Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Meme

This is from Ben, at Dictionopolis at Digitopolis

10 Favorites
Favorite Season: Autumn
Favorite Color: Hunter Green
Favorite Time: Pre-Dawn
Favorite Food: Poptarts, strawberry, no frosting
Favorite Drink: Jack and Coke
Favorite Ice Cream: Hard serve, chocolate marshmallow
Favorite Place: Key West, FL
Favorite Sport: Figure Skating
Favorite Actor: Dennis Quaid
Favorite Actress: Jodie Foster

9 Currents
Current Feeling: Pleased
Current Drink: Ice Tea
Current Time: 3:09
Current Show on TV: TV is off
Current Mobile used: The one that my company pays for
Current Windows Open: None, central air here
Current Underwear: Yes
Current Clothes: Yes
Current Thought: Is it time to go home yet?

8 Firsts
First Nickname: Petunia (don't ask)
First Kiss: Can't remember his name...
First Crush: Dave S
First Best Friend: Deneen M
First Vehicle I Drove: Plymouth Duster, 1972
First Job: at a daycamp
First Date: Bobby ? took me to the mall
First Pet: A simese cat named Reena

7 Lasts
Last Drink: Latte
Last Kiss: From my daughter
Last Meal: Sausage McMuffin
Last Web Site Visited: Dell
Last Movie Watched: War of the Worlds
Last Phone Call: A psychologist who had to have his laptop fixed today, absolutely, needs it tonight. Called to tell me he will pick it up tomorrow.
Watched: Sopranos

6 Have You Ever...
Have You Ever Broken the Law: yes
Have You Ever Been Drunk: yes
Have You Ever Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: yes
Have You Ever Been in the Middle/Close to Gunfire: yes
Have You Ever Skinny Dipped: yes
Have You Ever Broken Anyone's Heart: yes.

5 Things
Things You Can Hear Right Now: My boss's best friend calling him names.
Things On Your Bed: Not at home now, but probably a Beagle and a Cat
Things You Ate Today: Sausage McMuffin, and a banana
Things You Do When You Are Bored: walk the dog

4 Places You Have Been Today
McDonalds
Borders
My office
My daughter's school


3 Things On Your Desk Right Now:
Laptops (lots and lots of laptops)
Software
Laptop Harddrives
Screwdrivers and other assorted tools

2 Choices
Salt or Pepper: Do I have to make a choice?
Hot or Cold: Hot

1 Place You Want To Visit
Grand Canyon

Tagged: anyone who reads this

Monday, May 29, 2006

Thank you


There is nothing else to say.











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Sunday, May 28, 2006

I couldn't help myself

I had to share this. I got it from Love America, Hate Bush. Click the pic.



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Saturday, May 27, 2006

It's a Small World (after all)

I had a first happen to me today. I met a blogger whose blog I have on my blogroll.

I was at the monthly meeting of my writers group. The speaker was an agent, and her topic was promotion. Not a pressing issue for me, as I can't get any interest in my books, and I'm concentrating of short fiction.

However, an agent is someone who I should listen to, regardless of the topic. And there were quite a few tidbits of info about querying and finding an agent. When she mentioned her agency's name, I recognized it from the blog.

This gave me something to talk with her about after the lecture, which is great, because I suck at small talk. However, with a point of reference, I can talk to anyone. Without that, I tend to sound like a sychophant. I didn't get to speak with her in detail, as many of our members wanted her attention. Just a hello, what is the name of your blog? Agent Obsucra? I read you! I just put you on my blog roll.

I might have remembered to thank her (but I may not have--my bad!).

But it was pretty damn cool to accidently meet someone whose blog I read.

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Friday, May 26, 2006

Last to know

As usual, something is going on, and I'm elsewhere.

For the unaware (like I was), the Absolute Write was abandoned by their web host because Barbara Bauer, an agent of questionable repute, got pissed when she was listed as one of the 20 worst agents.

I knew that I couldn't get onto AW, but I thought my work filters had caught it. The site is up again, but unfortunately, the forums are not. And there were some great threads there!

Now it seems that this Barbara Bauer's biggest crime is that she hasn't sold any work (or refuses to acknowledge any sales). This would be like a real estate agent not wanting anyone to know that she is the the million dollar sales club. FWIU, this is like the agents resume, and is SOP.

I hope the forums are up soon. But I am spending more time writing since they went down.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Sometimes I am ashamed to be American

This is one of the cruelest and meanest parts of our nation's history. I have to warn you that the images are disturbing.

Searching through America's past for the last 25 years, collector James Allen uncovered an extraordinary visual legacy: photographs and postcards taken as souvenirs at lynchings throughout America.

But the idea that someone though taking pictures of lynchings was a good idea is disturbing. Then they made the pictures into postcards, MANY OF WHICH WENT THROUGH OUR POSTAL SYSTEM, is worse.

As discussed as I was by the images, I had to look, I had to read about the victims (if for no other reason than to acknowledge they were victims and owed some respect and not to be forgotten.) Because as horrifying as it is to realized this is part of our countries (and therefore its citizens) history, the very fact that our horrifying acts can be publicized, is the best thing about this country.

I'll never forget those images. I dare anyone to check out the website and not be moved.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Where do you get off behaving that way with women you don't even know?

