BURLESQUE – This movie came out last year, but I didn’t see it until this year. Cher looked great, and I really liked the song “Bound to You” that Christina Aguilera sang. And Cam Gigandet was H-O-T. Holy. Cow.

THE MECHANIC – I love me some Jason Statham

I AM NUMBER FOUR – Alex Pettyfer is hawt! And I liked all of his special abilities.

FROM PRADA TO NADA – kind of a cutesy version of CLUELESS.

BATTLE: LA Never a dull moment. The action never let up. And strangely enough, Ne-Yo isn’t that bad of actor.

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU – Interesting take on the topic of free will…and whether or not you’re really controlling yours.

BEASTLY – This didn’t get very good reviews. There were a few moments in there where the dialogue was kinda corny, but I liked it. Alex Pettyfer is SO HAWT.

SOURCE CODE – This one was interesting and the special effects were cool, too. Scott Bakula voiced Jake Gyllenhall’s father (but you never see him). I just happened to see his name in the credits. If you see this movie and then remember the show that Scott did, you’ll see the irony his small yet unseen part.

SUCKER PUNCH – I liked this one. A mixture of fantasy and reality.

RED RIDING HOOD – What’s ironic about this movie is that the actor who plays Bella’s father in the TWILIGHT series, portrayed a father figure in this movie, too. But he wasn’t exactly….normal. Shiloh Fernandez is a cutie. Loved the crookedness of his mouth, reminded me of Corey Haim.

THE WARRIOR’S WAY Love me some martial arts.

TANGLED OMG, I loved this cartoon. Zachary Levi is freakin’ awesome. It was like watching a cartoon version of CHUCK. LOL.

KUNG FU PANDA 2 Really liked the story and how they integrated Po’s adoption into it. Also pretty cool to “hear” Jean-Claude Van Damme. I really used to love his movies.

PROM The newcomer dude was pretty hot, even though I didn’t get a romantic vibe between him and the leading lady.

FAST FIVE Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Paul Walker, all together in one movie. Serious eye candy, people!

THOR – OMG, Chris Hemsworth. Shirtless scene. Freeze frame. Wha–?

THE HANGOVER II Same guys, different story.

13 ASSASSINS Epic. Battle scene. Epic, I tell you!

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS: Liked seeing the history of Charles and Erik, the references to the other movies, and absolutely LOVED Hugh Jackman‘s cameo. Funny.

SUPER 8 – This reminded me of a more action-packed version of STAND BY ME. Really liked it and the soundtrack sounded awesome.

Technorati Tags: BURLESQUE, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Cam Gigandet, THE MECHANIC, Jason Statham, I AM NUMBER FOUR, Alex Pettyfer, FROM PRADA TO NADA, CLUELESS, BATTLE: LA, Ne-Y, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, BEASTLY, Alex Pettyfer, SOURCE CODE, SUCKER PUNCH, RED RIDING HOOD, Shiloh Fernandez, Corey Haim, THE WARRIOR’S WAY, TANGLED, Zachary Levi, KUNG FU PANDA 2, Jean-Claude Van Damme, PROM, FAST FIVE, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker, THOR, Chris Hemsworth, THE HANGOVER II, 13 ASSASSINS, Hugh Jackman, SUPER 8

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

This week’s question: The house is on fire and you’ve only got time to grab five things. What are they?

1. My version 2 Nook
2. My iPod
3. My laptop
4. My sweater (because I get cold so damned easily)
5. My cat

Some probably would’ve put their spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend/whatev on the list. I did not, because that’s a given. For the purpose of this exercise, I’m assuming he’s grabbing his own 5 things. And hopefully it’s something more significant than the closetful of Kobe’s and Jordan’s.

Technorati Tags: Nook, iPod, Kobe, Jordan

I was taking the suggestion he’d made–as well as a comment from a mentor–under advisement about adding more action scenes. When Bryan and I met up I asked him how I could do that and we talked about it. I told him about the creative writing class I’m taking right now and how I was hoping the morning pages exercise would help me get back into a writing routine. And to help me hear the voices again.

Draven and I aren’t talking right now.

In fact, we haven’t conversed since around this time last year, when I dusted off Book 1 and revised the first 50 pages. Again. For, like, the 3rd or 4th time. My thoughts have been very quiet and not in a good way. I told Bryan that it’s been like chirping crickets in my mind for quite some time and he suggested that maybe there’s a reason. Maybe she’s trying to tell me something and I haven’t been listening. He said maybe I need to have an artist date and find out what’s going on with Draven.

So I took his advice.

Today, after getting home from work, I went on an artist date.

In the tub.

Lights out.

Candle flickering.

It didn’t take long.

My first book, Secrets and Kisses, was an idea.

My second book, Dance Jam Productions, was a reoccurring dream I kept having. Once I wrote it, I stopped having the dream.

