Thursday Thirteen - Wylie's Answer to People

I put a Thursday Thirteen up at SIX DEGREES OF SEXY, so please hit the link and go on over.

That's Entertainment!

I've been suffering from insomnia the past few days. Not the productive 'I'm up, I may as well work' kind but the 'barely awake during the day, up until 3am tossing and turning but too tired to move' kind.
Bleh.
The only good thing to come out of this is the fact that I'm catching up on television. I haven't watched much since the new fall season, either regular tv or movies, so I'm due for some serious couch potatoing.

Notes on a Scandal - chose to skip this one in the theatres because of the subject matter. Heavy topic. Lately I've been prioritizing entertainment over good acting (?? Yeah, I don't know why either). Well thank God for The Movie Network! Caught this AMAZING film a couple of nights ago and didn't regret a moment. Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi Dench were fabulous. Believable, honest portrayals of two not-particularly-nice woman who have you cheering for them despite their shady personalities and peculiar motivations. Two lonely people struggling for human contact/acceptance. It was brilliant. See it.

Catch & Release - Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Kevin Smith. I loved this movie like I never expected to. That J.G. is such a cutie you just can't help but love her. She's so unglamorous yet somehow manages to come off as classy, true, genuine. Someone you'd like to hang with, be BFF. As for Mr. Olyphant (a yummy surprise), I knew I'd seen him somewhere before but the lack of mustache and western gear threw me off. He was Sherriff Seth Bullock on Deadwood. 'Course, that didn't come to me until 30 seconds before the end credits rolled.
Highly recommend this one. It feels like a low-key picture, but the depth will surprise you.

Double Dare - a highly entertaining documentary about stunt women, two imparticular - Zoe Bell (pictured right) and Jeannie Epper, that I had NO intention of watching, but was hooked within the first five minutes and very happily sat through the entire 1 1/2 hour show. Fascinating look at the world of stunt women, the challenges they face in a male dominated profession, blah blah blah. Zoe Bell, a young Kiwi who doubled for Lucy Lawless as Xena, was incredible to watch. By the end of the award-winning documentary (2004) we learn that she's been picked to double for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.
Yeah - I know that doesn't SOUND interesting, but it was a good show. It had to have been to keep me awake until 2am.

C.R.A.Z.Y. - I don't know what to say about this French-Canadian movie except SEE IT. Not your standard Hollywood fare. Amazing performances, captivating story in a disturbing yet familiar sort of way, and will never be accused of being regurgatative. (is that a even a word? But you know what I mean, right?)

Finally, if you haven't been watching Dexter, why not?

If my insomnia doesn't end before the writer's strike, you'll be hearing the nitty-gritty on ants vs termites on the National Geographic channel.

It ain't no optical illusion...

Male readers of this blog, you are excused. Go.

TMI Alert:
So I went to the salon today - not my usual place - to get some general maintainance done for the holidays. The spa woman, a stranger to me, waxes my eyebrows then says to me: "Shall I do your upper lip?"
Upper lip?? OMG, why would I do such a thing?
"Why?" says me, suspiciously. "Do I need it?"
And she gives me That Look: eyebrows raised, half-smile, slight shrug of the shoulders. The Look to make me feel like an idiot for even asking.
And what she's basically saying with That Look is that for the past 40 years I've been walking around with a mustache.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Where are my friends?
My trusted homies?
My regular spa lady????
My MOTHER who's ALWAYS been brutally honest about the size of my ass so why wouldn't she tell me about my Hairy Lip?
Have they all let me down? Allowed me to walk around looking like a grandma from the old-country?
Look at the picture of me on the sidebar. Do you see it? It's SO OBVIOUS now that I'm looking... *shame*

What else are they keeping from me?
Bad breath?
OMG - maybe my writing SUCKS and they're not telling me about that either!

I'm a whiskered, foul breathed HACK...

BTW - that lip thing REALLY hurts.

Poetry Train Monday

I posted a really great Charles Bukowski poem over at Six Degrees of Sexy. If you are a writer, want to be a writer, thinking about writing, curious about the writing life, this poem is for you.
It's dedicated to TL from Tennessee Text Wrestling - one of the finest new authors I have the priviledge of knowing.
Go HERE.

