Archive for May, 2011

Just Watched: LadyHawke


31 May

I first saw LadyHawke when I was 11 or 12. It was the most romantic movie ever; Matthew Broderick was beyond cute; I fell in love with Rutger Hauer, and I wanted to be Michelle Pfeiffer. It has remained one of my favorite movies over the years, and it holds up fairly well, with a couple notable exceptions.

The soundtrack is awful. There needs to be a director’s cut with a different soundtrack.

Apparently it hasn’t been digitally remastered, or at least the Netflix version available for download hasn’t. It did not translate well on to our big screen HDTV.

Remembering


30 May

Today is Memorial Day, a day for remembering our fallen soldiers, police officers, and firefighters- really anyone who has died in the line of service. I honor the memories of every one of those men and women.

Given the recent death of my grandmother, though, today I also want to remember those who served in a different way- the wives and husbands of those who go off to fight, protect our cities, and put out the flames. Thank you for taking care of those who take care of us. Your sacrifices make their possible, and I, for one, am grateful.

Roller Derby: Rat City All Stars vs Oly Rollers Costra Nosa Donnas


29 May

If you read my recaps of Western Regionals you know that Oly (and RockyMountain) is a tier above all the other teams. Oly is ranked number 2 nationally, and Seattleis 6th in the West. The bout went about as well asRatCity could have expected it to (losing by a little over 100 points).

I am unhappy withRatCity’s strategy and jammer rotation. Why aren’t Juliet Bravo and Re-AnimateHer jamming? But I’m not the coach. And at Western Regionals this year, I will cheer forRatCity, but I’ll also be rooting for the Oly Rollers.

Weekend Posts


28 May

I’ve decided not to stress if weekend posts aren’t up at 8am. It’s still be my goal to get them written the night before and have them auto-post, but if it doesn’t happen, I’m not going to beat myself up about it. I do this for fun. It shouldn’t add stress to my life. As long as a post gets up sometime in the morning on weekends, I’ll call it good.

This plan will allow me to sleep in on weekends without feeling like I should get up and get a post written. Instead, I’ll write it when I’m ready.

Basic Money Rules


27 May

Spend less than you make.

Pay yourself first.

Have a plan.

Even if you don’t respond well to rules, as the original poster says she doesn’t, sometimes it still helps to know what they are. As my writing teacher used to say, follow a rule until you can explain why you’re breaking it.

Sometimes it’s good to get back to basics, ideas that apply to everyone, whether they’re struggling paycheck to paycheck or putting millions in the bank for retirement.

Not everyone is the same, but this Back to Basics thread still has information that just about everyone can use.

I Slept, Sue Me


26 May

MythBusters was a re-run last night, which is a good thing, considering I fell asleep at 8:30pm. Next week will be a new episode, though.

My habit of recording American Idol and only watching the performances meant that I had no idea the final performance night would be Tuesday (it has been on a Wednesday Thursday schedule all season) so we missed that, and then chose not to watch the results show. After all, simply having msn.com open means I see who won every couple minutes.

Things are crazy at our house, but hopefully we’ll find a new normal soon.

The Voice (4)


25 May

I think I’m understanding Christina’s strategy. The first battle round, when she put up two incredibly strong singers against each other, I was a little concerned that she may be hurting her chances. But now that we’re through three battle rounds, I’m getting it. She takes two similar singers each week and has them battle. That way, she’s left with the strongest person, in that style, on her team.

I didn’t like the arrangement used by Blake’s singers (and didn’t much like either of them). Also, “Creep” is not a good song for a singing competition, just for future reference.

Just Finished Reading: Green Diamonds by Daniel W Kelley (3)


24 May

The individual characters in Green Diamonds are very well drawn, and with one exception, their individual motivations are clear and understandable. You care about the characters the way you are meant to care about them, and the individual endings are, for the most part, quite satisfactory.

The only ending I had a problem with was Steve’s. I thought I understood his motivation, but his final scene fell outside that motivation, and I do not think I was given enough information to understand why.

I also would have liked more information about Izael and Soraya’s ending, but it was emotionally satisfying.

Just Finished Reading: Green Diamonds by Daniel W Kelley (2)


23 May

I may be harsher on Daniel than I would be on an author I don’t know. This book is as good or better than a lot of stuff being put out by the publishing houses right now, but as someone who has critiqued parts of this novel before, I see areas that could be improved, that could have benefited from professional editing.

There are sections in the beginning that really could have used tightening. And over 2/3 of the book is individual character set up. There is very little development of the relationships that end up driving the book’s conclusion.

Just Finished Reading: Green Diamonds by Daniel W Kelley (1)


22 May

Let’s start with the disclaimer. I know Daniel Kelley. I was a fellow student and TA in a writing class where Daniel was working on this book. I love his writing, his lush descriptions and well drawn characters. Given that, I really, really wish he had not gone the self-publishing route. Daniel is talented enough that if he had given the process the time a patience it needs, he could have had a publishing house behind him, with a chance to make a real name for himself. In addition, the lamination is already coming off the cover of the book.

100 Words On

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