is Your Ideal Leading Man?

Created by BuddyTV

Are You Compatible With The Supernatural Boys?

More on Supernatural. Created by BuddyTV

Which TV Bad Boy is Right For You?

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Quick Hit

Wow. I didn't realize it had been a whole week! Sorry about that. Dead air is stupid.

Check out my word meter for Under the Moon! After being stagnant for a really, really long time, it's finally moving. Notice (yeah, like you pay any attention at all to that) that the total number is about 4k larger than it was before. The first number didn't move for so long because I was struggling to get chapter one right. I finally did ("so, so, so much better" and wasn't that music to my ears!) so now things are progressing much more easily.

I did start a post on Friday, when my kids were off school. This is what I got:

I prefer yellow over any other highlighter color. No idea why I have 18 highlighters here in my pencil holders, none of them yellow.

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I suck at DDRE. Actually, I'm brilliant, but only on the "beginner" setting. The kids and I were doing it today, and I did "Pump Up the Volume" (I think) on Light and nailed a "complicated" step, cheered, and promptly missed a couple of simple ones. Number Two says, "I think you got a little overexcited, Mom."

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Yeah, dull stuff. Again, sorry.

So, last week's goals. I got them about half done. Didn't exercise every day, didn't get as much of my own work done as I intended, but did get more critique done as well as the entire editing project, which included creating a bibliography (easy) and an index (God, don't let me have to do one of those again!).

This week is so far much quieter, so hopefully the progress bar will keep moving. I'd like to be done by the end of the month so we can get this puppy submitted!

How's your week look from here?

Day One! Oh, Never Mind

Here's how I did on today's portion of the goals I set yesterday:

Exercise: Done!
Cleaning: Done!
Edit Chapter: Um...
Pro. Editing Job: Done!
Three additional editing jobs today: Done!

Not listed yesterday (oversight!):
Critique: Maybe later?

What I did today that wasn't on the original list:

* Waited for computer to run the chkdsk it decided to do without asking (enabling me to get the editing done, on paper, anyway, as well as the cleaning, but not so much the chapter or critiquing)
* Got adjustment at the chiropractor (ahhhh--I needed it. I was waking up 18 times a night with my arms asleep)
* Bought stamps at the PO to replace the ones the cats apparently sent into Limbo
* Blogged at GabWagon
* Prepped tomorrow's post for Supernatural Sisters
* Did Chuck review for Sci Fi Chicks
* Did laundry (two and a half loads, one being too small and unbalanced and folded into load three)
* Cleaned up dog diarrhea in living room for second time in two days
* Took Number Two back to school to pick up homework she forgot
* Supervised homework of Number Two
* Prepared dinner
* Fed the animals
* Sent some e-mails

I know, that's all terribly fascinating stuff, but tell us, Natalie, what you thought of the episodes of Leverage you caught up on last night!

Yes, I'm all caught up, and I really like the show. I love Elliot and Hardison and Parker. I love Nate's mind, but am quite dismayed by the sudden descent into overwhelming alcoholism, and Sophie doesn't do much for me. It's another on my list of really enjoyable shows that I will record and watch every week, but if it stops, I won't miss it that much. (Of course, I won't have to, since it got a season 2 pickup recently.)

Okay, so, goals for the week, let's try again tomorrow. Chapter 3 will take priority over everything else, I swear it!

Write 'Em Down...

One of my friends blogs her goals every week. I'm finding myself having a little difficulty sticking to certain ones, so I'm going to give it a try. Writing them down always seems to make them more concrete. Revealing them to the world at large adds the embarrassment factor. I'll report on Friday. :)

* Exercise every day
* Follow summer cleaning schedule (basically, one room per day)
* Edit minimum one chapter per day
* Finish professional editing job
* Complete any additional editing jobs that come in from ongoing clients

There, that's the basics.

I saw two movies this weekend. One was expected to be mediocre, but was surprisingly excellent. The other was expected to be mediocre, and fell a little short.

I rented Wedding Wars because Sean Maher (Simon from Firefly was in it, and the premise didn't sound horrible. But what a movie! It was a TV movie originally, and it faded to black at odd places. Number One watched it with me, and she was indignant it never got the attention she feels it deserved.

