Quis Leget Haec Crapus?

I finished the first draft of Bloodhunter Rites! Part of me put off finishing it because I didn't want it to end. It's the most fun I've had writing a first draft ever.

109,000 words. Yeah, I tend to overwrite first drafts.

WHEE!

I don't know what kind of illness I had (some of the ideas among my coworkers have stemmed from the Plague, to Swine Flu, Hacking Death) but it's still kicking my ass a little almost two weeks later. There was an entire period of about three days where I didn't eat, and slept through most of it. I also wound up watching the entire first season of Doctor Who, three-fourths of the first season of Due South, a couple of episodes of The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., the entire mini-series Tin Man, and Finding Nemo for good measure because I always seem to watch it when I'm sicky poo.

So, this weekend was my recouperate-from-illness weekend. I finally finished the painting I've been dabbling with for about three months and stuck it in a frame, mostly because I felt accomplished. I mucked around with watercolors, because I was irritated that the fish tank background I bought didn't fit my hexagonal tank, and thus made my own damn background. It's not as cool as the dinosaur backgorund I bought, but it's purty kewl.

Consequently, I still haven't named most of my fish. I named the pot-bellied silver molly male, Klaus, after the German goldfish on American Dad. The other two, both black molly females, are still nameless. I also found a tiny baby fish when cleaning out the tank (mollies are livebearers and reproduce with unashamed fervor). Not sure what to do with it. I may just put it back in the tank and wish it all the best of luck (mollies also frequently eat their young).

I also had time to clear out all of the dead brush/rusted nails/other debris in the small garden area on the patio in front of my apartment, which is one of the reasons I liked the apartment so much. I found that the larger section was actually comprised mostly of six inches of dirt mixed with huge river rocks. Not wanting to dig it all out and replace the dirt, I've decided that a Japanese-style Zen garden would be really awesome. And cheap. All I need is sand and rocks. And maybe a few ornamental grasses. A fountain made for cheap would be really cool, and if I do it right, I can take it with me for an inside fountain when I move.

This weekend I also realized that I'm about 10K away from finishing the first draft of the sequel. I've had tons of fun writing it, and I kind of don't want it to end. After this, I'm going to finish the re-write of book one, then go back and rewrite the first couple of chapters. Then after I polish those two...I may leap at my post-apocalyptic fantasy/sea warfare idea. But we'll see.

Off to bed.

Yup, it's movie review time!

( Equilibrium )

( Grindhouse: Death Proof )

( Star Trek )

So, I have a really, really shiny, super-duper shiny shiny shiny new idea for a novel. All of the other ideas I've dabbled with while working on Necromancer Syndrome and Bloodhunter Rites, haven't stuck with me for very long, and didn't have that spark. I have to admit that I didn't feel that way in the very beginning for NS, but the more I worked on worldbuilding, the more I loved it.

The new idea has me a bit obsessed. I've been doing research on it, just a little, to see if it's feasible for me to do. It would take a whole helluva lot of research, and knowing how I shirk research, that might not be a good thing. Also knowing how I obsess over some little detail of research for longer than is necessary, that's also strike two. At least it's in an area I find interesting, and love to read about.

It would be a sort of post-apocalyptic fantasy. Since I learned that I liked adding real places into NS, I decided that I could do it again. Where else have I lived? Humboldt county. Add in sailing ships and Napoleonic-era like sea battles, plus warring factions of strange races, plus a dash of magic, and my brain loves it. Loves, love, loves it. A lot. Like if I could marry an idea like this, I'd be the happiest gal EVAR. Then we'd have little idea babies that would grow into awesome grown-up ideas.

I guess it doesn't help that I'm reading one of the books in an awesome series, Commodore Hornblower by C.S. Forester. The character of Horatio Hornblower is one of my favorite characters of all time. I also just watched Master and Commander again!

Okay, so this idea actually seems to be a mutation of that space opera idea I had that just didn't seem to click. Now it does. WHEE!

Of course, I still have TWO OTHER books I'm working on right now. Sheesh, brain. So far, I've completely rewritten NS from scratch, and I'm still not done (though close). BR has stalled for now, because what it needs is a new outline and a big epic battle. BIG! EPIC! BATTLE! (Yes, it deserves all caps and the exclamation points).

