Randomness...

So it's been forever since I actually updated this blog, so I figure I'd better get with the program.Truth be told, I've been soooo busy with my other blog that I haven't had time for the randomness that is The Smug Pessimist.

The thing is, my Fascination With Fear blog has been getting a lot of attention and so in turn takes a lot of mine.

Not that I mind, of course. I love horror, and it is a major part of my daily life. I've made a whole new chicken coop of friends via the horror blogosphere, many of which I consider an extended family.
That being said, you might find this blog lacking in posts, but I will still keep it up until I cannot lend any focus to it at all.

So, what have I been up to? It's relatively hard for me to remember what I wore yesterday, let alone what I have done for the last few months, so I'm just going to leave you with some random thoughts and comments.

*First things first - I am going to be married for 20 years next month. TWENTY freakin' YEARS.

If that doesn't make me feel old I don't know what does. I will be posting a bit more about that next month closer to the date (2/14 for all those not in the know)... I thought about doing a "pros and cons of being married" for the occassion, but seriously - I couldn't think of enough cons to make that work. So it will just be a pros list. Wait for it....

Suffice it to say I am even happier now than I was way back in 1990, and so things have worked out well with the man who lives in my house with me.

*I now sit in 9th place on the Daily Racing Form's Public Handicapper Fantasy Horseracing game.

Number NINE!! That might not sound like a lot to you, but let me just say there are 11,280 people under me. Of course it's my highest ranking evah! The current game ends this coming weekend, and while I really don't win anything unless I hit top 3 (which I don't foresee, but if so I'd be going to Vegas, baby!) - it's been an absolute hoot to make it this far. Last weekend I hit a long shot horse at 28-1 and that boosted me up there. The horse's name was Jody Slew- which those of you in the know can figure out is a descendant of Seattle Slew, which I almost always factor in when placing my bets. Yea for Slew - still making me happy after all these years.)

Seattle Slew

Don't ask me for any early Kentucky Derby picks though, I haven't thought that far into the future yet. Check back in March.

*Speaking of horses, one of my favorites over the last several years, Kip Deville, has been suffering with laminitis for a while now - and if you'll remember, that is what took the life of the outstanding Derby winner Barbaro (RIP) back in 2007, to my great distress. However, Kip is doing quite well, and things look good for him. I'm keeping fingers crossed for this very successful, gorgeous grey thoroughbred.

*And while we're still on the same page, awe-inspiring filly Rachel Alexandra won 2009 Horse of the Year honors at the Eclipse Awards last week.




It was filly vs. filly in the voting - Rach vs. the astoundingly fabulous Zenyatta (winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic in November)... Both horses were undefeated in 2009, and both beat every male horse of any importance as well. But I think it came down to the fact that Rachel had won in several different states on several different tracks, whereas Zenyatta only raced in California. If you were still making a case for Zenyatta - which I would - you could still bring up the fact that she won the Breeders' Cup Classic, dammit. She beat all the boys in a race typically dominated by the boys. The fillies have their own distaff race, but Zenyatta's connections felt her good enough to tackle the men. And she did - quite impressively. In any event, Horse of the Year this year was no doubt the hardest choice in decades for those voting, and the race (pun intended) was close.
Best thing of all is that it has been decided to keep Zenyatta (now 6) in training. So we just might see the match up between these two female juggernauts at some time this year. That would be the biggest race this side of Seabiscuit and War Admiral. So let's make it happen!


*I love my DVR. How the hell did we ever live without it? I'll never miss another episode of Ancients Behaving Badly again!

We are able to record stuff we never would have thought about before...the whole 'remembering to get a tape and set the timer for the VCR' thing is history - Gah!!

And I can (wonder of all wonders) record American Idol and never really have to wait till "after the break" with good old Ryan Seacrest. Zip, Zip, Zip goes the commercial skip!

*I'm surprisingly jazzed for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver next month.

While that might sound strange because I'm not a big sports fan, I do love winter sports. Though I do not understand the point of luge (because no one should fly down an icy track while lying down face up in a sled) -



-and especially curling (WTF?), I love the skiing, snowboarding, bobsledding (though stupidly similar to luge, at least they are sitting up!), and the ice skating competitions. No, I still do not like hockey. I'm not Canadian, so I'm not required to.

But the DVR will become utterly a blessing. There are so many commercials during the Olympics that I can zip right through all the annoying McDonalds ads just.like.that.

