allana | Darth Vader's Popcorn & Plot-Bunnies

We saw Episode III this morning, and it was good! I must point out that I'm not a Star Wars fan, know next to nothing about the franchise. I went purely to keep Dave company but wound up enjoying the film too. No spoilers here and no proper review either :P Hayden Christiansen's (sp?) acting has improved muchly, alas, Natalie Portman's acting was dire. Cinematography was good. R2-D2 is my hero! Even though I was distressed to see an interview with him (Kenny Baker) in the Metro which suggested that him and C3-P0 weren't friends offscreen. Came straight home as (a) it was heaving in Leicester Square and (b) I was going purple....

Which leads us to the popcorn... I fancied some popcorn--I haven't had popcorn at the cinema since I saw ET, and in a fit of nostalgia said "Popcorn!" in a bright and perky way when Dave asked if I wanted anything. Big mistake. I spent ten minutes after the film was over coughing and gasping for breath as some of the unpopped outer shell of the popcorn got lodged in my throat. Apparently I went a fetching shade of purple. Darth Vader should endorse that sodding popcorn. Almost as lethal as his choke-thingie. (Yes, I don't know the proper name for the Sith move he does--Force Choke? I make it all up as I go along. Ask Dave about Bully Droids someday and see him laugh his ass off.)

I've acquired another plot bunny. This time it's original, but I don't think it has a serious hope in hell of getting written. Which is fustrating.

I'm sure I've blathered on about The Ultimate Fighter reality show to a few of you guys on my flist. It's gotten right under my skin, and now I want to write a coming-of-age story, set in the mixed martial arts (MMA) sport. 20-something fighter, trying to move up the rankings, get a contract with a good company (the UFC seems to be the pinnacle of that sport), hiding his sexuality and trying to deal with racism. The racism is the really interesting part for me. The guy running around in my head is white. The racism is coming from the black guys he trains and fights with. Because he's white trash, and since being black is now cool... everyone needs a new social group to be racist towards. It could be really, really good. But as always, there's a problem. For once, this is a valid concern....

I cannot punch. I had to double-check with Dave last night what a jab was--obscurely, I know what a back-fist and uppercut are. At this point we discovered that I really can't throw a punch--which is probably a good thing, in case, you know, I ever have a temper tantrum. But, how can I write a book about fighters... if I can't punch let alone fight? I went to karate classes for about three weeks before I freaked out when someone got a massive splinter stuck in their foot from the floor. It had to be cut out, blood everywhere. No way was that happening to me! So, I quit. And I never got around to trying out another martial art. These days, I'm too fat and unfit to take up any.

Alas, Dave won't write the fighting bits for me. Which sucks. Still, I think I'm going to talk him into getting the pads and gloves out and I can at least learn how to get a decent stance and throw a punch. At least I can already make a proper fist *rolls eyes*

I'm still mournfully looking at MMA sites, checking into the history of it all, and thinking what a great story I could write with a bit of knowledge.