Since I haven't done this in a while, here's where I'm at:

The Rewrite of Necromancer Syndrome:



The First Draft of Bloodhunter Rites is also:



It's neck and neck! Which one will win?

The beauty of Netflix is that you can rent all sorts of random movies you've never even heard of, and it's awesome.

( Stage Beauty )
( Twilight )
( Dragonwyk )

Lately, I've decided that in order to get more writing done, I should take my laptop and write during my lunch period. Now, usually I go somewhere else during my lunch period, because staying in the breakroom while one of my co-workers blasts NPR drives me nutso (I can't listen to speech type stuff as I write). But over the past couple of weeks, we've been busy, and I've cut my lunch short in order to finish things faster.

But that means I have to write in the breakroom.

The amount of heckling I've received is annoying. Granted, it's only a few people teasing me endlessly, but it's still...not cool. At first, I found it amusing that people were actually intrigued by what I was doing, if maybe a little embarassed at their enthusiastic interest. But now, not so much. How can I write when some people are quoting "Family Guy" at me? You know the scene where Stewie teases Brian about the novel he's been working on for three years?(Again, funny at first, but it got old after about the fourth time. And the fifth or sixth times. And the seventh through tenth times. I'm not kidding. And on Monday, probably the eleventh through upteenth times).

Not to mention, that after one co-worker dug more info out of me on what it was about, he basically said it was a blatant rip off of a show. I don't know what it is about non-readers/writers, but they always seem to think story ideas are exactly like [insert lame movie or show here], and thus you must've stolen your ideas. You're obviously a hack! You STOLE IT! How dare you try when you're ripping it all off of [lame show]! Their laughter screams FAILURE!

You can find common threads among anything if you look hard enough. Plus, everyone uses an idea that's been done to death and sets a spin on it. The basic idea always sounds lame and cliche.

But I have to remind myself I'm not writing this for those naysayers, all of which are professed non-readers. If there was one thing my Rhetoric teacher pounded into my head from Aristotle, whose book made me drool on myself after falling into a near coma of boredom, it is to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.

And these people ain't it.

Shut up and let me write.

Probably my all time favorites, which are (in no particular order):

1. "Black Sun Rising" by C.S. Friedman
2. "Dragonflight" by Anne McCaffery
3. "Dune" by Frank Herbert
4. My Omnibus Edition of "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis (cheating, I know)
5. "A Spell for Chameleon" by Piers Anthony

I've been working for an Environmental Laboratory now for over a year, and while I'm not a lab tech myself, there are still a few things I've seen on TV that seem to get things a bit wrong. A lot of this might seem obvious, but people can still get hurt because they're not being smart.

LAB SAFETY

What not to wear:

So, since it's TV there has to be a sexy babe wearing smart business suits, kick-ass peek toed shoes, and have their awesomely curled hair hanging around their shoulders, and they're definitely wearing contacts. The guys are in business suits, minus the coat.

Probably the worst attire for a lab. For one, chemical splashes happen, and those chemicals seep into your nice fancy clothes. Lab coats are designed to help keep chemicals off of you, but it still can seep through. If you love the clothes you're wearing, and you desperately want to look fantabulous--don't wear them to work in a lab! Most of our techs wear old attire that's worn and faded and probably looks like it's been through the wash too many times with accidental bleach splatters, which are really the result of spills. Even with an full lab apron, you might still ruin your clothes. You can't say you'll never drop chemicals, because chances are you will, and even if you don't, chances are that your co-workers will. If your lowly lab tech character doesn't dress almost like a bum, I won't believe you.

Open toed shoes are a very, very big no no. Not only can you drop glassware on your delicate little toes, but most chemicals can burn (or at the very least irritate) the skin, some severely. Exposing a lot of skin is not the best idea, so shorts and short skirts are also not recommended. I may mention here that some of our female machine operators do wear skirts and revealing clothing sometimes, but they are in the extraction labs less often, and thus are away from the nitty-gritty chemicals of everyday use.

As chemicals can burn--and melt through a various amount of products, especially plastics--contacts are generally banned from the lab. Soft contacts can actually absorb solvent vapors, which if you're a lab tech, you'll be around all day, every day. Also, if you spill chemicals in your eye, contacts can makes things worse in the attempt to flush it out.

