No Strings Attached

RIP Hank Reinhardt

I was a teenager the first time I met Hank and he had a sword in his hand. The last time I saw him, he had a sword in his hand. But that was Hank. He knew more about bladed weapons and the practical use of a sword than anyone in my acquaintance. And he was passionate about the subject.

He started Museum Replicas Limited to bring good historically accurate swords to the public that could be used in real combat. This was before the explosion of Renaissance Faire and other venues like it. He made a business of it and did pretty well with it. He was quite the salesman. He had to explain why his swords were more expensive than another vendors time and time again to customers (because his were made for combat not just show. My favorite example of this was when he took a blade that had been bought for under $100 at a show and one of his blades which was about $170 as I remember to a demo and about six swings in the cheaper blade shattered just above the hilt and Hank showed us the tang and how badly made it was.)

I went to their shop a couple of times. I don't know if they have a store front any more. I would find Hank there and we would talk about what we had been up to and swords and fantasy movies and anything else that came to mind. That was the nice thing about Hank, he could talk about just about any subject.

When I was younger, I would see him at conventions usually in the dealer's room or doing a demo for the convention. In later years, he would be a guest of the convention although there were still a couple that he would set up shop at and did quite well. I always enjoyed my time talking to Hank. I did get to introduce him to Caroline. He had been a part of my convention going for just about as long as I have been going to conventions.

I'll miss you Hank.

My sympathies go out to his wife Toni (a really neat person in her own right) and the rest of his family and his extended family.

He was one of a kind.

I think I am going to pull out my sword that a friend made me from parts that he got at Hank's shop today and hang it up in the living room.

I am grateful that I knew Hank as long as I did.

RTBTCKI ( I Have Comic Books to Sort)

Today is all about getting ready for tomorrow. I have a bunch of comics to sort to get ready for the great comic book give away we have on Halloween. I also have to go to get the rest of the boxes out of storage. Yeah, we are going to need that many comics. Our street is very popular for trick or treaters. I also need to put up the graveyard which I haven't done yet.

A few things that have come up in comments that I want to comment on in the past few days.

As to NaNoWriMo, I am still waffling between three ideas. I have a feeling that I know which one is going to come forward but I know which one I think I need to work on to get it done. Cryptic I know, but that's my brain at work. Also I am unsure if I am going to post any of what I am writing this time like I have in previous years.

As to my rant on copying. There was a question about patterns that came up and if you use pieces of several patterns to make something then are you swiping? I figure that if the workmanship judge asked if one used a pattern for the costume the answer would be yes, several which might get you points for cleverness to put them all together to get the effect you want. I always sort out which patterns I use that I used part of another pattern and which I had to do from scratch.

There was no legal recourse for the photographer and they knew that. It was a moral character question. Where it gets all the funnier, in a sick way, is that the swiper is in a number of groups who hunt down people who copy other people's stuff and call it their own and yells at them for swiping the other artist's work. Guess photos don't count. And Please if you have figured out what I am talking about don't dogpile on the offending artist. They have been chastised enough by other people much closer to all parties involved and the photographer has sorted it out with them to a reasonable conclusion.

It is nice to know that in person Rosie is as cool as she appears on TV.

Other Stuff that Comes to Mind

Yeah, I'm still behind on my dolls and feeling rather bad about being a bottle-neck. After we are done with UFC, I plan to get all those finished and move onto my next project. I have a couple of things I want to make. Including something I want to get done by next Halloween.

Caroline has become a big fan of Jill Thompson's Scary Godmother. I think she sees Hannah as herself or a little girl just like her. We ran across the first Scary Godmother cartoon the other night and Caroline was enchanted with the whole thing. I told her that the cartoon was based on a comic book which she insisted that I find for her. We searched the bookshelves and I came up with 3 out of 5 graphic novels which she has been reading. After we read through the first book together, she informed me she wanted puppets of the Scary Godmother and Hannah and asked if I could make them. There are a lot of good characters in there so I think I might be making a Scary Godmother set for my own personal use. Through a mutual friend, I got in touch with Jill and told her about her new fan.

Bowling went OK last night. My first game was pretty bad but I made it up with two good games. It uses to be enough for one of us to be "on" to win games but now it is apparent that two of us need to be better than our average to win.

I think that Yankees made the right decision for their next manager. They needed someone with experience with being a manager and with the Yankee organization. The sports pundits are speculating where A-Rod is going to land since they figure his manager already has a deal in place somewhere to pull the World Series stunt. I do love to listen to sports radio which is a guilty pleasure for me.

Off to start the comic book sort. Hope y'all have a good day.

I am grateful that we have comics to give away.

Sports Talk Monday

Yeah, I tend to do this during the American football season probably because most of the games are played over the weekend unlike most of the rest of the major sports which are played during the week so my commentary would be more spread out.

Special pat on the back and "there, there" to Popfiend who is a long suffering Jets fan who this season is getting the short end of every bet he has taken because the Jets can't seem to get it done. The sad thing is that they come close. They show signs of life. It looks like they might....Oh never mind, they are done with just some of the biggest collapses I have even seen for a football team. And it was not Chad fault this time. Yeah he didn't get it done but he didn't have much (if any) support either. They would have lost no matter who was in the QB position.

The Giants won the mudbowl over in Merry Ol' England. It was fun seeing just about every team's jersey represented in the stands. The Dolphins did start to make a comeback but they just couldn't get it done. The Giants do have to be careful about sloppy play and stupid penalties. They had plenty of both in that game. There is playing loose and playing stupid and a lot of those penalties were stupid playing on the player's part. They have a bye week and then they have the Cowboys which will really be the test of their ability to play the game.

Next week sees the two undefeated teams going head to head. Colts vs. the Patriots. I think a lot of people are going to be cheers for the Colts but I think that the Pats have it which is hard for me to say since my first football team was the Baltimore Colts.

OSU stayed on top but they are really going to have to step it up a notch to stay up there. Not bad for a team that is mostly made up of freshmen but this week's game shows how easy it would be for them to loose. They are still learning to play together and cleanly.

The BoSox did it again. They won on the road and they did it in short order. It is not that the Rockies didn't try to get back in it. They did and in three of the four games, one hit could have made a difference. It just seemed that anytime they got any momentum on their side, the Soxs would come out and pound them back out into submission. I can't say I am happy with A-Rod announcing during the game that he was opting out of his contract. Honestly that could have waited until today or even tomorrow. Instead all the commentary went to him during the game. Showboater.

Basketball starts soon. It will be interesting to see how the refereeing goes this year in light of the scandals that have come to light.

Is it me or has Hockey slowed down?

I am grateful for the range of topics I can pick from for Sports.

Skirting the Law

I know a lot of artists who use photo reference to get their art to look right. There are books of the stuff you can buy at Borders or art supply stores or even craft stores. Most of them are Japanese but there are some American ones as well.

However if one uses a photograph that one has asked the photographer if they can use for reference and the photographer has requested very nicely that you don't use that photo as reference but here is a bunch of photos they do allow people you use as reference please feel free to use but refer back to the original photo. Do you just go ahead and use the photo assuming that no one is going to call you on it? Or do you respect the photographer's wishes and use another photo as reference?