The whole cast was good, from John Stamos (in the best role I've ever seen him in) and Eric Bana to James Brolin and Bonnie Somerville. And, of course, Sean Maher, in a slightly looser role than Simon was.

Even better was the writing. It acknowledged stereotypes while expanding on them and then mixing it up a little... Oh. I should explain that the core of the story was gay marriage, with John Stamos playing the gay brother of a man who works for the governor and is about to marry his daughter, shortly before re-election. When the governor (and brother) announce support for a constitutional ban on gay marriage, the gay brother (and wedding planner) goes on strike.

The story is a self-professed fable, with things that would never happen in real life (people really going on strike). And it mostly avoids preachiness, making entertainment come first, and letting the issue serve the growth of the main character and the relationships involved rather than vice versa.

The thing I liked best was that there were no villains, only people. Some of them did stupid things, and some of them were wrong, but they were all sympathetic characters and none of their actions seemed unbelievable or over-the-top. At the end, there is no grand resolution, only a better understanding of each other and plans to move the battle forward.

Can I just tell you how much I love my daughter? Absent any level of brainwashing or forced opinions, she voices extreme disgust that there is even a debate about same-sex marriage. Love is love, she says, and that's all anyone needs to know.

The other movie we saw is He's Just Not that Into You. I've seen worse. The acting was mostly fine, the cast many of my favorites. It was cool seeing a totally unglam Drew Barrymore, and a laid-back Ben Affleck. Sometimes I really liked Ginnifer Goodwin, sometimes I really wanted to slap her hard (I blame the writing and direction). All in all, I didn't feel my money (matinee rates) was wasted.

There was a trailer for an upcoming movie with Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. A dream cast! It also has Thomas Haden Church. I'll see it, because I love all of them and the producers did two other very good romantic comedies (Miss Congeniality and Two Weeks Notice), but Sandra Bullock appears to be sporting a horrible wig or haircut while offering up a very slapstick, silly performance. I'm bracing myself for disappointment.

What did you do this weekend?

Sex and Violence

I spent a lot of time today chatting about last night's Supernatural episode at Supernatural Sisters, and it was great fun.

Then I ventured out into the greater fandom world (not far, I never go far), and much of the talk is about how the siren appeared to Dean. And it left me feeling queasy.

Of course, to Wincesters, the episode is canon that Dean lusts after Sam, because of the way the siren manifested. I disputed this, because during the "seduction" phase, where the siren got its victim close enough to poison it, the siren appeared like Dean, not like Sam. He loved classic cars and classic music. It was only after Dean was under its influence that it brought up the brother connection, and at that point, it didn't matter what it said, the victim will do whatever is asked of it because of the poison, not because of the seduction.

Someone said siren=sex, but I'm not convinced. First, siren also = female so once they twist that, anything can be changed. Now, I haven't read Homer or any other ancient mythology for a long time, and I'm not inclined to spend hours doing the research, but Sam's description of the sirens didn't mention sex at all, if I'm remembering right. They lured the men to their deaths with their appeal, and of course most men are led around by their you-know-whats. The stories were written by men, about seafaring vessels that were rarely controlled by women, so of course the original myths are tightly contained.

But Dean and Sam are not most men. The circumstance was unique. The siren was portrayed as clever and adaptable, not a mindless predator doing what it does. It was bored, it knew the boys were hunting it, and it took on the challenge of defeating them.

So yeah, at the moment, what Dean wants most is the brother he loved and trusted and protected. And anyone is free to interpret it in any way they want; that's the nature of entertainment. But I seriously doubt the writers intended anything sexual between the brothers, and I don't see anything there.

Sex aside...

There was one thing I didn't like about the show. When we clued in that the FBI agent was the siren, I was hoping there were two, and the doc was one, because otherwise the clues pointing to her were too heavy-handed and manipulative.

Otherwise, I thought it was a great episode. They held to our expected framework, but they mixed it up a little. They were lawyers! And I loved the FBI stuff, because we tend to see them only with quick hits; they get out fast when other authorities show up or they get questioned. It was nice to see them acting with such confidence in both roles.

The guest actors were also great. I wasn't impressed with the husband in the opening, but then when he was in jail, I got totally sucked in to his story and stopped thinking about the episode. I loved Cara, the doctor, who reminded me of Sarah but more mature, more seasoned, just like Sam.

