Not Much going on today except...

Matt is too busy being a PI to do anything else so I'm left home alone...hoorah!

Tek is an asshole as usual and goes around jumping up on everyone and everything...bloody hell!

I have this great idea for a book but can't come up with a hook sentence to begin...can anyone say inspiration?

Its been too long since I have not had a job and to be brutally honest its rather frustrating.

My back, I am convcinced is completely broken and I think my nether years are going to be spent walking crookedly.

My Favourite Shows - for now

Numbers do not indicate highest rating.

1. Leverage

2. NCIS

3. United States of Tara

4. The Big Bang Theory

5. Bones

6. Life on Mars

7. Criminal Minds

8. Eureka

9. Legend of the Seeker

10. Battlestar Gallactica

11. True Blood

12. Pushing Daisies (dammitt* they cancelled the show)

13. True Blood

Hugh Jackman is awesome!

To be quite honest I did not look at the oscars last evening and neither did I plan on doing so as I had a lot of writing to do. You know when the inspiration hits you just have to roll with the punches but...OH MY GODNESS! I looked at one thing and one thing only this morning - Hugh Jackman's opening act and I was blown away by it all. The man is a genius.

Talk about total package. The man has great looks, an obviously incredible personality and I learned that he is a funny man as well. Can anyone top that? So hats off to the most talented Australian there ever was. If only his name was anything but Hugh, I'd name all my children after him.

New Book Day

Today I woke with a crak in my neck and sunshine spilling out of windows. I can't remember having left the bloody things open in the first place. I must say that while I love the sun, its terrible to have a creak with beautiful bright lights reminding you how wonderful the day can be. Well that just sucks! I figured since I had one thing going against me and another for, I should take it as a good omen and do something constructive.

I need desperately to begin working on a new book.

Did I mention that I listened to the entire audio of Neil Gaiman reading his latest Nebula Award winning childrens book - wait for it - The Graveyard Book? I enjoyed it immensely and of course I have been a huge fan of the masterful Gaiman since American Gods. Frightfully clever piece of work if I may so myself - inspiring piece of literature that anyone with a good brain for reading should pick up.

Now where was I? Strayed off the topic again I did. Ah well yes - a new book is in order after the horrifying "Confessions of a Vampire," which has left a bitter taste in my mouth and the agents that I tried to ship it off to no doubt. Shame on you lass. So I was thinking something more fanciful, less gory, more imaginative, less brooding. I shall write me a book about a girl whose paintings come to life.

Can't say more than that really. And this time I am suggesting to myself a plot. I do so hate plots as the words just come out of me at their leisure but as Mr. Holmes my High School English teacher always lambased. "You must have a plot for anything to work Miss Stoute, for life to work." Bugger that!

Its just a blooming book. Not like I'm about to sign up for helping out with world peace.

Another day perhaps.

I Love the Rain

When I first moved to the US I must admit that I was a bit shocked to find that no one danced in the rain. Were they serious? It was in the middle of a sweltering summer and buckets of pure joy was raining from beautiful grey skies with no one to enjoy it. Imagine my chagrin when I saw students racing by with their umbrellas and raincoats trying desperately not to get a drop of that liquid gold on their outfits. Now I must admit that I must have looked like an awesome fool, standing in the middle of campus with my arms outstretched, face to the sky and feet crashing into puddles as I spun around dizzyingly. (Later I would learn that with rain comes lighting and lightning can strike one dead where he stands but who cares really!)

In those moments when the sky opened I was desperately wishing that my father had moved to the states with me - Daddy is a man who scopes out the weather and can smell the rain hours ahead. With soap in hand, he usually runs out a second before it actually begins raining and we the children would join him to trek through deep puddles and get as drenched as we possibly could. So while I was thinking how much my folks would appreciate the weather, the Dean was being alerted to a madwoman on campus, my coach was foaming at his mouth beacause one of his top athletes was happily catching a cold and my Economics professor stood staring at me, mouth hung open in obvious shock.

Wet as I was I made it to class on time but was escorted out within seconds amidst the laughter of my classmates and the severe frown on an Accounting genius of a teacher who possesed nary a fun bone. I skipped and hopped and danced my way back to my dorm as happy as an uneaten clam and sat on the steps of the Administrative building enjoying nature at its best.

To this day people still look out for me when it rains because of course I never let a downpour go unappreciated. The weatherman is not always correct but when he is you can find me soaking up a good rain shower, oblivious to the hundreds of eyes staring at the obviously crazy girl whom they secretly envy. The thing is that most people would love to go dancing in the rain, they are usually scared however, that they may be looked upon unfavorably. That's life for you I guess. Me, I don't really care what people think. The rain makes me happy, it just does.

So next time you hear the tip tap tapping on your window pane look out and see what it is. If the heavens see it fit to bless us with something so beautiful, the least we can do is enjoy it a little.

Valentine's Day - A Day Later

I have never been a big fan of the Valentine's Day holiday since I believe that it is a conspiracy developed by man hating females to get those of the opposite sex to spend exorbitant amounts of money for no apparent reason. I still feel that way by the way but after having gone out yesterday and experiencing a banging good time I can now say that you do not need wads of cash to a Valentine's Day make.

That's all I have for today...later probably i'll come up with something else.

He he

Can't wait to go Home

Videos of Tek

The first video is Tek and myself playing in the snow. In the second, he has an infection in his eye but refuses to take his meds unless there's peanut butter involved. Too bad he's already eaten the entire container.

