Mid-Series Night Doting

Sometime in May, I checked out with a few friends and saw Wolverine. Admittedly I'm a comic book hero lover (though I've never really picked up a comic book in my life) and I have a soft spot for Batman (not just because of Christian Bale), Spiderman (I blame my geek of a brother), and X-Men (Blame goes to a manager I once have that gave me a three hour history lesson on them). So my love for X-Men drove me to want to see the summer boys blockbuster, and though it really wasn't any good, I was giddy and excited because my favorite x-man was making an appearance. When the card-playing rebel who doesn't give a damn appeared on screen, I internally swooned because Gambit was just always so cool. I've seen different variations of Gambit in the comic based cartoons and whatnot and I've loved most of them (except for how they dress him in X-Men: Evolution, really?). I was apparently noticeably excited every time Gambit was on screen and my friend leaned over to tell me that the actor was from Friday Night Lights. I nodded not really registering anything aside from he was Gambit and very easy on the eyes. I was liking his performance and my friend was whispering that I would love his character on Friday Night Lights.

I had heard buzz about the show for a while now all good hype. But from the moment of that movie my friend started talking about it more, insisting that I would really like the show and just fall in love with Tim Riggins ( Taylor Kitsch). I had my doubts, a show about Football in the South? Not thinking when I was judging it without seeing it about my love for movies like Remember the Titans and We Are Marshall. But a few nights ago I finally cracked searching out F.N.L (initials from now on) on Hulu and On Demand. This might have been the first time Hulu failed me, having only partial parts of the show with only 6 episodes of the last season. I decided to take my chance and see how I fit into the show even if I couldn't watch it in order. After the first episode, I was mildly impressed with it overall and only sort of attached to Tim Riggins but I was thinking it might be left over love for his face as Gambit. This might have something to do with coming in mid-story, like falling into the middle of a movie and not being as engaged as everyone else watching. Also it might be because my attention was slightly pre-occupied with making chicken teriyaki. But the acting was heart felt and the story seemed well developed so I decided to keep checking it out. By luck of the Hulu Gods, episode two was available and I watched that one next. That was the moment of connection, character Matthew Saracen (Zach Gilford) really brought me in emotionally with the story of his family and his struggles with his grandmother. It was heartfelt, true stories brought to life for all to experience on screen. I was hooked.

Unfortunately, after episode two the Hulu Gods saw fit to make me skip to episode 10. So jumping ahead some more on the story time line. It was not as hard as my first step in the pool, but it was saddening to not have been able to watch the characters grow from where they were at the beginning of their school year to almost the end. But that can be fixed with a little help from Amazon and some quality time with my DVD player. The last few episodes I watched were about friends, life, love and so much of those life themes that make all stories worth telling. They were brought to life by characters such as reckless devil Tim Riggins (who my friend was right, stole my heart from the beginning) and sensitive caring Matthew Saracen (who is coming in close second to Tim) and the involved family Taylor. It was interesting to see that sometimes this show didn't look like a Hollywood production, a mass produced perfected piece of NBC line-up but that sometimes it was raw. Its a slight change in the lighting, a difference in the film, something harder and edgier in the production that make it feel like a home movie caught on tape for all to see.

Friday Night Lights is like walking down a quiet street in Texas and looking in on the neighbors. Its welcoming and powerful because of its nature, its characters and stories are true to all experiences and after watching episode 13 I am left wanting more. More, in the sense that I have gotten the end of the story but I want the journey. I want to know how Tim went from the devil who gives a damn that we all know he was to this savvy senior in high school. I want to know if Tim and Matt were always friends, because I'm not sure they were. I want to know how Mrs. Taylor became principal and how her family helped her make the decision. I want to be part of the journey because I think that if I appreciate the ending now that I will only appreciate it so much more if I knew all the details.

So here again I'm faced with the muse whispering about home, feeling welcomed the need for sincerity for the story to come alive. Grab hold of what is understood and run with it, I heard you muse, let's see where this takes us. But if you want a slice of apple pie and a comforting feeling, sit down with that warm pie and watch a few episodes of Friday Night Lights.

Princess Seeking a Bogsnart?

Princess - (noun) every girl. And if you don't think so, please watch the scene in Little Princess were she screams:

"I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics.

Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young. They're still princesses.

All of us. Didn't your father ever tell you that? Didn't he?"

