I've mentioned it before here, but I want to say it again. I plant Easter Eggs in my stories. So if you're reading something from me and wonder, did that come from INSERT NAME? It's a good possibility, especially if it's from a movie. For example, I am working on Book 3. I just used the number 117 for something. 117 is an intentional reference to Halo, Master Chief's school designation, John-117.

Below are the lists for the first 2 books. No spoilers.

Book 1 - Trespassing:
Chapter 1, section 3 we get a quick background on Walter Fielding, a newly retained host. As mentioned above, The Money Pit is the source for Walter’s name, wife’s name, location and vocation.

-Top of Chapter 2. “How not to be seen” is a reference to a Monty Python sketch.

-In Chapter 3 the IT room they are in is “room 101”. Room 101 is from George Orwell’s book, 1984 and is a place of personal nightmares. By using this reference I am attempting a subconscious connection to how the characters think about this space.

-Chapter 6, section 5 I had Korben Dallas from The Fifth Element in mind when it came down to making one person question if the safety on the gun is on or off. 

-End of Chapter 10 my villain borrows a line from Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back. When Vader and Boba Fett are discussing the condition of carbon freezing Han Solo. You’ll know when you read it.

 -Chapter 12, Lysandra is trapped inside a mini-theater. This setting was inspired by a recent visit to Castro Theater here in San Francisco. 

The amazing thing about this, is that the theater is in her own head. Not two days after I wrote the scene I was reading a book about human consciousness and was introduced to the concept of the Cartesian Theater. Check it out, it’s a trip.

-At the end of Chapter 16 I let Lysandra quote Princess Leia from Return of Jedi.

Book 2 - Linchpin:
In order of appearance, I think.

​-Conference Room is Room 101 from 1984
-"Face of doom" is a Dane Cook reference from his routine about how to cut in line.
-The Creme fraiche ice cream dessert from the Ice Cream Bar. (If you ever get the chance to go, do.)
-Ho Eriksson, "Ho" is a greeting used in Ender's Game.
-"Comfortable? Cozy?"  Captain Hook from the movie Hook
-"Get used to disappointment." The Princess Bride, of course
-"It's a legitimate question." Ender's Game the movie (not the book.)
-Never do business with people who scare you comes from Firefly
-"Protest, formal protest" is Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory
-A character drops an object as a ploy for something else. This was inspired by Everafter.
-"Allies against a common foe" Galvatron to Hot Rod in the only acknowledged Transformers movie (1986)
-Room A3 is a shout out to Alpha Trion, also a Transformers reference.
-"I am vexed with them" Inspired by Commodus from Gladiator
-"I like him too." Alexandra from The Fall by Tarsem Singh. (Link is to the trailer on You Tube.)
-"It's where I keep all my stuff." From The Tick about why Earth can't be eaten.

There will be a whole new batch with book 3, looking at you Red vs. Blue fans. If you find any not on these lists please let me know.

I am not a fan of social media. I think it's a time suck that takes away from spending time with actual people. There are some good things about it too, but that is for another time. I am on Facebook because of my friends. I am on Twitter because it's expected of writers but that is where I drew the line for a long time.  

Then one day I was searching Google Images for something and the object of my desire could only be seen on Pinterest and only if I signed up. So I did. The next four hours disappeared down the rabbit hole that is this site. But now that I have my boards up and filled I have to say it is my new favorite place to go. And here's why. 

I love fan art. I love that people use their mad skills to express their love for something in the most creative ways. If I could draw I would do the same thing, but I can't. I'm a writer so I could do fan fiction but I have enough trouble keeping my own worlds spinning, much less those of others. Besides, the immediate gratification of a visual art is so satisfying. 

So what's a fan girl to do? 

I can't draw, but I can pretend. That is a game I have always excelled at. So I am taking it to the next level in a new blog.

As you may have read, Red Vs. Blue is currently my favorite show and Michael J. Caboose is my favorite character. This blog will be a pictorial account of his adventures which will most often coincide with my own, because we are best friends after all.

See! It's up in the menu if you want to take look. Scroll back to the top, you'll see. Stop by! This is going to be so much fun!

It started as a convenience. I needed a name and back story for a one off character. As a place holder, I borrowed from one of my favorite movies, The Money Pit. I watched this movie hundreds of times when I was kid and the minute I found it on DVD I bought it. It still makes me laugh. In the end I did not change the text as a tribute to this beloved film.

I find that as I write, words and images from my favorite movies, books, and TV shows will pop up out of nowhere. So for fun I build them into the fabric of my world. It has become a sort of game to see what I can get in there and still make it work.

So for your amusement, below are a few of the Easter eggs from Trespassing.

-Chapter 1, section 3 we get a quick background on Walter Fielding, a newly retained host. As mentioned above, The Money Pit is the source for Walter’s name, wife’s name, location and vocation.

