This site is dedicated to all things that make up the marvelous genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy and its, all-encompassing , boundless, broad, capacious, commodious, far-flung , indiscriminate, pervasive, unrestricted, and vast influences in Literature, Art, and all forms of media and gaming.
This is also a sister site to the blog " Starships and Dragons"
National Novel Writing Month, shortened as NaNoWriMo
(na-noh-RY-moh) is an annual internet-based creative writing project
that takes place every November. NaNoWriMo challenges participants to
write 50,000 words of a new novel between November 1 and 30. Despite its
name, it accepts entries from around the world. The goal of NaNoWriMo
is to get people writing, no matter how bad the writing is, through the
end of a first draft.
The idea is that many people are scared to
start writing because it won’t be any good, and if there’s a time to
celebrate length, rather than quality, more people will write an entire
first draft, which they can then proceed to edit if they wish.
Even John Green entered the NaNoWriMo competition 3 years ago. Great words of advice from the author of The Fault in our Stars
Writers
wishing to participate first register on the project’s website, http://nanowrimo.org/ where
they can post profiles and information about their novels, including
synopsis and excerpts. Word counts are validated on the site, with
writers submitting a copy of their novel for automatic counting.
Members
from our school’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Club…(Starships and
Dragons), some Journalism students and myself are planning to make the
plunge. Come join us…I do not want to be the only person who writes like
an moron.
I have to say, that I became aware of Hugh Howey when a
friend ask me if I had read Wool.I said “no, is it at Barnes and Nobles”?He said, “I read it on my Kindle through Amazon”.I told him I did not have a Kindle and I would wait till it was on
Audible. I explained I have limited time to read anything new with all the stuff I do for my classes
but I could listen to it on my way to work since it takes me approximately a 50
minute drive. That was last year; now flash forward to Sunday 9/15/2013, sitting at my favorite breakfast restaurant Glady's in Okeechobee, Florida leafing through the Palm Beach Post when I turned to the Accent section of the paper. There in bold letters on the main page was, Jupiter E-Book Sensation with a photo of Hugh Howey playing catch with his dog on the beach
The article about Hugh Howey in the Palm Beach Post was awesome, especially when he discussed his experience as a yacht captain in New York City docking his ship next to the
World Trade center on 9/11 just before the first plane crashedinto the twin towers on that fateful day
Excerpt from the Palm Beach Post written by Scott Eyman 9/15/2013
Twelve years ago,
writing
was still far into the future. On Sept. 11, 2001, Howey was in New York, captaining a 74-foot
Sunseeker motor yacht for a wealthy hedge fund manager. The boat was moored in North Cove Marina, at the
base of the World Trade Center.
"When the
planes struck, they did so directly overhead," he remembers. "The
first one was an accident, of course. That's what we all thought. I remember
watchingthe second plane bank hard and came screaming down Lower Manhattan
and I thought this was some sort of accident. Your brain just turns off. I was silently
yelling for the pilot to pull up, was thinking of some sort of malfunction, the
kinds of things I was too smart to believe. But the truth was too evil for me
to comprehend.
"I remember the heat from the fireball. I remember thinking
'It's just like the movies.' And then the people started running and screaming, and I thought that was just like the movies as well - the panic in everyone's eyes."
Howey's boss said
they had to
get out of there - everybody believed more planes would be hitting momentarily.
"I cranked
the engines and started throwing the dock lines. People asked if I
was leaving;' I said that I was,
and if they wanted to come, they should get on board. I remember asking them to take
their shoes off, and how that seemed wrong even in the moment. My wires were
crossed."
Howey steered the
ship across
the Hudson to Liberty Landing Marina, but there was no room, so Howey
tied up
at a restaurant. A group of construction workers asked if Howey would take them
back to the site of the Trade Center. They wanted to help. He agreed, dropped them
off and then
picked up others. He would see the same construction workers later
when they came
back for the lunch pails they left on the docks, and told him about the
looting they witnessed.
