Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 262
December 28, 2010
Year in Review: Movies
Today I reaped the consequences for yesterday's procrastination. It was sunny but cold yesterday. Today isn't as cold, but it's rainy, and I had to go grocery shopping. Carrying groceries out to the car and then from the car to the house in the rain isn't fun. Note to self: next house will have an attached garage. There are downsides to having a house that faces a courtyard rather than a street.
I thought I'd figured out what I needed to do with the new scene idea I came up with, but then had an inspiration during my evening reading binge. It wasn't so much a thing I wanted to copy/steal as it was an awareness of how a certain element really intensified things in the book I was reading and then the realization that this element really should have been in what I was writing, but was missing. Now I need to tinker again with the last scene, and it should end up with a good emotional sucker punch effect. Today should be a good reading/writing day. The trick will be to focus on the writing when I'm tempted by the reading (curse you, Connie Willis!).
It's the time of year for all the "year in review" lists. I may have to save the book list for next week because I'm still reading one of the big books of the year. I don't think I'll get to any more movies this year, so I'll go ahead and do that. The problem is that I don't really remember all the movies I saw this year. I think I'll take one of those journals I've received as a thank-you gift for speaking at a library or writing group and start listing the movies I've watched the way I do books.
I think my favorite movie of the year would have to be Tangled, with Toy Story 3 a close second. The fact that my top two were Disney cartoons may say something about either my maturity level or the state of the film industry. I'm leaning toward the latter because to me it's all about story. There's a real dearth of good romantic comedies, and Tangled actually works as a romantic comedy because the hero and heroine both have arcs, they clash, then mesh and change each other, and I actually wanted them to end up together (which is rare in most of these movies, where either the guy is an idiot or the woman is a bitch). Add the fairy tale elements and the music, and it's like a movie that was custom-made for me. Then Toy Story 3 was an animated movie about toys that probably had more impact on adults who remember when they reached the age of leaving their toys behind than it did on kids who are still playing with toys. Pixar did their usual trick of making a movie that looks like it's for kids but which is really for adults.
I didn't see anything at the theater that I really hated, since I see very few movies at the theater and only go when it's something I truly want to see. Sherlock Holmes and Tron: Legacy could have been truly brilliant with better writing and better casting. Both of them fell down in choosing their female leads. I've loved Rachel McAdams in so many things, but she was totally out of her league as Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes. The woman who manages to outwit Holmes should be more of a peer, and that role shouldn't remind me of the 22-year-old supermodels playing nuclear physicists in a Bond movie. Meanwhile, it may be because I hate her on House, but Olivia Wilde just has this weird blank, dead-eyed look to her in everything. I don't get why she's currently such an "it" girl. It's hard for me as a straight woman to judge, but I don't even think she's that hot.
I liked what they did with the first half of the last Harry Potter movie, but it's hard to judge without seeing part 2. I enjoyed Inception and found it mindblowing, but I'm almost afraid to watch it again because I suspect it will lose something now that I know what's going on.
I do plan to see The King's Speech, but that will probably have to wait until next week, so it may fall onto my list for next year. When I will be keeping a list so I can do a better job than this and even deal with the "wait for HBO" movies.
I thought I'd figured out what I needed to do with the new scene idea I came up with, but then had an inspiration during my evening reading binge. It wasn't so much a thing I wanted to copy/steal as it was an awareness of how a certain element really intensified things in the book I was reading and then the realization that this element really should have been in what I was writing, but was missing. Now I need to tinker again with the last scene, and it should end up with a good emotional sucker punch effect. Today should be a good reading/writing day. The trick will be to focus on the writing when I'm tempted by the reading (curse you, Connie Willis!).
It's the time of year for all the "year in review" lists. I may have to save the book list for next week because I'm still reading one of the big books of the year. I don't think I'll get to any more movies this year, so I'll go ahead and do that. The problem is that I don't really remember all the movies I saw this year. I think I'll take one of those journals I've received as a thank-you gift for speaking at a library or writing group and start listing the movies I've watched the way I do books.
I think my favorite movie of the year would have to be Tangled, with Toy Story 3 a close second. The fact that my top two were Disney cartoons may say something about either my maturity level or the state of the film industry. I'm leaning toward the latter because to me it's all about story. There's a real dearth of good romantic comedies, and Tangled actually works as a romantic comedy because the hero and heroine both have arcs, they clash, then mesh and change each other, and I actually wanted them to end up together (which is rare in most of these movies, where either the guy is an idiot or the woman is a bitch). Add the fairy tale elements and the music, and it's like a movie that was custom-made for me. Then Toy Story 3 was an animated movie about toys that probably had more impact on adults who remember when they reached the age of leaving their toys behind than it did on kids who are still playing with toys. Pixar did their usual trick of making a movie that looks like it's for kids but which is really for adults.
I didn't see anything at the theater that I really hated, since I see very few movies at the theater and only go when it's something I truly want to see. Sherlock Holmes and Tron: Legacy could have been truly brilliant with better writing and better casting. Both of them fell down in choosing their female leads. I've loved Rachel McAdams in so many things, but she was totally out of her league as Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes. The woman who manages to outwit Holmes should be more of a peer, and that role shouldn't remind me of the 22-year-old supermodels playing nuclear physicists in a Bond movie. Meanwhile, it may be because I hate her on House, but Olivia Wilde just has this weird blank, dead-eyed look to her in everything. I don't get why she's currently such an "it" girl. It's hard for me as a straight woman to judge, but I don't even think she's that hot.
I liked what they did with the first half of the last Harry Potter movie, but it's hard to judge without seeing part 2. I enjoyed Inception and found it mindblowing, but I'm almost afraid to watch it again because I suspect it will lose something now that I know what's going on.
I do plan to see The King's Speech, but that will probably have to wait until next week, so it may fall onto my list for next year. When I will be keeping a list so I can do a better job than this and even deal with the "wait for HBO" movies.
December 27, 2010
On the Third Day of Christmas ...
I'm home again and in the "returning to somewhat normal" phase of the holiday season. I say "somewhat" because I'm coming more and more around to the idea of the liturgical calendar, where Christmas starts on December 25 and continues to the night of January 5. What we generally call the "Christmas season" is actually Advent. I like the idea of all that time being for preparation, and then you really start the party on Christmas. Otherwise, it seems like a lot of buildup for just one day. Not that I'll be doing serious partying, other than New Year's Eve. I just like the idea of living outside "normal" (or what passes for it around here) for a while.
