Layers and Shopping

I'm supposed to be finishing a new script right now, but instead I'm taking a brief moment to post. Why? I got my hair cut! Like, really, this time you can tell. Actually, I got it cut a week ago but I'm lazy and only just now took some decent pictures of it. Or tried to. As you can see, I never have much of an idea of what I'm doing when I'm trying to photograph myself.

Uh... yeah

I either turn out like a hag or a... well, I'll let you decide.

A cross-eyed fish

I tried the classic MySpace technique of photographing my reflection. I won't tell you how long it took for me to try to figure out how to get myself in the shot with everything being reversed in the mirror...

Anyway, the shortest layer is at my boob -- half the length of what it used to be! It's then layered down the back.

Picture from when I first got home after getting it cut. Yes, it's still pretty long in the back, but I swear it feels lighter now!

I haven't had my hair boob length since I was a toddler! The floor of the hair salon looked like a small, brown-red woolly mammoth had been shaved.

I wasn't going to get my hair cut since times are tough and haircuts are expensive, but I did it in part of my celebration for winning that award.

Alex and I started out Christmas shopping this weekend, since Mervyn's is going bankrupt. :( There were some great sales. We then went to Pacific Sunware to see if some dresses we liked a month or so ago were still around. We called them "Teyla Dresses" because, for some reason, the first thing that came to mind when we saw them was "Rachel Luttrell would look so cute in this!" Celebrities usually never come to mind while shopping, but hey Rachel, you're welcome to come with us any time!

We decided to be "cool" and take a picture in the dressing room. Check out the dresses we got on sale for $9.99 each!


We were gonna just buy the dress I'm wearing and share it, to be economical, then realized that all the fighting that would ensue over who got to wear it when wasn't worth the $10 we'd save.

And here's a clip just because it reminds me of a fun day with my sister:

And for music today I offer a piece that I would often listen to while working on my script, Andromache. It would be great in the film.

Lisa Gerrard -- Sanvean

Mackenzie's Momma -- So how was the con? Did your dress have fun? I've never been to a con before and am eager to know how it went!

theincrediblemo -- Thanks! Isn't it gorgeous? Every other award I have is paper (or money, which means it's now gone!) and this is definitely the best! But don't tell that to my soccer and little league trophies... Almost at the finals finish line?

Tracie -- Thanks, love! :)

Werewolves and Loyalty!

I am so Hollywood. Look at my rich lady jewels.

First off, a huge thank you to all who sent me their well-wishes and congratulations -- thank you!

The award came in the mail today. Check it out!

My Rosebud Award

"Rosebud! Rosebud!" Yeah, I don't get why Citizen Kane is the "best movie ever," either.

Saturday night we went out to a local Chinese place to celebrate, which was excuse enough for me to bust out the top-I'd-bought-on-sale-but-never-wore-because-it's-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-wash.

Attempting to channel my heroine -- Andromache, Queen of Troy (actually, I was pretending to be Lucius Malfoy)

The nights are certainly getting colder. I have to go out to run at 4pm now, otherwise darkness falls and I freeze. As it is, I'm still usually numb and sniffly at this earlier hour! And last Thursday I learned a lesson. A very valuable lesson.

Never read the entire Wikipedia entry for "Werewolf" at 2 am.

Normally that sort of thing doesn't scare me. Normally normal stuff scares me. Like the guitar that sat in the hall closet for years. I would get scared while in the shower, knowing that it was resting against the opposite side of the wall. That guitar curiously looks like Zalenka...

Anyway, I read the entire entry and was really creeped out by the explanation that Werewolves were Medieval people's rationale for explaining serial killers, and by the historical accounts -- the Beast of Gévauda. Scary!

Unnerved, I tried piled my bed with stuffed animals and tried to sleep... only it was a full moon and the bright moonlight was cascading in through my window and making the world outside vibrant. I tossed and turned and got hot with all those stuffies, so I cracked open my window then climbed back into bed. Every once in a while the wind would gust, howling past my window. Coyotes would yap and howl, as they do every night.

