Open Mic Wednesday 3/30/11
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
It’s Open Mic Wednesday. What’s on your mind?
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Books by Kaye Dacus
Novel in Progress
Follow the Heart*
Book 1 of The Great Exhibition Series
Due May 1, 2012
first draft completion goal date: 01/31/12
*working title
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Middle Tennessee Christian Writers
I am going to take a CNA class this summer, and start working at the nursing home.
Hopefully I’ll have a job by the end of July.
I am so excited to start working. It will be my first job!:)
Stressed out because I’m going to have to move later this month. My apartment complex was sold, and the new owners are doing renovations. I’ve been looking, and I’ve found a few places I like. Now if my application can just be approved at one of them.
Should say my this month, I mean April.
Chris Larabee (Michael Biehn), Vin Tanner (Eric Close), Buck Wilmington (Dale Midkiff), Josiah Sanchez (Ron Perlman), Nathan Jackson (Rick Worthy), Ezra Standish (Anthony Starke), or J.D. Dunne (Andrew Kavovit)?
Which one of the Magnificent Seven would you pick, and why?
I’m torn between Chris, Vin, and Buck. But back when this show was on, I did start writing a fan fic piece . . . and when I went back and looked at it the other day when this theme song was stuck in my head, I realized I was definitely leaning toward Vin Tanner (Eric Close)—mostly because he was the most enigmatic of the characters—and the one who seemed to be the hardest nut to crack when it came to what kind of woman he would fall for (granted, I have never seen all of the second season of the show, though I do have it saved in my Netflix Instant queue).
With you. Vin, although I’ve never watched it–just judging by this opening video.
I must confess, I never watched this show – the only Magnificent Seven I’m familiar with are from the original movie.
Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe
So I’ve finished watching what I’m going to watch of the Stargate shows. That includes the first eight seasons of SG-1, all of Atlantis, and the first five or six episodes of Universe. I have to say that Atlantis was my favorite. Though the premise of Universe was interesting, they tried to be too much like the recent remake of Battlestar Galactica—dark and moody with ambiguous characters who could either be good or bad depending on the lighting and the situation. While that worked for me with BSG, it didn’t work for me in the Stargate world, because there was no precedent set for it the 200+ hours of show that came before it. Maybe I’ll give it a chance again in a few years, once the memory of the first two shows aren’t so fresh. But for now, I’m finished with watching any new Stargate episodes.
I love Stargate. I too have only watched the first few episodes of SGU for the same reasons you state. I don’t like it. And I too, may give it a chance later on.
Nice!! Whenever I say that Atlantis is my favorite Stargate, I get really weird looks because all people ever care about is O’Neil. He’s very funny, of course, but Atlantis sucked me into Stargate and I always prefer to watch those over any others.
I think it’s the relationship between John and Rodney that makes SG-A work best for me. Not to mention the fact that even just standing there on set not saying anything, Ronan is a MUCH more, um, *interesting* character than Teal’c could ever hope to be (but I LOVED the Ronan-Teal’c episode!).
Of course, then there’s Michael . . . and Todd . . .
Ronan! Need I say more?
Okay, I will. It’s a toss up for me whether I liked Atlantis or SG-1 better. When SG-1 was at it’s best it was my favorite, but I really like the whole concept of Atlantis better, and enjoy the cast more. I’m currently doing a rewatch of the entire series, so that could be coloring things for me.
Ronan!
But I did so enjoy RDA, too. And Teal’c. The whole team dynamic was great.
I never got through more than a handful of Stargate Universe eps. Not. For. Me.
I love Rodney McKay, the big whiner, and the banter between him and… just about everybody. Loved, loved, loved Paul McGillion’s accent and the gentle touch he brought to the show as Dr. Beckett.
Michael was great, but Todd was the most awesome wraith ever…. his relationship with John was so compelling and fun to watch.
Teyla was cool. If I’d been a little girl watching this, I’d have wanted to be her.
Ronan! Who’s going to be Conan… and I wonder how that will play? I hope it does well. I’d like to see Jason play a character closer to who he’s purported to be in real life, softer spoken, more intellectual, thoughtful in conversation, wearing rimmed glasses. I hope he’s not type-cast as the uber-warrior forever.