Biting Beaver blogged about fuckability and what happens to a woman when men stare and objectify them:


To these men I was simply a convenient ass to stare at while they were in line. I could be a Nobel Prize winner, but they wouldn't know and they sure as fuck wouldn't care.

I was reminded that despite how capable I felt; despite being proud of myself for battling the triggers and the anxiety and being able to get my car working again I was still nothing but a feature in an afternoon porn flick in their heads. I wanted to turn around and punch the three of them, I wanted to turn and scream at them to knock it the fuck off. I wanted to turn around and ask them why they felt as though they had a right to use my body to fantasize about while they stood in line. I wanted to ask them who gave them the right to make me uncomfortable, to make me lose my good mood. I wanted to ask them all of these things.

In the end I just stood there. My mood deflated and my place in society brought back home in stark clarity. All of the joy I had just experienced, all of the elation at fixing my car and the feeling of accomplishment ran right out the window. To these men and to so many others like them, I was a mere afternoon diversion.


Interesting enough, another one of my favorite bloggers, F Train 2 Brooklyn, posted this:


The three men at the table were trying to engage the three of us in conversation. We're all married, so we're empowered by the fact that we are taken and do not care what single men think. We turned down their drink offer and they referred to us as bitches. I almost snapped and reacted to them. My two companions were getting ready to turn on them too.

I said, "Don't let them turn us into her. She's the bitch. Just think: what would Princess Diana have done?"

"Exactly," said companion #1. "Carolyn Kennedy would walk away."

"Hilary Rodham Clinton would too," said companion #2. Then we laughed, because she'd probably bitchslap the lot of them.

Instead of snapping, we ignored them and enjoyed the rest of our time. As we were standing to leave, the boyfriend said loudly, "So long, bitches."

Why couldn't he just leave it alone? We turned up our noses, flipped our hair, and gracefully excited.

Here's my problem - it was a decent place in downtown Manhattan, we are three attractive, unassuming, intelligent women just out for a quiet afternoon minding our own business - so why did he feel it was his right to try and ruin it? And ruin his daft girlfriends afternoon? Why are there men like him in the world?
This kind of behavior begs for a Thelma & Louise moment. Because I don't think there is a woman alive who hasn't had to deal with the male priviledge.

For some reason, women are supposed to be flattered that a man would deem the woman worthy of his attention. And if the woman objects, there is something wrong with her. She is a bitch, a ballbreaker, frigid, a cunt, and a dyke.

But, I don't really believe that. I don't think men are flattering us. They are reminding us of where our place is. They are reminding us that we are sub-human, objects, just 3 holes and a pair of tits. A warm, wet place for their penis.

There is a definite correlation between this behavior, and the behavior of whites during civil rights. The more rights that blacks were able to achieve, the more shit they had to put up with, until black people finally said, enough! The men would not be called "boy", their women would not be treated as whores, or worse, animals.

Do women need to face this behavior head on? Confront it when we see it? Make it uncomfortable for men to do this to us?

Because its more than just words. There is a barely veiled threat from some of these men, that they can do what they want, and we can't stop them.

Before you jump on my comments, I know that this not true of all men who behave misogynisticly, and that some men just slip into the misogynistic behavior because they think it's OK. But remember, women can't tell which man is going to be apologetic or embarrassed, and which is going to follow us to our cars.

Remember, many black men were lynched for not staying "in their place".

And Thelma and Louise were well armed and had nothing left to lose.

Monday, May 15, 2006

I hate TV, now more than ever

I'm going to have to stop reading Lee Goldberg's blog, even though it is one of the best writing blogs around.

Now he tells us that Surface and Invasion aren't coming back next season. I never really got into Invasion, but Surface was one of my favs. I think I liked Surface because I grew up at the seashore. As a child, I was certain that there were horrible creatures in the ocean. And those creatures wanted nothing more than to eat us.

Surface tapped those fears, along with my fears of a Tsunami (I know, New Jersey is not known for tsunami's, but I always used to look at that horizon and wonder.) After the season finale (which now looks like the series finale) I was looking forward to how they would resolve this sea monster thing.

It was bad enough that Threshold was cancelled with no resolution, but now Surface? I guess my viewing tastes are out in left field. I used to have a policy to never watch a new TV show, until I knew if it had been renewed for the next season. I think I'll have to reinstate that policy, because I can't trust the networks to continue the shows that I like.

Friday, May 12, 2006

I really hate TV

There are only about 4 or 5 shows on TV that I care about, and maybe 5 more that I can tolerate. Now, according Lee Goldberg's blog, it looks like HBO is going to drop Deadwood.

No official word yet, but:



Deadwood Dead?
Variety reports that HBO has let their contractual options lapse on the cast of DEADWOOD, which begins airing its third season in a few weeks. This decision frees the cast to pursue jobs elsewhere, which strongly suggests that HBO has lost interest in a fourth season of the show before the third season has even aired.


HBO insisted that conversations about future cycles of "Deadwood" are ongoing, and Milch told the Boston Globe in the April 30 issue that he had always planned to exit the series after the fourth season; he has been reported as saying that he'd envisioned each season as a year, and the actual Deadwood camp was destroyed at the end of four.

"If a series is successful, the commercial interest is in keeping it on, even after the creative interest is in ending it," Milch told the Globe. "With 'Deadwood,' my intention is to end at the end of the fourth season. I can't speak for anyone else, but that's where I'm getting off the bus."



I really hope this is just a rumor, or perhaps a publicity stunt.