Here at the End

It's been a strange year, and I can't say that I'll miss 2009 all that much. I have high hopes for 2010 even though we're not on schedule with those flying cars I heard so much about when I was a kid.

As far as writing goals go, I'm batting about 500. Some I accomplished, some not so much. But I'm pressing on. I'll confess I did have a few moments in 2009 when I asked myself "why write?" They were just short moment, though.

Just before sitting down to write this post I was messing with my latest WIP. I didn't get much done (just 500 words) but I feel better; less stressed; more focused. That's why I write.

Hopefully somewhere in 2010 hobby and career will meet. Until then I'll be satisfied with what I have.

I wish you all a happy and safe New Year.

Will Ya Shut Up Already

I had something happen to me recently that has never happened before. I abandoned a book (one that I was reading, not writing) after laboring with it for 120+ pages.

I hate giving up on books or movies. I usually will give it a once through just in case it redeems itself in the end. If it doesn't, then I don't read or watch it again. Besides, bad writing can sometimes teach you as much, if not more, than good writing. But this book, which I will leave anonymous, was just too much.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older and I just don't have as much time to waste. I'm not sure. It wasn't that the author was a bad writer. He was very good. The book was a New York Times bestseller (not that that means a great deal). What really sealed it for me was the chunk of back story that lasted for over 70 pages. I don't mind a bit of back story . . . a lot of back story if it carries the story along . . . but man, come on. Stephen King talks in his book On Writing about authors that fall in love with their own writing and ramble on just to see the words on paper. It's the equivalent of a blabber mouth who talks just to hear his own voice. There are few things more annoying.

So, away with it.

My wife and I are voracious readers (well, we were before children). I'm sure most of you are, too. You know the score. You buy books with the fervor of a habitual hoarder, and hope someday you'll be able to sit and read them all. So, my bookshelf is never void of a book to read.

I found one I got for Christmas last year: a collection of short stories by Clive Barker. Man oh man is it good. But my writing feels so remedial next to such a giant. My vocabulary is just too humble.

But that's a different post.

Writing wise, I haven't yet started my next novel due to a short story that popped up out of nowhere and derailed me. I hope to have it out of my brain soon so that I can start the long journey that is the novel.

50th Post

As the title reads, this is my 50th post. It's a tad pathetic considering I've had this blog for just over three years now. In the beginning I didn't post all that regular (if you look close you'll see a blank span of about seven or eight months) and I'm still not quite where I'd like to be. This year I tried my best to get at least one post in a month, two if I was really feeling it. In 2010 my goal is to get in a post a week. We'll see how that works out.

I have enjoyed all the new friends I've met through this blog, and I've learned a lot by following along with your adventures. It's been a tough year job-wise. I don't think I could have made it without sneaking a looky-loo at your blogs while pretending that I'm working.

Things are looking up. I see a light up ahead. My wife's schedule is starting to steady and solidify, which means I should be able to settle into a better pattern of writing. That makes for a less grumpy Gabe.

Now onto the writing news.

I know it is never a good idea to post about your agent rejections -- why promote how bad your are doing? -- but I'm not sure what the etiquette is for small victories. Who knows what agents and editors are lurking around your blog posts, using your little electronic journal as a judge of character? But what the heck. If it's bad form, please forgive.

Another agent has requested a partial of my novel GUARDING THE HEALER. I'm doing a little dance for no other reason than this lets me know I'm still on the right track. As you well know, it's a slippery slope and getting lost is an easy thing.

I was going to post about walking away from books too awful to read, but I think I'll save that for the next post.

If I don't talk to you before have a Happy Halloween.

The Clutter King

I was roaming the blog of the powerful and terrifying agent, Janet Reid, the other day and she had a link to another blog (some days it's like running through a maze) Murderati and a wonderful entry about positive and negative spaces.

It touched me on many levels; not just as a writer. I have to admit I live a very cluttered life. I don't want to. It's no ones fault. That's just how it is. I just haven't quite figured out how to move all the junk out of the way. I'm working on it, though.

I don't have much to report. I'm still harassing agents; still adding to editor's slush piles. I'm getting close to starting another novel. I've been putting it off a bit -- trying to de-clutter, and all that -- but I can feel it worming its way to the surface. I'm having trouble writing any new shorts because this new novel won't get out of the way.

I'm still in the planning stage right now. I'll let you know when I hit it full strength.

Well, I better go. Storms are rolling in and I want to finish before the power goes out.

Cutting it Close

I made it. It was a bit too close, but I did it.

