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Showing posts from 2008

Drabble

I was going to use this as entry into a contest but I decided I didn't wanted pay to do it so I'll let you enjoy it instead: Old Joe thought he was going to be sick. The hamburger sandwich wasn’t sitting well. He should have known the lunch counter wouldn’t just give away their best food to a homeless bum like himself. Sure, many still had the Christmas spirit but what can you do? As he stuck his hands inside his overalls, a toothless smile formed on his face. It was starting to get cold. As he walked, he stumbled and fell into the street. He saw the car barreling down on him but it was too late. Soon, the soothing blackness of death. Happy New Year.

Christmas in Maine

My story begins on Friday the 20th. My bus was delayed due to the previous days storm and the inefficiency to get back up and running 100% when shutting down. Later we hear from a father talking to his daughter on his cell. Her bus from Boston, and therefore my bus was broken down in Kennebunk. Alternator was shot or something. Another bus bound for the north finally arrived going a different route but would still get me to Bangor. We had to go through Brunswick instead. OK I was thinking. Fine. First, I have to sit in the very front which, again, is fine. Then the driver asked me my name and tells me though this only the 3rd time he's done this route there is only one place in Brunswick he gets confused and maybe reading the directions out loud will help him. So I do it. I read for him to veer left and he turns left. I will point out here the directions they give their drivers suck ass. No mile markers and very few landmarks. So we drive and drive. I see signs for Bath,

Closing In On Post #666

Thursday, I drove up to Bangor to see the play "A Year With Frog and Toad," which my second cousin was in, with my uncle and grandmother. My aunt and parents met us there. A drive that would normally take like 2 and half hours took about 5 because, well, the weather was just so awesome... The musical was great, as I still love the stories, with, honestly, the best parts thanks to my cousin as Snail and "The Terribly Huge and Hugely Terrible Frog." The best part of the evening came when we were going to our cars. (I and my traveling companions were going to my parents for the weekend.) My uncle goes to his car and can't unlock the door. We all assume the lock is frozen. My father down the street opened his car just fine so he didn't know what was going on. My uncle kept kicking the door with the side of his foot to no avail. By now, I'm sure you smart readers have deduced that it wasn't his car! Good times... I was intending to drive back down on Fri

Another Shatner Series Cancelled Prematurely

The final episode of one of my favorite series was last night. Boston Legal was both thought-provoking and zany all the same time. Creator David E. Kelly basically combined the sensibilities of his previous law shows. It had the seriousness of the show it spun-off from, The Practice, but knew how to have fun at the same time like Ally McBeal . And the cast was amazing. Only James Spader, Candace Bergen and Wiliam Shatner were part of the cast in all five seasons but other luminaries included Monica Potter Rene Auberjenois, Julie Bowen, Parker Posey, John Larroquette, Tom Selleck, Betty White and Michael J. Fox not to leave out Shelly Berman, Anglea Cartwright, Gail O'Grady, Bernadette Peters, Cherie Oteri, Saul Rubinek, Valerie Bertinelli, Ming Na and so many others as guest stars! An episode only a week or two ago pointed out that this show was the only one on television with actors over 50 in important roles. That the over fifty set spend more money and actually watch more TV,

Thoughts on Christmas Music

I could've Twitted about 6 times about this but I decided a short blog pot would work better: On the Song "Do They Know It's Christmas Time At All?" by Band Aid in 1985(?): 1. Since Africa is like two-thirds Muslim, the age-old question should be "Do they really care?" 2. My favorite line is "Thank God it's them instead of you..." I assume they were just imitating assholes hearing this song but it still makes it sound like they're saying, "feeding starving Africans at Christmas is a good thing but if it was someone I actually know...that would just suck..." One Final Thought: -The title "The Christmas Song" should only be reserved for the song writing by Mel Torme about chestnuts roasting and knowing a turkey. If bands want to write their own "Christmas Song," which usually is pretty awesome, call it something else because that's just lazy... -

Stirfry In The Devil's Wok

The title is a reference to my favorite line, found in chapter 4, of the book club book I just finished Saturday night: Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestup; who, by the way, went to the seminary I now work. The book tells the true story of how she dealt with the sudden death of her husband through mothering her four children, her job as Maine State Game Warden Chaplin, and her faith. There were hilarious parts and there were touching parts. I'm glad being part of a book group has encouraged me to read more nonfiction as I know for a fact that I definitely wouldn't have read this book for instance otherwise. Where was I when I finished it? Working another string quartet concert at my church. No icy sidewalks or prima donna pianists so it went much smoother this time. Apparently, I'm being groomed to eventually take over for the guy from church that usually works them. Eventually. I'm ambivalent as he pulls out all the stops but the extra money would obviously be nice.

