'Pan's Labyrinth'

I've walked past 'Pan's Labyrinth' a few times at the movie store and always wanted to see it. I want to rent it the next time I go to the store.

WHOA!!

I think this German kid might be upset-but I could be wrong...

I feel today: Apprehension before Action makes one dormant

My journey backwards: Verbalizing thoughts on my time
It all seemed to collect- The tears and shame of what happened years before was suddenly present again. I wasn’t prepared, and the pain felt raw and exposed. I walked to the corner store barefoot then sat on the curb in front of an oil stain observing my blistered feet. I twisted to look into the store front window and didn’t recognize myself. I fit nowhere- Not in the tall buildings with their faded carpet-corporate America, not in the cold grass under the sun-Hippy Child, not in the shadowed house-Fearful Agoraphobic. I kept squeezing back the voices and thought of how when the night falls, there will be no angels there for me but just the silence of my own failures.

Geico Gecko Love

WHY is he so awesome?!

This feels like MATH...

I feel your pain kitten...I feel your pain.


So I'm preparing to send out query letters for my book, and I started reading info on agent's sites and other writing blogs about exactly how to do this.
I started noticing people say that they were sending queries in regular snail mail envelopes...WHAT?! Regular envelopes?! Don't you have to put your 'Query Letter' AND sample in it?! I should use envelopes that look like this?!
...Are you people crazy?! ALL the papers AND a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) won't fit!!


Confused, I consulted agentquery.com.
They say- "We recommend mailing your query letter flat inside a bigger envelope (9 1/2 x 12 1/2). Drop in your standard sized No. 10 SASE and voilà! Everything fits perfectly, and no origami required. In addition, we highly recommend sending along the first five pages of your novel with your query letter, even if our submission guidelines only say, "query letter with SASE." Most literary agents will be happy to glance at a short sample (first 1-5 pages; no more!) of your writing included with your query letter."

"Okay!" I thought, "I'll just get a large pack of those (I'll probably end up sending about 100 queries)."

BUUUUUTTT

I looked on the 'Costco' website and DIDN'T see 9 1/2 x 12 1/2!! They have 9 1/2 x 14 1/2 (100 ct) for $40.61, but not the ones agentquery.com suggested!!

Here's the Costco envelopes

I had NO idea that this detail would be such a hassle. I mean, you want to optimize your chances of being considered by doing things the PERFECT way--Giving them EXACTLY what they want, but NO-It's got to be complicated!

This process is reminding me of math *visible cringe*, and I HATE math. I majored in Psychology and English (partially) in order to avoid things that feel like math (Tho I should really attempt to finally conquer grammar...It's a lot like math and is integral in writing--but
I have a guy who's wonderful at grammar and usually checks it for formal things).

With little patience left, I looked at Walmart.com and didn't see the envelopes there either!
...but I did find these...
...Storage Envelopes?! WTF does that mean?! ...No - Really! - What are these?! They must be for those Type A people who also measure the distance between the hangers in their closet. LAME!

I'm going to go to some stores tomorrow and see what I can find...
AND-FYI-This is the longest time I've ever spent on such an insignificant detail--EVER!

I thought about sending hate mail to agentquery.com and the others who confused the heck ou of me, but I couldn't decide which envelope to use for it...
then I saw this quote -
"Always write angry letters to your enemies. Never mail them."

...Does this blog count as an "angry letter?"

Lesson I learned: I HATE details...and envelopes.

Ane Brun

I had to write something about Ane Brun. She's a singer/songwriter originally from Norway by way of Sweden.
I heard her cover of Alphaville's 'Big In Japan' randomly a few months ago and fell out of the sky for it.
I remember closing my eyes the first time I heard it without being told to-It was natural, and witching. I had been thrust into a dark tunnel that spun with constellations and then was set gently back onto the sidewalk of a Tokyo and the cold air moved over my skin and disturbed my hair before dancing into the sky.
I've only had a reaction to a song in this way a couple of times before, so I knew this was special-Like finding what my mom calls a "Soul-Friend"-One who loves and intuitively understands all of you...I think of it as the friend version of a Soul Mate.

