I was shockingly brave today.

I am a serious arachnophobe.

My earliest memory is when I was two or three, and I woke up in the middle of the night and looked under my pillow. There was a spider the size of my pillow there, and I ran downstairs to be comforted by my parents.

That might have been a dream, but something else must have scared the crap out of me because when we moved into a new house when I was about four, I refused to sleep in my new room because I'd seen a spider in there. I called it "the Spider Room" for a long time.

I get nauseated when I look at pictures of spiders (including the one on this post). The few times a spider has been in my car and made itself known while I was driving (can you say heart attack?), I nearly ran off the road trying to get away from it.

My husband has become used to "saving" me from spiders in the shower or in our bedroom. (We live on a lake, so there are plenty of them.)

And as for the scenes in Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets and Return of the King with the big spiders...I can't watch. I get sick to my stomach.

I'm not squeamish about anything else: mice, snakes, frogs, crawfish, toads--you name it. Nothing else bothers me. I'll gleefully catch frogs, toads, turtles, crawfish...and I'll eagerly pet or hold a snake that someone else has caught...but no spiders. Thank you.

So, today. I had just put my youngest daughter to bed and I was alone in the house. I walked into the living room, ready to sit down and have a big cup of tea and relax...and what do I see on the middle of the wall.

(See picture.)

I can't ignore it. It's shoulder level. In the middle of a light-colored wall. It could crawl on me!

Maybe it's not a spider. Maybe it's a June bug (no matter that it's October and the June bugs have been gone since, well, June). Maybe it's one of those big mosquito bugs. Or even a Daddy-long legs. (Those don't bother me. Too much.)

No. No sirree. It's a big fat Funnel Weave Spider (I only know the name because I Googled it to find a picture). And it must be a pretty tough one, 'cause it's only got 6.5 legs. And it's about three inches from leg to leg.

Yeah. I got close enough to look at it.

Shiver.

Anyway, I hate spiders--in my house, at least. But even worse is the feel/sound of smashing them when they're big like this. That's enough to make me want to toss my cookies right there. So I have little choice. I'm not going to let it be in my living room, where I'm ready to relax.

I'm not going to knock it to the floor so I can step on it, 1) because I would have to feel it smash under my shoe, and 2) it might crawl on me when I'm knocking it down!!

Shiver.

So, I find a paper bag. I open it really big. Swallowing back the nausea, I walk up to the wall, place the bag below the spider (fingers very clear of the edges so it can't possibly touch me/crawl on me) and, using an old magazine, knock Spidey into the bag.

Quickly! I close up the bag.

I run to the back door, open it and, feeling the spider crawling frantically around inside the bag, its legs pounding on the flimsy paper walls, trying to force its way out onto my hands and up my arms...

I throw the bag onto the deck, and run back inside, feeling oh so squicky and crawly and creeped out.

But then.

You see, I love spiders. When I can't see them and when they aren't in my house. Because, of course, there's Charlotte. And also the fact that they, like bats, eat pests.

So I didn't want Spidey stuck in the bag.

So, I creep back outside, warily watching the bag. It's not moving. The closed up end isn't open. I gingerly pick up the bag, quickly, unsteadily unfurl the edges of the bag just enough so it's slightly open, and toss it back onto the deck--this takes all of five seconds--and I run safely back into the house.

Whew. I'm safe, and Spidey can live to catch a mosquito another day!

I was shockingly brave today.

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/i-was-shockingly-brave-today.html

Break out the Cider (Hard or Otherwise)

Have I mentioned how much I love fall?

One of my favorite aspects of the season is the annual trip(s) to the cider mill we make as a family. Music Man and I take our three little munchkins (who aren't so little anymore) to the cider mill we went to when we were first a-courtin.'

The mill is a real mill, on a small river, and it's quaint and contained. It's not a big fancy experience like some of the other cider mills in the area, with hayrides and large crowds and "stuff." There are trees by the little river, a few picnic tables, and usually a pig or two in a pen. Maybe a rabbit as well. A little trail leads off into a small wood for a short hike along the river. And there's also the tree that Music Man and I climbed on our first visit to the mill, sixteen years ago.

