Chemo, Scirpts and the Tao of Deb

It's been a yin and yang kind of week. On the one hand, I have to have regular chemo after all. Nothing new has been diagnosed. This is purely precautionary. It's just a little daunting. On the other hand, some wonderful things have been happening with pitches. We have a very promising meeting for a gig that would mean a great deal to our careers and out bottom line this week. Naturally, I can't say anything about it. This bit of good news helped mitigate the other news and reminded me that I can't let myself be daunted for too long. I can't afford to be daunted for many reasons – financially, emotionally and physically. And this opportunity offers much of what I had hoped for with our screenplay writing. So with the yin and the yang in my life of late, please think good thoughts.

I had hoped to do a full blog. Aside from the various life altering news, we started shooting that fitness pilot. Oh, the stories we have to tell. But aside from the fact that she shoot is not over (we have another day on Tuesday), I am exhausted on a lot of levels. I'll have a lot more news next week including the progress on the promotional trailer editing.

Stay tuned.

What's Cooking on a Tuesday Night

I didn't have the best of days today. I won't know how bad it was until tomorrow. However, I did have some tenderloin, some Vidalia onions, some big ol' potatoes and some excellent aged balsamic vinegar from F.Oliver's. the result is an amazing dish by David Rocco that I discovered on the new Cooking Channel. It was delicious. Here's the link: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/beef-tenderloins-con-balsamico-recipe/index.html

I learned the frites technique last night on the Cooking channel's Unique Eats. I par boiled the cut fries for five minutes, drained and cooled them on paper towels then deep friend them until crispy. Jon and I ate them with two fists until they were gone. Ah, food therapy. It's much better than punching.

Turkey, Therapy, Demons and Serious Matters

I continue being contrary in my appetites this week. There were huge shrimp on sale this week along with all sorts of steaks – presumably for Father's Day. There were even some nice, firm fleshed fish on sale. All items aimed at grilling, I'm sure. What do I crave for Sunday dinner? Turkey! Thus, I splurged on a turkey breasts and some wings. Jon wondered if I was creating a Franken-Turkey. No, not at all. I need the wings to make some stock for the gravy and the dressing. Jon's a silly billy. Mind, I did buy the shrimp and the steak as well. The sale was too good and those shrimp were enormous. I have plans for them as well. So the apartment is filled with the scent of roasting turkey and Herbs de Provence. I managed to get everything in the oven before 8am. I was pretty pleased with myself until I noticed Alex Guarnascelli making butter from scratch. Jon noticed as well. I wish I'd noticed before we ate the pancakes. Ah well. That will be for next week's breakfast. The recipe even yields enough buttermilk for another recipe. Sweet!

It may seem that I am very industrious, but this week has not gone well as far as clearing the pile of work off my plate. I was thrown off by an ongoing bureaucratic nightmare that managed to get more frustrating in the last several days. I am an infamous worrier, so this hasn't helped my focus or my sleeping habits at all. And in this state of mind, it would have been unwise to tackle that film editing program I've never used. I can't afford the new PC I'd need after I got really frustrated. I didn't manage any writing until late in the week. Some of that is the worrying. Some of that was the latest rejection slip (more on that later). Some of it was physical – no doubt a side effect of worrying. Surprisingly, I'm not worrying about the pilot we're shooting next week. I've been delegating 90 percent of that and it's a far simpler shoot that we typically attempt. At least, that's how it looks on paper. Still, I'm refusing to worry about it.

I'm certain that I need some serious cooking therapy to get things off my mind that shouldn't be churning up in there, but it's been difficult with my slim energy reserves. My goal this week is to get more activity into my day. Perhaps by the end of next week I'll be slicing and dicing more routinely. I now have two food channels to provide inspiration. I've even organized all of the recipes that I've saved from my favorite shows into folders by subject. That file had gotten out of hand. Still, it wasn't as crazy as when I would print them out. That pile was at five to six inches thick and never in any particular order. It was crazy, and it drove the Hubs nuts.

I'm actually whipping something up now. The turkey breast is resting on the counter. So, I've put the shrimp, some thin asparagus and some Vidalia onions on a baking tray covered lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper. I'm going to make a salad with a champagne vinegar vinaigrette dressing. Surprisingly, I was able to get a photos of this dish. I do try to get photos for the blog, but often I'm eating while I'm plating. That which remains is not very pretty. This is really yummy.

Serious Writing

I look upon that term with great derision. I doubt that the even the worst writers that ever lived were writing for giggles. I put a lot of work into this blog when it's not something I plan to have appear anywhere but the internet. I sweat the details in all of my fiction. Yet somehow, I let the seriousness of the topic cause me to treat the memoir differently than my other work. The first time it happened, I was blocked from finishing the first chapter for months. This time, I've been hamstrung from even starting the second chapter waiting for responses from the journals that have the first one. I've had three rejections thus far, but two were personal notes which meant a lot. At some point after the second personal note, I was talking to my brother about family holidays of yore. He asked why I haven't been working on the memoir. Then, I heard my Mom yelling at me to just tell the story and stop worrying about the rest. She gave me the same advice when I got all frozen writing my thesis novel. I realized that I was being an idiot again. It's hard enough getting the writing out on a page without letting all of this other baggage get in the way.

Embracing the Demon

Strangely, it was not the memoir that I opted to work on when I finally started writing this week. I opted to clear something major off my plate and lob it down the pipeline. We were going to do something completely new for the Demon Under Glass series now in development that would be augmented with flashbacks to get viewers up to speed. However, to explain who a number of characters were and their relationship to Joe McKay or Simon Molinar and hadn't been in the first film was proving to be difficult. These relationships were crucial in explaining why Joe would end up on the run with a being who was terrifying him at the end of the film. We have to show the extreme personal betrayal that Joe suffered through that pushed him to the point where Simon became his only option for survival. Thus, my writing life got a little easier. I had lumbered through a first draft script of the second half of the novelization long ago. Unfortunately, it didn't have a number of scenes that ended up in the book. And the script has a number of things that aren't in the book.

So I had windows open for the current script, the original film script and the book building a hybrid over the last couple of days. It helped to have the performances from the film as a baseline. That made it easy to pick and shape the added dialogue to fit the new script. Despite the dangerous edge in Simon and the horrible things he does in this script, I have to show clearly that he is someone that Joe can live with under the right circumstances. And despite our viewers' knowledge of the film and the fiction, it has to be clear that there is a lot more to learn about the vampire. In fact, I found an outright statement by Simon where he says that Joe, and the FBI and Delphi only know what he told them about himself. And he makes it clear to Joe later that he may not tell him whether or not something is true. But Joe is also capable of profound surprises. Simon's behavior and Joe's must be different and unexpected to keep from being caught. All of this has to be put in the existing script and make sure that it makes sense with what was already written. I think it does though I won't know for sure until I look it over in a few days. I meed some distance before I attempt to read it again.

Once this is done to my satisfaction, I may be ready to take on some other writing. It's sort of a creative warm up for the fiction or the memoir. Oh, I know I still have video editing ahead of me this week, but that's more mechanical than creative for me at this stage.

I must be off to finish making Sunday dinner then get back to work.

Stay tuned.

