Let's Get Slay-ey

Good day, gentle readers!  And a good day to my not-so-gentle readers, as well!  I don't want to leave anybody out in the greetings.  Welcome to another fun-filled, book reviewing, video sharing blog post!  I'm so excited, I can barley contain my oil!  Kudos to those of you who got that reference.


In home news, Arthur and I recently acquired a new roommate.  Our friend, Giorgos, moved in with us over the weekend.  Arthur and I plan on moving to Portland, Oregon within the next year and Giorgos is going with us.  In an effort to save money, he joined our household.  Exciting?  You betcha!  It's nice to have my two favorite men in the whole world under one roof.

While I am a bit scared that I'll become the maid, I'm still quite happy.  I have a very maternal nature at times and I'm looking forward to taking care of the boyos.  That's not to say I'll hesitate to smack them around if they aren't pulling their weight and doing their share.  I just like to cook!


So, that's that.  Ready to get into the goodies for which you came?  Ok!

First off, a TV review that's also a book and graphic novel review.  Seriously?  How did I pull that off?  Simple: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Now, I remember the show being on when I was in high school.  I even got into it for a bit, but I had to abandon the Buffster in favor of a part-time job. Lame.

So how did I get back into the show and how did I get so deeply immersed?  Allow me to refer you to the two gentlemen mentioned in the opening paragraph.  Arthur and Giorgos were hardcore fans of the show since it's premier in 1997.  Over the last year, the boys have been catching me up by making me watch every season on DVD.  We just finished Season Seven, the final tv season, this past weekend.  Kinda bittersweet.  I hated to see it end.  Lucky for me, Joss Whedon continued the story in graphic novel form in The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1).  I'm already up to Volume 3.

(Please be aware that the following links are to the Buffy Verse Wiki and may contain spoilers for the series.)

Aside from the DVDs and graphic novels, several authors also wrote stories based in the BuffyVerse.  There are dozens of these stories and they all take place at different times during the established TV series timeline.  Ever wondered what the Scoobies got up to in between episodes?  Well, these authors are telling you!  They're quite fun to read, so I highly recommend them.

Now for a quick overview of the series.  Buffy Summers is the Slayer, the one girl in her generation chosen to fight the vampires and other various demons that stalk the earth.  She lives in Sunnydale, CA, which is located over a Hellmouth.  She is joined by her Watcher, Rupert Giles, her Wiccan friend, Willow Rosenberg, and everyday guy, Xander Harris.  Over the seven years we are introduced to dozens of main characters, my favorite of which is Spike.  

I adore Spike.  Most people will fawn over that loser, Angel, but I find him mopey, indecisive, and basically a drag.  Angle is so torn in his love for Buffy that even though he knows being with her will, literally, turn him evil, it takes him almost three seasons to leave and even then he still comes back time after time!  Grrr.  Spike, on the other hand, is awesomeness in vampire form.  He's evil and he makes no apologies for it. In fact, he revels in it.  Even when he gets "neutered" and joins the Scoobies, he's still so bad-ass that I can't help but love him.  After he was introduced to the series, I was rooting for him from then on.  He's sexy, he's viscous, he's a-moral, and I love him!

I'm not going to go into an actually recap of the series.  God lord, I have not the time nor the energy.  Also, I don't want to ruin anything for you.  I do, however, strongly encourage you to at least check out the TV series.  The books and graphic novels are totally worth the effort, as well.  If you'll follow this link, you'll find a list of YouTube videos that contain the songs from the musical episode, Once More With Feeling, from Season 6.  I couldn't decide which song to post, so just go watch them all!

Well, that was a mouthful.  Or rather, a finger full?  Because of the typing?  Get it?  Fine.

I'll finish this post with a quick review of the book, Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, by Rick Riordon.

What would you do if you found out that not only are the Gods of Olympus real, one of them is your dad?  That's what happens to Perseus Jackson (that's Percy to you!) in this awesome book.  Apparently, the Olympic Gods have always been around and Mt. Olympus changes location whenever the power of the West moves.  Currently, Mt. Olympus is located above the Empire State Building, putting the US as the seat of Western power.

Percy has always had trouble in school.  As a 12-year-old in sixth grade, he's striving to not get kicked out of his sixth consecutive school.  He has yet to make it through an entire school year in the same place.  He's been diagnosed as dyslexic and ADHD.  One day, while on a field trip, one of his teachers turns into a hideous monster and tries to kill him.  He and his best friend, Grover, wind up escaping to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demi-Gods who are the children of the Olympian Gods and Goddesses.  Here, Percy discovers that all the myths he always thought of as fairy tales are actually true and his father, Poseidon, and himself have been framed for stealing Zeus's lightening bolt.

Naturally, Percy, Grover (who is actually a satyr), and Annabeth, daughter of Athena, set out on a quest to find the bolt, return it to Zeus, and clear the names of Percy and Poseidon.

This was a great story.  It started a little slow and I don't always like stories told from the first person, but once I got into the rhythm, I was hooked.  It's a pretty quick read; it only took me a couple of days.  I have yet to see the movie, though I was warned that the book is better.  To that I can only say "duh."  I started reading the second book, Sea of Monsters.  Like I said, the story is lots of fun.  Go check it out!

Well, that'll be it for today.  I hope you enjoyed this installment of When Geeks Attack.  I know I enjoyed writing it.  Until next time, find a good book!

