Quote by Molly

Quote by Ping
Squid Game.

I cried twice. I watched it because people kept telling me to so I didn't expect to get emotionally involved.

I finished season 3 of Lost In Space last night. I really like this series. There are a few people that annoy me to death, but there are enough positives that I can deal with the nonsense.

Has anyone seen Fleabag? I was thinking of watching it.

I just finished season 2 of Lost in Space. It's stupid fun, kind of in the feel of the original. I'll try season 3.

Fleabag is frikkin brilliant. Very funny, occasionally biting.

I keep trying to get Talia to watch Succession. She is luke-warm on watching it. I will give up and try it on my own soon.

Newest fave is The Shrink Next Door. Fascinating and disturbing. Ferrell is good and Rudd is other-worldly good. Strong recommend.

Oh, and yet one more note on the Beatles Get Back Project. One of the many reasons I am so taken by it is the friendship at its center: John and Paul. You can see the irritation and the fierce devotion, often in the same moment.

Ho. Ho. Ho. Now I have a machine gun shaped cookie.

Sorry Elyse. I was thinking of changing my avatar to Hans Gruber, but I didn't want to freak you out.

Still trying to wake up. The cold is much better, but it's lingering. And I have to write my way out of a corner I've ended up in today. Right now it's like my characters are wandering around aimlessly, checking their watches, waiting for the plot to start up.

Anyone watching The Shrink Next Door? It's really good. And really disturbing, considering the cast is two very likable actors. I never thought Paul Rudd could act before, but he really disappears into this role. Excellent show.

Time to pretend I know what I'm doing. A coffee and a cookie please.

Feeling a little better. Coughing and tired, but I'm on the mend.

Quiet day. Write and rest. I'm building a really crazy conspiracy theory involving Ring doorbells scanning people's brains surreptitiously. It's pretty fun.

I see the owners have locked out the players in American baseball. Grrr. Mets now have Sherzer, so of course they're gonna cancel the season.

I'd love a coffee and one of those cute lil monkey cookies.

Quote by Verity

Hello everyone, just popped in to say hello and goodbye for a while. I have one last story for SS and assuming it passes the mods will be posted in time for Christmas. It’s a Christmas ghost story. I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the nice people who took the time to read and vote on my stories. It has been fun and I have learned a lot. I will pop back from time to time to say hello. In the meantime, have a very happy Christmas and god bless. Kindest regards, Verity

Back atcha Verity. I have been lazy about reading of late, but I will definitely check it out.

Made a very cool short story sale yesterday - made my day, and put the wind back in my virus-ravaged sails. They told me not to say anything just yet, but I will eventually - it's a really good market for the horror writers on the site. I'm pretty excited.

Feeling a little better. Gonna try and write today, but I'm still pretty coughy and snorky. Thank God Talia is here today. I don't see myself as one of those guys who need to be babied when they're sick, but Talia would probsbly be the best one to answer that question.

Okay. Limited amount of energy - let's use it wisely.

A coffee and one of the Beatles cookies please.

Thanks for all the cool Beatles cookies, Sara! Those're cool.

Wah! I'm sick. And it's No Talia Wednesday, so she isn't here to take care of me. And the stupid cats are staying away from me, probably afraid of getting cat colds. Snowflakes!

So, I'm gonna stay in bed and listen to history being made today in the Supreme Court, regardless of how they decide. Fascinating stuff. Sotomayer was kicking ass and taking names earlier.

When I first moved to NYC a friend was showing me around, we were near Central Park, and we turned a corner and he pointed to a spot and said stand over there. I did, and he said That's where John Lennon was shot. Chilling. That's another thing about the Get Back doc, Lennon seems so happy and helpful and lively after things get rolling, kinda busting the myth. And Yoko seems pretty chill.

A coffee and that Strawberry Fields cookie please.

Quote by Ping

Quote by verbal

Quote by Ping

Quote by verbal

Thanks for figuring out the coffee maker Sara! I'd love a cup.

So I made mashed potatoes in the crock pot for the first time ever. They came out tasty, and with good texture, but they are...grey. They look like ectoplasm. So I'm getting a lot of crap about it this weekend. Any hints from the cooks out there?

Critiquing all day today, so no writing. I have a whole book to finish critiquing by the 1st. Yikes.

