Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

Vulnerability; Exploring Issues in Rom-com Movies: Volume 61

I love being me.  Only me would follow-up a post about how the United States is beter at making romantic comedy movies than Great Britain is with a post on vulnerablitly.  But that's me, pretenteous as all fuck, and ALWAYS willing go out on a limb and see how much more of fool I can become and add to my legend of infamacy.  

This time kiddies I'm attempting to tackle the issue of "vunlerablity" and how it pertains to romatic comedies.  Should be fun, right?  Let's see what this joker has in his bag of tricks this time around.  This discource will begin a definition of the word: vulnerable.

Vulnerablity: 1) Susceptable to phyiscal, emotional, or just an attack.  2) Open to cesure or criticism.

O-kay, not exactly painting the picture I intended to pain in actually looking this word up in my trusty American Heritage Dictionary which I've been known to crack from time-to-time, since I'm as versed with words as some brainacs are.  So let's go more from the gut.  This is how E.C. Henry, ever the romantic titan that he is, sees the word "vulnerabilty" as pertains to romatic comedy movies:

Vulernabilty: 1) The part of the romantic comedy where a member of romance confesses something intimate that previously they held guarded from the other member of the romance.  2) the part of the romatic comedy that makes the girls swoon and the guys squirm in their seats.

Vullnerablity is what women want to hear from thier guy.  It is priviledged insider information that makes women feel important, valued and trusted.  Guys, on the hand see vulnerablity as a sign of weakness, and are resistant to being vulnerable because of their superhero-like egos.  In a crude and broader sense most guys are macho doers, whereas women tend to be emotional gossips.   Hence, if you buy a form of that logic you see a recipe ripe for drama. In one corner you have women who typically wanna talk and think their talk is bigger than it actually.  And in the other corner you have your silent hero type, who wants to do adventurous things and be admired for doing so.  Vulnerablity is when the guard of the hero comes down and the girl's inner desire to better know her man gets fullfilled.

But here is vulnerablity, from a macho guys' perspective:

"Earn this."

Okay, so now I'm quoting lines from "Saving Private Ryan" (1998: writen by Robert Rodat, directed by Steven Speilberg, stars Tom Hanks and Matt Damon).  Why?  Can there be a corolation between the lean lines of dialog in a war movie, and one of the most key dynamics in a romantic comedy?   Yes, in this case there is.  In "Saving Private Ryan" this line is spoken between a dieing commander to the man he was sent to rescue to impress upon him the ultimate sacrifce that he made so that this man could be saved and returned to his family.  The bridge to this illustration in the make-up and dynamics of a romantic comedy is that for vulnerable moments to really matter, what matters first, is what happens first.  In "Saving Private Ryan" the audience is exposed to the D-day invasion from a footsoldier's point of view, disarming fortified German postions, and at the end a street-by-street tank battle.  We see the horrors of war.  All of this is on our minds when at last the hero of the movie, Tom Hanks' character dies--but before he does he has a vulneralbe moment with Matt Damon's character and imparts to him some moving, final words.  The action engages the audience, and makes them care about what characters are saying.  Study enough romantic comedies and you'll find a very similar principle in action.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that your romantic comedy makes people laugh before vulnerable moments occur.  IF you fail to entertain the audience and just realy on dramatic moments to carry your rom-com, you're in BIG TROUBLE!  As a guy I am really not into deep, weepy moment, they are a real turn-off for me.  BUT if you can get me to care about your characters, and laugh a little along the way, I'm apt to respond favorably to a rom-com's vulnerable moments.  

From my perspective the best vulnerable moment in a rom-com that I like the most is that scene between Jenna Rink (as played by Jennifer Garner) and Matt Flemmhaff (as played by Mark Ruffalo) in "13 Going on 30" (2004: written by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa) where Jenna attempts to intercept Matt and talk him out of marry Wendy from Chicago.  "I Love you Matt, you're my best friend."

