Entertain Me

All Hail the Furminator!

~ Shara ~ 4 Comments

I’ve been following author Cherie Priest for a good many years now, and by following, I’m talking about the legal, read-the-blog-and-all-her-books kind of way, not the stalker kind of way. At any rate, some time ago, and it’s been so long I don’t remember what year it was, she posted about a handy little cat brush that her cat adored, which was impressive since — if I remember correctly — her cat didn’t like being brushed.

This caught my attention. Obviously, because I have a cat, but also because at the time, I’d only get to brush Storm Shadow for so long before he decided the brush was his mortal enemy and he’d turn around and attack it.

I figured if this brush worked for Cherie Priest’s cat, maybe it’d work for mine too. So I bought the Furminator.

And it did not disappoint. In fact, I was so happy with the the product I bought brushes for my family members who also had cats. I’ve heard that dog owners who’ve bought the brushes have been thrilled as well. Of course, with any product, you can’t make everyone happy, and the version I use is quite old, not the one that’s currently for sale on the website.

I should note this post is not meant to be a shill for the product. No one’s asked me to post this, I’m not getting paid for it, etc. No, the reason I’m talking about it is to tell a little story about my Friday evening.

You want to know how much my cat loves being brushed with the Furminator? When he sees me get it out, he will literally run over and jump in my lap to get brushed. And while getting brushed, he will also drool.

That’s how much he loves the Furminator.

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Currently Writing: Codename: Magic Twins
Last night’s word count: 1,113 words
Total word count: 7,013 words
Ended up writing far more than I expected last night, and I ended up really liking the scene that came out. When you’re discovery drafting, sometimes characters surprise you. I’m starting to wonder if my hero’s love interest is actually who I thought it was when I began.

Currently Reading: Jeff VanderMeer’s Acceptance
This is only taking a while because I’ve had very little time to read. This weekend doesn’t look promising on the reading front either, but I’m enjoying it so far. I swear this trilogy belongs in the same category as the television show Lost and the comic book series Morning Glories, and I hearby declare that category as “Weird-Ass But Fascinatingly Wonderful Shit.” I mean “shit” in the best, coolest way.

Next up: Saturday, I shall finally go see Into The Woods, which I’ve been dying to do ever since I heard this movie was coming out. My expectations are in check for the second half, but I still can’t wait to see the whole thing on the big screen. When I was in high school, we did this musical my senior year. I was Cinderella’s step-mom. We also hope to finish watching the final season of Boardwalk Empire. Two episodes left!

Oh, and also on Saturday? I shall make lemon pie.

Haunt Me Senseless, Haunt Me Sane

~ Shara ~ Leave a comment

So it’s that time of year when I really, really need to figure out how to allocate my vacation days. There’s a few writing weekends I’ve got on the ballot, and my husband and I usually do SOME kind of big trip together. Last year was Minnesota, and previous years have been Atlanta. This year, we don’t have any plans.

Yet.

A couple writer friends of mine talked about doing the ghost tour at Missouri State Penitentiary. There used to be overnight tours, which is what we were discussing, but even with what’s available now, I have to admit to a singular thrill at the idea of visiting such an old prison, learning about its history, and learning about its ghosts. I’m starting to recognize the need in myself to have eccentric vacations, so that I can command a conversation by saying stuff like, “Oh, I went to prison voluntarily,” so I can get the weird looks, the double-takes, and then I’ll double-down on the weirdness by saying, “Oh, and it’s haunted.”

I’m not saying I believe, mind you. I’m not saying I don’t believe either.

I’m saying this is a very, very tempting vacation.

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Currently Writing: Codename: Magic Twins
Last night’s word count: 883 words
Total word count: 5,900 words
I surprised myself by my word count last night. It was Info-Dump-R-Us, but the momentum rolled longer than I expected. But it did impress upon me the need to sit down and lay out my characters, my magic system and world-building to date. If only to keep it straight in my own mind. This story is a weird one, because I’ve been wanting to write an urban fantasy for years now, and my brain’s been testing ideas, running them through, coming up with new ones and mixing and matching and everything’s this synthesized mess in my head. In previous discovery drafts, I had such vague broad strokes that it made sense to discover it as I wrote. Or I knew my world so well that all I was discovering was my characters’ stories. This, not so much. I think I need to discover things outside of the drafting process, if only to ground things a bit, which will allow room for other discoveries.

Currently Reading: Jeff VanderMeer’s Acceptance
Hoping to get more reading done over the weekend. It’s been a tough week for reading-time.

Next up: FRIDAY!!! YAY FOR FRIDAY!!!! Does anything else really need to be said?

You’re On To Me, I Know

~ Shara ~ Leave a comment

Today, I bring you something slightly different. I’m working on an extensive post about writing and what it means to write for fun, for money, or for both. Because of that, I’m going to keep the daily down to a single song. It looks like it’s a video, but it isn’t, so you can press play and keep reading.