Mini-bloghiatus

Busy week/weekend. My sister-in-law and bro-in-law from Bermuda will be arriving at my dorr at any moment. Yipeee!
But while I'm on bloghiatus, go over to Six Degrees of Sexy and see the fabulous interview with author Jan Springer. She's a hoot!

A bone to pick with Wylie?

Remember that Hometown Meme?
I did Bermuda, which is not my hometown, but I did spend 18 years on the island so felt imminently qualified.
Well, I had my hands slapped by Chris K, an old and dear friend. (clarification - She's not old, our friendship is) Here's what she had to say:

I went to your blogspot tonight just to check up on you and noticed that you did not want to do the Thunder Bay Hometown Meme because, and I quote, there’s “not much fodder there”. I’m aghast! Now, I stayed until I was 30, so maybe I got more of the flavour of our beloved city than you did. *G* With that in mind, I’m answering the questions in hopes of reminding you of all that northwestern Ontario has to offer! (Now, note I’m not there any longer and wouldn’t move back on a bet, BUT I do love to go back to visit and it ain’t cuz my family is there, I can assure you!)

Best Place to Eat: Well, the Hoito is an easy answer (mainly because it’s true!) But for a fab evening out for fine Italian dining you’ve got Armando’s and Vincenzo’s, and Harrington Court has always impressed the heck out of me for just about everything they do.

Best Shopping Mall: *sigh* Gotta be Intercity; all the others suck! *L*

Famous Landmark: A little number known throughout the universe as the Sleeping Giant (one of Canada ’s top wonders, by the way!)

Best Tourism Attraction: Again, the Giant; the view from Hillcrest Park is particularly spectacular. We’ve also got Old Fort William which, believe it or not, is pretty good! Also Sibley, the amethyst mine, Eino’s Saunas out on the highway.

Place For the Kids: Uh…having a little trouble with that one…this could explain all the petty crime…*L* Is Wiggles & Giggles still open? (Wylie's note: NO. But there is cool mini-golf dome!)

Popular Outdoor Activity: Skating, skiing, snowmobiling…in the summer I’d have to say lighting fires in the bush or drinking in a rock quarry…

Breathtaking Views: Hillcrest Park , the rock cuts on both sides of the highway, anywhere in downtown PA for Lake Superior…I think I’m seeing the problem, you’re a Fort William girl! *L*

Only Found in THUNDER BAY : Persians! (I still miss them) (Wylie's note: these are scrumptious cinnamon buns with pink icing - to die for)

This is a public service announcement courtesy of someone for whom time has softened all the bad memories…. *L*

--Chris : )

My apologies Chris. You're right. Thunder Bay is a pretty swell place and it holds many many dear memories. (Did someone say field party?)
Thanks for letting the blogosphere know just what a quaint little spot it is.
(And you're off the hook with the picture 'cause I couldn't find my yearbook. Lucky ;)

Bits, Bobs and an Informal Poll

What a weekend!

We (as in the 'The Six Degrees of Sexies') had a fun chat over at the Delicious Naughties (I know, these names! Heee) and we'll be having another chat on December 16th at Ellora's Cave. Thanks to the Naughties for hosting us! I've got lots of new books on my 'to be acquired' list - next payday.

Rhian's having a HUGE ROCKIN' PAR-TAY to celebrate her one year blogoversary. There's prizes and silliness all over the place.

Happy Birthday Robin L. Rotham, author of that hotness Alien Overnight. Go over and wish her a happy 78th. That ought to piss her off :) :) :)

I'm so evil.

If you have a moment to kill, head over to the Redlines and Deadlines blog for a fun confernce adventure. Check it out HERE.

The weather in my neck of the woods was lovely enough to do outdoorsy stuff. Most of my neighbors got a jump-start on their Christmas lights, but the Kinsons? We goofed about, jumped in leaves, chased the kids on bikes and kicked balls. We'll also be the one stringing lights after a blizzard in a -10 chill, swearing our heads off.
Live and learn? Not us...

Informal Poll
How 'bout you? Christmas is coming. Are you:
A) decorated, shopped, and sipping eggnog
B) refusing to let commercialism trap you in the chaos until the calendar reads DECEMBER
C) looking forward to January
D) grateful that you're Jewish ;)

Warning: No trace of HUMBLE in this post

See that thing on my sidebar that says CURRENT WIP? Over there to the right -- go look. Look now, because soon it'll be gone. Not gone-gone, but moved down to the MY BOOKS section.