It's a lovely reminder of those early days in our relationship, not to mention a fun treat for the family.

But the best part (besides the caramel apples with peanuts and the fresh warm donuts) is the cider we bring home.

I'm a sucker for hot mulled cider. My mom makes it every Christmas, and I love the smell when I walk into her house. It's fall and winter and the holidays and comfort, all rolled into one warm mug.

I usually put cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, cloves and lemons in my hot mulled cider. Tastefully Simple has a Mulled Cider spice that you can just shake into the cider if you're in a hurry. Heat it up and bang! you've got a great-tasting drink.

And then of course, you can always add apple schnapps to the cider. Or cinnamon schnapps, depending on your preference. It's great for hayrides and Halloween parties. Caroling and ice skating, too, if we want to get ahead of ourselves.

Speaking of hot drinks, one of my friends introduced me to another great fall/winter drink. I don't drink coffee, but I like this one: she adds a shot of butterscotch schnapps and a shot of Bailey's to a mug of coffee. It's really good! (But they kind of sneak up on you, so be careful.)

How about you? Hot mug-drinks? Fall traditions?

Break out the Cider (Hard or Otherwise)

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/break-out-cider-hard-or-otherwise.html

Blogger is eating comments.

Zeek, Janet, and others! I'm sorry to say. So feel free to add below here, or wait until it gets its act back together.

Sigh.

Blogger is eating comments.

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/blogger-is-eating-comments.html

Thursday Thirteen #4

Thirteen Fictional Men With Whom I Would Run Off
(given the chance)

1. Roarke, from JD Robb's In Death series
2. Han Solo
3. Ian de Vipont, from Roberta Gellis's Roselynde series
4. Jim Frayne, from the Trixie Belden books
5. Jack Shephard, from Lost
6. Joe Morelli, from the Stephanie Plum series
7. Fitzwilliam Darcy, from Pride & Prejudice
   
8. Stuart McIntyre, from Phyllis A. Whitney's Step to the Music
9. John Smythe, from the Vicky Bliss books
10. Severus Snape (talk about brooding and angsty)
11. Edmond Dantès from The Count of Monte Cristo
12. Erik, from my version of The Phantom of the Opera
13. Rhett Butler

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen #4

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/thursday-thirteen-4.html

SnapeFest

I don't know why, when I was thinking about what to write today, Alan Rickman popped into my head. "I should do a blog entry about Alan Rickman," I thought.

So, okay. Here we are. Let's talk about Mr. Rickman.

What is it about him that is so appealing? Obviously, that voice. My word! That voice. (I wonder what his singing voice is like...anyone?)

The eyes. The intense, dark eyes.

Oh, and the mouth. Yes, definitely his mouth.

Not to mention the way he throws on the role of a character as comfortably as Snape does his cloak. Gotta love those long black cloaks/coats (Angel, anyone? Spike?).

I loved him in Sense & Sensibility, especially during the scene where Marianne is ill, possibly dying, and he says to Elinor, "Just give me something...anything to do." The expression on his face, and in his voice was so intense, yet underplayed. Perfect. If I were Elinor, I'd have swooned right there!

And anyone who knows me well also knows that if I were Maid Marion, I would have picked Alan Rickman over Kevin Costner any day. Sure, he was a little overzealous...but that was the script! Alan over Kevin is a no-brainer. Those eyes. That thick dark hair. That voice....

I just saw Love Actually recently, and once again was enamoured with the guy, and the way he played the role so sensitively.

But the role I absolutely love him in is, of course, as Snape. It was brilliant to cast him as Severus, and for many reasons.

I think Snape has become a most beloved character, that, despite what may or may not have happened in The Half-Blood Prince (which I haven't read yet, thankyouverymuch!), having Alan Rickman play him has done more to create sympathy, and a following, for the character than anything else.

