Thanks, But No Thanks

Posted by Jo Robertson Nov 30 2008, 5:01 am in Jo Robertson, Thanks

by Jo Robertson

Since Thanksgiving just passed and families and friends often comment on the things they’re thankful for during the year, I thought it’d be fun to share our “thanks” and “no thanks” for the year’s happenings.

First of all, a great big wahooooo thanks for Johnny Depp. Honestly, did you ever think when he was in “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “21 Jump Street” that he’d also be capable of such a variety of acting roles as “Sweeney Todd” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”?

No thanks to Angelina Jolie. Okay, okay, she’s apparently a fine actor, philantropist and mother, but those lips just give me the creeps. Oh, come on! I just said what everyone’s thinking!


Thanks to FX for “Sons of Anarchy.” That show is utterly amoral, inappropriate, and unfit for the ears and eyes of children of any age, but Jax Teller, played by Brit Charlie Nunnam, has got to be the cutest thing since, well, Johnny Depp, and I’d tune in to the Biker Gang, drug-running, gun-running show just to watch his cute self.

No thanks to the new Blackberry Storm. Really, do we need one more electronic device to engage people’s attention when they’re actually supposed to be listening to you?

On the other hand, it has so many features I think I can cancel my housecleaning service. It’ll probably do that too.

Thanks to Pink’s “Wait.” Love the beat, love the music, love the sassy theme.

No thanks to Pink’s “Wait” video. One word: bleeeeeech!

See it here: http://www.mtv.com/videos/pink/266933/so-what.jhtml#artist=710231

Thanks for the cast of “The Mentalist.” This is one of the most cleverly-written shows of the fall television season.

No thanks Sara Tancredi’s return to “Prison Break.” I thought her head – and her acting – was better in the box.

And whatever happened to T.J.? (He’s in the middle of the photo, right in front of Sara Tancredi.

Thanks to Tina Fey who played Sarah Palin so well on SNL that when the Alaskan governor actually appeared on the hit comedy show, many Americans thought Palin was the fake.

No Thanks to botox. Who wants to inject botulinum toxin Type A produced in culture to your face?

Thanks for wrinkles. I like to pretend they’re the verification that I’ve actually lived and have been around the block a few times.

Thanks for electronic mail, instant message, and especially, for writers, electronic contests. Do we really want to leave our grandchildren tree-less?

What about you, Banditas, Bandita Buddies, and visitors? What great big shout out of “thanks” or “no thanks” would you give?

Thanks for a new favorite TV show this year? A great movie — Daniel Craig’s James Bond, anyone? A new addition to your family? No thanks to something you’re sick to death of seeing/hearing — annoying commercials, drivers with cell phones, bad coffee? A new gadget that just plain doesn’t work? A bad movie that was highly touted? Or something you could do without?

67 Comments

The Book or the Film?

Posted by Anna Sugden Nov 29 2008, 5:03 am in A Town Like Alice, Anna Sugden, Books and Movies, James Bond, Janet Evanovich, JD Robb, Pride and Prejudice, Robert Crais

by Anna Sugden There has been a lot of controversy lately with the new Bond film ‘Quantum of Solace’ (where do they get these titles?!). For those of you unaware of the issues troubling Bond fans, it’s all to do with the last two (Daniel Craig) movies. You see, they go back to the beginning and tell the story of how Bond developed into the character we know today. The purists believe that this is the only way to see Bond and that this is as close to the James Bond of the Ian Fleming books as we’ve seen, since
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54 Comments

Seduced by the dark side

Posted by Suzanne Ferrell Nov 28 2008, 5:05 am in cell phones, dark side, seduced, Suzanne Welsh

by Suzanne Welsh For the past year I’ve had a cell phone. Yes, me, the lone hold out in my town where people upgrade electronic devices like changing shoes, broke down and bought my first cell phone. To give you a little past history of why this was so monumental, let me take you back to an age when cell phones were nothing more than a glint in Ray Bradbury’s eyes as he wrote his first Star Trek screenplay. As a young teen I loved talking on the phone. It was the social network of our time. The phone hung
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44 Comments

