My mind is whirling at 1,000 twirls a nanosecond (that is a tremendous amount of whirling for any who aren't good at fake math).
The trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is up. You can go watch it. I just did. You now should as well. Please. I recommend going here to see a version that is crisp and clear like apple strudel. Or, for the lazy ones among you, just click "play" below.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Farewell My Transformer Friends. For Now...
My childhood is now complete, thus today I finally became a man.
I finished watching the Generation 1 Transformers cartoon series from the '80s. Four seasons of deliciously ridiculous cheesy one-liners and unnecessarily dramatic threats and promises made to no one as Optimus Prime drives off in pursuit of no one. Ninety-eight episodes of awesome robot battles and references to incredibly advanced technology like "payphones."
I seriously cannot recommend this show enough. I loved watching it again...for the first time.
Three things of interest to note from my experience:
1. I never saw an episode past season 2 when I was little. I had no clue that the show took such a dramatic turn in setting and tone after the movie (despite seeing the movie and loving it. I just thought the movie was telling a different story or something). The first two seasons were set on Earth in the '80s. The movie jumped forward about 20 years to that far distant date of 2005 and saw the deaths of many of the characters that we'd grown to love. Season 3 picked up right where the movie left off and most of Seasons 3 and 4 were set on Cybertron and random far-distant planets. We saw little action on Earth as a result. Even the music changed, incorporating much of the score from the movie into the show (unfortunately, at least as far as I noticed, none of Stan Bush's mind-blowingly awesome songs from the movie made it into any episodes).
2. The music really is part of what made that show so amazing to me. Anytime I hear those keyboards and random electronic noises my heart goes all aflutter.
3. There was indeed a fifth season of the old cartoon, but it was basically a condensed version of the movie and seasons 1-4 with an animatronic Optimus Prime and some random nasty-haired '80s kid as the hosts, telling stories and hanging out in awkward mountain settings. No new material was added and therefore I did not bother watching it.
It feels good to know that I have now watched every episode in order from start to finish. It also feels good because I have a long list of shows that I want to watch and anytime I finish one feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Next up: finish Smallville (I'll be picking up Season 9 from the library today and Season 10 is in my queue. I imagine it will arrive within the next two months).
In closing, here is the brilliant music video for what is possibly the most inspirational song ever written. It's from The Transformers: The Movie original soundtrack but is shown in all of its '80s television debut glory (and features the aforementioned animatronic Optimus Prime and nasty-haired kid from Season 5. Saints be praised).
Stan Bush's "The Touch"
I finished watching the Generation 1 Transformers cartoon series from the '80s. Four seasons of deliciously ridiculous cheesy one-liners and unnecessarily dramatic threats and promises made to no one as Optimus Prime drives off in pursuit of no one. Ninety-eight episodes of awesome robot battles and references to incredibly advanced technology like "payphones."
I seriously cannot recommend this show enough. I loved watching it again...for the first time.
Three things of interest to note from my experience:
1. I never saw an episode past season 2 when I was little. I had no clue that the show took such a dramatic turn in setting and tone after the movie (despite seeing the movie and loving it. I just thought the movie was telling a different story or something). The first two seasons were set on Earth in the '80s. The movie jumped forward about 20 years to that far distant date of 2005 and saw the deaths of many of the characters that we'd grown to love. Season 3 picked up right where the movie left off and most of Seasons 3 and 4 were set on Cybertron and random far-distant planets. We saw little action on Earth as a result. Even the music changed, incorporating much of the score from the movie into the show (unfortunately, at least as far as I noticed, none of Stan Bush's mind-blowingly awesome songs from the movie made it into any episodes).
2. The music really is part of what made that show so amazing to me. Anytime I hear those keyboards and random electronic noises my heart goes all aflutter.
3. There was indeed a fifth season of the old cartoon, but it was basically a condensed version of the movie and seasons 1-4 with an animatronic Optimus Prime and some random nasty-haired '80s kid as the hosts, telling stories and hanging out in awkward mountain settings. No new material was added and therefore I did not bother watching it.
