A NOTE FROM THE HALLOWEEN GRINCH

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know I am not a fan of Halloween... especially of what Halloween has become.

But this year has been less painful than most.

True, I didn't enjoy my trip to four separate costume stores with Sabrina. Not only did I have to deal with steering her away from the slut zone -- slutty nurse, slutty student, slutty waitress, etc., but there was the indescribable delight of walking in past the realistic animated figures intended for the front lawn. My favorite was the zombie puking its guts out.

Oh yeah, a lot to love about this holiday.

Nevertheless, as I said, it's been a mild one, for which I am truly grateful. Cory agreed early on to reprise one of his biggest hit costumes (since he's a new school and no one's seen it). He's at school today in a blue hoodie covered with cotton balls, carrying a squirter bottle full of water... and he's "Partly cloudy, chance of rain." Total cost: about $2 for the cotton balls.

As for Sabrina, it looked as if we were going to have another traumatic year on our hands. She was unhappy with last year's costume (she went dressed in all black, including black face paint, carrying an iPod -- she was an iPod commercial). It seems no one recognized her and a lot of people didn't get it.

But she nixed some of my early obvious suggestions (e.g., Hannah Montana), and I was beginning to dread the eventual fight. When suddenly we came upon a mutually agreeable, not expensive, acceptable-to-her-friends idea: Paris Hilton in jail.

So she's at school today in a cute outfit (a long tunic top worn as a dress over tights), lots of flashy jewelry, a headband, big sunglasses -- and topped off with ultra-high-end shopping bags (Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Versace -- she made a field trip to Rodeo Drive for the occasion), a little "teacup" doggie, and a pair of handcuffs.

Total cost: about $13 (the tights, and we bought a lot of accessories at the 10-for-$5 sale at Claire's, even including the sunglasses... we had the doggie, borrowed the handcuffs).

Her friends approve. Therefore she's happy. Therefore I'm happy.

And given how I usually feel about Halloween, that's actually pretty amazing...

WAITING TO STRIKE.... OR NOT

First, thank you to the people who have been e-mailing me out of cyberspace to let me know of your thoughts and prayers. I have been touched by the mini-influx of such messages I have received. I know that it can be powerful when God suddenly brings you to someone's mind (Lee and I once had our lives saved that way). And I am grateful...

Second, I do want to get back here and start blogging again. I want to weigh in on the "Dumbledore is gay" issue (which I don't think is as big as deal as others do). I want to talk about movies and TV and how my cat learned how to open doorknobs. But life has not permitted.

Finally, while I ponder what are the best shoes to wear on a picket line, and whether one must wear red, and while I wait for the miracle that will stop this writers' strike (or at least delay it for a good bit?), here is a fun (and short) bit that will show what life may be like for some of us in the next few weeks. Enjoy...

JUST CHECKING IN

I have been much too absent, and I do apologize. Too much stress here, what with the pending writers' strike and the ever-present smell of smoke in the air, among other misadventures. (Our hearts go out to those who were, or are, in the path of the fires, and especially to our friends at Malibu Presbyterian, whose church burned to the ground Sunday morning -- the first loss of this swath of fire.

I will return. In the meantime, please pray for those negotiating on behalf of the writers and producers, and for those affected by the fire. And for us as well, if you don't mind.

Back soon....

WELL, WE KNEW IT, DIDN'T WE? -- J.K. ROWLING ON CHRISTIANITY IN HARRY POTTER

It comes as no surprise, I'm sure, to readers of this blog, that Harry Potter, and Deathly Hallows in particular, has Christian roots. For "those who have eyes to see," the Christianity shines out in plot, in character choices, in symbolism, in spirit, in theme...

But now it's official. J.K. Rowling herself has acknowledged those Christian roots, themes and storylines.

It's a good article, even though clearly written by someone who perhaps didn't know the most perceptive questions to ask. Check it out.

WHERE I'VE BEEN... WHERE I'M GOING...

Where have I been the last week and a half?

Well, not here, blogging, obviously. And I do apologize. I have wanted to sit down and chat here, but have either been swamped with work (and swamped by that feeling of being behind on things), or have feel too strained to have anything to say.

It's a nervous time here in Hollywood. A time when people are either spending all their time shedding their anxiety on the internet (take a look at The Artful Writer blog as an example), or holed up in their little writing rooms, waiting for the sky to fall.

Why?... Because in a matter of weeks, most of us writers here in town expect to be walking a picket line.

I have a strike authorization vote ballot sitting on my desk right now, waiting for me to make up my mind. I understand all the arguments for voting yes. But a large part of me rears back and says, "Wait a minute. Shouldn't a strike be the last action taken in a contract negotiation? Shouldn't we actually negotiate first?"

I'm too weary of the arguments on either side to recount them here. But the weight of the de facto strike already going on (with studios unwilling to do business with writers, for the most part) is already incredibly destructive on so many fronts. How much more horrible would a real strike be?

Here's what we need: We need a group of agents to step in and broker a deal. That's what they do, after all. We're always telling young writers not to try to make their own deal; hire a professional who does it for a living. ...Ah, wouldn't it be nice if it were that easy here?

Anyway, between that and my students' work and my own work and my volunteer work and my family crises... that's where I've been. I'll try to actually have something to say soon...

