Char and I have been laughing a bit lately at her new Mother moments… It seems that sleep deprivation– coupled with high-octane days– produces a slightly odd side effect: the inability to perform the simplest tasks. Our most common reference for this is reminiscent of the day that she was warming a chicken nugget (or possibly two) in the microwave… for twenty minutes. We call these moments “20 minutes in the microwave.”

Yesterday she decided to wrap a couple of Christmas presents, two of which are identical and are shaped in the rough equivalent of a roll of wrapping paper. After she had wrapped the first one, she then proceeded to wrap the roll of wrapping paper. (Did you follow that?) So, when she finished she had:

– One wrapped present

– One unwrapped present

– One wrapped roll of wrapping paper

She gave up wrapping presents for the day.

Anyone who’s a fan of movies (and especially those of us who are amazed at some of the trash that actually gets made) will get a kick out of Query Letters. This blog is written by a Hollywood insider who receives actual query letters, or pitches for movies. Some highlights:

• A treasure hunter (Matt) joins a gay deprogramming camp (on land that once belonged to his family). While searching for the treasure, he must contend with other students, one of whom is an undercover reporter. When the reporter turns up dead, Matt becomes the chief suspect.
• Dream recording software opens the unconscious mind to exploration in this thriller about a genius who outsmarts himself while trying to solve the mystery of his wife’s murder.
• 1968. Vietnam. Navy SEAL Gabriel Hemloche leads his team deep into enemy territory. Gabriel and his unit are torn apart….by vampires. Bitten, Gabriel starts to change.

You get the idea. For more, be sure to see Query Letters, and be (slightly) thankful that at least some of these ideas are actually turned down.