Coffee and a procrastination-shaped cookie please.

Dude, by far the best way to creamy mashed potatoes is a pressure cooker first, but boiling with lots of salt, more than you’d expect, it okay. Pressure cooker is way better. Only russet potatoes. Thems best for mashed. The pressure cooker actually dries the potatoes too. Now the fun part.

Use a ricer, you know, that metal contraption that squishes things into long, narrow noodle like strands. No more lumps. Then, add a warmed mixture of melted, unsalted butter and milk, not cream, but milk. 2% or whole is best. This mix returns the moisture back to the tators. If dine right, the potatoes will be a thick, soupy mess, but that’s what you want. You then use a electric hand beater for about two minutes. It not only whips those bastards to fluffy glory, but they are creamy AF. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Best. Mashed. Potatoes. Ever. You can add some garlic to this mix too, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Best. Ever. My daughters favourite. Never seen a kid savour anything not ice cream like her and this.

Off to make some Peña Coladas. Just cuz I can and I’ve got the ingredients.

Bring on the next comp! Well, a hint, at least. Chances are, we’ll need to wait until January.

Don't own a pressure cooker or a ricer or a masher. I mash my potatoes with STICKS, like in the olden days! Gonna go back to just cubing and boiling them next year.

Mets made some big moves - got Sterling Marte for center field, and looks like they're on the cusp of signing Sherzer too. There's acting like the Yankees of old (or the Dodgers of now).

I have a tiny cold, but I also have nothing planned, so I will push through and try to get a full chapter done today. It's action, how hard can it be?

The Get Back Beatles' doc is frikkin superb. I'll no doubt fanboy out on a TV thread somewhere about it. Just a great document about the creative process and artistic collaboration. And the music is timeless.

Coffee and a cookie would be a dream come true.

In the olden days, we’d put a pad of our homestead-made butter in our mouth, add some freshly-boiled potatoes, and chew, chew, chew, until we could squish the mush threw our gap-toothed smile into the awaiting serving bowl. After we did this a few times, we’d have about five pounds of mushy madness for the dindin table. Later, I bought the pressure cooker and ricer, but in a pinch, a little between the cheek and gums…

He uses sticks. Please. 🙄

I just heard someone call the cream filling of a dessert, fecal nut instead of hazelnut. I surely hope they misspoke. Regardless, I passed on their pasties today. PASTRIES! Darn autocorrect. I’d never pass on their pasties, unless of course, that’s the only thing Verbs wears when he’s sticking’ it to his potatoes. Wow. I got more image of that than I expected. Lots to unfold and innuendo-ize there. Now I got shivers too. I should write a story about that image. It might rival the story about a hand puppet in a church basement during a group session for addiction. You can tell a lot about a man and which direction he twirls his pasties. If Verbs is a right hand Dom, then they twirl to his clockwise.

I wish the snow and cold would go away. I can’t believe we have another four to five months of this. Time to relocate.

Fecal nut pastries. Hard pass.

Actually, we just throw the potatoes against the wall until they're soft. Snowflake. I've never had good luck with taking an electric mixer to the spuds. They get all gluey. I smoosh them with a masher, lotsa butter, milk.

Allergies are bad yesterday/today. Fighting out of a Benadryl daze this morning after I took one last night. Those things hit me hard.

Time to write. More action today! The Greyboys are breaking into the house!

Coffee and a John Lennon shaped cookie would be swell.

Quote by Ping

Quote by verbal

Thanks for figuring out the coffee maker Sara! I'd love a cup.

So I made mashed potatoes in the crock pot for the first time ever. They came out tasty, and with good texture, but they are...grey. They look like ectoplasm. So I'm getting a lot of crap about it this weekend. Any hints from the cooks out there?

Critiquing all day today, so no writing. I have a whole book to finish critiquing by the 1st. Yikes.

Coffee and a procrastination-shaped cookie please.

Dude, by far the best way to creamy mashed potatoes is a pressure cooker first, but boiling with lots of salt, more than you’d expect, it okay. Pressure cooker is way better. Only russet potatoes. Thems best for mashed. The pressure cooker actually dries the potatoes too. Now the fun part.

