Picture Kaleidoscope 12/28/11

Hi all!

From Petapixel - Long Exposure Photographs of Patterns Projected Onto Landscapes. Not sure why they'd do this, but it's kind of cool!

Again from Petapixel - Beautiful Photos of Freeway Interchanges.

From Aki Hoshide - Soyuz Roll Out in minus 20 degrees Celcius! (Brrrr)

From NASA - Soyuz Roll Out. Look at the size of the engines! Dang!

From BCMystery - Arizona Sky.

From NASA - A Rose Made of Galaxies. Courtesy of the Hubble Telescope.

Happy Holidays!

Mind Sieve 12/19/11

Welcome to another round of Mind Sieve! Enjoy!

Mars Rover Finds Mineral Vein Deposited by Water from NASA. Cool, no?

As originally shared by Piper Bayard - A Very Zombie Holiday (An Instructional Video). Too cute!

From Dr Who News - Two Dr Who Episodes Recovered! (It's just sad how many of the originals were lost!)

From Best of Film - Men In Black 3 Official Trailer!  Looks awesome!

From  KB Owen - Flashback Friday: The Origin of Police in England. Fascinating!

Also from KB Owen - Mystery Monday: The Moonstone, "Grandaddy" of Detective Novels. The book actually sounds like fun!

This is a cool little video explaining the virtues of Galileo's Compass. This sucker did way more than make circles. You could even calculate interest with it! Amazing!

TL Jeffcoat's Weapons Weekly - The Daisho of the Samurai. (I love me them swords! So cool!)

Teaser for HBO's Game of Thrones Season 2 - The Cold Winds are Rising. Woot!

The latest Batman The Dark Knight Rises poster.  Oh yeah, BANE!

This might be quite fun! Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Documentary film about one of the most famed sushi chefs of all time.

From Fans of Movies - The Flowers of War official Trailer. This looks Great!

This is out on DVD already but it looks so FUN! Detective Dee and The Mystery of the Phantom Flame. Woot!

New Poster From Ghost Rider Spirit Of Vengeance.  Sweet!

Preview for the Iron Lady. This looks like it will be a great film! You forget that's Meryl Streep!

From Picture Correct - Protegion: Fascinating New Stop Motion Viral Video. This is super neat!

The Dr Who Christmas Special Trailer!  YES!

From Gene Lempp - Designing From Bones: Lessons From Attila. The Hun no less. :P

From Angela James - 10 Things Authors Should Know About Twitter. Pay special attention to #3! Agents complain about this one all the time!

From Chuck (NSFW) Wendig - The Precarious Portentious Perils of Self Publishing. (Say THAT 10 times fast! Hah!) Great post!

I Actually Counted The Words Because I Couldn't Quite Believe It - a query post from agent Janet Reid.

25 Things Writers Should Know About Rejection - more writerly truths from Chuck (NSFW) Wending.

Aspiring Is For Pansies - Tough Love and Being a Writer by Kristen Lamb. Truth ya'll!

Okay that's it for this week. Now to go waste horrid amounts of time on Star Wars The Old Republic. Booyah!

Movie Review - Tower Heist

Tower Heist

Starring: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Stephen Henderson, Michael Pena, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Judd Hirsch, and more...

Directed by: Brett Ratner Screenplay by: Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathason Story by: Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, and Ted Griffin Original Music By: Christophe Beck

Premise: After it turns out that Arthur Shaw, both resident and board member of The Tower, has stolen all the money from the workers's retirement accounts after being asked by the manager to handle the portfolio, Josh Kovacs comes up with a scheme to try to get the employees's money back. (PG-13)

Review: The previews for this one basically say it all. Still, there were some twists and other bits that build on what's already been shown to deepen it and make it more fun. The performances were also great. Alan Alda makes a super good slimy bad guy, stabbing you in the back even as he smiles to your face. You really, really, REALLY want him to get what's coming by the time things go down. Heh.

Lots of nice little comedic moments. All the acting was superb. You feel for these people, and Josh's horror and need to do something about what's happened inadvertently to all of them because of him is very heartfelt. You even feel the frustration of Agent Denham at capturing a criminal but knowing his victims will probably never recoup the losses.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade happens at part of the film, so you get to see some of the giant floats! Big movie screen size!

Some of the twist and turns during the robbery are fun. Some suspension of disbelief will be needed in a couple of places, but things work for the most part.

Overall, it was fun and definitely entertaining. Definitely worth a look.

Rating: 3.75 our of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Arthur Christmas

Arthur Christmas

Starring: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Marc Wooton, Laura Linney and more.

Directed by: Sarah Smith Screenplay by: Sarah Smith and Peter Baynham Original Music by: Harry Gregson-Williams

Premise: An accident knocks a gift out of the conveyor belt during the Christmas deliveries. As it is but a couple of hours until dawn, the child left behind is considered an acceptable loss, except by Arthur, Santa's second son, who tries to do something about it. (Rated PG)

Review: This movie is a blast! It's also a lot deeper than one might think from seeing the previews.

I totally cracked up when the first thing they do is basically list all the reasons (and scientific ones!) as to why Santa can't exist as Arthur reads a letter sent to the north pole. Then they show us how it's done in the modern world.

I wanted a pause button desperately. There are a ton of little jokes and bits of info seeded everywhere (buttons, levers, scan screens), but they go by too fast! A lot of in-jokes too, and strangely they're mainly from SF movies and TV shows. Too fun!

The animation and CGI work was excellent. The character expressions and the voice acting superb. Grandsanta was a hoot, but Bryony, one of the wrapping elves, slayed me. Once you see Mrs Santa at work, you'll see where Steve's efficiency came from. Arthur must take after his Dad. :P

If you cried at UP, I suggest dragging a hanky or two along, just in case. There were many touching moments. Several were quite poignant. All is not perfect at the North Pole and generational issues abound. Some of the tales they tell of problems during other Christmas runs were a hoot.

A definite must see! If this doesn't get you into the Christmas spirit, nothing will. :)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission AGAIN!)

P.S. There's a music video as a bonus before the beginning of the film. Justin Beiber sings Santa Clause Is Coming To Town. And it disturbed me. It wasn't the song or the singing, and loved the steampunk look, but... Mr Beiber had a steampunk glove on his right hand and a ton of his moves were straight Michael Jackson moves. It was weird...even creepy. It may have been homage of some sort, but to me it was just disturbing. Hmmm.

Movie Review - Hugo

Hugo

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christopher Lee, Jude Law, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Griffiths, Emily Mortimer, Helen McCrory, Frances de la Tour, and more.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese Based on the Book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by: Brian Selznik Screenplay by: John Logan Original Music by: Howard Shore

Premise: A young orphan doing his uncle's work at the Paris Train Station sometime after WWI finally makes headway on the puzzle/repair he and his father were working on when the latter died. Hugo is convinced that if he can just fix the automaton, it will give him a message from his deceased father. (Rating PG)

Review: The previews for this film don't begin to touch what it's about. The tale has multiple layers and each discovery spins the story into totally unexpected directions.

The theme of dreams, machines, and discovery are threaded throughout. CGI use is very subtle most of the time. So much so you will be hard pressed to tell the difference between what's real and what's not at times.

The story unfolds slowly as the world and the denizens of the train station are unveiled to the viewer. This gives the whole a great depth and wonderful layering, which will in turn support the worldview held by the protagonist.

There are no true bad guys, just people. Each trying to do the right thing in their own way. Some of the most serious are also the most humorous. And you will find yourself caring for every last one of them. Very young children probably wouldn't be entertained enough by the film, but those ten and up should find it fun and full of adventure and even magic. Adults will be even more enraptured, especially at some of the unexpected turns and discoveries.

Definitely a worth while film! (Don't want to spoil anything by saying too much! The discoveries are half the fun!)

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Would Pay Full Price to See It Again!)

Movie Review - Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt 1

Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt 1

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Gil Birmingham, Sarah Clarke, Ashley Green, Peter Facinelli, Anna Kendrik, and more.

Directed by: Bill Condon Based on the Novel by: Stephanie Meyer Screenplay by: Melissa Rosenberg Original Music by: Carter Burwell

Premise: Bella and Edward finally tie the knot, yet something unexpected occurs while in their honeymoon. Something that might very well cost Bella her life. (PG-13)

Review: The film starts out a little off key, the dialogue and acting not quite jelling for some reason, but luckily that improved before long.

Lots of little funny moments splattered all over the first half of the film. A lot of subtle touches too, so that they 'show' a lot of emotions at certain moments rather than 'tell' them, which was great.

There was even a sub story thrown in, which if you're not paying attention could be easily missed. Keep an eye on Billy, Charlie, and their lady friend. Edward and Jacob aren't the only ones with love troubles.

The CGI for the wolves was good, though they change back to humans seemingly fully clothed. But where the movie truly excelled was all the work they did on Bella. There's a bathroom scene that gave me chills as we see her shoulders and backside. And then the scene with her almost at the end of the film. Beautiful seamless transitions that truly brought the point home. Kudos on that, guys!

As you should expect, the movie leaves you hanging for part 2, but the film itself does go full circle. Make sure to stay through part of the credits as there's a little more to see - a quick peek on what we can expect part 2 to be about. Trouble is coming!

Overall, it was fun and entertaining.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Puss In Boots

Puss In Boots

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thorton, Amy Sedaris, Constance Marie, Guillermo del Toro and more.

Directed by: Chris Miller Based on Characters from: Charles Perrault (Tales from Mother Goose) Written by: Brian Lynch and David H Stenberg Screenplay Written by: Tom Wheeler and Jon Zack

Premise: Running from the law after being mistaken for a thief, Puss In Boots meets once again with his once friend Humpty Dumpy who, with the help of Kitty Softpaws, convinces him to once again help him try to obtain the three magic beans of legend so they may plant them and steal the giant's golden eggs. (Rated PG)

Review: Clash of the Fairy Tales! Take pieces of several of Mother Goose's fairy tales, add a twist or two, and voila!

The previews on this one are actually quite misleading with regards to the plot. The content itself too is more adult and complex than you'd expect as they cover betrayal, lies, second chances, revenge, misunderstandings, and more. So parents, be prepared to possibly have to explain some of this. heh heh.

Totally loved the scenes with Kitty. The dance and fight numbers between Puss and Kitty are the bomb. The cat cantina was too much fun as well. Jack and Jill were scary good and even funny in places. Most twisted 'having a baby' conversation EVER! lol.

The soundtrack was most fitting and will have you tapping your feet. Sword fights, coach chases, rooftop chases, and more. Many truly beautiful and very detailed scenes. Especially the growing of the giant bean stalk and what it is like up in the clouds.

Tons of in-jokes and taking what we know of these fairy tale characters and doing something new and interesting with them, so you're never quite sure what to expect. I thought it an added treat that it was a Guillermo del Toro film and he even did one of the voices. (Reminds me of the antics by the creators of Phineas and Ferb.) :P

Fast paced and a lot of fun!

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Mind Sieve 6/6/11

Have conventions two weekends in a row, but luckily I do prep these ahead of time. Let's see how much I can shove in here while still keeping myself sane. :P

FanofMovie found a clip talking about Jamie Campbell Bower lading the lead in "The Mortal Instruments" movies.

John Dep shared a link to Neatorama - 18 Seriously Cool Bookshelves. Some of these really are COOL!
John Picacio shares a sneak peek at the Hound from his 2012 A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar. He does gorgeous art, peeps!

TweetNewbie101 shared 5 Great Tips to Facebook Marketing Success! (Need to finish one of these now that the book is out!)

From Jami Gaold - Branding 101: Online Brand vs Author Brand. Really nice insights! And breaks it down if you've any confusion on the topic.

Reality Deficit Disorder - Is it you? Kristen Lamb speaks! (I have multiple blogs but they're all the same content so not sure I apply. Heh heh heh)

Chuck Wendig points out How to Tell if You're a Writer. (Mostly true, but definitely funny! I do not meet the alcohol requirement. Does that mean I am not one? Oh noes!!) (NSFW)

Discovering Your Characters - Kimberly Krey talks about a nice method to connect with your characters if it's not happening on its own.

Kristen Lamb uses the movie Finding Nemo to teach us about Scene Antagonists - The Making of a Hero.

In Defense of Keeping the Day Job by Jennifer Jabley. Makes a great case for why it might be better not to work full time.

3 Signs That You're Renovating A Condemned Novel (and how to try to fix it!) by WriteItSideways.

Rachelle Gardner encourages us to Write Your Truth. Very good points in here. The diversity she's talking about I've even seen in just a small crit group. Opinions can be varied and wide!

