Gloria Oliver's Blog, page 118
October 12, 2011
Picture Kaleidoscope 10/12/11 - Fandays Edition
This past weekend I was over at Fandays 2011. Fandays is a day for all things Star Wars. Got a combo of phone and camera pics (forgot the camera the 1st day). Let's see what I got that not super blurry to share. :P
Some great armored type dudes all over the place.
Loved the little chameleon guy. He's a hat.
The guy below is a Zombie Trooper. heh heh
Regular Storm Troopers
Steampunk Storm Trooper and Bounty Hunter! I loved all the leds on the trooper.
Clone Wars cartoon Troopers above.
This guy and gal didn't know each other but both made clothes from the Star Wars material. Was funny watching them yack about the process.
Super heaby trooper!
No Star Wars day is complete without the Sith Lord.
This one killed me! Darth Vader as a chef with Jar Jar Bink's head on a platter. Heh heh
Billy Dee Williams. He really seemed to enjoy posing with folks.
Dragon Lady on stilts. Real nice get up.
Cold weather Storm Trooper.
Forest Storm Trooper.
The Superman Family! So cute!!
More of the Dragon Lady. The legs are stilts. She bounced and danced on those. lol.
Darth Vader's personal wing men troopers
Julie Benz and Claire Kramer.
[image error]
Super cool t-shirt. Had to get it for hubby!
The Irving Convention Center - which aptly enough looks like a Jawa transport. Heh heh.
Enjoy!
Some great armored type dudes all over the place.
Loved the little chameleon guy. He's a hat.
The guy below is a Zombie Trooper. heh heh
Regular Storm Troopers
Steampunk Storm Trooper and Bounty Hunter! I loved all the leds on the trooper.
Clone Wars cartoon Troopers above.
This guy and gal didn't know each other but both made clothes from the Star Wars material. Was funny watching them yack about the process.
Super heaby trooper!
No Star Wars day is complete without the Sith Lord.
This one killed me! Darth Vader as a chef with Jar Jar Bink's head on a platter. Heh heh
Billy Dee Williams. He really seemed to enjoy posing with folks.
Dragon Lady on stilts. Real nice get up.
Cold weather Storm Trooper.
Forest Storm Trooper.
The Superman Family! So cute!!
More of the Dragon Lady. The legs are stilts. She bounced and danced on those. lol.
Darth Vader's personal wing men troopers
Julie Benz and Claire Kramer.
[image error]
Super cool t-shirt. Had to get it for hubby! 
The Irving Convention Center - which aptly enough looks like a Jawa transport. Heh heh.
Enjoy!
October 10, 2011
Mind Sieve 10/10/11
Shake all the stuff I collected over the week and see what I can filter out for sharing goodness.
Chad Bourn shared a cool article from the BBC called - Ready for the Robot Revolution? Cool stuff! Even has a couple of videos.
DelReySpectra shared this video showing Quadrocopter Ball Juggling. How neat!!!
Jenny Hansen did an entry called Do I Have a Dirty Mind? Awesome examples of bad names people give to restaurants, hotels, and stores.
From Total Film -
Nathan Bransford asks - Don't Be A Jerk. Behavior on the internet. Very much rings with Yard Dog Press's Church of DBAA - Don't be an Asshole. Heh heh.
From Felicia Day - The Dragon Age Redemption Trailer. Series launch October 11th!
From Gene Lempp - Zoo Arcane - Slayer Spirits and the Unredeemed. Creatures from Japanese, Jewish, and Turkish culture. (Don't confuse these shikigami with those in Bleach. Heh heh)
From NASA - Space Observatory Provides Clues to Creation of Earth's Oceans. (Actually what they mean is how a forming Earth got water to have oceans, but never mind - interesting article.)
GeekChicDaily shared the The Adventures of Tintin Trailer 2. Looks like fun!
Martyn Chamberlin shares The Johnny Depp Guide to Mesmerizing Marketing. Interesting take on things and how it applies to us. :)
Phyllis Zimble Miller asks If Your Book Is Available on Amazon Do You Have an Author Page? (Yes, yes indeed I do. :P)
From The Savvy Book Marketer - What's The Most Important Thing on an Author Site. (One of the things I did last weekend was make mine even more accessible.:P)
The Write Stuff shares 9 Essentials for Aspiring Authors. Nice list! (I have peeps that shiver when asking me for brutal honesty. They know I may just deliver. Eek! (Gives me guilt, it does!))
Chris Voss and his take on Why You HAVE To Be on Google + And Why Leaving Facebook ISN'T Smart. Definitely food for thought.
From Kristen Lamb - Dr Twuth - Friends Don't Make Friends Eat Spam. (Not even fried?) :P
The Right Way, the Wrong Way, and the Smart Way from Kristen Lamb. Why's and wherefores of Author Branding.
From Kidlit.com Social Networking Abuse - things not to do to Editors or Agents on Social Networks. (Wow, some of that stuff is truly crass. Eek!)
From SWFA and Victoria Strauss - Bad Publishing Contract Clauses pt 1. Ack! A nasty one too!
Are All Writers Delusional? by Jami Gold. (What? There's different levels?)
From Chuck (NSFW) Wendig - 25 Things You Should Know About NANORIMO. I know a lot of people swear by it, but I just can't see it for me. Good luck to those of you who do participate, however!
Stupendous post by Chuck (NSFW) Wendig (And it's pretty clean too!) on The Publishing Cart Before the Story Telling Horse. Huzzah! Go Wendig!
