Rock of Love…or, my eyes bled but I couldn’t stop watching…

January 28, 2008

Okay, who watched the horror show last night? Come on, fess up – I know there are more of you out there then just me and Angie-la and Jill.

Frenchie woman stripping was just so frightening that I could only watch from between my fingers and even that didn’t provide enough coverage. And I love the excuse Brett gave for letting her go at the eliminations, which makes me realize that I know way too many random rock star facts and if there was ever a show called useless random rock star facts, you would totally want me on your team. Like, I know that Brett Michaels dated a stripper who broke his heart and the song, Every Rose Has Its Thorn is totally about her and that’s what he was referencing. Although I have serious doubts that scary Frenchie woman brought out that same kind of feeling.

Or like, did you know that Aerosmith’s, Dude (Looks like a Lady) was written about Vince Neil, or that Money For Nothing was written about Motely Crue because Dire Straits disliked the band?

So yes, pick me if that show ever happens.

Anyway, the kid and I are still feeling slightly crappy, but better than we were over the weekend. I’ve got to motor on Nick’s book, since I know this weekend will be a total bust because of the Gus pick-up and superbowl (we’re having people over – not that I actually watch the game or anything – I just stay for the food

Oh, and head over to Larissa’s to read the awesome review JERR gave Sydney’s Riding The Storm!!!!

Steph T.

TV trainwrecks

January 24, 2008

Anyone watching the hot mess (new favorite phrase) that is the 2nd season of Rock of Love? OMG, I can’t believe how freakin’ bad it is…and yet, I cannot stop watching it. Like, there are times I catch myself watching from behind my hands because I just cannot believe the horror of the whole thing.

And Celebrity Apprentice? Again, can’t stop watching even though it is terrible…and now that Gene Simmons is gone, it won’t be half as much fun. The women are too reserved. Not that I don’t like that they’re classy and grown up, but I’d like to see them be a bit tougher, if that makes sense.

AI is just meh so far – some funny moments (loved the brother and sister team last night, the guy who wore the tie wrapped around his head.) But overall, I’m kind of over it.

Okay, must go write and deal with child, who has a bad cold. And pray that I won’t catch said bad cold.

Steph T.

new fall show

July 2, 2007

The Singing Bee looks like it could have the potential to be hysterical – the motto is, you don’t have to sing it well, you just have to sing it right…

I have a few old favorites that I’ve been singing wrong over the years – I’m sure there are many, many more, but these always stick out in my mind:

From Stairway To Heaven by Led Zepplin
Real Line: And as we wind on down the road…
How I sing it: And there’s a wino down the road…

And I always thought Chicago’s Saturday In the Park was really Saturday, me and my pa…

Oh, and this is a favorite one – doesn’t the line, big old jet airliner sound suspiciously like it could be, big old Chad had a rhino…

Come on, ‘fess up – what lyrics have you been singing wrong all these years?

Steph T.

summer TV

June 6, 2007

So I’m starting to rack up some new shows for the summer season, and even though I’m deeply disappointed that Rock Star will not be returning, there are some other shows to fill the void:

Army Wives - I caught the season premiere and really enjoyed it – Sunday night at 10pm works well for me < ---acts like that's why the producers put it in that time slot.

Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List – she makes me laugh. I’m easy that way.

The Deadliest Catch – Zoo and I bond over this show.

Rescue Me – I despised last season’s finale and I’ll need to be pulled into watching this one kicking and screaming.

I also watched the first episode of The Starter Wife and I’m confused – mini-series or actual series? Mini-series I could deal with. Actual series – no way. And Zoo came home in the middle of me watching it and I had to explain what it was about and he was like, so she’s like that Betty Broderick woman (he’s still scarred from the time I made him watch A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story (and its sequel) on Lifetime when we were dating.) But no, it’s nothing like the BB story (and won’t my search phrases look awesome this month!)

What are you looking forward to watching this summer? Anything I’m missing?

Steph T.

movies

April 19, 2007

(A quick aside: Am I the only one who can’t work saran wrap and foil correctly? As in, the entire roll gets discombobulated and I slice my finger open on the ragged edge every single time. )

Anyway, I was watching A History of Violence again, and every time I watch it I appreciate it more. And not just because of Viggo. It’s such a layered story, the whole idea of wanting so badly to be someone else that you almost believe it yourself. The way that Tom’s son has the violence within him, bringing up the whole nature/nurture issue. The way Edie has to accept both Joey and Tom…can you tell I’ve spent all day thinking about this movie?

Oh, and I finally saw Casino Royale - I really liked this James Bond – he was like a one man SEAL team. But I hated the romance plotline. Maybe because I hate it when a tortured man reveals himself and gets hurt badly. I guess it’s the romance writer in me wanting happy endings after all that endless torture but I was so unsatisfied. Part of it was that I didn’t ‘get’ why he fell for her in the first place. What did I miss? I was on migraine meds while I watched, so it’s entirely possible that I missed something very important.

Steph T.

random Monday stuff

October 9, 2006

I finally saw Road House 2!

Okay, it wasn’t horrible, and it paid homage to the original by referencing a lot of the lines, like, be nice, until it’s time not to be nice, and the ever-popular, pain don’t hurt. Which might be the worst line ever. The main character is supposed to be the son of Dalton, the original Cooler, from the first movie. If the bad guy wasn’t so completely over the top, it might’ve worked. And I think the female lead was the one who played opposite the Rock in Walking Tall. But it’s one of those things, like, if you grew up watching the Brady Bunch, you’ll enjoy those Brady Bunch full length movies more because you’ll get the inside jokes.