I just finished up a tiny little story titled A TRIP TO THE BLUE HOLE. I received an invitation several months back to submit a story to CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE URBAN KIND and the deadline was today.

Those of you that actually read the tripe I shovel on this blog know that life has been kicking my butt of late and my writing has suffered. I really thought I was going to blow this one, but I hunkered down and forced that story out of my brain. And I still have about twenty minutes to spare.

Now, whether it gets accepted remains to be seen. That is always the hope. But the mission here was keeping the deadline. I know that I'll never be a professional writer unless I start acting like one and real writers have deadlines.

I had a lot of trouble with this story. I'm not sure if it was the length (it weighed in at just under 1,400 words . . . I'm terrible at shorts) or if it's just the work stress, but I'm so glad to have this one out and gone.

And now on to my next adventure.

The New Toy

I'm writing this post from our new laptop. Life has been rough of late and my writing has suffered more than anything (that's what you get for not making me any money, stupid writing).

Sorry. I'm better now.

Technically, this laptop is for my wife so that she can consolidate her three (yes, I said three) part time jobs, and have more family time in the evening. But I have no problem usurping it for my own devious purposes . . . i.e. blogging, net surfing, and maybe if I can drag my lazy butt out of bed after the kids go down, some actual writing.

I've been very bad. I have a story that's due on September 1st and I've yet to write a single word. I've got a basic grasp on what I want to scribble down, but with little time to plan, I'm going to have to rely on my warped subconscious to fill in the blanks. I'll let you know how successful I am.

Multiple Personalities

Nothing too important is going on in my world these days. Mercedes sent me a note, in the comments of my last post, checking up on me. I was very touched that someone I had never officially met was waiting to "hear" from me.

What can I say? She's a doll.

Anyway, I've been adjusting to 10 hour days; trying to mow my grass before it reaches jungle proportions; disposing of the skunks (yes, that's plural) that my dogs have been warring with; chasing a toddler through mosquito infested jungle-grass; and like always, click-clacking away at the computer.

I finally finished my latest story. It took a long time, mostly due to life, but I kept at it and I'm happy with the finished result. It is titled MY PATIENT GRAVE and weighs in at about 8,700 words.

Jamie is particularly good at flash fiction, but I stink at it. I've done a few, but they're not that great. There is nothing wrong with longer works, it's just that I find them harder to place. Most paying markets now a days want something a bit more streamlined. Just my own observation there.

As I put the finishing touches on MY PATIENT GRAVE, I started having one of those identity crises I've been reading so much about.

What I mean is, I mostly consider myself a horror writer. I'm an affiliate member of the HWA. I don't really like the tag, but it seems a necessary evil. But MPG isn't really a horror story. It's dark. It's a little sad. It even has my trademark weirdness to it. But it's not horror. To be honest, I don't know what it is. Dark Fiction, I guess.

And now I'm rolling my next novel around. The characters, the setting, the skeleton of plot is all there. But what I can't decide is if this will be an adult novel or a young adult novel. Most of my work is dark, twisted and not for children -- which is kind of funny seeing as how I'm a Sunday school teacher (whoops, I let the cat out of the bag).

Here is how I see it. Stephen King is one of the greats. Even if you don't like his work, you have to at least give me that he was built to write. So, what raises him above other horror writers?

I think it's because he's not really a horror writer. I think he writes literary novels (whatever that means) that are infused with the fantastic. Every story of his that I've ever read were never about the "creature". It was about people living and breathing in strange times.

I'll give one example -- there are many to choose from.

Let's look at his novel CELL. When you break it down to its most basic, it's not about the strange signal coming through the cell phones. It's about a man trying to find and protect his son during a dangerous time. This is pretty much the theme of Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD. It just so happens that Stephen King's CELL is filled with crazy telekinetic zombies.

My point is that at the heart of King's stories it's more about people coping with tragedy than with the monsters.

This is just my opinion. I am far from a die-hard King fan and I don't claim to have read all of his work. This is just based on the things I HAVE read. I think the same could be said of all the great genre writers, though.

This is the type of story I want to write. If you strip away the horrific and fantastic, the magic and monsters, at the heart you still have a pretty good story.

This is what I'm hoping an agent then publisher then reader will find in my novel GUARDING THE HEALER. Sure it's full of angels and demons, killers and healers, but really, it's about a man trying to deal with a great tragedy, find his place in a world he doesn't understand, and help redeem a friend going down the wrong path.

Jamie touches on this same thought here. I swear I didn't read his post until after I'd written mine (I'm not above stealing topics, though). Great minds and all, but I think his is more coherent. He IS a college grad . . . not that I'm jealous or anything.

