Moviies, TV, Politics, Halloween, and More

It's a busy time for a lot of people. Halloween is tomorrow and the big day that occurs every four years is just around the corner. Add the everyday stuff--colds and flu, plotting and writing, taking and picking up grandkids at school--and life is, as usual, crazy.

My youngest daughter will be going into the voting booth (do they still have booths?) this year for the first time. She's nineteen and couldn't care less about politics. So much so that when the rest of us talk politics--and believe me, we do talk politics...a lot--she rolls her eyes, sighs, and leaves the room. What can I say? We're a political family. She'll learn. How could she not? This year she will vote. Count on it. When someone asks her who she'll be voting for, she simply answers she'll vote for whomever Mom tells her to. It may take time, but she'll learn.

I voted in my first election in 1972, complete with a little mad-on that eighteen-year-olds were getting to vote and I'd had to wait until I was 21. (Yes, I'm over the age of fifty...by a few years. Do the math.) To be honest, I can't list who I voted for in all the "biggies", because I don't remember. I've been registered as both a Republican and a Democrat--at different times, of course. I didn't pay a lot of attention. To be honest, I didn't know there was a difference between the two parties, except they ran different people. A few years ago that changed. I pay attention now. There is a difference. It does make a difference to each of us, in one way or another.

I hope anyone reading this exercises their right to vote. My mother always told me that if you don't vote, you don't get to complain. Whether she was right or wrong about that, it doesn't matter. I believe it. So go out and vote on Tuesday!! And, no, I won't say who I'll be voting for. :)

Speaking of politics, my next to youngest daughter (she's twenty-four) and her guy took me to see Oliver Stone's W. last week. I was disappointed. Not in the acting. Josh Brolin did a great job as "Dubya", as did Richard Dreyfus as Dick Cheney, who looked like Cheney but sounded like Richard Dreyfus, and Scott Glenn as Rumsfeld. In fact, everyone in it did a terrific job. The problem with the movie for me was that it didn't have the punch that Stone's other movies have had. Renting it might have been the best option. I'll probably get it on DVD. It's a bit of history not to be forgotten.

Ah, television. How did people manage without it? It makes us laugh. It makes us cry. It puts us to sleep. I'm not one to go out and buy seasons of TV shoes on DVD. Okay, I do have the very first season of SNL. My youngest has the entire collection of every season of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (which I wish I had time to watch, from beginning to end, but 7 seasons of it?? Have I mentioned that I adore Giles?), and I "bought" the first season of Mork and Mindy with Pepsi points on Amazon, so it was free. I love comparing that Robin Williams to the Robin Williams of today. Wow.

Add a new one to the list: The first season of Criminal Minds. I very rarely miss an episode, although I did last week because I was at the movie theater seeing W., and watching both at the same time just wasn't going to happen. Nor was I going to pass up seeing a movie for free! (Okay, I'd pass up A Clockwork Orange at any time.) When it comes to Criminal Minds, I'm hooked. I was hooked from the first show. I love Mandy Patinkin and have since I saw him in Yentl with Barbra Streisand. But it didn't take me long to become addicted to the others in the series. Who to start with? Hotch? JJ? Derek Morgan? Reid? (Penelope) Garcia? Prentiss? And even Joe Montegna as Rossi has grown on me. For me, Criminal Minds is one of the very best on TV right now. Although I've enjoyed CSI (the original) and all three Law & Orders, CM beats them, hands down. It took me over a week of watching the 6 DVDs in the evenings and late into the night (like tonight) to see all twenty-two episodes of the first season, but it was worth it, and will be worth it again to watch them over and over. I don't think I could ever tire of watching the intricacies of the human mind, whether the criminal mind or that of the captors. It's fascinating. It's thought provoking. It's the only show this season that I can remember to watch. Am I a fan? I'll leave that up to you. :)

With luck, I'll be back again tomorrow. And Monday. And throughout the week. But I learned long ago not to make promises I might not be able to keep. Life sometimes does get in the way.

Harlequin American Romance - October

This month's offerings from Harlequin American Authors...

What a great month to visit the HAR Authors blog! Read guest bloggers Barbara Bretton, HAR senior editor Kathleen Scheibling, and today's guest blogger, Debbie Macomber.

New Addition

We have a new addition to our family. No, not a baby. Her name is B.J., and she's a 2 1/2 year-old Bassett Hound. She's not exactly new to us. She had belonged to my daughter, who had to give her away, and we were the happy recipients!

B.J. is about as laid back as a dog can get. Last night, her first evening at our house, she wasn't interested in our two tortoishell calico cats, Tosca and Mocha, who decided to stalk her. Both would sit on the nearest piece of furniture, out of reach, and stare at her, keeping her from moving past them. It made for some almost tense moments when B.J. wanted to move to another room. Tosca, the oldest, didn't seem to mind when she would finally get up the nerve to pass by. They even checked each other out, with no repurcussions. I expect they'll be friends in a week or so. Mocha, on the other hand, didn't take to B.J. quite as well. Stalking was okay, but when we tried to get Mocho to investigate the invader a little more closely, her tail grew and she hissed. I don't expect them to become friends very quickly.

I was awakened this morning by a fast wagging tail in my face. My daughter (B.J.'s former mistress) had arrived to drop off two of her three children. B.J. was obviously excited to see them, but the only indication of that was that tail in my face. She was off the bed in seconds, as soon as she heard their voices when they came through the door, but the sad eyes of a Bassett never changed, just that wagging tail and a friend "woof" to greet them.

So "woof" to all of you this sunny Monday morning! Let's all hope this week brings all the sunshine and good will of a perfect autumn day.

What a Week!