Why does this line work?  It's a rather straight forward, boring confession.  Hardly revolutionary.  As compared to say the line, "I would have loved you even if we had never met" which Dermot Mulroney's character says to Debra Messing's character in a vulnerable moment from "The Wedding Date" (2005: screenplay by Dana Fox).  

It all ties back to earning your romantic, vulnerable moments.  I LA-OVED Jenna Rink and Matt Flemhaff's character arc.  I LOATHED the absoulutely crappy characters that Dermot Mulroney and Debra Messing played in "The Wedding Date".  I hated those characters so much that by the end of "The Wedding Date" I didn't even want to remember their names.  A male hooker who falls in love with the woman who hired him to make herself look like a sucess in front of her family--awefull!  Worse yet there are no laughs to make the ride more palitable.  Not so with "13 Going on 30".  That movie had some laughs in it, and it was relateble.

My point is that before you have a meaningful vulnerable moment, you really need to earn it by grafting in some comedy and getting your audience to like and root for your protagonists.  "The Wedding Date" was an abysmal failure.  I wouldn't give a fuck if it had the most romantic lines at the end, because it's set-up and up to that point was so forgetable.  Now as for "13 Going on 30" the set-up for Jenna and Matt's confession to one another is awesome.  You see that both secretly like each other a lot, but that Jenna has some hang-ups with the illusion of worldly success--and Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa use this set-up and graft in some funny stuff leading up that moment.

Now girls MAY be willing to forgive a rom-com for not being funny, and JUST accept all the sappy stuff which satisfies an inner need that they have.  But I, as a guy, will not forgive such a grievous oversight.  Rom-coms that really on sappy stuff to carry them are the dreck that gives the entire genre the black-eye stigma through which many condemn anything rom-com.  

I can't state this loudly or enough, intersting lines of dialog are not enough to cary vulnernable moments in movies and make them memorable.  What you do beforehand is critical to pulling off and making iconic moments sing.  

Other "vulnerable" moments in rom-coms that E.C. Henry responded favorably to:

• When Andy FINALLY tells Trish that's he's a virgin from Judd Apatow's classic raunch-com "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (2005).  Why this works: Big, action sequence preceeds this with Andy chasing Trish moving car with his bicylce, and the comedic responce line by Trish once Andy reluctatnly confess.  "You're just a virgin.  Wssshew, I thought you were trying to kill me."  THAT is a underrated line.  Comedic relief afer a dramic confession.  Nice touch, LOVED it.  And this vulnerable scene works because its build up is masterfully made in the plot.  When's Andy going to fall in love and NOT be a virgin anymore.  EVERYTHING plays off this central chord.  Along the way guys laugh.  And by the end of the movie I'm willing to tollerate a vulnerable moment.
• Amy's confession to Aarron that she wants to try and that she loves him, after her flop at trying to slam dunk a basketball at the end of "Trainwreck" (2015).  This scene moves me because I bought into Amy's chararacter arc and inner need.  I laughed a few times, and by the end of the movie was rooting for Aarron and Amy to get back together and be a couple.  Amy Schumer and Judd Apatow got me to care, and they did so with an interesting plot, a good, well-defined, and easy to understand character arc by the lead heronine, Amy Townsend.
• Benjamin Barry and Andie Anderson's blow-up fight at the DeLower's diamond party from "How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days".  This kind of a vulnerable moment in subtext form, where Andie and Ben are argueing and yelling at each other, but the tears in Andie's eyes are genuine and prove that she really did have feelings for Ben.  Why this works: best street cred in the form of MULTIPLE comedic set pieces.  Andie and Ben have been screwing with each other in effort to advance their careers, yet in this fateful scene it all blows up in their face, and in a way, as an audience member your glad it did.

