Thursday, November 29, 2007

Okay, I admit it

Earlier this year when I first heard that Bruce Willis was going to star in yet another 'Die Hard' sequel I was skepitcal to say the least. He's getting pretty old to be playing a hard hitting heo... well I thought so anyway, until I saw the movie. Darned if that man doesn't age well! He's still plenty believable as the loveable underdog fighting a seemingly never-ending number of terrorists bent on total destruction. What I REALLY loved about Die Harder though was more than just Bruce's ability to carry off the loan cop hero role, it was that THIS was my kind of movie... not only did it combine my favorite types of terrorism (if favorite type is the way to describe it, lol) which includes tech hacking of the computer systems, in this case nationwide almost Y2K type of computer shut downs. I've been saying for years, ever since the Y2K scare came and went without a real hitch--if terrorists were paying attention back then, they would have SEEN the best way to 'take us down'. This movie really makes you worry about the security of our lifestyles that are so tied into computer technology, and uses believable government based characters to do it. It is a political, and computer espionage thriller and that is my all time favorite combination so this movie was a real hit!

So Happy

They say that good things come to those who wait. Well, as some of you know, patience is not one of my virtues. Still, with this particular situation I had no choice but to simply shrug and see what happened. A few months ago I got into a great on-line company that wrote web content for SEO companies. It was fanastic money, and there was (it seemed) an endless supply of work. Well, it ran well for a couple months and then the company closed down siting that they had been affiliated with only one SEO company and when things went sour between them they lost their workload, but they'd try to reopen soon... well, I suppose soon is a relative term, and I had about given up hope of any reappearance of the company when I got an email... yes, they re-opened! While they are slowly rebuilding, and the workload isn't near to what it was before yet, there is reason to rejoice. It was also nice to have been contacted and asked to come back. Obviously they weren't just 'being nice' before when they said they liked my work, they were anxious to have me back and that was a nice ego boost just by itself. I got to do some work for them this week, and it felt great to be back in the swing again. Hoping the load picks up and really starts to move again soon, but I'm happy that it has reserected at all. And hey, best news yet, they even gave me a raise! Yeah, it's nice to work for a company that knows how to 'really' show their appreciation. :)

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Internet Telemarketers

Popups are annoying. They're kind of a staple of internet advertising, but they jam up the screen, and are sort of the high-tech version of a telemarketer. You don't really want the product, you weren't looking for the product, it just pops up in front of your face and you're forced to look at it, at least for as long as it takes you to click on the 'x' to get rid of it. That's why getting a good popup blocker is essential for piece of mind, and enjoyable internet time. I just wish you could get a telemarketer version of a popup blocker.

No More Pills

I haven't tried any pills or anything on my current diet. I'd prefer to do without, but there are times when I get so frustrated that it wouldn't be a horrible idea to give my sluggish old metabolism a boost. The problem there is I'm horrible at taking pills. I have a bottle of vitamins on my counter--right by my coffee pot so you'd think I'd remember to take them--nope. Oh I do sometimes, but certainly not daily. For me, the hoodia patch would probably be just the ticket. I like hoodia too since it's all natural so I don't feel like I'm talking some sort of dangerous concotion thought up by some mad scientist that researchers will find out ten years from now is really deadly. The patch is great since you just slap it on and forget it. No more worries about forgetting to take pills. For people like my daughter it's even better because she can't swallow pills. Never could. Not even as a child. Getting her to take even a simple little pill when she had a fever was next to impossible. Not because she was obstinant about it, she wasn't, she just couldn't swallow them. She's still like that as an adult. So the patch is a fantastic idea. Thanks Hoodia!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Hope For The Amazing

The thing about technology today is that its so SMALL. That never ceases to amaze me. I remember my very first cell phone. It was back in the early/mid-80's and it was boxy, and about the size of my entire hand. It had a flip top, but it was a 'normal' size. Sort of like the 'princess' phones receiver almost in size. Now, my cell phone is so small it astounds me that we can hear and talk with it. Although those small keys can be aggravating at times.

Digital cameras too. Oh they aren't much smaller than the old-fashioned cameras, but they can hold hundreds of pictures in them with the help of their micro sd and that's just amazing. The old film cameras with their 12, 24, or gasp 36 picture capabilities on a single roll of film couldn't even have dreamed of being able to capture and store so many images. AND give us instant viewing ability so we know if the shot was good or not, and even the ability to load it onto a program where we can crop, cut, lighten, darken, or even skew into crazy shapes the images we've taken. I can't wait to see what technology has in store in the next ten to twenty years. I wonder what someone who lived in the late 1800's or early 1900's would think if they were to suddenly awaken in this era. It would have to be mind-boggling, but that only makes me wonder what will be 100 years from now when I'm no longer here... what an amazing place it will be. Yes, I still have hope.