Bogsnart- (noun) a man wandering the streets disguised as a perfectly companionable prince, his facial hair impeccably manscaped, his metrosexual manners as charming as Paddington Bear. But beneath the gym built shirt-stuffing and pseudo-intellectual patter, an unsalvageable bogsnart lurks, and at nightfall he is driven by instinct to skulk like a bedbug toward the nearest warm-blooded host. (pg. 174)

Thank you Ms. Kristin Chenoweth for your bedtime story about the Princess and the Bogsnart. What Cheno was trying to convey on page 174 of her autobiography, A Little Bit Wicked, was that not girl should fall in love with this man and the word struck my fancy. So now aside from calling people Schnookles, after a friend breaks up I might suggest the male was a Bogsnart!

As that new vocabulary word might suggest I just finished reading A Little Bit Wicked (Life, Love, and Faith in Stages) by Kristin Chenoweth with Joni Rodgers. Before getting into the details of this particular story, I want to point out that I have carried around this book for a few days now and it's bright pink (without the dust covers, because I don't believe in dust covers) and actually had people seen me reading it. I am not a pink person, I don't even buy a toothbrush in pink because of some deep ingrained problem with the girlie factor of the color. So this alone states something about the power of this little book that I got over my pink-ahobia and carried it around.

Cheno (apparently her nickname in the press world) presents the audience with her little pink book of wit and wisdom. Honestly it was like having a conversation with Kristin over coffee, I could hear her voice as I read her words. The entire novel is written like she speaks, a open dialogue of storytelling. A novel in its primitive form of oral narration that makes it a gem of true open friendship and shared experience. My read was something unexpected, it was like ordering a regular non-fat latte and getting a extra foam cappuccino instead by surprise. From page one to the end there were moments of giggles and smiles after a particular antidote or a side remark that came out of left field. She shared stories of youth from her days as a baby bunny to her high school sweetheart. She shared her excitement that practically bubbled off the page over meeting some of her kindred spirits in life: teachers, lovers, friends, and co-workers. It was enthralling to read about her inside experiences on the West Wing and her tumultuous relationship with Aaron Sorkin (whom she humorously refers to as Mr. insert adjectives or state of being here, Writer, Makes me beat my head against the wall). I might have found these parts of more interest because of my love affair with the show West Wing, and all creative endeavors of Mr. Sorkin but it was a great insight into a monster of a show. She gives taste bites of being a titan of a show Kristin (I hadn't heard of it either, the titan how she tended to describe it) and being on another great show Pushing Daisies.

Also all her stories of being on stage, her journey to getting into her business of being Cheno were engaging. It was a light hearted read that makes you smile when you are done. Being a lover of arts and media, it was the first time I got to hear about some of these shows on Broadway or even off Broadway that might be worth checking out. I found myself looking up music that she mentioned loving to sing for one show or the other. Another fun factor is that occasionally she had guests pop in during her conversation with her audience, her best friend Denny would come into her story telling and start telling his details of the story right there on the page. Making it even more artfully a conversation with the audience instead of a lecture and it was a refreshing way to bring together scenes of her life. There is an half chapter that is basically written from Aaron Sorkin's point of view and it was like adding flavored cream to my already great cup of coffee. Being able to experience their creative relationship through her novel was something I was delighted by! There was some great insight into Aaron Sorkin and his experience on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip which was sadly cancelled after one season (and I just finished watching and devouring every word of wisdom and witty acting that it had). It was so very kind of Kristin to include some of their conversations, and I particularly took this one out for aspiring story tellers and writers alike:

"I made storytelling mistakes. I wrote angry. And angry is good fuel for the tank when you're writing but not over the course of 22 episodes." -Aaron Sorkin. And though we're not all writing 22 episodes of anything it's good advice and Kristin followed up with more good advice. She suggested balanced. And though passion is great for stories, a balance is also needed.

Though Miss Chenoweth did not help with my current writer's block, she did provide me with some much needed smiling and laughing. As a muse she was truly blessed in the department of Thalia, bringing strength to other story tellers with her spirit and humor. Brave the little pink book people, it's worth the energy!

Midnight is not just for the New Year

There was a time when books weren't printed by the masses, and manuscripts were written by hand. There was a time before celebrities wrote their own stories about life, troubles and successes. There was a time when books had pages and had to be read. It was before such things as Kindle and Jim Dale. There was a time not so long ago before Harry Potter, Twilight and so many others that have followed it. Books about our favorite boy wizard, a passionate loving vampire, or symbologist adventurer have brought out flocks of readers. These readers come out in full colors, dressed in fanlore lining up along bookstore walls armed with caffeine and excitement.