The Draven series was an idea. The idea was based off of my niece and I was writing it for her. In a “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to write a YA series about a strong, kick-ass African-American heroine? Don’t see much of those” kind of way.

And it was good.

Boy-howdy, the conversations we she had.

And it was good. For two books.

Conversation started getting strained around Book 3, when I was trying to write her next assignment for NaNoWriMo in 2009.

Yeah. That was like finding a turd in a punch bowl.

And, as I mentioned, things were good for a little while around this time last year.

But here we are again. Same time, different year. And Draven is silent again. Even as I worked on Chapter One of the GN, she never said a word.

I got scared. I was afraid I was losing my creative spark and for a writer, well, *holds out arms, wrist side up*, let’s just say that’s not a good thing.

I thought it was because of school. That even after nearly 3 yrs in, I’m still trying to find that work/life/school balance…and school’s winning by a landslide.

But that’s not it.

Well, Bryan, you’ll be happy to know that I figured it out.

Draven’s not talking to me anymore because someone else is.

Another reoccurring dream (I think there’s a pattern emerging). One that’s been hanging on for a very long time. I’ve been trying to block her out, covering my ears and ignoring her, because she’s not a teenager. I keep saying “I write YA!” But I don’t think she cares. LOL. No, no, I don’t think, I know: she doesn’t care.

I’m a little superstitious and I believe in signs. When it comes to my writing, that is. And I really can’t believe that I’ve been ignoring this one.

So I’m not going to any longer.

With that being said, I’ve decided to put the Draven GN series on the back burner for a little while.

NOT INDEFINITELY.

The idea is still there. I still love the idea of a teenage FBI informant.

But someone other than Draven is talking now and she won’t shut. the fuck. up.

So I’m going to let her speak her peace and see what happens.

I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

This week’s question: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

LOL. Boy howdy, do I love answering this question. I am such a pantser, they’re slipping off my hips. On the two times I tried participating in NaNoWriMo, I tried plotting ahead of time.

Yeah, didn’t work too well.

I have a title, character names, and an idea. Then I just start writing. That’s basically how I roll.

Technorati Tags: NaNoWriMo

The Artist’s Way is the seminal book on the subject of creativity. An international bestseller, millions of readers have found it to be an invaluable guide to living the artist’s life.

I’ve heard about this book and the workbook that goes along with it. I remember hearing about “morning pages” (“pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness, which provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize, and synchronize the day at hand” first thing in the morning.) and we’re going to be required to do that for this class. We won’t have to share what we wrote, just the experience. I’m hoping this will get me back into a writing routine again because I seem to have lost my momentum until recently. This book is a 12-week program that will will “will help you discover and recover your personal creativity, artistic confidence, and productivity”.

When Ms Cameron teaches this course, she requires her students to sign a contract committing themselves to the course. There’s an example in the book and I’ve decided to sign the contract for the public to see.

I, Celise Downs, understand that I am undertaking an intensive, guided encounter with my own creativity. I commit myself to the thirteen-week duration of the course. I, Celise Downs, commit to weekly reading, daily morning pages, a weekly artist date, and the fulfillment of each week’s tasks.

Celise Downs
6 June 2011

You read it here, folks. This is going to be interesting.

Technorati Tags: Julia Cameron, THE ARTIST’S WAY

I was thinking of Staind’s song, “It’s Been a While” as I wrote this post. I like that band. And it really has been a while. I can’t remember the last time I visited anyone in my blogroll. There’s a fine layer of dust over there. *blows out a breath and coughs as dust mites fill the air*. Sorry about that. I tend to abandon blogs that haven’t been updated in a while, so I imagine that the few regulars I had have long since found someone else to follow.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my blog is probably going to remain sporadically updated for a little while longer. School has been an all-consuming evil obligation, to the point where I read if I have any free time. And I’m reading books, not blogs. So, let me catch everyone up before I disappear again.

School Daze – The spring semester ended with A’s in both of my classes, Volunteer Management and Human Relations. Thank you to Shoshana Ross and Chantal Sheehan (again) for being my mentors. You can read more about that HERE. I created the other website to chronicle my journey to opening my own nonprofit, so anything I learn in regards to that will be posted on that blog. Anything about writing will be posted here. The summer session starts tomorrow (I had about a 3-week break reprieve) and I’ll be taking Marketing for Nonprofits with Abbie Fink of HMA PR and an online Moodle course, Self-Exploration Through Creative Writing. I’m still looking for course mentors for the Fall 2011 through Spring 2012 semesters. If you or someone you know would be interested, check out the details HERE.

