THE DEVIL INSIDE belongs in a Red Box

As a huge horror movie fan, I couldn't wait to see THE DEVIL INSIDE



The first half was intriguing, mainly because of the argument: are people possessed by demons or merely psychotic? The scene in the hospital room chilled me to the bone. Whoever played the possessed mother deserves an Oscar nod simply for "acting" like some  my patients.

As for the rest of the movie...well, this sums it up:



The original EXORCIST is still a thousand times better. Lame ending, too. Wait for cable.

GRAPEMO 2012: Gearing Up!

YES, it's true: GRAPEMO 2012 begins on Feb. 1st.

This will be our FIFTH Annual Grapemo Writing Month--can't you believe it? For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, let me give you a little background. Grapemo (dubbed that by the brilliant OPHELIALAUGHS is based on National Novel Writing Month. NaNo is awesome, a great way to jumpstart a writing project--but a lot of writers, put off by required 50k word count, often drop out. Myself included. Not in a million years would I ever knock NaNo--both THE UNQUIET and SAY THE WORD started out as NaNo novels--but it can be overwhelming.

Hence: GRAPEMO!

The "rules" are simple.

1. Instead of a goal set by someone else, you set your Personal Writing Goal (PWG).
This can be whatever you choose. Though many people like to stick with the word counts, whether it’s X number of words in 30 days, it can also be X number of chapters or pages. No goal is too small!

Your PWG can be an entirely new work or you can continue to work on something you're already working on, dig out an old project, work on revisions, editing, an outline, a synopsis, world-building, a decent query, a short story, an essay, etc. Illustrators are also welcome! The idea is to pick one goal and stick with it throughout the month. However, nothing is carved in stone; if you feel the need to revise your original goal as the month progresses (because all of us know how Life looves to interrupt us) that's fine, too. The main thing is to WRITE! To accomplish something!

2. You need to send me WEEKLY UPDATES on your progress, which will be posted on this blog.

3. Though not required, everyone is encouraged to send snippets of your work (up to 300 words) which I will post weekly (or bi-weekly, depending on the response) in a TEASER post. These teasers are not for critique, they are for everyone's enjoyment. :-)

Just so you know, you do NOT have to belong to LiveJournal to play (though it's free to join and we have a great YA community here). Just send me an e-mail at sassenach43 (at) aol (dot) com, tell me who you are and what your PWG is. LJ members can send me this information either e-mail or private message (preferred). Please don't send me any information, updates, teasers, etc. in any comment sections--it's too confusing for me. You CAN, however, let me know in THE COMMENT SECTION OF THIS LIVEJOURNAL POST <--click this red link if you're interested in joining us and I will add you! Anonymous posts are screened, but accepted. :-)


GRAPEMO is fun, laid-back, and a wonderful way to get some serious work done! Though NOT a contest in any way, shape, or form, there will be a random drawing at the end...and a token of my appreciation

I'll give more specifics very soon, e.g. when and how to submit goals, updates, teasers, etc. Please, please consider joining me for a month of writing, fun, comradery, camaradarie (however you want to spell the damn word) and inspiration!

When asked, "How do you write?" I invariably answer, "one word at a time."

A quote from

Tuesday 5 (since I blew it off last Friday)

1. Shorted a day this pay period on my schedule, I decided to go in Sunday night and work 3-ll. Then, naturally, they asked me to work a double, so I stayed till 7:30 the next morning. Monday was a blur. Today I'm refreshed and trying to get some writing done. I don't know what I'm trying to write, but I'm writing...sort of.

2. The temperature rose, so I went from having 6 inches of snow in my back yard to having a LAKE within 24 hrs. No water in the house so far, but Eli is such a wimp I have to take him out front on a leash. He's totally offended that I expect him to do his business out there.

3. Speaking of Eli, his friend Doakes, a six-month-old Doberman, came over to play the other day. Doakes is already bigger than Eli, who weighs 65 pounds. Hubby freaked out with all the snarling and growling, though they were playing--ttrust me, I know the difference. The play date was cut short. Hubby is recuperating from the trauma of two massive beasts rolling around in his (small) sacred space.