The song in question is “Lost” by Kris Allen. I stuck it in my playlist for the current project, and every night, I put the playlist on shuffle and this song keeps popping up randomly. So now, I’m passing along the earworm to you, in hopes that you enjoy it.

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Currently Writing: Codename: Magic Twins
Last night’s word count: 294 words
Total word count: 5,017 words
I know, last night was crap for production, but that’s okay. I had two LONG days in a row, and I started writing later that I would’ve liked. However, since the goal is one double-spaced page a day, I’m doing quite nicely. Also, it’s hard to concentrate when 1) the cat is being adorable with his toys and 2) the cat wants to be in your lap.

Currently Reading: Jeff VanderMeer’s Acceptance
I was finally able to read on my lunch break today. Yay! The kitty helped by keeping my lap warm.

Next up: busy evening, but nothing like the past few days. Grabbing dinner at Subway with the hubby, then doing a quick run to the grocery store. Then home for… Sleepy Hollow? Watching the hubby play Dragon Age: Inquisition while I blog? Writing? Reading the VanderMeer? All of the above? Only time will tell. I do know that my main goal for the evening and going into tomorrow is not to freeze my ass off. Because seriously, it’s getting cold.

Today’s headline brought to you from Kris Allen’s album, Horizons. You can hear “Lost” by clicking the “video” above.

Cat Be Nimble, Cat Be Quick

~ Shara ~ 6 Comments

Today was my first physical therapy session of 2015. Somehow and miraculously, I’m getting stronger, which is news to me, since I’ve done a shit job of taking care of myself the past three months. Of course, 2015 is a new year, and I resolve to do better, but I assumed my session today would kick my ass.

But apparently I’m getting stronger. My therapist wanted to try some new exercises with me today, and while he was setting up one of them, I made the smart-ass remark, “Oh great. You’re gonna make me jump those, aren’t you?”

“Oh no,” he said, “But we can do that next!”

And despite my protests, he set up two jumping exercises while I attempted this balance and coordination thing with a four-pound ball that’s apparently supposed to be strength-training.

The jumping exercises: in one case, I had to jump up on a step. “Light as a cat!” he kept telling me, and I told him that was a bad analogy: my cat is a 17lbs cat, and there’s nothing light about the way he jumps. As I practiced the exercise, he kept reminding me, “Light as a cat!” and I decided to think differently: spry as a kitten. Yes, that works. Funny that last night, one of the lines I wrote a few times during my free-writing session involved my heroine thinking she’s weak as a kitten.

There’s some kind of irony in that, me thinking I’d be weak as a kitten before my session, and then being a spry one instead.

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Currently Writing: Codename: Magic Twins
Last night’s word count: 1,217 words
Total word count: 3,833 words
A good session last night, despite writing in bed. Since I’ve got a laptop now, I’m trying to mix up the writing locations a bit, keep myself from getting into a rut or settling into super-bad posture, which is what I think sparked the migraine of DOOM back in October. And after hearing the 12/21/14 episode of Writing Excuses, I think it’s an even better decision: all too often, we forget that writing is supposed to be FUN. I think more thoughts are coalescing about this topic, so they’ll get their own post, but the point is, I’m trying to mix things up this year, writing what I what, when I want, how I want. We’ll see how it goes.

Currently Reading: Jeff VanderMeer’s Acceptance
Enjoyed the Alexie, but now it’s time to start nibbling at my pre-Hugo reading pile. Finishing up VanderMeer’s weird-but-wonderful trilogy is a must.

Next up: tonight we finished up the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises, and I have some THOUGHTS about the re-watch. Those can come later. We’re saving tonight’s new episodes of Gotham and Sleepy Hollow for later this week, but tomorrow, I’m super-excited to be watching the two-hour premiere of Agent Carter live. What’s Agent Carter, you may ask? Just put Marvel, the television show Alias and the year 1946 in a blender, and that’s Agent Carter. I can’t wait. I hope to hell it’s worth it.

Lazy Sundays Are The Best

~ Shara ~ 5 Comments

It’s unseasonably warm today, so I opened the back bedroom door to the deck so Storm Shadow could laze in the sun and stare out the storm door and keep watch over the great outdoors. The weather forecast is calling for stupidly cold temperatures starting tomorrow, which I suspect may wreck havoc with my sinuses, but for now, it’s good to sit back, relax, and enjoy the sun before the work week starts. It’s gonna be a busy week.

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Currently Writing: Codename: Magic Twins
Last night’s word count: 360 words
Total word count: 2,615 words
Not much, but it was still my double-spaced page-a-day, and that’s the goal. Movie lasted a while and I’d had a couple of drinks while watching, and when you’re reducing your calories, alcohol hits harder and faster than what you’re used to. Hopefully, what little I wrote is somewhat coherent.