"It's
easier to talk about now, but I didn't for the longest time. We sat on
the bow of the boat and watched WTC 5 (or was it 7?) fall, the radio bursting with the
news before
the rubble even settled. We watched both buildings come down. The night before, we had sat in
Windows on the World at the top of one of the towers and looked out over the city. That spot
was now in empty space."It seemed surreal. Still does."
The
first thing I did after reading the article was go directly to Audible to check the release date for Wool and
downloaded it. (Now available)
Below is a link to the Palm Peach Post video chat with Mr. Howey
Mr Howey began his SILO series in 2011, writing Wool as a stand-alone short story. He published the work through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing
system. He has said that he choose Amazon's system because of its freedom of self-publishing.
(From Wikipedia) "The story of Wool takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth.
Humanity clings to survival in the Silos, subterranean cities extending
over one hundred stories beneath the surface. The series initially
follows the character of Holston, the sheriff of Silo-18, with
subsequent volumes focusing on the characters of Juliette, Jahns, and
Marnes. An ongoing story line of the series is the focus on the mystery
behind the Silo and the secrets that it holds. The Silo's mystery is
eventually revealed by the end of book five, with First Shift being a prequel to the series. The series has grown in popularity, and recently Ridley Scott has optioned the book Wool for a movie".
Below is an interview Mr. Howey gave during his book tour of Australia.
It is inspiring to read about people who have truly lived life and fulfilled their dreams. Mr Howey has done that and continues to do so through his writing. We can only hope to follow examples like his in our own lives.
Check out this link below to Buzz Feed as we learn about the post Voldemort World of Harry Potter and what happened to almost everyone in that world.
As told by JK Rowling. In a series of interviews over the years,the author has revealed the future of the Harry Potter characters, far beyond the Deathly Hallows epilogue.
All right I have gone and done it. I threw my hat into the
ring. I am making a stand. You may ask, “What is he standing for and will it
come back to harm him? So here it is, when the new Harry Dresden movie is
finally made and it will be made in my lifetime …which is getting shorter as I
write this blog. Harry Copperfield Dresden should be played by Thomas Hiddleston… you know him as Loki
Will I change my mind? It’s possible but for now he is my
pick and will remain it till a better candidate comes along. Why am I so
adamant about Hiddleston. I am sold on him because of his impromptu performance
at Comic Con. He made a surprise guest appearance at the Marvel Panel for Thor 2 The Dark World to screaming
fans as Loki. He quieted the entire crowd in Hall H. without saying a word. I
find that impressive because Hall H holds over 6000 fans. Do not
take my word for it, watch this You Tube video. He would bring with him massive numbers of Marvel fans. Now we are talking about serious numbers and in Hollywood it is all about the numbers.
Here are some of the comments after his appearance.
- Loki manages a crowd better than Hitler
-Only Loki can insult humanity and force everyone to say his name,then get cheered
for it....I,proudly state,that I am one of those who cheered.
-OMG!
-They shouldn't make a movie about Thor... It should be a movie about Loki...
- I was squealing and giggling just as much as the people there...and I'm sitting in my living
room with my family looking at me like I'm mental
- One of the most evil comic creations. Everybody loves him to pieces.
- Loki: Humanity look how far you've fallen. The Crowd: yahhhhhhhhhhhh
Here is a rare look at Thomas Hiddleston's at Nerd HQ at the San Diego Comic Con answering questions from fans. I thought he was awesome.
"Open a Channel, Lt Uhura", is the famous line spoken by Captain Kirk in the old Star Trek Television series to communicate with anyone and everyone during the run of the show which now can only be heard in reruns and fan driven productions.
