Romancing the Racist

You can't make this crap up...

Jump over to The Sceptics' Tank and read the rantz of antz... with, perhaps, RAID poisoning? EEP! It would be funny if it weren't true.

TV Addictions for Fall

I like tv and don't apologize for it. As we get closer to fall I'll be able to go out more, walk Max, spend time away from the AC. But by night I am an open television junkie. My "will not miss" list is below:

Warehouse 13 -- love the quirky semi-steampunky goodness
Fringe -- ditto, but way moreso
Castle -- just adorable
Kings -- curse you, NBC, for taking this from me!!!
Mad Men -- mmmmmmm yummy!
Dexter -- my favorite anti-hero
Ghost Hunters -- absolute top addiction... my mom is hooked, too!
Destination Truth -- I've missed this show a lot
Police Women of Broward County -- new addiction... so cheesy good!!!
Project Runway -- they're BACK!
The Soup -- Joel McHale just makes me laugh my butt off...
Web Soup -- not as good, but still funny
Sports Soup -- possibly better or worse, depending on my mood
Ace of Cakes -- Duff Goldman is the shit...
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives -- and so is Guy Fieri

So what are your tv addictions??

FLOCK me!

Seriously, kids, where has this been all my life? And why has it not become a raging hit? PC Magazine has, once again, pointed me in the direction of a delicious new interwebby addiction. Allow me to introduce you to FLOCK. This is going to change your life if you are, like me, a habitual networker.



The screen capture above has been reduced to fit my blog. To see a full-sized capture, visit HERE, bearing in mind it's captured on a netbook, so it probably won't fill your screen.

Anyway, FLOCK does what Digsby and other multi-taskers do, but it's also a full browser that is faster than Internet Explorer and, by my clock, Firefox. When you install the free download it will happily import your favorites and other goodies from the browser you are using. Then you simply add your favorite networky nonsense to the collapsable sidebar. Cruise with the browser fully open, then click the side-bar tab to check in with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogger, Wordpress, and even your favorite video and photo streaming sites or webmail accounts.

Yeah... it's love, baby!

Beth Fantaskey Interview at Fictionistas

Pop on over to Fictionistas and meet fantastic YA author Beth Fantaskey!

Mother of two, Phd candidate, and vampire aficionado, Beth's novel, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Darkside, was one of my favorite reads this summer.

Can I Help You?

Hi. I'm thrilled that you are terribly impressed with my tiny netbook. No, really. I love it, too. And I'm always eager to share information about my little computer. I'll recommend a brand, give you pricing details, and as much advice as you'd like.

But when, stranger who has never been taught the basics of etiquette, did it become cool for you to stare right at my screen, peruse the open emails and messages, and not only make no attempt to conceal your behavior, but blatantly point it out? Yes, I use Google Chrome and Twitter. Sure, I still like Outlook Express. Um, yes, that is an email from a friend, and I'd like to read it without your assistance, thanks.

How did we end up with an entire generation of nosy cretins who can't understand the subtle concept of social boundaries?

*sigh* /rant

Angela James Joins Quartet

If Quartet Press as interesting yesterday, it just became freaking fascinating. Angela James, of (formerly?) Samhain Publishing, has just jumped ship to join Quartet's team. Read all about it:

http://quartetpress.com/blog/quartet-press-news/angela-james-joins-quartet-press/

Red Sox School of Common Sense

Sometimes somebody has an idea so brilliant I'm stunned to find that bureaucrats and whiners haven't ruined it. Take the following story out of my own beloved Fenway Park. Today students from around the city of Boston kicked off their trip from grade school to junior high (one of the scary transitions in their young lives) from a special location: FENWAY.



Mayor Menino (not a fan, but even a busted clock is right twice a day) and the Red Sox teamed up to let kids making the transition to middle school this year complete their orientation at the national treasure, complete with a tour, snacks, lunch, and all the other stuff they were, at least this morning, worrying about. The sparkling majesty of Fenway distracted thousands of kids from their anxiety. Our Sox are on the road this week, so the kids got to run the joint. They got backpacks and Fenway Franks for lunch.

These days the news seems over-run with stupid moves by government or community officials. But a great idea that did great good at no taxpayer cost? How bout them Red Sox?!

Working Hard... Err

So yeah, I totally took a sabbatical from everything to write. And I did write. Not as much as I would have liked, but I had a lot of other stuff going on.

I worked furiously on my current adult WIP, a trilogy that will be published under my top-secret pen name. Lots of blood this time around. It seems that when I'm both determined and pissed off at the same time, characters die. Must find ways to curb that. But in this case it worked for me.


