Avatar

I awoke this morning to my phone ringing merrily next to my ear, my mother calling to see if I wanted to see Avatar tonight. I mumbled something back that translated to "Yes, of course." Twenty minutes later when she called back with a show time, after I had managed to wake up a little, I advised her to go ahead and get the tickets online if she could. And to make sure she was getting the ones for the 3D IMAX. There had been two things I'd heard about Avatar over the course of the week. 1) Showtimes were selling out like crazy and 2) make sure you get the full visual experience in the IMAX.

Both, it turns out, are true. When we arrived at the theater (an unplanned hour early thanks to a fast dinner) the 7 PM show was sold out. When we walked inside, there was also already a line filling up the hallway for theater one. Guess it was lucky we were so early. Not a huge fan of waiting in lines but when they finally let us in we were able to get great seats just where I like to sit in a theater (in the middle, about two thirds back). So I guess that makes it worth it.

There were a few trailers, warnings that they were not, in fact, enhanced for IMAX, and then finally the words popped up on the screen. "Please put on your 3D glasses." Another trailer or two (Alice in Wonderland, not so excited about) and then it was time to begin. Credits. Voice Over. Spaceships. Game on.

Now here's the thing. I'm not really interested in writing a full review of Avatar. The story is okay. It has its problems, its cliches. Some moments are trite, some are painfully familiar as we've seen it all told before, some of it just silly. If this movie was anything less than what it is, it wouldn't be all that great.

What is it then? It's a spectacle. A delightful, sensational technological visual wonderland designed to make the audience "Oooh" and "Aaah" and it really, really, really works. James Cameron proves his mettle as a filmmaker. And the result is so very pretty.

My reaction upon walking out of the theater: "Squee!"

Of course I would have loved a little bit more going on with the story but whatever. I went to see Avatar to see what it would look like, to experience the potential of what 3D and IMAX can be, and in that it does not disappoint in the slightest. For my expectations, I got what I was hoping to get. I'm pleased with that. I'm happy with what it is. I don't know if I'd want to pay to see it again but I'm very, very glad I did see it this once. In the 3D. In the IMAX. It's made for that, that's how you should see it to experience it fully.

Avatar is eye candy and it is super delicious.

And now that that's out of the way, hopefully I'll be able to get a few more films on my "Want to (NEED to) See" List knocked out this week.

Currently on the list:
An Education
Me and Orson Welles
A Serious Man
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Precious

Did make it to It's Complicated on Friday which is cute, Meryl Streep is wonderful as always. Also planning on seeing Sherlock Holmes just cause. RDJ. Yeah....

Merry Christmas!

Watch out for the Blarg Monster! She eats Santa!

Today's The Day

My friend's video that I posted a few days ago was just chosen as one of the 50 finalists in the Nikon competition. Now there's this whole period where people are supposed to watch the videos then vote on them and stuff. His video is good! It should be voted on!

http://www.nikonfestival.com/blog/2009/12/14/todays-the-day/

Check it out, hopefully love it and give it five stars, and then watch some of the other videos. It's a pretty neat competition. There's some cool stuff up there. You don't have to give the other videos five stars though. Just my friend's. That's fair to say right? (I'm kidding! Really!)

Congrats DL! You done well.

I'm on the Internets

I really have been kind of MIA lately. On the internet sure but also in real life. It's amazing how quickly time can go by when life things are happening. Is it really the last night of Hanukkah? Only a week til Christmas? When did that happen?

Well, you'll be happy to know that the roommate search has ended, we've found the lucky person who will soon become the latest edition to Bonaparte House. She's a friend which is a HUGE relief and K and I are both confident she's going to fit right in with our crazy. Plus, bonus, she comes with a pup! How excited are we? K and I have both missed having a dog around. It's going to be wonderful.

Of course we're still sad to see J go. We'll keep in touch though and there are nefarious plans in the work for an adventure of epic proportions. That may turn into a movie. I dunno. Anything can happen. Be sure I will tell you more as this THING develops.

Speaking of movies and making them and being a woman who plans to make them... The New York Times ran this article about women in the film industry last week. It's a topic I keep alluding to and yet never get around to actually writing about. Seriously though, it's hard being a woman in this industry! There are opportunities for sure but honestly not as many as you'd think. Especially when your goal is to become a director. Female producers? I have known plenty. Most of them are batshit crazy (it all relates I think) but they do exist. When have I worked with a female director? Um. Twice. Once was a super low budget indie film that shot in Ft. Myers, Florida. The other was a super low budget indie film in San Francisco. And have you heard of these women? Not yet. Hopefully you will someday but yeah. Not yet. Anyway, read the article. It's good.

In other places, I'm on the internet! Go check me out. I'm silly. I really, really am.

Thoughts of the Day

The roommate search continues. It was an, um, interesting weekend of meeting potential roommates. Okay, some of these emails K and I have been getting are just plain scary. A guy emailed K today professing to be a "Submissive" and expressing his hope that we would not only let him rent a room but make him our slave. Er. Yeah... That happened.

How hard is it to find a nice, normal person in LA? Apparently that hard.

Also apparently difficult, getting anything useful passed by the Senate. Can Lieberman just go away already? I mean seriously. Apparently reasonable access to health insurance is too much to ask of our government. Public option? Nope! Health insurance for people under 65? Nope! No big deal that people have lost/are losing their jobs and with them their benefits. No big deal. Who needs health insurance really?

I do like how my friend put it on Twitter: @DanMazinOMG If Joe Lieberman were a soup, he'd be Cream of F*cktard.

Bah. Sorry. Mini-rant. Moving on.

Nikon is running a video contest to share your day in 140 seconds or less. My friend entered and made an awesome little video about recovering from a foot injury. He really was a gimp for the last couple of months! Yay for returning to mobility.



It's the end of the year which means it's time for the annual slew of "Best of..." Lists. Slant magazine has their 25 Best Films of 2009. That one definitely makes me feel like a slacker. I've seen maybe two of those movies? Three? I have a lot of movie watching to catch up on.

io9 has their 20 Best Sci Fi books of the decade. I also have a lot of reading to do. My Amazon Wish List just got a lot longer. I haven't read a lot of those but there are a few by authors I like a lot (Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom), a couple I've been meaning to pick up for ages (Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife, World War Z by Max Brooks), even worse ones I own but haven't read yet (Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke), and best of all ones that I'm not familiar with (like The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia).

And as always I'm always happy to take recommendations for things I should read/watch/consume in some fashion. I like discover new little bits of wonderful. Share away!

Unemployment Tuesday: Work!

This edition of Unemployment Tuesday finds me actually working. Yay! Sadly it's only for this week but it is on a commercial which pays a bit better than my usual rate. The people are also great and the hours haven't been hideous. All in all it's a pleasant working experience at a time when I desperately need any working experience.

I have a bit of work to do before sleeping happens so I'm going to keep this short, share a couple of links, and then get done what needs to be done before sleep.

