Random Word Poetry

"It's the sort of website that makes you want to go and write a Sestina, and that can't be bad."

-The Oracular Journal

A few semesters ago, during a poetry workshop with David, he assigned a nifty exercise. He gave us a list of words he'd pulled out of some poems. Then he said we had to use X number of them in the next thing we wrote for class. Now, Camii and I do the same thing in our letters to each other. For a while, we've forgotten to, but this last time I said, "Holy smokes! We need random word poetry!"

Here's an example, from part of my last letter to Camii, of what that looks like. In her response, she'll create some poetry from my list and send another list or two for me to use.

Slacking

I have accepted dearest Ali's invitation...apprently I must have something to say about something...here goes...

And the top ten requirements of slackers around the world are, in no paticular order because that would require far more energy than slackers are allowed:
1. You must be willing to sacrifice hours of your life to the gods of television.
2. You must be willing to stop whatever you're doing when you realize that you are doing something.
3. You must always stop writing the 'top ten' of anything around #3.

Notorious Slacker Jenny

Writing Marathon

"Hello Writers!

I hope that you all are well! Attached is a flier announcing our upcoming Writing Marathon on April 21 from 3:00-7:00."
-Part of an e-mail Katherine sent out

This weekend we're having the 5th or so Writing Marathon. This'll be the first one for me. I'm excited. I've been slacking on my non-school writing lately, and this will force me to do some. Since I'm the one taking reservations, I know who'll be there and I'm looking forward to hanging out with them. Besides, there'll be free food at the end of it. Hoorah!

Nebulas Necklace

Forgive me my poetic license, but that's what this necklace makes me think of. This necklace is made of black polymer clay which I painted with metallic and colored acrylic paints and doused with pearlescent poweder then ran through the pasta machine again to create fractures. The next step was to laminate the sheets with a thin layer of translucent polymer, so the paint wouldn't flake off. Add some dark blue glass pearls and a few seed beads and Viola!

Announcment

"sounds interesting. i probably won't update all that much but at the least, it should be interesting to read what you folks have to say."
-My brother (who apparently has problems with capital letters)

I've been thinking, lately, that it might be fun to have a few more people adding to this blog. Thus, I've invited some new people, like my brother and that notorious slacker, Jenny.

Say hi.

Problem 2 - Myspace

"I dig thinking and feeling."
-Expressivist

The latest problem we did in Katherine's class addressed the Expressivist/Social Constructivist debate. One of the groups did a very nifty project in response and created two myspace pages, one for each side. You can find them here:

http://www.myspace.com/expressivist_wildcat
http://www.myspace.com/socialconstructivist

Finding a New David: Short-List

Katherine: Are you going to be here from 2:00 to 3:30?
Me: Yes.
Katherine: Well, you can't.

Yesterday I got kicked out of the office so the hiring committee could meet and create a short list of candidates. For official/legal reasons, I can't be privy to the details of selection, but I do know they're down to three potential people now. It's definitely been interesting to see the selection process from an insider POV. A couple points to remember if you're ever applying for an academic job:

1. A vitae is scary (think resume plus everything you've ever published, won, been nominated for, or been graded on - okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but not much) When you write your resume, they say two pages tops. Vitae, not so much. I saw a few that had to be a good ten pages long.

2. A single typo may be the kiss of death. More than fifty people applied for this job and it got to the point of looking for something, anything, to disqualify people and narrow it down.

3. Recommendation letters are essential. However, they should not be written by students.

4. "Writing Sample" does not mean all three of your novels. Nor does it mean a music CD you recorded.

5. A podcast does not count as publishing credit.

I'm not sure how long it'll take for the committee to pick who's going to replace David - now comes the part where they call references and arrange to interview the candidates. I do think, however, that I may be one of the first in the genereal public to know the final decision. Oh boy, I feel special.

New Roof

*Stomp, bang, stomp, stomp*

-Roofer noises

On Monday night the roofers said they would come no earlier than nine the following morning (because I like to sleep until about eight-thirty). Tuesday at seven-thirty, I hear a big diesel truck backing into my driveway, followed shortly by the sounds of people on the roof. I don't understand how the disconnnect happened, I really don't. This morning, they arrived even earlier and were tromping about just past seven. I cannot wait until they are done and gone.

Dr. Dakota Block: If anyone comes to the door, I want you to shoot them.

Dakota's Son: What if it's Dad?

Dr. Dakota Block: ESPECIALLY if it's your dad.

Movie Review: Grindhouse. The early wake-up was not helped by the fact that I went to see this movie last night at 10:30, which meant getting home a little past two this morning. Good flick, though. Mostly. Let me qualify: Planet of Terror was great. Full of gratuitous everything and with great, and somewhat unexpected, actors (like Bruce Willis, Naveen Andrews, and Michael Biehn), this one was full-on entertainment. Deathproof got tedious real quick, too much girly chit-chat and not enough giving a damn, and was only partially redeemed in its second part when Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson, and Tracie Thoms take the lead. Not suprisingly, it was Tarantino's baby I didn't care for. Gotta love the "Prevues" though. Fun to watch, but I'd recommend going to the theater a bit earlier in the evening.

Hoodlums and Miracle Babies

Benny 'The Bomb' Palladino: I want you to get the 'you-know-what' from 'you-know-who'. You know where, and the 'when' is now.


Movie Review: Hoodlum and Son. Yes, it is just that cheesy. Keith brought it over, saying, “Look, it’s Ron Perlman.” Apparently, Perlman isn’t as discriminating as I would hope in picking the films he’s going to be in. Campy, silly, and rifled with plot holes, it hurt me to watch it. Okay, the movie has a few good moments, which is why I’d advocate a dollar rental – but no more. The dialogue is horrid and Ron Perlman’s orange hair made me cringe.


Kee: What the fuck you staring at?
Theodore Faron: Apparently, the pleasure is all mine.

Movie Review: Children of Men. Jenny and Shane saw this one in the theater and told me, "it's good, but not an upper." True. We start off twenty years in the future when the youngest person on earth is eighteen years old. Clive Owen gets kidnapped by his ex, Julianne Moore, and propositioned to get transit papers for a gal she's trying to get across England. Turns out, the gal's pregnant. Michael Caine co-stars as Jasper, political cartoonist and stoner, and Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a member of Julianne's group. Excellent performances all around. The impressive part is how well they did inserting humor in such a dark movie. In the end, I have to agree with Jenny and Shane, it's not a "feel-good" movie, but it's very, very well done.

A Change of Pace

I believe this is the first multi-stranded necklace I've posted. I don't have all that many of them. This one is all glass, a combination of seed beads and bugles.

Gag Genesis

"This is Gag."

-Me

Once upon a time, as I wrote a letter to Camii, I doodled a little stick figure running and named him Gag. He was a running Gag.

This is a badly done Paint version of running Gag. However, it does demonstrate his trademark spikey hair and goofy grin. Not only have I caught Gag running, but I've also found him to jump rope, climb mountains, and wear women's clothing. Gag is a very active guy.

