Hollywoodland

On Entertainment Tonight last night, they covered the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Fun! The premiere was held at Disneyland! Even more fun! They showed the cast on the Pirates ride and Captain Jack Sparrow has been added to the ride. Then they showed Johnny Depp standing next to his animatronic self and it was FREAKY! But the best part? They said Pirates III is already in the works!

Here’s an interesting tidbit from CNN:

COMING SOON — MIND-READING COMPUTERS

A raised eyebrow, quizzical look or a nod of the head are just a few of the facial expressions computers could soon be using to read people’s minds.

Now if it could interpret the stories in my head, I’d be set! And my hands would be very happy at not having to type anymore!

And then there’s this disturbing story:

ROWLING HINTS HARRY POTTER MIGHT DIE

Author J.K. Rowling said two characters will die in the last installment of her boy wizard series, and she hinted Harry Potter might not survive either.

Say it ain’t so, Jo!!!

Well, I’ve changed my mind about doing part of the 1920s murder mystery in first person, at least for the time being. I tried it last night and it sucked dead canaries. Could just be trying to get back into a 1920s frame of mind (and speech), though. I’m not sure. So much for that idea. *sigh* I also wrote a bit on the werewolf story.

On the astrology front:

“When it comes to love and romance, your body is apt to turn to jelly today, and you may find yourself becoming so emotional that you can’t even function. (Oh, that’s just what I DON’T need! :banghead:) This is called love, and even though it can be heavenly, it can also be quite debilitating. You may find yourself deliberating for hours about a certain issue because you don’t want to make a move without your partner’s input. If you don’t have a romantic partner at this time, find one soon, but not today. (Y’know, the least they could do is give me a hint as to where to FIND this mythical guy. ;))”

“All you need is one true friend. (Well, I’d like to think I have more than one! Sheesh. :roll:) It doesn’t matter if the population at large doesn’t get what you’re doing. (Just as long as it’s not the book-buying population…) When someone who really gets you applauds what you’re doing, you feel like you can keep going forever. (I like the sound of that. :bananadance:)”

I finally get my latest permanent crown today. Boring. But at least it shouldn’t take long. Then I plan to hit the library. I can finally get rid of the closetful of books I’ve been planning to donate since before the move and the tornado. I won’t know what to do with the extra space! And the ladies at the library will love me.

Wrote about a page on the werewolf story last night, but my 1920s murder mystery characters have started showing up again. My heroine, Delia, has suggested the scenes from her POV should be in first person. Of course, I also have scenes from the hunky cop’s POV, but Delia insists that could work. She has a point. Other writers have done that. I could write Delia in first person and Ford in third. Hmm. Must think about this. It would require a lot of rework. But I would like to get back to them.

Watched Mystery! last night. It was the second half of the latest Miss Marple episode. But they did something very bizarre. They inserted Miss Marple into the Tommy & Tuppence Beresford story By the Pricking of My Thumbs. Why on earth they did this when there are so many other Marple stories to choose from is beyond me. Of course, it was still quite good.

Today’s horoscopes:

“There might be some unexpected communication coming from a long lost friend or old roommate today. (Hey, that would be cool!) You never know whom you might run into when you leave the house today, so stay alert. (This sounds rather ominous. Wonder who I’ll see while I’m at the dentist’s and library…?) An old high school teacher could be just around the next corner. (Now, I doubt THAT since I didn’t go to high school anywhere near here.) Perhaps a bizarre news story in the daily paper catches your attention, (um, we don’t HAVE a daily newspaper here) because there on the inside pages is a photo of the kid who lived next door to your childhood home. (Which one??? We lived all over the bloody country!)”

“Step up your efforts to make friends. (Does blogging count?) The best chance to benefit from a recent victory in a relationship arrives today. (I didn’t realize I’d HAD a recent victory in a relationship. Go figure. :rofl:) Seize every opportunity to capitalize on the most out of networking opportunities. (Will it get me published? ;))”

“You reach a turning point, and an old fear suddenly loses its grip on you. (Which one???) All that work you’ve been doing has paid off, and your insecurities suddenly seem less all-encompassing than they once did. (:rofl: Yeah, right!)”