Vulnerable moments from rom-com classics that didn't fare so well:

• The token booth marriage proposal that Jack (Bill Pulman's character) makes to Lucy Ellenor Moderatz (Sandra Bullock's character) in "While You Were Sleeping".  Too smug.  Too convienent.  Yeah sure I was primmed for a vulnerable moment, but I thought the very last scene where Lucy's voice-over explaining how life went on for Jack, her, and Jack's brother Peter who lost out on her was WAYYY beter and more creative than that toll booth confessional.
• "I'm calling your bluff" Ben pulls over Andie's cab in "How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and gets Andie to jump on his motorcycle and resume their romance.  The dialog in this callback to these lover's schemeing ways just wasn't interesting to me.  This chase just seamed too unrealistic, fabricated and lazy story telling.  The only part about this scene I did like was when Kate Hudson's character joking mocked Matthew McConahuey as the camera pulled back and the credits began.  

In my own life I have failed miserably at most vulnerable momets.  The one instance that sticks most in my craw was a time in my post-high school life where I went out with a girl from work and we went to a lazer light show in Seattle.  We smoked some pot beforehand, and I FINALLY worked up the courage at one point to turn to her and say I was dying to kiss her. I will NEVER forget the look she gave me.  Blank face maybe a little scared, subtle shake of the head, no; then she turned back and watched the rest of lazer light show, and it was awkward as hell for me for the rest of the night and most other times I saw (I still avoid her to this day on account of that night).  I drove her and friend back their houses and it was forever wierd for me to be arorund that girl from that point going forward.  For her part she was cool to me.  She treated me okay.  But her inside information on me, put me on shakey ground with her.  What really sucked was that after I made my move and was shot down she started going out with aother guy from the restaurant we worked at--and he was a fuckin' idiot.  "But that' just love, man." (referenced line that Paul Rudd says in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin".  I put that reference line in "shit" brown, not because I didn't like the line, I did, but rather to emphasize how poorly my own vulneralble moment went.  Still hurts my heart to this day when I recall I how I failed romantically.  BUT then again my set-up wasn't all that great I never knew beforehand how this hottie felt about me, I just thought that because she was willing to out on a date with me that she HAD to have HAD similar feelings for me.  Boy, was I ever wrong!  

Okay, so there you have it, vulnerabilty in romatic comedies, E.C. Henry style.  The only takeaway I want you to rememer is that iconic disclosures in movies are either made or not made on what preceeds them.  You've got to have some good will built up before you lay vulnerable moments that take place between your two main characters, and can hope that your audience will respond favorably to them.  And in your own life hoefully get you to experience a little more of this...

I'm off this week (Monday December 28th through Sunday, January 3, 2016) so HOPEFULLY I'll post several times.  Gunna try to use this week to do some home improvement projects and get a fresh, momnetum building writing in as I re-edit that pesky, epic fantasy novel of mine.  Talk to you again soon.

Love, the host and author of this blog:

E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA 

 

 

Christmas Presents

Well, by now all the Christmas presents should have been open--so did you get what you wanted this year?  

At one point in my life, when I was a kid ages 8-17 Christmas presents meant EVERYTHING to me.  It was my chance to get what I wanted, and I wanted a lot and didn't what to waste the opportunity that the Christmas holiday presented.  At one point I got so bad that I made lists complete with stores to go, prices and IPC coded on the items to make SURE I got the right thing, and not next to the right thing.  

Now in my mid-40s getting what I want present-wise means next to nothing to me, and I would rather give a good gift than get one myself.  