Bobby, as always, was awesomeness. The phones! The cooking! And yes, the rescue. I know some would have liked the boys to get out of it themselves, and part of me wanted that, too, but I think it made more sense for Bobby to figure it out and rush in. I think, for example, Sam being immune to the venom the way he's immune to demon stuff would have been too pat.

The fight meant a lot to me. First, because I got hooked on the show during the pilot episode, when Dean snuck into the apartment and they fought. What a difference with this fight! It was very well blocked and shot, and very believable.

On the other hand, the verbal fight was heartbreaking. What Dean said came from pain and loss, and truth. Sam's been hiding from him and lying to him in ways he never did before. He's fracturing their trust, and for cripe's sake, Sam, Dean DIED for you! But Sam's words came from an ickier place. He said mean, hurtful things, things that if he really did mean them, make him no longer the man we love. I actually cheered Dean when he threw the knife at Sam.

So it seems (with or without spoilers) that we're heading for a Sam and Dean showdown, with Sam becoming the bad guy we've dreaded for three seasons. I adamantly disbelieved the possibility that he could really become wrong, but now I'm not so sure, and I both love and hate the writers for making me feel this way.

Sending You Elsewhere

First off, we have a GREAT deal at Echelon Press:

TODAY ONLY: Buy ANY book/download for $3 or more from http://echelonpress.com/directory.htm and receive a FREE download of your choice.


Just for fun:

This week so far at Supernatural Sisters, Tanya has a very funny post about why she watches Supernatural through her fingers, and Mary talks about living in the hometown of one of the show's heroes. Tomorrow I'll be babbling about Dean's Hell. Thursday Terri examines the five-year-plan, and Friday will be Trish's review of "Sex and Violence."

Guest Bloggers and Inkheart:

Tracy Madison has guest blogger Jessica Andersen, my favorite Harlequin Intrigue author, and Jody Wallace has Jess Granger's cats, among other things.

I posted my thoughts on the movie Inkheart over at The Gabwagon this week. Did you see it? Read the book? Head over there and give us your thoughts!

And if you have a link to a cool site or blog post or whatever, feel free to stick it in the comments!

Sadness

I'm sure you've heard, by now, that Kim Manners died the other day, after a battle with lung cancer. Kim was one of the masters behind Supernatural, and it seems many lives will not be the same now.

A collection has been taken up for a donation in his memory to the American Cancer Society. You can donate here. SciFi Chicks has several related posts and links, as well.

Art and life connect, it seems, as tonight's episode of Supernatural was in memory of two people whose names I didn't recognize. I'm sure I'll be able to find the connection somewhere. And that is mirrored by the airing of the second of two of the saddest episodes of the show in all four seasons.

It's Tanya's turn to do a recap/review of the episode at Supernatural Sisters. As the post is likely to be up soon, and will, without a doubt, be tremendously better than I could do with this tired brain, I'll just send you over there for deep discussion.

But I do want to say that even though the age difference did bug me slightly, and I couldn't really buy Colin Ford as old enough to be in high school, it turned out to be really irrelevant. Both Ford (young Sam) and Brock Kelly (young Dean) did an incredible job channeling their older counterparts. Kelly seems to have watched a lot of the show and mimicked Jensen as Dean subtly, so it wasn't caricature, but clearly, so we could see and hear Dean.

Ford had more of a challenge. I mean, he comes up to Jared's, what, knees? There's far too much discrepancy for him to mimic Jared as Sam. But he was impressive in providing the essence of the character. Despite being a runt, picked on and dealing with being "a freak," he had a self-possession and attitude that was very Sam Winchester. My favorite moment of the show was when the fear and discomfort in his eyes clicked over to burning determination when Dirk asked if he wanted to take Barry's place.

Bravo, young men. Bravo.

Random Thoughts

Why do they keep calling it "the inaugural"? Inaugural is an adjective. The event is an inauguration. I thought it was a silly misuse of a word, like using "sells" as a noun (I mean, really!) but I just read it in Entertainment Weekly. I don't get it.

Okay, I looked it up, and it is a noun, but ONLY defined as an inaugural address. Using it to describe the entire event is still incorrect. Plus, any word that requires itself to define it shouldn't be allowed. Sheesh.