All righty then! That's it for this week's Mind Sieve. Hope you find something to enjoy! See ya next time.
Chad Bourn shared a cool article from the BBC called - Ready for the Robot Revolution? Cool stuff! Even has a couple of videos.
DelReySpectra shared this video showing Quadrocopter Ball Juggling. How neat!!!
Jenny Hansen did an entry called Do I Have a Dirty Mind? Awesome examples of bad names people give to restaurants, hotels, and stores.
From Total Film -
Nathan Bransford asks - Don't Be A Jerk. Behavior on the internet. Very much rings with Yard Dog Press's Church of DBAA - Don't be an Asshole. Heh heh.
From Felicia Day - The Dragon Age Redemption Trailer. Series launch October 11th!
From Gene Lempp - Zoo Arcane - Slayer Spirits and the Unredeemed. Creatures from Japanese, Jewish, and Turkish culture. (Don't confuse these shikigami with those in Bleach. Heh heh)
From NASA - Space Observatory Provides Clues to Creation of Earth's Oceans. (Actually what they mean is how a forming Earth got water to have oceans, but never mind - interesting article.)
GeekChicDaily shared the The Adventures of Tintin Trailer 2. Looks like fun!
Martyn Chamberlin shares The Johnny Depp Guide to Mesmerizing Marketing. Interesting take on things and how it applies to us. :)
Phyllis Zimble Miller asks If Your Book Is Available on Amazon Do You Have an Author Page? (Yes, yes indeed I do. :P)
From The Savvy Book Marketer - What's The Most Important Thing on an Author Site. (One of the things I did last weekend was make mine even more accessible.:P)
The Write Stuff shares 9 Essentials for Aspiring Authors. Nice list! (I have peeps that shiver when asking me for brutal honesty. They know I may just deliver. Eek! (Gives me guilt, it does!))
Chris Voss and his take on Why You HAVE To Be on Google + And Why Leaving Facebook ISN'T Smart. Definitely food for thought.
From Kristen Lamb - Dr Twuth - Friends Don't Make Friends Eat Spam. (Not even fried?) :P
The Right Way, the Wrong Way, and the Smart Way from Kristen Lamb. Why's and wherefores of Author Branding.
From Kidlit.com Social Networking Abuse - things not to do to Editors or Agents on Social Networks. (Wow, some of that stuff is truly crass. Eek!)
From SWFA and Victoria Strauss - Bad Publishing Contract Clauses pt 1. Ack! A nasty one too!
Are All Writers Delusional? by Jami Gold. (What? There's different levels?)
From Chuck (NSFW) Wendig - 25 Things You Should Know About NANORIMO. I know a lot of people swear by it, but I just can't see it for me. Good luck to those of you who do participate, however!
Stupendous post by Chuck (NSFW) Wendig (And it's pretty clean too!) on The Publishing Cart Before the Story Telling Horse. Huzzah! Go Wendig!
All righty then! That's it for this week's Mind Sieve. Hope you find something to enjoy! See ya next time.
October 7, 2011
Movie Review - Real Steel
Real Steel
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, Karl Yune, Olga Fonda, and more...
Directed by: Shawn Levy, Screenplay by: John Gatins, Story by: Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven, Partly based on a short story. Original Music by: Danny Elfman
Premise: A washed up boxer who's been eking a living on fights using the very robots that drove humans out of the sport, gets saddled up with his estranged kid for the summer after he's hit rock bottom. When looking for replacement parts to cobble another robot together, they come across an out of date training/sparring robot named Atom that might just bring them together. (Rated PG-13)
Review: I'm a total sucker for robots. The first time I saw the preview for this film I was pumped. Rock-em-Sock-em Robots life sized - oh yeah! Then throw in Hugh Jackman, some great CGI, and Steven Spieldberg/Dreamworks, and I knew I was in for a fun ride. And it did not disappoint.
Jackman and Goyo have a great rapport which only deepens as the film goes on. The extra layer of both story and character added in by Evangeline Lilly was well done. And though silent, Atom, adds layers all his own.
The films shows kids that you reap what you sow, especially the bad stuff, but also to cling to your dreams even when you think there's no way to make them possible again.
Some really wonderful and subdued visuals. Lots of play with reflections, which I really liked. With boxing as a sport and the robots themselves, the whole production team had fun and it shows. Flashy players, battered players, players with personality. And an underdog story with multiple layers.
The fights themselves were fun, going from just punches and destruction to the art that is boxing and just the stubbornness to stay your course. By the last fight, you'll be just as pumped as the audience in the film.
Since it's a near future in the film, I loved all the little technological touches, quite believable while still showing a world we're quite familiar with. The cell phones were rad with their crystal circuitry and batteries had definitely come a long way.
Very subtle nods here and there to the rock-em-sock-em robots and other robots from Japanese anime and manga. Beautiful integration of the CGI with Real Life as well, almost seamless. And since there was that much CGI, it makes the IMAX well worth it for extra eye popping detail.
Overall it was a fun and heartwarming film about redemption and reaching your dreams, even if not in a way you ever expected. Kid friendly, though there will be a few points that may not be too clear for them, so expect some possible questions. Definitely worth seeing.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission in IMAX)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, Karl Yune, Olga Fonda, and more...