I'll let you guess which way our young artist went and then went on to announce they were doing prints of the drawing as well as selling the original since they had to make rent. This got back to the photographer who kindly requested that the individual not make prints and did allow the artist to sell the original on E-bay with the request that with the painting went a reference back to the photo that the photographer had requested the artist not use. To which the artist cried to the skies and the Internet that they were being oppressed by this big mean photographer who won't let them use their good work only some crappy stock photos. Well I have seen the stock photos and they are not crap. They just didn't have the pose the artist wanted but they did have one close to it in form. Personally I think that the photographer is being more than generous to another person who doesn't get the fact that if it is on the Internet, it doesn't mean that it is free.

In another case that came to my attention recently, someone took someone else's drawing and ran it through a few filters on photoshop and called it something else. When caught on it, they changed the title to a homage to the original drawing which still is not right since it is the original drawing with only a couple of minor color changes. Funny idea of what homage is on this artist's part. A little more looking at their art and others came up with the pictures and drawing that this person ran through some filters to come up with their version of the art. Now copying is a way to learn and I am not taking that away from anyone but this is not copying but outright swiping with a few changes to make it "theirs" which still doesn't make it so.

It is at times like this I am glad I work in 3-D rather than in 2-D. But even then I have seen doll makers at each other's throats over how much of a pattern makes a doll an original vs. a copy. Believe me, those discussions get pretty heated. Also crediting patterns that a doll maker uses that they found in a book or on the internet. It has come to the point where a doll maker will emphasize, more than once, that they came up with the pattern by themselves. Emphasize it too much and one will have doll makers looking carefully at their dolls to see if they can find a swipe they can call them on.

I am grateful for my original patterns.

Just Rosie

I have been a fan of Rosie O'Donnell after I accidentally saw her stand-up late one night on TV way back when she was just starting. Over the years I have just grown in admiration for her painfully honest point of view and her comic timing. Ariel has been a big fan of hers for as long as she can remember.

Last night Rosie was signing at the Book Revue in Huntington, which is a bookstore I can highly recommend as worth the trip. They have both new and used books for sale. The store is tidy and very well organized. We decided to make the trip so Ariel could meet Rosie and I could get a copy of "Tigerheart" (coming out in June 2008) to her.

We arrived a little over 2 hours before she started signing and good thing too. The line formed quickly and it was long. She signed for over two hours for over 300 people. We were about 30 people back from the front of the line. We had fun chatting with the people in the line about Rosie and where we were from and what we did. Diverse is the word I would use for that group. One woman there who wanted to meet Rosie was 85. There were kids as well who loved her.

She is great with kids. There were a couple of kids there in wheelchairs who are big fans of hers and she spent extra time with them making the moment she spent with them about them. She also spent some time talking to these kids brothers and sisters since she said that they probably got no attention at events like this. One boy who had a rather sullen look on his face all of the sudden broke out into a beautiful smile and said very quietly, "Yeah." She gave him a hug, which I think did more for him that an autograph ever could.

And there were a couple of goons who either worked for or are rabid fans of Bill O'Reilly that were there to cause trouble. Unfortunately, they were towards the front of the line with a video camera and an agenda. So that put a bit of a downer on the festivities and stopped the line cold for a while security and Rosie's brother dealt with the idiots who were desperately trying to pick a fight.

We got up there and Ariel got to meet her. Ariel showed her the Broadway Bear we got that Rosie had signed and Rosie personalized the Bear. Ariel told Rosie that she had played Golda too in her middle school production of Fiddler on the Roof. They sang the first stanza of Sabbath prayer together and Ariel floated down the stairs having met one of her heroes.

Rosie O'Donnell is a class act all the way and I am even more impressed that I was before with her.

I am grateful that we took the time to stand in line and meet Rosie.

NaNoWriMo starts in less than a month

This time next week we will be off to the races with NaNoWriMo.

I think it is appropriate that it starts after Halloween. It can be one big scary project or a lot of little scary projects rolled up into one. The first year I did it, I got through the first week. The second year I made it to the end of week 2 but then dropped it. So this year I'll be happy if I make it to week three.

I now have three ideas that I am churning around in my brain for the challenge. Two of them are probably not novel length but really long short stories. The third is one I have been working on off and on for the last five years. One is theater related. One has an Asian spin. One has an Irish spin.

I also have a Doyle/Lovecraft crossover that I started for "Shadows over Baker Street" but never turned in. That's on a whole other computer.

I have a million ideas but I think all people do. Some can write and expand on these ideas and others talk about what they might do with the ideas and other people act on their ideas. I need to start writing my ideas down and expanding on them. I can write and I can write well. Now I need to learn to write long.

I am grateful that I can put my ideas together in a coherent fashion.

I'm talking Baseball

Well the BoSoxs came out swinging and won the first one but that doesn't give them the series, just a leg up on the next game. Remember the AL pennant went the distance and I won't give up on the Rockies yet.

With Joe Torre given a choice of taking a rather substandard contract or leaving the Yankees and he took the high road and hit it at the same time, there has been a lot of talk on the various sports radio stations about who is next in the role of punching bag for Steinbrenner. Currently it is looking like Don Mattingly is the front-runner with Pena being the dark horse. Whoever gets it is getting some major slack from the front office. They are going on record that they are not expecting a World Series the first year for this manager or possible even getting to the play offs. They are willing to give the person time to develop the team and his style with the team. I'm wondering how long that is going to last. I think was annoys me the most is that whoever is next is getting a much fairer shake than Torre ever got his entire career by the Yankee organization.

If the Yankees are smart, they let A-Rod go off and be fabulous elsewhere. But this is the Yankees we are talking about.

The Mets have to get their house in order. They need pitching especially on the back end of the game. Sure they did really well this year only to lose it in the last week of the season but the pitching was shaky most of the year. And I don't think first base is sorted out yet. They have potential and lots of it but they need to not fall apart when they need to keep it together.

The Braves have seen this before. Most of the 70s were not kind to the Braves. But in the 90s, having built the farm team in the 80s, they came back and took it all. They dominated the National league for years. Then there were some bad trades and other moves and now the Braves are back in the 70s trying to figure out how to win ballgames and keep butts in the seats.

The Cubs fans have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and it turned into the on coming train. I predict that the Cubbies will be in the World Series sometime in the next 4 years but I'll be surprised if they win. Again it is that potential thing that has not been fulfilled.

Then there are my poor Orioles. My first baseball team which would consider it a good season is they finished above .500. Someday they too will be in contention.

So what are your thoughts on the baseball season in general or your favorite team specifically?

I am grateful for the game of baseball.

A Change in the Wind

We are going to be going to United Fan Con or at least Peter will be. We haven't quite figured out the rest of the group since we made some plans because we were NOT going to be there that weekend so now we have to sort those things out.

There has just been a different feeling around here. Maybe a change in the wind or the weather but whatever it is, it seems to be helping me to get stuff done in a timely fashion. Part of it could be from taking the time to breath properly from the diaphragm, which I learned from my first voice teacher Judith Sullivan. I sorted out that I was feeling short of breath a lot and then I caught myself holding my breath for no reason I could discern. So I have been slowing down and breathing properly.

I did get up our Halloween decorations. It just didn't feel like fall until recently so my motivation for putting them up was that fact that Halloween is a week away, Caroline kept asking when we were going to put them up, and (which was the nail in the coffin so to speak) a neighbor asking me if I was going to put up those pretty purple lights for Halloween. I don't think I have missed "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" which is another clue that Halloween is around the corner.

I love my husband. He got all the recycling out and the stuff we had slated for a charity group pick-up so I was not racing to get any of that done this morning.

There is more going on in my brain but right now I have a little girl who needs some help with a project and I have a witch's hat to make for a swap along with some other dollie stuff to do. Since it is raining off and on today, it is a good day to work indoors.

