Young serial killers and their puppies

Psychologists profile potential serial killers as having "bad childhoods" filled with abuse or neglect, deep psychological or antisocial problems, and often having tortured or gruesomely killed animals like cats and dogs. This bodes badly for three teenage boys in Oklahoma who decided to celebrate Fourth of July a little early by placing fireworks in the mouths of 6 puppies that subsequently died from the explosions. Another 4-1/2 month old black Lab mix suffered severe burns after being used as a moving target for these future maximum secuirty prison convicts. The puppies's mother, a 1-1/2 year old black-and-tan heeler mix called Amaya who was found sitting with her 6 dead puppies, was unharmed though, thanks to these ruffians, is now completely traumatized. Both surviving dogs are in pretty bad shape: the 4-1/2 month old named Melody has large gaping wounds on her hindquarters and has patches of her fur and all her whiskers burned off. This atrocity ranks right up there with my post about those sickos in Belgium and Sacramento. Lovely, just lovely. If these boys want to save themselves from a pretty sad adult life killing people across the country in sick and methodical ways, I hope they turn themselves in and get some psychological help. Anyone lacking simple remorse or empathy for another living creature definitely needs it.

Melody will need plastic surgery to repair her wounds before she's adoptable, but as pet owners know, it isn't cheap. Donate to the Tulsa SPCA which is caring for the two surviving dogs. Let it be your good deed before celebrating your July 4th Weekend!

The Notebook

I've waited nearly 10 years for Hollywood to make Nicholas Sparks's novel The Notebook into a feature film. This weekend, it opened with Ryan Gosling as Noah and Rachael McAdams as Allie. The novel was one of only a handful (including Charlotte's Web and Old Yeller) to bring me to tears while reading it--rarely do authors possess such an honest voice. So I find myself in familiar territory at the movie with streams of tears down my face for this story which Sparks based on the relationship of his parents, I believe. It got me to thinking how people react when watching two people in love (or acting like two people in love): there are the bitter few and the happy few. For the past few days, I've been acting like one of the happy few, trying to couple up my friends and rejoicing in their new relationships. There's this small amount of happiness you gain in seeing something being made like a new vase painted and fired in a kiln. And so I think it is when you see that spark ignite between two people, showing so much promise and hope, you cannot help but feel privileged. Makes me want to try and couple all my friends up; gives me a certain amount of hope that all these small ignitions contribute to something bigger, especially with the state the world is in now. So pass on Mike Moore's angry film as I think there is enough of that in the world and who needs to contribute anymore to that, and catch Nick Cassavetes The Notebook.

Office supply animals

When I was in junior high, my friend, James, and I had a little meme we loved to sing that went what can you do you a paperclip? bend it into an elephant! Kids, I tell ya!   I never actually accomplished bending a paperclip into an elephant (not for lack of trying), but I know someone who took erasers, paperclips, and toothpicks and made a mini giraffe. Today, I stumbled upon Animal Rubber Bands in a menagerie of wild animals like ostriches, rhinos, and my beloved elephant in an array of bright colors. It brought me back to the days when James and I used to gab on the phone for hours making up jingles and lists like "101 Reasons Why I Can't Go On a Date With You" which included such items as "I'm feeding the sea lions" and "I have to clip my toenails". I'll have to remember to try those sometime.

Playlist: Justified by Justin Timberlake

Colorful people

Many people try to write stories and plays and base them on events and people in their lives. My characters are inspired by people I know and Shenan made a good point that if I truly based characters in my play on the people I know, it wouldn't be realistic or believable and would get panned. It makes you realize that life isn't as boring as they say it is. From the pageant girls to the ignorant bigots to those that live outrageously, I could make a soap opera out of my play if I don't tone them down and try to make them "real," i.e. boring. They need to be colorful but plain also--I need to strike a balance and it will probably only involve one really colorful character with moments of realism and lots more down to earth characters. I try to find things in them that make each one unique and hope that they will reveal those quirks to me as I write. Everyone has quirks and catch phrases. I just hope I grow with these characters to find them.

Speaking of characters who reveal themselves, I was so proud of Alfonso Cuaron's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry is starting to reveal the darker side of him and it has made him less one dimensional and more layered. I can't wait to see what happens. Daniel Radcliffe gives Harry so much texture. David Thewlis as Professor Lupin and Gary Oldman as Sirius Black were perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed their dynamic even though these two great actors shared film space for a few brief scenes. It is my favorite book in the series and while Cuaron did not include many of the things I would have liked to have seen like the explanation of who made the Marauder's map, Buckbeak was great and the animation and special effects were incredible in this movie.

It's all about perspective

Ten hours of sleep can help one clear her mind. So as I'm watching Under the Tuscan Sun and wanting to buy a villa in Cortona and spending my weekends in Positano writing and eating delectable delights, savoring sights, and smiling as I soak up that sun that seems so elusive in my tiny hovel in the City, I find myself annoyed that I haven't swallowed my bitterness and moved on to more productive, less dead end paths. And watching Aurora sleep, curled tightly in a ball in the middle of my folded sleeping bag, peaceful, calm and content like I haven't seen in quite some time on anyone, I feel that my whining over the few things that mean quite little in my life has annoyed me probably as much as everyone else who has to deal with it and listen to it. So I'm finished. I want that bit of peace for just a few moments and to stretch it out as long as I possibly can.