Currently Reading: Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
I’ve been meaning to read this award-winning book for a very long time, and I only just started. It’s going to be a fast read, which is good, because my next few picks are going to have to focus on books that I think I may want to nominate for the Hugos.

Next up: More laundry! Probably forgoing completing the Batman marathon as the hubby wants to watch football and I want to watch the premiere of Galavant, which looks delightfully fun and ridiculous. I think I’ll have popcorn. Tomorrow the work week starts in earnest, and I have my first physical therapy session of the year. Yay?

I Feel Like October….

~ Shara ~ 2 Comments

It was an odd morning: I slept in, something I do less and less as I get older, and I was attempting to respond to a text message with my left hand (the right was pinned down by Storm Shadow, my 17 lbs cat who thinks I’m his personal body pillow), when my husband came in the bedroom and asked, “You wanna help me wash my car?”

My response, after the word, “No,” was, “Are you crazy? It’s January.”

But the weather is warm today, and it’s not supposed to rain until the afternoon, and my husband said his car is filthy, so I grudgingly disturbed the cat and got out of bed to help. Helping means hose-duty, so while my husband was scrubbing, I stared out at the neighborhood and thought how it felt like October. The air, the car-wash itself. All that was missing was the warm, bright patches of colors decorating the trees and the scent of fall in the air.

Of course, the trees were bare. It’s January, and I’m standing outside in a Tennessee Titans sweatshirt, a pair of cargo pants, and a headband covering my ears, holding a wet water-hose with my bare, slightly numb fingers while water drips and drops and soaks me from my rain galoshes up to the cuffs of my pants.

The things we do for love.

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Currently Writing: Codename: Magic Twins
Last night’s word count: 675 words
Total word count: 2,254 words
Storm Shadow helped me write last night. And by help, I mean he lay on the floor, looking adorable, and at opportune times would stretch out on his side, revealing the glorious white, furry belly of DOOM. And by doom, I mean this: How to Pet a Kitty by The Oatmeal, item #4. I rarely resist. But I also distract him with his Angry Bird catnip toys first, just to be safe. He adores those things.

Currently Reading: Carrie Vaughn’s Low Midnight
I think I’ll be able to finish this today. As mentioned yesterday, I’m really enjoying it, and damn, I never visualized Cormac as hot, especially with whole mustache thing going on, but I keep looking at the cover and changing my mind. Yes, I’m shallow.

Next up: In terms of house work, I’ve got sheets and blankets in the wash. I’m also slowly working my way through my TBR comics pile, and I hope that once I catch up, I can stay caught up, and maybe talk about comics and series I enjoy with a little more frequency. There shall be football tonight as well, and the hubby and I are also going to continue the Christopher Nolan Batman marathon with The Dark Knight.  I’ll have thoughts on this trilogy when we’re done with the re-watch, but I’m keeping them to myself for now.

I’m so glad the weekend is here.

People Think I’m Crazy, But I’m a Different Kind of Sane…..

~ Shara ~ 4 Comments

The only days I worked this week were Monday and Friday. You might think me crazy, just taking the middle off, but if you like Oreo’s, you know why the middle is the best.

I’m actually glad to have gone in today: I had the office to myself and it allowed me to catch-up on everything I missed so that when I come in next Monday, I’ll be ready to go.

That being said, there should be rules against people wanting to do business late Friday afternoons or early Monday mornings. Because seriously, no one’s wanting to do a thing at those times, even if the office IS open, you know?

My luck, the next early Monday morning is going to be crazy. I’ll shut up now while I’m ahead.

Currently Writing: Codename: Magic Twins
Last night’s word count: 569 words
Total word count: 1,579 words
This project was just added to the Works In Progress page, if you’re interested in some background.

Currently Reading: Carrie Vaughn’s Low Midnight
All I have to say about this book is that if the rest of Kitty’s stories were told from Cormac’s point of view, I’d be a super-happy reader. This is just so much fun, and a great new perspective on a series I know so well.

Next up: getting ready to marathon Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy this weekend. Need to do my daily page of writing, and I’m hoping to create a template for daily physical therapy workouts this weekend. We’ll see.

Culture Consumption: December 2014

~ Shara ~ 6 Comments

Ah, 2014 has finally ended, and with that, I say good riddance! At least the stuff I was reading and watching was thoroughly enjoyable, so let’s see where December ended up.

Books

My goal for 2014 was to read 50 books. If you don’t count the novellas/novelettes/short stories, then I fell just shy of that goal. However, if you include those (some of those novellas were pretty hefty!), then my total for the year was 95, which is more on course for what I was reading back in my book blogging days. Still short, but considering the kind of year this has been, quite respectable.