'Big In Japan' Ane Brun


Song Title Meaning:
"Many rock bands that are well past their prime continue to be 'Big in Japan' long after they cannot draw a large audience in the UK or US. The movie Spinal Tap also made fun of this phenomenon, as the band had a hit single in Japan just as they appeared to be washed up." (thanks, Eulbie - New York, NY)

Song Meaning:
In a 1998 interview with the German online magazine 'Re.flexion', Alphaville lead signer Marian Gold explained: "I must admit the only ones who understood the meaning of the song correctly were Bernhard (Lloyd) and our then publisher Andy Budde. Bernhard recognized the quality of the song and Andy the ability of its marketing. 'Big In Japan' tells about a couple of lovers trying to get off Heroin. They both imagine how great it would be to love without the drug: no steal, no clients, no ice age in the pupil, real emotions, true worlds. Till nowadays Berlin station Zoo is an important meeting place for junkies. That's why this place became a venue of the song. In 1977 I was quite regular in a club in Kreuzberg, the SO36. I hoped to meet David Bowie. There was the rumor he would be in Berlin for withdrawal treatment in that period. There was a fellow, who sold stuff of independent bands from US and UK. I bought the album of a British band named Big In Japan. "Big in Japan" meant so much as if you are nothing in your environs, you can be big somewhere else. You can be a king in another world. And if you aren't that, you can tell it at home. Japan is so far away. Anyway that statement fit perfectly to the story of the couple of lovers. So I used it for the refrain of the song."

What's a Christmas Gram?! I want one!!

No need for therapy when you have cupcakes!!

For $26, you can get this 'Holiday Jenny' Print. She has her work available on Etsy. It comes in various colors and I could really use one! You can see more of her work on Flicker.

Here's her entire description:

Actual print/lettering is much crisper than photo shows, due to glass.

Keep Calm And Have A Cupcake (vintage RED)

*original artwork and concept by Jenny & Aaron of Everyday is a Holiday
now available as a ready to frame matted print.

Authentic Concert Experiences I Wish I Had

This is Pearl Jam singing 'Better Man' in Rio De Janeiro in 2005. The quality of the recording reveals the reality of the experience. People cluster around you and a song starts, your heart swells and you begin to sing along with the lyrics just as a thousand other voices join in.


This is Nirvana singing 'Polly' in Texas(Yay! Texas!). The person who shot this must have been back stage. There are many things I wish I could go back in time for, and seeing Kurt Cobain perform is one of them. He had a sadness that personified the confusion, pain, and fear that accompany us like shadows.

Today I feel...

Lost In Translation


Bob: What do you do?
Charlotte: I'm not sure yet, actually.

Bob: Can you keep a secret? I'm trying to organize a prison break. I'm looking for, like, an accomplice. We have to first get out of this bar, then the hotel, then the city, and then the country. Are you in or you out?
Charlotte: I'm in. I'll go pack my stuff.
Bob: I hope that you've had enough to drink. It's going to take courage.

Disaster in 1986

My sis, Emmy, wrote this short to honor the Challenger Shuttle Mission that exploded on this day in 1986.

The Challenger Shuttle Mission in 1986

January 28, 1986

I remember:

It was a wonderful morning and mom and Penny where bringing me to preschool and suddenly we here this explosion and people had stop their cars. Everybody was wondering what was going on until they see a big orange and yellow cloud. Then we turned the radio on and they said that the Challenger had exploded while trying to leave the earth’s atmosphere. That was the day when people of Florida's hearts where broken.
I still remember that day going to preschool. Every time one of NASA shuttles launches at the KENNDEY SPACE CENETER I always think about the people who lost their lives. The shuttle exploded 73 seconds after launch, and all crew members were lost.
the cause of the disaster as a the failure of an “O-ring” seal in the solid-fuel rocket on the Space Shuttle Challenger's right side. The faulty design of the seal coupled with the unusually cold weather, let hot gases to leak through the joint. Booster rocket flames were able to pass through the failed seal enlarging the small hole. These flames then burned through the Space Shuttle Challenger's external fuel tank and through one of the supports that attached the booster to the side of the tank. That booster broke loose and collided with the tank, piercing the tank's side. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuels from the tank and booster mixed and ignited, causing the Space Shuttle Challenger to tear apart.
The Challenger Shuttle Crew
Mission specialist Ellison S. Onizuka, Teacher in Space Participant Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist Greg Jarvis and Mission specialist Judy Resnik, Pilot Mike Smith, Commander Dick Scobee, and Mission specialist Ron McNair.

So every January 28 stop and take a moment of silence and remember those who lost their lives that day .I know I will as a former Floridian every day and every time a shuttle launches I will always remember. At least they safe now and watching over the space station and the whole NASA program.

ALSO-

FEBUARY 1, 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster
This is an ACTUAL satellite photo of the explosion.

The Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster happened on Saturday 1st, February, 2003 and was the second Space Shuttle Disaster and the first shuttle lost on landing. There was shock around the world over the tragedy.
The reason for the break up: it seems the left wing was hit by a piece of foam from the Space Shuttle External Tank (ET) during launch. At the time of the launch it was judged that event did not represent safety concern.
The seven STS-107 crew members who died in an explosion of the Shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003, are: Rick D. Husband, mission commander; Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; and William C. McCool, pilot, David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark, and Michael P. Anderson, all mission specialists; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist representing the Israeli Space Agency.Five of the seven astronauts killed aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia were serving U.S. military officers.