Ten Years Gone

So far, my Thanksgiving weekend has been quite different. My roommate and I had my parents, grandmother and uncle over for the actual meal. My aunt/his mother had to work but she provided the chocolate cream pie and got a plate later. As is usual when my family gets together, we laughed a lot. My father told this story he heard on the radio where astronauts have this machine that turns their urine into drinkable water but it's still being perfected so it's still 10% urine. They compensate by using Tang! Supposedly, it tastes good... Yesterday included going to Applebee's for lunch with more family followed by going to my grandparents for more pie and conversation. That was nice actually and devoid of annoying weirdness so yay! Last night, we went down to see the annual "Lighting of the Holiday Tree Ceremony." They call it thus to be PC but aside from "The Dreidel Song" and the universally accepted "I Love Mud." It was all Christmas. Be acc

Reviews!

This past week I finished reading a classic Star Trek novel. The Pandora Principle is the official, until debunked in a movie or TV series, origin story of Lt. Saavik; who's now a captain in the recent "Vulcan books" by Sherman and Schwartz. I really have to doubt the two women read this book by Carolyn Clowes when they decided Spock and Saavik would be betrothed to each other. In the Pandora Principle , Spock is not only her mentor but, it turns out he raised her from the time he found her at around age 11 or 12 until she was old enough to enter Starfleet Academy making the betrothal plot point kind of "Woody and Soon Yi" which may be less taboo in Vulcan culture but still... The book takes place shortly before Star Trek II even though Robin Curtis, not Kirstie Alley, is on the cover. The dialogue in this book was great and the plot overall was interesting but I was left unsatisfied with the ending despite the awesome climax. It seemed they were gearing up f

An Experiment With Last.fm

Musical Magic 8 Ball Go to your music player of choice and put it on shuffle. Say the following questions aloud, and press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question. NO CHEATING. 1. How does the world see me? "Band on the Run"- Paul McCartney & Wings Do they see me as stuck inside a room? 2. Will I have a happy life? "El Salvador"- Peter, Paul & Mary I'm gonna have to go with "No"... 3. What do my friends really think of me? "I'll Never Find Another You"- The Seekers Awww That's sweet... 4. Do people secretly lust after me? "For the Life of Me"- The Wallflowers Probably not then... 5. How can I make myself happy? "Fire and Rain"- Richie Havens Reconnect with an old lover? 6. What should I do with my life? "Good Shepherd"- Jefferson Airplane Feed sheep apparently... 7. Will I ever have children? "Just a Girl"- No Doubt. Well, yes, that would help... 8. What is some good advic

This Must Be Said.

Probably every four years, maybe more often, maybe less, the "Christian Right" determine which candidate best follows their interpretation of the Bible. This forces the implication that to be a follower of Jesus' teaching you must be a Republican. I have no idea where people get this. I personally do not remember the verse or chapter where Jesus goes to Abraham's homeland (Find Ur on a map. It's in Iraq!) and subjects the villagers to illegal search and seizure or the part where Jesus praises John the Baptist, or whoever, for leveling a Samaritan village after a Samaritan bombs a donkey or something. But they must be in there... The death penalty is based on the code of Hammarabi which states "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." Jesus says, on the other hand, Christians must "turn the other cheek" and that the other law was total donkeyshit. Someone will have to explain to me how continuing the act of vengeance with another act of vengeanc

I Am The Quiet Geek!

A revelation hit me the other night while I was trying to sleep. Terry Brooks' Word and Void series continuing with the just finished Genesis of Shannara trilogy (I haven't read the final book Gypsy Morph yet.) Is basically The Dark Is Rising series for a more mature audience. Yes, fantasy book fans will point out that every fantasy series is basically about good versus evil but the similarities here are rather scary. Both books deal with the Dark or, more creatively, the Void trying to take over the Earth. Both deal with prophecy predicting this would happen thousands of years ago. Both have the ultimate "Force of Good" known simply as "The Lady." Oh, and both a have a Tree... The differences are great, however. While Susan Copper's series draws off Celtic Myth. Terry Brooks combines Native American myth with typical fantasy elements as elven magic. Though I haven't read it, I'm imagining the ending of his series as more akin to the wa

