Rainy Days and....Tuesdays??

Blech, the weather has been cold, gray, and rainy for THREE days now. Trust me, it does *not* feel like spring here in New York City--especially harsh after I spent those five lovely days in Orlando! This weather really makes me feel sleepy and headachy and generally blue--is anyone else as affected by the weather as I am? I'm pretty sure I could never live in the Pacific Northwest, as gorgeous as it looks (and I'm dying to visit there!).

Since I finished my latest historical manuscript and am taking a brief breather before I begin the next one, I've been holed up inside, catching up on movies and listening to a lot of music. I'm really into the Verve right now--probably because I wrote half my last manuscript while listening to Bittersweet Symphony over and over again on a loop. Pretty strange, because I never used to be able to write to songs with lyrics. But somehow that song just captured the perfect melancholy edge for my book (A MIDNIGHT CLEAR), and it just seemed natural to write to it.

And then someone said "Hey, isn't that the song from the movie Cruel Intentions?" And since I'd never heard of the movie, I looked it up and discovered it's a modern-day remake of Dangerous Liaisons (and who *doesn't* love Dangerous Liaisons?!--or even the other version with Colin Firth and Annette Benning titled Valmont?) with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Reese Witherspoon. I was surprised I missed it the first time around, but it came out the same year that my oldest daughter was born, so I suppose that explains it! I wasn't getting out to the theater much in 1999!

Anyway, I *loved* it! I thought it was a very interesting, stylized version--and while it was hard to believe that they were actually high school kids, it worked anyway. But mostly it was just really HOT! Extremely erotic, especially considering there wasn't any nudity save a naked butt. I've never found Ryan Phillippe particularly attractive in the past--but yeah, he was really rocking those sexy glasses and modern-day frock coat. I admit, I adored his Sebastian Valmont (pant, pant...).

And yes, Bittersweet Symphony is indeed on the soundtrack--the entire soundtrack is excellent, actually. My other favorite songs from the movie (now downloaded to my iTunes!) are Fatboy Slim's Praise You and Counting Crow's Color Blind.

Has anyone else seen the movie?? If so, what did you think? If you haven't, I recommend it--but be warned, it's not remotely kid-safe, so don't attempt to watch with little ones in the house! And I *definitely* recommend the soundtrack!

I also caught up on some reading--another favorite rainy-day activity. I read Julia Harper's HOT (Julia Harper is historical author Elizabeth Hoyt's pen-name for contemporaries), which I really enjoyed (and yes, it was indeed quite hot!!), and the YA paranormal EVERMORE, which was just okay. Actually, it had too many Twilight-like elements for my taste, right down the heroine reading Wuthering Heights for English class.

So...what do you love to do on cold, rainy Tuesdays (or any day, for that matter)?