Updates – This Blog and My Life #2

Tags

BBC America, Copper, Hurricane Sandy, Once Upon A Time, reading, Staten Island, Superstorm Sandy, writing

This is just a post about random things about this blog and myself.

First off, I want to give a shout out to Melissa Maygrove and thank her so much for her very successful Follow Fest, which I took part in on Tuesday. It was so great to meet so many new writers and to see their work. I tried to get to as many blogs as possible, and I’ll try to get to those I missed. If anyone participated in Follow Fest, and I didn’t stop by yet, I deeply apologize.

As for those who did stop by mine, I want to say again, hello and great to meet you! It’s cool for authors to supportive of each other, especially since writing requires solitude and the only time we work with others is when we’re getting ready to publish our work. I hope we can all remain in touch!

Now how is life going for me? Swell! It’s finally autumn, so it’s getting cooler out and darker earlier. But that means Halloween is around the corner!

At the same time, though, I’m also thinking that it will soon be one year since Hurricane Sandy ravaged my hometown of Staten Island. My gosh, what an event that was! Even though I am living in a different part of New York City now, I still feel pride over how Staten Islanders came together during that time. Even though we sadly gained national attention for having the highest death toll in the city, we also gained it by coming together. That was amazing.

But in the meantime, I’m getting ready for the fall season of my favorite shows. Season 3 of “Once Upon A Time” is starting this Sunday, and I am really looking forward to it. Last season was a bit of roller coaster because some episodes were good but others were puzzling. So here’s hoping this season is better.

Sadly though, one of my favorite shows was cancelled one week ago. BBC America’s “Copper” was cancelled literally two days before the finale of Season 2 aired, so I, along with devoted fans of the show, watched it with a heavy heart. Oh man! I heard there were budget issues and the ratings weren’t that stellar. But that was very good show and it promised for a storyline evolving to ever more intrigue at Five Points. I wish all the actors, writers, and everyone involved the very best 😦

I am still writing, as well as reading. I read during my morning commute. In case you are wondering why I do not write or take notes during then, keep in mind I take the subway to work, and it will not easy to get out a pen and pad to write amidst the chaos. Writing takes a different concentration for me than reading, so such a fast pace wouldn’t help me much. Also, I need to read because I need to learn from others, and well, because I love it!

I’ll be posting a review of the last book I finished next week.

 

 

Emmy Nods, True Blood, and Other TV Comments

Tags

Ato Essandoh, BBC America, Copper, Emmy Nominations, Emmys, Tatiana Maslany, True Blood, TV Shows, Twitter, Under the Dome

So the Emmy nominations came and went, and sadly none of those of I was hoping to be nominated were mentioned Thursday morning. Lana Parrilla didn’t make the cut, and neither did Keri Russell. Peter Dinklage got a nod, but that’s because he won once before and it’s almost a given.

But I have to admit that I was livid that Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany was not nominated at all. Yes, I know she’s a newcomer on a lesser known show on a less popular station. But still. I’m one of those people jumping mad, insisting she was not snubbed, but robbed. Ugh. Here’s hoping the Hollywood Foreign Press will give her the recognition she deserves for the upcoming Golden Globes.

OK, moving on. The sixth season of True Blood is still going, and I must say that I am liking this season. The writers are doing quite a good job cleaning up the mess from Season 5, where it was dull and nothing made sense. I like how the writers are explaining what Bill Compton is now, even though to me, it contradicts what was happening last year. I feel the take on Andy Bellefleur’s faerie daughters was hilarious. I was laughing when they went from 10 year olds to 16 year olds in a matter of seconds. Last year, I rolled my eyes in disgust when they were born, because I felt the writers were being silly. But it has worked out for the best. Too bad Jessica killed all but one, making me dislike her even I was always cheering her on.

Speaking of which, isn’t it kind of odd that as the show has progressed, Sookie’s sweet smelling faerie blood is pointed out more? I get it that we weren’t supposed to know she’s half fae until halfway through Season 3, but it is still odd to now see vampires act like drug addicts around her. You’d think if Jessica couldn’t control herself around Bellefleur’s quadruplets, she would’ve mention how Sookie smells so good before. Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s just a story and it works. You know, cutting to the chase like I once explained?

I’m a bit nervous for Sunday’s episode. I heard the rumors that Eric Northman dies this season. And the tagline says “no one lives forever”. Yikes. True Blood without the hot Alexander Skarsgård. I can’t even fathom it…

Speaking of Sunday TV shows, I’m watching the BBC America show, Copper. This program makes me want to seriously research my Irish family history and see if any of my ancestors lived in Five Points in the 1860s. I really should.

What’s been really awesome is that on Twitter, I’ve interacted with one of the show’s actors and one of their writers! A couple of weeks ago, there was a love scene between the characters Matthew and Sarah Freeman. Ato Essandoh, the actor who plays Matthew, tweeted “That’s my ass!”

And here’s how that went:

@MeganCashman my ass is a big deal!

— Ato Essandoh (@AtoEssandoh) July 1, 2013

He also favorited and retweeted what I said an hour later for the West Coast audience. Ha! I was acknowledged by one of my favorite show’s actors! Awesome! Gotta love Twitter for that.

Oh yeah, I’ve been watching Under the Dome on CBS. It’s OK. Some episodes seem stale, though. But it is a good story idea: imagine being trapped in your small town by a massive dome. Yep, that’s a nightmare right there.

I know. I watch too much TV. But I swear I am not a couch potato. I actually lost 25 pounds this past year. You can ask my doctor!