Birthday Bulletpoints

Related in the order it appears in my head: 1. My parents and I watched two movies on TV. the 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame with Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara; who isn't Scarlett's sister, we explained to my father, because Scarlett is a fictional character...This was on TCM so it was unedited. I thought it was being shown because of Halloween approaching but my feeling at the time of that thought was that this movie is even less of a Halloween movie than Frankenstein since it's just about a guy who's deaf and deformed. It turns out it was actually shown because of RKO's anniversary which is a much better reason. I loved the part where Quasimodo was throwing stones off the bell tower on the attacking peasants and then, when he dumped the vat of molten metal, I laughed so hard! 2. We also saw The 40 Year Old Virgin on NBC. (With an 8pm start time no less!) Yeah the language was edited out ("Forget you!") but I really don't think it's appr

Flood Insurance?

Last night, and finishing this morning, my roommate and I watched Evan Almighty with Steve Carrell and Lauren Graham with Morgan Freeman reprising his role from Bruce Almighty as God. Carrell plays Evan a newly elected congressman who is charged by God to build an ark for the coming flood. I was expecting a much less religious movie with raunch but this actually would work in a middle school aged church school class. Including where to find it in the bible (Genesis 6:14). Go find it!

Lucky Town

Recently, I finished reading the fourth book in the Dark is Rising series: The Grey King . I had hopes for this book given that it won a Newberry Medal when it came out in the late seventies. At first, I was willing to concede it was better than Greenwitch but it was hard for me to figure out how this won anything but now that I've finished it, I was, to quote a certain turtle from Finding Nemo , "like whoa." As any good writer should do, Cooper takes her story from this myth and that myth and combines them really coolly in my humble opinion. (A certain fan of Celtic mythology would like these books...) I found myself oddly interested in the Welsh countryside as well. Up until this point, all I really knew was that Doctor Who and other shows were filmed in Cardiff... Now a word or twenty about the Red Sox making to the American League Championship series versus the D...Rays. The Rays have a great young team this year and what they've accomplished is amazing but I j

This Wheel's on Fire

I came across this article the other day and have been dying to share it with you. Thank God this wasn't thought of in '84... This leads me to my thoughts on the VP debate. While Palin wasn't a "deer-in-headlights," this really wasn't a good performance for her. There was one question Biden totally didn't answer and others he answered frankly half-assed but Palin was not answering questions all night and actually said at one point "I may not answer the questions you want me to answer..." Then why are you even at this debate? The debate was, well, sedate. I wanted a "You're no Jack Kennedy" moment or an old guy wondering where he was but, sadly, it didn't happen... I was admittedly surprised that the Red Sox won both games in Anaheim. Sure, they've dominated the Angels in the postseason but I really thought the trend of the Angels dominating in the regular season then choking in the post wouldn't continue. We only need

Hey Mister!

The first selection from my book group was Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians by Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian. This maybe the first non-fiction book I've reviewed here. (For now, we'll just say it is.) My conservative readers may say that this book is pure liberal trash but no it isn't. Sure, it ultimately supports a liberal point of view but it was compiled from interviews with a few dozen veterans of the current conflict and points out that several things that seem to us as wrong couldn't be helped because they weren't supplied translators, proper training or the situation didn't give them time to think it through properly. The cultural/language barrier seemed to be the biggest problem faced by the soldiers. This was a perspective that I really didn't give a passing thought before reading the book. As a liberal, I was, of course, bothered by incidents related where the troops were ordered to perform acts to civilians, or the

Music Activity

Today, my roommate and I were at Starbucks and I saw a new collection of Canadian artists called Northern Songs . I liked a handful of the choices but wasn't pleased by a few omissions. Googling the album to see what others thought. Doing so, I came across an assignment from a professor of Canadian studies at the University of Vermont (Where else would they have a major like that?) to come up with their own list of tracks. I would love an assignment like this so I'm doing it! The original list: 1. Feist - "Mushaboom" 2. Pilot Speed - "Knife-Grey Sea" 3. Cowboy Junkies - "Sweet Jane" 4. The Band - "The Weight" 5. k.d. lang - "Constant Craving" 6. Rufus Wainwright - "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" 7. Sarah McLachlan - "Angel" 8. Ron Sexsmith - "All in Good Time" 9. Kate and Anna McGarrigle "Entre la Jeunesse et la Sagesse" 10. Great Lake Swimmers - "Your Rocky Spine" 11. The Be Goo

