Zhadi's Den

My Weekly Reminder

2008-09-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

Remember, the official Den of Zhadidom has moved here! For all new posts and updates, please go there. Thank you!

Weekly Reminder

2008-09-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

Please come visit the New Zhadi's Den here! New articles, photos and such! Lots of such.

Continuing to crack the whip

2008-08-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

...in an effort to get people to my author blog! Every day I have been posting, but I'm not feeling the love... So please go here and check out the new and improved Zhadi's Den. And for those of you who love food, check out Fatal Foodies. I am She Who Posts On Monday. I'm surprised more of my posts aren't grumpy, taking that into consideration...

Come to the Casbah...

2008-08-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

Or at least to the new Zhadi's Den and keep up with my daily posts! So for 11 for 11 in the August Blogging challenge!

Daily New Posts at my Author BLog

2008-08-09T12:46:00.001-07:00

Are you feeling nagged yet? :-) Go here! I'm in a blog challenge to post something every day in August! So far, so good!

New post at my author website!

2008-08-06T20:59:00.001-07:00

Yup, here I go again, trying to steer my copious readership here!

New post at my author website!

2008-08-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

I'll keep posting these until you start going there first, y'know... :-)Go here!

New post on my author blog

2008-08-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm really trying to get switched over to just the one blog...won't you help me by going here?

New Post on Fatal Foodies!

2008-08-04T09:35:00.001-07:00

Please check out my post and the resulting comments (which are funnier than the post) here!

New post on my author blog

2008-08-03T15:03:00.001-07:00

Please check it out here!

When Ebay Sellers Attack

2008-07-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

My friend Maureen is addicted to vintage magazines, particularly Ladies Home Journals from the '30s, '40s and '50s. As she is somewhat computer illiterate (not as much so as she used to be, but still kind of behind the times here), she doesn't bid on Ebay. She is a wizard at finding stuff she wants, however, so she gets others to do the actual nuts and bolts of buying. I am her winged monkey,

Gelato

2008-07-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

I actually have several book reviews in progress, but haven’t had the time to sit down and flesh them out (and make sure I have things right, like the characters’ names or the spelling of the author’s name, little details like that!) as I’ve been busily working on an outline/synopsis for a novel. I’ve had a story accepted for publication and the editor wants me to expand said story into a novel,

Murder in Miniature - Book Review

2008-07-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

Murder in Miniature - Book Review Several days behind, but still determined to do my one review a week (or am I now a week behind?…never mind), here I am with my review of Margaret Grace’s new mystery, MURDER IN MINIATURE. For those of you not in the know, Margaret Grace is the pen name of Camille Minichino, well known for her popular Periodic Table mysteries featuring witty physicist

Plague and Pestilence

2008-07-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

That’s me! In the last month I have had a two week long bladder infection; two bouts of food poisoning (or a 24 hour stomach flu that took a 2 day intermission before resuming the show); and now I have a cold. This cold, not even a slight tickle in my throat this morning, manifested around 11:00 with a slight cough, then turned into full on faucet sinuses within the space of two hours. What’s

Fatal Foodies!

2008-07-07T09:53:00.001-07:00

Hey, all! Please check out my post on Fatal Foodies! This public service announcement brought to you by Dana Fredsti Productions

This and That

2008-06-29T14:10:00.001-07:00

I had a signing yesterday at Barnes and Noble in Dublin (not Dublin, Ireland, more’s the pity, but Dublin, California, which seems to exist as a place to house shopping centers) as part of a Sisters in Crime (Norcal) book fair event. We had a table at the front of the store, vouchers that, if given by shoppers to the cashiers, would give SinC a small portion of the proceeds. All of the authors

Grumble...

2008-06-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

One of the more annoying things about working as an admin, even one with a title as lofty as Senior Administrative Coordinator/Office manager is having a work space in an area, say, like the lobby. The place where visitors come and go, where last minute conversations take place before the 'going' part. Something about having a desk in this area encourages behavior that people would not indulge

Catching Up

2008-06-09T19:28:00.001-07:00

I am continually impressed by bloggers who post every day and always have something pithy/witty/introspective/insightful/entertaining to say. Doesn’t matter if they have anything major going on in their lives; trivial incidents or thoughts are transformed into fun-to-read vignettes, whereas I have trouble writing about major events in my life. I haven’t finished writing about Left Coast Crime,

Boska

2008-06-04T20:52:00.001-07:00

Boska was a very special dog. I hadn't had a dog since I was 6 or 7...I'm a cat person...and the only reason Brian and I got Boska was our house was broken into and our landlord said we could get a dog for protection. Brian was in Norway working on a film, so I went with friends to the Santa Clarita animal shelter to find a dog. I looked at several, including a German Shepherd puppy that was

Who's got the time?!

