Julia London's Blog, page 36

Monday, Monday…

So, I am out of things to blog about today.  I used up my interesting topic quota on Friday, so alas, I am forced to blog about boring things instead.  In my first official boring topic, I think the WhineSisters should have a SuperPacOfBonBons.  It should just like a political SuperPac, but it should be for romance novels instead.  We should be able to accept contributions of unlimited size and from whomever we choose, without public disclosure rules, and we should be able to run ads and commercials about whatever we want, although I suppose that mainly we should run it about our novles.  RWA, I think this is an excellent cause to take up.  Piracy?  Pbhhhhbt.  Digital rights and out of print clauses?  Meh.  No, SuperPacOfBonBons (or SPOBB for short).  That’s what we should do.  Now… who do I know on the RWA board????  Who is that??  Oh, yeah, hey, Julia London!!!!

In boring topic Number two, I STILL have not seen  the Avengers, however, the O’Reilly family is planning a Day O’Fun sometime during the holiday weekend, and I swear, as God is my witness, that I shall SEE the Avengers, and possibly the Hunger Games, too (that’s, ‘also’, not II, which would be a swift trick, but no…).  I am desperate for fun.  Desperate I say.  We have discussed go-karting, smuggling fireworks from Pennsylvania (I’m hoping that Homeland Security is not reading this post), tearing down our closet and starting the closet Version 2.0 (inspired by Julia London’s recent renovation ‘fun’).  So I don’t know.  I am open to suggestions O’Fun.

In boring topic Number three, which is actually NOT boring.  On Saturday, at the Preakness was held, Part Deux of the Triple Crown of Horse Racing, and Saturday’s come from behind winner was… I’ll Have Another, owned by Lays Potato Chips (not really, it’s actually Budweiser).  No, no really, he’s actually owned by Paul Reddam, who lives in CA, and as far as I know, has no corporate affiliation, but obviously really likes to spend time in a bar.  But, the cool thing about I’ll Have Another, is that on June 9th, he could win the Belmont, which means, he would be the 12th horse in history to win the triple crown.  I think that’s cool.

And in other news… okay, I’m out of boring news.  If anyone has non boring news to share, please feel free!!! 

 

 

 

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Just Give In…

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Happy Friday!

It seems like everyone is having a crazy week.  Sherri is tooling around New York, probably raising havoc.  Julia London is going to run her race with a nail gun in her hand, Jacquie is being all weepy mother, alternating between sweet teary-eyed bouts of “I’m so proud of you son!,”  and “Here’s how you’ll do your laundry…”  Dee is on vacation in Arkansas, mingling with people who grew up with, who will look at her funny  now that she *almost* talks like a New Yawker.  Julie Kenner is herding girl scouts, flitting from concert to recital to lessons in Latin, and I am listening to more music this weekend than Beethoven’s momma EVER heard.  Sigh.

I am SO glad that it’s Friday.  I can’t wait for May to be done.

And I’m sure there’s another hard-partying group of geekers who are glad it’s Friday.  The employees of Facebook.  Today is the first day that Facebook shares (NASDAQ symbol: LIKE (just kidding)) hit the market today, expecting to be priced at about $100 something  a share (if that seems cheap, it’s because there are like 8-gazillion shares).

For me, I don’t think Facebook can stand the test of time.   It’s not *sticky* enough.  There’s this idea that a consumer will move from one product to another unless a product is sticky.  If a person actually invests in one product, then they will be loathe to move to another.  In the case of Facebook, the only thing keeping people moving to another social medial platform is… nothing.  So, my advice (worth approximately $.01)  is to not worry about the Facebook IPO.  Certainly the employees are going to be set for life, but as an investment vehicle?  Meh.

Yes, the company is valued at $104 billion.  With a b, and that rhymes with g, and that stands for Greece.  In today’s really sucky news, Greece owes  $541 billion (that’s five Facebooks), and things are not looking rosy for the Euro.  Although if you’re thinking about traveling abroad, now is a really great time.  The euro is about 1.27 to $1.00, which is cheap, cheap, cheap.  Attention authors of Harlequin presents, I would avoid the whole Greek tycoon thing these days (although I said the same thing about Sheiks after 9/11 and look how right I was on that?)

No More Child Support Now...

