Mar 2009
Two Sequels For Which I Will Definitely Stand In Line
Mar 31 2009 Filed in: General Posts | Reviews
They have nothing to do with each other, and attract a disparate audience... but I’m very happy to hear that both “franchises” have sequels in the works.
The first, the new Star Trek prequel, has already been greenlit for a second in the series -- proving that Paramount has enough faith in the buzz of J.J. Abrams’ forthcoming juggernaut that they’d approve a sequel before the receipts are in for this next installment (which is really a complete re-imaging of the entire brand).
You’ll forgive my excitement:
Some of the TNG-based Trek movies won me over - most notably, the dark and high-minded “First Contact” - so I’m excited for this new beginning, too.
In other sequel news, there’s the follow-up in the works to the remarkably long and equally funny Sex and the City feature film, which is reportedly on the fasttrack... which would be a surprise given how long it took for the first one to get made. (Kim Cattrall may want to make another ice skating movie beforehand.)
We could use healthy doses of comedy, action, sex and human understanding that both films franchises bring to the table.
# # #
The first, the new Star Trek prequel, has already been greenlit for a second in the series -- proving that Paramount has enough faith in the buzz of J.J. Abrams’ forthcoming juggernaut that they’d approve a sequel before the receipts are in for this next installment (which is really a complete re-imaging of the entire brand).
You’ll forgive my excitement:
Some of the TNG-based Trek movies won me over - most notably, the dark and high-minded “First Contact” - so I’m excited for this new beginning, too.
In other sequel news, there’s the follow-up in the works to the remarkably long and equally funny Sex and the City feature film, which is reportedly on the fasttrack... which would be a surprise given how long it took for the first one to get made. (Kim Cattrall may want to make another ice skating movie beforehand.)
We could use healthy doses of comedy, action, sex and human understanding that both films franchises bring to the table.
# # #
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Best Birthday Wishes To Wayne Sun... Who Hosts A Mean Party
Mar 30 2009 Filed in: Cool People | Cool Events
Happy Birthday To The Planet's Finest Hag
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A Writing Journey Often Besieged By Destination Anxiety
(BOSTON/ATLANTA :: 22 March 2009) Writing’s rocky road would be a hell of a lot easier to traverse if I had a clock to punch, regular hours to keep and a clearly defined path to the golden years.
It’d be boring as all hell, but at least I could fall back on the structure of it all.
But that’s not what I’m up to. At least not in this lifetime. As I’ve told many of my readers/friends/family members/stalking victims in the past - and to borrow a baseball metaphor - I’ve been slapping sharp singles to the outfield, with a few gappers, when what I really want is to blast a home run. Not just one that clears the fence, mind you... the type of bellowing bomb that shatters the windshield of the champagne-colored Town & Country in the baseball park’s parking lot. (Soccer mom, sorry... you deserve it for driving that bulbous mobile living room.)
This forthcoming homer, the first of many solid ideas, is my book on emotional intelligence for men, and it’s more than just to prove to myself that, Yes I can... it’s about the impact I know I can have, and to make the “cliched difference” in people’s lives that, let’s face it, won’t be a cliche if it actually sticks to the wall. When I download my idea from the ether and morph it into turnable pages, digestible prose and impeccably sourced, supported theory (the latter, hi, is for sure the slippery eel in an otherwise viewable zoo), I’ll be able to look back on my 9-to-5 days and chuckle. “When,” not “if.” When.
So on I trudge. I recently had the pleasure of meeting and listening to Dennis Palumbo, psychotherapist to Hollywood’s writing royalty (as well as “paupers,” I guess you could say, staying with the metaphor) as their impassioned cheerleader; he’s a comfy suede recliner in a sea of Ikea chairs. He has the gusto, insight and inspiration that we writers, often impatiently, seek within ourselves, and which he delivers with an accessible, impish demeanor that perfectly embodies our erstwhile pursuit.
I shook his hand after his session at the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, an event I have promised to myself I’ll attend every year. I’ve also had the pleasure of starting his book, “Writing from the Inside Out,” which might as well be titled, “Living from the Inside Out,” as we writers are always sharing some glimpse of ourselves in the words we craft. Even the most mundane local news story contains a thread of who we are, or more accurately, how our identity shapes our stories.
