Yes, Chef!

I am not a foodie, unless a custom order at In and Out burger qualifies. Food networks aren't usual fare on the Rose airwaves, but I do admit if a cooking show happens to be on, I'm inexplicably drawn to the artistry of the process.

Recent events have allowed me a glimpse into the foodie world and now I TOTALLY get it. 

I have entered the realm of:

Last night my world was forever changed when I ate at Gordon Ramsay's Steak House at the Paris in Las Vegas. 

Want a bite?

Start with the Ferris Wheel of meat and choose your cut. 

Yes, it's real meat. 

Fun fact: Our waiter said they keep the cuts on display for about two days until they start to go brown. The wheel hangs out in the fridge between showings for all of you freaking out about potential weird meat odor during the presentation.

Segue way to the salad. Bacon wheels and green goddess dressing - sigh.

See the breads up there? Every one of them is a different gourmet treat like bacon roll, mushroom roll, cheese bread, lemon focaccia. Even the butter was otherworldly delish. 

And now for Gordon Ramsay's signature dish - Beef Wellington. I'm not a rare steak person, but this was so melt-in-your-mouth crazy good, I went for it.

They really went overboard with the veggies - NOT - so sides were called for. Citrus glazed asparagus and life-changing, ginger-garlic glazed shiitake mushrooms and leeks. 

The mushrooms are MANDATORY - it's a quality of life issue. 

Food coma - YES. Ecstasy - YES.

I would sell my soul for a return trip into the land of 

Hell's Kitchen.

Any life-changing dining experiences out there? 

Gordon Ramsay fans?

Comic Con Afterglow

Another fabulous Comic Con in the rear view mirror. 

Security was tight.

Merchandise tempting. 

(Yeah, I bought it.)

Cosplay did not disappoint.

New t-shirt: 

Biggest geek out moment:

Sighting of Clark Gregg, Agent Phil Coulson of SHIELD.

Fantastic Panels. 

My favorite was the 50th anniversary of LOST IN SPACE. 

Yes, that's Judy Robinson, Pilot Don, Penny Robinson, and Will Robinson.

My daughter hit the jackpot. She waited for a zillion hours in line to see the STAR WARS, FORCE AWAKENS panel. Not only did Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford show up, but director J.J. Abrams treated the audience to donuts AND walked them to a second venue where everyone got a lightsaber and free concert of Star Wars music played by the San Diego Symphony. 

Yes, I'm jealous.

Fun fact: There are super cool venues and activities around Comic Con beside the convention itself. 

Like:

Nerd HQ, the brain child of Zachary Levi. A venue with gaming, food, community, merchandise and panels featuring

the likes of William Shatner, Nathan Fillion, and Joss Whedon. You do purchase tickets to the panels, but the proceeds go to the charity OPERATION SMILE.

W00tstock, an annual variety show created by and featuring Wil Wheaton, Adam Savage (Mythbusters), and Paul and

Storm (Comedy Music Team). It was four hours of music, riffs on TED talks, comedy and all around hilarity held in an amazing classic theatre, The Balboa. 

Paul and Storm sang a gut busting parody of Game of Thrones to the tune of American Pie. 

Here's the chorus - try it out.

Over at Petco Park - Home of the San Diego Padres baseball team - was CONIVAL sponsored by Nerdist. Free panels - gaming - food - fun.

Everyone can catch Comic Con fever 

even without an official badge.

Next week I'll share tidbits from this year's lit. panels.

Let's get down to it - if you were going to cosplay, who would you be? There's only one choice for me.

Con Man is Coming

I'm off to Comic Con 2015. I'll have lots to share when I return, but there's something I'm busting to tell you about before I leave.

This is a web series starting in September brought to you by Firefly peeps, Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion.

It's loosely (or not so loosely) based on actors who starred in a science fiction show that was cancelled after a single season but has gone on to become a cult classic.

Hmm? Can you say Firefly?

The story is about the aftermath of cancellation and the  adventures in appearing at conventions like let's say, 

Comic Con.

It was successfully funded by an Indie Go Go campaign and I'm telling you, if you want to belly laugh and roll on the floor - go to the CON MAN Indie Go Go page and watch ALL the videos. 

If I don't come back from Comic Con with a Con Man t-shirt, then I have not done my job.

Is there a web series out there that you are dying to share?

Two Thumbs Up for a Mini Writing Retreat

I just returned from an informal, three day writing mini-retreat that energized me and set the water in my creative well 

a-bubblin'.

What made it so successful?

WRITING BUDDIES AND DAILY GOALS

Grab members of your writing tribe that you click with and trust. Layout a timetable for discussion, critique, craft, and most of all WRITING. We began our retreat by sharing where we were with current works in progress and what we hoped to achieve before heading back to real life.

LACK OF DISTRACTION

We gave ourselves permission to banish the everyday "have to" list that intrudes on writing time. We also picked a locale that didn't crook a finger to lure us out of the writing cave.

PREPARE CRAFT TIDBITS

Yes, I'll share...

We each brought a favorite tool or inspiration. My contribution was the video: 

 RICHARD PECK MASTER CLASS 

His brilliant insights and generosity of spirit were gold.

AUTHOR JULIE MUSIL shared a wonderful CHARACTER WORKSHEET that Author Jody Hedlund makes available on her blog.

AUTHOR LISA GAIL GREEN introduced us to a rousing brainstorming exercise to find a shiny new title for a work in progress. We poured a river of words and phrases associated with the manuscript onto a piece of dry erase paper (yes it comes in poster sized paper) and then traced links between ideas to discover a title that reflected the spirit of the story. I learned this technique in a poetry workshop years ago and never thought to apply it to a title search. It really works!

 WARNING: Many word associations may lead to uncontrolled fits of laughter. 

MAKE IT EASY ON THE BANK ACCOUNT

Book a "suite" instead of separate rooms so you have space to write and share the cost. Choose an area that isn't in high demand, like the desert in summer, to take advantage of seasonal discounts. Use booking services for more possible discounts. Snag a venue with a kitchenette and bring food or do a grocery store run to save on eating out.

It never hurts to pick a place with some nice views.

Any plans for a writing getaway this summer?