-Top of Chapter 2. “How not to be seen” is a reference to a Monty Python sketch.

-In Chapter 3 the IT room they are in is “room 101”. (I actually use this in Linchpin too, but it’s a conference room.) Room 101 is from George Orwell’s book, 1984 and is a place of personal nightmares. By using this reference I am attempting a subconscious connection to how the characters think about this space.

-Chapter 6, section 5 I had Korben Dallas from The Fifth Element in mind when it came down to making one person question if the safety on the gun is on or off.

-End of Chapter 10 my villain borrows a line from Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back. When Vader and Boba Fett are discussing the condition of carbon freezing Han Solo. You’ll know when you read it.

 -Chapter 12, Lysandra is trapped inside a mini-theater. This setting was inspired by a recent visit to Castro Theater here in San Francisco.

The amazing thing about this, is that the theater is in her own head. Not two days after I wrote the scene I was reading a book about human consciousness and was introduced to the concept of the Cartesian Theater. Check it out, it’s a trip.

-At the end of Chapter 16 I let Lysanda quote Princess Leia from Return of Jedi.


I have a few others, mostly names of people I know. There may be others moments and dialogue too, but if you read something that seems familiar it just might be for a reason.

In the same vein, there are five names on the DPA website that I used to pay homage to some of my favorite things. If you figure them all out, let me know and no Googling them! All the answers must come from your amazing brain alone.

Contains spoilers, read at your own risk.

Transformers: Age of Extinction is not the worst one so far. That title still belongs to Revenge of the Fallen.

Look, let’s just decide right now that Transformers movies can only be judged against other Transformer movies. At most you can only compare Transformer movies against other Michael Bay movies. Feel better now?

Having said that, this is my biggest beef with TF4. It feels the same as all the other ones. Lots of explosions, drawn out fight sequences, car chases, and stupid humor.  Now if that is what you are looking for great, Michael Bay is the director of your dreams. Time for a change Mr. Bay. Me? I want giant robots interacting with other giant robots, and not strictly with return fire and laser swords. One review I read said, just watch one of the others and I think that is true. As I sat through the movie I was mostly bored.

Other issues. What the heck with the Lockdown’s ship being an Autobot vessel with a Latin name no one is quite sure what it’s called? Lockdown mentions that Optimus makes #9. 9 of what? Primes? What’s with Sword in the Stone imagery? Optimus tells the Dinobots they’re free and they wander off into the Chinese countryside. Does anyone else have a problem with that? And then there is the overabundance of humans. No one goes to a movie about giant robots to see humans, period.

The only redeeming value of TF4 is the promises it makes about the next one. The last image is of Optimus leaving earth to literally go meet his makers. Will this be The Quintessons, Primus, or Unicron? Such action also leads me to believe, hope and pray that the next one will not be on earth. Optimus has the seed, which we all know is the Key to Vector Sigma (from the episode of the same name), so there is hope of a new world for them. And then there is the mystery of Lockdown blowing up Autobots and taking their Spark chambers. As long as the Spark is intact then those robots just need new bodies. So what's he saving them for, the makers? Are those on the ship, who has the ship, the Autobots or the humans?

If I had to pick a favorite I will stick with TF3: Dark Side of the Moon because it is the one most based on the original cartoon series. The core of the plot was derived from “The Ultimate Doom” in which Megatron successfully transports Cybertron into Earth’s orbit to harness the energy that is created from all the natural disasters that happen as a result of such a crazy act. Dark Side also has a nod to “Atlantis Arise” where the Decpticons take over Washington DC. TF4 was based off of The Key to Vector Sigma which Megatron uses the key to convert Earth into new Cybertron, but is of course thwarted.

I liked what they did with Galvatron and I loved Bingbing Li's character. Otherwise my overall feeling about Age of Extinctions is: Meh.

Normally, I don't get involved in politics or activism of any kind but when President Obama appoints a former cable executive as the new head of the FCC I have to say something.

The internet is the one place that is a level playing field for everyone. If these laws get passed because Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T are throwing millions of dollars into lobbying, those glory days are over.

If you get angry or passionate about one this this week, let it be this.

Once upon a time I had no TV so I listened to the radio instead. That is is when I found this American Life, A.K.A. my favorite radio show. The episode was "Americans In Paris." And I have been hooked ever since. Ira Glass and his team have given the world some of the most inspiring and fascinating  stories. I tell their stories to other people all the time.

The world is such a fascinating place full of interesting people and TAL goes after it with zeal and compassion. I am not doing it justice. Just go check it out. If you get the chance to see it live, do it!

