Writing and Film and .. *sigh*

I've written more in the past week than I have all summer, and it's a wonderful feeling. Research and other preperation work for NaNoWriMo (I want to finish it this year!) along with exploration of film ideas have inspired me to take pen to paper again. *sigh*

When I haven't written in awhile, I forget how much I've missed it. Jotting down a few lines and ideas, trying to connect thoughts and themes, playing around with dialogue snippets to get a better sense of a particular characters, it's all flowing out of me right now, and it feels *so* good! I really wish I was home to work in my notebooks and not here at the computer at work. :)

An added motivational spark was the email I received from Solonia over the weekend. The wheels are currently in motion for P7D, and somehow that knowledge has energized me. I've been in a better mood this week than I have (consistently anyway) in quite some time. I'll have to ask S. about pointing people to the film site; I'm not sure if she wants that done yet or not. ;)

2007's Walk for Hunger

It's that time of the year again! : )

The Walk for Hunger is Sunday, May 6, 2007. Join 40,000 Walkers and 2,000 volunteers and be part of the effort to end hunger in Massachusetts!

You can walk all 20 miles or just part of the route. Buses are available at each checkpoint to bring you back to the Common. Walk with classmates, coworkers, a religious group, friends or family!

Volunteers are also needed to hand out snacks, water, and more. It's a great family activity, so bring the kids, wear the free volunteer T-shirts, and teach your children about giving back. Bring a group, or come by yourself and meet new people. Volunteer for a morning or afternoon shift, or stay all day - it's up to you.

Whether you are beginning or continuing your commitment to helping hungry people, there is something for everyone! Learn more and register online at www.projectbread.org/walk.

I'll be walking again, of course. If you would like to sponsor me in this year's Walk, you can do so by donating online at my Walk WebPage. Or, if you'd like to donate by check, send me a message, and I'll give you the address to send it to. And thank you!

*cross-posted all over

You Are a Hand Painted Egg

Classy and gorgeous - with attention to every detail.

What Kind of Easter Egg Are You?

Aurora Awards - Nominations Open!

Nominations for the Aurora Awards, recognizing the best in Farscape fan fiction, are now open until February 7. See the site for all the details.

For most of the categories, simply fill out the form on the nomination ballot. Categories not on the ballot are sponsored by other groups so you'll need to check each group's site for details.

The Society Against Cruelty to Crichton (SACC) is proud to sponsor two categories this year: Best Action/Adventure (short, medium, long) and Best Characterization: John Crichton. Please visit the SACC site for details or simply email your nominations with the following info.:

Your Name:
Your Email:
Category:
Author:
Author Email: (if available)
Story Title:
Story URL:

For info. on all the sponsors, please visit the Aurora Awards Live Journal community.

*Choose wisely. Only one nomination per category, please.

Failure of #53

Ah, well, I've failed item 53 of my 101 in 1001 list: Complete the NaNoWriMo 2006 challenge. Sure, November isn't over yet, but I'll have only an hour or so each day (except for maybe Sunday where I might have two or three) until November 30 to write the remaining 36,015 words to complete this year's NaNoWriMo challenge. My inner editor keeps holding me back from any productive writing sections (2000 words or more in an hour should be easy). Where's my inspiration? It's flown away, along with the rest of the month. *shrugs* There's always next year.

I think I'll just do more prep work on my story, more research, plotting, character development. I don't want to abandon the story entirely. :)

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a relaxing day filled with friends, family and good food and that you have much to be thankful for next year, too. ;)

Codename: Celery*

While my fellow Scapers are hanging out in Burbank, I've been writing and researching my NaNoWriMo novel (NanaMoomoo). I'm glad today's very chilly because I've been feeling like, as my mom would say, a chicken with its head cut off lately, so today I have the perfect excuse to sit, watch movies, enjoy some soup and write! I felt creative last night and actually enjoyed what I wrote (still have to update my word count) even though it might not be any good; I'm resisting my natural inclination to rewrite each sentence until I'm happy with it before moving on to the next section. I did that last year, and as you may imagine I didn't get very far. So this time I'm not turning back and rereading the passages until I have to.

I'm feeling positive about crossing off #53 on my 101 in 1001 list at the end of this month.

Oh, and for anyone who's interested, I've posted my review of the DVD "The Gift" over at the movieblog site. =)

* obscure reference to a conversation at the Boston NanNoWriMo kickoff party at Applebee's *g*

Signal Room in Burbank, CA!


Click Above!

gif from TerraFirmaScapers.com
Signal Room

Con Book List 2006

Creation's Official Farscape Convention takes place in Burbank in November, and once again con book season is upon us.