T.A. Letter

"I would first like to thank you for the opportunity to apply for the teaching assistantship..."
-Opening of my letter

Gulp. The letter is written, proofread, and re-printed on nice paper. It's done. It's turned in. It's out of my hands. Now comes the fun part where I wait to hear the results and wonder what the committee will think while they're reading my letter. Will it be "impressive" or "dumb-ass"? I hope for the first and fear the second.

I just keep thinking that I did the best I could and I remind myself that there are probably ten people apply for the two available T.A.s so if I don't get one, it doesn't mean I'm a moron. It just means the selection was competitive. Yeah. Right. Uh huh...

Problem Problems

"I would describe panopticism as the condition where people alter their own behaviors based on the idea that they may be being watched by an invisible authority. Surveillance cameras are a perfect example of it but even the organization of a classroom that allows the teacher to see every student is related to it. I don't see that as mere social pressure as in the pressure to dress a certain way or pressure to be married by a certain age. I just wanted to point out that the reading doesn't quite match the vague idea of social pressure."
-Guy in my group

Katherine uses problem-based learning in her classes, which is basically where she gives us a "problem" presented as a series of questions, then says "okay, get into your groups and go answer them." That is, of course, a highly simplified explanation. This go around, the group is giving me headaches.

We have person A who's new to the group. She's crazy. She's the kind of person who can talk, and talk, and talk and at the end of it, leave me thinking "what the hell did she just say?" Honestly, half the stuff that she says is impressively incoherent. I don't know how she pulls it off, but she does.

Then we have person B who's stubborn and sporadically dense. He's the one that doesn't think Foucault applies to social pressures. Gimme a break. I've seen him used in that exact context. Wanna know where? Brit. Lit. 2, which I took with, you guessed it, Katherine. She's the one who applied Foucault to Victorian culture.

Bloody hell, people.

Freaks, Aliens, and Culture Shock

I’ve been a monstrous slacker on Netflix reviews lately, so here I hope to rectify the situation with a three-for-one deal.

Justin: You always knew what was inside of me.

TV Review: Carnivale. I’ve had people recommend this one to me for a while, so I moved it up in my queue and now I’m mostly through Season One. Wow, it’s really good stuff. The mysticism/eeriness is expertly played and they stretch out the mysteries, solve enough to give some closure, and introduce new ones to figure out in an accomplished pacing. Excellent characters all ‘round, and Nick Stahl is especially wonderful. The neat part is how none of the characters is completely likable, and yet they’re all very lovable – not in any kind of cutesy way, but in a make you care about them despite yourself way. Go watch this one. Now.

Aeryn Sun: She gives me a woody. [no one says anything] Woody. It's a human saying. I've heard you say it often. When you don't trust someone or they make you nervous, they give you...
John Crichton: Willies. She gives you the willies.

TV Review: Farscape. A friend introduced this to me when it was originally playing on Sci-Fi (she taped the episodes for me ‘cause I didn’t have cable) and now I’m going through it in order. It’s totally as fun as I remember it. Fun Sci-Fi that doesn’t have replicators, and in which money is actually an issue. Hoorah! Of course, Ben Browder (John Crichton) is pretty much worth it just for him. Add to that the novelty of the human being the alien, and you’ve got a show that’s definitely worth some time.

Movie Review: Japanese Story. Um. Yeah. One of those movies that would have benefited by a strict edit. As much as I like Toni Collete, this one made me relieved when it was finally over. High point: seeing the Australian country side. Low point: most of the plot was excruciatingly slow and ultimately boring.

The "M" Word

“So, about that getting married idea…”
-Keith

Spring break was fairly eventful. I got mad at one of the owners at the bar, had some time to sleep in and be a bum, and I got engaged. Keith and I have talked about getting married for a while, mostly trying to figure when would be a good time and a little bit of me saying, “No, I don’t want to just live with you.” I’ve had it in my mind for a long time that we’d end up tying the proverbial knot, but it’s always been a “someday” kind of idea. Now it’s a “end of September” idea. I’ve mostly adjusted, but it’s still a strange thought. Before the year is over, I’ll be a Mrs.

Here’s the plan: Toward the end of June, after Keith graduates, he’ll move in with me. At the end of September/beginning of October, we’ll go to the courthouse, sign the papers, then go to my folks’ house for a BBQ. No ceremony, no wedding dress, just a party. While that’s all figured out, things that aren’t include whether I’m going to do the hyphenation thing with my name, where Keith’s damn iguana is going to go, and who’s getting invited to the party. It’s okay, though, there’s still time.

Here’s the sad part. When I told my parents the news, their reaction was to be a bit surprised, but supportive. When he told his parents the news, their reaction was to ask how I’d be able to stand him. That’s no joke. Their questions were along the lines of, “but how will she put up with you going out with your friends all the time? How will she like you sleeping in so late?” Come on, I’ve known him for almost nine years, I’ve dated him for the past three and a half of those, and if his habits drove me nuts, I’d have been gone long ago. I’m hoping they’ll come around, or at least stop giving him grief about it. Here’s hoping.

In the meantime, I’ve been having marriage chats with my mom about things like handling money, adjusting to living with another person, etc. Also, I called my brother the other night and ended up waking him up to tell him the news. He was a bit asleep at the time, so he had to call me back the next day and say, “About that. Congratulations.”

The most strange part is that I’m somehow very reluctant to tell the people I know. I’m not exactly sure why, except that it seems too personal, like telling people I’m going to the gynecologist or something. Nothing wrong with it, but they don’t need to know. Ah well, I’ll get around to it.

A Visit and Computer Hell

"Speaking of death, Tim has cancer."
-Peg, September 1999

This morning as I lay in bed, telling myself it was time to get up, my phone rang. My friend Tim is going to be in town (from Virginia) unexpectedly - one of his friends he met while being treated for cancer has passed away and he's coming back for the funeral. I haven't talked to him since before he moved out east, almost a year. He's still doing okay, for the most part, which is good, but this'll be a tough trip for him in more ways than one. Fortunately, though his schedule is tight and filled with gobs of people to see, we'll get a chance to have lunch Wed. It'll be good to catch up.

Also this morning, I came to the office, logged on to the computer, and found out that all of my files since I've started as Katherine's assistant last June - were gone. Absolutely, completely disappeared. That includes the anthology, contact lists, institute documents, the whole she-bang. I called the IT guys and tried not to panic. They said, "Yeah, we started something new where all non-network files are deleted every time you log off." Super.

The SCWP log-on has no way to save to the network, so how the hell was I supposed to save to the network? Grr. Anyhow, they came in, pulled the hard-drive out and did what they do, then brought it back. About half the files I lost I can retrieve. Most of the others Katherine has too, so she can send them. It's just the pain-in-the-assery of finding out which I can open, which are corrupt, which Katherine has, and which I have to do-over from scratch. *Sigh*

I'm so glad to be back from spring break.

Christmas Beads

I asked for beads for Christmas, so my parents got me the square sodalite beads. Added to those are some aventurine beads, and two kinds of silver spacer.

Spring Break

I'm on it. Since I've been away from campus, I've got almost exactly a week without getting online. It's been nice. I'll be back next week, however, and back in the swing of things. Until then, I'm going to take some time to enjoy my un-connectedness.