Tommorrow I Die

But for today can I just be?

I saw...I pondered...I made a video...

Its not everyday that one gets to make a video as a job application and after reading about 'The Best Job in the World," I decided that I should at least give it a try right? After all I have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain and so do the thousands more who applied. Needless to say I am sort of debating whether to send off this bloody vid or not. Ah well, here goes.

Wanna Go Home

Life gets at me sometimes...not everytime, but sometimes when I am awake it creeps up and tries to convince me that I am actually asleep. Life can be cruel like that. I have the oddest dreams that I am asleep and waking nightmares invade my every moment. I am no longer free and to be quite honest I do not know the reason why. So here I am writing this in the middle of the early morning hoping that my brain will find the difference between my dreams and my waking life. To sleep again peacefully would be incredible but alas, there is no sleep to be had here.

It’s Football not Soccer

Seriously, I am a little miffed when people correct me after I explain that I am about to play some football. “You play football?” I am usually asked in a disbelieving manner, “Aren’t you scared of getting hurt?” Well obviously not, which is when I have to go on to explain that it’s actually real football that I am speaking about, not handball.

Don’t get me wrong I love the American game. It’s fun, fast paced and the commercials are great but it can never compare to bicycle kicks, shoulder tackles or salads. There’s just no competition there. And its not Soccer either…its Football damn it!

Stephen King On 'Twilight' Author: 'Stephenie Meyer Can't Write Worth A Darn'

Well it was about time somebody said it and I will make this short. Stephanie Meyer can't write to save her life and she just keeps sucking the creativity out of the gullible teenagers who think Twilight is something special. Well let me tell you something special, it isn't!

I was mortified when I heard the accolades that trash of a novel - or should I say novels was receiving by critics in the literary world. I mean to read the thing for pure entertainment purposes only is cool but to give merit to the writing? Incesed could not describe my state and its not because I would like the success that Meyer is receiving. I would be so ashamed of myself if I had wriiten Twilight and she ought to be too.

So, when Stephen King finally came out and said that she was a horrible writer, I cheered for joy; especially after a few nut jobs compared her to JK Rowling. OF ALL THE NERVE. The Harry Potter books are well constructed, immaculately written and entertaining to the ninth degree. In comparison, Twilight is an insipid and lackluster affair that would be better off feeding the flames to keep a cold room warm.

According to Mr King., "Both Rowling and Meyer, they're speaking directly to young people... The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good."

Mr. King, while not a fan of Meyer, understands the books appeal - gag!

"People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it's very clear that she's writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because it's not overtly sexual." Say wha!

He also adds that "A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that's a shorthand for all the feelings that they're not ready to deal with yet."

Well said Stephen. Anyway, it just struck me as odd that no one was really raising a stink about the inappropriateness of the series. True, Ms. Meyer says that sex is not part of her books but how about Bella trying to kill herself when Edward leaves? In my line of thinking that is considerably worse but who am I to say anything? Its not like I am a published author or anything; just another girl who actually appreciates good literature.

A game of Cricket --- and not the insect either

It’s been approximately three years since I held a cricket bat in my hands, two years to the day since I threw a spin ball smack into the middle of a stump and much too long since looking at a game live, or on the television. I am doomed. See, back in the day when I my permanent residence was Dominica, I lived for rainy days when we played cricket in the through the downpour with our mothers screaming at us if we caught a cold.

I existed solely for pick up matches and Sunday afternoons when my dad and his team competed with opposing villages for the title of head honchos. Of course back then they substituted tea for shots for rum, were drunk by the first inning and never completed a single game. Still, those memories keep me sane on the bitter cold American evenings and early mornings when I cannot sleep because the sound of engines drive me insane.

Yesterday I spoke to my little sister who rubbed in my face the fact that she was about to play cricket with the boys on the beach. It serves me right doesn’t it? I mean I practically ran away from home to come to the US without thinking of the consequences. True, I have made a little life here for myself but what is life without cricket? It’s like telling a hardcore football fan to give up his life’s passion; like keeping a whale from the water…that’s not fair right!

And so today I wanted to remember all the great things about the game. Wooden stumps collapsing from a hit, LBW’s called before they are even made, village children playing in the dirt and rain, the spirit of togetherness and eleven players all dressed in white.

Which brings me to the subject of white uniforms; everyone wants to know why cricketers wear white? Well it’s for the simple reason that the ball is red and therefore white is the best dress for visibility. In a white background, the ball can be seen clearly by the man about to hit that cricket ball into history. I myself like to think that it’s because we are purists. The game of cricket is so pure that we do not want to sully it by wearing anything but white.

So the next time you feel the need to make fun of the game of cricket, or laugh and the wonderful men and women who drink tea during breaks, think of the millions more people out there who are staunch supporters of the art. Yea I said art because that’s what it essentially is. Cricket is a blooming art form that many have tried but few have mastered.

Think Sir Jacob Hobbs, Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar, Sir Garfield Sobers, Vivian Richards, Don Bradman and all the other cricket greats who have made the game both remarkable and memorable.

To be quite honest there isn’t another game like that of cricket (not in my book anyway). And the next time you are lucky enough to visit England, Australia, Pakistan, India and any of the 700 and some Caribbean Islands, feel free to ask where you can play a pick up game. Not only are we willing to share our art form with you; it’s always nice to indulge a stranger in a spot of tea.

Adios...and good playing.