I am grateful for the ability to breath properly.

Think Good thoughts for Other People

A friend of mine is in the hospital due to an asthma attack. Please think good thoughts for Jean. She is a good person and really doesn't deserve this.

Another friend of mine is going through some custody problems with her children. I can't get too specific since I don't want to give the other party something to use to say that they have been bad mouthed. But think good thoughts for her children who are in what I consider a bit of a dangerous situation.

Another friend is waiting to hear if they are employed again. After many years with the same company, they were let got a couple of years ago and have been on a roller coaster ride of employment and lack there of. They so deserve a good solid job that doesn't vanish like a ghost after a couple of months.

A couple of friends are going through some serious health concerns and a couple of health scares. So far insurance has covered most of the bills but there is always that concern that this will disappear leaving them with massive bills. They are making their co-pays but it has been a close thing.

Another friend is having to revisit some stuff that she had hoped was in the past. Here's to it being nothing and life can go on for her.

There is another friend who has found the days not to be as bright as they use to be. They recognize that they are slipping into a dark pit but are having a hard time not just jumping in. I can sympathize with that feeling and hope happier or at least more stable times ahead for them.

Also good thoughts for my sister who got downsized along with a bunch of other people all of who are looking for the same sort of job in a tightening market.

For everyone who reads this who need a good thought or some positive energy or just a cyber hug .*hug* I'm thinking good thoughts and much happiness for you.

I am grateful for the positives in my life even when I don't see them.

Monday Morning Quarterbacking

I am betting there are a bunch of Fox sports executives that have given a great sigh of relief since the Boston Red Sox are in the World Series. The Cleveland Indians verses the Colorado Rockies has less appeal since the markets that pay attention to them are much smaller. They can sell the BoSoxs to America and there are die-hard fans all over the country. However I think that the Rockies are going to continue on the tear they have been on and win the series in short order.

The Giants won and the Jets lost. Hmmm, must be Monday. Best headline about the Jets this morning was in Newsday not the Daily News. It said, "Hanging Chad?" And there in is the question. It is Chad or the team or a combination of both? I'm watching the defense and it is offending me. The idea is to NOT let the other team score rather than help them down the field. But the offense is not doing much better. Then there is the quarterback who is just not getting it done. Or is getting it done in the first half and making it look like there is hope and then totally falling apart after halftime.

I have noticed all the noise about Eli and his abilities has been silenced. I guess winning a few in a row gets the sports channels off your back. The real question for the Giants are the games ahead. A couple of these wins have been rather sloppy and if a call had gone another way, they could be 3-4 rather than 5-2. I'm predicting that neither is going to be seen in the Superbowl this year. Too many other solid teams that are getting it done. Cheating aside.

The men's bowling season on ESPN started up this week with a showing of the Japan Cup tournament. Apparently there was a change in the rules that really put the Americans competing at a disadvantage that by the time they got to the semi-finals there was only one American bowling. This in a venue that the Americans had dominated for so many years.

My bowling team finally moved out of the basement since our third team member was able to join us. We're in the middle of the pack right now and happy to be there.

I watched Ohio State stay number 1 in the country. It was not the blowout everyone was predicting and they got a bit sloppy at the end. Not bad for a team that has 17 freshmen playing it although. Then there is the train-wreck that is Notre Dame who alumni must be doing the mantra of "there is always next year." College football is so much fun to watch.

I am grateful that my bowling team did so well last week and that my back didn't go out.

He's Sancho. Yes, he's Sancho.

Ariel and I went last night to see Peter perform as Sancho in "Man of La Mancha." This is the second time that Peter has performed the role. It was a fine, well-directed production. The cast was solid and the leads were wonderful. This was the Bayport Players 100th production. The company has been around since the 60s and has done a whole range of plays. I enjoyed it a lot. Any technical problems were small and I think the only reason I noticed them was because that was part of what I was trained to do as a stage manager.

Peter looked like he was having a lot of fun and he told me later how he had forgotten how much he enjoyed treading the boards. I feel the same way often about stage management. It can be a pain but it also can be fun. And there is a sense of satisfaction once the play is up and running. You know all the stories from rehearsal. You have watched it come from first table read to full blown production and you are sad to see it end most of the time. Occasionally you get that real winner that makes you wish that closing night was the next night so you can get that nightmare off your plate. I think in my career I had a grand total of two of those which, considering the number of shows I did, isn't too bad.

Peter and I also went to a movie in the movie theater which is a first in a long time. I have been wanting to see Across the Universe which Julie Taymor had directed. I really like her work. I really, really like her work. I have seen just about everything that can be seen on tape or film and as many of her live shows as I have been able. There is something about her work that appeals to me a lot like most of Cirque appeals to me. I love the visuals and some of her twisted ideas of the appropriate use of puppetry in the world.

That being said, this movie just didn't quite make it with me. The visuals were stunning. The cast was strong. The camera work was great. But the script was weak. And that was a big problem here. It either needed another pass or one less pass. I don't know which. It was an interesting idea to take Beatles tunes and put a story to them but the story was a bit of a mish-mosh and parts of it just didn't need to be there other than they had cool people in them (those being Bono singing "I am the Walrus" and performing with a really good American accent and Eddie Izzard singing "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" which, frankly, belong in a totally different movie). I am not regretting that I saw it in a movie theater because some of the visuals needed that huge screen for full impact. I'm just not going to be getting the DVD to add to my collection.

I am grateful for all the visual art I saw yesterday.

RTBTCKI ( Fall is in the Air Edition)

Gosh, that was it for questions? I'm kind of amazed.

Pending approval, my editor said that the Doctor Who anthology which has my story in it will be coming out early Summer 2008.

Ariel, Caroline, and I went out for dinner last night as Peter opened "Man of La Mancha." We went to a Japanese place that we like. Caroline had Udon (buckwheat noodles) and for the first time used chopsticks to eat the noodles with. They had these "training" chopsticks that allowed her to pick up the noodles. After a little practice, she had the motion down and a great time eating her dinner. She amused both the owners of the place and us. She was so proud of her achievement as were we.

We had a bunch of high winds and rain roll through the area last night. No tornados that I know about but we do have lots of leaves and branches on the ground which need to be picked up. Caroline and I will probably do that and put out the Halloween decorations as well.

We still haven't come to a final decision on Caroline's costume but are leaning towards Cinderella which she already owns. Considering the number of costumes she owns that fit, I don't think I am making her one this year. But this could change by the end of the week.

I think the NaNoWriMo is going to be the Shakespeare one since it is the older of the two ideas and I know it is something that has not been written yet.

Think good thoughts for Ariel as she takes the PSAT this morning.

I am grateful for comfortable mornings.

You've got questions & I've got answers

I thought I would do something a little different and put the answers to the questions I got yesterday in the body of the text rather than in comment section as I have done before but since it is going to be long, I am putting it behind a cut.

You can still ask me a question and I will try to answer them

I am grateful for the questions. Keep them coming.

I love your works, you are the best Star Trek author, with KRAD coming in second place. Looking forward to reading "After the Fall".

Now for my question, can you comment on a new New Frontier book to follow "Missing in Action"? I enjot the New Frontier line very much, and eagerly want to read more of the adventures of M'k'n'zy of Calhoun-John

Well John I can say that I like New Frontiers a lot too. Heck I am an admiral and an entire alien race in that series. One of my brother's is a diplomat and the other is an engineer. My sister is an admiral too I believe.