Mike Harvey has this great list of The 10 Best Long Tracking Shots. Don't agree with all of them as necessarily being the 10 best but they're 10 great ones in any case. It made me happy that he started the list with I Am Cuba. It's the first movie that always comes to mind for me whenever I think of my favorite tracking shots. I Am Cuba is a beautifully shot film throughout but some of the shots are just downright amazing.

I cannot get over this site. Number One. Check out some of the guest Rikers a bit down the page. Keep scrolling, it's worth it.

Then for any of you Twilight fans (or any of you other women whose inner feminist cried a little after watching Twilight) there's this list of 20 unfortunate things girls learn from Twilight.

Stays Crunchy In Milk + Farscape = Awesome

Okay, I can't let my only post of the day be so super debbie downer. So I will share this with you! Because it's fun and awesome and it should be shared. So I say.

As I've mentioned previously, there's this awesome book called Stays Crunchy In Milk. My friend Adam wrote it and my other friend Lauren edited it. I read it and loved it.

My mini review (which I should have posted here but I've been lazy and have so far only put it up on Goodreads):

Clever and charming, Stays Crunchy In Milk is an adventure story that starts off appealing to the kid in you and ends up revealing itself as a well rounded delight. On the surface there are the entertaining pop culture references that wrap you in a warm blanket of childhood nostalgia. At its depths, Stays Crunchy takes its three heroes (who should remind you of several popular cereals that make an appearance around a certain holiday involving dress-up and candy) on a journey that is as much exis...more Clever and charming, Stays Crunchy In Milk is an adventure story that starts off appealing to the kid in you and ends up revealing itself as a well rounded delight. On the surface there are the entertaining pop culture references that wrap you in a warm blanket of childhood nostalgia. At its depths, Stays Crunchy takes its three heroes (who should remind you of several popular cereals that make an appearance around a certain holiday involving dress-up and candy) on a journey that is as much existential as it is physical. It becomes more than a game of catch that cartoon reference, it's a story about friendship, perception of self, and the subjective nature of reality. Stays Crunchy is a fun and tasty tale that a reader can enjoy on many levels. 

 So what's this contest about? Basically all you have to do is buy a copy of the book, take a picture of yourself somewhere with it, and then post your picture over in the comment section of Adam's blog. For all of the contest details, go check him out! Contest runs through December 18th so you've even got a little time.

Oh yeah, and the prize is a set of Farscape DVDs. How rad is that?



Now my job here is done. I'm going to watch Glee.

Unemployment Thursday

Today is not a good day in unemployment land. It's been one of those days where the light seems to have gone out of the tunnel entirely, where there is no end. I'll spare you the details but basically I started the day feeling like I was having a financial meltdown. Everything is overwhelming, I'll never get things straightened out, I will be broke forever, etc. etc. etc. Of course it's never as bad as all that but some days it takes a lot to convince yourself things will be okay.

The frustrating thing here is that it feels like I every time I start to get a handle on things, every time I can maybe get ahead, something will happen and there will be a set back and I never get anywhere. Stuck perpetually in the same hole. It never gets deeper but it's impossible to get out of nonetheless.

I feel this way. I know that it's really not as awful as it feels on the bad days. I'll feel better tomorrow. I'll feel even better than that on Saturday. Then next thing I know I'll get a job, things will work out. It's the cycle, it's how it goes.

This week is probably particularly bad since we're also dealing with finding a new roommate to join us here in Bonaparte house. We'll be losing one at the end of the month, in three weeks actually, and neither myself or K are particularly happy about. We love J, we're sad to lose her, and the task of finding someone to fill her shoes is going to be huge. If you happen to know anyone looking for a place in LA, we've got an open room! Our Craigslist ad.

I should be sharing fun links, babbling about how pleased I am that I actually finished my NaNoWriMo novel, talking about other pleasant things. Will you forgive me if I don't? I have to admit I'm lacking in energy at the moment. I promise I will do better next time!

Blueberry Pancakes

I don't really have anything to say about blueberry pancakes other than the fact that I just ate them and they were really tasty.

NaNoWriMo is almost over! The intrepid soon-to-be novelists have until midnight tomorrow to finish their 50k word count. Then a month of madness will be finished, thousands of new stories will have come to life, and I can actually get a decent night's sleep.

Oh man, I have a lot of words to get through before tomorrow night. Around 7k or so? It's doable for sure but still. A lot of words.

More regular updates will in theory start soon. For now I really should get back to that novel writing thing if I wanna hit my 50k in the next day and a half. Wish me luck?

Until then, you can enjoy this poem that's in my head. One of my characters decided to make reference to it. I dunno, my girl is a smarty-pants apparently? I didn't even remember this thing until she mentioned a line from it. Funny how brains work.

Time Long Past
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Like the ghost of a dear friend dead
Is Time long past.
A tone which is now forever fled,
A hope which is now forever past,
A love so sweet it could not last,
Was Time long past.

There were sweet dreams in the night
Of Time long past:
And, was it sadness or delight,
Each day a shadow onward cast
Which made us wish it yet might last-
That Time long past.

There is regret, almost remorse,
For Time long past.
'Tis like a child's belovèd corse
A father watches, till at last
Beauty is like remembrance, cast
From Time long past.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mr. Turkey says Happy Thanksgiving!

And maybe don't eat me? I'm actually going for the Tofurky this year. Wish me luck? I've been lazy previous years and ordered from Whole Foods but this year I was even lazier and never made it to the ordering stage. TJ's for Tofurky it was! So now I've got my Tofurky in the fridge, plans for at least adding some seasoning, and... I dunno, I guess that's it? There's lots of other food happening in this house.

I'm going to go have some coffee now. I need it.

Unemployment Tuesday: Happy Thanksgiving!

Another installment of Unemployment Tuesday here. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we only have a couple of these left. There are glimmers of hope, good things on the horizon, possibilities. Like I said, fingers crossed.

Hey, so Thanksgiving is this week! Happy Thanksgiving!

This year's been pretty rough for a lot of people. There are always folks in need and this year is certainly no different. There are a lot of great programs out there, food banks and whatnot, and it would be great if we could all give something small. For example, in Santa Monica there's this Turkey Dinner. Or Amber Benson is running Tara 4 Charity where if you buy a Tara doll this week 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. If the price tag of the doll is a little steep for you, you can make a donation directly to the foodbank and send your receipt to Amber for a chance to win one of three dolls they'll be giving away. Check out her blog for more details.

For those of you not in LA, there are food and clothing drives going on in pretty much every city. A quick google search should find you a good one.

Other links!

My friend is still trying to go to China. Only one week left for him. Click to vote and help him get out of here!

Another friend of friend has a video trying to get on TV. Check out Be Like A Duck (it's really, really cute) And click it a vote if you're a fan. I think you will be.

Inkwell Bookstore had this link up the other day for this super cool little video. It's recommended viewing that's definitely worth the two minutes.

PC Pro ran this feature on the correlation between science fiction and, well, science. For anyone who's ever been inspired by a sci-fi story, seen the possibilities for the future, it's an interesting read.