Having your long hair down is a nuisance. I'm also sure dipping your hair in a test tube would be enough to put you off of the idea forever (not to mention cross-contaminating your samples). Though I have to say that there are a few women at the lab who choose to ignore this, and haven't had any problems. Still, ninety-five percent of our lab techs pull back their hair. It just makes sense.

If ever there were a Commandment for Lab Safety, it would be: Thou Shalt Wear Thy Safety Glasses at All Times! In some cases a full-face shield might be needed. I might also add that nowadays, safety glasses can actually be functional and trendy at the same time, as I've seen wrap around safety glasses that resemble ultra cool sunglasses. Don't believe me? Go here to check it out: http://www.labsafety.com/store/Safety_Supplies/Eyewear/Safety_Glasses/44034/

Case in point: One of my co-workers took off his safety glasses in one of the labs, because he was finished with his own work. Someone else, who was transporting methylene chloride, dropped it and splattered it all over said lab tech's face. Luckily, none of the solvent got into his eye, and he promptly washed it off of his face with the help of the nearest eyewash fountain. But he was lucky. Methylene chloride burns. Though I haven't had the displeasure of feeling it, the everyone I've talked to said it HURTS.

Similarly would be: Though Shalt Wear Gloves! There are many types of gloves now, so that if you're allergic to latex, Nitrile gloves are an option, and some even come with soothing aloe inside. Another thing to mention is that putting on oil-based lotions before you strap on gloves can actually compromise the integrity of latex gloves. And if you have long fingernails, they can tear through a pair of gloves easily. I actually had to cut off my fingernails with a pair of scissors once because my lovely long nails kept ripping apart every pair of gloves I put on. You should also wash your hands after you take off gloves, especially if you plan on eating or drinking afterwards. Personally, I hate the way hands smell after wearing gloves for a long period of time. Gloves don't breathe much, so your hands tend to sweat a little. So wash your hands.

Leading to: No eating, drinking, or putting on makeup in the lab. In general if you're in the lab wearing gloves, it's a good idea to keep your hands away from your face.

Spills have to be cleaned up immediately according to the chemical's MSDS, which is:

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS): MSDS are part and parcel of working in a chem lab. They clearly, and in careful detail, point out all of the hazards of whatever particular chemical you are working with including flammability, toxicity, chemical properties, health risks, what to do in case of exposure, and the correct methods of disposal.

Fume hoods:

I never see anyone on CSI ever working beneath a fume hood, even when they are working with chemicals. I'm not sure where they expect all those chemical fumes to go. What fume hoods are designed to do is to vent chemical vapors from inside the work area to an outside source, usually to the air surrounding the building. And believe me, a chem lab would reek and be unbearable and a potential health risk if there were absolutely no fume hoods present.

Speaking as someone who poked her head beneath a fume hood once (and I was new...you're not supposed to put your head under the sash) while the fan wasn't on, it resulted in a sore throat for most of the day; also as someone who was present when one of the fume hoods malfunctioned and started venting air back into the lab, I can definitely say functioning fume hoods are an essential piece of chem lab equipment. And if your tech character is a good tech, s/he'll leave the sash down when not immediately working in the hood, and keep the area under the fume hood as free of clutter as possible, since having it too messy restricts air flow into the vents. Not that everyone does this, mind you.

Want to know what a fume hood looks like? Check this out: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fume_hood.jpg

Chemical storage:

Chemical storage cabinets are for...well, storing chemicals. They're usually bright yellow with a large "flammable" warnings written on the front. This is where solvents are stored, and most fume hoods also have chem storage cabinets underneath.

Likewise, gas cylinders have to be strapped firmly to a wall, and the gages checked regularly. We have a company that we hire to refill our tanks every week.

Eye wash, showers, fire extinguishers, escape plans:

Our Head Chemist once told me, "If you see me running, you'd better learn to run faster." A lab is a breeding ground for all sorts of fire hazards, and have the potential for explosions. Having gas canisters of hydrogen, and even a sizable tank of liquid nitrogen at hand can make a fire a real hazard. Just like at any other job, you have evacuation routes out of the lab, and a warning system. Large spills with noxious vapors can be cause enough to evacuate. Fire extinguishers are set up all around the lab, and are clearly marked, and maintenanced regularly.