3. Anyone know how to BLOCK numbers on your cell phone?

4. We had Grandma over for the holidays. Again, once the gifts were opened, she totally forgot it was Christmas. Getting her up and down the steps to the john has become a nightmare, plus Eli ate all her extra Depends. Another play date cut short. She's still a riot, though. :-)

5. We are expecting another baby this summer...which will--YIKES!--make me a GREAT-great-aunt.



Yep, just sitting here waiting for the big day...

Wordless Wednesday

PEOPLE Magazine: A Look Back

Ohhh-my-god, I'm currently in GOSSIP-HO HEAVEN thanks to The Complete PEOPLE MAGAZINE Archive.

PEOPLE came out when I was in my late teens. I distinctly remember buying the Very First Issue at Tower City (before it was even called Tower City) and reading it on the rapid transit on my way home from nursing school.

This was the issue--



--and the stories inside included interviews with Patty Hearst's parents, Lee Harvey Oswald's widow, and William Peter Blatty whose novel The Exorcist had recently been made into a film that caused moviegoers to pass out, puke in the aisles, and--allegedly--have themselves voluntarily committed.

Looking back at these covers from the first year alone was like stepping into a time machine for me.

I remember when 12-year-old Ted Kennedy Jr. lost his leg from cancer:



When 10-year-old Tatum O’Neal won an Oscar for Paper Moon:



When Pat Nixon kept her mouth shut about her I-Am-Not-A-Crook hubby:



When Mary Tyler Moore flipped her knit cap into the air every Saturday night at 9 p.m.:



When Paul Newman anticipated his 50th birthday:



When Burt Reynolds hooked up (gasp!) with the much-older Dinah Shore:



When Cicely Tyson was the first black actor to win an Emmy for a "lead role in a miniseries or Movie" (The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman):



When Prince Charles, at 25 (TWENTY-FRIGGING-FIVE!) was the World’s Most Eligible Bachelor (and never answered my love letters):



Other 1974 covers announce that Raquel Welch is 33, Dustin Hoffman is 37, and Gloria Steinnem 40. Forty seemed ancient to me then. My parents were in their forties!

And Hugh Hefner, as you can see, probably had no need for Viagra even if it existed back then:



The vast majority of the celebrities who graced that first year's cover, including John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Gerald Ford, Jackie O, Ari Onassis, Johnny Carson, Bing Crosby, Richard Burton, Charles Bronson, Rock Hudson, Telly Savalas, and Jack Lemmon have since passed away. Having subscribed to this gossip rag magazine for several decades now, I'm sorry I didn't hang onto these old issues.

Even if you're not a PEOPLE fan--check it out. :-)

Now, if you'll excuse, kiddies, I've gotta grab my cane and hobble over to the ice box for some prunes...

LIPS FROM HELL (and other disasters)

OMG-WTF-Plastic-Surgery-Gone-Wrong Sure, the article is a year old, but my morbid fascination with this stuff never ceases.

If You're Editing...and You Need a Laugh...

A Christmas Friday 10

Nope, haven't blogged for a while. For those of you who saw my locked post a couple of weeks back, dealing with that threw me out of the loop for a while. But here I am. With Christmas two days away, I'm happy to announce that:

1. I finished all my shopping and managed to navigate every store without one single physical or even verbal altercation.

2. I wrapped every item (up till 3 a.m. last night doing it) and could actually climb up off the floor by myself without calling 9-1-1. My knees, however, may never be the same.

3. I found a happy medium between "cheap" and "extravagant." Well...I'm happy with it, anyway.

4. I'm officially flipping the bird to anyone out there who says gift cards are a crummy idea. I think they're a better idea than lottery tickets unless...yanno...it's a Guaranteed Win.

5. I'm loving my Nook and seriously hoping that Santa will be kind enough to load it up for me.

6. I ordered clothes for Grandma from some geriatric online "boutique" and literally shrieked in horror when I opened the package. DUDE! When I am that old? Please do NOT attempt to dress me in flowered dusters, dammit!

7. For the first time in several decades, because I am working, I will not be home on Christmas morning. *sniff*

8. Do you realize there is not ONE SINGLE TOY I can buy Elijah for Christmas that won't end up in his lower colon within 24 hours?