25 Things You Should Know About Story Telling from Chuck Wendig. Great list! (NSFW)

How to actually apply Write What You Know by Janice Hardy.

Nice back and forth on What's A Newbiew Novelist To Do by Randy Ingermanson. Covers traditional vs self -publishing if you're new. Excellent points and things to weigh on.

Laying It On The Lie: Commonly Misused Words by Janice Hardy.  Some nice ways to remember which is used with which too!

Okay, that should do some damage. :)  Until next time. Bwahahahahahaha!

Mind Sieve 5/23/11

Trying to shake up the look of the posts again. :P

 FansOfMovie shared a link to Kung Fu Panda 2 - Chinese Dragon Clip.

 From Electric44 we get a Leverage Season 4 Promo.

 SoonerCon leaked the info that Eliza Dushku is joining the Web series "Torchwood: Web of Lies".

 Tracy Morris has started a series of posts on blogging. Here are Part 1 and Part 2 .

 Kristen Lamb shares the The Right Way, The Wrong Way, and The Smart Way of Social Media.

 Tony Eldrige gives us 7 Weekly Book Marketing Goals You Can Adopt Today!

 Frank Ryan, guest over at Tony Eldrige's Maketing Tips blog lists 12 Places Authors Should Look To Develop a Strong Web Presence. (Some of these I'd not heard of before and I am all over the place! lol)

 Story brainstorming on the dead!  Gene Lempp's new post Plotting the Iceman.

 Kristen Lamd speaks on Little Darlings and why they must DIE! (Cue in Funeral Music!)

 Lisa Kilian spouts on what not to do as a writer - Mistake # 83: Apologize. (Good sentiments and wisdom here.)

 Chuck Wendig shares WORD KARATE: Ruminations on writing action scenes. (Great insights and food for thought.) (NSFW)

I think that's it for this round. Have an awesome week ya'll!

Mind Sieve 5/16/11

Fan Fun

FanOftheMovies Shared the latest Green Lantern Movie Trailer.  Should be fun!

SoonerCon shared preview clips & images of upcoming "Batman: The Brave & The Bold" Green Lantern episode "Scorn of the Star Sapphire!"

Suduvu had the link for the first full Conan The Barbarian trailer. Looks great!

FansoftheMovies also had a movie clip for Pirates of the Caribbean for the Palace Escape. Another movie I am eagerly awaiting.

 

Author Platform/Social Media

Fondalo led us to as post by Josh Davis on How to Use Twitter Following and Follower Numbers as an Effective Metric. Great for mind fodder!

TrashyWriter shared  a post by Tony Eldrige answering the question Can Twitter Really Help You Sell Books?

Judy Dunn tells us The 7 Biggest Lies About Blogging.

Tony Eldrige persues the question of When Should You Stop Marketing Your Book. Some good truths in here.

Penny from AME gives us 8 Tips to Make Your Next Writers Conference Awesome!

 

Writing Advice/Tips

Larry from StoryFix.com gives us 3 Edgy Little Tips to Make Your Story More Compelling.

AJ Walker discusses How Much Real World Culture Should be in Fantasy Fiction?.

Alan Baxter discusses Some Thought Provoking Words on World Building In Fiction. I made a large comment on this one as I added my own thoughts.  Even decided to do a guest blog on the subject (though I couldn't find this link to refer back to on it~! Argh! Blogger is not working at the time I am prepping this so can't even go fix it before it goes live. Waaahhhh!)

Chuck Wendig discusses Where Writers Get Their Ideas. He even gives us bizarre examples we can use when we get asked this question. :P (NSFW)

The 3 Rules of Dialogue by Jean Henry Mead.

How To Read a Book Contract by PassiveVoiceBlog. Got to be careful with these things. Eek!

Tackling Revisions by Susan Dennard. Chop it up and take it one chunk at a time. Avoid PANIC! :P

Nathan Bransford shares The Case For Putting a Manuscript in the Drawer. When to let go and move on as well as why.

Picture Kaleidoscope 5/11/11

The skies cleared towards the end of last week. Got a couple of awesome light shows in the morning.

Pixmarket shared this photo by Caitlin Prochaska called When Light Conquers Dark.

And this site has some very cool pics. Still Photos With A Dash of Movement by Michael Zang.



Took this at Edoko, a new Japanese restaurant in Frisco. (Ever since Japango closed at home, we've been trying to find a replacement. Looks like we hit the jackpot here! Heh heh.) I just love the inventiveness of the Cloth Chandelier! Place looks very Chic. (Not that I have a real clue about these things.)


Really cool settings. Need to take pics of the funky almost ying-yang couch-booths next time. :P


They even do their place settings really pretty!


Oh, and they have Eel! Their Uni Don even includes avocado slices. The sauce is wonderful. The plate/bowl is really cool looking. Should have taken a sideways picture. (Makes notes for next visit!)



Even their bathrooms are cool! The faucet forms like a mini waterfall!



I'll leave you with another serene sunrise. Ahhhhh.
Have an awesome week!

Mind Sieve 5/9/11

Let's see what fun stuff I can give you to play with this week. Might even get a little funky! :P

Anime/Manga

Found out from SoonerCon that they're doing a live action Cobra: Space Pirate! Won't be out until 2013, but check out the poster. Looks fab!

Fan Fun

From FansofMovies got the heads up that Javier Bardem has officially signed on to the movie and TV projects based on the series of books by Stephen King - The Dark Tower. Sweet!

Teaser video from Weird Al for his upcoming album called Apocalypse.

From Examiner.Com comes a article about a huge asteroid that will buzz the planet. No Need to Panic! Should be way cool.

There's a new Harry Potter trailer out! FansofMovies shared it this week.

New Transformers trailer out as well.

Author Platform/Social Media

Kristen Lamb talks about what I am doing right here! Heh heh. She calls it a Mash Up.

Pam Moore made a list of 21 Tips to Get Your Tweet On! Advice for Twitter usage.

10 Reasons People Hate Your Website by Nick Stamoulis. He's got some good points in this list!

Twitter Tuesday from Kristen Lamb where she talks about Uptight Twitters and Chill Twitters. Managing Twitter time!

Kristen also started a Twitter Revolution this past week - the Love Revolution. Using #MyWANA in a search column for Twitter to meet with other Tweeps and get some We Are Not Alone support!

Tony Eldridge has some advice and gives us 9 Non-Technical Tips To Finding Readers for Your Blog.

Larry Braune blogs about how we need to Start Selling Yourself.

Knowledge for Writing

Sean McLachlan gives us info on Medieval Handgonnes. Awesome info tidbits to fire our imaginations and make us more accurate in our fantasy writing!

Leather Armor in the Middle Ages by A J Walker. Some really interesting tidbits about leather armor and assumptions previously made. Great stuff!

Writing Advice

The 5 Stages of Writing a Novel. Rhonda Eudaly passed on the link to this video. Hilarious and horribly, horribly true! lol.

Elizabeth Spann Craig has a great post called Modern Mythology: Publishing Myths. She exposes myths held by author, even publishers. Good stuff!

Joanna Penn points out and gives tips on Five Common Writing Problems.

Sharla Rae has a great post called Put Your Flabby Writing On A Diet. Lists of words and examples of duplicate or multiple words best said with less. Check it out!

Chuck Wendig talks about What Novelists Can Lear From Screenwriters. And some tolerance on both sides too!

Nathan Bradford walks us through - How I Edit. It might work for you or it might not, but has some nice ideas.

Tony Eldridge gives us 4 Tips On Making Your Book Available To Book Clubs/Reading Groups.

Kristen Lamb walks us through How To Show A Character's Inner Demons. I'm like really partial to this one as she uses Black Swan as an example. (Loved this movie!)

Janice Hardy has a step by step program on pumping up the Narrative Drive. Good stuff!

The 3 Stages of Querying by Jody Hedlung. Funny even!

Gene Lempp talks about Designing from Bones: Aurignacian Lion Man. How archeology, history, even a picture of something can open up creativity. Good post!

Scams

Matt Leibowitz did a story at MSNBC on how crooks are using links in e-books to scam the unwary author and readers - Novel Scam: Cybercrooks Target Kindle e-books.

That should be it for this week. Have a good one!

Movie Review - THOR

THOR

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stelan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Ray Stevenson and more...

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh Screenplay: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne Story: J Michael Straczynki and Mark Protosevich Based on Comics by: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Larry Lieber Original Music: Patrick Doyle

Premise: "Pride comes before a fall." Thor, son of Odin, gets thrown from Asgard after defying his father's orders. Now he has to deal with being on Earth. But all isn't as it would seem.

