Please enjoy the clip. Cou1fP4PoGs

I watched the premiere episode of Big Bang and was not impressed. I thought the characters were too stock, and the pretty blonde, Penny in particular, added nothing to the show, so I never returned until I listened to the TV Guide podcast and the commentors convinced  me to give the show another try. I’m glad they did because it has been a staple ever since. As I seem to find fewer and fewer shows worth spending my time on, I am always glad when Big Bang is on because I can rely on it.

One of the changes I like most about this show is the addition of more female characters: Bernadette, Amy and Priya had joined the gang. Moreover, I like the fact that Penny, Bernadette and Amy have become friends. They are not extensions of the men or plot conveniences but developing characters who are interesting. The women often hang out together, completely separate from the men, something I wish more series books included.

We’ve learned a lot about Penny over the years and seen her grow because of her friendship with the nerdy scientists. It makes complete sense that she would now be friends with intelligent, successful women like Bernadette and Amy. The writers also showed us that Bernadette is not maternal (show don’t tell) and we learned why from her back story about raising her younger brothers and sisters. She does not want to give up everything she’s accomplished in order to care for a child stuffing Cheerios up their nose.

But the writers are also willing to show our humorous weaknesses, hence Amy’s reaction to the tiara. I love Mayim Balik’s weak-kneed, complete body response to the ultimate princess symbol. Brilliant.

But if anything NaNoWriMo seems to be growing in popularity. Why?

It’s because writing is hard and solitary. NaNoWriMo is a community so you can engage with like minded people. Not only can you create an online profile and keep track of your writing, but you can also meet up with fellow writers. For once the group with laptops at a coffee shop might be actual writers. I also adore the fact that NaNoWriMo does not discriminate. Literary novels and genres novels are both welcomed and accepted. Many published authors also use the event to spur them forward.

The deadline is incredibly helpful; no matter what you try you can’t make December 1 not come on time.

But I think most important aspect is the aspirational goal: write an entire novel.

Aspirational goals drive us forward. To do something most people would consider impossible. Think of the Wright brothers. Or Edison. Or Steve Jobs. They dreamed big and accomplished big. That’s the heart of NaNoWriMo.

Your novel will not be perfect at the end of the month, but if you worked hard you will have something you did not have on October 31.

So to all of you who have been taking part, congratulations and well done. And you have about 33 hours to make your aspirational goal!

(A list of novels that have been published from NaNoWriMo.)

She’s hilarious on The Office and she’s written some of my favorite episodes for that show. I’m a huge fan when it comes to performers who are also writers. Also, my fantasy dream job is that of television writer.

Sitting in a room with funny, creative people working on a TV show seems just about perfect. In fact, when I watched the Dick Van Dyke show as as child, the one where Rob Petrie was a writer for the Alan Brady show, I did not believe that the job was real. For my six-year-old brain it was a made-up TV thing (like familes who had a housekeeper or everyone spoke English or no one ever discussed the price of anything). Work was supposed to be, well, work. Not fun and challenging.

Mindy also has a fun blog: The Concerns of Mindy Kaling.

And I just downloaded her audiobook. I have not yet listened to it, but she has moved to next on my list – I have a long drive next week.

Plus her name is cool. Mindy is so like Cindy, a name for nice girls that has been downtrodden for such a long time that it’s become cool because of its lack of regard. And Kaling is exotic. The combination is fantastic and all the letters look good next to each other (look at the letters in names. So many don’t go together. While my name is challenging to say outloud in English, the letters look really cool with the double “l”‘s balancing everything out.)

Read her book or download the audio or just keep enjoying her on the office. And you can follow her on twitter @mindykaling

1. I get to organize a book club at work. We have a lot of new people in our digital team, so we’ve started reading a book a month and discussing it our team meeting. Our first book is a Harlequin Desire by Maya Banks. ENTICED BY HIS FORGOTTEN LOVER hit the New York Times Bestseller list. I’ll find out in an hour what the team thought of it. I loved it.

2. Change. Publishing used to not change at all. Computers as an office tool were a big deal. Then came the Internet. Then digital publishing took hold for real. It’s a brave new world and sometimes it’s scary. But I work with really smart people, colleagues, industry professionals, authors, and I believe transformational change also brings new opportunity. Let’s not forget how the medieval monks felt about the book – we’re in a similar world!

3. Authors. They come in all shapes and sizes, shy and outgoing, free-spirited and super-organized (anal, some might say), but without them there would be no wonderful stories. On many occasions I have had dinner with an author I have just met and all awkwardness is forgotten once we start talking about our favorite stories.

4. Bloggers. It was not so long ago when the entire conversation about publishing was between publishers and authors or publishers and publishers, especially when it came to romance. Then came the smart, passionate, interested bloggers. I think they’ve kicked the industry up a couple of levels from offering reviews that contain real criticism and insight, to industry news and questions, to technology discussions.