9. If nothing else, at least my hair will look spectacular for the holidays. :-)

10. The best thing? I have another Christmas to celebrate on January 7th and a whole 'nother paycheck on January 6th!

HAVE A WARM, SAFE, AND HAPPY HOLIDAY, EVERYONE!

If You're Wondering What Happened to Martha...

...here she is, on the cover of another book:



Original:



It's kind of like running into an old friend, isn't it? :-)

AFTER OBSESSION Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel

AFTER OBSESSION by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel.



INVITATION: When you ask him in,
INFESTATION: When he destroys your home.
OBSESSION: When he destroys your body.
POSSESSION: When there is no coming back.

This story almost stopped my heart more than once. It's riveting (and scary!) and the dual POVs are beautifully done. Congrats, Carrie and Steven--what an awesome team!!!!

From Amazon:Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can't stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something-or someone- is haunting them. They're wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it's neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It's Alan's cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life-and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.

Loved it, loved it! :-)

Whining and Bored

I sincerely hope I never come down with a fatal disease. If I am THIS CRABBY with a simple head cold, I can't imagine how I'd behave if I were really sick.



I took a high-powered cold tablet at 1 p.m. yesterday. Next thing I knew it was dinnertime. I woke up feeling 100% better...and at midnight I was still awake. I finally went to sleep (after watching RED DRAGON for the sixty-eleventh time) and woke up at nine this morning feeling almost as crappy as I felt yesterday morning at this time.

I rarely get sick. In fact I brag about this on a regular basis. People can be dropping like flies all around me and I won't have so much as a sniffle. I always believed that working as nurse for so many years has given me an immune system of Herculean proportions. I've never had the flu in my entire adult life. This simple cold, however, has knocked me on my ass. Being knocked on my ass means I am bored beyond belief.

I don't do well with boredom, either. I once quit a job because I could pass meds on 45 patients without ever having to look at a chart.

So this morning I took a "non-drowsy" cold tablet instead. I swear if I sneeze one more time I'll splatter brain matter out my ears.

BOO!

FRIDAY 5

1. THE UNQUIET is available for pre-order on Amazon.

The official pub date looks like July 17th. :) :)

2.

3601 / 50000 words. 7% done!

3. Birthday party tonight.

4. SCBWI brunch tomorrow.

5. Q: How do you tell the difference between a gall bladder attack and a heart attack?
    A: When you wake up in the morning, you know it wasn't your heart.
    Ow, ow, ow.

Wendy Wunder's THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this amazingly beautiful story:



THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES by Wendy Wunder (release date December 8, 2011)

From Amazon: Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

This is definitely one to keep your eye out for! Loved it, loved it.

Criminally Negligent WITHOUT A DOUBT

It's making me nuts to hear so many people say that Michael Jackson was an addict, and therefore responsible for his own death.

People. Michael Jackson doctor-shopped till he found someone--Conrad Murray--who agreed to give him GENERAL ANESTHESIA every night in his own bed. Every other medical practitioner he asked turned down this outrageous request. Why? Because propofol is NOT. EVER. GIVEN. outside of the O.R. or ICUs. It's unheard of. It's beyond comprehension.



Propofol is not a sleep aid. You are not "sleeping" when you are given this drug. YOU ARE UNCONSCIOUS. You need to be heavily monitored--vital signs, oxygenation, airway, EKG, etc.--NONE of which Dr, Murray had, other than a rinky-dink pulse ox machine anyone can buy online--because you can stop breathing at any moment.
You need emergency equipment: a breathing tube, emergency paddles, medications like epinephrine, etc. Again, none of which Dr. Murray had at hand. The fact that he was found doing CPR with Michael still on the bed instead of pulling him to the floor convinces me he wouldn't have known what to do with the paddles if he had them.

Before undergoing anesthesia, you're aren't allowed to eat after midnight because you can vomit while unconscious and aspirate it into your lungs. You also have to sign a release, saying you understand the dangers. This is called informed consent. Michael should have read and signed this paper every single night.