This was the oddest year of Christmas I can EVER remember.  First and foremost, my 66-year-old aunt, who lives with us, is in very bad heath.  Last week she had to go to the doctor to get water removed from the top of her lungs.  Not a good post chemotheropy and radation development.  Other factors contributing to the wierdness was the fact that I got all my Christmas presents very, very late, one to Christmas or later!  A lot of this was fascilitated by the weather and my work commitments, working on Satuday then going to see the new Star Wars movie on Sunday, stuff like that.  This year I dind't have good lists from my immediate family, but rather relied on "the force" to guide me.  In my case as a born-again Christian that meant praying to the Holy Spirit and trusting that He would guide me--and He did!  I found adaquate presents for my family pretty quickly this year, but in all honesty I'm a pretty fast shopper; I don't linger arround shops too much but rather get right in and out.  The ONLY present that I really dilly dallied over was clothing for my mom.  She said she wanted "gold", of course she meant either jewlery or investment gold, but I found her some killer gold colored clothing at Macy's, and bought the shit out of it: short belly leather coat top, two different style gold pair of jeans and white lace top.  It was either hit a homerun or totally strike-out, which with a 66-year-old lady could have fallen either way.  Thanksfully my mother WAS PLEASED with what I bought her.  So much so that when I told the family to line up for a picture with their favorite prestent they got, she chose the jacket I got her see--

Brycen really liked the "Chewbacca gun" I bought him, but the trigger never worked right and its nerf bullets only fires out a couple times.  My dad went on and on about how our family's electric, perk coffee pot was good enough and didn't need to be replaced, but it wasn't keeping the coffee hot enough after it was brewed so up and bought him a new one.  Then once he opened my present to him on Christmas morning he took that up with him to tree with him for the family picture.  Now the other gift I got him, a white (road colors of Seattle Seahawks) jersey of # 3, "Wilson" (Russell Willson, the Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback) he up and gave straight up to my mother.  No qualms about keeping it, he didn't want to as he already a Marshawn Lynch jersey.  As for my brother, Derek, I bought him a whole bunch of Seahawk apparel: a Doug Baldwin jersey, a goofy hat, and another really nice long sleeve Seattle Seahawk shirt that looked really good on him--yet he seamed to prefer the Doug Baldwin jersey as evident on the picture above.  Got Riley, my 3 year old newhew a "Big Wheel", which was a favorite of mine when I was a kid.  I mean me and my brother used to play "Indianappoils 500" in the garage of our house in the subburbs of Chicago.  And for Brenda, my brother's wife, I bought her a portable DVD player that I THOUGHT would be a great gift to entertain the kids and maybe even herself when traveling away from home.  But alas Brenda didn't seam at all impressed with that gift and chose to enter the picutre with a couple of walkie-talkies that she got from her husband to be used on her job as a roadside flagger.

Life, it never goes the way you think it will.  So now Christmas 2015 is nearly in the books and as for me this year I got a TON of gift cards and free movie passes.  Think I'll use one of those passes to go see "Sisters" (2015: Amy Poeler, Tina Fey, written by Paula Pell) tonight.  Too late, my mom roped me into watching "The Count of Monte Cristo" (2002: Jim Cavievel, Guy Pearce, directed by Kevin Reynolds) instead.  I had never seen this movie before and my mom just LA-OVED the story, and since I'm a screenwriter and all you know she HAD to have me watch it with her.  (She had asked me on several previous occasions to watch it with her, and I declined)  But, hey, it's Christmas and I wanted to make her happy so I watched it with her.  HEY, I took two hours out of my life from being a selfish asshole--and it was time well spent.  

Hope y' all's Christmas was a good one.  Got go to work tomorrow for an end-of-year invintory, BUT will try to post something late Saturday night or sometime on Sunday.  Need to get back in the groove of writing two blog posts a week, and making better progress on editing my novel.

Merry Christmas, talk to you again soon,

Sincerly,

E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Holiday Hubbub

My mom's "Snowman Nation: 2015", Whaddya think?

Sorry about the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks.  NO excuse for that.  Sure, I've been working.  Been sick.  And its Christmas time, BUT this blog IS important to me.  And all my readers out there in the cyberworld are important as well.  Wish I could say the lack of blog posting is due to how well rewriting my epic fantasy novel is going, but that would be a lie.  The editing is going as its gone for quite some time now: uninspired and very slow.  Still working on the Prolog, Chapter 1 and occasionally venturing over to Chapter 16 where some serious heavy lifting needs to be done.