5. Story. My job entails me thinking a lot about the future of the story (ebooks, apps, transmedia), and as I indicated in point #2, the publishing industry is undergoing a transformation. But no matter what the “book” of the future looks like (and I do imagine hallograms, although not like the ones on Star Trek that always ran amuck) there will still be great stories. And someone, somewhere will be organizing a “book” club.

Thank you.

He was one of my summer reading discoveries (on my 2 week cottage vacations I like to read an author’s oeuvre) perhaps about 5 years ago. It has to be before digital reading became my primary experience, because I own his books in print. They take up an entire bookcase shelf.

I love him because he is funny, smart, clever and he likes people. He is a gifted satirist, but his books are overwhelmingly hopeful. I am currently listening to SNUFF, which features one of my favorite characters, Commander Sam Vine of the police. This is Terry Pratchett in strong form, and his books on audio are a delight. His stories are meant to be read out loud, and the narrator, Stephen Briggs, is outstanding. He captures a wide cast of characters with specificity and accuracy. (There’s nothing worse than when the voice sounds wrong; not at all like the voice in your head for the character. I listened to Ilona Andrews first “Magic” book on audio, but the narrator did such a poor job with the heroine’s voice that I could not listen to any more of the books – she made the heroine sound weak and young when she is extremely strong. Very odd choice and I’m surprised the producers didn’t ask for changes. Other reviewers commented the same. But back to Terry.)

If you haven’t read Terry Pratchett and like connected books in a fantastical world and a voice filled with humour and sympathy do give him a try! Tor.com has a wonderful article about appreciating Terry written by Karen L Kross. One note of caution. Terry seems to have discovered his voice several books into the Discworld series. I would skip the first couple of books. The good news is you can start this series anywhere, including with the current release SNUFF (audio link).

So a big thanks to Terry and his wonderful books. And to audiobooks. And to the joy of turkey.

The Secret Circle

It’s new fall TV show time! Yahoo. I look forward to this time of year, every year and while it’s not as special as it used to be before year-round launches of new shows, it still recalls back to school, fall resolutions and wonderful, exciting new television friends.

Last year I did not make one new friend in the fall television season, but I have much higher hopes for this year. In fact, after watching Up All Night I am pretty sure we will be friends. Ringer can go either way for me, but I still have hope. But does the CW have no budget whatsoever to shoot action? The boat scene was so embarrassing that I had to look away. A Saturday Night Live skit would have looked more realistic. Still, I love the Sarah Michelle!

New shows, when they are on (I don’t have Canadian channels for all; if you know please do share!).

Ringer Tuesday, Sept 13 (okay I’m a little behind! I sent the excel spreadsheet to my friends on Tuesday) 9p.m. CW or Friday Sept 16 on Global — Buffy back on tv playing twins and her mother! See above comment about really bad special effects. But some nice very clothing. 

Up All Night Wed Sept 14 NB C & CTV — Funny Christina Applegate and Will Arnett (married to hilarious Amy Poehler) with Maya Rudolph. Maya’s role has been rewritten since the pilot. I enjoyed!

I mention Free Agents only because it played immediately after Up All Night (the reviews I read told me to skip it). Hank Azaria scares me because he is Mark Anthony Skeletor skinny. I fell asleep half way thru this dreadful offering. Do not bother!

The Secret Circle Thurs Sept 15on CW or Friday on Global: Teens. “Surprise, you’re a witch!” From creators of The Vampire Diaries. I still love Samantha and Charmed never filled my ongoing desire for a good show about witches so I will try it. 

Cover Me, Canada Sun Sept 18 on CBC — You can tell it’s a Canadian show because we included the correct punctuation. Copy editors around the world will be proud. Canadian bands cover songs.

2 Broke Girls Mon Sept 19 CBS and CTV (?) — Whitney has 2 sitcoms: the eponymous show and this one which is supposed to be good.

The Playboy Club Mon Sept 19 10 p.m. NBC — Ouch, my feminist sensibilities worry, but Big Love was good. Still I have never celebrated the objectification of women and never thought the Playboy Club or Hugh Hefner were cool.

New Girl Tuesday Sept 20 9 p.m. on Fox — Zoey Deschenel. She has to be better than her sister! (Bones)

The X Factor Wed Sept 21 8 p.m. on Fox & CTV — Simon Cowell returns to tv, thank god. I’m a little worried about myself because I am looking forward to seeing Paula again.

Revenge Wed Sept 21 10 p.m. on ABC — Cute teens. Rich pepole. Revenge. Could 1000s of Presents novels be wrong?

Charlie’s Angels Thurs Sept 22 8 p.m. on ABC — Weak reviews but I do like Minka from Friday Night Lights. Kitsch factor.

Person of Interest Thurs Sept 22 9 p.m. on CBS — Ben from Lost. Plus a hot sexy guy and paranoid plots. Gotta try it – or else they might know I haven’t seen it…

Whitney Thurs Sept 22 9:30 on NBC — Show based on Whitney’s stand up/life. Weak reviews. See 2 Broke Girls instead.

