You know, over the past couple days I�ve had about seven things I wanted to write up entries about, but each time I sit down at the keyboard, I lose them. So, I�ve figured that I would play a few games of solitaire and perhaps the inspiration would hit again. No luck.

So, I�m just going to start typing and if any of the ideas come back to me, then woohoo, we�re in!

*laughs*

Yeah, okay, so that�s a little boring, but still, what can you expect from someone who is avoiding doing the research necessary to write her paper? Of course, the paper isn�t due for another four weeks, but I want to write a better paper this time.

Anyway�

I�ve just recently finished reading the book The Deep End Of The Ocean by somebody Mitchard. I don�t remember her first name. Such is life.

=== I was originally going to write �So sue me� but I figure that�s how McDonnalds got sued for serving hot coffee. Somebody probably talked about the coffee being hotter than they expected and some McD�s staffer foolishly said �Yeah, sue me for serving hot coffee.� Who knows? ===

Erm, anyway, So I just finished this book. It got massively rave reviews from Oprah Winfrey and my Mom read it and thought it was fantastic. *shrugs* I thought it was okay, but not so great. Some of the points were really good and I did identify with the female lead character, the mom. There were a lot of �truisms� in the book. But it isn�t one that I like all that much.

I think it�s an experiential thing, though. If you don�t have a kid, you don�t identify as much. This brings me to wonder if the stuff I write, though I think it�s pretty good, is too two-dimensional. I mean, I want my stuff to be published, and I want people to like it a lot. But it seems that the stuff people in general like a lot is� well, to me, boring. It�s a recitation of daily life.

This, of course, makes me wonder if I�m the product of the �Hollywood Machine�. Ya know, one of those people who thinks that if it doesn�t have the bigger-than-life vibe, it isn�t entertainment or enlightening.

See, I�m more interested in thrillers. Not horror movies, but suspense novels. I like stuff from Koontz. I like some of James Mitchner�s stuff. Dunno, I just am far more interested in Fantasy/Sci-Fi than �real life� stories. And yet the adults around me, who read, really like these true-to-life stories.

The more I read, the more I realize that I really do have a very juvenile writing style. It�s a lot like a 12 year old trying, really hard, to be 25. You can get the vocabulary, the style, the context mostly right, but since you�re 12, you just don�t have the life experience necessary to portray 25.

Does that make sense?

I think this is simply a developmental thing. I think that most people, when they hit about 30, start developing their �adult brain� as my mother says.

I remember talking with James *sighs dreamily* while I was still married to Duncan. James *big sigh* told me that when a man gets to be about 30 years old, real life just sort of lands on top of him and it takes a while for him to adjust to that.

(okay, so why the big sigh when talking about James *sigh*? *laughs* When I first started RPing (Role Playing) in Yahoo Chat, one of the regs of the Lair was James Von Doom. He was Tig�s first and greatest love. He always will be. James and I would talk out of character sometimes, but whenever I think about him, I remember the character. The Gunslinger. He was John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Jesse James� He was the pinnacle of Cowboys. My memory smiles when I think of the hours of RP with the Gunslinger. *grins* And yes, I mean my memory smiles. Not just me.

James Von Doom was everything a cold, hard, bitter woman needed to become soft, gentle, pliable and loving again. And yet, though he did tame the Tiger, he never, ever, ever let on to that fact. *smirks* Both James and Tig knew that she would do anything for him. But he never required her to do anything. My memory is smiling very big right now.)

Erm, anyway�

So, James told me that it is often difficult for a man to assimilate all the information when life suddenly becomes real. Now that I�ve passed that mark, I�m thinking that it�s just a developmental thing� that when a person, not just a man, hits their 30�s, they begin realizing that real life is not �the Real World�.

I was going to write more about that, but that specific train of thought has jumped to this new track� reality shows and what�s real about them.

You know, the latest TV craze is �Reality Shows�. I�m wondering just whose reality these shows are based on. The Real World isn�t really real. Think about it. The MTV people grab up a bunch of people, put them in a really cool house, pay the bills, provide the food (obviously, they also provide house keepers cause there�s no way a group of five or seven people would keep a house that spotless on their own) and a goal. Then they turn on the cameras and these kids have to be real. Heh. Yeah right. Figure the odds. How many of you out there would actually be �real� when you�ve got a TV crew in your face 24/7?

These shows have a national audience and, dare I say it, scripts. I�m more than sure that a lot of the stuff is at least loosely scripted. There isn�t really a good cross section of kids to choose from, because they�ve got all �beautiful people�. There�s no fat chick. No disabled guy. No camera shy guy. These are all attention hounds.

When I was that age, very early 20�s, I didn�t think, act, behave in the manner these kids do. Most of the people I know/knew didn�t behave in that manner either. *shrugs*

And, how often do you find yourself stranded on an island with five or six other people trying to get them all evicted so you can go home with the 50,000 dollar prize? Heh.

Reality TV isn�t. So this doesn�t make a whole lot of sense? Hey, it�s my opinion.

If you want a reality show, why not have cameras following me around all the time. I�ll show you what reality is. Sleeping in the buff. Going to the bathroom with the door open cause no one else is ever downstairs. Feeding the dog. Cleaning up after the dog when he grabs the toilet paper roll and plays with it for a while. Eating ramen cause you don�t really have enough money or energy to make something �healthy�. *laughs*

People glom on to these �reality� shows because it is not reality. Because it doesn�t happen in real life and you get to escape into someone else�s version of real life. Even shows like �Worst Case Scenario� which I watch occasionally, are not completely reality based. I mean, come on, what are the odds that you�re going to be in an elevator when the cable snaps, plummeting you 45 stories to the ground?

Heh. Reality my butt!

Personally, I would consider Gilmore Girls to be more reality based than most of the Reality shows out there. Why? Because that�s the relationship that my Mom and I have. We�re best friends. That�s real and believable to me.