He has turned in the next outline and is waiting for the approval but I can say that you won't be disappointed with the book.

I know they're probably all like your children, but which is your favorite costume that you've designed?-Elayne

You are right. That is a toughie since I have made so many. For group I will go with the Labyrinth costume and individual I would say Vincent from Beauty and the Beast.

What have you decided on for your NaNoWriMo project?-Mason

I am in a quandary about that. I have two that are in my head. One I think is not long enough to be a novel but would be a kicking short story or novella with a bit of a Shakespearian twist. The other is one I have been doing a lot of research for and think I can move forward with it and it has a distinctive Asian feel to it.

So when can we expect to see the publication of your Doctor Who story?-J. Alexander

Well pending approval by the BBC, about this time next year I believe.

Allowing for the fact that the Omniverse is infinite and that God, too, is infinite, would you like some toast?-TAC

To which I respond, "A Fish."

Are you and the family planning to travel "Down Under" anytime?-Megan

Peter gets a number of invites from various conventions in that area but it is a matter of the whole family going rather than just Peter and I can't see that happening anytime real soon but if you are talking cosmically then it is on our list of things to do.

What was your absolutely world class favorite project to work on, ever? I figure it was also the most draining, but the one that you would go back to and do it all again if you could.

And it can be anything, personal, professional, extracurricular, anything.-Daven

Well I could say Caroline since she is my daughter and means the world to me. And parenthood has become so important to me and who I am.

Before Caroline....gosh ...there are a couple I am proud of that I participated in.

In my theater career it comes down to two "Man for All Seasons" which I was the ASM on at the Alliance Theater. It was an incredible show with a dynamite cast and a wonderful director. We had a lot of fun the whole time.

Personal satisfaction for what I was able to do had to be "The Invisible Man" by Eddie Lee and Larry Larson. I got stuff to work in there and used my knowledge as a magician's assistant and a puppeteer to make people believe that there was an invisible man onstage. When it worked, it was sheer magic and the audience couldn't believe their eyes. I loved listening to them speculate how we did some of the tricks during the intermission. They never seem to get it right with the exception of a local magician and even he got a few wrong. We used a new type of sound system to throw the invisible man's voice all over the stage and tried a revised version of an older magic trick to make a man vanish in front of you.

In a "But I Digress" column several years ago, Peter recounted the story of how he told you he had feelings for you and asked you out.

I think it's cute and I'm a romantic. I want to know more.-Popfiend

I think I have said before that when he told me what was going on with him and his ex-wife, I didn't hear past that because Peter was on my list of last guys to ever get a divorce so I didn't really hear the part of "and I would like to date you," since I was still processing the first part. You also probably know that Peter and I had been friends for a number of years and hung out at conventions.

What happened was that we had exchanged e-mails some time ago for professional reasons since he commissioned me to make a puppet for him. We both were on AOL and could IM each other. So we started talking on AOL. We had long rambling conversations about all kinds of things. We would "talk" each morning online and sometimes in the evening. Finally I went up to his neck of the woods to be his date at the Marvel Christmas Party. We spent a weekend talking face to face and there was a spark there. So I moved up to New York since my career was going no where in Atlanta in hopes of getting things back on track. One things led to another and we have been happily married for over 5 years. This December will be the 10th anniversary of that date.

What's the hardest thing you've ever done?- Paige's Mom

Physically it would be give birth to Caroline.

Mentally it was letting go of a good friend who, eventually, OD on heroin. I tried to help him and we (his friends) tried to get him help but the writing was on the wall that he wasn't going to change so I had to give up someone who made me laugh and made me feel good about myself but the drugs were more important to him than us and he let us know that by his behavior. After he died there were a lot of what-ifs going on in my head but over the years I figured out that I did what I could do for him and he knew I was there for him if he could get clean and stay clean.

Ask Me A Question

I haven't done this in a while so here is your chance to ask me a question.

As with previous versions of this, there are questions I cannot or will not answer. Please understand that there are a variety of reasons including those lovely NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreements) that are in place.

I look forward to what you want to know.

I am grateful for sleeping cats and kids. (I took a picture. It was too cute.)

Sometimes you just need a reminder

I have a friend who is a doll-maker among many other things. I met her through a group that she runs online. She is over 80 and pushing 90 and has done quite a few amazing things in her life. She said to the group yesterday morning,

Sometimes I get up in the morning and am as tired as I was when I went to bed, but then once I have my wits about me I realize I am just very very lucky to get up in the morning, lol (I can hear her laugh after saying that so I believe the lol at the end)

It is such a simple sentiment but such a profound one.

Another friend has gotten me to reading two websites that I find interesting to read and ponder. One is Zen Habits and the other is The Daily Om . Both have given me things to think about. Can you tell I have been doing a lot of thinking recently?

I have been working up the energy to tackle a big project that I may now finally have the energy to do. I want to sit down and make a list of what needs to be done over the next two weeks and then see if I can sandwich in this monster.

I will be doing NaNoWriMo this year to see if I can make it to the third week this time. I do a little better each year. I do plan to do an outline before I start this time. So Art by the Inch is out this year but I am unsure if that project is still going.

I think I am finally out of the stall mode I have been in. I had been feeling like I am just turning my wheels and digging myself further into the mud. But some friends came and gave me a push and I think I can go forward again.

I am grateful for things that give me a positive kick in the rump and get me moving again.

Think Good Thoughts

We have a couple of things going on that we should know shortly how they are going to play out. Not much I can talk about until various things happen that will allow me to.

I do talk about what I can in this web log. It does give you a glimpse of what our lives are like. But it is only a glimpse. There is so much going on that I either forget when I go to post the next day or it is in the forbidden to be talked about yet category.

There are some things that we have talked about that are rather personal like the deaths of friends, my miscarriage, and goofy fun we have with our friends (like the Rib get together at DragonCon) and that's just this year. I try to be as open and honest as I can and sometimes it does come back to bite me on the rump.

Just think good thoughts for us.

I'd appreciate it.

I am grateful for those people who have our best interests at heart

Just Compounding the Issue

United Fan Con has decided that Peter is not a worthy guest for their convention so he was dropped after they advertised his appearance for almost six months. This is the second time that has happened this year. I think that their explanation is what sticks in my craw more than anything else.

From the United Fan Con Website (which I am not going to link to)

Running a convention is a very difficult and complicated job. Often things that are planned are canceled or changed due to work commitments by guests or the lack of support, staffing or funding for that activity. For the last few years we tried to add comic book tracks and guests to our event. Unfortunately, we have not been able to organize a reasonable guest lineup or track for this year’s event. So, it was with great regret that a decision was made to cancel comic book writer Peter David. Mr. David was personally contacted and made aware that, under the current convention plans, budget and staffing, his appearance was not going to generate the interest needed to cover the expense. We are sorry that some of you will be disappointed by the decision, but sometimes hard decisions have to be made for the best interest of the event.

Comic Book writer Peter David who also wrote for Babylon 5 and Crusades? Who has a number of movies under his belt? Who created a series with another one of your guests, Bill Mumy, for Nickelodeon called "Space Cases"? New York Times best-selling author? The guy who has gotten you in touch with some of the guests you have brought to your convention because you asked him for some help? That Peter David? Won't generate the interest? You mean won't charge for his autograph which you get a cut of don't you?

My bet is that you have a couple of guests on your roster that aren't going to generate the interest which will allow you to recover your expense but you have signed contracts with their agents so cutting them would cost you money since there is a kill fee. Peter took a handshake agreement with you since we had done the convention for the past two years which just goes to raise the veil upon the character of the people running the convention which right now is not too high in my book.