I write the latter thought knowing the pitfalls (more like rancid catcalls) of bias in journalism; that all media has a left-leaning perspective... yadda yadda. But we tell our best stories when entrusted with the duty, the call, that our own experiences are to merely propel the truth upward rather than somehow manufacture a truth we seek to propel. Conflating liberalism with fairness and sound judgment is an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole. Don’t go there.
So... back to the ballgame. I’m digging in at the plate, doing my practice swings... winking to Brandon in the stands, wiggling like Chuck Knoblach with one foot out of the batter’s box, staring down the opposition like Don Mattingly, waiting for the closer to bring the heat. It’s a balmy afternoon. The sun is beating down on the brim of my cap, illuminating a preview in my heart and mind of the next morning’s sports report highlighting the results:
“Veteran player does the purposeful home-run trot around the bases after the big swing goes yard.”
# # #
It’d be boring as all hell, but at least I could fall back on the structure of it all.
But that’s not what I’m up to. At least not in this lifetime. As I’ve told many of my readers/friends/family members/stalking victims in the past - and to borrow a baseball metaphor - I’ve been slapping sharp singles to the outfield, with a few gappers, when what I really want is to blast a home run. Not just one that clears the fence, mind you... the type of bellowing bomb that shatters the windshield of the champagne-colored Town & Country in the baseball park’s parking lot. (Soccer mom, sorry... you deserve it for driving that bulbous mobile living room.)
This forthcoming homer, the first of many solid ideas, is my book on emotional intelligence for men, and it’s more than just to prove to myself that, Yes I can... it’s about the impact I know I can have, and to make the “cliched difference” in people’s lives that, let’s face it, won’t be a cliche if it actually sticks to the wall. When I download my idea from the ether and morph it into turnable pages, digestible prose and impeccably sourced, supported theory (the latter, hi, is for sure the slippery eel in an otherwise viewable zoo), I’ll be able to look back on my 9-to-5 days and chuckle. “When,” not “if.” When.
So on I trudge. I recently had the pleasure of meeting and listening to Dennis Palumbo, psychotherapist to Hollywood’s writing royalty (as well as “paupers,” I guess you could say, staying with the metaphor) as their impassioned cheerleader; he’s a comfy suede recliner in a sea of Ikea chairs. He has the gusto, insight and inspiration that we writers, often impatiently, seek within ourselves, and which he delivers with an accessible, impish demeanor that perfectly embodies our erstwhile pursuit.
I shook his hand after his session at the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, an event I have promised to myself I’ll attend every year. I’ve also had the pleasure of starting his book, “Writing from the Inside Out,” which might as well be titled, “Living from the Inside Out,” as we writers are always sharing some glimpse of ourselves in the words we craft. Even the most mundane local news story contains a thread of who we are, or more accurately, how our identity shapes our stories.
I write the latter thought knowing the pitfalls (more like rancid catcalls) of bias in journalism; that all media has a left-leaning perspective... yadda yadda. But we tell our best stories when entrusted with the duty, the call, that our own experiences are to merely propel the truth upward rather than somehow manufacture a truth we seek to propel. Conflating liberalism with fairness and sound judgment is an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole. Don’t go there.
So... back to the ballgame. I’m digging in at the plate, doing my practice swings... winking to Brandon in the stands, wiggling like Chuck Knoblach with one foot out of the batter’s box, staring down the opposition like Don Mattingly, waiting for the closer to bring the heat. It’s a balmy afternoon. The sun is beating down on the brim of my cap, illuminating a preview in my heart and mind of the next morning’s sports report highlighting the results:
“Veteran player does the purposeful home-run trot around the bases after the big swing goes yard.”
# # #
I Think Stewie Has Left A Few Other People Off The List
Mar 21 2009 Filed in: The Funnies | YouTube
Help Me Raise $500 (Or More!) For This Year's Emory AIDS Ride
Mar 17 2009 Filed in: Cool Events | Charity
(ATLANTA :: 17 March 2009) Despite being scared shitless about “the unknown” of a long bike race, I’ve decided to take part in and sponsor the 2009 AIDS Vaccine 200 - a 200-mile bike ride benefiting Emory Vaccine Center right here in Atlanta.Support the effort and sponsor my ride!
