Brian Beam's Blog, page 7

Top-Ten Tuesday - My Favorite Bands

I have to have music when I write or run, so here's my top ten favorite bands(which fluctuates semi-regularly).  I've included the cover art for my favorite album from each band, as well a video of one of my favorite songs from each.

Feel free to let me know some of your own favorites in the comments below. 
10.  The Used



9.  Silverchair





8.  Yellowcard





7.  Zebrahead



 

6.  Filter





5.  Reel Big Fish



 


4.  Foo Fighters




3.  Blink 182



2.  Collective Soul




1.  Our Lady Peace



Brian

Sorry for not blogging

Free time's been a bit scarce with the baby coming soon, which is why I haven't been blogging this week.  I doubt I'll do much better over the next couple of weeks(with both the blog and writing progress), but I'll try not to completely disappear from the face of the internet.   
Best wishes!
Brian

Top-Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Movies (at the moment)

The main reason I qualify this top ten list as "at the moment" is that my favorite movies can many times be skewed by a strong urge to watch a movie I love that I haven't seen in a while(Snatch and Willow below may be a result of this), though there will always be mainstays such as The Lion King, Fight Club, Labyrinth, and The Princess Bride.  Also, I'm sure if my wife reads this, she'll be able to name a couple movies that should be on the list that just didn't come to mind when I put it together.  Anyway, so as with my Top Ten Books, when it comes to series, I'm limiting myself to one movie from that series.  Here goes!

10. Snatch

9. Willow

8. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

7. Back to the Future II

6. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
I really wish Lucas and Spielburg stopped with this one.  Sigh.
5. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

4. The Princess Bride
 
"Anybody want a peanut?"

3. Labyrinth

The fact that my three-year-old likes this movie already makes me prouder than I can express.
2. Fight Club
This is a love it or hate it movie, and I love it.
1. The Lion King
Don't judge me!
Brian

Sunday Scoop - 03/02/2014

All right, first Sunday Scoop of March!
Book 3 of Korin's Journal stands at 21,310 words as of this moment, or about 10% of the first draft.  I'm basing the estimated length on The Forgotten King, so that 10% may be overestimating, or possibly selling myself short.  In truth, I feel that it will probably end up being a little shorter than The Forgotten King, but my aversion to formally outline and my inability to accurately estimate the page/word length of planned scenes keep me from feeling comfortable saying for sure.  Nearly the whole book is there in my head, I just have trouble projecting it in terms of length.
Tonight, I'll likely be finishing the sixth chapter and starting into the seventh.  This is the chapter I mentioned in a previous post that will onfront Korin with a massive revelation.  Though I won't say anything to give away what that revelation will be, I will say that in this chapter, Korin is going to learn the allegiance of his captors, as well as the fates of his friends.
My Goodreads giveaway for Alinor's Shard has officially ended, and two lucky (does labeling the winners as lucky for winning a copy of my book make me pretentious?) winners will be getting a signed copy of Alinor's Shard in the next week or so.  I'd love to do more giveaways in the future, possibly on Goodreads, and possibly on this blog or Facebook, so keep an eye out for that.
And speaking of giveaways, you still have a chance to win signed copies or Kindle downloads of one of my three novels, have a character named after you in Book 3 of Korin's Journal, or have your name listed in the book's acknowledgements for donating $5 or more to St. Jude through my fundraiser for the North Carolina Warrior Dash.  Click this link: www.warrior.stjude.org/brianbeam or click the picture below to donate.  St. Jude ensures that the children treated in their hospital do not pay a dime for their treatment, and they strive to advance the treatment of major childhood diseases.  Every dollar you donate can go a long way to help sick children in need.

My wife's due date is rapidly approaching (Yeah, I know I mention this a lot), so I don't anticipate having a ton of writing progress for a bit, but I will continue to post updates every Sunday (and probably some baby pictures as well).  But for now, I leave you with a picture of my current baby :)

Brian 

Warrior Wednesday - 2/26/2013

All right, this week's Warrior Wednesday will be short.  In fact, for the next few weeks, I won't be putting much time into the blog.  Tomorrow marks 38 weeks for my pregnant wife, and the MD thinks something could happen in the next week.  The point is, my attention won't be on my writing or blog all that much for a bit.

