Madhuri Pavamani's Blog, page 33

Thursday Thoughts

BE EASY

Just Saying

Dear Ariana Grande:

JLO did this hair style first, she did it selectively, and she still rocks it like no one else can.

 

So puh-leeez, go and get yourself a new do.

It would make Sydney and me so very happy.

Sincerely,

M

Casting The Sanctum Trilogy – Wyatt

Last week, the Daily Post presented readers with the chance to cast their favorite television show and it got me thinking it would be fun to do the same with The Sanctum Trilogy.

For one, it’s a great way to interact with readers and two, it’s just freaking fun to play casting director every so often.

The first post was all about badass bitch numero uno, Dev. Lots of good suggestions were thrown out there, my personal favorite being model Jodie Smith, there was some funny chatter, and then I gave up my choice to play Dev:

Lupita Nyong’o

So now let’s have some fun with one of the guys, starting with my personal favorite, Wyatt Clayworth.

Speak up, comment, and let me know who you think could fill Wyatt’s shoes?

Casting The Sanctum Trilogy – Dev, Part II

Okay, so the inaugural “casting” blog post was pretty much as fun, amusing, and thought-provoking as I hoped it would be.

Some interesting names were thrown out there to play Dev, from Tika Sumpter, Zoe Saldana, and Joy Bryant to Nicole Beharie, Sonequa Martin-Green, and “someone with an Aisha Tyler vibe.”

There was also a quite impassioned vote for the always stunning, but maybe a little too old (sorry Frank) Halle Berry.

I’ve gotta say, Zoe Saldana’s fierce spirit and independence have always struck me as very Dev-like. And although she’s got a killer body and knows her way around some weapons, she’s not really what I see when I see my hybrid demon.

However, new-girl-crush, model Jodie Smith is Dev in the flesh. WOW!

She gives my choice a serious run for her money. She’s gorgeous and most likely tall as all get out, being that she’s all modely and whatnot; strap a holster around her waist, tat her up, and give her a blade and I’m pretty sure she’ll make a few folks think of Dev.

Bravo, Blanca! You kind of hit it out of the park with your suggestion.

But as much as Jodie rocks – and she rocks. hard. – I still love my choice, mostly because I love everything about this girl and I soon as I saw her, I also saw her as Dev. And I know, I know, I kind of set my sights high with this one, but so what? A girl’s gotta have dreams, non?

So who’s my choice?

But of course, the lovely Lupita. As in Nyong’o. As in Oscar-winner. As in total badass.

That’s what’s up.

Holla bitches.

Casting The Sanctum Trilogy – Dev

The other day the Daily Post asked readers to cast their favorite show with friends and family members. It sounded like fun and got me thinking on my interview with author, blogger, and now friend Kayti Nika Raet, where she asked me to do something similar with THE GIRL.

I had loads of fun coming up with my Hollywood dream cast, and have added to the list, tweaking it more than a couple of times, as the trilogy progresses.

Anyway, the Daily Post got me thinking – what a great series of interactive posts for my own blog. Get folks who have read The Girl or The Boy – preferably both, mostly because you should read them together since they’re awesome – to leave comments on my blog or Facebook page about who they would cast for each character. Then before I post for the next character, I’ll let you know my choice. And trust me, I’ve got them all worked out.

So let’s do this.

To kick things off, who in your mind would play Dev?

 

 

Random Thoughts

1. I have a confession to make. I’ve tried for years to like Common, I’ve listened to everything people have shoved in my face and forced into my ears, I’ve tried to get my head and heart around all those rhymes and that voice, and I’ve got to confess: I cannot stand him. I think there is only one song of his I like, and the only reason I like it is because of De La Soul. Because that same song without them, and just Common, uh-uh, it ain’t happening. It’s a huge fallacy, and an oft-committed one, to assume that because one loves Tribe and De La Soul and The Roots and Erykah Badu, so, too, will they love Common. Nope. Not happening. Keep your Common – I’ll pretty much listen to anything but Common. Well, unless my only other option is Maroon 5, the band I am convinced plays on a loop in Hell. Then I’ll deal with Common. Otherwise, y’all Common fans can have him.  [Okay, I feel much better now.]

