Julia London's Blog, page 77

Tunes and TV

Last week was SXSW in Austin (or, if you are really hip, South-by), and the city was teeming–TEEMING–with music.  I really like this week. I don't go to the events unless they are on the perimeter, because I am at that age where fighting traffic is more important than seeing live music (oh God, did I just say that??).  But I do love our local KGSR radio, which pumps music to me from the venues.  I've heard some really cool bands on the radio.  I've heard new music from Modest Mouse, Fitz and the Tantrums, Cold War Kids, Sara Bareilles, Sahara Smith.  I've heard music from the old guard:  Radiohead, Bob Schneider, Ray LaMontagne, and Iron and Wine.  I really like Sara Bareilles and Sahara Smith of the new stuff, Bob Schnieder and Ray LaMontagne from the old.

That's just a sampling, but it reminds me that its time for some new music to load on ye olde iPod.  What are you listening to?

In TV news, I was in Phoenix for several days and missed some of my shows.  I am at that age where I actually have "shows."  (Oh God, did I just say that, too??).  My viewing is as dumbed-down as its always been.  This spring, I am digging Celebrity Apprentice (who knew Dionne Warwick was so mean?  We knew Star Jones was), American Idol (I love Casey), and Modern Family.  Shows I have loved but am not loving:  Glee.  The Office.  Real Housewives of Miami/Orange County.  I think Beverly Hills ruined me for ho-hum places like Miami or Orange County.  I am sad that I don't love these shows anymore, because I want to, but…anh.  .  On the Looking-Forward-To, I am anxiously awaiting Game of Thrones series on HBO.  I have no idea what it's about but it looks delicious.

What TV are you watching?  What have you stopped watching?  What is up and coming that looks interesting to you? What music has captured your attention lately?

RANDOM FACTS

For some strange reason, I seem to do some of my best thinking in the shower.  For this reason I always keep a pen and a pad in the bathroom–so I can snake my arm out of the shower and write down the plot/scene/conversation ideas that come to me while the water pours down.  I'm not sure why ideas come to me in the shower.  Maybe it's because of the "white noise" provided by the running water.  Or maybe because, except for the white noise, it's quiet–no phones, no tv, no one talking to me.  Just flowing water which seems to encourage my thoughts.

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lots of ingenious stuff going on in there!

Something I thought about while in the shower yesterday was based on an article I read in US Weekly magazine.  It's called 25 Things You Don't Know About Me ("me" being whatever celebrity is featured for that week).  The current issue told me 25 things about Travis Barker, the drummer for the band Blink-182.  I learned some pretty random stuff about Travis (who, admittedly, I knew very little about before reading the article). For example–he's color blind.  And a vegan.  And left-handed.  His favorite movie is True Romance (I found that surprising), and he runs between 4 and 7 miles daily (I found that exhausting and admirable). 

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So this got me to thinking that by simply listing those 25 facts, I learned quite a bit about this guy who I didn't know at all.  Which got me to thinking that it might be fun for us all to toss out a few random facts about ourselves in order to get better acquainted.  How about five facts?  Since it's my blog today, I'll start.

1) My favorite movie is Some Like it Hot.

2) My former dentist was a murderer and is now in jail, convicted of killing his girlfriend in 1990 and his wife in 2004. (totally gives me the creeps to think about it!)

3) Cary Grant gave me his autograph–in a coat closet.

4) The first "grown-up" book I read was Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

5) My favorite vacation is the beach, and my favorite beaches are on Bermuda.

Okay, there are my five random things about me.  What are your five about yourself?  If you can't think of five, share less.  If you can think of more, share on!

My newest, and littlest, writing partner

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was doing some writing with a partner. Well, folks, it turns out that he's not the only one.

Yes, I'm writing a story with my daughter! (No, we haven't sold it, though wouldn't that be cool?) She's a huge Harry Potter and Lightning Thief fan, and she came to me wanting to write a book with mom. How could I say no?

The truth is, we've been having a blast, and my only regret is that I don't have more time to work on it with her (I mean, sure she wants to do it instead of more traditional schoolwork, but I'm still of the opinion that fractions have value and are not evil). And then in the evening I'm usually working on books that she really, really can't help with (vampires in love, anyone?)