Good Liars Make Great Writers

Oh, man. I tell you what. I must be getting a lesson in patience. Just when I get this 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift down, they go and change it on me. I was just getting used to writing in the morning, too. Now I'm doing 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. four days a week. It sounds good on the surface, but it's hard with the kids to get much writing done on the weekends and writing that extra day off during the week isn't going to get me very far. I may have to start night-writing again. Hey! I could be the Night Writer. I like that. Maybe my computer could have a light that flashes back and forth and talk to me in a droll voice.

Sorry. Went off on a tangent there.

Anyway, Mercedes, bless her to pieces, must have realized I needed another distraction so she tagged me and I'm bound by blogger-code to obey. So on with the lies.

“Sometimes you can learn more about a person by what they don’t tell you. Sometimes you can learn a lot from the things they just make up. If you are tagged with this Meme, lie to me. Then tag 7 other folks (one for each deadly sin) and hope they can lie.”

Pride: What is your biggest contribution to the world?
Killing off the dinosaurs so that they'd stop using us for entrees.

Envy: What do your coworkers wish they had which is yours?
It's either my tall, well toned body or my long, curly locks of hair.

Gluttony: What did you eat last night?
Some left-over T-rex (see pride).

Lust: What really lights your fire?
I always liked that sorceress chick from the Thundar the Barbarian cartoon.

Anger: What is the last thing that really pissed you off?
Not being able to get all my hundreds in my wallet.

Greed: Name something you keep from others.
I never share my underwear. Sorry, no matter how much you beg, those babies are mine.

Sloth: What’s the laziest thing you’ve ever done?
Once, when I was walking with Big Foot, he made his business and I just left it. Sorry, my baggies weren't big enough.

Now, I guess I should tag someone. I choose, in no certain order:
Jennifer Brozek, Joshua Reynolds, Cheryl Reif, Jim Cooney . . . uhm, sorry, that's all I got. Everyone else has either done it or is an agent and I'm not going there.

I'm Still Here . . . Somewhere

I'm sorry that I've been a bit distant of late. There have been a few changes in my life that have left me feeling a bit . . . cluttered.

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, my job was dissolved (I just love that word. Bring all sorts of images to mind!) back in March. I am now getting settled into my new position and the new shift. I was working 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. It was a good shift. I would come home, do some writing before the wife and kids got home, maybe do some work around the house. Now, I go in at 10:00 a.m. and get home a little after 7:00 p.m.

It's a real bummer. I am now a morning writer. I'm not an early-to-rise kind of guy. I'm mostly on auto-pilot. I get up, help see my wife and kids off, then sit down and get as many words down as I can before I have to trudge off to work. This way it frees up my after-work hours for the most important thing of all: family time.

The downside, however, is that this leaves me very little time to do blog posts.

I would like to answer a couple of fellow bloggers who have reached out to me lately.

First is Mercedes. She asked about my partials that are lingering with agents. The answer . . . I'm batting 500. The agent that has my full manuscript still hasn't replied to me. Today is 14 weeks that he has had it. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but as of right now, it's not a rejection. The agent that asked for the first five pages passed on my novel. I was a little disappointed, but it was a minor wound. Again, I'm happy she liked my query well enough to follow up.

Second is Chris, who by the way is mostly responsible for the success of my query letter. He took me under his wing and pointed me in the right direction. Chris tagged me with the "four-thing meme" and who am I to resist?

Here we go:

4 movies you would watch over and over again:
Die Hard
An American Werewolf in London
The Shawshank Redemption
The Terminator

4 places you have lived:
in a low income apartment
in a farmhouse sans the farm
in another apartment (not low income)
the house I'm in now
(boring, I know, but I'm a deep rooted Hoosier and never moved far from home)

NOW WITH BONUS! 4 places you have lived (fiction edition):
Belmount
The Dark Tower
an Earth peopled with vampires, save one
Middle Earth

4 TV shows you love to watch:
Simpsons
The Office
World's Deadliest Warrior
Family Guy

4 places you have been on vacation:
Clearwater, FL
Gatlinburg, TN
Nashville, TN
Red Lake, Ontario

4 of your favorite foods:
steak
fried chicken
pork chops
strawberries

4 web sites you visit daily:
my wife's blog (sorry, no link, it's private)
AgentQuery
Wildside Press
HWA

4 places you would rather be right now:
in bed sleeping (it IS 3:00 in the morning)
somewhere warm and sunny, playing with my kids
camping
fishing

