Well, things have been full of drama at work lately. Some idiot is trying to blackmail my store's GM into firing a couple of people, and sent a note threatening to reveal some "devastating secrets" to her family if she doesn't. Of course it's all BS, someone letting malice and their imagination run away with them and their gossip-mongering cronies. The saddest part of this for me is, my GM thinks I did it! Apparently the person used some big words in the letter, and I'm the only one who regularly uses them! Of course, someone who's actually seen this letter tells me that the person misspelled a lot of them, so it's kind of insulting that she doesn't think I'd be smart enough to run a spell check! And when it comes to gossip, I'm always the last to know things, because I don't gossip, I just go to work, do my job, and come home. So everyone knows that I have never spread any of these false rumors, nor do I have any incentive to do so- I'm leaving there in nine months, as they all know. If I wanted to leave the place with a bang, surely I would have waited until I was ready to leave before I started raking up this muck! But whatever. I know I'm innocent, and anyone who doubts that just doesn't know me at all. Anyways, I've been inspired by my anger at the situation to write a couple of poems, the first to my doubting GM, and the second to the Puppeteer who is really orchestrating all of this drama.

Doubt

I ask you, will your heart know sorrow
If I'm driven from this place,
Or will you shrug, indifferent
To the loss when my endurance fails?
Will keen edged regret make you bleed
From the raw hole my absence tears,
Or will casual disregard fill you up
When I'm too feeble to fend off care?
Will you taste bitter tears-
Not just your own, but mine as well,
Or will you laugh dry eyed
As I stumble brokenly away?
And will the fact that I doubt you,
Both in justice, and in pity,
Wound your heart as deeply
As your words have wounded mine?

The Puppeteer

It must be lonely where you live-
The puppet master who makes us dance
To feed your delight in life's game,
Only, when weary, to be discarded
Like the broken toys of childhood left behind
When a newer, brighter thing shines.
Sometimes in your play you prompt us to speak,
Your lips moving in time with ours,
Manipulated into a sameness of mind
Which does nothing to prove our individuality.
But tell me, don't our lauds ring hollow
When they are only what you tell yourself?
And yet if we don't, but criticize instead,
Your puppet's unexpected voice is perplexingly vexing!

How can I learn resignation,
When the only thing that I want
Is the one thing you've said can ne'er be mine-
I must find another love instead.
How can my heart forget how to love
The idol it worships completely?
For me love exists solely for this-
Nothing else could touch me this deeply.
So now I must either lie to myself,
Or speak falsehoods to reassure you;
Believe in me, if only in this-
My love (forever silent) won't burden you.

The season has come to gather
The fruits of my sorrow and joy,
Cutting them free of the clinging vines
Which fed and made them grow.
I press the juices, bitter and sweet,
And store it away to ferment,
'Til aged to a vintage I can gladly pour
For any who would wish to drink.

Well, as promised I've taken some vacation photos of Sedona, Arizona, one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. The pictures don't do the place justice, since the day was quite cloudy, and I had so much I wanted to do that I didn't manage to get all the shots I would have liked, but they're still worth sharing. Here's a few of the best- hope you like them!

I'm back from vacation, but unfortunately the power jack on my computer, which has been working only intermitently, has completely stopped working. I've sent it off to be repaired, and they say it'll be seven to ten days before I get it back. Until then, my only chance to go online will be using the public library's computers, and I doubt I'll do that more than a couple of times. I'll try to moderate any submissions I get on those occasions, but if I don't get to you right away I'd appreciate a little patince. Talk to when I get the chance!

I'll be heading out of town for a week, back on Thursday the 14th. I'm going to Phoenix for my sister's wedding. I'm taking my laptop, but I won't be spending as much time online, so if anyone is thinking about submitting to one of my shows, I may not get to your submission right away. I'll talk to you all when I get back, and hopefully I'll have some pictures to show you when I get back. Most of my time will be spent with my family, but on my last day there I'll hopefully get a chance to visit one of the nearby tourist sites, such as Sedona. The countryside there is absolutely beautiful, and perfect for even some amateur photography.

Well, I knew that I was planning to go to either Italy or Turkey next, but hadn't made up my mind. Fortunately, I didn't have to do it myself- my parents have just signed up for a tour through Turkey a year from now, and when I saw the price listed for it, I jumped at the chance to come with. I'll probably end up paying a little over half of what I paid to see Egypt, and I suspect in the end I'll love it more. Don't get me wrong, Egypt is fabulous, and I wouldn't trade my experiences there for anything else, but I'm really into Greek and Roman antiquity, and that is much more richly represented in Turkey. I'll also get to see some Hittite ruins/museum, medieval castles, and more modern wonders, so I'll get an extremely thorough and fascinating look into this great country. The only thing that could make it better would to be to take in a soccer match while I'm there, but I'll probably just have to settle for watching one on the telly.

