Two movie reviews, a book review, and general upkeep

I've not been around the blogsphere much lately, mostly because I've been working on the rewrite of my Work In Progress, going to the movies, and in general enjoying the summertime. Here's a recap of my recent activities.



*Just bought Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. So much fun. I like Guitar Hero better than Rock Band, probably because Ken doesn't like playing Rock Band with me--something about my inner rock goddess embarassing him--and GH:A hasn't dissapointed me so far.



*Recently finished Codespell by Kelly McCullough. Lots of fun. It's the third book in the series, and it didn't dissapoint. The thing that intimidates me about McCullough's books is he's got three zillion characters to keep straight, so I spend some time at the beginning of the book pushing aside the cobwebs in my head so I can remember everything. Once I get past that, though, it's one hell of a ride straight through to the end. If you enjoy science fiction and looking at the legends of greek mythology in a different light, I highly recommend the series.



*Making notes for my next book. Another YA, this one science fiction. I can't wait to dive in, but lots of research still needs to happen.



*Movie review: Hancock looks at the dark side of superherodom. Will Smith plays the title character. He's a drunk who's pissed off at the world. He doesn't remember who he really is or where he came from. The only thing he knows for sure is that he's the only one of his kind, he doesn't age, and he's indestructable. Jason Bateman plays the PR guy set on changing Hancock's public persona, and Charlize Theron plays the PR dude's wife who has some secrets of her own. A decent way to spend the afternoon. Ken really liked it; I though it could have been constructed a teensy bit better, but I enjoyed it as well.



*Movie review: Wall-e is an awesome movie. Wall-e a class of robot whose task is to compress the massive piles of trash left on earth after humans have evacuated the planet. The title character is the last working robot, and over the course of 700 years has developed a personality. Eve is a robot sent to earth with a specific directive. Using very little dialogue, the movie delves into several themes: rampant consumerism, artificial intelligence, companionship, and the potential future of humankind if we don't start taking care of ourselves and our planet. I would watch this again. I dare say I'd pay full price the second time.



I leave you with a picture of my daylillies in all their glory.

New Music Friday

I've recently been introduced to Jonathon Coulton (thanks Sean Murphy!). This dude sings the geek soundtrack.

Zombie geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjcH2UmK1uo

Computer coder/World of Warcraft geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Wy7gRGgeA

History geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdUUywIsIGI

Microbiology geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqOVYpkZ0qs

Math geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uluZMafXVE

Science fiction/WoW/Christmas geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5M9UTlDb10

Rock band geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAgutrkFjBQ

Guitar hero geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7OG2qHWMgo&feature=related


And that's just the tip of the iceberg, my friends! He's got songs about Tom Cruise and DNA! What's not to like? Go on over to his website and buy some .

My husband rocks

He surprised me today by bringing home Rock Band. This may be a part of his nefarious plan to pull me away from knitting. I'll let him think it's working ... for now ...

Davidson's swan song

I like watching college basketball. During the season I usually only care about Big Ten teams, but during March Madness I'm all about the underdog. Today 10-seed Davidson played 1-seed Kansas for the last final four spot. Davidson's a great team, surprised every team they played, and Stephen Curry is a phenom as far as offense goes. They had a legitimate shot at making it ... and they lost 57-59. It was an excellent game, full of ups and downs and a close score the entire time (the biggest lead was Kansas by six at one point). Every one of those kids played with heart. They could have won. But instead we have 4 1-seeds as the final four. How boring.


On a different note, yesterday somebody backed into my car in a parking lot. This is the second time that has happened to me. I swear to God my next car will be lime green.

Guitar Hero III news

I just got through five new songs plus the Tom Morello battle on Hard. My left hand and wrist are shredded but I'm a happy camper.

And now to put some words behind me on the WIP. This should be fun, considering my left hand is nearly worthless.

I'm free!

Today I worked the last day of a six day stretch. Tomorrow I'm mowing the yard, eating lunch with friends, and swimming laps. If the mood strikes I'm going to buy some desperately needed summer clothes. T-shirts and shorts and sandals. Maybe even a new purse or something.