Of Na'vi and Knitting

Wow, it's been months.  My life hasn't even been THAT boring.  I guess I've just been busy.

It's been quite an eventful last few months.  In December we headed to Las Vegas and finally saw Zumanity.  If you're ever in Vegas, are over 18, and have the money, GO SEE IT!!!  This show is amazing!  Not only is Cirque Du Solie always worth it, but Zumanity is so sexy you'll be squirming in your seat.  I can't even pick a favorite act; they were just all so incredible.  Maybe the girls in the fish bowl?  Or the sexy ladies dancing on TV sets to get the men to notice them?  Or perhaps the auto erotic asphyxiation chick? Awesome, all of it.

Let's move on to what this blog is all about: Movies, Books, and anything I feel like posting.


Movie Review: Avatar
So, unless you've been living under a rock lately, you've at least heard of James Cameron's newest bazillion dollar epic, Avatar.  It's broken lots of records and been both ridiculed and revered.  Point is, it's pretty and the characters, while very familiar and predictable, are fun to watch.

Arthur and I went and saw it not long after it was released.  I'm sorry to say that we didn't see it in 3D.  I get sick when the camera is too shaky, like in "Blair Witch," so I avoided that like the plague.  Still, even without the 3D, the movie was astonishing.  The use of colors took my breath away.  We actually wound up seeing the film twice.  Go us.

Here's the plot:  It's the future and we've started mining other planets for fuel with Pandora being the focus of the mission.  Jake, a paraplegic Marine played by Sam Worthington, is tapped to take the place of his twin brother, who had recently been killed.  His brother was training to operate an Avatar.  The avatars are bodies grown using human DNA mixed with that of the Na'vi, the native people of Pandora.  While out on a scouting mission with two other Avatar operators, Jake becomes separated and lost in the jungles.  Just as he's about to be attacked by a pack of wild dog-looking things, the Na'vi woman, Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana, comes to his rescue.  Following an omen, she takes him back to the Na'vi Home Tree where they agree to train him in the ways of their people.  Wackiness, and by that, I mean war, ensues.

The whole plot is pretty predictable.  It's a story you've heard a thousand times told a thousand ways.  Personally, it reminded me of Pocahontas.  In fact, if you follow this link you'll see that I'm not the only one to make the connection.  No worries, though.  It was still a captivating story with amazing visuals.  I look forward to owning it when the DVD/Blu Ray is released.

Book Review: Hunger Games and Catching Fire

I was recently pestered into reading the book The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins.  I know what you're thinking: "But Book Geek Girl!  Surely you would not have to be pestered into reading anything!"  True, except when I'm already reading something else.  But that's not the point!  The point is the book was fantastic!  I could hardly put the thing down.

Here's the set up:  It's post apocalyptic, baby!  Basically, the USA went to serious war with itself and everybody around it.  The result is Panem, the remaining territory of what was once North America.  It is characterized by 13 Districts all under the rule of The Capitol, which is located in the Rockies.  Each District has an industry for which they are responsible. For example: District 12 mines coal, District 11 is agriculture.  Each year, the Capitol holds the Hunger Games.  75 years ago, the Districts rebelled against the Capitol.  They essentially got their butts handed to them and now the Capitol rules with an iron fist.  The Hunger Games requires that each District send one male and one female tribute to the capitol city to participate in a fight to the death.  The winner is praised as a hero, is set for life, and earns their District a year's worth of food and goods.

Katniss is a girl from District 12, volunteers to go to the Games after her 12 year old sister's name is pulled from the lottery.  She and Peeta, the male Tribute, head to the Capitol and have to participate in cruel pageantry in order to win sponsors, who will send them gifts while they're in the Games arena.  Once inside, they have to fight for their lives.  I won't go any further in the summary so as not to ruin it for you.  Suffice to say, the ending is incredible and definitely makes you want to rush out to grab the sequel, Catching Fire.  I won't do a summary/review of that one for the same reason I cut off the review of Hunger Games.  It's just too good to spoil.

The character development is great.  I really felt that Katniss, the character from who's point of view the story is told, could be a real person.  She's brave, and intelligent, but she makes mistakes and lets her temper get the best of her at times.  She isn't perfect, which is a trap a lot of heroes fall into, or rather, authors fall into the trap.  It's so tempting to make your good guy THE  good guy with no flaws and no morally gray areas.  Nobody is that perfect.  Nobody is that ambiguous.  We're all flawed and conflicted. Great job, Ms. Collins.

I am eagerly awaiting the final book, Mocking Jay, which will be released August 24, 2010. I need it released last month!










New Hobby: Knitting
And finally, I shall bore you with my newest hobby: Knitting!  In January a friend of mine from work decided I looked way too bored at my desk.  Very true.  She's an avid knitter and decided to teach me.  Amazingly, I picked it up pretty quick. My teacher even declared me a natural.  It's not something I ever thought I'd have the skill or patience to accomplish, but lo and behold!  I can do it.

I've already completed a few projects and have more in queue to tackle.  I've learned several techniques, including garter stitch, purl stitch, ribbing, seed stitching, and I'm slowly learning how to slip stitches and yarn over to create lace patterns.  I've also learned how to knit with double pointed needles.  This requires that I work with my yarn held on 3 separate needles while using a fourth to work my stitches.  At first I didn't think I'd figure it out, but now I'm knitting a beanie!  Soon I'll transfer the piece onto a circular needle, also for the first time!, to complete the pattern.