I'm convinced that, despite appearances to the contrary, Snape's a good guy. Actually, the best of guys.

Based on his backstory, his trials and tribulations, his unpleasant youth...he reminds me of a person having to kick an addiction (in his case, to Voldemort and the Death-Eaters), and being strong in his own brooding, quiet, arrogant, misunderstood and cranky manner.

Plus there's the whole story that Rickman didn't want to play Snape, because he didn't want to be cast as a villain once more (and I say, what's wrong with that?)...and after a private conversation with JK Rowling in which she may have divulged some very interesting information, he agreed to play the part.

I'm dying to know what she told him, but I guess we'll have to wait until all becomes clear.

So, what's your favorite Rickman role? I'm looking for recommendations. And...has anyone heard him sing?


Edited to add: My friend Janet had a special fragrance made that she thought of as Snape's (musky, spicy, with a touch of lapsang souchong), and just just emailed to let me know she's sending me a sample of it! How cool is that?

SnapeFest

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/snapefest.html

Retro Tuesday: '80s Lyrics Quiz #6

Name the song and the artist! Good luck. Some of these are tough.
(answers posted later today)

1. I used to think maybe you loved me now I know that it's true
2. Animals strike curious poses
3. Religion is a light in the fog
4. I don't know where I'm going but I sure know where I've been
5. If you want to find all the cops they're hanging out in the donut shop
6. And there's a heart that's breaking down this long distance line tonight
7. I'm always working, slaving every day
8. Feel like I could run away, run away from this empty heart
9. Kick off your Sunday shoes
10. Daddy says she's too young, but she's old enough for me
11. He turned to me as if to say, "Hurry boy it's waiting there for you."
12. You're not naive, you must be strong
13. Darken the city night is a wire, steam in the subway the earth is afire
14. She had the body of a Venus, Lord imagine my surprise

Retro Tuesday: '80s Lyrics Quiz #6

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/retro-tuesday-80s-lyrics-quiz-6.html

Woefully behind on a Monday moanin'

Yeah. The blog's been a bit dormant the last few days, I know. I've been a busy girl. Spent the morning having breakfast with my Music Man while discussing several home improvement projects that need to be done, and then shopping for said equipment.

However, I do have a piece of news to share--and that's the cover for my August 2007 release; what I've commonly called my Phantom of the Opera book. I think the cover says it all, and I love it.

What do you think?

In other news, I got word last week that my publisher wants me to write another book in the same vein as Unmasqued. This one will be a very sexy take on...The Count of Monte Cristo. I can't wait to get working on it!

Late-breaking edits: I took the cover image down, 'cause, much as I loved it, I learned there might yet be some changes to it. So...stay tuned!

Woefully behind on a Monday moanin'

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/woefully-behind-on-monday-moanin.html

The Best Cosmo Ever...and Chicken Noodle Soup a la Carte?

The Music Man and I went to dinner last night with another couple. We ate at the most hopping place in my MM's hometown, pretty much halfway between where we and the other couple live.

It used to be a deli, along the lines of the famous Zingerman's in Ann Arbor--fancy sandwiches large enough to feed two or three, great cheeses and baked goods, and other high-end deli food. About two or three years ago, this deli added on another side and opened a sit-down restaurant that offers a lot more than high-end deli. It's fabulous!

I ordered a Cosmopolitan and when it came, it was not only the most beautiful drink I'd ever seen, but it was the best martini I'd ever had. The color was a perfect pink lemonade hue, and it was garnished with a single slice of lime. (I'm a sucker for pink and green.) Anyway, the cosmo was made with fresh-squeezed juice--you could see the little bits of pulp floating in it. Luscious!

But then there was the chicken noodle soup. You could get a bowl of chicken broth for $4. But if you wanted noodles, you had to add another $1.00. If you wanted veggies, another $1.75. If you wanted chicken in your chicken broth, it was an extra $2.50. So if you really wanted to get crazy and go for the works, you were looking at $9.25 for a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

That was more than the cost of my $8.50 martini!

