Gloria Oliver's Blog, page 106

Mind Sieve 5/14/12

Greetings~! Hope everyone had a great weekend!







Fun website that tells you what you're made of from your name Gloria Oliver is made of koalas, cherries, and earthquakes. With a dash of T-REX. http://en.shindanmaker.com/219278 Booyah! I so am! :P What are you made of?



New Snow White And The Hunstman Poster from Total Film. I like it! 


And speaking of which, here is the 2nd Trailer. Looking forward to it!


Dark Knight Rises Official Trailer 3 - Now it's looking really good!


Hotel Transylvania Official Trailer. Looks adorable!


GI Joe 2: Retaliation Trailer 2 - booyah!


Felicia Day now has a FLOG (Felicia Blog?) It's quite cute. See Felicia create an Ice Sculpture with a Chainsaw. Heh


Bourne Vivaldi From the Piano Guys. What fun!


Designing From Bones - A Modern Dystopia from Gene Lempp.







10 Tips To Keep Your Head While Vlogging from Jenny Hansen. Hah! Someone else trying this weird vlogging stuff. heh heh.



Oh, and I did make another one. This one a Video Reading for my YA Fantasy novel Willing Sacrifice. I'll sneak it in. Shshshshsh... Will only hurt for a little while. Honest. :P








25 Realizations Writers Need To Have from Chuck (NSFW) Wendig.

Don't Finish: Ways To Be A More Productive Writer, Part 3 from Janice Hardy. I do something similar and it really does help! (Not that I'd thought of it in these terms before. Doh!)

The Age of The Artist - Time For A Revolution from Kristen Lamb.



Have an awesome week, ya'll~!

Virtual Tourist - Star Wars The Old Republic 5/13/12

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

And nothing says Mother's Day like Star Wars! (Hee!)

Imperial Spy space mission. I was surviving just fine but not the shuttle I needed to protect. Must have more missiles!



Alderaan spaceport on the Imperial Side.





The Thull Palace. In its glory before it gets pummeled. Something you don't see as a Republic member.

Gorgeous flooring!

No holocron up there like on the Republic side of things. Not that we ever figured out how to get up there.

Thull House Leader. 




Alderaan's version of a Dalek? :P


Love those mountains!

I was way excited by this! We get to see the Killiks up close on the Imperial side.

Killik eggs.

Working Killik

Nice to be able to take a pic of more than the dead bodies and up close!


The diplomat on the left has been assimilated by the hive mind. His eyes are all black, no white showing at all.
On the Republic side, we're finishing up our time on Qesh.




We were so sure there'd be a holocron down here somewhere, but no.




Our new destination is Hoth! Yes, the ice planet. 


More cool aliens to photograph!


The Republic base on Hoth


This taumtaum had a nice face to it. He was quite cute!

The icy bleakness that is Hoth.



None hostile creatures but weird looking as all get out. Creepy...!
I did manage one Minecraft pic, so throwing it out there for fun. Heh heh.

Hubby got his side tower done.
Have an awesome Sunday!

Movie Review - The Avengers

The Avengers



Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smolders, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more.

Directed by: Josh Whedon Screenplay by: Josh Whedon Story by: Zac Penn and Josh Whedon Based on the comic books created by: Jack Kirby and Stan Lee Cinematography by: Seamus McGarvey Original Music by: Alan Silvestri

Premise: Loki has made a deal with an unknown alien force and so he's returned to Earth to recover the Tesseract, a recently uncovered energy source. He wants to use it to open a gate to Earth to let in his borrowed army, and then subjugate humanity so they may worship him. Nick Fury and SHIELD gather together a set of unusual but powerful allies in the hopes of recovering the Tesseract before it is too late.

