WSJ, you read my mind

Tell me this isn't super odd.

Okay, I love Dan Brown and all of his books (That is NOT the odd part). And not just The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, but also Digital Fortress and Deception Point too. Like many other tools, uh, I mean fans, I have been not-so-patiently awaiting the next Robert Langdon novel. The much anticpated follow up is two years overdue now, so every couple months I check Dan Brown's website and do a little searching to find out if there's a release date or title information or any updates whatsoever. So yesterday I decide it was time for a little DB update and I did some fruitless scouring, as no new details had surfaced.

THEN...I open the Wall Street Journal this morning (yeah, I'm smart like that) only to discover an enormous story on the front page of the Marketplace section devoted to the questions surrounding the whereabouts of Langdon's next adventure. WEIRD, no? Entitled "The Wait of the World's on Dan Brown," the article poses all the queries I myself have been wondering. It is accompanied by a humorous caricature sketch of Mr. Brown tackling his writer's block with a game of tic tac toe. Hopefully it's not writer's block, or fear of conquering the success of The Da Vinci Code, but just logistics or something like that (the article suggests he's waiting for a particular date that might pertain to the story line which revolves around the freemasonry tradition...hmm...) I would love to provide you (ha, you, the general public who check this blog every day) with a link to the article as I'm sure your breath, like mine, is bated, but the WSJ is snooty and the site is password protected. Lame.

Line up your brows before getting hitched, otherwise the NYTimes does not care

Got sidetracked while "working" today. Ended up reading about the guidelines for submitting your wedding annoucement to the New York Times. They're very strict, much like the fictional New York Journal (just saw 27 Dresses...too cute). If you submit a photo they require that couples "arrange themselves with their eyebrows on exactly the same level and with their heads fairly close together." For real?

Pages always end up getting punched (physically or metaphorically)

from the jan. 25th EW:

Comedy Ain't Pretty
Mix and match the classic '70s stand-up with the classic '70s vice

In his new book recounting the American stand-up-comic scene in the 1970's, Comedy at the Edge, TIME senior editor Richard Zoglin describes a lot of very funny people indulging in some rather unfunny activities, including drugs, violence, and touring with Helen Reddy. Can you match the comics below with the indiscretion described by the book? -Brian Raftery

A. Robin Williams
B. Richard Pryor
C. Freddie Prinze
D. Joe Piscopo
E. George Carlin

1. Banned from The Tonight Show in the early '70s due to his reputation for drug use, this comic botched a personal appeal to host Johnny Carson by showing up in Carson's office while high on cocaine.

2. He shot up Jay Leno's apartment while staying there as a guest.

3. During a stand-up gig, he poked fun at some mafioso-looking audience members, who later slapped him around in the club's coatroom, fracturing his nose and chipping his tooth.

4. He was accused of stealing material from other comedians, including David Brenner, who once threatened to "rip off his leg and shove it up his a--."

5. He once beat up an NBC Page for refusing to let his friend backstage, prompting the network to initially refuse to allow him to perform on Saturday Night Live.




ANSWERS:
A-4, B-5, C-2, D-3, E-1

Aaaaaand....

it comes out on Friday the 13th. Love it.

It's happening...

Okay, so a lot of people can find plenty of things to complain about when it comes to M. Night Shyamalan. I am not one of those people. I am a big fan of his suspenseful and crafty flicks (especially when they include Mr. Joaquin Phoenix). No matter how you feel about his movies though, you can't deny that his casts are usually stellar and each actor tends to return for another round (ie. Bruce Willis, Bryce Dallas Howard, and the aforementioned master of the tortured, brooding soul).

The next installment of Shyamalan-palooza is enigmatically entitled "The Happening." Or maybe it's not so enigmatic. Stuff will probably happen. It's an alien invasion thriller revolving around a family and undoubtedly the destruction of the world. Did I mention that it stars Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel? So choice.

The initial poster consists of a deserted street littered with abandoned cars and a tag line including the words "We've seen The Signs." Yes, Night, indeed we have.

CHiPS!

I just saw Eric Estrada.

In the flesh. Ew.

His hair is mind boggling. I don't know how he gets it to stay so flippy.

...Scott Bakula is NOT!

Oh thank God.

Scott Bakula is going to sing.

If you're in the D.C. area and ready for a little Sam Beckett and a whole lot of showtunes, then you're in for a treat. (Unless you think I mean Samuel Beckett the poet in which case you are a nerd and will be sorely disappointed upon arrival at the theater when you don't see a dead Irish poet on stage).

While he no longer finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, he will undoubtedly be wildly entertaining. If only Al would make a cameo...

Ooh Sam, that sounds yumola.

Buddy Lembeck is gone...

Willie Aames appeared on the Today Show this morning. You might remember him from such stellar programming as The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Eight is Enough, the ever popular Charles in Charge, and more recently Bible Man (huh?).

Now, I was completely ready to mock him for being a washed up 80's star who's found religion and peace and blah blah blah. So I get up and walk around the corner to the TV when I hear the segment come on (yeah, I can only hear the TV from my desk) and I'm utterly surprised at how freakishly nice he was. He looked a little crazy -- floppy bleached hair with a pale complexion to match, paired with Waldo-esque glasses. But he was definitely at peace. He even sounded rather contemplative when he discussed being held at gunpoint with his family in LA last week. Who tries to rob Buddy Lembeck? The criminal apparently ran away, scoring nothing and leaving everyone uninjured. Which poses another, more embarrassing question -- who runs away from Buddy Lembeck?

Willie and his equally wacky wife, fellow reformed 80's actor, Maylo McCaslin, were touting some book on how to make your life as serene as theirs. Sadly, I just don't see this guy convincing Charles to blow off the fam and chase after Gwendolyn Pierce anymore...

What a pipe dream

So, it turns out you can't just decide you want to do something and then go do it. People expect you to have experience. Psh. Who needs it? My newfound desire to become a journalist has resulted in one thing: this pathetic blog. Apparenlty I need clips. Oh clips. Such a simple word for such a huge concept.

Random movie reference: "Oh Jo. Such a small name for...such a person." -Professor Behr, Little Women (who doesn't love this movie?)

Anyway. Clips. Yes, they want evidence that you are a good writer and know what you're talking about. And they don't just mean your ramblings. I know it's what I want to do, but I have no evidence to back it up. I might as well have decided to become a heart surgeon, "Give me a pair of gloves and a scalpel, I know I'll be good at this. Experience? Wha? Never touch the stuff."

It's Friday and I'm wearing skinny jreans

Those two things don't really have anything to do with each other. I'm just excited because for the first time ever I could actually wear my rainboots over my jeans. Rather than the usual boot cut-fold up that accompanies most rainy days. But it is Friday. Glorious Friday. Two whole days of nothing to do. Although I have to prepare myself for the weekend guilt that comes along with living in one of the most amazing cities in the world and choosing to spend my free time on my couch.

I've even started to develop a reptuation. For TV watching that is. My mom called me the other day and actually prefaced our conversation with "Am I interrupting your TV?" What am I, an 80 year old woman who lives for Wheel of Fortune eps? No. Which is why I might want to consider some new hobbies. Especially with the ongoing writers strike which has severely limited my television watching options. The last new 30 Rock aired last night, and that is a crushing blow.

Blog now or forever hold your peace

A strange feeling has come over me. A feeling of sudden liberation. A need to prove myself through a series of rambling thoughts. And what could be a better outlet than a blog? The word blog invokes some confusion for me. It's a log. Only, on the web. Like a ship's log or a captain's log. A list of things that are probably only important to a select few. Consider this an experiment.