Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

Apparently, season 6 (The current season is 4) will take place in LA instead of New York!

"While I love shooting in New York City, I look forward to filming season six in Los Angeles."

Trading skyscrapers for palm trees may also be a strategic move to put some distance between Trump's Apprentice and Martha Stewart's recently canceled version.

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"I think there was confusion between Martha's Apprentice and mine," he told ABC Radio in October. "And mine continues to do well and, as you know, the other one has struggled very severely."

However, according to reality guru Mark Burnett, the move is at least partially due to the amount of business Trump is currently conducting on the West Coast.

All righty then! 29 is up too!

In it, Mike and I talk about Trump's Apprentice, Lost, and the remarkable adaptability of the porn industry regarding video iPods.

Download the mp3, subscribe to the feed, or listen on the Podcast Pickle Pickle Player!


(Some adult language)

Episode 28 is up now, in which Mike and I discuss Episode 11 of Survivor: Guatemala! It was actually up last night, but I forgot to put up the podcast notes, but here they are now.

Download the mp3, subscribe to the feed, or listen right here with the Podcast Pickle Pickle Player!



And here's what we talked about!

Do I talk too much?

Anger at being denied closure... okay, I'm over it.

Was Gary's ouster obvious beforehand or did the editing manage to give you doubts?

Gary's big mistake. Talking to Lydia so close to the camp pretty much doomed both of them.

Their fates were sealed with the first swing of Cindy's battle club.

Good to Cindy finally emerging as a more-active player.

The hunger is making Lydia lose her likability, which was her only strength in the game.

This type of reward challenge is precisely designed to force demonstrations of loyalty.

Cindy's choice of Rafe to accompany her on the challenge was the exact right decision.

Judd's surprising display of self-control impressed us both.

Yes, it IS personal!

Yes, Judd, you ARE a bad liar!

Being doomed let Gary say what he's wanted to say for a long time at tribal council, especially about Stephanie. But does anyone have the balls to stand up to her?

What's up with Danni? Is she still playing this game or what? I still think she's got something cooking, but it's just a hunch.

Cheating in the trivia quiz? "Eyes on your own answer-cubes, people!"

Stephanie: Many strengths and positive attributes, but not really all that smart.

Dr. Jeckle and Ms. Stephanie: When challenged on the food thing, negative Stephanie makes a reappearance.

Reconsidering Stephanie's chances: If she makes final two, will she win?

Taking it a step further, are any of the other players TRYING to keep her from reaching the final two?

Rafe and Cindy: Potential for mutiny?

Given all his immunities, why is Rafe still not seen as a threat?

Picking an opponent for the final two, try to get a player with a similar strategy, or a player with a very different strategy?

Judd: The best final two opponent for anyone?

Judd vs. Stephanie: How would the votes go?

Could Rafe, Cindy, and Danni turn the tables on Judd and Stephanie? Rafe's probably the tricky vote, but which pair would be a better fit for his final three?

The final five is Danni's to lose right now.

Could Stephanie and Judd be split?

"How long can you hold out?"-challenges and Stephanie: will, heart, but no patience.

Survivor History: Giving up immunity?

Did Richard Hatch make Survivor into the game it is today?

Survivor Season 1: Sean's dumb-ass alphabet strategy and Sue Hawk's infamous (and hypocritical) final tribal council speech.

Survivor: Thailand repeats start showing Wednesday on OLN.

Mike wages his hopeless battle against DVR's, just for the hell of it.

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Check this out: Jabs don't work on big-bummed girls

Injections may not work on some people because their bottoms are too big, researchers have said.

Many vaccines and other medications are administered by a jab in the rear, but doctors have found that needles cannot penetrate the excess bottom fat of many patients, particularly women. To be effective, the drug has to be injected into the underlying muscle.

Boy, those British headline-writers aren't subtle, are they?

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Hey everybody! Episode 27 is up. Get the mp3 or subscribe to the feed!

In this episode, I make a few announcements and then play some recordings I made on my trip to Auburndale, Florida. It was a great trip that really brought me in touch with a side of my family that I don't see very often, and who live in a very different place from where I grew up.

