Christopher C. Payne's Blog, page 34

Jade Irish, smart and well you tell me!

I don't pretend to know everything.  Ha, maybe I do pretend because God only knows I don't really know that much.  I get by, doing the best I can.  That being said there are a few things that I am pretty keen on.  For example, I would know better than to let rats live in my chicken house.  I might even clean it once in a while so the excrement was flowing out of the buildings.  God only knows I might remove the dead chickens when they died.  You might say I know more than Peter DeCoster of...

Brittney Jordan

WE ARE BACK! 

After three months of ignoring the beauty side of our website, Brittney Jordan has influenced us to get back into our wild sided bantering and see who we can poke fun at today.  I can guarantee it won't be Brittney, how can you make fun of the gorgeous model/actress in waiting.  She has more going for her than I did on my best day, and my best day never was really that good at getting going.

Today I actually attempted to work out again and I managed a total of twenty push-ups. ...

The Way of Kings

"The Way of Kings", written by Brandon Sanderson, is just a touch over 1,000 pages long.  The entire time I am reading it I was thinking, is this too much.  It just kept going and going, running into so much detail.  Not that it was boring in any part, it was just so much.  Do we really need all the detail of a "safe-hand"?  By the time I reached the final page, in just less than a week mind you, I continued to flip through the back cover hoping there might be more.  Brandon Sanderson did an ...

9 years

I was in 3rd grade when I woke up at 6 AM to my parents crying on the phone. Nine years ago, a devastating and tragic event had come upon our country. I walked into the living room watching my mom talking frantically in Spanish to her side of the family in Chile and then found my dad on the couch, crying. 

It was the first time I had seen my father cry as much as he did.  I couldn't quite comprehend what was happening at the time, all I did know was that American Airlines flight 11 and United ...

The Switch

It almost seems like a misnomer designating "The Switch" a romantic comedy.  There is romance, but in my book the chemistry between Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman was a little sketchy at best.  The real draw was the dynamic between Bateman and Thomas Robinson, who brilliantly plays Sebastian, the little boy in the movie.  Watching the two grow in their father and son relationship was endearing and heartfelt.  I would also have to add that Jeff Goldblum and Juliette Lewis added their...

Stepmonster

"Stepmonster" is a book from the perspective of and about stepmothers.  I should add in my disclaimer here.  I was eleven when my father married my current stepmother, I am a divorced father of three girls, sixteen, thirteen and eight, I am currently living with my fiancé (who has no children prior to our partnering), and she asked me to read this.  I agreed to do so, since we attempt to do everything in our collective powers to make a happy home for all parties involved.  My thirteen and...

Middle Men

I don't get it.  The movie was on the long side and I found it difficult to stay awake during the latter half.  Luke Wilson, who I absolutely love, was in my opinion badly miscast.  He in any form would have a difficult time convincing me as a character that could stand up to the mob, of any sort or size.  Setting that flaw aside, the movie meandered along through most of the scenes in a monotone soliloquy, narrated by our miscast actor, who plays the main character.  Other than flashing a...

The Other Guys

I have not laughed this hard since "The Hangover".  This has to be the best comedy I have seen this summer, hands down.  I only wish I could think of a TLC lyric to bring it all home.  Does anyone remember "Waterfalls"?  From the wooden gun to the non-stop one liners, I was rolling in the floor.  Will Ferrell has not been this good since "Old School" and Mark Wahlberg was ever bit his comedic equal in this fantastic film.  From Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson all the way to Michael...

Short Story 2010 Annual Contest

JournalStone

JournalStone's Short Story Anthology Contest has begun.

Get your short story published in a novel.

 

JournalStone will be holding our first annual contest and accepting short story submissions for our upcoming 2010 horror anthology publication. The top ten to possibly fifteen submissions will be chosen for publication. Submissions should be in a final/edited/proofed format.

All cover art, layout, publication costs, formatting etc. will be taken care of by JournalStone. As a writer...

The Book of Lost Things

Let me just say this.  I loved this book.  You might think it is a children's book but according to the author, and in my humble opinion, you would be wrong.  This book is so much more than a fairy tale, even though it is set with a fairy tale background.  The book really hits home so far beyond the basics.  Taking on topics of divorce, stepmothers, death, life, challenges and disappointments, this book forces you to think about life while at the same time keeping you entertained within the r...