Double Shift Logline Challenge - Thursday

The loglines from Thursday's #DSLC (posted with permission):


High Speed –Two stoner college students discover they can travel the world by transferring themselves via a high-speed internet router made with a bong and an 8-track player

A news photographer captures the shot of a lifetime, but is forced to decide between love and fortune when the scandalous nature of her photograph turns out on closer inspection to be her new boyfriend caught during the commission of a serious crime. A comedy

MITTENS: A lonely high school prodigy befriends the CIA’s latest in spy technology, a talking robotic cat, and together they must destroy the master plan of a global crime syndicate

When Jake clicked "next blog" on the blogger web site, he had no idea that next blog would cause him to fall in love.

A newlywed couple is stuck living their honeymoon over and over again and, as the years pass on this endless vacation, they uncover whether they are truly meant to be together ‘til death do them part

A struggling artist sketches series of anti-corporate portraits centering on his father's investment business and finds himself pulled into a world of corporate intrigue when his sketches uncover an ugly truth.

**WINNER**
A 50-year-old spinster accidentally becomes the leader of a biker gang and destroys America's roughest biker town in ENID BURGESS TAKES DOWN STURGIS

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Thank you to @eyamie, @KageyNYC, @RobertCarroll, @ZacSanford, @Yeah_Write, @ZaniacMedic, and @NoPantsIsland for playing along with my silly game (Mine is included in there as well).

Congrats again to @Eyamie who pulled out the win with a short, succinct, humorous logline including a great title, winning a copy of Quintessential's CD.

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Next week's #DSLC will take place on Tuesday, and Thursday (according to my current schedule) On those days, send your logline to rachlanger2@gmail.com before 6PM PST to be considered. I'll think of a new exciting prize to accompany the winner's #FF.

Inception, Loglines, and Follow Fridays

This is a buffet post, more than one item on the menu. First and foremost - INCEPTION! We saw it last night and needless to say I was not disappointed. Wow. Here is my #HaikuMovieReview

INCEPTION

Complex and driven
Intricately beautiful
Intense story art

Walking out of a movie that intentionally expects an intelligent viewer, entertains, and inspires is so refreshing. I am going again.

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Now I want to talk about the DSLC. I am giving myself a new challenge to go along with the intense hours that I'm working. I'm also inviting you to play along! Thus begins the "Double Shift Logline Challenge" (DSLC). Everytime I work a double shift - I have a possible 3 in a row next week - I am challenging myself to write a logline on my break, and challenging you to write one as well! Submit them to me via DM on Twitter or email them to me. Every time I get more than five on a given day, I will choose a winner, give them a #FollowFriday on Twitter, and post their logline on my blog, if they so choose.

We had a blast with it on Thursday. Its the best way I can think of to keep myself being creative on a short timeline. I've decided to embrace the crazy hours, and to force myself to keep my head in the writing game, even on my longest days. Watch for the hashtags on Twitter under #QuickWriting and #DSLC. Looking forward to playing!

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I owe a Follow Friday to @robertcarroll and @zaniacmedic for their participation in the DSLC on Thursday - Thanks for playing along! A couple other people you should check out on Twitter:

The Scriptchat Treefort Crew (Sunday night work has limited my involvement - but these guys are awesome!)

@jeannevb
@zacsanford
@KageyNYC
@dreamsgrafter
@yeah_write

A Few Things You Should Know About Me

These past few weeks have been ones of self discovery. Not so much in the vision quest and mushroom granola sort of way. More in the sense that I've pushed myself to the very limits of sanity and I now understand how I deal, sort of way. We've had a bit of a staffing crunch at work, so I've been logging some killer hours the last few months. Lets put it this way, my paycheck is almost double its original size, based on hours alone (the one pleasant side effect). When I work this much a few things suffer. In no particular order they include: Writing, cleaning the bio-hazard that is my house, cooking, spending time with important people, sleeping, and social networking of any kind including blogging. Fortunately I have a supportive husband who has worked very hard to pick up on my failings, and remember my name, even though I am almost never home. I've learned a lot about how I deal with stress, and where my breaking points lie.

Since I've been self discovering all over the place, I thought I'd give you the heads up on a few things you should know about me, if you want to continue down that rabbit hole of crazysauce that is knowing me. So, Alice, here they are:

1: If you invite me to a group or individual event, and use the term WE, I will assume you also mean for me to invite Derek, unless you make it very clear that this is a girls night, work event, or closed function, at which point I will decide whether or not I want to go. My "WE" includes him. That will never change.