Use a ricer, you know, that metal contraption that squishes things into long, narrow noodle like strands. No more lumps. Then, add a warmed mixture of melted, unsalted butter and milk, not cream, but milk. 2% or whole is best. This mix returns the moisture back to the tators. If dine right, the potatoes will be a thick, soupy mess, but that’s what you want. You then use a electric hand beater for about two minutes. It not only whips those bastards to fluffy glory, but they are creamy AF. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Best. Mashed. Potatoes. Ever. You can add some garlic to this mix too, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Best. Ever. My daughters favourite. Never seen a kid savour anything not ice cream like her and this.

Off to make some Peña Coladas. Just cuz I can and I’ve got the ingredients.

Bring on the next comp! Well, a hint, at least. Chances are, we’ll need to wait until January.

Don't own a pressure cooker or a ricer or a masher. I mash my potatoes with STICKS, like in the olden days! Gonna go back to just cubing and boiling them next year.

Mets made some big moves - got Sterling Marte for center field, and looks like they're on the cusp of signing Sherzer too. There's acting like the Yankees of old (or the Dodgers of now).

I have a tiny cold, but I also have nothing planned, so I will push through and try to get a full chapter done today. It's action, how hard can it be?

The Get Back Beatles' doc is frikkin superb. I'll no doubt fanboy out on a TV thread somewhere about it. Just a great document about the creative process and artistic collaboration. And the music is timeless.

Coffee and a cookie would be a dream come true.

Thanks for figuring out the coffee maker Sara! I'd love a cup.

So I made mashed potatoes in the crock pot for the first time ever. They came out tasty, and with good texture, but they are...grey. They look like ectoplasm. So I'm getting a lot of crap about it this weekend. Any hints from the cooks out there?

Critiquing all day today, so no writing. I have a whole book to finish critiquing by the 1st. Yikes.

Coffee and a procrastination-shaped cookie please.

The 6 hour Beatles Get Back sessions doc is fascinating. It's like you're in the room. I love how they can all be sitting around cranky and argumentative and suddenly a song takes root and for a few fleeting seconds everything is the pure joy of creativity. I love watching John and George CONNECT and just get lost in the music. And then they all go back to being miserable again.

It's also cool how you see famous songs literally appear from nowhere, at the instant of creation. Gives me goosebumps.

Quote by DenimAngel
No shopping today if I can get a way with it ..it's too peopley outside

I’ve never shopped on Black Friday, and I pray I never will! It sounds awful. Like, everything I hate most stuffed into one activity. Enjoy your binge. We are about to hit The Shrink Next Door and maybe binge it.

Very chill day. Leftovers, a flurry of leaf raking, more leftovers. Works for me!

A coffee and a turkey cookie please.

Thanksgiving menu:

Turkey

Stuffing

Taters

Gravy

Green bean casserole

Corn

Good bread

Cranberry sauce

Sopapilla cheesecake

Simple but good. Dinner at 6. You are all invited (you really are, I always told my kids our door is open on Thanksgiving, and we've had some memorable guests as a result).

Enjoy the day!

I watched a coyote rip apart a squirrel about ten yards away from my head (we were on opposite sides of a window). I like coyotes, but I respect their animal instincts. Be careful Ping and Ping’s dogs and kids.

Fairly chill T Day. Frankly, I’ve done turkey dinner so many times it’s easy and nearly foolproof (despite my own foolish nature) by now. Small group at the table, so a slimmed down menu. Here’s a first: Talia makes a homemade cranberry sauce I actually like.

I have a friend helping pilot Boss Baby at the Macy’s parade this year!

Lots to be thankful for in this land of plenty. It’s only fitting to devote the day to it. Enjoy the holiday and the long weekend everyone!

Quote by Mendalla

Quote by verbal
7 L’s

You have lived in seven states? Dang, you get around my friend.

Yep. Born in Illinois, grew up in Iowa, spent my young adulthood in Mpls. and NYC, moved to Colorado, where I am now. And I lived in Texas for a summer while in college, and growing up we spent a couple years in Arizona.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My favorite holiday: good food and togetherness and traditions, without all the presents and drama of Christmas. Making stuffing today, brining the turko tonight. Hope the coyote doesn't get to it when I set it outside. I'm gonna station the cats to guard it. They don't do enough work around here.

Writing a newsletter today, so no novel progress again til Friday.

Coffee and a cookie in the shape of gratitude.

