Funny Pictures

Along with reading and writing, I love taking pictures. All I have is a point-and-shoot camera; nothing fancy.  We recently got back from a vacation to Chicago and Pittsburgh, where I took lots of pictures.  (Some were taken here in Southern California).

It looks like the cute little Mi-Tan figure is letting loose.  

McCormick?!  Making Adobo!!!  You are going too far.

I appreciate the artistry of this. 

Okay, Murray.  You've got my vote.

Simply gorgeous.

Bored on the flight, so I thought I'd roll back the clock a bit.  

Hmmm...  I wonder if the Sunmaid maid knew that I was on my way to Chicago to visit family.

Why, yes!  I do like looking at a breakfast platter before using the toilet.

An RV pulling an Airstream.  Pretty impressive.

Not your typical Pennsylvania Dutch barn art.

First shot at trying to find my rental car.  Not it.

Second attempt at trying to find my rental car.  Fail.

Third attempt to find my rental car. Winner!

Skip's watching...and waiting.  

Washington and Guyasuta looking intense.

I don't think the picture quite captures the nature of the "Screw You" green of this house.  

I always carry my camera with me, and you should, too.  You never know what you'll find.

The Mindy Project - What Went Wrong

Oh, Mindy.  This one stings a bit.

But I have to tell you that I also saw this coming.  Your first season was great! Your adventures in work, friendship, and the dating world were hilarious and poignant.  But then, you got the guy.  You got comfortable. Most of the humor surrounded your relationship and not much else.  We got bored. We stopped watching.

But you are so funny and so smart, Mindy Kaling. I hope you come back with something else. I'll give it a shot - I promise!!

Blacklist, You Are About to Lose Me

This is me, taking a hike.

But I don't want to do it.  I like the show's characters.  However, you need to stop thinking that you need to connect every single story line. Bad guy "flavor of the week" episodes are good on their own. Last week's episode - Quon Zang - had the wonderful potential to be creepy on it's own.The dead brides for dead grooms?  Creepy, yet enchanting.  However, Lizzy's search for her mom took too much screen time.  Who cares? Not me.

Get back to the stand alone stories. Get back to Red being scary for Red's sake, and not to hunt down a piece of hard drive or anything else like that.  You did great with getting Lizzy and Tom back together as she is at her most human when she is with him.

I'll be watching.  As long as it is interesting.

Grimm TV Show - The Moment You Lost Me

Okay. Squeaky the Squirrel hasn't much to do with Grimm.  I needed a picture, though.  He fit the bill.

If I could recall an exact moment when the show lost me, it was when he didn't listen to his aunt and stayed with Juliet.

Oh, Grimm.  You started out so strong. Nick was great.  So was the Monroe, Sgt. Wu, Adalin Shade, the aunt, and the mom.

But you got too soft.  Everyone starting feeling bad for Nick. Everyone became his friend.  That made it boring and saccharine.

You know what you should have done? You should have had Nick break things off with Juliet.  You should have made him hate himself for that.  You should have him alienate himself from Hank. You should have kept Captain Renard as a baddie, too.

You know who would have been a perfect antagonist to Nick Burkhardt?  Nick Burkhardt.  Nick could have hated being a Grimm.  He could have lived in his teardrop trailer while he defeated the bad guys who crossed his path. Maybe he could have accidentally killed some good guys, too.  He could have drunk his sorrows away while become a kick @ss Grimm.

You lost me when everyone began to love Nick. You could have kept me if you'd given me a reason to pity him.

You know how you could have closed the show? With him quitting police work and Grimming altogether.  He could have found a new girl to marry (who didn't know about his past), had a kid and secretly taught him/her the ways of Grimming. Then, for the final episode, have some bad guy come and kill him off.  But you know what? That version of Nick would have been okay with that.  He had it coming, and it was a relief.

Ah well.  It was a pretty good first half season.  Thanks for the entertainment.

Gotta Kill Some Characters

I'm Sorry...

But they have to go.

It took me a while to come to terms with that.  Two years, actually. If you are a reader of The Wolves, you might know the characters I am talking about.  

I write fiction, I know.  But as a reader, I know that the best fiction is the one that mirrors real life.  I'm not talking about werewolves, fairies, or monsters. I'm talking about the tragedies; the character building and demolishing that life delivers.  Some stuff we can't get recover from - not completely. We simply find a new way to walk through our lives.  

Other tragedies and heartbreak are necessary.  I think that women - and people in general - have a way of filling their hearts and minds with bullsh!t to make a relationship work.  Could be a work relationship, a romantic one, or a familial one.  I know that I've had a breakdown or two over doomed relationships.  I think that our minds and our hearts reach a breaking point, and we break down.  It is good, I believe. It gives us a chance to rebuild.  We can get rid of the bad stuff and keep the good stuff and move on.

Enough of my philosophical stuff.  Some characters you know will pass.  Some characters that you don't know of - yet - will pass, too.  

Hope you enjoy what's to come!

Cyndia Rios-Myers

To Kill or Not to Kill...The Writer's Question

So, I am currently editing a very long novel that is not yet complete.  I'm actually on the fence about whether or not to kill off some characters.

Why? Well, because, that's what writers do.  Not everything can be puppies and rainbows.  What novel am I talking about?  Well, here's a hint:

Excited?  Me too!!!

Cyndia Rios-Myers

Eff You, You, and You, Too - What I WISH I Could Say to Internet Trolls

I've bought and sold houses twice.  In each occasion, I learned things. In the spirit of helping others, I decided to write an article/essay on my home-buying experiences.  

However, I was not prepared for how much trolling my article received.  So many individuals insulted my intelligence over it.  Realtors and real estate agents commented on how much they disliked my article (while being sure to leave their contact information in their comments). It incensed me!!  

Thankfully, there are good people out there who stood up for me.  

In any case, here is the very popular essay that I wrote for Military Spouse Magazine online:

http://militaryspouse.com/at-home/10-rookie-mistakes-to-avoid-when-buying-a-house/

Cyndia Rios-Myers