I've found lots of awesome resources for patterns, tips, and community.  My favorite so far is Ravelry.  I was able to create a profile where people can see the projects I've completed and the ones on which I am currently working.  There are features that help me connect with other knitters and a very extensive pattern collection.  It's fabulous!  I'm definitely having a great time.

Here's some pictures of my projects (and yes, that's me look frumpier than I would normally):

This is a picture of my first two projects, a scarf and hat.  They took me about a week or so to finish.  I love them and wear them all the time.  I've even had requests from people at work wanting hats.



Pictured above is the lovely bag I made for my cousin's 11th birthday.  It was a difficult and frustrating pattern at first.  Once I got the hag of it, though, I had so much fun!  It's worked in alternating groups of knit and purl stitches that result in a bamboo effect.  Check it:





For a final picture, this is the project I'm currently working on:
   This will eventually, if I can do it right, be a lace beanie.  It's my first attempt at working with double pointed needles, or dpn.  They're kinda fun, but you have to pay attention or you'll get all tangled.  Trust me.

Well, that's it.  I'll try to be better about blogging more often.  I've actually be so wrapped up in the knitting, I've been ignoring most things. ^^;  Have a lovely day and I'll leave with with some brilliance.



Yes, this is the most brilliant thing you've seen all day.  Check out the official website here.

Good night!

**SPOILERS FOR THE GATHERING STORM***

In case you didn't catch the title, this post will most likely include spoilers for the latest Wheel of Time novel, The Gathering Storm.  I will put that part of the blog further down just in case you have wandering eyes and can't be trusted to skip the stuff that might ruin the book for you!

Ok, so it's been FOREVER since I last updated.  I apologize, but things haven't been all that exciting.  No excitement = no reason to blog.  However, with the release of the above mentioned book, and an adventure yesterday, well I have some stuff to say!

Let's start with the adventuring, shall we? 

Yesterday was Veterans' Day.  Since I was off work for the holiday, I spent most of the late morning and early afternoon with my Grammy, sister, and my Mom, who was in from Arkansas.  We were just puttzing around, doing a bit of light shopping.  About an hour into this, I get a text message and a phone call from Arthur, my boyfriend.

The text included a picture (which I don't have a way of uploading to this computer, but will try when I get home) of a small orange ball of fluff.  When I looked closer, it was a kitten.  Then my heart broke. When I squinted at his eyes I say that they looked way too big and way to black.

I called Arthur back and said, who is that?  He told me how he had opened the window to let some air through.  He was home for the day since there were no classes being held due to the holiday.  After he opened the window he heard a small cry.  He rushed outside to investigate and what he found almost broke him.  There was a small orange kitten wedged between our neighbor's cable box for warmth.  When he was finally able to extract it, he saw that the poor thing's eyes were so caked in guck, mud, and various other filth that the baby couldn't open them!  He was also so starved that Arthur could feel the bones portruding through it's fur.

Being the wonderful man he is, Arthur brought the kitten inside and smartly isolated it from our other two cats.  If kitten was sick, he didn't want the other two to catch it.  He then called me and I ran to a pet shop for some kitten formula.  Then I rushed home.

I took one look at the little guy and said "We're going to the vet. Now."  We took him to Banfield which is located in most PetsMarts.  The PetNurse and the doctor looked him over.  Dr. Horner examined his teeth and declared that he is only about 4-5 weeks old.  She also noticed he had fleas, which is dangerous for a kitten so young.  The good news was, that aside from his eyes and his obvious malnourshiment, he seemed to be ok.  She wasn't sure she could get all the gunk off his eyes, though.  She told us she'd try, but wouldn't force his eyes open and risk damaging them further.  She and the nurses took him away and Arthur and I went outside to pace.

About half an hour or more when by and one of the nurses came out to talk to us.  "We've got one of his eyes open!"  I nearly collapsed.  We thanked her and she went back inside.  About 10 minutes later she and another nurse came out with our foundling wrapped in a towel, drenched, and with both eyes open.  I never cry in public, but I did then.  He could see!  He was responsive and his eyes were undamaged!  They weren't done cleaning his eyes, but they had wanted us to see what color his eyes were.

A little while later they finished up with his eyes.  Poor baby was so cold and freaked out!  The doctor gave us some dewormer (since he's a baby and they get those), a liquid antibiotic, a liquid vitamin supplement, topical eye antibiotic, and some moist food specifically for starved and undernourished kittens.  We spent the evening wiping his eyes while we were at Grammy's house.  The whole family fell in love and he was never put down or let him get cold.  Love at first sight, indeed!  With the help of the family, we picked a name. I'll tell you at the end. ; )

So, we finally got him home and then the reall "fun" began: we had to bathe him and give him his medicines.  He was not at all impressed.  But, we got most the fleas off of him, forced the liquid meds down his throat, and slathered on the eye gel.  He ate a bit of food and then I tucked him into his bed: a big ole' basket (courtesy of Grammy) lined with a towel and a big, soft, warm blanket.  He promptly fell asleep. 

I was surprised, but he slept the whole night.  He started rooting around at 5:30 this morning.  He managed to crawl out of his basket and find his food dish.  So proud of him!  Before he crawled out, though, I looked down at him.  The best part?  He looked right back at me with both of his eyes open!!!  No gunk!  When it was time to do his meds, I had a damp towel ready to clear the gunk from his eyes but there wasn't any!  His poor little eyes are still swollen and teary, but they aren't gumming shut!  That gel is amazing...