So time is my only regret, but I do have to say that writing with your pre-teen is an education. I've learned that she has a strong voice, and that's awesome. I've also learned that she has no interest in actually planning the story out ahead of time. I can't condemn that–many of my published friends are the same–but do pantsers and plotsers really make a good mix? I've also learned that she has a nice sense for drama, which will soon be manifested in an exciting car chase scene.

There's a mythology component to the story, so in some ways we've got a bit of a school vibe going. But it's Chinese mythology, so it's new to both of us and, again, she wants to dive into the story. So we're learning as we go. Not a bad plan, really.

Most of all, though, I've learned what a great time we can have together. (Okay, I already knew that!)

If you want to check it out, the first two chapters are up. You can check it out here: Hour of the Dragon. If you do, please leave a comment and give a kid a thrill!



So what was your favorite activity with a parent growing up or with your own kids?

Dangerous Desires

As the demolitions expert for A-Tac, a black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty, Tyler Hanson has two great loves: literature and explosives. She lives by the motto "duty first" and doesn't have time for personal attachments . . . until a steamy one-night stand turns into a professional partnership.

BURNED BY BETRAYAL

When Tyler meets Owen Wakefield, a handsome British operative, she seduces him with no intention of ever seeing him again. But then the sexy Brit is brought into A-Tac, and despite Tyler's efforts to keep her distance, she finds herself falling for him. Trusting him.

Owen seems too good to be true—and he is. He's hiding his true motives and identity, and no matter how he feels about Tyler, he can't keep her secrets. One of A-Tac's members has turned traitor and helped terrorists to hijack a shipment of nuclear weapons. As witnesses start dying and evidence starts disappearing, Owen and Tyler must race to find the mole—and prevent a final, cataclysmic act of destruction.

Spring Is Bustin' Out All Over

[image error]Okay so the song is really "June is bustin' out all over", but you get the idea.   There are signs everywhere that spring is upon us.   The plots  around the street-lining trees are full of bulbs freshly burst from the ground.  The trees are beginning to bud.  And the rose bush that I rescued from my next door neighbor's apartment (he moved) is getting new leaves.  Still not certain a rose will bloom on a covered balcony in NYC but hey, I couldn't let it go down the garbage shoot.

Yesterday, even though it was still cold, I was outside getting rid of all the frozen plants from last year.  And now my pots look all primed and ready for planting.  Springtime in the city feels more like a rebirth than it ever did in Texas where things hardly had the chance to die back before it was time to grow again.  I'd love to have a real garden, to grow some of the plants I couldn't support in the Texas heat.  Peonies, Rhododendron, Delphiniums.  But I'll settle for my little terrace, and my assortment of pots and pot-friendly plants.

Last year's tomato plant wasn't exactly a booming success.  Only one tiny tomato.  But I'm a sucker for anything green and love summer tomatoes, so I'll probably give it a try again this year.  In a bigger pot—for more root development.   Was going to get a Texas rose from the Rose Emporium (in Brenham), but now that I've inherited the new one (actually there are two, but the jury is still out on one of them) I figure I should give them a chance to flourish.[image error]

Anyway, as the days grow brighter and warmer, I rejoice in the rebirth of all the plants and flowers.   And find it particularly uplifting to stumble upon a little urban garden and the bright happy faces of tulips and crocus and daffodils.   It's not as beautiful as Vienna—which literally bursts with color in the spring.  But it's still lovely.  And maybe more so because every plant  has to work a little harder to find space to bloom and grow!

Happy Spring!   What's blooming in your garden?

Once Wicked

Still wicked. I'll always have it in me. But in 2000, for my second book, I actually got to use wicked in the title, and that, my friends, was what we in Massachusetts like to call "wicked awesome!"

ONCE WICKED is a Regency historical, with a kind-hearted heroine (taking care of orphans) and a highwayman who only wants to make his fortune, but ends up falling in love and finding out what really matters (love, not money, in case I didn't hit you over the head with it). So, yep, it was a highwayman/heroine with a heart of gold story, not too many of those out there, right? Certainly none quite like mine.