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I'm not sure what other actor could pull off Kevin James' heartwarming and competent loser in Paul Blart: Mall Cop. (I know, I can't believe I wrote that, either!) I might be wrong, but it looked like he did his own wall climbing/fence jumping. He was believable when he won, and his "hero shot" at the end was funny without being ridiculous, as certain other funny guys tend to be.

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My taskbar showed that my power backup had a problem, and when I pointed to it, it said it wasn't on. I opened the program, and couldn't get it to recognize the power source. I hit the mode button to see the display, but it still didn't connect to the program. So what did I do?

Let's just say I'm a supreme idiot and leave it at that.

(Luckily, none of my applications or documents were open.)

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Why can't companies put retractors on their power cords? Especially for stuff like video cameras, which we use pretty infrequently and for which we need a safe, easy way to store the cords. The technology has been around forever, but we're just now seeing the benefit of it. And on what? Extra pieces we have to pay an arm and a leg for that would work far better if they were built in...and free wee baby mice by Windows Rights Management Services. If they can give it away for FREE, they can certainly build it in.

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I'm tired of buying dress shoes once a year that get worn twice. Ditto snow boots.

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Mary, I finally started watching Leverage, and I love it! Except whenever I think the word, it's in Will Turner's voice and pronounced Leee-verage. :)

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Some good stuff this week over at Supernatural Sisters. Yesterday Mary analyzed Papa Winchester. Today Trish talked about the differences in Dean's and Sam's styles of humor. Head on over and tell us your favorite lines!

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In the comments of the Dean/Sam humor post, Tanya said she woke up thinking today was Thursday. When Trish commiserated with her, she said at least tonight was Lost. I actually gasped. I'd forgotten!

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Snow day + too much excellent reader feedback + repeated crisis of confidence = I'll rewrite chapter one tomorrow.

There's an AIFA?

A few months ago, Number Two and I discovered there was going to be a local arena football team. Two, actually, a men's team and a women's team. But then the economy crashed and I heard the Arena Football League was canceling the 2009 season. This weekend, I found out the local teams are still playing because the American Indoor Football Association is charging on. Who knew the U.S. could sustain two arena football leagues?

Oh, wait.

Anyway, we went to the first ever Harrisburg Stampede game last night, an exhibition game against the AIFL All-Stars. Turns out the Stampede has only had one full-speed practice. It didn't take a genius to figure that out.

For a while, I was thinking we were wasting our Saturday night. (Metaphorically speaking--it's not like our Saturday nights are rip-roaring or anything.) Getting into the Farm Show Complex was a huge joke. You go up the stairs in a mass of people and then find that somehow, you have to maneuver to two cashiers. One was labeled "Credit Only" and the other "Cash Only," but since you couldn't see the signs until you got right up to the tables, well, you can understand what a cluster-you-know-what it was. Plus, even though all the tickets for this game were the same price, we got stuck way up in the rafters, with two sections below us completely empty. WTH? Oh, well, one plus is that there really isn't a bad seat in the house. This is where they usually do ox pulls, so it's not exactly huge.

As for the rest of it, sheer amateur hour. No, that's not nice. I'll call it "Start-Up Syndrome." Instead of benches, the teams had to sit on those molded plastic chairs you find in school cafeterias. The cheerleaders were wearing black and white even though the team colors are blue and that neon gold the color of dog puke. And they mostly step-touched for three hours, with a little pom-pom shaking to mix it up. The strips of turf kept wrinkling and lifting off the field, and at one point, the chains got caught on the turf and they had to maneuver them out.

I've never watched arena football, so it was kind of weird to see so many non-players and non-refs on the field, inside the walls. Coaches joined the huddle and ran around the field between plays, trying to get the crowd to cheer. Four guys crouched on the sideline, ready to move the chains and the down marker.

On the other hand, the atmosphere was fun. They played awesome music, and the players danced around between plays. I could have done without the mascot race and the hula hoop contest during the one-minute warnings, and the sound system makes most of the announcements unintelligible.

Then there was the game itself. Harrisburg kicked off. The All-Star returner fumbled the ball. He picked it up, ran two yards, slipped, and fell. And that set the tone for the next three hours.

At first, the All-Stars dominated. But the Stampede came out a brand new team in the second half, recovering fumbles (of which there were approximately 83--I didn't realize a Nerf ball was so easy to fumble!) and intercepting passes and stopping the All-Stars on fourth down. Final score was 46-26, Stampede.