Ladybugs, Summer Eats and Updates

The skunk lives on in Craig's Corleone garden. Despite the continued thievery, the tomatoes have been planted. Craig is forbidden from dispatching the critter because all of the ladies in his complex deem it cute. Meanwhile, he's missing the 1,000 ladybugs he released into the garden last week. The skunk is not the suspect though. Craig believes it's Murphy the Crow and his murder. Craig rescued the bird when it was young and now regrets it. No word on whether or not he'll replace the ladybugs.

Some of these critters don't seem to go for tomatoes. I know that the squirrels and gophers didn't in my Dad's garden. I'm rooting for the tomatoes. When they come in right, they come in like crazy. I'm hoping to make some fresh marinara. I've picked up a bunch of new pizza and pasta from David Rocco on the brand new Cooking Channel. Of course, I won't wait until the harvest to try these new dishes. The local farmer's market is full of really beautiful tomatoes. None of them are Jersey tomatoes, but I'm sure the sauces will be lovely. I can always roast the tomatoes first if they are not to my liking even if it's a bit warm to have the oven blazing.

Seasonal Eats

It's funny about summer and cooking for me. Most of the food shows are talking about getting outside and grilling or making things that don't need an oven. Everything is geared towards the super light foods because of the heat. I remember adhering to that in my cooking and eating habits when I lived in Philadelphia. But save for odd years like this one, it's hot in the middle of winter here. So if I want to have a pot pie in February when it's 80 degrees in the shade here, I have one. Likewise, If I want hot noodle soup in August, it's the same thing. That's a round about way of saying that I'm making a pot roast today. I am having a cold starch as my obsession with potato salad continues. I think I've finally achieved the right balance of ingredients.

Updates

Last week was odd, because I'm still under the take it easy edict; however, I'm now being encouraged to have more activity. Thus, I'm letting my body be my guide. I do what I can until I get a bit tired then I stop. The good news is that I've been able to do a little more each day without a setback. This week is relatively free of appointments. My plan is to finish the rough edit on the interviews and the promos we shot a couple of weeks ago while finalizing the details on the fitness pilot we're helping to produce. No, we aren't changing the focus of the production company. This is just a solid for our partner Ralph Lliteras and a very cool client of his, Dr. Paul Drew. It's also a good things to exercise that producing skill set on a relatively simple shoot. We haven't shot anything in over a year. It's easy to get rusty, so any practice is welcome. We have a few more Demon Under Glass interviews to complete. Strangely, it's all the production team. I've held off on those as I wanted to hear what the actors would focus on in their answers. That and I wanted to look at other behind the scenes interviews of directors and producers. I've been particularly interested in how they pull off talking about the things that went awry without sounding bitter. Not that I'm bitter about anything...not really. It's just that some of the travails that befell our production don't make for amusing stories to my own ears. A few people I've relayed these tales to have laughed their asses off over them. Maybe it's my delivery. I may have to test run them before the interviews from us go live.

I must interrupt myself to say that it is always a thrill to hear my characters come to life. Often when I've done casting, I have closed my eyes to listen to the performance to see if I can hear the character truly speaking to me. I've had the thrill of hearing two great versions of Rik Heron and Vincent Greven in A Soldier's Choice, but I've now heard a wonderful version of Nikulainen and Sarianna from The Gift of Surrender. Matty Ferrrao does a wonderful job with Vincent, but he also did a lovely job with Nikulainen. I could listen to him for hours. It was also fabulous to hear Joe McKay from Demon Under Glass come to life once again. And then there is the intriguing twist on hearing the vampire, Simon Molinar this time. The tones were dulcet and provocative, but a bit different. My thanks again to Owen Szabo.

I've been reviewing a lot of Demon Under Glass stuff of late. That's been a necessity because of the series development and the sequel to Soldier's Fate. We've finally written a Writer's Guide for Demon Under Glass for the fiction and the scripts. We wrote a first version. It's already apparent that I'll have to teak some things. I've has a really interesting experience talking and sometimes debating the finer points of our writing with the fans and authors of the fiction. I generally refrain from participating in these discussions. As far as the fiction based on the film or the novel, I stay out of the fray because I don't want to put a damper on the ideas. We have very few rules for the fiction, I tend to only answer questions that I'm asked directly. I'm very jazzed that something we created has inspired so much consideration and discussion. However, the scripts are another matter. The plots and the rendering of the characters has to match what we consider canon. Thus, we have to really put our foot down on what we'll accept. The guide isn't meant to hamper ideas, but to prevent a writer from spending a lot of time or energy creating something that we can't film. It was also good to finally put this all in writing. As I finished, I was able to construct a character profile list for when we do the casting for this thing. And I was actually writing something other than the blog. I've been constructing a lot of fiction in my head, but none of it was making its way through a keyboard. The writer's guide isn't fiction, but it got me to write on a day other than Sunday. Now, I just have to find that 'one true sentence' ¹ in any of the things running around my brain and I'm off to the races. I'm getting close with a couple of the novels. Now that I'm feeling better for longer in the day, I expect to get a whole lot of work done.

Stay Tuned!

1Earnest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast (New York, Touchstone, Simon & Schuster, 1964) p. 12.

Quiet Pursuits

This will be a shorter blog as I've been compelled to slow down and focus on recuperating for a while. Although it snowed it the mountains during my family's visit just last week, spring has sprung in Southern California and the food has been just amazing. Jon and I have been just gorging ourselves on fresh, sweet corn. And now, local cherries are in the market. They are so sweet and juicy. I even have a gadget that pits four of them at once! I love fresh spring and summer fruit more than I love candy. And I can eat as much fruit as I can stand. This all sounds sickeningly healthy, but fear not! Warmer weather and fresh fruit also make me think of some decidedly unhealthy things. And I've been aided and abetted in these thoughts by an extraordinary occurrence.

There's a new food network on cable!!! The Cooking Channel debuted on Memorial Day. Granted, it is a spin off of the Food Network, but it has a lot of stuff I haven't seen before and some favorites that I haven't seen in a long time. I almost busted a stitch during on episode of The Galloping Gourmet in which the dish actually went wrong. I have seen him set fire to his set before (he used to drink quite a bit of wine while cooking), but I've never seen one actually fail. It was fascinating. Meanwhile, Julia Child is doing a buffet for 19 people and making her own puff pastry (not in the same show). And there are new chefs for me to enjoy. All of this new inspiration has had an impact. A few of the shows were making fried chicken. On one show, an early episode of Tyler's Ultimate (there's also a cookbook) in which these elderly and well seasoned cooks at an Inn in Cape May, New Jersey flavored their cooking oil with onions and fresh herbs. I'm using a similar strategy with flavoring the buttermilk I marinade the chicken. And If I'm having fried chicken, I must have potato salad. In this case, I'm trying something I just saw today on Alex's Day Off. Chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli (who writes the most sensual descriptions of food I've ever seen) bakes her potatoes for the salad.

The cupcakes from last week tasted really good. I overfilled the cups, thus they were a might strange looking, but boy did they taste amazing. I think they were all gone by Wednesday. We did share a few of them with Craig, but the bulk of them were eaten by Jon and me. Shameful! In my defense, I did eat a lot of fruit last week and certainly will today. Jon remains unrepentant. I meant to get photos even though they were mutants, but we laid into them so fast. And then, they were gone. We're pushing back the attempt at raisin bread. I've been more or less coach-ridden most of the week. My energy isn't lasting long enough this weekend to do more than cook meals. And that's been with a lost of rest breaks. I've really been wanting to whip up an new batch of stocks, but I haven't been able to go out and shop yet. Maybe next week I'll be able to do both. I'm chafing to get to the newly discovered Mar Vista Farmer's Market, but that may be a ways off. I have to behave myself. Aside from the exhaustion, everyone I know has been yelling at me about moving too fast. I think they've even been checking up on me. I get calls from people at odd times making sure I'm home and not doing anything. Some of my actors have even been calling.