Thing is, though, I also spent a lot of time with Ahmed. He's very good for me... mostly. The problem is, he tends to make me sort of... dreamily languid and happy. Which is excellent. But not great for stimulation... at least of the literary kind. I cooked for him quite a lot. He showed his appreciation quite a lot. This led to me spending time in my writing space... but more staring out the window with a slightly dazed expression and mussed up hair. *blush*


Is it time for my break yet???
And then there was Max. He's not just my dog. If you've ever lived with a familiar, you know how guilty they can make you feel. Not to mention always being underfoot, usually looking pathetic. He's just not into the office thing.

So yeah... I umm... got a lot done.

Contact Your Congressman

Please consider contacting your congressman to ask him or her to support the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 1079). Too busy to call or write? The CPF has created a fill-in link so you can advocate directly from the web. http://cpf.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/Advocacy

On Sabbatical

Last week knocked the Mickey right out of me. I admit it. I had appointments in ten directions, was barely recovered from the week-long IVIG crap, and then had a charity luncheon I was dreading. Turns out the luncheon, while fraught with ugly behavior from some, was actually the lead-in to a rather lovely dinner with good friends.

But I'm still completely bushed. So this week I am taking a medically-recommended and Ahmedically-demanded sabbatical. I'm not fighting it, either. I'm embracing it. Not running off to Maine. Not heading to Cambridge, either. I'm parking my ass in Green Harbor with my netbook and writing, sleeping, writing some more, sleeping, and possibly writing... or sleeping.

I'll be dodging the internet as much as possible so that I waste as little time as possible. I'll miss my pals from the interwebs. Probably take a few cheat-peeks. But I'll mostly be writing and sleeping.

See ya!

Luncheon from HELL, Dinner from Heaven

Some of my friends-- on and off the net-- may recall that I had a luncheon today. I was dreading it, because a woman Ahmed dated before me was going to be there, and she tends to go out of her way to be hateful. Which I don't mind as much as you'd think. But to be fair, she is quite pretty. Full figured, like me, but with gloriously rich chocolate skin and long, lovely hair she wears in corn rows. I don't feel threatened in the sense that I worry he'd desire her over me. I just hate standing in the same room, knowing it's human nature for people to make the comparison.


I had my makeup done, got a really nice knit skirt set, and a new pair of adorable peacock blue pointy-toed flats to match it. Ahmed chased me with his cell phone, and the little film strip of sucky-face shots on the sidebar resulted.

She was an absolute cow. Snarky, nasty, petty. But I ignored it and flirted shamelessly with my baby, who is absolutely the best man alive. Why would someone so obviously capable of attracting a man act that way over one who no longer wanted her? It confused me. And to be honest, when Ahmed said to our friend John, "that's why I slept with her a few times and never wanted to see her again," I felt a pang of sympathy for her. Then I overheard something she said and changed my mind.

I actually wasn't aware how many people were "my" crowd. We all started having such a nice time we went out for dinner after scarfing all the stuffed mushrooms, which were the only thing worth scarfing. They had blue cheese in them; I'm totally stealing that idea.

But Abe and Louie's afterward was freaking amazing. LOL I think that was the best ribeye I've ever had, and we laughed from 5 to 7... non-stop!

Dear Borders... It's Over, but We'll Always Have Kingston

Dear Borders,

Yes, it's over. We have had a long and luscious affair, and I will never forget you. But we will always have Kingston, you know.

I'd say it was me, not you... but it was freaking YOU.

First, Barnes and Noble now as FREE wifi. Not pay as I go. Not "if you subscribe to the following." Free. They also charge for their discount program, true. But I get that discount every damned time. And they may send me coupons, but not as frequently as you do.

There's the problem. See it? Look up a line. It's right there. See, I no longer have a printer hooked up to any of my multiple computers because printer ink is damaging to the environment, and while using paper does encourage the planting of trees, it's still smarter to reduce anything that is going to be used once and destroyed. And the scanner code takes up an inch of one full page. And you are using the information stored on my Borders card to send me the coupon, so why not just attach it to the card that you have on file, will ask to scan at the register, and badgered me to get to begin with?

No? Cool. But we can't be together anymore. You don't have a Starbucks. You didn't have Mel Francis' Bite Me until over a week after the book was on shelves at BN. You are mean to trees. And I am starting to feel manipulated.

I'm sure you'll find another chubby cheapskate to lurk in your cafe. She won't be as cool as me, but then... is anyone?

Remember me fondly? Or don't.

Chrissy

WIN Gena Showalter's INTERTWINED

Don't miss your chance to win a copy of Gena Showalter's fantastic new YA novel, Intertwined.

The wonderfully witty co-creator of Author Talk, Gena is also a best selling author of red-hot romance. Her latest, Intertwined, is a Young Adult book getting all the buzz.

Join her at FICTIONISTAS today and comment to win!

Take a Bite Out of THIS