Directed by: Shawn Levy, Screenplay by: John Gatins, Story by: Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven, Partly based on a short story. Original Music by: Danny Elfman
Premise: A washed up boxer who's been eking a living on fights using the very robots that drove humans out of the sport, gets saddled up with his estranged kid for the summer after he's hit rock bottom. When looking for replacement parts to cobble another robot together, they come across an out of date training/sparring robot named Atom that might just bring them together. (Rated PG-13)
Review: I'm a total sucker for robots. The first time I saw the preview for this film I was pumped. Rock-em-Sock-em Robots life sized - oh yeah! Then throw in Hugh Jackman, some great CGI, and Steven Spieldberg/Dreamworks, and I knew I was in for a fun ride. And it did not disappoint.
Jackman and Goyo have a great rapport which only deepens as the film goes on. The extra layer of both story and character added in by Evangeline Lilly was well done. And though silent, Atom, adds layers all his own.
The films shows kids that you reap what you sow, especially the bad stuff, but also to cling to your dreams even when you think there's no way to make them possible again.
Some really wonderful and subdued visuals. Lots of play with reflections, which I really liked. With boxing as a sport and the robots themselves, the whole production team had fun and it shows. Flashy players, battered players, players with personality. And an underdog story with multiple layers.
The fights themselves were fun, going from just punches and destruction to the art that is boxing and just the stubbornness to stay your course. By the last fight, you'll be just as pumped as the audience in the film.
Since it's a near future in the film, I loved all the little technological touches, quite believable while still showing a world we're quite familiar with. The cell phones were rad with their crystal circuitry and batteries had definitely come a long way.
Very subtle nods here and there to the rock-em-sock-em robots and other robots from Japanese anime and manga. Beautiful integration of the CGI with Real Life as well, almost seamless. And since there was that much CGI, it makes the IMAX well worth it for extra eye popping detail.
Overall it was a fun and heartwarming film about redemption and reaching your dreams, even if not in a way you ever expected. Kid friendly, though there will be a few points that may not be too clear for them, so expect some possible questions. Definitely worth seeing.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission in IMAX)
October 5, 2011
Picture Kaleidoscope 10/5/11
This will be quick and dirty this week. Bwahahahaha!
Fluffy sheep goodness!
Ah look at that giant sucker! All things ARE bigger in Texas. Heh heh.
There was a gigantic orange crescent moon this Friday. Couldn't take a pic where we were so John tried to chase it down. Sucker disappeared! Which was amazing as it was huge! A very unusual look. Wanted to share but noooooo! :P
From EarthShorts.org - Sierra Summer Storm by Jesus Sousa. (We're starting to look a little like this lately here, except for the rain! :P)
Chuck Wendig had a cool sunlight in the forest pic. Check it!
AstroRon's pic of his last day in Space! You can see him in the cupola.
[image error]
An almost surreal pic by Ivan Andreevich called JAM of a forest river.
From Miranda Spoox comes Juneau, Alaska.
[image error]
Another gorgeous pic from Ivan Andreevich called Couple.
And from NASA, the Pacman Nebula. :P
Enjoy!
Fluffy sheep goodness!
Ah look at that giant sucker! All things ARE bigger in Texas. Heh heh.
There was a gigantic orange crescent moon this Friday. Couldn't take a pic where we were so John tried to chase it down. Sucker disappeared! Which was amazing as it was huge! A very unusual look. Wanted to share but noooooo! :P
From EarthShorts.org - Sierra Summer Storm by Jesus Sousa. (We're starting to look a little like this lately here, except for the rain! :P)
Chuck Wendig had a cool sunlight in the forest pic. Check it!
AstroRon's pic of his last day in Space! You can see him in the cupola.
[image error]
An almost surreal pic by Ivan Andreevich called JAM of a forest river.
From Miranda Spoox comes Juneau, Alaska.
[image error]
Another gorgeous pic from Ivan Andreevich called Couple.
And from NASA, the Pacman Nebula. :P
Enjoy!
Picture Kaleidoscope 10/6/11
This will be quick and dirty this week. Bwahahahaha!
Fluffy sheep goodness!
Ah look at that giant sucker! All things ARE bigger in Texas. Heh heh.
There was a gigantic orange crescent moon this Friday. Couldn't take a pic where we were so John tried to chase it down. Sucker disappeared! Which was amazing as it was huge! A very unusual look. Wanted to share but noooooo! :P
From EarthShorts.org - Sierra Summer Storm by Jesus Sousa. (We're starting to look a little like this lately here, except for the rain! :P)
Chuck Wendig had a cool sunlight in the forest pic. Check it!
AstroRon's pic of his last day in Space! You can see him in the cupola.
[image error]
An almost surreal pic by Ivan Andreevich called JAM of a forest river.
From Miranda Spoox comes Juneau, Alaska.
[image error]
Another gorgeous pic from Ivan Andreevich called Couple.
And from NASA, the Pacman Nebula. :P
Enjoy!
Fluffy sheep goodness!
Ah look at that giant sucker! All things ARE bigger in Texas. Heh heh.
There was a gigantic orange crescent moon this Friday. Couldn't take a pic where we were so John tried to chase it down. Sucker disappeared! Which was amazing as it was huge! A very unusual look. Wanted to share but noooooo! :P
From EarthShorts.org - Sierra Summer Storm by Jesus Sousa. (We're starting to look a little like this lately here, except for the rain! :P)
Chuck Wendig had a cool sunlight in the forest pic. Check it!
AstroRon's pic of his last day in Space! You can see him in the cupola.
[image error]
An almost surreal pic by Ivan Andreevich called JAM of a forest river.
From Miranda Spoox comes Juneau, Alaska.
[image error]
Another gorgeous pic from Ivan Andreevich called Couple.
