Okay, girls, here's why he didn't talk to you . . . maybe . . .

So, you're out with your friends and you see a hot guy. Your eyes meet. There's a connection. You keep glancing over at each other. Maybe he even comes by and chats you and your friends up.

Then he leaves. Didn't ask for your number or anything. Walks out of your life forever. Maybe.

Girls, you gotta give us a chance. If you like the guy and he seems to like you, he's not gonna make his move with your friends around. He doesn't want to get shot down with witnesses, and no matter how obvious the heat is, he's not going to be confident enough to take that chance--unless he's completely drunk or an obnoxious jerk, in which case if you say no he'll immediately hit on your friends. There's a reason we're a little shy when it comes to this--us guys have all ran into women who seem to spend their lives sending mixed signals, and been sent spiraling into the ocean, trailing flames and smoke. So, no, we don't want your friends to overhear when we ask for your number or otherwise make a move. In case you are one of those girls. Give a guy a break--he just met you, okay? How's he to know?

Of course I'm an expert at getting shot down, so I know what I'm talking about. I've hit the silk more times than I can count. In fact, I've been shot down so many times that when I hear 'yes' it takes me a little time to realize it--mentally I'm hearing 'no' again. So, I know all about getting tagged in the dating game.

So, separate yourself from your friends for a few minutes. Go to the bar to get drinks for your friends. Take your time, even a little longer than necessary. Give him a chance to approach--we're gonna want to appear to be cool, so he won't come running over. He'll kinda saunter over, like he was heading this way anyway and it's a happy coincidence that you just happen to be there. He can help you take the drinks back to your table, too. He'll be glad to help.

Of course, this is just an example. I'm sure you can come up with much more creative ways to do this. You don't have to wander around a dark alley alone or anything--you can even stay where your friends can see. Just as long as they are out of earshot. The basic point is give the dude a shot. If he blows it, he blows it, but at least he got a chance--which, trust me, is good karma for you, even if you decide to pass.

Then you can tell your friends all about it.

It's what's for dinner!

Got a boneless chicken breast thawing right now. Here's what I'm going to do with it.

Make a marinade:

2 cups buttermilk
1 clove garlic-minced
a big pinch of kosher salt
a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
a teaspoon of ground red pepper
2 teaspoons or more of basil

Mix the marinade. Cut the chicken breast into strips and put it in the marinade for around a half-hour or so. Prepare the breading:

A cup of flour
a quarter cup of corn meal
a teaspoon of salt
a teaspoon of black pepper

You can put the above ingrediants in a paper lunch sack, blow some air into it, and give it a vigorous shake to mix it all. Then pour that into a pan. Add the strips and roll those in the mixture. Deep fry the strips for nine minutes or until done. Serve with ranch or honey mustard dressing for dipping. Sprinkle malt vinegar over the strips.

This also works to make very tasty onion rings, fried squash, fried okra, even brocolli if you are so inclined. Just about any vegetable that can be fried is quite good this way. Adjust cooking times accordingly. I like to make onion rings with the chicken, then fry up some french fries to go with it. With a nice liberal sprinkling of malt vinegar over everything. Yum!

I adapted this from my copy of The Joy of Cooking. If you cook, don't cook without it. Lots of essential info contained within!

Was it good for you?

I reached a sort of milestone just now--finished the first draft of my spec script, Mythophobia.

I've mentioned how concerned I was about the ending, about how I was afraid I wouldn't be able to pull it off. Re-reading what I've done I think I managed it. It certainly affected me, and I'm not a sucker for my own stuff in that regard. Normally I underestimate the impact of what I've written, so if this hits me this hard then it might be lethal . . . heh.

Actually I doubt it, though my hope is, if this thing ever gets produced, you'll have some tears in your eyes at the end. And your throat will be raw from screaming, too. It is, after all, a horror movie . . .

What I've learned is a good sign, as I've mentioned before, is my complete immersion in it--it took a couple hours for me to write what I did today, which was the finale and the coda, and I felt like it was only a few minutes. Plus, I worked up a good sweat, too. Another good sign. It's hard work, making up stuff like this!

Anyways, I hope I'm not fooling myself with how good it is. It does need a rewrite--there's some stuff I need to tweak, some things that need to be edited, and I want to add a couple short scenes, stuff like that. Plus I need to work on the pacing--my most common complaint with a lot of films is herky-jerky pacing. It should flow, like a symphony--some faster tempo sections, some slower, some moderate . . . a good mix, working towards an overpowering finale. And a sweet, satisfying coda, to finish it off. Let's hope the music I'm making with this thing is something people will want to hear!

Now I need to take a day or so off from it. Gonna watch a movie or three, listen for a few dozen tunes, maybe record something new. I need to get some distance from it so I can be a little detached and approach it with a fresher perspective.



Speaking of music, I found a bit of inspiration in Sirenia's 13th Floor CD. Lots of mythical imagery and interesting dreamscapes to be found in this one. Very helpful soundtrack to assist with creative thought. Check it out!