I've been behaving. It doesn't take much physical exertion to edit the promotional clips for the re-release of Demon Under Glass. It's more mental torture. Jon has me using something more advanced than Movie Maker. It has a screen that reminds me of an airline cockpit. There's a lot going on, in other words. Luckily, I'm only doing the first pass at editing. Jon gets the sweat out the fine details. He likes doing that. I'm not sure how I'll do wading through the various takes to get the performance I want. I may enjoy it, or there may be a smoldering crater where my PC sat. I can't give too much in the way of insights into what we're up to. Everything I could say is a spoiler of sorts. Be patient.

I have been doing some work on the various fiction projects piled up around my work area. And working on them has brought up some interesting things about the craft of writing. But my energy wanes now that the chicken is friend and the potato salad is chilling. I think I should get a nap. Then, more cherries.

Stay tuned.

Skunks, Funk, and Wee Willie Influences

Craig is having a battle with a skunk. It's after his corn and sunflowers. It seems that he must take a stand before planting the tomatoes. I hadn't realize that Craig had become Oliver Douglas. I suppose that tilling the land was a wonderfully benign hobby considering the mayhem he could be enjoying. However, I couldn't condone his plans for the ravenous skunk. Craig's lovely girlfriend wouldn't let him dispatch the one legged cricket. There was no way he would be allowed to take out a fur bearin' critter. My Father has extensive experience with gardening. I know he had run ins with gophers. I plan to consult him on the matter before Craig does something rash. Despite the critter problem, I have garden envy. All of this cooking has made me want to grow my own herbs at least. But even that is out of the question. Aside from being tiny, our abode is not much for natural light. We have no plants because of that. It's sad. And the courtyard is off limits to anything but passing through and swimming. But then, if I were gardening, I'd have to be weeding. I'm not in shape for that. I will update on the skunk war as information becomes available.

Summer Eats

As to what's cooking? Alas, there is not a lot going on right now. My energy level is still not what it was before the last surgery. And my appetite is still off most of the time. It actually took me a week to get through the Tastykakes and Federal soft pretzels my Brother and Sister-in-law brought along when they visited. Typically, I finish such delights in embarrassingly short order. I did manage to make a small bowl of potato salad to go with the oven barbecue I'm planning for today into tomorrow. I so enjoy food roasted over charcoal, but wrangling that grill is just not happening any time soon. I've read some good tips on making everything in the oven, and Dad gave me a few more. I'm thinking some chicken and ribs will work nicely. I'm even thinking of making my own barbecue sauce. And we have fresh corn locally grown – really! I have a selection of fresh melons sliced up as an appetizer. We're pretty well set. I had hoped to go to the movies over the holiday, but I don't think I'm up to that quite yet. I need to be able to recline and I never know when that need will arise. That's another reason why oven grilling works better for me right now. And both meats survive well in the leftover phase. I have more ambitious cooking/baking in the planning stages. If I have enough energy, there is a cake I really want to make in cupcake form. It's a cinnamon swirl pound cake with a coffee cake streusel topping that's also swirled throughout. I had something similar from a joint called the Corner Bakery . The recipe in The Cake Book was the closest I've run across to the ingredients – at least I think it does. I'll certainly let you know.

Lithuanian Funk

I saw this photo on Yahoo News and realized that aside from the Cannes Film Market, the time had come once again for the Eruovision Song Contest. Jon and I were fascinated by that the last time we were in Europe. In fact, watching the show almost made us miss our cab to a film premier. This group claimed to be representing Eastern European funk. I was doubtful. The transplant of Rap to Europe generally makes me sad. Some of it is probably good. I'm sad that it emigrated at all. I'm for contracting of the form not expansion. Funk is not easy to achieve. It seems even more difficult in disturbingly brief sequined shorts. But I'm game for exposure to any sort of musical funk. Inculto (check out the video of them competing) had a surprising sense of humor about their music and, I must admit, it was fairly funky. I'm not sure what George Clinton would make of them, but I felt they represented Lithuania very well. I'm not sure why they didn't win. I would have enjoyed seeing the competition. I like peeking into the pop culture of other countries. I get my fix on the internet where I can, but there is nothing like turning on the TV in a hotel room to a random channel and thinking 'what in the world?' Jon and I are feeling especially vexed and gypped to not get to see Law and Order: UK. It's a rare opportunity to directly compare the differences in crime dramas. The plots are taken directly from scripts early in the show's run in the US. We saw clips on Youtube and – geeks that we are – recognized the cases, but not how they were being handled. Alas, the deal for HULU UK fell through, so we don't know when we'll get the chance. But I digress. My hats off to you, Inculto, keep up the Funk. Though you didn't win, I hope we see more of you here.

Wee Willie Remembered

Speaking of local programming, I was saddened to learn that a giant in Philadelphia local TV, particularly to kids, had passed away. Bill Webber aka Wee Willie Webber hosted weekday afternoon cartoons on one of our UHF channels for many years. It was three and a half hours and ran for ten years. This man's shows is directly responsible for Jon and my fixation with Anime and was a profound influence on our bents in writing. He introduced Philly kids to shows like Speed Racer. I still say that the film was better than the general public realizes. But there were so many other shows that are less famous that I remember quite fondly and can still sing the opening themes. Among them and in no particular order: Astro Boy , Marine Boy. The theme for Marine Boy is especially insidious. I found it on Youtube for Craig because his Ohio born lady had never seen the show. He cursed me for a week. Click on it if you dare. There are so many more Animes I could mention, but the most interesting one for me is one Jon doesn't remember. Prince Planet had such a profound impact on my memory that I include a very obscure reference to it as an aspect to my lead character in The Privateers. It too has a very catchy theme song . Wee Willy Webber also introduced us to live action Japanese TV. The biggest among them was Ultraman. That show had cool uniforms, a cute girl and lots of big rubber monsters. It was awesome. And a reference from that show turned up in Soldier's Choice. I saw a couple of episodes when our former roommate ordered a video a few years back. Jon and I agree that it holds up now. And here is Ultraman's theme song. Not everything was good. I'm not sure why I even bothered with Gigantor. And I still don't quite know what Johnny Sakko and His Flying Robot were about. But they are available for your perusal on Hulu.com. All of the above is to say thank you to Wee Willie Webber. He changed my perspective ans the programs he introduced us to all those years ago still have the power to while away our time and stir our imaginations.