4 things you'd like to do before you die:
See a novel through to publication
Make a living as a writer (I stole both of these from Chris)
Visit all 50 states
Learn to fly (I mean like Superman does)

4 books you wish you could read again for the first time:
An Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Wasteland by Stephen King

Tag 4 people you think will respond:
Jamie Eyeberg
Catherine Gardner
Samantha Sterner
Jennifer Hudson Taylor

A Well Deserved Thank You

I would like to start out this post by giving a heart-felt thank you to all the American soldiers, past and present, on this Memorial Day. Whether it is peace or wartime, to wear the uniform means a willingness to separate yourself from friends and loved ones, and despite the agenda, to simply go where needed, and sacrifice all that we might continue to be free. Freedom is, and never will be, free. Thank you for paying the price for me.

In writing news, I have had another agent request a partial of my novel. Not a large partial, mind you, but that does mean she at least liked my query letter. Today won't be very productive as far as writing goes. I have the day off, but my wife still has to work. So, I'm spending the day chasing diaper-dwarves, and later I have to go to a birthday party. I HAVE to go because it's my party. I'm 32 today, and everyone will be upset if they can't tell me how OLD I'm getting.

I just love that part.

Happy Memorial Day.

An Invitation to the Dance

I received a nice little email this afternoon.

The lovely Jennifer Brozek (the new submissions editor at Apex and chief editor of The Edge of Propinquity) sent me an invitation to submit a story for the upcoming anthology CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE URBAN KIND.

Maybe this happens all the time to other writers, and maybe this same invitation was sent out to 100,000 other writers, but it's a first for me, so don't spoil it. Also, don't think me foolish. I understand that an invite isn't a guaranteed acceptance.

The Day Job has been a bog of depression. I'm getting a rush training for my new position, and I'm not all that thrilled (but as they say these days "at least I HAVE a job"), so this invitation was a bright beam of sunlight through a thick canopy of black clouds.

As any writer knows, it's lonely out there. So when someone reaches out and actually ASKS you to write something . . . I mean, wow! Give me a computer; a crayon and some paper; a chunk of stone and a chisel; something quick!

I have until September 1st to turn something in, but I'm already sifting through ideas. As soon as I'm done with the current WIP, I'll be on it like gnats on a dog's . . . sorry, bad Indiana analogy.

Agent update:

It's going on six weeks that my full manuscript has been in the hands of a certain agent. The suspense is killing me, but to be honest, I'm a little afraid to get a response. Right now I'm holding onto the old adage "no news is good news", and I'm praying that things will go my way.

Big Changes

I really wanted to have a good April Fool's joke for all of you, but I'm sorry to say, I'm drawing a blank.

As you all can see I've given the ol' blog a much needed overhaul. There will be some more changes on the way, but right now I'm too tired to do much more.

Let me know what you all think.

Will Write For Food

So, I've become a statistic.

I'll give you a minute to ponder that. Go ahead, I'll wait. There, are you done? What did you come up with? No, no, nothing so sorted.

I was talking about my job. You should really watch where your mind wanders.

Yes, alas, it's true. The Krakens of Corporate Sheol have decided to "dissolve" my position with the company. Now, before you get all weepy for me, I still have a job. They are stuffing me into another department. It's not terrible, but it's not good, either. I feel a bit like Milton from the movie Office Space.

One, I don't handle change very well. Two, my work hours will be going from good to bad, so I'm not yet sure how this will affect my writing. I'll still write, it's just going to be a bit more difficult for me.

Unless I land that six figure book deal that I've been dreaming about. That really does happen to writers, right? Most of the time, no, you say. Crap!

Maybe I can go stand by the freeway with a sign that reads, "Will Write For Food."

That's a First!

So, there I was at work (trying to look like I was working) when I noticed an email pop up. I glanced at the description balloon and saw that it was a response to one of my agent queries.

No big deal. I'd received one just a few hours earlier . . . a rejection, mind you. Again, no big deal. But something caught my eye. A strange phrase that I had yet to see in an agent's response. I couldn't be sure, but I could have sworn that I saw the word "interested".

Trying my best -- and failing -- not to get my hopes up, I opened the email. And there it was. Something that turned my good day into great day.

I have received my first official manuscript request by a literary agent.

Now, I know that this means nothing. It could still end in a rejection if my writing doesn't register with him. But it still feels good to know I'm doing something right for a change.

