In follow up to my previous post about the Countries I’ve Visited, here is a list of the U.S. states that I’ve seen to date.  (I think that this is comprehensive, but honestly, I may have forgotten one or two.)

1. Alabama
2. Arizona
3. Arkansas
4. California
5. Colorado
6. Connecticut
7. Delaware
8. Florida
9. Georgia
10. Hawaii
11. Illinois
12. Indiana
13. Iowa
14. Kentucky
15. Louisiana
16. Maine
17. Maryland
18. Massachusetts
19. Michigan
20. Minnesota
21. Mississippi
22. Nevada
23. New Hampshire
24. New Jersey
25. New Mexico
26. New York
27. North Carolina
28. Ohio
29. Oklahoma
30. Pennsylvania
31. Rhode Island
32. South Carolina
33. Tennessee
34. Texas
35. Utah
36. Vermont
37. Virginia
38. Washington
39. West Virginia
40. Wisconsin

We drove all day and night to reach Camden, NC.  On our way, we passed through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia (Maybe West Virginia?  I don’t know for sure, and I was asleep through that section of the country), and finally North Carolina.  NC is quite scenic with its lush greenery and tall trees everywhere, while the town of Camden itself is nestled along the waterfront.

We’ll be spending the next few days visiting with my friend Caldwell, her husband Chip, and their three children who are in the same age range as our own two kids.  Caldwell and I have been friends for many years, since our Miami days, and we served as bridesmaids in each others’ weddings.  Cwell is a hospital emergency room nurse, and her husband Chip is an engineer and helicopter pilot for the Coastguard.  He rescues them, and she patches them up!

My next series of posts will be from various U.S. states as we drive from the Midwest to the East Coast.  While I am not looking forward to the fuel prices, I am definitely looking forward to getting away for a while!

I lead a writing workshop today, in which we discussed some of our sources for inspiration as well as exchanged ideas and tips related to overcoming writer’s block.  I also distributed a list of writing prompt exercises, to help get the creative juices flowing.  There are many fantastic writing exercise resources available online.  You can also try selecting a book at random from your shelf, open it to any page, and choose a line from the book as a prompt.  Here are the prompts that I used in today’s workshop:

a.       My Mother’s house (This week’s creativity contest prompt from the Creative Construction blog – http://creativeconstruction.wordpress.com)

b.      You and a friend are having a meal at a restaurant, but things take a turn when you notice that the waiter has scribbled an unexpected – and startling – message on your bill.  Write this scene.  (From Writer’s Digest’s online writing prompts – http://www.writersdigest.com/WritingPrompts)

c.       You’ve just had one of the most grueling days of your life when you stumble upon a wishing well.  While you don’t typically believe in such things, you need a pick-me-up, so you toss a penny down the well and make a wish.  Lo and behold, it comes true.  (From Writer’s Digest’s online writing prompts – http://www.writersdigest.com/WritingPrompts)

d.      Write an American Sentence, which is similar to a haiku in the fact that it has 17 syllables total, but it is not broken up into three lines. It is a poetic sentence that captures the shadow of a moment.  (From Allen Ginsberg’s American Sentences)

e.      Choose a song title and use it as a theme for, title of, or line from a scene.  (From the Writing Companion blog – http://writingcompanion.wordpress.com)

f.        Far away, in the dripping woods, something bright and fiery flickered among the trees.  (From Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett)

g.       Strictly speaking, for a human being, there is no other practice than this practice; there is no other way of life than this way of life.  (From Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind  by Shunryu Suzuki)

I understand that the majority of Americans don’t own a passport.  I didn’t have one myself until I was an adult, but I’ve made good use of it since then.  Both of my own children got passports by the time they were two months old.

Here is a list of the countries that I’ve visited to date:

1.)  U.S.A. (Even though it didn’t require a passport, I had to include it on the list.  Many Americans don’t bother to see much of their own country, but I’ve visited most of the states and major cities.)

2.)  Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Calgary, and the Canadian Rockies)

3.)  Mexico (Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo san Lucas, Mazatlan, Tijuana, Ensenada, and the Baja Coast)

4.)  The U.K. (England, Scotland & the British Virgin Islands)

5.)  France

6.)  Belgium

7.)  Switzerland

8.)  Germany

9.)  Austria

10.)  The Netherlands

11.)  Australia

12.)  Jamaica

13.)  Japan

14.)  China

There’s a new superhero in town, and her name is Dakota Skye.  She’s not the type of superhero who flies around saving the world.  In fact, she struggles with the simple things that most teenage girls do, such as trying to figure out her love life, work through issues with her friends, and graduate from high school.  What is her super power?  Dakota can always see the truth — in subtitles – behind all the little lies people tell.  As she tries to figure out what the future might hold and who she can trust, audiences will be delighted and entertained by the adolescent drama that is Dakota’s life.

Dakota Skye was one of the bright shining examples of quality independent films on the program at the recent 10th Annual Waterfront Film Festival, and it also won an award for Best Screenplay at the 2008 Phoenix Film Festival.  In my opinion, this movie is a true winner, and I hope that it will be produced for broad release in movie theaters soon.

The writing was fresh and intelligent, delivering an original new twist on the superhero theme.  The directing appeared subtle yet effective, blending unique scenes and characters into believable situations, while contrasting the mundane everyday high school life with several well chosen scenic landscape shots.  I found it difficult to believe that this impressive film was shot on an indie budget in less than 20 days.

