TRAMBLINGS...

So, once in awhile you run across something so rich that you just can't help sharing it with friends and strangers. I made a trip to the library this afternoon to pick up a couple novels and a couple dozen nonfiction titles specific to an on-going project. In that nonfiction pile, I came across 10,000 DREAMS INTERPRETED OR WHAT'S IN A DREAM by Gustavus Hindman Miller.

Here is Miller on the Negroes...

"To dream of seeing a negro standing on your green lawn, is a sign that while your immediate future seems filled with prosperity and sweetest joys, there will creep into it unavoidable discord, which will veil all brightness in gloom for a season.

To dream of seeing a burly negro, denotes formidable rivals in affection and business.

To dream of a difficulty with a negro, signifies your inabilty to overcome disagreeable surroundings. It also denotes disappointment and ill fortune.

For a young woman to dream of a negro, she will be constrained to work for her own support, or be disappointed in her lover.

For a young woman to dream of being held by a negro, portends for her many disagreeable duties. She is likely to meet with and give displeasure. She will quarrel with her dearest friends.

Sickness sometimes follows dreams of old negroes.

To see one nude (a negro), abject despair, and failure to cope with treachery may follow. Enemies will work you and signal harm, and bad news from the absent may be expected.

To meet with a trusty negro in a place where he ought not to be, foretells you will be deceived by some person in whom you placed great confidence. You are likely to be much exasperated over the conduct of a servant or some person under your orders. Delays and vexations may follow.

To think that you are preaching to negroes is a warning to protect your interest, as false friends are dealing surreptitiously with you. To hear a negro preaching denotes you will be greatly worried over material matters and servants are giving cause for uneasiness."

Damn. I am rarely speechless but damn. Of course, I read it over the phone to my friend C. Murray who promptly hung up on me. Not quite a dead bunny conversation but pretty darn close. The book - just to be clear - was published somewhere between 1901-1910.

Here's a quote that sorta sums up the madness. “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure that you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”...Or something like that. My M.O. has always been to find humor in the absurd which means that I chose to find those quotes - hilarious.

Here's Miller on women...

"To see a dark-haired woman with blue eyes and a pug nose, definitely determines your withdrawal from a race in which you stood a showing for victory. If she has brown eyes and a Roman nose, you will be cajoled into a dangerous speculation. If she has auburn hair with this combination, it adds to your perplexity and anxiety. If she is a blonde, you will find that all your engagements will be pleasant and favorable to your inclinations." -- I especially love that last sentence. No bias there.

Lastly, the Atlanta Journal Constitution decided to eliminate the book review section. Horrible mistake! Unfortunately, way too many newspapers around the country are following this trend. It has to stop. Please, please, please SIGN THE PETITION to save the book review section. Much appreciated in advance.

Until next time...(watch out for negroes and women when you fall asleep)...

Labels: Books, Dreams, Petition

TRAMBLINGS...


"I love myself when I'm laughing and then again when I'm looking mean and impressive."-- That's Kobe borrowing a ZORA NEALE HURSTON quote for himself.

Greetings. I'm back after another long absence. I'll try and do better in the future but I can't promise. I'm still in the middle of my program, still writing a book, still juggling too much stuff just like every other person on the planet or, at least, on my block. Anyway, I cannot thank you enough for all the nice emails about the engagement. Very sweet. I didn't cry when the Crown Prince proposed but I did get weepy over the kind letters I got from friends, family and visitors to the blog. I was touched. Truly.

On the way back from the Bay Area last week, C.P. (I still cannot type those initials without thinking it stands for Colored People) stated that he wanted something just for us. So, we pulled off of Highway 5 after calling ahead to HARRIS RANCH to find out if they allowed dogs because Kobe, or Kobellero was traveling with us. Spontaneous overnight trip. Much appreciated. The three of us chilled out, walked around the property, and sat on the balcony overlooking the pool. C.P. and I even managed to make real progress on a writing project we're doing together. And the highlight - dinner at the steakhouse. Funniest moment: I called my mom to tell her we'd pulled into a hotel. Her response after a big gasp, "OH, Chelle, don't pregnant before your wedding, baby." WHAT?! We're worried about THAT now. C.P. and I have been together for fifteen years. It made me laugh that this concern comes out now, fifty five years after 1952. I mean, it was just such a 1950s response. Very cute.

In other news, there are four authors on tour for the GIRLFRIEND CYBER CIRCUIT(GCC).



LAUREN BARNHOLDT is out this week promoting SECRET IDENTITY OF DEVON DELANEY. Barnholdt blogs about her books and the writing life HERE. You can also visit her on her MYSPACE PAGE.




Also, SARA ROSETT author of the Mom Zone Mysteries is out promoting STAYING HOME IS A KILLER. Rosett BLOGS Mysteries, Motherhood and Writing. You can read an excerpt HERE.



VAL FRANKEL'S on the road with I TAKE THIS MAN. Use the HARPER COLLINS LINK to browse inside the book.



PAULA CHASE HYMAN is here with SO NOT THE DRAMA. Visit her BLOG and read an excerpt HERE.

Now that should be a little something for everyone. I'll try, in the next round, to get the authors to start sending desk photos again. I loved that and so did you guys based on your emails. In the meantime, HOW I WRITE: THE SECRET LIVES OF AUTHORS edited by Dan Crowe covers some of the same territory. Also, on April 28th and 29th, the LOS ANGELES TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS returns to the UCLA campus. If you're anywhere near southern California that weekend run, don't walk, to attend. It's a great festival.

Lastly, here's a SITE that doesn't have a damn thing to do with books but I like it anyway. A girl can dream, right?