I'd also like to get the ending of Stormy Weather hammered out before I send it out to alpha readers. (Or are they beta readers? I'm the alpha reader, aren't I? Or can the writer be the first reader of their own work? Oh, the philisophical question.) I've stolen a few bits from the earlier draft--mostly character development--and smushed them into the current one as well as tightened a few bits. I need to re-work the ending and go over the draft again, but right now I feel pretty good about the whole business. Is it in any shape for agents? Absolutely not. It's way to undeveloped. But with some input from readers and a whole heck of a lot of work from me, I think this story actually has a chance.

Over the past few days I've tried my hand at a few songs on the "hard" level of guitar hero II. This level introduces the orange key, which requires you to move your hand away from its comfort place in order to hit it. At least, my hands are small, so I have to move. Anyway, it's kickin' my ass. I move my hand, hit the orange note, and the promptly lose my place on the fret board and miss the next twenty notes. I made it through one song last night but got boo'd off the stage multiple times trying to make it through a second song today. (That's right--I'm playing a game that boos you if you suck. I can't even tell how good this is for your ego.) I'm beginning to think I may have hit a plateau with the game. It's all good, though. Less time with xbox=more time with the laptop=more time with Stormy Weather. See? Everyone wins.

Another reason not to procreate

So Ken and I went to Best Buy today. I had intended to buy a new CD as a reward for my "Last Man Standing" rejection, but the opening chords of the Guitar Hero II song "Surrender" by Cheap Trick caught my ears. I wondered over to the display area to find a father watching his boy play the game. The orange key was in play, and from the number of notes, I suspect this kid was playing the "expert" level. I watched an eight-year-old score over 200,000 points on a first-tier song. I was exhilarated and humiliated at the same time. Exhilarated because damn! I just watched someone kill this game! and humiliated because damn! I thought I was doing good because last night I scored over 75,000 points on a "medium" level, sixth-tier song.

Chalk this up as a lesson learned. Never have kids because they'll only kick your ass at video games.

And I still have to buy a CD. Maybe I'll wait until Tuesday ... the new Maroon 5 album comes out. Yeah, yeah, Innuendo, I know. I almost heard your eyes roll in Indy all the way from here.

Writing with a sore wrist

Stupid Guitar Hero II. I've made it through the easy level and I've started on medium. That damn blue key is kickin' my ass. Though, you'll note I've made progress on Stormy Weather.
All is not lost. Tomorrow I have to be at work at 5-frickin'-30 a.m., so no more writing or Hero for me tonight. I'm going to read in bed until I fall asleep. Hopefully I don't wake up every two hours wondering when the stupid alarm's gonna go off.

I have Friday off, and I've decided I'm going to use that day to go to my local booksellers and businesses and stump Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms. I don't have any hard copies yet, but I'm hoping to take a few orders or convince a few managers to buy it themselves from Popcorn Press. I have two chain bookstores, one independent, and a few indie coffeeshops on my list of places to hit. Any other suggestions out there in blogland?

Have your credit cards handy ...

... and visit Popcorn Press to purchase Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms. In fact, buy two--they make great gifts for the upcoming pirate-movie season.

Girl's night poker happened this past Friday. I love being an adult because it means you can eat mini-cheesecakes, cheese and crackers, and caramel corn for dinner and it's okay. Your body may hate you for it, but your inner child loves you, so it's all good. I didn't win any money but I laughed so much my ab muscles were a little sore the next day. The highlights: we called the chips "euros" instead of "cents" to celebrate the Queen's visit; a cat jumped onto the counter and helped himself to french-onion dip; I ate the aforementioned junk for dinner; and after the game, we played with ferrets. Next night is June 15th. I'm already looking forward to it.

I've made good progress on the book today, and I'd like to get another few pages in before the night's over. Productivity was the code-word of the day: I wrote 5 pages, mowed the yard, finished laundry, and played a little Guitar Hero II. For those of you who haven't jumped onto the Guitar Hero bandwagon, do so the first chance you get. Buy a used Playstation 2 from the neighbor kid down the street if you have to. Even when you suck at it like I do, you feel like a rock god(dess). I'm so buying guitar lessons as a reward when I sell my first book. Or singing lessons. One of the two.

math

Okay. If I want to have 250 pages written by June 1st, I have to average 4.25 pages a day. At first glance this doesn't look so bad. Mind you, this math is only for the first-draft, and my goal is to have a polished manuscript ready to query agents with by June 1st. And don't forget that to query I'll need a synopsis and a great hook for the cover letter. Que minor panic attack.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I got hosed in Ladies Poker the other night. The rookies will get you every time. Next match is May 4th, so I have time to read up on my strategies.