Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth - Oprah's New Pick

The Pillars of the Earth.
Oprah's new pick.
No movie yet.
Used copies for a penny at Amazon.com.

Lonely at the Keyboard: Finding Free WiFi

When you write for a living, it's easy to lose track of time. And, I'm not talking hours here -- I'm talking days. What?! It's already Thursday?!! It can't be! When was it Wednesday?

I won't even go into the wardrobe thing. I'm always presentable for the unexpected guest, but hey: they're taking a risk, too. I'm not guaranteeing make-up, and the days of my weekly manicure are a part of my PastLife. Calling first is in your own best interests, as well as mine.

Which gets me to the Wonders of WiFi. Not all writers need constant internet access, but I do. My writing involves research, and I envy those fiction writers that can escape the internet connection.

WiFi lets me journey out into the world, and keep working. No, it's not as fast as my high-speed connection at home. Yes, I get distracted and my word count suffers.

But it's a wise thing to do -- taking the laptop and mascara and brushing my hair and getting OUT THERE.

Here's a list of sites that can help you find free WiFi in your area:

WiFiFreeSpot
WiFi411
CNET.COM

There's also WiFi at places like Barnes & Noble, but you have to pay for it and I hate that. There's also places that are within Free WiFi areas which are better for writing than the source itself. For example, here in San Antonio, there's free WiFi from Amy's IceCream that cascades into the Border's Coffee Shop next door. It's a good place to work (sometimes) and you don't have to pay for the Border's WiFi option.

Now, as for plugs ... that's another post, for a different day.

Movies I Saw: Elizabeth the Golden Age Disappointed

Okay, it's not new at the multiplex but I just saw Elizabeth: The Golden Age with Cate Blanchett.

Now, except for a couple of times when Cate seems to be channelling her version of Katherine Hepburn in Aviator into this role, I thought she did an excellent job. The costuming was fabulous, the sets were remarkable, and the music was just fine. Clive Owen is a gorgeous man, and he looked good with a tan.

However, the movie was not accurate. This made it distracting, and ultimately, annoying to me. [A great lesson in using creative license. Be careful.]

The last straw was the Armada scene -- where was the big storm? Where was the lightning and the big waves and the WEATHER factor here? Sure, the fire ships were cool but that wasn't the whole story.

Did they really have to edit Queen Elizabeth's speech to her troops which has come to be recognized as one of the greatest speeches of all time?

Was it necessary to combine Sir Francis Drake with Sir Walter Raleigh here? Drake was the one responsible for the fire ships, not Raleigh. Raleigh was on land at Dover watching the whole thing. Then again, Raleigh is credited with discovering Mary Queen of Scot's plot to take Elizabeth's crown. And, he did marry Elizabeth the maid and get himself thrown into the Tower of London -- but that was after the victory with the Spanish. Of course, this isn't shown in the movie.

Likewise, Cate didn't look in her 50s, nor Clive in his 20s, which was their real age difference. Oh, I feel a serious rant coming on....

Geez. Grrrrrr. It was hard not to leave the theatre with all this unnecessary alteration in a very exciting chapter of history. Why not have two handsome men at court -- Drake and Raleigh? Why not use special effects for the storms that came?

Such, such, such a disappointment. I mean, they had pirates and palaces and one queen plotting to take the throne of another, and Catholic vs Protestant .... And they messed with it.

I wish I had skipped this film. Next time, I'll listen to Rotten Tomatoes.

Image: Elizabeth I ordered a commemorative medal to be cast and distributed, reading "God Blew and They Were Scattered," in tribute to the storms that destroyed the Spanish Armada. I am just shaking my head.