As for where I'm going... Well, my best guess is, like it or not (not!), I'm headed for a picket line.

Pray for peace...

GOD-ANSWERS.COM

As part of our church's mission to make Los Angeles the greatest city for Christ, we're in the middle of a series of sermons on the tough issues of Christianity (you know, light topics like death, the Trinity, etc.).

And as part of that series, Bel Air has started up a very cool interactive website, God Answers. I'm really enjoying especially looking at the questions that people type in, and seeing how quickly and thoroughly they're answered...

Just thought I'd pass it along to you...

TV THOUGHTS: KID NATION

My apologies for the dearth of blogging recently. I have been out of town a lot -- I went to Two Bunch Palms two weekends ago on a planning retreat with The Alliance of Women Directors, and I went on a Girl Scout overnight field trip this weekend to Sea World in San Diego. I'll let you guess which one was the more relaxing and enjoyable!

Basically I had 3 days home in between, into which I had to squeeze a whole week's work... and blogging never quite rose to the top of the overwhelmed list. But I'm back now, and while I think life is going to get quite wild in the near future, at least I have a moment to breathe (and to blog) now... and a moment to catch up on the new TV season.

I didn't expect to like Kid Nation. The pre-premiere hype of "Oh no! These poor children were left out in the desert all on their own!" didn't bother me a bit. Yeah, right, all alone. All alone except for the 30 or so camera people/sound people/continuity people/etc. constantly surrounding them at all times. (On these reality shows, the truly remarkable thing is that they manage to keep the cameras out of the scene!)

And I wasn't bothered by the parallel pre-show "scandal" that the kids weren't getting paid. Well, duh. It's a reality show, really a game show. None of the contestants get paid. When I was a contestant on Jeopardy, I didn't get paid, other than my winnings, and it never occurred to me that I should.

No, I didn't expect to like it because I thought it would be a bit squirmy. I remember the junior version of American Idol that was tried a couple of summers ago -- it was not so fun watching cute little kids getting their dreams shattered and facing the kind of rejection that adults don't even handle so well.

But that's not what Kid Nation turned out to be. As reality shows go, it's been designed to be remarkably gentle. No one's voted out of "Bonanza City" (kids can leave voluntarily, and only one has so far). Even though the showrunners are doing their best to foment competition (dividing the kids into the equivalent of 4 "tribes," even giving them status, jobs, and spending money based on this artificial caste system), the kids are defying expectations and getting along well.

So far we've seen big kids comfort small kids, winning kids encourage and cheer for losing kids, and kids who aren't required to help out with various chores (according to this artificial caste system) chip in and help out. We've also seen kids make smart choices, as when they forwent a working TV they could watch as much as they wanted, choosing instead a set of outhouses.

We've even seen a remarkable degree of fairness in the doling out of the "gold stars" which are (so far) the primary prizes in Kid Nation. Four kids were pre-designated as the "Town Council" (i.e., leaders), and they get to give out a gold star worth $20,000 in cash every few days. The first week, they gave it to an older girl named Sophia who was working her tail off (and working smart, unlike some of the younger kids who didn't know how to cook, etc.), even though Sophia had gotten up in the Town Meeting to criticize them. You wouldn't see that happening on Survivor!

This week (week 2) was a bit more interesting. A troublemaker named Greg threw himself into hard work, trying to win one of those stars. He's an intensely practical and skilled kid for a 15-year-old, having worked in a butcher shop and helping install landscape sprinklers, among other things. This made him ever so handy when the tasks for the week included killing a couple of chickens for food (how many kids out there today would know how to kill, pluck and butcher a chicken?), and installing PVC pipes to make a water wheel run.

But Greg didn't win the gold star, by the skin of his teeth (2 of the 4 Town Council members insisted on giving it to Michael, a very hard worker as well, and a kid with immense charisma). I don't think there was any animus against Greg; I just think Michael's charisma swayed the council members.

Now, however, Greg is mad. Next week we were promised hints of revenge. Although this show has been so gentle, I wouldn't be surprised if that was just a tease and everyone ends up being nice after all.

Regardless, we are committed for the season. Why? Because about 10 minutes into the first episode, my kids started begging to apply for the next season. They sooo want to be on this show! For them, it's all about empowerment, about showing that they can do whatever an adult can do. Forget that it's really about delivering butts to couches so that people can watch commercials and go and buy stuff... For them, it's the best possible idea for a summer camp anyone could come up with.

Sabrina even explained all about how she would start a church service for the kids. Without a Bible, she'd have to recite her memory verses, they'd sing songs everyone knows (Sabrina feels everyone must know "Jesus Loves Me," "Amazing Grace," and "Holy is the Lord," for starters), she give a short sermon on hanging in there and being nice to each other (though she'd be happy for someone else to give the sermon), and they'd pray for each other's safety and fun.

(I won't let them apply though, at least right now: For some idiotic reason, they're taping the next season during the school year, and I won't pull my kids out of school for a month. But if they taped during the summer, I'd have no problem...)

Anyway, this is not a show that will appeal to a lot of folks, is my guess. But I'm certainly enjoying it a whole lot more than I expected... And you might, too.