Taking stock...

After Christmas comes the New Year.

Happy New Year to all, by the way.

Every New Year we tend to take stock of where we're at and where we're going.

This morning I had a list - yes, a bona fide LIST - of thing to get done to meet the New Year properly.  But before I got to the list I went to the gym.  (Actually, that was kind of on the list, too)

After four and one half miles on the elliptical machine and some stretching and free weights for good measure, I was ready to tackle the list head on.  The first item required a trip to nearby Guelph (printer ink and a replacement for my CPAP mask which succumbed to a design flaw last night).

Now I'm back at the desk tackling yet another list item.  Once I'm done typing this I will be taking inventory of what's in development and working out a schedule (yes, it frightens me, too!) to move them out of development and into the light of day.

After the schedule, I will be working on two new things - one, a hunk of novel length fiction I started as the holidays began - and the second is to write down a scene which I half thought up - half dreamed a few nights ago about a guy awakening from a bicycle accident.  I don't have a whole story about the bicycle guy, yet, but I want to write down the scene before I lose it.

With that said, HI HO, HI HO...

Yes, Virginia....

Merry Christmas.

Can`t spend too much time today.  Just want to say that we have had a wonderful Christmas and that Santa was very good to us all.  In the spirit of giving,  here's my favourite little Santa snippet:

Merry Christmas - more to follow in the days to come.

Unobtainium...really? 300 million and that's the best you can come up with?

This afternoon I went to see a really expensive movie.  AVATAR is James Cameron's latest movie and is reportedly the most expensive movie ever made.  It shows.  The movie is a spectacular feast for the eyes.  I watched it in 3D and really can't imagine watching it any other way.  Apparently the landscapes are entirely computer generated and I've heard that they rendered over 150 different varieties of plants.  Visually - it was stunning.

The CGI characters - so well rendered and such fluidity of motion that I fear Hollywood actors should start reining in big egos because, frankly, they aren't needed anymore.  I know that this movie used a new motion -capture technology to build the images, but really, any old face will do for that - you don't need a star or starlet.  True - you will still need voice actors - for now.

The one part where the movie fell apart for me was the story.  There were some holes, but not many.  The problem was predictability.  There were no surprises.  The characters were stereotyped card-board cutouts.  There was not an unexpected plot twist to be seen.  My friend who accompanied me to the theatre dubbed the movie "Dances with Cats" and he's pretty close to the mark.  Did I enjoy the spectacle - absolutely.  Would I encourage other to see the movie - yes.

Just don't hope to be blown away by the unexpected ending - there isn't one.