Some favorite episodes include, but not limited to:
~Fiasco
~10 Commandments
~Superpowers
~Secret Worlds
~24 Hours at the Golden Apple
~Three Kinds of Deception
~Poultry Slam (all of them)

A close runner up, but only because it's newer, is Radiolab.
Radiolab is the first place I learned about the field of science called Emergence. Even you don't like science you will like this show. The hosts Jad and Robert are a lot of fun to listen to and the people that talk to are amazing.

Some favorite episodes include, but not limited to:
~Laughter
~Unraveling Ravel
~Color
~Yellow Fluff and Other Curious Encounters
~Apocalyptical - Live from the Paramount in Seattle

Click on the pictures to be taken to their websites and start exploring.

I keep all my movie tickets and use them as time stamps for my scrapbooks. In one scrapbook I decided to write reviews. Some of them are pretty funny so I decided to share them with the interweb. There are a lot so I have given you only the best ones, copied exactly as I wrote them.

    “War of the Worlds”
A good, modern adaption of a classic. It’s a little sappy on the family heartache blah, blah, blah. The scariest part is the horrid noise the machines make.  Even with crazy Cruise as the star, it’s stiall a great summer blackbuster. Go Steven Spielberg.

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    “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”
Star power could not save this movie. Unhappy people with guns should have never gotten married. It was a desperate hour that brought me to this theater.

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     “Brothers Grimm”
What starts as a good idea ends in a stupid screenplay (see Waterworld.) Oddly, I still have an unexplained interest in seeing it again. Those sneaky expectations win again.

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     “Wallace and Gromitt”
The land of our forefathers has mostly terrible food but this is made up for by their sense of humor. W & G deserve our fullest attention and all our devotion that could possibly be commanded by the extensive use of Playdo.

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    “Legend of Zorro”
“America’s first superhero.” Played by people who aren’t even citizens. As far as sequels go, not bad at all. It’s fun and has a good soundtrack. Sword fights and outrageous stunts, where’s the popcorn.

------------------------------
    “Chicken Little”
How can you resist that over sized head? You can’t! Give in to the power of Disney just this one more time. No songs, so that’s a plus. The end took me by surprise and I like that. I wouldn’t buy it but it’s worth renting.

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    “King Kong”
Over advertised and over the op in the way Hollywood could do it. And three hours of your life. And yet...I love it. The dinosaur stampeded is one of the most amazing things I ever saw. If you have the chance to see it on the big screen, do.

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    “Aeon Flux”
BRILLANT is the light of the sun
ASTOUNDING is the diversity of life on Earth
OUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET, any corporation about their customer base.
Duped again. I didn’t like the cartoon WHY would I like the movie. Damn you marketing department.

--------------------------------
    “X-Men 3”
Totally different from the previous two with the bonus of killing off the most annoying X-Man of the whole lot to boot. The total destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge. Awesome.

--------------------------------
    “Nacho Libre”
A crushing disappointment om the theater but as a DVD it outshines the competition. Like a good cheese that ages well, tastes better, and smells stronger.  Breathe it in! “Get that corn outta my face!”

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    “Pirates of the Caribbean 2”
What can I say about the year’s highest grossing sequel? If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. So...

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    “Children of Men”
Gently set this book down and go rent this movie. It makes you think and it’s really awesome. Great cast and amazing story line. When you’re done go read “Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood.

----------------------------------
    “Pirates of the Caribbean 3”
Another victim of its own immensity. Somehow better than the second one. A few good twists, but some really unneeded antics. Johnny is awesome but do we really needs multiples of him? Not as Jack.

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    “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”
Also known as “The slightly better Four.” With all the introductions cut out, the second one tends to be more interesting. Or at least slightly more interesting.

---------------------------------
    “I Am Legend”
Intense!
I needed a good laugh after all of that, man. Weird God theme, but highly entertaining. Do not watch its predecessor “Omega Man.” This is the good one.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I’ll write more about I Am Legend next time. There you go. I hope you enjoyed this little trip back to the past.

I have lived in San Francisco for 10 years. For all ten of those years on Halloween I stay home. If you are not familiar with Halloween in San Francisco let me just tell you that my first year here people were shot and killed.

Now I do not make a habit of letting fear dictate my actions. In reality I do not go out on most holidays because I do not like crowds, much less drunk crowds. Add on top of that the affinity for pot in this city and the over the top costumes. Having gun fire as well just tells me my instincts to avoid the whole affair all together were correct. 

However, I will be out there tonight. On the streets, in the underground train cars with all that craziness for one reason. Ender’s Game.

I can’t wait until Saturday and it starts at a decent hour. So for the first time ever I will brave the streets of San Francisco, at night, and on Halloween so that I can see a movie I have been waiting for for years. It is the first time and depending on how things go tonight, it could be the last. We’ll see.

Have you ever thought:

That was the response I got when I asked PBG if she still had plans on being a mortician.

Somehow I get the feeling this line could be used in other situations. I wait for the day....