Giving Thanks

Posted by Susan Sey Nov 27 2008, 5:02 am in Uncategorized

by Susan Seyfarth Today is Thanksgiving, that unique American holiday in which we gather our loved ones together, cook all day, then stuff ourselves with copious amounts of food. Often we’ll squeeze in a few (or ten or twelve) hours of TV, be it a football game (American football, of course, not soccer), the Thansgiving Day Parade coverage (I’m a Macy’s girl myself) or the first viewing of Miracle on 34th Street for the season. What?? You’ve never seen Miracle on 34th Street? Are you busy right now? Because it’s on at my house. But while we do love our
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73 Comments

A Brief Lull

Posted by Nancy Northcott Nov 26 2008, 5:01 am in Christmas, holiday madness, Thanksgiving

by Nancy Northcott Before we start today’s blog, please join the entire lair in wishing our friends Maria and Marisa at RNTV a very happy birthday! We’re all grateful for the wonderful promotion they give our genre. If you get a chance, pop over there and give them birthday greetings. And now back to our regularly scheduled program . . . Tomorrow is, in the United States, Thanksgiving Day, a time for friends and family to gather, take time out from the usual rush of life, and reflect on the good things in our lives. It’s generally a day of
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34 Comments

Home is Where the … Weather Is!

Posted by Kate Carlisle Nov 25 2008, 5:15 am in Kate Carlisle, weather

A few days ago I left balmy Southern California, where it was a sunny 72 degrees, to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family in Buffalo, New York, where it’s currently, OMG, 29 degrees. Does the thermometer really go down that far? Apparently so. There’s snow on the ground here. It’s cold, my friends! I packed warm clothing but I must confess, there is absolutely nothing in my wardrobe that could possibly withstand the level of chill I feel when I walk outside my father-in-law’s house. It is down-to-the-bone frigid and it makes me wonder why anyone would live here when
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93 Comments

Lions–Archetypes for Romantic Heroes?

Posted by Guest Nov 24 2008, 5:09 am in Uncategorized

By KJ Howe Magnetic eyes, a powerful roar, and the ability to leave females weak in the knees…lions have a lot in common with romantic heroes. I became fascinated with lions during my recent trips to Kenya and South Africa. Our guide spent hours scouring the grasslands searching for evidence that the lions had been nearby. And we found two males resting after gorging on a wildebeest. It wasn’t until later that I discovered these similarities between male lions and heroes: Both skyrocket women’s heart rates to well over 200—in this case, the lion wins hands down. I was twenty
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35 Comments

Bandita Booty Galore!

Posted by Anna Sugden Nov 24 2008, 4:15 am in Anna Sugden, Bandita Booty, cadbury's chocolate

by Anna Sugden Just been to the supermarket and picked up my Cadbury’s prizes – the lady on the till probably thought I had a serious chocolate problem! I have two lots of prizes to give out. First, for outstanding creativity in Collective Nouns. It was a very tough decision! So many great ideas. Thank you all for playing. But, I had to pick some prize winners so, *drum roll* the Cadbury’s goes to: Pat Cochran Cas 2 AJS Ms Hellion And a special bonus to Keira’s daughter, if she emails me her Barbie and bunny collective nouns. Second, a
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10 Comments

As TIme Goes By…

Posted by Donna MacMeans Nov 23 2008, 5:09 am in calendars, Donna MacMeans

By Donna MacMeans Can you believe it’s almost Thanksgiving? Where has the year gone? Suddenly it’s cold and I’m thinking about baking cookies, buying Christmas cards, and buying a 2009 calendar. Of course you can’t buy just one calendar. There’s the big month at a glance calendar that hangs in the kitchen with all the family events, birthdays, medical appts., exercise classes, etc. There’s my personal month-at-a-glance dayrunner calendar to track writing events, accounting classes, aerobic classes, etc. Then there’s my smaller weekly calendar that I use to track writing progress. These are all paper calendars – which I admit
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68 Comments

Bandit Booty

Posted by Beth Andrews Nov 23 2008, 4:01 am in Bandit Booty, Beth Andrews, Not Without Her Family

Thanks to everyone who posted on my Birthday Blog. The winner of a copy of Not Without Her Family and a choice of one of Tawny’s books is… Gannon!! Congratulations, Gannon! Please send me your information at beth@bethandrews.net (let me know which of Tawny’s books you want – Double Dare, Does She Dare or Risque Business) and I’ll get your books out to you asap! Thanks again to everyone for stopping by

6 Comments