Emily Shaffer's Blog, page 3

A Night at the (Soap) Opera…

When I was a kid, we moved….a lot. But in the ever changing landscape of my life, there was one constant….when I got home from school, my mom would be watching General Hospital.

As a result of my mom’s soapy obsession, my siblings and I also became fans of the show. I remember being enthralled with the relationship of Frisco and Felicia (and how could you not, she was an Aztec princess, after all). I loved Robin Scorpio, cause she was my age, and she got to be part of the adventures of her par...

The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me…

I often wax poetic on the subject of Jim Henson, and my everlasting love for his creations. Like a lot of people my age, I am a devoted fan of all things “Muppet”. To me, the true trinity of Muppetfilms are from the 1980′s (The Muppet Movie, Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Great Muppet Caper). Those movies defined my idea of what a Muppet movie should be, and while I enjoyed the movies made after that, none of them were quite the same.

Fast forward to Jason Segel’s, The Muppets, which was a tr...

Be Our Guest…

My laptop charger died, and since I don’t like to do any of my novel writing on my work laptop, I have had to put myplotting aside until the post office delivers my shiny new 19v adaptor.

To fill my day, I’ve turned to my favorite past time…movie marathons. Lately I’ve gone through runs with Gene Wilder, the Thorn Birds, Mel Brooks, and today…Christopher Guest. There are lots of filmmakers I love, but there are a few that are my favs (Wes Anderson, the aforementioned Mr. Brooks, Tim Burton, No...

When Irish Eyes Are Sleeping…

I slept through the best St. Patrick’s Day I ever had.

I was in law school, and it was spring break. One of my best friends and I were walking around Wal-Mart, and talking about all of the fun places our classmates had run off to for quick vacations. Through a series of “I wish I was going to ____” conversations, we decided to pack our bags and take a credit card fueled trip to Chicago.

We ran to our respective apartments, packed our things, and an hour later (in the middle of the night) we wer...

If You Want to View Paradise, Simply Look Around and View It…

Gene Wilder is my favorite actor, that I never realize is my favorite actor…until I watch him in something.

Right now I am watching The Producers. I’ve seen this filma dozentimes, and every time I laugh as though it were the first.

There is something about Gene with that wild hair, and those equally wild eyes, that is mesmerizing. My first real introduction to Mr. Wilder was the film Haunted Honeymoon. It was a childhood favorite (who doesn’t love singing along to “Ballin’ theJack“?) Later I sa...

You Make Me Wanna Walk Like a Camel…

I”m one of those people who likes to find the “purpose” behind even the worst experiences. Sometimes it’s easy, for instance, it took suffering through a bad haircut to learn that I can’t “do” bangs.

Sometimes finding purpose is hard. For example, my current work situation isn’t the best. In fact, it’s the worst. I’ve been having a really hard time understanding any purpose and meaning behind the torture-filled year of frustration I’ve been trudging through. Then, a series of bad events happen...

LOST and Found…

As I was watching Downton Abbey tonight (don’t worry, no spoilers), I could not help but feel that my emotions are being held hostage on a ruthless roller coaster. I had told myself that I would never again let my heart become entangled, after a previous television experience…you see, I was in love once before, with a little show called Lost.

I love Lost like I love people in my family. I never missed it. One of my best friends and I would talk for an hour after each episode, to breakdown ever...

This Round’s On Me…

It has been a cruddy day, that was part of cruddy week, that is part of the (so far) cruddy month of February. The crud has developed from a seemingly endless work schedule, which has left me burnt out to the point of sizzling.

All week I have been sending out a plea to the universe for some good news, and yesterday, it came. That Time of the Month was chosen to move to the next round in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.

Maybe the worse the day, the better the news…if that’s the case...

Something Pete This Way Comes…

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with The Adventures of Pete and Pete. It felt like one of those secret shows that only the cool kids knew about. If you liked the Pete’s, you were just a little more “in the know” than everyone else. The stories skirted reality, the guest stars were otherworldly (I mean, Michael Stipe and Steve Buscemi…come on!!!) Among the fantastic cast of characters, there was Little Pete, a kid who had some major tattoos; Mr. Tastee, a man with a giant swirled ice cream he...

This Boot Was Made For Walkin’…

Jewelry, stocks, art, electronics…what’s the best money you ever spent? For me, the single investment that has given me the most bang for my buck is my handy dandy air cast walking boot.

I first got the boot as a result of an unplanned trip down the stairs in my early twenties. It was myfirst experience with a broken bone, and the boot saw me through every ache and pain and helped my foot go from an unidentifiable purple blob to a nice pink human-looking foot, and all in just a few short weeks...