The midnight parties celebrating releases of the printed word, the creative process put to page are fairly new. In our modern world we have as a society made reading cool again, pages and pages have captivated our existence. I remember walking around the day after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released and at every street corner, on every mall bench, at every park there was clumps of people all with their noses pressed into a copy of their book. Its been fascinating to watch this new social culture evolve.

As a college student, I took a class on Entertainment Marketing. One of the core focuses of the course was brand culture and idea that society fixates on buying brands to belong. The cool young and hip all own Apple products, the ambitious sport driven all wear Nike, and so on with so many brand communities that now exist in our world. Reading has become something of the new frontier, its the new market to exploit and bring to life for the consumer. Communities are formed through stories and through the characters we relate to on each page. Reading has gained the sexy modern edge of being marketed, creating hype, and giving the audience anticipation. I wrote a final paper about the idea that books begin a marketing campaign that captivates the modern audience by using new venues, different techniques. I shared ideas of creating hype and attachment prior to releases by copying movies and giving small tastes of stories through book trailers. I envision giving audiences a chance to connect to characters by creating facebook groups and a fan world based online. In the last few years I have seen how those very marketing strategies have come to pass.

Most recently I discovered the book trailers that Rick Riordan created for the last two books in his Percy in the Olympians series. Upon that discovery was the first time I realized that my final paper was coming into play and it was wonderful to be able to watch it unfold. The most recent example of the new marketing frontier is a little book called Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse. Bran Hambric is a book by Kaleb Nation, the Twilight Guy for anyone who might be familiar with that fandom. Kaleb Nation is young, twenty to be exact, so possibly the young see the potential/ or need of creating a visual, interactive foundation for a book? The book comes out September 9th of 2009, classic a date to be remembered 9-9-09? Now book releases are even coming out on days of importance, lest can we forget that Harry's last adventure was like a birthday present he gave to us on his day of birth? But the website is a fantastic tale of what's to come, with a brilliant trailer and vivid pictures. The trailer even comes with music, composed by Kaleb based on his characters and the action of his story. Here we see the beauty of our age, the connection of all arts together to make one story stronger.

This won't be my last time looking at Bram Hambric, I'm sure I will have more to say as I come to met and know him and his world. But I do know that my first impression was strong, and I have high hopes for this story and its author's ability to craft his tale. My musing is how all elements of art, all forms of story telling can and sometimes must be merge for us to truly become engulfed. A story must have a voice, an identity, an essence to attach to for all members of its audience. Art inspires art, stories inspires more stories, so tonight the muse was showing me how to inspire by being inspired.

Every Generation

Three years ago, almost to date, the WB network shut down. Now this will possibly only be a milestone for my generation, the masses that lived and breathed the teenage vitality presented by so many characters and shows night after night. The WB defined a generation, it's what was talked about during passing periods, it's who we had plastered on our notebooks, it's the music we had in our CD players, it shaped our teenage culture. The final farewell spots on the channel even pulled our heart strings. It was a reminder that we were a part of everything; our hearts beat faster every time Buffy saw Angel, our mourning was real when Prue died, our laughter was shared with Reba, our confusion was understood by Pacey, our siblings were as crazy as Matt, Mary, Lucy, Simon and Ruthie, and so much more.

Is it then not fitting that Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of their most popular shows, is about the one chosen one for the generation to kill and defeat all evil. Or even Charmed being about three sisters chosen to be the most powerful witches of their generation. The supernatural shows carried the theme of being the chosen, the destined for our generation. But every show gave us as a societal group a voice, a presence in society unlike anything I believe has existed before. It was not just one person like Madonna or Michael Jackson had done for the 80s, no this was a broader sense and encompassed so many different types of teens but they were all teens. This is not meant to be a social retrospect, but these are my first impressions as I started to watch Buffy again for the first time since it originally aired on the WB many years ago.

I wasn't a Buffy fanatic, I watched it because as I stated above that's what we talked about during passing periods. At least that is how it started, I watched parts of season 1, more of season 2 and most of seasons 3 and 4. I believe around 4 is when I was no longer captivated. Be it because Angel had moved on to his own series or because maybe I was never really that big on that show I don't really remember. I do remember how much I was attached to Buffy and Angel though, maybe more Angel as I proved to watch all 5 seasons of his show even if the last one got extremely odd and not as much my style. Over the course of the last few days, I have watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer the movie and all 13 episodes in the first season.

