Molly Ringle's Blog, page 35
June 5, 2010
Chamber of Secrets parody underway...
Having re-read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, I'm ready to start the condensed version. I hereby throw open the forum for anyone to make suggestions of jokes/criticisms/etc. that I absolutely must include. I'll list you in the credits if I do use them. I want to make sure to ask all the pertinent questions, like, "Why doesn't Hogwarts fix Ron's extremely dangerous broken wand, which is interfering with his ability to learn magic?"
One thing I'm also noticing is that it's going to be...
One thing I'm also noticing is that it's going to be...
June 2, 2010
What the nose knows...
You know you've missed my perfume reviews. Luckily for us all, Knows Perfume, purveyor of uncommon scents, has opened up shop in my neighborhood. So, having gone in there a couple of times now, and sat around sniffing dozens of intriguing bottles and flasks with the proprietor (Christen) and other customers, I have been sent home with some free samples to enjoy.
And today's is one I love, love, love. It's L'Artisan's Tea for Two, and here's its description from the L'Artisan webpage:
The curli...
And today's is one I love, love, love. It's L'Artisan's Tea for Two, and here's its description from the L'Artisan webpage:
The curli...
May 20, 2010
Must-have music?
Let's have an open forum: name a musical group (or composer) you think everyone should hear. This can be a longtime love, a recent obsession, or a personal advertisement; whatever you wish. A little bit of description of what kind of music they make would be helpful too.
Then I, and others reading this, can rush out to our libraries and record stores, or at least the Amazon.com "listen to samples" features, and find some new tunes.
My own recommendations? Well, lately I'm working my slow way t...
Then I, and others reading this, can rush out to our libraries and record stores, or at least the Amazon.com "listen to samples" features, and find some new tunes.
My own recommendations? Well, lately I'm working my slow way t...
May 4, 2010
Advice for a new [fill in the blank]
In a list of interview questions for someone's blog recently, I was asked, "What advice would you give a new writer?"
My answer, should you be wondering:
Aside from changing the font every so often while the work is in progress (it gives you a fresher eye on the whole story), I'd also implore you to take revisions very seriously. Your first draft is light-years away from being ready for publication. You have to put it away and not look at it for at least a month. Then you have to look at it aga...
My answer, should you be wondering:
Aside from changing the font every so often while the work is in progress (it gives you a fresher eye on the whole story), I'd also implore you to take revisions very seriously. Your first draft is light-years away from being ready for publication. You have to put it away and not look at it for at least a month. Then you have to look at it aga...
April 7, 2010
The technology that punishes you for smiling
I wrote this shortly after getting my braces removed last year. It will be of interest only to those who have once had braces or are considering getting them. To the former I say, "Keep wearing your retainers"; to the latter, merely, "Godspeed."
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Brace-face. Metalmouth. Train-tracks. Chances are, if you had braces in middle school, you got called those things. One plus about getting braces as an adult is you probably won't be. At least, I wasn't. But I thought them every day when I looked in...
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Brace-face. Metalmouth. Train-tracks. Chances are, if you had braces in middle school, you got called those things. One plus about getting braces as an adult is you probably won't be. At least, I wasn't. But I thought them every day when I looked in...
April 5, 2010
Simple rules for living: good food smells
One of my new rules for happier living is:
Try to cook something every day that makes the house smell good. This can encompass a lot of things, from chili to bread to cookies to (if you want the simple option) popcorn. Today I chose Lazy Irish Beer Bread.
I used this recipe, which I've shared before as an inclusion in my best recipes of the year. You can use pretty much any type of beer, and any type of flour instead of self-rising, as long as you add 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 t...
Try to cook something every day that makes the house smell good. This can encompass a lot of things, from chili to bread to cookies to (if you want the simple option) popcorn. Today I chose Lazy Irish Beer Bread.
I used this recipe, which I've shared before as an inclusion in my best recipes of the year. You can use pretty much any type of beer, and any type of flour instead of self-rising, as long as you add 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 t...
March 27, 2010
Bulwer-Lytton inspiration strikes again
I've just sent a reprehensible sentence to the long-suffering keepers of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. I'll inflict it on you here as well:
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For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity's affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss--a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and sucking at Felicity's mouth as if she were a giant cage-mounted water bottle and he were the world's thirstiest gerbil.
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Romantic, yeah?
I originally thought of the gerbil simile while ...
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For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity's affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss--a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and sucking at Felicity's mouth as if she were a giant cage-mounted water bottle and he were the world's thirstiest gerbil.
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Romantic, yeah?
I originally thought of the gerbil simile while ...
March 15, 2010
A mayo-free coleslaw. Next, a mayo-free world!
I shudder at any recipe that includes "1 cup mayonnaise," so for most of my life I've steered clear of coleslaw. However, on occasion I've tasted a light, fresh, non-greasy version, and lately I set out in search of a recipe to make such a thing. I found this one via Recipezaar, tested it, and approve! So I'll share it with you, and if you feel the need to use cabbage come St. Patrick's Day, you could always branch out and do it this way.
Lime Cilantro Coleslaw (or, for St. Paddy's: Coleslaw ...
Lime Cilantro Coleslaw (or, for St. Paddy's: Coleslaw ...
March 7, 2010
A chain of occasionally slashy multimedia events
Watching and enjoying "How I Met Your Mother" lately led me to look up and read this interview with Neil Patrick Harris in Out magazine.
On the sidebar I noticed this interview with Ewan McGregor from the same magazine, so I read that too. In it he said, regarding his kiss with Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Velvet Goldmine, "I remember when I kissed Johnny. It was just a rush at the end of the day. ...I like kissing boys on screen. As a straight guy, it's quite an interesting proposition. Anything o...
On the sidebar I noticed this interview with Ewan McGregor from the same magazine, so I read that too. In it he said, regarding his kiss with Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Velvet Goldmine, "I remember when I kissed Johnny. It was just a rush at the end of the day. ...I like kissing boys on screen. As a straight guy, it's quite an interesting proposition. Anything o...
February 14, 2010
Summer Term - Chapter 1
If you feel like readin' some romance on your Valentine's Day, I just put up a preview of SUMMER TERM--the full first chapter. (Much as I did for THE GHOST DOWNSTAIRS.) Enjoy!
And, once again, yes, this is fiction; meaning, when I was a grad student in linguistics, I neither dated nor flirted with my professors or students. I was all married by then and stuff. I've also never been involved with a film star, alas. But I couldn't help thinking the grad student situation did contain the potential...
And, once again, yes, this is fiction; meaning, when I was a grad student in linguistics, I neither dated nor flirted with my professors or students. I was all married by then and stuff. I've also never been involved with a film star, alas. But I couldn't help thinking the grad student situation did contain the potential...