Red, Black, and Beaded All Over

Though I don't use this design too often, it's one of my favorites. There's something indulgent about dangley collars.

Funny Story

"Hello?"
-Me

On Monday night, Keith called before he came over. About ten minutes later, he called again: "Yeah, I don't think I'll make it."

"Why?"

"I'm being pulled over by the cops."

"Why?"

"I have no idea."

A bit later, when he arrived at my house, I found out that a few blocks from his house, he noticed he was being followed by a large SUV, so he circled the block a few times. Then they flashed him to pull over. Apparently, someone called his car in and so an officer followed him. They asked why he was driving "erratically." He told them that he saw a strange car following him and the last thing he wanted to do was lead it to his girlfriend's house. They checked his lisence and registration, then let him go.

The best part is that this is the second time in the past three years that he's been pulled over just because. The first time was during a trip he and I went on with two of our friends. The cop said some bogus thing about how he thought he clocked us speeding, but wasn't positive it was us. Keith got taken back to the squad car, the Dianna did. Both were questioned, everyone had to show IDs, and we were there for a good twenty minutes. When I told the story to my brother's godmother and her husband (both cops) their instant reply was, "profiling." Kinda entertaining, but he does look a little rough and the big rings in his ears don't help.

Of course, the same thing used to happen to my dad who used to have very thick facial hair. In fact, once my parents were stopped on vacation both on the way there and the way home. They had their luggage searched and everything. Profiling is funny that way.

The Chapter of Much Foreboding

"Yes! An Arnell chapter, I'm happy. Oh, and don't worry about the middle part. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
-Jenny

Last month I slacked and didn’t turn in an Oracle submission to the writers group. This month, I can’t – because twice in row is just bad. Yesterday I managed to sit down for a while in front of my computer and now I’ve got almost three pages, which isn’t too bad for a start. The story is growing more difficult, now that I’m getting close to the climax. I’ve always had a fuzzy idea of how it’d work, but now I have to work out the details – like who’s going to get killed in the fight. So far, I’ve killed two women and a male fetus, so in fairness’ sake, I’m going to have to knock off one of the guys, but who?

Devyn (Kelda’s step-father) is an obvious choice, so he can’t be it.
Dorian (weasely kid) would be out of the way if he died, so I’ve got to keep him. Convenient deaths are annoying.
Sedge (hero) is kind of obvious.
Arnell (mercenary) would make sense, but too many people like him, besides, if he ends up pulling a martyr, that’d be against everything I’m trying to do with his character.
Attun (mentally unwell youth) is so immediately in peril, that there’s little way he could survive.

I can’t figure out who I can kill off without people seeing it coming. Damn it. Of course, there is the Joss solution – decide who’s death will make the audience most angry, then kill that person. In which case, Arnell is doomed. *Sigh*

Of course, the even more immediate problem is what’s going to happen in this chapter. As I told Jenny, I know how it begins, and roughly how it ends, but I’m really unsure about the pages in between. I guess there’s nothing for it, but to sit down and write it out.

Writer’s block is just another way of saying “lazy.”

T.A. Application

"Applicants should submit a statement of interest and qualification to the Program Coordinator by April 10. They also should request two recommendations from graduate faculty members using the attached form."

Step One: Get recommendations. Check
Step Two: Write letter. Not check.

I will come right out and admit it first thing – I’m a little freaked out. I’m scared that I won’t get the TA and scared that I will, and I don’t know which one would be worse. Getting it would be a step in the right direction toward becoming a full-fledged professor one day. Getting it would also mean a big new time commitment and the possibility that I’ll make an ass of myself trying to teach when I can’t handle it. Not getting it takes the pressure off. It also means no tuition waiver and no step in the right direction – along with the implication that my qualifications aren’t sufficient.

Katherine and David have both finished their recommendations for me. All I need to do is write a letter, a short one, and submit it. I’m having a case of intimidation based writer’s block. I don’t know what to put in my letter. Should it be longish? Shortish? How much does it really count, anyway? The selection committee is made up of English faculty, which means they pretty much already know me. Katherine’s more or less running our campus composition program, which means her say has a lot of weight. So, if she thinks I can/should be a TA, that means extra points toward getting it.

I’m trying to figure out why I’m so anxious and I think it comes down to: if I get it, I’m afraid I’ll figure it was too easy – no one else applied, the faculty already know me. Then, if I don’t get it – they didn’t think I could do it? Ugh. All right, I’ve got to write my letter. All I’ve got to do is write it and turn it in. Then it’s out of my hands, right? Then I can stop worrying about it. Just as soon as I spend ten minutes writing the letter, I can relax. Right?

Final (?) Harassment Update

"So, it turns out __ isn't as bad as we thought he was. Maybe."

A few weeks ago I said that my friend had sat down with the department head and talked about a guy in the grad program who makes off-color, sexist, and anti-religous comments. Finally, they've confronted him and he basically said, "Yes, I did/said those things, I didn't realize it was a problem. I'll behave now." He signed a form saying he'd mind his manners, understanding that a further infraction would mean being removed from the program.

My friend isn't convinced that he was innocent of the fact that he was being offensive, and I have to agree wit her. However, he's admitted to the claims against him and is now obligated to cut it the hell out. This bodes well, I think.

St. Pat's

"I'm glad it's over."
-Jan (one of the owners)

St. Patrick's day is a day famous for wearing green garb, pinching people who aren’t, and getting drunk. I work at an English/Irish pub. We have Guinness on tap.

St. Patrick’s day is a day famous for being hell for waitresses. Last year, I vowed that if there was ever any way I could avoid another St. Pat’s, I would. I made some bucks, but it wasn’t worth it. Unfortunately, there was no way to get out of it this year. Fortunately, the place was not as packed as last – hallelujah for small favors, eh? Also on the bright side, I managed to keep from slipping into a foul mood – apparently doing so on Friday night was enough (not foul mood, murderous). I maintained my cool, and was even slightly chipper, for most of the ten hours (no break) I was at the bar.

All this, despite the fact that I got stiffed on tips more during that one night than in the past two months combined. One guy in particular bought around $100 of drinks for himself and his friends. I got five dollars out of him, only because he accidentally handed me a $5 bill when he paid for one of the rounds. At one point, he said “Did you give me change for that last round?” Yes, I had. I almost added, “and you put it all in your wallet without so much as a dollar for me.” I don’t like to be rude, besides, sometimes they leave money on the table when they leave. He didn’t, but you never know for sure. Then, there was the group who bought beers at the bar because they were too impatient to wait for me to get to them – when the damn place is packed, don’t assume you’re being ignored, assume I’ll be right over just as soon as I finish putting in three tables’ worth of drink orders – then they ordered four dinners from me and walked on the check (obviously, no tip). There’s more, but you get the idea.

In the end, I made more money on Thursday than I did on St. Pat’s. At least there’s a whole entire year to go before I have to do it again.

Dangly Bits

This one's made of metallic seed beads and mottled black/green glass. I don't make too many necklaces in this style, mainly because most beads don't dangle right. These, however, are the right shape and just heavy enough to make it work. One of my favorite simple necklaces.