Why is this is a significant event? Emory’s is the “only university-based vaccine research center in the U.S. to have an AIDS vaccine candidate in clinical trials,” according to the EVC Web site. That distinguishes our great city by having such expert people working to lessen the effects of HIV - people like EVC scientist Harriet Robinson, Ph.D., who created EVC with her colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Their vaccine candidate successfully prevented AIDS in monkeys.
So... I’m riding for many reasons. First, to support Emory’s hard work. Also, to get in better shape and try a new sport I have only a peripheral understanding of or involvement in. And finally, putting the “rubber on the road” and making a difference.
I think of all the great generosity folks showed for our ARTvision event this year, and I’m sure we can rally again to make this great organization some cashola!
To donate directly to my page, click here, or e-mail me and I can send you donation information! Thanks in advance for your support.
'Still I'll Rise': Truth Abounds When Expressing Your True Colors
The movement toward peace and understanding is upon us. After the beating in Midtown and many other current events showing an acute need for healing, this is a beautiful and most-appropriate anthem.
There is a new conversation happening out there now. George and Ellen got into the act last fall:
There is a new conversation happening out there now. George and Ellen got into the act last fall:
The Lowest Common Denominator Seeks To Go Lower Still
Think we’re done with prejudice? Think again.
A man was beaten in midtown last week for no other reason than his sexual orientation. “Are you gay?” two white men asked. When he replied, “Yes,” he got his ass kicked. Here’s some reaction:
To those two perpetrators, I say: get your shit together, because otherwise, you’re just taking up space. Also, get a better way to pass the time than to vomit your internalized fear onto other innocent people.
A man was beaten in midtown last week for no other reason than his sexual orientation. “Are you gay?” two white men asked. When he replied, “Yes,” he got his ass kicked. Here’s some reaction:
To those two perpetrators, I say: get your shit together, because otherwise, you’re just taking up space. Also, get a better way to pass the time than to vomit your internalized fear onto other innocent people.
Green Building Should Be One Of Our Top Priorities
At long last... the three-video playlist of the HGTV episode of “Ground Breakers.”
Even a stodgy old girl like mine in midtown can get a successful boob job.
Without further ‘do, enjoy.
Even a stodgy old girl like mine in midtown can get a successful boob job.
Without further ‘do, enjoy.
Strength In Numbers: Help Tip The Scales For A Better Future
(BOSTON :: 14 March 2009) - A tipping point is fast approaching.
Great change is always preceded by intense turmoil, and I believe we are at just the beginning of a vast reinvention of our global society. With the book proposal done (the book speaks directly to the “change factor” that we, ourselves, control) and the book-agent search officially on, I thought this Web site popped up at just the right time.
Take a look at Worldwide Tipping Point, and how you can send energy to this cause. Quoting the site:
“Thomas Paine wrote during the time of the American Revolution, ‘we have it in our power to begin the world over again,’ and that is exactly what people living on this planet right here, right now have the opportunity to do!”
The Web site founder:
Log on and help tip the scales today. More to follow on this topic... Thanks to Brenda for passing it along.
Great change is always preceded by intense turmoil, and I believe we are at just the beginning of a vast reinvention of our global society. With the book proposal done (the book speaks directly to the “change factor” that we, ourselves, control) and the book-agent search officially on, I thought this Web site popped up at just the right time.
Take a look at Worldwide Tipping Point, and how you can send energy to this cause. Quoting the site:
“Thomas Paine wrote during the time of the American Revolution, ‘we have it in our power to begin the world over again,’ and that is exactly what people living on this planet right here, right now have the opportunity to do!”
The Web site founder:
Log on and help tip the scales today. More to follow on this topic... Thanks to Brenda for passing it along.
New Stuff On The Way
Mar 12 2009 Filed in: General Posts
A Stirring Oscar Speech, Two Groundbreaking Personalities
Mar 02 2009 Filed in: YouTube | Cool People
In this case, Harvey Milk’s legacy was beautifully done justice by Dustin Lance Black - who championed the amazing and sad story that took more than a decade to be adapted to the screen.
Here’s the soaring acceptance:
Here’s the soaring acceptance:
