Sunday, May 31, 2015

Virtual Tourist - TERA 5/31/15

Running late! Today is the last day of FanExpo Dallas!

Been the worst of cons, been the best of cons. Weird how life is.

TERA


Look at that sky!


Little mutant buggers - ugly~! lol


Beautiful and creepy!


Neat moss


Awesome green!


Trouble?


Funky could formation


Love the weird trees


Death arena


Evidence of death


Those do not look safe. lol


Fascinating buggers. :P

Wiah me luck for today!

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Picture Kaleidoscope 5/27/15

Another Wednesday!
Hope everyone is keeping dry. The flooding in Texas is getting quite scary.



We have seen tons of this lately. :P


Life sized Minions! Woot! (Didn't realize till later the can was someone's addition. DOH)


A ton of striations in the clouds this day. 


Almost looks like a nuclear explosion! o.O


The bottom part is the unusual piece. 


First mostly clear sky in a long while


And more weather coming our way.


A swatch of color.


A little better view


I've been by this building off an on. Realized that from this angle, it looks like an eagle! (With a short beak) See the wings?

Stay dry, stay safe!

Monday, May 25, 2015

Mind Sieve 5/25/15

Happy Memorial Day!




Fan Fun














Humans Trailer - Ooooh!




Lucifer Official Trailer - Okay, this could be interesting! lol. 





Social Media/Author Platform

Cinematic Pins from Pinterest: This Week in Social Media from the Social Media Examiner - article by Cindy King. Cool concept. Man, cannot keep up!

Stand Out: How to Build a Following That Matters from the Social Media Examiner - article by Michael Stelzner. So much social media, so little time. Ugh



Writing Advice

Your Novel in ONE Sentence - Anatomy of a Story Part 5 by Kristen Lamb.

What Does it Mean to Give Up? by Jami Gold. Good stuff!


Stay dry! And have a great week!

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Virtual Tourist 5/24/15

Morning!
Tons of rain last night. We've not had this much rain in years! Maybe ever?

Skyrim
Whiterun


Enchanting and potion making tables in the Jarl castle.


One of the temples in town. You can get blessings there.


No idea if that's a true representation of the deity or what. Hard to even say what it is!


Altar at the death deity's temple. Also got to go down in a mini dungeon adventure here. :)


Look at that sky. They do some awesome work in that regard.


The snow glows! How cool is that?

Bleak Falls Barrow


Rather extensive place with all sorts of trouble hiding inside.


Bandits have taken over the immediate interior


Giants roots everywhere. 


First puzzle area.


Yes, lots and lots of cobwebs in this parts.


Creepy as all get out, no? The dude in the webbing at the back is alive! 

Hope you're having a great Memorial Day weekend or just an awesome weekend for those of you not in the US!

Friday, May 22, 2015

Movie Review - Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland


Starring: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Hugh Laurie, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Robinson, Pierce Gagnon, Chris Bauer, and more.

Directed by: Brad Bird Screenplay by: Damon Lindelof and Brad Bird Story by: Damon Lindelof, Brad Bird, and Jeff Jensen Cinematography by: Claudio Miranda Music by: Michael Giacchino

Premise: Casey's dream is to go to space, so she's been sabotaging the equipment being used to dismantle NASA's launch platform trying what she can to keep it alive. When she's caught and then released, she ends up with a strange pin she's never seen before. And when she touches the pin, it lets her see a marvelous city full of technical miracles. But when she uses up all the power on the pin and heads off to find information about it at a SF collectibles store, she finds there are people out there willing to kill her just for having it. (Rated PG)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Tomorrowland has a great cast - especially the kids. Thomas Robinson and Raffey Cassidy were totally adorable in the 1954 sequence. Thomas rattled the technical terms and explanations like a total pro - and his instant attraction to Athena was like a neon sign. Britt Robertson did a great job as the spunky Casey. Her reactions to the insanity were great. George Clooney as Frank Walker was an excellent choice, just the right amount of disillusioned bitterness and sparkling hope. Sparring verbal matches between Clooney and Britt were a lot of fun.


2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects are totally worth seeing in IMAX. From the giant wheat field to the lovely lines of the city in Tomorrowland, there's so much to enjoy visually. A lot of attention is paid to detail, even going so far as to adjust the tech and look-and-feel of it during the different periods we see Tomorrowland or technology on Earth derived from it.

From the pin to the different permutations of the jetpack, the special effects group wove in subliminal homage to a ton of SF from the past - Jules Verne/Steampunk, 2001 Space Odyssey, Flash Gordon, Star Wars, Star Trek, The Day the Earth Stood Still and more. (And that's on top of the ton of SF related material flashed around at the collectibles shop!)

