The power went out yesterday evening, just as I was trying to get some class work done. Bleh. I had just gotten up (went to bed at 11am) and felt thwarted since I try to attend to my classes before anything else. I decided to walk into town and see if there was electricity at Starbucks.

Unfortunately, during my dusky stroll, my neurons were firing on all cylinders and I came up with two different story ideas revolving around a power outage. Luckily Starbucks did have electricity, and I sketched out one of the ideas, a sci-fi/horror thriller I'm calling "Moon Night". It involves a lunar eclipse, an EM pulse, a power outage, gravitational lensing, and lots and lots of panicky people. Basically, it's another one of my End of the World story concepts. I have the ending and main characters worked out, but the whole thing isn't outlined yet. I'm setting it on Oahu to take advantage of some geographic plot points that couldn't happen anywhere else. It could unspool into a novel. At the very least, I might write a few pages and take it to the next guild meeting.

What I should have been doing was writing blog entries for HBC and Suite (and a Suite article). Arrrh! Not enough time in the day! Writing stories is as distracting as watching television.

More procrastination:

http://kaos42.imagekind.com

and:

http://www.ebsqart.com/

and some awesome person rated my Michel Gondry page 4 out of 5 stars on Squidoo, raising the page ranking nearly 100 places to #178 in Movies and TV, and about 2000 spots overall to #3299 out of approximately 100,000 pages:

http://www.squidoo.com/michelgondry/

I just found out that one of my favorite novels from my childhood may be getting a film adaption, Terry Brooks' "Magic Kingdom For Sale". One of the most memorable of scenes in any book, was the part where protagonist Ben Holiday is trying find a parking spot in an underground parking garage and keeps spiraling down an improbable quantity of levels until he comes to a door leading to the magic kingdom. Everytime I'm in a parking garage I think about that book (and desperately wish there was a door to a cooler world hidden some place).

The film version is slated for 2008, but who knows:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0466061/

Somehow, I can't avoid the sushi train. My latest Hotels By City blog is on Kazoku.

Okay, totally exhausted, so just the link:

http://physics.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_physics_of_the_buffyverse

I just spent a large part of the past two days putting together a Squidoo page. It was rather annoying. It's one of the great Web 2.0 wonders - you create content through templates but if you know anything about HTML, CSS, or any other web technology, it'll drive you up the wall.

Anyway, a friend of mine from the writer's guild wanted to try it out, and I know Sam had asked me about it a couple of months ago, so I thought I'd give it a whirl and see what's all about. They have a neat revenue system, where you can donate all or some (or none) of you profits to charity. I chose to give 10% to KIVA, which funds microscopic business start-ups in the developing world. That means that 90% of the revenue gets dumped in my paypal account. Seeing that written out makes me feel a little greedy, but it's about what I'd prefer to pay in taxes in my imaginary ideal world.

Each topic you develop is called a lens, since it is focusing in on one particular thing. It is meant as a human-tended portal to more detailed information on other sites - which I like. Another place I write for frowns on links to elsewheres. I decided to create my first lens on director Michel Gondry, since I am currently obsessed with the inner workings of his mind. I'm sure it will pass eventually, but for now he makes a great subject sure to generate a decent amount of hits. Squidoo has different modules you can add, and one of them is an Amazon module, so there's a good chance I could get some decent affliate revenue.

I created a portrait of Gondry to use at the top of the page. I didn't want to swipe some photo then have some lawyer scream at me for it, so I saw it as an opportunity to create some original art. The uploaded image is dreadfully small and doesn't show any detail, so here it is bigger:


In other news, I sat down at Starbucks yesterday evening and scribbled out the first act and a bit of the feature script I'm in the process of writing, "In a Palace alone" (very Alice in Wonderland, which is getting weird after having just seen Tideland and The Last Mimzy, which are both riffs on that story as well). I was thinking about writing it for Gilliam or Burton, but since I have Gondry on the brain (and he seems more accessible and friendly to work with), I'm writing it for him. I'll try a shot at sending it to his agent, and maybe will get a read. This is reminding me that I need to hurry up and finish with the script I'm writing with the intent of getting it under the nose of director Vincenzo Natali (This Matter Awake). I've decided that I don't want to pussyfoot around with the Hollywood hamburger machine that grinds neophyte screenwriters to a pulp. I'm going to be decisive and write what I need to write, and not worry about money, reputation, or fame, and I'm going to choose who I want to work with and learn from. Yes, very bold words, but it is 5:30 in the morning.

