Who's behind the false face

Via Retro Weirdo

Special concern:  If you were in the path of the Hurricane Sandy, I hope you're okay.  Has anyone heard from MSB after the storm? I emailed her, but haven't heard back.

1. I'm participating in NaNoWriMo starting on November 1st. The family has been warned there will be increased neglect and I'll be acting like someone with PMS for the entire month, consuming sickening quantities of leftover Halloween candy (right down to the already-opened Smarties) and overreacting to all interruptions. Plus I'll be squeezing all this fun into the hours when I'm not at work or driving to and from. Predictions:  A 50/50 chance of success with a high probability of martyr-like behavior and an outbreak of adult acne.

2.  I want to write an essay titled "Why the Constitution is an Asshole."

3.  If Mitt Romney becomes our president, I'm cancelling my plans to get my diminished hearing checked. Listening to him lie is bad enough, but if I have to go through four years of listening to him do that ghastly tongue click before he speaks, well, that will be too much to bear. It's even worse than the classical radio announcer out of Cincinnati who always sounded like he was chewing a fistful of nuts when he spoke. I could picture him spraying spittle and flecks of pistachios all over the microphone.

Via Retro Weirdo

4. I spent nearly an hour yesterday evening looking at photos of vintage Halloween costumes. The entire Eastern seaboard is in a shambles and I'm trolling for vintage Halloween photos because the bad news all around is breaking my delicate nature.

5. I'm reading a book with the most atrocious dialogue, but I want to know how it ends. I'm halfway through and want to skip ahead, scanning through the dialogue because otherwise I'm afraid I'm going to lose my damn mind. But some writer - all right, Selden Edwards - worked really hard to write this story. Does skipping and scanning make me an asshole like the Constitution?

6. MathMan and I voted on Saturday. Spiderman was standing the prescribed number of feet or yard away from the polling place holding a sign for some fellow who's running for the local school board. After watching this, I'm thinking that having Spiderman on the school board would be an improvement. Goodness knows he wouldn't be our first mutant.

What are you hoping for in your treat bag?

What's Your Story, Morning Glory?

1.  I'm blogging at Black Magpie Theory today.
2.  I'm not really blogging.  I'm driving Chloe back to school, but I have a post up at BMT.  I received some mail I want to tell you about.
3.  While wearing nothing for Halloween turned out to be an inspired yet easy costume choice, it did come with some unforeseen problems.  Some near-sighted adolescent playing ding dong ditch mistook one of my pointy-outy body parts for the door bell button.  I don't think either one of us will ever forget this Halloween.
4.  I tried not to eat too much candy, but let's just say it'll be a long time before I want another Butterfinger.
5.  I introduced Sophia and Nathan to the movie Freaks.  Gooble Gobble will forever be a Golden family tradition.
6.  Because I am (1) a glutton for punishment, (2) in need of something to keep me off the streets, (3) sick of editing my first novel and ready to do some new writing, I've signed up to be part of NaNoWriMo again this year.  Last year I did it and finished writing 50,000 words while holding down a full-time job and commuting four hours a day. This year I have no excuse for not finishing.

And the best part about this second novel is that I've been preparing for it for years by conducting "research" that doubled as a hobby.  Write what you know?  Oh, you betcha.

If you're taking part and want to be a writing buddy, here's my profile.  Unlike most things in my life, I take this 50,000 words in 30 days goal very seriously so if you blog and wonder why I'm not commenting during November just remember it's not you, it's me.  I'm pacing around, gnawing pencils, meditatively ironing, brainstorming with the Pussies for Peace, twirling my hair around my finger and staring off into space, consulting my thesaurus or doing "research" on xhamster.  Research.  Oh, and I still have to finish revising my first novel which finally has a working title:  History We Don't Know.

After the month of November is up, all will be back to normal such as it was.

And so you are all caught up with me.  Now I'm driving back from Gainesville.  I'm stuck on a two-lane highway behind a slow driver.  I drank too much coffee and now I have to pee.  Should I stop at the Kroger to tinkle?  I sing to the radio or listen to old time radio shows and think about the plot for this new novel.  I ignore my phone when it indicates that I have a new text message.  I try not to think about that rise in the road where I ran over an already dead cat but the thunk thunk still haunts me three weeks later.  That bothers me almost as much as having to go pee.  I will the slow poke in front of me to drive faster.  I think about how if I stop at the Kroger to pee, I can also pick up a green pepper for the chili I'm going to make for supper.  And then my phone will ring.  Maybe it's a potential employer calling about an interview or one of the kids.  Maybe it's one of you.

If it is, will you tell me to just stop and go pee?  Oh, and remind me to get a pepper, too.

Thank you.

Now catch me up with you.  What's shakin'?