2008-04-16T20:15:00.001-07:00

My blogroll is sadly lacking. Jess and I have been looking into possibilities for a blog tour to promote our upcoming kamikaze west coast tour, covering stores from San Mateo to Seattle. And there are just dozens of really cool blogs out there. And these are just the ones relating to mystery writing! So my vow is to add at least one blog a day to my blogroll for the next two weeks. Reading

Why I haven't blogged for a week

2008-04-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

Although y ou really should be reading my posts HERE. Oh, the shame of it! The stain upon my honor will never be washed from the fabric of the laundry of life. Nay, there is not enough spiritual spot remover to expunge the…the…er…well… Never mind. I didn’t write any posts last week. At this rate, it will be time for Left Coast Crime 2009 by the time I finish my

Super Power

2008-04-01T20:19:00.001-07:00

Ever played the 'if you could have a super power, what would it be?' game? Y'know, the power to fly or turn invisible or whatever takes your fancy. My super power of choice has always been teleportation. This would include a guarantee I would always teleport successfully (correct location, body not turned inside, internal organs where they should be, etc) and be able to take person/persons and

Foster and Haggis

2008-03-27T10:21:00.001-07:00

I love this picture…it’s one of the last ones taken before Haggis got ill and really shows his sweet personality. Foster’s too, for that matter. (remember to go to my new blog!)

New Post at my New Website!

2008-03-23T19:39:00.001-07:00

Please go here!

Side-tracked

2008-03-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

(And please remember my new official blog is here!)My original intention was to write my first post on the Left Coast Crime convention in Denver. However, I veered off track (it happens) after reading the introduction for zombie novel. The intro describes the book as a ‘pulp zombie masterpiece,’ the author as ‘the Quentin Tarantino of zombie literature,’ and further states the author ‘goes

Haggis

2008-03-15T19:46:00.001-07:00

It's been a rough few weeks. Last Wednesday night, we had to say goodbye to Haggis, our darling eight-month old kitten. He let us know he was ready to go...and we had our vet come to the house. He had 24/7 of attention and love from Dave and me from the moment we found out he had FIP; I took him to work with me a couple of days. He faded out slowly, but even at the end he still purred when

Upcoming Virtual Book Signings!

2008-03-03T15:31:00.000-08:00

My friend and fellow writer Steve Prosapio, is holding Bookdays on his blog, virtual interviews and book drawings with four writers, including myself. Steve’s blog is here. Below, in his own words, is a more comprehensive description of the events. Please stop by his blog, both on the dates mentioned and just to check it out! And yes, a free copy of MURDER FOR HIRE: The Peruvian Pigeon, will

I am the Liberty Bell

2008-02-19T19:48:00.003-08:00

I went to a Capitol Crimes (Sisters in Crime, Sacramento Chapter) meeting this Saturday as the guest speaker. Dave went with me, in a combination of pack horse (he lugged the book boxes), actor and moral support. My sister Lisa also joined us as she was up from Venice Beach for her birthday. We drove separate cars from our house to Sacramento as Lisa has a sometimes cranky back and my

Potential

2008-02-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

I’ve spent a large portion of my life collecting items and ideas with the goal of realizing their potential. This is why I’ve spent my adult life carting around and storing boxes, bins and tins of fabric, shells, beach glass, pieces of driftwood, battered picture frames, old jewelry bits, beads, pieces of furniture on the very shabby side of chic, news articles, pictures torn out of magazines,

I've got to get through that door...

