A bit of pre-weekend catch-up

Whooops. Hey. Sorry about that. I was doing pretty well there, with the regular updates. Hopefully, I'll be back on track soon.

What's been going on? Nothing terribly interesting. Work has been crazy. Feeling a little bit under the weather. And it looks like I am going to SXSW! This is very exciting, actually. I have a place to stay, a plane ticket, a ride from the airport Friday night, a fair number of folks to hang out with, at least one writing assignment... oh, and no idea where anything is. I suppose that's what makes it FUN.

I was really happy about how the Oscars went, as No Country was the best movie I saw last year. In fact, there's a strong chance it completely reinvigorated my enjoyment of film. And I am also pretty glad about Diablo Cody winning for Best Original Screenplay. I've been called out in the past about being too harsh a judge of women screenwriters. But after seeing this:



I'm feeling damn generous.

Labels: in which our heroine, moving pictures

posted by Liz  # 5:51 PM 1 Comments

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"Missed" is done, writing is fun, and I'm hanging in there

On any given day, a good indication of my mental state can generally be gaged by the amount of emails in my inbox, as I use my Gmail account as sort of an ad-hoc to-do list. Less than ten messages, and I've got a good handle on my life. Less than twenty, and it's a typical day. More than twenty? Oy.

Right now, I'm at 18 and climbing fast. Need to sort things out. While I do so, though, let me check some items off my list and tell y'all that:

• I've agreed to cover this season of Survivor for Variety, and my first two pieces have already gone live. Come see me mock and summarize! It should be a fun assignment. I like hating people in public.
• I also wrote a freelance article for NYC Midnight, about the Los Angeles participants in their 2008 Short Story competition. It was a really pleasant experience -- got to talk to a bunch of writers about writing, and then write about it. Article came out alright too. Go team.
• And, finally, for those who have ever cared about that short film of mine, "Missed" -- well, after a long wait, you can now watch it on the YouTube.
  
  
  However the final product might have turned out, a lot of people helped me make this happen and deserve the chance to see it. To them, I say thanks. To anyone watching blind, well, I hope you enjoy.

Labels: projects:missed, projects:writing

posted by Liz  # 8:17 PM 2 Comments

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Dear TORCHWOOD,

Most people who know me will tell you, "Liz Shannon Miller, she admits when she's wrong." Because I do. I don't see any point in pretending otherwise, when the facts are against me. It's just common sense.

But here's the thing. On one of my most firmly held beliefs, I am not wrong. Torchwood Season 1, taken as a whole, is bloody awful. The characters don't make sense and neither does the plot, which is fine, because the acting is so awful that you can barely notice. You are BAD TV, Torchwood Season 1. No, you're worse than that. Bad TV, I enjoy. Torchwood, you are DISAPPOINTING. Go stand in the corner.

I have spent a full solid year saying this to anyone who asks (and they ask, actually -- I wait for them to ask, because given the choice I'll talk about good or bad TV, not disappointing TV). But I have been watching you, Torchwood Season 2. And although you have some of the same problems (okay, you have exactly one of the same problems, which is that I DON'T CARE HOW PRETTY AND FLIRTY YOU ARE JOHN BARROWMAN THAT DOESN'T EXCUSE THE FACT YOU ARE AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL), you've actually been, dare I say it, good this season? Episode 1 was predictably abysmal (slutty-sexy, but abysmally written -- seriously, Chris Chibnall, I don't get how you can have this job and also be so awful at it). But episode 2 was great. And episode 3 was all right. And episode 4 was all about a main character's toolish boyfriend, and I didn't hate it, and episodes 5 and 6... They were downright RAD. And now I'm excited about episode 7! I'm excited, goddamn it!

We're halfway thru the season, which means that you have seven more opportunities to go completely off the rails. And part of me strongly suspects that this run of not-being-awful can't possibly last. But that's the thing I like about life, and the reason why I admit my mistakes. I'm constantly being surprised. And sometimes, I really like being proven wrong.

I have hope you'll do so.

Hugs,
Liz

Labels: great britain, teacher mother secret lover, tv:torchwood

posted by Liz  # 4:37 AM 2 Comments

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Meh. Tuesday.

But hey, two links of differing nature to check out:

• New issue of Joie de Vivre, featuring another short story by me plus gobs of great writing and etcetera. Note to anyone who might actually read my story -- this one is significantly more cheerful than the last one.
  
  
• If you're a Decline to State Angeleno, your vote might not have been counted in last Tuesday's primary! That is dumb! But, via the fabulous Dan, there's an awesome petitionm for you to sign demanding a recount! No matter who you voted for, I think we can all agree that votes should be counted. So go sign it!

And that's about all I got for today. Tomorrow will be much more dynamic. Fingers crossed.

Labels: not quite like the west wing, projects:writing

posted by Liz  # 9:49 PM 0 Comments

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Snapshots

Some snippets from the past few weeks, conversationally and otherwise. It's a weird, not quite PG-13, life I lead.

Me and Aimee, while watching a trailer for The Duchess.

"In theory, I should care about this movie."
"I know what you mean."
"But I really really don't. My very soul is bored by the concept of this movie."
"It's okay. Keira Knightley wears pretty dresses in lots of other movies."
"It's about the only thing she does."

---

Sex advice from an infamous Mike: "You want to know how to give a good handjob? Here's how you give a good handjob. Use your mouth."

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My Saturday morning yoga instructor, this tiny bendy bird of a lady, after demonstrating some insane maneuver where you squeeze your torso completely behind your legs: "It really feels good, once you get into it. It's just about enjoying your body. I get seizures, and I know that someday my body will stop. So I enjoy this while I can. You can do it, too."

A few minutes later, as we come into upward-facing dog: "If I have a seizure in class, don't call an ambulance. They can't do anything."

---

Overheard -- two gentleman discussing the girl that one had taken to a party the night before:

"Did she have a good time?"
"Yeah! Everyone was looking at her."

---

Waiting in line at Trader Joe's, half an hour before Super Bowl kick-off, the guy behind me starts chatting me up. Mid-thirties, thick accent, sweet in a sad way. First, we talk about the fine products of Charles Shaw. Then:

"Was your mother a professional woman?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did she work, did she have a job?"
"Um. Yes, she did."
"I could tell."
"What, really? How?"
"Just your face. The way you carry yourself. The way you dress."
"Oh. Cool. Um. Thank you."
"Are you married?"
"I have a [imaginary] boyfriend."
"Oh. Are you getting married?"
"No, no. Not for a while."
"Well, if you need photos-" he hands me his card "-I take photos for weddings."
I look at his card. It's for his day job. He's a sales counselor for a mortuary.

And so it goes.

A girl I knew in high school plays soccer with Aimee and Lisa. Dillweed is blowing my mind with her shenanigans. Emily doesn't make cunnilingus jokes. And Rob Liefeld is fucking awful.

I may not know how my scary one-act ends. But I know what the theme is. It's the anti-Sartre.

Hope is other people.

posted by Liz  # 3:56 PM 1 Comments

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Dear Keeley Hawes,

I am a very big fan of your work (Spooks! Tipping the Velvet! That Othello where Christopher Eccleston is so shouty!), and am very excited about you being the lead of the new Life on Mars spin-off, Ashes to Ashes.

But I am very sorry about your hair:



When I'm not giggling at it, that is. The 80s! God rest it.

Back to work,
Liz

Labels: great britain, teacher mother secret lover

posted by Liz  # 12:03 PM 0 Comments

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