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Half the fun of the movie was watching all these great actors interact. I was ecstatic when I spotted Gwyneth Paltrow as her interplay with Robert Downey Jr. is always such fun to watch. Clark Gregg broadened his role as Agent Phil Coulson and proved that even agents can have a little bit of a geek inside them. Scarlett Johansson and her character were so much more than just the 'token female' of the film. She not only outfought most men, but she showed a devious, cold interior that will always get the job done. Cobie Smolders also showed the strength and competency of women as Nick Fury's second right hand. Mark Ruffalo conveyed tremendous amounts of feelings with just a look. Tom Hiddleston also gave a great performance as the aggrieved god Loki.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Where superheroes are involved, you need super special effects - and the team that worked on them for the Avengers film were more than superb. From energy gates, to imploding secret bases, to alien invasion, explosions, and destruction, everything was very detailed, flawless, and best of all, believable.

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: I've been following the works of Joss Whedon for a while now and he has yet to disappoint. He always knows how to play the audience and give it what it wants. Unlike other works where a combination of superheroes come together but get overshadowed by one or two key figures, Mr. Whedon and Mr. Penn managed to give equal weight to all those concerned, even Bruce Banner's alter ego, the Hulk.

The pace was brisk; all the details furthering the story. The only time it felt bogged down was during some bickering and then not for very long. Some viewers will not realize the staff has a lot to do with the escalation of frayed tempers, so the fact this wasn't mentioned by any of them later might hurt the story in their opinions but the later part of the film more than makes up for it.

Using the Hulk as comic relief during the combat sequences was genius! It gave depth to a character who normally has little to say and showed that he is more than the monster he appears to be. Captain America's instructions to the Hulk during the battle a master stroke of leadership.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: While some of the action is CGI, not all of it is. The actors and stunts people worked hard for their wages and it shows. In turn, this gave the audience an awesome and unforgettable set of action scenes. Good job everyone!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: With a wide range of filming spots from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, to California as well as those created through virtual reality, they were strung together to create a viable world of great locations for our heroes to protect. The Stark building was amazing. The cinematography of the streets of New York swamped by invaders and the collapse of the research base will play in your mind for some time.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: The heroes' costumes closely resembled the look of their comic book originals. Hawkeye was the only one who's uniform did not match in any way, totally missing his telltale mask, but I have to say that the detail paid to his bow and how he could program it to send signals to his quiver so arm his special arrows was fantastic. Thor's hair looked stringy and dirty for the full film, which seemed odd, but could have been a stylist choice. The wounds and bruises received and later maintained on all the characters were very well done. And when our heroes were finished, they looked tired and worn as they should have. Great job.

Conclusion: A fantastic, fun filled film. Definitely worth seeing in IMAX 3D and more than once if you can get away with it. (Sit through ALL the credits! There are TWO extra scenes!)

Rating: 4.75 pout of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Paying Full Price To See It Again!)


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Movie Review - Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows



Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bohnam Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Bella Heathcote, Chloë Grace Moretz, Gulliver McGrath, Ray Shirley, Christopher Lee, Alice Cooper, Jonathan Frid, and more.
Directed by: Tim Burton Based on the Original TV Series by: Dan Curtis Story by: John August and Seth Graham-Smith Screenplay by: Seth Graham-Smith Original Music by: Danny Elfman
Premise: After being cursed by a witch and then trapped in a metal coffin for almost two hundred years, Barnabas Collins returns to Collinwood. He wants to bring the family back to its old prosperity while also acclimating himself to life in 1972. Unfortunately, the witch that cursed him is still around and has other plans for him. (Rated PG-13)
Review:
1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: As actor Johnny Depp does in all things, he puts his own spin into his version of Barnabas Collins. Eva Green was a delicious Angelique. The love/hate/lust relationship between the two main characters was a lot of fun to watch. Michelle Pfeiffer was both the strong head of the Collins family and a little crazy with her huge macramé collection. All the supporting cast did a great job as well. The little touches from Ray Shirley as Mrs. Johnson were hilarious.
2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects in this film were superb! Those used for the interior of Collinwood Manor towards the end of the film were utterly fantastic. Between the animated wood carvings and Angelique's skin cracking and her interior void, that whole set of scenes was mesmerizing.
3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: Though the script is slanted towards comedy, John August and Seth Graham-Smith are obviously fans of the original TV series. Not only are just about all the characters from the first season of Dark Shadows represented in the film, but most also closely resemble their original counterparts. Several lines used in the film even came straight from the TV show. There are plenty of 'in-jokes' for the fans of the series to enjoy.
The largest changes in the story are to the character of Barnabas himself. Unlike the original, the film's Barnabas doesn't assimilate information on the 20th century over a days' time from his thrall Loomis. Instead, the film's Barnabas must contend and realize the differences between his way of life in the 1800's and the technologically and socially advanced lifestyle of the 1970's. The majority of the humor sprinkled through the film ties to this change.
Barnabas was also made to look like a vampire regardless of whether it was day or night. His claws and the dark circles around his eyes were a giveaway that he wasn't exactly normal. The Barnabas of the TV series had a less difficult time hiding his true nature and could easily pass as a normal human.
And while some of the small details were changed (for example the film's Barnabas didn't get cursed until after his parents' death, while in the TV series his father had been aware of his vampirism and hated him for it), the overall arcs from the original remain the same. Several plot arcs used in the TV series are thrown into this much shorter venue, so there are ghosts, witches, vampires, and werewolves in the mix.
4) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Though the actual filming location were all in the UK, the creation of a Maine like locale was excellent. Collinsport not only looked like a Maine fishing town, but looked like a 1970's Maine fishing town. 
Collinwood Manor itself was amazing. The secret rooms and compartments were fun and ingenious. The manor entrance and main rooms were fabulous with gorgeous wood decorations. And the little touches of real life touching these rooms and the contrast to the bedrooms which were styled to the tastes of those using them were genius. 
5) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: The clothes and makeup for the 1970's were excellently done. The back story segments also looked correct for the period. 
Conclusion: This was a fun film with a lot for new and old fans to enjoy. For older viewers it will be an awesome trip down memory lane, whether they ever saw the original series or not. Also, listen for the original theme, it's there - and so are shots of waves crashing into the rocks, a Dark Shadows' trademark.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)


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Picture Kaleidoscope 5/9/12

Lots of stuff to share!


'Supermoon' Lights Up The Sky from Yahoo News. Some really nifty photos from around the world.

33 Magnificiet Photographs Of Horses from Light Stalking. Magnificent might be taking it too far, but there's some nice ones in there.

Salah Seddik Gif.
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Skywalking: A Dangerous New Photo Fad Among Russian Teens from Peta Pixel.
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Ghostly Self-Portrait Captured In Macro Photograph Of Eye from Peta Pixel. 
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Vintage Photos Turned Into Superhero Ancestor Portraits from Peta Pixel.
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15 Outstanding Waterway Views From Space from Arkarthick.com
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Glimpses Of World War 2 Seen Through Photos Of Modern Day Europe from Peta Pixel. 

Some Building from Jim Beaver.
Till next time!








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Mind Sieve 5/7/12

Yo!







From the Huffington Post - Cute or Creepy? 9 Animals Which Could Be Aliens. Eek!

Solar Cells Must Emit Light To Attain Perfection, Research Suggests - article by James Holloway. Not the first thing I've heard of that must go counter intuitive in order to work.


Cool Kickstarter Project Called Steampunk Holmes. They've reached their goal, but got excited just watching their video. This could be a lot of fun! 


Birth to 12 Years in 2 Minutes and 45 Seconds from Hosmeester. Fascinating to watch her age through the years. 


Storm Trooper Shuffle - Star Wars Parody (Everyday I'm Shuffling) by Scifi 3D.com

NASA - Dawn Reveals Secrets of Giant Asteroid Vesta. 

NASA - Rubber Chicken (Camilla) Flies Into Solar Radiation Storm. (I met her! I've met Camilla! I have a pic of her in a Steampunk outfit! lol).


Designing From Bones - Heaven's Monasteries from Gene Lempp. So want to visit that place! 








Author Blogging 101: Listening by Joel Friendlander. Definite food for thought!

A Conversation over at Chuck (NSFW) Wendig's Terribleminds - "Let's Discuss The Nature Of Book Promotion" - comments galore.

The One Thing You Should Do To Sell More Books by Nick Thacker. (I need clones! Clones, I tell you!







Tips For Critiquing Other Wirters' Work by Melissa Donovan. Great advice!