And for more unhappy news, Disco Diva Donna Summer died yesterday.  “Turn off the lights sweet darling…”  Much like the death of Chris Matthews, this one surprised me by how much it hurt.   As much as I *HATED* disco (and oh, I did hate disco), I have an odd fondness for the music now.  It’s sort of like that awkward, skinny friend with glasses and zits that you don’t really want to be seen with, but you find yourself hanging out with on the weekends, because they’re SO funny and you feel comfortable being around them.   Donna, I hate to say it in public, but I will miss you…

BoogieShoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MacArthur’s park is melting in the dark

All the sweet green icing flowing down

Someone left the cake out in the rain

I don’t think that I can take it cause it took so long to bake it

And I’ll never have that recipe again… oh, no!

Which reminds me that I need to make a dessert and appetizer for Sunday…  Note to self, do not use green icing, and do not let the cake stand out in the rain.

So, what about everybody else?  Are you glad it’s Friday?  Will you be buying Facebook stock?  Are you travelling to Greece? Should Presents author find another more lucrative company to import their tycoons from?  Russia, Germany?  And what’s your fav Donna Summer song?  Did you ever wear disco clothes?

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Thursday Already?

I’m late this morning and here is why.  I have been consumed with taking out a half wall the last two weeks, a project that grows a little every day.  Moose…you can see him there, peeking around the counter’s end, is afraid of plastic and does not like a lot of strange men in the house.  I think this is a good thing.  But it means I have had to shuttle him back and forth to doggie day care, and try and get him to eat around the chaos.  And while you can’t tell it from looking at this picture, it’s almost done!!

This weekend I will be running in the Beach to Bay Marathon Relay.  I’m leg 2, 4.67 miles on a park road.  It’s flat.  That’s great, because the third leg is over the causeway bridge.  No thank you.  But here is the thing.  Last year, our team won our Senior Mixed Masters Division.  We were world champions of the Geezer Marathon Relay Teams primarily because there were only two teams.  This year, there are six.  The pressure is on to defend our world title, but dudes, I am the slowest one on the team, by a minute a mile.  So that means if we lose by minutes, You Know Who will be eyed suspiciously as the cause.  Oh, and by the way, if you haven’t visited Running for Burgers, I hope you will.

This morning I woke up at 4 am realizing just how much time I have to finish my WIP before deadline.  I can’t be doing remodeling projects while I am trying to meet a deadline!!  I have to stop the madness!

I will stop the madness, I promise I will, just as soon as I find a new rug to go with my new furniture in my new living room.  This has been tons of fun, but I wish I was spending someone else’s money.

What’s made you crazy this week?   What distractions are you dealing with?  Are you on target to meet your deadlines, whatever they are?

 

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NO MORE PENCILS, NO MORE BOOKS!

It was an exciting week here at Casa D’Alessandro as our son graduated from college!  Yes, it is now official–the boy is a University of Georgia grad, with a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs.  YAY!   Thought I’d share a few pics of the event (’cause we only took like 6,000 photos ). 

My two boys

The ceremony took place on campus last Friday and to say that we were punch drunk with pride is an understatement.

This sign makes it official!

My parents came to the ceremony and it was great that we were all together (especially nice that I got to be with my mom on Mother’s Day!).  

The Grad and the Grandparents

That evening we dined at a lakeside restaurant then enjoyed the music of the jazz trio that plays there.  We danced and laughed and had ourselves a wonderful time.

I swear he was a baby only yesterday!

I hope your week is going well!  What’s going on with you? What have you been up to? 

 

 

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Kathleen, Kathleen…you done me wrong

Winter is coming, she said. And at the same time she also said:

Last night we watched the final episode of Season 1, and it was awesome. There were no “Who Shot JR” sort of cheap cliff-hangers that abound in television today. Instead, for Season 2 (starting on April 1st on HBO), we get the start of new storylines, and new adventures for our intrepid heroes and heroines.

Dutifully, I reported the same to my husband (granted, we were about on episode 7 at the time). At about episode 9, our watching overtook my reading (I still have 2.5 hours of audiobook left to go). We watched episode 9, which ends on a rather, um, emotional note.

And decided to watch the last one, content in the knowledge that all would be reasonably wrapped up because, after all, Kathleen said so.

Ah, Kathleen … you know I love you, but you’re insane.

At the risk of revealing spoilers, let’s just say that in my opinion (and the opinion of my opinionated husband), pretty much nothing was wrapped up, except for the fate of one character and (considering that the dead have risen in this story, maybe his fate isn’t even settled).

No cliffhangers? Maybe… There was no sword about to slice down on someone’s neck. No child being born. No character lost in the desert, clinging to life. No heroine standing in the doorway with the reader not knowing if she’s going to pick guy one or guy two.