Go figure.

The Best Cosmo Ever...and Chicken Noodle Soup a la Carte?

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/best-cosmo-everand-chicken-noodle-soup.html

Staying True to Character

In honor of George Lucas releasing yet another set of Star Wars DVDs, I've got to get on my soapbox about Revenge of the Sith.

I loved the original three Star Wars movies (as any child of the '70s/'80s would), and I never really saw Episodes I & II (just bits and pieces). But my Music Man and I did go to see Sith at the theater--after all, we did want to find out how Anakin became Darth Vader, and the flick got decent reviews. It was a compulsion.

This isn't going to be a review about Sith, though. This is a rant about characterization. There were things about the movie that bothered me (unending battles to name one; sudden, unrealistic decisions to go to The Dark Side to name another), but the thing that left me with my jaw dropping, the thing I couldn't understand and am still waiting for a reasonable explanation for, is what Obi Wan did at the end.

For three movies, we've seen Obi Wan mentor Anakin, take him under his wing. He's like a young brother to him. They save each others' lives, they fight side by side. Obi Wan is portrayed as the ultimately loyal, honorable man throughout all of the movies. The best friend, the mentor, the older brother, who always does the right thing.

Anakin turns to the Dark Side for what I consider pretty flimsy reasons (but that's a debate for a different day), and Obi Wan is certainly horrified that he does, and reacts logically. He knows Anakin must be stopped--and rightly so. It's a terrible thing he has to do, to destroy his dear friend, but it has to happen, for the good of all.

But it's when we get to the battle on the lava-laden planet Mustafar that things go awry.

Obi Wan and Anakin fight ferociously and Anakin ends up falling in the burning pool. He's armless and has stubs for legs. He's burning as he drags himself out of the molten lava.

Obi Wan stands there, looking down at what is left of Anakin, who is no longer a threat to him or anyone else. In fact, the man is clearly in agony.

The honorable Obi Wan that I know would have done one last thing for his friend. He would have put him out of his misery.

But George Lucas doesn't give him that. In those following moments, during that long speech Obi Wan delivers to Anakin about how he had loved him like a brother, and how saddened and angered he is by Anakin's defection, Lucas strips Obi Wan of his honor and defiles his character. He ruins Obi Wan for me by making him do--or, in this case, not do--something out of character for this loyal man.

Why?

(And don't tell me Obi Wan had to let him live so we could have the original three Star Wars movies--that's bull-oney. There are many other ways he could have allowed Anakin to be saved; the most obvious was to let Obi Wan walk away and not see Anakin drag himself out of the lava. That would have accomplished the same thing without destroying Obi Wan's character.)

So I guess my question is: was Obi Wan not really the man I always thought he was? Was this his true character, and all the time I was fooled into thinking he would always do the right thing?

Or is there an argument that he did do the right thing, by allowing Anakin to live on in agony, having no way of knowing that he would be rescued and rebuilt into Darth Vader?

Staying True to Character

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/staying-true-to-character.html

Thursday Thirteen #3

Thirteen Books I Read & Loved as a Child

1. My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George
2. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
3. The Mad Scientists Club, by Bertrand Brinley
4. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
5. Alvin Fernald, Boy Detective, Superweasal, etc., by Clifford B. Hicks
6. Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
7. The Three Investigators Series
8. These Happy Golden Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
9. Cannibal Adventure and Gorilla Adventure by Willard Price
10. Step to the Music, by Phyllis A Whitney
11. What the Witch Left, by Ruth Chew
12. The Trixie Belden series
13. Nancy Drew (of course)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen #3

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/thursday-thirteen-3.html

And the winner is....

Gypsy!

Please email me your address so I can ship off your copy of Rumble on the Bayou!

And the winner is....

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/and-winner-is.html

Humor me

There are a lot of funny books out there--or books that purport to be funny. That try it. And fail. (Fail, at least, to tickle my funny bone.)