Finding a New David

“Grr.”
-Me

For some reason the campus internet connection is moving molasses slow today, much to my frustration. Ah well, Katherine just called and I have a project now.

Katherine’s heading the committee that’s looking for David’s replacement. I’ll be helping to screen applicants – only minimally – by checking that their application materials are complete. Of course, anything I see will be in the strictest confidence, but it’s kind of neat to think that I’ll be in the loop on this, even in such a minor way.

So, my project is to get together a box, some file folders, and a check-out form to store the materials and keep track of who’s got them. Oh boy, it’s exciting.

Nifty Sculptor

"I want to tell wild stories in a single three-dimensional vision, to radiate personality in such a way that for you to ponder a sculpture for a length of time would quite literally flesh out a biography of hair and clothing and trinkets and teeth and fingernails, etc."

-T. S. Kuebler, http://www.tskuebler.com/

I make a point of always checking Extreme Craft, because there's usually nifty stuff, and every now and again there's something that goes beyond nifty and into impressive. Something like this:

Kuebler has a wonderful imagination and fantastic attention to detail. I can only imagine the hours that go into each of his sculptures. On his website he mentions some famous folk who've bought his work, and I have to say, that if I had the money, I wouldn't mind owning one or two myself. Go to the website, now.

Interesting News from MSN.com

"The hit American movie “300” has angered Iranians who say the Greeks-vs-Persians action flick insults their ancient culture and provokes animosity against Iran."
-MSN Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17599641/

I find it humorous that people are getting so offended. For one, the comic the movie is based on was written in 1998, well before the 9-11 attacks - so, pre-hostilities. The movie follows the comic very closely, so it’s not like the film makers were sneaking subversive stuff in there just to make digs at the Iranians.

Besides, aren’t we missing the point that, though inspired by history, it’s well-known that the comic is by no means historical. It’s a fantasy, plain and simple. It’s bloody melodrama, people!

This one’s interesting too: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17599099/?GT1=9145

So, they threaten a teacher with dismissal because he does community theater and shows his bum. Okay, so? It’s not in any way directly related to his school, or his job as a teacher. Yes, he shows some skin, but The Full Monty is not porn. Get over it, people. This guy has my full support. If he loses his job, it will be a sad day for democracy.

Neurotic Women and the Men Who Love Them

A few months ago I read The Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot. A few years ago I read Bridget Jones's Diary and its sequel. Now I'm watching episodes of Sex and the City. My God, it hurts.

But wait, you say, if it hurts, why read/watch them? Okay, I'll grant you that there's enough funny stuff thrown in to entertain me. My beef, however, is the neurotic women who are obsessed with love and looking for "the right man." How dumbass is that? "I need to find the right man" is a horribly anti-feminist idea. Yes, we, as humans are obsessed with romance (i.e. sex) but come on. The cherry on the sundae, though, is that we have these freaking-out, neurotic, obsessive women who actually find Mr. Right. How? They somehow stumble onto him, do everything in their power to make themselves look like an ass in front of him, and he loves them anyway, for no discernible reason. What the hell?

In an episode of Season One Sex and the City we have our heroine obsessing that Mr. Big is trying to hide her. She's the girlfriend he won't admit to, she thinks. So, she ends up drunk and decides it'd be a good idea to show up at his apartment in the middle of the night. Mr. Big answers the door in a robe and messy hair, she's obviously woken him. Then she accuses him of being ashamed of her, spills vodka on the floor and what does he do? He starts kissing her. Something is wrong here. Very wrong.

300

"Tonight we dine in Hell!"

-Leonidas

Since I saw, and subsequently read, Sin City, I've become a Frank Miller fan. Needless to say, I've been anticipating 300's release for quite some time now. Keith and I came up with a brilliant plan to trek up to C. Springs yesterday for dinner and 300 on the IMAX. Unfortunately, the brilliant plan went to hell when Keith got held up at work. Plan B: as soon as he walked in the door I told him about the 7:30 showing in town that we could just barely make. We hopped in the car and made it into the theater during previews and totally lucked out by finding two adjacent seats in the packed theater. Whew.

Movie Review: 300. Very, very cool. Of course, it's totally historically inaccurate on many, many levels, so take it all with a grain of salt. Besides, the movie isn't really about the battle of Termopylae, it's about heroes and spectacle. Both of which abound. Frank Miller's brilliant touches of monologue, visual style, and grit come out beautifully and the movie just oozes bad-assery. After months of anticipation, I'm pleased to say that it was totally worth it.

Salami

Fimo with black pepper inclusion, garnet, and gunmetal seed beads. This is the one I'm wearing today, in some ways, one of my favorite necklaces, because it's the only thing I have that is so blatantly red. Due to the colors and the black pepper, I always think of salami or pepperoni when I think of this necklace.

Cell Phone Loathing

"I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm off today. Yeah. That's cool girl."
-Snippet of conversation I'm being subjected to in the library

Whatever happened to the good ol' days of "Quiet Please" in the library? It's bad enough that people must have cell phone conversations while they're dining at restaurants-

Oh, that's damn funnny. Another woman's cell phone just went off. That makes two people who answered their phones (ringers were on) while using library computers. I mean, come on. It's one thing when you're off in a back row of books and the phone's on vibrate, but that was just bad manners. The other funny part was neither woman had just a ringer, but rather annoying music. Please, use a bit more discretion.

In the Psychology building basement, right next to the communal microwave, is a professor's office. Said professor has a bulletin board up by her office door which is filled with anti-cell phone cartoons. It's a beautiful thing. One day I may write an ode to that bulletin board. If you want an idea of what this glorious board is filled with, just google cartoon + cell phone.

Today's Myth Is__

"And because I don't think I have a connection speed that'll allow me to upload any photos, I'm going to post what I wrote on the first page of the book."
-Today's Oracle from Neil Gaiman's Journal

I've been watching Mythbusters episodes for the past couple of weeks, and alas, I have now run out. I feel all the better for the trivia I've gathered, and now I know the dangers of dropping a frozen turkey - watch out for your toes and your cat. While the show lacks much re-watchability, the science is fun and the geek appeal is great.

In other news, I'm stealing this link from Gaiman's journal, because it's just too funny to pass up. Aliens among us? You decide: http://english.pravda.ru/science/mysteries/07-02-2007/87167-alien_monster-0

Project Pictures: Polymer Bead Set

"I haven't heard from you guys in a while..."

-Part of my e-mail to David's friends who ordered jewelry from me a month ago and who have yet to send me payment. Grr.

When they ordered the jewelry from me, they asked for pictures that show the process. Here are the pictures I took while I made the custom necklace.

Step One: Mix clay for color. In this case I used different amounts of gold, white, translucent, and black Kato & Sculpey.

Step Two: Roll colored clays into snakes and combine into one large snake.

Step Three: Twist and roll snake to mix colors. Repeat until satisfied with color mix.

Step Four: Slice the cane and form beads.

Step Five: (Not shown) Pierce and bake beads.