And from NASA, the Pacman Nebula. :P
Enjoy!
October 3, 2011
Mind Sieve 10/3/11
The sieve is on!
Lynn Kelly asks "How Perceptive Are You?" Check out this pic then go to her blog post to see what this is about.
EruditeOgre shared a link to a 1906 book at LibraryIreland.com called Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. The whole thing is there for your legend seeking pleasure.
FansOfMovies shared the 2nd preview for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I wasn't sure before, but I definitely want to see it now!
EW.com shows us the first major look at the cast for the remake of Dark Shadows!
From BuddyTV - 'LOST' and 'Supernatural' Creators Team Up for a Revolution on NBC. This could be fun!
From PetaPixel - Time-Lapse of the Auroras From Above. This is way way cool!
Weird Al's Polka Face video. Too darn funny! Heh heh. (Not Youtube so can't share directly.) The Womanizer section blew me away! lol. Too cute and insane.
Kate Wood talks about Warrior Goddesses - The Morrigan, Sekhmet, and Athena. Some nice info.
Worldly Wednesday - Bring Out Ya Dead by Ellie Ann where she shares info on several different ways other cultures deal with death.
Weird preview of a movie called Norman.
KimberlyRPauley passed on a link where you can play a Javascript of Wolfenstein 3D! Talk about a flash from the past! Won't work on IE.
Dr. Twuth - Facebook Launches Twit + by Kristen Lamb.Looking at some of the new features of Facebook, like the subscription feature.
Also from Kristen Lamb - WANA Wednesday - Meet the Maven - We're Here Whether You Want Us or Not.They help get the word out and flood you with info! Yay!
The Gremln Guide to Facebook's New Timeline by Clayton Smith - more changes are a coming! Oi!
From Penny at AME - The 10 Deadly Sins of Website Design: A Checklist to Help You Avoid Them! Some definite things to think about in here.
Roni Loren gives us 5 Ways to Guard Your Brand. Definite food for thought here!
Guest blog over at The Writer's Forensic Blog by Jodie Renner where she gives us 18 steps for Revising and Polishing Your Novel. While I super duper agree with step 1, I totally disagree with step 2. I don't think you should be sending the novel to beta readers until you've at least gone through it one more time. Why torture the beta readers with something that RAW? I would wait till step 8. (If I was one of your beta buddies and you sent it to me that RAW, I would go insane. I'd be doing red and notes everywhere. Noway you need to send it that soon.) Just my opinion, of course.
From Kristen Lamb - The Doctor Is In The House - Novel Diagnostics. Your first 5 to 20 pages through the eyes of an Editor. Great Eye Opening Post!
Researching the Historical Novel part 2 by WritersInTheStorm. Oooo! Very nice! Great tips and sources!!!! (Thank you Gene Lempp for mentioning it!)
From Rachel Caine - Dealing With...Bad Reviews (And How to Learn from them!)
25 Things Writers Should Know About Theme from Chuck (NSFW) Wendig.
Why You Should Only Querry 6-8 Agents at a Time by Chuck Sambuchino. Makes some very valid points, ya'll!
Writers Must Kill Self-Doubt Before Self-Doubt Kills Them by Chuck (NSFW) Wendig. Halleluyah! You tell 'em, brother!
Okay, that's it for this week. The eyes are screaming. Happy reading!
Lynn Kelly asks "How Perceptive Are You?" Check out this pic then go to her blog post to see what this is about.
EruditeOgre shared a link to a 1906 book at LibraryIreland.com called Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. The whole thing is there for your legend seeking pleasure.
FansOfMovies shared the 2nd preview for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I wasn't sure before, but I definitely want to see it now!
EW.com shows us the first major look at the cast for the remake of Dark Shadows!
From BuddyTV - 'LOST' and 'Supernatural' Creators Team Up for a Revolution on NBC. This could be fun!
From PetaPixel - Time-Lapse of the Auroras From Above. This is way way cool!
Weird Al's Polka Face video. Too darn funny! Heh heh. (Not Youtube so can't share directly.) The Womanizer section blew me away! lol. Too cute and insane.
Kate Wood talks about Warrior Goddesses - The Morrigan, Sekhmet, and Athena. Some nice info.
Worldly Wednesday - Bring Out Ya Dead by Ellie Ann where she shares info on several different ways other cultures deal with death.
Weird preview of a movie called Norman.
KimberlyRPauley passed on a link where you can play a Javascript of Wolfenstein 3D! Talk about a flash from the past! Won't work on IE.
Dr. Twuth - Facebook Launches Twit + by Kristen Lamb.Looking at some of the new features of Facebook, like the subscription feature.
Also from Kristen Lamb - WANA Wednesday - Meet the Maven - We're Here Whether You Want Us or Not.They help get the word out and flood you with info! Yay!
The Gremln Guide to Facebook's New Timeline by Clayton Smith - more changes are a coming! Oi!
From Penny at AME - The 10 Deadly Sins of Website Design: A Checklist to Help You Avoid Them! Some definite things to think about in here.
Roni Loren gives us 5 Ways to Guard Your Brand. Definite food for thought here!
Guest blog over at The Writer's Forensic Blog by Jodie Renner where she gives us 18 steps for Revising and Polishing Your Novel. While I super duper agree with step 1, I totally disagree with step 2. I don't think you should be sending the novel to beta readers until you've at least gone through it one more time. Why torture the beta readers with something that RAW? I would wait till step 8. (If I was one of your beta buddies and you sent it to me that RAW, I would go insane. I'd be doing red and notes everywhere. Noway you need to send it that soon.) Just my opinion, of course.
