Summer Goals

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH WRITING?
Well, lots! Check here for updates: http://j-leigh-nelson.livejournal.com/1802.html

GOALS FOR THE SUMMER
1. Read Bible 20 minutes per day in order to finish whole Bible in 1 year
2. Internship at Bleak House Books (in charge of Evan's book tour)
3. Edit Riff (that's a doozy)
4. research grant to get $$$ for editor
5. prayer journal
6. idea journal
7. scrapbook the rest of last semester
8. scrapbook spring break 2007
9. Read QBQ before mid July
10. Read other books on my list
11. Go to Charleston
12. Pack for Charleston (not in that order)
13. writers group
14. Read/critique Bob's book (finished ch. 2 today!)
15. edit and submit White Elephant to places
16. summer class: portfolio
17. finish watching Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes

MOVIE REVIEWS
We have NetFlix now, so we're getting a lot of movies. I've seen some in theatres too.
Martian Child wasn't bad, a lot like K-Pax. Amanda Peet wanted to kiss John Cusack in Identity but didn't get to. In this movie, it was the most awkward kiss ever.
The Good Night was strange -- surprising ending. I mean, I get it. The pivotal line is Danny DeVito saying the neverending dream is the ideal, but I don't know if that was put strong enough. But hey, Simon Pegg was in it, yeah?
Slipstream was WEIRD. It was cool, but it didn't make a whole lot of sense. It was the first thing Anthony Hopkins ever wrote, and you could kinda tell, but the characters were developed, the acting was good, and the artsiness was super. I just didn't follow the story very well, but I think that was the point.
The Orphanage was pretty cool. It kind of reminded me of The Others for some reason. Maybe it's because it's a ghost story about a concerned mother in a creepy house.
Iron Man was good while it wasn't being the cliche super hero movie. It was really unique until the fight scene in the street which echoed Fantastic Four.
Indiana Jones. Huh. Worst first scene to a movie ever. The big secret of the Aztecs is really disrespectful to the Aztecs not to mention the disrespect of making Russians evil. It had it's good moments. It was funny when it wasn't being cheesey.
Cloverfield...why is it called Cloverfield? Anyway, it was scary, made me very nervous, so good job. In the last scene, you can totally see something falling from the sky. Very realistic both in acting, writing (beyond the obvious), and camera work. There were a couple things that were wrong like the camera's ability to focus in blinking lights and lack of smudge after blood splatter, but we'll let it slide.

TELEVISION REVIEWS
A while ago, I dubbed Torchwood as my new favorite show because season two blew my socks off, but now I think Life On Mars is my favorite. I've only seen 9 of 18 episodes so far, but they're fantastic. The last episode I saw, one about football, was so funny (two scenes: chicken and drunk). And I've seen two episodes of its spin off, Ashes to Ashes. I'm not sure that woman can carry a show like John Simm can, but the "supporting cast" basically steals all of her scenes. Philip Glenister can hold his own.