Up From Under

I guess we'll start on Saturday. I had an alumni Homecoming celebration downtown. As usual, nobody from my class came but I was surprised as I entered that a friend from high school was there. It turns out that her sister is the director of Alumni Relations at my college. Somewhat weird I think although I didn't go that far way to college so that may explain it... Sunday we were supposed to go out to eat with family as some of my aunts and uncles were going to be up but lunch was scheduled too early for us so my other aunt and I ended up getting our food to go before heading over to my grandparents. This turned out fine in the end. We started a book group at my church that afternoon. I guess we'll be meeting monthly. I discuss the first book after I finish it which shouldn't be much longer. Monday, my cousin/roommate, my aunt and I met my aunt and uncle who had been up visiting from Jersey. This went well until we got talking politics against my better judgment but what

I've Meant To Do This For Days. Really...

Two "major events" have happened to me recently that I thought I'd share with you all and I'll throw in a couple reviews too because, well, why not? On Labor Day, I was invited to the seminary's picnic up at Camp Mechawana which is the state's Methodist camp. Though apparently built about 10 years before, it reminded me a lot of Pilgrim Lodge the summer camp I went for many years as a child. There was a good group in attendance but few of us from the Portland campus. The food was good especially this red-skinned potato salad. I'm not sure what was special about it. (Maybe the mayonnaise?) The second piece of news I wanted to share was that my first royalty check arrived in the mail and I've officially sold 10 copies of Winter Storm as of July 31st. I guess retailers have 90 days to give the publisher the money from sales so the actual number of sold copies is probably much greater... I recently finished The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. This is ac

Something to Blog About?

This past week gave me a few things to talk about so...Yay! My parents were down so Monday we went out to Applebee's. First off, when I ordered the Strawberry Mojito, I was carded. Am I now at the age I should be flattered by this or is it still an embarrassment? Second off, I don't know what was more annoying the fact I really didn't like it or the fact my mother knew I didn't like it. It wasn't the mojito itself I didn't like. It was the pieces of strawberry and seeds that kept coming up through the straw. I was thinking it would be strawberry flavor... I ordered riblets. One would think that riblets would be small. I still can't figure out the difference between those and actual ribs as they were huge. After dinner we went back to their motel to swim in the pool and sit in the hot tub. Actually, it was hot tubs plural. Because families were taking the last gasp of summer, the pool was crowded. You all know how I hate that. Anyway, we went back up to the r

Living Up To The Title

I apologize to my readers who have been short changed on blog posts from me but there has really been nothing worth talking about. In the past, I filled this blog up with TV episode reviews. I basically did this because in grad school and, living at home with my parents, I really had no one to discuss what I was watching with. Moving in here with my cousin has given me someone to discuss this with so I don't feel the need to discuss it here. With that purpose gone, that leaves reviews of movies, books, and CDs. I have seen a movie in about a month. I can only read just so fast so I can't crank out book reviews. Reviews of CDs depend on artists I like putting them out as well as having the money to buy them. Living on my own, I obviously have more important expenses. I could discuss my job situation. Simply put, I enjoy my volunteer job considerably but except for a "developing development" that I can't discuss right now, this isn't likely to lead to anything

Drama On Multiple Fronts

Literary Drama: Last night, I finished the Star Trek novel Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan. It was a very good book if drawn out a bit longer than it needed to be. There was one subplot of the mysterious new doctor that really was unnecessary in my opinion. I think it was included to give Spock more to do but I think he had enough to do as it was. The plot involved finding a cure for disease affecting a planet of felinoids. I'm a cat person as my readers should know so this book was right up my alley. As you might imagine, I was pleased that all of the crew played a part in the story with the exception of Sulu. The Spock subplot wouldn't have made sense with Sulu but it still doesn't seem fair... Family Drama: Yesterday afternoon I took bus out to my aunt's for a cookout. When I get there, I discover the reason my uncle, who doesn't live with my aunt, wasn't there was that he had a stroke! That obviously dominated the conversation and colored the mood. The

Wow. Have I Ever Gone This Long Without Posting?

This will be long but probably not too informative because, that's not how I roll... Before I left to go up to keep my father and cat company in the absence of my mother who was at a church youth thing in TN, we watched the live action Alvin and the Chipmunks . Overall, it was a great film and throughout the movie they answered my "But what about this?" questions. (I'm still not sure why Simon could see with the random pair of glasses Dave gave him and not the pair Ian forced him to wear since neither pair was prescription but whatever...) I wanted more music as well. When I heard that the Yankees were coming to town the weekend I was going up to see my father, I thought that was awesome timing. My team failed me. (I will discuss today's trade of Manny when I have all the facts...) Sunday afternoon, we saw The Dark Knight . This movie totally rocked my socks. As you've already heard I'm sure, Heath Ledger was awesome as the Joker. Maggie Gyllenhaal added

I Hate Reusing Titles.

