Monday, September 15, 2008

Satisfaction


Okay, so how many of you immediately started singing: "I can't get no..."?

The title of this post actually has two purposes. First, I "finished" book number three (HIGHLAND SCOUNDREL) and there is nothing quite like the feeling you get when you type "the end"--unless it's the feeling you get when you walk in the bookstore and see the book on the shelf. :)

I put finished in quotation marks because I still have quite a bit of clean up to do before I actually turn it into my editor. I revise heavily as I go along, so it's usually pretty polished, but I do keep a running list of things to do at the end. These run the gamut from easy (i.e. make sure name of XXX clan is consistent) to slightly more involved (i.e. trickle in XYZ earlier) to a few complicated things that I don't know how to handle so I leave them for the end.

The good news is that I'm exactly where I wanted to be in time for my trip to Scotland. I love to do one big read through and because this book is long, a ten hour plane ride will be perfect.

Okay, about that other meaning. The other day I was driving my kids to one of their many classes and Freebird came on the radio. Immediately I started thinking about a skiing trip I took with a friend in middle school when we borrowed her brother's Astrotunes (these were the precursor to Walkmans). Yes, I know I'm ageing myself. LOL. It's amazing to me how certain songs can bring up very visceral memories, and "classics" like Freebird even more so.

To me, Freebird is one of those seminal rock songs. Satisfaction is another. If I had a list of all-time classic rock songs they both would be on it. It's hard to delineate exactly what puts a song in this category, but it's kind of one of those "I know it when I see it" type of things.

Here's my list:
Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
Baba O'Reily (The Who)
Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd)
Freebird (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Satisfaction (Rolling Stones)
Back in Black (ACDC)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)

I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting. What do you think is the seminal rock song? Do certain songs bring back memories for you? On another note...I'll be gone for a couple of weeks, but I'll be back in October with tons of awesome pictures for you!

Thursday, September 04, 2008

New Fall Show Alert!


I read a glowing review in my local paper of a new show that debuted last night on FX called SONS OF ANARCHY and decided to give it a try. How's this for a byline: Hamlet on a Harley.

With a comparison to the Sopranos, it sounded like something I might like. If the first episode is any indication, it's going to be awesome (but not for the weak of stomach). Like the Sopranos and another FX favorite of mine RESCUE ME, the writers have done a great job in setting up another complex anti-hero in Jax. Jax is played by actor Charlie Hunnam (pictured above)--who goes into my category of one of those rare hot blonds, LOL. The audience is immediately drawn to him, but lest we get confused about what kind of guy he is there is a scene in the middle of the episode that won't let you forget.

I'm looking forward to the return of THE OFFICE later this month, but other than that I'm not all that excited about the Fall season. I'm still waiting for Battlestar Gallactica in January and LOST--I can't remember when that's supposed to be back.

What about you? Any fall shows you are excited about?