That Was Zen, This Is Now

As some of you may know, I love watching Masterpiece Mystery!
This year, a new detective, Aurelio Zen, was introduced into a group that can boast of Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Inspector Lewis, Sherlock Holmes, and many others. I was looking forward to meeting this new detective, but unfortunately, I feel that perhaps my anticipation was a bit unwarranted.
The premier of Zen left me, to be truthfully honest, confused and unsettled. The story starts out with a judge being murdered. The man claimed that the judge ruled unfairly at his trial. He had not committed the crime, he was not a murderer yada yada yada. So, after his little monologue about taking revenge on the people that had anything to do with his conviction (Zen was among those people, big surprise) he shoots the judge. I'm sure it was much to the judge's relief after such a cliche speech.
Enter Zen.
Here, for me, is where the story began to go down hill. Zen is supposed to be working on a murder that happened a while back. Ah, I thought, this probably has something to do with our judge-killing blackguard at the beginning. Turns out I was wrong, the man had nothing to do with this case. Okay, I figured that perhaps the cases will be tied together later on in the show. Nope, never was. They were completely separate. I suppose the writers just wanted to make it exciting so they had a random psycho running around killing people.
Or, perhaps they wanted to stress the fact that the Italian police were corrupt and planting evidence at the whim of the government? I think they pretty much covered that with the case that Zen was working on.
I could forgive the fact that there was a random lunatic running around, knocking off people. I seriously could, although it was a little odd.
The thing that I couldn't forgive about this episode was the case that Zen was busy investigating. Well, he was busy with it when he wasn't running from blood-thirsty crazies or making goo-goo eyes at a married woman in the elevator.
What perturbed me about it was the fact that the killer (I will not say who it is, I do have scruples.) really didn't have a motive, and they said as much at the end. At that point, I was about ready to go into the television screen and slap them. In my opinion, a mystery should always have a person out for blood and a reason to kill. People don't kill people just because they're bored and there's nothing on TV; well, they don't in fiction anyway.
To deem it a good mystery, I expect an observant little Belgian man to waltz into a room full of people and take you through the murderer's every thought. If you can't have that, because it sort of borders on plagiarism, you at least have to have motive! Come on people!
Overall, I thought Zen was all right. There was nothing really 'special' about him as far as I can see. Am I going to watch the next episode? I haven't really decided yet. I'm not sure if he deserves a second chance.

Asprins Please!

Want a fantastic migraine? Just try market research! It's slow, painful, and is similar to having your brain pulled out through your eye sockets, plus it's easy to do!
To start, just write up a quick article. Have you got it done? Excellent! Now it's time for some fun, fun, fun!
Now, pull out your market research book and select a genre you think your article will possibly fit. Have you got a genre? Great! Now find the name of a magazine that you think might like your article. Have you got one picked out? Terrific! Flip to the page number as fast as you can; now read the description. Do we have a match? No? Aw shucks! Well, let's try another one. Still not a match? Oh well, let's look on the bright side, you're on your way to that fantastic migraine we mentioned at the first of this post. All you have to do is repeat these simple steps until your head explodes. Have fun!

Bet you can't guess what I've been doing this afternoon, can you?

Beware The Time Traveling Aliens!

I am writing this post as a warning: Beware the time traveling aliens!
It has to be them, it's the only explanation! Why else would my laptop stop working?
Yes, my poor computer is sick, and I'm not sure what's wrong with it. I have to take it to the computer doctor as soon as I have the opportunity.
I fear the time traveling aliens must have done something to my poor laptop after I posted that blog about their existence. I have to admit that it is suspicious that my computer crashed a few days after my little post.

Boy, I'm glad I came up with these Time Traveling Aliens, I can blame them for everything!

Until next time, keep an eye out for flying saucers!

Blame It On Time Traveling Aliens

Can you believe it? After I finished my last post I was abducted by time traveling aliens. Unfortunately, when they were done squeezing all of my information out of me, they returned me to the wrong time! It's now two months later and I haven't written a single post.
Curse you evil time traveling aliens!