Prime Suspect Thurs Sept 22 10:00 on NBC — Did not expect to like it but the previews look good and Maria Bello is awesome. Even starting to like the hat.

The Gifted Man Friday September 23 at 8 PM on CBS — I have the same feelings about this as I did toward The Good Wife and look how well that turned out. Great cast. Here’s hoping! Jennifer Ehle (the dead wife) is from P&P.

Pan AM Sunday September 25 at 10 PM on ABC — If we’re going to go retro, I  so much prefer the dream of being a stewardess than a bunny! Plus there are spies! When I was a kid my career aspiration was spy.

Terra Nova Mon Septp 26 8 p.m. on Fox — All kinds of awesomeness plus Jason O’Mara! 4 million dollars an episode to shoot! Steven Speilberg’s name is attached.

Hart of Dixie Monday September 26 at 9 PM on The CW (does this mean Global is also carrying?) — I adore Rachel Bilson.

Suburgatory Wed Sept 28 8:30 p.m. on ABC — Excellent reviews. I’ll try because these are the same critics who sent me to the wonder that is Modern Family.

Homeland Sun Oct 2 10 p.m. on Thowtime — Fantastic reviews. We need to confirm Canadian time/channel.

Is new TV season your favourite season of the year? What are you most anticipating?

Some of the highlights:

Random House, the USA’s largest publisher, says more than 20% of U.S. revenue in the first half of this year were from digital sales.

Tina Jordan, AAP: “a best-selling title from a branded author can run upwards of 30% to 40% in digital sales.”

I predict that this upcoming holiday season will be the real shift to more digital than print. We won’t get there Christmas 2011, but I believe that after explosive sales in December 2011 and January 2012, we will all be able to pick a date when the switch will happen. A few years ago most publishing people predicted ebooks becomign popular sometime after 2018; I think it will be much much sooner. And almost everyone agrees it will happen.

What do you think?

It’s rumoured Amazon’s 7″ tablet will be available in October and the 10″ in early 2012. See the full scoop at NetBook News blog.

First, Nancy H continues to live in a slightly altered universe. It is so close to where most of us spend our lives, but it is not exactly the same place. She was generous enough to drive, so after we left our cars at the designated work parking lot, the four of us headed out for a day of good food, shopping and theatre. The players are: Nancy H, Nancy C and DTT.

As we pull out of the industrial comples Nancy C commented on her fond childhood memory of reenacting the album in a friend’s basement. I only knew two songs (Jesus Christ Superstar and I Don’t Know How to Love Him). Despite DTT’s ethnic childhood like mine, she knew all the songs as well (I credit her older sister). Nancy H proudly announced she had the music for the show in her car’s trunk. Excited by the idea of listening to a cast recording on our drive, we encouraged her to pull over and get the music. She did and passed a dusty workbook over to the back seat. Nancy C accepted it first with great puzzlement and then she began to shake her head as realization struck. I did not get it. I continued to wait for Nancy C to open the yucky book and pull out the CD.

Nope.

Nancy H had offered us the sheet music to the rock opera and was expecting us to sing our way to Stratford.

Nancy C asked if Nancy H had tricked us on purpose into believing she was getting her CD of the sound track and Nancy H indignantly replied that the show was produced before CDs were created. That’s why she has said she had the music. She stressed music. She had not said CD. Only on Planet Hill.

The show was excellent. Almost all of the performances were exceptionally strong. I have to give kudoes to Brent Carver, Chilina Kennedy, Josh Young and Aaron Walpole (I recognized you as Lonny from Rock of Ages. Hello! You are fantastic!). For my many years of theatre-going this was the first time a major lead was played by an understudy. Jonathan Winsby took over the role of Jesus and while he was good, he was not up to the level of the previously named actors. They were able to show the complexity and conflicts their characters faced. Jonathan needs some seasoning.

As per usual we supported the Stratford economy with shopping — who knew that Stratford is a hotbed of shoes and fashion – and after the show we headed to Waterloo to our favorite restaurant, Sole. Now, for years I’ve turned up my nose at GPS. I kind of think it’s for sissies (look at a map; keep up your skills!; be hardy aka Nordic!). Well, the GPS cut out 20 minutes of the drive to the restaurant. And when I picked up my car at the end of the day and tried to exit the west end of Toronto in an efficient manner to head downtown I failed miserably. I easily wasted the 20 minutes the GPS had saved us earlier. Finally I had to drive to the airport and through terminal 3 so that I could get on a road I knew.

So lessons learned:

• day trip to Stratford is always fun especially with friends you’ve known forever
• Planet H continues to thrive parallel to our world
• not everyone who goes out an understudy comes back a star 
• GPS is good

Still, I’m very hopeful about this production. It’s had great reviews and with Brent Carver, Paul Nolan, Chilina Kennedy it should live up to expecations! I’ll let you know.