LA Times has a couple of interesting reads this week. First there's this one about the changing of the guard at Disney. Disney's new chairman Rich Ross is changing the game on the lot. Several execs are out all ready, the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea remake has been nixed (thank goodness for that one), and who knows what's next. The question remains whether or not these changes will all be for the best. (Thanks to L for linking to this one)

On a lighter note is this piece by Scott Timberg about Cormac McCarthy and the upcoming release of the adaptation of his novel The Road. If anything involving McCarthy can be considered light that is. The Road opens tomorrow and stars Viggo Mortensen. Whatever Timberg has to say about women relating to McCarthy's work, well, I'm a fan. The Road is a fantastic book and I'm looking forward to checking out the film. (And thanks to DL for this)

If nothing else it's gotta be better than New Moon. I actually went to see it this morning, don't ask what possessed me, and yeah. I almost walked out after an hour. I probably should have.

That's all I've got at the moment. Need to get back to my novel writing. We're into the final week here. I've got a lot of work to do.

New N.A.S.A. Video ft. Tom Waits

Do you like music and animation and cool things and little floaty balls that wear headbands? You should totally watch this. It's a part of the North America South America (N.A.S.A.) project over on Boing Boing. There's an interview with the video's creator Fluorescent Hill along with the video up over there now.

Am I the only one who thinks N.A.S.A. and these videos are ridiculously cool?

Unemployment Tuesday: Still there

Another Tuesday, still unemployed. Sent my resume out to a bunch of different places over the last week, have so far gotten zero phone calls. Ah well, next week is Thanksgiving. I'm going to eat lots of food and more pie and by the end of November I'm going to weigh 500 lbs. Who needs a job when there's pie?

SPEAKING OF PIE!

I've spent a lot of time in the last week baking it. On Saturday I took part in KCRW's Good Food Pie Contest that was held at the Westfied Topanga Mall. Didn't win but I did get to eat a lot of pie so really, who lost? 

Actually, speaking of winners, I happened to be standing next to the winner of the cream/custard category as we were all waiting to hear the results. Her peanut butter pie looked amazing! She's got some pics up on her blog, they make me wish I could have tried it.

Congrats to all the winners :)

My pie all plated for the judges and stuff

My pie was okay but it was nothing wonderful. I made a Raspberry Marzipan pie which was pretty tasty but due to an unfortunate power outage the night before I never had time to make a test pie. Heh, I'll plan things better if I ever try this again. I did however have a chance to make a few adjustments and redeem myself on Sunday for a potluck I hosted.

Actually, you can see my pie in one of the pictures in the LA Times article about the contest! Okay, it's not even close to being featured but they did take a pic of the table my pie was on. It's the second from the farthest end in the picture of all the pies. That's at least a little bit neat, right?

Pear & Blackberry Marzipan I made for Sunday's dinner. 

Soooo much better than Saturday's effort!

See, I told you, this last week involved a lot of pie.

Otherwise I'm still just focusing on my writing. Got a little behind for Nanowrimo with all the pie baking but after 3k or so words today I'm starting to get caught up. This novel writing in a month thing is intense! It's also taking up most of my words.

Links! (Because I really am out of words now)

Meant to post this bit about Ginger Snaps way back before Halloween. Oh well, it's still an awesome movie which you should watch. Then you can read this. Lots of talk about the horror of female puberty. Mostly about the horror of being a female going through it, but also the damage that our raging hormones can inflict on others. Why do I enjoy these movies so much? Well, actually, I guess that's probably obvious if you've seen them.

Another link probably more Halloween than Thanksgiving related but whatever! Martin Scorsese's Top Eleven Scariest Films. Some obvious choices like The Exorcist or The Shining but also some other pretty great selections.

What else? NASA found water on the moon! Neat!

Entertaining blogging about the spectacle that is Megan Fox, her (fake)boobs, and how this all relates to feminism. One of these days I really will write about what it's like to be a woman in the film industry. Sometimes it's everything you'd think it would be, sometimes it's entirely different. Either way, it's pretty hard to forget about gender and the politics that result from it.

So anyone else think Left For Dead 2 looks pretty rad? I kinda wish I had a way to play it!

Since I haven't had a chance to scan things that need scanning, I haven't really written everything I've planned to write on my trip to Israel. My friend Jen is more proactive than I am! Check out her blog Creative Confectionary and see some great pics of the delicious food we ate.

That's all I've got for this edition of Unemployment Tuesday. Should I keep doing this every week? At least until I find a job? I'm thinking about it! We'll see how many words I have left next Tuesday.

Girl Talk Thursday - Five Fictional Men That Still Get Me

It's been a few weeks since I've participated in Girl Talk Thursday with travel and everything happening but this weeks topic was just begging me to respond. In the beginning of September I wrote a GTT post about who my List of 5 would be. It was a serious amount of fun to not only think about, write about, and look up pictures for but also to read other people's lists and realize that in some cases mine was just wrong. I didn't include Eric the Vampire in my original list? What's wrong with me?!

Now I have a chance to redeem myself. We're doing it again. Only this time our lists are about those characters that we just can't help drooling over. The fictional men who we just wish were real. Clearly Eric will be making this one. 

1. Vampire Eric

Sorry Bill but I'm an Eric girl all the way. 

2) Jaime Lannister

Nicolai Coster Waldau who will be playing Jaime in the upcoming HBO pilot Game of Thrones

From George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. It takes a couple of books to warm up the guy but by book 5 I am all about him. 

3. Mr. Darcy

While I certainly prefer Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy, I've pretty much been in love with the man since I read the book.

4. Han Solo

Easily one of my first character crushes. He's just such a trouble maker! And the looks he gives Leia... make me melt every time.

5. Don Draper

Do you guys watch Mad Men yet? Seriously, get on that. Then I won't have to explain why Don gets me all worked up. It's self-evident.

Nostalgia Mention: Josh Hartnett in the Faculty

Since I still get made fun of for this one (rightly so, I'm sure) I may as well include him. But come on! He pulled apart a paper cutter and attacked an alien teacher with it! That was kind of badass. Right? Am I right? Shut up, I'm right.

There are lots and lots of others from movies and books and a bit of TV. I just need to stop here. I have lots of other things to do today! As much as I enjoy doing a google search for images of hot men. I feel like I should make a list of honorable mentions, past crushes, etc. Would definitely include the likes of Bud White, Malcolm Reynolds, Gambit, Robin Hood, various men from old Westerns, Rick Blaine, Jack Sparrow, Batman, Spike, a few British guys, and one or two characters from Shakespeare... others I'm sure.

See why I had to stop?

Unemployment Tuesday: November Edition

A couple of months ago I posted this entry here mostly just talking about my mental state after a month of unemployment. Since that post I've had one job and have left town once for my trip to Israel. And now here I am, once again, unemployed and sitting on my couch. So now what?

(If you find my rambles about unemployment boring and/or depressing skip to the end for links to fun stuff! I promise fun links!)