From Kristen Lamb - The Doctor Is In The House - Novel Diagnostics. Your first 5 to 20 pages through the eyes of an Editor. Great Eye Opening Post!
Researching the Historical Novel part 2 by WritersInTheStorm. Oooo! Very nice! Great tips and sources!!!! (Thank you Gene Lempp for mentioning it!)
From Rachel Caine - Dealing With...Bad Reviews (And How to Learn from them!)
25 Things Writers Should Know About Theme from Chuck (NSFW) Wendig.
Why You Should Only Querry 6-8 Agents at a Time by Chuck Sambuchino. Makes some very valid points, ya'll!
Writers Must Kill Self-Doubt Before Self-Doubt Kills Them by Chuck (NSFW) Wendig. Halleluyah! You tell 'em, brother!
Okay, that's it for this week. The eyes are screaming. Happy reading!
September 30, 2011
Movie Review - Killer Elite
Killer Elite
Starring: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Yvonne Stahovski, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and more...
Directed by: Gary McKendry Screenplay by: Matt Sherring Based on the Book The Feather-Men by: Ranulph Fiennes
Premise: An ex-assassin comes out of retirement to save the life of his mentor, who's refused to finish a job he took on once he found out the details. While Danny tries to fix things, matters get even more complicated as his actions spark the attention of an ex-SAS officer, called Spike. (Rated R.)
Review: I must admit that while I'd seen a preview for this, I'd not worked up much enthusiasm to see it. Thankfully, it was better than it looked and turned out to be a pretty intense good time. This film is NOT FOR KIDS. While the gore is minimal, the violence itself is high, and some of the subject matter mature.
The first job that sets up the scenario for what is to come later had a major flaw, but ignoring that, the rest makes for a fun and actually somewhat complicated film. Having recently completed Deus Ex Human Revolution made this even more fun as it was the same type of complicated political, greed, back-stabbing type situation (minus the augmentations and robots). :P
Lovely explosions and gun play. Some of the assassination set-ups were truly sweet. Also some nice hand to hand action. And some of the best Chair Fu I've seen in some time. The plot moves along at a nice pace, with minimal hiccups.
Some really nice scenery and flavors from myriad locations like Australia, Wales, and Jordan. The acting was good as well, Mr De Niro even getting a very sweet scene towards the end. Plot shows the deep complexity of true life regarding good guys and bad guys and the pawns used by those above. A total blast for filling in any cravings for shooting, fighting, and chasing.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth full price of admission)
Starring: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Yvonne Stahovski, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and more...
Directed by: Gary McKendry Screenplay by: Matt Sherring Based on the Book The Feather-Men by: Ranulph Fiennes
Premise: An ex-assassin comes out of retirement to save the life of his mentor, who's refused to finish a job he took on once he found out the details. While Danny tries to fix things, matters get even more complicated as his actions spark the attention of an ex-SAS officer, called Spike. (Rated R.)
Review: I must admit that while I'd seen a preview for this, I'd not worked up much enthusiasm to see it. Thankfully, it was better than it looked and turned out to be a pretty intense good time. This film is NOT FOR KIDS. While the gore is minimal, the violence itself is high, and some of the subject matter mature.
The first job that sets up the scenario for what is to come later had a major flaw, but ignoring that, the rest makes for a fun and actually somewhat complicated film. Having recently completed Deus Ex Human Revolution made this even more fun as it was the same type of complicated political, greed, back-stabbing type situation (minus the augmentations and robots). :P
Lovely explosions and gun play. Some of the assassination set-ups were truly sweet. Also some nice hand to hand action. And some of the best Chair Fu I've seen in some time. The plot moves along at a nice pace, with minimal hiccups.
Some really nice scenery and flavors from myriad locations like Australia, Wales, and Jordan. The acting was good as well, Mr De Niro even getting a very sweet scene towards the end. Plot shows the deep complexity of true life regarding good guys and bad guys and the pawns used by those above. A total blast for filling in any cravings for shooting, fighting, and chasing.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth full price of admission)
September 28, 2011
Picture Kaleidoscope 9/28/11
A feast for your eyes!
I've always thought this unending hall visual effect is kind of cool!
Rie Sheridan's costume at Fencon.
The Steampunk Illumination Society. There were some really nice Steampunk outfits this year.
She has a super cool rocket pack strapped to her back!
Not only was the Wicked Witch of the West done up steampunk, but her monkey moved! So cool!
Ah yes, Cthulu toilet paper roll protectors! No one will be messing with your paper if he's around. So cute!
Jackie Leaf mutated some dolls she bought on the cheap to the famed SG-1 group. They really came out great!
Samantha Carter. (Her hat walked off somewhere.)
Teal'c. He even had his gold symbol on his forehead. Jackie said the staff is still a work in progress.
Daniel Jackson - glasses and all! (She had to make those and add them - nice job!)
And of course Jack O'Neill. Jackie brought the for the possibly last Obligatory Stargate Panel at Fencon. Very well attended! Always a fun panel.
Now for other cool photos I ran into during the week. :)
From NASA's Image of the Day - Herschel Mission Finds Galactic Growth Slow and Steady.
Another NASA image - The Thin Blue Line.
Earth Shot of ther Day - Fairy Bonsai by Adam Gibbs - so cute!
Chuck Wendig took one of his son that is too rad. I don't think it was intentional, but if you look at his eyes, it's got a cyberpunk look to them! Heh heh
Some way cool 3D images of room in Latvia. Very rad!