The movie was something of a shock in comparison to the show. It was made in 1992 and it followed the same basic canon of the show. The only carry over character was Buffy herself, which during the movie was a vapid shell of a popular girl with no substance to truly get attached to until she becomes the slayer and even then as an audience you're not sure if you like her, or that could just be me. It was a true early 90s teen drama action movie, slightly reminiscent of Clueless with the fashion tips and small catch phrases. But the story line was intriguing, it just wasn't demonstrated to its full potential in a 120 minute period. It started in LA, clueless cheerleader finds out that she is the chosen one and slayer and has to start fighting vampires. She doesn't want to, because it will interfere with her having a life (I might insert that this concept bothers me, its a repeated theory in many media portrayals of teenagers in the early 90s as self-centered non-participating individuals when in truth we've been very active in our communities, just check out our voting numbers in the last two presidential elections). As predicted she has to take up her destiny and starts killing vampires and saves the school at the end of the film. Biggest problem in the movie is that its too light and fluffy, even though I understand that is what the feel is suppose to be with teenager destined to kill vampires in the 90s, it was too much.

Then 5 years later the show comes onto the scene. Its unclear how many viewers started watching the show because they were such big fans of the movie, but I would bet it wasn't many. The series picked up where the film left off, Buffy had moved from LA after her final epic battle destroyed her school's gym and everyone saw her kill vampires. She moved to Sunnydale to get away from the prying eyes. At her first day in Sunnydale, Buffy seems to have gained perspective and a personality. She is no longer the vapid cheerleader, though she still retains key personality traits of witty banter and popular catch phrases but that was a connecting point. As the first season progresses we see a Buffy that is an empowering young female still battling with everyday problems like her hair not looking perfect, not studying for tests, and boys. She struggles with her destiny, but not because of it interfering with her social life (though let's face it that is the case occasionally but again it makes her more human) but because of real fears of failure and death that plague her. As a character Buffy matures into someone that a generation could relate to, choosing your own path, following your heart, fighting for what you believe in. The show on a whole was dark and twisted with a notch of lighthearted teenage romance, relationships, and raillery.

In all good stories there must be relatable characters that grow as the story progresses. Our characters are part of who we are as individuals as a society. A storyteller should always be aware of their audience and their needs, and Buffy still resonates with me and I think maybe even possibly might with the newer generations. Even though the plot of the show is outside the realm of possibility for the audience, it is like tales of the ancients like Hercules, we relate because of the people not because of the situations. So my musing is as a story teller you breathe life into the characters but others keep that life alive, as proof in how me and my generation will probably always think of Miss Buffy every time we hear a guitar rife.

Setting the Stage

Starting a story can be the hardest thing in the entire world to do. The beginning of a new story in life from making a decision, to moving to a new place, to walking away from an old lifestyle can all be very hard. Staring at a blank page knowing who the characters are going to be, where the story is going to be set, and what the conflicts are going to be but having no idea how to start can cause headaches. Beginnings and Endings can be the worse part of a story when not enough thought is put into the process. Abundant amount of advice exists on the subject of beginnings, for life people suggest everything from pro-con lists to flipping a coin. For writers, sometimes it is suggested to just start somewhere else that is not the beginning and go back. Unfortunately for me, I have a hard time writing without a beginning.

The importance of a beginning a story is setting the stage. Before being able to write a new story you have to know about what you are writing, who are the characters? What do they look like? Where do they live? So many questions have to be answered before you can stare at the blank page and even get a headache. Before you take a step to a new moment in your life you have to know where you are going? Why you choose that new job? How are you planning to get to that new destination? Beginnings are about questions, Endings are about answers and everything in-between is about the journey. I was reminded about the important of setting the stage by a few other creators this week in strange ways. Firstly, I have been trying to start the beginning of a story that I have been thinking of for over two years. Just because I know the birthdays, the favorite colors and the biggest fears of my characters does not bless me with the power to just be able to start. I have stared at a blank screen for about six days now and only hope that sometime this week I have crossed the starting line.