Full moon. Howling. Trees tossing about in the wind. I was relieved when morning came! Oh, the curses of an untamed imagination...

Moonlight!

The days getting shorter has been just one of the many obstacles in the way of completing our new SGA fan film, but given that Alex had Veteran's Day off last week, we were finally able to finish!

If this picture doesn't terrify you, there's something seriously wrong with you.

I hope you enjoy!

Stargate Atlantis: Loyalty

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Mackenzie's momma -- Bless your heart, thanks! :) And best of luck on your final projects! And hey, even if those classes you're taking don't count towards a degree, you'll still learn from them so they'll count for life! And I'm so excited for you coming down my way for your trip. I hope you have a blast! :D

theincrediblemo -- Thank you, sweetie! I'm definitely trying to work on being more confident in my own accomplishments and hopes for the future, so thank you for that extra boost! :) And I'm looking forward to the pictures, whenever you get the chance!

Tracie -- You're still here! LOL Now I wonder who all those other readers are! People keep telling me that the first Twilight book gets really good, but then the series goes downhill. I'll check out the movie, but from what I've read of the books... I can't get into a story if I have to edit the writing in my head as I read. It's the curse of being an MFA student! So when I read something published, I like to not cringe. That sounds horribly elitist of me, but so be it!

I Win!

I am now officially an award-winning screenwriter. Andromache won the 2008 CSU Media Festival's Rosebud Award for a feature screenplay and the Best Screenplay Award from my university in one sweep, earning me a glass award, checks, a t-shirt, and much pride and praise from my university. This is wonderful news and I am so very proud. However I was very hesitant to post this information publicly. Why?

I'm shy about sharing this big news because I don't want to be a braggart, I don't want to appear to think too highly of myself, I don't want to seem "better than" anyone else. And so I almost didn't share this news. If you've noticed, in the past, I have made the deflective attempt to hide the news of my successes as muttered sentences at the ends of posts, like this one, and in humorous musings, like this one.

But then last night I came across this article in Bitch Magazine, called "The Ambition Condition: Women Writing and the Problem of Success." So yes, here I am, no longer falling into the trap of disparaging my work and/or accomplishments before I even share them. I am so proud of my script and my success, and, um, hell yes I have ambition with my writing.

Yesterday I came to meet with my screenwriting professor to talk about my current script, but instead he was so happy that I'd won that he wanted to talk about my award. He looked it up on the festival's website and grinned. "I think you're more excited about this than I am!" I joked.

"You don't realize what a big deal this is," he replied. "I feel like we should have people carrying you around on a chair. This is the Day of Kellie Rice!" Bless his heart! True to his word, he suddenly said, "You know what? Come with me."

I followed him out of his office with a laugh. "Where are we going?"

"I'm going to show you off."

We made our way through the building and he introduced me to the department chair who said that they were going to put my name up on the marquee, and that she was so proud. "I'm proud to make you proud," I answered. We then cut across campus to see the dean, stopping to introduce me to any of the other screenwriting professors or people my teacher knew along the way, then checked with the secretary and went in to see the dean. He was also very happy and took my picture a few times for the school's website. Apparently no one just walks in to see the dean, but my teacher often needs to run production issues by him so his co-workers are jealous of his privileges.

After the parade, we went back to his office and discussed the game plan for using the momentum of both of these wins to seriously secure the attention of an agent. In a moment I need to go rewrite my query letter to send out again with the information on these new awards I've earned.

The attention and praise has been delightful yet overwhelming! Here's to hoping that it's just the start of Andromache's success! This is the first time anyone from our university has won, and it was a good year for our school -- most of the other finalists were also from my university, along with the film that won the Audience Choice Award!

To change topics back to what I was discussing last week about the unfairness of Prop 8, check out this eloquent, heartfelt commentary by NBC's Keith Olberman, whose political criticism has always inspired me with its candor and passion.