Here are some pictures I took on the trip. (My extended family out there lives in semi-rural Florida and owns a trailer park out there.)


My great aunt Polly's old house.


Driving around "the park."


The neighborhood.


My mom and my brother David.


My mom, my brother and I in my great aunt Polly's backyard.


A little visitor enjoys the pool.


"Uncle Bruce"


Walking around the backyard.












Heading into the field.










A donkey hopes for some treats.


A nice little grove.


Uh oh, I'm being surrounded, with not a single horse treat to my name.





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It's here.

It's got Pool Rules Part 4 in it.

No time for more right now, heading to the airport.

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Okay, everybody, Podcast 25 is up. Download the mp3 file, subscribe to the feed, or listen right here with the pickle player!


Music: "Panacea" by Bill, from the Podsafe Music Network.

In this episode, Mike and I finally settle on the final list of questions for our experiment to determine who is more famous: Terrell Owens or Darth Vader.




From there, a brief bit of technical difficulties leads to a discussion of jokes, inside and otherwise, and being "too smart for your own good."

Finally, I bring up my idea for a possible new show on the PodcasterNews network, which is a great idea by itself. Whether or not my idea (Science you can use) is good, I'll leave all of you to decide.

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Episode 24 is up now, and in it, Mike and I discuss the non-renewal of Martha Stewart's Apprentice, our disappointment with the most recent episode of Lost, and our feelings about this week's installment of Trump's Apprentice. Download the mp3 file, subscribe to the feed, or listen right here with the Podcast Pickle Pickle Player!

It's up a little late, but Episode 23 is up now, and in it, Mike and I discuss Episode 10 of Survivor: Guatemala. Download the mp3 file, subscribe to the feed, or listen right here with the Podcast Pickle Pickle Player!

Okay, podcast 22 is up. Download the mp3 file, subscribe to the feed or use the Pickle Player:


Topics covered in this episode include:

The answer to the brain teaser I posed way back in Episode 15. (Also see my blog post from even earlier where I first brought it up.)

An update on the progress of my attempt to determine who is more famous: Darth Vader or Terrell Owens. This segment includes an audio comment from Kevin and a clip from Extra Points, a Fantasy Football Podcast, where Steve, one of the hosts, gives me a nice plug and an offer of assistance.

Then I go through a few quick movie reviews of Good Night and Good Luck, Jarhead, Capote, and Mirrormask.

I cap it off with Part 3 of my original short story, Pool Rules. (Parts 1 and 2 are in Episodes 15 and 17 respectively.)

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NaNoWriMo + practicing piano + podcasting + blogging + friends + TV + movies + work + traffic court + travel planning + sleep = ...

38.7 hours/day

I think I need an unpaid intern. Like with Kramerica from Seinfeld, but this would be for... um...

Christianacorps!

So, any takers? I would make you do all the unpleasant boring, hard stuff so I can pursue all the fun things. I won't pay you, but you will gain valuable life experience or something.

If interested, please fill out this form and send it to me ASAP to be considered for this position.

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Podcast #21 is up! Download the mp3 (Episode 21), subscribe to the feed to receive new episodes automatically, or listen right here with the Podcast Pickle pickle-player!


In this episode, Mike and I discuss this week's Star Wars-themed episode of Trump's Apprentice.

We also debate the question: Who is more famous: Terrell Owens or Darth Vader? (You can skip straight to this part of the conversation at 21:30.)

Alrighty, I'm trying to go ahead and get through these pre-recorded shows, so here's the next installment!

Download the mp3 file for Episode 20 or subscribe to the feed to receive new episodes automatically.

Or, you can listen to it right here using the Pickle Player! Just click the play button!


In this episode, I play a great podsafe song called "Sound Scientist" by Bill, from the Podsafe Music Network, then Mike and I discuss the most recent episodes of Martha Stewart's Apprentice and Lost.

