I've been quoted!

Alex Epstien sent me an email asking what my thoughts were about the "L Word"... Showtime's lesbian drama. Probably since I had made a comment that the second seaason was a disappointment and if the show didn't improve in its' third season I was cancelling Showtime.

He was gracious enough to quote almost all of my reply on his blog. Check it out here:* www.complicationsensue.blogspot.com/2005/10/writergurl-on-l-word.html

*links doesn't seem to be working for me, and I don't know how to fix it. So, you'll have to cut and paste into your browser... sorry!

If you've time, I'd recommend reading ALL of his blog. There's tons of useful info and only the occasional political post.

Update to the car wreck....

The guy WAS drunk. He's in jail by now. They got a wrecker to tow away his crappy car. No one knows if he had insurance. The firefighters came and looked at the structure, evidently the columns are just decorative so that's cool. My neighbor was sitting on her couch about 8 feet away from where he finally stopped. Her fence is toast, but she's OK. I think the building's insurance will take care of the fence and the column since her yard (unlike mine) is part of the common property of the building. Thankfully, no one was injured. The driver evidently was so drunk he sustained no injuries. A wreck like that would probably have hospitalized a sober person.

Can you imagine? My neighbor was sitting there, on her couch, watching "Desperate Housewives" and THIS happens.

It's like something out of the movies or something!

The conference call...

.. went well, lasted for a little over an hour. The director has a basic idea for the story, but it is in dire need of fleshing out and being structured. Guess that's what I'm for, huh? They've asked for a treatment. There are 2 other writers they've asked for a treatment. There IS pay for the script. We have not talked numbers. If my treatment is greeted with huzzahs (instead of wails of protest and rending of cloth), then I'll be looking for an agent or entertainment attorney to do that part for me. I'm doing research on the Islamic faith, and I'm trying to come up with the story. Which involves lots of staring into space and letting my mind do it's thing. We'll see what it spits out... there's no telling.

In the blink of an eye...

Ok, so I live in a building that fronts a major throughfare in Atlanta and there's a quiet little side street that borders one side of it. The architects purposely set the building back from the major thoroughfare and erected a brick wall (about 4 feet high) to keep auto accidents from taking out the building. There's also a grassy knoll that our building is built on.

They never envisioned what happened tonight.

WITHIN the last 15 minutes, a driver (whom we all think is drunk) has rammed into at least 3 cars parked on the side street, leapt the curb and rammed into our building, taking out a black wrought iron fence on the way to annihilating a column and almost landing in my neighbor's condo. Luckily, he was able to stop before he reached her patio doors. Nevertheless, the fence and the column (which we are all praying is merely decorative since there's a patio above it) are gone, the guys' car is seriously messed up and there's at least 3 cars with severe body damage. One of them has its' bumper laying on the street.

There's 6 cop cars outside and the guys is being handcuffed. Thankfully no lives were taken. Hopefully, this will be this guy's wake up call, if he is indeed drinking and driving.

Wow. What a night.

Y'all stay safe out there.

Oy...

I have a conference call scheduled for tomorrow with the director and producer who have read (and liked) my writing sample.

Frankly, I have no idea what the next step is. (Beyond talk to them... duh.) All I know is that the film MUST be about Islam. I think it must be something that shows the Islamic faith in a positive light, so no terrorists and Mecca bashing. (Not that I would want to write that kinda stuff in the first place.) I don't have any problem with writing a positive movie about the Islamic faith as I don't subscribe to the notion that all Muslims are terrorists or even bad people. Different than me, yes. But, not automatically bad. Besides, I'm an agnostic so I'm not married to any particular faith. I have been inside a Mormon temple, the Sistine chapel, and my ex's embrace. God was in all those places. I'm pretty sure he's inside a mosque too.

So, the call is set for tomorrow evening, I'll let ya know what the guys have to say. If it goes no further than this, at least I got this far. PLUS (and this is a biggie) I got validation that my work is good. Good enough that complete and total strangers, who don't know me from Adam, (and don't get anything by giving my ego a stroking) like what I do. Heady stuff. That alone is something that many, many writers never get. So, even if the whole thing goes tits up, I'm still thrilled to be talking to these guys.

Keep your fingers crossed... I'm going in.

Mr. Potatohead...

The bulbous nose.

The Jay Leno jaw.

The vast forehead.

Those ears!

Ladies and Gents, meet the new Bond.

I'm calling him Taterhead Bond... maybe just Tater Bond...

Say it with me y'all...

Bond, Tater Bond

My one true love

Taken the day I got her, with her very first toy.

To live and write in LA

I don't live in LA at the moment. I plan on it. Soon.

But...

maybe not soon enough...

for the people who wanted to meet with me about their project.

GAHHH!

Hoah boy...

Gulp... I'm in trouble now. Someone likes my work. Enough to want to talk to me about (possibly) writing a script for them... Gulp. Wish me luck. I'm gonna call them tomorrow...

Blue...

I have an ex.

She wore a distinctive scent.

I smelled it today, shopping at the mall.

Blue doesn't look good on me...

My mother, the nut job...

Ok so maybe I should be more sympathetic towards the woman, after all, she's 75, blind in one eye and speaks broken English. (Even though she's been married to my Dad for 54 years.) Sometimes, though, you just gotta call it like ya see it.

She is nuts.

Lemme explain...

Tonight I told her that I had made up my mind to move to LA and pursue a, not quite mid-life, career change and take a shot at becoming a screenwriter. Here's the conversation...

Mom: What? A scream writer?
Me: No, Mother, a screenwriter. They write movies.
Mom: So, you're going to be a writer?
Me: Yes.
Mom: Well, you got it from me.

Now, that doesn't sound too wacky does it? After all, writing is an inherited trait/talent. Right?

The thing is... I'm adopted.