On yet another side note... I've recently set sitemeter up on this blog. That means that I can see how many hits and visits Moldy Pumpkin gets, how long people stay, etc. I have two regular commenters (yay!) and several friends who also follow this blog (then make fun of me to my face rather than leaving comments!) however... there is no way that I have enough friends for this blog to be averaging 17 visits per day and 117 visits this week.

Which leads me to my question of.... who are you people?!

And just to be even more random, check out our new video poking fun at the insane teenaged fans of the Stephenie Meyer series, Twilight:

Breaking Afternoon: What Twilight Fans Look Like to Everyone Else

And in case you're thinking this video is a little extreme... trust me. It's tame in comparison to reality. Seriously. Just... wow. And apparently this is happening wherever this poor guy goes. I hope he gets a secret service contingent! Someone might shoot garlic at him or something one of these days.

And here's today's music selection. Lately I've been into Evanescence's early music, such as this beautiful song, "Before the Dawn."

"Before the Dawn"

theincrediblemo -- I need to check out those pictures, I'm sure they're awesome! :D

mackenzie's momma -- Wow. Your "friend" was probably just responding to an immediate emotional reaction of disappointment, but um, as you said, being a grown-up means not acting on those feelings, even if you have them. I'm sorry. That's really lame. And you have every right to be elated. This truly is an historic dawn.

Welcome, Autumn!

Fall is certainly here! And since we had a drought this year and didn't have rain since April, it felt like a six month summer. Some might be envious, but any who read this blog in the summer knows the danger the perpetual sun brought. Fire. Fire. Fire. Let's hope the rainy season marks the end of scary wildfires for a long while! I don't mind them when they're burning forests -- as sad as I am to see the trees go, I know it's actually healthier for them to burn. But what I do mind is worrying about our home and animals being in danger.

Take a look at some of these pictures from a walk my mom, Toot and I took in a local national park.

Poison oak and berry bushes

Teyla's a good girl

Pretty meadow
Um... path

Yellowing leaves

Golden canopy

My mom's been working with Teyla a lot and this day, she would have made Cesar Milan proud as punch!

Leafy path

Yes, that's horse poop. Road apples!

The pond

Cattails

Neato!

I love how you can only see the trees in the reflection



Pond

Ethereal forest!

I have to admit, with the election over, it's great to no longer receive 10 e-mails a day from various Democratic organizations. Though I do like the e-mails from Barack Obama. I know they're mass generated but it still makes me feel special.

There's a neat Newsweek interview with First Lady Michelle Obama here, and, to provide stark contrast and much hilarity, check out the dirt on Sarah Palin. Her reps say these are all lies, but some of them are so outrageous that I'm inclined to believe that they're true. Like Palin being confused over the fact that Africa is a continent, not a country. It's shocking how many people make that mistake!

And mackenzie's momma -- I apologize for using your comment that turns out to have had nothing to do with same sex marriage as a "Joe the Plumber," but I was looking for an excuse to articulate some views on the subject.

Despite the vast majority of people being overjoyed by the results of the Presidential election, I know that some are disappointed, including friends of mine. These people always really stand out in contrast to the happiness everyone else is exuding. I've tried to be supportive and understand how they must feel as they gripe over how America is going to turn into a "socialist" country. I listen and nod but I actually don't care. They're wrong and I'm right. Barack Obama and Democrats are not socialists. Believe me, I should know. I have a socialist cat, remember?

Me and the Commie. Shut up. I already know my red & blue undies are made of awesome.

Today's song (btw, does anyone actually listen to these?) is "Boy in a Rock and Roll Band" by The Pierces. Why? Because I love them and am in a good mood and love this song. Pay no attention to the pictures in the video -- I'm not secretly a Jonas Brothers fan.