I was reading TV Guide 's review of Wall-E yesterday and I really don't agree with it. They suggest that it's the best Pixar film to date. I think the exact opposite. They particularly liked that it shows humans will be fat and lazy a millennium to two from now. My thought is "Well, yeah..." but this is not really what I want from a cartoon. You know what I would like from a movie? Dialogue. Even silent movies have more than this movie. If you compare the latest cartoon movies, Kung Fu Panda had many big name stars while Wall-E had John Ratzenberger, Jeff Garlin and Kathy Najimy; in supporting roles! If you want to see a Pixar movie, better choices would be The Incredibles or Finding Nemo . Recently, I finished The Eyes of the Beholders , a Star Trek: The Next Generation novel by A. C. Crispin whose Sarek is one of my two favorite Star Trek novels. Being new at that time, it takes places early in the third season. It was a good book subplots that were in

Only One Thing to Say

The Incredible Hulk movie totally rocked. It was so much better then the Ang Lee massacre. One, they had a villain in Abomination and didn't waste Absorbing Man as the first attempt frankly did. I thought Eric Bana's acting wasn't terrible but casting Ed Norton in this one to me worked better on two levels: One, Norton is less "buff" so the contrast was more appropriately striking and, two, Norton is a writer/director himself which I think helps in the acting. Speaking of acting, I was very worried when I discovered Liv Tyler was supposed to be a cellular biologist but I was relieved when she didn't have a "techno-babble" lines because, ugh. (My roommate was disappointed Banner couldn't get excited. "Not even a little.") I admittedly don't remember Abomination's origin from the comic but somehow making him a Russian-born raised in England seemed like just an excuse to not find a Russian actor. My other nitpick is the favoring

Sports Because I Don't Want To Talk About Me

It's almost the All-Star Break. The Red Sox aren't leading the division and, despite the fabulous win last night, really can't seem to win on the road. Are they trailing the Yankees? No. The Yankees really suck this season. I really think their reign of terror is over. No, the real threat this season for the Sox is Tampa Bay. I watched the hideous sweep down in St. Pete earlier this week and I still can't fathom what changed for them to make them this good this late in the season. When the team was formed, it was filled with All-Star veterans who frankly were close to retirement and they sucked. Then, they switched it up and filled their team with cheap young talent that may have been better with better coaching but they sucked too. Now, they have natural born young talent and veterans who'd be on the bench on most any other team and given a chance to shine. I'm certainly not switching my allegiance but my "I support two teams..." tee may now be &quo

Google Life

My life according to Google Type in the following and choose from the first page. 1: Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search: -Josh needs support to learn how to express his anger appropriately. 2: Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search: -Josh looks like he's picking his nose. 3: Type in "[your name] does" in Google search: -What Josh does when he's supposed to be sleeping. (!) 4: Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search: -Josh hates you all equally. 5: Type in "[your name] goes" or "..has gone" in Google search: -Josh goes for his first HIV test. 6: Type in "[your name] loves" in Google search: -Josh loves Unicorns! 7: Type in "[your name] eats" in Google search: -Josh eats a teabag. 8: Type in"[your name] has" in Google search: -Does anyone know if Josh has a girlfriend? 9:Type in "[your name] died" in Google search: -Josh died laughing. 10. Type in &quo

The Conference And The College

This past weekend, I went up with a group from my church and my parents to the Maine Conference UCC's Annual Meeting up at the University of Maine at Farmington. Overall, it was a good meeting. In the past, I'd would go to this with my parents and get "I changed your diapers when you were a baby." Thank God no one said that exact phrase to me this time but I did see people hadn't seen me in years. This year was good because there were an equal number of people who knew me as I am now from the seminary so this was great. Friday night, my father and I thought it would be a good a idea to go grab a beer somewhere. We couldn't find a bar anywhere. In a college town. Do you see the irony here? Here's some more: according to a professor of the school I met, UMF is 75% women and their mascot is the "Beavers." The major issue of the weekend was a vote on a resolution to authorize one of our commissions to "discern" on the conference becoming

Mash Game

I will marry Jennie Garth . After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Maine in our fabulous House . We will have 13 kid(s) together. Our family will zoom around in a Green Batmobile . I will spend my days as a Pharmacist , and live happily ever after.