Under the Influence

Speaking of creative influences, the Hubs and I have finally stopped squabbling over the script we've been researching for more than a year. Jon had grown justifiably weary of films that use history as clip art. That is his term he used and he applies it to personal history as well as national. I agree with him for the most part. But I maintained that in this case, since there was no video or social media to record their meetings, we had to rely on anecdotal evidence that they met where and when they said they did and that events transpired the way they were stated. For a long while, that was making no headway. Heck, had I not found a note written in the hand of one of them about the event which prompted my interest in writing the script, we'd still be squabbling about doing it at all. Still, it took me reading copious biographies to convince Jon that neither character was truthful about events in their lives. And that they both tended to manipulate events in their relationships to fit whatever the current narrative of their lives was. Even the accounts in their letters must be regarded as somewhat unreliable. This discovery has prompted Jon to make this unreliable narrative a part of the script. Thus, we can manipulate the timeline somewhat. Memoirs are not always just the facts. The are written through the same prisms that influence fiction. Did that happen or am I remembering an episode of the Cosby Show? I find myself asking that question often as I write the memoir about my Mother. I suppose it could be worse. I could be remembering an episode of Mannix. That would be weird. At any rate, this research and from I've gleaned working at the Archive, pop culture influence has always blended with personal history to inform fiction and sometimes memoir.

Updates

All the writing is coming along at a satisfactory pace. I've had some setbacks connected to shooting the interviews for the re-release of Demon Under Glass. Namely, each one put me back on my butt for a few days afterward. I still tire really easily. Still, they were good sessions that revealed at lot about the actors' views of their characters and some surprising views on future material. I'll talk about my reaction when they run. Anything I say now is an absolute spoiler. We also recorded some voice overs for promos connected to DraggonTV.com. My thanks again to Garett Maggart, Owen Szabo, Matty Ferarro and Cynthia Quiles-del Rosario for taking the time on such short notice to help us. Owen and Cynthia rose to the occasion despite being completely unfamiliar with the material. We look forward to working with them again soon. Everything will be live on line in a few weeks. Then, most of the questions raised will be answered.

Stay Tuned.

Mid Week Quickie

Not a real blog, per se, but I thought I'd share some things about the interview shoot yesterday. This one featured thoughts on Joe McKay by Garett Maggart and Ben Yarmall by Ray Proscia. In both cases, desipte knowing these actors more personally than most of the others from the shoot, I was surprised at some reactions to their characters and what they considered their best and favorite scenes. And as always with these two, I have a lot of footage that I can't put up for public consumption. That was a nice bit of crazy that I remember well.

As always, I have to be mindful of spoilers. This pair of interviews has a lot of them. So, I'll torture you gentle readers and viewers in a different way. Please note, this is my own handiwork 'editing' a much longer and more provocative piece. Thus, I can't exactly call it polished.

Late Steak, More Demons and Family Fun

There were birds chirping at three in the morning. They seemed to be startled as if they were wondering why they were up in the middle of the night. I wondered that, too. Though I was just getting up as opposed to my norm where I hadn't yet gone to sleep. Unfortunately, my brain isn't very nimble that early. I can't even read much than the social networking posts. Writing doesn't work for me until hours later in the day. So, I watch the telly. First, I search the guides of the various movie channels for something I haven't seen in a while. Before the last surgery, I re-discovered Margaret Rutherford's Jane Marple. And while I share my Maw-in-Law's assessment that she didn't quite work as Jane Marple (she was the toughest physical interpretation of the part), I rather enjoyed the films on their own. Usually though, I watch the cooking shows I've recorded over the weekend. And on days when I'm cooking, I prep my veg. Strangely, I focus well enough to handle a very sharp knife or mandolin, but not enough to read.

This week, the cooking decisions are a little difficult. My family is coming to town as I write this (Saturday). I suspect that we will be sharing a number of meals out. I don't have quite enough stamina to pull off entertaining, so I won't be cooking for them. Besides, this is their first visit to Los Angeles, they should see more than our tiny apartment. Since my family aren't huge beef eaters (they've alread expressed a keen interest in going to Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles), I know that making anything with beef will be a safe bet not to be repeated. Tgis blends nicely with my being intrigued with the idea of dishes involving pounding meat. You know, yaking a cheap cut of meat, pounding it thin and then braising it until very tender. One recipe, Braciole as I've always known it or Involtino as it's known in Italy, is a dish I've always enjoyed when I had it but it's an proved elusive on the menus of restaurants I've gone to. I also wonder if my enjoyment of the dish was connected to the evening I was having or to the tastiness of said dish.

In one instance, it was after seeing Patrick Stewart's A Christmas Carol on Broadway and involved one of the stranger evenings I've ever had in a restaurant. I was in New York's Little Italy for the first time. I was with the infamous Gideon and the restaurant was a little eccentric. The waitress had a screaming match with her boyfriend on the phone just after taking our order. She ran our on us sobbing all the way. The cook declared that the joint was closed after us. He brought our food out family style along with a big jug of home made house red. He also joined us – not in our meal but in hoisting a glass of wine (which he declared was on him). Naturally, he was hilarious. He and Gideon could have toured the comedy circuit. I laughed until I cried and the food tasted great. The only other time I tried it was in Atlantic City at a restaurant of the same name. That time, it was in the middle of a night devoted to dancing with very attractive young men. I don't remember much save for my feet were killing me on the ride back to Philly and I'd had a very good time. IN both instances, I have no clue if the food was as good as I recall. However, I trust both Anne Burrell and Giada DeLaurentiis who have made each version. Giada's is in my cookbook, thus I am compelled to give it a try.

The other dish is one my mother made frequently, but I've improved as I became a more experienced cook. That's pepper steak – not to be confused with Steak au Poivre, which I have at some point. The former involves thinly pounding a cheap cut of beef, cutting it into strips and stir fraying it with green and red bell peppers and other ingridents. It's wonderful over rice. My variant is to brown the beef than braise it for a short while in beef stock with a touch of soy sauce. When the liquid evaporates, I remove the beef, stir fry the veggies, add a little flour to make a roux, add more stock and return the beef. Jon likes beef to be fork tender, and I've found that stir frying alone doesn't get it there. I don't season anything with salt because of the soy sauce and the possibility of packaged beef stock (alas, I've had no time to make any). I've recently learned to add fresh ginger and slivers of fresh spinach and shredded carrots just before serving. It works nicely. And I can do my veg prep in the middle of the night.

Revisiting Demon

We had the first of the interviews for the online release of Demon Under Glass. I'd been living with the characters and their stories for s few weeks now while working on the web series, so I was prepared to revisit the concepts and issues behind the film. I was delighted to find how much it still resonated with these actors. It was also delightful to see them again. Being an artist is by necessity a selfish endeavor. We're always chasing new projects or working on our crafts or promoting what we've done. And we're all likely to still have day jobs. It's very difficult to keep up with each other when not working together. Add LA's expansive geography to the mix and it gets even more difficult. To quote the ever quotable Phil, you move to a new neighborhood in LA and risk never seeing anyone again. That's one of the many reasons I like the Facebook thing. I've reconnected with folks from most of my projects without breaking stride. Thus, it was wonderful to be in the same room with Jack Donner (Dr. Richard Bassett) and Scott Levy (Captain Steubbins). I won't spoil the interview here by detailing it. Suffice it to say that they remembered the characters well and gave some wonderful comments about them and how they viewed Simon and Joe McKay. Jack had some fascinating views on how he saw Bassett's lief post Delphi that I am likely to use in the web series. Scott's views reflected his real life experience as a US Marine and he was most interested in reprising the role to haunt the survivors in their nightmares. It was a real hoot. I can't wait to do the next wave this Wednesday.