So, to keep things brief, I've had two decent runs since the last blog in my training for the Warrior Dash this May.  This past Friday, I did 4.01 miles in 36:27(still a far cry from my average pace in the past, but I'll get there), and then on Sunday, I ran 3.2 miles in 34:00.  Sunday's pace was quite a bit slower, but I ran with a good friend I haven't seen in years.

My goal from here is to get my pace down to 8-8:30 miles before May for the 3-4 mile range.  Of course, I don't expect to maintain that pace for the Warrior Dash, given the obstacles.  My other goal is getting more gym time.  I've been once during a lunch break this week, and that's it.  Hopefully I'll have a bit more motivation and continue to improve until I can get a little closer to where I was before my back problems.

Also, deciding to forego the GoPro camera, I invested in a cheap Action Shot HD(seems more HD-ish, really) to make a video of the Warrior Dash.  I'll try and get a run with it soon and post a snippet(because you all certainly care to see that :-P.

And, as always, be sure to visit www.warrior.stjude.org/brianbeam and consider donating to my fundraiser for St Jude through the Warrior Dash for a chance to win one of my books or your name in book 3 of Korin's Journal.

And lastly, to make up for the general crappiness of this blog post, check out my son Jonas showing his love for Mega Man in this YouTube video.  You don't have to be a fan of Mega Man for it to make you smile :).


Best wishes to all!

Brian

Top-Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Video Games

Being as much of a dork as I am, here's my top ten video games of all time!  
10. Contra (NES)

9. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)

8. Mega Man 3 (NES)

7. Lunar Eternal Blue (Sega CD)

6. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)

5. Super Metroid (SNES)

4. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis)

3.  The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

2. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

1. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)

Brian

Sunday Scoop - 2/23/2014

I have embarrassingly little to report on Book 3 of Korin's Journal this week.  I've had a lot of other things going on, and I've also hit a bit of a snag with what I want to do in the current chapter.  Mostly, though, my wife's due date being in 3 weeks, a visit from some great friends we haven't seen in way too long, and my book signing this past weekend have all contributed to a week of pretty much zero progress.
Therefore, this week I'll just be posting a couple pictures from the book signing.  It went fairly well, and I was happy to help out the local independent bookstore in any way I could.  Also, the lower floor of the bookstore has an awesome toy store(mostly educational-type toys) in addition to the children's book section, meaning my son had an amazing time!

You can still donate to the fundraiser I'm doing for St. Jude for the North Carolina Warrior Dash at www.warrior.stjude.org/brianbeam and there's still 5 days left to enter my Goodreads giveaway for a print copy of Alinor's Shard by clicking below:


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Goodreads Book Giveaway Alinor's Shard by Brian Beam Giveaway ends February 28, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win
With the baby coming any day now, I don't anticipate making a ton of writing progress over the next several weeks, but I'll post about what little progress I do make.  
Until then, here's a couple book signing pictures!


Brian

Friday Review 2/21/2014 - The Lego Movie

All I can say is that those involved with the making of The Lego Movie really knew what they were doing.  It's not hard to see why it has received so many glowing reviews and why it has topped the box office for both weeks since its release.  This is a movie made to appeal to both the young and young at heart(sounds better than just calling myself old), girls and boys, fans of Lego toys and . . . face it, everyone loves Lego. 
I'll skip any description of the plot (take a look at the movie's Wikipedia page if you'd like - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_lego_movie) and get into why I absolutely loved this movie.
Four things really struck me about The Lego Movie.  
The first is the simple fact that they not only made a Lego movie that appeals to today's children, but basically made the Lego movie that, as adults, we would've wanted to see as children.  There is a constant sense of wonder to the whole package that perfectly encapsulates what it was like to play with Lego bricks as a child.  
The second is the absolutely amazing stop-motion animation of the film.  As it is, stop-motion animation is a rarity today.  With the relative ease of resorting to CGI(as has been done with Lego's straight to video movies for its different toy lines), practical effects are quickly discarded.  Now, this movie is not without its moments of CGI, but nearly the entire thing is made using real Lego bricks, and the results are incredible.  The scope of the sets, the action . . . it all just blows me away when considering the amount of time and care went into building the world in the movie.   There is one scene where the protagonists are out on the ocean, and days later, I am still taken aback by the scope of what had to be put into the animation of the undulating motion of the water.  
While movies such as Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline also display the beauty of using stop-motion animation, something about The Lego Movie seems more impressive.  It may be that I've always been more impressed when I see giant Lego models(such as Rivendell below) than realistic models of the same.  Whatever the reason, The Lego Movie is truly a spectacle to behold.  
The third is just how self-aware this movie is.  This is a world made up of Lego bricks.  At no point does it try to convince its audience otherwise.  
Fourth and final is the heartfelt ending.  Personally, I didn't see it coming.  The general message of The Lego Movie involves being yourself, not conforming for the sake of being like everyone else around you.  At the end, however, after an entertaining and exciting climax, there is a scene that really tugs at the heartstrings, especially if you're a parent.  I'd explain, but it's probably best left to experience.
So, if you can't tell, I fully recommend that you see this movie unless A)you're anti-consumerism to the point that the thought of a movie based on a toy line makes you want to vomit, or B)you have absolutely no inner child at all.   
Brian