Dr. Murray rendered Michael unconscious every night for weeks, He did not keep ONE SINGLE NOTE that entire time. Can you imagine visiting your own doctor even for a routine checkup and he doesn't write one single thing down--ever?

Then, one morning, Michael stops breathing while under this general anesthetic (i.e. unconscious) while Dr. Murray was out of the room for God knows how long. What would you do if you found someone unresponsive? The same thing any FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILD has already been taught to do: Call 911. NOT waste valuable time on the phone blabbing to a bunch of other people, one of whom did call 911...not Dr. Murray. He then proceeded to throw out as much stuff as he could (aided by someone who testified in court) and never bothered to mention "propofol" to the emergency room doctors.

This doctor is so grossly and criminally negligent on so many levels, there aren't enough words to describe it.

To those who insist MJ miraculously regained consciousness long enough to administer his own fatal overdose...even if this is true (which defies logic, IMO) what difference does it make? Dr, Murray was ultimately responsible. He brought the drugs to him. Addict or not, Michael did not deserve to die in this awful manner, with his children nearby.

This is not the first time someone's been prosecuted for supplying an addict with drugs. Remember John Belushi?

"Cathy Smith stupidly gave an interview to the National Enquirer admitting that she shot Belushi up. She was re-arrested, and had to serve 18 months in prison for this little escapade." THE DEATH OF JOHN BELUSHI

Michael did not insert that needle into his own (leg) vein. Like Belushi, he had help--not from a fellow addict, but by a licensed physician who once took a vow to DO NO HARM.



RIP, Michael. You were loved.

RANDOM MONDAY

1. I've had a pathetic start to NaNo:

1246 / 50000 words. 2% done!

...but actually a very good excuse because I was revising a few pages of my wip (THE UNBIDDEN) after getting excellent feedback from Tina. This is by no means a "done deal"--but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

P.S. If anyone wants to join me on NaNoWriMo, my user name is JenG.

2. Creepy movies I've seen recently:

TV: THE RITE with Anthony Hopkins. Personally I loved it, as long as I didn't stop to analyze all the theological stuff.



Theater: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3

The first one was decent. The second one sucked. But THIS one--



--scared the LIVING HELL out of me!

3. What I did this morning: tried to shake off a migraine. Yeah, a bad one. Luckily I got a vacation day so I didn't have use a sick day or--worse--drag myself in high on codeine and butalbital. The census is down because, swear to God, all my patients get their disability checks the first of the month and they're out blowing their money right now.

4. What I am doing right now: waiting for the verdict in the Michael Jackson death trial. I'm guessing he's guilty, though, after Casey Anthony, nothing will surprise me.

5. What I am doing later: hopefully, writing. :)

If You Need a Word Meter

...just click:

0 / 50000 words. 0% done!

GOOD LUCK!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I posted an article on FB recently that supposedly "explains" away symptoms of a haunted house.

It was pretty funny. I don't think it was meant to be.

From ages 5 through 9 I lived in an ancient old house on the west side of Cleveland. Creepy, lots of dark wood, and a cellar with rats. Yes, rats.

That was not the house that was haunted, however. My haunted house was the cute little suburban bungalow I lived in after that, till I graduated from nursing school and moved out on my own.

The article said--ridiculously enough--that doors that shut by themselves are aided by "drafts." That doesn't explain how a door that slams shut can, a moment later, open again on its own.

Footsteps you hear are supposedly caused by the "settling" of the house. Oh, yes--because the settling of a house sounds exactly like someone walking up and down the hall directly over your head. Not. Any idiot knows the difference.

The article also didn't explain how, when you are alone in the basement, a hand can reach out and gently squeeze your shoulder.

Or how a sound can repeatedly sweep through your house, a high-pitched, almost electrical wail--a sound that you never heard before and never experienced since.

Or how a voice can wake you up out of a sound sleep to the glowing image at the foot of your bed.

You either believe or you don't believe. But no one can explain it away. Those who haven't experienced it really shouldn't try.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I have two adult kids living at home who work full-time, don't come home drunk or high, ask me for money, party all night, or talk to me like I'm an idiot.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!



P.S. These are not my children. I just like the picture.

