Every now and then I hear about an idea that frankly makes no sense whatsoever. When I was looking up the time and location of the local fireworks on Sunday, I discovered that they were also being simulcast. On a radio station. The curious side of me considered checking it out to see exactly how one broadcasts fireworks over the radio. Sounds of explosions and a color commentator saying, “That one was blue. Oooh. Nice red one with sparklers.”
I finished the first/second draft of a new/old short story this weekend. This is one I’m recasting from historical fiction into science fiction, an idea that struck me recently. Now that this new draft is finished, I can see where the story falls apart, so now I have to rethink it completely. Fortunately, while I was shaving this morning, I figured out how to make it work. Of course this revelation was about character rather than plot. The story had a plot and a couple of people wandering around doing things, but it didn’t really have any characters, if you get my drift.
I also wrote 1700 words of a new story. I think I know where it’s going, too, which is a something I wasn’t so sure about when I started it.
I answered a bunch of questions for Andy Burns at BIFF BAM POP! Part one of the interview went up yesterday: Illustrated King: Andy Burns Talks To Bev Vincent, Author Of The Stephen King Illustrated Companion. The second part will go up later this week.
We watched Sherlock Holmes last night. We saw it in theaters when it first came out. My daughter got it on DVD and I liked it enough to watch it again. One day I’m going to put on the closed captioning, because I’m still missing about 10% of what Robert Downey, Jr. says. The sweeping scale of London loses its oomph on the small screen. I remember coming out of the theater dazzled by the scenes of the London Bridge. Unlike some purists, I wasn’t at all upset by the way they re-imagine Holmes, and I especially like Rachel McAdams’ Irene Adler. Looks like we have to wait until December 2011 for the sequel. Bummer.
Tonight is the two-hour season finale of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and it starts an hour earlier than usual. I’m looking forward to the return of Eureka! on Friday (back to back with the new series Haven, which I’ll at least check out). Then next week we get The Closer and the new series Rizzoli & Isles, which brings back NCIS‘s Sasha Alexander and Law & Order‘s Angie Harmon. Another series, based on the novels of Tess Gerritsen, that I’ll check out.
I’m about halfway through The Liar’s Lullaby by Meg Gardiner. A solid thriller. The protagonist performs psychological autopsies in cases of equivocal death–when there isn’t enough evidence to say whether a death is homicide, suicide or natural or accident. The victim in this case is a popular singer who dies during a spectacular entrance at a concert. She’s the POTA’s ex-wife, has a long history of bipolar illness. She also has a deranged stalker and is being used by a white supremacy group to further some members’ bizarre conspiracy theories.