2. This girl rocks. Hard. I love her. Badass Bitch.

3. There’s a song I’ve listened to since 10th grade, like really listened to, like I know every word, have screamed it at the top of my lungs while speeding down 85 in my best girl’s convertible, smoking cigarettes and thinking we’re super cool, and only JUST THIS MORNING realized its meaning. No joke. I was listening to it on my walk to the train and had an epiphany and was all like “what the fuck? how did I not see this twenty years ago?”. Which is really just another way of saying I’m an idiot.

4. I saw all these headlines the other day about Kim Kardashian posing nude in British GQ and for the life of me, cannot figure out why this is even news. The girl got famous for a freaking sex tape and now we’re supposed to raise our eyebrows because she’s rolling around in bed with her boobies out? Puh-leez.

5. I captured this shot over the weekend. Oh yeah, that’s me, smelling myself and my camera game.

6. Ugh. Brazil nuts. Make them go away. Or at least make them stop showing up in the mixed nuts I add to my daily salad.

7. Speaking of lunch, have I ever told you that the cafeteria in my firm is called “The Jury Room”? Lawyer humor for you. Corny and not humorous at all.

8. The Kid started first grade this week. Whoa.

9. Football season started last night, which means basketball is right around the corner – yes – and baseball is in its final stretch. This year is going to be a sad one for me – I know the Yanks aren’t getting into the post-season short of a miracle, which means Derek’s career is going to end much sooner than I anticipated back when the season opened in April. I’ve been involved in a mad love affair with The Captain since 1996 and honestly, I’m not sure baseball will be the same for me without him. The Husband keeps joking around, saying he can’t wait to have his wife all to himself again, but I know he’s going to miss Jeet, too. Even The Kid loves #2, and he’s barely old enough to have watched him play. I think that’s the essence of The Captain’s greatness – you just can’t help but love him. #RE2PECT

10. And finally, I’m super excited to be the inaugural blog tour for the recently launched company, Diverse Book Tours. Founded by Sasha, of the blog So Bookishly, and her partners, twin sisters Guinevere and Libertad, of the blog Twinja Book Reviews, Diverse Book Tours’ mission is to “promote diverse heroes and heroines and the authors who write them.” Doesn’t that just freaking rock? This trio of fantastic women is doing everything they can to celebrate the spirit of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, helping to keep it alive and moving forward with their services and enthusiastic support. I’m thoroughly honored, thrilled, and feeling a little “aww shucks” about being their first tour. If you’re interested in joining the tour as a host, please do as the Diverse team is currently lining up reviewers for both THE GIRL and THE BOY.

 

Holla, bitches.

Thursday Thoughts

The 7-7-7 Challenge

I was reading through Linda Cassidy Lewis’ blog this morning and came across her 7-7-7 Challenge post – which she tripled because she is awesome and is writing three books at the same time – and decided to heed her call and participate.

What is the 7-7-7 Challenge, you ask.

In a nutshell, it’s a great way to stir up a little excitement about one of your works in progress (WIP for all you non-writer types) and give folks a teeny-tiny taste of what’s to come. You go to page 7 of your WIP, skip down to line 7 on that page, and then share the next 7 lines in your draft.

7-7-7.

Ah-ha, you say.

In keeping with the spirit of the challenge, here is my 7-7-7 from the upcoming finale to The Sanctum Trilogy, THE PROPHECY:

Few would dare brave the outskirts of the forest, none would test its heart, for there was no telling what sorts of creatures lurked.

Villagers told tales of blood-sucking, demonic vampires and violent and gruesome trolls, anything to keep the children away when few, if any of them, had ever dared enter the forest, much less explore it in detail.

It was the bogeyman to end all bogeymen and the imps collected at its heart did not mind that characterization of their home one bit, for those tales, horror stories in fact, had kept them safe for millennia.

As the gods intended.