O, for a Muse of Fire . . .

I got one of those. A Muse of Fire, that is. I'm understanding what Shakespeare was talking about at the beginning of Henry V.

I'm in the final act of this spec script I've been working on, Mythophobia. I've been worried about it for a while now--I felt like it might be a little too big for me. It could be one of those things that elevates this work to a special place, that makes it different from other films.

Or it could be a pretencious piece of crap.

So, with some anxiety I began working on it yesterday. Worked on it some more just now. So far, I'm pleased.

Sure, it's just a first draft, and it'll need some refining. To me, anyway, that's the easy part. The hard part is getting it down in the first place. Once it's out there it's just a matter of massaging it, snipping parts, moving stuff around, adjusting the flow, and all that.

A good sign--I have a huge playlist in ITunes I use, carefully selected music that provides my imagination with a proper context, a soundtrack, something to assist it in creating this stuff. When I checked I was about twenty songs into it before I quit for now. About an hour and a half. I had no clue I was at it for that long. This, in my experience with how I work, is a Very Good Sign.

I think one more session like that and I'll be through most of it--there will just be the coda, which won't be all that much, really. Maybe by tomorrow afternoon I'll be done with this part, and I'll be able to get out my blue pencil and start hacking away at it. Heh.

There is no feeling like this--putting something together, be it a story, a screenplay, a song, whatever. There is nothing like putting together a project and knowing that, even if it never gets published, produced, or whatever, that it is something special, something rare and worthwhile. That you brought something beautiful, truthful, rare and wondrous into the world.

Nothing like it. Nothing.

I like beer. And etc.

Right now, as I type this, I'm sipping my very first glass ever of a Samuel Adams ale--the creamy stout. And I'm enjoying it--as advertised, it's a little creamy, full-bodied, quite tasty. I dig it.

I like beer. I don't drink it very often, but on hot days when I have to be outside, or if I've been extremely busy and a bit stressed, a nice cold glass of something foamy is very refreshing. Just one, maybe two. Plus it gives the added benefit of helping me to relax a little. It also helps to get the creative juices to flowing, to lower inhibitions just a tad, and let those ideas sort of come out past my sometimes over-zealous editor. More than two, though, and I start getting drunk, and that never leads to anything useful.

Haven't done any writing yet. I've been running errands. There were some things I just desperately needed to do, stuff I needed to get, and then when I got home I had an invite to a lunch at work. How could I say no? So I went back to the office on my day off to share a sub sandwich with my co-workers.

Now I'm going to chill for a little while before diving back into the world of Mythophobia. I'm into the final act now, and this is when the true nightmare begins. My favorite part. If done right this could move this baby from the realm of the standard slasher flick into something special.

As such I want to be at a point where I can just sit and write and write and write until I'm done. Interruptions should be avoided at this point. Wish me luck.

Have I mentioned how much I dig Tristania? If you indulge in creative pursuits their music is conducive to the creative process. Really. Give them a shot. You won't regret it.

Tristania - Rubicon

About a year ago I discovered Stavanger, Norway's Tristania. Out of curiosity I bought their (then) latest album, Illumination.

That album blew my mind and I soon had most of their back-catalog, too. Complex, layered music with haunting male and female vocals--theirs was the perfect sound. If I had the resources my stuff would sound a lot like that.

So, it was some trepidation that I waited this new one, Rubicon. Trepidation because the main reasons I love Tristania so much--the vocalists--were both gone. Would the new people be able to fill those enormous shoes?

I'd say, from listening to this one, that'd be a 'yes'. While the new vocalists don't have the same vocal style as the previous singers they are outstanding in their own right, and I feel like they will do fine when performing some of this band's classics live. Good news, because it would be a terrible thing to see Tristania live and not hear "Shadowman," or "The Ravens." (There is a video of the new lineup performing "Shadowman" and they do it quite well, so no worries on that score.) The new stuff takes Tristania's sound into a new direction without forsaking their roots--lots of stuff their long-time fans will dig here, and plenty to attract new ones.

Pete Johanson returns as a guest musician on a couple of tracks with his other-worldly violin solos. His work on "Amnesia" is particularly wonderful. He plays the violin the way a top-notch shredder plays guitar--musical but strange, haunting, surprising, evocative of another world. Much like Tristiania's music as a whole.

I give it a solid A. Which means you'll love it. Check out their other stuff, too, if you haven't already. Soon you'll have it all. You won't be able to help yourself.

Take My Breath

Most people never see her


the way I've always seen her

hardly anyone would know her

the way I do



She never shows her true colors

even with her friends around

with me there's no need for caution

caution or precaution



Now here she comes, the Queen of my Night

Finally coming to take my breath



Pulse quickening, blood thickening

her monster speaks to mine

fighting and bleeding, leaving and needing

closing time for the Id



Most people have never seen me

the way she's always seen me

hardly anyone would know

the way that she does



Now I come to her, the King of her Night

Finally coming around to take her breath.



words and music by J Franklin Evans