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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

NaNoWriMo 2004 Update: 15,609

While technically NaNoWriMo ended yesterday, practically speaking, I fell off the wagon two weeks ago and never managed to get back on. Final word count: 15,609.

Well short of the 50,000 word goal, but an amazing leap forward for me in terms of self-discipline. For the first two weeks, at least. I take some solace in these words from the final NaNoWriMo update:

The only time we ever catch a glimpse of our creative potential is when we try something so clearly impossible that only a fool would dare attempt it.

Yep. There’s a tremendous payoff in getting in over our heads. In spending thirty days sleeping too little and writing too much, and watching, delighted, as our imaginations haul their weird and wonderful treasures into the bright light of day.

It’s a heroic endeavor whether you ended up writing 10,000 or 100,000 words, and I hope that everyone, regardless of final word-count, realizes what a brave and inspiring thing they’ve accomplished this month.

Indeed, I caught more than a glimpse, I stared it dead in the eye and…well yes, I blinked, but not before I confirmed that the only thing really standing between me and a completed novel is ME. There’s a million excuses and twice as many distractions, some of each are even legitimate, but the bottom line is that you find the time to do the things you want to do when you really want to do them. Like playing Morrowind til 1am again last night!

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Damn ABC and their addictive Sunday night lineup!

How am I supposed to ease into the beginning of a new week, following an exciting afternoon of football, when I can’t get away from the TV from 7-11pm?

Scoff if you like, but America’s Funniest Home Videos is funny as hell. Tom Bergeron is no Bob Saget, thank god, and who couldn’t benefit from a little mindless slapstick humor while being forced to admit the weekend is over and start preparing for a return to the old grind? Then Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the most emotionally-manipulative tearjerker on TV, interferes with the kids’ bath and get-ready-for-bed time, forcing us into a graceless ballet in between commercials. The first 10 minutes and the final 20 are the must-see portions of the show, though, no distractions allowed, which means their usual bedtime gets extended by a half-hour.

At 9pm – kids in bed but still awake, the apartment littered with toys and other married-with-children hazards like a sink full of dishes, piles of unopened mail, shredded magazines and random clothing spead here and there – it’s time for Desperate Housewives. If we blink during the closing credits of EM:HE, we end up stuck to the couch for the first 10 minutes as ABC has perfected the “don’t change the channel” transition between shows that reels the unsuspecting viewer in like bad poets to an open mic. Housewives is without question the best guilty pleasure on TV since…well, since the A-Team if I’m being honest!

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Pumpkin Seeds: 11 Shots to the Dome Edition

1. The Incredibles, in a word was, what the hell, INCREDIBLE! Seriously; like “the Oscar goes to…,” Best Picture kind of incredible. “The Oscar goes to…,” Best Director kind of incredible. “The Oscar goes to…,” Best Original Screenplay kind of incredible. It had more emotional depth than most live-action movies, and absolutely blows the doors off previous Pixar and Dreamworks efforts. To not be acknowledged as such would be an even bigger crime than the 1999 Best Picture award.

2. The preview of Pixar’s next effort, Cars, struck me as both an odd direction and incredibly boring. As it is quite possibly their last movie in conjunction with Disney, I wonder if they purposely went with a lesser concept to complete their contract, anticipating a new partner and saving their best stuff for the future? Because, really, unlike any of their previous films’ previews, Cars just looks dumb.

3. For the most part, I consider myself a pretty tolerant and non-prejudicial person. Politically incorrect jokes aside, I don’t typically judge anyone by whatever subgroup society has created for them, understanding that people are individuals and should be judged accordingly. That said, this morning, for the second time in the three years since 9/11, I got off of a train before my stop because there was a guy that was giving me the “looks like a terrorist” heebie-jeebies. He looked like a middle eastern Spike Lee, complete with facial hair and dorky glasses, wearing a baseball cap, jeans and a sweatshirt and carrying only a rectangular leather CD case. No CD player, mind you, just the case. And he was holding it close to his lap, tapping away nervously. And he was sitting right next to me. If he looked like anything but someone from the middle east, I would have probably found him merely annoying. If he’d looked the way he looked, but had a CD player to go with the case, I probably wouldn’t have paid him the slightest bit of attention. But he didn’t, and all the things that led so many otherwise sensible Americans to vote for George Bush three weeks ago flared up in my mind and I was convinced this guy was going to blow the train somewhere between the City Hall and Wall Street stations. So I got off the train at 14th Street, caught the next one, and braced myself at each stop, each delay, each announcement, not sure whether I was hoping more that I was wrong, or right. Because being right would have been traumatic, but being wrong meant I’d completely given in to the fear.

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Pumpkin Seeds: Kitchen Sink Edition

1. David Twohy, director of The Chronicles of Riddick, told Now Playing Magazine that further installments of the proposed Riddick trilogy of films will depend in part on the performance of the upcoming Riddick director's-cut DVD, which hits stores next week. The first Chronicles of Riddick film didn't fare well at the box office in its premiere this year. Sequels are "still a possibility, but many eyes are watching this DVD release very closely," Twohy told the new magazine. (SciFWire) 2. Support a worthy cause. Buy The Chronicles of Riddick today! 3. Ralph Nader has successfully called for a recount…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Pumpkin Seeds: The Week that Was Edition

1. No matter your individual schedule, NaNoWriMo marches on, with or without you. Despite Comic Book Wednesday stealing a night of writing from me, I'm still in the mix. In a deep hole, yes, but in the mix. Yesterday's unexpected day off as the kids' day care decided to celebrate Veteran's Day at the last minute, helped as I pounded out 1,355 words for the zombies' first appearance while the kids napped! 2. NaNoWriMo Word Count, Day 11: 7,881 (-10,456) 3. The new boss announced on Tuesday that, as of next Friday, she'll be the old boss, heading back to…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Pumpkin Seeds: Final Notes on the Election Edition

1. Bush won 51% of the popular vote, the first majority victory in a presidential election since his father beat Dukakis in 1988. 2. Bush won 31 states to Kerry's 19. 3. Bush won 11 states with more than 60% of the vote, and another 4 with more than 59% of the vote. 4. Kerry won only one state (Massachussetts) with more than 60% of the vote, and another 2 with more than 59% of the vote. [NOTE: He also won Washington, DC with 89.5% of the vote.] 5. Democrats that are busy debating whether or not Bush can claim…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Pumpkin Seeds: Note From the Editor Editon

1. Anyone that reads this journal and thinks I'm talking specifically to them, or in a more general sense, to anyone in particular, needs to take what they read here with a huge grain of salt. Perhaps a whole tablespoon. This journal is, and always has been, primarily for my own self-interests. It's my way, an admittedly public and exhibitionistic way, of getting things out of my head and into a form that I can more properly analyze, critique and digest. As I have one of the worst memories of anyone I know, tending towards impressions and emotions over details,…

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