Some laugh-worthy highlights:

1. There were two penalties for hitting the hockey scoreboard during the kickoff. How did the AIFL come to build that into the rules?

2. Even though the goalposts at one end of the field, suspended by wires from the ceiling, were bowed inward and half as wide as they should be, one Harrisburg kickoff went the full 55 yards and split the uprights, giving the Stampede one point.

3. Number Two and her father went to the restroom in the third quarter. When they came back they asked what happened. I said, "There was a play, with a penalty, then a play, with a penalty, and then another play, with a penalty." I swear, they went back and forth between the 20-yard lines six times before they managed to complete a pass--penalty free--and go for a touchdown.

4. We left at the final one-minute warning because the game was out of hand. As we walked the concourse and looked through a gap onto the field, number 1 (the player, not my kid) was perfectly framed in the center, wiggling his butt.

You won't see that in the NFL.



Despite my sarcasm, we had a good time at the game, and plan to attend more during the season. I'm really happy these guys get the opportunity to play, and I'm even more excited to attend a Central PA Vipers (women's) game.

Totally Bogus

Here's the readability rating for my Blogspot blog:

TV Reviews

Here's the readability rating for my Livejournal blog:

TV Reviews

They have the exact. same. content.

I'm so disillusioned.

New Books, and Bloody Valentines

I have a new book coming out in May! Indulgence II is a second collection of erotic novellas, containing the stories Under Control, Rebuilding Forever, Renegade, and Letting Go. So if superheroes, rock gods, psychic heroes, and young studs interest you but you prefer paper over electronic ink, stay tuned!

Here's my very gorgeous cover:



I went to se My Bloody Valentine 3-D last night. I'll be doing a full review of it next week at Supernatural Sisters, but I will say I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. I'm not at ALL a horror movie fan, especially the gory kind, but it's not like I didn't know what I was in for. The acting was decent (which it isn't always) and the writing mostly held together (which it rarely does). Even though I'd been spoiled a little, it kept me guessing.

Definitely, if you're inclined to see it in the theater, go for the 3D if at all possible. Someone I read said it wasn't any better than the old 3D, but I beg to differ. It wasn't just the things coming out at you, which were cool but less frequent than I expected. The entire film, start to finish, was 3D. Foreground, middle ground, and background. Combined with the digital format,it was amazing. I've never seen Jensen Ackles so clear. Mmmmmm. Anyway, it added a new level of interest.

New Supernatural tonight! I can't wait! I love Barry Bostwick. And for once, Dean's the one who gets throttled.

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Bloggin' Around Town

Today I posted at the Gab Wagon about Paperspine, a Netflix-like book rental service.

Tomorrow (posted at midnight central time) I'll talk about the effect of passion on expectations (in terms of being a fanatic) at Supernatural Sisters. Today's post at SPN Sisters was by MJ Fredrick about the upcoming movies the Winchester boys (well, the actors who play them, actually) will be in this winter/spring. And later in the week we have Tanya Michaels on fandom, Trish Milburn on Sam Girls vs. Dean Girls, and Terri Clark's recap/review of this week's episode, "Criss Angel is a Douche Bag."

Check 'em out!

Stoopid Cats

I don't get it.

When there are two full, clean bowls of water on the floor, what possesses a cat to jump on a counter she's not supposed to be on and shove her head into a glass to try to access the quarter inch of water on the bottom?

And even when her head is obviously far too big, to keep shoving and pushing until the glass falls off the counter and shatters?

And most importantly, when this happens and she a) is terrified by the loud noise and commotion AND knows to run from me, and b) has lost her toy/beverage...

Why do it again?

Stoopid cats.

Is Dean Evil?

First, let me please direct you to this post at Supernatural Sisters, where I did a full recap/review of "Family Remains." Assuming you haven't already been there.

Next, let me sheepishly admit that "we'll see" (regarding whether I'll talk about the show here as much) didn't take too long. :)

I just read this article at Buddy TV. I'm not actively debating or agreeing with the article, but it launched some thoughts I felt compelled to share. You know how that goes.

I wrote a long post but went too deep into my thoughts on Dean's Hell (a scheduled topic at SS) so I abbreviated it it bit, kept it focused.