What? You don't believe me? I'm crushed at your lack of faith in me. Do you honestly believe that I would just abandon my New Year's resolution like that?

Okay, okay, maybe I did sort of let two months slip by without posting anything. I'm horrible, I know.

I'll brief you on what's happened in my life after my last post.

I finished the first three chapters of my novel and sent it off to my instructor at the Institute of Children's Literature. She sent it back and said that it had potential. . . Hooray! And with the completion of that lesson I have now graduated from the course. I think this calls for another hooray. Hooray! I should be receiving a diploma in the mail within a few weeks.

Currently, I am studying to take my Food Safety Certification test, so I am reading all about bacteria and how they grow. And if I didn't have mysophobia before, I definitely have it now!

My brother and I have also bought a piece of property. It has a single wide trailer on it as well as a few outbuildings, one of which I have claimed for my own creative purposes. I believe I can transform the rotting little barn into a writing haven.
All I need now is rocks. Must have rocks! I need them for the base of the barn. The wood is decaying and I figure the best solution is to tear out all the rotten boards and replace them with rocks. So, I've been hunting for large stones. It's a hard, dirty task, but someone has to do it.
Believe me, my grandmother is going to be upset when her rock pathway vanishes.

Just remember Grandma, there have been sightings of time traveling aliens who, I forgot to mention, love stone paths.

Until next time.

Please Help

I'm going to make this post brief and to the point.
I have found out that Congress will be deciding whether or not to cut funding from Public Broadcasting. It would be a horrible mistake if they decide not to support the Public Stations anymore. They are a great source for culture, entertainment, and education, which, sad to say, is sorely lacking in most shows today. If you feel the same way, please visit  www.170millionamericans.org

I have also discovered that the Poe House is in danger of loosing it's funding. If you're a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, you can visit http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-the-poe-house-and-museum-in-baltimore/

I now feel as though I should say something like, "Thank you for your support," or "I approve this message."

Thanks for listening.

Muse On Coffee Break

Well, here I am; sitting at the computer, watching time slowly tick by.
Obviously my muse is on a coffee break, so I suppose I'll start without her.

It snowed again this week, which means my brother is home again, and with him the drama that is his vehicle.
His stupid . . . I mean lovely. . . truck is once again causing trouble.
It isn't the brakes this time; they're working great now (much to the relief of every driver in the country).
This time it's the transmission. For some strange and odd reason it has decided not to work. In other words, the lovely truck refuses to go into reverse. Fun huh?
And my brother wonders why my life flashes before my eyes every time I ride in that thing?

I've been occupying my time by re-rewriting chapter one of my novel. I have made an important decision concerning the beginning of my book; I'm afraid it's bye-bye Prologue. I know it sounds heartless, but it just wasn't working the way I had wanted it to, so it's received the axe. Oh, what a cruel world we live in!
With the draft of the first chapter complete (for the thirteenth time), it's been fairly simple to move on with the story. I have finished chapter two, and am currently working on chapter three.

Well folks, I believe that's it for the week. Sorry, you can blame my muse for the short post. I mean seriously, how long does it take her to drink a cup of coffee?

Losing to Luxury Tax

I was desperate. All but one property was mortgaged, I had narrowly escaped prison and was now facing Park Place, or worse, Boardwalk, with two houses. Past Boardwalk was the promise of money that I so desperately needed. If I could just make it to Go and collect my two hundred dollars, I had a chance to survive. If I could just make it to Go, I'd still be in the game.
I rolled the dice. Picking up my game piece of choice, the trusty dog, I moved across the board and landed on . . . Luxury Tax. Close call, right? Wrong! I promptly went bankrupt because I couldn't come up with seventy-five dollars to pay my taxes, even with mortgaging my last property. So much for Baltic or Mediterranean being helpful. They can't even pay off Luxury Tax!
If you haven't guessed by now, I have been occupying a snowy week by playing Monopoly with my Mother and Brother.
I know, I know, I should be writing, but since my brother has had the past few days off due to the weather, I haven't been keeping up with my novel or blog. I realize I've been extremely naughty.
I haven't squandered all my week, since I've gone through my file cabinet and also organized my workspace by installing an old pantry/wardrobe by my desk. It's worked out better than I thought. It almost makes struggling with that insufferable contact paper I was plastering the shelves with worth it.