But I was hoping for resolution, and that I didn’t get.

Clearly, Kathleen was being, um, precise in her definition of cliffhanger. Fair enough. But now I think she owes me a latte. Fair is fair, after all!

Do you watch Game of Thrones? Read it? What do you think about the ending of Book 1/Season 1? Does Kathleen owe me a coffee beverage? Or am I being picky?

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Deadly Dance

 

As the intelligence specialist for A-Tac, a black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty, Hannah Marshall is used to working behind the scenes. But when a brutal murder hits too close to home, Hannah finds herself in the middle of the action, falling in love while racing to outwit a sadistic mastermind.

A KILLER CLOSES IN

After the death of her A-Tac partner, Hannah doubts everything she thought she knew about love and loyalty. When handsome Harrison Blake joins the team, she’s reluctant to trust him—or to act on her intense attraction to him. Then Hannah receives a podcast of a gruesome murder, and the only person who can help her find the killer is Harrison.

Harrison has spent years trying to hunt down the cunning monster who killed his sister. Now investigating with Hannah, he faces a shocking possibility—his sister’s murderer has resurfaced. As the danger escalates, Hannah and Harrison grow closer, and the desire simmering between them ignites. After Hannah disappears, Harrison has only one chance to save the woman he loves.

Deadly Dance is the fifth book in the A-Tac Series.

And check out www.deedavis.com for reviews, excerpts and more.

 

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A Little Taste of Texas

[image error]When I first moved to NY—one of the things I missed the most was Tex-Mex food.  And at the top of that list were Texas tortillas.  You wouldn’t think there’d be a lot of variation in something as simple as a flour tortilla—but there is something special about those made in Texas—especially when they’re served hot off the griddle.  And so you can imagine my delight when I discovered the wonderful Homesick Texan blog and the following recipe for the some of the best tortillas I’ve ever made! 

Texas Flour Tortillas (From The Homesick Texan Blog, adapted from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison)

Ingredients:

Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of vegetable oil

3/4 cups of warm milk

Method:

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.  Slowly add the warm milk.  Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.  Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.

Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.  After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)

After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.

In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.

Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.  Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil.

While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.  Makes eight tortillas.

Tortilla fan?  Corn or white?  Plain or wrapped around meat and cheese? Favorite dish with tortillas?  Me I just like them plain with butter.  In fact, I’m heading to the kitchen right now…

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Everything Must End

So as you guys already know, I’m a big fan of watching TV.   I love the escape and am often found at the end of a long day in front of the tube with a favorite show.  And the advent of DVRing has just made it better!

But one of the things I’ve always hated about American TV is that series often end without warning.  As if a book had been cut off in the middle of chapter ten with all the rest of the pages just ripped away.   It can be heartbreaking.  Especially if you’ve invested in the story and characters.  And since I cry at Hallmark commercials, we know that journey is a particularly easy one for me.

Sometimes with shows like Jericho—there is a fan outcry and thankfully, a finale of sorts is made.  (And according to the scuttle a revival on cable may be in the offing—sign me up!)  And sometimes as with the show Invasion, everything is just cut off mid-story leaving viewers hanging.   It seems to me like there should be a broadcast rule—all series must end.  It just seems fairer for the viewer.

And then there are shows like In Plain Sight, that are fabulous character studies, that keep our attention year after year, suck us in and make us love the people who inhabit the world of Albuquerque Witsec, that actually have a scheduled ending.  Only instead of the fiery conclusion hinted at in the overly tell-all previews, we get not a bang—but a whimper.   Years invested and absolutely no pay-off.   I fear this is what I have in store with the Closer as well.  It’s almost like television writers don’t know how to bring it home (witness the wildly off kilter ending of Lost—love it or hate it, it was hardly a pay-off).

So maybe there is no happy middle ground—maybe it’s either end with a whimper or leave hanging with a bang.  And either way, I’m dissatisfied.  Loved In Plain Sight, loved Marshall and Mary—thought the ending was blah.  On point, probably, but still without any kind of emotional resonance.  Which in a show that built itself on its fabulously quirky characters, seemed a disappointment.

Maybe I should only watch hit shows like NCIS where there’s no chance of an ending so they can go on forever—although I hate to think of what they’d do to Gibbs if the series ever ended.  I don’t know, maybe I just hate  the words “the end”  especially when a good story is involved.

Okay…enough with the musings.  My DVR is full of NCIS’s—I’m glomming the show from the very beginning.  That’s like nine years’ worth of shows… at least I don’t have to worry too much about an ending—for now.