"Boy in a Rock and Roll Band"

mackenzie's momma -- I'm sorry, but I just have to laugh over the mix up! Oh, the power of a comma! I had a feeling that I was misinterpreting your comment (and this was also after 2 night classes on my end so I was probably just as fried as you!) out of context, but intended to share more thoughts about Prop 8 anyway, and used that as a springboard. And I think you're approach to your roleplay is wise... Imagine Padfoot and I with our 5 universes. And though it began as Harry Potter-ish, it is now so very far from it. And Stargate characters pop in and out all the time. In fact, Kristie (Reece Witherspoon) is now engaged to John Sheppard (um, you know who he is) so if Reece and Joe Flannigan randomly hook up, we'll know why!

theincrediblemo -- I definitely agree! And it may reassure you to know that there's a large movement already organizing to overturn Prop 8. I'm just so sick of this always being an issue. Government is dictating whom you can marry, just like inter-racial marriages were illegal in some states in the past. It's ludicrous! But apparently, very American, given the example I just cited. And I want to see your snow pictures! Death gliding sounds so fun, but be careful!

Joy and Disappointment

I wasn't the only one still wearing my Obama pin today. The joy of so many is palpable.

Last night, downtown. was like VE Day with people dancing in the streets, crying, hugging strangers, playing drums, honking horns, and dancing on cars. I wish I'd seen it. So many of my fellow Obama supporters have said how they cried and cried.

When I checked my e-mail last night I had letters of congratulations from Australia and France. My French friend, a fellow woman warrior, Mathilde, said that she wished she had Obama as her President. That's gotta be the first time in my lifetime that France has ever been jealous of an American President!

For so many reasons, I am so proud of you, Obama, and everyone, within our borders or without, who helped usher in this new era.

My literature professor began class by reading the famous sermon by John Winthrop about building a "city upon a hill" for the world to emulate. His inspiring, hopeful words were wholly relevant to what we have achieved. And to think... Sarah Palin shares the same ideas. I mean, really. She said in a speech "Let's build that city on a hill like Ronald Regan said!" Winthrop delivered the sermon in 1630. Sorry, hun.

The California elections have turned out rather unpredictably. I am happy that Prop 4 (parental notification of a minor's abortion) did not pass, because yeah, I hope that a girl would have a good enough relationship with her parents to be able to tell them that she's having an abortion, but in many families that's not the case, and a girl would rather go to a back alley "doctor" to get the procedure done rather than have her parents notified. Yikes.

Prop 8 also passed, modifying the California constitution to ban same sex marriage. Now, mackenzie's momma, in your comment on my last post you said, "As for the rest of it- your human right? You make mistakes." I'm not entirely sure how to interpret that, and forgive me if I'm misinterpreting what you meant, but it has given me a talking point if you're insinuating that same sex marriage (or marriage in general) is not a "human right." If so, I can understand your point of view. Personally, I believe marriage is a somewhat archaic socio-economic arrangement (and a booming industry). For many, it is also a religious ceremony/commitment. I have trouble ever envisioning myself as married, but understand that I am also at a point in my life where marriage is way off my radar.

The belief that marriage is between a man and a woman stems from the Bible and is the basis for most arguments against same sex marriage. I understand this, however, being a heathen, it's difficult for me to wrap my mind around. And to avoid couching the conversation in religious terms, let's look at it this way:

Proposition 8 took legal rights away from a group of people.

The very principle should be enough to raise the hackles on any who know their history. In it's purest form, Prop 8 is oppression, and I find it highly ironic that we're patting ourselves on the back for electing the first black president yet have changed law so that people who love each other can't get married.

No, I am not gay or bi, and yes, I do have both gay and bi friends and even family, and I know that my consideration of their lives influences my voting. But seriously, what are anti-gay marriage people afraid of? Is anyone reading this anti-same sex marriage? If so, I'd genuinely like to hear your thoughts. Who are these couples going to hurt? Gay marriage already was legal and, as Rachel Maddow said, "the sky didn't fall." So why the panic? Does God want you to oppress a group of people? Was Jesus' message "Love everyone except for people the semantics of a translation of a translation of a translation of a translation from languages that don't directly translate into each other from a document written at least 200 years after my death specifies should not be allowed to get hitched"?