All the talk this weekend over the death of Aaron Spelling has me (and other people) thinking about the legacy of television shows he left behind. And the crushes we had growing up watching his shows. So I’m going to bore you with my list of Hotties From the Old Days. In no particular order:

Dirk Benedict (The original Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica back in the ’70s. Before the character got a sex change a couple of years ago. :rofl:)

John Schneider (Love, love, LOVED him as Bo Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard. And he still had that certain sexy something as Jonathan Kent—Clark Kent’s, aka Superman, dad—on Smallville.)

Rex Smith (Best known as Frederick in the movie The Pirates of Penzance. Now he’s a realtor in Long Beach, California. Still looks pretty darn hot, too!)

Parker Stevenson (Frank Hardy of the Hardy Boys. Yum. Need I say more? Of course, then he turned around and married Kirstie Alley which annoyed me to no end. And then they had the nerve to buy silent film star Harold Lloyd’s house! It should have been me!!! :rofl:)

Bay City Rollers (Loved their song Saturday Night. They were from Scotland and wore an abundance of plaid. In the most hideous—in retrospect—outfits known to man. They should have stuck with kilts. ;))

Robert Wagner (How could I not love him as Jonathan Hart? He was sexy, he was rich, he was funny.)

Dack Rambo (He guest starred on a lot of shows. Sadly, he died in 1994 from AIDS. :()

Jon-Erik Hexum (He played a hunky time traveler in Voyagers, then a cover model/secret agent in Cover Up. And he died way too young and way too tragically while joking around with a gun loaded with blanks. Even blanks can be deadly when fired too closely to one’s head. I think his death bothered me more than any celebrity’s before or since. I guess because it was so stupid and senseless.)

Leigh McCloskey (Guest starred in tons of shows. And I just discovered he was Kelsey Grammer’s roommate at Julliard. Whattayaknow? :D)

John Lansing (Played Doc in the Saturday morning kids’ show The Kids from CAPER. He was SOOOO hot!!! He’s been in very little else since then which is a shame. Looks like he’s now working behind the scenes. *sigh*)

Rick Springfield (Singer, actor. Played Noah Drake on General Hospital where he is once again. Still sexy at 57! :confused68:)

Michael Gray (I first saw him on the Brian Keith Show, then later he played Billy Batson on Shazam!—another kids’ show. Now owns a florist shop with his wife in Los Angeles.)

On the horoscope front:

“Magical events may occur today in the most unlikely places. (Cool! Will I get transported to another world? Preferably one where they can cure all my ailments? :mrgreen:) Perhaps you are expecting to see someone in a certain environment. (Well, no. Can’t say I am.) Even if you do not see them there, you will end up meeting them at a special event in an entirely different place. Let your goal be your main focus, and let the details of the journey fall into place however they will. (Okay… whatever THAT means.)”

“Some powerful feelings can’t be ignored. Just keep in mind that your emotions are part of a bigger picture. You have the power to decide how, where and when you want to be involved. Listen to your gut. (Right. I can’t think of a single snarky thing to say here. LOL!)”

Writing. A page and a half last night. My heroine has three half-brothers who don’t believe her when she tells them her boss’s ex-wife was killed by a werewolf. Just because she’s not a werewolf, and they are, they think they know better. She’s pretty pissed at them at the moment.

Forgot to mention this dreadful—but in a good way :rofl:—movie I watched last night on the Sci Fi Channel. Android Apocalypse starred Joseph (formerly Joey) Lawrence and Scott Bairstow (it was nice seeing him). Anyway, this took place far in the future, but I was over the fact that EVERYBODY drove brand spanking new Jeeps. Like you’d get off the car lot right now. LOL!