2008-02-06T20:09:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but when I get home from work, I can't relax until all the chores that need to be done are completed. I'm like a shark - if I don't keep moving, I'll sink into a sea of apathy and exhaustion. Nothing will get done. It doesn't matter how late I work, how exhausted I am. 10 cats and one dog need feeding, floors need sweeping (10 cats generate a lot of pine litter dust),

Sunday Post Birthday Post

2008-02-03T17:52:00.001-08:00

I ate too much cake. It was a triple chocolate mousse cake with a small layer of actual cake at the bottom (the part with the forbidden wheat in it) and I had a HUGE slab of it with coffee after a bountiful lamb dinner (cooked by Rick - thank you, Rick!) and much tasty wine. Jen had pina coladas (gack!) instead of wine. Did I mention we were celebrating her birthday and mine (with pina coladas

Grumpy Post

2008-01-31T21:12:00.001-08:00

How, you might ask, is it possible for a person to be grumpy when surrounded by purring felines, sipping a glass of good Cabernet Franc, and watching ONCE MORE WITH FEELING? I mean...the Buffy musical generally cures all ills. Cats are like Tribbles - holding one is an automatic stress reducer. But when three cats are vying for lap space with my MacBook, it makes writing very difficult. "

And the winners of free copies of MURDER FOR HIRE, THE PERUVIAN PIGEON are...

2008-01-28T21:12:00.001-08:00

And we actually have FOUR winners 'cause two pieces of paper stuck together when I pulled 'em out of the hat! So...in order of winnage: ZOGGIRL! SHELLI! DIESEL!STEPHEN P.! Congrats to the winners and thanks to all of you who took the time to follow my tour!

Cross posting

2008-01-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

I've decided to re-open the Den here as well as have it on my website because I'm not sure people are actually finding their way to the NEW Den. So starting tomorow, both Dens will be open for business. We'll see how that works...

Zhadi's Den is Moving!

2007-10-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

The new address for the Den is here.See ya at my new home!

Posting for Mr. Fabulous

2007-10-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

If you haven't visited Pointless Drivel (and it's hard to imagine anyone NOT having visited this amazingly warped and funny site at least once 'cause Mr. Fabulous IS the funniest blogger on the 'net at this time), go there now! For one thing, as mentioned, it's just really funny. For another, he gave MURDER FOR HIRE: THE PERUVIAN PIGEON, an extremely nice endorsement. He is one of four people

Website et al

2007-10-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

I spent a few hours at Leslie's today, working on my website. Rather, she worked on it while I sat at her side and tried to follow along as she navigated templates, codes and other arcane webbish things. I actually understood some of it, but other things? Not so much. It was fairly collaborative, though, as I got to pick out the design and colors for the header and am now working on names and

Murder for Hire: The Peruvian Pigeon is official!

2007-10-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

After over 15 years of writing, rewriting, rejections and frustration, my first novel has been published and is actually...well...official! Please go here for details. It'll be available on Amazon.com in a few days and in stores shortly. More triumphant happydance blogging over the weekend as we also try and get my website up and running!

Final proofs and new website

2007-10-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Hi, y'all. Whatever 'ya'll' actually bother stopping by here these days since I've been so lax in the posting. Well, I've been proofing galleys in between an overtime intensive work schedule (and the kittens...the KITTENS!) and am happy to say that the final proofs are approved, signed off, and MFH is going into print. I'm also working with my surfing pal and web-design savvy friend Leslie on

Thursday night ramblings

2007-09-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

I don't have anything specific to talk about...as usual, I have all these brilliant ideas for blog posts when I'm a: on the Muni; b: in the shower; c: neck deep in work at work or d: sleeping. Now that I'm awake and at my computer in a pleasant stupor caused by exercise, a glass of wine and the fact it's almost 9pm (I AM a wuss!), I gots nothing. We're watching SURVIVOR and there's a gal with

Momma's Little Helpers

2007-09-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

It took me almost a week and a half to proof the Galleys for MURDER FOR HIRE: THE PERUVIAN PIGEON (my upcoming murder mystery, due out in October, yay!!!) and this is why. Foster is on the pile of unproofed pages, so I had to pull out each page from under his fat white bulk. Then the two kittens on my lap, Taz and Angel, needed to attack my pen as I proofed the pages. Haggis or Wookie (not sure

My weekend with Jen (the lazy way to post!)