I hope by now everyone (the two of you who read this blog) know I love fan
driven projects that are well made. One example is Bat in the Sun’s “Batman…City
of Scars and Felicia Day’s Dragon Age: Redemption Series to name a few. I
have been following Star Trek: The Original Series fan projects for many years. I
appreciate their vision and hard work. Needless to say, you get accustom to the
quality of the work which for the most part is pretty good. I was satisfied
with most of the attempts made to bring back the original until now. Holy mackerel,
I could not believe my eyes. A new fan based Star Trek: TOS that has the look
and feel of the old Star Trek and the cast is pretty good as well. However, do not listen to
me, here is Dan Roth’s article on Blastr…the online magazine for SYFY and his opinion on this new fan series.
Side Note: Dan Roth is SYFY’s local
expert on funny books and campy, classic sci-fi. He has also had the good fortune to
write for DoctorWho
and Angel.
In his free time he writes a web comic. He wrote for Doctor Who...get it...he knows his stuff.
Blastr
This new
Star Trek fan series is the closest we've ever seen to the original.
Lots of people try to make
fan versions of Trek. None of them look like this.
To be totally honest,
whenever there's another attempt by a fan group to continue the adventures of
Kirk, Spock, et al., my eyes instantly glaze over. Maybe I'll give the trailer
a look, but I'm usually out in under a minute. Fan efforts just never really
approach the campy goodness of the original.
But Star Trek Continues?
Friend, its warp nacelles are a cut above the rest. And if you're wondering why
it's so good, here's your answer -- pedigree. Montgomery Scott is played by
Christopher Doohan. Name sound familiar? That's original Scotty, Jimmy Doohan's
son! How cool is that? And the ship's computer? Why, it's only played by
Counselor Deanna Troi, Marina Sirtis, herself!
Then there's the pilot
episode, wherein the producers decided, "Hey, let's do a sequel to Who Mourns for Adonais?"
Oh, and while we're at it, let's get the actor who played Apollo in that
classic episode to come back and reprise the role.
If this sounds like
overselling, so be it. But, man, this just feels like Star Trek in a way I've
never seen from a fan series before. The only thing? The first episode's a
whopping 50 minutes long. So here's what I recommend -- do what I normally do,
throw it on for a minute and see how the show strikes you.
And then let us know in the
comments if you were as taken with it as I was.
Comic Con is over and I
missed it again. Now you would think that I would be depressed because I missed
this awesome convention. I mean one of the greatest reasons for going to any
convention besides cosplay characters created by the fans are the panels of
celebrities that come to talk about their shows, movies or projects. I definitely
missed out on the live panels but thanks to The Nerd Machine and Nerd HQ
started by Zachary Levi from Chuck fame, I saw many of my favorite stars on
special panels created by Nerd HQ for their fans at the convention and those
fans not able to attend Comic Con. They streamed the panels live and then
posted them on You Tube and Nerd HQ. It was like being there live.Here is an example from the Dr. Who Panel. Set your video slide bar to 2:32.
Now, I have been following
Zachary Levi and his friends from Nerd HQ and The Nerd Machinefor the past two two years but it has been around
for three. I missed the first year.
So,… what is Nerd HQ?
For the past threeyears, Zachary Levi has masterminded Nerd HQ, an epic gathering for fans and
celebrities to play games, buy merchandise, recharge their literal and
metaphorical batteries and engage in "Conversations
for a Cause"
during Comic-Con weekend.
The coolest thing about Nerd HQ for fans has always been Conversations for a Cause. This venue offers fans a
special kind of intimacy and interaction with their favorite celebrities. This
year the event is held at Petco Park, the home baseball stadium of San Diego's
Padres, and the bigger venue comes with more opportunities for geek goodness
over the course of the weekend.
The
venue holds 250 seats at a cost of about $20 which if every seat is filled
comes to about $5000. This money goes to Operation Smile an international charity for children, made up of medical
professionals and caring hearts who provide safe, effective reconstructive
surgery and related medical care for children born with facial deformities such
as cleft lip and cleft palate. The $5000 equates to about 20 surgery’s for
children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate
Not only do you get an hour long panel with some
of your favorite TV and Movie celebrities but your money goes to a great charity
to help children. Here are the few panels I've seen so far.