Review: The movie was fun! Had several funny bits that really brought a lot into it, especially after the heavy fodder from the beginning.

Totally loved Asgard. And we got to see a beautiful pan of the place (with some possible Jack Kirby homage) and even caught glimpses of Asgardian magic/science. For the two realms we get to see aside from Earth, the IMAX was great!

The 3D doesn't do much, but it totally shines at the credits when we get to travel through the Yggdrasil and follow galaxies, stars, and nebulas as we hit each of the nine realms. All the special effects were good, some of the sky effects quite awesome.

Oh, and I want me one of the Asgard Guardian machines. They ROCK!

Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman had decent chemistry, which was nice. Thor's friends were a little underused, but they had their moments. Watching Thor and his Hammer go at it in the Northern Realm was a blast! That is one dangerous hammer.

The distinctive look of Thor and Loki were mostly preserved, which was great.  Shield gets into the act, as all of this is leading towards The Avengers movie. (Make sure to sit through the credits! Another minute or two more of movie at the end!)

Overall it was a decent romp and worth a look.

Rating: 4 out of 5  (Hubby's Rating: Would pay full IMAX 3D price again)

Movie Review - THOR

THOR

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stelan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Ray Stevenson and more...

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh Screenplay: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne Story: J Michael Straczynki and Mark Protosevich Based on Comics by: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Larry Lieber Original Music: Patrick Doyle

Premise: "Pride comes before a fall." Thor, son of Odin, gets thrown from Asgard after defying his father's orders. Now he has to deal with being on Earth. But all isn't as it would seem.

Review: The movie was fun! Had several funny bits that really brought a lot into it, especially after the heavy fodder from the beginning.

Totally loved Asgard. And we got to see a beautiful pan of the place (with some possible Jack Kirby homage) and even caught glimpses of Asgardian magic/science. For the two realms we get to see aside from Earth, the IMAX was great!

The 3D doesn't do much, but it totally shines at the credits when we get to travel through the Yggdrasil and follow galaxies, stars, and nebulas as we hit each of the nine realms. All the special effects were good, some of the sky effects quite awesome.

Oh, and I want me one of the Asgard Guardian machines. They ROCK!

Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman had decent chemistry, which was nice. Thor's friends were a little underused, but they had their moments. Watching Thor and his Hammer go at it in the Northern Realm was a blast! That is one dangerous hammer.

The distinctive look of Thor and Loki were mostly preserved, which was great. Shield gets into the act, as all of this is leading towards The Avengers movie. (Make sure to sit through the credits! Another minute or two more of movie at the end!)

Overall it was a decent romp and worth a look.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Would pay full IMAX 3D price again)

Mind Sieve 5/2/11

I'm thinking of making a logo graphic for Mind Sieve and Picture Kaleidoscope blog entries. Have a wonderful visual that came to me this morning for the Mind Sieve. Let's see if I can actually finds pics to make it so! With any luck, maybe I can unveil it next week. Don't hold your breath though, this things can be harder to find pieces for than you might think. :)


Fan Fun

There was some bad news last week as Dr Who fandom lost Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). Tom Baker, who played the Doctor from 1974 to 1981, wrote a beautiful letter remembering his time with Elisabeth.

If you enjoy ABC's Castle, you'll love this video about a possible spin-off called: Sex and the City with Boys. Cracked me up! hee hee!

Also, here's the evolution of the Batman Symbol. So Cool!


From FansOfMovies came a link with news about the animated film based on Frank Miller's Batman Year One.

From NCIS_CBS we get preview photos from NCIS all new episode on May 3rd. See Tony back in the day! DiNozzo before he joined NCIS! Flashback episode! Woot!

NCIS_CBS also shared a link with pics of Cote de Pablo on the Late Show!

Stana Katic shared a video made by fans for her Birthday last week. How cool is that?

Russ Pits Talks about Minecraft, society, and bears! (I don't he's learned that enough torches will keep the zombies out. Shshshshsh! Don't tell him!) :P



Author Platform/Social Media

Kristen Lamb talks about Schizo Tweeter on her Twitter Tuesday Blog.

Then she asks how we'd feel if we found out our favorite blogger wasn't writing his or her own blog.