In other words, I have to return All Clear to the library January 2, and I'm only halfway through a re-read of Blackout, which is feeling almost like a first read because I'd forgotten it all (I'd have been lost in the second book if I hadn't re-read), so this may be a big reading week. Good thing I have no ballet or choir, and there's nothing on TV.
I had a wonderful Christmas. We watched a lot of Doctor Who (LOVED the Christmas special, and getting to see it on Christmas night). We ate. We read. I got some new cookbooks and baking pans (I think I should make something for tea this afternoon). My brother added to my tea supply with a red tea, non-caffeinated spiced chai, which should be great for drinking at night when I want tea but want to sleep at a reasonable hour. My mom and I went in together and got my dad an e-reader so he could sit comfortably while reading some old favorites of his that he'd discovered at Project Gutenberg. It may be one of those signs of parent/child role reversal when you're buying your parents toys for Christmas and you're getting (and asking for) housewares.
I've already talked myself out of running errands today because I think I just need a quiet day at home to read and to get back into the swing of things -- and back to work on the book. I stayed off the Internet the whole time, aside from checking my e-mail a couple of times on my phone and doing some tech support for my parents. I like occasionally disconnecting from the virtual world, but then getting caught up again can be a pain because the rest of the world never seems to disconnect entirely.
Maybe we need to have a big "don't post anything online" day so we could all take a break without missing anything or having to catch up.
In other words, I have to return All Clear to the library January 2, and I'm only halfway through a re-read of Blackout, which is feeling almost like a first read because I'd forgotten it all (I'd have been lost in the second book if I hadn't re-read), so this may be a big reading week. Good thing I have no ballet or choir, and there's nothing on TV.
I had a wonderful Christmas. We watched a lot of Doctor Who (LOVED the Christmas special, and getting to see it on Christmas night). We ate. We read. I got some new cookbooks and baking pans (I think I should make something for tea this afternoon). My brother added to my tea supply with a red tea, non-caffeinated spiced chai, which should be great for drinking at night when I want tea but want to sleep at a reasonable hour. My mom and I went in together and got my dad an e-reader so he could sit comfortably while reading some old favorites of his that he'd discovered at Project Gutenberg. It may be one of those signs of parent/child role reversal when you're buying your parents toys for Christmas and you're getting (and asking for) housewares.
I've already talked myself out of running errands today because I think I just need a quiet day at home to read and to get back into the swing of things -- and back to work on the book. I stayed off the Internet the whole time, aside from checking my e-mail a couple of times on my phone and doing some tech support for my parents. I like occasionally disconnecting from the virtual world, but then getting caught up again can be a pain because the rest of the world never seems to disconnect entirely.
Maybe we need to have a big "don't post anything online" day so we could all take a break without missing anything or having to catch up.
December 22, 2010
Christmastime is Here
I'll be off for Christmas in a little while, so there may or may not be any posting the rest of the week. We will resume our normal broadcast schedule next week. Maybe.
A very merry Christmas to those who celebrate!
A very merry Christmas to those who celebrate!
December 21, 2010
Moon Gazing
I had another late start on the day, this time thanks to a rare all-nighter. The weather geek on TV was all excited about the lunar eclipse, talking about how it was around 400 years since there was a lunar eclipse in conjunction with the winter solstice. I don't really believe in literal magic outside the pages of a fantasy novel, but I figured that if any time happened to be magical, this might be it. Plus, it would be a long time until the next total lunar eclipse. So, I stayed up very, very late, and while I was staying up late waiting for the eclipse to start, I was getting a lot of writing done.
First, I hung around outside to see the very beginning. At that point, the moon was almost straight overhead, so the best viewing was lying on my back on my sidewalk. Fortunately, most of my neighbors know I'm a writer, so there's a certain amount of eccentricity that's accepted or even expected, and I'm probably letting them down on that front as I'm actually pretty boring, and so far, my eccentricity has amounted to being so quiet and never seen outside that a neighbor will occasionally check to make sure I'm alive in here. So I figured they wouldn't raise an eyebrow at me lying on the front sidewalk after midnight. Then I went back to writing. I came really close to the halfway point, and then something happened that was unexpected but that I really liked. It turned out that what I had planned as the Ordeal (in hero's journey terms) was really more an Approach to the Inmost Cave, and this new situation was the Ordeal. But since it was unexpected, that meant I had to think about it, so I made a pot of dark peppermint hot cocoa. While I was making the cocoa, I discovered that I could now see the moon from my patio, so I spent about 45 minutes sitting on my patio, drinking cocoa and watching the moon. I tried taking some pictures, but I don't have a tripod and it's hard to brace the camera against something at that angle, and that kind of shot requires a long exposure, so the pictures amounted to a weird streak.
When the eclipse neared totality, the moon started to dip below the roof line, so I went back out front to lie on the sidewalk again. The sidewalk was cold and not that comfortable, but then I came up with the bright idea of bringing out my exercise mat. Then, since I was lying on the exercise mat, I figured I might as well do some exercise, so I did a few leg lifts and some stretches. Exercising at two in the morning while lying on the sidewalk might have gone beyond "eccentric," but fortunately, no one seemed to be up and around, and since my house faces a courtyard and isn't visible from the street, no one driving by could see me. I was surprised by the amount of traffic on the main road behind my house at that time of the morning. Most of the cars on the road seemed to either squeal their tires when taking off at the traffic signal or play very loud music. Or both.
After a while, it started to get a little chilly. It was a very warm night for this time of year, but there was a cool breeze, so I got the fleece throw off the couch. Then it was a good thing no neighbors saw me because it looked like I'd gone to bed on the front sidewalk, and while the moon was fully eclipsed, it just looked dimmer and an odd color, so if you didn't know what was going on, you might not immediately know why someone might be spending the night outside. It was only during the partial stages when there was a really bright part and a really dark part that it was obvious. I kept watching until the bright part reappeared because I just reread Hogfather and after all that stuff about making sure the sun came up again, I had to make sure the moon came back. I finally fell into bed sometime after three, and then woke up at my usual time.
There will likely be napping later.
This may not have been the brightest thing to do when I have so much to get done today before I head out of town for Christmas, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime event. I feel all astronomical now.