Another fabulous thing that happened related to Demon Under Glass was finding a cadre of heretofore unknown fans. I knew there were quite a number out there. We'd have spikes in sales of the novelization of the film now and then. And there would be spikes in the blog hits when I talked about the film. But I finally chatted with some who had been doing some amazing things on youtube with our footage. This highly creative group even made 3D avatars of Simon and Joe that live in an online community (here are those links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D0JBdOm-Qc (one of the many fan videos); http://avatars.imvu.com/SimonMolinar (Simon's Avatar); http://avatars.imvu.com/DrJoeMcKay and http://avatars.imvu.com/DrJosephMcKay (links to two versions of Joe's avatar). It's all very flattering to see such hard work and creativity stem from something we made. I've also found that there are other groups out there keenly interested in what's about to happen with the web series. We have a big surprise coming sooner than later.

Meanwhile...
As I've said earlier, my family is in town making sure I'm well on the mend. I have to go now as I'm tired out from doing some tourist type things in Hollywood today. I'll detail those adventures and the fun stuff we're doing this week next Sunday. I also have a lot to say about season and series finales from my slate of TV shows.

Stay tuned.

Big Day and Big Plans

This is the time of year when my mind is consumed with one thought. No, it isn't how does it feel to be half a hundred (thanks, Dad). The burning question in May is 'Why the hairy heck aren't I in France???' My early mornings should be spent on a lovely terrace overlooking a marina full of yachts slowly sipping excellent coffee and eating freshly baked croissants or batards spread with sweet butter and maybe a bit of apricot jam or creamy honey. The only thing on my mind should be what movies I'm going to see that day or which cafe we'll have a delicious and leisurely lunch. Typically, this would put me in a funk that not even a lovely glass of Blanc de Noir Chandon champagne could cure. I just had some on my birthday. That stuff can cure almost anything. Where was I? Ah, yes, the Not in France Funk. This year, however, I eschewed being cranky in favor of planning to go next year. We'll have reason to go next year as we'll actually have all sorts of business to conduct. Though the last time we went without actual business, I came back with some amazing contacts. At any rate, Jon noted my 'Deb's determined to go back to France' look and sighed in resignation. He had to admit, we have business in Cannes next year. We even have business in Paris this time. Thus, I can feel less guilty about my 'Why would I go to France and NOT go to Paris' attitude. I only feel a little guilty about that attitude, so next year I'll be guilt free. I love planning trips. I really love planning trips to France. Thus, I had a fun Saturday. First bit of great news, the airfare has plummeted from the last time we considered traveling there. That's an excellent portent.
Health Update
I visited the surgeons last week for a post-op check-up. Everything is looking good. I was very excited that they removed the staples from the incision. I think the thing that bothered me the most about this entire ordeal was seeing what appear to be regular office staples holding me together. It generated this image of my surgeon wailing away on me with his office stapler. It just got to me. I almost said it got under my skin, but that would be too silly. I didn't look when they were removed. I just knew that it was an ordinary staple remover, and I didn't want confirmation. [I was going to do a link to surgical staples, but the images made me a little queasy]. I'm really glad the nasty things are gone. I didn't know how annoying they felt until they were missing. I'm much more comfortable. They liked my progress. I'm not saying that recovery is trouble free, but it is proceeding nicely. Still, please keep those prayers and good thoughts coming. I have several weeks before I'm out of danger from infections and other post-op complications.

Year of Fun – The Big Day

One of the best reasons for celebrating the birthday on more than one day is a great deal of pressure is off for the perfect day on the exact date. I had my doctor's appointment the day before, and I was out a whole eight hours. And I rode home with Craig. Thus, I was exhausted. On Tuesday, my actual birthday, I had some important errands to run. Luckily, I didn't get an early start. I would have missed a delivery of flowers, chocolate truffles and an adorable stuffed bear from my lovely cousin Katrina in New Jersey (many thanks, again, cuz). I had plans for the amazing shellfish sales still going on post Mother's Day. I came home with some amazing lobster tails and huge shrimp. Unfortunately, I was still tired from Monday, and all the walking involved in the errands left me too tired to cook when I got home. The fancy food would have to wait a day. But there were more surprises at home. We'd barely crossed the threshold when there was another delivery! My brother and sister-in-law and my wonderful nephew sent me an Edible Arrangement, a centerpiece that looks like a bouquet of flowers, but it's made of cut fruit. It was amazing!. (Thanks, family). Mind you, I had just bought a big box of strawberries and blackberries. I thus had a lot of fruit in the house. By the time I took apart the arrangement to refrigerate it, I had almost a shelf full of fruit, not to mention two heads of lettuce and two big bunches of kale that were supporting the arrangement. Jon and I were in for some really healthy eating. But for that night, I celebrated with a couple of chocolate truffles and a glass of champagne. All in all, it was a stellar day. And the next day, I made a shrimp and lobster bisque and a roasted shellfish cocktail that made me want to sing. I'd say that the big 5-0 went very well. And though I'm no spring chicken, I think that after I've healed, I will be able and ready to embrace cougar-hood. [I tried to find links to the definition of a cougar in its current form, but they were all sleazier than what the word has come to mean recently. Earlier, it meant an older woman on the prowl for younger men. More recently, it's come to mean a beautiful and confident older woman who is very comfortable in her skin. I prefer this definition.]

What's Cookin' Sunday

It was delightful to feel up to some real food prep yesterday. I chopped enough aromatic veggies for three main courses this week. It's not very hot out this weekend, so I' m making some decidedly un-spring like meals. I'm just in the mood for slow cooked, one pot comfort food. Thus, I'm making chili, coq au vin and meatballs in marinara sauce. I'll be able to share some with the studio denizens and have leftovers. This should spare me from cooking the rest of the week – unless I get a wild hair about making something else. I still have to figure out what to do with all that lettuce and kale. Right now, the house is scented with cumin and garlic from the chili bubbling away in the slow cooker. After I finish a decadent lunch of home made Buffalo wings, I'll finsih the meatballs and start the coq au vin. I'll put up photos next week.

Updates

In the run up to releasing Demon Under Glass online, we'll be doing the first wave of interviews with cast and crew tomorrow. It's been interesting reconnecting with this film and those characters. I've been working hard fleshing out a continuation of the storyline and figure out what to ask in the interviews. There will be lots of observations, photos and possibly video in the blog next week.

My family is in town next weekend, so I'm not sure if the blog will be on time or not. I'll post an announcement if there is a delay.

Stay Tuned!

Joy and Food and Updates and Fun

Again, thank you for all of the kind inquiries and words of encouragement. I really do appreciate them. On the whole, each day is better than the day before. The good days make me unduly ambitious. From time to time, I am sharply reminded that I am home for a reason. Those are times I admit to driving the Hubs a little crazy. Still, I am surprised at the moments of sheer joy I've had since the surgery. The upshot is that I'm slowly and steadily healing. There was an outing this weekend to get my sea legs back. My first post-op Doctor's appointment is Monday.