I am grateful that we were able to cancel our car reservation for that weekend without incurring an expence.

No New Who Review this week

Which makes sense since there is no New Who to review. We did sit down and watch the first two episodes of "Sarah Jane Adventures" this weekend with Caroline. I enjoyed it. The story was engaging enough for the adults but Caroline got a kick out of it too. She figured out who the bad guys were early in the game but then she has seen this villain before. I liked the redo of the costumes which were much more puppet than CGI this go round.

So what have I been watching and enjoying out of the new shows?

Chuck- I wasn't sure about the premise and the first episode was OK. But it has much improved since that episode. I am not entirely sure how this is going to play out but I am along for the ride. Adam Baldwin is great as is Yvonne Strahovski as the competing agents assigned to look after Chuck and his amazing brain. The tango mix up was a special treat.

Pushing Daisies-I was going to watch because of all the wonderful actors and actresses they have in the cast. It is a Broadway Theater watcher's dream cast in a TV series. When Kristin Chenoweth started belting out "Hopelessly Devoted to You" I was laughing and as it progressed I was laughing harder and harder. So far this is my favorite new show on TV

Reaper-It seems a lot like Chuck on the surface but there are many differences between the characters and the situations. This one reminds me a bit of the Friday the 13th TV series since a different object is used each week but Reaper is much funnier.

Aliens in America- could become the next Malcom in the Middle if it lasts. There are a few problems in that they have put a time limit on Raj being in the US since exchange students usually stick around for a year. I like that they have not been sugar coating or even skirting a lot of the current issues that face teens especially teenage Muslims.

Back to you- I'm on the fence. It has a dynamite cast but the writing is not holding my attention. Also they set up a premise in the first episode that they have done very little with since.

Bionic Woman-This week it seemed to turn the corner for me. Like Battlestar, it is taking a while to get all the pieces in place before it will really soar. I am willing to give it time to develop. I am just hoping that the network does too. And could be get rid of some of all this gosh darn mystery that surrounds anything the Bionic Woman does? I don't think we need all this about her past and her former lover who died in the pilot and the BIG CONSPERICY that is going on for the show to work. There are layers and then there are smoke screens.

Dirty Sexy Money- has the potential of being the Dallas of its time. Solid cast of characters performed by some of the best in the business. My biggest problem is who (if anyone) to cheer for in the Darling family. They are trying to make them all sympathetic and what worked in Dallas is that some of the characters were unredeemable and total jerks. There are no villains in the piece. I am sort of on the fence with this one.

Big Shots- is another that I am on the fence with. Again it is a great cast with a lot of fine actors but again I'm not really caring about them or the situations they are finding themselves in.

I have already given up on Journeyman and Moonlight.

I am grateful that the scifi genre and the geek genre is in vogue this season.

News Happens

In a giving day we have good news and bad news. Some days the bad news out weighs the good news and other days it is the other way around. One hopes that the number of days that good news outweighs the bad is the higher number.

Yesterday is no exception. We got some pretty good news and a few pieces of really bad news. Not much I can talk about yet but hope to soon.

I threw my hat in the ring for an editorial job that I think I would be really good at and could learn a lot doing. So I am now waiting to see if that will turn into good news or bad.

I have a bunch of things I need to accomplish this weekend. I think I need to sit down and just make a list and then work out how I am going to get these things done and go see "Across the Universe" this afternoon or tomorrow afternoon.

Just a typical weekend in the David household.

I am grateful for good news and hope I hear more of it soon.

Internet Trust Issues

The Internet is a strange beast. It allows us to do so much and communicate with people we might have never met in real life except due to a rare fluke in the space-time continuum. I have become friends and worked with people I have never met face to face because of it. It has allowed me to expand my horizons and giving me more information than I thought possible.

A majority of people out on the Internet are good people. They have fun with their various interests and get to know people that they would have never met before the Internet. They keep up with their families who are scattered all over the globe. I have one friend whose parents still live in India and she talks to them via her computer to keep up with them and the rest of her family still living in India. I keep up with my parents via iChat too and they have watched Caroline grow up over the web through my web log, my photo site, and the camera. Caroline knows who they are because of her interaction with them. I saw my grandparents maybe once a year. I have heard of fan groups that get together at conventions who have a website devoted to what they love. I have met members of the Lord of the Rings costuming group and the Browncoats in person who I first "talked to" on the Internet. There are artists that I first met on the Internet and then we finally meet in person at a convention or conference. It's really neat.

But there is a small minority who screw it up for many. We have trolls and Internet drama and the Drama Llama. We have flounces and flame wars. We have sock puppets and more sock puppets defending the sock puppets as real. Most of this goes on the net and stops there but sometimes it crosses over into real life and that is when it can get rather weird.

This week in the LA Weekly News there is an article by Josh Olson who wrote the screenplay for History of Violence about a strange situation he found himself in along with a friend of his.

The Life and Death of Jesse James by Josh Olson

I figured out what was going on pretty early on and I am sure that you will too but then this was not my first time at the rodeo on this sort of thing.

A number of years ago Peter was sent a book by a fan that she wrote on her experience with an individual who caused all kinds of problems for a Lord of the Rings group up in Oregon called When the Fan hits the S**t by Jeanine Renne (ISBN:0-9653136-4-6). It is like reading a train wreck. You want to look away but you also want to find out what happens to the people involved including some of the actors from the film. This whole thing started on the Internet and then moved into real life. Some of the individuals still show up on the Internet and stir things up again.

I was involved in debunking a myth of a Doctor Who animated series over 10 years ago that was reported in the Doctor Who Monthly. By the end of that a couple of people swore off the Internet and one very nice person was hounded to the point of having a nervous breakdown. Last report, which was about 6 years ago, was that she was doing better but felt that staying away from the fan groups that she enjoyed so much was best for her mental health. Too bad, I enjoyed interacting with her online and she wrote dynamite fanfic. I had a physical threat from the person who started the whole mess but she backed down on it since I had about 6 inches in height and a much longer reach than she had. My hope in all this is that she got some help to deal with her mental problems and other issues she had.

We tell our kids to be careful on the Internet but I think sometimes we need a reminder why we too need to be careful out here where things aren't always what they seem.

I am grateful to all the real people I have met through the Internet both in person and on the web.

Busy Morning and I hope for more of the same later

I got a bunch of stuff done before sitting down to the computer and, after a short time on it, I plan to get a bunch more done.

Laundry is down to just a load of Caroline's stuff. I have a bunch to fold but that is the easy part of me since I have already done whites, which is the hardest to fold.

Fish puppets are floating through my mind. I have an idea how I am going to make them and put them on the doll but I need to firm that up.

Kitchen is/was in good order.

I took Caroline to her doctor's appointment. She is doing much better now. She is still coughing but much less and not as much at night. In fact I don't think I have heard her cough this morning at all. She has been playing with her toys since. Some sort of adventure that involved hitching up the horses and tigers and having them pull a box across the living room.

Well time to start thinking about lunch and the next set of laundry that needs to be folded.

I am grateful for each piece of stuff that gets done and off my plate today.