*The Borders Express store nearest to me is closing. Let us pause for a moment of silence at its imminent departure. I've no clue what's up Borders' ass, with them closing all but the really big Borders stores. I've read online that they are going to focus on online sales. How ironic.

Oh well, more of a reason to drive nearly 40 miles out of my way just to get a book. Damn it anyway.

*I'm still reading vampire books.

I did go out of my comfort zone to read 'Breathers: A Zombie's Lament' this month (which I should add is hilarious!) but now it is back to business. The new Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book comes out next tuesday, so I'm all pre-ordered and hoping that the new book will be a departure from her last eight books or so and she actually has some vampire hunting going on, instead of all the vampire and shapeshifter humping she has become infamous for. But alas, the book's title is FLIRT, so I'm not getting two excited...yet.

*Speaking of books, I read a grand total of 81 books in 2009. It was a major record for me, as I had slacked off to about one a month prior to that. But I gave up some tv shows and cancelled a whole slew of magazines that I was getting and Voilà! - I had time to read. Of course I also kept a book stapled to my hand at all times, too. While cooking supper, waiting for my car to warm up, while watching tv (yes, I can read and watch tv at the same time), and while doing other unmentionables as well.

All but one book was preternatural/paranormal/fantasy in nature. And with the passing of Patrick Swayze, I felt his autobiography was worth a read, so that's the book that made it through my strong paranormal shields. And let me tell you, it was heartbreaking to read so close to his death. RIP to him - I'll miss him.

*I'm currently addicted to the films of Dario Argento. He's an Italian film director famous for giallo (a specific type of horror) and I did a marathon viewing of almost all of his films in the last two weeks.



I'm doing an interview with an author (for my horror blog) who wrote a (forthcoming) book about the films, so I wanted to do my research. Many of them I saw as a teenager, and a lot I already owned, such as the more famous Suspiria and Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), but there were a few I hadn't even seen. So I've been busy with that.

*And lastly, if I'm going to watch a movie about hot male angels....I don't want them to look like this:



I want them to look like THIS:



I'm just saying...

Recommended read...

First off, let me start by saying I'm not easily impressed by Hollywood stars (or any kind of "star" to be honest). Sure, I like the work of alot of actors/actresses, and just like everyone else, I follow along with their movies and all the unfortunate quips about their personal lives. After all, it's plastered all over the magazines at the checkouts, on the internet like a virus, and even on the National news when they think it merits attention.

But I'm not one to have a strong emotional response of any kind by a certain actor. (Well, except in the case of Johnny Depp, but I think you all are well aware of that addiction - and the emotional response for that matter!)

Fame is fleeting, and most actors (and by that I mean actresses as well) are utterly ridiculous. Complaining about their pay when they make hundreds of thousands - and even millions - of dollars for their work. (Hello? You're entertainment. You're not curing cancer or finding the remedy to rid the world of pollution.) Buying a purse for four thousand dollars or staying in ten-thousand-dollar-a-night hotel suites when most people could live off what actors spend on milk bones for their dog each year!
Let alone the promiscuity that begets the entire Hollywood scene. Seems someone's marriage is breaking up due to someone else's infidelity on a daily basis. Ugh.
My admiration is short-lived for people like that.

However, a select cluster of actors does have my respect. Such as Paul Newman (married over fifty years? Unheard of), Tom Hanks (long marriage, fantastic career choices on most counts), Johnny Depp (though quite a hellion in his younger years I have to admire his eccentric personality and devotion to only making the films he wants to), Clint Eastwood (well...it's CLINT, people.), and Leonardo Dicaprio (who, for a relatively young actor he hasn't had any of the tabloid crap and is a fantastic actor). As far as actresses, I'd go with Meryl Streep (for obvious reasons), Kate Winslet (superb choices, stellar acting), and Reese Witherspoon (who despite a rather public divorce still seems to be a genuinely decent person).
I'm sure there are others.

But to bring this long preamble to a close, what I'm trying to say is that alot of people in Hollywood (and by that I am speaking of NYC and everywhere else) are fickle, money-hungry, fame-seeking, embarrassingly unstable individuals.

So when I find someone whose acting I enjoy and whose personal choices I respect, I'm jazzed.