My intentions were good, but as I've always said, if the road to hell is paved with good intentions, mine is a six-lane super highway. I had planned to get back on a solid blogging schedule, but this was the week that three grandkids came down with croup, one of which only went to school half days on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and one didn't go at all (half-day pre-K) on those days. Then the fourth, the oldest granddaughter had a tooth pulled. Add the cold (or was it croup) that my youngest came down with, and nearly nothing was accomplished. So good intentions and all that went by the wayside.

With nothing to watch on TV this evening until 10 p.m., I skimmed through the cable listings and saw August Rush listed. I'd never seen it and had thought when viewing the trailer months ago that it might be interesting. Not interesting enough to see in the theater, but watching on cable might be worth waiting for. I watched it. It was highly emotional, and although it needs a strong dose of suspending disbelief, due to the fairy tale/magical element of the story, it was worth the time to watch. I missed the middle of it, due to family demands, but even that didn't keep me from getting caught up again in the end of it.

From Internet Movie Database: (warning! spoiler!)
Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) is a brilliant cellist who has just finish performing a concert in New York City. Lyla goes out on the town with her girlfriend and end up at a party near New Yorks Washington Square. She meets Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) an Irish guitar player. They share the love of music and end up falling in love and bonding together that night. It was the most wonderful night in Lylas life. Lyla must rush back to the hotel where her father Thomas (William Sadler) is waiting for her. Lyla promised to meet Louis in Washington Square, but her father forces her to go to her next concert. They are like two ships that pass in the night, never to see each other again, except for the fact that Lyla is now with child. Sadly, Lyla is in a car accident and the unborn child is lost. Eleven years pass and Lylas father is on his death bed, and he must tell her the truth that he secretly gave Lylas baby boy up for adoption. August Rush (Freddie Highmore) is her child, who was born with the gift to hear music all around him. He believes that he will find his parents if they only hear his music, because they are truly bonded by their music. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)

There's a lot more to this movie, and as I mentioned above, it is emotional. If written as a book, most editors would say the story was too contrived, but that's where the suspension of disbelief comes in. It was beautifully done, in its own way, and I plan to find the time to watch it from beginning to end as soon as I can. It may become part of my DVD collection, but that remains to be seen. All in all, it's a good movie that's worth the time to see.

Back to Normal

I'm finally getting back to normal...whatever "normal" is. As of yesterday, the final copy of Taming Kate is winging its way to my editor. "Final" isn't quite honest, though. Once a book is turned in, it goes through a few more incarnations, including copy & line edits and later, author alterations. But for now, it's done. Hooray!

As far as "normal" goes, we haven't been having normal weather here in Kansas for quite some time. After a wet summer, we're having a very wet fall. The year has been so wet that forecasters expect 2008 will surpass 1951's 50.48 inches as Wichita's wettest year ever. But at least the weather has cooled off enough that we can turn off the AC and open the windows. Nights have been in the 40's. Great sleeping weather, but not so good for waking up. It's a bit chilly in the morning and requires a snuggly robe before donning long sleeve shirts or even sweatshirts and jeans. I'm just thankful we were able to get our lawn mowed before the rain we've been experiencing for the past three days hit.

Now that life has slowed down a little, I hope I'm able to get back to my blog schedule. It's definitely worth a try, so check back tomorrow!

VOTE!

Yes, it's that time of year again, when we're hit with a barrage of political ads, articles, conventions, and debates. It will be over soon, and life (TV and newspaper) will get back to normal. But when it's all done, how many of us will be able to say that we exercised our right to vote?

Thursday night, I tuned into HBO to watch one of their very excellent HBO Movies. This particular one had an impact that was expected but hard to describe.

Iron Jawed Angels is a movie about the struggle over the right of women to vote, known as women's suffrage. The majority of us take that right for granted, because all but a few of us have always had it and don't remember how women fought for it for years. The movie takes place in the early 1900's, deftly explaining the history of women's suffrage which began with the National Women's Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869, as it moves on to the height of the battle. Hillary Swank does a superb job portraying activist Alice Paul. Frances O'Conner is Lucy Burns, her gung-ho best friend. Add Angelica Huston as Carrie Chapman Catt, Molly Parker as Emily Leighton (wife of Sen. Thomas Leighton), and Julia Ormond as Inez Millholand, and the acting is superb. Oh, and for the Grey's Anatomy fans, McDreamy (Patrick Dempsy) also has a role as Ben Weissman, a Washington Post illustrator who falls for Alice.

The story is fascinating throughout, but it's toward the end when we really see how passionate these women were to have their right to vote. As many as 214 were jailed in a workhouse for picketing the White House and President Woodrow Wilson. The charge? Impeding the flow of traffic, the only thing they could find to charge them with.

Here's HBO's blurb about the movie.

They had no vote, no political clout and no equal rights. But what they lacked under the law, they made up for with brains, determination and courage. Oscar(R)-winner Hilary Swank (1999's Boys Dont Cry) stars in this inspirational true story of two defiant and brilliant young women who dared to make a stand for women's rights--and wound up shaping the future of America. Oscar(R)-winner Anjelica Huston (1985's Prizzis Honor), Frances O'Connor, Molly Parker, Julia Ormond and Patrick Dempsey co-star in this stellar production that boasts the daring directorial style of Katja von Garnier (Bandits) and a pulsating modern music score from artists including Lauryn Hill, Vertical Horizon and Sarah McLachlan.

If you have HBO, don't miss this movie! You can find the schedule for it at http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_DETAIL=DETAIL&FOCUS_ID=614929. And if you don't have HBO but would like to see it, you may be able to rent it or it can be purchased at Amazon.

And don't forget to vote on November 4th!!