First, I hung around outside to see the very beginning. At that point, the moon was almost straight overhead, so the best viewing was lying on my back on my sidewalk. Fortunately, most of my neighbors know I'm a writer, so there's a certain amount of eccentricity that's accepted or even expected, and I'm probably letting them down on that front as I'm actually pretty boring, and so far, my eccentricity has amounted to being so quiet and never seen outside that a neighbor will occasionally check to make sure I'm alive in here. So I figured they wouldn't raise an eyebrow at me lying on the front sidewalk after midnight. Then I went back to writing. I came really close to the halfway point, and then something happened that was unexpected but that I really liked. It turned out that what I had planned as the Ordeal (in hero's journey terms) was really more an Approach to the Inmost Cave, and this new situation was the Ordeal. But since it was unexpected, that meant I had to think about it, so I made a pot of dark peppermint hot cocoa. While I was making the cocoa, I discovered that I could now see the moon from my patio, so I spent about 45 minutes sitting on my patio, drinking cocoa and watching the moon. I tried taking some pictures, but I don't have a tripod and it's hard to brace the camera against something at that angle, and that kind of shot requires a long exposure, so the pictures amounted to a weird streak.
When the eclipse neared totality, the moon started to dip below the roof line, so I went back out front to lie on the sidewalk again. The sidewalk was cold and not that comfortable, but then I came up with the bright idea of bringing out my exercise mat. Then, since I was lying on the exercise mat, I figured I might as well do some exercise, so I did a few leg lifts and some stretches. Exercising at two in the morning while lying on the sidewalk might have gone beyond "eccentric," but fortunately, no one seemed to be up and around, and since my house faces a courtyard and isn't visible from the street, no one driving by could see me. I was surprised by the amount of traffic on the main road behind my house at that time of the morning. Most of the cars on the road seemed to either squeal their tires when taking off at the traffic signal or play very loud music. Or both.
After a while, it started to get a little chilly. It was a very warm night for this time of year, but there was a cool breeze, so I got the fleece throw off the couch. Then it was a good thing no neighbors saw me because it looked like I'd gone to bed on the front sidewalk, and while the moon was fully eclipsed, it just looked dimmer and an odd color, so if you didn't know what was going on, you might not immediately know why someone might be spending the night outside. It was only during the partial stages when there was a really bright part and a really dark part that it was obvious. I kept watching until the bright part reappeared because I just reread Hogfather and after all that stuff about making sure the sun came up again, I had to make sure the moon came back. I finally fell into bed sometime after three, and then woke up at my usual time.
There will likely be napping later.
This may not have been the brightest thing to do when I have so much to get done today before I head out of town for Christmas, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime event. I feel all astronomical now.
December 20, 2010
Movie Monday: Holiday Edition
According to the schedule I made during a burst of planning and organization at the beginning of the year, I'm supposed to be on holiday this week. But I have work that has to be done today and then I'm actually in a mood to write (I even wrote Friday night), so instead I've just shaken things up a bit. I took the morning off, then am doing my "morning" stuff in the afternoon. My posting the next couple of weeks may be sporadic, as I may use the "business" part of my schedule as my holiday time while still doing some writing.
It was a busy movie weekend, so I've got a lot of reviews for Monday Movies. I'll do them in chronological order (the order in which I saw them).
On Friday, I went to see How Do You Know, and I liked it more than the reviewers apparently did. It may not have been entirely satisfying as a romance, though I think that's partially because it's more about the decision to start a relationship, as opposed to the development of a relationship. Mostly, though, I found it interesting as an exploration of how people react when life pulls the rug out from under them and things aren't working out the way they planned. What I did like was that they avoided most of my romantic comedy pet peeves. The main couple was opposites in some ways, but that wasn't the whole point of their relationship. They didn't bicker constantly over meaningless things. "Mr. Wrong" wasn't evil. He was kind of a jerk, but he was a sweet, clueless jerk, so it felt like an honest choice between the two men rather than an obvious villain vs. hero comparison. I also liked that they didn't hit us over the head with the character development and the reasons the characters did things. That made this a fun movie for people who like to psychoanalyze fictional people. And then there was Paul Rudd. I've always liked him in nice-guy romantic comedy mode, but I've never really thought of him as an actor. In this, though, he was amazing. His face was so expressive that you could practically read his mind (very much like Amy Adams -- ooh, that might be my dream romantic comedy pairing).
Unfortunately, the bad side of seeing a romantic comedy in December is that you're forced to see the trailers for the romantic comedy dreck that tends to get released (or, considering the quality of the movies, excreted) in January and February. It looks like we'll be subjected to a lot of male-fantasy "romantic" "comedies." There was the one about the middle-aged men getting a free pass from their wives to spend a week as though they weren't married (yeah, right) and the one about a "friends with benefits" relationship where she didn't want them to develop feelings. Natalie Portman may get hit with the Eddie Murphy curse, where what seemed like a surefire Oscar nomination gets tanked when the same actor appears in a truly awful movie released right around nomination time.
Then on Saturday I saw Tron: Legacy. I hadn't seen the original, so I may have missed some of the nuances, if there were any. This was your basic popcorn movie that looked really cool, and the action sequences were exciting (due largely to a great soundtrack), but I found myself looking at my watch whenever there was a dialogue scene. I saw this in 3D, and I did like that they did the Wizard of Oz thing with it, where the "real world" scenes were like a regular 2D movie, and it went into 3D when we entered the virtual world. The 3D was used more for world building and less for the "oooh, stuff is flying off the screen at you!" effect. The main problem with this movie was that they were making the Airplane! of science fiction/action movies without being aware that's what they were doing. It was pretty much a cobbled together collection of tropes and even entire scenes from other movies in the genre. When two rows of people (I went with a big group of friends) says the exact same line from the source material at the same time, you might have hewn a little too closely to the source material. These guys had seen Star Wars. A lot.
As for the 3D, this was my first experience with it. 3D things tend not to work for me, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I put on my glasses at the "your 3D presentation will begin momentarily" slide, so when the "put on your glasses now" thing came on and a pair of glasses came flying out of the screen, I actually screamed a bit. From what I saw in the 3D trailers, I think I'd avoid 3D for any movie where I cared about the plot because it would be too distracting -- unless it was really part of the storytelling and world building. Mostly it seems to involve "ooh, stuff is flying out of the screen at you!" Which I can live without. When something comes flying at me, my instinct is to scream and duck, which is how I almost failed volleyball in 8th grade PE, and I'd prefer not to spend the movie screaming and ducking.