RTBTCKI ( The Cats are Plotting Edition)

Rather late in the morning for me but Peter let me sleep in and got up with our cheerful Caroline. I have to face facts that my daughter is a morning person. She is an afternoon and evening person too. She packs more into a day than some people do in a lifetime. This was a case of who could get their eyes to stay open and mine just wouldn't do it this morning. I did get up in time to get the paper recycling out for pick-up

Peter is such a good father. I don't think his abilities to play with his daughters makes him any less of a man nor his ability to take care of them when I am not around. Yeah, I was reading that article in TIME magazine this morning about fathers who take care of their kids. But I think men who can play with and take care of their children are more manly than those who run screaming into the night rather than change a poopy diaper or sit down to an imaginary tea party with their daughter. I find it kinda sexy.

My father made time to interact with us when he got home from work. He read to us. He said prayers with us. He played with us. He watched cartoons with us. It was not strange to me that Peter could take care of his kids because I knew that my father could take care of me. I didn't find out until I went to school that my father paid more attention to me than most fathers did to their children. I had a good childhood and now I am trying to make sure that my daughter has the same.

The cats are plotting something. I found them in a perfect equilateral triangle looking at each other or something in the middle I couldn't see. Then Stalin meowed and they all went three different directions. I guess the household cat meeting was over.

The weather seems to be changing. These 80 and 90 degree days in October just feel wrong. I want to open my windows and let the cold crisp air into my house. According to the weather forecast, that is the direction we are heading by the end of the week. I don't want to just go from Summer to Winter. I want my Fall doggonit.

Fox must be shaking in their booties because the World Series is coming down to the teams with some of the smallest audiences in Major League Baseball. I think it is good that it can come down to any team not just the ones on big markets. There was an interesting discussion on WFAN the other day about baseball clubs not trading away their best prospects in their farm teams for players with track records. It seems that more teams are taking a page from the Braves playbook and trying to create a winning team from within rather than from without and the large amounts of money needed to hire free agents. They were speculating what was going to happen to all the players that become free agents this year who are in the middle to lower tier of the pack but still decent ball players. A bunch of them might find themselves playing for team not in the MLB or for foreign teams.

I had a number of X-rays of my spine taken yesterday as a beginning of trying to figure out what is wrong with my lower back. It uses to be an annoyance but it now seems to becoming chronic which concerns me. I need my back for so many things. The only thing that would be worse would be something going wrong with my hands considering how much I depend on them. I know that my grandmother had arthritis in her hands and I wonder what is going to happen to me down the road.

I am grateful for my childhood.

Parenting, the toughest job you will ever love

I was talking to my mother the other day. I talk to my mother a couple of times a week . Sometimes it's a short question or cute story about Caroline and other times they are longer more involved conversations. Since she taught nursing most of my life (still does but is semi-retired), I tend to call her about medical things that I just need another ear on or a quick answer for something that I really don't want to use up my doctor's time on.

Anyway, I was talking to my mother about Caroline who has been diagnosed with bronchitis which I think she picked up at her child care. Caroline had been coughing but it had been a productive "wet" cough so I hadn't given her any cough medicine because she was sleeping through the night without problem. We were talking about all the articles in the news recently about the dangers of various things in multi-symptom medications to children or rather the potential dangers. I also told her about an article I had seen warning parents from using medication (like Benadryl) to get their kids to go to sleep since these medications had a sedative effect on most kids.

I said to my mom, "Kids are not convenient nor are they a fashion accessory."

Kids not convenient and I am getting rather perturbed at societies need (within the last generation really) to find ways to make them so. There are kids with various forms of hyperactivity out there. I know a couple that are doing great as adults that were all over the place when they were kids. I grew up with them. They are now on various forms of medication which helps them focus. But I can't believe the number of kids that are on various drugs to "help them focus" (read make them not a problem to the teacher in the classroom) are all effect with various disorders they are diagnosed with. Kids have energy and at a young age they are going to act up. It is hard to teach them how to behave but it is part of being a parent.

Using medicine to get the kids to go to sleep at a convenient time is another example of this sort of mindset. Potty training babies from the day that they come home from the hospital so you don't have to deal with the diapers is another. I read the Parents magazines when I am in the Doctor's office and some of the advice given just scares me. Teaching your baby sign language before they can really talk works with some babies and not others and is kind of neat if it worked for you.

Children want to learn and are sponges for information and input. As a parent I am responsible for that input and providing my child the information I think she needs. But she doesn't always want the information at convenient times. I was working on a doll the other day and she wanted to play a counting game with me that we have. I told her that I needed to finish the piece I was working on and then we could play the game. She sat and watched me work and asked questions about what I was doing and why. Some were rather repetitive, but that is the world of a four year old. About every minute I heard from her, "Are you done yet?" And it did get to me after a while but I held my annoyance out of my voice. Finally when I was done, we sat down and played the counting game twice. I wanted to switch to the alphabet game and after some cajoling we got about half way through that game. This, of course, blew the rest of my time to work on the doll before I had to get to the next thing I needed to do but that's OK. I'm not expecting my child to be convenient. I am expecting her to be Caroline. And it is my responsibility as a parent to teach her how to act in society all the time not just when it is convenient.

I am grateful for all the lessons Caroline is teaching me.

Public Libraries and the Public

Public libraries have it hard. For having to fight for their budgets, including having to explain why there are computers in the library and why they need new ones after 7 years, to having to fight for the books within the library when people want to have them removed from the shelves because they don't agree with the content.

Then there are the other services that the library provides for the community. This includes the public meeting space in most libraries. This space is used by the local government to hold public meetings, various book clubs that meet, various local clubs (I know at least 15 doll clubs that meet at various libraries all over the US), programs sponsored by the library, programs sponsored by local schools which they use the library as part of their outreach programs, and various local groups.

Recently the Supreme Court decided not to hear a case about a religious group that wanted to meet at a library for worship services. The group would have paid a fee for the use of the space but the library shut them out after one session because it was against a local county policy that had been on the books for a while that prohibited the use of libraries for religious services. Now there have been various religious groups that have met at that library but none of them were worship services so they fell under free speech and were OK. I know of a non-denominational (but mainly Christian) prayer group that meets at our local library. There is also a Pagan discussion group once a month allowed in the same room. In a library a couple of towns over there is a Muslim group that meets at the library. None of these groups are worshiping per say but it is not to say they don't do religious things when they meet. It is sort of a fuzzy line if you ask me. My bet was that the group renting were not clear on what they were doing or planned to do and once they had one meeting, the library saw what they were doing and felt it crossed the line between discussion/expression of religion to turning the space into a worship hall. Probably the library was the cheapest game in town for this group.

I know a number of librarians including a group that bowls together as a team. They work very hard for the local community and try to be all things to all people. I talked to the bowling team about this case. They said that their libraries would have probably done the same thing after the first meeting. They also speculated as to what the group did to the room or the condition they left the room and the parking lot in. There is a very fine line that they have to tread because the library is supported by public money (taxes). One person objecting and making a lot of noise can cause them all kinds of problems and have to give length explanations to the community at large. The computer issue was a fine example of that. The computers they had were about to hit 7 years and didn't work well on the Internet. The county system was about to upgrade the libraries to dedicated Internet lines which the computers just couldn't handle. So they had new computers on the budget line which was a rather hefty number because they wanted to get current technology so they wouldn't have to get computers for a while. A couple of people, who really don't get why there are computers in the library in the first place (Libraries are for books only dammit well and maybe the audio books and CDs and possibly video tapes and DVDs on a long shot) took this up as their cause and campaigned against the budget which failed by a narrow margin. It took another year and a lot of push by the library and the librarians to prove to the township as a whole why they needed that budget. The sneaky was that they would tell parents who wanted their kids to use the Internet to find stuff for projects to go a township over and use their new computers because (and this was true) the print interface was touch and go at best at that library. Word got around about how much nicer the computer system was at the other township and how much easier it was to use. Budget passed and the computers were installed.