The
Man of Steel opened on June 14 and the fans loved it from around
the world. However nearly anyone with a title of critic wither earned or not
has been critical in one way or another about the movie. Oh well, what
can you expect from the critics when they know that DC aligned movies, DC’s
movie division at Warner Brothers and DC Comics seem to be heading in different
directions (Check out the recent issue of Superman Unchained.#1 and the Video
clip from Stacktastic reviewing Superman Unchained at the bottom of this blog.).
This can cause a lot of confusion for any fan. The comic books are going in one
direction and Warner Brothers is going in another. Neither side seems to want
to play ball with each other. In fact it has been mentioned that the people at
Warner Bros do not respect the talent at DC.
However it cannot be denied, that putting Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder in
charge of making the movie, Man of Steel was the right choice. Below is a
review that I think is truly a fan review. Not only do I agree with this review
but it hit all the points pro and con that I felt about the movie.
Beyond
the great job of Nolan and Snyder look at who they gathered for this ensemble
of great actors.
Henry
Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent ( He will be the only Superman for this
generation)
Oscar®
nominee Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”),
Academy
Award® winner Kevin Costner (“Dances with Wolves”),
Oscar®
nominee Diane Lane (“Unfaithful”),
Oscar®
nominee Laurence Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do with It”),
Antje
Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni,(Law and order SVU)
Academy
Award® winner Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”).
The
music is by Academy Award®-winning composer Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King”).
Directed
by Zack Snyder
Produced
by Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight Trilogy), Emma Thomas and
Deborah Snyder. The screenplay was written by David S. Goyer from a story by
Goyer & Christopher Nolan
Everyone
was great in their roles and this is one of my strongest reasons for liking
this movie even if some of the special effects such as the fight scenes were a
little heavy handed.
Not
surprisingly, Warner Bros Pictures has already greenlit a sequel to the film
and is reportedly fast-tracking it for a 2014 release.
The
Wall Street Journal,
citing "knowledgeable people close to the studio", claims that WB is
looking to fast-track MAN OF STEEL 2
for 2014 and plans are back on for JUSTICE LEAGUE to hit screens in
2015. WB was previously holding onto all future plans for their DC cinematic
endeavors until they saw how MAN OF STEEL performed, and it looks like
they got the answer they wanted.
StarPulse.com
goes on the say
“The studio reportedly already has a deal in place to bring
back director Zack Snyder; and screenwriter David S. Goyer's deal is said to
include not just penning "Man of Steel," but writing the film's
sequel AND the highly anticipated "Justice League" movie, which would
bring together DC Comics superheroes including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman,
Green Lantern and Flash, to name a few.Screenwriter Will Beall wrote the first
draft of the "Justice League" script already, but it was reportedly
scrapped, according to Gamma Squad.The "'Man
of Steel' is more than just a franchise for us, it really opens up the door to
do combinations of the DC Comics characters," Warner domestic distribution
head Dan Fellman told the Wall Street Journal. "We can build them up like
Marvel did and benefit from the history of DC."
We
can only hope that this is the case but as I said before we are dealing with a
group of people who find it hard to get along. Here is an interesting
take on DC comics and Warner Bros. problem with creating a definitive storyline
for Superman from Stacktsastic.
I have to say that the first time I saw the trailer for Pacific Rim, I was in awe. It reminded me my younger days watching shows like Gigantor, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rah Xephon, Gun Buster, other fantastic anime robots.)
Synopsis of Pacific Rim:
In the near future, giant monsters identified as "Kaiju" have risen from a crevasse in the Pacific Ocean,
resulting in a war which takes millions of lives and quickly consumes
humanity's resources. To combat this new threat, a special type of
weapon is designed: massive robots, known asJaegers,
which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are
locked in a neural bridge. As time passes, even the powerful Jaegers
prove almost defenseless in the face of a relentless enemy.