Eye wash stations are placed around the work areas in case of accidental spillage into the eye. Likewise, emergency showers are situated all through the lab. If you are forced to use an emergency shower, you also have to remove all of your clothes to make sure the spill is completely removed, because the chemicals will stay in the cloth. Yep, you have to get nekkid. Better to lose your dignity than be seriously injured.

Pregnancy:

Pregnant women are NOT allowed to work in the lab. EVER. End of story. In fact, if your pregnant character works in a chem lab, her baby better be a mutant, and not the cool X-men kind either. Many chemicals in a lab are teratogens: chemicals that can cause reproductive harm and birth defects, or carcinogens: chemicals that cause cancer. Our lab has the required note above the lab door that practically reads like the Surgeon General's warning on a pack of cigarettes.

Animals and Small Children:

Don't belong in the lab. EVER. Your character's adorable and precocious little seven-year-old and his Labrador puppy better never step one foot inside the lab. Maybe the main office, but that's as far as little Timmy and Fido better get.

Questions? Comments?

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of going to Roseville to Denios Farmer's Market and Auction. Ah, it brought back many a childhood memory, not just of going to Denios, but of all the old stuff that I remembered from my youth.

The place is monsterous, like a massive garage sale. MASSIVE. You can pretty much find anything there, from furniture to toys, to some strange old piece of technology that you can't idenitfy because it's so old. My whole reason for going was to find a TV Stand or Entertainment Center for really cheap. Unfortunately, I didn't find one.

But here's what I walked away with...

I was very happy to find a table where there were so many Super Nintendo Games. Instantly, I grabbed up about three, looked at the prices and then loudly complained that they were too expensive. The 12-year-old kid behind the table told me, that no they were all $5. I picked up six of them, and then counting out loud, said that I'd feel silly paying $30 for old video games. The same kid said, "Well how about I give them to you for $27?" Man, that kid will grow up to be an excellent car saleman. Sold!

I grabbed up:

Super Star Wars
Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
F-Zero
Mortal Kombat II
Street Fighter II

I wandered by another table and picked up and old book, by the look of it from the 1950's, that was an instructional book for police officers and detectives on how to defend yourself against weapon and weaponless attacks. I decided I had to have it. Not only would it be good information, as I'm sure basic defensive moves haven't changed that much, the pictures make it look like something out of and old 50's gangster movie.

My friend Carmen came upon an old notebook with notes it in. No, not just notes, but a child's written story, from what I could tell, about mysterious disappearing grandparents. As we flipped through it, this poor young girl had an entire section on her future hopes and dreams. Carmen was so intrigued she thought about buying it, but when she asked the price, it was naturally high, and she didn't bother to haggle with him. She put it back in the crate and went on her merry way.

From there we cruised the Farmer's market and I bought 2 pounds of tomatoes for $1.50, 2 pounds of string beans for $1.50, and 3 large eggplant for $1. All fresh.

I totally want to go back next weekend!

The other day at work I found someone had usurped my computer, and that they'd left the word "douchbagery" typed into the google search function in the corner. I'm not quite sure what they found. Maybe a dictionary definition. Maybe a picture of themselves using my computer for their nefarious Google deeds. Maybe a sound bite from my neighbors being loud and obnoxious and holding their pot-smoking bongo drumming dance/seance thing on their floor/my ceiling.

Anyway, I think I use too many foul words in my drafts of Necromancer Syndrome and its sequel. Seriously, Damien drops a ridiculous amount of f-bombs, s-bombs, dirty-bombs, and er...actual bombs, the kind that go BOOM. I'll have to go back in and take a lot of them out. Honestly, I'm not afraid of using a lot of @#$%, but there is a point where enough is enough. I mean, I'm not writing a Tarantino film here. I'm not trying to use all Seven Dirty Words, though I'm sure I got pretty close.

*looks at draft*

Oh, hell.

So, I recently bought a 25 gallon hexagon aquarium with the stand off of Craigslist for $85.

