Buddy System

I have a blog post over at the Book View Cafe today about writing buddies,my own term for the person who you trust most writing-wise to tell you the truth, remind you of why you started writing in the first place, to render aid and comfort and help you sort through knotty plotting problems.

My writing buddy is a guy I've known for three decades, Steve Popkes. And, not at all coincidentally, today is Steve's debut at BVC, with a terrific story called "Tom Kelley's Ghost." Go check it out--he's not only a splendid Writing Buddy, he's a really excellent writer.

Creative and Funny

Okay, one of my many many many vices is that I love a well-made commercial. It's like a tiny movie. The gorgeous Sony Bravia one a few years ago with all the brightly colored balls zooming down the streets of San Francisco? Love it. The Herding Cats ad from seven or eight years ago? Fabulous. And this year's Superbowl winner, in my opinion, was the one for Old Spice:

Now, via the fabulousness that is ophelianoiepas, here's a making-of clip (it's long, but totally worth a look, if, like me, you like the tech of film production). It was all done in one take. Minimal CGI. Just inventiveness, from the writing to the making.

It doesn't hurt that the guy doing the ad is 1) gorgeous, 2) funny, 3) utterly unflappable and 4) apparently the world's nicest guy.

I Do My Best Thinking In the Shower

Really. Got in to wash my hair, came out with a solution to the current imponderable in the WIP. Thank you again, Hot Water!