Check it out:

Podcast pickle, by the way, is an excellent podcast community and directory with forums and lots of podcasts, and you can also listen to streamed podcasts from that site.

You can find my podcast pickle page here.

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Okay everybody, Episode 19 is up. Download the mp3 or subscribe to the feed to have new episodes download automatically!

In this episode, Mike and I spend some time discussing episode 9 of Survivor: Guatemala!




Then, to close out the show, Christiana plays a few of the audio comments she has received.

You too can be famous! Leave comments here on the blog or leave me audio comments at 1-206-202-3280! Say anything even remotely interesting and I'll play or read them on the show! I'm that desperate. Thanks everybody!

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Okay, I'll start with a quick personal update.

I'd intended to get another podcast up last night but ended up spending the evening nursing a sick iPod instead. My iPod is having problems communicating with my PC. It works normally for a few minutes, but then it starts to overheat and locks up and won't work again until it cools down. I've tried all the basic stuff, like resetting it, and even a full restoration. I think I'm going to try taking it into the Apple store to see if they can do anything with it. *sigh*

So, if I have time before Survivor comes on, I'll still try to get that intermediate podcast up, and then of course, I'll try to get the actual Survivor podcast up either late tonight or tomorrow morning.

What with everything I've been doing at work and here on the site and with my podcasts and all the other assorted things I've got going on, I am way behind on my NaNoWriMo project.

I'm not giving up on it, but I've had to resign myself to the idea that I probably won't make 50,000 words at this rate. Still, better to keep trying and fail with only 30,000 words than to give up when I've only got 5,000, eh?

Oh, and for anyone who doesn't already have me bookmarked, you can now reach my site just by typing in "christianastuff.com".

Anyway, now that the little stuff is out of the way, I have a serious question for all of you.

How'm I doin'?

More to the point, since I've started my podcast in the last several weeks, I know that some of the emphasis here on the blog has shifted away from the sort of posts I used to do and towards the podcast notes. But there's more to it than that.

Basically, what I'm interested in finding out is what I could be doing better. Would you rather see me put more effort into the blog and less on the podcast? Am I neglecting subjects that you like? Is there anything I've been doing that you'd like to see more of? I haven't updated the site design in a while, do you have any suggestions for improvements in the layout?

Let me have it! Obviously, I'm not going to just blindly incorporate every suggestion, but I am sincerely interested in what you all think. So let me know. Any comments on the look or direction of the site or podcast? Thanks, everybody. ^_^

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Democrats Don't Want Libby to be Pardoned
My only comment: Duh!

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Tom Cruise has fired his publicist/sister, you know, the one that let him go totally bonkers for the last six months or so?

When Tom Cruise promoted War Of The Worlds earlier in the year, he embarked upon one of the strangest publicity campaigns the world had ever seen. He'd sacked his controlling old publicist Pat Kingsley, and under his sister he could finally be the real Tom Cruise. Only, nobody was expecting the real Tom Cruise to be such a freaking oddball.

Getting engaged to the virgin Katie Holmes, leaping all over Oprah's sofa, punching the ground in delight, signing Holmes over to Scientology, getting squirted in the face at a premiere, criticising Brooke Shields (and thousands of women who have suffered from postpartum depression), shouting Matt Lauer down about prescription drugs during a televised interview, seemingly getting his virgin fiance pregnant... for a few months, a day wouldn't go by without a story about Tom Cruise getting a little crazier.

But now he's ditched her. I must say, I'm a little surprised, after all, it was under her management that he was given UNLIMITED POWAH!!!

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In a shocking development today, CBS has ordered more seasons of Survivor.

The network said Tuesday it will air the 13th and 14th versions of "Survivor" in the 2006-07 season.

Whew! That's a relief.

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Check this out! Over at Furthermore on Wired.com, they point out that some recent studies are showing a link between schizophrenia and a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, which is commonly found in cats.

They identified 63 people who developed schizophrenia and compared them with 123 similar "controls" without schizophrenia. The researchers tested stored blood samples, obtained from the mothers while they were pregnant, for Toxoplasma antibodies. Antibody levels were classified as negative, moderate, or high.