Final Beads:

Final Cover

“What kind of veto power do I have on the cover design?”
-Me

I sent covers to Katherine, she forwarded them to the co-directors, who replied with “Change this, I don’t like that font” stuff. At first, I got frustrated. Some of the suggestions were things I specifically decided against – like, Papyrus font would be damn hard to read against the textured background. After I got a chance to let my gall settle, I realized Katherine is the type who’ll let me have some executive power. Sure enough, she answered my question by saying I can take their suggestions or leave them as I see fit.

So, after some playing with font, here’s the design that I want on the cover.

P.S. Dramamine is a beautiful thing. While it hasn’t completely obliterated my Vertigo symptoms, it has greatly, greatly reduced them. Hoorah for Dramamine!

Surveys Are Fun

“Given me more tools for more actively engaged”
-Anonymous teacher response to survey question (that’s all there was, I kid you not)

Life as the SCWP assistant is multi-faceted. One of the most entertaining, yet disturbing facets, is transcription. Katherine is very enthusiastic about feedback and surveys, most of which are responded to by local public school teachers. While many educators have no apparent trouble answering questions such as, “How has this inquiry group process improved your understanding of student learning?” Others respond in varied and inexplicable ways, such as “For sures!” or [indecipherable scribbling, looks like “goat ran duck vroom”].

Two key things to remember when filling out surveys and/or response forms.

1. Write legibly. Unless your cursive is very neat, use print. Please remember, also, that transcribers do not use a microscope or magnifying glass – please, no 5pt writing.

2. Answer the question(s) asked - bonus points for complete thoughts. If a question begins with “How,” it is not an yes/no question. Thank you.

This ends this public service announcement. Have a nice day.

Ewan McGregor's Pink Bits and Chet, the Huge Shaved Cat

Nagiko: Where is a book before it is born? Who are a book's parents? Does a book need two parents - a mother and a father? Can a book be born inside another book? Where is the parent book of books? How old does a book have to be before it can give birth?

-The Pillow Book (Possibly, the best lines from the entire damn movie)

Movie Review: The Pillow Book. Weird-ass movie. Even a whole day after watching this movie, I’m still not positive whether I liked it or just thought it was okay. The beginning was overly-artsy with lots of a shot within a shot, color strangeness, and such. It mellowed as things went on, but never disappeared entirely. These are the type of things that may get comments like “lush” and “multi-layered” from other people, but leave me thinking “how much of that was really necessary?” Gotta love Ewan McGregor, though, and I’m not just talking about the nudity. Why is he such an exhibitionist, anyway? McGregor is the only big name actor I can think of who shows off his intimate parts in more than one movie. Maybe it’s a British thing. Vivian Wu does a neat job as Nagiko, and there are some pretty and poetic moments in the movie. I also dig the touch of having words in various languages lit onto the background of many shots. The most brilliant part? The Jerome book.

Book Review: You Suck! A Love Story by Christopher Moore. Funny vampire stuff, with goth girl diary excerpts. Also interesting for its connection to two other Moore books, Bloodsucking Fiends and A Dirty Job – of which, I’ve only read the second. Some authors don’t build books off each other, some do. Moore is the second kind, which is fun. While I’ll ready any Moore book I can find, this isn’t his best. Still, it’s far from bad. In other news, I just found out he has a blog.

The Kiln Fund

Last summer I took a one day class in glass fusing. This necklace has one of the pendants I made (though, not my favorite one - that one went on a necklace I gave to Camii for her B-day and, alas, I have no picture). It also has a few silver spacers, hematite, and misc. seed beads.

A few months ago, I snagged a Balvenie container (why they need a container to hold a bottle of scotch, I do not know) which became a change repository. This is around the same time that I started making use of my shift drinks at the bar: I don't drink, but I can comp. a drink someone paid for and it comes out to the same, but with a few extra dollars in my pocket. So, I decided the Balvenie container would become a savings account for pocket change and shift drink money. Then, I just needed to decide what to spend it on.

I finally had the Eureka moment I was waiting for, and realized it should go toward a small electric kiln for jewelry purposes. To date, I've got about $150 set aside and the last time I checked, a small kiln was about $350. I have a while to go yet, depending on whether I use some tax refund money to close the gap. Still, I'm excited. I can play with dichroic glass, and maybe take a hammer to some of the liquor bottles I've been collecting (Jagermeister pendants, yeah?).

A Flaming Bike and a Spinning Head

"The only predictable thing about Vertigo is its unpredictability."
-Doctor who diagnosed me

I've gotten into the pattern of expecting Vertigo about once every six months. So, when I had my last bout in January, I figured I'd be clear of it for a while. I was wrong. Another round has settled in. Every bout is different, and this is one of those rare ones where the head spins really bring on the nausea. I got some Dramamine this morning (shopping is an adventure in itself right now, and silly me, I did the self checkout). I’m hoping to high heaven that it has some effect. I was also hoping to find some Ginger Beer, but alas, I had to settle for Orange Cream Soda which doesn’t have the upset stomach reducing power of ginger, but at least it’s got mundo carbonation.

Yesterday Keith and I had a date for dinner and a movie (great timing, too, since I was feeling crummy and he had a bad day at work). Fortunately, despite the odds, we had a nice time. I for one was thrilled to get out of the house, since there was no way I was driving yesterday and he was my only hope.

Movie Review: Ghost Rider. The critics aren’t impressed, but most everyone else likes it. I’m somewhere in between. Hoorah for Sam Elliott and Nicolas did a respectable job. The CGI guys were definitely on the ball, and the whole legend/mythic atmosphere was neat. Beyond that, it gets fuzzy. Now, typically, I like Eva Mendes, but in this movie the love story was damn ridiculous and, for the most part, so was she. Ugh. Spare me. The writers fell in love with skeleton puns, and got quite carried away. Add to that some extraneous moments that had me thinking “Now what was the point of that?” and I think this one may have been best left as a comic.

Birthday and Manuscripts

"I'm thinking the final chapter total will be around 12-14. I have it about to the beginning of Chapter 9 and after that is what I'm thinking of as the "Brandon Chapter" where it's an excerpt from the manuscript. I'm worried that it's a little too short, so I'm debating about what I want.... "
-Jenny, E-mail

I finished the part of Jenny's manuscript that she's given me and now eagerly await the rest. I'm relieved that I was able to get through the chunk I had so quickly. I feel a radiating sense of accomplishment. Hoorah for me! Okay, ego trip over. It's interesting to see a manuscript (more or less all at once) of a novel. This is the first time I've had the experience and I think it's fun. What'll be even more fun is seeing it get published - Go Jenny!

In other news, today's my brother's birthday. It's funny, too, that my parents are out of town and he's still in Springs, and when I tried to call him, he didn't answer. So, yes, it's the anniversary of my brother's birth, but we're far from rolling out the confetti.

Now, cross your fingers for me, because I had a case of the dizzies this morning and I'm afraid another bout of Vertigo might be rolling over me. Damnit, the last one was only two months ago, this isn't fair at all. But, maybe, just maybe, the dizziness from this morning is isolated. Cross your toes, too.