A Thought on Validation

Lauren Myracle on the NBA fiasco.

Lauren says of her intense disappointment: “…it's just one more reminder not to be so invested in validation from external sources.”

So very true. Yet, as writers, from the moment we begin to put words on a page, that same validation is exactly what we crave. Validation from our first readers. From agents. From editors at publishing houses. From friends, family, and peers. From reviewers. Does it ever end? Sometimes we need to take a step back and feast, gratefully, on our accomplishments—whether it's our writing, or something else...whether humble or heroic—instead of depending so much on the praise and opinions of others.

Best, best comment ever from @librarianlost: “Husband thinks Abrams should make sticker for cover that reads: Erroneously Nominated for NBA."

Still smiling at that one. :-)

My AWESOME Box of Books!

ENVY (arc) by Gregg Olsen
DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by C.J. Omololu
AFTER OBSESSION by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel
WHERE THE TRUTH LIES, BREATHLESS, and BETWEEN by Jessica Warman
BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY by Jaclyn Dolamore
SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD by Lindsey Leavitt
THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES (arc) by Wendy Wunder
AFTER THE KISS by Terra Elan McVoy
HAUNTING VIOLET by Alyxandra Harvey
SMALL TOWN SINNERS by Melissa Walker
SUGAR AND ICE by Kate Messner
THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST by Sarvenaz Tash
TAKING OFF by Jenny Moss

Methodical Elimination of Suckage

I love when someone can read my wip and totally open my eyes to the suckage. :) (Thank you, Tina)

So I'm currently rewriting 100 pages and trying to go in a completely different direction. I can tell already it's the right decision.

Hopefully I can get through this revision before November 1st, because you know what November 1st is, don't you?

With Borders now gone *sob* I've been writing at Panera. The good thing about Panera's is free coffee refills.



The bad thing about Panera is the food. Cuz it's everywhere. Lots of it.

My faves:


Tuna sandwich


French onion soup


Danish


CINNAMON CRUNCH BAGELS!

Maybe I should switch to the library...

Un-F***ing-Believable

Libba Bray tells it like it is. Hats off to Lauren Myracle for defining the word "class."

ENVY by Gregg Olsen

LOOK AT THIS COVER!

How can anyone resist it???



ENVY by Gregg Olsen

From Amazon: New York Times bestselling adult true crime author Gregg Olsen makes his YA debut with EMPTY COFFIN, a gripping new fiction series for teens based on ripped-from-the-headlines stories…with a paranormal touch.

Crime lives--and dies--in the deceptively picture-perfect town of Port Gamble (aka “Empty Coffin”), Washington. Evil lurks and strange things happen--and 15-year-olds Hayley and Taylor Ryan secretly use their wits and their telepathic “twin-sense” to uncover the truth about the town's victims and culprits.

Envy, the series debut, involves the mysterious death of the twins' old friend, Katelyn. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Hayley and Taylor are determined to find out--and as they investigate, they stumble upon a dark truth that is far more disturbing than they ever could have imagined.

Based on the shocking true crime about cyber-bullying, Envy will take you to the edge--and push you right over.

Reading the ARC now!

Friday 5

1. I guess the subtle change in my hair color is too subtle to...um, notice. :(

2. How can anyone be this excited about rewriting 100 pages?

3. Yes, I am going to THE 7 FLOORS OF HELL!



4. Current read: WHERE THE TRUTH LIES by Jessica Warman



5. Working all weekend...see you guys next week!

:) :) :)

BEST

PERK

OF

BEING AN AUTHOR:

FREE BOOKS!!!

I kid you not. Total awesomeness. I'm still blown away when someone sends me a book of the blue. Getting a box of them is just like Christmas! :)

Dirty Little Secrets

OK, so I go from a meh book to a WOW book in less than a week:

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by C.J. Omololu:



From Amazon: Everyone has a secret. But Lucy's is bigger and dirtier than most. It's one she's been hiding for years-that her mom's out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. Tackling an increasingly discussed topic that is both fascinating and disturbing, C. J. Omololu weaves an hour-by-hour account of Lucy's desperate attempt to save her family. Readers join Lucy on a path from which there is no return, and the impact of hoarding on one teen's life will have them completely hooked.

