Why Paris? Why Anywhere?

My heart aches over the atrocities in Paris last night.

What affected me so deeply is that all the people who were targeted were simply out having fun on a Friday night, trying to relieve the stresses of the work week. Some were having a cup of coffee at an outside cafe, some were at a rock concert, some were at a sporting event, while some were just walking around taking in the ambiance of a beautiful historic city.

I read something about these extremists claiming Paris was a city of prostitutes and the obscene. That's not who they were targeting, though.

Since when is having a cup of coffee obscene? Is it prostitution to sell concert t-shirts? Are these terrorists offended by rock music? Do they hate tourists? Beauty? Art? Community? Love? All of the above?

These murderous groups are the obscene ones. They are prostituting their souls for their sick enjoyment of killing people, anywhere, anytime, for any reason.

I guess the one tiny bright spot in all of this is that what they are doing is rallying the entire world together.

Yin and Yang.

Starbucks is Evil

I'm not making a political statement or anything. I'm just saying Starbucks is The Devil. Every day I say I'm going to avoid that place and every day I find myself wanting to go there. On many days, I find myself going there.

Their coffee isn't even that good. I swear they must have heroin or something in it! I just can't stay away!

Or maybe it's that I love the style of their stores. They're all a little different, but arty and inviting. Their cups are adorable, They always have some great gift items (usually way too expensive, so I wait for the clearance sales).

They have a membership plan, ways to earn extra bonus points towards free coffee and food. I have gotten tons of free lunches out of them. Of course, their coffee is way overpriced, so I guess it averages out. Actually, I think coffee drinks cost pretty much the same everywhere these days.

To top it all off, they came out with an app that lets you order and pick up, usually within five minutes. So if I'm rushing to work in the morning I can place my order and pay with my membership card via the app, rush past the twenty people in line and grab my stuff, which is waiting for me at the pick up area.

Damn you, Starbucks, for making me so addicted to you!

If only Peet's had a points program. *sigh*

Gotta run. My cafe mocha is getting cold.

Dreaming in Movies

Do you ever wake up from a dream and think, "Whoa, that would totally make a great movie!"

I do that all the time. The problem is I usually start to forget the story within a few seconds and when I wake up I'm usually too tired to write anything down. I really should, though. I have my journal right next to my bed. I may not be writing films, but I could definitely add some of these scenes and characters to my stories.

This morning's dream included aliens taking over human bodies and infiltrating the religious right. I was the only one noticing that their human forms were being eaten away by alien features. I think this little dog was aware of it, but I woke up before I could see his reaction.

Hm, it sounds almost like a movie I saw in the 80s. It was called They Live. There was one guy who could see these creatures and he was on a mission to destroy them all. But they were everywhere, in all walks of life. I wonder if that's where the premise for Grimm came from.

Maybe my subconscious was remembering a radio show I heard a few weeks ago. My husband and I listen to a Coast to Coast AM, as well as The Art Bell Show, where they discuss alternative news and paranormal events.

A couple different people had called in to say they had weird experiences. One was a massage therapist and the other was a hair stylist. Each of them were with a client when they either saw their client morph or change into some weird alien being. One woman said it looked like a hologram coming out of the person. The other said their client looked as if the human form was a hologram losing its power, like the human features were a forcefield. Creepy, eh?

Many people believe that aliens are here on earth.

What do you believe?

Spinning

Round and round.

My head was getting dizzy. When would it stop? I had been sitting here waiting for what seemed like forever. I must have gone through this cycle at least three times.

My clothes still weren't dry! And I was running out of quarters.

Damn laundromat!

California Freezin'

I'm shivering!

Freezing rain hit California the last two days. We do need the water, but I'm a big baby when it comes to cold weather.

This meme today totally cracked me up. It was a bit chillier than 63 degrees, but still we are such wimps.

Now I know why people retire to Florida. I could never live there, though. They have ginormous bugs. I'd rather deal with the cold, thank you very much.

Frost warnings for tonight. Where's my Snuggie?

Take The First Step

I was so inspired the other day when I saw this photo.

It came from the Facebook page of an author I admire, Vicki Lewis Thompson. She writes contemporary romance novels that don't take themselves too seriously. They are fun and quirky, just like her! (You gotta love a woman whose favorite vacation is a trip to Disneyland.)

The image above is a page from Vicki's writing journal. This is how she starts her novels. She figures out the who, what, where, when and how in simple notes. It's not an organized word file or spreadsheet. It isn't a character study or research assignment. It's just jotting down a few ideas and building from there.

Starting a novel doesn't have to be an overwhelming ordeal.

So, no more excuses! All it takes is that first step (or second, or third). Write down those notes on a piece of paper or a cocktail napkin. Get those ideas out of your head and onto something tangible. BAM! You're suddenly writing that novel.

Thank you, Vicki, for the inspiration!

Outlander DVD Set 2

I got my Outlander DVD set of Season One, part 2 a couple months ago, but my husband had been too busy to watch anything. We finally popped the DVD in this week. Yay!

Tonight we watched one of my favorite episodes, titled The Devil's Mark. It contains the pivotal scene where Claire tells Jamie that she is from the future. This episode had so much going on: a witch trial, where witnesses were making stuff up just so Claire would be out of their lives, a revelation that Claire was not the only time traveler in town, Claire's return to the standing stones and her emotional decision over which husband to choose. Of course, we already knew who she was going to choose, otherwise the series would be over already.

For anyone who doesn't know what the heck I'm talking about, please refer to this old post.

So now we only have to wait five months or so until the show returns for the second season. Thankfully, I have a friend who has the Starz channel. This is one show I don't want to miss!