On the Sandy Hook and School Shootings/Tragedies

Hello All,

For those of you out of the loop, today a 24-year-old man entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut this morning and began shooting, killing 27 people (that we know of) and at least 18 of them were children. The shooter's mother apparently worked as a teacher at the school and was supposedly one of the victims.

This is only one is a rising number of school shootings happening in America, including the Sikh Temple shooting in Wisconsin, the Aurora, Colorado shooting in the movie theater, the Oakland, California shooting in April, the March shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Chardon Ohio and New Hampshire shootings in February.
That's all just in 2012.

This is becoming a serious issue, and I don't think anyone has any way to solve the problem. Many high schools have metal detectors, but not all of them. Are we going to install metal detectors and have airport security-like checks in every public building we enter? Cavity searches before going to the movies? See-through backpacks and purses when we go to school? Daily locker checks? Will the new fall line feature bullet-proof fashions next year?

This is getting ridiculous, and I think I have what could be a successful, albeit expensive, solution to this problem in the long-run of things.

Make it a requirement for every child in the seventh and 10th grades to go through a rigorous psychological interview with a crew of hired psychologists and psychiatrists. Should the child be found to have a normal psychological constitution, they are free to return to their classes and not have to return to counseling until 10th grade, when this psychological interview will resume again to make sure no mental issues or problems has risen in the last 3-4 developmental years (unless otherwise specified by their parents to receive personal counsel).
Should the child be found to have questionable mental health in either year, they are scheduled to have individual and group counseling 3-5 times per week, in place of a class.

I think these sessions and early checks for mental health issues in young adults will help catch issues that could develop into serious problems that result in extreme acts of violence, such as shootings like what happened on Friday, December 14th, 2012.
It is my hope that, with a program like this, we will have less parents and families burying their loved ones just for going to school, or out to the movies or to Temple or where ever else is no longer safe for daily public use.

A Poem

Disappointment

disappointment isn't a stab to the heart
it's a slow, eroding poison around the eyes
seeping deeper under the skin, causing sobs
and tears until it eventually easts those away, too
until there's nothing left, not even bitterness
just a lowness you can't quite lift yourself
high enough out of to feel "good."





Amy Liz

Why I Should Have My Own TV Show...

Hey All,

Normally I'm not that kind of person. You know, that writer that goes to write in some local coffee shop because Starbucks is too mainstream, and God FORBID if you ask them about what they're working on because that just opens it up for them to brag about how they've had this spectacular and mature idea since they were about 7 and that it's only manifested itself on paper a few years ago and that now that the first draft of the manuscript is done, it'll be published in no time, they just need "the right kind of agent" to represent them. Or the kind of girl that is so obsessed with herself that she's literally thinking "OHMIGOD, I'm SUCH a big f**king deal, everyone NEEDS to know all about me and like, right NOW" -you know the type, don't try to pretend you don't.

In fact, I'm usually the opposite. I stay as quiet as possible in class, thinking "all of these people are probably a lot smarter than me and are really eloquent and if I speak up and say anything they're all going to know I'm an impostor and that I really AM wasting all this money to go to this school."
 And GOD FORBID you ask me about what I'm working on right now. You'll be lucky to get anything out of me beyond "lunch?" or "oh, it's just a thought right now" -it doesn't matter how much I've got down, it'll ALWAYS be "just a thought" when you ask about it.
Or even in my group of "friends" most times, they'll be talking about stupid stuff or funny stuff or technical stuff around me and it makes me think "oh yeah, I can totally jump in on this!" and I'll say something and then the conversation dies with a "uh, yeah something like that."

And then I learn to keep my mouth shut.

But my roommate and I have been joking/talking about something for about a year right now, and sometimes I really think it should happen:
A docu-reality show about our lives.

BEFORE YOU CLOSE THE TAB!

I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous -why the HELL would I want to watch a show about two average college girls living their lives?

Well...
We're pretty f**king weird. Reason number one, above all other things. Not like, I collect all of the eye lashes I've ever shed and she doesn't wash her socks kind of weird -that's just creepy.
I mean, like, we can actually understand what the other wants just by shouting out "meow!" through the apartment, or, heck, we have a Poop Diary -a journal we keep hanging by the toilet so when we're in there for "prolonged periods of time," we can write down our "oh so refined" thoughts.

We're not hideous. My roommate is super tall and pretty, and her senior photos make her look like a supermodel version of Taylor Swift. I'm not too shabby -not supermodel T-Swift level or anything, but I don't break mirrors, either!