What do I do with myself as an unemployed girl in LA? My lack of job doesn't leave much room for any sort of activity that requires money. Los Angeles is not a cheap place to live and I have to be incredibly careful about what I spend when and on what. Want to buy groceries this week? Guess I'm skipping the movies! Want to go to out with a friend on Tuesday night? Let's see if I can stretch the groceries I bought last week through til next. I don't have to cut out every single thing I'd like to do, I just have to be very, very careful in my planning.

What else do I do? Socially, things like hiking are wonderful. It's a mostly free activity (there's always gas to consider but I don't do that much driving in general), I get outside to enjoy the nice weather, I get exercise, I get to spend time with friends, and the combination of all of those things is wonderful stress relief. When I have groceries (I'm kidding, I eat) I spend a lot of time cooking. Another wonderful way to relieve stress, be creative, and save money. I usually get not just one meal out of whatever I cook but several. Fabulous way to save money and stay healthy! Woo!

I don't know what to say really about the state of the economy. Last report from the L.A. Times puts National unemployment over 10% and California's over 12%. The highest since 1983. The year I was born. Not sure what that means other than the fact that I don't have a job and I'll be lucky to find one before the end of the year.

One of the problems with my industry and trying to find a job this time of year is that typically productions don't start up now. The holidays are kind of deadzone. Hollywood shuts down for almost two weeks and what's the point of starting up a film office or a television show if you're just going to have to close it all down for two weeks anyway? Why not just wait until January? Most productions do. I would love to find a job in the industry now but I can't count on it. What else can I do? Troll craigslist, register with temp agencies, continue to send my resume out to wherever I can. This wherever now includes jobs that are not necessarily film or television related.

Another question I'm frequently asked by friends is what I do with my day when I don't have a job. I do things like go for hikes with friends and ride my bike of course. Mostly though, I do actually work. I write. A lot. I read, another important activity for anyone wanting to write. While I have this free time I spend several hours a day at my computer just writing. I spend another big chunk at my computer job searching. I take advantage of the time I have being unemployed but I don't relish the idea of remaining in this state forever. If for no other reason than the difficulty it causes for things such as paying rent. I like to pay rent. It's nice having a place to live!

Hey also, guys, this whole healthcare thing... Dude, healthcare is expensive! I'm not completely thrilled with the bill that passed the House on Saturday but hey, it's something. When did trying to care for people become such a bad thing? Don't we all deserve a basic level of care? The healthcare system as it is broken. Any step towards actually fixing it seems like a step worth taking.

ANYWAY. Not trying to start a political debate on my film blog.

Hmmm... what else? How about you guys go see some movies for me and tell me how they are? Suggestions: Where The Wild Things Are, Antichrist, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, Paranormal Activity... anything else out worth seeing? I'm also super excited about the upcoming Mr. Fox movie. Looks great!

How about some books? There are good reading things to do! I finally finished Stays Crunchy in Milk
which is fabulous, especially if you like fun stories about cereal characters (and you should really). Actually that's the only book I've read lately. I have another pile of reading things to do from friends so I'm focusing on those. I have a lot of talented friends!

Speaking of friends, a couple of mine and the things they've done have been mentioned places lately. A few days ago Roger Ebert's twitter (@ebertchicago) linked to this piece at Etheriel Musings about "Medicine For Melancholy". Elsewhere my friend Amy and her film "City On A Hill" was mentioned here. Nice things were said in both places about good people doing good things! Check 'em out.

Finally, my friend is trying to go to China. Vote for him?

Oh, while you're at it, you can check out my pie video on youtube (like you haven't all ready), rate it, and let me know if you think I should make another one. Maybe this week? Not that I'm going to make a video EVERY week but I am making more pie anyway... so maybe? What do you think?

I made a Pumpkin Pie and then went insane.

Last Friday before Halloween I went over to a friend's house for pumpkin carving. At the end of the night, after the pumpkins were carved, we noticed that there were still several pumpkins left. One of them happened to be a small pie pumpkin. After some insisting on their part, I took the pumpkin home.

Today, I turned it into pie.

Which in and of itself isn't all that unusual. I have even posted about pie baking in the past (remember my Blueberry Raspberry Pie over the summer?) What causes me to question my sanity is what else I did while cutting and scooping and otherwise massacring my poor, defenseless pumpkin. Um, I made a video?

Yes, I made a video. Of me. Making a pie. And then I posted it on Youtube? Well... yeah... I guess I did.

I was going to post the full recipe, and I still might later, but for now enjoy this somewhat complete demonstration of how to make a pumpkin pie truly from scratch.



I actually tried to record more of the whole process but for some reason the video thing on my computer kept stopping. So large chunks, like when I added all of the spices, just didn't record. Lame! I figured a couple of things out though and if I ever decide I'm this bored again I think I'll be able to make a few improvements.

In case you're wondering, the pies turned out great.

Bad Art: Israel Edition

A full fledged Israel post is in the works but in the mean time, I give you this. Bad Art from Israel. It was Saturday afternoon in Jerusalem and being Shabbat there wasn't a whole lot for us to do beyond hanging out in the park. Which was actually very, very nice. Some people wandered, some people played frisbee, others napped. I drew unicorns? And a weird bunny guy? Or tried to at least? Yeah, that happened...

National Novel Writing Month

I have what feels like a billion tabs open on my browser right now. Instructions on how to do something nifty to the formatting of this blog, links to cool new works by authors and musicians and artists that I like, articles about various film happenings and reviews and thoughts that I'd love to share, a page for something I'm researching, another page for a skirt I really want to buy and can't afford... They've all been open like this for the last week. Everyday I keep meaning to go through them, do what I've been meaning to do, post links to things I've been wanting to link to, and every day the number of tabs open gets larger rather than smaller.

Why don't I just sit down and get through it? The same reason that I suspect will keep me from blogging quite a bit over the next month. That's right, it's November which means it is once again National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo for those in the know (i.e. big nerds like me).

I've been wanting to participate in NaNoWriMo for the last couple of years. Last year I even went so far as to sign up, write 100 words, and promptly give up. Let's just say that I was not in a novel writing place.  I blame it one work?

This year I vowed would be different. I had an idea for my novel two months ago. I changed that idea about a week ago. I'm sticking to my second idea, thankfully. I didn't really do any pre-writing but I did think the plot through, I have a pretty solid idea of where things might be going. Then on November 1st, Halloween recovery complete, I sat down at my computer. I actually began to type. Then I began to type faster. Before I knew it I was past my daily word goal for the day. It was exciting!