So okay. Now that Dean has opened up, he appears to be finding it much easier to admit stuff. Some people complain that the bookending brotherly moments are getting old, but if they hadn't addressed his revelation, we'd have been complaining about that. And they need to take a break from the intense myth-arc for those fans who prefer the standalone episodes. Maybe they saw some parallels and they wanted to tie that in. Maybe they struggled to make connections.

Whatever. Those one-on-one moments are my favorite parts of any episode, wherever they stick them, and whether they are Dean punching Sam in the face, Sam giving too much detail about sex with Ruby, or Dean confessing to liking the torture.

On the surface, that last revelation is disturbing. We all want Dean to be heroic and stronger than typical people. We want him to do no wrong.

But I ask, when has he ever NOT been a dick?

Let's look at episode 1.1, "Pilot." Dean breaks into his brother's house, fights him instead of just saying "Hey, it's me," and ogles his girlfriend.

He sleeps with truck stop waitresses with questionable rashes, yells at fat kids, steals, cheats, hustles...and while justified, he spent a lot of time whining about how much he's given up for this family! *foot stomp* He's very much a dick.

Now obviously, that's not all Dean is. Those things are all pretty inconsequential in the face of how many lives he's saved and the sacrifices he's made for his brother. It's very easy to overlook them. He's as much selfless as he is selfish, a complete product of his experiences.

But because of all that, I don't think his response to hell is at all out of character. I think that when you consider the two intertwined sides, the dick and the hero, they will create exactly the kind of action Dean took.

So the revelation doesn't change my opinion of him at all.

Wicked Cold

It was 5 degrees this morning.

Wind chill of -4.

I kept mentally rolling my eyes at my husband, who grew up in Ohio and should be used to this. I grew up in Massachusetts and I'm not flabbergasted by winter weather of any sort. Five degrees doesn't seem that amazing.

Except...I'm 38 now, and I think I'm feeling the cold more than I used to, which I always pooh-poohed when people older than me said it. Now I hate my smug younger self, as I huddle here next to my poorly insulated basement window with my fingerless gloves, two blankets, massaging foot-warmer, and space heater.

Far more important, however, is how fast we're sucking down oil, and how much I dread seeing the electric bill after the dim, dreary days, two weeks of having the kids home all the time (Wii, computers, lights, more dishes, etc.).

Having the heart of winter after the Christmas expenditures doesn't work for me. Whose idea what that, anyway?!

Supernatural Change

Check out the banner in my sidebar for my new group blog, Supernatural Sisters!

Five authors who are also fans are coming together to talk about our very favorite show. I guarantee entertaining, insightful, broad topics and excellent discussion in the comment trail.

Does this mean I'll be talking about SPN less here? We'll see. I kind of intend to, but I'll only post once a week over there, and I might be too impatient to wait, or have something too silly to post about. But I'll try to always remind you to head over there, too, though I expect you'll want to subscribe to the feed or bookmark it or whatever.

We've started planning our posts, and I have to tell you, the way our minds work is definite synergy. :)

So, you can head over now (pre-9:00 p.m. EST) to check out Trish Milburn's launch post, describing our intentions, and be sure to read my recap/review of tonight's show, posted at midnight CST! Sunday we'll have a summary of next week's topics, so you'll know what to look forward to.

I hope you enjoy it!

Quick Hits

My inbox is empty for the first time since, like, Thanksgiving. It gives me a huge amount of pleasure.

~~~

Not as much, however, as the news that Jason Manns is going to be at the Salute to Supernatural convention in Cherry Hill this March. Many of you won't believe me, but I am more excited about this than I am about anything else going on at the convention. I mean, seeing Jared Padalecki in person is great, and seeing my favorite angel and FBI agent and psychic is also excellent, but I've been dying to see Jason Manns live for years. That seemed a much more achievable thing, and is therefore less surreal than the rest of it.