What a day, huh?  Dr. Horner said that if we hadn't found him, he wouldn't have survived.  If we both hadn't had the day off, we wouldn't have found him.  Is that serendipity or what?  I feel like we were meant to find him.  We'll try to locate his owners, but I don't think we will.  I'm convinced his mama was a stray and that's why he was doing so poorly.  I want to keep him.  How can you not fall in love with something that needs your protection and love so desperately?  Impossible I say.

Here's our little guy:  We decided to call him "Mogwai" since he looks like one. 

His eyes are open! 

And here he is cleaning the liquid vitamin from his paw.  It's nasty stuff!

If you don't know what a mogwai is, check this out:

Gizmo is a mogwai.  If he eats after midnight, he becomes a gremiln.  We named the kitten Mogwai because of his big, hairy, floppy ears.  Too cute!!

Such happiness!

AVAST!  THAR BE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Ok, now for my book review.  The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.  Those of you who are fans, or have read earlier blog entries, know that Robert Jordan died in September of 2007 after a battle with rare disease.  He was so dedicated to his fans, however, that he spent his last days organizing his notes and outlines for the conclusion of the Wheel of Time series.  After his death, his wife and editor, Harriet McDougal, asked Brandon Sanderson, a young sci-fi writer, to complete the final book.  After much review, the two of them realized that the story couldn't be told in less than 750,000 words, which would be about 2,400 pages.  The binding machinary doesn't exist that could make a book that big, so they decided to break the story into three books.  Good call.

The first book is The Gathering Storm.  Holy crap, was this book amazing!!  While Sanderson definitely kept to his own writing style, which is different from RJ's, he kept to the spirit of the books.  What particularly impressed me was how he wrote the characters.  Namely, Egwene Al'Vere.

Here's an artist's rendition:

I NEVER liked this character.  She snotty, arrogant, and bossy.  She can't follow orders because she's such a know-it-all that she thinks she's above her superiors.  And Sanderson wrote her in a way that I not only like her now, but actually respect her! 

In previous books, Egwene had been raised to Amyriln by the rebel Aes Sedai.  She turned out not to be the puppet they had intended, but a strong, willfull woman.  She led the rebels to the White Tower to lay siege to Elaida's tyrannical rule.  She was captured by the Tower and punished with beatings and a demotion to Novice.  She was strapped daily and she bore it all with dignity and earned the respect of not only the novices and Accepted, but from full Aes Sedai as well.  She refused to be rescued, choosing instead to use her imprisonment as a chance to gather information, destabilize Elaida, and try to bring the Aes Sedai to her side.

Things got pretty bad for her in GS, but she became awesome for it.  She grew so much as a character that she hardly resembles to the character from previous books.  She stood up to Elaida and made the woman look lik a maniac, which earned her a severe beating and a stint being locked away in a tiny, cramped cell.  And she bore it all.  When the Seanchan attacked the Tower, she lead a group of novices, Accepted, and even a few full sisters, against them, saving hundreds of lives. 

After the attack, the Tower Hall elected to have her raised as their Amyriln (Elaida had been captured by the Seanchan) and the rift was healed.  Now she's kicking the butt of the Black Ajah, repairing the physical damage from the attacks and repairing the emotional and political damage from the split. 

In summary, Egwene kicked butt!  I loved her and for the first time ever couldn't wait to read her chapters.  I was actually disappointed when they ended.  Great character developement!

So much cool, and scary, stuff happened in this book.   I was left with a feeling of "wow...just...wow" when I finished it.  I want to personally beat the snot out of Rand Al'Thor, Dragon Reborn and master of being and idiot.  Cadsuane Sedai said it best: "Being hard is not the same as being strong."  The guy nearly killed his own father!  That was right before he Travelend to Ebou Dar and was going to use the male-attuned Cholden Khar to take wipe out all of the Seanchan with balefire, which is a HUGE no-no.  Gaaah!!  At least he managed to shake some sense into himself. 

As always, I loved Mat.  He's such a scoundrel!  Perrin actually sunk on my list, even though he used to be my favorite.  I'm just sick of his "Oh woe is me, I dont' WANNA be a leader or a lord, but it's been thrust upon me against my will!  Wah, wah, wah."  Seriously, accept that you're not only an awesome and competant leader, accept that you're a Wolfbrother, and move along!  Geeze.

Verin Sedai.  OH.  EM.  GEE!!  For years the great debate has been is Verin Black Ajah or just extra sneaky?  Has she somehow been released from the Three Oaths, or did she never take them?  WTF is up with here?  Stuff that is totally jaw-drop worthy!  Turns out, everybody was right about everything!!

Verin held the Oathrod before Egwene's grandmother was born and had been a member of the Brown Ajah, the Ajah dedicated to knowledge and research.  70 years ago, she became Black, which released her of her Tower Oaths and bound her to the Shadow.  Why did she do this?  RESEARCH!!!  She was a Brown to her core.  The best part: she did it because she figured the Shadow had tons of spies in the Good Guy camps, the Good Guys needed a spy in the Shadow camp.  She gave up her life to entrust a book (and it's cipher) detailing the Black Ajah, it's members, laws, ceremonies, and general knowledge to Egwene. 

Verin = GREATEST WIN EVAR!!