I've always liked Patrick Swayze. Loved his movies and had great respect for his long marriage (lengthy by even regular standards, not to mention Hollywood).
Not long ago on this very blog I waxed poetic about his accomplishments in cinema after his untimely death.
Knowing he had been writing an autobiography in the months before his death, I knew it was something I would want to pick up. Sadly, it was published post-mortem - but that only makes the tome more poignant and meaningful in my opinion.

"The Time of My Life" is written by Patrick and his wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi. It is the story of his life, as one would assume.

Some of the highlights:

*Patrick was a Texas high school football star and was sitting on a possible college scholarship when his knee was ripped to shreds in a nasty hit. He was in a hip to toe body cast for months.

*He rehabilitated and then focused on gymnastics - intending to go on to the Olympics - but his knee wouldn't hold out.

*His mother was a famous dance instructor and had her own studio in Houston. Patrick danced from the time he could walk. He had every intention of having a ballet career and lived in NYC most of his early twenties, studying at a famous studio and making a life with Lisa, also a dancer.

*He met Lisa at his mother's dance studio when she was 15 and he was 18. She totally ignored him...at first.

*It was only when he turned down a lucrative ballet job (and an opportunity to dance alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov no less) due to his knee that he started to seriously consider an acting career.

*He has a passionate love of horses, and has even shown Arabians professionally until his fame from Dirty Dancing made it impossible to continue. He has also bought several of the horses he rode in various movies, including Red Dawn and North & South.

*His nickname from the time he was a small child was "Buddy" - his father was also called Buddy, so Patrick was "Little Buddy" for years.

*At one point in L.A., he and Lisa were so broke they had to survive on peanut butter sandwiches and oranges off a tree in their backyard.

*He was known for elaborate pranks on set.

*Lisa traveled with him to most movie sets over the entire course of his career - both because he wanted her there and in some cases she was also acting, or helping with choreography.

*Ironically enough, the small role he had in an episode of M*A*S*H was about a soldier who finds out he has cancer.

*His mother found out about Patrick's cancer from a National Enquirer reporter on her doorstep.

*His ranch near L.A. is called "Rancho Bizarro". He also owns another in New Mexico.

*He and Jennifer Grey both starred in Red Dawn - years before Dirty Dancing would catapult them both into super-stardom. She actually didn't like him much till near the end of the Red Dawn shoot.

*Patrick wrote 'She's like the wind' way back in 1979 - so when it hit the charts as a number one single in 1987 and someone else tried to take credit for writing it and sue him, Patrick had only to find the demo recorded back in '79 to set those claims to rest.

*He explains just exactly what a 'gender bender' is, and how much he hated it.

*Contrary to popular belief, he did not wreck his airplane in 2000 because he was drinking. He had hypoxia caused by a change in cabin pressure. He nearly died.

*He filmed the entire season of the recent AMC drama 'The Beast' while undergoing chemotherapy, also refusing to take pain killers while on set because he thought it would interfere too much with his acting and take away (or perhaps give him?) his edge.

Seeing as how I read (almost exclusively) horror/paranormal/fantasy and mystery/thrillers, I found this book refreshing, interesting, funny, and finally - ever so sad.
Actually, just reading the prologue (which includes prefaces written by both Patrick and Lisa) had me tearing up. Books never affect me like that - not enough to cry. But knowing that he lost his fight just weeks ago, it was kinda tough to take.

For me, there were so many reasons to enjoy this book. Tidbits of life on a movie set provide an insight you've probably never heard before, his open and honest feelings on his love of family just pour out, his great passion for horses is brought up throughout the book - obviously having a profound effect on his life (hell, there's a horse on the cover!), and most of all - his enthusiastic and lasting love for his wife comes through literally on every page. They had alot of tough times but they made it work, and work well.

Overcoming adversities at nearly every step, Patrick Swayze had an eventful, inspiring life. I'm generally not too keen on autobiographies, but this one I can recommend in a heartbeat.

2008 memories

So... as the year draws to a close, what about 2008 am I thankful for?

Besides the usual family, friends and good health rap, I thought I would take the time to give props to some of the things that kept me sane and made me happy in 2008...

*The Twilight Series/movie/soundtrack - I would be utterly remiss if I didn't mention how much I have enjoyed finally discovering this pop culture icon.... reading the books (twice), seeing 'Twilight' brought to film, and discovering music acts I didn't know before on the movie's soundtrack.



*Curlin - Despite Big Brown's herculean efforts to win the Triple Crown, I was more impressed with the steel horse Curlin becoming the sport's biggest moneymaker. Team Curlin!