Law of Averages has been ACCEPTED by EC!

*Postscript: deleted the next two paragraphs, because I managed to annoy even myself*

My Day to Piss Off Other Authors? Bwahahaha

Her Royal Redness has a new book out today in the Spin Devil series (altogether now: SQUEEEEEEEEE!)

Spin Some More is Jason's story - his turn with the plush little devil. You can read all about it and buy it by clicking HERE.
You won't want to miss this piece of the series. Trust.

And if I can be so blatantly braggy and tease your need-to-read-Red, I just finished reading the yet-unfinished fourth Spin Devil book and it's the best one yet. Sebastian the ultra-alpha is back, need I say more?
SO H-H-HAWT!

Hmmm... I probably shouldn't have said anything. Telling author secrets and all. Red might kill me now. Or not let me beta read for her anymore. Which would be devastating...
(Too bad - it's so freaking hot I had to change my underwear...)

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Found this cool 'thingy' on Carrie Lofty's blog.
Gee - I hope she's not going to be pissed 'cause she got an elementary school reading level on hers...
Well heck, just to make her feel at home... "Hey Carrie! Neerer, neerer, neerer" :P

bwahahahahaha

No TT, just an FJ

That's Funny Joke!
I'm writing tonight (or TRYING to...) so I'll leave you with this funny joke that was sent to me by my friend Shelagh.

The Perfect Husband
Mike wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company's Christmas Party. Mike is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn't taste like alcohol at all. He didn't even remember how he got home from the party. As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong. Mike had to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a single red rose!! Mike sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed. He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house.
He takes the aspirins,cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror. Then he notices a note hanging on the corner ofthe mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick:
"Darling, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to get groceries to make you your favorite dinner tonight. I love you, darling!
Love, Marg"

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper. His 16 year old son is also at the table, eating.

Mike asks, "Son...what happened last night?"

"Well, you came home after 3 A.M.., drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door.

Confused, he asked his son, "So, why is everything in such perfect order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??"

His son replies, "Oh THAT... Mum dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your trousers and pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, I'm married!!"

Broken Coffee Table $439.99
Hot Breakfast $6.75
Two Aspirins $0.50

Saying the right thing, at the right time ..........

PRICELE$$!!!

From a UK newspaper. *ahem* Excuse me while I pop out to Toys R Us...

Smile Award

I'm giving my 2 cents on Zannie Adams' latest release, Hold, over at Six Degrees of Sexy, so head over after you read this:

My good friend and critique partner extraordinaire Thomma Lyn has gifted me with an award.

Thanks TL! It made my day. My week. My MONTH!

I'd like to pass this wonderful little gem of an award on to two ladies who never fail to make me smile, giggle and laugh out loud on a regular basis, Red Garnier and Amy Ruttan.

Lest We Forget

I listened to my 7 year old son recite the first verse of this poem and next thing I knew, my vision blurred with tears.
Let's pray that our youth never know the experience of a battlefield.
Let's hope our children do a better job with tolerance, knowledge and understanding that we have done.




In Flanders field the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Doctor Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) John McCrae (b. Guelph, Ontario) of the 1st Field Artillery Brigade wrote this poem on May 3, 1915 after the battle at Ypres.




Oh! You who sleep in Flanders’ fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew,
We caught the torch you threw,
And holding high we kept
The faith with those who died.
We cherish too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valour led.

It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders’ fields.

And now the torch and poppy red
Wear in honour of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught
We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders’ fields.

Written by Miss Moina Belle Michael, an American, on Nov 9, 1918, the Saturday before the Armistice was signed. She read John McCrae's poem, In Flanders Fields and it made such an impression on her that she wrote this in reply.

PEACE.

Blog Roundup - it's good stuff people!

Busy week. Busy busy week. Haven't had much of a chance to get out and visit you all, but I've compiled a quick (if incomplete) list of the more interesting things I came across:

The Esteemed Editors of Ellora's Cave have a blog (I know! Totally cool!) and have put together the funniest, 'EW'-inducing Thursday Thirteen I've seen in awhile. If you're a writer, or a reader of romance (or any book where sex may be a factor), check out these hilarious-icky euphemisms. CLICK HERE for Redlines & Deadlines.