Well, I've managed to write a Jordan-worthy novel style post, so I should probably give it a rest.  I'm going to be rereading, for the umpteenth time, the Black Jewels Triology by Anne Bishop.  It's violent, but really good.  Eventually I'll finish reading Let the Right One In, but I'm just not in the mood for it.  I'll review it when I'm done.

Till next time, have a good one!

My Life as Fail

Howdy.  Sorry I haven't updated in so long.  I had a whole week off work (hooray for fall break!) and it wound up being quite busy.  As a show of my sincere regret for abandoning you for so long, here is silly video I'm sure you've seen a million times:  (WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE AND T-PAIN)



Arthur and I went to the AZ Fetish Ball.  After a rough start (i.e. paypal screwing us over and not actually placing our reservations) we had a pretty good time.  I wore a full-body fishnet stocking with red, black, and white striped boy shorts as well as red heart-shaped pasties and really cool shoes.  The shoes were black wedges, though the wedge curved inwards and was laced up the back with red ribbon which winds up the leg a big.  I also had killer black feather eyelashes and red, red lips.  Corry, a friend that went with us, insisted on making a tag to attach to me that said: "From: God To: Man."  Even one of the Horns n Halos guys thanked Arthur for bringing his "hot chick" and told me personally that I looked fabulous!  Apparently I was quite sexy.

We were having a pretty good time and around 1:30am I was feeling wiped and we went back to the hotel for a rest before the after party.  At this point (after changing back into  street clothes) I realized I was cold.  I got under the blankets.  No good.  Arthur cuddled up to me and that helped until he got up.  Instant freeze. Remeber how I was sick?  Well, apparently I wasn't over it.  Arthur and I wound up missing the after party and went home the next day around 9.  I then proceeded to spend the whole of Sunday in bed.  Grrr.  I hate sick.

Well, aside from recovering from disease, my "week off" was a week of work.  My sister and her boyfriend found an apartment and on Tuesday my sister discovered she could move in that day if they signed the lease and paid their pound of flesh.  So, I got to spend two days hauling Megan all over Phoenix, getting her stuff packed and moved to the apartment, getting her untilities turned on and buying stuff she needed.  That was a long two days.

What was longer than that?  The THREE days I spent cleaning my condo after they moved out!  Good god, it took forever and I didn't think I'd ever get done.  I swept up about 4 pounds of cat and dog hair.  Threw out at least 6 bags of garbage (no, we aren't filthy, just threw out stuff we didn't need/use/want).  And now, I have an ugly, but comfy, sofa sitting out on my patio.  I have no use for it and am hoping somebody will take it.  If nobody does by Friday, I'm borrowing a truck and hauling it to Goodwill.

So yes, lots of moving, lots of cleaning, lots of sneezing and lots of tissues.  My house is now livable again!

That being said, let's move on to some lovely book and movie reviews.

First up is Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause.  This is a very cool teen sci-fi piece.  It's the tale of Vivian, a 16 year old werewolf.  Her pack was driven from their West Virginia home when younger members of the pack murdered two humans.  A few humans thought the pack was responsible, though they were not really aware the family were werewolves.  The humans set fire to the pack-owned country inn, killing several members, including the pack leader who was Vivian's father. It's now a year later and the survivors have moved to a city to regroup and earn money until they could find a new plot of land.  Vivian is enrolled at the local high school where she has no friends because everybody is intimidated by her.  She eventually finds herself falling for a human "meat-boy" named Aiden.  As their relationship deepens, strange things begin to happen.  Vivian inadvertantly becomes the alpha female after taking out another who attacked her mother.  Now she's promised to the new leader, Gaberiel.  It goes from bad to worse as viscious murders that can only be the work of werewolves start happening.  And Vivian is convinced she's the one committing them. 

This book was turned into a movie in 2007.  In my humble opinion, I do not believe the screenplay author even SKIMMED the book when the script was written!  The main characters are sort of the same but the plot is completely different.  While the movie is good, it's just not the same story at all.  So, once again, I vote book over movie.

Next book: Evermore by Alyson Noel.  This was a pretty ok book.  Another teen fiction (can you tell what I like?).  Ever is a high school junior who can read thoughts, see auras, and tell a person's whole life story simply by touching them.  The reason she has this gift is unknown, though she got it after a horrible car accident that claimed the lives of her mother, father, dog, and 12 year old sister, Riley.  Now Riley's ghost hangs around and Ever can't get close to anybody without knowing way too much.  She has two friends, Haven (think Marla Hooch from Fight Club) and Miles, the token gay teen.  These three are the misfits and are doing just fine until the tall, dark, and handsomly mysterious Damen shows up.  Is he after Ever or her sworn enemy?  He runs hot and cold, takes her to Disneyland and ditches her on the way home.  And who's that Drina chick who's always following him around.  It's a pretty decent read if you can ignore how the plot seems very familiar if you've read Twilight.  Not my favorite, but I didn't hate it either.

Alright, now for a movie.  Arthur and I saw Paranormal Activity.  Terrified the snot out of us!  It's about this young couple living in a nice house who've been experiencing odd, unexplainable phenomena at night.  Micha, the guy, decides to get a video camera and set it up to catch these occurances and prove they aren't crazy.  It starts off easy with a moving door, but things soon escalate.  Katie admits that she's been haunted since she was 8 and it follows her everywhere she goes.  I won't go into further detail  because I don't want to ruin it for anybody.  Let's just suffice it to say this movie was terrifying and I was clinging to Arthur's arm the whole time.  The entire audience was into it and yelling at the screen and scream like little children. 