I have to say that I'm become a little obsessed with the stuff you can find off of Craiglist. I plan on scoring an awesome entertainment center either on the site, or at the giant flea market in Roseville. The day will be mine!

It's a bit smaller for the corner I plan on stashing it in, and I have no idea what sort of fish are going to live in it...but there it is. Today, I'm going to go to Petco and buy a thermometer, a heater, some fake plants, some rocks, and water conditioner, because the city water here is so full of chlorine and various other foul tasting chemicals (and probably lead, though with the way the tap water tastes I wouldn't be surprised if they told us it was poop). The tank came with an undergravel filter, an air pump, red gravel, and a light, so I'm set on that account.

I'm bound and determined to have living things in the apartment, partly because I miss having pets (the fluffy kind) and fish are as close as I can come (though un-fluffy). Even if you can't pet them. Honestly, I'd rather have a red-ear slider turtle, but I came to the informed conclusion that I don't have enough space or the resources to adequately take care of one for the next 30 plus years of my life. Though if I decide that my circumstances have changed, I'm lucky enough to live in an area with many herp vets.

Once I finally decide to buy said fish, I'll have to have the mighty minds on LJ help me come up with names. Of course, pics will follow.

Also, we're about at the stage where we need to start decorating the new apartment. I plan on trying my hand at painting again, though this time on canvas. Then I'ma gonna slap the canvas on the wall and VOILA! Art! Or so I hope. I usually only draw, sketch, and paint once every six months or so. It's not like it's a serious hobby of mine. So we'll see.

As for the books...

I've been working on the re-write of Necromancer Syndrome quite a bit this week. I've also been writing the first draft of it's stand alone sequel, Bloodhunter Rites. Strange that I've never been able to divide my time between two projects before. I think it has to do with the fact that it's a similar book with similar characters.

Oh, and I'm currently enjoying "His Majesty's Dragon" by Naomi Novik. I couldn't help but pick it up when I found out it mixed two of my favorite things--Napoleon era sea battles...and fantasy elements, namely dragons. Already picked up two sequels.

I just finished reading "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman. I was first introduced to Gaiman's writing from the co-authored book, "Good Omens," which might be by far the most hilarious book I've ever read. But this book has so much going for it--witty humor, a hapless innocent MC, and an entire fantasy world attached to the "real" one.

I have to admit that with books this good I always feel slightly disappointed when I finish them. Why? Because leaving them feels like leaving home for the first time, and you get that somber feeling almost like homesickness. You're brain has been in another realm, and leaving it feels like goodbye.

How do you create a place like that in your own writing? A place that hangs on to you even after you've long since set the book aside?

Speaking of long set aside, I recently spent many hours re-reading my mammoth first attempt at a novel, the first piece of writing I ever finished, and my first ever completed first draft. I skipped over the parts where I dropped characters, changed some, went off on to stupid side plots, and generally lost focus. Oh, and it was 187K.

I got sucked in. The characters still have that special spark, and some of the scenes have real depth, even if the plot is scattered and some of the ideas a little overused. I didn't hate the very sight of the thing, and even the worldbuilding was more complex than I'd remembered. I still don't know if I'll ever do anything with it, but it was still good to see how much I'd learned while writing it, and that it didn't reach the heights of suckitude that I thought it did. It made me realize that yes, no writing is ever wasted.

Queries...

I'm in no way close to actually sending out any of my novels, but I thought writing a query would be a good exercise in trying to pare it down and get to the bare bones of the story. While doing this exercise I realized two things: One, that the connection between two plot points was weaker than I knew, and two, that while the personal stakes are pretty high, the public stakes needed a little boost. I have some more rewriting to do.

Also today, while trying hard to look busy at work, a sticky plot problem suddenly fixed itself in my brain. Yay for trying to look busy!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I want to make 2009 the year that I actually send out more of my writing. Okay, more than just one story. Like last year. Although, I might add that sending out my work at all was a big step for me--and even those rejections were a much needed step toward my goal.

GOALS:

1. Send out one of my polished, finished novels to agents. (Which would mean actually polishing up a novel). Then of course, I have to learn how not to cry hysterically and drink myself into oblivion every time I get a rejection. Kidding.