It feels good to know that I have now watched every episode in order from start to finish. It also feels good because I have a long list of shows that I want to watch and anytime I finish one feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Next up: finish Smallville (I'll be picking up Season 9 from the library today and Season 10 is in my queue. I imagine it will arrive within the next two months).
In closing, here is the brilliant music video for what is possibly the most inspirational song ever written. It's from The Transformers: The Movie original soundtrack but is shown in all of its '80s television debut glory (and features the aforementioned animatronic Optimus Prime and nasty-haired kid from Season 5. Saints be praised).
Stan Bush's "The Touch"
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
HP: CA
Good news, Westcoasters: Universal Studios has officially announced its plans to bring the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (it's Harry Potter section of the theme park) to Universal Studios California. This means that no longer have to go to Florida to experience the magic. However, they also announced that Florida's version will be expanded so it is possible that, to get the fullest HP experience possible, a trip to Florida will still be in order.
So no worries Cal and Bethany; we still have our motivation to come visit you.
In honor of this celebration-worthy news, let me treat you to a dubstep remix of Hedwig's Theme (or a "dumblestep" remix if you feel so inclined--note: I stole that term from some commenter on the youtube page and take no credit for its creation):
So no worries Cal and Bethany; we still have our motivation to come visit you.
In honor of this celebration-worthy news, let me treat you to a dubstep remix of Hedwig's Theme (or a "dumblestep" remix if you feel so inclined--note: I stole that term from some commenter on the youtube page and take no credit for its creation):
Friday, December 02, 2011
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things
I have no other reason to write this other than to shed a little light into what I've been digging lately.
I'm
sure there is more, but these were the ones that popped into my head
most readily. They are of course in no particular order. Good day to
you, fair peoples, to the tune of a happy song.
Portugal. The Man - "When the War Ends"
I currently love (meaning I have recently watched or read or otherwise involved myself with):
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Star Wars (specifically the Clone Wars cartoon and the novels).
Harry Potter.
Transformers (specifically the old 80s cartoon).
Castle.
Batman (the comics and specifically the Anthology collection of the series from start to finish).
Green Lantern (the comics, but I did like the movie despite its flaws).
Smallville.
The Hunger Games.
Drizzt Do'Urden (Forgotten Realms) novels.
Community.
The Office.
Raising Hope.
The Walking Dead.
Burn Notice.
Elantris.
Portugal. The Man.
Jimmy Eat World (specifically Clarity).
Matchbook Romance (specifically Voices).
Radiohead.
I Am Legend (the soundtrack).
The Mars Volta.
Say Anything.
Band of Horses (specifically Everything All the Time).
Portugal. The Man - "When the War Ends"
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Recent Reading
I have made time again in my life for reading novels and it is like finding an old friend hiding under the basement floorboards. Ahhh... Welcome back books.
Here are the three books that I have read most recently with quick blurbs or recommendations.
1. The Maze Runner - James Daschner
A YA (Young Adult) book that I really enjoyed and definitely recommend. It is jarring and disorienting at times, but in a good way. It didn't always feel like the best written book (in terms of the actual language and word choice/style) but it was a fascinating story and any thoughts of over use of cliches disappeared quickly when the story started to become more clear. Fans of The Hunger Games, Ender's Game, and Fahrenheit 451 would very likely enjoy this book.
2. Neverwinter - R.A. Salvatore
Book eighteen (I believe) of the impressively consistent New York Times Bestseller Drizzt Do'Urden/dark elf, fantasy series. This particular novel is part two of a trilogy that jumps forward in the main character's timeline to a point where all of his friends and old companions are dead and he is forced to find his way in what feels like a new life to him. It's an interesting look at a character that in so many ways had come to feel a little stagnant in his personal growth and character development to me. I enjoyed the book but would only recommend it to those who are already fans of the series and character. If you have no clue who I'm talking about but are interested in a great adventure series with excellent fight scenes then I'd recommend starting with the first book published int he series: The Crystal Shard.