Aside from that annoyingly headache causing predicament, I also watched a Hulu recommended documentary called We Are Wizards. The documentary wasn't really thrilling, and it didn't give me any sense of insider perspective of a the Harry Potter Fandom. If anything the documentary was sort of boring, expect for those five minutes every twenty minutes of actual commentary mostly from the boys of Harry and the Potters. It might be that the documentary was poorly described as a view into the world of Harry Potter fans when it was in reality barely the tip of the iceberg of the fan world. It also almost made it out like these people were freaks and didn't clearly make the connection of the fact that people entered the fandom world of Harry Potter because they connected with the story, because it was part of their childhood, because it sparked an imagination within them that nothing else ever had. The importance of something like the Harry Potter Fandom, is that JK Rowling created a world so fantastic, so magically, so complete that the only thing left was for the audience to join in. The documentary centered mostly about wizard rock, and their stories, particular Harry and the Potters, Darco and the Malfoys, Whomping Willow, and The Hungarian Horn Tails (which btw, is a 8 year old). But again my problem was that the documentary didn't create the connection that these people who started bands were expanding into a world that was created for them by JK Rowling. It wasn't about how there was so much set up on that stage, how these people were able to write songs about Harry's first date in a magical tea shop or how Darco felt about not being the center of attention. There are even songs written from the perspective of wands, which let's face it couldn't really exist in the capacity that they do without JK Rowling giving them life as she did. So here in this documentary it also touched based on websites, only featuring one of the major players and again not making the connection for us on why this person was even passionate enough to create the Leaky Cauldron. And strangely enough there was even a segment on a woman who believed that Harry Potter was going to derail society by repackaging witchcraft and selling it to the unsuspecting masses. So in short it was a terrible documentary but the ideas behind the fandom stuck with me because it was a stage well set by Mrs. Rowling. Every detail is thought out, every aspect was well planned, we all know what houses we would be without needing a hero in each one. We all know what kind of wand might be ours, without needing a a 10 page summary on each wood and use. We can all guess what we might have liked to study, and what OWLs we might have passed and what wizard career we might have liked. It does not make us freaks, well not really, but rather give us an identity in a world created so wonderfully that all that was left in our reader relationship with Harry Potter was to join in.

More directly involved with beginnings was watching the pilot of the old show Sliders. I watched Sliders when it was actually on TV and was excited to find that recently it was added to Hulu as one of the days of summer additions. I don't think I had ever seen the pilot, I took the background story for granted it being explained in the opening credits each episode. I never really thought about the pilot, the beginning of the actual story but just accepted each new story line laid out in each episode. So I decided to watch the pilot of Sliders and found out that I didn't know much about the beginnings of the story, the character relationships, or the theory behind the sliding. Yes I had always understood that they were lost among many worlds, but never really bothered to answer the question of why. Mistakenly I had thought that each character, Quinn, Wade, The Professor, and Remy had all come from different worlds and just sort of become friends. The first episode established that all the characters were originally from the same world, their relationships were well defined, and everything was only sort of an accident. But in those 45 minutes a whole new world was opened up to the audience. We meet Quinn, our hero, likable and smart and slightly reckless. He takes us on a journey, introducing his anchoring love for his mother, his volatile friendly relationship with Wade, his nonchalant yet admiring attitude to the Professor and the non-existent relationship to Rembrandt. The story line moves through a series of slides, that start to establish that it is unpredictable and the problem is presented by an alternate Quinn (not so likable) also establishing the differences and possible problems that could arise. At least twenty minutes were set aside for the foundation, the rest for the action and moving the plot while still establishing the story. It was a refreshing starter, giving way as a reminder of how to establish a foundation.

So I'm on a hunt for beginnings in search of inspiration. With every new beginning, I am hoping to be a step closer to my own story, my own characters showing me where to begin. Hopefully my story will become a world of its own, where its so well crafted that there is nothing left for my audience to do but immerse themselves.

But I am the choosen one!

At 12:01 July 15th, I sat on starring at the black screen as the lights slowly dimmed in the movie theater I had been sitting in for about 45 minutes. My first thoughts as my eyes readjusted to the darkness were these: ABOUT TIME! and I can't believe I waited this long to see this movie and I'm still this excited.

So before I delve into the magical world of Harry Potter I think it only fair to talk about the awesome trailers. I want to focus on two trailers of note, one that was actually on the movie and the other that I found out was one some of the showings of Harry Potter that night but I had to find it online around 3 am when I got home. Sherlock Holmes was nearly the last trailer before the movie started and it looked amazing. Sometimes I think that my love for trailers sets me up to be disappointed by movies that don't live up, but a person should live life being excited. Looking forward to something is one of the best feelings in the world, even if sometimes those things don't live up to all your hopes and expectations. So Sherlock Holmes looks like its going to be action packed and visually stunning, and I can not wait. Be sure to go check out the trailer if you haven't had a chance to see it.