When I get angry, no one can predict what comes out of my mouth.
Some precious gems include:
 -(to some hoe "shut up"-ing my "excuse me" when i was trying to get off the train) "Nah bitch, you shut up and move so I don't have to say it in your face again!"
and
-(to a homeless man who flipped me the bird when I didn't have any change for him) "No, YOU fuck off, I'm a college student -I'm living off debt as it is -I'll be you in two years."

I'll be alcohol legal in a few months, so bar trolls might be an interesting endeavor, especially considering my wild temper flares.

Normal girl drama -my roommate and I, who are normally attached at the hip, had this out-of-proportion text fight the other day that was WAY more dramatic than it needed to be (we're besties again, don't worry), but it was still pretty entertaining to the people I was complaining to.

Boy drama -My roommate thinks she has no luck with guys, but there are 2 completely devoted, hopelessly in love boys (one in Boston, one back home) that are begging to be her boyfriend again, and another back home that gets jealous every time he hears that she's been talking with her best friend/ex-bf here at school and keeps asking to see her when she comes back for break. Her "non-existant" love-life is a soap opera; as if I could be so lucky with more than the occasional 40-year-old creeper on the train that tries to offer me a flower and some kind of "marketing" internship after talking to me for 20 seconds (with a built-in not unattractive 20-something hype man that's just as tall as he is imposing). I just want the guy at school that I like to look and talk to me like he does to my best friend -he totally loves her and she won't accept that.

And we both have enough friends/interactions with interesting/fucked up people that (if for SOME DUBIOUS reason we weren't enough to keep an audience's attention), they're issues would totally rank in the ratings.

Like my roommate's almost daily crossings with her ex-ex-boyfriend's ex-hoebag that came out of no where when she and the douche were still dating and was like "oh no, she's my gf now, not you." But I think that after my roommate punched this asshole in the FACE freshman year, the bitch is still afraid of her.



Seriously, though, I think we would be so much more interesting than 60% of The Real Housewives of Bumblefuck Whatever, Here Comes Boo Boo Chiiiiilld, and every single one of the Teen Moms and the 16 and Pregnant idiots.

That's all for now!
Thanks for reading!
Amy Liz

Work is Paying Off: Music

Hey All,

So today was the shooting of the first episode of the show my TV partner, Tara, and I have been working on for too long now (like 4 months -way longer than 5 episodes should take).

But yeah, we had singer-songwriter Caitlin Timmins on the show this morning, and she's amazing, everyone should check her out on Youtube and iTunes. It was incredible seeing everything we've been working for so long for come together into this beautiful video, so everyone should check it out:
Fast Forward Rewind Music, episode 1

Tuesday's show is going to be great, too, because we have two members from Me vs Gravity on the show, lead singer Zach Nelson and drummer Ben Meyers. They are amazing, they've been on Good Morning Emerson before, but we love them so much that we couldn't resist having them on again for Fast Forward Rewind. Check out their songs here and here.

Here's the link to the episode!

On Wednesday we had pop-rock singer Melanie Lynx in the studios to perform for the Fast Forward Rewind Music Series, and she sang her original songs "First Love" and "Impossible to Leave." She sang them acoustically with her guitarist Anthony playing, and we loved having her in today.

She was so sweet and excited to sing, and the whole studio crew has been singing her songs all day -they're that catchy!
Take a look!

That's it for now, I'll keep updating as the week goes on.
Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz

I'm Setting Some Goals for Myself for this Semester

Hey All,

Again, it's been too long since I've been back here and updating on a regular basis. I'd like to have a good reason, like I'm too busy co-producing a web show for the freshmen at my school, or preparing to move into a new apartment. But in all honesty, I've had plenty of time to go on the Internet and goof around of Facebook and Tumblr, so I have no excuse for not showing up here other than being lazy.

Well I want that to change. This year I'm going to set some goals and goddammit I plan on meeting them by New Years.

1. All A's in my classes this semester.
2. Produce the best 4 episodes of The Lowdown that Emerson can handle!
3. Production position on Good Morning Emerson.
4. 50-100 pages of "The Weaver Journals" completed.
5. SAVE MY F***ING MONEY
6. Make this (or something very similar):

I mean, I work in a costume shop and stock room, I should be able to figure out how to make one of these, right?

Because it will be a cold day in Hell when I pay $160 for a fleece jacket that probably doesn't even keep me warm. Screw that, I'll make it myself (with a little help from my friends and bosses).

(For those of you rich enough to dole out the cash for one of these: http://www.etsy.com/listing/107317627/water-tribe-fleece-avatar-the-last?ref=v1_other_1)









OK, so six things may not seem like much, but it's gonna be hard to do, I can already tell. Classes haven't even started yet and I'm already feeling overwhelmed with all that I still have to learn about producing (not to mention actually paying attention and retaining whatever's being said in my classes).