It is a tricky thing trying to be all things to all people and I applaud all the people I know involved in the library system for working so hard to accommodate the general population that they serve. They have a difficult job to do. Public libraries are a gift to their communities and I think those communities should thank their local librarian.

I am grateful to all those people who work in libraries.

The David Family Summer

Finally got around to posting some new pictures of the family for those interested
Our Very Busy Summer

I hope you enjoy them.

Sports Talk

Well the National League final is set up and rather quickly too. There is a chance after today's games that the American League final will be sorted out too. Which means that TBS/TNT are shorted at least 4 games and possibly 8 games that they were going to have on their schedule. This also gives the teams more time to recover and scheme before going into the NL and AL finals. Of course if either the Angels or the Yankees win today, then there will be at least one more game on the schedule. The nightmare scenario for Fox for the World Series (considering how much they paid for it) would be Denver vs. Cleveland. Neither is a big market as compared to some of the other teams left and knocked out. I'm not knocking either team, but looking at it from the marketing point of view and no matter how much they (being Fox) hype this, the numbers are going to be miserable.

Jets vs. Giants today. So one of these two teams is going to walk away with a win. One of the reasons I lave listening to WFAN (local AM sports station) is to hear the predictions before the season starts and the change in loyalties as the season goes on. At the beginning of the season most of the fans were saying that the Jets had it against the Giants this year. They were looking better overall. Now with the Jets losing to the Bills and the Giants winning one against the Eagles, the Giant fans are coming out of the woodwork explaining why the Giants are going to win. Jets fans have been rather conservative with their comments. It will be fun to listen Monday no matter who wins.

You would think that the Knicks would have enough problems without the threat of protests outside each game until Isiah Thomas or the Dolans do something. I am a little fuzzy on what they want. I think an apology which is not going to happen since Mr. Thomas is adamant that he did nothing wrong. The good old boy attitude in sports is as old as the hills. That women can make it in the environment and succeeded amazes me. I had to deal with some of the chuckle-headness over my years as a stage manager especially when dealing with Unions. I just dealt with it and moved on. I do understand that Anucha Browne Sanders had one heck of a case to bring and more power to her for doing so but I don't think that is going to change the thinking much down at the Garden. I also hope that she sees some of the money if she ever gets any of it. Money is the language that the Dolans understand and losing it might make them rethink things.

I found out the Hockey season started by accident. I was listening to NPR talking about how they should have an international league for Pro hockey. Until then I had no idea that we were even having a season this year. Go Islanders.

The latest steroid scandal involved Marion Jones coming clean about what she did to her body while competing. I have to agree with Amy Polver on SNL who said last night that with this confession that brings the total of athletic steroid users to...everyone. Right now steroids are the big boogyman in sports. Next is going to be human growth hormone which apparently does close to squat for those taking it unless their body does need it.

Steroids have medical purposes and have improved lives but their abuse had caused people to injure themselves ('roid rage aside) not other people. And they are abusing their bodies for the general populations amusement. We like to see home runs hit. We like to see massive football players tackling each other. We love to see that perfect lay-up or rebound. I don't think there is a simple answer nor do I think it will be sorted out in my time.

I am grateful that I have so many choices to watch sports this afternoon.

Caroline and the Mermaid

This is the latest swap doll I did. I worried about it for a long time because she didn't look "realistic" enough but then I came to the conclusion that my art work is mine and these are the characters I create.

Also this is a current picture of Caroline at age 4 and 10 months for those who have been asking how she is doing.

New Who Review for "Last of the Time Lords"

Well that was the season ender which I think will be having the Doctor say "What?" a lot every year. This one had some fans up in arms and other fans wondering if they could put a statue of RTD in Cardiff and worship there.

Me, well I thought it had its good points and its bad points. A lot of strong acting all around and not a bad wrap up for all the loose ends that were created. Kudos to John Simm for some great acting. I loved how Martha's family came together as a family and put their petty differences aside. You can see where she gets her grit. The writing was not perfect but considering what had to happen, it was not bad.

I found out from other fans that RTD said that the two things he would cut from the US broadcast would be "I can't decide" and that seen with Martha's Mom confronting the Master towards the end so I can stop blaming SciFi for that. I also know that "I can't decide" didn't move the plot along but I really liked that sequence for a brief look at what had been going on in the gap.

Of course comments and anything after the break is spoilerific.

I am grateful that there will be another season of Doctor Who.

OK the last scene with the ring and the funeral pyre, does anyone else think that RTD is a Flash Gordon fan? I half expected to hear the Queen soundtrack. Of course he is not gone. It's the bloody Master we are talking about. If he can walk around as a living skeleton (Deadly Assassin) or as an a weird translucent cobra (The Fox Movie) then being burned to ashes Viking style is nothing to him.

We were debating if it was Doctor Yoda or Doctor Dobbie after the Master tissue compressed the Doctor. Ah the fond memories of the Master's tissue compressor. A rather horrid way to go if you think about it.

And the brilliance of the gun in four parts that can kill a time lord which brought Martha all over the world. The Doctor knows that the Master can't resist a count down (the Master says as much in the episode) and that there is this rather complex telepathic net out there that controls all cell phone signals and most of the human race. Peter said, "Let me see if I get this right. If you use a Bluetooth, you can be controlled by the Cybermen and if you use any kind of cell phone, then you can be controlled by the Master? What does RTD have against the Cell phone industry?" I have to agree and wonder if there is an explanation out there somewhere. But somewhere along the way I started flashing on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the line, "I think this is getting needlessly messianic," and I started looking for two of white mice on the set. However the scene between the Doctor and the Master after the Master is shot was wonderful.

Then there is a reveal on the Face of Boe, Peter and I both want to sit down and watch all the FoB episodes to see if that was set up the first time we run across the FoB or only after the end of that season.

Overall I am not unhappy with the season. It was a little rough at first but the second half more than made up for it. "Utopia", "Blink", "Human Nature" and "Family of Blood" were the stand-outs for me this season. "The Runaway Bride", "Smith & Jones", "The Shakespeare Code", "Gridlock", "Sound of the Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords" amused me greatly and kept reminding me what it is to be a Doctor Who fan in a good way. "42" and "The Lazarus Experiment" were entertaining at parts but over all left me with a rather indifferent feeling towards them. "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks" reminded me why I am a Doctor Who fan and not in the good way. Maybe it was because I am an American and I heard about the depression not only in school but from the people who lived through it. I also live in New York and know the city really well. I am sure that there are some shows that Americans have produced based on British history which have the Brits' teeth on edge.

I am debating about doing a NWR when the "Voyage of the Damn" airs and possibly as the series aired in the UK or waiting until it is shown in the US to do the reviews then.

SciFi Channel does it again

Why oh Why do they do these edits?

I'll do a new Who Review probably tomorrow but they CUT one of my favorite scenes in the whole episode.

I found it on Youtube of course

I can't decide

See the insanity that is John Simm....

If you can't say something nice....

I was taught from a very early age that if you can't say anything nice, then say nothing at all. There are exceptions to this rule including critiques of all kinds and those dreaded words, "I want your honest opinion" which, when asked for, I will give. But over all I find it strange that bashing people behind the anonymity of the Internet has almost become a sport. I would not be surprised to find out that there is some award attached to being mean under the guise of being clever/witty.