2. Send out more short stories, and write more shorts. Short story writing is hard for me, but I'm getting better at it. I think.

3. Jump back into the critiquing world.

4. Try my hand at writing in new genres. I might give it another go at Historical Fiction, despite my disasterous attempts previously (because the research eventually kicks my ass and my brain won't let me write unless I know some little insignificant detail).

5. Learn how to write funny banter in my dialogue. Seriously. I've been watching Firefly, and Wheadon's dialogue has made him my dialogue hero. Jim Butcher does the same kind of thing in his books and I flippin' love it.

6. Try writing some lighter stuff. Dark and angsty is what I like right now, but who knows?

7. Learn to write better outlines. Or you know, actually write a complete outline.

8. Write everyday.

Yup, them's is ma' goals.

It's that time again...Movie Reviews!

I usually watch lots of movies on Thanksgiving, and this year I rented a bunch of movies. One, The Forbidden Kingdom was so un-entertaining that I'm not even going to bother reviewing it, as I feel it would waste my time.

( Hellboy II )
( Running With Scissors )
( American Zombie )

I got pretty close...but still not close enough.

44,043 was my final count as of Nov. 30th. I'm a little bummed that I fell so far behind that even when I buckled down toward the end (as much as I could with the holidays and finding an apartment) it didn't help.

I still plan on trying to finish the book in the next month, and then finishing the rewrite of the first book in January.

Meh, there's always next year.

Working where I work, I've learned a few things about business emails and how to write them. Also, I've learned that when we say, "You should see results in a couple of days" really means "right, we haven't even started it yet, and yeah, we've probably misplaced your sample...somewhere."

I tried my damndest to wait for one of the places I'd sent ye olde "To Reign In Purgatory" to email me back. But I sent it to them in March. MARCH. Taking a lesson from work, I emailed them to ask what was up. They needed a little nudge. Oops. Who knows what happened? But they put me to the front of the slush pile and then I received:

"First, let me apologize for your extremely long wait. We fell far behind where we had ever intended to be, and I know that it is difficult to let a piece be away from home that long.

Unfortunately, your story doesn't fit our current needs and we won't be able to use it, but we invite you to submit again in the future.

Sincerely,

Yadda yadda Editor type person" (Okay so I took out the name of the place and the editor's name).

Yikes, a form rejection. I think it's time to retire this story. I know, I know, five rejections isn't much, but I think I've already exhausted the market for humorous fantasy. I also feel that this story was a bit of a stretch anyway, as humor isn't my strong point. I much prefer dark, and strange, and a little disturbing and creepy even (many a critter has marked a page with an 'ewwwww' or 'creepy'. I guess that's just how my imagination works.

I'll have to hunt through my short story pile after NaNo and do the edit-y thing again, and then launch them off into the world.

As for NaNo, I'm still behind. But it's flowing easier. Damien still has to meet his missing mom (who I've decided gets to save his ass while sword fighting). Insert lots of snark. Then he gets to save his comrades from being a cult sacrifice.

Wheee!

Yeah, for the past couple of days, I've fallen about 4K behind in NaNo. I'm hoping to catch up this weekend, but for some reason the words haven't been flowing. I've had to dig the words out of me, despite the fact that it's been easy to fall back into Damien's character. Things will pick up soon I hope.

Next Damien gets to search for his mother who has been missing for the past eight years after catching a glimpse of her.

I was thinking that I needed to make a few new icons for my NaNo, and as always, got distracted by a newfound site: www.retrojunk.com

I have to say, I suddenly got really excited about all of the shows I ued to watch as kid. I think it also explains my love of all things SF or Fantasy, mostly because my mom watched so many good or crappy shows in that genre and I went along for the ride.

1. Quantum Leap: As a kid, I formed an unrepentant crush on Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett, the quantum physicist leaping around in his own lifetime righting the wrongs of the past. Sam's earnest desire to help other people, and the akward situations he found himself in made it very cool to a kid such as me. Me and my friends down the street often played Quantum Leap like games. And you can't forget Al, the oversexed hologram, and Sam's best friend.

