A brief update and two recommendations

 May.

That was the last time I wrote anything here, and I have no excuse except choosing to do other things, many of which were no doubt a complete waste of my time.

Case in point. Driving to Florida with my brother to visit my mom.

I won't go into detail but I will never, ever in a million years drive to Florida if I can possibly help it. I can give you lots of reasons why, but the loss of time would be #1.

Just not worth it.

Oh, and a piece of advice. Never stay at the Knights Inn in Allentown, PA. The check in person when we arrived was busy smoking outside, told us to go in and wait. Then when she began to check us in, she got on her phone to discuss grocery shopping with her kid. My brother finally says, "Will this take long?" She says, "I can multi-task!"

Clearly not, but whatevs.

Anyway. No driving to Florida, and no more 2 star hotels. I deserve better!

Here's a few happy pics from Lieu Gardens...

 

 

Now for my recommendations.

11/22/63 by Stephen King and Mare of Eastown with Kate Winslet.

The book (no surprise) is long. Very long. But I was invested every step of the way with the narrator, who has been shown a way back and given the tools to stop the assassination of JFK. Needless to say it won't be simple, and it definitely won't be easy since time doesn't like people messing around with it. If you're a Stephen King fan, I highly recommend this one.

As for Mare of Eastown, all I can say is wow. Kate Winslet was fabulous as the main character, trying to solve a murder investigation while still grieving (or resisting grieving) the loss of her own son. Her friend Lori, played by Julianne Nicholson of Law & Order fame, was equally amazing. I can't say enough about this show and am sad there were only 7 episodes. 

 

And last but not least, my favorite new song

Pavlov Stelar - All Night

I love this so much I had to share

Can you believe this guy's moves? I tried imitating him (can we say fail?). My cats looked at me like I was some alien disturbing their nap. Love the song, too :)

Happy Monday all!

push and shove

I don't know why but I just love this new song from No Doubt...




what are you listening to?

My four faves

So, if I was stuck on an island and I could only choose one category each, here's what would keep me entertained - endlessly:

Books – Fantasy

It was my first love thanks to my aunt who gave me The Chronicles of Narnia and The Princess and the Goblin. LOTR whetted my appetite for more and inspired my search for the very best in fantasy which I found in Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea Trilogy, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mist’s of Avalon and The Darkover series, Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy, George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire, Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle, and most recently, Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law Trilogy. These are just a few authors who keep me loving fantasy.

Movies – Scifi

I know, it’s either really really bad, or amazingly good. But when done well it kicks the butt of every other genre. I mean, how can you beat 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars (the first three only – anything with the annoying Jar Jar Binks doesn’t count), Dune, The Thing, The Abyss, Alien, Aliens, Contact, Pitch Black, Deep Impact, XMen, Kpax, Minority Report, Evolution (haven’t seen it? Omg, you have to because you will laugh your ass off unless you left your funny bone on some planet), Inception, and I have to add Battlestar Galactica, even though it isn’t a movie because it’s one of the best shows ever, scifi or not.  

Music - Alternative

Yes, I love rock and roll but…but this category has all the variety I need, ranging from the Chili Peppers to Radio Head, Beck, Alice in Chains, Coldplay, Jane’s Addiction, The Pixies, Jack Johnson, Smashing Pumpkins, Steven Wilson, and Wilco, to name a few. I'll leave you with this one...

Wagon Wheel

My mc, Kass, stayed here last night while in Cuba, MO. 

I'm actually not sure if the motel exists any longer but that's one of the nice things about writing fiction. We get to make stuff up, take poetic license. On the other hand, this place (the library in Cuba. Missouri),

definitely exists and Kass will be stopping here to try find some information about a particular family member. By tomorrow night she and David should be in Cincinnati. Well, I say should be, but like a good author, I'll be delaying them. After all, we can't hurry this journey along too quickly now can we?

Oh, and if you thought I meant this Wagon Wheel, I'm glad I didn't disappoint :) Happy Friday!

what I'm listening to

Interlude - the son playing The Monkey and the Engineer

to see more of son, go here.

tomorrow, back to a-z

surprise, surprise

my new favorite song





I know, it seems so unlike me, but... what can I say, it moves me...

music to write by

I seem to go through phases when it comes to music and writing. Sometimes I just need it to be quiet, and other times I must have music, preferably something that flows with what I'm writing - but not necessarily. For example, I was just listening to 'Mr. Hurricane' by Beast and before that it was 'Gypsy' by Suzanne Vega.  The former is an NPR song of the day (a great way to hear new music) while the latter is from a cd I have, Retrospective. It's one of my favs to listen to while writing, like Mozart's Requiem, Coldplay's Rush of Blood to the Head, Great Northern's Remind me where the Light is, and old 97s drag it up, to name a few. There's lots more music I like to write by, but those are in my current playlist.

what's in yours?

right now

right now I'm listening to radiohead/amnesiac, perusing the albums on my computer, and thinking how important it is to have the right music to write by. It can make the mood.

Most times I write in silence because I find it difficult to find the right music. It changes depending upon what I'm writing. Radiohead is fine for train of thought but would not have inspired me when I was writing about Katherine and Jack back in Tombstone. Usually I prefer music without words.

The writer Charles DeLint often acknowledges the music that inspired him.