Harassment Complaint

"Since we spoke, the provost has been apprised of this matter and F-- has talked to the university attorney, who advised us that it should be reported to T--, the university Affirmative Action Officer, who investigates cases of sexual harassment, immediately."
-Part of an E-mail string I received last week

A few months ago I talked about a male student in the graduate program who was making people uncomfortable. Well, the ante has been upped. The gal who was most offended by this fellow made a formal complaint. She spoke to the head of the department last week, and was basically told she needed more evidence (letters she collected from other students didn’t count). She said she felt like she was blown off. Unfortunate.

On the “bright” side, it does sound like people other than the department head are looking at the situation more closely. Also, her first step makes it easier for others to speak up, and I’m pretty sure I know of at least one other student who plans to do so.

As far as this guy goes, the creepiness has escalated. He’s asked a couple of female students where they live so he can “drop off notes” or such. He’s called one gal every night for a week straight, to the point where she does not answer the phone anymore. I’m glad he’s ignored me so far, but it makes me uneasy. Last night in class I caught him looking my way and got a squirmy feeling. I always make sure to walk out with someone after class, and last night I was especially glad I had company out to my car.

I hope something substantial happens. This guy needs to leave the graduate program.

Abandoning Lexx, Labyrinths, and Centurions

TV Review: Lexx.

The Lexx: I am the Lexx. I am the most powerful weapon of destruction in the two universes. I was grown on the Cluster, which is ruled by His Shadow. The food was good there. My captain is Stanley Tweedle. I blow up planets for him.

I found series one online, liked it, then ventured to get the rest from Netflix. It has some fun stuff, like Lexx (the ship), Kai (the dead man), and at the beginning 790 (the robot head). Unfortunately, it seems the writers only know a few gags, like Zev’s refusal to sleep with horn-dog Stanley, and Stan’s eagerness to get laid leading them all into trouble. However, after season after season of the same old hat, I got bored. So, I’m finishing up with the last disk of the last season, just to see how it all ends and who ends up dead, but I’ve skipped about half of the last season. I don’t think I’ll miss much.

Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth.

Carmen: The captain has been so good to us... Please, Ofelia, call him father. It's just a word, Ofelia, just a word.

Do not take the kids to see this flick. Yes, there’s a child in the movie, but there’s a reason it’s rated R. Okay, we start out as one might expect, a fairy-tale voice over, introduce the girl and her mom, show some carved stones…Then we get to the step-father’s camp in Fascist Spain, 1944 and the fairy tale veneer slips away as the captain’s brutal side comes out and Ofelia meets a creepy faun who tells her she is a magic princess. Add some escalation, some bloodshed, and some creatures and the result is a lush and creepy story.

TV Review: Rome.

Lucius Vorenus: It makes no sense. We should have been stopped by now. Why is Rome not defended?
Titus Pullo: Our boys scared 'em off, eh?
Lucius Vorenus: Soldiers of the Republic do not run, so it must be a stratagem, a trick.
Titus Pullo: It's a good trick.
Lucius Vorenus: Unless the gods have abandoned Rome... If Mars were watching, he would not allow such a disgrace.
Titus Pullo: Maybe he was havin' a crap and missed it.
-Rome Season One, Episode Three

I’d heard about this one a bit, but didn’t hear much beyond “it’s good” so last week I decided to find out for myself. I’ve gotten through the first two disks of Season one (five episodes) and I can see why people like it. Okay, here’s the skinny: You have a few circles of characters – those around Ceasar and those around Pompey (Ceasar’s friend turned rival) and they’re in various levels of society, from slave, to soldier, to aristocrat. The focus is largely on Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus, two soldiers, but you also get into the home and mind of Atia of the Julii, the mother of Octavian and a conniver if ever there was one. It’s a fairly complicated set-up, and don’t worry if you don’t get everyone straight in the first episode, it’ll get clearer as you watch more.

One of the most interesting parts of the series is the contrast between Titus and Lucius. In their own ways, they’re both pretty brutal men, but they both have their redeeming moments, too. So, they end up see-sawing a bit between who’s doing the right thing – kind of neat. Just when you get to a point where you can say Lucius is the more noble of the two, he goes and does something that makes Titus look good in comparison.

Also fun – all the historical bits interlaced throughout. I love their use of graffiti, and the political intrigue is cool. Another bonus: James Purefoy (aka the Black Prince in A Knight’s Tale) as Mark Antony.

Final Covers (Maybe)

Whew, that was a lot of messing about. I finally found Microsoft Photo Draw on this computer and got that going for cover design. Ugh, if only I'd used it from the start. Oh well, I'll just chalk it up to blonde-ness and move on. I'm ready to send Katherine some covers and either get a decision on which to use, or get suggestions on what else to try.

Here are some of the finals:

This one is my favorite:

Transparent

"What are you reading now?"

-One of Jenny's favorite questions

Book Review: Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers, by Cris Beam.

I ventured out to the library last night, and this book caught my eye. I found a place to sit, opened it up, and read almost half in one sitting. Let’s face it, gender identity and sexuality are interesting topics which are growing less taboo. You definitely never would have seen Queer as Folk in the fifties.

So, what happens is you end up with about three categories: biological sex, gender, and sexual preference. For most people, biological sex and gender match, and sexual preference is heterosexual. For some, there’s a shift. The weird thing is, a lot of people seem to get uncomfortable with anyone who’s outside the “norm.” It’s scary to hear of all the gay bashings and other assaults, some of which Beam talks about. Just because someone’s a biological male who wears female garb, that’s enough to permanently injure them? Come on.

Beam, a non-transgender lesbian, talks about the transgender/transsexual teens she met while volunteering, and talks about those teens’ experiences in the transworld. There’s some crazy, hateful stuff. Kids who are literally thrown out because they identify with the opposite gender. I can’t imagine throwing my son out because he wears dresses, that’s too cruel. Of course, these examples come from overall dysfunctional families, so it’s not as big of a stretch to imagine an abusive crack addict disowning their child as it is to imagine people like my parents doing the same – though I know my parents would be uneasy with the concept.

Anyhow, good book. Beam only wanders into the realm of the sappy “I want to be your mommy” once or twice, and she gives a lot of information, most of it disturbing. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.

Writerly Blogs

"In which Miss Snark vents her wrath on the hapless world of writers and crushes them to sand beneath her T.Rexual heels of stiletto snark."
-Miss Snark's Blog description

For a while now, I've heard Deb talk about the agent and editor blogs she reads on a regular basis. So, I've decided to check some of them out. You'll see I've added links to two of them on the sidebar. Funny stuff, and very informative. Go read them. Now.

February 2007 Meeting

"I just wasn't interested."
-Part of Oliver's critique of he who shall remain unnamed

I walked in to the back room of Barnes & Noble to find two surprising things:
1. A whole four visitors
2. A member who previously went AWOL, presumed dropped-out

Visitors can be fun, so no worries there. However, I was markedly less pleased to see the returned member. We worked long and hard to chase him away, damnit! Why am I so mean? He wrote a saga about a twelve-year-old girl prodigy hero who had, like mood swings, vast changes in character. She often went from whiny sprat to the gal all the adults followed within the distance of only a paragraph. There were other problems, too, some of which were kinda creepy – like how the EVIL spaceship captain was going to rape her. It just wasn’t right. Whenever you are an adult male writing about a twelve-year-old girl threatened with rape, you must tread very carefully. Not to mention that he stayed with the rape/violence to young gals in a handful of short stories he submitted to the group after giving up on the space saga. A bit disturbing. Now he’s back. On the bright side, he did mention that he might move to one of the other groups. I’ve got all my fingers, and toes, crossed for that one.