 

That’s it, folks. You now have my seven lines from page seven of Book III: The Prophecy. I hope to give you all of the lines from all of the pages sometime soon.

In the meanwhile, I want to keep this challenge going and sneak a peak at what my friends are working on these days, so I am picking a few lucky souls to follow suit and post their own 7-7-7’s. I’m calling out Kayti Nika Raet, Sabina Khan, Thelonious Legend, Claudette Melanson, Christa Wojo, and Lilo Abernathy.

In the words of Jay-Z

SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!

Holla.

 

 

Thursday Thoughts

Lyrics To Go

Last week while I was walking home, “Frontin'” came on my playlist, reminding me of two things:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIBTrN5Odbg

Pharrell has been awesome and insanely hot for a very. long. time. AND
There are certain lyrics that just stick with you, bringing home the brilliance of a song

I love making lists, but haven’t made one in a while, and since I can’t get a certain verse out of my head, I’m thinking this is the perfect time to put together a list of some of my favorite lyrics, non?

Before we start, let me just say to all you music heads: don’t go bananas on me because I didn’t include the greatest Wu-Tang rhyme of all time or the best Stones lyric. Like I said above, these are some of my favorites, not all of them.

And if you think I missed a few – which I am certain I did, in fact I’ve already got some I would like to add, but I’m limiting myself to 10, so I’m going to chill – add them in the comments. I’d love to see your list and compare notes.

So without further ado, let’s do this, bitches.

10 FIERCE LYRICS

1. Every time your name was brought up, I would act all nonchalant in front of an audience, like you was just another shorty I put the naughty on, but uh, truth be told you threw me for a loop, this Hov, I’m too old to be frontin’ when I’m feeling Denzel and acting like you ain’t appealing when you are, stunting like you ain’t my only girl when you are, I’m ready to stop when you are (Jay-Z, Frontin’)

2. My practice extending across the atlas, I begat this, flippin’ in the ghetto on a dirty mattress, you can’t match this rapper / actress, more powerful than two Cleopatras, bomb graffiti on the tomb of Nefertiti, MCs ain’t ready to take it to the Serengeti, my rhymes is heavy like the mind of Sister Betty, L. Boogie spars with stars and constellations, then came down for a little conversation, adjacent to the king, fear no human being, roll with cherubims to Nassau Coliseum, now hear this mixture, where hip hop meets scripture, develop a negative into a positive picture (Lauryn Hill, Everything Is Everything)

3. There I am in my younger days, star gazing, painting picture perfect maps, of how my life and love would be, not counting the unmarked paths of misdirection, my compass, faith in love’s perfection, I missed ten million miles of road I should have seen. (Indigo Girls, Love’s Recovery)

4. Wipe your feet really good on the rhythm rug, if you feel the urge to freak, do the jitterbug, come and spread your arms if you really need a hug (Tribe Called Quest, Can I Kick It?)

5. Cause I’m cooler than a polar bear’s toenails, oh hell yeah (OutKast, ATLiens)

6. Na Na, y’all can’t touch her, my sex drive all night like a trucker (Foxy Brown, I’ll Be)

7. Woke up the next morning, Nikki wasn’t there, I looked all over and all I found was a phone number on the stairs, it said thank you for a funky time, call me up whenever you want to grind (Prince, Darling Nikki)

8. Pretty looking road, try to hold the rising floods that fill my skin, don’t ask me why I’ll keep my promise, melt the ice, and you wanted to dance so I asked you to dance, but fear is in your soul, some people call it a one night stand, but we can call it paradise (Duran Duran, Save A Prayer)

9. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the funk will make me freak, if I should die before I waked, allow me Lord to rock out naked (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sir Psycho Sexy)

10. Coke on her black skin made a stripe like a zebra, I call that jungle fever, you will not control the threesome, just roll the weed up until I get me some, we formed a new religion, no sins as long as there’s permission, and deception is the only felony, so never fuck nobody wit’out tellin’ me, sunglasses and Advil, last night was mad real, sun comin’ up, 5 a.m., I wonder if they got cabs still (Kanye West, No Church in the Wild)