Tag: entertainment

Random Musings

–I think the reason the Oscars seem like they’re longer every year is because there’s a little voice in my head saying, “HELLO, I’m hovering ever closer to the abyss–the one with the Grim Reaper standing at the edge–so could we GET ON WITH IT?”

–Anyone who talks smack about Meryl Streep? Show me your fourteen freaking Oscar nominations, ‘kay? Do ANY two people ever look like they’re having more fun at the Oscars than Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson? Proof that a) they have SO made it, and b) they understand that the right work is joy and life is fun, and oh, okay, possibly for one of them, c) substances can be our friend.

–I don’t think it’s likely that many straight women and most gay men can hear the song “It’s Raining Men” while driving in the car without shouting out at least one smiling, “Hallelujah!”

–Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies? Little circles of paradise.

–I still love Al Gore. I understand him. He’s an Aries. I once had a dream about Al Gore, and–but wait. I mostly don’t talk about my dreams on LiveJournal.

For the social among you

Recently the power of e-mail has introduced me to writer Belinda Hulin. She has an article on her web site, “Neighborhood Walks: The Beaches,” that made me want to jump in my car and go to Florida, where she lives. Since so many of you are suffering through intense winter days right now, let her give you a little mental vacation.

And for those of you who like to entertain (of course, I thought of Shannon first), Hulin has launched a series of “Everything” cookbooks. The first is The Everything Fondue Party Book. Check it out.

I’m eagerly awaiting the release of The Everything Pizza Cookbook, because I suspect that the New Orleans-born Hulin is going to add some deliciousness to our Y&R Dinner with Drama hour. Or as another New Orleans writer would say, “Pizzalicious!”

Taken from ‘Nathan

I only got two three of ‘Nathan’s songs. Either I’m very sleepy or I just don’t know lyrics or music at all anymore.

Here’s the deal.

I put my iTunes on shuffle and post the first line of lyrics from the first 25 songs to pop up.

You guess each song.

I think mine are pretty easy. And I have a weird mix of music on my computer. Don’t you judge me.

Edited to provide the titles that no one guessed–Thanks for playing!

1. Little girl, don’t you forget her face David got Madonna “Promise to Try”
2. Maybe I should have saved those leftover dreamsGaedhal got “Here’s That Rainy Day” (mine’s the Frank Sinatra version)
3. He’s a real nowhere man ‘Nathan got Beatles “Nowhere Man”
4. The phone calls always left me unsure Sinead O’Connor “Jump in the River”
5. All the fear has left me now Sarah McLachlan “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy”
6. Father stop criticizing your son David got Marvin Gaye “Piece of Clay”
7. He was a hardheaded man, he was brutally handsome Shannon and Rhonda got Eagles “Life in the Fast Lane”
8. Could you ever need me and would you know how Fleetwood Mac “Over and Over”
9. My tea’s gone cold, I’m wondering why Rhonda got Dido “Thank You”
10. Now the wind is still, in a moment it will be raging Dan Fogelberg “Song from Half Mountain”
11. For all I’ve been blessed with in this life Gene got Bette Midler “In This Life”
12. Nobody does it better Rhonda got Carly Simon “Nobody Does It Better” from The Spy Who Loved Me
13. I was all right for a while Famous Author Rob Byrnes got Roy Orbison and k.d. lang “Crying”
14. If you see a faded sign at the side of the road Shannon, Dale, and Rhonda got B-52s “Love Shack”
15. I know you broke up with him and your heart’s still on the shelf Rhonda got Don Henley “The Last Worthless Evening”
16. You act like you were just born tonight Gene got Rosanne Cash “Seven Year Ache”
17. No I would not give you false hope Famous Author Rob Byrnes got Paul Simon “Mother and Child Reunion”
18. I heard what you said, and I can tell you it’s true Pet Shop Boys “I Want to Wake Up”
19. Rows and flows of angel hair Shannon and Rhonda got Joni Mitchell “Both Sides Now”
20. Crazy, I’m crazy for feeling so lonely Rhonda got Patsy Cline “Crazy”
21. God, I feel like hell tonight ‘Nathan got Sheryl Crow “Strong Enough”
22. Like anyone would be, I am flattered by your fascination with me Rhonda got Alanis Morissette “Uninvited”
23. I’m sitting here alone up in my room David got Britney Spears “Born to Make You Happy”
24. Who’s peeking out from under a stairway Gaedhal got the Association “Windy”
25. You take Sally, and I’ll take SueGene got Jackson Browne “Cocaine”

I miss the Pet Shop Boys

I’m working on the second Coventry book now, and it’s been really hard to let go of TJB5 When You Don’t See Me, just as I predicted would happen. I think I had mentioned that, similarly to the way I listened to George Michael during the writing of I’m Your Man and R.E.M. and U2 when we were working on Three Fortunes in One Cookie, my part of this newest novel was written to the tunes of the Pet Shop Boys. I ended up with a LOT of PSB in my iTunes library (thanks, Tim!), and now, whenever one of the songs plays, I find that my hands get still on the keyboard, my eyes glaze over, and those characters come back to reenact scenes on my monitor like I’ve got a camera pointed at their lives. I miss them.

We used Pet Shop Boys’ song titles for the chapter titles in the new novel. Not all of them are available on iTunes, but maybe Tim can do one of those groovy playlists (I can’t figure out how). But these are the titles, if you’re interested. The songs themselves will always evoke (for me) the many emotions our narrator experiences over the course of the novel.

Chapter 1 New York City Boy
Chapter 2 A Man Could Get Arrested
Chapter 3 The Sodom and Gomorrah Show
Chapter 4 Nervously
Chapter 5 It Always Comes as a Surprise
Chapter 6 Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)
Chapter 7 Do I Have To?
Chapter 8 Bet She’s Not Your Girlfriend
Chapter 9 Only the Wind
Chapter 10 Young Offender
Chapter 11 It Couldn’t Happen Here
Chapter 12 Tonight Is Forever
Chapter 13 We All Feel Better in the Dark
Chapter 14 My October Symphony
Chapter 15 It’s a Sin
Chapter 16 Happiness Is an Option
Chapter 17 A New Life
Chapter 18 Here

Dreary Saturday

Maybe I should have taken it as a sign when the gate started blowing shut as I was backing out of The Compound. But I got out, opened it again, and went to the gym. After all, the weather was even worse when I went there on Thursday night (yes, success! it was open!). About midway downtown, I remembered that I’d forgotten my book. I like to read if I do the stationary bike or the treadmill (since my only other option is to watch the news, and I go to the gym to get away from the world, not be subjected to it). I figured that since I didn’t have workout clothes with me anyway, I’d just spend all my time in the pool.

Funny thing. When you don’t go to the gym for eight months, things change. The pool now closes at two on Saturdays. WTF? I got there after three. So even though I didn’t have workout clothes, I forced myself to work out. The bike was excruciating, however, because I had to watch some stupid Hugh Hefner birthday thing. (Sorry, Lindsey.) So I didn’t do the bike as long as usual, but I made up for it by doing several other machines and stretching next to Muscle Beach (you’ll get that reference if you’ve read THE DEAL). Also, since it sucked so bad not to be able to swim, I treated myself to both the whirlpool and the dry sauna.

Now I’m off to eat a healthy dinner and watch a movie before I return to writing. And speaking of writing, last night I had this dream in which I figured out a bunch of plot stuff in the novel that was GENIUS! Except when I woke up, I realized I was actually coming up with new plots for The Young and the Restless. Not much use to me, but CBS? Call me. ‘Cause the show is mostly sucking these days.