I was hooked, from page one, and read it in one day.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go clean something...

Grape Rating
Full bunch: X
Half bunch:
Single grape:
Stem:

Stolen Innocence

I generally don't do book reviews because I hate knocking someone else's book. Yeah, I know. Luckily most books I read are pretty good. STOLEN INNOCENCE looked interesting, and it was one of the first ones I downloaded on my Nook.



"This is the shocking, timely, and inspirational memoir of Elissa Wall, the former member of the FLDS polygamist sect whose powerful courtroom testimony helped convict controversial sect leader Warren Jeffs in September 2007. Detailing how Jeffs forced her into an unwanted marriage at age 14, Elissa speaks candidly about the horrifying reality she faced as a young teenager in a devastating marriage to a man five years her senior. But what began as tragic tale of forced marriage quickly descended into madness, as Elissa's troubled relationship spiraled out of control before her vows were even spoken.The end result of the union was a nightmare of rape and abuse that Elissa suffered at the hands of her Church-appointed husband and in the name of God. Offering an unfettered glimpse into the world of the FLDS she explains how the confines of her dangerous marriage and surroundings left her with few options. Pushed out of her home by abuse, she began living in her car to avoid the crushing realities of her situation. And yet somehow, in face of this bleak reality, she never gave up on the hope that she would some day find a way out. But though Elissa won her freedom from the FLDS, she had yet to earn her victory, and here she illustrates how she used her newfound freedom to put Warren Jeffs behind bars."

However, it took me ages to get through it. And, to me, it's a pretty good example of how not to write a memoir.

Boring. Boring.

Did I mention...boring?

Under the Drill

Two holes in my teeth. No kidding. I knew I was in trouble when my nicotine gum started to crunch. Then, 2 weeks later, a filling fell out right in the middle of a cinnamon bagel.

My dentist loves me. Got an appointment this morning.

CONTAGION

This movie should be listed under When Multiple Points of View Don't Work:

CONTAGION



I give it a C+. There was one annoying character, a woman on the Let's Figure Out What To Do About This Disease committee (a CDC employee?) who was SUCH a PIA and so obnoxious that I prayed throughout the whole movie that she'd catch the PigBat disease. If I'd been allowed to her see convulsing and frothing at the mouth, I'd have happily elevated this movie to a B.

Like THE DEBT, this was another plot-driven film with little or no attention given to character development. You've probably deduced by now that I don't care for plot-driven movies. But the real reason it gets a C+ is because, after a strong beginning, the movie lagged. More than once I'd find myself thinking I hope something happens pretty soon. Then something would happen. Yay. Then it would lag again. If you're going to rely on PLOT, then by all means make the PLOT holds people's attention. The techno-babble bored me, I'm a nurse, for pete's sake.

I can't complain (for once) about the medical scenes. I thought, unlike 99.9% of others, these were very well done, although doctors don't generally stand in the middle of the hall and tell someone their loved ones have died. I let that one slide.

(By the way, did anyone who didn't know Matt Damon was in this film actually recognize Matt Damon? I didn't. He looks heavier in the movie, and--because he had nothing to smile about--his teeth didn't give him away. When I got home my husband was watching THE BOURNE IDENTITY and I thought, oh yeah--that's Matt Damon. To me, it's actually a plus when I don't recognize the actors).

So you've got a bunch of characters running around, either coming down with the disease or trying to stop the disease, and not nearly enough time spent on each one. And although this might sounds mean and shallow, all those incredibly close close-ups of Laurence Fishburn's complexion were extremely distracting. Hello! Makeup department? Can you do nothing for this man?

Finally, I was extremely ticked off because they never showed what happened to Marion Cotillard's character at the end. The best character? Jude Law, a rogue blogger with hideous (and so obviously prosthetic) teeth. He was awesome!

P.S. Best line in the movie: "Blogging is graffiti with punctuation." :)

Dear Live Journal

WHY don't my links work anymore?

Between this and all all your

I see why people are giving up and moving to Wordpress.

I pay you twenty bucks a year and I'm not sure why.

Sincerely,

A dissatisfied customer