On its last
stand and on the verge of defeat, the remaining defending forces of
mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a former pilot
(Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—and the weapon they are teamed to pilot; a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the early trials of the mechanical titans...Wikipedia
It also brings to mind that I have forgotten more than I care to remember. Many feel before you watch Pacific Rim a primer of movies should be
viewed. EMPIRE Magazine shared their list of movies and shows that one should watch before the movie but their comment section share fan responses on what one should watch prior to Pacific Rims such as
goosebumps comments ...
"Oh, this is not even the correct list of movies to see before Guillermo
Del Toro's Pacific Rim. This is an entirely another list, more suitable
for introduction of movies like Rolland Emmerich's Godzilla. For
Pacific Rim, you should do a list of animes like Mazinger Z, Voltus V,
God Sigma, Gundam, Patlabor, and especially Neon Genesis Evangelion. You
may even add Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Those are the correct list
of introduction to Pacific Rim.
However, Del Toro speaks about the fight sequence and tries to play down any anime connection.
"In creating Pacific
Rim, I wanted the fights to have structure, like the wrestling matches
of my childhood, so each fight brings a very different kind of aesthetic
and a different dynamic. The first fight is very operatic,
theatrical: Wagnerian. It happens in the middle of an iceberg-strewn
sea, in the middle of a storm, with huge waves crashing on the Jaeger
and Kaiju. We worked really hard at making water a character in this
movie, frequently referring to Hokusai or the Fuji wave, and trying to
make the water enhanced and add to the drama. This fight tries to quote
the majesty of a painting by Goya called the Colossus."
Sounds more like Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungenor Ring cycle...not to be confused with Lord of the rings by Tolkien.
Whatever the case I will see Pacific Rim...if for no other reason than I grew up on old Godzilla movies and I just love Giant robots.
Celebrating WoW With Jimmy Fallon and the World of Warcraft
With some help from Felicia Day, Chris Hardwick and Warcraft players all
around the world, Jimmy celebrates one of the best video games of all
time. Now as a novice, I find the World Of Warcraft mythos a little daunting. so here is a little history of World of Warcraft.
"World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & HumansWorld of Warcraft takes place within the Warcraft world of Azeroth, approximately four years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard's previous Warcraft release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard Entertainment announced World of Warcraft on September 2, 2001. The game was released on November 23, 2004, on the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise. "Wikipedia
So what is MMORPG?
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a genre of role-playing video games or web browser based games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world.
As in all RPGs, (Role playing games) players assume the role of a character (often in a fantasy world or science-fiction world) and take control over many of that character's actions. MMORPGs are distinguished from single-player or small multi-player online RPGs by the number of players, and by the game's persistent world (usually hosted by the game's publisher), which continues to exist and evolve while the player is offline and away from the game." Wikipedia
Next... why play World of Warcraft? Thanks to Mila Kunis on Jimmy Kimmel's late night talk show she shares her excitement for the game which seems to overflow to everyone. Like all celebrities there are pitfalls as she shares with Kimmel.
(If nothing else this might get people to read my Blog)
To find out more about World of Warcraft you can go to the link listed below. This is how I initially began playing WoW. It is where I started. If you are a pro at WOW....just enjoy the Mila Kunis video clip.
Matt Smith's farewell to the fans, cast and crew of Doctor Who is greatly appreciated by fans like me. It is also a reminder of how hard it is for me to see a new Doctor taking the place of the departed Doctor and learning to appreciate his/her unique quirks and idiosyncrasies. I've come to accept that all of the various incarnations/Doctors as singular variations of the one true Doctor. Each Doctor/actor adds a different aspect to this one true persona we've come to know as the Doctor. Never the less each Doctor's regeneration saddens me a little because I've enjoyed all the different qualities in each one of them as well as the actors who played them. Take for example the last three Doctors, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith. Each portrays the Doctor revealing different aspects of the true Doctor's persona.