The other trailer, that I had to find upon discovery that it was released at all yesterday was for the Percy and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief. I almost burst with excitement because I discovered that they were making the movie out of my newest favorite character. But then to find out that Chris Columbus, my hero from the first two Harry Potters and Rent, was directing! Now as a cherry on top, Logan Lerman is playing Percy himself. Logan is a boy that I've been following by chance over the years, having seen him in the Patriot, 3:10 to Yuma and Bobby. I have high hopes for Logan being a very good Percy. The trailer was only a teaser, with the movie not being released until Presidents Day but it was just enough for me to be truly giddy with anticipation. The interesting thing is they told the story with no verbal cues, there was no speaking within the trailer at all and very few words. The trailer was just of Percy walking into the Empire State building, getting into the elevator and heading up to Mount Olympus. The beautiful weaving of the images of such a small action sequence with the words printed white on a black screen I thought was a nice tip of a hat to the fact that the movie is based on a book inspired by ancient stories. All in all it was thrilling and well recommend.

The lights were completely dimmed now and the music started signalling the start of the shouting and clapping. For all of our anger at Warner Brothers for delaying this moment for so many months, we were still an auditorium of very excited and happy hogwarts students (yes, people we're dressed up). I had read that David Yates had wanted to start the movie with a bang, and indeed he achieved the bang enough. The movie was almost everything I expected, a dark tale with a surprising humorous undertone that was enjoyable. Dan Radcliff was marvelous, he has truly grown into his acting and was captivating to watch on screen. My favorite scene was possibly the Felix Liquid Luck Scene, Dan really brought that to life for me. And Horace Slughorn was perfect, everything I imagined he would be on screen come to life. It was pleasing to still have the scenes, though however small, with Fred and George and Lupin and Tonks. And though I wish the set up at the end might have included the parts of the old D.A. members and the actual battle that happened, I was mostly ok with the change. The Burrow being attacked, not so much okay with, but we will see how they fix that story line within movie 7 part 1. Also the music within the movie was well played, in particular I enjoyed the usage of the weasley score (the twins music) for the end credits.

The muse of this Harry Potter film was laughter and love, the essence of growing up and being able to deal with the pains and tribulations that might bring. A story can be sad but it is a proven fact that you can smile while crying. So I take from my first time seeing Harry Potter, the importance to remember to make them smile once in a while.

You haven't cried since you were 15?

Tonight I left for a party around 8:15 pm, funny thing is I arrived back at 12:49 am and the movie I had been watching when I left was at the exact same part when I got back. TBS strikes again, lovely how many times they repeat a movie over the span of a few days. It has happened before when I have fallen asleep to a movie and woken up to the part I fell asleep to and every time I have thank God for TBS. On this particular night it is The Holiday that is playing on repeat and I can not describe my joy. The Holiday was a movie made for story tellers especially those attached to films.

Now I don't want to dwell to much on the Holiday, but its a great love story not so much about the characters but rather the love between society and film. From the trailers that Amanda creates of her life in every other scene she is in, to the love Jack Black has for the scores of movies, to the crazy old neighbor that won an OSCAR! I love everything that comes out of Arthur's mouth, the movies he recommends from the lessons about cute-meets and old Hollywood. If only I could find that neighbor, it would be perfect that neighbor and maybe if Jude Law came knocking on my door. But honestly, Jack Black has my love for all stories (particular movies) but for scores instead especially in that scene when they are in blockbuster. Also the title of today's musings came from a conversation between Jude Law's character and Cameron Diaz's character on their first date.

But the movie was not where my muse was taking me tonight. No I have loved The Holiday since I watched it for the first time in theaters but it acts more like my daily latte than my randomhappenstance Muse of tonight. No my story comes from Clio tonight, I'm sure the muse of history is who danced around my thoughts this evening. I went to a summer eve soiree, of sorts, to mingle with one of my oldest kindred spirits. The thing about this particular kindred spirit, is that she is of the truest form because we spend months, even years without speaking or really even knowing about each other. But we are always in each others thoughts, I tell stories about her and remember her as often as weekly because I have learned you don't easily dismiss or forget a kindred spirit.

So tonight I had this amazing conversation about religion, organized religion and how it seems impossible for an educated mind to truly be religious. I am a religious person, but as I have pointed out on many occasions possibly a bad one because I don't just follow everything as blindly as it seems I should. Honestly I don't wish to get into a debate about organized religion or my current religious beliefs but it was the stem of the conversation. Where I discovered that there is a handful of kindred spirits in my life that will always exist. These people are my very core and essence as a person, they helped shaped me but more importantly to me they will always be there to help me along the way. Our history, our growth and our similarities will always draw us to each other, we're in the same show forever even if we're only guest starring sometimes.

Clio made me realize tonight that my personal history gives me voice, provides me stories and will always be my strength as a storyteller. Never forget your own story, it's the most important tell.

Don't be a Schnookle!