It's now day four and I haven't yet reached today's goal. I've written a chapter about a new character which was a bit harder than I had thought it was going to be and now I have to take a break to do life things. I'll come back to it this afternoon or evening to finish off my daily goal. Hopefully this will happen before the baseball game starts (Go Phillies btw!). Either way, I found that what worked for me while getting through the first rough draft of my screenplay this summer was setting a daily goal and sticking to it. For the screenplay I sat time goals, an hour a day, two hours a day, whatever, since I had no real page or word requirement. NaNoWriMo is different, the whole point is to reach 50,000 words by the end of November. So each day I have my word goal. I'm going with the unambitious break 50,000 words out evenly over 30 days plan giving myself a daily goal of 1667 words. During the first 3 days I surpassed that goal every day. I'm hoping to continue to do so. I'm sort of trying to bank my words if you will. You know, in case I ever actually get a real job and loose all of my wonderful free time.

I know I'm only on day 4 here and that things will most likely not continue to be this wonderful in Elissa writing land, but at the moment I am enjoying the heck out of this. It's such a pleasure to watch the word count grow, see the story develop, get to know my characters. Everything is still flowing in that wonderfully organic way that happens at the beginning of a writing project, when everything is still shiny and new and exciting. Week 2 I hear is harder. Then there's week 3. Finally week 4 comes around and you're just happy that the light is visible at the end of the tunnel. Writing is fun?

I say this and yet really, it is! I love writing and I am so unbelievably thrilled that this year has given me the time for it.

The even more wonderful thing about NaNoWriMo? Anyone can do it! That means you! If you want to of course. The beauty is, it doesn't matter what you write. It doesn't have to be good. You never even have to show it to anyone. You are doing this thing purely for yourself. To exercise your brain muscles, be creative, have fun. Spread the word-use love. We have words! It's a wonderous thing to be able to use them. Tell a story! Make up some nonsense! Who cares what it is!

I'm hoping that at the end of this I'll actually have something good. I like what I'm doing so far. I plan on sharing it with my writing group once I get a little farther along. I'll do the rough draft this month and see where I'm at. If I still like it after 50,000 words and a month of crazy, then who knows? Rewrites in December!

If you're at all curious about NaNoWriMo, I strongly encourage you to at least go browse the website. It's definitely not too late to get started on something for the month. It's only day 4!

If you need a pep talk, although I hope you don't this early but maybe you will want to come back here in the next week or two, there are lots on their website from various wonderful authors. This one is from Neil Gaiman.

Oh! And if you're all ready signed up, be my writing buddy! Find me by my user name theladysrevenge. Let me know if you do. We can be writing friends!

Good luck guys! Let the writing madness commence. Or, at least, continue.

Happy Halloween!!!

The Post Travel Post

The trip is over. I am once again back in LA. I actually got back Tuesday night and have been fighting jetlag and exhaustion ever since. I don't think I've fallen asleep this early this consistently since I was 8. I'm hoping I can make it a bit later tonight though, as there is pumpkin carving and other exciting pre-Halloween fun to be had.

I have so many things I want to say about this trip, it was incredibly amazingly amazing, but you're going to have to wait just a little longer for all of that. Don't worry, it will happen. Possibly later this weekend.

In the meantime, get out and enjoy Halloween! I love this holiday. I failed in getting together an original costume but luckily a wonderful friend has lent me one of hers. So I will be a "Sexy Baseball Player" and yeah... Hey, don't judge! It's actually the first time I've ever done one of those "Sexy" Halloween costumes. I guess it had to happen eventually? At least I won't look out of place watching the Phillies kick butt tomorrow night!

Yeah, I went there.

Anyway, Happy Halloween kids! Enjoy! Eat candy! Don't get caught egging your neighbor's car! Actually, don't egg your neighbor's car. That's gross.

Travel Post

A quick update from Brooklyn. And my iPod. It's been a good weekend here in NYC. Tomorrow it's off to Israel first thing in the AM.

Don't expect too many updates while I'm out there. Or any. But I promise pictures when I get back!

For now I'm going to continue sitting on the couch and watching TV with an old friend. I may have just been crying from the end of Marly and Me...

See you guys in two weeks!

Stuck In A Tree

You may remember that a while back I began taking requests for whatever. Really, whatever. I was bored and asked my Facebook friends for ideas of what to do. From time to time I've posted the results on this blog (all that bad art? you bet!) but I haven't actually had access to a scanner for the last few weeks. Until I discovered the one in our office yesterday. Yes! The bad art is back!

This particular request came from a fabulous former co-worker while we were all out at the Reno Farewell Party. I was telling the story of how in my senior year of college I got myself stuck in a tree. The next day she put in the request for a visual representation. Who am I to say no to that?

Without further ado, I here now present to you... me. In a tree.

  

 

 

... THE END.

Girl Talk Thursday - Roommate Love

This week's Girl Talk Thursday topic is about roommates.

Roommates. I’ve sure had a lot of them. College, after college, now, I even had a roommate on an indie film I worked on once. We were shooting in Ft. Myers, FL and while I lived close-ish it was definitely too far for a daily commute. So the producer put most of the crew up in what used to be an assisted living facility. My roommate was the make-up artist and she was a really sweet girl with a boyfriend who built us awesome curtains out of a furni pad. The place was also haunted…

Miraculously I’m still on speaking terms with most of the people I’ve lived with and the rest it’s more of a lost touch kind of thing rather than a “She (or in one case He) was awful” kind of thing. I have good stories from a lot of the cohabitations but no real horror stories. Honestly, my roommates may have more horror stories about me than I have about them (just ask J about the now infamous Jameson night back in April. Or even better, DON’T).

Actually speaking of roommates, K and I have just passed our 2-year anniversary in Bonaparte House. We moved in October ’07. This just occurred to me. Right now. As I typed the above paragraph. Wow.

My Bonaparte Set on Flickr.

I love my house and my two roommates. Sure, we’ve had our spats, if you can even call them that. Occasionally something will be said about the dirty dishes, that sort of thing. For the most part though we all get along. We hangout, we have beer & pizza nights, we IM during the day when we’re all at work. There will be long email chains making elaborate plans for weekend activities. So what if there’s a honeycomb still stuck in our wall? Living at Bonaparte is great.

What are some of my favorite memories?

Since I don’t remember half of it, I can’t really qualify our first Halloween party as memorable per se. It was pretty epic though. A great crowd, good costumes, tasty snacks (spicy popcorn!), and a bit of scandal. Epic I tell you. Epic.

My 25th birthday was also pretty epic. K and I devouring a smorgasbord of bad for you food including I don’t even remember what. There was mac and cheese? That sort of thing. And a bottle of vodka… Then J joined us for bar adventures and general goofiness.

Speaking of birthdays, K’s surprise party this year was pretty great too.

Then there was the painting of the living room of which I was only marginally a part. I spent most of that day fighting with my old Ikea bed, trying to disassemble the damn thing. I helped paint one wall though!

Pretty much any day that’s involved a bike ride to the beach or visit to the farmer’s market has been awesome.

Or how about the night J came home late with her friend C and they decided I needed to join them for an impromptu dance party in the living room? I remember I was in bed, mostly asleep, when I became aware of whispering in the hall outside of my bedroom. Next thing I know the door is busting open and two drunk people are jumping on my bed. C picked me up, literally picked me up, spun me around, and announced that the dance party was on. What do you in the face of the craziness? Grab a beer and join it of course! I remember being spun around to the music of Justice a lot that night. It was great.

