And the Winner is....

Agent Mermaid!

Please send me your address to gwenwalls at gmail dot com and I'll send on your prize!

The Goblin Parade

This movie is mostly OK to me, but this scene is incredible and makes the entire thing worthwhile.

Vegas!

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Originally uploaded by gwenniepenny

I'm going to try something new here. This blog has contained reviews of all sorts -- books, music, movies, restaurants. I like to review things, if not for anyone else's benefit, then for my own. I kind of think of it as the denouement to an experience. For example, I feel like I really haven't seen a movie until I've had a bit of discussion about it with a friend. Often we will point out items of interest that the other didn't catch, or just bring different points of view to the table.

I recently spent a weekend in Las Vegas. I'd never been before, and I was curious to see what the big deal was all about. I booked the room, bought an EyeWitness guide, and was off!

I have to say, there's not really a lot to do unless you like to overeat and gamble. The lights were pretty and flashy, but really, how entertaining is that after a few minutes?

There are lots of shows, which can be fun, but none were terribly cerebral. And those tiger shows just make me cry.

I'm probably not going back anytime soon.

Mid-Winter Blahs giveaway!

So kids, to battle the winter yucks (yep, I'm feeling them even in San Diego!), I've decided that a giveaway is long overdue! So, I'm giving away these awesome birdie clips to a lucky reader who answers this trivia question correctly. I'll pick the winner using a random hi-tech method (paper out of a hat -- ha!). So here is the trivia question:

What was the name of Mr. Rochester's first wife in Jane Eyre?

I'll draw the name on Friday, Feb. 5.

Pretty Vacant

Job-hunting is the worst. How many times can one be rejected before she starts to feel that everything she touches turns to dust (or some other lower matter)? I'm trying to beat these recession blues with exercise and a positive attitude, but I keep slipping. I'm getting no movement on my books, no acknowledgments or call-backs on the resumes that I send out (and I've sent probably 1000 at this point), and now it seems that socially people have regressed into a high school mode.

I'll probably take this down -- I worry too much about what I put on the internet -- because people will read it and think something -- and I really worry far too much about people liking me and thinking less of me, etc.

I really need to post more often

I wrote a couple of books -- children's books that I'd been working on for awhile and finally finished. I felt accomplished, and my creativity felt revitalized.

Last year, I began submitting them for publication, and was told that I should try submitting them again at the beginning of the year, so I've been really busy submitting (I really hate the administrative part of creative works!).

I'm just wondering whether I'm going about the whole thing entirely wrong. Should I enlist the help of an agent to sell my work better? I'm not much on the gift of gab and sales, so maybe it would help?

I'm babbling a bit, but I really want to get into the habit of blogging again.

10 years....

I don't get too concerned about New Year, at least I try not to. I want this year to be the year that I (finally) hit some of my goals and get some things done. I've been mucking about for far too long. I want to finally finish that screenplay and novel, get the finished works published. I hope that this is the year for that

But I want to look at where I've been as well as where I'm going. 10 years ago, it was a new millennium. I was preparing to move to Baltimore, and on to greater things. I lived in North Carolina, and worked at a bar. I could not fathom ever having the opportunities and experiences that I found when I moved to a real city (I know that this is corny, but really, I was culturally starved).

I switched jobs, a lot. I worked as an editor, a writer, and everything in between. I was responsible, and trusted.

I traveled a lot. I traveled abroad. By myself. I went from barely seeing a handful of states and no real cities to traveling to many countries and cities. My first trip was to Paris and Germany, in 2001, followed by Canada, England, then Czech Republic, and finally Japan this summer. I visited many sites in the US as well, like New York and LA.

I learned to cook, pretty well I think. I went from a jarred sauce spaghetti kind of cook to making and assembling culinary delights of all types. I love to cook. I make excellent soups and bread. With cooking, my palette increased greatly, with the understanding of how food flavors intensify and complement one another when they are combined.

I learned to host parties. I've had parties that included me cooking and preparing for as many as 25 people, with themes like Dia de los Muertos to Chips and Dips of the World to Chili and wine cookoffs.

I became, then resigned from, vegetarianism. It was, besides cooking, the most broadening for my palette. With meat no longer an option, I had to learn to like many other foods.

I had lots of dates. I made lots of interesting and wonderful friends. I watched them go through good and bad, just as they watched me.

I had massages, acupuncture, and went on anti-anxiety meds. I acknowledged and became much more proactive on health issues.

I was disappointed and appalled many times over.

I became an aunt. I became a sister-in-law. I became a wife.

I was very sick. I was in the hospital.

I moved no less than 7 times, which is less than the previous decade.

I moved cross country.

I was in a few shows. I danced, wrote, acted, and produced.

I bought lots of vegetables.

I ate a lot of sushi.