As some of you already know, I quite enjoy doing some writing as a hobby, and have written a number of short stories, as well as a pair of novels, and the odd bits of poetry. I've had the urge to take on a new challenge in this direction lately, and have finally settled on my subject. I'm a huge fan of Jane Austen's novels, particularly Pride and Prejudice. I've read quite a few modern authors' riffs on the story, from retelling P&P from Darcy's point of view, or sequels to P&P, and most recently, an author named Abigail Reynolds who asks fascinating What if? questions to do with the story, such as "What if Elizabeth was compromised by Darcy during his proposal at Hunsford, and she never got the opportunity to refuse him?" and then takes the story forward from there. She's actually done five different novels, and most of them are quite enjoyable, but one disapointed me. In it, she asked "What if Elizabeth accepted a proposal from one of the local Hertfordshire gentlemen before Darcy could change her mind?" I saw so much potential conflict to make an interesting story out of that, but the story was a let down, because the other man, a Mr Covington, was a cypher who was written out of the plot much too easily. So I asked myself how I could have done it better, and the answer came to me immediately- what if the other man in question was Darcy's cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam? He's a rival that must be taken seriously by everyone, including the reader, and therefore makes a better choice. So I've started working on a novel using this plotline, and so far it's coming pretty good, although mostly I've been writing individual scenes, rather than formally set up chapters, to get an idea of how to construct the story itself, and to decide the style of writing (I've settled on very "Jane Austen-y"), and whether to follow a single narrative with Elizabeth, or tell it from several points of view, and include Darcy and/or Col Fitzwilliam. If things continue to go well I may post chapters here to get some feedback, so any Jane Austen lovers out there are welcome to chime in.

I'm leaving for a short vacation on Sunday, and returning on Wednesday. I'll be staying in a condo in South Haven, Michigan (by Lake Michigan itself), and a number of my extended family members are also going to be renting places, so it'll be a nice little reunion, especially if the weather turns nice. I don't know if the condo has an internet connection, so there's a good possibility I won't be online again until late Wednesday, so if anyone submits to one of my shows, I'm afraid it's going to take a little bit longer than usual for me to get to it. Talk to you when I get back.

Friendship is a brightly colored balloon
Lifting us into the warm summer sky
On a boundless journey, giving us a new
Perspective on life through its lofty view:
Beauty is multiplied tenfold, and trouble
Shrinks to the proportion of an ant
As we wander together through the heights,
Soaring wherever the kindly breeze might take us
Until we descend once more, hearts enriched
By the pleasure of conquering gravity.

It's been awhile since I've blogged on the new shows I've become the editor for, or trusted, so when I was very pleasantly surprised today that I've added another, I thought I should mention it. I've become a trusted contributor to one of my all time favorite shows, the sci-fi classic Farscape. I've been working on the show regularly, even at the expense of some of my others since it's such a guilty pleasure. It's so nice to have my efforts rewarded, and without soliciting for the position, either. I have to admit I was starting to wonder if I might hint to the editor (or just plain beg) that I was hoping for it, but I guess my hints weren't needed. So thanks, lowrider, for giving me this opportunity. Also, I was recently made trusted for the new Bravo show Top Chef Masters by Layle1, and since we worked so well together on Top Chef, I knew this was going to be a pleasure. But then she mentioned that she'd just as soon let me take over if I like, so if I get the chance I'll be moving on up to editor status there. So thanks, Layle! Lastly, I've just finished working on another new show, the Discovery Channel's Out Of The Wild: The Alaska Experiment. I was already the editor of its predecessor The Alaska Experiment, and had considered seriously adding this new season on as a part of the same show. But I discovered the new guide was already in the site, and that it was produced by a different set of people, and knew that it was best to leave it a separate show. And since no one else seemed to want to take it on, I did so, and really enjoyed it. So I have plenty to keep me busy, especially with the new seasons of Outrageous Fortune and Hell's Kitchen airing this summer. I don't know if I'm going to end up keeping HK in the long run, but in the meantime I'll certainly keep an eye on the guide, along with the show's trusted (and future editor, assuming everything works out as planned) agent_0042. So thanks for your hard work, agent! Well, that's about it for this topic. There are one or two more Kiwi shows I have my eye on, but unfortunately there's just not enough hours in the day...

I've recently been inspired to write some poetry again, and this one, titled "Love's Symphony", is my first attempt using an erotic subject matter. Hope you like it!

Play a symphony for me, my love,
A music meant for just we two.
Let the syncopated beats of our hearts
Drum passion's rhythm as we become one.
Let curved arms stroke as bows over singing strings
To draw forth the tremulous chords of delight,
And weave them into a tender melody, a descant
Of sweet pipes breathing into receptive ears,
Leading our bodies in ecstasy's dance.
Then, as desire suddenly crescendos,
Ardor's clarion call shall ring out in bass and treble
And signal the joyous triumph of love.