2007-08-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

For a wonderful and accurate description of my weekend, go here to my friend Jen's blog, Abyss of Silence. It includes cute pictures of my kittens, a description of our Saturday tea, the rather frightening quantity of dead jellyfish on the beach ('jellahs!') and much much more!Thank you, Jen!P.S. I haven't given up trying to tempt her and Rick into taking one of the kittens. OH no....

Sunday ramblings

2007-08-26T19:05:00.001-07:00

The weekend is sadly coming to a close...wah! Two days is just not long enough when a person works 40 plus hours a week. Three day weekends should be mandatory. It is the word of Dana and should be obeyed!on the other hand, I've had a nice weekend. My pal Jen (the female half of our best friends and fellow bad movie afficianados) took me out to tea at The Secret Garden Tea House on Lincol Way

Kittens on Vacation

2007-08-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

All my fears of the kittens being traumatized by a: my absence and b: staying in a strange place for a week while both Dave and I were in San Diego were obviously groundless. Here they are snuggling with Thoth, one of the resident felines at Aldtyh's and Ben's house. Yeah, they look REALLY traumatized... We had an eventful weekend to end the vacation in San Diego, but I'll have to post on it

Revving up the engines

2007-08-15T09:54:00.001-07:00

I just got the first sample of the cover for MFH (now officially titled: MURDER FOR HIRE - THE PERUVIAN PIGEON since we're looking at a series here) and am starting to get excited about the reality of the damn thing being published after all these years. I'd post it here, but they (Rock Publishing Inc.) sent it to me as a Read Only Adobe pdf, so it won't upload. No problem, I'll scan it to my

Pet Peeve of the Day

2007-08-14T11:26:00.001-07:00

You probably all know I'm a zombie junkie. I pretty much mainline any form of entertainment that includes the flesh-eating variety of the living dead. Dana, she do love her carnivorous reanimated corpses, mmm hmmmm. But what irritates the crap out of me is when writers and filmmakers think they're being oh so clever and original by naming characters and places after other horror or zombie genre

Latest Guilty Pleasure

2007-08-13T21:13:00.001-07:00

GHOST WHISPERER. Yes, Maureen has gotten me hooked on GHOST WHISPERER. It's worse than being addicted to CHARMED. I've never been a Jennifer Love-Hewitt fan (watching I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER made me want to take that girl in hand and stuff her like a Christmas goose - too skinny!), although I had nothing against her. And there's also something just a LITTLE too TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL

Surfing and Sunning

2007-08-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

Went surfing today for the first time in months. Water temp was around 75, waves were two to three feet when they finally showed up and the beach wasn't crowded. We surf at PB below Diamond Street, a beach break in between the better waves of Crystal Pier and Tourmaline. I like it because it's a lot less populated than either of the above and I hates crowds, I does, my precioussss....Yessssss.

Writing from Sunny San Diego

2007-08-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

Or semi-hazy San Diego, to be accurate. There's still a bit of the morning cloud cover burning off, but it's looking to be another gorgeous day. Good for me 'cause I'm house and cat sitting for my parents for 10 days! Aside from going through kitten withdrawal, I have to say this is a really sweet deal: pool in the backyard, a pile of junk paperbacks to read while sunbathing on a raft in the

Woman Has Brain Sucked Out By Kittens

2007-07-31T09:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are once again fostering kittens. Two boys, two girls, all from the same litter. We got them at four weeks of age, still on the bottle (little formulaholics!) and just starting to learn how to use their fat little legs and wobble around. Two weeks later they are in the furry jumping spider stage, can (and do) climb legs (with or without the handholds that clothes provide), furniture and

Another Loss

2007-07-11T15:04:00.001-07:00

It seems the only thing I’ve had to write about the last couple of weeks has been related to death and grief. Which is why I haven’t written much because who needs to read about sad things all the time? Unfortunately I received word today of another huge loss – that of Lana, one of our beautiful Amur leopards at EFBC/FCC. Lana was only 7 years old and due to be introduced to Sevastian, a young

Five kittens...

2007-07-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, few faithful readers. Dave and I took on five newborn kittens two weeks ago...if you know anything about newborn kittens, you know that means bottle feeding every 3-5 hours. There is no sleep. I don't mind that...but I do mind losing all five of them to what was most likely a congenital defect. We're burying the last one tomorrow. I'm tired, sad, and kinda drained.

It's not just me!!!!