Check out the trailer.  Then, if it's in your area, check out the movie.  Just make sure you don't have go home to an empty house.  ; )

Well, I hope this extra long post with lots of reviews, links, and things to look at made up for the week (or more ^^; ) I missed.  See ya next time!  Same bat time, same bat blog!

Sicky Icky

Sorry for the lapse yesterday; I was sick.  It came on pretty suddenly, actually.  Wednesday morning I was fine until about 9am.  I had even gotten up and done my exercise and everything!  I felt a dip in my energy and assumed I was tired.  Then, by 10, I was feeling awful.  I wound up clocking out at 12:15, going home, and sleeping till about 5.  I woke up, ate some soup, putzed around for a few hours, then dosed myself with nyquil and went back to sleep.  When my alarm went off again at 5:45 the next morning I still felt wretched, so I called off and slept till noon.  I spent the rest of the day on the couch watching movies.

I feel much better today, which is a good thing.  We're doing karaoke tonight!  We go to the awesome little bar called Darwin's Waiting Room Bar and Grill..  They have a fabulous KJ named Glen.  He really knows how to run a rotation.  We used to go almost every Friday, but things have been busy lately and we've missed several weeks.  That being the case, I'm really anxious to go tonight. 

Not only do we have karaoke tonight, but Saturday is the Annual Horns n Halos AZ Fetish Ball.  It's lots of fun.  We get to dress all sexy and go party with a bunch of crazy people!  They've always got tons of great performers and cool vendors.  The best part is the feeling of acceptance.  It doesn't matter what your size, shape, color, kink, anything!  It's pretty nice to walk around and have random strangers come up to compliment you on your outfit.  At the Fetish Prom I actually had several girls come up to compliment me on my super-long, bright pink false eyelashes.  Joy! 

Arthur and I learned that the best thing to do with this event is spring for the VIP/Hotel package.  It's expensive, but you get two VIP passes and a hotel room not far from the event.  This means no worrying about a designated driver or having to miss out on fun because somebody (usually me) wimps out around 2am.  Another bonus is the access VIPs get.  There are one or two VIP lounges at the event itself, plus you don't have to wait in the long lines to get in.  The biggest plus, however, is the after party.  Horns n Halos takes over the majority of the hotel and the whole pool area.  The party doesn't start until about 3 am and it is kickin!  You have to show your badge to get in, then it's all swimming, thumping music, sexy people, and lots of inappropriate fun!  Definitely worth it.

So, that's that.  Last night we bought an old movie from my childhood.  Did you ever see Hocus Pocus? This movie came out in 1993 and starred Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimi.  It's a story about a few teenagers who, being virgins, light the black flame candle on Halloween night and bring back the vicious Sanderson Sisters.  These witches were hung three hundred years ago for eating the life forces of local children.  Now that they're back, the have until sunrise to eat more children and retain enternal youth and beauty or they'll burst into dust.  Max, his sister Dani, and Allyson, have to fight them and stop them from achieving their goal.  It's a goofy, childish romp and it's hilarious!  My favorite part is how it's a Disney movie that  constantly makes fun of the lead character for being a virgin at the age of, let's say, 16.  Priceless!

If you can, get ahold of this film.  We found it at Target for $9, so it's not expensive.  If nothing else, buy it for the song numbers:

Sorry about the low quality, but I didn't have time to find a better video.

So that's about it for this week.  See you next week and have a great weekend!

Shirtless Hotties

Today's post will probably be a little shorter than my previous posts.  I'm tired and nothing truly exciting happened yesterday.  We finally rented X-Men Origins: Wolverine, having refused to pay $10 a person to see it in theatres.  I'd heard from some friends that the CG was terrible, the plot weak, and the dialouge worthy of George Lucas for it's lack of believability.  I am happy (?) to report that this was all true and we saved about $15 by waiting to rent it.

The main redeeming quality is that Hugh Jackman winds up shirtless, and nekkid, quite often.  The audience is rewarded for sitting through the film with the occasional glimpse of that fine, sculpted tushy.  The unforunate part is that Ryan Reynolds doesn't get shirtless until he's all mutilted from experimental surgeries. 

Basically, the movie is kind of worth the rental fee.  It's fun, but not well-done enough for the series. Some stuff is canon with the comic book series, but most of it isn't.  Facts are smudged over for the sake of the plot, and that's ok, I suppose.  I'm not the major comic book geek that Arthur is, so it didn't bother me as much.  If you're gonna watch it, have a stiff drink with you.

Megan, my sister, finally got up with me this morning to go walking.  We brought her boyfriend's dog and had a lovely walk and some nice conversation. I also found an app. for my iPod that turns it into a pedometer.  Unfortunately, you have to keep the Pod unlocked for it to continuously count your steps.  I didn't realize this at first, so it only counted my first 117 steps, stopped for about 15 minutes, and then I restarted it.  By the time we got home, it had coutned about 2,900.  I figure, with the lapse, we did a little over a mile and a half.  The goal is to do between 1.5 and 2 miles, so success!

My biggest disappointment is that I haven't been having the huge energy rush I had the first day.  Now, I'm just feeling sluggish.  Maybe I have to keep it up for awhile to get that energy back.  I dunno.  At least it's getting easier to get up at 5.