Writing – I finally finished writing Chapter One of the DA graphic novel. You can read about my first two sessions with Bryan Graham, creator of Section 1138, HERE and HERE. It took a lot longer than I thought because I still want to add stuff and keep the dialogue the same. I realize that I may have to re-vamp the story a little bit and provide more action on Draven’s part. I had an original idea when it came to this series: providing little tidbits at the beginning of each chapter that are based on her assignments. For Book One, since it involved a place called The Royalty Treatment Day Spa, I wanted to put the different spa treatments you could get at this spa at the beginning of each chapter. My mentor from my Novel Revising course stated that the info was distracting from the story, especially since not a lot of the action was happening there. I should only include it if the action is actually happening there. Hence the changes I’ll need to make. Now that I’m going a different route with the series, I can have actual pictures instead of text. In addition to finally finishing Chapter One, the Draven Atreides website is done. Finally! After nearly a year. There’s nothing in The Books area (yet), the newsletter hasn’t been created (yet), I haven’t set up a Twitter account for her (yet), and no thoughts have been written down in her “Diary” (yet), but you can look at everything else. LOL. All of that will come when Book One is released. Now that the series site is up, I’ll be chronicling the process of writing the GN over there as well as here.

Life – Still working the day job, but hope to move into the nonprofit sector by the end of the year. Health-wise, I’m trying to cure a reoccurring body dysfunction. During this process, from Dec 2010 to now, I’ve lost about 12 pounds. And no, losing those pounds was not intentional and not something I could afford to lose. Shit like that just happens when you cut something out. I’m trying to gain some weight back while maintaining a healthy diet, but the good thing is that I got a semi new wardrobe out of it. A lot of the clothes I had before were too big, so I had to go out and buy ones that fit. Oh, the hardship! And it really was for someone like me. LOL. Seriously. I’ve never liked clothes shopping (even when I was young) and would rather spend money on books than clothes. LOL. My good friend and manager left the company last month to move to Florida. Really, really bummed about that. And I found out my best friend is moving to Boston for her dream job at the end of July. Really, really bummed–and depressed–about that. I feel like everyone’s leaving me and moving on with their lives. I’m happy for them and at least will have two new places to visit (never been to either place), but still…*sigh*. It just really sucks.

Soooo, that’s it. In a nutshell. My birthday’s this Sunday and I’ve got some stuff planned, so I may be posting again this weekend.

Technorati Tags: Staind, HMA PR, Section 1138

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

It really has been a long time since I participated, so I thought I might jump in this time.

This week’s question: What’s the weirdest/strangest thing you have ever researched?

I’m going to start off by saying that next week’s question should be “what’s the coolest/most interesting thing you’ve ever researched”? I’ve got a better answer for that one than this one. I have yet to research anything weird and/or strange, but I plan to for one of the books in the DA series: human cloning. Don’t know if there’s anything out there on it right now, but hopefully there will be by the time I get around to writing it. LOL.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

This week’s question: If your WIP or favorite book were music, what song(s) would it be?

My WIP will be the Draven series for a while, so if that series had a theme song, it would be the 80′s hit by Rockwell: “Somebody’s Watching Me.” LOL. For obvious reasons.

Technorati Tags: Rockwell

The other day, my supervisor and I were talking with another co-worker and my supervisor made a comment about her wearing tennis shoes.

“Oh yeah, I have to wear these now. When I was working out, I would get this painful cramp in my feet. Sometimes it hurt so bad that I was practically hobbling back to the locker room! It was a little crazy. It would always happen while I was working out, so I finally went to the doctor and he told me it was because I was wore high heels. Now, I can’t wear them anymore. I may start out wearing them in the morning, but halfway through the day, I have to slip these on. I had no idea high heels could cause problems with your feet, knees and back.”

I just looked at her in disbelief. “I—uh, seriously?”

She was smiling when she said it, but she was serious. Yeah. Wow.

That’s when I started laughing.

I wanted to say, “There’s a reason why they’re called Killer Heels. They may be pretty and make your legs look like they should be insured for millions of dollars, but they kill your feet.” But I didn’t.

All those runway models and famous actresses who wear heels on a daily basis may look good from the ankles up, but I bet you anything they’re feet are a freakin’ mess!

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

This week’s question: Compare your first kiss with your favorite characters first kiss

Well, my favorite character is Draven, and seeing as how she hasn’t had her first kiss yet, that’s not gonna help for this post. Ironically, or not, my first kiss was much like Skylar’s in my first book, SECRETS AND KISSES. Granted, I didn’t check out a how-to book from the library like she did, but I sure as hell wanted to. LOL. If the special moment ever came around, I was afraid I wouldn’t know how to do it. I crushed on so many guys during high school, but never dated. African Americans were the minority at my school, and while I was all down with the whole interracial thing, not too many guys at my high school were. At least, I don’t think they were.

My first kiss was with my first boyfriend, whom I didn’t meet until I started community college. He was white and kinda had the whole free-spirit-Brad-Pitt-in-Legends-of-The-Fall thing goin’ on. It must’ve not been that memorable because I don’t remember when it first happened or my reaction.