2007-06-26T19:41:00.001-07:00

Must share this review of STAN LEE'S HARPIESHarpies (2007)Starring Stephen Baldwin, Kristin Richardson,Peter Jason, Velizar Binev, Jonas Talkington,Atanas Srebev, Dessi MoralesDirected by Josh BeckerJason Avery is an ex-cop now working as a museum security guard. Armedthieves break in intent on stealing a priceless obelisk that looks like aglowing crystal dinosaur egg that's stored within this

Stan Lee's HARPIES

2007-06-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

I caught about five minutes of STAN LEE’S ‘HARPIES’ on Sci Fi Channel. No shock there. That it was on Sci Fi, that is. Sci Fi, once again balancing their decent series with some of the crappiest movies ever made. Five minutes were enough to make it clear that HARPIES was a low budget rip-off of ARMY OF DARKNESS, complete with a Tim the Blacksmith lookalike (if you’re an AOD fan, you’ll know

Which character are you?

2007-06-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Heh! I'm Aragorn! Which means I kick ass with a sword and talk to dead people!

Junjie

2007-06-18T21:04:00.001-07:00

Junjie is a North Chinese leopard at EFBC/FCC. Junie is about a month old and the son of Kim Lee and Kandgi. His name means 'handsome' in Chinese and he is certainly that. In this picture he's crawling on my shoulder, making little grunt-piglet noises as he snuffles and sniffs my neck, hair and face. This is Dave's first time experiencing the wonders of a baby leopard. He's grinning ear to

Rambling catch up post!

2007-06-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

First things first. Hi there! I’ve been away from my blog for a long time (three months now?) other than the occasional random post and swore that I’d start back up end of May after the madness died down. The madness, in case you missed my few random posts (and I’m sure most people did), was 85 percent work related and the other 15 percent was trying to battle the stress without beating myself

Muni Grunge

2007-06-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

Also known as 'Muni-itis.' Definition: Any virus or bacteria that I've gotten in the last two years after riding on the L Taravel trains, stuffed with plague carrying people, most of whom do not understand the use of a Kleenex or hand to cover coughs and sneezes. I have it now. I am not happy about this. The only positive is being at home for the day. And there's something to be said for

The Den Has Been Re-Opened

2007-06-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hallo, everyone! Well...all three of my readers who are left after my two month absence. I have a long and rambling 'what I've been up to post' that I'm writing on my beloved AlphaSmart (the best writing machine EVER!!!), but decided that I needed to at least announce my return. Whoo hoo! Fan fare! Drum roll please...So at least three posts a week, unless I'm on vacation and have no 'net

Posting on a Saturday night...

2007-04-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

And having a damnably hard time writing anything. I've probably used up all of my brain power today doing tax things, such as going through my files and bags and folders and drawers and finding all receipts/invoices/bills for 2006 AND 2007, separating them out and getting some order, before finally sitting down and doing a prelim run on 2006 taxes. I am happy to say that without using even half

Technorati Told Me To!

2007-03-20T11:20:00.001-07:00

Technorati ProfileI have no idea what this will do for me, but I'm just following in Mr. Fab's footsteps to see what happens. It started 'cause I'm supposed to vote for him as my favorite. So I'm going to do so. Because I'm a loyal Fabulist.HAHAHAHAH! oh, if you get the joke, it's a funny one...

Raven

2007-03-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

My little angel...ain't she adorable? *hint* Any response other than 'yes' is not acceptable.

Quickee!

2007-03-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what I'm gonna write about, but I've been offline again for a week and felt the need to post something. I had the flu last week and man, other than migraines and the occasional stomach bug, I'd forgotten how badly one of those nasty ass flues (or influenzas) can knock a person on their ass. Ground glass in the joints. A wheel of pain in the stomach that radiates from the center

Stuff and nonsense

2007-03-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

I know I've been a very lazy, uninspired writer as of late. I'm enjoying a spate of reading. Either walking on the beach while reading, reading on the Muni to and from work, or just curling up on the couch with a glass of wine or cup of hot chocolate and reading someone else's stuff. Then my sister, now visiting China, sends me something she wants me to post for her 'cause the Great Firewall of

PRINCESS WARRIOR Clip-01 (Dana Fredsti)

2007-03-01T09:39:00.001-08:00

Just when I thought it was safe to go back to YouTube...At least my hooters are safely in the background! But jeez louise, check out the Mommy Dearest make-up!