No Cost For Awesomeness?

Yesterday because our apartment was being fumigated, I was downtown a lot. After work and lunch, I went the local bookstore and they finally agreed to put the copy I left on the shelf and then we'll see how that goes! I've alerted my friends in town so it should go well. Now if Borders agrees to a similar deal, I'll be all set... After that I went to see Kung Fu Panda with Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan to name a few. While the movie wasn't " Shrek funny," it still had me laughing pretty hard in places. There was this girl about 4 or 5 years old you was laughing hysterically during most of the film... Last night was my church's pot luck and Annual Meeting which meant no dance group and no money for me but I did get dinner. For the most part, the meeting was straightforward until the end when we discussed the new capital campaign and whether to allow alcohol in the church. The former issue was settled fairly well (The goal am

Mood: Kind Of Irked.

For a couple weeks now I've been editing my free author webpage provided by my publisher. I was kind of irritated to have to edit HTML but I did it. Recently, I thought there must be an easier way to do this. I discover in the help section that there's a web editor function! Yay, right? Wrong. I can't see the damn buttons that they say are there. I read the help section again and down at the bottom of the page it says that you must have IE 6 and that IE 7, which I had, can't see it. It doesn't mention any other browsers so I download Firefox 2 and try that. Not surprisingly in hindsight, this doesn't read it either but I love the spell-as-you-go function so I'll keep it around while I sulk... In cheerier news, as I mentioned on Twitter, I finished reading Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready. (I borrowed the copy I had given to my mother.) Overall, I liked it. The mystery of what happened to Claudine's alcoholic mother seemed fairly obvious to me halfway th

Book, CD, But No Movie

Recently, I finished an "autobiography" of sorts. I read John DeLancie's I,Q , written with Peter David. To me, it was as if Dave Barry wrote a Star Trek book. This was easily the funniest book of the genre I have ever read and I enjoyed it immensely. On Thursday, I went out to one of the few nearby towns on the busline to a job interview. Because the street, I was told to get off at wasn't clearly marked, I missed my stop and took a tour of the town. But the interview itself was fairly laid back and we spend awhile discussing my book. (They wanted me to know they already ordered a copy.) The director mentioned she thought she'd read a review somewhere either in the big city paper or one of the local weeklies. I was flabbergasted but I think now she was mistaken. (Sidenote: one of the weekly publications she thought she might have seen it in not-so-coincidently told me today they haven't but want to!) Due to some shit that went down after I came home from the

Out Of My Crystal Skull

We went to the Old Port Festival yesterday. The weather was infinitely better than the year before. Sadly, this meant it was way more crowded. I got in line for pizza and, apparently, because the line was so long, my aunt got worried so went to go looking for me! (She is my father's sister...) We got tired of crowds so we went to the movies and saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull . I thought it was really good. If you've seen the other movies, and I keep encountering more and more people who haven't, the formula is fairly intact despite the later date (1957) but it had some new twists. Cate Blanchett played a Soviet scientist from the Ukraine and I freely admit it gave me some character ideas...I must comment on one thing: in the previous films, the fedora was glued, stapled, whatever to Ford's head. The hat blew around the ground to great effect on more than one occasion which I think is kind of cool. And finally, my only real nitpick per se is t

Memorial Day Movies and More

We've been eating a lot of cake lately. Two ice cream cakes and Monday, our friend brought a chocolate mousse cake. All of this was to celebrate my roommate's birthday last week. We saw two movies. Mad Money with Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes and Ted Danson. This movie was really good despite the having to blast the volume because none of us could hear it. This wasn't the best movie I've seen Katie Holmes in but it was certainly the best role I've ever seen her in. I don't know if that makes any sense. Let me clarify. Jackie is a better character than Rachel Dawes from Batman Begins which this film wasn't... We also saw I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry . Going into this movie I had low expectations (I mean it starred Kevin James and Adam Sandler...) but it's not the derogatory mess one might think it would be and was, of course, hilarious! I didn't expect all the cameos from the openly gay Richard Chamberlain and Lance Bass to Dan Ac

The Good and Bad of Country Music

I saw this perfomance last weekend and, to me, Jenifer Nettles looks like a dancing chimp. Sexy! Also last weekend, I was watching CMT's Power Picks and the below video was up against, and slaughtered by, another video . I would have picked this one: Also, on a completely different note, Banes and Noble have finally started putting info up for my book on their site ...

