Food, glorious FOOD!

I was about to start writing this blog post Thursday evening when it occurred to me I really wanted Thai food for dinner. Coincidentally, so did TG, DD, and Son.

Okay, not so coincidentally. We all love Thai food.

Then I got to thinking about food, which can be fun. Even though I don't like cooking it, I do like eating it. And writing about it. In fact, I have to watch myself to make sure I don't have my MC eating something every other scene.

"Self," I say, "Ciel can not eat all the time. Sometimes she has to drink adult beverages. Or kiss hot guys. Or get kidnapped by Vikings." 

And then I think, bring on the pastry!

Okay, yeah. It's a struggle.

To the writers among you, how much does food figure in what you write? Not at all? Peripherally? Or do you describe it in loving detail?

To the non-writers, do you enjoy fiction with food-related scenes? 

On a sidenote (since I'm nosy), do you snack while you read? What's your favorite reading snack?

And since I'm rambling here, back to the writers -- do you snack while you write? What's your favorite writing snack?

When I read, I love a good piece of chocolate. And then something salty, like popcorn or chips, to balance out the sweetness. Oh, and then I feel guilty about the junk and nibble on baby carrots or crispy sugar snap peas. After which I feel virtuous enough to go back to the chocolate...

Yeah, it's kind of a vicious cycle. 

When I write, I usually just sip on hot, strong tea between brilliant flashes of genius. (Ha! You buyin' this? Sometimes I crack myself up.)

If I'm revising, I might toss in my favorite "Revision Skittles" (Skittles Crazy Cores), an idea I got from Tiffany Schmidt (one of my fabulous crit partners). Tiffany has had her life overrun by been a tad busy with her twin baby boys these days, and yet she still manages to find time to write. I am in awe of her mad concentration skillz. If she swears by Revision Skittles, who am I to argue?

Oh, man. Now I'm hungry...

Name that Blog Baby!

On Monday I was filling in for a day over at Sierra Godfrey's blog, on account of she's been kind of busy having a baby and all. While she was slacking away from the keyboard, I decided to blog-name her new baby boy for her, because she (like many of us) prefers not to give the real names of family members online. Some nonsense about privacy. You know how it is.

BUT, because I'm rusty at naming babies (thank the good Lord; there are perks to getting older), I figured a contest was in order. See the details HERE. Please go enter. 

I meant now.

Really. I'll wait. *drums fingers on sofa*

What? You say you don't know Sierra? Well, that doesn't matter in the slightest! She's very friendly, when she's not being evil. You'll like her.

Plus...listen, can you keep a secret? Right now she's kind of, um, hormonal (shhh!), if you get my drift. Post Dramatic Birth Syndrome, or something. So I'm thinking getting lots of blog-name suggestions for the little perpetrator of her hormone dilemma might just cheer her up. So, whadaya say?

I'll wait a little longer.

**********PAUSES**********************

You added a suggestion? Hooray! I'm sure it was pure genius. In fact, I'll bet you are going to win. Yes, YOU.

Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment here, too, telling me you entered. Or that you didn't enter, if that was your inclination, because you (wrongly) think you suck at blog-naming babies. But at least leave a good (lame) excuse here to entertain me. You know how I love it when you entertain me.

The "IT" Factor, aka "May I quote you on that?"

I recently watched the entire, sadly single, season of Firefly.

Again.

For the umpteenth time.

*sighs* Love that show. Not sure which idiot decided to cancel it, but, in my not so humble opinion, he or she should burn in "the special hell" Book tells Mal about in one of the episodes.

It's not only Firefly I stalk when I'm in the mood for viewing instead of reading. There are movies I have the same repetitive affection for. Galaxy Quest, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Star Wars: A New Hope (the first one), and The Princess Bride, to name some of them.

What is it about movie or a TV show that makes it special enough to watch over and over again without tiring of it?

Hmm. I'm thinking, aside from a compelling story and great chemistry between the cast members (both extremely important, of course), it may also have something to do with the Quotability Factor.

When I'm watching a show or movie I really love, I almost wiggle with anticipation waiting for the lines I love. I can't possibly list all the good ones, but here are a few off the top of my head:

From Firefly...

River: "Also, I can kill you with my brain."

River: "My food is problematic."

Book: "If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater."

...and so, so many more!

Galaxy Quest...

Jason: "Never give up, never surrender."

Alexander: "...by Grabthar's hammer...by the sons of Warvan...you shall be...avenged."

Guy: "You see? I'm just crewman number 7! I'm expendable!"

Brandon: "Oh my God, I knew it! I knew it, I knew it!"

Ferris Bueller's Day Off...

Teacher: "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?"

Ferris: "Pardon my French, but Cameron is so tight that if you stuck a lump of coal up his ass, in two weeks you'd have a diamond."

Ferris: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it."

Star Wars...

C3PO: "Let the Wookie win."

Obi-Wan: "These aren't the Droids you're looking for."

Leia: "Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?"

Luke: "I'm Luke Skywalker -- I'm here to rescue you!"

Darth Vader: "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

And the most quotable movie evah, The Princess Bride...

Vizzini: "Inconceivable!"

Miracle Max: "Have fun storming the castle!"

Wesley: "Sleep well, my friend...and dream of large women."

...and just about every other piece of dialogue from the entire movie. ;)

What does "IT" for you? What keeps you coming back to re-watch a TV show or a movie?