2: I will assume that if words come out of your mouth, you mean them, unless you have proven that you often say things that are not true. For example "Did you hear about the giant fire that actually hopped false creek from Kitsilano to the Downtown core?" will be met with horror and shock, unless last week you told me you missed writers group due to a grizzly bear mauling but your scars healed miraculously. You call this gullible, I call it trusting. Pot-ay-toh, Pot-ah-toh. It's who I am.

3. If I am aware that you are trying to manipulate me, I will do EVERYTHING IN MY POWER to avoid giving you what you want, and likely call you out on exactly what you're doing. People who are master manipulators are seldom called out on their talents. I have a secret-ninja-mission to expose them, if only to themselves. Manipulation is a slippery slope you don't even realize you're sliding down most of the time.

4. It takes me a long time to really trust someone, but once you've earned it - you're golden.

5. I rage. A lot. It just boils up inside and I can't hold it in. I can keep my poker face on just long enough to make it to a safe space, and then Mount St. Helen's spews out of my mouth, occasionally burning those standing closest. Those who know me well have learned to pull out their face shields in the nick of time and laugh as I vent my frustrations.

I think that's enough for today. Any of you who are still left hanging around, I commend you for being brave enough. Good luck.

The Ultimate Follow Friday List

Friend, and fellow Twitter and Twizzler addict Jeanne Veillette Bowerman has created the ultimate list of writing and film types to expand your Twitter community. Check out her ultimate #FollowFriday list here, and feel the love!

http://jeanneveillettebowerman.blogspot.com/p/ff-list.html

Also, say hi to @JeanneVB on Twitter, and tell her she's pretty rad!

The Trotsky

Go see this movie this weekend, OK? Go Canada!

Three Ring Big Top Status

Hello, Dave.

It's been a helluva week. I've done things for a steak and an early end to a shift that I wouldn't recommend to the guy who packs the sausage into the synthetic casing. All on the level, of course. Today was my first official day off in too many, and you know what I learned? I've still got a LOT to do.

Derek and I are SO close to finally putting the feather in the cap of the second draft of our pilot. What this means? We have no idea. We have a couple places that it will be sent for constructive feedback (shredder? anyone?) and then... we the great unknown. We have a vague idea of the plan. I have another spec that I'm working on - mental writing FTW - and we are working on going on vacation.

It isn't going to stop here. Working (the day job) as much as I have been lately has opened several doors for us, one of them hopefully being the door to a plane and an all inclusive resort. It has also threatened to close a few windows. My blogging has been in complete decline. Oh stop it, I know you didn't even notice. My twittering is now coming in fits and starts. Don't believe me? Check out every Monday when I'm off and have Twitterhea, as compared to a Friday, when I'm busy balancing a full tray of hot water and lemon, and my sanity, on one arm.

Balance is a tough game to play, and I'm still learning the rules. It enters into every aspect of my life. Balance between sleeping and running. Balance between work, the other work, and play. Balance between spending and throwing my tips into the black hole of student debt. Balance between our friends and our alone time. I wonder if all of the tripping I've been doing lately is actually a physical manifestation of my mental state? Or maybe I should just lay off the roller coasters and tequila shots.

Six Rules for Dining Out on a Holiday

I am heading out soon to work a double shift, on a statutory holiday. This is part of my quest to become a *Real* writer, indirectly at least. If writing and film making were not important to me, I suppose I would find a real job to pay the bills.

Anyway, since I am going to walk through the firey depths of holiday hell today, I thought I would provide a small list of rules for dining out on a statutory holiday. Most of these apply to every day dining, but they are of even more importance on a holiday when kitchens are busier, managers are frazzled, and a server makes half the amount of tips for double the work. I have been in the biz long enough that I have absolutely no hope of these being followed, but hey, I like a pointless exercise as much as the next person. So here we go.

SIX RULES FOR DINING OUT ON A HOLIDAY

1. DON'T.

(Now I KNOW you're not going to follow this one, but I will give my reasons and then move on.)

Everyone goes out on holidays. I know, all the cool kids are doing it, but for you it means that your food will be rushed, possibly cold, and definitely of lesser quality since the restaurant is likely over capacity. Its more likely that you will get a server who doesn't know what they are doing, since restaurants are always understaffed, and generally days off on holidays are given to servers with seniority (they are the ones with mad skills). There's more chance the restaurant will be overcrowded, over heated, and that they will run of the one item you came for. People go out on a holiday expecting something special. If by special you mean lukewarm food and sub-par service, you won't be disappointed.