The Milky Way From the Top of the World!
Rosemary Clemment-Moore took this pic of a Giant Armadillo! With HORNS!
National Geographic has a set of 8 Amazing Nature Photos. Pretty cool!
And from Jerry J Davis comes Trump Tower Sunset!
Till next time!
I've always thought this unending hall visual effect is kind of cool!
Rie Sheridan's costume at Fencon.
The Steampunk Illumination Society. There were some really nice Steampunk outfits this year.
She has a super cool rocket pack strapped to her back!
Not only was the Wicked Witch of the West done up steampunk, but her monkey moved! So cool!
Ah yes, Cthulu toilet paper roll protectors! No one will be messing with your paper if he's around. So cute!
Jackie Leaf mutated some dolls she bought on the cheap to the famed SG-1 group. They really came out great!
Samantha Carter. (Her hat walked off somewhere.)
Teal'c. He even had his gold symbol on his forehead. Jackie said the staff is still a work in progress.
Daniel Jackson - glasses and all! (She had to make those and add them - nice job!)
And of course Jack O'Neill. Jackie brought the for the possibly last Obligatory Stargate Panel at Fencon. Very well attended! Always a fun panel.
Now for other cool photos I ran into during the week. :)
From NASA's Image of the Day - Herschel Mission Finds Galactic Growth Slow and Steady.
Another NASA image - The Thin Blue Line.
Earth Shot of ther Day - Fairy Bonsai by Adam Gibbs - so cute!
Chuck Wendig took one of his son that is too rad. I don't think it was intentional, but if you look at his eyes, it's got a cyberpunk look to them! Heh heh
Some way cool 3D images of room in Latvia. Very rad!
The Milky Way From the Top of the World!
Rosemary Clemment-Moore took this pic of a Giant Armadillo! With HORNS!
National Geographic has a set of 8 Amazing Nature Photos. Pretty cool!
And from Jerry J Davis comes Trump Tower Sunset!
Till next time!
September 26, 2011
Mind Sieve 9/26/11
People were honestly super productive this week. Let's see what I can wheedle it down to.
FansOfMovies shared the news about the new Max Payne 3 game trailer. Total Film has the
Total Film shared the latest parody video by The Muppets - this one based on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
A preview to a film I'd not heard of before but looks totally adorable - We Bought A Zoo.
AceRocksBooks found this. Beyond cute! Jedi Kittens Strike Back! Totally beyond CUTE!
The Breaking Dawn pt 1 Trailer. I must admit they make it look tantalizing. Heh heh
Total Film has set photos of the
Balladeer has a post on The Top Eleven Deities in Hawaiian Mythology. Now that's something you don't hear about everyday!
Another film I hadn't heard about - The Awakening. Very unusual location and time frame. Very tantalizing and I hate scary stuff! lol
Mary Jo Gibson gives us a peek at the Lightner Museum on Museum Monday. Cool looking place and cool looking stuff! Be fun to visit.
From Total Film, a preview to
Dr Clayton Forrester shared a video called Because Tom Sellect's Mustache Makes Everything Better. (If you're under 40 this might not mean anything to you. Though Tom is now in Blue Bloods, so who knows!) It's too funny.
TorBooks found this blog with AT-AT Pancakes! So cool!
From Eddie McClintock himself, a link to the preview of the 2 Hr Warehouse 13 season finale!
Dr Twuth from Kristen Lamb tackles - Now I Need a Service for Validation? Beating the Bots! Nice strategies on what to watch out for and how to avoid becoming Bot Fodder.
Maria Zannini gives us the Three Layers of Book Promotion. Great definitions and even examples!
From Laura Pepper Wu - Adding Customer Images to Your Amazon Page to Increase Your Sales. No idea if this would work or not, but wouldn't hurt. Went and added my mug to all my books and anthologies. What the hey! Wonder who in my family I can bribe to sit and hold one to look like they're reading. Hmmmm.
Kristen Lamb's WANA Wednesday - Three Keys to a Sucessful Author Platform - All This and a Bag of Chips. Kristen waxes philosophically on why you should take her online course. This might be of interest to some of you out there especially if you're just starting your author platform.
Gene Lempp's Designing from Bones - The Elements of Culture. The ancient Cyprus! Nice info on the long term culture and ways to think about world building for your own creations!
Jami Gold walks us through an answer for Where Do You Get Your Ideas? (Or how SPAM can make you a better writer. Heh heh.)
Jaye Wells has a great post on the writing experience - The Journeyman Writer.
Really nice post about dealing with critiques from Angela Ackerman - Evaluating Critique Feedback.
Setting - Adding Dimension to Your Fiction by Kristen Lamb. Great examples!
From Chuck (NSFW) Wendig comes 25 Virtues Writers Should Posses. Great list (though I'm still not sure about Coffee or Liquor as virtues, dude!) :P
Okay, I ran out of time, but here's a whittled down list of all the stuff I accumulated. Have fun! And feel free to list cool stuff you guys ran across, too! Sharing is fun! Heh heh.
FansOfMovies shared the news about the new Max Payne 3 game trailer. Total Film has the
Total Film shared the latest parody video by The Muppets - this one based on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
A preview to a film I'd not heard of before but looks totally adorable - We Bought A Zoo.
AceRocksBooks found this. Beyond cute! Jedi Kittens Strike Back! Totally beyond CUTE!
The Breaking Dawn pt 1 Trailer. I must admit they make it look tantalizing. Heh heh
Total Film has set photos of the
Balladeer has a post on The Top Eleven Deities in Hawaiian Mythology. Now that's something you don't hear about everyday!
