Tag: Saturday Night Live

Pity the child who has ambition.

Sara Mazariegos

I recently listened to Peter Gabriel’s Scratch My Back and And I’ll Scratch Yours albums. They remind me of when I’ve tried to get people in on my creative projects. I once had a video collaboration channel on YouTube with some friends; that’s the first example that comes to mind, but I’ve had other attempts at getting people to collaborate with me over the years. It’s rough. People have their own lives and schedules. I get it. But it’s also frustrating and disheartening when people fail to follow through and abandon things, especially when they’re things I’ve put my whole heart into. (No grievance or anything toward my video collab friends. It’s not easy to keep up the enthusiasm on a weekly basis.)

Peter Gabriel’s two albums are like that, because he recorded covers of various artists’ songs in the hopes that they’d return the favor and cover one of his songs. Several of them did, but several didn’t… and a few of them delayed the album because their covers came in late. (Looking at you, Regina Spektor.) I feel for him, because his zest for creative collaboration is always at the forefront of his musical projects. Similarly, Paul McCartney wanted Sgt. Pepper to be a concept album and only got two songs into it before it fell apart. Not my favorite Beatles album by any means, but I can empathize with him.

I can also understand the other three not wanting Paul to tell them what to do.

Speaking of Sir Paul, did you watch the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special? It was… not what I hoped for. 😬 A lot of people have said “watch the documentaries if you want to see the older stuff” but that’s no excuse for those sketches they performed. Most of them were too recent to even feel special. My favorite was when Linda Richman (Mike Myers) appeared on Bronx Beat, but it was awkwardly long. I was glad to see Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris getting some love, but if it was up to me there would have been a much better balance between the older players and the newer ones.

Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg’s songs were my favorite parts. Adam Sandler really loves his friends.

The writing break is going well. I still think about my stories all the time, but in a laid back sort of way. I’m looking forward to jumping back into writing when we come back from our trip.

We’re flying to California on Saturday. It’s going to be fine. There are thousands of flights every day. It’s going to be fine. I’m looking forward to warmer temperatures and being inside the original Haunted Mansion as many times as possible while still doing other things. 😄

I’ll be back the week of March 3rd!

Bark at the moon.

Sara Mazariegos

Am I the only one surprised that Halloween hasn’t happened yet?

It’s not that I’m in a rush. I’m excited about our party this weekend, and I’ve even considered wearing my costume to work this year (a slightly toned-down version to not be distracting.) But October has been dragging its feet. I say that as someone who’s had a hectic month.

We watched the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions last weekend, with a break to see Saturday Night. It was great to see Peter Frampton finally get honored. He and Ozzy Osbourne could commiserate about their muscular ailments; it’s sad to see inclusion body myositis and Parkinson’s disease affecting such energetic, youthful rock stars. I know they’re getting up there now, but still! I wish them both well. Combined with the fact one of the other inductees (Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest) died of diabetes complications and another (Jimmy Buffett) died of cancer, I kept thinking “I wish we could find cures for all of these things.”

Saturday Night was delightful. It left me wanting more, which is a good thing. We came home and I just had to watch the very first episode of Saturday Night Live, so I could see the moments referenced in the movie. I’ve been a fan since the early nineties when Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman were on. Some of the movie felt a bit like a play, which works since it’s all about live performance, and some of it felt a bit like parody. Some of the impressions were better than others. For example, I liked the Jim Henson guy as Jim Henson, but his Andy Kaufman was a little off, not least of all because he’s even ganglier than Kaufman. It’s a shame Benny Safdie had to drop out. I bet he would’ve been good.

On the writing front, I’m clawing my way to the finish line with my magical cat transformation romance story. One thing I’ll need to work on with it is tightening that description. 😅 Then, almost immediately after finishing that one, I have my It’s A Wonderful Life-inspired romance to rewrite. That will be nice during the holidays.

I’m going to use the NaNoWriMo method of writing around the same amount each day, although skipping Thanksgiving because I do have a life. Honest. I’m avoiding the actual NaNoWriMo site this year, though. I don’t support what they’re doing lately. Since my novel is longer, the draft will be “finished” in mid-December. And then I can breathe again before the edits! Weee!

Before you ask (why would you ask?) I’m planning to take a mental break from the cat story until sometime next year. It’s messy. I always knew it would be. Don’t all novels start out a bit messy?

Trying to find something between a strict writing schedule and a looser one that still doesn’t let me just, you know, stop writing. It’s dangerous to become too lax.

I like the word “lax.”

Googling “derealization,” hating what you find.

Sara Mazariegos

I sure picked a great time to stop writing. My #1 distraction from all the craziness, and I’m not using it right now.

I’ve started reading through my latest draft, though. That’s been interesting. I’m not allowing myself to make any changes yet, just reading through it and making little notes about the changes I intend to make.

Not sure if it’s the relentless heat or the constant barrage of bad news, but I haven’t been having the best summer, mentally. In that regard, perhaps it’s better that I’m not trying to write now. I just wish I could take more of a break than a weekend getaway. (The weekend getaway to National Harbor last weekend was really nice, though. I just want a longer break. 😛)

Anyway, here’s a distraction:

Daily writing prompt
If you could host a dinner and anyone you invite was sure to come, who would you invite?
View all responses


Do they have to be alive? If they have to be alive, then I’d probably invite Kate Clayborn or John Green or Neil Gaiman so we could talk about books and writing. If I’m being honest, John Green is at the top of my list anyway, just to talk to him about anything. #fangirl

If they don’t have to be alive, I’d love to have dinner with Jim Henson or Walt Disney or George Harrison (I’d say John, but I have a feeling George would be a nicer guest.) The list of not-alive people I wish I could’ve met grows longer each year.

I finished reading Happy Medium by Sarah Adler and really enjoyed it. There’s a ghost in it, and it kind of has a Ghosts feel to it, so I recommend it if you like that sort of thing. I would’ve had the main character fall in love with the ghost, but that’s just me. 😉

Now I’m reading The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas. I was surprised when I got it from the library and saw how long it is! It will be a movie eventually, so I’m ahead of the curve for once. I’m probably going to have to renew it the maximum amount of times since I read slowly and it’s nearly 500 pages long.

Luis and I have also been watching classic SNL episodes, from the 70s to the 2000s. Some of them include Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig so it feels weird to call them “classic” but they’re not new anymore. We’ve seen one episode from the Eddie Murphy 80s cast so far. That was rough.

I hope you’ve been finding distractions that make you happy.