Oh, yeah. They joy. Some of my Facebook friends like Darryl Bell put up a song of the day. Typically, it's a funky little dance tune. Monday, I was couch dancing to one of the tunes when I started singing as well. Jon was at work at the time. That song lead me to others that I used to like to sing. It was exhilarating. I used to sing quite a bit. When I was very young, I was in the grade school choir and glee club. I was in a singing group early in high school. Before writing consumed my soul, I strongly considered it as the art I would pursue. Later, I would sing at home while doing housework or getting ready for my day. It's really strange that I had stopped singing at some point. I can't even remember when I did. But that's not important. What matters is that I started again. I think I spent a good hours or so belting out the Bangles If She Knew What She Wants or Walking Down Your Street and Sade's Sweetest Taboo. Incidentally, Sade has a new CD, Soldier of Love. She still has that amazingly beautiful voice. And I've loved all of the tracks I've heard thus far. She's still amazingly beautiful. I used to think that someone like her had to be some sort of international spy. But I digress. After singing, I felt lighthearted. I got a lot of work done. I even had a brief jaunt around the courtyard before everyone got home from school or work. It was a wonderful day. I didn't sing every day after that, but I did manage a tune or two here and there. I have to keep bugging Jon to burn my music mix on a DVD. But no, I will not be picking up a microphone for any reason. Only Jon and perhaps some startled neighbors will know of my new found joy therapy. Though I can't imagine them being as horrified by my singing as they must be by the hideous swearing I do during football season (yes, I'm still an Eagles football fan). It is yet another therapy to keep me upbeat and ever positive.

Year of Fun Presents

It's not quite my birthday, but I've already received some really nifty gifts. I tend to like gifts that aren't necessarily expensive. I like ones that really get my interests like the riding crop Jon gave me for ours first Valentine's Day. He has the knack of finding the best geeky gifts that I really love. I can't wait to see what he's come up with for this birthday. This year, my friends have been so thoughtful and generous. First, there was the wonderfully decadent F. Oliver's Aged Balsamic Vinegar. I swear that I find a new use for that stuff every week. I was surprised this week with a wonderful gift from our brilliant, lovely, sweet friend, Allison Embry. She sent me a copy of Giada at Home, the new cookbook by one of my favorite Food Network chef's Giada De Laurentiis. Sorry folks, she really is that beautiful and without makeup (she's one of Craig's neighbors and he's seen her at the gym and found her to be stunning). Her recipes are simple and often elegant. I have who knows how many downloaded from the Food Network site. I even have an earlier cookbook, Giada's Family Dinners. I was so pleased to receive such a wonderful surprise and spent most of a day pouring over the text to figure out what I want to do first. I found myself really enjoying her essays about family and food. They were well written and completely engrossing. Due to my appetite of late, I've been drawn to smaller meals. Giada has a lovely array of recipes for appetizers that sound yummy and, due to her Mediterranean heritage, are healthy. The first two involve dates and olives. I'm planning on having a go at those this weekend. Hopefully, Allison and I will be exchanging photos of the dishes we create (she bought herself a copy as well).

The next gift is whimsical and a little crazy. Old buddy Rich Lehman made a Jib Jab video where Rich, Phil, Scott and I are characters in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. I think it speaks for itself. I laughed so hard when I saw it. My friends have been chuckling over it all week. It was such a thoughtful and

unexpected thing to do. I was touched as well as deeply amused.

Writing Update
Since I have no shortage of things to work on and no hard deadline on any of them so far, so I tend to do a little work on one project on a given day. I'm making steady progress on all of them that way. It keeps my frustration level down and my interest level up. I am certain that I will have a deadline on one of the screenplays soon, but for now, everything is receiving an equal amount of attention. Here's what's happening.

Novels

The third installment of the Soldiers books is A Soldier's Destiny. SPOLIER ALERT! It's about six months after the end of A Soldier's Fate. Rik and Vincent's team are focused on two major problems the Foundation must face. First is the issue of washed out Altereds. These cadets never finished training and have been living in exile on the fringes of society. The military has given the Foundation the contract to evaluate them and determine if they can be trained for service or assimilated back into the general population. The second issue is the appearance of Simon Molinar. Once it is verified that he is still very much alive, plans are made for the inevitable confrontation with the original Altered. Nothing happens according to plan. When the Foundation incursion alarms are tripped, everyone is expecting Molinar not a squad of pissed off female wash outs who want to determine their own destinies. As the dust settles from that attack, Simon Molinar simply walks in the front door to make an appointment at main reception. Rik and Vincent's lives get very busy dealing with both situations. Their relationship has grown more solid and satisfying. Though Bobby is stationed nearby, they have their homes to themselves and are able to make full use of those sanctuaries. Their relationship has become more public and accepted, yet there are those who refuse to see they have a bond that cannot be broken. These unrequited desires could work to tear apart everything Rik and Vincent have built and ultimately endanger many lives.

The third installment of the Surrender novels is the Fate of Surrender. It is twenty years later in the Hanyanoore. Times have been both highly prosperous and volatile. The grand expedition resulted in trade with many realms in the formerly Unknown Lands. Some nations did not offer friendship but sought conquest. Thus, dazzling wealth has come with armed conflicts. In many ways, the Hanyanoore is stronger than ever. This is especially true in the realm of Arinpera. Queen Sarianna and King Nikulainen have much to celebrate on their twentieth anniversary. Their people are prosperous. Despite the occasional battle, their realm is secure. Their children have reached their majority and become extraordinary adults. Prince Alkarin was already a distinguished warrior who had trained many of the young soldiers in Arinpera and throughout the Hanyanoore. Princess Kirsi holds her own battle commendations. But she is literally beloved in all of the realms for her wit, kindness and incredible beauty. Nikulainen's siblings are well and happy. After leading the first Grand Expedition, Julin has fathered two sons. He and his fierce-some wife, Maya lead the Armies of the North that protect the Hanyanoore from invasion. Armas has had his first son with Queen Laurilla and has been granted the right to join her on the throne as King. The only problem for Sarianna and Nikulainen are their children's quests for love. Alkarin has far too many eligible women chasing him while he is chasing every wench who is not fit for a Prince. Kirsi is much beloved but no man seems to have the mettle to take on a decorated warrior with two uncles and a brother with far too much say over who may be interested. But then, one day, Kirsi rescues a stranger who had fallen into the river. The handsome man has a regal bearing but has clearly been physically and possibly emotionally abused. Nikulainen and Sarianna worry over Kirsi's growing attachment to this stranger. What is especially troubling is that he had been touched by great darkness and seeks the Light of Hanaynoore but refuses to reveal why. The royals fear for the tender heart of their innocent daughter and for the grave, unspeakable threat this stranger has brought to their gates.

The Vincent Greven Cookbook is underway once more. I realize that I need a great deal more photos and illustrations of the food prep and the characters. I'm going to address that issue this week.

Jon and I are also researching material for one concept and am about to write a script from another. And I'm still pressing slowly through the memoir about my mother. That's very slow going as I have to stop often to do research and to stop crying. It sounds really daunting and crazy, but it's pretty relaxed since I'm either home all day when I can work for hours on one thing or I'm at the hospital where I have a lot of time to read and take notes. Believe me, I whine when things get really hectic and crazy. The main thing is for me to take my time, enjoy the process and turn out the best work possible while I'm free.

Stay Tuned!

Back in the Saddle and Sore

Remarkably, I'm home from the hospital a week and a half early. The reasons are numerous and involved. Basically, it came down to lazy tumors, following Doctors' orders and the men in my life – including Craig and his gaggle of retired Irish nuns. Oh, you thought this experience would make the blog less weird. Silly Billies! While I'm nowhere near as fragile as when I came home in December, I still have quite a bit of healing to do. Thus, I am on my sofa watching Soul Train or catching up with the Food Network while writing. I admit to doing just a wee bit of cooking. More on that and the writing later.