~~~

Number One starts indoor soccer this Saturday. She's playing with the team that's playing in the U-15/16 league, which was a relief because they play at 10:45 or 11:30 each week, while the U-13/14 league starts at 6:30 in the morning. But I just found out sometimes she might be needed for that team. Pray we don't draw a 6:30 a.m. game, please!

~~~

I had a good, productive day today, though I need to top it off with an equally productive night. Wish me luck.

Today's Insanity and Other Stuff

Have you heard about the upcoming law that's gonna wipe out the economy?

Oh, wait. Economy already wiped. Okay, consider the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 the salt in the wound, or the foot kicking everyone while they're down.

Basically, any product meant for children under 12 has to be tested for lead before being sold or given away. The onus is not on the importers who brought in those 45 million lead-containing toys made in China last year, nor is it on the manufacturers in this country who make toys, clothes, shoes, books, and jewelry that kids might have access to. It's on Amazon, and Walmart, and the little shop around the corner. I'm told they have decided to exempt thrift stores and resellers, so yay, you won't be committing a felony with this spring's yard sales. But there's a lot more to the problems of a panicked, broadly worded law. This article explains it far more eloquently than I ever could.

I don't generally buy used stuff (for deep psychological reasons) but I'm involved in publishing, so this affects the people who might contract my books, and I feel for the small retailers who will get forced out of business by this insanity. So check it out, do your part if you feel so inclined.

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FYI, Adobe Acrobat Reader has a version 9 available now. I learned this when I tried to open my paperless bank statement in PDF and it gave me an "Adobe failed to open" message, even when I opened the reader manually. If this is happening to you, go to the Adobe site and click "Get Acrobat Reader" on the right. Save yourself some frustration.

I don't know why Acrobat Reader can't tell when there's a whole new version when it runs it updates, but it can't.

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I felt like a hero last night. My brother-in-law (BIL) texted me the other day for suggestions for finding pink skull stickers my niece needed for some unknown reason. He called me less than helpful. Well, I showed him!

Last night Number Two was working on a project for school and wanted wavy scissors to cut out her text for display. Normally, I'd have put her off, since it's the weekend and the project isn't due until Tuesday, but I played Good Mom and went to three different stores last evening, looking. Of course, the first two (drug stores) didn't have them, so I went to Michael's. I went down the sticker aisle, curious, and BAM. Pink skull stickers. Texted the BIL, niece still needs them, so they are on their way to Florida today.

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That success went a long way toward easing the pain of sucking. Some people can be trained and trained and instructed and helped and handheld and educated and then trained some more and still not ever be able to do what needs to be done. I'm really hoping that's not me, but the hope dims a little more each time. Mega thanks to all my friends for trying to convince me I'm more of a Matt Cassel than a David Carr. You all rock, and I couldn't do any of this without you.

I Love My Boots

So I don't know what's up with this school district. Yesterday was a throwback to the panic/reactionary times of a few years ago. (One winter they canceled school the night before and it never did anything--no snow, no ice, no rain. It was infuriating.) We had predictions of an ice storm, and it came, but they did a one-hour early dismissal even though nothing was happening yet, and nothing did happen until a couple of hours after the kids were home.

Today, with an inch of ice on everything, freezing rain still coming down, the roads fine but with patchy ice and slipperiness--far more than the nothing we had yesterday!--we only had a two-hour delay. I just don't get it.

Anyway, with the ice storm, I got to try my new boots. I have a pair of cheap men's waterproof construction boots that keep my feet dry but have NO tread, and an old pair of hiking boots that have good tread and are lightweight but have no waterproofing and even if I spray them, they're uninsulated so my feet get cold

So we were shopping for shoes last week, and due to a rockin' discount we had four pairs of sneakers, a pair of sheepskin slippers, and a package of socks and were still under budget. I tried on a pair of boots that I knew I'd be getting for less than half the "suggested retail" and the first pair fit perfectly, cradling my feet. Now, this never happens. I have weird feet. Before I had my kids, they measured 6EEE but I wore a 9C or D, depending on the style of shoe. I haven't done an actual measurement since, because I know my feet and I worked in a full-service shoe store so I know how to fit shoes, but with the normal loosening of the joints that pregnancy causes, and the fact that I've only worn flat shoes for the last 10 or 15 years, they've spread even more. So finding a pair of shoes that's wide enough without being too freakin' long or pinching somewhere or having the arch hit me wrong is a miracle. So I bought them.

