Cultural Revolutionary

Somewhere along the way, Halloween has become more of an adult holiday than a child’s night of candy, mischief and fun. Of course, I would be a hypocrite to complain. I love Halloween in a way that no adult should. Granted, one might argue that I am adult-like in years only. Still, it seems that instead of tricks and treats that All Hallows Eve is more about booze and boobs these days (once again, not that I am complaining).

Last night, the Saturday before the fright night, was the big party night. After all, “adults” will have to work on Thursday morning and therefore things like hangovers would be true inconveniences. As is usual with my life, I couldn’t accept any of the 12, yes TWELVE, invites I received to do “fun” stuff. Nah… No parties for me… Instead I sat at the airport waiting for a late flight to arrive with a sleeping boy in the back seat. I did get to play Tetris on my cell phone though. Isn’t that enough excitement for one night? Meanwhile, my comrades partied the night away with the excuse that “it only comes once a year”!

In fact, last year it occurred to me that much less true trick-or-treating goes on these days. Maybe it’s fear (the real kind… child abduction, tainted candy, etc.) that keeps kids off the streets. No matter though, Wednesday, I will throw on a costume (I have multiple choices) and answer the door to however many, or few as the case might be, kids show up. The yard is decorated. Heck, I may even drag out the spooky music. And, I will take Tony out to savor the TRADITIONAL kiddie Halloween experience.

I received a couple of e-mails this week asking me how my fiction writing is “going”. To be perfectly blunt, I haven’t done a whole hell of a lot.

I have a working title. And, before someone blasts me, I know titles are usually last. But, I have had this title for YEARS. First I had used it as a journal (that I never maintained). Then I had planned a photo-ish book with the title. I’ll probably still use some of the photos somewhere along the way but I realize that the title has a true story behind it. And that story needs to be told… even though it has been 100 times before by almost as many different authors. Still, maybe my story will be a little different since a lot, OK most, of the other authors in this genre have been men. At the very least, the ones who have become wildly successful have been male.

Details will come later. I don’t think anyone knows the title except for possibly my ex who immediately loved it years ago. He’s likely forgotten it. I’ll buy the website this week and then after that’s done, maybe I will share the title and theme here. If living with a web guru and writer extraordinaire for several years taught me anything, it’s was that you never share too much until you have all of your ducks (or in my case chickens) in their proverbial rows… For those of you who know me and might be really curious, I’ll tell you… just ask. And, for the record, it’s not a vampire book- at least not in the traditional sense.

So… It’s going.

ADDENDUM: (10-26-07) Lorraine now knows the title. She loves it and the characters I have built out thus far. As soon as I get enough REAL chapters, I am sending the whole shebang to my REAL author friend for some good and honest criticism. After that, I may never write again. We shall see.

The fun part about having once worked in politics is that even years later you still hear some of the juicy gossip from the insiders.

Such is the case this week. I don’t feel badly, at all, about writing this post because this shard of information has already been “outted” on some of the other political blogs. Rumor has it that Mark Sanford (South Carolina governor) will endorse Rudy Giuliani in exchange for being the VP candidate.

It’s been talked about for years that Mark Sanford would make a good VP. And, it’s been rumored for months that he would endorse either Rudy or Mitt. Apparently, the feeling is that Mormon Mitt Romney won’t be able to pull the Christian conservative South even with the help of a fairly popular governor as his VP. Since for most politicians (and, yes, even though he has claimed otherwise in the past, Mark Sanford IS a politician) politics is all about winning and power, who would expect him to partner with anyone who doesn’t have a chance at winning…

Of course, I think Rudy will get the Republican nomination. I was hoping (read my blog from months ago) that somehow we’d get a split party ticket with Giuliani-Edwards. I knew that wouldn’t happen though. Rudy IS the only person the Republicans can front that has any chance in hell of beating a Hillary-Obama ticket. And, if those are my choices, I will certainly vote Giuliani.

