***Grrl of the Eighties***

(Temporarily interrupting Thursday's Talk)


You Know Your A Girl Who Grew Up In The 80s If.......................


1. You've ever ended a sentence with "PSYCHE"


2. You watched the Pound Puppies.


3. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"...and can do
The "Carlton".


4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly
cool.


5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to
start a club of your own.


6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.


7. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on "Blossom".


8. Two words : Hammer Pants.


9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock".


10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars.... and / or
playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effects.


11. You can sing the entire theme song to " Duck Tales"
(WHOOOH)!


12. You remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a
Saturday to watch cartoons.


13.You wore a pony tail on the side of your head.


14. You saw the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on the big
screen.... and still know the Turtles names.


15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer
class at school.


16.You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your
shirt in a knot on the side.


17. You played the game MASH ( Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House).


18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.


19. L.A Gear..... need I say more.


20. You wanted to change your name to "JEM" in Kindergarten.( She's
Truly Outrageous).


21. You remember reading "Tales of a fourth grade nothing" and all
The Ramona books.


22. You know the profound meaning of "Wax On, Wax Off".


23. You wanted to be a Goonie.


24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. ( some of us.... head to
toe).


25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose
fell off and his cheeks shifted.


26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.


27. You took lunch boxes to school... and traded Garbage Pail Kids in
the schoolyard.


28. You remember the Craze, then the Banning of slap bracelets.


29.You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.


30. You remeber Hypercolor t-shirts.


31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.


32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power) and He-Man should hook up.


33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you
exchanded handmade friendship bracelets.


34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes. ( and like #24, probably in
neon colors, too).


35. After you saw Pee - Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know
you are, but what am I?"


36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"


37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline
skates.


38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.


39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.


40. You had or attended a birthday party at Mcdonalds.


41. You"ve gone through this nodding your head in agreement.


42. You remember Popples...


43. "Don't worry be happy"


44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top
Reeboks.


45. You wore socks scrunched down ( and sometimes still do.....
getting yelled at by "younger hip" members of the family.


46. Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack, all dressed in Black Black Black.


47. You remember boom boxes... and walking around with one on your
shoulder like you were all that.


48. You remember watching both " Gremlins " movies


49. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!""


50. You remember watching "Rainbow Bright" and "My Little Pony Tales"


51. You thought Doogie Hooser / Samantha Micelli was hot.


52. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.


53. You remember New Kids On The Block when they were cool , and
don't even flinch when people refer to them as NKOTB.


54. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on
"Saved By The Bell", the ORIGINAL class.


55. You know all the words to Bon Jovi- Shot Through The Heart.


56. You just sang those words to yourself.


57. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.


58. Homemade Levi Shorts..... (the shorter the better)!!!


59. You remember when mullets were cool..... (UH NEVER)!!!


60. You had a mullet!!


61. You still sing "We Are The World"


62. You tight rolled your jeans.


63. You owned a bananna clip


64. You remember "Where's The Beef?"


65. You used to (and probably still do) say " What You Talkin About
Willis?"


66. You had big hair and you knew how to use it.


67. You're still singing "Shot Through The Heart" in your head,
aren't you!!!!!!!!!!!!

***Thursday Talk Time (cont.)***

The title of this post refers to yesterday’s events.

“Nature abhors a vacuum.”

That saying definitely applied to Thursday. There I was, relaxing in bed, thinking about my story, when I get the first call from family. Then another call from another family member. Then a third…

By the time I left the house, I had fielded six calls. While most didn’t last long (“Hi. How are you doing?” “I’m sick.” “Oh, I’m sorry. Get some rest and I’ll call you later.”), two cut into my writing time significantly. Course that was when the Muse decided to leave (see prior posts).

I remember thinking on Wednesday ho w quiet the news had been of late. With the exception of the missing girl in Aruba and that child-molester who had been caught, there had been little media hyping since the Michael Jackson (second) trial. (By the by, what was the outcome? That’s how much attention I had put on it.)

Thus, Nature had to stick her claw in. Specifically, her black wings over London.

Lovely. Reaffirms my belief that the universe is a hostile place and we humans have only each other to rely on. Well, if the latter’s the case, we’re doomed. We'd better do better in our next lives.

(to be continued)

***Thursday Talk Time (cont.)***

The title of this post refers to yesterday’s events.

I wish I could say the same for my fitness efforts. I think I finally caught R.’s cold. Unfortunately, I’m not sure: the symptoms are so mild that my sore throat could easily be caused by the hot, humid outside and the freezing (yet comfortable) environment at work and at the coffeeshop. I’ve erred to the side of caution and already started various meds pro-actively.

There’s another reason I’ve restricted all workouts: injury. Or the potential of it. Next week is Comic Con and I don’t want any excuse to delay or—gasp!—cancel our yearly vacation. Thus my Muse’s fitness counterpart, the Fitness Phreak, languishes, “forced” to sleep in and eat cheesecake.

Grrr.

(to be continued)

***Thursday Talk Time***

The title of this post refers to yesterday’s events.

The Muse has been kind for the past couple of days. Words flowed like LA traffic on a good day. So of course the bi#@% left me last night high and dry.

So did I moan and whine about it? Declare writers block and pretend to write while oogling all the cuties coming to and fro in the coffeeshop. Heck, no. I went after her and, dragging and screaming, to help me with my outline instead. After the dust settled down (the claw marks on my face will heal eventually), I came away with more depth to the current scene and a brand new chapter.

(Image found on the Internet and all rights belong to its owner.)

“You don’t wait for inspiration to come to you; you go after it with a big stick” (author unknown).