The casting was also a perfect fit.  The role of Jonah was played by Ian Nelson, who successfully navigated the fine art of believable yet understated emotion, my favorite acting technique — saying more without words than can be said with them.  J.B. Ghuman Jr. plays Dakota’s boyfriend, and his on-screen charisma translates into his character being both believably obnoxious yet adorable at the same time.  Finally, Dakota herself was portrayed by Eileen Boylan, who successfully managed to blend a believable mixture of sarcastic apathetic teenage girl with struggling potential superhero.  Move over Ellen Page… Eileen Boylan has hit the scene.

The only things I might have changed about this film were very minor.  I would have liked to see Dakota herself be a little more personable in some way towards the beginning of the movie.  I liked her sarcastic edge, and her adolescent angst was appropriately realistic, but I found myself questioning what the attraction was initially for her male counterparts.  However, by the end, I found myself liking her and buying her relationships wholeheartedly, despite that initial reaction.

There were at least a dozen or more lines from the movie that were immensely quotable.  I could see this film developing an almost cult-like following.  No doubt, a Dakota Skye comic book series would also be a big hit.

Keep an eye out for my upcoming article featuring an interview with Director John Humber, writer Chad Shonk, and actor Ian Nelson.

If I ever want to create a new ability for a potential character, all I have to do is ask my four-year-old for ideas.  She invents new super powers for her games on a regular basis.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that she isn’t familiar with most of the legendary comic book characters yet, and therefore, doesn’t have preconceived notions about what traits are standard.

A couple of weeks ago, she added a new ability to her wish list.  She told me that she’d like to have the power to shoot lava out of her hands.  Would that be a power more appropriate to a villain rather than a superhero?

My girls play superheroes almost everyday.  It recently caused some confusion for my one-year-old when they were practicing to be flower girls for my best friend’s wedding.  While rehearsing with fake flower petal props at home, my little one threw all of her flowers into the air, thrust her fist in front of her, and yelled “FLOWER GIRL!” before charging forward at a full tilt run, pretending to fly.

Two of my interviews were published today.  (I was the one being interviewed rather than the interviewer for these particular articles.)  One can be found at the wonderful Creative Construction blog, and the other at the Northwest Herald newspaper.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly an airplane?  Project Pilot, a program founded by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), now makes flight lessons easily accessible for anyone who has ever toyed with the idea of soaring through the sky.  The ProjectPilot.org website features a database of over 3,500 U.S. flight schools, along with a wealth of information for beginning pilots and those interested in learning to fly.  Many of the flight schools listed on the Project Pilot website offer discounted flying lessons.

When invited by Project Pilot to review a flight lesson, I jumped at the chance.  I had never flown an airplane before, though I know many pilots who have been flying since they were teenagers.

A representative from Project Pilot arranged for a flight lesson with Blue Skies Flying Services, Inc. at a nearby private airport in Lake in the Hills, IL.  Flight Instructor Johnny Blankenship led me through an introductory flight lesson which included 45 minutes of classroom time reviewing important flight planning and safety information, roughly 20 minutes of pre-flight aircraft inspection procedures, followed by a one hour flight in a single-engine propelled Piper Cherokee.

The flight instructor performed the take-off and landing, but I was able to taxi to and from the runway and fly the airplane the entire time we were in the air.  Performing the take-off and landing are tasks reserved for later lessons once the student has gained some experience and developed a comfort level with the controls and responses of the aircraft.  While on the ground, floor pedals rather than hand controls are used to steer the plane.  The yoke (what most of us would think of as the steering wheel) is used while in flight to maneuver the plane by moving the wing ailerons and elevator.

Though it feels very different from driving a car, it is a skill that most anyone could learn with a few short lessons, though I might not recommend small aircraft flying for someone prone to motion sickness.  Individuals interested in pursuing a private pilot’s certificate can expect to spend anywhere between $4,000 and $7,000.  Many private pilots do not purchase their own airplanes but rather rent planes by the hour or enter partnerships with several other pilots to share an aircraft, and airplanes tend to maintain their value over the long run at significantly higher rates than automobiles.

For anyone who has ever considered learning to fly, from the mildly curious to the serious-minded potential pilot, it is now easier than ever to find a flight instructor near you, thanks to ProjectPilot.org.

A few days ago, my four-year-old carefully laid out every item of her doctor’s kit on the table.  Among other tools, there was a stethescope, a clipboard, and a plastic syringe.  (She once told me that she wanted to be a doctor someday, so that she “could give people shots without having to say sorry.”)

She asked me to sit down and be the patient.  I expected her to listen to my heart, tap on my knee with her little mallet, and of course give me a shot, but instead she selected her clipboard and wrote “MOMMY” at the top of the page, along with some scribbles and her name at the bottom.  She then handed me the piece of paper and told me, “Here’s your check. That’ll be thirty dollars.”

Not too different from a trip to the real doctor, only cheaper.  Here in the U.S., the amount you pay varies depending on the individual health insurance plan, whether or not you’ve met your annual deductible, whether you have a co-pay or a percentage coverage, whether that particular doctor is within your plan’s network, and a multitude of other factors, including whether or not your plan decides to cover that specific diagnosis, doctor, or treatment at that particular time.  All that, of course, is assuming that you’re lucky enough to have health insurance.  Otherwise, you might not be seeking medical treatment at all because you simply can’t afford it.

I myself opted for a PPO insurance plan, which means that I pay more for my health insurance, but I am supposed to be able to choose my own doctors, though I am still charged more for choosing certain doctors over others.  One of the few times that I ever needed ongoing medical care for a health problem (herniated and bulging disks in my neck which were clearly diagnosed by an MRI scan), my health insurance company decided to tell me that they would no longer cover my treatments associated with that injury.  They actually wrote me a letter saying that they acknowledged the diagnosis and recognized that it would require ongoing medical treatment, which was why they didn’t want to pay for it!  Don’t you just love the U.S. “health care” system?