Moving Men

I have to say that you can tell you're well liked when there is more than one choice of person to pick you up at 5 am to go to the hospital. My wonderful driver, Ray did this duty for one of the pre-op tests earlier that week and he even waited for hours for me to be discharged. He had experience as a caregiver and thus was a very steady and calm presence while being very entertaining. Jon and I now know how to properly handle the munchies between the time one shows up for the Emmy Awards and when one can actually sit down at the Governor's Ball afterward. I was quite happy to hear that the champagne flows as abundantly as I'd heard. Ray was pivotal to my being calm and collected to and from the hospital, and I'm so grateful that he could be there.

Then there was my Dad who flew out to LA for the first time to while away the hours with me in ICU. The ex-Marine, ex-cop is very much a steady presence in the middle of the worst mayhem. I expected that. What I didn't expect were the very long talks about cooking and gardening. My Foodie leanings come from both sides of the family. Dad is quite an accomplished cook, especially since retiring. He even grows and fishes for his own food (his tomatoes and collards are one of many reasons I miss living in Philly). I'm very excited that he plans a return trip that will include some fishing. I am so clearing freezer space (he even cleans the fish). So, we talked techniques for making tomato sauces or how to use a pressure cooker (I'm still afraid of them) or about biscuits while waving upon wave of doctors trooped through my room). Yes, it really was that many. Dad thought I was exaggerating when I said I'd already seen 12 of them before he came by the day after my surgery. Then, six more showed up. It's a teaching hospital, and I had a rare tumor. Thus, it was a phalanx of surgical residents, a herd of oncology residents and a swarm of pain management residents along with my primary doc, my regular oncologist, and the lead surgeon. And me without make-up! At any rate, it was a very nice visit full of some wonderful moments and a few revelations. And between him and Jon, I wasn't alone for very much time during visiting hours.

What did Craig do? Primarily, he took care of Jon by getting him to the hospital after work and keeping his spirits up. Craig is very good at that. Of late, I hesitate over talking to him. Laughing too hard actually hurts with all of these staples up my abdomen. But I digress. Craig also did something that I know was tough for him, but it meant the world to me. Whilst visiting his Grandmother in a Catholic nursing home, he sat with the elderly nuns there and had me put on their prayer list. Those lovely ladies drive him crazy, so this was quite an effort on his part. But they are some heavy hitters, prayer-wise. I'm certain that it helped me out. I had many people from many denominations putting a word in as well. I really needed that and truly appreciate it.

And then there was Jon. He went through a lot last week and was as scared as I was, but he held it together, visiting me and keeping my freak outs to a minimum, spending time with my Dad, working full shifts AND thoroughly cleaning the apartment. The Hubs is definitely a catch, as a friend pointed out last week. He's also a keeper. I still need a lot of attention, and I'm still freaking out regularly, but he handles it with a great deal of patience and even a goodly amount of humor. I am very blessed where the men in my life are concerned. Overall, I am most fortunate to have extraordinarily wonderful family and friends.

Musings from ICU (funnier than that sounds)

By the end of the second day, the whole not eating thing was wearing thin. I was awake enough to be aware of the staff working in a central area just beyond my room. The ebb and flow were interesting for a while, but then I noticed something that I found insidious. The nursing staff had food. All of them. There must have been some sort of delivery while I was dozing off. Fortunately for all on that floor, the sliding glass doors closed off my room from the aromas of the McDonald's ® fries and Subway® sandwiches or there may have been a big problem involving pulled IV lines and breaking sliding glass doors. As it was, I think I may have been glaring at them so much while sucking my lemon glycerin mouth swabs ( I was getting nothing by mouth those first few days – no even water), that the Docs put me on a liquid diet the next morning. Perhaps, I was a bit scary. My sense memory is very strong. I could almost taste the fries and those sandwiches. Made me cranky. The liquids helped a lot. I'm not sure if the clear chicken broth was as good as it seemed because I was so hungry. It's like this one pizza parlor in Philly that I only seemed to go to after a night of drinking. The pizza and steak sandwiches were amazing – I think. I've never been there sober, so I can't be sure. Anyway, the broth tasted great and curbed the homicidal urges.

I admit to not helping myself while I was in ICU. Somehow, I managed to find a TV network, Live Well HD Network that had cooking shows or cooking segments on other shows. And then there were Rachel Ray's and Martha Stewart's talk shows on which there would be cooking. In Ms. Ray's case, sometimes there was RuPaul from whom I learned a lot about how to wear false eyelashes. I hadn't been paying attention, but they have apparently come back into use. At any rate, I found a lot of food for thought – literally. I even found on a PBS station, the video for Julia's Kitchen Wisdom and watched it all the way through the pledge breaks. During that program, I decided is that crepes have intimidated me for far too long. As soon as I can get back in front of the stove for any length of time, I'm going to take them on. How am I ever going to perfect the baguette without becoming competent at crepes? I also pondered the notion of making herb infused oils rather than continuing the losing battle of keeping them fresh in the fridge. All of this pondering happened while I was not allowed to eat. What a mighty grocery list that produced! Luckily, the nurses' PC in my room was password protected, and I had no debit card. Poor Jon wouldn't have known what hit him.

Year of Fun
We have entered the actual birthday month. I have properly celebrated Derby Day with sweet tea, a mint julep, fried chicken and picking the winner (though I had no bet down). Strap in for a lot of fun food and drink and mayhem.

Stay Tuned!

While I'm Away...

I'm checking in the hospital tomorrow morning. Thus, there may be no blog for at least two weeks. I say may, because Craig my guest blog during my absence and Sara Freligh may chime in as well. Currently, he is ranting about Scott Baio and his taxes weirdness and signs he's like to see at Tea Party rallies. It's all very funny and very scary.

I'll be writing and plotting while under repair, so there should be lots to report upon my return. I'm fairly brave at the moment, but please keep those prayers and good thoughts coming!

Vampires, Demons, Actors and Ron Moore

A Warning, gentle readers. This blog is a real geek fest.

Year of Fun – Ron Moore

I hadn't planned on Ron Moore being part of the Year of Fun (quick recap for those new to the blog who ask every week -- Since I will be in the hospital for a large chunk of May, the month I usually celebrate my birthday, getting cancer treatment and I'm turning the big 5-0, I'm celebrating from Jan 2010 to New Year's Eve). Our meeting was about some serious business for Jon and I, but it involved a nifty Italian restaurant, some great food and conversation that was riveting and inspiring. Thus, how could I not count it? Incidentally, 'how could I not' is my mantra for the year. My muse, Kim, was using it. I felt it had a sort of joyful deviltry and left the world open to all sorts of possibilities. But I digress. The fun begins before Ron arrives with the bartender at this happening place. Of course, we waited at the bar. How could I not? Now, Jon and I maintain that we do not have an 'Industry Look.' We can't afford the clothes our friends who regularly work in the business have. I was, as I am as often as possible, partially clad in pajamas. Jon had on his Gundam themed leather jacket. Specifically, it has a symbol of the Duchy of Zeon. It's a really nice jacket gifted to Jon from a friend who was teaching English in Japan. I couldn't find anything like it online now. Meanwhile, I was wearing my State Alchemist pendant from Full Metal Alchemist. If anyone were to peg us for anything, I'm thinking it would be as big honking geeks. I had barely tasted my wine when the conversation shifted from Jon's jacket (the bartender thought Jon raced motorcycles because of the cut) to the film he had just found a sales agent for. He seemed to be talking to us as filmmaker to filmmaker though we hadn't said anything about why we were there. Maybe we have a look. When we went to a Showtime premier for Leap Years (of note because I've never sat in front of actors while looking at them doing a hot, naked love scene on a big screen), we had been concerned about being on the right list and explaining how we were invited by Michelle Hurd and Garret Dilahunt and how we knew them (Micehlle's sister, Denise Alessandria Hurd is a longtime friend whom we met when we cast her in The Privateers. She also starred in Demon Under Glass. They just waved us in on sight. And there have been events we've sort of crashed without ever being questioned. I guess we do have that look -- yeesh. I'm not sure that the bartender expected anything from us. He may have been excited about the next step in the selling process. At any rate, the film is called The Last Bad Neighborhood. It has two trailers. One with mainly live action and one that is a mix of live action and comic book panels. I know, weird coincidence that. I won't even get into how many ideas Jon and I have had over the years that sounded way out there until everyone else was doing them. It depresses me.