My irreverent humor may be failing here, so I turn to Sherman Alexie: "Gay men don't threaten my marriage -- gay men catered my marriage."

Here's today's song. "We Shall Be Free" by Garth Brooks.

"We Shall Be Free"

theincrediblemo -- Haha! Peeking in class. I used to IM my sister in class. ;) And yes, your friends who do not recognize the significance of this election will find out soon enough! :D Oh you're right - I have very little idea of what snow is, other than the one time in recent memory (in other words, when I wasn't a toddler) that I went to the snow and didn't like how the stuff kept turning into water and melting in my boots and hair. ;)

mackenzie's momma -- That's so cool that you and your friend come up with such big plots and such! You guys should write it out as a book. :) And yeah, the SGA titles are often really similar... and cheesy. ;) But hey, that's half the charm!

Hell Yes, We Can! GO OBAMA!

More like, my faith in the American people has strengthened!

It was just barely 5pm and the results were trickling in. McCain had taken Kentucky and Obama had Vermont. McCain had 8 electoral votes and Obama had 3. McCain was then projected to win in South Carolina. As many of you may guess, I couldn't take the pressure, so I took off and went for a 30 minute run in the cold and near-dark and had to force myself to stop. I contemplated making a vow to never visit Kentucky or South Carolina, then reminded myself that people aren't always that dumb when you look them in the eye. I came back into the house and was so preoccupied by the numbers on the TV (still in McCain's favor) that I didn't even notice that we had the first fire of the season going in the fireplace -- usually a celebrated event.

The evening stretched on. I ate dinner (Grandma's spaghetti sauce recipe is amazing) and washed my hair. Then I just sat there and knitted. Obama had 207 electoral votes and McCain had 134 and counting. I knew from watching Hillary Clinton's Terminator-like comebacks that we couldn't count the war hero out yet.

My sister reminded my mom and I that we had a recorded episode of Samantha Who? on the DVR from the previous night, and since it's only about 20 mins long without commercials, we decided to watch it. When 2 minutes were left in the show, my dad came in and said, with mild shock, "You aren't watching it?" We all looked at him. "McCain's giving a very gracious concession speech."

"You're lying," Alex said. We all just sat there with what I'm sure were bovine expressions. "He's lying..."

"Change the channel!"

She did. Lo and behold, McCain was certainly giving a very gracious secession speech, though it greatly annoyed me that his "supporters" didn't appear to be listening to his message of unity and were booing over the Democratic win.

A picture Alex took of the tally to document history

Obama's speech was beautifully respectful, inspiring, and full of the assertion that America is and will always be the land of opportunity where brave, hardworking men and woman can achieve their highest goals. When Obama addressed those watching outside of the US, in Parliaments and palaces and listening on the radio in the forgotten corners of the world, when he said to those who would tear the world down that they will be defeated, I shivered and felt goosebumps travel from the back of my neck all the way down my legs.

Thank you, President Elect Obama, for all of your hard work and for your unwavering belief in this great nation of ours, and thank you to everyone who volunteered and voted and made possible this opportunity for ushering in a new era.

Thank you, Florida! I no longer want to chop you off the continent with an axe and laugh as you float away!

As you can see, we were very happy -- so happy, in fact, that Alex spoke in such a funny voice that you can hear me ask "...who is that talking?"

This was another highlight of the night. Whoever that woman is, I love you!

And for those of you who never saw it during the campaign, both in the primaries and in the presidential, here's the "Yes, We Can" music video as my music selection for the day.

