January 2, 2004

That's the theory behind PassionSlim, a new dietary supplement that claims it can "help you melt away the pounds with what may be the world's most pleasure packed calorie burning exercise -- Making Love."

Read the fine print, folks. Under the Special Ingredients link, the actual ingredients of these pills are never listed. But the directions are clear: "For best results do not consume food or caffeine while using the PassionSlim diet."

So basically, they want you to pay $39.95, plus $5.95 for shipping/handling, to starve yourself. That'll certainly put you in a sexy mood.

"Loving someone can be like chocolate cake. If you love chocolate cake and then suddenly stop eating it, while you may never have it again, in the back of your mind you will always crave and love chocolate cake."
--Clint Fralick

Satyr. It doesn't matter what you are passionate about; you are a passionate individual. Yes, you have heard the stereotype before: all satyrs really want is sex, but you know that is not true. Even if your passion is sexual in nature; that does not mean that it is the only thing one can be passionate about. You enjoy your life to the fullest, and you pay little heed to those who would call you a hedonist. You are happy, that is all that really matters.

January 1, 2004

This is why I need to buy more bookshelves. If I don't, I could end up dying from a paperback avalanche.

One bug bomb fogger will kill all the cockroaches and rats inside a 600 sq.ft. home. Aurelia Oliveras used 19 of them inside a 470 sq.ft. house.

Guess what happened when a pilot light flicked on.

December 31, 2003

Here's a quick wrap-up of my favorite books, movies and musical discoveries from 2003.

1. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
2. Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper -- Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell
3. Pocket Muse by Monica Wood
4. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken
5. Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton
6. Your Momma Thinks Square Roots Are Vegetables by Bill Amend
7. Law & Order: Crime Scenes by Dick Wolf
8. The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed by Karen Elizabeth Gordon
9. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
10. To the Nines by Janet Evanovich

1. July for Kings
2. Charlotte Martin
3. Natalie Wattré
4. Monica Schroeder
5. Michael Bublé
6. Liz Pappademas
7. Peter Cincotti
8. Lisa Ray
9. Gravity Willing
10. Lennex

1. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
3. Finding Nemo
4. The Hours
5. The Pianist
6. Mystic River
7. Love Actually
8. Underworld
9. X-2
10. Runaway Jury

(Since I'm such a movie fan, I must note that I also enjoyed How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Catch Me If You Can, The Matrix Reloaded, Down With Love, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Master & Commander, Just Married, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Matrix Revolutions and Chicago.)

What did you do in 2003 that you'd never done before?

I moved to Seattle.

Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't make one last year. This year, I resolve to get healthier, wealthier and wiser.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

No

Did anyone close to you die?

Princess.

What countries did you visit?

Canada

What would you like to have in 2004 that you lacked in 2003?

A novel in bookstores bearing my name on the cover.

What date from 2003 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Jan. 18th. It was the day I met my boyfriend, and a strange series of events were set in motion.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Winning an Online Journalism Award for the work I did at The New York Times on the War in Iraq

What was your biggest failure?

I wanted my vampire novel to be perfect by the end of the year. Instead, it is nearly perfect.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

Thankfully, no.

What was the best thing you bought?

A gym membership.

Whose behavior merited celebration?

Alyssa for finishing her fantasy novel. Frank for publishing his tarot deck and poetry book. Tom for running a marathon.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

President George W. Bush, and his cronies.

Where did most of your money go?

Moving.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Falling in love. Traveling across country. Working from home again as a full-time writer.

What song will always remind you of 2003?

"Nara" by ES Posthumous and "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence

Happier or sadder?

Happier.

Thinner or fatter?

Fluctuated, but ended up about the same.

Richer or poorer?

Oh definitely poorer. I left a well-paying job with a respectable company to freelance full-time.

What do you wish you'd done more of?

Fiction work.

What do you wish you'd done less of?

Busy work for money.

How many one-night stands?

None.

What was your favorite TV program?

My favorite TV show was "West Wing." But then Sorkin and Schlamme left so now it blows. I also found myself enjoying "Good Eats" and "Myth Busters."

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

No.

What did you want and get?

I wanted to do more freewriting and fiction, so I joined a writers group in Seattle that focuses on both and proceeded to sell several of my stories. I also wanted a new iPod and G4; I received both as presents.

What was your favorite film of this year?

"Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," followed closely by "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King"

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I had a fabulous birthday. I received lovely gifts, watched movies, ate a gorgeously designed cake, transferred music to my new iPod and turned 30.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Winning the lottery. Other than that, I had a rather satisfying year.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2003?

Black is good.

What kept you sane?

Kitty therapy and kisses.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Well, my celebrity boyfriend was Gerard Butler, but I really enjoyed Viggo Mortensen's performance in the Lord of the Rings movies. Meeting Dennis Lehane was cool. And seeing the Annie Leibovitz "American Music" exhibit at EMP reminded me of how much I love her work.

What political issue stirred you the most?

Gay rights.

Who did you miss?

Amy, Princess, Kate Hepburn and Gregory Hines

Who was the best new person you met?

John

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2003.

"There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

December 30, 2003

A 30-year-old Australian journalist visiting America to interview Olivia Newton-John about breast cancer was stopped at the airport, taken into custody, starved, searched, interrogated, fingerprinted, photographed and shipped back to Melbourne.

Welcome to the new United States, a country ruled by the Homeland Security Department.

According to Yahoo! and an article in the Washington Post, as of Aug. 2003, President George W. Bush has taken 250 days off to spend time at Camp David or his ranch in Crawford, Texas. That's 27% of his presidency spent on vacation. In the barely three years that Bush has been in office, he's taken more vacation than Clinton did in seven years.

Clearly our current president is totally focused on the two wars we've been fighting since he took office.

In an article in The New York Times, Elisabeth Rosenthal notes: "Working for the underdog is not the domain of pragmatists but of people obsessed with ideas." A very true statement, which is why the supporters of Sen. John Edwards haven't given up, and neither have I.

December 29, 2003

A new Jaded Writings column has been posted. This week, I highlight some of my favorite obituaries from 2003.

Like me, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has culled together a list of people who died in the past year. Some of these extraordinary folks include a world-class snowboarder, an activist who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer during a protest, one of 316 men who survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during World War II, the founder of the University of Washington astronomy department and the first Buddhist chaplain for the state Department of Corrections.

Past Afterthoughts