Things that don't work for me in humorous books:

1. Keystone Kops/Three Stooges routines. It just doesn't work in books. They aren't visual. Don't try it.
2. Too many lists or "notes to self" that are supposed to be humorous. I don't mind two or three in a book, but when there gets to be too many, it grates on my nerves because it's as if the author is trying too hard. (Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society Girl, however, succeeds very nicely with its lists.)
3. Trying too hard. Sometimes this falls under #1 or #2; sometimes it's just obvious that the author is trying for a laugh by giving outrageous descriptions or setting up outrageous situations.

There are many books that make me laugh once or twice throughout--JD Robb's always do, either in her interactions between Eve and Roarke, or Eve and her female friends. In this case, it's all character-driven. Eve is not a frou-frou female, and her friends are...which leads to many humorous exchanges.

But I don't consider the Robb books "humorous."

Jennie Crusie, Susan Elizbeth Phillips, and Elizabeth Peters write what I consider humorous books. They make me laugh throughout; not just in one or two places. Again, in these cases, it's humor driven by the character and his or her unique perspective--not by putting the character in absurd situations.

So I've finally figured out that what makes me laugh out loud is character reactions based on his or her unique perspective--whether it be their thoughts, dialogue, or, sometimes, actions. But mostly the first two.

When I find a book that makes me laugh out loud consistently, I am delighted. Humor is much, much harder than drama. I know I can't pull it off.

So...a year or so ago, I was on a weekend getaway with two of my girlfriends. I'd brought a friend's unpublished manuscript to read and was really enjoying it, laughing out loud as I lay by the pool...so much so that my girlfriends kept asking, "What are you reading? Where can I get this book?" (They know what a terribly picky reader I am.)

Well, now they can...or at least, in about ten days. My dear friend and hilarious writer Jana DeLeon's Rumble on the Bayou hits the stores.

I'm going to be giving away a few copies of this book here on the blog, because I love it so much...so today, if you post a comment (anything!) on this post, I'll put you in a drawing for a free copy of the book, signed by Jana and with an extra little goody.

Stay tuned for more about Rumble. I think we might even get an exclusive excerpt from Jana...!

So....which authors tickle your funny bone? Make you laugh out loud throughout the book?

Humor me

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/humor-me.html

Retro Tuesday: '80s Lyrics Quiz #5

I loved Saturday mornings in the late '70s and early '80s. We kids would get up and turn on the TV for an hour or two of uninterrupted watching of Looney Toons, Scooby-Doo, and what I think were the predecessors to the info-mercial: Schoolhouse Rock.

In honor of the talented David McCall, who came up with the idea of using modern music to help teach kids math, science, grammar, and history, today's Retro Tuesday Lyrics quiz is all about Schoolhouse Rock.

So, here we go....give me the name of the song (and the missing words!):

1. "I got three favorite cars that get most of my job done."

2. "We hiked along without a care,
then we ran into a bear.
He was a _____ bear.
He was a _____ bear."

3. "Take your powder, take your gun,
Report to _______ _______."

4. "A man and a woman had a little baby, yes they did...."

5. "It's a bird, it's a plane! It must be a UFO, but it was _____ ______! She's a _____ girl."

BONUS POINTS: name the six subjects covered by the Schoolhouse Rock songs.

Does anyone else own the CD released in 1996 with all the cover tunes done by artists of the '90s: Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks? It's a great album, and has original songs covered by The Lemonheads, Blind Melon, and others. Great disc. We love it!

And...what's your favorite Schoolhouse Rock song?

Retro Tuesday: '80s Lyrics Quiz #5

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/retro-tuesday-80s-lyrics-quiz-5.html

The Things I do for my Daughter (or, Movies Lie)

My daughter turned 10 yesterday, and of course, we had to have the requisite birthday party. (I'm thinking of making a moratorium on birthday parties now that she's in double digits...)