The deadlines are approaching, so if you'd like to send a message, picture, poem, recipe, whatever (no nudity! no fan fiction or unpublished fiction!) to be hand delivered to the cast of Farscape, now's your chance. (And yes, if you're wondering, they *do* read every note that's sent to them and look forward to the con books every year.)

The list is here: http://www.watchfarscape.com/forums/showthread.php?p=765709 and below:

* Gigi Edgley (Chiana): LilMiss - due October 1 - send to Calijirl@gmail.com

* David Franklin (Braca): jagwriter78 - due October 8 - send to davidsbook@farscape-online.de

* Raelee Hill (Sikozu): teddybear82 - due October 8 - send to raeleesbook@farscape-online.de

* Ben Browder (John): Elnea - due October 15 - send to BensFanBook@mac.com. (See additional info in Post 36, below.)

* Dave & Lou Elsey (Creature Shop): Aruna7 - due October 15 - send to nana_fleur_de_ren@yahoo.fr

* Paul Goddard (Stark): deadman - due October 15 - send to lastrideusa@yahoo.com. Put "Paul's Book" in title of e-mail.

* Kent McCord (Jack Crichton): deadman - due October 15 - send to lastrideusa@yahoo.com. Put "Kent's Book" in title of e-mail.

* Claudia Black (Aeryn): blueaeryn - due October 15 - send to blueaeryn@gmail.com

* Francesca Buller (M'Lee, roNA, Raxil, Ahkna): camerascaper - due October 15 - send to camerascaper@cinci.rr.com. Send any pictures in jpeg format.

* Jonathan Hardy (Rygel's voice): camerascaper - due October 15 - send to camerascaper@cinci.rr.com. Send any pictures in jpeg format.

* Lani Tupu (Crais): Aruna7 - due October 15 - send to nana_fleur_de_ren@yahoo.fr

* Wayne Pygram (Scorpius): Aruna7 - due October 15 - send to nana_fleur_de_ren@yahoo.fr

* Anthony Simcoe (D'Argo): kalishjirl - due October 23 - send to katratzi66@freenet.de

* Tammy Macintosh: kalishjirl - due October 23 - send to katratzi66@freenet.de

* Rebecca Riggs (Grayza): kalishjirl - due October 23 - send to katratzi66@freenet.de

* Guy Gross (Music): divinedaydreams - due October 31 - send to bookscaping@comcast.net

* Virginia Hey (Zhaan): divinedaydreams - due October 31 - send to bookscaping@comcast.net

Signal Room in Burbank 2006

As most of you know, the Creation Farscape Convention in Burbank's coming up soon .. November 3-5. Ben Browder (John Crichton), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Raelee Hill (Sikozu), Gigi Edgley (Chiana), Kent McCord (Jack Crichton), Anthony Simcoe (D'Argo), Paul Goddard(Stark) and Dave & Lou Elsey (Farscape makeup & creature designers) are all going to be there.

Wayne and Anthony's band (Signal Room) will be there as well. The tickets are sold seperately from the regular convention tickets so I'm posting this as a reminder to anyone who's planning on attending the convention - if you want to see Signal Room play, buy your tickets now! If enough tickets aren't sold, Signal Room won't be coming. The cut off date for the final decision is going to be October 15. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door assuming enough tickets are sold in advance! The ticket price is covering the cost of flying the band in, putting them up in the hotel and equipment rental - that's it. Stephen Edwards put it very plainly here.

So if you want to see them play and were figuring on buying your tickets when you arrive, rethink that and buy the tickets now. Not only is it $10 cheaper, but if you wait until you arrive in Burbank to pick up tickets, you might not get to see Signal Room play at all because they might not be there. Just a little FYI.

There's a nice little message from Anthony & the gang at Creation's site and at the band's website. For anyone who's on My Space and hasn't realized it yet, Signal Room is there, too, which is kinda cool.