I’d also like to see him on Hawaii 5-0
I have just finished watching the final two seasons of SG1 (9 and 10) and the Ark of Truth
movie. I still have continnium (sp) to rewatch The last to series with the Ori (how ever it is spelt) were interesting and got better as they went along. I have Universe to watch I only saw the first maybe 4 episodes but bought the box set but just dont have the pull of the others yet but come winter I will get into it.
I loved Atlantis best. The last series was a little disjointed and it was obvious they were ending it.
I loved SG1 and atlantis as you could relax in them but universe does seem rather intense.
I liked how Atlantis and SG-1 never took themselves too seriously. I didn’t get that vibe from Universe.
I’m still not over being mad that they cancelled Atlantis. Just one more season, that’s all I wanted (and all I would have wanted at the end of THAT season, too, I’m sure)!
My husband and I talk about Atlantis being cancelled too early ALL THE TIME. Every time we watch Stargate, it creeps into the conversation one way or another. That show had so much more life left in it.
Ramen, macaroni & cheese, Totino’s Party Pizza, and a five-pound bag of potatoes
Why am I thinking about these? Because money’s been tight this spring, which means these have been staples of my diet.
When money’s tight, what are your go-to cheap foods?
Mac and cheese, spaghetti, chicken pot pie and anything you can make with a giant bag of frozen chicken tenders. Oh, and whatever the 10 for $10 deal is at Kroger that week.
And for variety, the value menu at Taco Bell. It’s amazing how good a 69-cent taco can be.
We had been doing the same – lots of carb foods that left us feeling awful. About 10 days ago, I signed up for E-mealz.com. They provide weekly menus based on your preferences for diet and/or grocery store. They have menus for shopping at Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Ralph’s, Aldi, or any store, and for diets like low-carb, low-fat, vegan, vegetarian, Weight Watchers old and new points systems, and others, along with just “regular.” They offer menus for families or for cooking for 2. After my first shopping trip, using the E-mealz list, I figured up our cost per per person, per meal, and it was only $2.13! That’s eating good, healthy food, with lots of fresh veggies. We chose the low carb, any store option, and ended up buying some groceries at Aldi’s and some at Kroger. We weren’t eating the high carb meals that cheaply, and we feel so much better.
LOVE e-mealz…
Mac N cheese, pasta, chicken casserole and PB& J.
Cereal… and oatmeal. lol.
Cabbage, kale, chicken thighs, tuna, canned tomatoes, beef stew, chili, onion soup, autumn soup, potato leek soup.
Then there’s always chicken week (buy a whole chicken, roast it, eat roast chicken for a night or two then cut off the rest of the easily accessible meat and make chicken a la king or something similar, then boil the carcass to make stock and have chicken soup for a couple more days.)
It’s definitely possible to eat nutritious meals without spending a ton of money. Not as cheap maybe as a 25 cent package of Ramen noodles, but an AWFUL lot more bang for your buck.
Oh, and how could I forget: eggs, eggs and more eggs! (I have chickens) But even if you buy them, eggs are cheap, filling, and super-nutritious.
Red beans and rice, chicken and dumplings, spaghetti, baked potatoes….:)
I’m a big potato soup and cornbread fan, so that’s always good. Another is a recipe I got from an international student from Iran who came to visit us with my husband in the 80′s. Brown 1 lb ground beef. Then chop one onion and half a head of cabbage and cook with beef until the texture you like. IN the meantime, cook about 2 cups of rice. Mix them all together and let them cook for about 10-15 minutes. Easy, nutritious, and reheats really well!
Do you season that at all? It sounds good, though I’d probably do it without the rice and maybe throw in some tomatoes and some spices. Yum! That might be dinner tonight or tomorrow
)
The only seasoning I use is salt, because the rice is really bland without it. The recipe calls for turmeric, but I don’t always have it on hand. I have a feeling that it’s the starting point for a lot of different dishes in that area!
considering Im a fussy eater and money is tight I tend to have cans baked beans and spaghetti on hand get them at $1 a can and they will do two meals with some cheese on top or on bread.