Now I'm off to put the boy to bed and then it'll be a late night of submitting my manuscript and synopsis.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Beware the Mask

I am very happy to announce that my story THE MASK OF DESLOW MANSION is now available in volume 38 of The Edge of Propinquity. Stop by, have a look, but please don't judge me on the head shot. I'm just not very photogenic.

I would like to thank Jennifer Brozek for allowing me to be this month's guest author.

Not Sure How I Feel About This

I found something interesting on Cheryl Reifsnyder's blog today. It's called Authonomy. It is a fascinating idea, but I'm not sure I'm sold on it.

Go check it out. Tell me what you all think.

Happy B-Day Mr. Poe

I was perusing blogs (I should've been writing) when I came across an interesting fact on Joshua M. Reynolds' blog, Hunting Monsters. Today is Edgar Allen Poe's 200th birthday.

It seems as good a thing as any to blog about, so I'm going to give my own tribute to the tortured soul by sharing a story (boring as it may be) about finding a treasure in the oddest of places.

So, there I was at work, just trying to get through another day. I am one of a handful of people in the office that has a key to the "records room". This room is the catch-all of the building and somehow I'm lucky enough to hold the key to everyone else's junk.

I know you're jealous.

Anyway, I was back in said room on said day, when I noticed a large cardboard box. I can't say what drew me to this particular box. There are dozens filling the room. I go to the box and open it up. To my delight, it is filled with old books. Being a writer and all around lover of books, I tucked it away and went in search of its owner.

A very nice man, named Glenn, was the owner and it was then that I learned Glenn was a book collector. His storage unit (that's right STORAGE UNIT) was too full of books so he stashed the box in the records room for later inspection.

To my surprise, with very little coaxing at all, Glenn says, "I have plenty of books. You're welcome to take any that you want." So, like a giddy little leprechaun sneaking off with a pot of gold, I put the box in my truck and took them home.

Now, all of the books were old, but not many were that interesting. There was an old dictionary, some old turn of the century prairie books, but there were a few gems in the mix. Though they were not in good condition, I found a copy of THE THREE MUSKETEERS and UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. Then I pulled out . . . TALES OF ROMANCE AND FANTASY by Edgar Allen Poe.

Now, it's not in great condition, but considering the publication date is 1894, I'd say it's in good condition.

The pages are browned, and just a bit brittle. There are a few smudges and tears. But every time I look through it I can't help but wonder what all has this book seen in its 115 years? What famous hands might have turned the pages?

So, happy 200th birthday Mr. Poe. Thanks for the book. I would have liked an autograph, but what am I gonna do?


P.S.

On a completely side note.

Jim over on Ink & Beans asked if I would post a description of my novel GUARDING THE HEALER. Now, call me paranoid, call me superstitious, but I have a bit of trouble talking about my writing if it hasn't yet been published. This may be silly, but it's still true.

I'm still seeking an agent for GUARDING THE HEALER, but I was thinking about posting the pitch I've been using in my query letter.

What I need is opinions. Do you think this is good? Bad? Should I spread the premise of my novel to the world even though it has yet to be accepted by agent or editor? Or is my paranoia justified?

What do you all think?

A Wee Over 85

Stolen from Cate.

Supposedly if you’ve seen more than 85 of these films, you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, then put x’s next to the films you’ve seen, and add them up.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
() Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Anchorman
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw
() Saw II
(x) White Noise
() White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
() The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x) Scary Movie 2
(x) Scary Movie 3
(x) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
(x) The Village
() Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(x) White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
() Robots

Total so far: 39

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
() KING KONG

Total so far: 47

() A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
(x) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
() The Ring 2
(x) Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber

Total so far: 53

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
() Chicago
(x) Ghost Ship
() From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
() I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
(x) The Whole Ten YardsTotal so far: 60
(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child’s Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask

Total so far: 70

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Slevin
() Ocean’s Eleven
() Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
() Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
(x) The Fog
() Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George

Total so far:77

(x) Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2

Total so far: 85

() Best Bet
() How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She’s All That
() Calendar Girls
() Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3

Total so far: 95

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
() Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
(x) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2

Total so far: 109

() Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
() The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
() Krippendorf’s Tribe
() A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin

Total so far: 113

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 119

() Basketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
(x) House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
() Three

Total so far: 124

(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
() Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard

Total so far: 126

() High Tension
(x) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
() Orgazmo
(x) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld

Total so far: 134

() Kill Bill vol 1
() Kill Bill vol 2
(x) Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
(x) the Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness

Total so far: 137

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor

Total so far: 143

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal

Total: 150


That's a lot of time I could/should have been reading and writing, but what can I do? I'm a boob-tube baby.