How bout some book stuff?

For anybody who is a fan of the Wheel of Time Series, written by the late Robert Jordan, I've got a great link for you!  As you know, Robert Jordan died on October 16, 2007 after a long battle with a rare bone disease.  He had been in the process of completing his long-running and much beloved series.  They were able to find a young writer to finish the series.  Brandon Sanderson will be completing the series based on RJ's extensive notes and thurough outlines.  The first book (yes, they broke the "last" book up into three books.  Way to milk it, guys) is coming out Tuesday, October 27, 2009.

Now, if you've been a follower of the series, you know how long it is.  The Gathering Storm is book 12 and all of the books are LOOOOOONG.  I myself tried to reread the series earlier this year.  I think I got about 1/4 of the way through the third book.  Needless to say, I got tired.  It's a difficult series to read and each book is just...so...long.  I've been desparing of my situation.  How am I supposed to remember all the plotlines?  What's going on in RandLand?  Who is Cadsune?

Happy day!  While trolling blogs the other day, I stumbled upon the Tor Books online community.  And guess what?  I'm not the only one who's been worrying about this.  A woman by the name of Leigh has been diligently rereading the series for us and posting chapter summaries (along with some commentary) on the message forum!  This blog is fantastic!!  I'm only on book one, The Eye of the World, but she's already up to The Lord of Chaos, book #6, chapters 44-45.  Granted, there's still 5 more books to go, but hey, this is still awesome of her.

So, if you're a fan of the series, but have a life and thus no time to reread the epic, visit Leigh's Reread of WOT.

Now, the required goofy video of the day:  (DISCLAIMER: BAD LANGUAGE)



Have a lovely day.

Rule #33: Enjoy the Little Things

It's time to nut up or shut up!  This is now my battle cry!

Went and saw Zombieland at the drive-in last night.  Seriously, funniest movie I've seen this year.  This is probably the BEST zombie movie I've ever seen!!!  It also includes the most awesomest cameo EVAR!  I'll not tell you who it is so as not to ruin the suprise.  However, a little hint: he's a man so funny, all he has to do is twitch an eyebrow to have the audience rolling.

So yeah, great flick.  Patient zero ate a madcow disease infected hamburger and thus zombies were spawned.  Very few survivors are left, and those that are have their own ways of doing things.  The main character, Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenburg) (all the characters hide their real names and go by their hometowns) is alive because of his list of rules.  #1 is cardio, #2 is wear a seatbelt, #3 is the double tap, #4 is avoid bathrooms.  Or some order, I might be mixed up.  He meets up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), who is the most bad-a** character I've seen in quite some time.  Tallahassee's goal is Twinkies.

Throughout the movie, the guys are continuously robbed by a sister team, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).  The girls take two of their vehicles, lots of their guns, and eventually the four team up to journey to Pacific Playland in California.  Lots of hilarity, vandilism, and zombie killing ensues.

If you have the option, see this movie at a drive-in.  You're gonna wanna scream at the screen and yell out loud and laugh and it's easier to not anger people if everybody is closeted in their cars (or around their cars) with their own sound systems.  You can find the nearest drive-in theatre to you at this website.

Click HERE to see an interview with Jesse Eisenburg and Woody Harrelson.
Click RIGHT HERE to watch an interview with Emma Stone.

And one more time, check out the trailer!


That being said, I'll move on to some self-indulgence now.

I wasn't as good this morning about excersising.  This was mostly my fault, but not entirely.  I didn't sleep well the night before, so I slept a little later today.  I got up at 6:15 expecting to squeeze in a bit of Wii Fit.  Unfortunately, the fates conspired against me.  First I couldn't find the Wii Fit board and had to wake Arthur up to tell me where it was hiding.  When I finally found it, I turned on the game and prepared to do some yoga and mild weight-loss activities.  However, the batteries in the board were, of course, dead.  By this time it was after 6:30 and I have to leave around 7.  I did about 20 crunches on my own and then I had to get ready for work.

So, new plan?  Get up at 5:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays if I'm gonna have time to do at least 20 minutes of Wii Fit stuff and still shower off and have breakfast and get dressed and whatnot.  Lesson learned.

Books:  I finally got Let the Right One In!  I loved the movie and have been dying to read the book.  I got through to the second chapater last night before we went to Zombieland.  John Lindquist really goes out of his way make you feel as uncomfortable as possible right from the first page.  In the movie, Oskar (a 12-year old nerd boy) is a very sympathetic character.  In the book, he makes me squirm.  He's both more and less sympathetic.  He's the victim of severe bullying and some really humilitating physical problems.  He also overcompansates for his feelings of inadequecy by shoplifting and indulging in violent fantasies.  I feel bad for him, but I also want him to be a better person in order to prove the bullies wrong.

I'm really excited to be reading the book.  I can't wait to meet Eli and learn more about her character.

That about wraps it up for today.  I'm enjoying doing this blog, even if nobody's reading it.  It helps me stay committed to my healthier lifestyle goals and it lets me feel like I'm sharing my favorite things with the masses.  If you do visit, I'd appreciate some comments or feedback.  Also, go ahead and follow me!  T'would make me happy, indeed.

Papa's Swan Lake

Got this in my email from my grandfather.  He's so cute!  He emailed it to all his granddaughters.  <3

This is amazing!

