Oh, hell.

I'm sure everyone else has already posted the Dirty Dancing clips... so here's Patrick dancing with his wife.

I'm bummed. Patrick Swayze was so awesome. I mean, besides the acting and dancing, for how many Hollywood stars could I get a clip of husband and wife dancing together in 1994, and have it be the same couple that was together at the end, fifteen years later? They were married for thirty-four years. AWESOME.

On a writerly note, I'd like to point out that if Dirty Dancing was a book, it would be classified as chick lit. But, oh, it's not just a chick flick, is it? It deals with growing up, finding out who you want to be and who you are, the importance and risks of telling the truth, class issues, sex and love -- and the importance and risks thereof -- and friendship and family...

This is why I've written chick lit, I think. Because there's so much good there.

And how about Ghost? If anyone is dumping on you writers of paranormal romances, you just tell 'em to shove it, 'cause if it was good enough for Patrick, it's good enough for you.

Sigh.

Okay, here's a link to take your mind off things. You see that section over in my right-hand column that says "authors I know and love"? Well, one of those authors (Mur Lafferty) just interviewed another one of those authors (Felix Gilman), and it's like an awesome-writer jamboree, I tell you! If you're not already listening to Mur's podcast, I Should Be Writing (and if you have ANY interest in writing fiction, you must get yourself over to iTunes and subscribe NOW), you can listen to the interview here:

Mur Lafferty interviews Felix Gilman & others
(Gilman's interview runs from ~minute 28 to ~minute 48)

I hereby open the comments thread to discussions of Mr. Swayze, his movies, and/or what you're doing today to cheer yourself up. I think I'm gonna go watch that SNL skit with Patrick and Chris Farley auditioning to be Chippendale's dancers...