Sometimes the house feels small (it is a little), sometimes the landlord drives us nuts (leaking shower anyone?), and sometimes we all just need our alone time. Overall though, we’re three kinda nutty girls who get along and over the last two years have become close friends. I love my Bonaparte Bitches. I can’t imagine two ladies I’d enjoy living with more.

West Hollywood Book Fair... and Cookies?

The Ginger Cookie madness is never ending. Mostly because I will not let it end. Delicious, delicious madness.

I was meeting a friend for dinner at Real Food Daily Sunday after the book fair and as I was a little early, I decided to grab a beer at the counter while I waited for him. On display they have a variety of tasty looking baked things under protective, pretty glass covers. What happened to be right in front of me? Giant Ginger Cookies. It was fate. Or destiny. Or some such thing. It was also an incredibly tasty way to finish a very satisfying dinner.

At least this time I included a picture.

Book Fair was great! I knew there was a reason I linked to it ten billion times. I forgot about the triathlon or whatever it was going on Sunday morning which unfortunately meant I was stuck trying to make my way up from the westside in the most oblique manner ever. But after two hours of back tracking and driving in circles and getting vaguely lost (why have I been getting lost so much lately? Thomas Guide, where did I put you???) I finally arrived to find free parking and the Border Grill truck. And my roommate who was very confused as to how she managed to beat me there.

We wandered around, caught a few panels, got things signed, I bought more books as I figured I would. We took a break at one point to grab some water from the grocery across the street. That ended in an almost awkward disaster as I saw a former co-worker I had no desire to ever make casual chat with again. Luckily I was able to escape before being noticed.

Panels! I didn't make it to all of the ones I wanted to check out (like the one about Zombie stuff with Amber Benson) but I really enjoyed the few I saw.

Bryan Lee O'Malley and Joshua Dysart talk Scott Pilgrim

Josh Dysart (Unknown Soldier) had a great panel chatting with Bryan Lee O'Malley about Scott Pilgrim and the process of adapting that comic into a film. I'm such a nerd for things like this. I love hearing about the different experiences people have from various angles of getting into Hollywood. It's always a challenge regardless of whether your experience is good or bad. I also found interesting how the movie and comic evolved sort of together and yet end up in different directions. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all compares.

Josh also did a a great job as a fan and fellow comic person leading the discussion. It was fun to watch them both talk.

Gerry Conway, Asterios Kokkinos, John Rogers, Laura Valdivia, Kevin Seccia

The Comics on Comics panel was hilarious. Good points were also addressed and the super enthusiastic kid in the audience made for some additional entertainment. He was really into his Venom.

D.J. Kirkbride, Darren Clavadetscher, Ed Laroche, Kiyoshi Nakazawa, Joe Matt

(Jordan Crane eventually showed up too!)

The last panel I caught was the Indie Creators panel. I think it was actually one of the more interesting panels I've seen. The guys up there had quite diverging opinions on various comic type things, from the practical side of marketing to the more esoteric question of "what is the perfect comic?" They got feisty!

And if you've been following my comments section, you'll be happy to know that I did manage to say "hi" to D.J. Kirkbride after the panel. I also bought Jordan Crane's comic which I'm very excited to read. I would have grabbed more (including Popgun which is just a bit out of my financial grasp at the moment, sorry D.J.!) but I'm still broke. Oh the glamorous life of the freelance filmmaker...

I really did enjoy the book fair and I can't recommend attending next year's enough. My afternoon focused pretty heavily on the comics but that's by no means all that's there. They had a variety of panels on all sorts of genres, poetry, theater, etc. I talked to various booth people about indie publishing, writing classes at UCLA, some cool sounding theater stuff, more comics, books, and lots of writing.

There are also a number of things going on for kids and families. Kids should be encouraged to read and love books! This is a great thing! I would totally bring kids if I had any! Maybe next year I can borrow few. Parents won't mind if I just pull a few off the street, right? I'll return them after the book fair...

What I did manage to buy:
Uptight #3 by Jordan Crane
Unknown Soldier by Joshua Dysart
Death's Daughter by Amber Benson
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

Completely unrelated, I've been listening to a lot of Neko Case, Regina Spektor, and David Byrne lately. In case you were wondering. I don't know, it seemed pertinent that I share this information with you... um... yes...

Go read stuff!

Thinking Things Through

There are always lots of things to think about. My mind has been mostly full of one of them for the last few weeks.

In just over a week I'll embarking on one of the biggest trips of my life. No exaggeration! I'm leaving L.A. for two and half weeks and what's more, I'm leaving the COUNTRY for 10 days. This is huge guys. I'm 26-years-old and I've never left the country. Maybe it's my socio-economic place in this world, but from where I'm coming from this is not really normal. Almost everyone I know has at least been to Mexico or maybe Canada. I never have. Up until two days ago I didn't even have a passport.

Needless to say, I'm very excited. Excited and nervous as heck. Mostly emphasis on the excited though. My plan for the weekend involves lots of last minute shopping and packing. I don't need to get much but there are few items that need to be purchased. I've already picked up my shoes.

I'm also not planning on bringing my computer with me so this means that as of a week from Saturday I will be offline. No blogging, no Facebook, no Twitter once I leave the states... no more online timesuck. I will have my ipod with me so I could potentially be updating from there when wireless makes itself available. But that's about it.

I have to admit that I'm almost as excited about the prospect of disconnecting as I am about the trip itself. I love the internet and what it does for me but sometimes... I just need a break. This sure is going to be a big one.

In the meantime, there are still other things to occupy my brainspace with.

Roman Polanksi. Okay, not going to say much more about this but I think I can better articulate my thoughts on it all after reading more and talking to folks and thinking about it. Here's what I think. Looking at the crime - reprehensible. There's no excusing it, plain and simple. Looking at the reactions to the story - ridiculous. On the one hand, we have people yelling for his head. People who up until a week ago couldn't have cared less. 33 years and you get offended now? Come on. On the other hand, this petition to free him? No matter what else, he's still guilty. Whatever other absurdity is going on, how can you justify signing a petition to release someone guilty of the crime? And Woody Allen signing in support? Seriously? I feel like I'm watching a satire, not real life. It's all absurd.

And I'm done. That's all I'm going to say about it. I didn't much care about what Polanski was doing last week beyond a passing interest in what his newest film might be and I think it's probably best to stick to that. There's all ready enough hypocrisy to go around.

More fun things!

For the Vegans: Came across this site thanks to @ecovegangirl. Curious if your beer/wine/liquor is vegan friendly? Check out Barnivore! Happy to see that some of my favorites like Stone and Abita are on the list.

Also on the vegan front is Vegan Oktoberfest  at Verdugo Bar on Sunday. I probably won't make it since I'll be at the book fair all day but it looks tasty!

And how many times can I link to the book fair? Really?