44) Symbiont by Mira Grant
45) Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
46) The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Short Fiction

45) The Ninety-Ninth Bride by Catherine F. King
46) The Astronomer Who Met the North Wind by Kate Hall
47) The Awakened Kingdom by N.K. Jemisin
48) Snakes and Ladders by Seanan McGuire
49) White As a Raven’s Wing by Seanan McGuire

Comics

It utterly amazes me at the number of comics I read every year. Seriously, I added it up, and I read a total of 283 individual issues this year. There’s definitely down from previous years, but the way the issues have piled up is overwhelming, and I still have a very large TBR comic pile. There’s some series that are ending, which is good, and some series I’m pretty close to quitting. That said, I’d like to be more judicious and selective in the my titles for 2015, and keep it to the stuff I’m really into.

Individual Issues:

Batgirl #37
Black Widow #12
Black Widow #13
Ms. Marvel #10
Sex Criminals #8
Sex Criminals #9
Sleepy Hollow #2
The Massive #29

Movies

My husband and I had an epic Harry Potter marathon in December, which was a helluva lot of fun, because it’s been a while since I’ve seen these and it was a lot of fun to go back to the start, knowing how the series ends, and see all the little clues I missed the first time around. I look forward to do the same with the books, but that’s a marathon for a much later time.

Total movies seen this year? 14 total in theaters, and 61 in the comfort of my own home.

In December, we watched the following:

A Christmas Story
Elf
Guardians of the Galaxy
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Home Alone
Palo Alto
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (in theaters)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1 (in theaters)
Total Recall (1990)

Television Shows

We didn’t finish and seasons this month, but we completed a total of 46 seasons of stuff. Damn, that’s a lot of television, but when you consider a nice portion of those to be marathons of Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and Friday Night Lights, it takes up a good portion, and most of the television we watch is during the fall to summer season, so it’s an episode a week for a limited number of shows. Still, those seasons do add up, don’t they?

That’s it from me! Also, feel free to share whatever 2014 stats you’ve got! How many books? How many movies? What were your favorites? Lay them on me!

Cheers!

Becoming Janus

~ Shara ~ 14 Comments

Happy New Year’s Eve! It’s the time of year to sit down, reflect on what’s gone by, to look forward to the future, and to attempt to mold that future through a resolution or two. It sounds daunting because we’re talking about, yanno, a year, and it sounds daunting because we usually have BIG IDEAS and BIG PLANS for that year, and often, it’s easy to fall off the saddle before January has even wrapped up.

I have some friends who don’t do resolutions. Not just the ones who don’t do resolutions at all, but those who simply have a different approach. My friend Nu Yang names her years: she gives herself a theme and focuses each year to make sure everything she does is supporting that theme. I love that idea. It’s not one I can embrace for myself, because I need more direction, but I love it. However one approaches a new year, if it works, hats off to you!

As for me, it’s time to reflect: what happened, where I am now, and what I hope to maybe accomplish in 2015. If you’re interested, just click the cut. If you’re not, Happy New Year! May your 2015 be better than 2014.

I sure as hell hope mine is.

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Show, Don’t Tell: How It Works in Total Recall

~ Shara ~ Leave a comment

On Sunday, I watched Total Recall for the first time. Not the remake, but the original. I know, I know… I’m late to the party. But after watching the film, I noticed a very simple, straight-forward thing the film did that followed the rule of “Show, Don’t Tell” when it comes to world-building. Because Total Recall came out in 1990, I’m not worried about spoilers, but I promise not to be overly specific outside of discussing the specific world-building situations themselves.

Situation #1: The movie opens with the main characters in space suits walking around on Mars. Because they’re in a mountainous area, the footy is rocky, and one of them slips, slides down the mountain, and their face plate cracks open. The movie then proceeds to show us what happens to the character when deprived of air in the Martian atmosphere. Don’t worry, I haven’t spoiled anything for you.

Situation #2: The main character is going through his normal morning routine. One portion of his morning commute to work is to walk through the security scanner on his way to the subway. The security scanner, of course, scans for weapons, and of course, the main character walks through, no weapons visible.

Situation #3: At one point, the main character receives new tech to help him on his mission, and one of the pieces is a watch-type thing that projects a mirror-image hologram of whomever is wearing/holding the tech.  It’s nifty.

What’s cool about these three situations? Because each of these three situations sets something up: no explanation is given, and when the story comes back around, the viewer knows what’s going to happen when that tech/situation comes into play. The first go-around in each situation shows how something works, and the second go-around shows what it does in reference to the story. All of this without info-dumping exposition.

Which is neat. Total Recall might be an older, more classic SF movie, but I appreciated the straight-forward storytelling, and the trust the writers place in the viewer. A good lesson, even if it’s a little obviously telegraphed how things are going to work.