She had it in her head that she wanted to replicate the scene in The Princess Diaries where Mia and her mother throw darts at paint-filled balloons to create a piece of modern art. My Music Man and I tried to explain to her that what you see in the movies isn't always...well, accurate...especially if it looks as simple as that did.

However, wonderful mother that I am, I agree to help her get it set up.

The problem was....how to get the paint into the balloons. And then, since I didn't want to fill the balloons up completely (too much paint), and if they weren't expanded enough, they wouldn't pop, I figured we had to put air in as well.

After much consideration, we decided to use a cut-off straw to pour the paint into the balloons (which were very small). We filled the balloons only about one-fifth with paint, and then took the straw out, and after wiping the paint off the edges, I blew up the balloons.

It worked perfectly until one of them popped in my face.

Not only did it get on my face, my lashes, in my hair, and on my teeth...but also all over my "I'm blogging this" t-shirt (which was, of course, accurate)...and it was at that moment that one of my daughter's friends (and her mother) showed up and walked around the corner.

(After she stopped laughing, she took the picture for me.)

And so I was a lot more careful after that, and only one other balloon popped in my face.

Things I learned from this experience:

1. Paint doesn't come out of t-shirts
2. Acrylic paint doesn't taste very good
3. You can't wash acrylic paint off your soft contact lenses
4. Pink acrylic paint works great as mascara...if you can get it on without getting in on your contacts
5. Kids are fun.
   

The Things I do for my Daughter (or, Movies Lie)

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/things-i-do-for-my-daughter-or-movies.html

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #3

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

The theme for today's Photo Scavenger Hunt is "looking up."

Audrey ~ January 2005

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #3

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/saturday-photo-scavenger-hunt-3.html

The World Premier!

Here's the unveiling of the book trailer for The Rest Falls Away. Let me know what you think. I'm very excited about it.



(Please feel free to share, copy, forward, link to, etc. this little video. That's what it's for. Like, make it viral, baby!)

(And if you'd like the code to embed it in your blog or site, email me and I'll send it to you. author at colleengleason.com)

The World Premier!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/world-premier.html

Thursday Thirteen #2

Thirteen Things I Love to Smell

1. tulips
   
2. lilacs
   
3. garlic sizzling in olive oil
4. verbena
   
5. freshly-cut grass
   
6. my husband
7. fresh-baked bread
   
8. coffee (though I don't drink it)
   
9. summer rain
   
10. my kids after their baths/showers
    
11. burning leaves in the fall
    
12. crisp winter air
    
13. popcorn

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen #2

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/thursday-thirteen-2.html

A new contract is always good.

You won't read it on Publishers Marketplace, but you'll read it here: I'm delighted that my publisher offered to buy two more Gardella Vampire Chronicles books, both to be released in 2008.

In honor of the news, I broke out a bottle of my favorite champagne, Roederer, and shared it with two of my dearest writing friends. Along with a bit of chocolate.

What do you do to celebrate exciting news?

A new contract is always good.

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/new-contract-is-always-good.html

I think I'm in love...

(No, this isn't another retro day, although if you can name the reference, I'd love it 'cause I'm blanking on who sang that song.)

I'm in love with my new guy. See what he did to me?

(They aren't great pics because it's humid and been raining cats and dogs here, but you get the idea.)

I think I'm in love...

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/i-think-im-in-love.html

To Break Up or to Be Unfaithful?

We've been together for more than eight years.

We met through a mutual friend, and since then, it's been a wonderful relationship. I've never looked back, never strayed (well, once, last year, when I was desperate for some pizzazz...but it was a mistake, and I came running back).

But lately, it's been starting to sour. I feel like I'm not being heard. I feel like it's the same-old, same-old. I feel like I'm being taken for granted.

I have a rendezvous with a new guy today, and I'm excited, nervous, and feeling more than a bit guilty. I'm doing it on the sly, though, so in case things don't work out, I can go back to my old stand-by and no one will be the wiser. (Hence the title of this blog post.)

Except that, well, if I go back, she'll probably notice that someone else has cut my hair. After all, the last time I saw her was in July, for a quick color touch-up.