A high Toxoplasma antibody level, indicating heavy infection around the time of pregnancy, more than doubled the likelihood of schizophrenia in the adult offspring.

So a connection between cats and insanity? Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

P.S. To all cat-lovers, I like cats too. I'm just not surprised to learn that they make people crazy.

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Episode #18 is up. Download the mp3 or subscribe to the feed!

In this edition, Mike and I discuss the most recent episodes of Trump's Apprentice and Martha Stewart's Apprentice.

(Some adult language)

Apparently, they did an actual Zogbe poll! I think the questions included a number of things, but I'm pretty sure that the main numbers they are reporting here are essentially: "Which candidate do you want to have win the election on the show?"

Before the episode, viewers between 18 and 29 preferred Santos over Vinick, 54 percent to 37 percent. But after the debate, in which veteran Alda gutted pretty-boy Smits without him even knowing it, Vinick now leads among viewers under age 30, 56 percent to 42 percent.

(Among viewers 65 and older — or, as TV execs like to call them, the Irrelevantest Generation — Santos has a lead of 68 percent to 27 percent.)

Also switching camps were men, whom the networks have a harder time attracting than women and therefore chase harder. (The TV industry is a lot like dating: If you hang around a lot, the suits ignore you; play hard to get, they chase you with a passion.)

Among men, Vinick now leads with 55 percent to Santos's 39 percent.

Women were the only ones who did not change their minds after watching Alda fillet his opponent. Before the debate, women came out very strong for ever-so-handsome Smits/Santos; post-debate, they were just as pro-Santos, 68 percent to 23 percent.

First off, I have to resist the implication that women choose their vote entirely based on who is cuter. I would say that has no more than a 40% influence.

That said, I tend to agree that Alda came across better in the debate episode, (with the exception of that weird ANWR argument that Kevin already mentioned in the last post,) and I think what probably really did the trick is the sense that he was "leveling" with us, instead of "saying what we want to hear."

Of course, "leveling with us" can be a WAY of "saying what we want to hear" but it's a matter of perception, and I think Alan Alda's Vinnick character came off better in that regard.

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I can't access my Road Runner email at the moment. It doesn't recognize my user ID, but I know I'm entering it right. I know it's not on my end either, because I called the tech support line and it had a pre-recorded message saying "Time Warner Road Runner customers are having trouble with their email".

So it's not me, and I just have to sit tight and wait until it's working again. But in the meantime, I feel like I've lost a limb. :(

UPDATE!!

Working again now. Huzzah!

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I thought it was pretty interesting, if a bit gimmicky. Although ultimately I thought it was better as a debate than as an episode of a dramatic TV show. As a result, I think that it will not bring any kind of long term ratings boost to that show.

Did anyone else see it? What did you think?

Podcast #17 is up! Download the mp3 or subscribe to the feed!

Okay, a whole bunch of podcasts in a row because Mike and I can't shut up!

This one is a little shorter because we just BS'd about miscellaneous topics for a little while, and then I read part 2 of my short story: Pool Rules!

Topics covered include:

--I time Mike as he uses the bathroom.

--Mike's Canadian friend's theory about hand-washing.

--Mike is not anti-Canadian!

--The "However-long-it's-been-since-you-dropped-it-plus-two-seconds" rule.

--A public service announcement from Christiana.

--Antibacterial hand-lotions causing super-bacteria?

--The emu I ate wasn't from the petting zoo.

--Being pretentious and the iPod-compatible "Teeny-tini".

--The Rockr vs. The Roker.

--"The Office" is a funny show.

--Christiana reads Part 2 (of 4) of her original short story: Pool Rules.

Remember you can leave feedback comments here or leave me an audio comment at 1-206-202-3280! And believe me, my standards for comment quality are really low. The only reason you don't hear me playing comments all the time is because nobody will send me any. It makes me sad... :(

So gimme feedback! Thanks!

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Download the mp3 file, or subscribe to the feed to get new episodes automatically!