Then on Sunday night my HBO OnDemand movie was Pirate Radio, which was written and directed by Richard Curtis, the guy behind Love, Actually (and the "Vincent and the Doctor" episode of Doctor Who). It's about the time in the mid-60s when BBC radio wouldn't play rock music, and so pirate stations located off-shore provided the rock music. The movie focuses on the group of oddballs working on one of these pirate stations, as well as on the government official trying to bring them down. I liked this movie, but it wasn't as good as it should have been. Like Love, Actually, it had the cast of thousands and lots of little stories going on, but that one was more like an anthology of short stories. With this, it just seemed episodic, and nothing was ever really developed. It might have been better to focus on and really deal with a few stories instead of being so scattershot. However, there is a big moment near the end that I must say was one of the most goosebump-causing, tear-jerking moments of triumph I've ever seen on film. I'm kind of glad I didn't see this in a theater because I actually shouted "Yes!" and jumped off the sofa, and that would have been embarrassing in public (though it's possible that everyone else would have been doing it, too).
I think I'll save The King's Speech for after Christmas because it will involve a trip downtown. I may try out the new rail line and make a day of it.
It was a busy movie weekend, so I've got a lot of reviews for Monday Movies. I'll do them in chronological order (the order in which I saw them).
On Friday, I went to see How Do You Know, and I liked it more than the reviewers apparently did. It may not have been entirely satisfying as a romance, though I think that's partially because it's more about the decision to start a relationship, as opposed to the development of a relationship. Mostly, though, I found it interesting as an exploration of how people react when life pulls the rug out from under them and things aren't working out the way they planned. What I did like was that they avoided most of my romantic comedy pet peeves. The main couple was opposites in some ways, but that wasn't the whole point of their relationship. They didn't bicker constantly over meaningless things. "Mr. Wrong" wasn't evil. He was kind of a jerk, but he was a sweet, clueless jerk, so it felt like an honest choice between the two men rather than an obvious villain vs. hero comparison. I also liked that they didn't hit us over the head with the character development and the reasons the characters did things. That made this a fun movie for people who like to psychoanalyze fictional people. And then there was Paul Rudd. I've always liked him in nice-guy romantic comedy mode, but I've never really thought of him as an actor. In this, though, he was amazing. His face was so expressive that you could practically read his mind (very much like Amy Adams -- ooh, that might be my dream romantic comedy pairing).
Unfortunately, the bad side of seeing a romantic comedy in December is that you're forced to see the trailers for the romantic comedy dreck that tends to get released (or, considering the quality of the movies, excreted) in January and February. It looks like we'll be subjected to a lot of male-fantasy "romantic" "comedies." There was the one about the middle-aged men getting a free pass from their wives to spend a week as though they weren't married (yeah, right) and the one about a "friends with benefits" relationship where she didn't want them to develop feelings. Natalie Portman may get hit with the Eddie Murphy curse, where what seemed like a surefire Oscar nomination gets tanked when the same actor appears in a truly awful movie released right around nomination time.
Then on Saturday I saw Tron: Legacy. I hadn't seen the original, so I may have missed some of the nuances, if there were any. This was your basic popcorn movie that looked really cool, and the action sequences were exciting (due largely to a great soundtrack), but I found myself looking at my watch whenever there was a dialogue scene. I saw this in 3D, and I did like that they did the Wizard of Oz thing with it, where the "real world" scenes were like a regular 2D movie, and it went into 3D when we entered the virtual world. The 3D was used more for world building and less for the "oooh, stuff is flying off the screen at you!" effect. The main problem with this movie was that they were making the Airplane! of science fiction/action movies without being aware that's what they were doing. It was pretty much a cobbled together collection of tropes and even entire scenes from other movies in the genre. When two rows of people (I went with a big group of friends) says the exact same line from the source material at the same time, you might have hewn a little too closely to the source material. These guys had seen Star Wars. A lot.
As for the 3D, this was my first experience with it. 3D things tend not to work for me, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I put on my glasses at the "your 3D presentation will begin momentarily" slide, so when the "put on your glasses now" thing came on and a pair of glasses came flying out of the screen, I actually screamed a bit. From what I saw in the 3D trailers, I think I'd avoid 3D for any movie where I cared about the plot because it would be too distracting -- unless it was really part of the storytelling and world building. Mostly it seems to involve "ooh, stuff is flying out of the screen at you!" Which I can live without. When something comes flying at me, my instinct is to scream and duck, which is how I almost failed volleyball in 8th grade PE, and I'd prefer not to spend the movie screaming and ducking.
Then on Sunday night my HBO OnDemand movie was Pirate Radio, which was written and directed by Richard Curtis, the guy behind Love, Actually (and the "Vincent and the Doctor" episode of Doctor Who). It's about the time in the mid-60s when BBC radio wouldn't play rock music, and so pirate stations located off-shore provided the rock music. The movie focuses on the group of oddballs working on one of these pirate stations, as well as on the government official trying to bring them down. I liked this movie, but it wasn't as good as it should have been. Like Love, Actually, it had the cast of thousands and lots of little stories going on, but that one was more like an anthology of short stories. With this, it just seemed episodic, and nothing was ever really developed. It might have been better to focus on and really deal with a few stories instead of being so scattershot. However, there is a big moment near the end that I must say was one of the most goosebump-causing, tear-jerking moments of triumph I've ever seen on film. I'm kind of glad I didn't see this in a theater because I actually shouted "Yes!" and jumped off the sofa, and that would have been embarrassing in public (though it's possible that everyone else would have been doing it, too).
I think I'll save The King's Speech for after Christmas because it will involve a trip downtown. I may try out the new rail line and make a day of it.
December 17, 2010
Christmas Comes Early
I got a little early Christmas present this morning with the news that a nice-sized royalty check is on its way to me. It's not life-changing money, but the amount does have a comma in it, and it was totally unexpected. Thank you, Japan! The practical side of my brain pointed out that half the check would go toward making my January estimated tax payment, and then there's neighborhood HOA fees that are due in January, but then I reminded myself that I'd have had to make those payments anyway, so I'm still coming out ahead.
I think I'm going to buy that new computer I've been talking about. I'd been holding off to put it on next year's taxes, but now I may need the tax break this year. I'm not brave enough to hit an Apple store the week before Christmas, but I may go on a weekday morning between Christmas and the end of the year. It'll probably still be more crowded than non-holiday times, but that's okay. And I might even indulge in an iPod so I don't have to keep burning playlist CDs for my car. But my priority other than the computer will be a new dishwasher.