Another film I hadn't heard about - The Awakening. Very unusual location and time frame. Very tantalizing and I hate scary stuff! lol
Mary Jo Gibson gives us a peek at the Lightner Museum on Museum Monday. Cool looking place and cool looking stuff! Be fun to visit.
From Total Film, a preview to
Dr Clayton Forrester shared a video called Because Tom Sellect's Mustache Makes Everything Better. (If you're under 40 this might not mean anything to you. Though Tom is now in Blue Bloods, so who knows!) It's too funny.
TorBooks found this blog with AT-AT Pancakes! So cool!
From Eddie McClintock himself, a link to the preview of the 2 Hr Warehouse 13 season finale!
Dr Twuth from Kristen Lamb tackles - Now I Need a Service for Validation? Beating the Bots! Nice strategies on what to watch out for and how to avoid becoming Bot Fodder.
Maria Zannini gives us the Three Layers of Book Promotion. Great definitions and even examples!
From Laura Pepper Wu - Adding Customer Images to Your Amazon Page to Increase Your Sales. No idea if this would work or not, but wouldn't hurt. Went and added my mug to all my books and anthologies. What the hey! Wonder who in my family I can bribe to sit and hold one to look like they're reading. Hmmmm.
Kristen Lamb's WANA Wednesday - Three Keys to a Sucessful Author Platform - All This and a Bag of Chips. Kristen waxes philosophically on why you should take her online course. This might be of interest to some of you out there especially if you're just starting your author platform.
Gene Lempp's Designing from Bones - The Elements of Culture. The ancient Cyprus! Nice info on the long term culture and ways to think about world building for your own creations!
Jami Gold walks us through an answer for Where Do You Get Your Ideas? (Or how SPAM can make you a better writer. Heh heh.)
Jaye Wells has a great post on the writing experience - The Journeyman Writer.
Really nice post about dealing with critiques from Angela Ackerman - Evaluating Critique Feedback.
Setting - Adding Dimension to Your Fiction by Kristen Lamb. Great examples!
From Chuck (NSFW) Wendig comes 25 Virtues Writers Should Posses. Great list (though I'm still not sure about Coffee or Liquor as virtues, dude!) :P
Okay, I ran out of time, but here's a whittled down list of all the stuff I accumulated. Have fun! And feel free to list cool stuff you guys ran across, too! Sharing is fun! Heh heh.
September 23, 2011
Dues Ex: Human Revolution - YES!!!!!
(No movie review this week. Sept really did end up way busier than normal. This week I'm participating at FenCon.)
It's been FOREVER since I've played a First Person Shooter game of any kind. A lot of it had to do with spending my time on MMOs, but also because a lot of the newer games make the character movements and screens in such a way that, frankly, make me so dizzy I want to hurl. (Missed out on SPACE, Borderlands, FEAR - Waaaaahhhh) Hubby doesn't have this problem, so it's all good for him. (Bah humbug!)
I played the original Deus Ex years ago, so when he told me they had a prequel called Dues Ex: Human Revolution, I hoped I might actually have a shot at playing it. And YES! No super wobbly graphics! I can PLAY THIS! Woot!
Premise: Adam Jensen, security chief at Sarif Industries, is massively injured when he tries to stop an infiltration of the science labs at the company. He finds the perpetrators only to be overcome, as one of them exibits greater than human abulities. Jensen is the sole survivor to the incursion, but is in critical condition. Sarif puts his men to save him and gets him augmented with cyber limbs. Six months later, he calls Jensen back into active duty as hostilities once more escalate. Jensen wants answers and is now more than equiped to get them.
Babbling: Started the game about a couple of weeks ago and have been having a BLAST! Currently past the second boss and in a super secret facility in an undisclosed location. (Finding me some missing scientists I am! Bwahahahaha.)
The elements I loved about the original are present in the prequel. I couldn't be more ecstatic. Loads of world info you can choose to read through ebook readers and newspapers left around in the game world, even emails in computers. Nice solid story content. Fun characters. (Totally love the voice work by
I super love that sneaking around is more condusive than just shooting at everything (brought back all my fond memories of Thief!). There are hidden passages all over the place, but there are also some that take you nowhere. So it ups the exploration aspects a bit, I think. And sometimes there are goodies to be found at these dead ends as well. (WARNING: Sewers are not nice. Always try the front door first. Might save yourself some agony. lol)
There's a fun running joke I've been having a blast with. Jensen keeps asking people how they got his frequency as he keeps getting calls on his implants from all over the place. lol. Poor guy never does get a straight answer on that one from anyone. Hee!
Very nice graphics and videos. The two tierd city in Asia is amazing as you fly in. Pretty spectacular and kind of creepy as you look up at it in different areas. And of course there's all sorts of moral issues to consider with all the awesome tech and changes going on in the world's societies, even as some things never change-greed, power hunger, back stabbing, etc.
Totally loving my Q key. The subdue augment ability ROCKS! Especially when you can increase the augment to subdue two peeps at once-great sequences on the take downs too. Oh yeah! And the Typhon weapons system is the BOMB! Just the cool graphic is worth it. Heh heh. Enjoying many of the other skills you can pick up along the way as well. Hacking is cool! And you have to think too, suckers are sneaky in some of the software hacking setups-if you don't pay attention you won't get past it.
I'm pretty sure everything is going to come together in the Artic Sea and I'm totally looking forward to it. Bwahahahahaha! Also heard there will be even more content coming in October with Dues Ex Missing Link. Booyah!