As of tonight, Sunday, December 20th, I still have ALL of my Christmas shopping to do.  Had to work yesterday so I couldn't do any shopping then.  And today I went on a "family movie matinee day" to see the new "Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens" movie, which my brother and his seven-year-old son were really geeked up to see.  Me, yeah I was currious about it, but it wasn't like, MUST, SEE, RIGHT NOW like it was for others.  All-in-all we had a great time at the theatre. I bought the gang their tickets, popcorn and a Coke that we all shared.  Does E.C. Henry deserve a star on his star chart for doing so?  Damn straight skippy!  As for the movie itself, I liked MOST of it.  I kind thought the middle dragged.  And the creature worlds were nothing special.  THe mastermind villain, Supreame Leader Snoke looked like some castaway villian from the recent "Thor" movies.  BUT I really liked Kylo Ren.  All the hard work that Michael Ardnt, Lawrence Kasdan, and J.J. Abrams and of course Adam Driver who played Kylo Ren really paid off.  Also really liked the part Hans Solo played, especially when he faces off with his estranged son.  Very cool and tense sceen of "will he or won't he".  The plot of the story was kind hard to follow, like how they get to certain places so quickly.  Anyway, I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, and would rate this on in the lower 2 or 3 movies of the franchise.  8.0 out of 10 as the highest score.  

I have had a couple Christmas season epifanies this year.  A suprising one came at the company I work at's Christmass party.  Watching people pass around and offer edible treats to their fellow coworkers really warmed my heart.  Seeing genuine acts of goodwill being done really warmed my heart, and drove home the phrase from one of those Christmas song lyrics:

Making spirit's bright

What does that phrase mean to me?  Easy.  Christmas time comes during the darkest time of the year.  The weather out here in Western Washington has been horrendous: grey, cloudy and gloomy, with some near freezing temperatures, and lots of rain.  The gloomy weather has taken a toll on me.  But when I see people at work passing around treats in a spirit of genuine goodwill, I felt my spirit brighten.  

My mom's snowman nation at night

Also this year I found that Christmas music puts me in the right frame of mind to love on Jesus.  I love Christmas music for that reason; it reminds me of all that Jesus did, and to take a momment and rend onto Him laud.  Does Jesus deserve my praise and adoration?  Duh!  Not only that, He deserved everything I have.  Now I won't lie and say I'm so pious that I've given all to Him, but in my heart of hearts I have.  I have no revervations about the Lion of Judah.  Jesus is my king.  And though I plan on giving good presents to my immediate family this year, I hope that in some small way I can give Jesus a present too.  Wise men came from far away to honor the birth of the King.  Many years later wise men still take the time to herald the advent of the coming of the Son of God and welcome His arrival.

So what's next?  Well-p, for yours truely, not a lot of writing untill I get that Christamas shopping I put off done.  It all starts tomorrow.  Gunna get up and hit a couple stores before I have to go to work.  I really wanna by my brother a dining room table set.  I can't believe he's using my old, small round table that I bought wayyy back in the 90s when I was living in Boise, Idaho.  He really needs an upgrade, and I hope I can help his out there.  So hitting the furnature store on Monday morning is priority #1.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, hit the stores early, then go to work for my 2nd shift day job so that hopefully I don't hafta spend all of Christmas Eve running all over the place all caught up in the holiday hubbub.

Blogwise before Saturday morning I'll crack out a more in-depth post about something in the rom-com world; an enlightenment that came to me a week or so ago: vunderablity and the romantic comedy.  Kinda funny, huh; given the outright bashing I did earlier this month on Brittish accented rom-coms.  So tune in later this week and I'll have a full throtle post to share with you.  Untill then, stay well, and try to keep your mind on Jesus, as Chrismas is a celebration of His birthday.  