"Oh, Shut Up!"

I can't believe I didn't discuss this in detail but about a week ago now, the seminary had their end of the year party. This included a reception and then dinner. The graduating seniors were recognized symbolically by each ringing a bell for the number of semesters they attended. Some had to ring it as much as 12 times! Friday, I went up to Ellsworth with my grandmother and uncle. The trip was long but I did enjoy being able to discuss and listen to music with my uncle. That night, the five of us, including my parents, went to see two of my second cousins in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown! at the Grand. I discovered later that this was not the original production that starred Gary "Radar" Burghoff but the 1999 revival with Kristin Chenoweth as Sally Brown. (She won a Tony for it...). The difference is that the original version had a character named "Patty" which is not to be confused with Peppermint Patty. This character was replaced with Charlie'

The Review I Promised And More

I say again: Ironman was totally awesome. Lately, superhero movies have been cast with actors that can actually act. I love this trend. Robert Downey, Jr. is Tony Stark. If they do the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline for the next one, he'll be more than fine in it. I kind of like the fact director Jon Favreau cast himself as chauffeur, "Happy" Hogan though was a bit disappointed he never was referred to as "Happy." Again, they followed the comic very well. Sure, they had him in California already when he actually started out in New York then moved out west later but even I admit that is the lamest and most forgettable nitpick. Curiously, they made his, then later the Avengers', butler, Jarvis, the computer. In a way, I kind of like this as well but if and when they do an Avengers movie, will they be in the same universe? So far, none of the Marvel, or DC for that matter, movies have had any connection with each other but... Again, it was an interest

But Is It Art?

I probably haven't mentioned it but my Wednesday nights have become more complicated. I have the dance group as usual but for the past three weeks, a family counseling group was added and two weeks ago, the day of the alumni thing, there is also play rehearsals but that should be over at the end of the month. While all this was going on, I finished a book. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper is book one of the Dark is Rising sequence. Overall, I liked it very much. Given that this book was written less than a decade after the Narnia series by another Brit, I wasn't too surprised at the similarity in the writing. There were a couple confusing scenes such as Barney being captured and then, suddenly, he had an out-of-body experience and then was physically with his siblings and safe...Also, there really wasn't enough fantasy elements in it for me but as a piece of YA fiction, I did like it. Last night, I went to an "art-sharing event" at my church. It was a smal

The Life and Times Of A First-Time Published Author

No, I'm not starting a new blog; though I am working on a new website. No, the title refers to the fact most of this post is related to my book with a couple other points thrown in. I don't know if any one read my last post but the author talk with my former teacher was quite good. When I revealed to her who I was, her eyes widened, her jaw dropped and she came running over to give me a hug. Afterwards, she introduced me to one of her sons. I told him I was at his parents' wedding and his mother added she'd show him pictures when they got home. He seemed oddly interested. I don't know if I would have when I was 17 but whatever... The co-owner of the nearby bookstore was in attendance and I was able to check to see if he received the copy of my book I left him. He's reviewing it now. When I got home, I went on Amazon to look at my book again. The cover art and book blurb are up so that was cool. Another fact also caught my eye: it said there was only one copy le

While I Have Time To Kill

I figured I'd take this time to briefly give you more detail on the recent alumni party. It was held downtown and the purpose of which was to introduce the college's new online community. I had already registered but whatever. I get there ten minutes early. They're still setting up. As I mentioned on Twitter, only one other alum from the class of 1987 shows up. So the four of us, as one of the people from the Alumni office is also an alum, reminisce about my good old college, the nuns and everything. Even though it's been less than a decade, there's been changes. The radio station I worked at is now gone. I'm not surprised by this. Interest in it was waning when I went there. One of my favorite English teachers has retired but the one nun who once said if she retired she'd die apparently has stayed true to her word and is still there! Oddly, they don't go to Sea dogs games during Senior Week any more... My parents have finished reading my book. (Well, my

Concert of Bowls

Last night, my church hosted a local artist and her "singing crystal bowls." What is that, you ask? The bowls were fiberglass and of different size that kind of looked like a cross between punch bowls and light fixtures. She'd use two probably hollow sticks and, depending on whether she ran them along the inside or outside of the bowls, it would make some kind of sound; some high pitched. She says they were made using spare material from a computer factory. (I guess how exactly they're made she doesn't even know as it's a trade secret apparently.) Her program had 7 or 8 musical compositions but she paused only twice to reposition the bowls so the whole show was less than an hour. After, our ladies group served pineapple upside-down cake and fruit. When I arrived, the musician needed a place to meditate before her concert but the emcee of the evening could only think of the ladies' room for her to go. I offered to unlock the sanctuary for her. She thanked

It's Family Party Time Again!