I didn't do any writing yesterday in the sense of adding words to the manuscript, but I think I finally worked out the scene I've been wrestling with. The major element was something I hadn't even considered before, so if I'd tried writing the scene before, it wouldn't have been right. Sometimes, you just have to give the subconscious some time to work.
Today, though, is office party day. I think I'm going to hike up the hill to Commercial Alley, run a quick Wal-Mart errand, maybe pick up some lunch, then see a movie, and then head home via the Starbucks, since I have a gift card from a library event I haven't used and it's a good hot chocolate kind of day. And then tonight, I think there will be mulled wine and a movie marathon. In between, I may try writing that elusive scene now that I've got it worked out.
I think I'm going to buy that new computer I've been talking about. I'd been holding off to put it on next year's taxes, but now I may need the tax break this year. I'm not brave enough to hit an Apple store the week before Christmas, but I may go on a weekday morning between Christmas and the end of the year. It'll probably still be more crowded than non-holiday times, but that's okay. And I might even indulge in an iPod so I don't have to keep burning playlist CDs for my car. But my priority other than the computer will be a new dishwasher.
I didn't do any writing yesterday in the sense of adding words to the manuscript, but I think I finally worked out the scene I've been wrestling with. The major element was something I hadn't even considered before, so if I'd tried writing the scene before, it wouldn't have been right. Sometimes, you just have to give the subconscious some time to work.
Today, though, is office party day. I think I'm going to hike up the hill to Commercial Alley, run a quick Wal-Mart errand, maybe pick up some lunch, then see a movie, and then head home via the Starbucks, since I have a gift card from a library event I haven't used and it's a good hot chocolate kind of day. And then tonight, I think there will be mulled wine and a movie marathon. In between, I may try writing that elusive scene now that I've got it worked out.
December 16, 2010
Fake Your Fantasy Life!
I got a late start this morning after a party last night, even though it wasn't even a late party. For some reason, I was utterly exhausted afterward. I did have some leftovers of the eggplant and tomato relish and crostini I brought, since there was just too much food, so I may have my own little cocktail party tonight. I haven't had my "office party" yet.
It feels weird today not to have a deadline or any place I have to go or thing I have to do. Maybe that means I'll actually get some work done. I do have to do some laundry, but that can happen while writing.
I saw an ad on TV during the noon news today that really disturbed me. There's this company that does photo sessions with green screen, so you can have pictures of yourself doing all kinds of amazing things that you never actually did. The ad shows people posing on a surfboard in front of a green screen, then the final image of the person riding a wave, or lying on a platform in a weird pose, that in the final image is sliding into a base. That may be taking the virtual fantasy thing too far. Why bother taking any steps to live your fantasy and actually doing something when you can have a photograph faked and pretend you did it? The fact that someone can apparently sustain a business doing this says something sad about our society. The one thing they showed that actually was a fun-looking idea was what appeared to be a family Christmas card photo with the family flying Santa's sleigh. I think I could even deal with pictures inserting yourself into something like Star Wars. But when you're faking photos of yourself doing things that it is possible to actually do instead of doing them, that's getting weird. Why would you want to have a poster-sized picture of yourself surfing if you don't surf? What would you say when people asked you about it? Lie? Is this bringing the things you say about yourself on the Internet into the real world? Is this going to be a tool for people meeting in person their online dating matches? "Oops, I told her I won an Olympic medal. I'd better get a medal ceremony photo done for when she comes to my place." You don't have to do anything to create your fantasy life other than show up in the right outfit at the photo studio. That's sad. I wonder if they also Photoshop you into looking like you could possibly do those things you're pretending to do. With this sort of thing, we can just live in our little pods, never getting off the sofa, and still have souvenirs of the lives we have in our videogames.
They must have taken it literally when the self-help guru said to picture your ideal life and visualize yourself living it. But the point of that is that you then go on to do the things it would take in order to have that life. You don't just fake a picture of yourself having that life, unless maybe you're using it as motivation to encourage yourself to do those things.
I wonder if they can fake a photo of me getting some writing done. That would count, wouldn't it?
It feels weird today not to have a deadline or any place I have to go or thing I have to do. Maybe that means I'll actually get some work done. I do have to do some laundry, but that can happen while writing.
I saw an ad on TV during the noon news today that really disturbed me. There's this company that does photo sessions with green screen, so you can have pictures of yourself doing all kinds of amazing things that you never actually did. The ad shows people posing on a surfboard in front of a green screen, then the final image of the person riding a wave, or lying on a platform in a weird pose, that in the final image is sliding into a base. That may be taking the virtual fantasy thing too far. Why bother taking any steps to live your fantasy and actually doing something when you can have a photograph faked and pretend you did it? The fact that someone can apparently sustain a business doing this says something sad about our society. The one thing they showed that actually was a fun-looking idea was what appeared to be a family Christmas card photo with the family flying Santa's sleigh. I think I could even deal with pictures inserting yourself into something like Star Wars. But when you're faking photos of yourself doing things that it is possible to actually do instead of doing them, that's getting weird. Why would you want to have a poster-sized picture of yourself surfing if you don't surf? What would you say when people asked you about it? Lie? Is this bringing the things you say about yourself on the Internet into the real world? Is this going to be a tool for people meeting in person their online dating matches? "Oops, I told her I won an Olympic medal. I'd better get a medal ceremony photo done for when she comes to my place." You don't have to do anything to create your fantasy life other than show up in the right outfit at the photo studio. That's sad. I wonder if they also Photoshop you into looking like you could possibly do those things you're pretending to do. With this sort of thing, we can just live in our little pods, never getting off the sofa, and still have souvenirs of the lives we have in our videogames.
They must have taken it literally when the self-help guru said to picture your ideal life and visualize yourself living it. But the point of that is that you then go on to do the things it would take in order to have that life. You don't just fake a picture of yourself having that life, unless maybe you're using it as motivation to encourage yourself to do those things.
I wonder if they can fake a photo of me getting some writing done. That would count, wouldn't it?
December 15, 2010
The Hero's Journey: Reward
I finished my Christmas shopping yesterday, and I just have the choir party tonight (and I have to cook something for that), and then the "must do" stuff for the season will be out of the way. I also had my last ballet class of the year last night. Now maybe I can get back to getting some work done, or I can at least do some relaxing and thinking to be ready to really hit the work in the new year. I do still need to do things like wrap presents, but that's not a huge issue.