As far as the VP possibility of Sanford goes, there are things I like about him and a lot I don’t like. He wrote a somewhat interesting book years ago that I believe is still available from The Cato Institute. He does have some Libertarian leanings. Unfortunately though, he also has a lot of very conservative leanings. Maybe some of that can be tempered by Giuliani (who we all know isn’t a “true” Republican)???

I guess time will tell….

ADDENDUM (10-25-07): Since several of you asked what I don’t like about Mark Sanford, I will give you a short synopsis (because it would take hours to write it all). My biggest issues with him are: he vetoed Ryan’s Law (autism bill here in SC that luckily we were able to get an override to the veto for), he is anti-choice, he is anti-gay rights, his record on environmental issues sucks, and he has aligned himself with the Republican party. That’s just a start for you… But, as always, this election might likely turn into the usual lesser of two evils deal. What a horid situation to be in yet again…

It’s that time of year again… Ghosts, ghouls, goblins, pumpkins, mummies, werewolves, and VAMPIRES! Obviously, for those of you who don’t know me very well, I am going to write about the most romantic and exciting of these creatures of the night, the vampire.

Of course, there are those of us (aka me) that read and watch vampire stuff year-round. Halloween simply makes it easier for our madness… or ummmm… bloodlust…. to be acceptable. The month of October gives us the opportunity to not only find a vampire movie on TV almost any night of the week but we can also find fun things like fangs and such in all of the typical retail places. Plus, we get to play dress-up and decorate freakishly without anyone even batting an eye. No, I am not one of those folks that somehow believes that I myself am actually a vampire. I do (in spite of my vegetarian tendencies) enjoy eating the small amount of red meat I consume REALLY rare. But, I digress. Back to the true bloodsuckers…

In honor of the season, I thought I would list a few of my favorite vampire flicks and books. You must remember that while I am enamored of the folklore and romanticicsm behind the vampire, I also love the stereotypical Hollyweird “cheese” movies. The same goes for some of the reading material. I am also positive that I’ll forget to add some favorites. Like anyone, things that I have recently read and liked are more vivid in my mind simply because they are the most current (like the Twilight series). But, I also have lots of old favorites that I can re-read 100 times or watch 1000 times (like The Lost Boys). Some of the books I mention were made into movies. And, some of the movies were originally books. Therefore, in my list I spell out what I am referring to as being a “favorite”.

Without further ado, here is my list of favorites: (in no particular order)

1. The Lost Boys (movie- All of “cheese” that I love so much. Probably my favorite vampire thing of all time. Great music and a young Keifer Sutherland. Enough said.)
2. Interview With a Vampire (movie- Who could forget the eternal hottness of Brad Pitt in this one?)
3. Twilight (books- This is a series by Stephanie Meyer that I wrote extensively about a couple of months ago.)
4. ALL of Poppy Z. Brite’s vampire stuff (books- Poppy wrote fabulous vampire stuff. Not for the faint of heart or easily offended though. Any and all of them are must reads for true vampire lovers.)
5. Blade (movies- The Blade series is good… I don’t like Wesley Snipes but I did like the movies.)
6. Queen of the Damned (movie- This is one case where I actually liked the movie better than the book… Well, actually the same goes for Interview With a Vampire. But, you should realize that I don’t actually consider myself much of an Anne Rice fan.)
7. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (book and movie- The book is self explanatory. As for the movie, no, Keanu can’t act. But hey… I saw this the night it came out and it’s a good memory. And I actually LIKE crappy acting occasionally.)
8. Love at First Bite (movie- It’s a spoof and utterly cheesy.)
9. Rocky Horror Picture Show (movie- OK, so this isn’t pure vampire. And I don’t know that it really qualifies at all. This is my list though, so I can add it if I want and there is that whole “sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania” thing. I have the entire soundtrack on my iPod since you’ve just gotta love Meatloaf.)
10. Nosferatu (movie- A true classic and must see. It’s silent and one of the creepiest movies ever.)
11. Christopher Pike’s cheesy stuff (books- DEFINITELY ultra cheesy in some regards. And, sophmoric in even more ways. But fun.)
12. Salems Lot (book- Written by Steven King. It is sometimes debated that this wasn’t meant to be a vampire book. But, once again, it’s very much on my list.)
13. Bunnicula (books- This is a CHILDREN’S series. And they’re so much fun that they just had to make my list.)