The Detroit Red Wings just defeated their opponents the Anaheim Ducks in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, in spite of liberal help given to the Ducks by the Zebras (or referees, to the uninitiated) in game seven, and now that Ozzy's in good form and they have Rafalski and Draper healthy, there should be nothing stopping them from making it back to the Finals for a repeat of last year's win. The Blackhawks are a good young team with a veteran goalie, but the boys are about to be schooled by the men of Detroit! As for Pittsburgh or Carolina (or Boston, that game's not over yet) we'll take any of them!!! Go Wings!!! And an honorable shout out to Manchester United who took yet another step towards repeating as Champions of the Premier League with their win against Wigan on Wednesday. Hmmm, a theme seems to be developing here... could both my teams repeat as Champs this year? Hell yeah!!!

Well, Manchester United has gone into the Emirates and surprised everyone with the ease in which they beat Arsenal in the Champions League semifinal. The scoring started with a scrappy goal by Ji Sung Park, who was able to chip the keeper when his defender fell down. Then it was Ronaldo's turn with a beautiful free kick that Almunia reacted to very late. United made it three on the counter attack, with some silky smooth passing between Park, Rooney, and the finish by Ronaldo. Arsenal was able to pull one back when Fletcher was given a red card for taking his man down in the box (even though the replay showed that Fletcher clearly got the ball), and Van Persie put it into the upper right corner. But even down to ten men, United still were too strong for the young Gunners, bringing United to the final in Rome against one of the other semifinalists, Chelsea, or Barcelona, to be decided tomorrow's game. So let's hear it for the Champions, who are still on track to complete the Quadruple!!!

It's my last hurrah in my thirties, as I turn 39 on Sunday. I'll be working as usual, but I'll be going out to dinner on Monday night to celebrate, which should be nice. The Red Wings gave me a welcome present a day early as they beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 in game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs' first round, and hopefully Man Utd will also give me a present by beating Everton in the FA Cup semifinals. Otherwise things are pretty much the same as always around here, working extra hours while other people go on vacation, but I'm looking forward to a week off of my own in early May, so that gives me something to look forward to. I'm not planning on going anywhere, just taking some time to do some writing, and maybe have the Xena marathon that I've been putting off for awhile. I've got a couple of other trips later this year to plan for, going up to Lake Michigan for three days in August and a week in Phoenix in October to take part in my sister's wedding, as well as start looking around for a good place to live when I move there next summer. I'd love to get the chance to go somewhere out in the desert and see some of the area's natural beauty, but I don't think I'll have time for that. Oh well, I'll be living there soon enough, and I can take day trips whenever I like then.

For the last couple of days, I've been working on the cast list of a late night show, changing guest stars who appear in more than five episodes to recurring status, as I believed was correct. Apparently the moderators who accepted the first 24 of those submissions agreed that that was correct. Now I just had a batch of 5 more submissions of the same nature refused because the people weren't under contract to the show, but rather made guest appearances each individual time they were on. Okay, I guess I can see that. But which policy is the correct one? The one of the multiple mods who accepted the first 24 submissions, or the individual who rejected the last 5? Should I ignore the last set of rejections and continue, figuring it was someone being a hardass, or were the others being sloppy? Does TV.com have an actual policy on such things, and is it posted anywhere anyone who needs to know can find it, or is it one of those things that has not been decided, but has individuals making their decisions one way or the other based on their own opinions? It's this kind of inconsistency that makes contributing so frustrating some times. If the moderators went by a single set of guidelines, I would know what I should do. But when making a submission is like playing Russian Roulette... why do I bother? I don't know if I will anymore on this show, I'll have to think about it. Because I do think in this case that it might have been the minority opinion that got me 5 surprise rejections. But there's no way to know for sure, is there?

I've become the editor of a new person today, easily recognizable for any Xena fans out there- Jennifer Sky, who played Amarice, and then later the title role in the series Cleopatra 2525. I quite enjoyed her in both roles, but she had already had an editor when I joined TV.com, so while I submitted tidbits that I thought were worthy, I had no thought of getting her for my own. But lately I noticed that her former editor doesn't seem to come online here anymore, and when I checked, had retired from editing her. So I started looking in earnest, and was surprised by the wealth of info out there about her. I'll be winnowing through it all over the next few days, which will be a nice change of pace from my regular submissions on various TV shows. Oh, and while I was looking I discovered that she's married to Alex Band, the lead singer of the rock group The Calling, and she starred in one of their videos. So here's a bit of Jennifer Sky Band we can all enjoy, along with a romantic song called "Anything". Hope you enjoy!

Dawns unfolds pink and orange
Over a verdant, dew washed meade,
Inviting the sleepy birds and rabbits
To enjoy the day's new beginning.
And I, capturing this image,
Find the recipe for my spirit's renewal
In the peaceful innocence they show-
No memory of past evil mars this moment,
Nor a consciousness of wrongs to come.
They are simply living, partaking of
This new day's bounty with contented chirps
While the newborn sun warms the world.

The sweetest of agonies pierces my heart,
Rending me down to my soul.
Must Cupid be thanked for this wondrous event?
I cannot feel it is so.
Though my head would say yes, my heart still denies
Whenever I look in yours eyes,
For deep within them burns love's own true flame,
A radiance that lights up my world,
Proving this passion's no ephemeral one,
The whim of a mischievous God-
Cupid's toy could ne'er kindle the fire
That consumes as it makes us both whole.