SO ALSO REMEMBER THAT DAY WHILE IN HOUSTON WHERE YOU WHERE WHEN THIS HAPPENED. ALSO KEEP ALL THE CREW FAMILY MEMBERS IN YOUR HEART ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY WHILE YOU WATCH.

*Original writing by Emmy Lou Roberts*
Cause info via aerospaceguide.net and space.about.com

Ellen's and Paris Go Clubbing

This video is HILARIOUS!
Ellen and her new BFF - Paris Hilton go clubbing. Watch it! :)

Britney looking AWESOME!!

...Most of us we're worried for Britney last year. She had a breakdown, faltered in her POP-craft, and seemed to lose her way - As evidenced here at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards....ouch!

BUT!!!!!!! She seems to be overcoming her demons and working hard again!

Lookin good!



Britney.com just posted some pics of Britney looking soo great during rehearsals for her 'Circus' Tour!
She's gone through such a difficult time the last couple of years, and I'm glad to see her looking like BRITNEY again! YAY!!!

Here's a link to her latest music video, 'Circus'!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zeR3NSYcHk

Penny Poetry

Many of you know my penchant for horror/suspense thrillers in literature. This poem shows that side of me--as opposed to the marshmallow, Lisa Frank, cotton candy side. I saw that Stephen King once said, "Those of us who read and write horror are probably the ones who are most afraid and hasten our breath in the dark. Confronting these fears in literature is a way to control and release them."

YES- This poem is FICTION-Though I DID base "taupe flats" on a certain gal... but chances are it's not you :) If you're easily upset, please don't read it!

“…so that’s what happened?!”

Truth was never a consequence in your mind-

And my stomach boiled.

Except on Sundays-

Or talking to a friend.

Your painted face never buried your vice-

To those of us who knew too much.

Summer grew old-

And I discovered two halves

One divine,

The other dank,

Your disguise waned-

And my stomach boiled.

It was late-

The hour-

When your moments quit.

After I slit your throat-

That’s when I stopped caring.

When I strung you up by one foot and you were wearing your taupe flats-

They shone with gloss as you swung.

Back and forth

Back and forth

In front of me-

You leaked-

Dripping on my blue, unvaccumed carpet.

I pursed my lips and went for the remote-

And my stomach boiled.

On top of the record player were the cheerios-

Not in their box.

That annoyed me.

More than the slight

Swish

Swish

In the corner of my eye.

Now-Dismembered in red-faced rejections, you move in shifts.

Still - beneath dark soil,

Seething - beneath my skin.

So I run,

Tap, tapping on the pavement,

Until a whimper is,

And I – unaware, approach.

And there you grow-

A legume of indifference,

Without patience - Unless for you.

But now- my stomach lies quiet.

PR 11/20/2008

...If I freaked you out, sorry - BUT remember that there are MUCH more frightening things in the world........things like.......................................

...There....Now don't you feel better?!

Read It, Loved It, Passed on the Treasure

My very good friend, Joshua David Fraga's book, Neo-Vamp is available on Amazon.com! He's an amazing writer of fantasy/thriller/action fiction.
Here's a short description:
Vampires… For centuries people have told and written about these creatures of the night. Stories made to frighten us, and remind us why we are scared of the dark. But aren’t these stories, just stories after all? What if vampires came into existence only because we made them? I invite you to take a look into the most realistic take on vampires ever written. Nothing supernatural, mystic, or paranormal, just real and raw. Our tale revolves around the leader of the coven, Devlin Marques. As charismatic as he is deadly, it is quickly found out that vampires of his kind are nothing like the ones in books. He and his kind must find a way to live and thrive in the life that they chose. But what happens when a man makes a demon of himself, only to realize, deep down, he is still a man? As addicting as it is spellbinding, Neo-Vamp is an action-packed story filled with delicious twists and a jaw-dropping ending.

CONGRATS, JOSHUA!!!
-his collection of short stories, Visions In Vertigo is also available!
You can click on the novel names I linked to above, or search his name on Amazon.com to get your copy!!

Captain Random Strikes Again

You MUST go to perpetualkid.com!!! It's a site of fun and quirky products...here are a few.

A blanket that heats up by being plugged into a computer's USB drive. Saw this and thought of Kathy!
Travel mug that says what needs to be said!
GREEN PRODUCT!!! This jar collects sunlight to power the LED lights inside for a warm glow that feels like a bright sunset.
Pot Cologne....................hhhmmmm.......................................................
Cupcake Bandaids! Awesome!