Lastly, they're holding a competition for a backup singer (assuming they get to play in Burbank, that is). So if you ever imagined yourself singing on stage with Scorpius (hee!), check out their website for the details. SignalRoom.com

BNU

Well, I failed miserably in my attempts at avoiding Mochaccinos at lunch time. I felt really stressed yesterday and immediately got one while out at the bank, out of habit. *sigh* I got one today on purpose. ;P

So I haven't saved any money this week .. S'okay, I guess. There's always tomorrow. I *did* sign up for a class at Barnes & Noble University and ordered the books online (since they aren't available at my local library). I can't afford it, but I really wanted to try out the online classes. I'll figure it all out somehow. :)

Caffeine for Books

This week I'm not having any Moccachinos because they're so expensive and because all that sugar and caffeine is not good for me. Hopefully with the extra cash I'll save, I'll have enough to purchase a book or two for one of the classes at Barnes and Noble University. There are several classes that I'd like to take. All the classes are free, but you must buy the books for the course you're taking. This wouldn't be a problem normally, but with the restricted cash flow I'm dealing with, I can't justify spending $40 or more on books that I won't want to keep as reference and that I'll have a hard time selling back online. *sigh* Classes start this week, but I think the signup date is until June 12th (next week) so I have a little time yet.

Seven on Sunday: Dream House


from Patrick's Weekender

Consider your "Dream House." Now name seven features, either of the house or the lot itself, that would be required for it to really be your "Dream House."

Okay, since it's a "Dream House," I'm going to go with my "dream" house. :) By the way, it's difficult narrowing it down to only seven features. *g*

1. Large property with a very big backyard
2. At least one hidden/secret room
3. Guest House on the property
4. Labyrinth-like gardens
5. Library
6. Theater/Video Screening Room
7. Big Front Porch

Recent Finishes

Booking Through Thursday

1. What are the last five books that you finished reading? J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Noah Lukeman's "The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile," the Little Golden Book "The Lion's Paw," "Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship" and "The Rescuers"


2. How long did it take you to read them? Collectively? One to two years .. I haven't had much time to actually finish any of the books I've started. *sigh* The last five books I've read have all been fairly short (*g*); the longest book of the five was "The Socerer's Stone." lol "Harry Potter" took me about a month or so to read because I was doing other things at the time and never really sat down to read it. I received "The First Five Pages" one or two years ago as a Christmas gift and read that over a few days. I read "Owen & Mzee" though while browsing in a bookstore so that was only a few minutes to finish that one. "The Lion's Paw" and "The Rescuers" were read to my niece recently. :)


3. Did you enjoy reading these books? Why or why not? Yes. "Harry Potter" was better than I was expecting. I originally skimmed the book when it first came out but never took the time to read it properly (until a few months ago). At my sister's urging I set aside time to read it recently and was pleased; I'm looking forward to the other books in the series. I liked "The First Five Pages," but it really didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I've always liked "The Lion's Paw" and the story of "The Rescuers" so it was fun to read them to my niece. I enjoyed "Owen & Mzee" a lot; that book was a real treat. The cover caught my attention as I was browsing one day, and I ended up reading the book in the aisle. It was a very interesting, touching story, and the pictures were great. I instantly fell in love with the orphaned baby hippo and the giant tortoise. When I get some pocket money, I'm buying that book for my niece.

Teacher Appreciation Week

I found this on the LJ of tarzanic and thought I'd pass along.

**
Copied from tarzanic's post and the original post about Teacher Appreciation Week on the LJ of nickless:

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, with Tuesday being National Teacher Day. It's not always on the calendar and other than a photocopied note in your mailbox from the principal, a generic email from the superintendent, and maybe a potluck lunch from the parent association, it's not like there's a lot of fanfare. But sometimes during that week, you'll get a card from a student, former or current, that makes it seem like Christmas.

So do me a favor. Sometime in the next week or so, drop a note to one of your former teachers. Include your name, what subject/grade they taught, and which year(s) you were in their class - they'll probably remember you. Tell your second grade teacher that she was your favorite. Tell your Lit teacher thanks for inspiring your love of British poetry. Tell your fine arts teacher that even though you know you had no talent, you appreciated having a place where you could indulge your love of music/sculpture/whatever. Tell your Bio teacher how you still remember that one lab that was so interesting. Tell your Civ teacher that while you hated his class because he made you work so hard, once you got to college you realized that he had prepared you for life after high school more than anyone else. Tell your Algebra teacher thanks for putting up with you, period.

It doesn't have to be fancy - hell, it doesn't even have to be a real card; an email is fine. If you're not sure where they're at, just send it to them in care of the school. Chances are, the staff there will know where they've gone to and how to get in touch with them, even if they've retired. And nowadays, most schools have a website with email addys or links.

When you see all the junk in the papers about testing requirements and budget cuts and low salaries and apathetic kids & parents, a short paragraph on a notecard might seem like a little thing - but trust me, it makes the job worth all the other crap.