Back From the Dead

2007-02-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

And I could spend a paragraph or few telling you why I've been offline, but I won't. Instead I'm going to simply share a bit of very good news. After over 15 years since the first draft was written, I just got a publisher for my mystery novel MURDER FOR HIRE. To say that I'm excited about this is...an understatement. I'm supposed to receive a contract in the mail this upcoming week. Until I

It's a Small World in CyberSpace!

2007-01-26T15:53:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize when I started blogging just how many people from my past would stumble across Zhadi's Den. I've had friends from high school, people I've worked on films with, and now N (in case she wishes to remain anonymous), one of Brian's oldest (as in known the longest, not as in she's old) friends whom I met in Michigan. I got a surprise email today from her (a very nice one) referencing

I love my boyfriend

2007-01-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm always writing about my past or my cats, or things that I'm trying to get over or deal with or put behind me or process...you know, my list of 'I ain't got time to bleed' topics. So for a change, I'm gonna post a nice simple ode to my boyfriend, who has been a veritable font of patience...er, FOUNT of patience (I'm not sure what font he is, although I expect it's one of them fancy ones)

Five Things You Don't Know About Me - Number Five

2007-01-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

Other Lisa commented that she thought it was appropriate for me to tell one thing about me a night, given that my online moniker is Zhadi, short for Scherezade. For those of you not familiar with Thousand and One Tales of the Arabian Nights, Scherezade was one in a long line of wives to a nutball Sultan, who’d kill his wives the night of their wedding nuptials. Scherezade stayed alive by telling

Five Things You Don't KNow About Me - Number Four

2007-01-16T17:41:00.000-08:00

For someone who's been in nearly continuous relationships for most of my adult life, I've watched way too many gorgeous sunsets by myself. It makes me very melancholy.

Five Things You Don't Know About Me - Number 3

2007-01-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

My first crush was Roddy McDowell. A nice harmless crush for an 11 year old, right? I'm not so sure. I developed the crush, you see, when I saw him in PLANET OF THE APES playing Cornelius, chimpanzee scientist.I'm not sure what this says about me, but it seems to affirm Darwinism in a strange, sick kind of way...

To Pee or Not to Pee (Or, Number Two is Number One)

2007-01-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, time for Number 2 of five things some of you won’t know about me.I once peed on a bus.I know that you’re thinking, “big deal. She peed on a bus. Anyone who’s ever taken a Greyhound Bus trip longer than two hours has peed on a bus.”Well, it wasn’t a Greyhound. And here’s the real kicker: there was no bathroom on the bus in question.So maybe you’re thinking that I still in diapers at the time

Tagged!

2007-01-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

A first for me, I've been tagged by the evil Other Lisa. It's a 'meme' thingee. I have no idea what the official definition of 'meme' is, but it has something to do with this tagging business. I'm supposed to share five things that you don't know about me. First of all, let's define 'you.' 'You' as I see it, are people who know me already. I don't have a huge blog audience and what with the

We Named the Monkey ...

2007-01-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

We Named the Monkey Shmoo...Originally uploaded by zhadi. I posted this photo about a year and a half ago when I first moved up to San Francisco and started blogging as a way to try to sort out and deal with the confusion and depression of leaving Brian and my old life. This is a picture of Brian and Shmoo (originally named Asmodeus, but you know how names change with cats) a few months before I

Keeping my New Year's Resolution

2007-01-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

...the one that involves posting more often, that is. This is gonna be a shortie 'cause I'm in dire need of sleep - a night of uninterrupted sleep, that is, without the monkey brain going 'EEP EEP' all night and keeping me awake - but better a shortie than nothing. Tonight's post is just a recommendation to anyone who likes a: to read, b: zombies and c: really good writing. Pick up a copy of

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-26T18:46:00.000-08:00

I'm in San Diego, spending the holiday season with friends and family, and just wanted to wish everyone the best possible Christmas and New Years! Not sure if I'll be posting any more while I'm down here (I tend to try and cram as much as possible into my trips down south, which doesn't leave a lot of time spent on the computer), but my New Year's resolution is to stop being depressed and get my

Team America...Fuck Yeah!