It was after writing Once Wicked that my dad got in a terrible motorcycle accident and I took some time off to help him through rehab, and to reevaluate my career. I ended up writing TO HELL WITH LOVE after this one, so maybe that says something about how I felt about romance for a little while there. I miss it now. I love reading historical romance and who knows, one day, maybe I'll write it again, too.

ONCE WICKED is available used at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other fine UBS outlets. Soon to be sold as an ebook (as soon as I can format it and get it going). Will keep you posted.

Have you ever had a change of heart? A change of occupation? Did it work out well for you, or were there some regrets?

Past and Present Become One

Well of course, like everyone, Japan has been on my mind of late.  My heart goes out to all the people there.  And like Sherri, I urge you to consider donating somewhere to help aid in the relief efforts.  That said, I've been doing a little unpacking, and decided to share some of the treasures I brought home with me.  If only to remind myself that life can literally change in an instant.

I have always had a love affair with tea.  Starting when I was a little girl and my grandmother would serve it to me in porcelain cups straight of her very elegant tea cart.   As a young woman, I had at least ten different tins of tea on my countertop.  And I began a modest teapot collection when my grandmother gave me several gorgeous teapots from Japan that belonged to her best friend, Virginia Goggin. (A woman who'd spent several years living in Asia).   As I grew older (and life got more complex and the kitchens eventually much smaller) I abandoned the tea tins, and the porcelain cups, now mine, left my tea cart for safer storage in my china cabinet.

Fast forward to the present, and the majority of the teapots are in storage in Queens.  And I rarely break out the good cups or the tea strainers and teapots because it's usually just me, and quite frankly given my propensity these days to break into a sweat for no apparent reason at all, iced tea has become my preference.

But, while in Japan, I drank a lot of hot tea, and remembered all over again how very much I love it.  They actually had china cups in the hotel room for our morning brew.  And so it was with great joy that I found the beautiful single serve teapot pictured above in a lovely department store in Japan.  It even has its own fitted strainer.  Ingenious!

The other great memory I have related to Japan growing up also involves my grandmother's best friend.  She gave my mother three Japanese dolls.  Ones that bear an uncanny resemblance to Virginia, my grandmother and me (a small child at the time).   I always thought of course that they were my mom, my grandmother and me.  And loved them dearly.  They always stood together on the bookshelf surrounded by other wonderful art, and cherished books. 

Being a very strong matriarchal family, I wanted so much to have a little girl when the time came for us to have children.  And of course was blessed with the very best!  And so while in Japan, (on said daughter's graduation gift trip), it seemed only right that I find the perfect doll to represent her.  To make the set complete if you will.  And of course because it was a magical trip, I did find one.  (Pictured here!)

Isn't it funny how the seeds are sewn so early, and then sometime, though seemingly gone, spring back to life just when you need them most.

What tokens or rituals from your childhood memories have become part of your adult routine?

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MS. LONDON!!!!!!

The Warring O'The Apostrophe

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is St. Patty's Day, and as pretty much anybody could guess, I celebrate the day — within limits. I have never drunk green beer, nor will I ever drink green beer. I do have several green sweaters, so I can usually pull out a sweater and commence the wearing o' the green. All in all, being Irish is pretty cool, but there is a dark side to being Irish, and that is – bum, bum, bah – the apostrophe.

Officially, there is an apostrophe in my name. It is on my birth certificate, my driver's license, my passport, but my social security card? Nope. The U.S. Government, at least at the time of my birth, didn't like the apostrophe.

There's a ton of online forms that will not recognize an apostrophe, which creates a quandary. The field "Name:" becomes a game of Russian Roulette. Should I chance it and enter the apostrophe and watch it error out and have to start all over again, or do I feel lucky today? (We watched Dirty Harry this weekend.). Sometimes it works, and sometimes you get a "Error in Field Name". It's the height of frustration when a computer tells you that you don't know how to spell your own name.