*OBX vacation - What can I say - always a high spot of the entire year! Mini-thanks to the Orange Blossom cafe in Buxton for their stellar Cranberry Orange Muffins, and to Ocracoke Island beaches- simply the best.

Hatteras Light


Orange Blossom Cafe


Ocracoke Island


*My unemployed husband- While most people wouldn't be thankful for that, I am happy that he got the much-deserved break from the hard labor and the bullshit he put up with for nineteen years at his low-down, outsourcing, butt-wipe former employers.
And a extra thankful shout-out to him, because when the wife is away at work... the hubby builds things. Many things! Thanks for my new window seat w/bookshelves most of all, honey!


*Sour Cherry jam from Stonewall Kitchen - Delish! On a crescent roll, a piece of homemade bread - or just to lick off the spoon.




*Bond, James Bond - Daniel Craig rocks my world as 007.



*Oliver's first full year - The little scamp is the world's most loving kitty-cat - and he's mine



*Riding the Harley - The freedom can't be replicated in any other way. Those who know, know.



*My iPod - not a day goes by that I don't listen to my iPod for at least 2 hours. Most work days, it's at least 10. It takes a licking and keeps on... playing the soundtrack of my life.



*'Fringe' - Best new show of 2008, hands down. Makes me miss 'The X-Files' less.



Best returning show? 'Criminal Minds'. Consistently outstanding.


'House' comes in a close second.


(While I'm on the tv kick, thanks for LOST, Bones, American Idol, Sons of Anarchy, Nip/Tuck, CSI, and repeats of MASH, too. You have all made my couch very happy. )

*Strawberry milkshakes from the Dairy Queen. God knows I've consumed a boat load of them.


*David Cook, Paramore and Iron & Wine - Cheers to the first rock winner of American Idol, the band fronted by live-wire youngster Hayley Williams, and the folksy Samuel Beam (a.k.a. Iron & Wine). Mini shout-outs to Ingrid Michaelson, Flyleaf, Blue Foundation, Plain White T's, and The Black Ghosts - all of which I just discovered this year.








*Subway cookies & Mountain Dew - rarely at the same time, but both are always delicious.


*Bath & Body Works 'Twisted Peppermint' cream - cause it just smells so darn good.


*Our new 40" Sony Bravia Flat Screen - my movies look so much better! Johnny Depp in HD - always a good thing.


*Speaking of Johnny Depp - Because they'll never be a day that I'm not thankful for him....

(whoo-hoo!)

*Exedrin - Curing headaches since 1960. More importantly, my headaches since at least 1998..


*My brother's senior recital - A real class act.


*Dexter - My recent discovery of Dex has me contemplating a subscription to Showtime. Almost as much as True Blood makes me want to get HBO. Thank heavens for Netflix.



*Netflix - See above. Keeping me satisfied 24/7, 365.



*The Pittsburgh Steelers - Say it with me, people: The. Best. Defense. In. The. NFL. (period)


*'Supermassive Black Hole' by Muse - Mini-thanks to Stephenie Meyer for introducing me to this song. It just makes me rock out. My favorite song of the year.
Runner up: Decode by Paramore




*My hubby's Shepherd's Pie - the main reason for my 10 pound weight gain when my hubby was off work.



*Bloodhorse.com - Keeping me in the know about my addiction to Thoroughbred Horseracing.
My most visited website.




*Vampires - Because this was the year of the vamps. 'Bout time they get their due, those blood sucking leeches. Face it, they suck (but in a good way;)

Is it just me, or are vampires getting better looking??

*Books: I've read way too many to name here - but a few faves might include the aforementioned Twilight Series, Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson, Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain, 99 Coffins by David Wellington, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Hex Marks the Spot by Madelyn Alt, Bitten & Smitten by Michelle Rowan, The Diplomat's Wife by Pam Jenoff, Dead Until Dark (and the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse series) by Charlaine Harris...

*DVDs: a few of my favorite dvd rentals/purchases from this year: 30 Days of Night, P.S. I Love You, The Other Boleyn Girl, Rogue, Iron Man, The Strangers, Atonement, I Am Legend, The Mist, The Visitor, and The Dark Knight...

And as far as movies on the big screen: Loved Twilight (of course) and Quantum of Solace. Liked The Ruins and Nights in Rodanthe, Tolerated Saw 5.


See? I have alot to be thankful for this year - how about you?