If you haven't heard,... Amy Ruttan sold ANOTHER novel to EC/CP (YAY Amy!) so go show her some love HERE.

Leah Braemel did another great community-service post to help you find those nasty ECHO words in your manuscript. You know, the ones you use ALL THE TIME, over and over, without realizing? The ones that make you look like The Dreaded Amateur!
Leah's intimate knowledge with MS Word can help you. GO HERE for her uber-informative lesson.

SHG from West of Mars is looking for bookmarks. A great promo-op authors!! GO HERE for details. (And thanks, SHG!)

Nicholas has a scary-factual commentary on child-care HERE. I warn you - it will make you want to yank your head out of the sands of ignorance (where mine has been firmly planted), but it's important to read. You'll be astounded.

Sparky FINALLY got off his ass and got a job *wink*. Go wish him luck or give a "neerer neener neener - I'm at home in my pajamas at 11am" chant at the very least!

Have a great weekend all. My in-laws are visiting so I won't be around. See you Monday and happy writing to all you NaNo-ers :D

Sexies Flirt with the Naughties??

The Six Degrees of Sexies have joined the Deliciously Naughty Writers for a

Holiday Scavenger Hunt

There will be lots of great prizes, so please see the ad below and enter!

And to launch this little party, we've got the Naughties chatting with us at the Sexies blog.
GO HERE NOW!

On November 18th - they've invited us to Club Naughty from noon until six and on December 16th we'll all be chatting on the Ellora's Cave loop. Think you can get a word in edgewise? I dare you :D
I'll post the chat links closer to the date.

CONTEST: CLICK HERE!

Hometown Meme: BERMUDA

This Hometown Meme comes to you compliments of Rhian's tag (thanks Rhi! :P Sparky)

The Rules: Answer the questions, tag 5 people and then go off on your travels to there hometowns. ONLY ONE answer for each of the questions. No ties!

My dilemma? Which 'hometown' to choose? I've only lived 'north of Toronto' for a couple of years so don't feel like an expert (yet), spent 18 years in Thunder Bay, ON (not much fodder there), another 18 in Bermuda and an odd year here and there. Hmmmm... I'm going out on a limb here and guessing that Bermuda probably has the most appeal.

Best Place to Eat:
This is really tough because Bermuda has so many good restaurants - SO MANY! Lovely, gourmet, world-class yummeries.
But I'm going to choose one that is uniquely Bermudian, a restaurant that tourists rarely venture to because of its location and decor (colloquial would be a compliment). The Black Horse Tavern in St. David's serves the best fresh wahoo ever. EVER. They're known for their shark hash and fish chowder.
The service is shaky, the decor minimally 'diner', though I always chose to sit outside next to the water at the long wooden picnic tables, yet it's the one restaurant I miss and the first I'll go back to on future visits.

Best Shopping Mall:
There are none! That's why so many Bermudians can be found in the King of Prussia Mall on any given day. And why they charter planes for shopping excursions to Atlanta just prior to Christmas. There are a fair number of shops in both Hamilton and St. Georges, if you're into boutique shopping, buying china, crystal, perfume or Louis Vuitton luggage :)

Famous Landmark:
No, not technically a 'landmark' but y'all could care less about Spanish Rock, so I'm going with something that Bermuda is famous for. No, not the Triangle - but good guess :D
Gotta say its pink sand beaches. The sand is made of crushed coral and gets the pink hue from the skeleton of a little animal called a formaniferan (foram for short). And the color/texture of the beach sand changes subtely from beach to beach: world famous Horseshoe Beach is soft, fine and light pink but Church Bay, just a few miles down the coast, is coarse and purplish.

Best Tourism Attraction:
Tourism used to be it's prime source of income (recently taken over by international business) so this is very hard to whittle down to one. But I'm going to say the Olde Towne of St. George. Yeah - it's kind of cheating because within the town there are many lovely attractions :D
It's been continuously colonized since 1612, has narrow cobbled streets, original architecture and historical landmarks a plenty.

Place for the Kids:
The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, and it's really not just for kids. I worked at this fabulous world-class facility for five years and let me assure you, it may be small, but it's award winning from it's education programs to it's successful breeding of endangered species and exhibitry.