Until next time...

Labels: Book Festival, GCC, Travel

TRAMBLINGS...

"Its been awhile...

I was going to include the rest of the STAIND lyrics but that's the only line that works from the song. Just sing it over and over and over again in your head.

Well, I got some big news, but I had to wait to tell my family - in person - before I could share with you all. The Crown Prince and I GOT ENGAGED!!! over Easter Weekend. Whoo hoooo (insert cheerleader yell here). Of course, this means he gives up his Black Belt Ninja status but, apparently, he's more than cool with it all. Nice bit of sweet news.

The Queen Mother (C.P.'s Mom) was in Europe until a couple days ago and I didn't want her to log on line and get the news that way. Anyway, she's thrilled, I'm thrilled, we're all thrilled. And, if we follow the same course of action as our courtship, the wedding should be in about ten years. It won't be fancy, but it'll be a whole lotta fun. I'll keep you posted.

In other news, I watched the final three episodes of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS back to back. Man, is that show just perfection to me. Love the big sweeping moments, love the small stuff. Coach and Mrs. Coach hugging one another with a quick cut to show that she's standing barefoot on top of his feet. Nice. And how rare and wonderful is it to show a 20-some-odd-year couple who still love each- with passion, share laughs together, fight like grown-ups, and still think that being together is the smartest thing that either of them ever did. I also appreciate the fact that the show doesn't shy away from the characters faith nor does it condescend about the way they express themselves through religion. I could go on and on but I am just so glad to hear that NBC has ordered six additional episodes. I really hope the show gets a full-order for a second season.

The Panther Slogan, "Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can't Lose" brought tears to my eyes every time they said it but no more than during Coach Taylor's final halftime speech. The writing staff on that show should be so damn proud of themselves. MAUREEN RYAN transcribed the speech in it's entirety from a press screener. You can read it HERE or, even better, you can WATCH IT.

And, if you're lazy, here's my favorite part..."When you give everything that you've got, and then you realize you gave a little bit more that you didn't even know you had, that you selflessly sacrificed for the guy next to you, we call that full hearts."

Until next time...

Labels: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

TRAMBLINGS. . .



I'm back. Arrived home Monday morning at 5:45a.m. Maui, of course, was amazing and the company was even better. I judge my friendships by how much we belly laugh together. Not laugh but belly laugh. There's a difference. I spent eight days laughing in the kitchen, out by the pool, in the media room, at the grocery store, in the tacky little tourist shops, and even during a hellish wait at the airport. Because we only meet once a month, there's a sense each time of catching up and reconnecting. We're all close but still a little reserved with one another. But, seriously, eight days in the same house...hair looking crazy, letting everything hang out in bathing suits, pajamas, and sweats washed all that away.

Last year, my girl A. bought a cute little pink dress to wear around the house. She dubbed it the "magic dress" because it was one-size fits all and could be worn as a cover-up, a house dress, a night gown and with a cute pair of jeans. Now, if that's not magic enough for you, how about this...it cost $16. Did I mention it was damn cute. Anyway, I vowed to get my own magic dress this year. I made a trip to the local drugstore where magic dresses are sold and bought one in a vivid blue with pink hibiscus flowers. (Not the print in the above picture but the exact same dress). The next day I bought a green polynesian print. So cute. I got the requisite compliments on the dress. Then I blurted out, "You know the best thing about this dress? It's good for belly rubbing." A got some laughs but the point was I felt comfortable enough to utter such a random thought out loud. I usually reserve those sort of things for the Crown Prince. Matter of fact, when I came home and modeled the dresses for him I showed him why it qualified as a great belly-rubbing dress. His response, "I can see that." It's also a great dress for writing or curling up with a book. And for updating blogs. I'm wearing the green one now.

Before I left, I finished the spec episode so I planned to write an outline for a new pilot and work on the book. Guess what? My body told me I needed to do something else. At the end of the week, I shared my worry that I hadn't written a word. L, another member of the group, asked if I'd been productive even though I hadn't written anything. My answer was yes and all the pressure immediately melted away. I read over 30 television pilots (all one-hour dramas) while on my trip. I started with ABC shows and worked my way through the networks and then the cable channels. A real eclectic mix this year and some really great stuff. You can click HERE to see what might be coming down the pipe.

While reading through the pilots, I kept thinking that there is some really great writing being done in television these days. Sure there were a couple scripts that made me wonder if the writer was the "daughter of", "son of", or "brother-in-law" of someone with power but not too many. In addition to the pilots, there's already so much good stuff on the air. People are snobs about TV but not me. ROME, THE WIRE, THE SOPRANOS, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, RESCUE ME, etc., etc, etc. are all too good. I'm still bummed about the fall of Rome, and after watching THE TUDORS I don't think it's going to be my perfect replacement. I'll give it another chance next week but ROME grabbed from the beginning.

I loved CIARAN HANDS, the actor who played Julius Caesar, and RAY STEVENSON was great as Titus Pullo. Pullo was my favorite character along with Atia of the Julii. Loved her last lines to Octavian's wife. She was so wicked the entire series. Stevenson, Polly Walker (who played Atia), Kevin McKidd (Lucius Vorenus), James Purefoy (Mark Anthony), and Zuleikha Robinson, have all been casts in pilots. I've read all except the one starring Kidd but three of the five are on my list of favorites. It would be nice to see these ACTORS again on a regular basis but I will miss Sunday nights in ancient ROME. Looks like Chelle will be buying the DVD or asking for it for Christmas.

Until next time...

Labels: Hawaii, Magic Dresses, TV Pilots, Writing