Hi Tech With A Condition

For all the fantastic technology we have today, that I, in spite of being somewhat secluded and living a more 'simple life' (yeah right) love dearly, one thing hasn't changed all that much. Most of it still requires batteries. There have been some great advances though. nimh batteries
have a longer life and make our 'stuff' run better longer. That's a plus. It still seems like I'm running out to by batteries all the time, for everything from my digital camera, to my walkman (yeah, I haven't gotten 'tech' enough for an IPOD yet, but hubby and son have one. My son's takes batteries too, what's with that? Hubby's is computer charged, and has a car charger, as well as a portable plug in charger. You'd think most things would have gone that way by now, but nope... most are still 'batteries not included'.

Lap Of Luxury

All you have to do, even out in the country by me, is take a short drive and you'll see them. luxury homes are popping up everywhere. I'd like to know who can afford some of these places, especially out by me, but apparently people can, or will do anything to be able to. I'd like to say it's crazy, and yet, a part of me wouldn't mind living in a luxurious palace myself. In fact, one of my favorite shows is MTV Cribs. I like to see how the other 'half' lives. Is it really 'half'? I mean it must be. There must be that many people who can afford such extravagant homes because they're everywhere now. Maybe someday I'll get to call one of those magnificent homes mine. Someday before I die, maybe... with my luck, two days before. LOL

Stupid Slang

Okay, American slang is taking over the world, in the most stupid of ways. In Austrailia Santas are being told to not use the familiar 'ho ho ho' because it is offensive to women.

What?

Now I know, in our politically correct, stupid, and way too sensitive over every little thing world that we can sometimes take things out of context to mean something offensive and get our panties all in a bunch, but come on. Get real.

Then again, maybe:

I wonder if it's true, maybe Santa really was callin out his 'elfs' and they were his hoes... at the same time, MAYBE that's really what the seven dwarfs were singin'...

Hey ho, hey ho,
it's off to work we go
get on your back
I'll talk some smack
hey ho hey ho hey ho hey ho!

Poor Snow White, the only @#$%$ with seven pimps.

Monday, November 12, 2007

No hassle

I've come to a decision--at least it is a decision for now. I'm going to do all my creative writing just for me, and for posting either here or in some of the fiction forums I belong to. Simply put, writing for publication in the fiction realm is just a big pain in the butt. Yeah, I'm a little disgruntled, but hey, when it comes down to it, I actually like writing for myself and certain readers anyway. You get a lot more feedback, and a lot less hassle--less money too, but since there's so little of that anyway, it's better without the hassle.

Get Serious?

I am serious when I laugh
I'm serious when I find the joy and humor in all of life's trials.
Life is good at throwing anger our way
A smile deflects the pain, and turns away darkness.

I'm serious when I play
Work is hard, and I do it with joy because I find the fun in all I do
Life's good at making us forget why we are alive
I play to remember that I'm here to experience all that is good about the world.

I'm serious when I hurt
Seeing what evils people do to each other every day, causes such great pain
Life is good about showing us the worst in our very natures
I hurt to know that I am alive, and am capable of feeling sorrow at others despair.

****

I am the evil that lurks in the dark
I am the darkness that hides in the soul
I am the anger that clouds men's minds
I am hatred…

I am prejudice, and darkness is my child.

****

The only light that destroys the darkness, is laughter, and love… yes, I am deadly serious.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Random Thoughts on the State of Being

A person is so much more than the appearance of their body.

THAT is what is important.

Black/white/red/yellow, or puke bucket GREEN the color of a person's skin does not truly matter. That is not to say: deny thy ethnicity… it means that it does not define who you are as an individual. Your actions, your words, your attitude, all these things help to truly define you. How you treat the person standing right next to you, the person who lives with you, and the person who lives on a completely different content, THESE are the things that define you.

If your hair is long, short, straight, or curly, these things do not define you. If it's brown, black, blonde, or yeah even (gag) kool-aid red, that does not define you.

If you're fat, skinny, tall, short, these things do not define you.

If you have a big nose, a small nose, or a flat, or thin nose, these things do not define you.

If your eyes are blue, brown, green, or pink, these things do not define you.

All of the above may make you readily identifiable in a crowd as 'that person' rather than another, but, they have absolutely nothing to do with who you are inside, how you act, react, or respond to others, or situations around you: THAT defines you.

Caring deeply about people, and the world around us.

THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT DEFINE HUMAN BEINGS.

These are the things that make us truly brethren, regardless of race, creed, or sex.

These are the only things that matter.

Hurtful comments are just disrespectful no matter WHO you are talking about, public figure or not, or person next door. It's shameful. It truly is… and it defines YOU.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Reality VS Fiction

There's a lot being said on one of the music boards I habitate on the state of the industry. So much is true about it going the way of the dinosaur, just like the rest of the entertainment industry, but the moaning of its death really is just the passing of a falacy.

