The Sincerest Form Of Flattery (I Hope)

Imitation, it's said, is the sincerest form of flattery.

But, sometimes, it's just a copy cat that's interested in latching themselves to you (or emulating you) in some fashion.

Those aware of "Sweet Dreams: A Sandman's Story" by means of promotion or other means, would be aware of the Starlight Guard. In fact "StarlightGuard" is my handle at Mania, even though most have shortened it to just "Starlight."

I can handle that.

But now, it seems, I'm being imitated...

I'm not the first, as Hanso has had a few pick up on his persona by claiming to be the "son of hanso," and so on....

Well, now someone has turned their attention on me (again) and has formed their ID as DayLightMoon. They even have an image of the full moon lit up in their avatar.

Well, that's fine...I guess.

(This is where the fine print would be written.)

But I also just like to state that, you know, I don't know the person.

If they're copying me, or inspired by nomenclature, I've no idea.

Also, as it bears repeating, even though I am a "Twilight" fan, "Sweet Dreams" was written (and completed) in 2007, a good year before I actually knew of the novel. The fictional town "Twilight Place" is a sideways reference to the song "Twilight Time" by The Platters, as 50's doo wop and related musical styles are the prevalent themes and sources of inspiration for "Sweet Dreams."

Besides, I just like the word 'twilight' for some reason.

Also, incidentally, it's also at these particular times of day when the Sandmen (and the Starlight Guard) appear and disappear, depending on morning or evening hours.

The Movie Lord Calls It "Nerdvana"

If you're in San Diego this weekend...I ENVY YOU!

A few of the guys from Mania are at Comic Con, and have been for a few days now, and we loyal readers are hearing all the news via the 'net.

In fact they were posting pictures, and some were of the opinion I was with all the screaming girls camped out in line for "New Moon."

I wasn't.

I wish I was, though.

But, fortunately for saps like me, I can still tune in G4 today to hear whatever George Lucas is going to announce (probably an even more special Special Edition DVD of "Star Wars" which will be made obsolete by the even more special Blu-Ray release which will come six months later.)

So tune in G4 if you're capable. I may even see a few Maniacs on there.

(It's always good to see people you know, even if they're bigots as displayed in "Bruno." Oh yes, a special "hello" to Lloyd Robinson, of the Suite A Management agency: it's nice to put a face to the person who didn't return my letter.)

PS - If you're missing these witty or barely interesting topics, go visit my Mania blog instead. Maelstrom has returned, and we're now poking fun of "Twilight" in much more adult terms.

And Then There Was Silence...

Okay, so it's not actually silence that'll be appearing here in the coming days, but the comparison is fair.

I continue to promote both "Sweet Dreams: A Sandman's Story" and "Summertime Blues." (If you're new to this blog, just scroll down and click the appropriate tabs on the right hand side to learn more about those stories, etc.)

Maintaining four distinct means of communication (i.e. this blog, Myspace, Facebook, and all the rants at Mania) seems to be cutting into my creative spark. Temporarily, this well is being declared dry until the next rains come.

Hey, it happens. It's happened before, it'll happen again. Just accept the dry spells because, when they end, the mind is fresh and fertile again. "Sweet Dreams" was written after one of those dry spells.

So I'm taking it upon myself to try different things. I'm picking up the novels I swore I'd read, and finishing the ones I bought a few years back but had to put them down for one reason or another.

Thank heaven for bookmarks.

I'll continue being an active commentator at Mania, but we'll just have to see how active I am.

So here's a backlog of (hopefully) interesting rambling thoughts on movies, writing, and Hollywood in general. There's also my Mania profile and 150 or so blog entries there to be examined.

I feel I should leave you with an interesting (and a bit graphic, but necessarily so) entry a fellow commentator over at Mania posted. He's a good friend of mine, and manages to cut through to the heart of the matters with naughty language and savvy observations whereas I try to use the more diplomatic and philosophical aspects of debating (read: arguing) over the state of our entertainment options in this day and age.

Please note that, as Mania is still recovering in some fashions, embedded images and other forms of coding aren't fully functional still. Our profiles aren't back to normal, and certainly the number of our profile views are wildly inaccurate. (I was nearing 14,000, Maelstrom had crossed the 19,000 mark.)

And so on...

See you in the nearest Malco Theater, kiddies. And please, don't spill your watered down drinks in my lap again.