As promised, I finished Clara Betta last night. Hoorah! Doing a little snoopy dance around my room. I have to give a big shout out to my very good friend Christine for all the wonderful feedback. Her words of encouragement and the fact that she read almost every single version of this story has been a huge help in this process!! Of course, big thank yous to all the other readers Tamara, Patrick and William. All the feedback helped me cross the finish line on this project fairly quickly. :-) Yep, that's a smiley face. I am sending it out this afternoon to a literary magazine I scoped out a couple of months ago. Hopefully, it's a good fit. We shall see. Wish me luck.
I also have a decent draft of the piece that I'll read on Wednesday. I'm all fluttery nerves about this one and I have to remember to breathe otherwise i'm going to rush through this piece like a bat out of hell. Hehehe. Seriously! I just have to get the accent down so that will be my homework for the next three nights. Teek Spanish Ax-cent. Eek!
Okay, all for now.
Peace,
L~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Burying the Lead
It's amazing how quickly the days go by during the holiday season. We are almost at the end of November. Here are some tidbits on what's gone on + Upcoming Event at Nuyorican Poets Cafe:
Me and my mother cooked a feast for Thanksgiving. We roasted a turkey that was so tender that the meat slid off the bone. Hoorah! And to think most everyone who sat at the table swore up and down that they didn't like turkey...we made believers out of them. An 11.3 lb turkey was stripped down to bones in record time. hehehe. No leftovers from that bird. It was fun to watch. Lots of spirited talk and laughter. I'm usually such a grump during the holidays and this year I really enjoyed being around my family. Not being in pain really helped matters.
My 6 year old and 9 year old niece stayed the night and slept in my bed which meant I slept very little / not at all that night. At what point do two skinny minis turn into elbows / knees / kicking monsters. Anyway, I spent most of Friday in a bit of a zombie state from lack of sleep.
Once they left I curled up into a ball on my bed and watched a long French film called Violette. A film about the writer Violette LeDuc who Simone de Beauvoir took under her wing and encouraged to write. What an amazing film. I love films that depict writers. And of course this woman LeDuc raged and howled at the difficulties in her life but she continued to write.
After watching this film, I woke up, ran some much needed errands, came back home, procrastinated a bit and then went to work on the writing. Spent some time writing up the monologue that I'm presenting at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe this coming Wednesday, Dec 3rd. It's in conjunction with the book launch by Applause books. I have a rough, first draft-two pages. It's resting now. I have to practice the thick Spanish accent and I have to write the intro to put the piece in context. Okay, I know I've been crap about promoting upcoming events in a timely manner. For some reason I was having an especially hard time making up my mind about showing up to this event...one night last week being unable to sleep, I finally made up my mind to just do it. I don't know what the hemming and hawing was all about but I'll be there with bells on.
Next I have to finish up Clara Betta. Just took a dinner break and decided to write this much needed blog entry before I go back to Clara.
Tomorrow I will give the monologue a once over--make edits/changes/deletions as necessary then ...practice, practice, practice the dialect until I have it down. Make changes as they come to me. That's the plan and I'm sticking to it.
Who wants a drink?! I do, I do. That'll have to wait 'til the work is done. * sigh *
Peace,
L~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Me and my mother cooked a feast for Thanksgiving. We roasted a turkey that was so tender that the meat slid off the bone. Hoorah! And to think most everyone who sat at the table swore up and down that they didn't like turkey...we made believers out of them. An 11.3 lb turkey was stripped down to bones in record time. hehehe. No leftovers from that bird. It was fun to watch. Lots of spirited talk and laughter. I'm usually such a grump during the holidays and this year I really enjoyed being around my family. Not being in pain really helped matters.
My 6 year old and 9 year old niece stayed the night and slept in my bed which meant I slept very little / not at all that night. At what point do two skinny minis turn into elbows / knees / kicking monsters. Anyway, I spent most of Friday in a bit of a zombie state from lack of sleep.
Once they left I curled up into a ball on my bed and watched a long French film called Violette. A film about the writer Violette LeDuc who Simone de Beauvoir took under her wing and encouraged to write. What an amazing film. I love films that depict writers. And of course this woman LeDuc raged and howled at the difficulties in her life but she continued to write.
