Reaching 38k in NaNoWriMo

So I've reached 38k but am hoping for at least 39k by the end of tonight so I can slack off during the weekend. The problem of course, how easy it is to fall behind.

If I didn't write anything all weekend at this point, I would be behind a full day. Easily made up, but if I didn't write the next weekend (especially with the long weekend), I wouldn't be able to catch back up.

And ultimately miss the 50k mark.

If I do finish this story the plan is to let it fester for a month or so, and then print it all out and try to edit it up.

Here's hoping.

Dr Pepper Delivers on Chinese Democracy Promise

Free Dr Pepper! The internets are all abuzz about the coupons to be printed out on Sunday. Free sodas for everyone!

"We never thought this day would come," Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing, said in a statement. "But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."

Oh, thank you Guns and Roses, for all your hard work this year.

Obama SmarTrip Cards

Let's just start this off with a GOD FUCKING DAMMIT. I finally bought a SmarTrip card last week, which makes the running through the station extra easy. But now there are rumors of a special Obama SmarTrip card, and I wish I had waited.

DCist writes that they'd be $10 per card with no amount on the card when you get it, making them effectively $5 more expensive than the regular old SmarTrip card.

I'm not spending ten extra dollars just so I can have a card with Obama on it though. Hopefully WMATA will use the extra money made from these to fix all the escalators. Seriously, a broken escalator is a big deal... that's a lot of steps to walk up.

What type of Blog do I have?

Typealyzer can tell you in seconds what kind of blog you have. So what kind of blog do I have?

The Doers

The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

This might explain why I have had three different story ideas while trying to work on my NaNoWriMo. It also says that I'm logical when I write, which sounds like bullshit. And I'm practical! Did it not see all the posts about cupcakes?

Thanks Dan!

Michael Moore's position on Auto Bailout

This is how I feel. Money with conditions.


US News & World Report lay out a couple of myths about the big three including that the unions are not totally at fault.

On Buying and Not Buying A Pocket Moleskin

I have started making notes for NaNoWriMo on scrap pieces of paper. Mostly at work, when there's lots of time to think. The standard advice for any writer is to carry around a notebook with you, because you never know when inspiration might strike.

I do have a notebook, one with the map of NYC that a friend gave me in high school. It fits quite nicely into my bag and, perhaps because of this, I've yet to jot an idea into it. Why would this be?

When I have the bag, a lot of the time I'm walking somewhere. Or riding the metro, where I'm reading the paper and doing the crossword. At the apartment I work at, I have a computer to make notes.

But at work, I don't have a place to put this notebook where I can have ready access to it. It doesn't fit into my apron, or pocket. Thus, the scrap pieces of paper. Work is where I have the most ideas (I have made a couple of to do lists and an outline) and scrap paper is always available. So why buy a pocket notebook when I have scrap paper?

This Week In Cupcakes

Photo from rkbcupcakes

Barack Obama surprises Joe Biden with cupcakes for his 66th birthday. How very trendy of you, Barack.

Earlier this week, Marginal Revolutions wrote about Cupzzas; pizzas in cupcake form. Tasty.

Cupcakes are still on the up and up. Eventually if I have some extra tip money lying around I'll go to Hello Cupcake in Dupont Circle and try it out. They have the cutest boxes for carryout orders.

CNN, you are behind your game

I wrote about Sarah Palin's doodle ages ago. Way back in October. CNN is not with it.

On the plus side, the Obama doodle was kinda cool.

Reading the Headlines: Dr Pepper edition

Earlier, I wrote that Sarah Palin drinks Diet Dr Pepper. (Interesting fun fact. The other day I messed up her name and instead said Parah Salin. Parasailin'. Just the way she would say it if she were actually into such an elitist thing.)

And now, I am treated to this headline: "Once a Dr. Pepper addict, she lost 117 pounds." I have been called an addict, but I am nowhere near as bad as this lady. Quoting from the first page:

Kimmie, who owns a cleaning business, would drink 17 cans of Dr. Pepper (2,625 calories) and eat so much food – fatty carbohydrates like pizza, garlic bread and brownies – that she thought she would vomit.

SEVENTEEN? HOW CAN YOU AFFORD THAT? I can barely afford 2-3 cans a day. Jesus Christ! I mean, Dr. Pepper is hella good, but you'd have to buy six 24 packs a week. Where would you have room to put them all? You'd have to have a Dr Pepper shed out back at that rate.

Lesbian Character Axed from Grey's Anatomy: Isaiah Washington is PISSED!

The big buzz on Grey's Anatomy was that there was going to be a lesbian couple. Oh snaps, really? Of course, the above scene displays how this would go perfectly: lesbians kiss while the creepy guy (think the audience) watches. Voyeuristic, no?

Now, the lesbian couple has broken up and one half has completely and unceremoniously disappeared. It's as though cardio-thoracic surgery is full of people who don't know how to say goodbye.

It's called an "organic storyline" by ABC, but it seriously sucks. And I'm not just talking about the fact that they had one lesbian couple and they got axed within seven episodes. I'm talking about the storyline. It was bad. It got to be the most boring parts of the show. And uncomfortable. Not because of the homosexuality, but lack of it. Callie Torres resisted being bisexual from the start. It was pitiful. Girl is not ready to date women. So stop forcing her to, okay? Characters can't always do what you want.

So they have her sleep with Mark continually throughout her being with Erica Hahn. That's apparently the compromise when you have a character who isn't ready to dive into the vag: "Hey, now you can sleep with both!"

And because of this, the excellent character of Erica Hahn is dropped. Isaiah Washington is understandably pissed. But this isn't (too much of) an example of homophobia on Grey's Anatomy's or ABC's fault...they just don't understand what to do with gay characters when they get them.

The revenge of NaNoWriMo

I am back on pace. Excellent. Hopefully I'll be able to crank out another 2000 words tomorrow as well to be on pace for a few more days. I'm actually a little bit ahead for today.

I went to a write in at Dupont Circle where I wrote 2000 words, so I can probably stick to this. I need to focus more on writing while I'm at work and on my weekdays off from the bookstore.

I did make an outline today of what I wanted to happen in the last 22000 words of the story. There are cupcakes involved.

Illinois only sends its best senators to the White House

Maybe someday Illinois will get to send a president to Washington in times a peace and prosperity?

Halfway through NaNoWriMo

25451 / 50000 words. 51% done!

Halfway there. Awesome. I read Your First Novel at work during my breaks, which was semi-informative. Only the first half is about writing and editing though. The rest is about getting an agent and whatever.

Here's hoping I can squeeze out another 25,000 words.