I dream of the day when computers will understand the concept of punctuation in a name. I always think, if there had been a Bill O'Gates, or Thomas J. O'Watson or a James O'Gosling, would this still be a problem? Probably not.

Also today, on March 17th – Day O' The Irish – I will be approaching the musical confines of Kansas City to listen to my daughter's chamber orchestra compete in the ASTA National Orchestra Festival. I believe the actual competition is Friday, but along with the competition, there are workshops and clinics, where professor adjudicators listen to each group and then work with them directly. It's a going to be a great experience for my daughter and we'll see how they do. Wish them all the luck O'The Irish!

So, how about everyone else. Anybody celebrating St. Patty's Day today? Whatcha doing? And remember, you do not need the Luck O'The Irish in order to win a Nook, you must only comment, comment, comment (and yes, we do take apostrophes here). Anybody else suffered from a bureaucratic nightmare?

WHY do I Watch?

So Brad, the Shoe Bachelor, as my big extended family likes to call him around the hacienda because he has the personality of a shoe, chose Emily.  You guys remember Brad, right?  He was on a couple of years ago and didn't pick anyone?  I didn't think there was anything wrong with that, but this time, he was so determined to convince us that he'd changed and was ready for love, that he said that he'd changed and was ready for love no less than five hundred bazillion trillion nonoople times.  It should have been a drinking game.

Anyway, I went to Wikipedia to see when that was and discovered, much to my astonishment and great shame, that I have seen fourteen seasons of the Bachelor and probably most of the Bachelorettes.

I do not know why I watch this show.  I feel slightly dirty after Monday nights.    My only solace is that I am not alone.  The Bachelor averaged something like ten million viewers each week.  That means ten million people, like me, with nothing better to do than to sit through that awful music and close-up kisses and the stilted conversations!  Oh, the conversation, the scores of mind-numbing platitudes and tired cliches!  "This is awesome!"  "I'm starting to fall in love!"  "This is the hardest decision I will ever make in my life!" Yet I always watch and I thought it would be fun to remind you of some of the bachelors in the last ten years.

Remember Andrew Firestone?  He was one of the early ones had a REAL name and a REAL fortune.  He picked some girl, I forget who, and it didn't last. 

What about Jason?  He's the one who asked a girl to marry him, and then, on After the Rose, when we get to rehash every excruciating moment, he took the ring back and gave it to the first runner-up!  Ooooh, bad move, ex-lax. But he married the second one and they seem pretty happy.  There are four couples out of fifteen still together, as a matter of fact.

What about the year Bachelor went international?   They picked up an international playboy, Lorenzo Borghese, who apparently thinks he's a prince.  He was not in it to win it.  He was in it for some major TV exposure.

Jake.  Jake, Jake, Jake.  He chose Vienna, who EVERYONE  knew was bad news, and I do mean all ten million of us.  But Jake thought she was great for some reason.  And then they had that horrible melt down on national TV when Vienna told everyone that old Jakie-boy was not "intimate" with her, fueling the rumors of our first closeted gay  bachelor.

One of my faves was Byron, the fisherman.  He picked Mary, and for the next five years, they had some knock-down, drag-outs.  We know this because Byron called the police to complain that Mary was beating him up.  Priceless!

Do you watch The Bachelor?  What did you think of Brad's choice?  Who is your favorite Bachelor or Bacherlorette?

SPRING BREAK!

Hey everyone!  Blogging today from our spring break headquarters in Breckinridge, Colorado!  Now normally I prefer vacation destinations with palm trees rather than snowflakes, but this place is GORGEOUS!  And since the kid loves to snowboard and that's difficult to do in palm tree locations, we decided to head to the slopes.  Since we only had half a day today, we didn't ski, but we did shop.

The DH and I shopped for new ski hats!

Tomorrow we ski.  Well, tomorrow the kid and his college buddy who is with us will ski.  The DH and I are heading to the spa and the hot tub.  Now that's my kind of ski vacation!

Having fun watching other people ski!

So tell me, do you have any spring break plans?  What did you do on spring break when you were a kid?  Do you prefer palm trees or snowflakes?  Hope you all have a great week! xox