From Jami Gold - What Does "Writing Is Subjective" Mean? Some definite wisdom here! Tell it, sistah!

And more Jami Gold - Why Does Feedback Hurt So Much? (Even without the "I suck" factor it can hurt. lol. The better I feel about a story, the more I know it's going to get blasted! Heh heh heh.)


Have a great week everyone![image error]

Virtual Tourist - Star Wars The Old Republic 5/6/12

Let's see what weird stuff I took virtual pics of this week.

On the Republic side we have Quesh:


Imperial outpost.

Super big robot. We were not expecting him!

I swear safety is not a concern in the Galaxy. All these open conduits. hee!

Quesh has such a unique look. Beautiful in it's putrid/poisonous state

Giant drill. Hubby felt it was important I take a pic of it. Like I need encouragement! Heh

Look at those mined cliffs!

Bad things have happened here.

Another drill, but a better view of the blade at work.

Such funky plants here.


Rather imposing, no?

Remnants of a better time. Once I noticed one, I saw them everywhere. Sad really. 




Factory complex.

Loved the Trandoshan and his outfit. (Trevor, just for you!)

Look at that sky! It's almost on fire.

Beasties of Quesh

Cool texture for this elevator shaft.

Giant, nasty bomb. 


Now to Imperial Tatooine:


Krayt Dragon skull and bones.




Nothing compared to its ancestors.

Giant swamp rats. Ugh

Found this lady giving private dance lessons to a gentleman in a corner.


Bad attitude for sure.

First time I've seen a ship with personal markings. Liked it!

Mandalorean in full armor.

New hat piece for my companion. Ugliest thing EVER!

He smashes with his fists. But not anymore.

A typical scene of the Empire keeping peace in the universe.

Never noticed this cool statue before. Also note the trees we've imported as Tatooine doesn't have these. Makes it 10 degrees cooler just seeing them there. :P

I believe this is either for an ATM machine or gambling kiosks. Found them once I went farther into the station. These were by the main entrance.

Has a feel of Japan's Sons of the Sun to it, doesn't it? 


Imperial Fleet

The Light Side vendor area is almost like a temple. Hmm.


The Dark Side area even more so! lol


More space mission shots. Can't get rid of the UI, fight, and take pics at the same time though. lol.





This place makes you wish for Dramamine super fast. :P



No Minecraft this week, sorry! 
Enjoy!

Movie Review - The Lucky One

The Lucky One



Starring: Zac Effron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner, Riley Thomas Stewart, Jay R Ferguson, Adam LeFevre, and more.

Directed by: Scott Hicks Screenplay by: Will Fetters Based on the Novel by: Nicholas Sparks Original Music by: Mark Isham and Hal Lindes Cinematography by: Alar Kivilo

Premise: A marine dealing with PTSDs and survivor's guilt, searches out the woman in a photograph he found while on tour, believing he owes her for his survival on his third go round. The woman, in turn, is still wracked with grief over the death of her brother as well as other complications in her life. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Zac Effron and Taylor Schilling were fun to watch. At first closed up and unemotional, the actors slowly shed the layers of protection they'd placed around themselves as they finally deal with their different issues. Riley Thomas Stewart was adorable as Beth's son, Ben. The depth Jay R Ferguson added to what could have been the typical bully part was admirable. His scene in the church spoke volumes and gave a glimpse into his character no one suspected.

2) Special Effects - Thumbs Up: While not the type of film that would require a lot of special effects, the beginning of the story was in Iraq, so some gun play and explosions were involved. In one specific instance, an explosion was done in slow motion, skipping back and forth between characters, and the techniques used on Effron for some of the blow-back on that was fun to watch.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: You don't expect a lot of surprises with this kind of film, yet there were a couple, so that was quite refreshing. A lot of standard tropes were used to indicate the PTSDs and a few other things, but there were also several surprising ways they chose to share certain aspects of the story as well, which made up for it.

I very much enjoyed the added depth given to the token bully/adversary towards the end of the film, making the character of Keith more of a real person. He, like the rest of those in the movie, was human, and learned and made mistakes with everyone else. He too was looking for something he'd not yet found.