A definite Thumbs UP!
Addendum:
Finished the game! Here are some tips:
Bosses:
1) Big Bawny Dude: Red barrels are your friends. Throw them at the guy. Also, there are two rooms with goodies at the northeast and southwest corners. Better yet, on the NE room, if you jump on the boxes and hide against the wall with the entrance, no matter how many grenades he throws, you'll take no damage. Good place to take a breather. Do not try to grapple with this dude! Shoot from afar.
2) Lady: She can turn invisible. Your best bet is to have previously gotten the Typhoon system (which ROCKS!) and do two immediate attacks with it. Took her down easy!
Cheat - Avoid changing your chip. Won't say anything more. I did it, and it makes 3rd boss harder, but hubby avoided it, so had full powers.(I knew it was a bad idea, I just didn't know if the consequences of not doing it would be bad. Hubby said aside from some glitches here and there, it did not affect him.)
3) Leader of the Trio: Also can turn invisible. But he tends to jump over the central room divider. Just run around and hide behind the columns to the center and wait for him to come over. Take a few shots, run the other way, lie in wait again. (If you shoot too much, grenades will blow you up. Machine gun did the trick.) If you don't change your chip, you can just Typhoon his ass! Heh heh.
It's been FOREVER since I've played a First Person Shooter game of any kind. A lot of it had to do with spending my time on MMOs, but also because a lot of the newer games make the character movements and screens in such a way that, frankly, make me so dizzy I want to hurl. (Missed out on SPACE, Borderlands, FEAR - Waaaaahhhh) Hubby doesn't have this problem, so it's all good for him. (Bah humbug!)
I played the original Deus Ex years ago, so when he told me they had a prequel called Dues Ex: Human Revolution, I hoped I might actually have a shot at playing it. And YES! No super wobbly graphics! I can PLAY THIS! Woot!
Premise: Adam Jensen, security chief at Sarif Industries, is massively injured when he tries to stop an infiltration of the science labs at the company. He finds the perpetrators only to be overcome, as one of them exibits greater than human abulities. Jensen is the sole survivor to the incursion, but is in critical condition. Sarif puts his men to save him and gets him augmented with cyber limbs. Six months later, he calls Jensen back into active duty as hostilities once more escalate. Jensen wants answers and is now more than equiped to get them.
Babbling: Started the game about a couple of weeks ago and have been having a BLAST! Currently past the second boss and in a super secret facility in an undisclosed location. (Finding me some missing scientists I am! Bwahahahaha.)
The elements I loved about the original are present in the prequel. I couldn't be more ecstatic. Loads of world info you can choose to read through ebook readers and newspapers left around in the game world, even emails in computers. Nice solid story content. Fun characters. (Totally love the voice work by
I super love that sneaking around is more condusive than just shooting at everything (brought back all my fond memories of Thief!). There are hidden passages all over the place, but there are also some that take you nowhere. So it ups the exploration aspects a bit, I think. And sometimes there are goodies to be found at these dead ends as well. (WARNING: Sewers are not nice. Always try the front door first. Might save yourself some agony. lol)
There's a fun running joke I've been having a blast with. Jensen keeps asking people how they got his frequency as he keeps getting calls on his implants from all over the place. lol. Poor guy never does get a straight answer on that one from anyone. Hee!
Very nice graphics and videos. The two tierd city in Asia is amazing as you fly in. Pretty spectacular and kind of creepy as you look up at it in different areas. And of course there's all sorts of moral issues to consider with all the awesome tech and changes going on in the world's societies, even as some things never change-greed, power hunger, back stabbing, etc.
Totally loving my Q key. The subdue augment ability ROCKS! Especially when you can increase the augment to subdue two peeps at once-great sequences on the take downs too. Oh yeah! And the Typhon weapons system is the BOMB! Just the cool graphic is worth it. Heh heh. Enjoying many of the other skills you can pick up along the way as well. Hacking is cool! And you have to think too, suckers are sneaky in some of the software hacking setups-if you don't pay attention you won't get past it.
I'm pretty sure everything is going to come together in the Artic Sea and I'm totally looking forward to it. Bwahahahahaha! Also heard there will be even more content coming in October with Dues Ex Missing Link. Booyah!
A definite Thumbs UP!
Addendum:
Finished the game! Here are some tips:
Bosses:
1) Big Bawny Dude: Red barrels are your friends. Throw them at the guy. Also, there are two rooms with goodies at the northeast and southwest corners. Better yet, on the NE room, if you jump on the boxes and hide against the wall with the entrance, no matter how many grenades he throws, you'll take no damage. Good place to take a breather. Do not try to grapple with this dude! Shoot from afar.
2) Lady: She can turn invisible. Your best bet is to have previously gotten the Typhoon system (which ROCKS!) and do two immediate attacks with it. Took her down easy!
Cheat - Avoid changing your chip. Won't say anything more. I did it, and it makes 3rd boss harder, but hubby avoided it, so had full powers.(I knew it was a bad idea, I just didn't know if the consequences of not doing it would be bad. Hubby said aside from some glitches here and there, it did not affect him.)
3) Leader of the Trio: Also can turn invisible. But he tends to jump over the central room divider. Just run around and hide behind the columns to the center and wait for him to come over. Take a few shots, run the other way, lie in wait again. (If you shoot too much, grenades will blow you up. Machine gun did the trick.) If you don't change your chip, you can just Typhoon his ass! Heh heh.
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