Live to Love on the Edge Blog

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Guilty Pleasure Monday – Buster Crabbe

This weekend I deconstructed the Star Trek movie with my buddies at the Liberty States Fiction Writers. A fun time was had by all as we watched the new version and discussed the various series with which some of us had grown up.

Feeling nostalgic, it made me recollect my earliest sci fi series – Flash Gordon as portrayed by Buster Crabbe. Buster would go on and play Tarzan in one movie and then another nameless jungle man in various other movies (which I also loved!). Buster also played Buck Rogers, another of my favorites.

Buster was a talented swimmer who won both a Bronze and Gold medal at the Olympics (in 1928 and 1932 respectively).

He starred in hundreds of movies and television shows throughout his life and when his career started to wane, he became a representative for a New Jersey pool company.

If you want to check out the Flash Gordon series for yourself, the earlier Flash Gordon shows and movies are available in DVD format.

Flash Gordon DVD - Copyright St. Clair Vision

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Fun Friday

So sorry that I missed our first Thursday Thirteen, but I was off to the airport at 4 a.m. for a business trip. I am so whooped today!

But I am looking forward to a fun weekend down the shore and with my friends at the Liberty States Fiction Writers. This Saturday is our August Movie Day and we’re going to spend some time together deconstructing and analyzing the brilliant new Star Trek movie.

Now I have to confess I grew up watching the Star Trek series and loved some of the new shows. But even if you’ve never watched a Star Trek episode, you’ve got to love this movie. The characters are fascinating and the story line is compelling. It’s also amazing to see how J.J. Abrams basically rebooted the franchise with this adaptation of the original history in the series.

I’m happy we chose this movie to analyze because it has so much to offer both aspiring and veteran writers!

And if you’re a geek like me, drop by the official website and play around. Take a 360 tour of the bridge of the Enterprise.

Try it! You’ll like it! Have a great weekend and enjoy!

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Tuesday Tip – Credit Cards and Credit Scores

Every time you turn around you’re hearing about “your credit score” and what a poor credit score can do to you. Besides making it difficult to get a mortgage if you’re interested in buying a home, it can also raise rates on things like car insurance so it’s important to try and take steps to improve your credit score.

There’s a detailed article on credit scores at today’s Yahoo Finance, but I think we can all appreciate the basics:

  • 1. Pay cash for items.
  • 2. Do not keep a running balance on your credit card.
  • 3. If you have a running balance, pay it on time.
  • 4. Pay your other bills on time as well.

One interesting tidbit from the Yahoo Finance article was that companies calculating your credit score looked at the balance on your card whether or not you paid it off on time in order to calculate your score. Bothersome for me because I use my credit cards as a way to keep track of all my monthly expenses by charging them and also, to earn points through the various reward programs.

As for that running balance, I know that sometimes it’s hard for people to entirely pay off what they’ve charged at the end of the month. In cases of financial hardship where the credit cards are providing the cash to keep a household afloat that’s understandable. But if it’s more a case of want instead of need, think about this for a moment.

Revolving credit card rates range from anywhere to 7% (rare) to the 20something% range (some are even close to 30%). If you had $5,000 in revolving credit, you could be spending a couple of thousand dollars a year just for paying the interest on your credit card. You can do some comparisons of what you would save at MSN Money.

What about those reward programs? They sound so wonderful to begin with and sometimes they can be. Smart Money reviewed some of the more common credit card reward programs You can also click here for the MSN Money round up of rewards.

There’s just one thing to remember when it comes to the rewards: If you’ve got a running balance, the interest rate you’re paying may eat up any kind of reward you’re earning.

Hope this helped you on today’s Tuesday Tip!

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Guilty Pleasure Monday Jeffrey Donovan

My husband has gotten me hooked on BURN NOTICE. It’s hard not to get involved with not only the interesting tidbits provided by ex-CIA Agent Michael Weston during the narration which appeal to the suspense writer in me, but also the wonderful cast of characters.