Sincerly, this blog site's author, 

E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

P.S. Please pray for my aunt Denny.  She is recovering from radiation and chemotheropy designed to get rid of a mass that attached itself to her windpipe.  She's been coughing a lot lately, and her skin is very pale.  I think tomorrow we're gonna get a doctor's update and though I'm hoping for the best, from what I'm seeing and hearing in my 66-year-old aunt, it just doesn't look good.

Great Britain--not so Great When It Comes to Rom-Coms; Exploring Issues in Rom-Com Movies: Volume 60

Is love better here in the states, or better in the U.K.?  Well, if you go by the lexicon of rom-com movies released to date, the gool ol' U.S. of A. wins handily.  The crux of this post came to me last week when after work I turned on the cable TV, I actually ran into a rom-com movie I'd never seen before, "The Wedding Date" (2005: directed by Clare Kilner, based on the novel by Elizabeth Young, screenplay by Dana Fox). Why start out with the writers and directors first instead of the stars of this rom-com: Debra Messing of Will & Grace fame (1998-2006) and heartthrob Durmolt Mulroney?  Because I can't belive this movie had a book that it was derived from.  Seriously this movie, "The Wedding Date" is HEINOUS; one of the worst--if not the worst rom-com I've ever seen.  Didn't laugh ONCE.  The ONLY saving grace of this movie is some pretty good acting by Debra Messing after she sleeps with Dernot Mulroney's character, and discovers that she loves him.

The Wedding Date's plot mostly takes place in the U.K., the movie grabbed me right off the bad with its opening credits song, "Breathless", which untill just about five minutes ago I would have SWORN was sung by Belinda Carlile, a guilty pleasure of mine from the mid 1980s...  But acually this song is sung by a group called "The Corrs""?  Never heard of them before, but whoever their lead singer is, she is a dead ringer for Belinda Carslile, imo.  Don't believer me!?  Check it out for yourself then (click on "watch on U-tube" link) :

 

Playful and romantic, right?  Well that's the kind of stuff I respond to, and when I heard that song, I just HAD to give the movie that followed it a go.  

Unfortunately, this movie, "The Wedding Date" is really, really bad.  The crux of the plot is a woman hiring a male escort to pose as her boyfriend so she can avoid being embarrassed at her half-sister's wedding somewhere in Great Brittan.   Amy Adams plays the younger sister, and Holland Taylor (the mother to Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen's characters in CBS long-running 1/2 sit-com "Two and a Half Men," unfortunately neither do enough interesting stuff to overcome the absolute dud of character that the male escort as played by Durmolt Mulroney is.  Holy Shit is Dermot Mulroney's character bad.  Worst male lead in a rom-com I can EVER remember watching.  I think overall the worst rom-com I ever saw was "Just Like Heaven" (2005) which stared Reece Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo as leads.  Dermot Mulroney was EXCELLENT in "Young Guns" (1988: staring Emilio Estevez, Charle Sheen and Keifer Southerland).  In that movie Dermot Mulroney played the comic relief, tobacco chewing hick.  EXCELLENT.  Really added something to the movie.  But ever since then has Dermot Mulroney been in ANYTHING good?  Don't know, but one thing I do know for sure is that movie, "The Wedding Date" is something that I would never boast about.  

And this movie TRIES to play to use the British accent for its advantage, but nothing "British" in this move saves it.  The cheaing Britt love twart is done very poorly too.  By the end of the movie when they TRY for a comedic payoff, I was looking at my watch ready for this dud to end already.  But it was the attempt to fuse in some British that got me thinking about romance in the U.K., the very father nation to the U.S.A. where ol' E.C. Henry hangs his hat.  

Early on I developed a bias against the U.K. as pertains to romance.  Does the name Hugh Grant ring any bells?  That whiney voice that just goes on and on.  How hotties like Elizabeth Hurley DO redeam the U.K. to a point--but not enough get me to chose its appeal over the USA.  