Tattoo Bandaids! Double Awesome!!

Will Ferrell Broadway Spectacular!

Will Ferrell's Broadway spectacular, You're Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush, was last week's most attended show!

99.6% of tickets available were sold! It did even better than established huts Wicked (94%) and Jersey Boys (93%).

Congrats to Will and the cast, including Pia Glenn as Condalezzie Rice!

Here's Will Ferrell as George Bush from an SNL skit.




I had to add the "Cowbell Skit" from SNL with Will Ferrell. It's probably the funniest 6 minutes in tv!

Screen Actor's Guild Awards Fashion Crunch

Katie Holmes in Jil Sander....She looks good, but she's like a totally different person now that she's with Tom. She must have sold her soul to be with him and included her youthful body in the package.

Angelina in Max Azria. She's becoming more an more boring isn't she?!


Eva Longoria Parker in Jenny Packham. She looks like giant cupcake-in a bad way! Eww!


Emily Blunt in a Pamella Roland slip gown. I LOVE her acting, but her pulled back hair makes her look severe. She should only do that hair if she's in ballet class.


Jennifer Morrison in Anne Valerie. I like it-She's reminiscent of the 70's.


'Mad Men's' Christina Hendricks in Carolina Herrera......eww...I don't like the dress OR her. I think she should lose weight-She's in Hollywood, not De Moines!


Viola Davis in David Meister. Many gals were sporting the one shoulder look that Michelle Obama rocked at the inagural Ball--and I like it! Viola looks perfect...AND her name is super fun to say, "Viola!!"
Not SAG-Inagural Ball---
Michelle's Ball dress was by Jason Wu - The young designer was born in Taiwan and has been compared to Oscar De La Renta. I think he adds whimsy to classic looks!
The dress will, as tradition states, be donated to the 'Smithsonian'.


America Ferrera looks uber boring in Vera Wang....Is the dress making me think she's boring...or her?! I can't decide.
Her show, "Ugly Betty" is being replaced in it prime time slot by 'Samantha Who?', but it's not being canceled- Hello, Kiss of death!! She should shine up her resume!
AND she was caught smoking at the SAG awards while sitting next to Breast Cancer survivor Christina Applegate--that's just tacky!



Christina Applegate in Emanuel Ungaro. I think the grecian look is over and her hair looks hard-not good!


Holly Hunter in Reem Acra. ---She should Fed-Ex Barbie back her dress.


Jenna Fischer in Pamela Roland.....I dunno--I love her, but her look is not flattering.--Made me think of Macaroons that are flavored with licorice...nice, but no!




Evan Rachel Wood in Monique Lhullier. I like it, but her hair looks like it was colored by a tanning bed and the roots are BLACK! weird! She's one of my fav actresses tho!

Anne Hathaway in Azzaro. I think she looks great, but her hair looks messy in a bad way.


BEST of NIGHT!!


Kyra Sedgwick in VINTAGE Chanel! She's soooo classic here in Chanel black/white! In ten years, we can look at this pick and still say that she's perfect! The hair is loose, and the dress falls in the right places. - My only complaint is her balck nail polish seems tired-that trend is so last year and not old enough to be vintage along with the dress.



WORST OF NIGHT!!!!

Terri Hatcher in Monique Lhullier.
.....Project Runway paper dress challenge has nothing on this stiff atrocity! Make it Stop!!!

Funny Shirts!

I found these shirts on Threadless.com
:) He reminds me of the big caterpillar from "A Bug's Life"!
If you can't read it, it says, "Movies: Ruining the book since 1920"
Tis True!
...Evil Raisins!
I'll be there!
All Psychology boils down to this.....
...This reminded me of Jason!

Hello, Cupcake!

These are some cupcakes I made for Easter and my mom's b-day. The flowers were made with fondant that I colored. The one purple rose above seems to have a drooping petal :)

'Ace of Cakes' and Guitars

The 'Ace of Cakes' show always makes me smile. My sis, Emmy and I are always sure to watch the new episodes when they premiere.
This is a video of Geoff(my fav!)- I had no idea he played the guitar!
I got a guitar from my Aunt Joan(Thanks Aunt J!!), and I've just started learning. My fingers hurt!!
Anywho, hopefully I 'll be able to play like this one day...
'Penny, Unplugged'....sounds AWESOME!!!!

Here's Geoff playing a jam

Top Ten Reasons Why I Procrastinate:

I have a full novel(commercial fiction) first draft completed, but I still haven't edited the first chapters to send them to agents...I don't know why...It's a problem.