So, now for the last writing post of the year (I'm taking a break for the holidays).
We're getting close to the end of the stages of the hero's journey, as distilled from Joseph Campbell's work by Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer's Journey. If you don't already have this book, I'd recommend putting it on your holiday wish list.
We've just completed the Ordeal, which is usually the big action or emotionally intense sequence around the middle of the story. The next step is the Reward, though I think that's kind of a misnomer. In modern storytelling, this stage is largely about pacing. It's a chance for the audience -- and the characters -- to catch their breath after getting through the Ordeal before they have to gear up for the final push. You need to ease back on the tension a bit so you can start building it again as you head to the climax of the story. But that doesn't mean that this isn't an interesting scene without action or tension. It's just a different kind of action or tension that offers a release from what we've just been through. This is the "whew, we made it!" scene where they celebrate getting through the Ordeal and deal with the consequences of the Ordeal. They may tend to their wounds, mourn their losses and rehash what just happened, either reveling in their successes or discussing and laying blame for what went wrong. Mostly, these are character-driven scenes that let us get to know the characters a little better while we also get a sense of how they've changed so far. We get to see how the characters are responding emotionally to what they've just experienced.
This stage may be a time of deeper bonding among the characters. The complete opposite buddy cops who'd been bickering and hating each other will have gained new respect for each other from going through the ordeal so that they can now work together as a team. This is also a common place for love scenes, where our bickering couple has been brought together by the ordeal, and the adrenaline high from having survived whatever it is they've gone through leads to them acting on their physical feelings. Even if they don't actually act on the feelings, this may be where they start to notice them. For instance, in the romantic comedy Leap Year (it's currently on HBO, so it's top of mind), I might consider their rush to catch a train, leading to the muddy slide down a mountain, then realizing they've missed the train and then having to convince the landlady at the only B&B for miles that they're married in order to get the only available room the ordeal. And then they have to spend the night together in the tiny room. They don't even touch, but it still feels like a love scene because they've gotten past their superficial dislike of each other to start really noticing each other. Other examples: the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Marian tries to find the spots on Indy that don't hurt so she can kiss them as she tends to his wounds. Or it's the scenes in The Terminator where Sarah and Kyle have escaped from the Terminator at the police station, and then he tells her about the future, then later he confesses that he came through time for her and they make love. Or in Aliens, it's the scene where Hicks teaches Ripley how to use the gun -- a quiet moment in a brief break from all the terror where the characters get to function on a human level.
In the classic myth structure, this is where the hero takes possession of the quest object. He's got the sword, grail, ring, amulet, elixir, or whatever he's after. His job isn't done because he still has to get it home or to the ultimate destination, but he's got step one taken care of. In some respects, this is another reason why love scenes are common here, because the hero is taking possession of the romantic object.
This also may be a time of initiation. The hero has proved himself worthy with what he's accomplished during the ordeal, so he may be knighted, get a battlefield promotion or may be inducted into whatever society he's been wanting to join. If the mentor survived the ordeal, this may be when the mentor shares one last bit of crucial information that he didn't think the hero was ready for before. The mentor has accepted that the hero has become worthy or become a man who deserves that last bit of knowledge. In the film version of Prince Caspian, after dual ordeals of the battle and then the temptation by the White Witch, Caspian then learns the truth of who his mentor the professor really is, what really happened to his father, and what the professor's plan was all along. It's common for the hero to learn new truths about himself at this point, like that he's the destined, chosen one or the long-lost heir.
Facing death during the ordeal may have changed the hero. That tends to give someone a new perspective. He may have new insight into what's going on, so that he may be able to see who's really on his side or who's betraying him or so that he realizes the truth of what's really happening. In supernatural stories, the hero may have gained new powers or learned new aspects of the powers he already has from using them during the ordeal. This is also a time when the hero may come to terms with who/what he is in a way that will give him more power (literally or figuratively) as he heads down the final stretch.
Although we in the audience know that it's not over, the hero may not yet be aware of this. He might think he's won for good, that this is the final celebration and not just a temporary respite. Then he'll be blindsided when the villain pops up again.
In really intense, fast-paced stories, the Reward stage may be shorter or may not be a full respite. They may be saying, "Yay, we made it!" while still on the run, but there does still need to be a little easing of the tension, and if something is happening even while the tension is lower, you don't risk the story losing steam.
I'll be taking a break from these posts during the holidays, so I'll return in the new year with the end of the story.
So, now for the last writing post of the year (I'm taking a break for the holidays).
We're getting close to the end of the stages of the hero's journey, as distilled from Joseph Campbell's work by Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer's Journey. If you don't already have this book, I'd recommend putting it on your holiday wish list.
We've just completed the Ordeal, which is usually the big action or emotionally intense sequence around the middle of the story. The next step is the Reward, though I think that's kind of a misnomer. In modern storytelling, this stage is largely about pacing. It's a chance for the audience -- and the characters -- to catch their breath after getting through the Ordeal before they have to gear up for the final push. You need to ease back on the tension a bit so you can start building it again as you head to the climax of the story. But that doesn't mean that this isn't an interesting scene without action or tension. It's just a different kind of action or tension that offers a release from what we've just been through. This is the "whew, we made it!" scene where they celebrate getting through the Ordeal and deal with the consequences of the Ordeal. They may tend to their wounds, mourn their losses and rehash what just happened, either reveling in their successes or discussing and laying blame for what went wrong. Mostly, these are character-driven scenes that let us get to know the characters a little better while we also get a sense of how they've changed so far. We get to see how the characters are responding emotionally to what they've just experienced.
This stage may be a time of deeper bonding among the characters. The complete opposite buddy cops who'd been bickering and hating each other will have gained new respect for each other from going through the ordeal so that they can now work together as a team. This is also a common place for love scenes, where our bickering couple has been brought together by the ordeal, and the adrenaline high from having survived whatever it is they've gone through leads to them acting on their physical feelings. Even if they don't actually act on the feelings, this may be where they start to notice them. For instance, in the romantic comedy Leap Year (it's currently on HBO, so it's top of mind), I might consider their rush to catch a train, leading to the muddy slide down a mountain, then realizing they've missed the train and then having to convince the landlady at the only B&B for miles that they're married in order to get the only available room the ordeal. And then they have to spend the night together in the tiny room. They don't even touch, but it still feels like a love scene because they've gotten past their superficial dislike of each other to start really noticing each other. Other examples: the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Marian tries to find the spots on Indy that don't hurt so she can kiss them as she tends to his wounds. Or it's the scenes in The Terminator where Sarah and Kyle have escaped from the Terminator at the police station, and then he tells her about the future, then later he confesses that he came through time for her and they make love. Or in Aliens, it's the scene where Hicks teaches Ripley how to use the gun -- a quiet moment in a brief break from all the terror where the characters get to function on a human level.
