Lisa Paitz Spindler, Danger Gal

Marginalized much?

The picture in this post showed up in my In-Box this morning from the SciFi Network to remind me to watch the season premiere tonight of Stargate: Atlantis. Like I needed a reminder, but we won’t go there. . .

If I knew nothing about this show, from this picture I’d guess that, oh the man standing in front of everyone else was the new commander.

Nope, it’s the woman standing right behind him.

Will someone please tell the art department to, literally, get with the program?

I hope you caught the Family Guy Star Wars special the other night, but if not, here’s a peek at it.

Tobias Buckell is posting about Kelley McCullough’s bit on SFNovelists about pushing through your dark moments. The part that really got to me was McCullough’s realization that:

I had come to place where I realized that writing wasn’t just something I did that I could walk away from. It was who I was down in the bedrock.

This realization can be a source of strength and a source of terror. Understanding that writing is part of who you are, not something you’ve chosen, can push you to persevere onward, to push through the difficult spots. Conversely, thinking that you’re stuck as a mediocre writer is like being given the gift of fire and not being able to share it — complete total impotence. In those dark moments I’ve felt that I could not even look at another word, it was too painful.

But when that happens, I panic. No more words?! No more delicious verbs and adjectives, no more metaphors, no more insight into the human condition? Seriously, I just cannot live without words and stories. It’s part of my DNA, and mediocrity can be won over with perseverance.

I can’t point to a specific lowest moment, maybe that’s in my future, but the notion of quitting is an almost daily thought for me. And so, like my friend Tawny, I try to turn it around into an affirmation.

I always end up sounding like Jack Handy, though, so chocolate usually works better.

– Homer Simpson

Ah c’mon, like I could resist that quote? Vampires keep coming out of the woodwork today, so I’m giving into my vamp fascination and posting about it.

J.R. Ward’s next Black Dagger Brotherhood book comes out today! I’ve really enjoyed the whole series, mainly due to Ward’s ability to zap me right of my present reality and provide a truly escapist over-the-top paranormal love story.

In other vampire news, SMTB has posted about a new vampire detective series (gee, never heard of that before) on CBS and, as usual, their commentary is hilarious and, er, pointed.

So if I love to read about vamps, why don’t I write my own novel about them? The main reason is that we need a truly new idea about vampires, not rehashing of cliches. Ward’s books work on this level because of two new twists: (1) her vampires must feed off of each other of the opposite gender (they can feed off humans, but it doesn’t sustain them) and (2) they have their own religion, including their own female deity.

So, as soon as I come up with something equally compelling and original, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, I’ll get my fix from the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Angel reruns and the occasional Ann Rice and Stephen King re-read.

Just remember, Homer was wrong about Eskimos…

“Try anything and I’ll deviate your septum.”

This week’s Danger Gal is Josefina “Jo” Lupo, deputy sheriff on the SciFi Channel show Eureka.

Lupo is a Jersey girl, a former U.S. Army Ranger and a very smart woman. She’s more than your average tough girl character who’s long on muscle and short on brains. For example, in the episode “God is in the Details” Lupo tells love interest Zane that she loves the opportunities available in a town like Eureka, such as “…assembling a chromium flash suppression barrel for my grenade launcher.”

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t know a chromium flash suppression barrel from a grenade launcher, let alone how to assemble one. You?

More than intelligence and special forces skills, the writers have hinted at Lupo’s feminine side, a facet she may rarely display in public, but does possess. She tells Sheriff Jack Carter that as a girl she wanted to be a ballet dancer, and in the episode “God Is In The Details” she shows up for brunch date in a dress, throwing Zane off balance. Moreover, Lupo seems just as comfortable in a dress as she is in her deputy uniform.

The dress that Jo wears for her brunch date with Zane is virginal white sundress she also wore to church that morning. In a science-dominated town like Eureka, Jo is one of the few believers, and someone who has found a way for her religious belief and her interest in science to coexist.

When Zane shows off how conceited he is as a theoretical physicist the likes of which come up with the really important grand ideas, Jo responds with “[S]ome of us like a practical application,” and promptly ends their date, heading back to her job.

The virginal white dress Lupo wears for the date is an obvious statement that she hasn’t dated much, that this feminine side to Lupo rarely gets to play. Despite this vulnerability, when Zane stomps on her intellect and talents Lupo stands up for herself and refuses to play along. If he’s not going to respect her intelligence, Jo doesn’t want to have anything to do with Zane even if he is wowed by her ability to deviate his septum.

