Remember my hiatus? Well…I lied. :oops:

Or more like…I decided to put up an update and news. (In case you're wondering, I'm about 50% done with the current draft, and Agent has the first three chapters.)

First, fellow Divas just signed with agents. I know it's so discouraging, esp. with the recession and all, but hang in there. If you believe in your writing, don't give up! (BTW — the newly agented ladies are Madelynne Ellis and Jeannie Lin. Please go congratulate them. :) )

Second, my alter ego Angelle Trieste‘s Devil Falls received another great review. Romance Junkies' Noelle wrote:

An entertaining cast of secondary characters, an inspiring story of personal growth, several surprising revelations, and an ending that will bring tears to your eyes round out this excellent story of perseverance, second chances, and a love that can conquer anything.

You can read the full review here.

I will not be blogging until I'm done with All the King's Women revision. Currently I have too many things to do and not enough time.

See you later! :)

…Shuro!!!!

This thing is way too addictive…!

Hero Material and I got a couple of vouchers for free movie tickets that expire this month, so we decided to check out Yes Man. (Yeah, it just hit the theaters in Japan…)

The movie was actually better than I expected and quite funny. The only part that made me cringe was when Jim Carrey tried to speak Korean to the bridal shower girl. O.M.G. I actually thought he was trying to speak English Korean fusion language or something because it was that bad. (FYI — The shop girl's Korean was fine.)

BTW — I saw the trailer for Happy Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It's coming out in Japan on July 17, two days after the U.S. release. But I'm going to be in the States this summer, so I can watch it with my friends and Hero Material on July 15. W00t!!!!!

I love how some reporters discussed the most recent World Figure Skating Championship:

Asian skaters have elevated the skill level in women's skating. But the sport needs an American woman on the podium — the next Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Kwan. For the third straight world championships, there wasn't one — prompting Kwan and Sasha Cohen to hint at comebacks. Rachael Flatt and Alissa Czisny finished fifth and 11th, which means the U.S. will have only two women in the Olympics instead of three.

Predictably, the rant concluded that the current Code of Points is flawed because American women didn't get any medal in Los Angeles. Obviously the reporter hasn't seen the U.S. ladies skate. With two falls in the short program, the U.S. champion Alissa Czisny couldn't medal anyway even under the old judging system (6.0 = perfect). Rachel Flatt wasn't polished enough. It's her first senior level world. She should be happy with her 5th place finish.

If an American skater is worthy of being on the podium — great technique and artistry — sure, she should get a medal. And she will get a medal even under the new system. But I've seen new American girls skate. They're subpar compared to Mao Asada, Kim Yuna, Miki Ando and Joannie Rochette.

It's whiny to complain about the judging system that's not going to go away, and it's racist to complain that it only lets Asians win, conveniently forgetting that the new silver medalist Rochette is Canadian and white. It's not like the Code of Points is a huge secret. Everyone knows what one must do to win. And it's not just doing a ton of jumps. If American girls aren't getting medals, it means they aren't very good. Frankly I thought Czisny's 11th finish was generous.

Anyone else seen the World? Any thoughts on the competition?

P.S. I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long. Will have more updates later. :)

I came across something that I think is important. Probably every person who reads this blog has at one point or another has lamented the sorry state of American public education. Well, now you can do something about it, and it won't cost you a cent. Tim Ferriss, the Four-Hour Workweek guy, is tweeting up a storm, and for every new follower he gets in the next two weeks, he and another anonymous donor will give a total of $3 to DonorsChoose.org, the money to go directly to underfunded US public school classrooms. You can read about the details here (it'll only take about five minutes — really).

Given the insane bureaucratic muck that Katrina donations have gone through (much of the money is STILL being held up), my faith in the government to be able to do much of anything (non-military) has basically gone to zero. Worthwhile change in the future will most likely come from private efforts like this one. Checking in on Ferriss, he has already gotten close to 3,000 new followers, which means $9K – not too bad for 24 hours or so. Why not be one as well? Not only for the $3 that some needy classroom will get, but for the larger purpose of showing that this sort of charity can work, and encouraging similar efforts in the future.

If you're interested, click here to get more info on the Tweet to Beat.