In the classic myth structure, this is where the hero takes possession of the quest object. He's got the sword, grail, ring, amulet, elixir, or whatever he's after. His job isn't done because he still has to get it home or to the ultimate destination, but he's got step one taken care of. In some respects, this is another reason why love scenes are common here, because the hero is taking possession of the romantic object.
This also may be a time of initiation. The hero has proved himself worthy with what he's accomplished during the ordeal, so he may be knighted, get a battlefield promotion or may be inducted into whatever society he's been wanting to join. If the mentor survived the ordeal, this may be when the mentor shares one last bit of crucial information that he didn't think the hero was ready for before. The mentor has accepted that the hero has become worthy or become a man who deserves that last bit of knowledge. In the film version of Prince Caspian, after dual ordeals of the battle and then the temptation by the White Witch, Caspian then learns the truth of who his mentor the professor really is, what really happened to his father, and what the professor's plan was all along. It's common for the hero to learn new truths about himself at this point, like that he's the destined, chosen one or the long-lost heir.
Facing death during the ordeal may have changed the hero. That tends to give someone a new perspective. He may have new insight into what's going on, so that he may be able to see who's really on his side or who's betraying him or so that he realizes the truth of what's really happening. In supernatural stories, the hero may have gained new powers or learned new aspects of the powers he already has from using them during the ordeal. This is also a time when the hero may come to terms with who/what he is in a way that will give him more power (literally or figuratively) as he heads down the final stretch.
Although we in the audience know that it's not over, the hero may not yet be aware of this. He might think he's won for good, that this is the final celebration and not just a temporary respite. Then he'll be blindsided when the villain pops up again.
In really intense, fast-paced stories, the Reward stage may be shorter or may not be a full respite. They may be saying, "Yay, we made it!" while still on the run, but there does still need to be a little easing of the tension, and if something is happening even while the tension is lower, you don't risk the story losing steam.
I'll be taking a break from these posts during the holidays, so I'll return in the new year with the end of the story.
December 14, 2010
Attack of the Killer Brain
I think my brain is trying to kill me.
It's bad enough when I have one book swirling around in there. It got difficult a couple of weeks ago when the new idea got charged up, so I've been musing on a difficult scene in the current project while I keep having the opening scene for this new idea trying to play itself out. I'm almost at the point where I may just write it to see if that gets it out of my head, but then there's always the danger that writing it will only breed the next scene. Meanwhile, another project I'll need to work on in the coming months is starting to wake up.
Then last night, for whatever odd reason, I found myself mentally writing scenes for someone else's series. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that there's a character I find intriguing, but the series so far hasn't really developed him as much as I'd like and the last book I read wasn't all that satisfying on that front, so my brain is trying to develop it the way I would. It's bad enough having all those ideas of my own in my head. I do not need to be fixing someone else's ideas.
And then this morning I woke up mentally writing a screenplay based on an old book I haven't even thought of in six years. I spent way too much time on this book back during my last publishing dry spell and even broke up with an agent over it (not because of what she thought of it but because of how she handled the communication over it and the fact that she had told me she submitted it and didn't understand why we weren't getting any response at all, so she suggested I try rewriting it, then hated the rewrite, but then when I later talked to the editors who supposedly had it, they'd never heard of it). When I got my current agent with Enchanted, Inc., I sent her this proposal, since an editor still had it, and she told me it was the kind of thing that might work in a movie, but she didn't think it would work as a book and told me why. There was something in a Lifetime movie I watched last night that bothered me, but it reminded me of something in this book, and as I thought about it, I remembered that the way I handled it was different. So I guess my subconscious decided that this story would make a good Lifetime romantic comedy and went to work on the screenplay. A whole hour went by after I first woke up without me even realizing time was passing as I imagined how the opening scene would work in screenplay form. I'm not even sure how I'd go about selling a TV movie script, if I even had time to write it. I do have an agent who handles my movie rights and she also represents screenwriters, and I do know her personally, but her screenwriting clients tend to win Oscars. I'm not sure she'd stoop to a Lifetime movie, and I'm not sure of the protocol for trying to approach her.
That was after waking up from a "real job" nightmare in which I had to go on a last-minute business trip, didn't get the agenda for the conference I had to attend on behalf of a client until late the day before I had to leave, and I found out that the events I'd have to go to required an entirely new wardrobe, but my boss wouldn't let me leave early to get ready for this trip.
No wonder my brain was coming up with a variety of potentially profitable projects. It was terrified at the thought of going back to a real job, if I could even get one. I haven't worked for anyone but myself in nearly ten years.
It's bad enough when I have one book swirling around in there. It got difficult a couple of weeks ago when the new idea got charged up, so I've been musing on a difficult scene in the current project while I keep having the opening scene for this new idea trying to play itself out. I'm almost at the point where I may just write it to see if that gets it out of my head, but then there's always the danger that writing it will only breed the next scene. Meanwhile, another project I'll need to work on in the coming months is starting to wake up.
Then last night, for whatever odd reason, I found myself mentally writing scenes for someone else's series. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that there's a character I find intriguing, but the series so far hasn't really developed him as much as I'd like and the last book I read wasn't all that satisfying on that front, so my brain is trying to develop it the way I would. It's bad enough having all those ideas of my own in my head. I do not need to be fixing someone else's ideas.
And then this morning I woke up mentally writing a screenplay based on an old book I haven't even thought of in six years. I spent way too much time on this book back during my last publishing dry spell and even broke up with an agent over it (not because of what she thought of it but because of how she handled the communication over it and the fact that she had told me she submitted it and didn't understand why we weren't getting any response at all, so she suggested I try rewriting it, then hated the rewrite, but then when I later talked to the editors who supposedly had it, they'd never heard of it). When I got my current agent with Enchanted, Inc., I sent her this proposal, since an editor still had it, and she told me it was the kind of thing that might work in a movie, but she didn't think it would work as a book and told me why. There was something in a Lifetime movie I watched last night that bothered me, but it reminded me of something in this book, and as I thought about it, I remembered that the way I handled it was different. So I guess my subconscious decided that this story would make a good Lifetime romantic comedy and went to work on the screenplay. A whole hour went by after I first woke up without me even realizing time was passing as I imagined how the opening scene would work in screenplay form. I'm not even sure how I'd go about selling a TV movie script, if I even had time to write it. I do have an agent who handles my movie rights and she also represents screenwriters, and I do know her personally, but her screenwriting clients tend to win Oscars. I'm not sure she'd stoop to a Lifetime movie, and I'm not sure of the protocol for trying to approach her.