Jodi Hedlund has some great advice we should all keep in mind with Social Media and building our Author Platforms - Loving and Taking Care of Our Readers.



Writing Tips/Advice

Kristen Lamb takes us through the 7 Deadly Sins of Prologues. Some good points here on how they get used wrong.

Jami Gold shared this post by Lisa Gail Green on Point of View. Hitting deep and fast.

Staci ONeale shares the Worst Writing Advice I've Ever Received.

Nathan Bradford says it like it is and talks about The Fate Factor. (Yeah that pesky part of the business we can't control!)

Jordan McCollum shares a multitude of revision styles in R is for Revision.

Coping With False Starts - Julie Eshbaughs's take on it and how it might actually be good for you.

Kristen Lamb talks more on plot - Choosing Our Path: Genre Matters. Some nice notes on what you should be doing in particular genres, or knowing what you're not doing.

Ten Steps for Editing Your Own Writing from Mark Nichol. Some very good tips on this list.

Great (yet mind troubling) post by Nathan Bransford on Spaghetti Agents!

And Chuck Wendig came up with a stellar list this past week! 25 Things Every Writer Should Know. (And he's not kidding!) Possibly NSFW!

Also Colleen Lindsay and TheSekritProjekt are now revealed! Go check out Book Country. A new place for writers to gather together, get and give crits, as well as converse about the craft of writing and more.

That should be enough to make your brain hemorrhage. Until next time!

Picture Kaleidoscope 4/27/11

Howdy! Thanks for dropping by for more photo sharing goodness! :)



Private area at 300 where we had our work bowl-a-rama! I fell on my knees first time out then tried to break dance on the first ball of the second game. Doh! Needless to say all my coworkers and I were moving a little slower the following day. Heh.


Swinefever shared a video of the most amazing costume, ever! The Raptor suit! Totally ROCKS!





This is the coming clouds last week when much needed rain tried to tease the Dallas/Ft Worth area. We've been super dry and West Texas has had the worst of it with a ton of grass fires.


Torbooks, via BadAstronomer, shared this a link to an article with pictures of the DeathStar Moon. The second picture totally resembles the Star Wars iconic ship. :)




On this one I totally liked the contrast between the fast moving clouds and the straight airplane trails in the background. Some nice colors too!


Last but not least, I wanted to share one of Chuck Wendig's microcosm pics. DROP! The colors, the world trapped inside the drop. Really cool!

Movie Review - Source Code

Source Code

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Arden, Scott Bakula (voice only) and more... Directed by: Duncan Jones Written by: Ben Ripley Original Music by: Chris Bacon

Premise: Captain Colter Stevens has eight minutes to find the bomb and bomber which will destroy a Chicago Commuter Train. If he doesn't succeed, he can try again and again, whether he wants to or not.

Review: This movie was fab! There's the main story and then there's a secondary story that slowly develops as time passes, which in turn becomes more important that the original.

Totally awesome acting by all concerned especially Jake Gyllenhaal. His reactions to a number of things happening were excellent. Good CGI and other special effects. The soundtrack rocked as well.

Several questions of consciousness, reality, alternate reality, humanity and more are touched upon. Repetition was used just enough to get the scenes established and then speeded through so it didn't get in the way. There's even hints of things I cannot mention as it might ruin it for you. :P

Good pacing, good effects, good writing, good acting, good background music. Can't ask for much more. I'm easy, but just in case, take a hanky. You might need it. :) A totally satisfying experience. Great conversation piece after the fact as well.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating - worth paying full price of admission again!)

Picture Kaleidoscope 4/20/11

This weekend was rather exciting, which also means I got a bunch of pics! Figured I'd share the best or most bothersome of the lot with you.

First off is one proving that the Addam's Family is still alive and kicking! Though they're now using cheerier colors? Heh heh


The place is actually in the roundabout in Weatherford. Yes, we were out on a driving bit on Saturday. (Actually a driving nightmare! Between getting lost going and coming back, closed roads, fires, and more! Woo!)


This was on the way Possum Kingdom Lake after Weatherford. If you look at the skyline you can see a dark swath across the sky. No, those aren't mountains, that's smoke from the fires in West Texas and (much to our surprise later) up by the lake itself.