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona (L)
Arkansas
California (V)
Colorado (L)
Connecticut (V)
Delaware
Florida (V)
Georgia (V)
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois (L)
Indiana
Iowa (L)
Kansas (V)
Kentucky
Louisiana (V)
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts (V)
Michigan (V)
Minnesota (L)
Mississippi
Missouri (V)
Montana
Nebraska (V)
Nevada (V)
New Hampshire
New Jersey (V)
New Mexico (V)
New York (L)
North Carolina (V)
North Dakota
Ohio (V)
Oklahoma (V)
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota (V)
Tennessee (V)
Texas (V)
Utah (V)
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming (V)

22 V’s

7 L’s

You are whomever you wish to be. Wonderful photo, and congrats on the wedding!

Yum, six toed cat shaped cookies! Thanks Sara!

Same ol, same ol. A gloriously sunny day that is going to turn to cold rain and snow this afternoon.

A writing trick I am learning keeps me on track: WRITE DOWN THE FRIKKIN PLOT! I should never be asking myself "what happens next?" That road leads to bullsh!t-y writing (for me, your mileage may vary). Consult the plot synopsis and write what is SUPPOSED to happen next. It's taking care of some of my more self-indulgent habits. Heh.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Coffee and sixty six-toed cat cookies! Or one sixty-six toed car cookie.

Good morning coffeeshop!

Urg. Still trying to wake up. Gotta get this sluggish brain in gear. These stupid words aren't gonna write themselves.

Shopping for Thanksgiving dinner is done. I am an old hand at making a Thanksgiving dinner, though this will be the first one at Talia's house. Standard menu: turkey, dressing, two kinds o taters, gravy, corn, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, cheesecake sopapilla for dessert. Talia is making those last two items, daughter is making the casserole, I'm doing everything else. Beginning with the Traditional Brining of the Turkey in the Cat Litter Bucket. Who said traditions are dead?

Okay, someone help this tired old brain and gimme some coffee. A six toed cat shaped cookie would be marvelous.

Quote by Mendalla

Blue Rodeo (country-rock or alt-country depending how you call it) would be another, I think, though they might had some success stateside. I forget.

This was from Rodeo's very successful debut album, Outskirts. That album also gave us "Try", which I think still remains their biggest hit.

Hey, I know Blue Rodeo from the Austin alt.country scene (or y'allternative, as I like to call it). They did a show for a radio station there, I have a CD from it somewhere. Maybe I'll find it looking for my NYC head shot.

Any of you Cunucks know Great Big Sea? Good band!

Errand day. Breakfast out, shopping and gas and such, then home to watch good bad television and avoid the news and my fears. deletes long political diatribe We're gonna try to binge The Shrink Next Door. Prolly throw a horror movie in there too. And tomorrow...Thanksgiving grocery shopping. Yikes!

A coffee and a democracy shaped cookie please. I'd like to be reminded what it looks like.

Ooh, almost forgot. This one's a self portrait. Note the goatee.

Thanks for the googly eyed love, Gil.

Today's entry is below.

So, is it 60 six-toed cats, or 66 toed cats, or one giant 66 toed cat?

Not much going on. 32,243 words. I'll break 33k today.

I won't go into politics, but some upsetting news just came down on the news. I'm gonna turn to the solace of the blank page. See you all soon.

Coffee and a cookie would improve my mood.

Quote by Ping

Quote by verbal

Quote by Ping

Sixty, six-toed cats.

Solve the meaning or identify the significance of that reference and Verbs will send you a signed copy of his 1985 Verbs’ Beefcake Calendar, with him sporting big ass ‘80’s hair and bombastic ’80’s flair.

Ping, all I can say is, there's the right way, the wrong way, and the Hemming way.

One of the world’s wackiest, that is for certain. You pounced on that like Mike Tyson on ears. Guess you don’t want to part with one of your NYC modelling reminders.

If I can dig up my long-haired NYC head shot from back in the day, I promise to post it for 24 hours. You will, I promise, be highly entertained.

200 words to go for the day. Feets don't fail me now.

Quote by Ping

Sixty, six-toed cats.

Solve the meaning or identify the significance of that reference and Verbs will send you a signed copy of his 1985 Verbs’ Beefcake Calendar, with him sporting big ass ‘80’s hair and bombastic ’80’s flair.