The story is told slowly, with details revealed with each passing day, so it might seem to crawl to some. Personally, I can quite enjoy a leisurely paced progression as long as I am given more and more to think on as we go along and this film definitely did that.

Hanky Warning: If you're prone, like me, to tears at movies, make sure to bring a handkerchief or two. You'll need them for this film. You can't help but feel empathy for all parties involved.

4) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: If you have ever had any inclination to move to Louisiana but haven't done it, this film will make you get up and move there immediately. There were lots of utterly beautiful shots in this film. Great job!

Conclusion: If you like this type of film, you'll love this one. I feel it has enough there to satisfy male audiences, but they probably won't go willingly. Fans of Zac Effron will be quite pleased.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (No Hubby rating as he's out of town working.)

Picture Kaleidoscope 5/2/12 - The Fort Worth Botanical Gardens Edition

Prepare to feast on GREEN! My father and I went to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. I put a taste of all we saw in Pinterest, but for the blog, you get the flood. I made some short movies too, but those I will use later. Bwahahahaha!

Statues in front of the main building


Main building area

The gardens!

















This was the day I found out my dad is a Squirrel Whisperer! o.O





Loved these little waterfalls. With the water restrictions several water bits were off, but the ones that were on were gorgeous.













There were a lot of butterflies, but they did tend to be camera shy for some reason. (Or my timing was the pits. :P)










Big open field to let the kids run wild! Hee!


Magnolias! Which I keep confusing with Gardenias, which are the true flower that is my hubby's favorite. (Wife fail!)






Loved all the arches placed in a straight line. Gives you that endless hallway effect. :)





Far side of the rose garden area. We'd missed a lot of blooms, but there were still plenty floweting





These were such a strange color.


Not Cannibus. Though many jokes occurred because of these. Heh heh.

Loved the vibrant red!

Outside the Japanese Garden area.

The cactus zone was in a corner. Nice little spot. Even weirder cacti in the greenhouse beside it.






These looked so funky. Loved them!

Texas Skies! You knew I'd sneak some of that in. Heh heh





This one screamed Fly to me. 'Help meeeee. Heeeelp meeeee." (Vague reference anyone?) :P









Japanese Garden gift shop.


With the water on, I bet this looks awesome!

















This place so awesomely tranquil.

Texas skies!!!!!

Japanese Rock Garden






Aren't these funky?






The main water area had a ton of koi.
































Funky drinking fountain. Made me think of the cacti with funky eyes and arms the Japanese use in games.

















Bwahahahahaha!  And I did take some pics out. But this should keep your eyes full for a while. :P

Mind Sieve 4/30/12

It's Monday!!!! (Yeah, I know. Sad news. Let us mourn for a moment.) :P








Saw this trailer at the theater. Looks Awesome!!! Loopers a time travel tale. Hee!


Just when you thought they couldn't cram more testosterone - Expendables 2. Chck Norris! Van Damme! Schwarzenegger! Dang!


Cosmopolis - looks funky! Lots of great actors in it. Wonder if it will be a modern interpretation of Metropolis?

From the History Blog - Lost Portrait of Cross-dressing Chevalier d'Eon Found. The Chevalier's story is fascinating!

Weyland Industries has posted a video of David 8. Disturbing. Heh heh heh. The whole site is fascinating. Ties to the movie Prometheus.
Designing From Bones - Troglodyte Housing from Gene Lempp. So that's where Tatooine got their home styles from. Heh~!










Picture Perfect - The Importance of Images in Social Media Marketing. This is for companies, but the facts still work for us author types.

What Publishers Do That Authors Can't from Books & Such Literary Agency. Gives one hope! :)

Jeff Goins - One Sure Sign You're A Professional.







Chuck (NSFW) Wendig discusses his writing journey in 25 Things I Learned While Writing Blackbirds.

10 Ways To Boost Your Odds Of An Acceptance from Write It Sideways.

Prepping For The Publishing Doomsday more wise words from Chuck (NSFW) Wendig.

The Key Ingredient For Dramatic Tension - Understanding the Antagonist from Kristen Lamb.


Till next time! Have a great week!