2. Mr. Wizard: I watched Mr. Wizard before I came upon Bill Nye, or the you've-got-to-be-on-acid version of Bill Nye, Beakman's World. Mr. Wizard would forever remind me of Patrick Stewart, though I'm sure they didn't look much alike. I learned how to cook food with mirrors, and other kid's science projects, a few which I actually did for school with a trusty Mr. Wizard's book I got as a gift.

3. DuckTales: If you can't sing the DuckTales themesong right this instant, you probably weren't a child of the 80's. I never particularly liked Huey, Dewey, and Louie, but I always enjoyed the Scroogeyness that was Scrooge McDuck, Donald's rich uncle with a vault of gold, and a heart that...well, wasn't. Along the same idea of DuckTales was Chip N' Dale's Rescue Rangers and Darkwing Duck. I also watched the heck out of Garfield and Friends. I watched it every morning before school. I tip my hat to Garfield's laconic and often sarcastic nature.

4.Gargoyles: I haven't seen episodes in so long, but I must've seen each episode at least three times. This was a cartoon that wasn't afraid to delve into darker themes, and I loved it for that. Betrayal, fear that humans feel for the unknown or the strange, living through tragedy, and love triangles. The stories were strangley complex, and not to mention that it mixed technology, fantasy, and mythology, cloning with characters from Shakespeare (Macbeth, Puck, Oberon and Titania). To top it all off the voice cast was mainly comprised of Star Trek and celebrity actors.

5. X-Men, the Cartoon Series: While I didn't like this as much as the Gargoyles, I still enjoyed the different characters. My favorite being Storm, 'cause dude she could fly! My second favorite was Gambit, a cool Cajun guy who could throw cards and make them explode. I remember in grade school playing X-Men, and arguing with another girl over which one of us would get to be Storm (I suggested she be Jubilee, who was a whiny bitch, and honestly, I kind of hated Wolverine).

6. Are You Being Served?: I'd come home from school, and my grandmother, who babysat us, would often watch this when it was in syndication in the 80's early 90's. I was a bit too young to get all of the sex related jokes, and I only knew that Mr. Humphries was over the top and totally hilarious (I didn't yet get all the of the references to his sexual orientation, but I had an idea of it). I think this was my first dose of British humor--or as the Brits would spell it, humour. When I go shopping with my sister, and something doesn't fit, I'll still say, "It'll ride up with wear."

7. Alien Nation: Alien Nation had a lot to say on immigration and racism...of aliens, the outer space kind. I liked the interaction of the aliens attempting to keep their culture, to assimilate, and yes, even to have relationship with humans, all the while humans in true human fashion would discrimiate against their new neighbors. Of course, the fact that many of the alien's humanized names were puns made it awesome too. (And I may add that the writer for this show was also the writer for one of my favorite shows, Farscape).

8. Due South: Before Paul Haggis wrote the Oscar-winning "Crash," he wrote for this Canadian show about a naive Mountie solving crimes in Chicago. I'll admit I had a ridiculous crush on the Mountie character, but there were other reasons to like this show. It was funny, but the storylines went deeper than that, and were often about finding your friends and making them like family. I guess I should mention that the one and only time I wrote fanfic was for this show.

Now for the random mentions that molded my brain growing up:
Mystery Science Theatre 3000, I watched it every Saturday morning.

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, with the awsome Vincent Price as a voice character.

The Real Ghostbusters, the continuing adventures of the movie Ghostbusters (and Slimer!).

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the video game was the first computer game I ever played besides Oregon Trail, and the game-show was just as fun.

Okay, back to NaNo.

[x-posted to macaroni_thief]

I've finally fallen into the groove, though I have a feeling the dreaded middle might bog me down a bit. Most of my first drafts seems to feel more like an exented outline anyway.

I'm at 16,896 right now. Hopefully, I'll up that by the end of the night.

Because I wanna, here's a brief snippet of something I wrote last night that I had great fun with. I love it when Damien shoots his mouth off.

( Snippety snippetness )

I've fallen a bit behind, and for some reason its taking me a little while to throw Damien into a new set of problems, though old problems cropped back up. I found out he's still battling with his new found sobriety. I also decided on a whim to throw some characters into the book that were only mentioned in the first one, who I hope will represent Damien's desperate need to be a part of a family.

So, far it's mostly gruesome death and ghosts.