Ping, all I can say is, there's the right way, the wrong way, and the Hemming way.

Broke 31K words. Is it any good? Who knows? It is fun to write (so far).

Cold sunny day, which is kind of bracing. Lunch with youngest later, meaning I've got to hit the keyboard early, and soon.

I have a lovely googly eyed work of art for you today, but I am too lazy to upload it, so I'll just tell you: a googly eyed electric toothbrush!

Coffee and a yummy cookie please.

No Talia Wednesday! It's Fun With Googly Eyes day! The cats are not amused.

Nice to see you Red. You too Henrietta! Ping, Ape.

The weather is turning colder, but Thanksgiving is nearing, which is my favorite holiday--Christmas without all the gift-buying hoopla. Just good food and togetherness.

Time to fight the blank page. A coffee and a stack of cookies, please.

Today's googly eyed work of art.

Not much going on today. They start painting my old house in preparation for sale today. It's gonna be an annoying ton of work, getting everything ready. But it will bring in a un-annoying pile of money for me to spend on more googly eyes.

Started Roadrunner last night. Good doc.

Time to make the donuts. Should hit 30k words today. Looking forward to it.

Coffee and a random cookie please.

Quote by Ping

Oh, forgot to mention, just watched Roadrunner on Prime. A documentary about Anthony Bourdain. A highly recommend.

It didn’t reveal much that I didn’t already know. But it was good to see and hear him again. There are questions. How much did Asia A. and their, posthumously according to her, open relationship, push AB over the edge. I believe he was heartbroken when media widely revealed her coziness with another. Tony was a committed romantic in the truest sense. He was always a darkened soul, but he was happy with her until he joined her battle and took the #MeToo movement bit in his mouth. Feinstein is undeniably a wretched beast. But giving someone that much buy-in and then witnessing with the rest of the world her fling, open relationship or not, must have hurt really, really bad. No toxins in his system. He hurt. He hung. He died. I remember it like yesterday. Damn I miss him, just like I miss Freddie Mercury and Robin Williams.

Ooh, ooh, I may watch this tonight! $3! I knew very little about him until this year. I knew of the suicide, and the vague outlines of his persona, but had seen none of the tv shows or read his book. Then I started watching Parts Unknown and was just blown away, particularly after he hits his stride mid season 2 and you realize his true subject is not travel, or food, but the people he meets. And himself, but I don’t mind a little ego in the mix.

I told my youngest daughter I was binging it, and she started laughing loudly and told me I was turning into my Dad (I guess he loved this show, but I didn’t know that). So, another reason to recommend it.

Looking forward to Roadrunner. That, and Ping exclaiming “Oh my God, World War Z is SUCH an atrocious movie!”

Quote by Ping

Quote by verbal

World War Z is AWFUL. Good book though.

We saw Last Night in Soho and really liked it. Not perfect, but really great performances and set decoration and music. Worth seeing.

We saw Belfast too. Not as memorable, but very good. Best picture Oscar bait.

Really?!? WWZ is awful? 😩 Awful like most The Rock blockbuster albeit entertaining movies or awful like Killer Tomatoes and most things Marvel?

Grumble. Grumble. I really wanted to watch it. I guess I’ll go back to my first pick, Stillwater. Damon can’t be worse than that stupid zoo movie or that even stupider Mars mish-mash… could it/he?

Awful as in I saw it at the DRIVE IN and I still didn't like it. Drive in movies are a mighty low bar: as long as there's dancing popcorn boxes and hot dogs I'm happy. It's mindless, and the book is so good (Mel Brook's son wrote it).

The Martian is stupid!? The Martian!? Thems fighin words.

I think we agree The Rock is pretty silly.

Bright sunny day today! I raked and bagged leaves all day yesterday and while it was a nice way to spend the day, my back is barking today. Still not much to do: one meeting about selling the old house, the rest of the day is writing.

Got my googly eyes in the mail yesterday. Here's what my phone looks like now. World beware.

Coffee and a typewriter cookie please!

World War Z is AWFUL. Good book though.

We saw Last Night in Soho and really liked it. Not perfect, but really great performances and set decoration and music. Worth seeing.

We saw Belfast too. Not as memorable, but very good. Best picture Oscar bait.