Okay, I've been eagerly anticipating seeing Terry Gilliam's latest film, Tideland. I just couldn't watch the whole thing. The point where I had to turn off the DVD player came when Jeff Bridges got taxidermied (not sure what the proper term is there, but you get the idea). It just made my extremely queasy. I think a film should be an emotional rollercoaster ride, but I draw the line at throwing up.

That said, I still have a lot of respect for Gilliam. The story was interesting and creative (certainly an order of magnitude better crafted than most dreck on screen), I just didn't have the stomach for it. At the beginning of the film Gilliam gives a disclaimer, to which I though, why should he apologize for a film? But now I understand, and it's less of an apology than a warning.

I've also been wanting to see the documentary "Getting Gilliam", which was directed by Vincenzo Natali, which I'm sure will be fascinating. Ugh, my stomach still has a knot in it.

I've posted a new blog post (yeah it's redundant but I'm exhausted) on the University of Hawaii developing a campus site in Kapolei.

Someone bought a pack of my crow cards from my online store. The store might actually be able to pay for itself, though I still have my doubts. I just think it was an odd choice - there's way cooler stuff in there, but I guesss he really wanted something with a crow.

I've been wanting to do this for awhile, ever since Suite101 began allowing us to post articles outside our topic (and brought in additional contributing writers). It should be a reasonable way to expand my income potential with Suite.

Anyway, I wrote about comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. When I was still in highschool, my mom and I followed the impact of the comet into Jupiter with great interest. The article is posted in the space and astronomy section. I know, not much of a departure from physics, but I don't want to post all over the map just yet. Here is the article:

http://solar-system-astronomy.suite101.com/article.cfm/comet_shoemakerlevy_9

I had a rough weekend involving my CD/DVD burner misbehaving - and I semi-regretted having taken the time to watch "The Science of Sleep". Now that the weekend is over, I can relax a bit, and I went on youtube to see what I could find on director Michel Gondry.

Apparently, Gondry has directed numerous music videos, including Daft Punk's "Around the World". I'm not big on music videos, but this one, which came out when I was still in highschool (many, many years ago) is one of two that will forever be cemented in my brain. It was beautiful, simple, and amazing. The other one is the Fat Boy Slim video with Christopher Walken dancing in a hotel lobby (I can't remember the title of the song, but it's the one that references Frank Herbert's "Dune").

Okay, I just spent about a half hour looking that up. The Fatboy Slim video is called "Weapon of Choice" and was directed by Spike Jonze, who directed both "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation", both written by Charlie Kaufmann, who also wrote "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", directed by Michel Gondry. Wow, how cool is that?

In other news, after checking out laptop prices at the Apple store in Honolulu (at Ala Moana), I ordered an iced coffee and a decent slice of cheesecake (a reasonable portion, not some hulking mass of sugar and fat like you get at most places) from a tea shop on the top floor of the mall. Ala Moana is a very strange mall - mostly open air, though on several levels. Where I sat was in the open but under an umbrella - so even though I was technically inside, I still got a bit drizzled on. Anyway, my point is that I sat down and outlined a story that's been in my head for a couple of months now. I have lots of stories running around in there, and if they can entertain me for months on end, I take that as a sign that they are actually presentable to others (sometimes I imagine crossing over into my fantasy land by being in a sensory deprivation chamber for too long).

The story is about a shacked up couple that inherit a bungalow from his great-aunt, who happens to be a catlady, and who has also been missing for quite awhile, and is presumed dead. The couple move into the house, and it is up to the girlfriend to round up the cats, take them to a shelter, and clean out all the hoarded margarine containers and egg cartons. She's stay-at-home folk, being a freelance illustrator, while the boyfriend toils away, managing a fast food franchise. The girlfriend ends up doing all the cleanup of the house, which means she discovers the secret passageway behind the pantry that leads to---

And that's where the story really gets interesting and surreal. It's fully outlined so I know where this puppy is going, how it ends, and what it all means. The couple are mismatched, which is the main source of conflict, even if at first it seems that the house produces the conflict. It really is cool and weird, even if I say so myself, and I'll be writing this as a screenplay. Kat's dream director for this: Terry Gilliam (or Tim Burton). Tentative title: "In a Palace Alone" referencing a quote from George John Whyte-Melville: Better to love in the lowliest cot, than to pine in a palace alone.