So I’m exercising my ability to be a total couch potato tonight channel surfing (and what was I watching? Flipping between the Food Network Challenge, Mythbusters –Diet Coke and Mentos episode yay! — and HGTV Design on a Dime — midcentury modern redo!) when I come across the end of Chasing Liberty on the ABC Family channel.

And I think — gee, that Mandy Moore is kinda classy, this being a salute to Roman Holiday and why don’t more people pay attention to her instead of Brit-Brit’s vajayjay flashing? (– oohhh Who’s Line Is It Anyway is on now — love those funny guys).

And I realize that Jeremy Piven is in this Mandy Moore movie as a Secret Service Agent. Now, I have to admit to a crushing on the Jeremy about as much as I crush on the John Cusack oh ever since Better Off Dead. And then I’m sad. Because first Cusack, king of the dark sarcasm biting wit, makes a movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones (and another about dogs!) and then Piven makes a movie with pop-tarty Moore.

But didn’t I just say she was kind classy? I’m so glad she’s over the geeky Braf guy. He was kinda cute until he turned into a jerk… oohhh Rescue Me is on, what was I saying?

Oh yeah, my dark comedy kings, my cerebral hotties, the Cupid to my Psyche, the Bryce/Roy/Martin to my Debi, why or why oh why? Did you need the money that badly? (Yes, I use adverbs correctly even in the stream of my consciousness.)

Do you see what happens when the SciFi Channel cancels Dresden Files, makes me wait interminably for Battlestar and subjects me to the likes of Flash Gordon and Painkiller Jane? Shame on you SciFi Channel. How dare you use a Queen song for Flash Gordon. There’s not much that might make Freddy roll over in his grave, but this just might. And really, I refuse to watch movies like the Giant Anaconda from Mars or Space Dragons from Planet X. Pu-leeze.

Please do not touch Eureka. I beg you.

This week’s Danger Gal Friday is Lt. Connie Murphy from the SciFi Channel’s series The Dresden Files, based on Jim Butcher’s best-selling novels.

The character of Lt. Connie Murphy, played by actress Valerie Cruz, is interesting and unique in several ways. First, the TV series writers captured Butcher’s voice well, usually a difficult feat when a story crosses from novel to television. I experienced the TV series first, but since I’ve started reading the novels I can hear Harry Dresden narrating — and I hear it in Paul Blackthorne’s voice. So it’s interesting that the changes the TV writers made mesh so well with its source material, even though those changes are in some ways fundamental.

For instance, In the TV series, gone is Dresden’s trademark duster; a hockey stick replaces his walking staff; an old Jeep Wrangler replaces his blue VW Beetle. And in the series Murphy is a thirty-something Latina with an Irish surname, as opposed to her blond and blue-eyed counterpart in the novels.

Even more interesting, there has been no over-wrought attempt to explain this Latin-Irish heritage, which is refreshing. Murphy is just who she is, and the writers haven’t felt compelled to dole out the typical cliches of the female-ethnic-minority-cop-with-no-real-authority. Both Murphys are experts in law enforcement.

Aside from all that, TV Murphy is also a working divorced mother and a real tough cop. She has a few father issues, but so does Dresden. While her marriage didn’t work out, she’s not drawn as a woman who has shut herself off from relationships in order to take on a man’s role as a police officer. TV Murphy is an amalgamation of two characters from the book: Murphy and Susan Rodriguez, a journalist in the paranormal media and Harry’s love interest. Both characters are interesting, and while I enjoy these novels even more for the presence of two strong female characters, I understand that in TVland sometimes less is more.

Finally, both Murphys dress appropriately for their jobs. We don’t see TV Murphy running around in strappy heels or low-cut tops. She doesn’t look boyish, and yet doesn’t feel compelled to show cleavage to prove she’s a woman. More and more I’m noticing TV and movie costumers choosing more appropriate wardrobes for women in what were once typically male roles.

So, if you haven’t had a chance to watch The Dresden Files yet, go check it out. The series is really very interesting,* and as is often the case, the books are even better.

* If nothing else, check out Terence Mann, Rum Tum Tugger himself, as a ghost named Bob.