2006-12-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

Which is apropos of nothing other than the fact that I've been waiting NINE MINUTES for the previews on my DVD to end so I can watch the movie. Jeez louise...and fer crissake, already!I had grandiose plans for the evening. Get h0me, feed the kids, clean the house, go buy cat food and wine for gifts, come back home, tae-bo, shower, cook dinner, eat, wrap presents, work on my Christmas projects

New Blog

2006-12-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

Yup. You read correctly. I'm starting up a new blog at which I'm going to be cross-posting some of my stuff or, as in this case, writing something completely different for each blog. Why, you might ask, am I doing this when I'm already so far behind in my posting? Well, I'm hoping it'll help break up the creative constipation I've been suffering from for the last...oh...year? Either that or the

Pale Dreamer cast

2006-12-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

Pale Dreamer cast Originally uploaded by zhadi. I had the best of intentions of doing a post that wasn't based around one of my pictures on Flickr, but since blogger.com isn't cooperating (the connection keeps failing, according to the error message), here's a little piece of my past. If you're a horror movie buff, you'll recognize Ken Foree from DAWN OF THE DEAD, Josef Pilato from DAY

Raven

2006-12-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

Raven Originally uploaded by zhadi. I haven't posted in ages, so I'm easing back in with the ubiquitous cute kitten photo.This is Raven, the latest addition to our family. She wasn't feeling well when this was taken, but content to hang out on her mommy's lap (that's me, of course) and get attention. She's up and running at full speed now after a week on anti-diarrhea medicine and a

Goodbye to Jasmine

2006-11-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

It breaks my heart to say that Jasmine, beautiful Bengal tiger at EFBC-FCC, is no longer with us. She died from a tumor two days ago at the age of 13 (or thereabouts) and will be sorely missed by staff, volunteers and visitors alike. Jasmine was the first tiger I ever pet, the first to give me a slobbery tiger kiss, the first I ever heard give that mournful wookie moan when she wanted attention.

Halloween Blues

2006-11-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday. It's the time of year that I want to borrow a little kid to take trick-or-treating 'cause there's nothing cuter in the world than little kids (babies, crawlers, toddlers, you name it) in costumes. I'm a sucker for the little furry animal or bug costumes that you can buy. A fat cheeked baby in a pumpkin costume makes me melt much the same way a

Only the location has changed...

2006-10-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

I was walking Boska in Griffith Park back in 2002, doing my usual walking and reading routine, when I was stopped by a freelance photographer - she was driving and actually pulled off the road when she saw me. Evidently the concept of reading while walking AND walking my dog at the same time was a totally new one for her, and she wanted a picture to submit to the local newspaper. I happily

Why I haven't been Posting

2006-10-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

Me at workMe at night. Not much room for anything in between right now... But I'm getting back to it.

cough...cough...

2006-10-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Yup, I've been a bad blogger...or rather, I've been a sick blogger. Some sort of flu, complete with a cough that hits at night and keeps me up hours on end. Blech. Needless to say, I haven't had a lot of energy for much beyond work (and I took Tuesday off, slept ALL day long) and basic household maintenance. I don't have any sort of concentration or focus - I've been reading the SAME BOOK for

Promo for a Pal

2006-09-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

When I met Mark, we were both working on a very low budget movie. The movie, PRINCESS WARRIOR, was my first lead role in a film. The fact that I was paid the grand sum of $25 a day paled beside my excitement at being cast as the villainess in a Hollywood film. Never mind that the budget was $100,000 for pre-production, production AND post-production. I was jazzed.But this post isn't about

One of the things I like about my co-workers

2006-09-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

They assume I know what they're talking about even when I don't necessarily have a clue.Yup, in a world of condescending jerks, I work with people who assume I'm smart instead of assuming I'm stupid. Mind you, sometimes I really have no clue what they're talking about because, while I do have a high IQ (142 or something along those lines), my background does not include much of a scientific

AOD Sword

2006-09-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, M. Snay, this post is for you!To your left is the sword (one of two) that I used when playing a Deadite in ARMY OF DARKNESS, the third in Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD trilogy. If you've seen it, then the description 'Three Stooges Meets Demons in Medieval Times' will make perfect sense. These aluminum swords were originally made for the second HIGHLANDER film, for the infamous Zeist scenes.Zeist.

