What are you reading?

This past week I was laid up with an attack and spent most of my bedrest time either sleeping or reading. As a Kimani readers subscriber, I've got a ton of books on my bookshelf. Sadly, I did very little writing. (I did however finish that love scene.)

Hopefully, I'll be back on track and more productive this week.

So, what are you reading?

Inspired by "Rocky Balboa"

I just finished watching the DVD of Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky Balboa", his sixth and last installment on the travails of the fictional, Philadelphia-bred underdog boxer, Rocky. The movie was enjoyable, poignant and quite a departure from the previous chapters. That is, there was no Adrian, no villain, and (spoiler alert) no victory for Rocky.

But what really inspired me was the director's commentary by Sylvester Stallone!

You have to rent it and listen. The man, not known for his acting abilities despite his success as an action star, is a terrific writer. He has tremendous insight on his characters, their motivations, their feelings and their goals. Listening to him map out the scenes, the lighting, the set-ups was very thought-provoking. His comments had me thinking about my characters, the dialogue and upcoming scenes. I was just so surprised by how much wisdom Sly had to impart to viewers on the end of the series.

But the ultimate motivation for me was his last words as a montage of everyday folks running up those museum steps and throwing up their arms in the classic Rocky pose.

Sly said, "Just keep punching, just keep punching, you never know, you never know, you just may hit your dream right on the jaw."

Damn! Enough said!

Thank you, Sly! We're going to miss you, Rocko!

Well I Did it!

Yippee! I submitted my first chapter of Can't Help But Love You to a contest and just got confirmation that it was received. Now I can check that goal off my 2007 Goals list. Wish me luck!

This week, I'm back to writing and critiquing. What are you working on this week?

What Happened to April Fool's Day?

I just realized that it's April 3rd and I'd totally forgotten about April Fool's Day.

And it was so easy to forget! I didn't get a mass email with a crazy joke, didn't hear mention of it in the media, didn't even get a prank played on me. What's going on?

Are we getting too jaded to appreciate the lighthearted fun of the day? Was it because it was Sunday? Has the war gotten the country so down that we think we can't laugh at ourselves? That can't be the case with all of the Sanjaya mania, Heather Mills leg watch and outrageous celebrity nonsense that's flooding the airwaves. I didn't even prank my own child. Every year I pull a stunt on her, she gets pissed and I laugh harder. This past Sunday we fussed with each other like two female territorial cats. (Beware of impending teenager!!)

Needless to say, I need a huge belly laugh and just didn't get one! Oh well! Maybe next year!