This made me laugh outloud:

Just before Water Survival training, he gave me a piece of advice I'll always remember: "Son, when you get right down to it, you have no nerve endings." Then he flushed me down the toilet.

Hec, shut up. I had a peanut butter sandwich. Kind of depressing.

Cracking up now.

Are all the networks are pre-empting tonight (ie-are we getting Lost?)

We still get Smallville.

Do you get the new Jack & Bobby? Does the WB play the SotU game?

If you consolidate, does it matter who you chose to do it or are all the rates/deals pretty competetive?

There are companies that will come to you with offers to consolidate who may offer a higher rate for the convenience. Generally, you are supposed to pay interest equal to the weighted average of your current loans (with a fixed rate loan, anyway, there are other options but I didn't look into them). I went through my most recent lender, because I figured they'd have all my informationa already. It was pretty easy - you can download a standard application on line and mail it to the lender of your choice.

(eta: I get the new Jack & Bobby)

Do you get the new Jack & Bobby?

Yes, we do, though I...well, technically, since there's no Alias I could watch it tonight, but I should do some writing instead. I watch it on EasyView on principle, as that is when it is, in fact, easier for me to view it.

The Pistons game preempted GG last night, though. Bastards. It was a pretty good episode, too.

Hec, shut up. I had a peanut butter sandwich. Kind of depressing.

I'm not responsible for your mediocre sandwich choices!

I've been procrastinating digging into my novel all day, but at least most of it has been productive procrastinating--read and took notes on a research book, worked on a critique I promised a writer friend, etc.

Anyway, now I've reached the point where I'm really almost ready to click on the window containing the wip: I've come to Natter to tap the hivemind collective. I've been procrastinating mostly because the scene in question is unusually tough, both in terms of emotional impact and physical logistics. The emotional part I'll manage--I'm here for help with the blocking:

It's a confrontation scene wherein a man on horseback intends to grab a woman on foot by the arm and pull her away, but he doesn't actually intend to hurt her. That is, he wouldn't particularly mind if she had a few bruises or a sore arm, but he's not trying to yank her off her feet and drag her. He's angry, he doesn't think she should be where she is, so he intends to use his superior strength to force her to leave. So picture him riding forward at kind of a fast, determined walk.

Another character, a man on foot, moves to confront the horseman and block him from carrying out his intent. He's angry too (but with righteous, sexy anger, since he's the hero), but relatively levelheaded with it, and has sufficient experience with horses not to do anything stupid to unduly frighten the horse.

So. Is Our Hero going to step directly in front of the horse and grab its bridle, or is he going to go off to the side and take the bridle and/or reins? And how is the horse likely to react? Assume the horse in question is a very ordinary sort of horse, not one of the vicious brutes that only one man can ride so prevalent in fiction, and also a tiny bit on the exhausted and underfed side. Even then the horse wouldn't be totally placid, would it? It'd pick up on its rider's mood to some degree?

Susan, I'd say he'd grab the bridle or reins from the side. Trying it from directly in front of the horse would leave open way too much of a possibility of him getting kicked.