Other books I am currently reading and will hopefully finish in the next few months (because I've been slowly reading them for well over a year): Les Miserables and The Happy Lawyer.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Day 28: Endgame
Today was a bag of mixed nuts. First the great, fantastic, amazing, it is still blowing my mind news: I reached 50k words today for the month of November! WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO! Take that, Captain Planet!
However I also received some disappointing news today: apparently the rules for NaNoWriMo only recognize you as a "Winner" if you started completely from scratch on day 1. Since I started in October and already had 14k words for my novel on day 1, I cannot be considered a Winner (by them--I'm totally a winner in my book). Instead I can only be considered a Rebel and feel what I assume is supposed to be a slightly less gratifying satisfaction by my cheater's victory.
I'm actually not as disappointed by this as I would have thought. When I first started I intended only to write 20k words in November and I was going to conduct my own NaNoWriMo with just friends. It wasn't until the last minute that I decided to try the real one. The point is that I did what I set out to do, wrote 50k words in November (I did it in 28 days), and I loved every minute of it.
I never had that whole "I don't want to write today" thing. Most days I wished I could have written more and just had to content myself to stop where I did so I could live my real life. I never really had writer's block either. If I had trouble writing it was always because I hadn't prepared and outlined enough to know something as simple as the setting or what was motivating a character (almost always the setting). It has been a wonderful experience for me and one that I plan to do again and again in the future.
As for this novel: I will finish it (hopefully in December) and then scrap it, go back and outline it how I should have from the beginning, and then write the seconds draft of what will likely be a very different book. That thought always terrified me before but now I embrace it.
What a fun adventure. From here on out I will not be updating with a daily report on my word count. Instead I will fall back into a more general accounting of my writing projects and life. I also will take a break from my novel while I work on that short story so I can submit it to the writing contest I had previously mentioned. Here is to victory.
Day 28: 3,309
NaNo Novel: 49,872
Total Novel: 63,777
NaNo Side Short Story: 1,407
November Total (including the short story): 51,279
However I also received some disappointing news today: apparently the rules for NaNoWriMo only recognize you as a "Winner" if you started completely from scratch on day 1. Since I started in October and already had 14k words for my novel on day 1, I cannot be considered a Winner (by them--I'm totally a winner in my book). Instead I can only be considered a Rebel and feel what I assume is supposed to be a slightly less gratifying satisfaction by my cheater's victory.
I'm actually not as disappointed by this as I would have thought. When I first started I intended only to write 20k words in November and I was going to conduct my own NaNoWriMo with just friends. It wasn't until the last minute that I decided to try the real one. The point is that I did what I set out to do, wrote 50k words in November (I did it in 28 days), and I loved every minute of it.
I never had that whole "I don't want to write today" thing. Most days I wished I could have written more and just had to content myself to stop where I did so I could live my real life. I never really had writer's block either. If I had trouble writing it was always because I hadn't prepared and outlined enough to know something as simple as the setting or what was motivating a character (almost always the setting). It has been a wonderful experience for me and one that I plan to do again and again in the future.
As for this novel: I will finish it (hopefully in December) and then scrap it, go back and outline it how I should have from the beginning, and then write the seconds draft of what will likely be a very different book. That thought always terrified me before but now I embrace it.
What a fun adventure. From here on out I will not be updating with a daily report on my word count. Instead I will fall back into a more general accounting of my writing projects and life. I also will take a break from my novel while I work on that short story so I can submit it to the writing contest I had previously mentioned. Here is to victory.
Day 28: 3,309
NaNo Novel: 49,872
Total Novel: 63,777
NaNo Side Short Story: 1,407
November Total (including the short story): 51,279
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Days 22 - 27
Happy Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday, and Sloppy Seconds Saturday.
No real comments other than I haven't written much at all during the holiday weekend, but I still intend to reach my goal.
Good day to you.
Days 22 - 27: 2,378
NaNo: 46,563
Total: 60,468
Side Short Story: 1,407
No real comments other than I haven't written much at all during the holiday weekend, but I still intend to reach my goal.
Good day to you.
Days 22 - 27: 2,378
NaNo: 46,563
Total: 60,468
Side Short Story: 1,407
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