Mary Vettel
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Hanging on the cusp of Zeitgeist

1/21/2011

2 Comments

 
Have you ever thought of something and then heard it mentioned on the radio or TV or seen it in print?  It can be pretty cool in an ESPish sort of way.  It can also be a bit weird.  In certain instances you could think the house or phone was bugged (by whom?) and your ideas were being stolen. 

I'm not talking about thinking of a friend and then they call or email you.  But really out of the ordinary kinds of things. Just recently I thought of Michael Learned, the actress who played the mother on The Waltons.  I wondered how she was and what she was up to.  Then bam! The next she's on the main page of aol with a 'See how she looks at 72'.  Now, what made her jump into my brain the day before?  This sort of thing happens to me often. 

I'd had recently written what I intended to be a humorous piece called Hadassah Jones [posted elsewhere on this site] - a Jewish woman married to an African-American man and how they've managed to mesh their cultures.  Of course I crammed in every stereotype I could think of to make it funny.  The drapes nearly caught fire from the Menorah candles and those of the Kwanzaa Kinara.  My kids found my Mike Myers/Linda Richman reading of it to be amusing.  The next day online, there's a video of a mashup of rappers over a scene from Fiddler on a Roof.  Zeitgeist?  Go figure.

My current WIP is a middle grade fiction for boys (girls are welcome to read it as well) set in the 14th Century.  I don't recall ever having an interest in this time period but woke one morning with the title in my head and let it ferment for a while.  I've really been enjoying the research involved as well as writing it.  Discovering the etiology or origin of words - that are still used in our lexicon today - amazes me.  Words that have survived the centuries.  Bouncer, for instance, originated back in those medieval times when a patron to a pub had to pay the fellow at the door to get in (ancient cover charge - to cover  any damage from a mead-induced ruckus) and the doorman/bouncer would actually bounce the coin on a piece of wood to see if it was real or a slug. 

Having created an entire kingdom and writing in the pre-Elizabethan speak, I thought perhaps I'd gotten in over my head and wondered if I'd really be able to do this.  The next morning on my drive to work I turned on the radio and heard some old music that I knew instantly was music my characters would have heard in their day played by minstrels, troubadours, and castle musicians.  When the music stopped the DJ said it was a piece of music from the 14th Century.  I took that as a sign that I was meant to finish writing my WIP.  Zeitgeist? 

 
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Linkedin - the Missing Link

1/20/2011

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Reading that literary agents and publishers look for authors to have built a fan base on their own (book-buying customers), I set up this website.  Then I added the Linkedin thingy (don't even remember how it happened).  So today I figured I'd click the Linkedin button to see what potential literary agents/publishers would find and lo and behold - I wasn't linked to my profile but a guy whose last name begins with the same letter as mine.  Wanting to get this fixed immediately, I went to Linkedin and spent several minutes trying to find their 'Contact Us' button.  Didn't find one.  Maybe they don't want to be bothered.  I posted the info in their Q&A section foolishly thinking someone would read it and explain what went wrong and how they'd fix it asap.  Nope.  Got an angry red X telling me to correct the marked areas.  There were no marked areas. 

So, in my desire to keep my networking flowing smoothly, I had no alternative but to unlink them.  They are now Linkedout.
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It's official. I'm a prude.

1/18/2011

1 Comment

 
I wanted to keep this blog only for writing related topics.  But I think this comes under that heading.

I didn't think I was a prude.  I've been known to use the "F" word on occasion - if I felt the occasion warranted it.  I realize the reliance on profanity shows the speaker to be lazy and perhaps the owner of a limited vocabulary, but sometimes ya just gotta.  

I grew up on the tail-end of bra and draft card burning.  I'm all for free speech, live and let lie (insert fingers making a peace sign here), etc.  But lately some of the free speech has gotten a little too free.  Certain words have slipped into the everyday vernacular of TV shows - and those that are on during 'family time'.  Words that you wouldn't utter in the presence of your maiden aunt or children are now being spouted by a lot of people (maybe even a maiden aunt or two), and quite possibly the children.  'Suck' was one of the first ones to slip into daily usage.  He sucks.  She sucks.  That sucks.  This sucks.  No one bats an eye. 

The other day in the car I heard a sound bite from a new movie, Dilemma, with Kevin James, Vince Vaughn and Queen Latifah, and it was Queen Latifah who gave voice to the sound bite - I'm paraphrasing - she said something about 'Woman (or lady) wood.'  At the time I thought, Wow, some scriptwriter thinks they're pretty hip and cool and aiming down to 'the kids'.  I was disappointed in Queen Latifah, thinking she's got enough clout to say she didn't want to say something that crude.    I guess making reference to a certain wetness isn't enough to get the point across.  Hey, we're all friends here, kidding with the guys... 

The Monday night following the Golden Globes (where we had to see a Cheshire Cat grinning Natalie Portman proudly proclaim her baby daddy (another stupid expression) always wants to have sex with her - her wee joke at his line in the Black Swan movie where his character says he wouldn't want to have sex with her character - said so proudly with her parents looking on, and her baby bump visible for all to see.  She was acting the hell out of that 'I'm the first woman to be in love and pregnant' novelty phase.  [p.s. her baby daddy was living with another woman when he hooked up w/Natalie.  As Wendy Williams aptly put it - he locked it down - attaching himself to a star.) there was a young VJ on VH1 (I think) who used Queen Latifah's soundbite as her own in reference to someone she felt warranted it (God, I hope it wasn't Justin Bieber!).  She felt the need to share w/her co-VJ and the viewing world that she had some 'lady wood'.  Her co-VJ leaned forward and to his left to check out the front of her skirt and said, "Oh, is that what that is?"  Whereupon she moved her hands to cover her 'lady wood' and asked, "Is it showing?" 

OK, I'm not gonna ask, "Is it me, or what?"  'cause I know it's not just me.  I did a little informal survey (20-60 year olds) and the verdict is, yeah, crass, gross, unfunny, and even awkward.  Joke around with your peers but don't talk like a jerk on TV.  I'm guessing this new catch phrase will be catching on and filling the airwaves.  I just don't wanna hear Betty White saying it.

Andy Rooney move over.
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    I write, therefore, I am.

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