Schnookle (adj.) - to be square, not hip, not in touch with today's youth. A slang word used in The Return of October, film made in 1948 starring Glen Ford.

Turner Classic Movies was created for late night channel surfing. Its perfect for that moment around 2 in the morning when you are flipping through amazed that you have seen that episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 17 times or are going to buy one of those items that will one day be in the As Seen on TV stores, even though you know better. Yes, Turner Classic Movies is the solution to the poor programming of the twitching hours of the night because there is always something on that might be new to you at least.

It was on this such occasion that I stumbled upon the movie The Return of October. My channel surfing paused on TCM because the movie looked like it was National Velvet, one of the jockeys even looked like Mickey Rooney for a second. So after about five minutes I discovered it was in fact not some remake of National Velvet (which is what I suspected at first) but just another movie about a girl who thinks her uncle has come back as a horse? Ok, honestly at first I thought it was going to be a horse racing movie but as it moved on from that initial scene on the track the characters lead the story in a completely different direction. The main character, a girl in her late teens from a rich family buys a horse that she is convinced is her recently beloved yet deceased horse. Now, strange right? Why would I keep watching after discovering this absurd plot in a movie that has no big names and wasn't made by Disney? The hook wasn't in the main plot, I got hooked by what happened next. A young professor, psychologist to be exact, came onto the scene discovering the young girl talking to the horse as if he were a person and he was instantly intrigued. The professor decides to write a academic report on mental illnesses based off the young girl, presenting it to some kind of committee that gives him permission. From that moment the movie is only sort of about the girl and her horse, but so much more about the girl and the boy. He keeps pretending he is only using her to study (though classically this is unknown to her) but he is of course slowly smitten with her which is often pointed out by the comic relief best friend of the professor.

The twist in our love/ horse story comes when the girl's rich aunt dies leaving her everything. Here the audience was presented with the problems of the rest of the family. Problems being they are greedy and financially stupid. So the academic report was printed, and used by the family to prove our young heroine deserved none of the money left to her but instead should be thrown into a mental institute and never let out. Now this is the part I'm happy I keep watching for, because it was possibly the most ridiculous trail scene I have ever seen in anything. Up until this point I had always become convinced that 27 Dresses took a few pages out of this film from 1948. But the court scenes where the family is trying to prove how crazy this poor girl is, is climatic because of not the actual trial but because this is where young professor finally professes his love and as the psychologist wins the case. Old Hollywood could get away with the most unrealistic things and add in the name of Love and it will be timeless! Well not so timeless considering I am not sure how many people have heard of this movie, but I suspended my 2009 critics skills to enjoy the techno colors and social constraints of the 40s. Also I may from now on tell people not to be schnookles and watch their confused faces as they try to figure out what I mean.

Aside from that movie in love, I also came across a little thing called Web Site Story today. Its a four minute re-adaption made for the wed of West Side Story. I'm not sure if you haven't seen the original you could appreciate it as much as someone who has, but it was well done. The songs were re-written into modern vernacular from references to hulu, twitter, and eharomony that could be just as classic as the jets. Even more so for a four minute musical done for the web there was even choreograph dances.

So tonight I believe Thalia has come to visit me, muse of comedy because even though our theme was love it was laced in humor. I walked away from my two hours of 1948 and my 4 minutes of 2009 feeling the same thing about love, it makes you smile. Love is about heartache countless times a day, in that episode of Friends, in the coffee shop where the girl was crying over a break-up, to the subtle hints of a terrible divorce in Disney Pixar's Up. But with so much of our story telling focus on the heart break, on the conflict, on the struggle of being in love it's nice to know that there are still stories out there that are about the moments that love makes you smile.

Why can't Merlin just do what he's told?

A few months ago I had lent my copy of Eclipse to a friend (yes, I might have jumped on the Twilight bandwagon) and I will probably never forget her phone call to me one night after reading a particular fight between Edward and Bella. I won't really go into what the fight was about because though I doubt there are more than a handful of people who haven't read the books, if you haven't I don't want to ruin anything. But the point is she called me livid demanding why Bella just couldn't do what she was told! My response, after the initial laughter, was because then Mrs. Stephanie Meyer would not have had such a compelling story to tell.