2. Make a Reservation

This can be tricky since some places don't reserve tables on holidays, but please look for a place that does. Especially if you have a large group. Large constitutes anything six and over (sometimes five counts). If you haven't made a reservation, you can expect to wait. For a long time. Don't take your rage at not planning ahead out on the sixteen year old hostess who can barely walk in her three inch heels - she doesn't have the pull to fix your problem. Next time plan ahead. If you simply cannot wait, there is a Fatburger across the street.

3. Order off the Menu

There is NOTHING worse than serving a table who wants to custom build their entrees. We have a menu for a reason. They are dishes that have been practiced and perfected by the back of house staff, with ingredients that we ensure are of a certain quality. I'm not talking about a "No tomatos" modification here, I'm talking about the people who come in and ask for green eggs and ham (yes, true story), or request that we whip up some pancakes for them when we only serve french toast, and then proceed to get angry when we cannot meet their requests. Also, if you have more allergies than should be humanly possible, please call ahead to pre-arrange a dish that is suitable for your needs, instead of causing a back log with eight-thousand ingredient questions, while the chef racks his brain for something to serve you that is free of gluten, shellfish, peanuts, eggs, milk, nutmeg, and general flavour of any kind. We do have plenty of cardboard boxes, which are lovely with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

4. Make a list

When you require something extra from your server, politely inquire as to who else at your table may need that item, or something else. Your server should also do this, and when they do - LISTEN! You are NEVER your server's only table, unless you are the first to arrive or the last to leave (which is a whole different story). When you ask for more cream and the server brings it, then Betty asks for more sweetener, when that arrives just as Uncle Oscar remembers he would enjoy a cranberry juice, which is brought when little Suzie wants extra ketchup, etc. etc., You have just used up seven minutes of your server's time. Seven minutes is like half an hour in server time. Have you ever sat at a table for seven minutes without being greeted? Yeah, YOU just caused that. If you don't make a list of your needs, you can expect to wait a while to receive your items while your server follows their list of other priorities.

5. Control your children.

Servers, as a rule, HATE serving kids. Their entrees cost less, they make a big mess, they're loud, and they disturb other guests nearby. I've served some wonderfully well behaved children who have been polite and caused no problems. This was back in the summer of '07 when the sky was blue and...you get my point. Well behaved children are almost an urban myth in a restaurant. There are a few things you can do to minimize the frustration. If your kids are young, be prepared with their order. Don't make your server stand there while you ask "Jason, what do you want?....Jason, mommy is asking you a question....Jason, grilled cheese or chicken fingers?...Jason, I'm going to count to three". I guarantee your server has thought of seventeen ways to kill themselves by now. Don't let your kids run around the restaurant. This is for their own safety. Servers walk FAST and carry HEAVY trays with HOT items. If you let little Emily run around willy nilly, you are almost guaranteeing a hot-coffee-to-the-face incident. None of us want that, despite the looks you may be receiving from other guests. If your child is misbehaving, take them outside. I understand the tactic of ignoring a tantrum, but you are asking everyone within a five table radius to attempt to ignore it as well. Take the child outside, or to the bathroom, and ignore the tantrum there. PLEASE.

And you knew it was coming....

6. Tip Generously

Servers may be getting paid time and a half today (depending on their location and their establishments rules) but even that adds up to a wage that barely rivals what you made your first year of McDonald's management. I've heard all the arguments against tipping. Restaurant owners should pay them more. They won't. They don't work that hard. They do. A monkey could do this job. A normal monkey, perhaps, but if he was restricted to your intellect, definitely not. Why should I have to pay more than my bill? Because, like it or not, tipping is a societal construct of the country in which you live (I'm speaking to YOU North American residents) and you've bought into that construct by continuing to patronize tipping-as-wage-supplement based establishments. If you can't get on board, don't go out. If you can't afford to tip 15-20% eat at a fast food joint, order in, or HEAVEN FORBID, cook at home. Be fair when factoring bad service into a tip. I know when I've screwed up and deserve a bad tip, and I accept my fate. Don't make me pay for the fact that you thought the music was too loud, or we didn't have lasagna on the menu - I can't control those things. I pay my rent based on my tips, and yes, I know I chose this job - but if I didn't, who would serve you prime rib and pour your wine and compliment your toupee?

Think about it. For Me.