But I need someone new! Exciting! Someone who'll take a chance. Someone who'll listen to me and who will have an opinion.

But if things don't work out with the new guy, how will I explain this lapse to my regular hairdresser? Should I have to? These are tough decisions.

Maybe all will go well, and I won't have to. I can make a clean break of it.

Wish me luck.

To Break Up or to Be Unfaithful?

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-break-up-or-to-be-unfaithful.html

Retro Tuesday: '80s Movies Quiz #1

Okay, name the movie from which the quote is taken, and the character(s) and/or actor(s) speaking:




1. "So you lost your job? I've lost twenty of them since graduation. Plus a wife and kid. And, in a new development this morning, a handful of hair in the shower drain."

2. "Wait a minute--he's after you. Who the hell are you?"
"Well, I'm a romance novelist."
"You're what? What are you doing here?"
"I told you, my sister's life depends on me."
"Ah, don't give me that shit. I thought you were donating a kidney or something."

3. "You're not the man I knew ten years ago."
"It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage."

4. "I'm your boyfriend now, Nancy."

5. "Ray. When someone asks you if you're a god, you say 'yes!'"

(All right, I know some of these are easy...but they made me laugh out loud!)

Retro Tuesday: '80s Movies Quiz #1

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/retro-tuesday-80s-movies-quiz-1_12.html

I've decided to be flattered.

It wasn't like there was a frenzy of bidding on my ARC over on eBay, as I mentioned last week, but since the ARC sold for more than the cover price of $6.99, I've decided it's a good thing. Plus the buyer has to pay shipping, too (there's no Amazon Prime on eBay).

(I'm just hoping it wasn't someone like my mom, bidding it up high to make me feel good. You know?)

I've decided to be flattered.

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/ive-decided-to-be-flattered.html

Five Years Ago

I was home on maternity leave with my youngest child. My two oldest were at school, and I was cleaning up around the kitchen. I had NPR on in the background, but wasn't really listening.

It was about 8:35 am. The phone rang, and it was our new au pair, a young woman from Austria, who had arrived in New York the day before and, after orientation, would be flying to us that Friday to watch our children when I returned to work the next week.

We talked briefly and I hung up the phone. All was well.

As I was working in the kitchen, I heard something on the radio about a tower, and then something else that led me to believe they were talking about an attack on the West Bank; but I didn't really hear the story.

A few minutes later, probably around 9:00, I remembered I needed to talk to my sister, who worked in Manhattan at the time. I dialed her cell phone, and when she answered, I said, "Hey! What's up?"

There was a brief silence, then she said, "Uh...haven't you heard?"

"Nnn-no...what?" I replied cautiously, alarmed by the tone of her voice.

And then she told me. And I rushed to the radio to turn it up, and there it was.

I called my husband immediately after, and he had just been watching the news on television at a customer's house.

One of the things I remember in particular that really struck me was the sound of Bob Edwards on NPR's Morning Edition saying, in a very un-Bob-Edwards, very emotional voice, practically yelling, "Oh my God, the tower's coming down! It's coming down!"

Where were you?

Five Years Ago

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/five-years-ago.html

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #2

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

The theme for today's Photo Scavenger Hunt is "food."


Rue Cler, Paris, France ~ March 2006

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #2

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/saturday-photo-scavenger-hunt-2.html

The Phantom of the Opera: Leroux v. Webber

"The Opera ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or a product of the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants or the concierge. Yes, he existed in flesh and blood, although he assumed the complete appearance of a real phantom; that is to say, of a spectral shade."

--The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux

Before I go any further, I just want to state this disclaimer: my first experience with The Phantom of the Opera was Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, which I saw in Toronto seventeen years ago. I had never watched a movie version or read the book or knew anything about it other than what the title told me before I saw the Webber musical.

I immediately fell in love with it. The music. The costumes. The set. The story!