The area had been ravaged by fires just the night before. You can see the burned bald spot on the top of the hill in this picture, with green to either side. And as we found out as we were leaving after a beautiful day up there, the fires weren't out, they were just bidding their time for a wind direction change.




This one you have to look at carefully in several places. Side of the road to the right is black, burned grass. In a lot of places the grass fire burned so fast it only took out the grass and not the bush trees. Others the green bushes were lightly smoking like burning coals in a fireplace, slow but sure. You could see places and how the grass fires had jumped across the road with the help of the wind.

Straight ahead you can see a cloud of smoke. We ended up driving through it and there were actual flames just beside the road. Made our pulse jump that's for sure!

On the left were the remains of a church that burned down the day before. Two more buildings next to it were spared. Though I heard more news about Sunday and it's possible those are now gone as well.



To lighten up the mood, here is a cliff side on the ritzier end of Possum Kingdom Lake. Some really cool houses in that direction.



That's Lola, my bro's little sweetie as we go around the bend to Hell's Gate. The wind had changed that morning and blown all the smoke from the night before away and it was a gorgeous day at the lake. Just as we were leaving, around four is when the wind changed and the smoke came back and things got bad.

Last I heard, there's a possibility the cabin is now gone. The fires got big enough again they were threatening the places on the non-cliff side of the lake. Hopefully the fire brake they got last year when there were other fires did the trick, but with the wind to push the fire across roads and over walls, who knows! Feel really weird to have finally seen the place and it may now be gone.

Ack! Happiness! Happiness! Prayers and good thoughts to all the people in West Texas. Stay safe ya'll!

Picture Kaleidoscope 4/13/11

Pics for this week...

Our puppy, Serenity, graduated from her first training school.

As you can see, my daughter is camera paranoid. :P And those sad puppy eyes? She can turn those suckers up several more levels than here. Lady killer!

Petapixel shared A Surreal World Seen Through Puddles - really quite cool!



My evil brother thinks it's funny to send me pictures of food he's cooked that I won't get to eat. Bad Brother! :P These are all Puerto Rican dishes - arroz con salchichas (rice and veinna sauseges), beans, and mofongo (garlic and mashed plaintains). YUM!!!!!

NASA shared a majestic photo of glaciers in the "celestial mountains" of Central Asia taken by Space Station astronauts. A super awesome toboggan ride!

And I'll leave you with this bit of golden sunlight peeking through thick clouds - an omen to us that the cloud fields were dispersing. :)

Movie Review - Hanna

Hanna

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Jessica Barden, Olivia Williams, Aldo Maland and more...

Directed by: Joe Wright  Screenplay by: Seth Lochhead and David Farr Story by: Seth Lochhead Music by: The Chemical Brothers

Premise: Hanna has been raised for only one purpose - to kill the woman who is responsible for her mother's death. Things, however, don't go as planned, and Hanna becomes the hunted instead of the hunter.

Review: The commercials gave alot away. The premise is simple, so to be honest, there wasn't much to give away. However, the execution of the simple premise goes pretty well.

At first we get to live like Hanna lives - the training, living off the land, education. Then when she gets out in the world it's a lot of fun to see her soak life in and meet civilization head on. Just when she thinks she has it all in hand, she realizes she's out of her element and not always dealing too well. Some well thought out moments. Others were quite funny! Her time with the traveling family was the best of the film.

Action wise, not shabby at all. Some very well coordianted fight scenes. Be prepared for several flashbacks, one which unecessarilly decided to go shaky cam. Luckily the shaky cam action used here and there never lasts for more than a minute or two, so it's not hard to sit through.

Some gorgeous panoramic shots. Though on one of them they got a little carried away with the panning. There are also several foreign locations that gave it some definite flavor. Even better, it was street life, rather than the usual dolled up city blocks we normally get.There are also some very artful type shots, most quite enjoyable.

The one major notpick would be Hanna's time in the dessert. Having been raised way way up north, she wouldn't have had exposure to such a climate. And with her super light skin. Can you say crispy criter in just a few hours? OUCH!

Saoirse Ronan does a great job.  Cate Blanchett definitely comes across as one evil person. Tom Hollander was totally creepy and disturbing though he didn't do much directly. But his walk, his talk, his whistling - ugh. Nicely done. Jessica Barden and her on screen brother, Aldo Maland added a lot to the film - good job guys!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby is out of town so no rating from him this time. The kids liked it.)