WARNING ***HUGE RANT AHEAD***

Honestly, it never occurred to me that some people have so little to do in their lives that they would actually waste their time tracking me around the internet. Funny isn’t it? The even funnier part is that the people doing this claim to despise me. While I am not sure what they hope to gain from reading this blog, my MySpace and Livejournal pages, etc., I certainly hope at the very least that they’re having fun.

Really, I am a pretty boring person. I’m also the proverbial open book. Anyone who wants to know anything about me should just ask. Heck, if you can’t learn about it on the “about me” page here, it’s probably not even juicy enough to mention. I tend to share more than most sane people would about my personal life online. But, you can all rest assured that if you’re not in a very small and very select group of people that you likely won’t even “get” half of what I write about my day to day life. Plus, if I put it on the web for the whole world to see, it’s obviously no big secret and I couldn’t care less if you know about it.

I must admit that I am somewhat flattered by some of the people that I know visit this blog on a regular basis. I see the stats… So I basically know who has been here (if I want to take the time to check- which I rarely do). Really though, if you’re just coming here to get some strange fodder on Marlaina that you think will somehow further your stupid efforts, you are going to leave S.O.L. Furthermore, I can promise you that it would save you a hell of a lot of time to just call me or send me an e-mail and ask me whatever it is that you really want to know. Have the guts to ask my friends or family… They all know everything about me and they’re all easy to find online too. Heck, I can even send you the full-size versions of the photos you tried to steal. I have absolutely NOTHING to hide.

Lastly, the people who are stalking me know it. They are the ones googling silly stuff like “Marlaina Abbott-Ross divorce” (next time please spell my name correctly since you know that’s one of my pet peeves) or “Marlaina Abbott Rick Waite”. I particularly liked that one and maybe if you keep googling one day you’ll find something interesting by using that search thread. Or, maybe it will take another 12 years or so for you to get any good gossip from that search. Of course, sometimes you just use one of my e-mail addresses to search. I truly thought you were more creative.

If you’re a friend, online acquaintance, or someone who just comes here to read for the hell of it, this rant isn’t about you. The offenders know who they are… and it’s quite sick and even sad that their lives force them to have to live vicariously through me. Plus, if I really had anything I wanted to hide, I am certainly web literate enough to be anonymous and not post it in the easiest places to find me… DUH people!

Rant over…

Back to your regularly scheduled programming…

“There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief,
“There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth.”

~ Bob Dylan, All Along the Watchtower

Apparently, Mr. Heineken was a very forward thinking man. In fact, he designed bottles for his beer that could be used as building materials after they were empty. I don’t much care for Heineken. But, if these bottles were still around I would be encouraging every beer drinker I know to guzzle the stuff just so that I could build a cool looking greenhouse…

Before everyone sends me lots of mail telling me what you can do with regular bottles, let me just say that I already know. I am WAY into the premise behind EarthShips and other sustainable building models.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/10/11/heineken-wobo-the-brick-that-holds-beer/

The Wallflowers - Three Marlenas

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And I think that I disagree that this is my hidden talent… But I won’t divulge what my real talent is…

Oh yeah… That’s right… They were with me and other than my family they have known me longer than almost anyone else. At the very least the three of them know me better than almost anyone. The stories the four of us will tell our kids someday (when they are MUCH older) are frightening. Getting old is SCARY and I am just now starting to realize that fact.