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.