in a groove

#2 You can get a sunburn on your armpits by falling asleep with your arms stretched out.

I'm in a groove. I had a Story A going in my script with my main character and her friend, but the guys weren't getting much to do. And then I decided it's okay if my characters get injured. Injuries are funny. Mucus is funny. Also, the Weather Channel. Am enjoying writing my script, and that's all that matters.

Saw some truly bad stand-up last night. Also had dinner at Breadbar in Santa Monica, right across from the library. The sugared brioche (usually, brioche is too buttery for me) was divine. Also good, the dark chocolate chip baguette. And yummy lemonade. Have been bringing my lunches to the benches on Ocean Avenue, so I can eat and look at the Pacific. It's a great thing to do. Thank you, Private Practice, for the idea.

1:717

Gmail is currently encountering problem #717 on my account. That means there are at least 716 other problems, assuming the Google people count the way the rest of us do. I wonder what's going wrong. I can't think of 717 things that can go wrong in real life, let alone in an email account. But I can think of one.

#1: Your email to your roommates expressing your wish to no longer have to do all the dishes in the apartment is completely taken the wrong way and leads to a two-day-long email fight the likes of which are...bad. Really, really bad.

So that's one. I'm gonna come up with 717 things that can go bad now if it kills me. One every day. That's my new mission.

Also, read this. It would be funny if it weren't completely accurate.

I watched Penelope today finally. I've been wanting to for a while, and then it got delayed and there was bad press and it was barely out in theaters. You know what? I liked it. Probably not enough to watch it again. But I've always liked all the cast members in the movie, and, yeah, you can see where maybe there were some problems, but it's a nice movie, a nice story, certainly better than most of the crap that gets wide release. Good characters, I think. Reese Witherspoon's character seems like a throw-in, but everyone else is really nicely done. It's a fairy tale, but better than that. And God love James McAvoy. Anyhow, go rent it. Watch it with people. It's been unfairly treated.

Let's talk about our feelings now, shall we?

I gotta say, I'm a pessimist, and though I predicted a negative future, it was always just a defense mechanism. I don't think I really believed in it, that banks would fail, that our powerful nation and nations all around the world would be so prone to the natural order of things. Which is, of course, that nothing lasts forever. I think now is a time, as individuals, to consider the what ifs. The survival guide last resort what ifs. Not that the world is ending tomorrow, but that the way things are and always have been during our lifetime may not be how they remain. Recognized currency isn't a given. Government isn't a given. Grocery shopping isn't a given. What we've established as the essential aspects of our home environment and work lives are far from given. It's important to be creative in these times. Learn skills. And I'm not talking just IT stuff. Learn how to take care of yourself minus luxuries. Luxuries may be batteries, ovens, cars, refrigerators, whatever.

Anyhow, there's that. It makes what I'm working for in my life seem that much more insane. The world will probably be fine. Iceland will probably be fine. But you never know when you're gonna end up sharing a shack next to the train tracks with four other people and no running water. So.

I'm reading about five different books right now, but none have me hooked. I don't know if it's the books' fault or mine. I'm inclined to think the books, since I can sometimes become completely immersed.

25. Irritated. Lonely. Whiny. Unable to quash my resentment at perceived injustices. Lazy at times. Slovenly at times. Lascivious at times. I should just stay away from times. Need a fucking hair cut.

I didn't really think the first high five videos were good, but this one's funny and cool. Eat my palm sweat, ex-executive branch! How great is Obama thus far? So great!

HIGH-FIVE INAUGURATION! - watch more funny videos

Australian Open!

Safin's gonna play Federer. Holy crap! And did you see the Djokovic-Delic match? And the fight afterwards outside? Delic is amazing. He's my new fave player. I'm also excited about the Baghdatis-Fish match. They're both fun to watch. Tennis!

Also, Lost! Amazing.

the lights go on

This is what groundhogs must feel like coming out of their season-long slumber to bright, disorienting light. Being proud of one's country shouldn't depend on who is running it, but hell, today my nationalism is at its zenith.

Also, Lost tonight! Who's excited? I am! I am!

good news

I may still be coughing like my body hates my lungs and wants to deport them, but there IS good news.

First, Watchmen will be released! Hooray!

Second, interning from home seems to have released creative brain cells that were lolling away on some neurological hammock. I have a great idea for a spec for an existing show and just started writing a spec sitcom pilot. Ooh-rah!

Third, the two times I've been to the library this week, I found movies that I wanted to see but wasn't willing to pay money for just waiting to be watched. And I watched them. And it was totally worth it. Hell, it was probably worth a dollar to watch each one, but I paid nothing! Yay!

Fourth, a guy who works at Blockbuster fist bumped me the other day and told my friend that I was amazing because I knew about The Sea Inside and used it to try to explain that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was not the best movie to rent if you're looking for something "light."

Four things is enough. Now I'm going to go to bed and piss off my roommates by rattling the walls with my bitch-ass cough.

respect your craft

I read a lot of screenplays for my internship. A LOT. And I'm not allowed to talk about them, obviously, but one thing I can say is that many, many, many of the samples I get show a very serious lack of understanding of how to use a comma. So, dear screenwriters, if you want to gain the respect of the people who might consider producing your insipid little romantic comedy, do yourself a favor. Learn where to use a comma. When a character addresses a character, like, "Hey, Joe," a comma goes in between "Hey" and "Joe". A comma is not necessary in a sentence like, "You know better than anyone what you want." There should be NO comma between "anyone" and "what". Why you think there ought to be one is beyond me. Please cut it out. My grammar is not perfect and the occasional comma error is not gonna bug anyone, but when it's every page of your script, it's annoying. Learn your punctuation, screenwriters, or I'm gonna be a lot more likely to PASS on you.

sheer grossness

Mucus coming out of my eye now. My ear hasn't popped in over 24 hours. This is the sinus infection to beat all sinus infections.

sex-iquette lesson 111

The number is the same as my apartment, not just random.

Look, if your friend lets you spend the night at her apartment and sleep on her couch or the floor or whatever, please don't have sex on her couch. Even if it's 4:00 in the morning. You never know when a roommate's gonna wake up and go searching for her antibiotics and catch you doing it on the couch and be so grossed out that she can no longer sit on that couch, which, by the way, is the better of the two couches. For crying out loud.

where, oh, where have my white cells gone?

My immune system MUST be shot to hell because I've had like eight infections/diseases/viruses in the last month or so, and I'm tired of it. I'm also a little nervous at the sheer volume of drugs I've been taking. It's all prescribed and stuff, but I don't want to accidentally pull a Heath Ledger. My roommate says I'm paranoid, but I'd rather be paranoid and alive than the alternative...
Sigh. Need rest.

enough is enough

This is IMPORTANT.

"Woah" is not a word. Never has been. Never will be. It's spelled "whoa." Period. Please stop writing "woah." It's just wrong.

Thank you. That is all.

let's hope 2009 is fine

Cool. Coral is good. Art is good. Hoorah at the combination!

Things I've learned: I don't handle Vicodin or Codine well. At all.

Craig Ferguson is an extremely talented novelist. I like Steve Martin, but really, when it comes to writing fiction, he could take some pointers from the Scot.

It's good to be back in LA.