After watching this film, I woke up, ran some much needed errands, came back home, procrastinated a bit and then went to work on the writing. Spent some time writing up the monologue that I'm presenting at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe this coming Wednesday, Dec 3rd. It's in conjunction with the book launch by Applause books. I have a rough, first draft-two pages. It's resting now. I have to practice the thick Spanish accent and I have to write the intro to put the piece in context. Okay, I know I've been crap about promoting upcoming events in a timely manner. For some reason I was having an especially hard time making up my mind about showing up to this event...one night last week being unable to sleep, I finally made up my mind to just do it. I don't know what the hemming and hawing was all about but I'll be there with bells on.
Next I have to finish up Clara Betta. Just took a dinner break and decided to write this much needed blog entry before I go back to Clara.
Tomorrow I will give the monologue a once over--make edits/changes/deletions as necessary then ...practice, practice, practice the dialect until I have it down. Make changes as they come to me. That's the plan and I'm sticking to it.
Who wants a drink?! I do, I do. That'll have to wait 'til the work is done. * sigh *
Peace,
L~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Echosmith - Cool Kids
Another cool pop-py song. Enjoy!
Monday, November 17, 2014
Vance Joy - Riptide
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Nico & Vinz - Am I Wrong?
I heard this song about a year ago but it didn't quite register at the time. As I was painting the bathroom last month, I heard this song a few times on the radio. It finally entered the grey matter and took hold. Enjoy!
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
What Can I Say?
I spent yesterday and today revising my short story, Clara Betta. I've sent it to a couple of trusted readers but I'm ready to send it out to a literary magazine very soon. It feels good.
Now it's time to go face my novel again. I almost restarted revising today but I lost my nerve.
Instead, I faced a box of soaked files. A couple of weeks ago my basement flooded. I was able to shred five years worth of paperwork. It made me aware that I could get rid of more stuff. I have that bug again as I was going thru it all.
I found pages of my time as a sales rep and all the background with my transfer. I didn't realized I've been carrying that around for so long. As I was reading through the material all of the old anger came back up for me. It's amazing that I've never really let that go. Good Lord!! After I ripped the pages up I promised myself that I was letting it all go.
I also finished Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests. I really enjoy her writing. I shlepped that 500+ page hardcover back and forth for weeks. It's interesting that since I know her writing, I was anticipating a twist in her story. And when the obvious twist didn't happen, it was a surprise. The ending was bittersweet.
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Now it's time to go face my novel again. I almost restarted revising today but I lost my nerve.
Instead, I faced a box of soaked files. A couple of weeks ago my basement flooded. I was able to shred five years worth of paperwork. It made me aware that I could get rid of more stuff. I have that bug again as I was going thru it all.
I found pages of my time as a sales rep and all the background with my transfer. I didn't realized I've been carrying that around for so long. As I was reading through the material all of the old anger came back up for me. It's amazing that I've never really let that go. Good Lord!! After I ripped the pages up I promised myself that I was letting it all go.
I also finished Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests. I really enjoy her writing. I shlepped that 500+ page hardcover back and forth for weeks. It's interesting that since I know her writing, I was anticipating a twist in her story. And when the obvious twist didn't happen, it was a surprise. The ending was bittersweet.
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Saturday night, I went to see this film. I absolutely loved it.
Quick description: A washed-up actor must overcome his fears, insecurities and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory.
The dark humor is so up my alley. It's so funny that I missed follow up jokes because I was still laughing at the first ones. Edward Norton as Mike was by far my favorite character. There is a certain kind of genius whenever he's up on the screen. I follow and believe his characters no matter how absurd he acts. Wonderful performance. To be fair he had some of the funnier moments.
I have a confession to make: Michael Keaton has never been an actor that has ever left an impression on me. There was one role that I thought he was so far out that I thought he was decent and that was Beetlejuice. But I was not a fan of his Batman portrayal and after Christian Bale in that role, I don't really remember Keaton. After this film, I am now a fan. He's got so many really amazing moments but the ones that made an impression were the times he was the most desperate. The argument he has with the critic gave me chills because of the way he bared his soul.
Emma Stone as his daughter Sam had one strong moment early in the film. It's the first lengthy confrontation with Keaton. After that, I think Inarritu forgot about her as a character. The film was strong but not perfect. Inarritu has one high Hollywood action sequence that I could have done without.
All the theater backstage references were so right on that I was in tears, I laughed so hard. Seriously I could go on and on, breaking down the nuances, of this movie
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and spent a couple of hours after the movie talking about it with a friend.
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
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