Romance is beter in the USA, even David Lee Roth knows that... (click on "watch on U-tube" link)

 

Wow, two music videos in one post, a real rarity.  But we are starting to get to the crux of the matter: LOVE is better in the U.S.A. than it is in the U.K.  Okay, so Richard Curtis can do dialog.  So what?!  There's more to romance than chit-chat.  I'll take a live wire like Kate Hudson or Amy Schumer over anything the U.K. has to offer in the field of romace.  

What brings Brittan down in the romance department:

1. Whimpy men that would rather do idle chit-chat then be strong protagonists.  
2. Prim and proper manners instead of scorching passionate exchanges.
3. Dull, working outfit.
4. None those fuckers talk normally.  How is that the English language began over there, and yet we speak it sooo much better than its originators?
5. Too many homely women--with the exception of Elizabeth Hurley who is a 10.  

What favors the U.S. in the romance department:

1. Flirty women.  I can't begin to tell you how much difference being femine and flirty has an affect on a man.  California Girls indeed.
2. Stong, proactive men who are the hero types that women gravitate towards and actually WANT to be romanced by.
3. Less formal, leads to more casual converstations.
4. The prospect of adventures and road trips.  Lots to see in the vast expance of the U.S.  What's the U.K. got?  A bunch of pubs out in the midst of the sheep farms.
5. The U.S. is a funner place to be than the U.K.  

I honestly believe that the U.S. is much more fertile place for romance to bud and blossom than the United Kingom.  Brittan may have gotten the ball rolling, but the U.S. of A. took EVERYTHING the parent company strarted to a whole new level.  Bailed your ass out of WWII, and not much has changed since.  Thank you very much.  Now I know A LOT of what I've said probably comes across as brash, but at the bedrock level that's how I feel.  I'm not real down Great Brittan, but I don't think it's all that eihter.  I prefer the U.S. style approach to romance MUCH more that that of the effort of the Britts.   "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" trumps "Bridget Jones Diary".  "Two Weddings and Funeral" IS a funeral compared to "Dan in Real Life".  "About Time" is no "Groundhog Day".  "Notting Hill" is no more than a mole hill when compared to the jugernut that is "Sleepless in the Seattle."  The list goes on and on, it's like I'm recounting Brittish defeats in the American Revolution--only some two hundred years plus years later.

But take solace you limey, Britts.  You'll always have 007.  Yes, James Bond just goes on and on and on, and o, how I do wish you'd keep him in your country and NOT let him travel abroad.  

So IF you chose to base your rom-com in the U.K. please realze that it would probably benefit from being relocated to somewhere in the U.S. instead.  We do romance and life in general better than anscestory, Britt.  IF the Britt are ever to evolve their going to have to change their stripes.  Loose all that uptight, Brittsh upper lip, and let their freak flag fly.  Is that in the cards?  Don't know.  But the answer isn't in unispired, rom-com offerings like "The Wedding Date" which though it hails as some kind of adaption from a pre-existing story, really just comes off as hack rip-off of  "Pretty Woman": make the man the hooker, with the scenery now in London as opposed to L.A. or New York.  

 

Grouchy Writers at Christmas Time

I'm really not happy with myself right now.   I guess it all be begins there.  Most of my frustration/anger is with my slow progress in editing my epic fantasy novel.  To me it feels like I'm just not making fast enough progress. Now I do log in the time at the keyboard, it's just not as productive as it should be right now.  O, and now it's Christmas time so there's the added time limiters there: gotta get presents for the family, and do related family stuff.

So what's the answer?  I don't know.  And I'm afraid that might put me in a cycle of frustration untill I figure it out.  

I THINK the answer that's going to unlock eveything is a mass rewrite of Chapter 16.  I'm just fighting the urge to try to salvage what I've writen with a light rewirte, when what's really needed is a mass rewrite and kind of a fresh start.  Right now I'm leaning towards giving myself a week to totally rewrite a cave exploration sequence that spands roughly 30 pages and has two major fights/clashes in it with envolves my main hero, his possee and some monsters.  

