Dancin' for the Restless and the Broken Hearted

Ahhh, Baltimore. Now I see why John Waters is so twisted - their Starbucks don't open until 7. Who can stay sane with swill like this hotel coffee? So, the flight was okay - on the flight to Phoenix, I didn't get stuck next to the fattest guy on the plane, but I did score the second fattest. Then, from Indy to Baltimore - a screeching kid. Ugh. Not to be elitist, but honestly! Can't they have seperate kid flights for families? Perhaps I'm still bitter about that @#$% winning the film contest with essentially home movies of kids, but REALLY!. And my dinner choices? Meat meat meat. WIth a side of meat. I get so tired of the lack of options in the hinterlands. Hie thee back to civilization! Speaking of civil ....

Faster Than The Speed of Anime
Ahhhh, Otakon. Only a few hours here and I am hiding in my hotel room. Comic fans are geek enuff - this is a whole new level. There is an air of desperation. If anime fans couldn't band, would these incredibly socially inept people be totally adrift on the streets? In the elevator (one of the only two that works - thanks Wyndham!) this lame guy made lame jokes and six people laughed like he was Joe Rogan. Argh. I shouldn't complain. They are paying me. Costing me more is ...

Fear of a Staph World
I forgot my hibiclens (my chlorhexidrine gluconate solution) antibac soap, so i had to buy some. After the airplane ride, the hotel gym and the general UNcleansed feeling emanating from the anime masses, I am terrified my staph will reactivate. Argh. Ah well. Two days and I'm in NYC with my honey. I still need to iron my clothes, too. Damn.

Today's Reading:
Finished Stealing Fire from the Gods, a new-agey kind of screenplay writing book, now almost done with Richard Walter's delightful The Whole Picture.

Today's Tune:
Afraid of a little drama? Don't be. It's all about Bonnie Tyler and "Faster Than The Speed of Night":

There really isn't any time to lose
We're going to lose it if we wait until it gets too light
You're such a pretty boy
Let me show you what to do, and you'll do it
But you gotta move faster
Faster than the speed of night

Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
It's all we ever wanted
And all we'll ever need
And it's slipping through our fingers
Faster than the speed of night

Ohayo gozaimasu!

Which Act Am I In, Anyway?

Now that I have studied and learned the power of the Three-Act Structure, I wonder which act I'm in - because increasingly, it feels like the end of Act Two, where the hero is at his lowest point, and all looks lost. I am extremely ready to move on to the sudden twist where the hero kicks ass and wins! Shawn must feel somewhat Act Twoish after the debacle last night - that woman (written with all scorn) won the Audi contest. How someone whose whole documentary premise was integrating parenting into your work, can make a film AND NOT BRING HER OWN KID!!!! OMG, its the height of hypocrasy. Shawn was much more gracious than I, saying it was a better film than he remembered, but honestly folks - it was pretty boring, unless you are a parent or straight and love to go all gaga over little kids' antics. What EVER. Flowing on to the next @#$%-up ...

Hard Out Here For A Pimp
I broke my car. After a fender bender, as I drove home the hood flew up and smashed my windshield into zillions of cracky pieces. Ugh! $$$$ hustling and flowing down the drain. I was so mad at myself, and it was just such a freakish and fukking scary moment. Ugh. Hustling onwards ...

Paradise Bound
Annie finished my song for Shawn! It was awesome! I have to say, it is a thrill to hear your words set to music. And Shawn was pretty touched, he said no one had ever written anything for him before. Well, if I have anything to say about, much more will be written for my homeboy. I'm so googlily in love it's kinda sick. Ahhh, well. I shall sing my way through this crappy Act Two, just like Ewan MacGregor in Moulin Rouge. Which is a good seque for ...

Today's Tune: From Queen, via Moulin Rouge

"Ooh! Inside my heart is breaking!
My make-up may be flaking!
But my smile, still, stays on!
Yeah! oh oh oh

I'll top the bill!
I'll overkill!
I have to find the will to carry on!
On with the,
On with the show!

The show must go on."

Today's Reading:

Norma Howe's Blue Avenger books rock!
Spy High, however, was dreck.

On with the show!

The Amazing All-Cookie Diet

Okay. I'm not REALLY eating nada but cookies. But I think I could! Oh, the Trader Joe's Molasses Chews! Delectable! My goodness, they are something!. So, it's been uber hot, and I've been less than productive (Target AND Costco in two days - consumerism runs amuck) but back to writing. My YA book is taking shape, especially after a trip to the nifty keen Burbank library with Paul. Most of these books are abysmally written. Speaking of abysmal ...

End of Another Era
Trie leaves as our coach next week, back to the miserably cold wilds of Minneapolis. I will miss her, and the lessons i learned this year! I will never forget Rugby X-Games, the Trie dance (where you throw your clipboard on the ground and yell "Are you going to play rugby or softball out there? Get it done!") and the dirty dancing at every party. Ahhh, the Rebellion will never be the same! But change is good, as is ...

Difficult Personal Deductions
After Shawn and I had our first fight, and it was truly my fault for pushing my over-the-topness and juvenile behavior well past any human's tolerance, I had to step back and go - what the fuck AM i doing? How much have I hurt my personal, professional, emotional, social and all other lives - by going to the extreme ALL THE GD TIME, just to prove I am Mr. Extreme. I'm not 18 anymore. Why do I have a company called Bonehead Productions? Is it time for me, not to grow up (for the Peter Pan light in me is inextinguishable), but buy a fucking clue and see I don't have to be childish, but still remain childlike? And maybe quit flitting all over the board and focus?

Is this the difficult, most dire moment of Act Two, where I have to outwit the antagonist to claim the prize? And am I both the Pro and Ant-agonist?? How do I outwit myself?

Hmmmm.... stuff to think about while reading and studying ...

Today's Page Turners:
IRON MAN script - really quite good!. SPY HIGH - Mission one - Really quite lame! THE EYES OF KID MIDAS - quite smarmy writing style.

Today's Tunes:
Surprisingly, some mellow stuff -
Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" which has no lyrics to post here, and Annie Lennox's version "Waiting in Vain":

"Ya see, in life I know there's lots of grief,
But your love is my relief:
Tears in my eyes burn - tears in my eyes burn
While I'm waiting - while I'm waiting for my turn"

Wait your turn. Pax.

And ... We're Done!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK GOD! Shawn cheated and ate peanuts today. We agreed this was a good test, but I don't feel a significant difference anymore - just weaker. So, we are having FOOD! I told him it would worry me if I was addicted to heroin and thought this much about smack. Oh my god I can't wait to eat. In fact, I have to quit this blogging and go eat some food! YAY!!!!!!!!

How To Be A Super Villain

Obviously, post the spoilers on the new Harry Potter book on your blog! Paul and Shawn both castigated me (no, that's NOT a dirty word) for the last blog, so I will write a lot to make this scroll down the other! Yeesh! Would anyone have been this upset had I divulged the end of the latest Shopaholic novel??? A novel trip I took today was ...

Abs and Flinch
Really, being almost 40, I have no reason to go to this store, but I wanted some good shorts. Nope. I don't remember the last time I had a 28 inch waist, but when I did, I know I didn't have $79.00 for shorts. Back to Old Navy, for me! Back to the books as well ...

Front Facing
On Paul's very sound advice, I checked out which teen books are popular today. Not much for boys. Definitely a chick market. Boys play Playstation, not read. Ah, well. If it ain't Harry Potter or a Potter knock-off, it's all about the new, modern Hardy Boys. They say things like "Dad, you rock." I don't recall ever saying this to my dad, so, my apologies, Pop. I must have been too uncool. Cool enough in LA ...

Bat-Boy The Musical
Theres a new play I HAVE to see. www.plays411.com has the info on Bat-Boy. I love it. Also there's an exhibit on crochet models of the hyperbolic plane (http://www.theiff.org/oexhibits/05b.html for more info). I have to see this! Knitting up for the day then,

Day 5,437 of the Fast
While I feel energetic and skinny, and have been UBER productive, I want to just sit down and eat an entire pizza. Shawn bought THREE cookbooks and says all he really misses is the preparations. Good. Cause I miss the eating. Only 7 more pizza-less days to go ...

Today's tune
Learning to Fly from Pink Floyd ... a fave from college

"Into the distance, a ribbon of black
stretched to the point of no turning back
a flight of fancy on a wind swept field
standing alone my sense reeled
a fatal attraction holding me fast, how
can I escape this irresistable grasp?"

Today's reading

Ummm, brief glances of modern hardy Boys books? And old World's Finest comics ...

Shine on, you crazy diamonds

Tales of Crankiness and Irritation

It's day three of this cleanse and I am in a foul fukkin mood. I'm not sure WHY ... oh wait. I HAVEN'T EATEN IN THREE DAYS. Depressed too. I just wnat to cozy up on my couch and read Harry Potter - oh wait I FINISHED IT last night. And if you haven't read it - DUMBLEDORE'S DEAD. Just like to shake it up a bit. No spoiler warnings on this blog. Speaking of Dumby ...

Snape - Good or Bad?
I couldn't tell ya. I'm LEANING towards good. D wouldn't have petrified Harry unless he KNEW what was gonna happen. And the whole theme of immortality through selfishness or love is pretty much carried through the whole 6 books. So, my guess is D is coming back and it was an order - not a plea for mercy - for Snape to curse him. We will see. You read it here first. Speaking of reading ...

Now What?
I'm back to my quantum physics texts. The World Within the World (the Snape Within the Snape?) is great but dense. And I'm too hungry and irritated to forge through it. Back issues of Dazzler or Marvel Super Action it is. Speaking of action ...

Oral Action
This is how sad my life is - the new Crest mouthwash and my coffee (neither of which taste even vaguely of the Master Cleanse pallette of lemon juice/syrup/cayenne pepper) are my daily highlights. God help me.

Today's Reading:

I just SAID I hadn't figured that out yet!

Today's Tunes:
TITANIC soundtrack. Never saw the flick, but I love James Horner and the Death of the Titanic music is cool. And no, I don't see ANY irony in choosing this tune ...

Angrily,
bone

Hunger of the Beast

Day two of the cleanse. MUCH hungrier than last time. Of course, we were cheating a tiny bit and eating fruit then. But MY GOD, I am hungry. And you smell food everywhere. Fucking refrigerator has nothing but cherries, cheese and bread and I can smell that. Burned the mashed potato candle and wanted to gnaw on it, it smelled so much like popcorn! There's a Zone bar wrapper in the trash. Is it cheating to lick that? Licking some other things ...

High Sky
Great bike ride in Griffith Park yesterday. Wasn't tired at all, even up that 60-degree stretch of road going up Mt. Hollywood Road. I believe my body is generating more energy despite the lack of carbs and sugar. Now if it can just zap the staph bacteria. Its lasted longer than most of my relationships, as Suze kindly pointed out. Pointing out some other avenues ...

Protein pro tem
Would it be wrong to take some creatine or protein powder? It's not technically food, but even that might taste good right now.

Today's tune:
Augustus Gloop from the Charlie Soundtrack:

"Augustus Gloop,
Augustus Gloop,
The great big greedy nincompoop
Augustus Gloop,
so big and vile
so greedy foul and infantile!"

Still reading:

Harry. But on page 356!