Rashomon is playing at the Nuart! I have so much going on and I've seen this movie not just a few times but still. A nice new 35mm print? Tempting...

Thom Yorke is doing a surprise show tonight but good luck getting tickets to that! And if you did get tickets, don't tell me. I don't want to know. You jerks.

Adam P. Knave has an interview up about Stays Crunchy in Milk. It's good! Go read it! And then read his book that my favorite grammarmonkey edited.

That's all I got at the moment. This work thing is actually requiring me to work. So back to that!

Paramount Ruined My Morning

Okay, maybe it was more the cop on Venice with the radar gun, but Paramount isn't helping! Remember that hilariously wonderful clip I posted of Alan the Marmot and the Not So Scary Sharks from BBC's Walk on The Wild Side show? Yeah, we're not allowed to watch it in the US anymore. The sharks singing the Jaws music is apparently copyright violation or some such nonsense. BOO Paramount. Boo!

Whatever Paramount, I'm just going to watch the Nighttime, Daytime bird instead. So there!



In other news... I had three ginger cookies for breakfast...

Hey LA, what are you doing this weekend? Nothing you say? Well, you should be going here! The West Hollywood Book Fair is this Sunday from 10 AM - 6 PM in the West Hollywood Park.

I'm excited to check out some of the panels, attend a workshop, say hi to people, spend too much money on more books... you know, the usual Nerd things that typically excite me.

In tasty food news, Eco-Vegan Gal put together a great list of Vegan bakeries in LA. I know this isn't necessarily of interest for everyone, but there are some really great places on that list! Even if you're not vegan! It's worth looking at by anyone who enjoys tasty baked goods. Extra points for tasty AND responsible eating.

Other things that are making my morning happy beyond eating too many cookies include my pizza that I picked up from Pizza Port in Carlsbad last night. Sooo good. I love that place. Sort of the opposite of vegan with all of the cheese covering everything... ah well. I went with onion, tomato, and PINEAPPLE. A pizza guaranteed to put me in a brilliant mood. Well, a brilliant mood as long as I'm not sitting in a parking lot on the 405 or getting a speeding ticket on Venice... Um.

Okay, ignoring the bad, focusing on the good.

I think it might be time for another cookie.

Oh Roman Polanski

Over the weekend director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss authorities after he arrived in Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival where he was to receive a lifetime achievement award. His crime is nothing new, he's been a contentious figure for the last three decades. In the 70's he fled the states after he was sentenced for raping a 13-year-old girl. He's been living in exile ever since.

So why was he arrested now? Sure, LA County has been actively trying for the last few years. Is it simply that this time they knew where he would be and when? Sure, why not. Conspiracy theories point to Swiss involvement with UBS. That might be a stretch? Who knows.

I'm curious about the timing but after reading various arguments I'm honestly more interested in whether or not he deserves to be arrested. Is this justice? Or is it something else?

There are various arguments. On the one hand, he committed a pretty terrible crime and then fled the country, evading justice for decades. Just because time has passed, doesn't mean he gets a get out of jail free card.

Other people argue that he has paid for his crimes. They site the trauma of his wife's murder in the 60's, living as a fugitive for three decades, even his parent's internment in concentration camps during WWII.

Or they argue that his role as an artist somehow excuses his crimes. His brilliance as a director gives him a free pass.

What do I think? Looking at the above it probably sounds like I'm falling on the side of bringing him to justice. Is that how I really feel though? I don't know. True, I don't really feel that either of the arguments for his freedom hold much weight. That he's suffered enough sounds like pity and excuses. Let him go free because he's an artist? That doesn't really sound right either. Just because someone makes a cool movie doesn't excuse bad behavior. 

And yet... he was arrested on the way to a ceremony that was supposed to be honoring him? The methods behind his arrest just feel so wrong. He's old! His winning an award he deserves! He should be allowed to enjoy that. Putting the situation into that context makes the "he's suffered enough already" argument seem more valid.

If it's a question of justice then, well, what would justice in this case be? The victim has all ready publicly forgiven him and dropped charges. They came to an out of court settlement. If she's satisfied, shouldn't we be as well? What makes this case larger than the injured parties?

I don't know if he should be forgiven but I'm also not the one who needed to do the forgiving. It's not like arresting him now is going to be taking a dangerous predator off of the streets. If he was a dangerous predator I think we would have noticed that sometime over the last 32 years. Rather than haplessly raping every minor he's come in contact with, he's lived a life of exile and continued to make great art. In spite of, or maybe because of, the events of his life.

The media loves scandal. How much of this is about the scandal? If Polanski wasn't who he is, would we still be chasing after him? Sure, he probably still would have had to stay in exile but would authorities go through this much effort for someone with no name recognition? If the media didn't care, would they? Maybe I'm being a little cynical here, but I have a hard time thinking so.

So much of this just feels like a contrived stunt at Polanski's expense. Maybe I'm crazy. Definitely cynical. I guess from here we just see how this plays out.

For opinions more informed than my own:
Links to a bunch of articles
Q&A on the case
The victim forgives

An Actual Conversation

That I had with myself...

Me: I'm hungry.
Me: There are cookies.
Me: But I'm really hungry.
Me: They're Ginger cookies.
Me: No, I mean like I need a real meal hungry.
Me: That's silly. Have a cookie. They're so freakin good. You'll be happy.
Me: Okay, one cookie...

(Three cookies and 20 minutes later)

Me: That so did not work. I'm still hungry.
Me: Have another cookie!

***

Don't worry, I didn't have another cookie. I actually left the office for my real meal.

Today feels like a really long day even though if you're counting the hours it really hasn't been that terrible. I didn't actually get here til close to 1 PM. Granted, I did drive up from my mom's place in Carlsbad this morning after driving down to pick up the dog for the weekend. Those aren't really work hours though. I tell myself this, it makes me feel better.

I'm allowed to be muddled right now, right?

This is one of those vaguely frustrating evenings in post. The Friday night, sitting around waiting for your weekend to start, it all being entirely dependent upon a computer and how fast a DVD burns.

Did I mention I'm still working on the pilot? I've been hired on through post which is fantastic. After the slowness of this year I am thrilled to have another few weeks of work. And being in post is interesting! This week has been a lot of carry-over from production but it's still being in a new world, seeing a bit more of this side.

Still, it's been a long week and I'm really tired right now. I'm looking forward to these DVD's being done and delivered, getting home to my dog, and then I don't know. Depending on the time I may join a few ladies for a girl's night or I may crash and just sleep. Or I might watch Dollhouse. So many choices! What will she do? I just don't know!

Also, I may have lied. I may have had another cookie...

Girl Talk Thursday - Who's Your Romance?

I went through a brief phase towards the end of high school when I could just not get enough of the romance novels. I don’t know how many I must have read but it’s not like they take that long to get through. In a good week I would easily get through several. I started covertly, sneaking them off of my mom’s shelf, but soon enough I was just reading them out there in the open. Not really sure what got me started and I’m even less sure of why I stopped.

