Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Just finished watching Stranger Than Fiction, starring Will Farrell. Beautifully written comedy (or was it a tragedy?) that hits home because I wish I could write as eloquently and so ironically. I am not a comedy writer, but I am an aspiring one. This movie was a real motivator.

Oh, and it's a great placement ad for Timex. Seriously.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

I am highly encouraged by this quote I found in Danny's page-a-day desk calendar, the 2007 "365 Stupidest Things Ever Said", by Ross and Kathryn Petras.

The entry for Tuesday, February 6th, 2007, was given to an editor of J.K.Rowling's, after her first Harry Potter book (Philosopher's Stone) was purchased for about $2000 in 1996. This editor told her:

"You'll never make any money out of children's books, Jo. Keep your real job."

Yowtch.

I love bittersweet justice. I also love it that editors, the guys who make or break a writer's ego and self-worth, can sometimes be wrong. That, coming from an aspiring writer who's New Year's resolution is to submit my manuscript this year.

Wish me luck. I'm almost into March. 9 more months of 2007 left to go.
I've been watching Mind Your Language the past week or so. The first thing that strikes you is the bell bottom pants and the open collar shirts.

Then there's the heavy British accents.

And then the jokes about foreigners.

It's a show that couldn't pass the ACLU and Politically-Correct Police censorship tests, but it sure is hell of a lot of fun. I've been laughing so much every night during dinner, or before going to bed, that it's sure keeping me more stress-free and cheerful during the day. Highly recommended as a stress buster.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Gong Xi Fa Cai...

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone. It's the Year of the Golden Pig. My year.

Oink.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Remember how I said I was "done" with my Origin stories?

Yeah, well, anyone ever heard of RE-writes? Yeah, I hate them too.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore deserves an Oscar for this documentary, and not because it was well done, but because he is a great spokesperson for global warming. As someone who has learned about global warming since Secondary 3, I believe what he says, and given all the crazy weather lately, what's not to believe? I hope someone steps forward and claims Richard Brandon's $25 million prize, because heck, I don't want my home country to go under when the ice caps melt. Yes, "when", because I absolutely agree that we're all frogs.

No...that's not a typo.

State of Fear

Michael Crichton's take on the whole issue. I read his book a while back, before I watched Al Gore's movie last night. When I finished the book, I was amazed at the way he rationalized both sides of the argument. Al Gore argues that there is no "both sides", that the side of the skeptics was invented by the popular press and by politicians. Well, who knows right? Personally, I think if Al Gore ever met Michael Crichton, he'd deck 'im for writing that book. And I like Michael Crichton, don't get me wrong, he writes great books. But State of Fear isn't helping the cause to combat global warming...

Oh my gosh, maybe Crichton secretly works for Mobil or Chevron...

Or maybe, Crichton's just thinking like a writer - whatever it takes to rake in the dough and readers. That's pretty much what I've been getting from all the writing books I've perused lately...

Friday, February 09, 2007

Wow...it's amazing how something traumatic (ie, being in Ankle Bar) can affect you. I dreamed that I had to go again, but I had 1 days' notice, and I had to fly on some crappy airline. And when I tried to check-in, I realized I didn't have my passport, and that since it was a Sunday, I couldn't go to the bank and get my passport from my safety deposit box.

You know things are going down the drain when you start having work-related nightmares.

Personally, I'm learning a lot, so my experience level is increasing. Which is fine. I just don't know about the company......