I love explosion-happy Fiona in particular, but there’s also no denying that the dapper and unflappable Michael Weston (played by Jeffrey Donovan) is a big draw.

If you haven’t watched the show, try to catch it in re-runs or online. The mix of suspense, comedy and romance (although could we get a little more of this BURN NOTICE writers!) is great.

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Windmill Hot Dogs Down the Shore Flavors

This Fun Friday I am getting ready to head down the Shore for more research and to film some videos for an upcoming Behind the Scenes look at STRONGER THAN SIN. But while I am doing all that, I will also take a break to savor one of the Jersey Shore’s special treats: Windmill hot dogs and cheese fries.

Yes, I know my cholesterol level just went up several points just thinking about them, but moderation is the key. I don’t go there every day although I wish I could.

If you are ever down the shore, stop by one of their many locations and try out one of their hot dogs loaded with your choice of condiments and their tasty cheese fries. My daughter and I share an order because between them and the over-sized dogs, it’s quite a lot of food. My favorite dog is the cheese dog!

I hope you all have a great weekend! I’ll be back on Monday and starting next Thursday you’re going to be seeing something new – a Thursday Thirteen meme. Should be fun thinking up of 13 things you should know about every Thursday!

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Customer Service Reigns at Southwest Airlines

Thanks to both of my jobs and my family’s love of travel, I often have to fly to get to an assortment of destinations. You can imagine that in all that time I’ve faced a number of dilemmas. Cancelled flights. Lost luggage. Turbulent rides. The latter being one of the worst since I have a fear of heights and am not a comfortable passenger in those twenty-five thousand foot high roller coasters.

I know there is nothing that a pilot can sometimes do about those rough rides and I just wait them out as best I can.

But there is something airlines can do about the rest and to my very pleasant surprise Southwest Airlines did just that.

When floods in Nashville forced me to change my flight to Orlando, the only Southwest Airlines charge was the difference in the cost of the two tickets due to the change in destination. No $150 change fee the way my normal carrier charges when stuff happens and flights need to get changed. The change fee would lower to $50 if I waited to do it on the same day as the flight, but no one ever advised me of that. I discovered that fact online recently.

Did I mention that I was originally flying Southwest because their rates were so much cheaper than my normal carrier’s that it was worth the drive down to Philadelphia? 217 versus 337?

I had two big bags with me, one with clothes and one with promo materials. Cost with my normal carrier: $60 if checked at the airport or $55 if done online. Cost with Southwest: $0. Yes, you are seeing that right. Zero dollars for two bags.

Money saved so far: $240 (120 plus 120 in baggage fees).

When I arrived in Orlando I discovered that the handle on my bag had gotten ripped off on one side making it nearly impossible for me to lift it. I headed to the luggage claim area and within about five minutes was handed a brand new bag to replace the one that had been damaged. Nicer than my old beat up bag and with a TSA approved lock to boot.

No questions, no problems. A warm smile on the face of the rep as she helped me deal with the bag issue.

What more can you ask for?

How about roomier seats and more leg room? Yep, you got that, too.

Which leaves me with only one question: When are you coming to Newark, Southwest Airlines?

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RWA Conference 2010

Today is a different adventure on Travel Tuesday, this time pictures from my recent visit to the 2010 RWA National Conference!

I had a great time meeting with fans, fellow authors, editors and agents. The book signings went well and at the public book signing, RWA raised $55,000 to contribute to its literacy campaign. Awesome news.

The days were long and filled with appointments, even on Thursday when a few of us went over to do a run through all four Disney parks. Yes, four of them in one day!

It was wonderful to share the time with my friends and fellow authors, especially my buddy Shelley who was visiting Disney for the first time. Big hoorah to Rayna for organizing a whirlwind tour of the parks for us. Not only did we see so many interesting things and enjoy a mess of rides, while waiting in line we worked on book plots and titles and discussed market trends. We even met an interested reader on the little tram on the way back to our car!

So don’t be surprised if I end up doing a story titled ONE DAY PARK HOPPER. LOL!

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