Things I'm going to post about

2006-09-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

In no particular order...1. Army of Darkness - as soon as I find my photos from the shoot. I have a promise to keep.2. A promo for my pal Adam and his career in independent films and documentary filmmaking...and why he once wore blue lipstick. 3. Sigh. Princess Warrior. I guess I have to. 4. Why guys on the Muni have to sit with their legs wide open in that 'bury me in a 'Y' shaped coffin'

Loki

2006-09-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Loki Originally uploaded by zhadi. Bye, baby girl...

Memorial to Loki

2006-09-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

I got home Monday evening to sad news; while I was driving home from L.A. and Dave was at work, Loki died. We're not sure why...she was lethargic after her vaccinations a week ago Saturday and that same day, the two little boy kittens went off to their new home. We figured the lethargy was a normal reaction to the stress of the vet visit, the vaccines, and losing two of her playmates. I'd seen it

Away for the Weekend

2006-09-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

The last Twilight Tour of the year at EFBC/FCC is tomorrow, so yet another drive down to Southern California to emcee the fund raiser. After that, I'm going to do a kamikaze trip to San Diego Sunday morning to visit Mo, Mumsy and Bill for a couple of hours, then back up to L.A that evening to hang with the sister-unit, and then back to San Francisco Monday. Brian is going to co-emcee with me,

On Hold

2006-09-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

I really want to take a break here, but I'm currently on hold with Sprint/Nextel. You know, the kind of 'hold' where it alternates supposedly soothing music with an automated voice telling the listener just how very important the call is to them, but why don't we go online and use the automated system instead.I hate them.I've been on hold for 20 minutes. And ironically, the minute I typed '20',

Blue Sky Studio - Jewelry Extraordinaire!

2006-09-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

I love supporting artists. Especially when they're friends! Check out these beautiful necklaces, made by Petaluma artist Kathleen Walter. And visit her website for more gorgeous pieces and information on each one!

The Cure for All That Ails Ya...

2006-09-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

The Buffy Musical. At least it's MY cure-all. Mind you, some of the songs make me bawl my eyes out - Giles' song to Buffy when he's watching her train, about wishing he could stay and guide her...well, it pretty much sums up my ambivalence when I left Brian. And Tara's love song to Willow? One of the most beautiful love songs I've ever heard.And then there's Buffy's 'Give me something to sing

Two Down...

2006-09-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

Two of our foster babies found a good home today with one of my managing directors and his family. They took Serafin and Ghengis (now renamed 'Sinbad' by my MD's son). Ghengis had a bout of runny kitten poop, got some stuck on his bottom, and did the little dragging of the butt across the floor at top speed...and they STILL wanted to take him home. I've no doubt that these two have won the

Cute Overload and Things of an Undead Nature

2006-09-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know...I've been in kitten mode the last few blogs...when not rhapsodizing over Sacred Stone wine. A glass of which, by the way, sits beside me on the coffee table.But...look at this picture. C'mon, could you concentrate on anything else if these cute little munchkins were in YOUR house? I think not!From left to right: Loki, Raven, Ghengis, and Serafin.I'm actually working on an outline

Wine Recommendation

2006-09-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

I know not all of you are into wine the way that I am, but if you are, or you're interested in expanding your horizons, I have a newly discovered (by me) red wine bargain for you to try - Sacred Stone Master's Red Blend.Imagine chocolate, blackberries, and a hint of underlying earthiness, all tied together in a rich, smoky finish.Or, if you think I'm full of shit what with the hyperbole, just

Random Post

2006-08-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

Not really sure what I want to talk about...my brain is still pretty much a gooey mass from spending time with four kittens who are currently in residence. They're living in the office at present, until they get tested for various feline diseases and can mix with the rest of the gang. I know I'm gonna have to give 'em all up eventually...and it's already a heart-breaking prospect.Sigh...I knew

Woman's Brain Melted by Kittens!

2006-08-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

No, not a Daily News headline...just the reason I haven't been doing much writing at home. We recently adopted four kittens who were on death row at the Oakland shelter. This is a foster parent situation...and yes, I have actually fostered kittens and NOT kept them...but I cry every time I give one away. Anyway, they're very demanding of attention, as are my seven full time feline children.