I’ll still occasionally grab a romance off of my shelf or pick up a new one in the store but I have to be honest here, I can’t remember the last time I actually finished one. Maybe it’s an age thing or something but now I find the plots and frequently the characters to be boring, cliché, and sometimes even annoying. The last one I tried to read spent so much time telling me the heroine and hero were so “smart” and “intelligent” and “brilliant” all while they were running around acting like big idiots. I wasn’t convinced.

ANYWAY.

As a reader, I’ve definitely imagined myself as a character in the novels I’ve read. I think if I were to star in my own romance I would definitely want to be in one of the historical ones set in London. Beautiful dresses, elaborate parties, shenanigans unacceptable by society’s standards. There would be none of that damsel in distress nonsense, no contrived plots for me. I might be the debutante on the sidelines, a little too smart and bored to really take part. My leading man would possibly be tall, dark, and handsome (I’m allowed at least one cliché, right?) and would notice how awesome I was. There’d be some friction because we would be both be a little too disillusioned for our own goods but eventually it would work out. I guess it would end with babies?

OR.

If I go back to the sort of scenarios I used to imagine myself in before I even picked up a romance novel, I would definitely be the awesome heroine in the action/adventure plot. The female equivalent of Robin Hood, the good witch in the woods who made that amazing potion, maybe even captain of the pirate ship! I’ve noticed I’m not the first lady participating this week whose romance novel character fantasies involve some combination of swords, kicking ass, and pants.

Makes sense to me! Why should we have to be relegated to the role of dress wearing, bosom heaving, corset enclosed, helpless woman who needs a man to come to her rescue? F’ that! I will cut you just as soon as kiss you!

Not that I want my hero to be weak or even in need of saving himself. Ideally we’d be going up against the villain together, we’d need each other to succeed. We would both be strong, capable people who work better together than individually.

And we would have some great sex.

So I think my plot would go something like this. I’m a girl/princess/lady/whatever who lives in some sort of castle or village. I somehow stumble across this truly heinous plot by the evil villain and this sets off a string of events leading me out into the wide world on a quest to retrieve some object or save some other person. Along the way I’d meet and team up with my hero and maybe a couple of other supporting characters. We’d all distrust each other at first but over the course of adventures and various life saving we’d form a deep bond and eventually realize we were in love. The quest would continue, something crazy and epic would happen possibly involving various gods of different cultures, and in the end we would vanquish the villain together.

The love part wouldn’t be easy though. He would definitely be the dangerous type and the story would be fraught with sexual tension before any sort of consummation ever occurred. Maybe there wouldn’t even be any consummation! Unfulfilled desire is hot. There would definitely be lots of close whispering in corners, smoldering stares, that sort of thing.

So maybe we would have some great sex. Maybe not.

I think that more or less covers it. I love the quest idea. If I lived in another magical time period I would definitely go on a quest. I think that would cover more of my romance novel than the lovin does. Maybe that’s why I’m not such a fan of romance novels anymore. Love always has to be the center of the story and the character’s lives. In my real life I don’t really want that, my fantasy life isn’t much different.

Protect Insurance Companies

This has been floating around online all day and I'm jumping on the video sharing band wagon. Protecting our insurance company CEO's is a very important cause.

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

 
From Funny or Die. I loves them.

Seriously though, I feel like the whole health insurance reform thing is kind of an important issue. Whatever the solution may be, the current situation is not a good one.

Hey, who can define socialism for me?

It's Monday. Happy Monday!

It's Monday. I guess you've probably noticed that by now. Personally, I think I'm still a little sleep deprived this wonderful Monday evening. It was a good weekend that was mostly relaxing but still not enough sleep was to be had. There was Mom time and Dog time and bike time, football time, laundry time, and dinner having time. Followed by more bike time. One of these Sundays I'll figure out that riding my bike to my friend's apartment for dinner is not a great plan. Seems wonderful at 5 PM, exhausting at 10 PM.

One of the things my mom and I did this weekend was attend a fundraiser dinner and silent auction. Something I've never experienced before and I must say it was certainly interesting. I'll spare you the details but rest assured the food was tasty and the drinks did not disappoint.

While not well mixed, I did try what I think may be a version of my new favorite cocktail. A Strawberry Basil Gin drink that sent a lovely combination of flavors dancing across my tongue with every sip. Well, that might be an exaggeration. But it was really good! So good in fact that I'm attempting my own Strawberry Basil cocktail this evening. I'll let you know how it goes and will certainly share the recipe and pictures if it's a success. For the moment I think it's going to be some version of this Berry Gimlet.

I do have more to talk about beyond alcohol! Keep reading!

Actually, I have questions.

First off, what are people's thoughts on this whole lawsuit thing by the Kirby Estate against Marvel and Disney? Basically Jack Kirby's kids are seeking to reclaim the copyrights for the comic book characters he created for Marvel (Jack Kirby himself died in 1994).

Personally I find it to be an interesting albeit very complicated story. As someone involved even remotely in creative endeavors, I tend to fall on the side of the creator, or in this case the creator's estate. Even more so when you consider how much intellectual property is improperly acquired or how often creators are cheated out of compensation they should fairly receive for their work. Against that you could argue that the creator's work was work-for-hire and therefore belongs to Marvel. An argument I don't find particularly convincing but I have to concede that this case is more complicated because of how copyright laws have changed over the years.

Coming on the heals of the recent Superman case, it seems like the Kirby's do have a pretty good shot here (Jerry Siegel's Estate won back the his share of the rights to Superman back in August. Kirby's estate is not surprisingly using the same legal representation.)

/Film's article does give a little more background though as well as a partial list of some of the characters he's responsible for.

Oh, also, there's this about copyright law from the LA Times:

Under copyright law, creators and co-creators can seek to regain copyrights they previously assigned to a company 56 years after first publication and can give notice of their intentions to do so up to 10 years before that.

Taking that into consideration, does that mean the work-for-hire bit is irrelevant anyway? I believe so. 

So what do you think? Are his heirs wrong in trying to reclaim the copyright for work he created? Should the rights to these characters remain with Marvel (and now Disney)? The films that could potentially be affected would be ones like the upcoming Avengers movies Marvel has planned although most of those should be completed before the date that the Kirby Estate is trying to reclaim the copyrights by. Even if they get back the copyrights, Disney and Marvel would still own the trademarks. Or something like that?

Some other sites with various thoughts. Film School Rejects seems to fall on the side of being bummed that the Kirby Estate may put a halt to superhero movies. Paul Constant is coming in on the other side.

I was going to ask more questions but after that I think I should probably split this up into several posts. Different topics deserve their own discussions, don't you think? Okay, I'm convinced. More questions will come later. Specifically I want to talk about women in the workplace. Or rather, women working with other women in the workplace. I've noticed a few things through my own experiences and listening to the experiences of others and I'd like throw some of that out there. Just not right this second. I shall compose my thoughts and come back at you maybe tomorrow. How's that sound? I like it!