Now if only I could write as fast as my brain thinks, I'd be able to get all these stories out of my head in a reasonable amount of time.

Oooh, I'm proud of this baby. I'm totally exhausted from wrestling with my DVD/CD burner for the past day and a half, plus I have a ton of monkeys on my back, primarily the ones that are screaming for me to set up my next classes at eclasses (which I should have done a week ago but I was working on the novel). Anyway, I'm proud because I was able to clearly (at least I think so) explain how a magnetron works. In two paragraphs. With no diagrams. Wahoo! Take that universe!

Here's the article:

http://atomic-molecular-optical-physics.suite101.com/article.cfm/cooking_with_light

My latest Netflix was "The Science of Sleep", directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Gael Garcia Bernal, one of my favorite actors. Michel Gondry also directed "Eternal Sunshine of the Sleepless Mind" which was written by my absolute favorite screenwriter, the slightly surrealistic Charlie Kaufman, who also wrote "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation". I thought Spotless was good solely because of Kaufman - but it really was a perfect marriage of writer and director.

"The Science of Sleep" starts a little slow, I don't think there is any easy way into Gondry's head, but once there - total brain candy. I love the chaos in Gondry's style - I like that about Gilliam as well - there are constant indoor breezes, clutter everywhere, nervous pacing, lots of creative felt objects (I'd love to own that felt typewriter). The low tech special effects really pop - and not a single frame of CGI. Oh, and the cardboard car - absolutely hilarious for all the right reasons. The best thing though, are the flawless performances from all of the actors. It's great casting, but Gondry is able to coax out genuine emotions from all the actors, all the time, in rapid fire. After watching the making-of featurette I can tell why. Gondry isn't a tyrant or a child. He involves everyone fairly, communicates his bizarre, complex ideas exceptionally, and manages his limited resources with great skill. His crew talks about him with misty-eyed admiration, so you know he's doing something right.

If it didn't lack a strong hook at the beginning, this would be a perfect film. Unfortunately, I think it will go over most people's heads - which is probably why it never really hit theatres (such a shame - considering the deriative tripe that gets happily lapped up by the public). The other problem is that it switches between three languages - not really a problem for me, but frustrating for most people.

Okay, entering Kat's fantasy land: As I was thinking about the above, it came to me that Gondry would be a perfect match for one of the screenplays I'm writing - the one about a children's fairytale television show that becomes real, trapping the host. I just spent 5 minutes imagining parts of the story through Gondry's vision - and oh gosh that would be beautiful. He could totally manage the complex puppetry (yup - I'm going there). Oooh, little bit of heaven happening in my head. Ahem. Anyway, fat chance of that happening, but definitely something to aim for.

Yay!

Here it is:

http://www.hotelsbycity.net/blog/usa_hawaii_kapolei/2007/03/16/onelua-beach-park/

I've been procrastinating lately by exploring Oahu. Yesterday I rode random busses and went to Waikiki. I visited the beach and also popped into the Army Museum, which is free of charge. I was going to go the the Arizona Memorial but I chickened out and watched surfers instead:

Here are some crashing waves, which inexplicably got 20 views as soon as I uploaded it:

Finally, I've been developing an obsession about King Kamehameha (dude really needs a full blown feature film made about his life - this guy was nothing short of amazing). Here is a snippet put together from a display at the Army Museum:

Chapter 1 of "Our Burning Earth" was read at the latest meeting, and a glaring grammar error was finally pointed out to me. When writing dialog, before the he said she said, inside the quotes, you end sentences with a comma. For instance:

"Why do I have an bullet in my leg?" he said.

Questions and exclamations are excluded from the rule while plain statements:

"Because that's where it decided to pop into existence when I pulled the trigger of my trusty Glock," she replied.

get commatized (I know, I'm angering the grammar gods again. If "Gravity's Rainbow" can get publsihed, I'll arrange my characters however I like).