Throwback Thursday - 2/20/2014

This Throwback Thursday is a testament to my lifelong love of books:


My father reading to my brother and me.
Reading along with Teddy Ruxpin (I think Teddy Ruxpin needs another revival at this point . . . )
My wife and I with the late Robert Jordan during his final book tour for Knife of Dreams.
Meeting my favorite author, Brandon Sanderson , during his Memory of Light book tour.

Brian

Warrior Wednesday - 2/19/2014

So, my big(ish) run for this past week was on Saturday at the local YMCA indoor track.  Running indoors for the first time in about two years reminded me of something.
I hate running indoors.
For one thing, I like the dynamics of an outdoor run, the elevation changes, the differing scenery, the complete freedom to go where I want to go - to ad-lib my run you might say.  Mostly, I just hate the repetition of an indoor run.  
Let's start with treadmills and why I'd rather quit running than ever run on one again.  First, they give me shin splints. Granted, I'm sure something about that is psychological; treadmills are much lower impact than when I run on sidewalks.  Second, without actually moving forward, feeling the cool rush of air resistance, I get hot really really quick.  I always get hot and sweaty when running, but this happens much quicker, and is much more severe.  Lastly, it's just plain boring.  So boring, in fact, that I can't get into my music, or watch tv, or even mentally work on my story plots in my head, all because I'm too focused on how much I hate the treadmill.
Indoor tracks, however, aren't as bad, but I still hate them.  This was the first time I'd run on an indoor  track at the YMCA, and I was basically forced into it due to the layer of ice still clinging for dear life to the area's sidewalks.  I used to run on the indoor track at my college in my nursing school days, and it was eight laps to a mile.  This one was twelve.  Twelve!
As I said, I get bored with the repetitious nature of running indoors.  Running twelve tiny laps to make a mile is possibly the definition of repetition.  It's like the movie Groundhog Day, only living out the same 40-45 seconds of your life over and over.  Every lap you pass the same walkers.  Every few laps you get a little variety when passing a jogger going slightly slower than you, or get passed by one running slightly faster.  I lost count of my laps after the second lap or so, and my GPS watch is useless indoors without being right by a window the whole time, so I have no idea how many miles I ran.  All I know is that I lived the same 40-45 seconds of my life on repeat for 40 minutest straight, only getting sweatier as I went.
But, in trying to get back into running as much as I used to, or at least close to it, I made this sacrifice today.  I don't like doing it often because I don't enjoy it.  Though I like that running is good for my health, I truly love running when I'm outdoors, either making my own route or running a race.  As I've mentioned on this blog before, a lot of plotting occurs when running, though only when I'm outside and enjoying it. 
This is an older(2012) pic after a rainy 5Kin my hometown.  No, I didn't run with the stroller, but maybe I should've!
I'm really starting to consider getting  the base GoPro camera to take some videos to spice up my jogging blogs, though I also don't think I can bring myself to invest $200 bucks.  So if anyone wants to invest in getting one for their favorite indie fantasy author jogger, give me a call . . . what, I'm not your favorite IFAJ(yes I acronymed it, and made up the word acronymed, and I'm kidding on all fronts, of course)?  If I can ever make myself shell out the cash(doubtful with bundle of joy # 2 on the way), I will hopefully do so before the Warrior Dash.  I think it'd be fun to take a video of me putting myself through hell, getting muddy, and having a heck of a time doing it.
That's really all I've got for this week.  No upcoming races that I'm registered for (yet) other than the Warrior Dash in May.  My St. Jude fundraiser will be up until May 17, so please check it out and consider donating to this awesome organization.  Either click this link - warrior.stjude.org/brianbeam, or the picture below to check it out.

Thanks for reading!
Brian