Okay, sorry it's a bit late getting up, but we've finally resolved the technical difficulties we've been having and the sound quality is finally at an acceptable level.

And it's a good conversation this week, a super-sized edition covering all sorts of things regarding episode 8 of Survivor Guatemala!

It contains:

Recap of last week's predictions.

Gary — Good player, Bad Liar or both?

Bobby John's Lifelong dream — WHY will he be voted out?

Is Stephanie and Bobby John's second chance still an issue?

Ian last week, Tom this week: Guest hosts on Survivor Live.

The numbers game.

The hidden individual immunity ratchets up the tension.

Brandon's lookin' hot on Survivor Live.

Brandon's a man of action rather than words.

Brandon and Jaime: In another world, could they have been allies?

Stephanie: The Top Dog?

Why no insurance votes?

Rafe's dilemma.

Rafe and Lydia: Final five? Four? Three? Two?

Did Cindy miss her chance?

Where has Danni's game gone?

Insurance votes again. Why no defectors from the minority?

Listener Comment: Kevin's thoughts on Gary and Bobby John

Do you eat or do you compete?

Joanne and Stacy point out some creative editing.

New weekly question: Who is the monkey?

Bobby John sells his soul to the devil- I mean, to Stephanie.

Jeff Probst Leaving Survivor.

We try to figure out how many years Survivor has been on without checking.

Who will be his replacement? Christiana makes a dramatic prediction and then backpeddles in a most cowardly fashion.

Strategies for converting non-Survivor fans.

My DVR has changed my life.

My Survivor halloween costume: wearing Survivor fandom on your sleeve.

Music is "Divided Beliefs" by Tyson Emanuel on Podsafeaudio.com

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Okay, so Mike and I are experimenting with some new ways to record our phone call so that we can get some better sound quality for those podcasts, but it's not working yet, so hopefully we'll be able to record it tonight and I'll upload it as soon as it's done.

In the meantime, of course, it provides yet another opportunity for you to get involved! Leave me comments here or leave me an audio comment at 1-206-202-3280 and Mike and I can include them in our discussion tonight!

So, Brandon's gone. I'm really sorry to see him go because in the last couple of weeks he had really become one of my favorites. I think it was just as simple as the numbers thing though. There was just no way that it was in Cindy or Rafe's best interests to keep him when they could use the numbers to rid themselves of some tough competition.

And of course, as Cindy pointed out, "If you want to win, you have to get rid of everybody eventually." So the ethics of it really don't come into play as much as it might seem at the time.

Still, despite the fact that I do have some affection for Jaime just because he's a passionate guy, I think that it was a HUGE strategic mistake for him to rub the numbers situation in their faces the way he did. The Nakum members had the numbers, and everybody knew it, there wasn't any need to gloat about it the way he did, and he really hurt his long-term chances as a result I think.

And I never would have guessed that I'd be agreeing with Judd! (That said of course, Judd could stand to take his own advice.)

I was surprised that no one seemed to be concerned about Gary at all, as far as being a threat in the competitions. He won this one, so he was safe this week, but that's really the point. He WON! Why was no one even mentioning his name? They even suggested that he would be the last of the four Yaxha members to go. I think he's more of a threat than that physically, and it's a mistake for them to not realize that. Of course, maybe it's that he's still got an alliance with Stephanie and Jaime and his old Yaxha members.

What do you all think? Let me know!

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Knucklets: The tiny joints on your toes.

That is all.

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Hey everybody! Podcast #15 is up!

Download the mp3 file right here, or subscribe to the feed and get this and all new episodes automatically!

In this podcast, I start by talking a little bit about NaNoWriMo, also known as National Novel Writing Month. I play a little bit of my NaNoWrimo theme song (Download the whole thing right here).

I also relate a massive wordcount setback I suffered last night, then update how I've recovered so far. Check out my Wordcount Tracker Spreadsheet!

From there, I relate a really interesting brain teaser that some of my regular readers may have seen before. (If you have, don't cheat and ruin it for everyone else. K?)