I was taught in debate that you attack the argument not the person giving the argument. That was considered bad form and you would get points off your score. But personal attacks on the Internet seem to be the norm. I have watched many a debate dissolve into name-calling and character questioning. Recently on one of the puppet groups I was on, a bunch of us just keep hitting the delete button after one member, who is usually pretty helpful, got back on their soapbox about "What is Art." This is something that seems to happen ever other year with this one person. If you have been through it once, you know better than to get involved. Just skip it and come back to the next subject. I know I am not going to change their mind and I don't know what happened to cause them to be so bitter on this one subject so I avoid the while thing. Saves me a lot of grief in the long run.

I know it is easy to post a response to something that you read which irritates you, but it can be a good idea to step back and think if what you are about to is just going to fan the flames or be helpful. There is a Labyrinth group that I read which has a bunch of stand-up people and a couple of whiners who hate to be corrected. When corrected of erroneous information or given more current information that contradicts what they are putting forth, they threaten to flounce out of the group because of some big meanies in the group trying to make them feel bad. They have a group that pops in and tells them how great they are and how evil everyone else is for trying to correct the information. Note that none of this is an attack on their character or person but on the information that they put forth. But of course this is a personal attack on them. So I just let them prattle on and let others fall into that bear trap. My life and time is worth more than dealing with the number of e-mails I get informing me I am a bad person because I can use Google to debunk something.

I am grateful for the lessons in social interacting I learned at an early age.

Yeah, but what have you done lately?

Being a professional writer is a little bit like being a shark. You have to keep moving. Even thought you might have quite a wide fan base and written some really cool stuff, here in the publishing industry it is, "Well that's neat. But what have you done lately?" Peter is an expert on keeping things moving. Not everything iron he has in the fire is shaped into a fine piece of writing. Some of the possibilities or potential gigs just vanish without explanation. Other gigs are DOA. Then there are a couple that we really hope turn into something because it would be good for his career and good for his family. He works in an industry where a phone call or an email can change your life either way.

Visual artists have the same condition. They have to continue to create to keep on top of the pile of artists that are breathing down their necks just waiting for the job that they have illustrating a comic or painting book covers or even Magic the Gathering Cards. You have to keep re-inventing yourself or at least challenging yourself. It can be rather nerve racking.

Recently I came to the conclusion that I don't do realistic very well. My dolls are taking on their own "look". I'll never do pretty little fairies. My stuff has been called primitive (in a good way) and raw (again as a compliment). That seems to be my style and, while I will continue to work towards being able to make pretty little fairies, I plan to explore this sort of art that seems to come out of my head and onto the clay. I just need to find my niche and find my audience that I can sell my dolls to. And a lot of that is self-promotion, which I really stink at. I can promote other people but I have a hard time pushing myself on the market or in the market.

Writing is something I have enjoyed doing over the years. I have admitted before that I use to write a lot of fanfic. Some of it I showed to fellow fans and other pieces have languished on the hard drives of my former computers. Now I am working on some original stuff. Peter and I discuss a lot of ideas for stories. Some of them he has used in his work and some of it are things that I am suppose to get around to writing. Well I think I am going to start getting around to them. Or at least trying to outline them (which I hate doing with the fiery passion of a thousand suns). I know I can write and I know I can write well. So may be it is time for me to jump into the shark tank and start swimming.

I am grateful for quiet moments early in the morning when I have some time to think.

Back OFf

Or rather back out or almost out or possible almost back to being my back. Lost yet?

I have had back problems off and on through out the years. It probably all started when I pulled a set of muscles in my lower back at a gym in Virigina when I was trying to put a weight bar back that someone had let out so I could use the bench. They hadn't collared the weights so when I picked it up the weights came spilling off one end wrenching the bar and my back a very bad direction. It took me 3 days to be able to stand without screaming.

Since then things have happened including Caroline that has aggravated my back on occasion and it is really something stupid like turning the wrong way that will set it off. Right now I can move but there is a warning twinge that if I move the wrong way, I am going to be flat on my back for a while. Right now I can't afford the time. So I am moving rather tentatively. Trying to get what I can get done without too much pain.

If things hold to the usual, in a day or so things will be fine and back to pretty much normal.

Caroline thinks I am mad at her because I wouldn't let her jump on me or pick her up and give her big hugs in the morning which is part of her routine. I think we explained it to her now in a way that she understands. I guess she will add this to the list of things she inquired about when she asks about my health.

I know things could be a lot worse for me. And believe me I am very grateful that this is a minor inconvenience rather than a major problem.

So I am taking it easy and working when I can then sitting when I can't stand anymore. I am very careful about getting up and sitting down. It has slowed me down but it has not stopped me.

I am grateful that I can still move relatively well.

The Gimpy Golabkies

Yes, that is the name of our bowling team this year. One team member is having terrible problems with a bone spur so between the other team member's knees and my back, we decided last night to combine our injuries and our Polish heritage for out team name. I think it works.

Speaking of backs, mine went out during our game last night. It was one of those times that make no sense but the pain is excruciating and I can feel the muscles tighten up in my lower back. I was sitting on the bench and leaning back a little. It was my turn to bowl (2nd frame of our 3rd game) and I went to get up while I was talking to someone behind me. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! I tried to bowl (which was a rather stupid thing to do on my part) but I couldn't bend over. As long as I didn't sit or bend I was OK or not in screaming agony, just agony. Finally I slid myself into my truck and made it home where I put a heating pad on the affected area and got the back to loosen up a bit so I could go to bed. This morning I can feel a twinge but so far I am not screaming in pain. So much for all the things I was going to get done today. I think most of it is going to be sitting with my heating pad.

Caroline want to make puppets today so I think we are going to do paper-bag puppets so she can do another puppet show. She has one she does now with her mythical creatures book and cutouts.

I am grateful that I can stand up and walk.

I could write about....

Normally I would call this a RTBTCKI but I have had a cup of coffee and am onto to my 1/2 cup so I do have some caffeine in my system.

I could write about the Mets but I don't want to soak my keyboard with any more tears. That hurt worse than if they had knocked themselves out Saturday and Sunday was just a game that didn't mean anything.

I could write about the Jets who seem to be trying to kill their chances themselves. The other team didn't win, the Jets lost allowing the other team to chalk up a win. They had so many chances and just couldn't get the job done.

I could write about the Giants who slapped the Eagles around a little on the same day that the Mets found themselves coming in second to the Phillies. That did take a little bit of the sting of the Mets loss.

I could write about Notre Dame's meltdown but I don't want to cause their fans anymore pain. I could also write about Ohio State that I keep an eye on because I was born at the hospital there when my parents were in graduate school at OSU. I could write about Georgia Tech but I don't want to be depressed but not as depressed as some Notre Dame fans are.

I could write about today being the first Monday in October and the Supreme Court starts its next session. They are tackling such issues as the legal rights of Guantanamo detainees, the constitutionality of lethal injections for executions, photo identification cards for voters and investors' struggle to find accountability in cases of fraud. Also they will be taking up the decision from a lower court that struck down a major part of the federal child porn art. The lower court said the portion in question criminalizes merely talking about illegal images rather than actual possession of those images which to me is a slippery slope that needs to be shored up.

I could write about the feeling of fall in the air that is energizing me. I love fall a lot.

I could write about Caroline's nasty cough. Poor dear, it is a hold out from the cold she developed last Wednesday after coming back from childcare where apparently another one of the kids was coughing. Now she has that lovely wet cough. At least I know it is productive. We are working on the covering of the mouth while coughi