Happy Monday!  Is it just me, or do weekends seem to go entirely too fast?  Oh well, that just means I'm a little closer to a week off!  Sometimes it really pays to work for a school.  I get all major holidays off as well as fall and spring breaks.  Can't complain about a full week of paid vacation.

So I successfully managed to get up at 5am all on my own today.  It was hard.  5 am is a hellish hour and it seemed a little warmer this morning than it did Friday morning.  My sister offered to join me last night, however, when I tried to wake her up this morning, it didn't happen.  As a matter of fact, the brat locked her bedroom door and didn't answer her phone!  How's that for sisterly love?

Anyway, not only have I gotten up at 5 am twice now, I also got up early Saturday morning to go for a walk.  Of course, by early I mean 8 am.  But hey, that's early for a Saturday!  I think I'm screwing with my internal clock, though.  Sunday morning, 8 am, I was wide awake.  It's amazingly peaceful at that time.  I sat quietly in the living room, enjoying the cool breeze coming through the open windows, and tooled around online.  I even got laundry started early, though it took the whole day.

I have to say, I think the walking is working.  I've lost two pounds since Friday and my energy levels are up.  I'm going to start alternating what I do.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I will rise at 5 am for the walking.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will get up at 5:30 am and do Wii Fit so I can get in some yoga and other exercises.  Woo-hoo for a healthier lifestyle!  Hopefully by the time Phoenix ComiCon rolls around, I'll be in good enough shape to go as Demi the Demoness. 

Alright, so much for the health update, which I'm sure everybody appreciates.  Time for some fun stuff.

Didn't get to see Zombieland this weekend, but we're going tonight.  We're going to see it at the drive-in!  The last (and only) movie I saw at a drive-in was 28 Days Later.  Good flick.  Apparently I can only see zombie movies at the drive-in.

Oh!  Speaking of zombies, I have a good book reccomendation for you! 

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.  Fabulous read.  Very few books scare me, but the scenes where the main character is under attack were truly frightening.  Also, this book actually has a trailer!



Pretty nifty, eh?  So yeah, read the book. 

And now for some funny videos I found over the weekend.  Hope you enjoy them as much I as did.

Nintendo.  So good, you'll need a smoke.


Mean Kitties are everywhere..


And finally...

I think the best part, aside from this guy's outfit, is how it's making fun of the sexist and disrespectful view of women portrayed in so many rap songs and videos.  But hey, it's not sexist cause it's in a song.

That's all for today.  See you tomorrow!

Let the Right Steampunk Zombies In

Another day, another dollar, another blog.

Morning, folks!  I started my day off pretty well.  I've been wanting to get up early to go for a nice walk/jog before going to work.  The problem is that I alraedy get up at 6:30 am.  In order to get in the walk and shower, I need to get up at 5 am.  Ugh.  I failed utterly the first day I tried it.  Luckily, I have an awesome friend, Rachel, who agreed to help. Since she lives in Maryland, she called me at 8am her time.  That means 5am mine.  The phone rang, blasting forth the chorus of Chase the Morning from Repo! The Genetic Opera, and I grouchily answered.  "Get your a** out of bed.  I know it sucks, but you have a jog to go on."  "Fine.  I'm getting up, b***h.  Thanks for your help."  "No problem, doll."

Friends will call you.  Only best friends will call you at 5am to help you get out of bed.

Oddly, that whole "if you get up early and excercise, you'll feel great the rest of the day" thing is true.  I've been in a much better mood than usual and I have more energy.  I'll probably crash out and need a nap by the time I get home, though.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up.

A few interesting things I think you'll like:

Watched "Let the Right One In" last night. This movie is AWESOME!  It's based on the book of the same title written by John Ajvide Lindqvist.  It's a Swedish vampire story about a 12-year-old boy named Oskar.  He's a loner at school and gets picked on and beat up pretty regulalry.  When he gets a new neighbor, Eli, he thinks he's finally found a friend, possibly even a girlfriend.  But Eli's a bit odd and only comes out at night.  Plus, there's been a lot of mysterious murders around the area.  Great movie, awesome characters.  I just ordered the book on Amazon.com last night and can't wait for it to get here.  The people I've talk to who have seen the movie and read the book have said that while the movie rocked, the book is ten times better.  Huzzah!

Here's the trailer for the movie:

If you have the chance, rent it or read it.

Ok, here's something I'm interested in, though I haven't had a chance to really get into it. Being poor sucks.  Anywho, it's called Steampunk.  It's a pretty nifty sub-genre that has its roots in science fiction writing (such as H.G. Wells) and has evolved into a whole fashion and "gear" movement.  It's basically a romanticized version of the steam powered era.  People go about reworking existing technology to look like old-fashioned, steam-powered gadgets.  Check out a few pictures of cool gadgets here.  The fashion is pretty interesting, too.  You get a very victorian style with lots of zippers, goggles, and hardware added on.  Clockwork gears are majorly popular add-ons as are old keys.  I would love to get more involved with the scene, but it's not something you can piece together one article at a time. Unfortunately, as I stated earlier, being poor sucks.  If you want to learn more about it, here's the wikipedia link.

Alright.  That seems to do it for today.  It's Friday, woot!  It's been an awfully long week and I'm looking forward to some R&R.  Actually, I'll be going to karaoke, sleeping, doing laundry, cleaning the house, going to my cousin's birthday party, and hopefully seeing Zombieland.  Have a good weekend everybody!  See y'all Monday!