The good news is that our own child (okay, not child, he’s legal) prodigy, Oliver, has returned after missing two months to go sing and be at a sibling’s birthday party. Also fortunate was his critique of another member’s submission. Brief note on this other member – he’s arrogant, condescending, and writes poorly (excellent combination). So, hearing Oliver’s critique was definitely a high point. While very smart, Oliver lacks tact, so while you can count on him to make good points in a critique, you can also count on him to sound a bit insulting – not intentional, but still there. He’s known to make comments like, “this annoyed me” or “I just didn’t care if he died.” Great fun.

During dinner after the meeting, we got on the topic of a group romance novel Jenny got some of us English majors started on a few years ago during a night at the bar. The hilarious part was that each person would take their portion right up to the point where things were about to get dirty, then pass it on. The next person would then do a fake out in the lines of “but just then, her father walked in…” then build up to getting dirty and pass it. This wasn’t planned, but things just worked out that way, much to our entertainment. She’s planning to take some seeds from that night to create a whole novel, the outline of which sounds hilarious. I told her she should start it ASAP, but she was being obstinate and talking about some other project she wanted to do first. Bah!

However, those of us at dinner decided to honor the endeavor by creating our own multi-authored romantic saga. Starting with Oliver, one person each month will write a sequential chapter of the novel. It should be fun.

Designing the Cover

"You'll have to buy Adobe Photoshop, I can't just download it."
-Tech Help Guy

What a pain in the ass. I have no photoshop programs on this computer, nor is buying one an option. Thus, I had to scramble and do some trial and error to figure out just how in the hell I was going to design the Anthology cover. Finally, I figured I might be able to pull it off in Word.

Converting from word to PDF creates problems, but at least I have something to work from. Here's my first prototype cover (includes front & back).

Dangley

Green seed beads and blue and purple faceted pony beads hung on chain.

Dumbass Undergrads

"I'm looking for the office of __"
-Undergrad

Okay, yes she has office hours here. But, this is not the time for her office hours. Then, he asks me when her office hours are, like I keep track. All I know is that I don't come in until 11:30 on Thursdays so I won't interrupt them. The brilliant thing is, though, every professor in the world has this nifty thing called a syllabus, and guess what? That's where their office hours are listed. Pay attention, it helps.

See? Still a bit grouchy. I really want to go home, not to the bar. Ugh, again.

Close, But Not Quite

I got up this morning, plugged my camera into my computer and started downloading pictures from yesterday - 84 total - while I hopped in the shower. When I got out, all the pictures were on my computer, so I stuck them on a disk and put it by my keys. Well, I later picked up my keys and walked away, knowing I'd be back for the disk.

Right. I got to campus and said, "Damnit!" No disk. No picture editing fun today. I'm inordinately bummed about that. I don't think it helps that I'm still sick, though not as much as before, and I'm going to be working at the bar tonight. So, I sound bad because of my congestion and I get to talk to people all night when I'd much rather be at home in bed. Ugh.

Anthology Progress

"Ok, I've added Adobe [on his end] and it'll take up to an hour to get to you."
-David from the Tech Office

In the process of trying to do this anthology, it’s been funny to see what kind of problems have popped up. For one, the printer prefers PDF documents, and until today, I had no way of making any. Then I called Tech help and, with minimal trouble, got him to upload/download/whatever-the-hell Adobe onto my computer via the network from his computer. Wow, mouthful. So, now I have PDF capabilities. Then, I got to do cut ‘n’ pasting for a while, then spend some time making formats consistent, then E-mail Katherine to find out which schools the 2005 TCs (Teacher Consultants/i.e. Institute Participants) are affiliated with.

The fun part is that I brought my spiffy new digital camera along today and just spent a good forty minutes wandering around campus in the wind, regretting that I didn’t have some kind of hair restraint device, and taking pictures. I took two kinds of pictures: textures and images. I’m thinking a two-layer cover design where one of my texture pictures will go from the front to back cover, and the front will be highlighted with a piece of artwork I photographed. The University likes artwork, so I got to get some mosaic pictures and one of a giant (10 ft. or more tall) paper airplane sculpture. The sculpture makes me excited, because paper airplanes fit in with writing! Hey, it’s a notebook paper airplane, so it’s even lined. The trick will be if it works. I’m not sure because there’s a lot of background to it, even if I crop. I guess I’ll just have to try it and see. Cross your fingers. I'll put up some pictures once I get them downloaded.

Another highlight of the day was realizing that the price quote I got from Fidlar Doubleday is now a moot point because I used a page count that included the 2005 essays, but not the 2006. So, we go from approx. 105 pages to 165. Whups. Still, I don’t imagine the price will be that much different (I’m really hoping not).

Special bonus: my cold is fading, a bit. I’m no longer the walking plague, though I still sound horrible. Less mucus, though, which is always good.

Purple Net

Sometime ago, maybe a year already, Beadbox went out of business. During their clearance, I ordered some square-ish purple swirly beads. Then I tried to figure out what to do with them. Over Christmas break, I found myself sitting in front of the TV working on bead projects. Since I had a lot of time to kill, I focused on necklaces that were a little more labor intensive than straight forward stringing. This necklace started out as a daisy chain, then, when that didn't take long enough, I added a few layers of net and finished the last off with the purple beads I'd been trying to do something with for a while. Viola!

When I was trying to get good pictures of my jewelry, I tried using a piece of tan flannel as my back drop. While I like the texture, I don't care for the color. Ah well, I'll just have to keep trying.

What SCWP is About

"The best teachers of teachers are other teachers.
The best teachers of writing are writers themselves."
-Writing Project Saying

I realized that, while I make mention of the SCWP (Southern Colorado Writing Project) here and there, I have never actually said what it was. Oops. The jist: The Writing Project got started in Berkeley in the 70's. It emphasizes that learning any subject will be helped by writing. The idea is to gather together local K-16 teachers to get them writing and thinking about how to use writing in their classes. It's a neat idea, and I believe it really works - and I've seen some evidence, too. The SCWP is a relatively new pranch of the National Writing Project. If you're still curious, here's the website http://www.scwponline.org

My part in it is as Katherine's assistant. The particulars of my job vary quite a bit, but focus on peripherals - like making copies, creating lists and documents, or sending out mailings. The real fun/challenge comes from the anthologies. SCWP does two types of anthology: an essay anthology which comes out of writing produced during the Institute, and a Writing Marathon anthology which comes out of writing produced by Marathon participants. So far I've done editing work on both types of anthology, and now I'm working on publishing the 2006 essay anthology. It's scary, because I'm more or less doing it all: formatting, design, layout, etc.