If you decide to participate, be sure to let her know. :)

**
I think this is a wonderful idea so I just might do this next week. Unfortunately one of my favorite teachers is now in prison, and I don't really think it'd be appropriate to send him a note (though he'll probably appreciate it). I'll have to choose another teacher; I really liked most of them actually. : )

May the Fourth Be With You

May the Fourth Be With You! I saw that link on yahoo and couldn't resist clicking on it. What Star Wars fan could?

There's a little poll on today's (May 4, 2006) page at Star Wars: What's New asking if you acknowledge May 4th as Star Wars day. Most people (58% as of this post in my blog) have answered What? Why? The poll closes May 9 so you have time to make your opinion known. ; )

Oh! From September 12th through December 31st there will be a special DVD release of the Star Wars trilogy which will include the original theatrical versions of the trilogy. "That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983." Yes!!!!

** for fun, here's a little quiz: Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?

Who am I? Well, I've taken this quiz before, and it seems I always get the same result (no matter how much I want the result to be Princess Leia! *g*):

A venerated sage with vast power and knowledge, you gently guide forces around you while serving as a champion of the light.

Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not - for my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, and binds us. Luminescent beings are we, not this crude matter! You must feel the Force around you, everywhere.

Six Degrees of Booking

Booking Through Thursday

This was suggested by Mary.

Connect any six books in your library to each other by any way you want. One book will remind you of another because the author's name is similar, a fictional character shows up in someone else's book, another author is talked about by characters in a book, maybe the same friend recommended both books, or whatever. Books from a series count as one entry in your list.

1. In Weiss & Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles: Dragons of Autumn Twilight lifelong friends, newly reunited, find themselves on a quest whose success or failure will determine the survival of their world - Krynn. The Companions, who include a kender, a knight, a dwarf, a half-elf, and a mage, always remind me of another group of travelers on a similar quest except this group is known as

2. The Fellowship of the Ring. In Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring there are hobbits, a knight, a dwarf, an elf and a wise, powerful, very old, bearded wizard called Gandalf the Grey. Another wise, powerful, very old, bearded wizard appears in

3. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. Dumbledore is the head of Hogwarts, the school for wizards that Harry Potter attends. Harry isn't the only boy wizard destined for greatness who learns his craft at a school for wizards, but unlike Harry, who had no idea that he'd any magic ability until he was accepted into Hogwarts,

4. Ged had been taught simple magic skills and spells by his aunt before receiving any formal training in magic. Talented but impatient Ged chooses to continue his studies on Roke Island at the School (for sorcery) instead of staying with his mentor Ogion. In much the same way that Ged had originally left his village to follow Ogion in Ursula K. LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea, becoming Ogion's apprentice and developing his magical abilities,

5. Luke had left his home on Tatooine and learned how to "feel" the Force from the Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi whose presence is still felt, at least by Luke, in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, a novel which takes place five years after the movie Return of the Jedi. In the original Star Wars films, Obi Wan Kenobi was played by actor

6. Alec Guiness, author of My Name Escapes Me.

Seven on Sunday: Languages

from Patrick's Weekender

Not counting English, name seven languages you'd like to be able to speak fluently.

(in no particular order)

1. French
2. Portuguese
3. German
4. Gaelic
5. Welsh
6. Russian
7. Japanese

Booked by 3 for April: ABC

from Shelly's Book Shelf

Name 3 books you liked, titles which start with A, B, C (one per letter).
1. "The Annotated Alice," Lewis Carroll (author), Martin Gardner (editor), John Tenniel (illustrator)
2. "Black Beauty," Anna Sewell
3. "The Complete Film Production Handbook, Third Edition," Eve Light Hothaner

Name 3 authors you like whose names (given or surname) start with A, B, C (one per letter).
1. Isaac Asimov
2. Ray Bradbury
3. Lewis Carroll

Name 3 books on your To Read list with titles starting with A, B, C (one per letter).
1. "Arthur the King," Graeme Fife
2. "The Beekeeper's Apprentice," Laurie R. King
3. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy", C.S. Lewis

Walk for Hunger

On Sunday May 7 I'll be participating in Project Bread's 38th Annual Walk for Hunger in Massachusetts. The money that I raise by walking the 20-mile route of the Walk will go directly to help hungry people across the state receive a hot meal and groceries in their own neighborhood.

Through the Walk for Hunger, Project Bread feeds hungry people throughout the state by supporting 400 emergency food programs, as well as making nutritious food available through other kinds of community organizations such as health care centers, after-school programs, and summer programs for children.

Please consider sponsoring me in my walk or making a donation directly to Project Bread.

Are you considering walking and want to find out what to expect? Visit The Walk for Hunger: Event Information!