Side Note: Most of what I will share with you is paraphrased as much as possible from "Doctor Who Doctors- Television Troupe wiki...quite awesome
Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor was played by Christopher Eccleston. His personality was brooding most of the time but he was a very sassy veteran. covered in Survivor Guilt as a result of survuving the time war. Sometimes he could be lovably affable and showing great affection and
empathy for people. He was prone to mood swings and dressed , like a street-smart Doctor with close-cropped hair and beat-up leather jacket. . He made a Heroic Sacrifice that the Fifth Doctor would be proud of, and was generally fantasti
Time travel is like visiting Paris. You can't
just read the guidebook, you've gotta throw yourself in! Eat the food,
use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete
strangers - or is that just me? Ninth Doctor...
Tenth Doctor
The tenth Doctor's line "Beware the Nice Ones" is an adaption of the John Dryden quote, "Beware the fury of a patient man." personified.
The Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant was rather manic: prone to speaking very
quickly, peppering his speech with pop culture references and foreign
words, and going off on long rambling tangents. Despite his bubbly
personality, he could and did subject villains to a Fate Worse Than Death if they passed up the one chance at redemption he always offered them. He hated
his past self for his actions in the Time War, and would become very
cold whenever he was confronted with it. He certainly seems more innocent than his previous incarnation, but is later revealed to be a little on the Cute and Psycho side. His more child-like nature also winds up being the cause of a lot of his suffering throughout his time as the doctor. Lastly he apologized a lot. particularly when he realizes that someone's about to die. ..."I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." His end was bitter sweet, like Five before him, his regeneration into the next Doctor. Everything wound up fine, but he died crying, scared, and alone.
You
need to get yourself a better dictionary. When you do, look up
"genocide". You'll find a little picture of me there, and the caption'll
read "Over my dead body"! Tenth doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The eleventh Doctor was played by: Matt Smith He was known as the adorkable, but very dangerous old man. Frequently tripping over his own tangled thoughts, words and limbs, Eleven is definitely a lot more alien
than many other incarnations. On the one hand, he happily enjoys his
unexpected youth, hopping and skipping all over the place, and is
usually very friendly, goofy and personable. He can have childish
impatience and childish glee in both non-serious and serious situations.
On the other hand, he can be extremely tense, guarded and secretive,
and very liable to snap into a violent Tranquil Fury
mode if you hurt him.
He has a distinct air of an old man in a young man's
body, trying to relive his youth despite not blending in as well as his
younger, more sociable companions. It is clear that this doctor dislikes Linear time and he actively hates having to
wait for things in chronological order, or having to bother remembering
the natural order of centuries when talking to humans. In "The Power of
Three", we see that just sitting still on a planet for a few
days annoys him more than anything, leading him to manically rush off,
paint Amy and Rory's fence, kick-up a football five million times (or so he claims) and cut the grass... in about an hour. He also was know for some bad-ass boasts...and I loved each and everyone of them.
Doctor:
There's one thing you never put in a trap if you're smart. If you value
your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow
there's one thing you never ever put in a trap: Me.
Doctor: Look at me! No plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else I don't have. Anything. To. Lose!
So, if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship with all
your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the
Pandorica, tonight, just remember who's standing in your way. Remember
every black day I ever stopped you, and then, AAAAAND THEN... do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first.
Doctor:
"I walked away from the Last Great Time War. I marked the passing of
the Time Lords. I saw the birth of the universe and I watched as time
ran out, moment by moment, until nothing remained. No time. No space. Just me! I've walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a MAD... MAN. I've watched universes freeze and creations burn. I have seen things you wouldn’t believe. I have lost things you'll never understand! And I know things. Secrets that must never be told. Knowledge that must never be spoken. Knowledge that will make parasite gods BLAZE!SO COME OOOOON THEN! TAKE IT! TAKE IT ALL, BABY! HAVE IT! YOU HAVE IT ALL!"
There's something you better understand about me, because it's important and one day your life may depend on it: I am definitely a madman with a box! The Eleventh Doctor