Yes, We Can



And then this was just too cute to ignore:

Babies for Obama

And you know, someone else deserves a big thank you for Obama's wonderful, historic win that symbolizes "a new dawn for America." No, I'm not talking about Hillary Clinton or Oprah or Palin's batshit crazy genes, but rather I'm talking about Padfoot and Moony. The Sicilian Viking and the deranged Celt. Um, the latter would be me.

I have a very good friend who I speak with every day, but have never met. We've been friends for years -- I've lost count for how long! And we've stuck it out through thick and thin! Maybe the geographical distance between us makes it easier to share our thoughts with each other, but no matter the psychoanalysis, Padfoot, you're one of my bestest friends ever! :D

As some of you may have been able to figure out, our nicknames for each other come from the characters in the Harry Potter books, Padfoot (aka: Sirius Black) and Moony (aka: Remus Lupin) given our resemblances of personality with the characters and our previous love of Harry Potter. One day we started chatting in the voices of Padfoot and Moony, and naturally actions were inserted, and within days, we'd organically evolved a roleplay game! It's been going for years now, as well. Yes, years. I've online roleplayed for years.

Some pretty amazing stuff has happened in our little universe (or universes since now we've created 5 separate Alternate Universe's of our original AU) and our world now only vaguely resembles that of Harry Potter. In fact, we killed almost everyone in Harry Potter and now roleplay with our own original characters. It's great fun and practice for a writer! I'll have to share some of the hilarious shit that's gone down in our game some time, but it hardly feels appropriate in the same post as Obama's win.

So back to Obama. I read his book, Dreams from my Father back in 2006, and that summer, I made Obama the President of the American Magical Government in our game. Months later, the real Obama announced his intention to run for President of the US. Fast forward another year and here we are. Coincidence? I think not.

You see, Padfoot and I are goddesses. Stuff that happens in our game has effects upon the world. For instance, Padfoot has a character named Kristie. She choose Reece Witherspoon to "play" Kristie (we usually pick an actor or actress who we think looks the most like the character we imagine) and after what she thought was a good relationship, Kristie and her fiancee broke up. Within a month, Reece Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe had divorced.

Padfoot also has a character named Diana, who is "played" by Nicole Kidman. I have a character named Jack who is "played" by a young Johnny Depp. He's an Irish scoundrel from the wrong side of the tracks with alcoholic tendencies, and she's a Pureblood and a refined lady. Diana helped Jack clean himself up and, after a few rough patches, the two were wed. Again, months later, Nicole Kidman married Kieth Urban, who had some rough patches and went into rehab. They're now happily married with a baby, if memory serves.

There have been more "coincidences," too, but I won't list them here. I think I've made my case pretty clear. Padfoot and I are deities.

And as a deity I was loose my wrath if Prop 8 doesn't fail. California legalized gay marriage and now this proposition (funded by what I assume are Christian organizations, many to some from out of state) asks for that right to be rescinded. So far, it looks like the prop will pass. I am outraged. How dare you fight to take away a basic human right -- a right that a group of people already legally had -- for the sake of your own religious vision of the world. One thing I know I'll never understand is the missionary mentality.

To end on a happier note... go Obama! And Padfoot says that next on the agenda of our game should be to find a cure for AIDS. Hey, it's worth a shot!

Correction: As mackenzie's momma kindly pointed out , the episode I meant to reference in my last post was "Progeny," not the upcoming "Prodigal."

Mackenzie's momma -- See? I'm extra retarded! I would claim that I'm clairvoyant and smart to have mentioned an episode I have yet to even see, but know that I probably saw the title somewhere recently. I have a real problem remembering episode titles for SGA, and in fact, SGA information in general. Imagine how often I had Wikipedia open while writing my SGA spec scripts! My sister, on the other hand, knows nearly all of the SGA titles, especially for the second season. And thanks for your input and I hope your trip goes well! :D I've decided against going, actually, and hope I won't regret it!

