Preparing for Sandy

About this time last year we were getting ready for Halloween when a freak storm piled inches of snow on top of us (it was to be the only snow storm of the year, as it turned out.) Months before that we had endured Hurricane Irene.

Oh, poop.

And now, one day before trick or treating, Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on us, bringing wind and rain in her wake. Sitting here at my kitchen table, I can see plenty of leaves on the sodden ground already. I have the feeling that soon large branches and, perhaps, some trees will join the mix.

We prepared by buying milk and toilet paper, of course, AKA the necessities of life. Also, Spaghettios in cans. Not that we ever ate them before, but they were the closest thing to an MRI in the grocery store. I figure Hubby can punch through the lid with a pen and we can spoon them out with sporks, should the situation grow dire.

Bring. It. On.

There is one thing I forgot to buy, though - enough reading material. I'm coming to the end of 11-22-63 by King (it's excellent) so I really must go shopping. 

I certainly won't be driving anywhere, oh dear no. Instead I'll download some books for my iPad and have them for tonight and tomorrow:

Gone, Girl : Have been meaning to read this one for a while.

Heart Search (It's for those of you who heard all about Fifty Shades and didn't want to go quite that way - a WELL-WRITTEN love story and adventure.)

The Night Circus - Also been meaning to read this one for a long time but haven't had the chance. If I lose social media contact, that's my chance. NICE

The Body Wars - I loved Ednor Scardens, a book about coming-of-age in a Catholic neighborhood in Baltimore, so I can't wait to fire up this baby.

That should get me through the next thirty-six hours; if you don't hear from me tomorrow I'll be breaking into the Halloween candy (since trick-or-treating will, I fear, be a bust) and flipping the virtual pages.

Best of luck to my readers on the East Coast!

Kids' Movies

It's that time again - today I'm going to take my kid to a movie. I always put up a mental struggle in my head when this happens:

Me: OMG. This is going to be really bad. Despicable Me? Are you kidding me? And I have laundry to fold.

(30 minutes into movie) 

Me: Haw, haw, haw. This is pretty funny.

(At end of movie) 

Me: *SNIFF* I can't believe I'm crying at the ending. What an incredible movie!

I went through this with several films. I mean, who cries at the end of Toy Story 3? Any parent who (SPOILER ALERT) has pictured her kid going off to college, that's who.

I've been dragged unwillingly to the following flicks, and I ended up loving all of them:

Shorts: The Adventures of The Wishing Rock - First of all, great title (NOT.) And the trailers looked dumb. But I loved the character called Helvetica Black - wish I had thought of that name - as well as the way the stories were all linked by the wishing rock and the two kids having a staring contest. 

My recommendation: Pretty good, but do look away during the Mucus Monster scene.

Aliens in the Attic: I really protested at this one. First of all, it starred the actress who plays Shar-Pay in HIgh School Musical. Second, the aliens looked cheesy. Ditto special effects. 

See what I mean? Looks worse than Ninja turtles. Good movie, though.

Then Kevin Nealon and Tim Meadows turned on the heat. Meadows, in particular, was charming as a small town policeman who tangles with the kids and the aliens. 

Plus, the concept of being able to control an ex-boyfriend's body with an alien device is just really, really satisfactory. Not only did I enjoy this movie, I dragged my kid back to see it again. 

The Corpse Bride and Coraline: Got on my high horse about these. "This movie is too scary for my kid... blah blah blah..." Yeah, my kid LOVES them. She accepted the concept of the Bride as well as the Other Mother and never had nightmares. Tim Burton rocks. Plus, the music in Coraline is so lovely that I want to get the CD now. 

We ended up buying both DVD's.

Anime: I thought anything anime would be like Pokemon cartoons, with bad dialogue and terrible animation. Boy, was I wrong. When my friend introduced us to Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, I fell in love with Miyazake, an affair that lasts to this day. He is probably at his best in those two, but Arietty was amazing, and Spirited Away is one of the most beautifully animated films I've ever seen. Plus, that fantasy concept is breath-taking.

So, I may complain today as we head off to see Hotel Transylvania, but don't pay any attention to me. I'll be the one in the back, laughing and sniffling through the popcorn. Plus, it is a few hours that I get to spend with my daughter. Isn't that really what it is all about?

A Fine Hand

Image courtesy of the Queen's Table blog

I am the first to admit that I have horrible handwriting. It's a big old bummer, because to my mind script can be an artform. I love artistic block capitals, copperplate, and calligraphy.

My parents had their own styles of writing. Dad wrote in fine Italics always with a fountain pen. Mum had a fine, British hand. Both reflected them in a way I can't describe - I instantly recall them when I see pages that they wrote by hand.

As a girl, I had a long-standing correspondence with my cousin in Ireland. We wrote long letters to each other. She was very artistic (still is) and had a lovely, sloping hand. I pitied her having to read my crabbed, sloppy script in return.

I always vowed that I would change my writing and make it nicer to look at - or legible at least. Alas, it never happened. Dad gave me a fountain pen and tried to teach me Italics. I understood the dynamics of it and learned the letters and strokes, but the thing was - it was too slow. There were words and phrases pressing to come out, and they couldn't wait for fine flourishes and lovely scrawls.

For that reason, when I attempted to write long works, I never succeeded. The sight of my scribbles on my page took away from what I tried to convey. So when my boyfriend (now my husband) gave me his old Apple IIe computer, it was a revelation.

Finally, I was able to write without worrying about what the words actually looked like on the page. It was as magic as an incantation or a spell.

Perhaps I reflected that subconsciously in my Crown Phoenix series. The Crown Phoenix is, after all, a quantum typewriter that can move time and space.

And in a way, my laptop does move time and space. When I sit down to my story, I am transported to an Edwardian world. I'm in a stone cell with a black-haired orphan, or the garret of a huge, country house, with a boy who cannot leave his room.

I wish I did have beautiful script, especially when I'm signing a book for readers. They deserve the best I have to offer. I don't think it will ever happen. However, that magic, the machine, the Crown PHoenix - for me, that is real.