Last Sunday I had to help my brother bleed the brakes on his stupid. . . I mean . . . lovely, truck. We all know how much I love bleeding brakes/toning thighs!
We bled the brakes, and when we got done my brother climbed into the truck and found out that the pedal could sink all the way to the floor with the slightest amount of pressure.
Turns out, the Master Cylinder had to be replaced and, guess what, the brakes had to be bled all over again. Can we say, "Hooray!"
Believe me, I gave my brother so much trouble over that one. Probably a little too much, since he admitted that he let me pump the brakes a little longer than necessary.
At least now he can stop the truck without locking the brakes.

Well, that's pretty much it for the week. My office is now organized, and my brother can now stop his vehicle. I have also developed a personal vendetta against Luxury Tax, so I don't believe the week has been entirely wasted. I'm planning on doing catchup work on my novel tomorrow, and hopefully will have drafts of the first few chapters complete.

Until next week!

A Week into the New Year

Well, it's been a week since the New Year began and so far, I've only ignored one of my New Year's Resolutions. I think that's pretty good, considering it's me.

My writing has been pretty productive this week. Could I have been more prolific? Absolutely, but overall I'm fairly happy with my results. I've blogged twice this week, as you can plainly see, and I'm plugging away at the start of my novel, 'Rescuing A Towered Prince.'
I've hit a bit of a snag with my book though, not a major one by any means, but a snag nonetheless. To prologue, or not to prologue? That is the question. I've heard that prologues are passe, and that people don't want to waste time on one when they could be reading the first chapter. So, should I change my prologue into chapter one? Hmmm, I can see already that I have difficult decisions ahead of me. I would greatly appreciate any opinions on the subject. Yay or nay to prologues?

My reading is going well. I'm still trying to finish The Plums of P.G. Wodehouse, which I am still thoroughly enjoying. I have to stop dilly-dallying around though, because my list of books to read is beginning to grow at an alarmingly rapid pace. I have borrowed a book from my Grandmother that I'll start as soon as P.G's done, and I also have A Writer's Guide to 2011 to read. Preferably this time I'll finish reading it before 2011 ends. Plus all the countless books lying around that I've started but haven't finished. Yes, regretfully, I am one of those readers who starts a book, gets bored, starts another book, gets halfway through, and starts yet another.

As for my mandolin practices . . . uh, what mandolin?
Okay, this is the resolution that's taken a back burner to other things. So don't look for my CD very soon. I'm going to make time to practice though . . . someday . . . eventually.

Well, that's been my week. How are your New Year's Resolutions going? If you'd like to share, or would like to express your opinion on prologues, leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

Oh, and for those of you who love a good crime story, my Grandmother is now writing a blog called Mystery & Me. She's going to start critiquing mystery books. If you would like to check it out: mysteryandme.blogspot.com

Resolutions

With the New Year's come the annual resolutions that seem really good at first, but quickly die mid-January. Well, if you're me they die mid-January, but perhaps other people can keep their resolutions alive a bit longer.
Despite the fact that I have as much trouble with resolutions living as I do with plants, I still make them every year. Don't ask me why. Perhaps I'm an incurable optimist . . . or I'm crazy, whichever one.
This year, I am resolving to write more, which really shouldn't be hard considering I didn't write very much last year. I am also hoping to read more often than I have been of late, and also learn to play the mandolin that has been sitting around for almost four years now. Hey, I need a backup plan if my writing career doesn't take off. So, if you don't see any books or articles by me just look for my CD.

I've been getting a head start on my reading resolution. I just finished a Middle-Grade book called The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh. I'm also in the midst of reading the Plums of P.G. Wodehouse, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I might blog about these a little later.

As for my blog I hope to touch base with My Padded Cell at least once every week. That's another resolution. Hopefully, since I'm posting it where everyone can see, I'll keep up with my resolutions this year. . . Hopefully.