Something that happened to me just recently (and not for the first time, lol) only drove the point home harder for me... what we 'see' as the decline of musical talent, the pap of the iconoclastic culture... is not the reality of true artistic endeavors.

The fact is that in a very unbalanced industry where a handful of artists make mad, crazy money and lead extraordinary lives that the public sees and think is glamourous and 'normal' for that realm of work, is in reality the true fantasy... becasue in reality a much larger mass live near poverty and create because it is in their souls to do just that, and nothing in the world will ever stop it.

Perhaps the destruction of the dinosaur will allow for that to come up to the top... maybe not though, because as you pointed out in history those creative types were usually scorned and considered the lowest of the low... so be it, so it will be.

But it will not die, because it can not.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Just For The Fun

As a writer I get invitations to all sorts of conferences in the mail all the time. I'm sure any of you that write do as well. Sometimes I even get invited to speak at them which is a lot more fun. It's always at least a little thrilling to actually feel like you're a part of the show rather than just a spectator. It's a little nerve-wracking too though. Having always had a healthy dose of stage frieght I sometimes get tense for days before actually heading out to whatever conference, or appearance is schuduled. That saps a lot of the 'fun' out of going to the events. There are times I even find myself becoming more reclusive (I say 'more' because what writer isn't reclusive to some degree? It just gets brought out more by being thrust into the public). I think it's from a tendance to not say 'no' to a lot of these events. I've learned to say 'no' a lot more often now, and don't feel the pressure as much as I did the first few years. I found out after all that all those speeches, and signings, and such really didn't do that much for my 'career' anyway, so why do them until I drop? Selecting just a handful to do each year makes much more sense, because then I can concentrate on just doing them for the fun, and experience rather than for any misconstrued exposure... and I don't have to take so much antacid.

Planning A Trip Fails Me

There's a writer/blogger conference I'd love to go to in Las Vegas this month, but I'm just not sure I'm up to it. It's going to be in one of the cities, Las Vegas, that I've always wanted to go to, but I don't know if I want to go there for a conference. I want to go there to have fun, and see all the wild sights, and 'sin' the town is so well-known for. I'm really better when other people plan my trips anyway. It really should be so easy with the way things are on the computer now, but planning and getting everything in order isn't my style. When with the click of a button you can get Las Vegas hotel reservations
it really should be a snap. I use the computer for everything under the sun from buying furniture and clothes as well as DVD's and music, to banking, and money shifting (not to be confused with money laundering, lol) but for some reason planning a trip fails me. Good thing my hubby's good at that.

Down To The Business Of Living

With the new regulations on mortgage loans a lot of people are finding it more difficult to get loans now. I guess that's a good thing really. A friend of mine and her husband recently lost their home (after a two year court battle) that they'd had for over twelve years. The original mortgage wasn't the culprit, it was a re-fi they did about five years ago that did them in. Too bad in a lot of ways. They'd had dreams of turning their huge old Victorian styled home into a Bed & Breakfast. It takes a lot of money to do that, though, and the loan they got when they refinanced didn't even begin to cover it. So maybe it's for the best, sad to say. I did try and warn them when they were going to sign off on the loan that it was a dangerous piece of paper, and that with their history they'd never be able to keep up the escalating payments. People never listen. It seems their dreams are at least a little more down to earth now. They've managed to pick up a small eight acre lot (for us out here, that's small), and have laid a cement pad and are having a nice, normal sized modular home brought in. It's used, but in really good shape, and they can get down to the business of just living in their home rather than trying to find a way to get rich quick off of it.

What Takes Writing's Place?

Watching my shows this week makes me wonder what is going to happen with the new WGA strike. Lots of the popular shows are going to get hit. Probably not so much with their current running shows as they're probably taped already, but next season which should already be in the works. I guess we'll get another long hit of more reality, and talk shows popping up to take the place of good writing. The last time there was a writer's strike, that's what happened. That's when reality shows hit the scene, and ever since Hollywood writers have cried about how those shows take away their jobs since writing staff isn't necessary with them... well, sink or swim. It's a double-edged sword because I know writers, especially in the television and movie world should get paid more, and DEFINATELY deserve more respect than they get. In that realm they are treated like dirt by and large, and directors, and even actors are the gods that make the industry. If it weren't for the writers where would most of those directors, and all of those actors be anyway? Still... going off and pouting in a corner, as in striking, only seems to make the writer's perdicament worse. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I have a bad feeling that I know what the end result will be... more reality. I can remember when television meant an escape from reality, and entering a world of fantasy, not seeing how truly sucky everyone's life is, just like your own.