Find Me Serenity

On a darker note…

Paul Walker died in a car accident this month. There are two actors on this planet I have been a fan of in the long term. Keanu Reeves and Paul Walker. I did not know Paul, I had never met him. Regardless, I am still torn up that he is dead. I went through the phases. Denial. Acceptance. Anger. When the news broke I insisted it was a hoax until all of the legitimate news sources confirmed it was not. I accepted that he had died, but still could not believe it. Then I got angry. How is it that Paul Walker, a man who just wanted to act and raise his daughter and surf and donate time and money to causes close to his heart, as quietly as possible in this industry, was dead. And soul sucking leeches seeking fame at any cost are still alive and well. How is that fair?

10 years ago I was working at Paramount and a movie called Timeline was about to be released. It starred Paul Walker, who was just coming off of the sequel to the Fast and the Furious, so he was becoming a pretty big deal. Being a part of the Motion Picture Marketing Department had its share of perks. On one particular day they were holding a special screening of the film, for Paul. We were asked to sit in the small room and watch the film with him, to show our support. He showed up on time, he came in quietly, he and his friend who had accompanied him sat in their seats and the opening credits rolled. Like many of Paul’s films it was not the greatest, but we clapped when it was over. The lights came up, Paul and his friend left and we went back to work. No fanfare, no hoopla. Nothing. In a time where we were consistently bending over backward to please folks like Tom Cruise, it was a nice change.

Paul Walker is dead. How is that fair?

On a lighter note…

For National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for those who were following my updates on Facebook) I stopped consuming any media I thought would seep into my brain and make me think I had come up with the idea for my own novel. Being a fan of the dark and supernatural genre, I decided to write a story based in that genre. So I put down the Sandman series, stopped watching Supernatural and let Grimm, Dracula and Sleepy Hollow record on my DVR. In an effort to keep my mind on my own task, I stopped reading Allegiant and Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse and watched my Kindle app and DVR pile up with new books that I just could not pass up buying and new shows I had no time to begin watching.

Throughout the month I watched two shows religiously – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Sons of Anarchy. I power watched Doctor Who to prepare for the anniversary special, and read my Batman comics. There was no way I was going to be able to go a whole month without those things. I “won” NaNoWrimo, which is to say I wrote a 50,000 word “novel” in 30 days. After which I gave myself five days to recover.

And then I binge watched Sleepy Hollow and Supernatural, I started reading a biography on Superman (recapping all 75 years of the Man of Steel’s history) and went back to Gaiman’s Sandman series. I jumped back into Grimm (of which I am a season and a half behind!), started on Almost Human and dove back into Percy Jackson’s world. Dracula is still waiting for me, as is Allegiant. For some reason I am having issues starting on Dracula because I am a fan of both the vampire and Jonathan Rhys Meyers..so if it sucks (no pun intended).  I am not good with endings so, Allegiant is sitting there on my Kindle blinking at me in a taunting manner.

That’s where I am right now. In January I begin phase 2 of NaNoWriMo, which consists of editing and reworking the 50,000 words written in November.