Everyone Is Gay

Like a lot of people, I fell in love with the song "Say Something" by A Great Big World in recent months. It's just stunning. On a whim, I decided to pick up the CD last week and put it in the car.

My daughter and I might have a favorite new band. We haven't even made it through the whole CD yet and we think that. We keep hearing songs and going back to listen to them again, that's how much we love them.

For the most part, the CD is nothing like "Say Something" in mood. Where that one is melancholy and haunting, most of the rest are buoyant and positive. The melodies are often simple, but they are so damn catchy. Yes, it's pop, but I'm not ashamed to admit I can be a pop fan, too.

Our favorite, however, BY FAR, is a song called "Everyone Is Gay." My daughter's comment after we listened to it the first time was that while she loved a lot of the other songs out there that were in support of the LGBTQ community, it was great to hear one with so much joy and hope and humor. It embraces everyone, and do you know how great it is to see bi-inclusivity when bisexuality is often ignored/denied/erased? The song gives me hope, makes me laugh, and just utterly charms me.

When my husband got home, we made him listen/watch the video because it made us smile so much. We walked out of his office when it was over, and he immediately started whistling it. That's how catchy it is.


What sucks is that they're in our area this weekend for their tour and we can't go. Why didn't we figure out we loved them so much months ago? Damn it.

RT prep update

I am not nearly as stressed as I was on Monday. My swag is almost done (I'm giving away jewelry at the signing this year, woo hoo!), the self pampering has begun, and my stressful weekend has been eased.

I watched a packing video from Erin Knightley yesterday from last year and just boggled. For RT, she only used carry-on luggage. One suitcase and her purse. For eight days. And swag. It was astounding. I can't do the same thing (because I'm so short, I never take anything on the plane that I can't fit under the seat in front of me, struggling with the overheads is just not worth it), but I did pick up a few tips that will come in handy. I recommend watching.

Today, I have to run out to See's to pick up my suckers as my sweet swag, tomorrow is my facial, and Saturday is my haircut. Tuesday morning is going to come very, very soon.

Wednesday Words of Wisdom

Bauer's back

I am an unabashed Jack Bauer fan. I know the show is ridiculous and over the top, but I love Jack to pieces. One of my favorite tweets about the show last night was along the lines of, "Only Jack Bauer cannot say a word for the first half hour of a show and still be the center of attention." I hadn't realized just how much I'd missed it until the first tones of the countdown started and my pulse jumped. Plus, the London office looked exactly like CTU, and man, it was like coming home.

I think the best part about the show, though, is that you don't need all the backstory to have fun with it. It starts off with action and only goes up from there. Sure, the exchanges and reveals often mean more if you're familiar with all the characters, but it's not necessary. The show doesn't give you a chance to breathe. And just when you think you've got it figured out, it twists off in a new direction.

I know it has its detractors. It's seen as pro-torture. Which it is, in all fairness, but it's sooooooo over the top that I have never taken it seriously. It's popcorn action, really good popcorn action, and I don't have a problem separating that from any semblance of reality. People keep looking for meaning or emotional depth, but again, it's POPCORN ACTION. You don't go looking for too much emotional depth in most action movies when you go to the cinema, so I don't see how we're expected to do the same for 24 just because a) Kiefer's a better actor, and b) he's so damn serious all the time.

We had so much fun with the premiere last night. It was great to see Chloe as a Snowden-type character though Heller's Alzheimer's will be hard to watch. I was never a huge Audrey fan, but considering her husband is trying to mess with Jack, I'm interested in where that's going to go.

And Jack. Poor messed-up, lonely Jack. It's so good to have him back on my TV.

Did you watch?          

Getting ready for RT

My reaction to the upcoming RT in three simple words.

I'm not ready.

I'm trying to avoid actively thinking about it, because then I start having a panic attack. The timing is atrocious for me this year. My kids have active lives, I leave two days after Mother's Day, and I have deadlines that are staring me down. I know I'll feel better once I actually get to New Orleans, but honestly, I'm probably going to be sick until I'm physically checked in at the hotel. Even the flight itself is making me hyperventilate because it's my first time flying with Southwest and the lack of seat assignments makes me anxious (not to mention I hate having to worry about connections and they were unavoidable for a cross-country flight from California to New Orleans).

I wish I could use it as a vacation time like so many other authors do, but truth be told, I know for a fact that I'll spend hours alone in my room writing and that I will never leave the hotel except to go to and from the airport. I'll be uber relaxed by the time I return home the following week, though. Getting away from the hectic schedule of my everyday life is always rejuvenating.

I just have to get to the point where I'm actually there, first.

New review for What the Heart Thinks

I'm ending the week on a huge high. My recent release, What the Heart Thinks, got 4.5 stars from Lisa at the Prism Book Alliance!

It's one of those reviews where I breathe a sigh of relief, because honestly, not only did she have wonderful things to say, but she completely got Joe and Fess. It's always so rewarding to hear people enjoying heroes who mean so much to you!

Go check it out, and have a fabulous weekend!

Into the Wild

I've been watching movies off my Oscar list in recent weeks. Last night's offering was Into the Wild (2007, nominations for best supporting actor for Hal Holbrook and film editing). I will admit, I watched it mostly because yesterday was the last day it would be available for streaming on Netflix. I'd never read the book and knew almost nothing about it except the movie's blurb.

I was stunned by how much I loved it.

For those not in the know, it's based on Jon Krakauer's book of the same name, about a college graduate who gives up everything to live off the grid for the most part. He travels around for two years, on the search for his own personal truth and happiness, and while there are arguments about whether he's suicidal, stupid, or a modern day Thoreau, the movie portrays him as infinitely more complex than that.

For reasons really only known to him, he throws away a promising future, gets rid of most of his worldly possessions, and disappears from his life to wander around the country. Along the way, he runs into a wide variety of characters who all help contribute to molding the boy into a man as he works toward his ultimate goal to go to Alaska. There's a gentle joy to these encounters, some working better than others like the pair of aging hippies who have been there/done that and try to respect his choice while still imparting their own wisdom from having walked some of the same roads. There's the lonely old man who takes him in as a surrogate grandson, who can see exactly how doomed the young man is and is helpless to do anything to stop him. (The scene where Hal Holbrook agrees to wait on something they've talked about until after the young man has returned from Alaska made me sob, it was that powerful.)

The movie is about the value of finding happiness, but that it's not always in the ways you expect. The cinematography is stunning, the performances stellar. Watching it left me with my own questions and the overwhelming desire to find them for myself, while still recognizing that it's never as easy as it seems. It's not a fast watch (2 1/2 hours that relies on moments and vistas rather than action or humor), nor is it an easy one (his decisions are often frustrating and narrow), but it was well worth it in the end.