Okay, being the utter perfectionist, part of me cringes at letting this go “officially”, but there is a small photo gallery of some wedding shots. Bear in mind this is in no way complete in terms of images, or presentation. I’m just trying to satisfy certain parties involved before we head out of town for the holidays (wink). So for what it’s worth, look over at the column for the page marked “photo galleries” to see a sample of what’s to come, quality and presentation style notwithstanding..

No Comments »

If a blog approaches any worthwhile use, it should at least serve as a good (and cheap) version of the year-end Christmas letter many are fond of sending (or foisting) upon friends and family. Sure, one can argue you lose the tactile joy of actual paper and signed names and all that. Blogs can be so… bloggy: impersonal, detached, easy. But then, how many people are crafting Christmas letters in word-processing and/or graphics apps? So much for tradition.

So we continue veering into more innovative territory here, and instead of doing a line-by-line recap of the year, we’ve decided to give our beloved readers (all four of you) a top ten list of random highlights from the year - “His and Hers” style. Now that’s bloggy.

David’s Top Ten Observations for 2007:

1. A business is a lot like a marriage, er - without the sex of course: the demands, the sacrifices, the need to satisfy, provide for and nurture the thing. It only works if you work it.

2. A marriage is like, um… nothing else I’ve ever done in my entire god-given existence.

3. Proverbs 18:22: “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD, but he who finds one that shares his love of autumn, snow storms, Macs, good movies, good books, “Lost”, and sleeping in? He gets it really good.”

4. I am happy to relegate the following to the world of the “rarely partaken”: frozen pizzas, frozen beef casserole, frozen mac and cheese… basically anything that could categorized as the “bachelor section” in the grocery store.

5. Blogs are soooo 2004.  Welcome to the past.

6. There are few things so totally unnecessary for life and yet so totally sweet as hot tubs, head massagers, and iPhones.  (still working on the iPhone)

7.  I never for the life of me thought I’d ever have so many (ongoing) conversations with another person about the right and true position of the thermostat.

8. Dayton, Ohio has tons of job possibilities - tons. Unless you want to do anything other than drive a truck or be a nurse.

9. I miss having a dog… a lot

10. Witnessing the next election year vs. a 10 month long rash in the…nethers?  Which do you think?

11. Perseverance is key to…  meh.

Elizabeth’s Top Ten Moments from 2007:

1. We got married. The tornado direly predicted by Elizabeth’s family for the night before did not transpire. But the clouds were pretty dramatic. We heard a wonderful exhortation during the ceremony about what it means for two storytellers to be joined in the sight of God…and of course can recall nothing of it. (Covert audio recording, anyone?). We saw dozens of wonderful folks from our many different worlds and had an average of 9.2 seconds to talk with each of them. Oi.

2. Elizabeth traded bitter Chicago winters for fickle Dayton slush. (We are in unison on this matter: when it gets cold, it must stay cold, and justify itself by snowing. A lot. Look for next year’s Christmas post from upper New York State. Or maybe Fairbanks.)

3. David co-led (leads) a house church (under the auspices of a larger church body), and Elizabeth found a wonderful, ready-made community when she moved to Dayton.

4. We discovered and dispatched our first mouse.

5. Elizabeth spent time in Utah, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida reeling out nine drafts of a script commissioned by Art Within. (She was a little distracted on draft 9 in Florida. David was along that time.)

6. We are learning that nothing builds trust in God like combining two freelance incomes.

7. We discovered that writing a screenplay together is even more dangerous territory than balancing a budget together.

8. We’ve spent more of our short married life traveling (Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Indiana again, Pennyslvania, and Virginia!) than at home. We think we might actually put the suitcases away and unpack our toiletries for the first time in three months after New Year’s.

9. Elizabeth has failed to convince David that coffee is one of God’s best gifts to the human race. Oh, well. That’s more Starbucks Cafe Estima for her. (Finely ground, french press, extra hot, just a faint whisper of cream.)

10. Our musical tastes don’t mix 100% of the time, but can always agree on Over the Rhine. (For Elizabeth’s clan…Linford’s dad is a Mennonite pastor…)

1 Comment »

The writers are striking!

As many of you know, film and television writers are one month into a rabid strike, trying to negotiate with the studios. Though I’m of the firm belief it’s one’s individual responsibility to make oneself valuable in order to be paid well, the writers have some valid points of concern: namely regarding payment for DVD sales and internet downloads. Still, all the squabbling and offers and counter-offers appear to be just so much smoke and mirrors.

I saw the strike coming from nearly a year out when the rumors began circulating last winter. But I assumed the whole thing would pass me by. Neither Dave nor I are WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) members as of yet. And I hardly see a picket line marching out from L.A. to stand between me and my Mac.

In spite of this, the strike has managed to worm its way into our business. I may not be Guild yet, but my manager can’t take any of my finished scripts to the studios. Art Within, the group I just finished a commissioned script for, is stuck sitting with the ninth draft on their laptops, unable to send it anywhere. Plus, Art Within can’t commission anything new, even though there’s some interest in an idea Dave and I have been hashing out together.

Oh, and then…there are rumors that this season of Lost may be canceled if the strike doesn’t resolve soon.

Horrors.

So, the strike must end. There are plenty of suggestions circulating on blogs and You Tube, but the best I’ve heard comes straight from The Ninja…

1 Comment »