Friday Fun

I really can't get the hang of Thursdays. My productivity and work time slowed a bit, and I couldn't quite focus, but I was at a part where I needed to write a new scene to replace what was there, and I had to think about what needed to go there.

One more "fun with Google alerts" item that came up this week: Enchanted, Inc. was listed as one of the 100 ultimate chick lit books at the Chicklit Club web site. Here's the list. It looks to be pretty British-centric, not just with the books in a genre that has been predominantly British, but I noticed that they use the British versions of the book covers. Since my book hasn't actually been published in the UK, I'm even more honored to be included on this list among some of the greats. For the record, I've read 35 of the 100 books, but there were a lot I'd never heard of and that I think were never published in the US.

Moving from chick lit to chick flicks, the movie Leap Year opening today looks like the typical cheesy chick flick that tends to open at this time of year, but I still kind of want to see it. On a practical level, it's in my best interest right now for romantic comedies to do very well for Universal, and this is a Universal movie. Plus, Amy Adams is in it, and not only do I love her, but she's kind of my mental casting for a character in the next project I plan to work on. However, I've got a deadline and it's about 18 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside, with a wind chill of 3, so I don't even want to leave the house to get to my garage (or disturb the draft-blocking edifice around my front door by opening it). I think I'll see it next weekend, after I get my project turned in so that I can use it to get me ready to move on to that new book, and maybe it will be warm enough to walk to the theater then. But if you're inclined to see this movie, a good opening weekend would be nice, since I understand that some decisions will be made in Hollywood in the near future, if you know what I mean.

I think they're trying to kill me with television this weekend. Chuck is finally coming back Sunday night, but that's also when Masterpiece Theatre is showing Return to Cranford, and I absolutely adored Cranford last year. I think I'll tape Chuck and watch right after Masterpiece, editing out the commercials, since Masterpiece is longer. But SciFi is also showing Battlestar Galactica: The Plan -- apparently the story from the Cylon point of view -- at the same time. That's likely to get repeated and maybe will show up OnDemand. I must say that I don't care all that much what the Cylon point of view is. I noticed that they have the pilot of Caprica already up OnDemand as a preview, so maybe I'll check that out at some point.

Speaking of Chuck, Zachary Levi (Chuck himself) was on Letterman one night this week, and now I'm really, really impressed with him as an actor because he came across as a totally different person, to the point of being almost unrecognizable. I was watching part of the marathon on SciFi last night, and I still can't reconcile the total transformation. They don't really do anything to change his appearance other than give him the dorky hairdo and put him in the geeky wardrobe, but just through the way he carries himself and his facial expressions, he really changes the way he looks. Even his voice seems to come from a different place in his head. I'd classify Chuck as cute, kind of "adorkable," but Zachary Levi as he was on Letterman, dressed in a nice suit and with a good hairstyle, was jaw-droppingly, devastatingly handsome, and I never would have expected that. I kept looking for that guy in Chuck and couldn't find him. That's acting.

Watching that marathon reminded me of how much fun that show is. They have such a great cast of characters, from the loonies in the Buy More to Chuck's family. I'd considered Jayne Cobb in Firefly to be the ultimate Adam Baldwin role, but John Casey is also a brilliant character with all that deadpan humor and seething irritation surrounding a heart of gold.

And now I must confess my secret to getting the day started and increasing my productivity. Normally at this time of year, I prove to be part bear and go into hibernation. I have a really hard time getting up in the morning and find myself sleeping later and later. But Spike moved their reruns of CSI New York to 8 a.m. on weekdays, and they're showing earlier episodes I haven't seen. Having something I want to get up to see works wonders for getting me out of bed. I haven't even had to set an alarm. I watch/listen to the show while I make breakfast and eat breakfast and read the newspaper. Some mornings, I even manage to get dressed before the show is over, and then I'm at my desk soon after nine. In the past, I wasn't getting out of bed until about 9:30 in January. I don't know what I'll do when they get up to episodes I've seen. I'll have to see what some of the other channels have on at that time.