Theincrediblemo -- That link didn't work and I'm bummed. See if you can send me a friend request on Facebook and we can stalk each other. :) And you poor thing... a Tequila tummy ache... but now you're caught up with SGA! Oh your sister sounds awesome... created a monster? Mwahahaha! The insanity shall spread. I'd say look out or you might catch it but I'm sure you already have. ;)

Pre-Election Jitters

Alex was so disheartened that her jack o' lantern was the first this year to join the long line of moldy pumpkins.

I am going to put up some pictures of a replica of Christopher Columbus' ship Niña soon, but first I just want to say a little something about tomorrow: Tuesday, November 4th, 2008.

GET OUT AND VOTE!

Now that that's out of the way, I can go back to mildly panicking about the possibility of Obama not winning. And worrying about alien invasions. You see, tonight we just so happened to watch the Stargate Atlantis episode "Prodigal," which is pretty boring, except for one thing: Niam. We call Niam, "Nial," why? Because we're retarded. And we LOVE him because he has a voice that reminds us of a story told to us by my soul sister who lives in England about her Maths teacher named Mrs. Preston who loved green and always wore seahorses on her clothing because she loved them, as well. Did you follow any of that? Yeah, this is what I meant about how we make up characters about people. Niam turned into Mrs. Preston within seconds of him being on the screen, so of course the great joy is to talk over him in Mrs. Preston's voice, stating how he's going to take over Atlantis to build a home for his seahorse, Greenie.

Oh yeah, I brought up the alien invasion. As we were watching and narating this episode tonight, we screamed because in the black sky outside was a glowing green streak, like a shooting star. Just as the big clump began to fade, a smaller piece broke off and shot away before both disappeared. It was similar to the time we saw the military blow up a missle (in the sky above our house... the patch of sky glowed electric blue even after dusk and planes circled it. I was convinced we'd just warded off a Goa'uld attack) and was pondering the possibility of it once again being thus, however Alex, true to form, immediately began screaming in a panic. "Aliens are attacking! We're all gonna blow up!"

Well, they haven't landed yet, so I'm stuck with the mundane worries of the week. Will I embarrass myself tomorrow in front of my elderly classmates at my ukulele lesson at the local senior center? Will it stop raining long enough so that I can run? Will I finaly make a decision about going to the CSU Media Arts Festival in the Channel Islands?

Yes, that's right! My script Andromache has made it to the finalists in the competition. At first I didn't think that was such a big deal but was proud nevertheless. Then my professor told me that there are only five finalists out of all the hundreds of submissions from every California State University. Whether it wins or not, I'm very happy that the story made it thus far and hope that this is another step towards sharing the tale with a wider audience.

As a finalist, I was asked to attend the event at the CSU Channel Islands, near LA. There will be two days of conferences on various aspects of filmmaking, a showing of the finalists in the film categories, and of course, the awards ceremony. While it really does sound fun, the 6-8 hour drive there and back doesn't, and I'm in the middle of the semester which = heavy workload. It's a great opportunity that many are pushing me to take, but I'm in a battle with myself over what to do -- something that is potentially both boring as hell and rewarding, or stay at home and do things like film more of our new Atlantis fan film. I have to respond ASAP, so what do you guys think I should do?

Oh, and by the way. There's one more thing I should mention. I probably should've brought this up sooner, but... well... watch the video and see for yourself. And, um, let's hope that I don't go batshitcrazy tomorrow and allow this to happen.

Mackenzie's Momma -- I love what you did for your costume when you were pregnant! Too funny! And thanks for the book recommendation. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for it. I'm sorry that your Halloween was a bit of a bust! That's so poopy. :(

theincrediblemo -- Britney! Haha! Oh, I'll bet you made a lot of people laugh with that. And Jaysus, it sounds freezing where you are! I'm not grateful that this storm that's passing through is a tropical storm, which means it's about 50F! Which, yes, is still chilly to me. And ugh... I feel your pain over grading papers... my comment is always, "articulate." An MA could be great fun! I'm getting my MFA and we share the program with MAs, so a lot of my friends are English MAs. :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Uh... I got the vest at the Goodwill? I can't seem to think of a better caption.

