Even the Dead Shall Marry
Last Saturday night I went to see Tim Burton's Corpse Bride at the local Regal Entertainment Theater. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, which was whimsical, satirical and fun. Not often can one place those adjectives in conjunction with the words "corpse" and "bride." I suspect those working in statistical NLP wouldn’t know what to do with such an unlikely set of n-grams.
Friday evening, I went to Dead Lobster with my friends, Donna, Marina and Thomas. We had a great time, ate lots of "shrimps" and I managed to get a buzz off of ½ a Long Island Iced Tea.
Monday night from 8:30 till about midnight I spent my time at the UCSD Library looking up references in the LA Times indexes for the 1970s for the so-called "Trash-Bag Murders." I did this work for a writer who lives in Oregon who is a friend of Nancy. The research will go into a Court TV episode. I normally don't care for the sensationalistic Court TV programming, but I will make an exception when that episode is aired. I hope to do more work for the same author on future projects. It feels good to make $20 an hour!
Friday cometh my hearing downtown. I have still gotten dunning notices from Dr. T. and Gentiva Scarecentrix, so I am sending them certified mail, return receipt requested, with my official notice (they should have already received notice from the court). If they persist in billing me, I can take THEM to court and recover attorney's fees and damages.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Saturday, September 17, 2005
The Supremacy of the Banal
Last night my parents came over and we watched "The Pacifier," a formulaic Disney comedy starring Vin Diesel. It wasn't as bad as I might have expected--there's a certain warm, fuzzy comfort to mediocrity. Banality is what makes the world go 'round. Those who pop up too high get smashed; those who sink too low get run over. In the boring middle is where a person can be safe, at least for a while. Artistically, too.
Today, I got up late and didn't really accomplish anything, unless paying bills online is an accomplishment. Tomorrow evening I'll go to Mass with my parents, and maybe dinner. It'll be the last time I see them till they return from their Fall Foliage Cruise up the Eastern Seabord.
I saw Dr. Landers last Thursday. Nothing new in the visit, except he promised to look into some medications to help me retain what bone density I still have.
Working on my novel has its ups and downs. Earlier in the week, I wrote a really solid new first chapter, which starts off in medias res, yet gives a clear overview of what's at stake. Now, I need to get a-plottin'. I can no longer avoid the endless void into which my characters leap off around the end of Chapter 6. I'm at just under 20,000 words right now (around 85 pages)--my goal is to have some reasonable draft finished by the time the San Diego State Writing Conference starts in January.
I'm considering purchasing Power Structure to give me a boost in the productivity department. The $140 cost, however, giveth me pause.
Weatherwise, it's perfect these days. Autumn is in the air. It's crisper, and the nights are cooler and more comfortable than they were during the summer. Yay!
Today, I got up late and didn't really accomplish anything, unless paying bills online is an accomplishment. Tomorrow evening I'll go to Mass with my parents, and maybe dinner. It'll be the last time I see them till they return from their Fall Foliage Cruise up the Eastern Seabord.
I saw Dr. Landers last Thursday. Nothing new in the visit, except he promised to look into some medications to help me retain what bone density I still have.
Working on my novel has its ups and downs. Earlier in the week, I wrote a really solid new first chapter, which starts off in medias res, yet gives a clear overview of what's at stake. Now, I need to get a-plottin'. I can no longer avoid the endless void into which my characters leap off around the end of Chapter 6. I'm at just under 20,000 words right now (around 85 pages)--my goal is to have some reasonable draft finished by the time the San Diego State Writing Conference starts in January.
I'm considering purchasing Power Structure to give me a boost in the productivity department. The $140 cost, however, giveth me pause.
Weatherwise, it's perfect these days. Autumn is in the air. It's crisper, and the nights are cooler and more comfortable than they were during the summer. Yay!
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
The End of Summer
This past weekend, I spent more than the usual amount of time with my parents. Friday evening, they came over and we watched an entertaining little comedy, "Good Company." It started Dennis Quaid as a middle-aged ad executive who gets a boss have his age when his company is acquired by a Rupert Murdoch-like media mogul. Entertaining--not profound--yet it kept me laughing.
Saturday evening we attended the 5:00 PM mass at Saint Gregory. This was the parish's 20th anniversary, so there was due attention paid to the saint himself. The deacon read an excerpt from a homily of the St. Gregory, which extolled the virtues of not being owned by the things we own. A point still relevant today.
Sunday night we attended the final concert of the Summer Pops. They moved the location from where it used to be: it's now down by the embarcadero park between the Convention Center and the bay. They used to hold the concerts at Navy Pier, which is now home to the Midway Museum.
The nice thing about the new venue is that it's all on the grass. Un concert sur l'herbe. And the view of downtown was spectacular, as the sun set and the skyscrapers lit up. Seeing that view truly reminded me of the blessings of living in this city. Yes, it's obscenely expensive to dwell here--but the finest things in life are expensive (one way or another, not necessarily monetarily) and well worth the price. I felt a tug of remorse, enjoying myself on the balmy September evening, listening to Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme" while the citizens of New Orleans fled their ruined city.
Then I snapped out of it!
Saturday evening we attended the 5:00 PM mass at Saint Gregory. This was the parish's 20th anniversary, so there was due attention paid to the saint himself. The deacon read an excerpt from a homily of the St. Gregory, which extolled the virtues of not being owned by the things we own. A point still relevant today.
Sunday night we attended the final concert of the Summer Pops. They moved the location from where it used to be: it's now down by the embarcadero park between the Convention Center and the bay. They used to hold the concerts at Navy Pier, which is now home to the Midway Museum.
The nice thing about the new venue is that it's all on the grass. Un concert sur l'herbe. And the view of downtown was spectacular, as the sun set and the skyscrapers lit up. Seeing that view truly reminded me of the blessings of living in this city. Yes, it's obscenely expensive to dwell here--but the finest things in life are expensive (one way or another, not necessarily monetarily) and well worth the price. I felt a tug of remorse, enjoying myself on the balmy September evening, listening to Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme" while the citizens of New Orleans fled their ruined city.
Then I snapped out of it!
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Not All Gloom and Doom!
Not All Gloom and Doom!
I just installed the new Blogger for Word toolbar and am trying it out. At last, an answer to my prayers for something less clunky than the Blogger interface! And, I hope, no more lost posts due to Internet connection problems.
On to my news. Went and saw Ray Schimmel yesterday and got my case rolling. The 5,000 fingers of Dr. T will no longer be able to reach out and grab me! Also Cigna, Gentiva Carecentrix, CIO Collections, Tia Marie Hollowood and a few others.
The weather here has cooled a bit. Ray's office is by the beach near Morena Blvd. Wonderful ocean breeze wafts through the open corridors and courtyards of his building.
OK, let's see if this thing's a-workin'!
I just installed the new Blogger for Word toolbar and am trying it out. At last, an answer to my prayers for something less clunky than the Blogger interface! And, I hope, no more lost posts due to Internet connection problems.
On to my news. Went and saw Ray Schimmel yesterday and got my case rolling. The 5,000 fingers of Dr. T will no longer be able to reach out and grab me! Also Cigna, Gentiva Carecentrix, CIO Collections, Tia Marie Hollowood and a few others.
The weather here has cooled a bit. Ray's office is by the beach near Morena Blvd. Wonderful ocean breeze wafts through the open corridors and courtyards of his building.
OK, let's see if this thing's a-workin'!
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