The bonus of being the SCWP assistant is that I get to pick up a lot via osmosis. Transcribing feedback sheets tells me about what's going on in teachers' heads. Copying hand outs gives me an idea of general discussions. Going to meetings gives me gossip on local school politics. The list goes on. The osmosis has been helpful for me in terms of thinking on how I ought to run my own class - assuming I'm accepted for a TA this coming fall.

Kids, Publishing, and Chocolate

“You rock, Ali!”
-Katherine

The past couple of days have been fairly eventful for me. Eventful enough so that I’m very much looking forward to Friday, when I’ll have a day off.

Saturday: Okay, mostly positive. When I saw the schedule, I knew it was too good to be true. Me, the first one in on a Saturday (and thus, the first to go home)? Right. The minute I got to the bar on Saturday, Dave told me that Rebecca called in sick, so it was just me all night. No problem, I thought, it’s been dead for over a month. Ha! Saturday was not so dead. In fact, I set a new personal sales record $908. A hectic night, but ultimately a profitable one. Next month’s car payment, here I come!

Sunday: Polymer day. I spent about four hours experimenting with canes and making beads – ended up with about five or six necklaces worth.

Monday: Started an overnight babysit, which means a nice check in my wallet.

Tuesday: Did the substitute mom thing, including waking up really early, getting a five-year-old ready for school, picking the five year old and two of her friends up for lunch and tennis (and oh-what-fun it is to wrangle two four-year-old boys with lots of energy), and going to gymnastics. Then, after Carly had her bath, I corrupted her mind because we watched Miami Ink while I combed out her hair. Okay, I’m not worried about the corruption. Miami Ink is a nifty show which emphasized artistry and personal stories vs. the “so cool” non-conservative aura of tattoos. To top it off – this gal who lives and breathes cartoons actually liked it.

Wednesday: Finished babysitting once the kids were off to school and came to the office to find a nifty e-mail. I’ve been collecting publishing price quotes for the Writing Project’s 2006 Essay anthology. Fidlar Doubleday can do the project (approx. 100 pages, 150 copies) for about $500, which is nearly a grand less than Katherine’s total budget for the project. I’m feeling kinda pleased with myself on that one. Now I just have to get the anthology ready for publishing – which is something I’ve never done. Right now the anthology is a handful of Word documents which have been proofread, but that’s about it. I have to now combine them, format them, create a contents page, etc. and then convert them to a PDF so I can send the “output ready” document to the publisher. Oh yeah, and Katherine’s given me the job of designing the cover also. So, aside from actually printing the book, I’ve kind of been delegated to being the publisher. On one hand – mundo cool. On the other – very scary and intimidating.

In other news - it's Valentine's day, so there's chocolate cake in the main office. Yay!

One for Katherine

In lieu of getting each other Christmas gifts, Keith and I took a trip to Denver where I picked up some bronzite and gold pearls. I put them together and when I wore it to the office, Katherine asked to buy it. She quite liked the bronzite - which I think is cool, it's a very unusual looking stone.

Lightly Frosted

"Wow."
-Misty

Last night as we were leaving Katherine's class, Misty and I were more than a little surprised to find pea soup fog waiting for us. Thick stuff. It was pretty impressive. On the first stretch of the drive home, through mostly deserted highway, I could hardly see beyond my headlights. Pretty unusual in Colorado. This morning was neat, though, with all the fog frozen on the plants. Here are some pictures from my back yard.

A Dog Named Jack and the Metafictional Girl

Hostess at exclusive restaurant: And when were you hoping to dine with us?

Alex: Two years from tomorrow.

Hostess: Two years from tomorrow?

Alex: Yeah.

Hostess: Two years?

Alex: From tomorrow.

-The Lake House

Movie Review: The Lake House. A lovely romance adapted from a Korean movie. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock both give good performances and I love their dog. The only problem is that the main premise - the time crossover - doesn't make sense. Obviously, these people missed their prerequisite Star Trek episodes. Moral of the story: don't fuck with quantum physics. Well, that's exactly what Bullock and Reeves do. Okay, that minor incident aside, what about the damn mailbox? Why the hell is it suddenly a time portal? I mean, as far as premises go... If they had some kind, any kind of explanation for it, I'd be willing to bite. The problem is, they don't. So, it's a nice story as long as you ignore the logic holes and lack of continuity.

Movie Review: Lady in the Water. I heard mixed things about this one. Some liked it, some didn’t, and most figured it worthwhile for the metafiction more than the story itself. Well, when the gal’s name is Story, the metafiction is pretty obvious. I liked the sweetness of it, the metafiction stuff was interesting, but come on – why does everyone go along with it so easily? If my neighbor said, “Hey, this girl is a sea nymph and you’ve got to help me fight sod monsters,” I’d probably nod, smile, and lock the door. Most interesting was the writerly stuff, very fun was the critic stuff, and kind of lame was the rest of it.

Picture

Your dad failed!
-Mom

N.O.W. & Sales

"Which one do you think Tamar would like better?"
-Chris

Last week some of David's friends from PA came to visit and Anissa talked up my jewelry, saying they shold buy something for their wives. I brought some necklaces to Eilers on Friday (where David was singing) and Chris picked out the red necklace from my first N.O.W. post, while Brent ordered one to match the necklace I made for Anissa. She picked one out, also, which she wants modified. So, three necklaces in one night. Not bad - makes me smiley.

Anissa liked this necklace, but without the pendant and with a silver toggle vs. a gold one. Okay, no problem. A quick remake and viola! Another necklace for Anissa.

Grr...argh

Alas, 'twas not meant to be.

http://whedonesque.com/comments/12385#more

Hopefully, this means he can get to work on Goners, finish it up quickly, and get on to the next project. TV, Joss, do more TV. I'd much rather have the forty-odd minutes of show every week than two hours of movie every other year.

Dope, Dogs, and Stop Animation

Matthew: "She doesn't want a relationship with someone irresponsible. And I don't want a relationship with someone who isn't Nicky."
-Craig Ferguson, Saving Grace

Movie Review: Saving Grace. Sure, the blurb on Netflix sounded good, but I wasn’t expecting to laugh so much. I got to hand it to Craig Ferguson, the man’s funny. As both co-writer and co-star of the movie, he does a good job of showcasing his talent. Though it has some sweet, emotional, and even tense moments, the movie is founded on clever lines and goof ball antics. Great performances from the cast, and wonderful, wonderful humor.

Movie Review: As Good As it Gets. Okay we have a neurotic Jack Nicholson, gay Greg Kinnear, and frustrated Helen Hunt. Should be funny, right? Yeah, it’s funny. Nicholson is good at doing crazy and the way he and Kinnear play off each other is beautiful. There’s the dog, too. Beautiful. But, then something goes terribly wrong. Somehow the film makers thought they could get me to believe that Helen Hunt would somehow be attracted to Jack Nicholson. Come on folks, he’s crazy, he’s old, he’s not very pretty, and more than a little gross. Oh hubba hubba. Give me a break. The funny is good, the lovey falls apart.

Movie Review: The Corpse Bride. Nifty stuff, really. Stop motion animation is crazy stuff, and the crew on this movie put in a lot of TLC. Add to that the talents of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, and Christopher Lee, and you get a very fun movie. At just over an hour, it’s a quick watch, but very worthwhile.