Coconut Bra Optional

Wow, I just realized that I haven't posted in over a week, and I almost didn't post tonight, either. I should be getting ready for bed, but I know how quickly the internets forget about us if we don't participate; so here I am, participating...;-)

It's been a crazy week...we're leaving town this weekend for our tenth anniversary (flying to Hawaii, and my mom is coming down to watch the kids...god, I love sky miles), and we've been scrambling to get caught up on work and prepare for the trip...which means that this week is going to be crazy too, and I may not post again until we return in a couple of weeks.

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I got halfway through an antho from Subterranean Press that I can't remember the name of...I was really enjoying it, and then my Alaskan Malamute, Yuma the Destroyer, tore it to shreds while I was at work. Sigh. So, I'm taking Updike's Run, Rabbit to Hawaii with me instead.

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I'm hoping to break 30k on Aquarium before we leave town. I have a ton of stuff to do before we go, but I'm at like 26,700, so another 3300 is totally doable by Thursday, I think. One of my main characters, whom I knew was going to be eccentric from the get-go, just turned into Hunter S Thompson, so that'll be fun to write. My character just happens to be a doctor, so I was thinking of making his last name Gonzales (aka, Dr. Gonzo).

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Watched Pineapple Express last night...funny movie. I loved Cheech and Chong capers when I was a teenager. They were such alt-reality, grownup fairy tales that it was really fun to get sucked away into those worlds. Pineapple Express has that same vibe. Seth Rogan was good, but James Franco nailed his character. Best quote (from IMDB): Rogan was asked what he did to prepare, and he said he watched Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and studied Spicolli. Franco was asked the same question, and he said he prepared by making out with Spicolli (hint: Spicolli was played by Sean Penn, whose lover in Milk was played by James Franco).

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Here is a place we plan on visiting next week: a 1500 year old holy ground in North Hawaii where many people were sacrificed to the war gods. I'll bring back pictures.

The Bad Guy

Still cranking away on Seattle Pizza, and still enjoying it...I find myself getting stuck often and often stare at the wall on the other side of my monitor for long periods of time, but it's coming eaiser, and I'm starting to understand my two MCs enough to speak for them consistently. I realized this week that I was missing something: a protaganist. My concept was that it would be these two guys who, in a roundabout way due to their work in paranormal investigations (I know, I'm a fount of originality!), find themselves in legal trouble...so, my concept was that the bad guy was, in general, the law (and by proxy, the prosecutor). 

After watching Dark Knight again this week (awesome movie...media hype aside, I thought the Dark Knight/White Knight and Batman/Joker story arcs were brilliant, although they blew the movie when the Two Face story began), I realized how much more a complex, bona fide bad guy could add to the story. So, I'm going to do some rough outlining before I dig in again to see how it would work...it's still early enough in the story that re-writing (a first draft no-no, I know) would be minimal. I'd love to do a super-sinister character, a la Mssrs. Vandermar and Croup...maybe a female baddie.

So, on the list before we're off to visit relatives for the holidays: at least 5k more written, read and respond to Cate's MS, and maybe a year-end post.

Lastly: I played this game earlier this year...The semi-cheesy MIDI music is addictive, and the graphics (once you get past the first level) are pretty cool. I woke up this morning with the piano riff in my head, and thought I'd share. Some of the levels are difficult, but the music is so hyper-mellow that it's like audio ganja...

*Update*

Almost forgot to plug Barry Napier's web serial Blood Routes. I've read the first couple of posts, and it looks like an interesting story. I really like the concept of a web serial...I think it's a natural progression for literature. With the popularity of the Kindle picking up and it's blog-reading functionality (despite having to pay to register each blog...), it's really something for all short-story authors to consider.