Tom Lehrer

Enjoy a little of Tom Lehrer; someone who has a way with his words, and never too embarrassed to say what he thinks. Give it a listen, you'll love it.

The Avengers (2012)

Originally I was planning on a different post tonight, but when Marvel's- The Avengers hit the screen this weekend, I knew it could not be ignored.

From the beginning, Scarlett was back from the Ironman sequel to prove her salt. And with her mix of tough girl fight scenes and humor I loved seeing her return.  Robert Downey, Jr. returned once again to fill the shoes of Mr. Tony Stark, but lets be honest, could anyone else fill the snarky shoes of Tony Stark? I think not. Director Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson proved to be the seasoned character we needed to lead the Avengers.

Solider, aka. Captain America, had to be played by Chris Evans, because most women would not have tolerated seeing him replaced, besides we love his white knight personality and commitment to the cause.

Moving on to Chris Hemsworth, Thor, I really don't think anyone could do a God justice. Besides without those golden locks I'm sure most woman would revolt. And in this situation he fits the part.

One thing in particular that impressed me was the decision to cast Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. He nailed the persona of Bruce; matching the old eighties television series version to a tee. I think he did such a great job that if they do any further Hulk appearances he would have to return. This says a lot coming from me when I haven't enjoyed a single Hulk movie to this day. Simply put, The Hulk was awesome.

Finally, Jeremy Renner, aka. Hawkeye, he has been around and appeared in both television- series and movies works, and Hollywood cinema films. I think he filled the roll as much as possible. Unfortunately Hawkeye will only get so big, unlike some of the other superheros; nothing against Jeremy or Hawkeye.

This was an amazing movie; from the cast of characters, to the amazing CGI, and to the writing. I have to say with each superhero movie that comes out the next one gets bigger, better, and leaves us wanting more.

".....puny God." Best line by The Hulk

From Fangs to Fur

After stumbling across this video I had to share it with you. I mean how could I possibly resist sharing sixteen minutes of the great Anne Rice. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did .





What is your Anne Rice favorite?

Fifty Shades of Grey

It seems as though everyone has chimed in on this book; opinions ranging from amazing, to bad writing, or just weak editing, while many others are calling it just plain juicy.

I have read the book, and while I have my own opinion, I'm not going to spoil anyone’s reading experience. I would love to hear your opinion. What did you think? Did you enjoy it? 

Even after reading the book I haven't a clue what made this book so popular, do you? 

Did you have a favorite character- Anastasia Steele or Christian Grey?

*Comments may contain spoilers*

The Vampire Diaries

After three seasons of listening to everyone tweet about The Vampire Diaries I began to feel as though it was time to give Stefan and Damon a second chance.

I’ll be honest; when The Vampire Diaries was just getting started I was a bit jaded by all the poorly done vampire and paranormal stories floating around.  So, after watching the first episode that was that and I was done with The Vampire Diaries. Truth be told, I never gave them a fair shake. And I was okay with it, never looking back until a few weeks ago when curiosity got the best of me.

Picking up from the beginning I started watching, this time with an open mind. Episode after episode I watched the unique ability it had to blend everyone together and diminish the things that in normal life would separate us. The one thing that rose above everything important and trivial was the fact that everyone lives in a town of vampires. Worse yet, some know and others remain clueless. Which side of that fence would you like to be on?

I couldn’t stay away. This show is the best when it comes to cliff hanger endings. I had to see who would be placed on the chopping block next.

With the introduction of each new character more of the story was revealed, such as with Alaric. He offered us another character to both feel sorry for and despise, while sharing more about the vampires, and in a weird way he often became the buffer between the Salvatore brothers; a dead one, but a buffer nonetheless.  

And lets not forget “Witches are fickle,” as Damon puts it. Another interesting aspect to the storyline is how crucial a part the witches play in not only creating vampires but increasing their paranormal abilities.

One of my favorite witches is Bonnie. I love how she condemns the vampires for simply being who they are, but all the while she uses her abilities to change fate based on what she believes. Stay out of vampire business the Bennett’s repeat, but do they stay out of human business? Somehow it seems unfair, doesn’t it?

Lastly, but definitely not forgotten is the fur. I love the wolves, but they have to step up their game. I don’t like them to be a wedge or a  last minute thought. They deserve much more.

I can't help but wonder what is in store for the The Originals? They have such an attachment to all the vampires will they every leave- for good?


For the record Damon gets my vote!

2012 A to Z Challenge

Good Morning, and Happy Easter to those of you who take part. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

I am spending my morning having a great time reading several of the A to Z blogs. I look forward to being able to take part the next time it comes around. Since I was not able to, I would like to share with you some of the talented bloggers who are:    2012 A to Z Challenge Sign Up List

If you are interested in checking out the Challenge website click here: A to Z Challenge. I hope you will take some time and enjoy your favorite bloggers approach to the challenge. Don't forget to comment and cheer them on.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Throwing The Death Blow

The only true way to become a better writer is to continue writing and reading. By reading different styles and voices we begin to learn how to use different tools. And one day killing will be nothing more than a tool we keep in our tool box.

I call them tools specifically for a reason. Hopefully you won’t want to shoot me after I share this with you, but I am not a major Stephen King fan. Let me explain before you proceed with the pitchforks and shotguns. Stephen King is a brilliant writer. He also has more rejections than I could imagine, not to mention published works. I love listening to him share his experiences, his life, and stories about writing.I’m just not into most of his stories, I wish I were.