This to me defies logic, but whatever. I've been reading since I was a year and a half old, and I never picked up on it. If I did, I'm sure I must have blocked it, because it just seems like a stupid thing to do.

This totally explains every rejection notice I have ever gotten, and possibly why I can get paid for nonfiction, but not fiction. I'm a complete dolt.

I've been hired to write about Kapolei and the surrounding area at Hotels By City (ironically, based out of Vancouver just like Suite101). My first post is about Genki Sushi, a delightful sushi train restaurant:

http://www.hotelsbycity.net/blog/usa_hawaii_kapolei/2007/03/11/genki-sushi/

My latest physics article is on one of the more vexing things about learning mechanics, just what is the difference between centripetal force and centrifugal force?

http://mechanical-physics.suite101.com/article.cfm/centripetal_vs_centrifugal

Here is the article, written by dgeek (aka David Hewlett):

http://theedgewalker.blogspot.com/2007/03/no-market-for-first-time-filmmakers.html

He focuses on one of the biggest issues and stumbling blocks for storytellers, know your audience!

Here is this week's article:

http://physics.suite101.com/article.cfm/review_the_physics_classroom

I reviewed a a high school physics tutorial website. This is my 52nd article, so I've been at this for a year now!

Check it out:

http://physics.suite101.com/

Scroll to the bottom of the page to vote for your favorite ending!

I have to admit I've always had a phone phobia. I don't have a problem calling people I know, but I have extreme difficulty calling or answering strangers. It helps if there is something critical I need to get done, and have a clear plan of what I need to say. I also prefer to call automated computer systems. That way, if I get nervous, I know I won't make a fool of myself.

But the thing is, now that I'm self-employed, having a phone phobia is a serious handicap because I can't do everything through email. I have to take the initiative on talking to actual people.

That's why I decided to look it up on the internet to see if there is any help. The first site I came to immediately cracked me up:

http://www.changethatsrightnow.com/problem_detail.asp?SDID=6100:1881

Yup. Here's the exerpt:

To learn more about our 24-Hour Phone Phobia Program, please call us at 1-800-828-7484 (+1-650-249-5120 from outside the USA) for a complimentary consultation to discuss the problem...

Wow. I wonder how many customers they have.

Edit: I found this informative article from the Taipei Times, it's the most useful thing I've found (there's a lot of hypnosis tosh out there - I'm usually unsuggestive so hypnosis doesn't work). A lot of people have phone phobia but it's very taboo to talk about - so hopefully this helps someone else as well :-)

Okay, so I thought about all of the comments the writer's guild members gave me on my draft prologue for TE. The main collective comment was to expand that part of the story. Today I sat down at Starbucks and wrote out a plot outline for a novel based on the prologue. Boy did it come out fast! I think it will be a rip to write, and will help to establish the character and motives of the main character later in the series (and yes, I've taken to referring to it as a series).It was a good thing I hadn't touched the story in awhile or I wouldn't have been able to do something so drastic.

I'd like to pound out some pages before the next meeting on Wednesday, but we'll see what happens. I've got a ton of other thing to attend to, but then again, I moved to Hawaii to write, not procrastinate with other things.

The title of this novel will be "Our Burning Earth".

Last night I went to a Women's Writer's Guild meeting at the local Borders. It was a small group, but still really cool to talk shop with other writers (writing is sort of like having a mental illness, so it's nice to have a support group). We read some pages from a fantasy book one member is writing, and it was kind of fun to critique it. I hope she didn't take anything too personally.

After that, the others were getting ready to leave, but I brought some pages of my own from "Terran's End". I was really anxious to have some feedback so I spoke up and passed out the pages (I hadn't stapled them because I didn't pack a stapler when I moved, plus it was printed on A4 paper because I haven't been able to find regular paper out here, and the font was tiny because my printer wigged out). Anyway, after annoying a few members with my inept printing, I actually wowed them. I was a little shocked frankly, because it was a first draft that I wrote a couple of years ago (when I was much more inexperienced). Everyone who read it said that they would actually buy the book, including the romance writers who don't like scifi . That's a huge compliment. Another writer said that she would have to find out where I lived and hurt me if I didn't continue with the story (scary, but definitely a compliment). Another said that my writing had "maturity" and was definitely publishable.

I came home feeling twelve feet tall.