It's going to be tough, and I'll probably be missing out on some sleep most weeks (aka don't call me on the weekends, because I will be dead in my bed) because it's now about a 40 minute ride to school four days a week.
Awesome.

But the only way I can make things happen is if I set my bar and run for it.

That's all I wanted to say today.
Sorry I've been away for so long.

Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz

It is truly amazing...

The lengths I will go to not do work.

Like, I haven't updated this in FOREVER because I got a little too excited about The Legend of Korra and my new Tumblr so I just sort of...forgot I had a real blog.
Oh well, past is past.

Well, I don't want to go write this email or those thank you letters, so:
I'm listening to fun. "It Gets Better"
I'm watching "King of Queens" on TBS
My phone has been dormant since I left work
I'm reading a few things, including Jodi Picoult and Sam Van Leer's "Between the Lines", oh and my best friend's dad's book "The Fourth Trail." He's kind of new to this whole writing game, so I'm going through it and making comments as I read. I'm ignoring grammatical errors, though, or else I'll never finish the darn thing.
I'm wearing a t-shirt and dark-wash skinny jeans
Oh, and I changed the channel. "Victorious" is on Nickelodeon.

I should be making progress in my Weaver Journals manuscript, but because I'm a lazy fuck, that's not happening. Or technically, I should be writing an email to this guy's manager so we can get him on my show in a few weeks -and that will happen shortly. Or I really should be writing thank you letters to the people responsible for getting my scholarship for the 3rd year in a row...

God, why am I so lazy?

Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz

PS
one more pug gif:

Review of Black Dawn; Morganville Vampires

Amazon summary:

Ever since the draug—mysterious creatures that prey on vampires—took over Morganville, the lives of student Claire Danvers and her friends have been thrown into turmoil. Most of the town’s residents have evacuated, but Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael have chosen to stay and fight.

Using the city’s water system to spread, the draug have rapidly multiplied. Things in Morganville look grim, especially since vampire Amelie—the town founder—has been infected by the master draug’s bite. 

Now, if Claire and her friends don’t figure out how to cure Amelie and defeat the draug, it looks like Morganville will become little more than a ghost town…

The Morganville Vampire books by Rachel Caine are a great way to lose yourself for an hour or two. They are quick and easy reads, and Caine really knows how to write fast action and make the reader's pulse race with excitement and anticipation. 

The plot for the 12th book of this series, I felt, moved in circles. Morganville is being terrorized by a vampire-eating monster called the draug that showed up in the last book (Last Breath), and for some reason Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael are the only (semi)normal people still in town. Morganville Founder Amelie is dying from getting bitten by the Master Draug, Magnus, and no one knows how to fight these water-infesting monsters. The fights between the main characters and the draug got very repetitive very quickly. 

The self-hating Shane that we experience for the better half of the book reminds the reader that Shane's character has addressed most of these issues in other books, and I wondered how much those dreams/nightmares really could have messed up his head in such a short time. 

The sidelines story with Naomi and Oliver fighting over power that supposedly hasn't been relinquished yet came out of no where. Naomi wasn't really in many of the books, despite Claire meeting (rescuing) her in, like, book 4 or 5. So this sudden run for the title of queen seems random, and a radical change of the character she's been the few times we did hear from her after first meeting her. That demi-plot also went in a wide circle, as well, with Naomi saying she deserves to rule and being shot down, to trying to kill for it -then being shot down again, to thinking she has a little more power than before -to being shot down yet again. To me this just looked like a roundabout way to make a new possible enemy for Claire (and Eve, due to Naomi's weird obsession with Michael) to have to worry about later.

The final twist with Myrnin kidnapping Claire to use her as bait for Magnus came out of no where. I don't understand why Claire couldn't have been forewarned about his plan, if nothing else than for her own safety. What if Magnus had showed up and killed everyone before Claire regained consciousness? Then everything would have been ruined. 

The added bit with the teen psychic Miranda read like it was a last minute inclusion. It looked like Caine needed a way for Claire's friends to all get to the Glass house without just "guessing" that's where Myrnin took her. Oh, and she needed someone else to die that wasn't one of the Glass house roommates. I don't like the idea of Miranda being the new ghost/spirit of the Glass house. I personally didn't like Miranda's character and internally groaned whenever I saw her name coming up on the pages throughout the books.

Overall, I still like Caine's writing, and she really has a talent for making me feel the action of what is happening in these stories, but I think Morganville has run its course.

Personally I give this new edition of the Morganville Vampires 2 out of 6 stars. 

I think the draug-plot had the potential to be a big Morganville finale, but instead we "found" a new attitude in Amelie to be afraid of. I am still interested in where this story will end up, especially if someone else is influencing Amelie's new attitude and how the town will be rebuilt.