So what about you?  Do you get addicted to shows and then find yourself frustrated when they’re cancelled without a conclusion?  Do you wish your favorite shows would come back on the air?   Did you watch any of the five billion Brady reunions?   Are you going to watch the final episodes of the Closer?  Are you going to watch the new Dallas?  Enquiring minds want to know.

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Oh, Florida….

Today’s post brings back the use of the paragraph, and I know everyone will be happy. I’ve had a *long* and hectic week, but starting today, I get to poke my head up out of my whole and breathe in, which is awesome, because our rhododendrons and iris are just now starting to bloom, and this weekend, it is all about the garden, which I’m hoping to work in and get some veggies going.

Veggie Time!

So, you might think that Kathleen is going to talk gardening today, but you would be wrong. Nope, I’m talking libaries. I’m talking bondage. I’m talking bondage not being in libraries. Yes, the Brevard County library system has decided to ban the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.

This cracks me up, and makes me start humming my “Oh, Florida” state song (sung to the tune of Oh, Canada, but in a slightly off-key and the words are a whole lot different). Florida, Florida, Florida. If it’s not your hanging chads chapping America’s patootie, then it must be something else, mustn’t it? Florida, you are the wild one (RIP Maurice Sendak) of the fifty states (and four territories), finding some new hubbub to make the news, and in this case, it’s the librarians in Florida, who apparently got tired of all the strippers, hookers, serial killers, and misbehavin’ ball players, hogging the Florida limelight. Yes, the Brevard county library (Cape Canaveral area) has decided that Fifty Shades of Grey is “mommy porn” and “soft porn” and apparently they don’t collect porn. Hmmmph.

So today, I want to get the record straght. Fifty Shades of Grey is not “mommy porn”. Does anyone know what “mommy porn” is? Sure, mommies everywhere proclaim, “I know it when I see it”. Mommy porn is the sight of a French maid, bending over slightly as she pulls the clothes out of the dryer, where they have been washed to precise specifications and there is no shrinkage, especially not in the crotch region, because nothing is more uncomfortable than pants that have pulled up too far in the genitalia and you end up pulling at it all day because it’s binding in places, that, yes, YOU DO NOT WANT TIED UP! Chafing anyone? Hello?

What is Mommy porn? Mommy porn is the sight of your handsome Seattle tycoon pulling out his handcuffs, only to use them on your two year old in order to keep him out of the mud because you have people coming over for dinner in an hour, and you can’t afford to have the *beautifully* clean house messed up.

Mommy porn is a long, lazy morning in bed, (preferably Monday), with sheets smelling of lavender (or possibly spring rain), when you can actually achieve the recommended eight hours of sleep.

Mommy porn is coming home after a hard day’s work, and opening the door, only to find the sight of your man, dressed in an apron, with a fully cooked dinner on the table (including a set table that includes silverware, napkins, and appropriate condiments). That is enough to get my juices flowing. This is mommy porn.

So, I ask you, Florida Brevard librarians? Are you going to ban cookbooks (especially lushly illustrated ones with lots of color pics?) Because that is real mommy porn. Are you going to ban Real Simple (which is the Penthouse of Mommy Porn, complete with lots of white space, 30 minute dinner recipes, and organizational doo-dads that cost under $10)? Are you going to ban House Cleaning Tips” How to Clean and Declutter your home fast? And don’t even get me started on the gardening books! GAH. Talk about your *porn*. Page after page of erotic flowers, with their petals only starting to open. And red, ripe, bulbous tomatoes, bursting with juices so sweet, so tart, so full of lycopene that is not only low in calorie, but also proven to fight against cancer. This is *mommy porn*. This is guaranteed to make the women sigh.

So, Brevard County librarians, the next time you think about banning “mommy porn” take a good hard look at Martha Stewart who is the head dominatrix in the world of “mommy porn”. Examine your gardening books for signs of well-thumbed pages, and skeevy fluids (“I Swear it was only the organic growing stimulant! I read it in Whole Earth!”). Take a note of the women hanging out in the cookbook aisle, furtively glancing around while they read over the recipe for Easy, Delicious, Low-Cal Chicken Enchiladas. Wake up to the real subversive world of Mommy Porn. Because sometimes, porn is actually *the devil you know*.

 

Flowing Juices

That is all.

So, for everyone out there? Do you live in Florida? Have you ever lived in Florida? What’s your idea of real mommy porn?

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