I received a two-page e-mail from my agent yesterday with detailed feedback about my most recent novel. He’s a very perceptive reader, and picked out some thematic elements that I hadn’t planned but are obvious in retrospect. He also had some very useful suggestions about how to develop some of the characters so their presence has deeper significance and resonance. We’re going to talk sometime next week to map out a strategy for revising the manuscript, and then it’s off to the races. Looks like I have my summer’s work cut out for me. Something useful to do in the air conditioned office while it’s 104° outside.
Not a good day for celebrities yesterday. The King of Pop was all the rage when I was an undergrad in college, with Thriller dominating the TV waves more than the airwaves.
My daughter rented some movies for us to watch last night. First up was Penelope, the fable about the girl (Christina Ricci) born under a curse with a pig’s snout. A cute story with the predictable moral but some fun getting there. Funny appearance by Reece Witherspoon, and a bit part by the guy who plays Owen on Torchwood. Peter Dinklage is an interesting and under-rated actor, I think.
Next up was Confessions of a Shopaholic, which was goofy and silly. It took me a while to recognize the main character’s best friend until I realized she was the actress who played Jessie’s ill-fated girlfriend on Breaking Bad. Kristen Scott Thomas was hilarious, and John Goodman was funny (as was his hair), but the plot was simply absurd, and painfully awkward at times. Sort of like Bridget Jones’ Diary, but not as good.
Kellerman’s solution to the crazy judge problem on Raising the Bar was inspired. It seemed for a while like his client was getting the shaft in this duel, but it all worked out in the end, and Kellerman might actually have a judge who views him somewhat favorably now. The “hate crime” plot was interesting, especially since the camera kept panning past Charlie, the judge’s gay clerk, as if we were meant to understand where his sympathies lie, only to discover later that they weren’t that simple. The show is starting to find its legs. I wasn’t sure about it last season, but I’m sticking with it (especially since there’s damn all else on the tube during the summer).
Law & Order: Criminal Intent fans: set your DVRs for an extra hour on Sunday. Two new episodes, back to back, starting an hour earlier than normal.
