Dr. Seuss

You may have noticed that I did not include any Dr. Seuss rhyme books in my top 10 (ten) list. Truth is, I haven't found a Dr. Seuss book that I haven't enjoyed. I used to babysit for a family with four children and the eldest, even when she was fifteen, still enjoyed me reading Dr. Seuss to the youngest.

Here are my favourite Dr. Seuss books. If I've missed one of your favourites, please let me know.

1. Oh The Places You'll Go
2. The Cat In The Hat
3. Green Eggs And Ham
4. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
5. There's A Wocket In My Pocket
6. How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
7. Fox in Socks
8. Horton Hears A Who!
9. I Wish That I Had Duck Feet
10. The Sneetches And Other Stories
    

Top 10 (Ten) Children's Rhyme Books

There are so many excellent rhyme books out there, but here are my particular favourites.

1. Shel Silverstein's A Light In The Attic
2. Shel Silverstein's Runny Babbit
3. Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes
4. Sheree Fitch's If I Had A Million Onions
5. Tiffany Stone's Floyd The Flamingo
   
6. Nancy Tillman's On The Night You Were Born
7. Roalh Dahl's Revolting Rhymes Dirty Beasts
8. Shel Silverstein's Falling Up
9. Tiffany Stone's BAAAAD Animals
10. Shel Silverstein's Giraffe and a Half
    

Sitting in a Waiting Room

You can tell a lot about your dentist/doctor just by sitting in the waiting room. I'm talking magazines. It has been my experience that the more expensive or high-brow the magazines, the more you should expect to pay for your visit.

My last dentist always had a copy or two of People, Hello, US Weekly, and of course, one for the boys -- Fishing. My new dentist, due to relocation, has copies of Vanity Fair, Macleans, Time, Forbes, and there was one about Architecture. I have to admit being drawn to the architecture mag, just out of curiosity. Wow, some of those homes were phenomenal. There was an article about Christopher Meloni's New York apartment, complete with fabulous photographs. That Law and Order SVU star is a lucky guy, the view from his high rise apartment looks out over Central Park.

Anyway, true to form, this visit cost way more than my last dentist. Oh yeah, another thing to look out for -- if the dentist/doctor has a family photograph where you see four/five/six kids who look to be in their teens -- s/he will have a lot of college expenses that you probably don't want to help out with.

A little bit of what you love...

I read an obituary about a woman who died the year of her 100th birthday. She smoked for eighty years of her life and had a wee nip of whisky every night. So here's a litle poem for all those who indulge.

What You Love...

Grandpa ate fries,
Grandpa drank beer,
Grandpa smoked cigars,
And just as you'd fear,
He only lived as long to be,
One hundred years, plus twenty-three.

Screenwriting Software

So far, when entering my screenplays into contests or submitting to production companies, there have been several common accepted formats. It is always best to check the recipient's preference.

I write using Final Draft software. When I first began using this software, I had no experience screenwriting, and had not taken any courses. I had, however read a vast multitude of screenplays, so knew what the basic layout should look like. Final Draft is so easy to use, I was able to master it in a morning. It automatically formats, as long as you know the difference between the basic elements -- Scene Heading, Character, Action, Dialogue, etc.

Many other screenwriters use the same as me, but there are many other choices. I have spoken with many who would use nothing other than Movie Magic, again as they find it easy to use.

There are contests and production companies who just want to see a nice layout and don't particularly care about which software is used. They will accept Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format, or .pdf files, as long as standard formatting is used.

Whichever you decide to use, make sure you format for the correct audience. A television script is different from a feature screenplay.

Upcoming Deadlines...Screenwriting Contests

Here are a few screenwriting contests with deadlines in the next couple of months. Be careful when reading the contest guidelines. Each has very different and specific requirements.

Write Movies Screenwriting Contest

Acclaim Film

Acclaim TV Screenwriting Competition

Story Aid Screenwriting Contest

BlueCat Screenplay Contest

Waterfront Screenplay Competition

Screenwriter's Challenge

Page International

Scriptapalooza

Short Cut To Big Break

Script Pimp Contest

Nicholl Fellowships

Mac Book Pro

I recently suffered the death of my battery. I didn't even know that these batteries could die, but mine did and in a big way. It started as trouble with my mouse - it wouldn't move properly on the screen, then when it did, it jumped all over the place, jumbling up my text. I searched online on the PC and was astonished to find that the battery may have warped. When I checked underneath, sure enough, it was swollen and protruding about half an inch all the way round.

Of course, the warranty had expired by nine days, so I had to order a new one. I ordered from apple.ca, but the battery was actually shipped from Memphis, TN. I don't know if you've ever needed a part for a laptop or PC, but if you don't have the computer 'smarts' - or are a complete doofus like me - then you think that you are stuck, handicapped. It didn't dawn on me for the first two days that it would still run if I plugged it into the wall.

Anyway, I kept track of the battery's progress as it made its way from TN to Quebec, then back to TN, then back to Quebec and it still made it here within the five working days promised limit. We're finding customs is a great barrier for sending out and receiving birthday/Christmas gifts - 13 weeks from Victoria, BC to Scotland - yikes.

The battery is now in and my dear Mac Book Pro is back to its usual self. Thank goodness.