That was after waking up from a "real job" nightmare in which I had to go on a last-minute business trip, didn't get the agenda for the conference I had to attend on behalf of a client until late the day before I had to leave, and I found out that the events I'd have to go to required an entirely new wardrobe, but my boss wouldn't let me leave early to get ready for this trip.
No wonder my brain was coming up with a variety of potentially profitable projects. It was terrified at the thought of going back to a real job, if I could even get one. I haven't worked for anyone but myself in nearly ten years.
December 13, 2010
Holiday Antidotes
So, it's Monday, and it's less than two weeks until Christmas. Ack! I did finally put up some decorations, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to skip the tree this year, unless maybe I put up the little one in my office.
I did try to watch the Sci Fi channel's version of a Christmas movie, Ice Quake, Saturday night, but I only made it about half an hour into it because it contained two of my pet peeves. One was a whiny, entitled teenage girl of the type who would probably get her whole family killed while in witness protection because she'd call all her friends and tell them where they were and invite them to come over, since it's all so UNFAIR that she can't hang out with her friends even though the Russian mob, the Mafia and a Colombian drug cartel are all out to kill her. Not that this happened in this movie (that I know of), but it was that type of character. A major natural disaster is happening, and all she can think of is what it means for her social life. "Like, omigod, the world is coming to an end? But I wanted to go to that party this weekend! It's so unfair! Why do these things happen to me?" Second was the wife who doesn't seem to grasp what her husband does for a living and how that might affect her plans. If your husband is a geologist who works with the Army Corps of Engineers and several severe and unexplained tremors have happened, along with a major event on the polar ice cap, and you're in Alaska, then yes, your husband might have to go to the office, even though it's Christmas Eve. The earth isn't going to stop shaking, regardless of what day the calendar says it is. Which is worse, your husband going to the office on Christmas Eve, or your husband staying home and your whole family getting killed because no one figured out what was going on and how to stop it? Okay, so he did end up going to the office briefly before spending that quality time with the family, but then it turned into a "disaster as family bonding experience" movie. I'd have far preferred it if he'd been single and had to work with another scientist or Corps of Engineers soldier type and they'd bickered about what to do before bonding and falling in love during the disaster, but I guess you don't get that in the Christmas disaster movie.
So, to get my dose of people falling in love at Christmas, I ended up with Lifetime movies on Sunday, but learned that it is possible to overdose on that kind of thing, so I had to balance it with a CSI marathon. Switching back and forth between the two could be rather disconcerting. "I love you! And look! It's snowing!" Click. "I've found a rare insect larva inside this wound in the corpse."
And now I have a reading dilemma. I had All Clear by Connie Willis on hold at the library, and I had bought a paperback copy of Blackout to re-read in preparation. My grand plan was to read them back to back as one book, playing all my big band music in the background to create the mood. But I'd hoped to get the book from the library in November. Instead, I just got it this weekend. But those books don't really fit the holiday mood. I'm already uncharacteristically moody, so I'm not sure I can deal with the Blitz right now. I'm more likely to want to curl up with a Christmas-set romance/chick lit kind of book, listen to Christmas music in the background and drink hot cocoa. I have All Clear until January 2, so maybe that will be my week-between-holidays indulgence. Or I could find myself not in the mood for the Christmas stuff and this will be my literary equivalent of the CSI marathon.
I did try to watch the Sci Fi channel's version of a Christmas movie, Ice Quake, Saturday night, but I only made it about half an hour into it because it contained two of my pet peeves. One was a whiny, entitled teenage girl of the type who would probably get her whole family killed while in witness protection because she'd call all her friends and tell them where they were and invite them to come over, since it's all so UNFAIR that she can't hang out with her friends even though the Russian mob, the Mafia and a Colombian drug cartel are all out to kill her. Not that this happened in this movie (that I know of), but it was that type of character. A major natural disaster is happening, and all she can think of is what it means for her social life. "Like, omigod, the world is coming to an end? But I wanted to go to that party this weekend! It's so unfair! Why do these things happen to me?" Second was the wife who doesn't seem to grasp what her husband does for a living and how that might affect her plans. If your husband is a geologist who works with the Army Corps of Engineers and several severe and unexplained tremors have happened, along with a major event on the polar ice cap, and you're in Alaska, then yes, your husband might have to go to the office, even though it's Christmas Eve. The earth isn't going to stop shaking, regardless of what day the calendar says it is. Which is worse, your husband going to the office on Christmas Eve, or your husband staying home and your whole family getting killed because no one figured out what was going on and how to stop it? Okay, so he did end up going to the office briefly before spending that quality time with the family, but then it turned into a "disaster as family bonding experience" movie. I'd have far preferred it if he'd been single and had to work with another scientist or Corps of Engineers soldier type and they'd bickered about what to do before bonding and falling in love during the disaster, but I guess you don't get that in the Christmas disaster movie.
So, to get my dose of people falling in love at Christmas, I ended up with Lifetime movies on Sunday, but learned that it is possible to overdose on that kind of thing, so I had to balance it with a CSI marathon. Switching back and forth between the two could be rather disconcerting. "I love you! And look! It's snowing!" Click. "I've found a rare insect larva inside this wound in the corpse."
And now I have a reading dilemma. I had All Clear by Connie Willis on hold at the library, and I had bought a paperback copy of Blackout to re-read in preparation. My grand plan was to read them back to back as one book, playing all my big band music in the background to create the mood. But I'd hoped to get the book from the library in November. Instead, I just got it this weekend. But those books don't really fit the holiday mood. I'm already uncharacteristically moody, so I'm not sure I can deal with the Blitz right now. I'm more likely to want to curl up with a Christmas-set romance/chick lit kind of book, listen to Christmas music in the background and drink hot cocoa. I have All Clear until January 2, so maybe that will be my week-between-holidays indulgence. Or I could find myself not in the mood for the Christmas stuff and this will be my literary equivalent of the CSI marathon.