I hope you all had a fun, safe Halloween!

Not only did Halloween bring us many fond memories, but also our first rain storm! It's been pouring and the power's been off and on all day. The poor goats are being flooded by their leaky roof! But our parched countryside and reservoirs sure need the water. I think Joe Mallozzi brought it with him from Vancouver since he was recently traversing the airways above us!

We managed to squeeze in some filming for our next Stargate Atlantis fan film, then began a pumpkin massacre! Poor Alex is really sick and had already lost her voice.

The top comes off!

Thick pumpkin!

It looked like a spine and ribcage... or Wraith cocoon!

We saved all the seeds and baked them the next day

The innards without the seeds. Looks like the workings of a Wraith ship, doesn't it?

Someone watched us carve

My Jack o' Lantern!

Alex's Jack o' Lantern

...My original plan for what my carved pumpkin should look like. I have no idea.

Our pumpkins!

Just a random clip. What you hear playing in the background was a radio broadcast of the 1938 Orson Welle's broadcast of War of the Worlds. Have you all heard the story? Because he fashioned the news reports so convincingly and the only time it was stated that the broadcast was a radio play was in the beginning and forty minutes in, casual listeners actually believed that Martians had invaded and took necessary precautions.

This Dead Man meatloaf was for dinner

Ready to head out. As you can see, I was escorting a deranged evil fairy with a frightening resemblance to Weir.

We passed an alien space ship! Check out the little green men to the left.

Can you see me? Cuz I can see you.

"Hit me!"

As you can probably tell from the above pictures, it suddenly started pouring! Luckily we bumped into our nine-year-old neighbor and her friends and they let us share their umbrellas. I had to explain what an old geezer like me was doing trick-or-treating. Really I was supposed to just be walking with my sister, but my dad demanded I take a pumpkin and get candy so that he could have some. Hey, whoever said there was an age when you had to stop accepting free candy? And in the rain -- we worked for it!

A house with orange lights.

Glowing skulls!

Caught unawares.

Um... the original plan was to color and mess up this wig, but as you can see, it wouldn't've really worked. The green was already fading and I'd just sprayed it that afternoon!

A little resemblance

"OMG!"

My faithful pumkin

Um... I was just "escorting" my sister... really...

I miss cheap candy like this. It was always a highlight of the holiday. Waxy chocolate!

Someone was trying to kill McKay...

This jerk lady took one look at us and said. "Oooo, you're big kids. You get a TROLL." Then shouted at us that we didn't say thank you (I guess she couldn't hear us. I'm a quiet talker and Alex lost her voice) and we heard her later screeching demands for "thank yous" from other trick-or-treaters.

What I decided to try to eat all in one sitting. I realized it had been ages since I've had candy.

All I managed to get through.

OooOOOoo
Jarred's pumpkin

My pumpkin... it's actor David Thewlis. Don't ask.

Alex's pumpkin.

And instead of a favorite song today, here's an awesome clip of favorite author (and all around awesome guy) Sherman Alexie matching Stephen Colbert blow for blow, then rendering the witty host speechless. Enjoy!

From the Colbert Report:

Clip

theincrediblemo -- Well, now it's storming and very wet so you don't have to be jealous anymore. ;) How's it up there? And yes... the grading. I felt evil giving out such low grades so I spoke to my professor and he said, "It's a lack of vocabulary. They just aren't equipped with an appropriate vocabulary because they don't read." Yikes!

mackenzie's momma -- LOL! I love that she calls A Dog's Breakfast "The Duck Show." And to think that McKay's also a duck in our movies. ;) And yes, Princess Bride! I can get obsessive like that, too. As in I have both the theatrical releases and the extended editions of all three Lord of the Rings films, and know that once they're out on BluRay, I'll get those, too, even if I don't have an HD player!