Just cuz it’s so busy! Lots of grading leading up to the end of the semester, of course, but I also have a book due May first, which always makes for a horrendous time.

That said, I may be out near you this month! I’ll be at RT in Chicago and at Malice Domestic in Bethesda. Check my upcoming appearances for more info.

In between those travels my parents are coming to visit, and my friend from the UK is supposed to be coming too, at some point, for a week. Or two. He’ll let me know . . .

I just keep telling myself it’s allllll going to work out.

Cuz it is! I’m nearly done with book six, and although I know it’s a bit of a hot mess, I know that’s okay. Rough drafts are rough, right! It’s not till revisions they get pretty.

This is another thing I keep telling myself. 😉

In other news, I saw The Hunger Games. I thought they did a good job casting, and they did some interesting things with all the child-killing. Lots of cutaways and camera effects. That said, still pretty awesomely horrifying! I loved seeing Lenny Kravitz, not because he was particularly good but because he’s beautiful. Especially with golden guyliner. He was made for golden guyliner.

In case you’ve been under a rock, here’s the trailer:

I did have one movie shock recently, though, and that was 21 Jump Street. I was OBSESSED with the TV show when I was a child. And I mean a child. I think it came out when I was seven? Anyway, looking back, it was absolute shite but at the time I could not get enough. Please enjoy this stunningly bad example of the original show that also stars Brad Pitt. Yes, Brad Pitt. It’s like Depp and Pitt sloughed off the vast majority of their bad acting on to the show, only to leave shining and clean to start their new careers. Here it is:

So it was with great trepidation that I went to see the new movie. I had read a glowing review by Roger Ebert, that shocked the hell out of me, but I thought maybe he was having a blind/deaf/dumb day and hadn’t actually seen the movie he was reviewing.

But the new 21 Jump Street was hilarious. A great, self-aware buddy comedy that mocks buddy comedies. And cop shows. And being self-aware. Basically it was a great big meta-ironic laughfest, and I adored it. Best of all was being so suprised at liking it at all–I sort of went feeling I had to pay homage to my younger self. But I left delighted, not least by the amazing cameos from the original stars of the TV show. Here’s the trailer:

It was great, and I highly recommend it.

And now, in the spirit of sharing, I’m going to expose my shameful secret. I was one of those weird kids who was never into boy bands, or whatever, and I never understood NKOTB or any of the other crushes all of my friends had. Then I saw 21 Jump Street, and fell in love with Johnny Depp. That’s not the shameful part. I think that was an eminently sensible choice.

The problem was when Dennis Booker was introduced onto the show. He stole my young heart. I think I wrote him a fan letter. Maybe two. That’s my shame.

I found this amazing montage on YouTube:

This footage might be from his own spinoff, Booker, which I watched assiduously, probably while penning said fan letters.

Anyway, I have to shake my head at my young self for that crush, not least as I blame it for a lifetime of fawning over unsuitable, slightly sketchy men who simply aren’t going to age well. And speaking of sketchy, and not aging well, this article makes Grieco sound so quietly desperate.

Maybe they will have you back, Dennis Booker. My inner seven-year-old would stand up and clap.

The rest of me would burn with quiet shame. And then blog about it.