But its the holiday season, and there's no reason for carrying over some creative writing grouchyness into the holiday season, is there?  Gotta get in the spirit of the season.  Did go out with my mom today and went Christmas shopping for about 3 hours.  My 66-year-old mother actually bought my Christmas present in my presence when we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Being a "writer" I tend to drink A LOT of coffee.  A few years ago I had a Krueg, 1 cup brewer.  Eventually that machine broken down and fell out of vogue, but recently I started lamenting it's loss and decided it was time to get a new 1 cup brewer.   So today me and mom looked though a bunch of 'em, I told my mom which one I liked the most--and she bought it for me right then and there.

"Nothing wrong with what your mom did, E.C.  Anyone who saves me from having to do any additional heavy lifting is okay with me."

Santa, you are such a lazy fucker!  Sometimes I can't believe I ever believed in you at all.  So glad I've totally traded up and now place my trust and security in the hands of Jesus.  Goes down the chimney with lots of toys/all for the delight of little girls and boys.  Dude, how demonic can you possibly be!  So glad I see through the fascade and worship the real reason for celebraing the season, and that's Jesus.

"Ewww, calling Santa a 'lazy fucker' is sure fire way to go the head of the naughty list, and not get anything else but coal for Christmas."

I'm cool with you NEVER giving me anything, Santa.  I want my blessings to come from the Lord, and not for the circus side-show that seeks to take glory and laud aware from where it should be this time of year.  The crazy thing is that what I most want aren't things that can be bought in stores: break in as a writer and make a sale, complete my novel... O!  And of cource meeting a good, heathy, girl who in private moments with me is apt to dress like this:

"Ho ho ho.  E.C. wants a hottie for Chrismas this year!"

 You bet!  Been wanting a hottie for some time now.  Eversince I was was about 15/16 years old, if memory serves me right.  But the longer I go on the less likey it seams that's going to happen.  But still that doesn't stop a boy from dreaming.  I think that's the main reason I'm so interested in romance and make it such a constant empahasis in my own writing.  Romance and love are things that are lacking in my life, so that's my way of overcompensating for something that's missing.

"You expecting me to shed a tear after you said so many unflattering things about me?  Ha, think again, pencil boy.  Don't be expecting any help from me in finishing your novel!"

Santa, you can cordially go FUCK YOURSELF FAT MAN!  Cause I don't give a shit what you think!  And I most certainly will NEVER place any of my trust in ANYTHING you say that you can do on my behalf or promise to me.  My heart, mind and ambition all belong to Jesus!  So stay away from my chimney, demon!  Both me and my family ALL belong to the Lord.  And as for my novel, that to is in the Master's hand.  Though my progress is quite slow right now, this is still my prize baby that I love very much.  Not going to give up without a fight.  And this season and beyond my progress in advacing through its needed edits are going to gain momentum and be faster.  

Commit your ways and plans to the Lord and He will see you through.  That's who I'm trusting in this holiday season.  Jesus, The Holy Father and the Holy Spirt trump anything the North Pole and the gates of hell can offer.  Years ago I came to the concensus belief that most--if not all things concering Santa Claus and all that was demonic and not worth following after or honoring.  Satan--I mean Santa, oh heck the two sound so similiar I wonder how differernt they really are...  But the point is, Santa, you lose and Jesus wins.  Wins in my heart and life, and will ultimately win a lot more than that.  

Going on from here, I think I'm going to strive toward a higher level of dedication.  Break out of my creative stagnace, leave my grouchyness behind, and press on towards the higher calling of Christ Jesus in my life.  Hopefully, one victory I'll be able to achieve will be the finishing of the pesky novel.  And when I do, that won't come with help of Santa or Satan, it will come by the hand of the Lord God Almighty.  Unto Him I bow my knee.  By Him I recieve the ablility to write and create in the first place.  To God be the glory.

So this holiday season, let us all be cognizant of the "reason for the season" and carve out a time and place to honor the One who honored us with His humble birth in a manger:

  E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA