This is the time of year when I want to be positive and hopeful about humanity in general. Needless to say, last year was a tough one in that department. This year has also been challenging--already, but so far, it hasn't been quite as bad. I'm over the shock for a start.

For the record, I'm a fan of "Happy Holidays!" People who insist on "keeping Christ in Christmas" are merrily attempting to erase every other belief system that exists. No one group has a monopoly on holy days in December, y'all. So, learn to share. That used to be a core Christian belief. Whatever happened to it?

Anyway, we bought our tree early this year, and Dane and I decorated it together. (I prefer live trees. I love the smell.) I also enjoy watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, and this year I even got to see Santa arrive.[1] Usually, I'm too busy in the kitchen and miss that part. For me, the holidays aren't The Holidays without seeing Santa at the end of that parade. I blame Miracle on 34th Street. (Doris Walker, Susan's mother, works for Macy's and manages the parade.) I prefer the 1947 version for the record. The reason why is because there are little details that don't hold the same punch when you don't have the freshly dead specter of WWII hanging overhead. For example the following scene has a lot of power when you understand that that kid is a war orphan.  This film premiered in 1947--just two years after the end of the war.

Happy first Monday of December, y'all! Ready for those links? Let's do that thing. First up, today's video:

2017's main themes seem to be horrible, terrible, awful politics and ALL THE GREAT TV IN THE UNIVERSE. It's as if the entertainment world has said, "Holy crap. Reality is a steaming pile of shit right now. Let's have a little something to save you from existential nuclear dread and sanity damage, shall we?" You know what? I'll take it.

Which brings me to today's offering.

I'm a Gilmore Girls fan. (The show helped me through my HRC-losing-the-election depression. No Joke. Also, I'm so not Team Dean. Rory makes the worst decisions when it comes to men.) Amy Sherman-Palladino is an incredible writer. She has a gift with dialog. Dialog is tough. Great dialog is tougher. It's like ballet. It requires talent and a LOT of training and in the end it must appear effortless or it doesn't work at all. Sherman-Palladino is amazingly amazing and this show from what I've seen--I watched the first episode--is no different. It's brilliant, funny, and nails so many issues around being a woman in a world where CIS white men's needs, dreams, and problems are always center stage. I'll follow her anywhere...but...

Amazon Prime.

FFS, is there any way to watch the show without signing up? Because I'm okay with paying for episodes. I've done it before. However, I refuse to pay $70 for a service when I only buy 3 or 4 things on Amazon a year. Fuck that.

Sorry, I'm on the last part of the rewrite which involves restructuring the ending a bit. Endings are difficult as every writer knows. They require a lot of thought and consideration. More often than not, they involve things you may not have (yet) discovered about your story--things like theme. My rough drafts always have sucky endings for this reason, and if I rush through this part, I always regret it. So, I'm not doing that. Not with this novel. The story is too important to me to do that this time.

But that means less blogging. I don't have big plans for the weekend. I'm not doing anything exciting. I'm just writing, watching some television[1], and going on long walks. None of which make for interesting blog posts.

May you have a lovely weekend that doesn't involve pie-atrocity. 

I'm looking at you The Great British Bake-Off.

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[1] Which often involves British Baking because it's so soothing--except when they decide to bake American pies and OMFG DON'T DO THAT TO A PECAN PIE!! OR THAT TO A PUMPKIN PIE!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! I THOUGHT BRITS WERE CIVILIZED![2]

[2] Joking.[3]

[3] Not joking.[4]

[4] Joking. [5]

[5] Or am I?