Friday night, my parents came down because my grandfather's birthday party was yesterday. The three of us went to Friendly's. I hadn't been there in awhile so that was different. My mother and I went in to get a table while my father parked. We told the hostess there was three us. She asked if the other person needed a kid's menu. Thinking about this question later, "Yeah we have a two year old parking the car." When my mother said this, I responded, "Well, this is Maine..." Afterwards we soaked in the hot tub at their motel. This may have been the first time I went hot tubbing since my move to Portland... The party the next day was in two parts. We were joined by my grandfather and his wife at Applebee's. Also in attendance were two aunts, an uncle and one of my young cousins. Most of us were set to order from their "pick two item lunch menu" when the waitress noticed us reading it and informed us that was just Monday through Friday. I

More Soon I'm Sure.

I don't know if I have a readers that I don't have email addresses for but I wanted all who still don't know to know that my book, Winter Storm , while may not be officially released until May 31st (This is unconfirmed by publisher just my interpretation of their comments to me.), seems to be orderable at Amazon . I will, of course, keep you all posted on further developments.

Spring Is Here

It has been so gorgeous out yesterday and today. I hope it holds out for the weekend. I spent all day outside yesterday and spent a fair amount so far today. Today I tried a take-out burrito place down town and had a Brazilian Burrito. It had chicken, rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon and pineapple. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Maybe the kitchen sink...It was so good but I was craving a margarita, to celebrate the news item below so I stopped by the "real" Mexican place on the way back here. The biggest news is that the author, the author being moi , copies arrived in the mail yesterday. Funny, yet aggravating, story. I saw a package for me from the publisher before I went to work yesterday on the little shelf under the mailboxes but left it as I was going to my volunteer job and then grocery shopping so I didn't want to carry it around town. I come back to discover the package is gone. I think maybe my neighbor brought it up as he's wont to do

I Really Wish I Blogged Sooner

This past weekend, I went up to see my parents. This time I got a ride up with my boss as she was going to go and visit her sister who lived nearby. (It was at this point I realized I forgot to pack underwear. Thankfully I knew my parents had spares for just such an emergency...) We got a later start than I thought originally but the trip was pretty fun listening to her CDs and sharing the memories the songs had for us. We stopped for dinner and we both had fish and chips but I had white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. That was very good but a very small portion if you ask me. Saturday night, we saw Elizabeth on TV. It was the 1998 version with Cate Blanchett. The cast was amazing! I thought was good. Sunday, I went to my mother's church for a change and then the two of us went to see a live production of Jesus Christ Superstar . I had seen the movie of course but I had never seen it live before. I loved it! I especially enjoyed Herod's dancing girls... We decided t

Another Quick Update.

Only one person asked about the "surprise phone interview" I mentioned on Twitter but maybe some of you are shy. It was for a library director position at a private/boarding school up in Central Maine. I know what some of you are thinking, why am I thinking "big" and not trying for just an entry level position? Well, what they're asking for, I can do. If I get the job it'll mean moving again but we'll fall off that bridge when we get there. I have never had a unplanned phone interview before so I was caught off guard at first. I think got more comfortable as it went along but by that time, she was just asking me seemingly unimportant questions such as why I moved back to Maine and if I knew there was still snow up there. As always, we'll have to see but, in a way, it might have been a good thing they wanted a phone interview with me. Sometimes they are used to make the first round of cuts but sometimes they are the second... I'm going up to see

Sex In The (Little) City

Our movie loving cook friend came up this past weekend. No, we didn't watch any movies this time. Instead we watched the complete first two seasons of Sex in the City . My roommate had never seen any and she had never seen the original unedited versions. I had seen about three unedited episodes prior to this. It was an experience for us all. After she left I had to check to see if I was still male... Though it's just a stupid show and, in many ways, not related to my life ever, it did make me think about a few things. In one episode, Charlotte, who I think was the character I liked the most for many reasons, asked a man out. Though they all considered themselves "modern women," they seemed to feel doing so is "being the man" in the relationship. Is this typical for the average "real" woman? And, if so, why? In another episode, Miranda and a bartender broke up because she tried to buy him a suit and he felt emasculated. The class issue was also awkw