As I watched the first five episodes of Merlin, I find myself having the same thought. Why can't Merlin just do what he's told? But the difference was mine was not exasperated or annoyed as my friend with Bella but rather more just a mock echo and realization that our friend Merlin had disregarded a command or rule of some sort in every episode. I have no problem with this side of Merlin, he is always trying to act in the best interest of others in his own way. In actuality it is the same for many of the heroes in our modern stories, rebellion causes conflicts and conflicts create some magnificent stories. It can't be that we don't like social order, honestly I think that if society existed as an anarchy that we would be drawn to the characters trying to create social order. The charisma of a character that has to depend on themselves, go with their own moral compass, and work against the whole in their own way to achieve a better outcome is undeniably what we're drawn to in the likes of Merlin and Arthur.

In the fifth episode of Merlin enters Lancelot. Lancelot is the image that I think of when I see knights, I connect him to chivalry and loyalty almost automatically. The character of Lancelot is perfectly flawed and that just makes me love him more. Just for background, Lancelot is a knight of the Roundtable who is noted for his position as Arthur's most trusted knight and his affair with Arthur's wife. Lancelot is perfect as a knight, as a trusted and dependable friend of Arthur and then he has his one flaw, his betrayal of his friendship by having the affair. Now I know what you're thinking how can you like him after he stabs Arthur in the back like that, it's simple really. Lancelot's only flaw is his love, or some may say lust for the Queen but in every protrayal I have ever seen of him or read he does still care for the King and try to protect him. His flaw is emotional, and possibly uncontrollable. Yes, he shouldn't have acted on it but all our heroes need flaws and that just happens to be Lancelot's. I don't think he meant any harm, and I'm sure he would have liked not to have loved the Queen it would have made his life easier. None of this has happened yet on Merlin, the series may not run long enough for that part of the tale, but even in the introduction of Sir Lancelot his flawed perfection is demonstrated. Merlin's Lancelot remains true to his character, a man suited for codes and loyalty sometimes swayed by his emotions to do something dishonorable but in the end always trying to be better.

Today's muse danced around our heroes, what makes the characters friends in our memories instead of just another face or name. I know I might just have a tendency to love the trouble makers, but how can I not love those who have their own sense of direction and don't always follow the beaten path even if it gets them thrown in the dungeons a few times. It is important to note that my favorites, those trouble makers, are trying to be good like Merlin saving lives and Arthur trying to protect Merlin. There must be ups and downs, its hard to love someone who is good all the time or even bad all the time, change is what makes the story.

As a story teller you love all stories...

I pride myself on being a story teller, crafting a tale is something I enjoy more than most things in life. But I have discovered throughout the years that to be a story teller, I must seek out others creativity to inspire my own. I don't know what it is, if maybe a realization that others have succeed. Or possibly it works something like a candle, the artist, or writer, or director, or musician is holding out their flame (awesome work) and ignites my own candle (blank page of some sort). But here I have decided to share my steps on my journey, my constant search for my muse of sorts. It's a creative process of enjoying others work, while creating my own.  

So currently I'm watching Merlin, one of the newest series of NBC and I'm enthralled. I might be on a mystical kick, drawn to the magic and wonder of ancient worlds long forgotten. It might be the fault of Percy Jackson, a charming young demigod that entered my world last week. A school teacher friend of mine shoved the first three books of the series at me last week, claiming there was little way I wouldn't fall in love with Mr. Jackson. In her words, he was just my sort of trouble maker. Her assumptions were correct of course, I started reading the Lighting thief on Thursday of last week and finished The Last Olympian this morning at sunrise. Rick Riordan was indeed graced with the present of a muse in his writings, the entire series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was fantastic from beginning to end.  

I have a particular fascination with the Greeks already, their myths and their societies. While reading The Titan's Curse (Book 3), I watched Troy and realized what might draw me to the Greeks and Romans so very much. In those ancient societies, or at least the ways that we understand them through our media, it seems they understood their morality in the same capacity as their immortality. But I think what has been refreshing and engaging about Percy and currently Merlin is this distinct and solid path for our characters, their chosen and given destinies. These stories and these characters have a path, understand their purpose and live inside of it with their own personal trials and outside of it by still trudging forward for the bigger picture. Part of me feels that society as a whole might currently be looking for flawed heroes, with personal flaws that might make us think they can fail but persevere in the end. Personally I love that flawed perfection more than perfection itself. 

So today's muse has sparked some light on being a story teller! Maybe people aren't over magic, we might still like a sword fight or two, a dragon here and there and damsels that aren't so distressed but still cause some conflict. Maybe we still like stories not about the heroes, or the most powerful but about the people who support them like the demigods for the Greek Gods and Goddess or Merlin for King Arthur. And maybe we like it more than we care to admit when there are obstacles in our way to get to the happy ending, because let's face it if Merlin just popped up being powerful and Percy was just accepted and understood then why would we even like them?