I sat down and read his book ‘On Writing’ and it was amazing. I keep it close by and it is one of several books I reread every couple of years. In his book he refers to writing skills as tools. Tools are something we need to acquire, learn how to use, and most importantly even though one tool can do a lot of things it isn’t made to do them all.

Deciding to throw the death blow is a difficult decision to make. But for some writers, this one included, we are ready from the first page. Is it always necessary? No.

When I say throw the death blow, I’m not talking about the unknown victim, or the numbers of bodies that pile up in the more graphic adult written books. No, I’m talking about the victim that will cause an emotional ripple, a person who will have an effect on future events, or the one who will force the reader not to close that book but rather keep reading.

There is an extreme difficulty in killing a member of a group when each person of that group brings a certain dynamic. Nor can we forget that readers each have a favorite; like Ted Forester, Anita, Sookie, Rachel, Cat, Fathye, Maggie, Mercy, Kyrian, and Rhage. Granted I listed main characters but readers don’t always pick the main character as their favorite. So killing any one of those more favored characters will have consequences.

As we decide who to place in our chalked outline we have to make sure that all of their business has been taken care of, or by their absence we are continuing the story; because we don’t do daytime dramas. So, explaining a death by the use of a weak implausible dream is not an option.

Now that you have spent a disgusting amount of time, brooding, running, drinking, or whatever else it is you do to make a decision we have our victim. And whatever tool you use is completely up to you. Several scenarios could further the story: a clue left on the murder victim may help find the murderer, murder may serve as motivation or a turning point, or the murder may allow our character to change where the victim had been holding him/her back.

As we become more experienced we may grow to understand death improperly implemented may be as wrong as death itself. What do you think?

Dark Shadows, A Tim Burton Spin.

Watching the trailer for Dark Shadows it quickly becomes obvious that this movie is once again classic Tim Burton. From the trailer, the story seems funny and entertaining, but a serious Vampire tale it is not. Johnny Depp again adds his unique abilities to deliver a more than interesting Barnabas Collins.

I have to say based on the trailer I am at the least interested.

How do you think this movie will be received by audiences?

No Longer Will The Scary Old Coffin Do...

The Vampire have changed over the last couple hundred years. No longer are they just part of the living dead. No. They are much more.  More than just blood sucking corpses.

They have respectable positions in the community. They contribute to order, hell, they even keep the other monsters under control.

You can debate the fact of whether you agree with this or not another time. Right now we're here to offer the the new and amazing line of 2012 daytime resting coffins. All coffins are available in limited quantities and by special order only. All orders must be paid in full prior to Midnight on December 31,2011.

Before I get started let me remind you that we do not offer warranties. All coffins are sold as is. This includes warranting the inner batting against blood stains.

Each Coffin comes with internal locking systems, meets fire resistance rating to class 125-8 thus keeping any vampire as safe as a bug in a rug. We also have ensured each coffin with ballistics security using UL 752, offering protection up to a level 6. This gives any vampire complete and total security until his montage takes care of the pesky intruder.

We understand that we live in a modern day, and it is nothing like it was hundreds of years ago. Vampires are much different now. You are now vogue; the socially cool, the sexually desired, today's modern day fetish.

With that you have an expectation to live up to. Not only must you be superior to mortals, but you must create and image and lifestyle that puts you with the elite, a modern day aristocrat. And that lifestyle must bode the most desirable everything, down to your daytime resting place.

So, without further ado, I present you with the most elite of 2012 coffins.

No longer are you expected to tolerate the dull and unsafe coffin of yesteryear.

Our first offer is product 1-700A, the premier coffin for the important vampire. No matter if you're a Sheriff, a King, a gorger, or an up and coming vampire; you deserve the premier coffin. Remember each coffin is available in limited quantities.

Our next product is 2-800C, a coffin for the more crazy vampire. If you are more vertiaclly interactive you need big yellow.

We also offer 7-6890, a special unit, a unit for the spacial minded, the active brain, and those newer vampires who cant seem to separate and unplug themselves from technology. This unit will move fast, so don't waste time in making your decision.

And finally with 3-More, we haven't failed to include a coffin for the newly acquired family, something with a little more room, or we'll just let you figure out how you can make this useful.

We also offer customized coffins built to your exacting specifications. Remember, it's not only important where you spend your daylight rest, but how you spend your daylight rest. Feel free to Contact your local Daylight Resting Coffins representative to take care of your needs.

Revenge

I stumbled across a new series that has the makings of a great show. For some reason it took me some time to get into it, but now that I am, I can’t seem to part with it.

It has everything I love in a great story, well minus the monsters. So, without the monsters I decided to give it a shot.

My favorite and most important detail, well maybe second to money, are the beautiful women. But be careful everyone has their own agenda here, even the women. Hold on, back to the money, I’m not referring to an overstuffed get me through the summer bag of money. No, this is ‘we have a shit pot load of money’. Like, I have so much money I can’t wrap my head around it and I vacation in the Hamptons. Exactly.

And where better to place this story than in the high profile party life of a summer in ‘The Hamptons’?

Tag along for lies, betrayal, sex, murder, and our favorite: secrets. But promise not to tell. Shhhhh….

I don’t watch a tremendous amount of television, but with The Walking Dead gone for a while I’m forced to look for a television series that will provide for some much needed detox time. I scanned Hulu to see what was new and I came across Revenge.

Though it lacks Vampires, Were-animals, Zombies, and Witches it still has some intrigue. So, until I find something that excites me as much as my beloved True Blood and The Walking Dead I think I’ll pause here for a bit.

If you’ve found a fix for your monster crush or stumbled across a television show that is so good you just can’t stop talking about it. Let me know I'm seriously interested.