Today I got to wear them, and OMG, they are awesome. So warm and dry and light and I have no fear of skidding on the ice. I mean, even the best tread is going to allow occasional slipping, but these at least have some grip. So today, I got to start off gleeful. :)

Wrapping Up 2008

I have no posts in 2008 labeled "Goals."

None.

Of course, according to my final post about 2007, I didn't set goals. I made plans.

Let's see how I did:

Exercise

I did very well through May, when I got swamped with work. From May through August I occasionally missed my goal of 2.5 hours per week, and then I was totally inconsistent, with some weeks in the fall good, some bad, and then nothing at all in the entire fall.

Compared to previous year: 126 days of exercise compared to 301 in 2007. Ick.

Goal for 2009

I dunno. I started again this week, went to the club yesterday and today. I'm just going to try to go every day, except when I can't.

Weight

No change. Nothing different in my plans for 2009, either.

Entertainment

I read 95 full books, a falloff from last year's actual 107. I also started but didn't finish 40, and tracked 7 additional novellas.

I saw 22 movies in the theater, 8 fewer than last year, but 35 on DVD, up from 17 in 2007. Plus two on TiVo, two on TV, and two on DVD that I didn't finish.

I won't go into the TV I watched live or TiVo'd, I do that during the year. I also watched the following on DVD:

All the Buffy seasons
All the Angel seasons
Prison Break season 3
Entourage
Roswell season 1

Goal for 2009

I always strive to read 100 books, but I think I'll keep better track this year so I can push myself if possible and make the goal. I don't expect as many movies in 2009, probably about the same amount of TV. Once I finish Roswell, I might give Bones a try.

Work!

Okay, this is the biggie. Here's what I accomplished:

Overall writing

Fiction: 184,486 words (includes totally new text and added words during revisions)
Nonfiction: 57,855

That's a total of 242,341 written words in 2008. That's more than 60k less than 2007!

Goal for 2009

Whatever I manage to do, based on my circumstances.

Project breakdown

Fiction:
Submitted 8 projects
Sold 2 novellas
Wrote three novellas
Revised three+ novels

Compared to plan: Did two of the revisions I planned, started both of the sequels plus another book, though not the one I intended to.

A reminder of my plan for 2009:

1. Revise Under the Moon until it's ready for submission
2. Process critiques for Hummingbird and prep for agent review
3. Revise Fight or Flight again, if Agent Awesome so decrees
4. Do first round of revisions for More Than You Know and submit to critique partners
5. Finish Zoe WIP

What else did I do, that caused me to write so much less in 2008? Well, let me tell you:

Nonfiction:

1 20-page report
58 articles
74 biographies (short ones, not book-length!)
21 autoresponders, 4 ads, and a few miscellaneous things

Editing/Proofreading:

Approximately 3,579 pages, some being full editing in hard copy transferred to computer documents, some being small projects that I typed a list of corrections for.


Critiquing:

40 pages for LM
55 pages for M2
184 pages for M3
402 pages for TM
491 pages for JW
506 pages for VB
783 pages for VS
1,011 pages for M1

for a grand total of 3,472 manuscript pages! That amounts to roughly 868,000 words, though it's probably more than that because some people don't use standard format.

I think I only sent one full book out for critique in 2008. I'll make up for it this year!

Judging:

I judged 9 stories with just a scoresheet, and 279 pages that required comments as well as the scoresheets.

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Okay, I'm tired just adding that all up! I will no longer feel like a slacker! Such occasions are surely few and far between, with that kind of tally, wouldn't you say?

So that's all. Goodbye 2008 (a few days late) and hello 2009! May it be better than productive for all of us!

Thank Goodness, Right?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 1 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Funnies

I've been snowed under and haven't even gotten my spreadsheets updated to 2009 yet, never mind prepped my end-of-year post, so stay tuned for that. I know you're all dead curious.

For now, I just want to share my birthday cards, which tend to run to the guffaw rather than the awwwww:

Outside:Happy Birthday to my loving, patient, and devoted wife.

Inside:From the man who's always testing your love, patience, and devotion.


Outside:To me, you're kind of like a six-pack in the back of the fridge.

Inside:You're very COOL, and it's a great feeling just knowing you're there.


Outside:Mom, I don't say it enough, but I really appreciate how you love me and care for me and always put my needs before your own.

Inside:And I want you to know that I think it's just a terrific arrangement.


Outside:If you ever thought too much about all the places in your home your pet has touched with his naked butt, you'd have to move.

Inside:Hope you find a nice place to eat your cake.