I also have heaps of tuna I got on special to bad I went of tuna! Meat here is getting so expensive with the floods in Queensland meat prices are through the roof so dont eat alot of red meat now.
A self-pubbed author’s public professional meltdown.
Just in case you haven’t already read/heard about this, check out this blogger’s review and then the author’s responses in the comments (caution: she drops the F-bomb several times), as well as this article that made it to Salon.com.
It’s a case of “how not to respond to criticism,” but to me, it’s also a case of how the Internet has empowered every person with a computer to become everyone else’s jury, judge, and executioner. Yes, the review was as nice as it possibly could have been. No, the author shouldn’t have responded the way she did. But did she really deserve the hundreds of condemning comments? The public ridicule once this post went viral? What do you think?
I think she got more attention than she deserved. She made herself look very, very bad, but it should have lived and died right there. It went viral, and that gave her attention and possibly even readers. I also think too many people got involved and stuck their noses into places they didn’t belong.
I find it interesting that this has blown up to such a story as it has. But that’s the way the internet is. Often times if you have an “oops” moment, everyone sees it.
I understand that it can hurt when your readers offer criticism of your work (I can be overly sensitive with my own writing) but when you react the way that she did, you know there is going to be a backlash against you. Whether it is fair or not. Maybe her intention when she reacted the way she did was to generate interest in her writing but although she succeeded in calling attention to her writing, she didn’t get the desired result of adoring fans coming to her defense. I didn’t think the review that set her off was overly critical of her writing- the only real criticism was typos, spelling and grammar, which can be easily fixed. Bad writing is not so easily fixed.
I was pretty shocked by all that but a) I’m glad that guy turned off comments and b) I think those who were calling for him to call off comments because she was likely mentally unbalanced was a good call (I was proud that there people begging others to stop).
She did deserve some of it – especially with her very classy cussing, but she also needs help – major help.
I was floored by the author’s reaction. I’m sure the so-so review hurt, but she took it too far, IMHO. And the comments..whew…I was getting embarrassed for everyone.
Thoroughly embarrasing. And hard to retract since its online.
Jane Eyre
The new adaptation opens here this weekend, and we’re planning a girls’ night out Friday to see it. Who else has seen it or plans to see it?
I want to see it but since money is tight I’ll wait til it comes out on Redbox for $1.
Oh my goodness. I am SO excited. Absolutely can’t wait until Friday!
As a huge Jane Eyre fan, I want to see it, but it’s only in 1 theater in Minnesota. My friends & I are trying to coordinate our schedules, but so far we’re failing.
I want to see it SO BAD. In theaters. But the only two LA theaters listed are in New Orleans, and I’m certainly not driving 3 and a half hours just to see a 2 hour movie.
Forty
Exactly two months from tomorrow, I turn forty years old. I have a feeling that if I want to have a birthday party, I need to plan it myself. What ideas do you have for me?
Laser tag, a scavenger hunt in the woods, basketball, paintball… Oh wait. Those were bachelor party ideas from two weeks ago.
I like the idea of a bunch of us getting together on a nice restaurant patio and toasting away! Good Mexican food… and you can make us act out scenes from your books. Okay, just kidding about that. Though it could be funny.
Do you have a Dave and Buster’s nearby? Those are fun. Or plan a mini spa day and splurge for a pedi. Or invite all your gf’s over and have a do it yourself spa with homemade ingredients.
I had fun the year I did a BBQ.
Oooooh! I loved turning 40. I finally felt like I came into my own…that I finally had the life experience to have something to say. I quit thinking about what others thought and decided to do what I wanted. (within reason). That was when I started writing!
I don’t have any fun ideas for a party. But it is definitely a time to have fun with friends and family. Party on!
I planned my own only went out for a meal with some friends.
You could have a cyber party and invite us all.
Yeah, it’s a sign of that whole growing up thing when you have to plan your own birthday party. I’m having mine Saturday (just invited a bunch of friends to come make our own sundaes). I’d be looking forward to it so much more if I’d already cleaned up the house. lol
I finally felt like a grown up when I was 40. Is there something you think of extravagant that you can splurge on a little?