Oh, and Jaq - I started reading Heart of Fire after you talked about it – is it me or is the plot from Anaconda 2 a lot like this book? The movie would’ve done better if it had managed half the emotion Howard put into her work…

I got lots of writing / revising done this weekend on the first Sydney Croft book – Larissa and I were in the zone, churning out scenes and getting all excited about them. That’s the most awesome part about working together – waiting on pins and needles for her scenes, because even though I have an idea about what she’s writing in them, actually reading them is like actually reading the book itself.

Hard to describe, but trust me, it’s fun!

Speaking of Larissa – go take a look at the launch of her awesome new website! Rumor has it she’s going to have a cool launch contest…

Steph T.

getting hooked

September 17, 2006

I have clearly addressed my love and devotion to the movie Road House several times (or more) on this blog. How then, could I have not known about Road House 2? I’m ashamed of myself, really. And excited to order it from payperview as soon as possible. Like, maybe tonight even.

I don’t know if I talked about Walking Tall here yet – I think I did – but it’s fast becoming a Road House movie for me. Which basically means that I can watch it whenever it comes on, even if it’s every day, and can watch it from anyplace in the movie. Although one of my favorite scenes is when the Rock is watching the firewoman dance – his expressions are priceless. The husband said the film is not as good as the original, and I didn’t even know there was an original. So now I’m going to have to watch that too. Lots to do.

Oh, and Larissa got me hooked on Men In Trees, with Anne Heche. Loved it. Did anyone else catch it?

Steph T.

defensiveness

July 13, 2006

Is anyone else watching Rock Star Supernova and finding the contestants a tad…defensive? And then, when they’re confronted by their own words, they backpedal? I’m just finding it really interesting to watch, because, like writing, singing is a creative endeavor that can also be subjective – well, unless you’ve got a voice like mine – and I wince when I hear them say things in that tone – because I know I’ve done the same thing. Only I’ve been lucky enough not to have it blasted back to me in front of the viewing audience. It’s so so easy to jump to, you don’t know what you’re talking about – my words are perfection on the page, but every time I found myself doing that about something in my writing, I would remember my teacher from 5th grade, Sister Helen-Joseph.

No one wanted Sister Helen-Joseph. She was the strictest teacher in my entire elementary school, and she’d do things like repeat what your parents said about you during parent-teacher conferences in front of the entire class. And those were the days when parents didn’t believe that children were always right. Anyway, one day the wind blew the door closed without warning and it slammed shut. Naturally, we all jumped, and Sister HJ turned to us and said, a guilty conscience always jumps.

That line was always in the forefront of my mind when I started giving my work to people to be critiqued. These days, the defensiveness is pretty low-key – writing with Larissa has helped that tremendously – it’s kind of impossible to have that kind of defensiveness in a collaboration, and honestly, I don’t really think I could write with anyone else the way I do with her. And the edits from Kathryn for the Blaze were really eye-opening and I actually enjoyed doing them. There was no, she doesn’t get me. Because she does, and because of that, it’s really been easy to improve each and every draft. So either I’m just lucky in that regard or I’ve let go of a lot of the emotional ego stuff I used to have and replaced it with the spirit of collaboration, whether it be with a crit partner or an editor.

I guess my point is (I did have one when I started this entry), find people you trust with your words and stick with them. It’s a fine balance, knowing when to change something because another writer pointed it out or knowing when to keep it because your gut tells you it’s going to work. It’s like you need a strange blend of confidence plus humility that lets you easily accept that you can (and should) always improve. So if you find yourself arguing about a comment, check it out again. Because when something catches like that, it’s usually because you feel the same way and just haven’t wanted to admit it to yourself yet. At least that’s the way it’s always worked for me.

Steph T.

really, I’m working over here…

July 7, 2006

Is it bad that the Staples delivery man asked me if I ever got out of what he called gym clothes? Okay, well the daily outfit is usually yoga pants and a t-shirt, so technically he’s right, but I told him that he’s lucky he comes in the afternoon, or else he’d be asking me if I ever got out of pajamas.

And then I realized that the Staples man might think I was coming on to him.

Oh well, at least I got my paper. It’s pastel – light blues and grays. It’s supposed to be easier on the eyes but I got it because it looked pretty and I’ve been doing a ton of writing by hand these days. And I got sticky notes to match, because really, if your sticky notes don’t coordinate with your paper, you’re in trouble.

I really need to get out more. Or at least stop procrastinating on the edits Larissa thinks I’m doing while she’s got company for a few days. In reality, I have done everything but the edits. I have worked on scenes for our second book and even started scenes for our third book, plus worked on the 4th Blaze proposal. Ordered books from Amazon. Downloaded music. Ordered pillows for the couch in my office.

Well, you get the idea. But now I’ve got this big pile of BOOK to go through and Larissa’s company leaves tomorrow (hopefully LATE tomorrow) and I’ve got to get moving.

Speaking of procrastination, is anyone else loving Rock Star Supernova? I’m loving Tommy Lee and feel the need to dig out all the old Motley Crue tapes. Now there’s a project that needs immediate attention. Oh, and The Unit’s on tonight too…

None of you are going to turn me into Larissa, are you?

Steph T.

word for word

June 20, 2006

So the husband and I have started watching that show, The Ghost Whisperer , and in one recent scene, Jennifer Love-Hewitt is standing in between a ghost and the ghost’s loved one, and she’s telling the loved one what the ghost is telling her.

Except she’s not telling what the ghost is telling her word for word – she’s paraphrasing. And that bothered me.

I ask the husband, why is she paraphrasing? If that were me talking to you from beyond the grave, wouldn’t you want to know every single thing I was saying?

He just stares at me, and I realize immediately that that’s a bad example. Especially when he starts to laugh.

I’m SO totally haunting him. Word. For. Word.

Steph T.