You're on a game show, and you have to choose one of three doors. Behind one of them is a prize. Behind the others is nothing. (At this point in the podcast, I'm having to really fight the urge to sidetrack into movie quotes.)

You choose one of the doors, but then the host, without telling you if you were correct, opens one of the remaining two doors and reveals that it is empty. You now have the opportunity to change your pick. So the question is this:

Do you want to keep your original pick, change to the remaining door, or does it not matter either way?

Think about it carefully, the answer may not be what you expect! I'll report the answer in a future podcast. (Probably this weekend.)

I then go on to talk a little bit about Malinche.net and some other sites that provide text adventures and interactive fiction for the iPod format.

It occurrs to me that this could be taken one step further to actually make Interactive audio fiction, and I talk a little bit about what I have in mind, and how I may attempt to create one at some point in the future.

Finally, I talk a little bit about how I've thought about putting out one of my original short stories on the podcast, but someone else beat me to it! Mur Lafferty over at Geek Fu Action Grip (Is that a great title or what?) just started doing it over at her podcast!

I think it's a neat idea, so I decided to give it a shot too. As such, I read part one (of probably 4) of my original fantasy story: "Pool Rules"

Note also, my flash cartoon based on the same story is still here on the site. You can find the button on the right hand sidebar, but note that it features a scene that is not in the story as read on the podcast. You can think of it as a prequel, because it takes place immediately before the scene that opens the story.

Enjoy!

And please leave me comments either here on the site, or leave me audio comments at 1-206-202-3280!

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Fair Warning! The links in this post go to a page that has some naughty pictures on it. Nothing too extreme, but you might want to be careful if you're reading this at work or something.

I linked to Soccergirl a few weeks ago in the notes for Podcast #11 as one of the podcasts I listen to.

Still I have to mention her again, because her Show #69 (the Halloween Episode) is incredibly funny.

The centerpiece is a radio playlet called "Fanged'amour" which has a lot of great riffs on vampires, werewolves and angsty gothic horror in general.

It contains phrases like "I ache with woeful misunderstoodness." and "Ninja-hairspray-mosquito-icebergs."

Check it out!

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Rumors are suggesting that Jeff Probst will be leaving Survivor after next season!

Days after a wave of stories reported a trickle of rumors that Survivor host Jeff Probst is leaving his vital role escorting, instructing, tempting and generally torturing desperate, smelly, crabby, starving and rageful contestants on the CBS reality show, there's word Probst really might leave the Mark Burnett-created hit after all, Knight Ridder reports.

TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello says the reality-TV producer-guru "basically told me that the rumors are true," ... Burnett also confirmed that the host spot will be filled by a former female Survivor survivor.

I have to say, I'm sorry to hear about this, because Jeff is such a big part of what makes the show great. He's become so talented at working out exactly what's going on and asking just the right question to provoke a response.

Anyway though, anyone care to make predictions as to who it might be to replace him? As far as female former Survivors go, Jenna Morasca is certainly front and center since she's been hosting Survivor Live on CBS.com. But who else could it be? Anyone? Anyone?

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All right, for the NaNoWriMo Day 1 breakdown!

Total Word Count to Date: 1697

This puts me 30 words ahead of schedule on Day 1. Check out this spreadsheet for my wordcount goals and schedule.

In addition to completing my wordcount for the day AND having a Drama Ministry training night at church, I ALSO managed to create my own personal...

NaNoWriMo Theme Song!

Did I mention the craziness?

I think I did, but that may just be the voices telling me so...

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Scroll to the end of this story describing the relative ratings for Martha's versus Trump's versions of The Apprentice and you'll find what may be a sign of the end times.

Martha Stewart is indestructable.

Seeing as how it's inevitable now, I want to go on the record right now as saying:

It's a good thing.

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For the next thirty days, my life will be crazy.

I will put up a spreadsheet that tracks my craziness as measured by the number of words I have written.

I intend to continue posting to the blog and putting out at least one podcast a week.

I further intend to not die before completing my 50,000 words.
That is all...

for now.