In the midst of a lovely Carpaccio and an excellent pizza Maguerita, we discussed the problem that prompted seeking his advice, but as these things happen, the topic of conversation shifted to Caprica. I won't put a spoiler alert here. We'd never ask him to reveal anything about the second half of the season, and he wouldn't have told us if we had the nerve. Jon and I have been fascinated by the structure of the episodes on Caprica. It's not structured like a regular dramatic series. And it's not really built like a serial. It seemed to us that each episode was structured like a mini feature film. The scenes happen and and the tension builds without regard to act breaks for commercials. It throws me off as a viewer because the rhythm is so different that things don't happen when I expect them to. We wondered if this was a decision made at the writing stage or was it something that happened on set and everyone ran with it. The BSG directors had been given a lot of leeway to explore, so we weren't sure. Turns out that it was a decision made at the writing stage. The show is a serial but they wanted it to have a different feel from something like a soap opera or even Galactica's feel.

While we didn't ask for specifics about how the writing was coming for next season, I found Ron to be a bit rueful. He said that there is what you think the show is about when the pilot is made, and then there is what the show turns out to be about once all of the elements are in play. I believe some of the cryptic attitude may be because of the fate of the show is up in the air. I'm sure being on the bubble of cancellation or not will impact how the next season is mapped out. He's also admitted to some changes in direction because of actors becoming something he hadn't anticipated. It seems they have another Helo on their hands. To his and his staff's credit, they don't fight a character that leaps to the forefront of the sotryline due to sheer force of personality. They work it into the main premise and still managed to keep the whole thing generally on course. It's a difficult path to walk. So you let a character run away with your show entirely and have another Fozie or, even worse, Urkel? I just found in looking for links that there is an Urkel Syndrome. Or do you squelch it and possibly miss an opportunity? Ron and company handled it well. I really loved Helo as a character and I thought it wise that he became the example of why humanity should survive – from sacrificing himself to save survivors of the Cylon attacks, to marrying a Cylon to refusing to let his shipmates sink to cold blooded mass murder. It was a good call especially since it was not one Ron expected to make. I must say that the actor is absolutely adorable and incorrigible in person. He just leapt off the screen. Ron's current breakout character is incredible. He is someone than you cannot help but look at even when he's standing still and saying nothing. He is sensual and lethal and tender and caring all at the same time. I have no idea what he's like in person, but I can't wait to see what his character will be doing in the second half of the season. Ron managed to tell us a lot and nothing at the same time – as always. And that was fine as always. I was glad to get to commend him for the wonderfully adult nature of Galactica and Caprica. I knew he was far more naughty than he seemed. As always, he gave me a lot of food for thought about his work and our own, and he fed me really lovely food. Our meeting was very much like the Salon we were a part of last summer with my literary friends. A most stellar addition to the Year of Fun.

Of Vampires, Actors and Demons

Our fans and the authors of the fiction based on Demon Under Glass have expressed many theories on why characters in the film and novel were drawn to Simon. The only thing we would tell them was that Simon was not like Dracula. He didn't have the ability to control minds. Had he that gift, there would have been a lot more carnage at Delphi, and his captivity would have been far less painful. I had a hard time explaining that his force of personality, his personal magnetism made him difficult to ignore or forget. In Simon's case, he had a way of making a person think about their most forbidden desires. In the case of buttoned up and jaded Detective Taylor who had seen the worst in men for so long that she only liked them between the sheets of a paperback novel, he awakened her lust. That made her angry and intensely curious. She needed to find him to answer the question of what he did to her and how to make it stop. In Bassett, it was a craving for the power that project could give him over those who sought to reign in his research. For Joe, it was a yearning to really live without the crutch of alcohol to set his desires free. Some of those desires are carnal and without a particular sexual orientation. Joe had had trysts with men in the past but always blamed them on alcohol. Simon actually made him think about such lusts cold sober. More on their interpersonal dynamic below.

But how to explain Simon's varied impact on different individuals? I realized during some conversations I was having last week with former and future cast, that Simon is very much like an actor. Not that I'm calling actors demons. Well, actually, I have called them that or worse during a shoot but that was only at hour 17 of a hard day when I'm calling my poor husband a lot worse. No worries about us, it's all forgotten by the wrap party...after several rounds of drinks. Where was I? Yes, actors by their nature and by necessity have to be compelling enough that people want to look at them and not forget them. Each individual actor has his or her own way of achieving that effect on those they meet be they fans or casting directors or producers. Even ones not blessed with great talent have that kind of effect on people (they just can't seem to do it in front of a camera). Some are aware of this aspect of their persona and some are not – or it seems that they are not. I know it has worked on me and on Jon. We've met actors while attending functions that made a personal impact. When a role comes up that we think they may be right for, we contact them, or if their headshots pop up while we're casting something, they get seen first. Sometimes, I try to include gratuitous nude scenes in my scripts because of their impact (Jon usually removes them). Yes, this week I was subjected to some incidental flirting by a couple of actors I'm currently working with. They make me think terrible, horrible things about them Some of those thoughts involve the 18 year old balsamic vinegar I was gifted this week. More on that amazingly decadent product in the food blog. And those thoughts are distracting. They'd better not be doing it on purpose or that spanking I'm playfully threatening will not be so playful. Where was I? Simon, right. We maintain that his attractiveness (personality wise) is an essential survival and hunting skill.

Thus, Joe is drawn to Simon for the same reason everyone that meets him is. But there is also a very strong personal chemistry between them that makes Joe unable to hurt Simon when he could have during the escape from Delphi. It's why Joe fought with Simon over his murders. He needed Simon to explain himself in a way that would explain Joe's intense attraction to him. Or why he can't bear the thought of Simon being destroyed at the experiments' end even though he is a deadly threat to society. Simon's motives towards Joe are less clear. It is a novelty for him to have a human know what he is can care about his well being – even to like him. The idea of having someone like that close to him is intriguing. He's keenly interested in playing that out to see where it could go. We also think he's interested in seeing if any human would willingly take on the life he's endured. And there is no doubt about Simon's unwillingness to give Joe up once he has him by his side. That will keep the doctor safe from Delphi but it also endangers anyone who attempts to get close to him. Jon and I were content to have this attraction and connection relegated to subtext. The actors decided to make it as close to text as they could get away with (at the time we shot Demon Under Glass, we believed it would air on basic cable). I wonder how far they would have pushed the dynamic if we hadn't had those constraints? We don't have those constraints with this series. To quote our vampire, We'll have some fun.