Michael Hayes And The Gift Of Fear

I really liked it. No, right now I'm not sure what a US Attorney does, exactly; no, I'm not sure who all the characters are. I happen to like Caruso, which helps.

I liked the characters we met though. There was an equal measure of plot and character. I especially liked the female characters, who actually had personalities and got good lines to say. (Compare that to NYPD Blue, where the women are around specifically to date the guys.)

So I'm probably going to watch this show for a while. I'm also looking forward to Brooklyn South -- I watch COP shows, not DOC shows, dammit.

(Oh yeah -- the premiere of Buffy (closer in spirit to a cop show than a doc show, I feel) was on last night. Buffy with angst! Xander and Willow kiss! Bad guys! The Anointed One with the best line: "I hate that girl!" Good stuff.)

I'm currently reading The Gift Of Fear by Gavin de Becker, which I give the highest recommendation. It's labeled Self-Help/Psychology, but I'd call it Self-Help/True Crime, so there's something there for everyone.

Gavin de Becker is the high-profile security expert who is oft quoted on the subject of stalking, celebrity and otherwise. He talks about how to spot danger signals, encourages the reader to listen to the little voices inside, and tells you specific behaviors that ought to set off your inner alarm. He doesn't make your paranoid, he gives you ways of dealing with situations we all run across.

As an insight into the criminal -- or soon to be criminal -- mind, it's invaluable, particularly for a writer like me, who rarely thinks of anything else. For example, he talks about the ways that guys (GdeB says to hell with political correctness -- most of these crimes are done by men, so he always refers to male perpetrators) insinuate themselves into a woman's life, and he's very clear about the behaviors.

"I can use this," I thought. (In my writing. Sheesh, what are you thinking?) He describes this behavior so well, you don't have to tell anyone what the character is doing, you can just show it.

He also goes off on the portrayal of stalking in movies: when a man stalks a woman, it's romantic and he ends up with the girl; when a woman stalks a man, she's psycho and deserves to be killed. When women say no, they mean maybe; when men say no, they mean no.

Say no.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Took today off in the jogging race and worked on another reformulation of my script idea.