The sequences where Casey touches the pin are fab. She's lucky not to have broken something! lol. The switching back and forth was seamless, making it that much easier to believe it was really happening.

Tomorrowland itself was fabulous! We get a little bit of a quick tour, but it will need a couple of viewings or more to see everything, there's so much going on. Heh heh. Also the effects used for physically travelling to Tomorrowland and those for the tachyon time distorted future images came out really well, giving both a nice unique touch.

Extra kudos for changing the Disney castle intro to match Tomorrowland. Super nice touch!


3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: The film covered all sorts of themes - family, dreams, not giving up, love that transcends, making a difference, good and evil. Many of these are interwoven together and played off each other as well. There's also a lot of minutia in the visuals to fill in information even before some of the themes are explored.

A few bits at first seem not to make sense or appear to be errors, but this is only because the pace is so fast the audience is expected to realize the reasons for themselves. For example: automatons killing people and trying to kill the main characters on Earth, yet these same characters not being immediately shot in Tomorrowland - at first it seems an odd incongruity until you realize that on Earth their actions are not being seen while in Tomorrowland, the same actions would be noticed and commented on by those with power to make a stand. With the consistently fast pace of the film, you have to put things together on the go!

All the scenes where there are one-to-one interactions really were well setup and executed. The whole section of Casey trying to get into the house and what she does to get in and what happens with Walker after she does are priceless.


4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Most of the gags were usually a mix of CGI and live action. For the most part you couldn't tell which was what and worked together to great effect. The chase and battle scenes at Walker's house were fab!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The cinematography was awesome! The view of endless water in the secret room under the World's Fair, the golden wheat fields in Tomorrowland, all the shots of Tomorrowland itself, and what they do with Paris - everything seemed bigger than life, the amazement factor ratcheted up high. The time lapse sequence of the NASA launch pad and the other visuals from using the time map were very cool.

6) Music - Total Thumbs Up: Michael Giacchino did a great job on the score. It had a very strong John Williams vibe to it. It was almost as if the music, and not just the visuals, were paying homage to all the SF that has spanned and entertained us for the last 60+ years. Nice!

Conclusion: Tomorrowland is a fun, fast paced adventure. Great visuals and lots of witty repartee. There also a three second or so extra bit at the very end of the credits that was the perfect conclusion for the film. :)

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

  

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Picture Kaleidoscope 5/20/15

Morning!

Figured I'd give you all a break and post something other than my pics today. :P


Towards an Uncertain Future by Marco Gaiotti at Earthshots.org - you can almost feel the polar bear's loneliness, no? Sadly it looks like he does not have a website. :(



Lightening by Brent Davis at Eartshots.org - looks surreal!  He also has a cool photo folder at his site called Tiny Planets. Like folded pictures - really neat! Dawn has some cool stuff in her folders as well. Nice!


Silent Morning by Marco Calandra - these are always so neat! Check out his site too, he's got a truly diverse portfolio.:)


Nenagh Castle by Ed Mooney - by looking through the windows, it feels like this is a castle in the sky! He has lots of lovely black and white photography.




Have a great day!

Monday, May 18, 2015

Mind Sieve 5/18/15

With any luck, I've found my way correctly to the new work place.
Ugh. As many maps and other preparations I made previously, even a prerun, yesterday's reminder run didn't go so well. It never fails! Waaahhh!

So today's post will most likely be SHORT.  Heh heh


Fan Fun


Furious Minions - this was too fun not to share. lol






Supergirl - First Look - This looks GOOD! I'm in!



The Intern Official Trailer #1 - this looks adorable!




Crimson Peak Official Trailer 1 - Oooh! I love Victorian creepy!



Tomorrowland Official Trailer 3 - YES! I am so ready! :)





So many trailers!!!!!! So little time!!!!!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Virtual Tourist - Skyrim 5/17/15

Morning all!
Tons of storms last night. Made getting up this morning rather difficult. :P

Skyrim
City of Whiterun



Doesn't that sky look absolutely real?


My first view of Whiterun. I did not come here the usual way. (Hubby gave me some baaaaad advice.)


Some neat viking type architecture here.


Hall of the Companions. Looks like and upside down Viking ship, no?


The Big Man himself. :P


Sacred Tree - grown from a cut of THE SACRED TREE. Some lovely waterways here too.


Hall of the Companions


Troll Skull.  The red lettering tells you taking it is stealing. In dungeons, no such lettering. But places like this, even with no one around, you'll get caught. It's how I took my unexpected shortcut to Whiterun. (*shakes fist at hubby*)


Down the middle, in the back, do you see the eagle statue? It's eyes even glow.


That's me! 


The dark elf that works for the Jarl.


The leader of Whiterun himself. A bit of an odd duck. Oh, and that's my little hammer. Heh heh.


Stay dry!
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