(to be continued)

***I got meme’d!***

Here’s my response from the meme from A Life:

1. How many books do you own?
At last count, over 8,000 hardbacks alone. Personally, I think we’ve reached 10,000. Problably only 2,000 paper/trade.

Don’t looked shock. Remember that I have a book business.


2. Last book read?
The House is not a Home by James Earl Hardy.
Same-gender loving (SGL) from the perspective of an entirely different ethnic group. It was jood.


3. Last book purchased?
Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher.
Love his Dresden files series. Now let’s see how he does fantasy.

4. Name five books that mean a lot to you.

Surprising Myself by Christopher Bram.
I and the main character share the same name. Sex and romance. What’s not to like?

Boys on the Rocks by John Fox.
First book I read that broke the stereotypical mold of being an outsider. Main character’s popular, attractive, athletic who’s just a little…different.

One of the best “realistic” sex scenes that I ever read.

Ringworld by Larry Niven.
Mr. Niven reminds us of that the “science” in science fiction can be equal mind-blowing as magic or wordplay.

Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven.
The meteorite defense system. Nuff said.


Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
Still resonates within me to this day.


5. Tag five more people.

Easy:

51313 Harbor Street
God’s Undies
Me, My Muse, and I
No, Dirty Kitty…No!!
SwanShadow

***Extremism continues and innocents die***

Please send support vibes to all the victims and their family, friends, and associates over in London as they cope with this cowardly attack.

***Baby got Muse***

Yesterday was The Spouse’s last day of vacation. I cancelled all my regular plans to spend time together. (You don’t stay married—happily—for nearly twelve years without learning a few things.) We visited The Block where we dined at the restaurant, Wolfgang Pucks. It had been nearly two years since we had eaten there and we were pleased the menu hadn’t changed too drastically. (Though Puck got rid of the cobb salad. Why?)

We spent the rest of the evening walking around. Again, little had changed. We ended the evening at Starbucks. R. read while I wrote. However, I was forced for the first 30 minutes trying to reestablish my Internet connection. After finally getting it up, I joined a Word War (WW) at Forward Motion.

Wow. Talk about getting one’s groove.

I wrote over three pages (755 words) in 45 minutes. And they flowed. I knew where the scene was suppose to be but not the details. The Muse went ballistic and, after a minute or two of contemplation, came up with material that fit perfectly. I could have easily continued but it was getting late. As is, we didn’t get to bed until after midnight. But I’m still basking in the afterglow of the Muse’s work. I know it won’t last.

***Wizards and war machines and weirdoes, oh my (Part II)***

(continued from prior post)


The same couldn’t be said for the Sunday and Monday morning activities.

Sunday morn we joined R.’s family for brunch.

We had been invited (notice the ‘we’) to one of R.’s sister’s brother-n-law’s son’s bar mitzbah. Since I missed the older son’s bar mitzbah, I was keen to attend his brother’s celebration into manhood.

But first, we attended a Sunday brunch in his honor.

I’ll state it again: people are fascinating. I sat next to a guest who, basically, was a gopher for some rich folks in Beverly Hills. As we conversed, I realized I was sitting next to a mirror, one that reflected, unfortunately, all my indecisiveness, insecurities, and “whineness”. Worse, as I listened to a repetition of “I don’t know where to go from here”, my Muse began to take notes for characters in my current work-in-progress. Ouch!

That afternoon we completed our visit to expo. Whew!

Monday turned out to be busy and not due to the holiday.

We attended the bar mitzbah. I have to admit it was a bit disconcerting. There’s enough similarities to Xtian/catholic services that I thought I was at a confirmation. But sight of Herbrew, the various paraphernalia on the rabbi’s head and arm, and, later, the candy throwing (!) reminded me this was not Christiandom anymore. My Muse was definitely taking notes.

That evening, we saw the movie, Batman Begins. I ended the holiday weekend by writing in PD and jotting down three good new pages. I give the weekend a C.

***Wizards and war machines and weirdoes, oh my***

As stated in the previous blog, we attended the annual Anime Expo in Anaheim, California.

‘Anime’ is, simply, Japanese animation (or cartoons). Don’t let the “big eyes, small mouths” (a legacy from American occupation of Japan after World War II) or their oddly portioned bodies of the characters fool you: unlike most American cartoons, anime shows a broad range of topics from the familiar cutesy furry animals to rated XXX (to put it mildly.) And these topics are from the Japanese perspective and culture. It’s not usual, for example, for the father, mother, and their children sharing the same bathtub or for high school same-sex crushes to be shown (platonically).

The expo opened Thursday night. We purchased our tickets Friday evening. Unfortunately, that’s all we did: R. had been on-call Thursday and couldn’t back into Orange County fast enough due to all the traffic.

Saturday we arrived around noon. There, we split up; I headed for the food court while The Spouse started to check out the booths for purchases.

I have to admit that, overall, I was bored. The booths held little interest for me, selling similar goods. The costumes were interesting but there’s only so many times you can see another Naruto or Vash. And I’ll be blunt: hasn’t anyone heard of deodorant or Acutane?

I know that part of my boredom was caused by the fact we haven’t watched any anime since the contractors redid the family room and we cleared out the furniture and disconnected the HDTV. Yes, we can hook everything back but the room’s not finished. And, unlike R., I haven’t picked up a manga (comics) for months.

I did make a couple of purchases mostly for R., though. And I found some interesting shirts. But, overall, the two days (Saturday and Sunday) at the expo were dull.

(To be continued….)

***Fireworks over at 51313 Harbor Street***

Congrats are in order for 51313 for his blog marathon this weekend.

***Snippet***

So far we've visited Anime Expo and I updated PD's outline. More to come.

(Image was from the Internet and all rights belong to its owner)