Popular Outdoor Activity:
Again, the most obvious answer is golf (most courses per square mile in the world) but I'm not a golfer so I'm so not going there! I'd have to say snorkeling and scuba diving. Bermuda has reefs that are accessible from shore teeming with colorful fish, and a huge number of shipwrecks to dive.

Breathtaking Views:
From the top of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse in Southampton, you have a marvelous 360 degree view around the island. It's only 21 miles long and a mile wide, so it's easy to take in from one end to the other.

Only found in BERMUDA:
Horton's Rum Cakes. Mmmmm.

Who to tag... So many of my cohorts are up to their eyeballs in Nano! What the heck:

Thomma Lyn - there are mountains in her midst so maybe she'll grace us with pictures.

Tempest Knight - because she lives someplace totally cool that I hope to someday visit.

Shelley Munro - same reason.

Nicholas - because he needs something else to discuss besides socks ;)
But seriously - N actually hails from across the pond so I'm kind of hoping he'll share his hometown secrets rather than those of his adopted city.

Julia - because eastern Canada is a beautiful place to visit, even though Christine isn't there any longer ;)

Thanks for playing along!

The Steaming Sexies

Three of the Sexies have new books out, and their releases just happen to coincide with my 3-day break from writing. Well timed, ladies ;)

Here's the blurb for Red Garnier's Stroke of Midnight (LSB):

Some wounds take a long time to heal…

A summer in their family Aspen cottage sounds just like the thing to help Elena Wolverton get over a tragic accident. Her body needs to recover, and so does her soul.

Elena’s sister Vivian brings a friend along for the week, and Porter Rowe is the stuff of dreams. The stuff of Elena’s dreams; awakening her to longings she hasn’t felt before.

Elena knows a man like Porter could finish with what’s left of her, break all that remains. Or he could help her forgive, forget, and have a second chance at happiness.

Contains: multiple partner sex F/M/F, oral sex, graphic language.
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God I love the disclaimer! The ones on my books say: "Contains: SEX, but nothing daring or envelope-pushing by any stretch of the imagination." :D

I read this scorcher last night and I have one complaint -- It's TOO SHORT! Elena is an endearing woman and Porter Rowe is fantasy-material. Well done, Ms Garnier. The outside temps in my area may have dropped, but the thermostat in my bedroom went WAY up!!

BUY IT HERE and then pop over to Six Degrees of Sexy to enter Red's contest.

Tonight I shall lay me down to sleep with Renee Field and Christine d'Abo's release Sweet and Spicy Spells (EC). Here's the blurb (I'm closing my eyes to cut and paste 'cause I love reading a book when I having absolutely NO idea who's who or what's what):

Two sisters, two brothers — and a whole lot of sexy spells.

Kisha hasn't been able to cast a single correct spell. Not a good thing when you're a witch. Kisha has two days to master her powers and Foster is the wizard who's been sent to help. To kick-start her system, Kisha has to discover the uninhibited joys of orgasms, and Foster is more than happy to use his "wand" for the task.

Priscilla is perfect — tall, busty and beautiful. All Hallow's Eve coincides with the annual Cauldron Cup where Priscilla has to defend her title. What she isn't expecting is Zack Kane to zap back into her life after five years. Passion flares as spells and clothing fly.

When the siblings uncover a plot to assassinate the members of the witch council, they must put their differences aside to save the council…and themselves.

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I don't think its premature of me to say it's HOT, cause it's coming from Ellora's Cave, or that I love it already because Renee and Christine are very talented ladies, so

BUY IT HERE!

Thursday Thirteen #34 - 13 Evacuation Essentials

THURSDAY THIRTEEN #34

Chatting with a friend from CA, discussing the fires, etc. She told me that some people had all of ten minutes to evacuate. Not to make light of the situation, but it got me thinking....

What would I grab if I only had time to choose 13 items?

(besides my kids, because that's rather obvious).

1. my laptop


2. photo albums


3. important papers folder (passports, insurance, etc) - but I'd leave the bills to burn :)


4. snacks for the road


5. toothbrush


6. t-shirts, socks, undies (grab a bag, shove em in, who cares about coordinating)


7. jewelery box


8. the kittens


9. kitten food/litter


10. Kidlet essentials: a few toys, books, DVD's


11. kid's time capsules


12. cell phone


13. credit cards

Have I missed anything? What would you choose?

** Thoughts & prayers to those affected by the fires **