Which is why it's probably not fair for me to write a review of Leroux's book, which I read twice: once for research for my own version of Phantom, and second, as I finished up the book, I reread parts of it so I'd qualify for Carl's Readers In Peril fall reading challenge.

But, Dance Chica asked me to, so I'm going to give it a try. Really, what I'm going to do more than review the book is to compare the two versions: the original, and what is arguably the most well-known version of the story of Christine Daae, Raoul, and Erik (the Phantom).

Before I do that, let me give a very brief synopsis of the story for those who haven't read the book or seen the movie or play (Zeek!).

The story is about Christine Daae, an orphan who performs spectacularly at the Opera House in Paris, upstaging the reigning prima donna La Carlotta, and becomes the obsession of not one, but two men. Erik, also known as the Phantom of the Opera, and Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, one of the gentry.

Raoul is a childhood friend who comes back into her life at the beginning of the story, and Erik is a man with a deformed face who hides beneath the Opera House in his lair, and "haunts" the theater. Erik becomes Christine's singing tutor, under the guise of pretending he is an angel sent to her by her father, who died several years earlier. That's the crux of the story. As to how it ends, well, I'm trying not to give away spoilers.

So, on to the comparison.

First, let me say that Webber was quite faithful to Leroux's original story in many ways, some of which surprised me.

For example, Christine does call the Phantom her "Angel of Music," which I had wondered about. And the Opera Ghost (Erik) does send letters to the managers of the theater, asking for his salary. There is a masquerade ball in both versions. There is a graveyard scene in both versions where Christine visits her father's grave and the Phantom is there, trying to lure her to him. Erik does write an opera called "Don Juan Triumphant." Lots of basic similarities.

In the film version of the Webber musical, there's an additional scene: of Raoul in the circular room with mirrors, trying to fight the Phantom. That, too, is taken from the book.

There are some things that Webber left out, understandably so, due to the constraints of his choice of medium.

In the book, the Vicomte de Chagny (Raoul) has an older brother, the Comte. The Comte actually is the so-called villain in the original book, along with the Phantom, in that he does not want Raoul to marry beneath him--he tries to obstruct any possibility of marriage between Christine and Raoul.

Also, in the book, there is this mysterious character known only as The Persian. He comes in about halfway through the book and is a device used, through his conversations with Raoul, to fill us in on Erik's (the Phantom's) backstory--where he was before he was in Paris, how he comes to know so much about torture chambers and engineering, and how to navigate from under the theater to the Phantom's underground lair.

After being immersed in the Webber version (I've owned the soundtrack since I first saw the musical, have seen the musical a dozen times, and also own the movie), I must admit I found the book to be a disappointment to my romantic's heart. The main reason is that the book is not the love story that Webber turned it into; it's more of a mystery, told in what I would call a dry precursor to our popular police procedural novels.

I didn't find it particularly suspenseful or creepy. It's not really a thriller. It has a gothic feel to it, but in a removed sort of fashion.

It is a love story between Raoul and Christine. And the story of Erik's obsessive love for Christine, although in the book, there's very little sympathy built in for Erik. Webber romanticized Erik and his passion for Christine, and I'm not ashamed to say that I prefer his version.

And, I am sorry to say, there is no scene in the book that even slightly relates to the famous Point of No Return scene from the film/musical.

I think Leroux must be given his due, however. He wrote a novel with a storyline that has fascinated us for over a century now, inspiring the creation of many different movie versions, and the most lucrative entertainment enterprise of all time (src: Wikipedia). He wrote a type of novel with a unique (at that time) structure in which the story is told mainly through a series of interviews with the characters, as in a police procedural.

I expected more suspense, and more of a ghostly feel to the book. But, as I said right off, I know my expectations have been colored by my first exposure to the book. It would be impossible for me to judge the book based on its own merit, unfortunately.

So. For those of you who have read the book, what do you think? What did you like about it? Dislike? The phone lines are open.

The Phantom of the Opera: Leroux v. Webber

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/09/phantom-of-opera-leroux-v-webber.html