Coming Soon! NaNoWriMo 2009!

It is that time of year again and I am planning to participate in National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for short. I am under pressure this year to complete a novel (or novella for some of you purists) of at least 50,000 words. But I have to start it November 1st and complete it by midnight November 30th. The reason for the pressure is I completed the challenge last year so I am hopeful I can do it this year. The finished work needn't be ready for publishing and in most cases the end result requires numerous rewrites. But the object is to get the ideas out of your head and down on paper (or electronic media).

The biggest hurdles I will face this year will be depression over my economic situation, and World of Warcraft. To my credit I have gotten my toon in WoW to level 80 so as long as Cataclysm isn't released in Novemember I should be fine. Of course Blizzard could tempt me by releasing Starcraft II instead.

Last year my novel focused on a starship Captain, his android first mate and his strange collection of crew. Instead of furthering the adventures of my ensemble I have decided to change directions slightly. this year I have a new main character who has the ability to move through dimensions to different worlds. These worlds can be like modern day Earth or like Camelot or like Naboo. So it will be a blending of Sci-fi and fantasy backdrops.

I am hoping to get some support by encouraging my friends to participate this year. Wish me luck.

Superbowl Ads

Almost as important as the actual game are the commercials. Ad time for the Superbowl is astronomically expensive so those who do show their stuff come up with some pretty innovative stuff. Usually. The crop this year was pretty poor. I didn't watch the game, I was in church. So I didn't see the commercials when they aired. But there are websites that collect Superbowl ads. So I visited Hulu.com to watch this year's offerings. My favorite was Conan O'Brien's Bud Light commercial. Vrroom Vrroom Pah-tay Stah-tah.



I got a kick out of this Doritos commercial too.



I have mixed emotions about whether I am going to like the revisionist version of Star Trek. But the trailer looks interesting. Let's see if the film lives up to the hype. (BTW I HATED the series Enterprise with the sole exception of Scott Bakula as Archer)

In Memoriam: Patrick McGoohan

Patrick McGoohan as "The Prisoner"

Where am I?”
“In the Village.”
“What do you want?”
“Information.”
“Whose side are you on?”
“That would be telling…. We want information. Information! INFORMATION!”
“You won’t get it.”
“By hook or by crook, we will.”
“Who are you?”
“The new Number Two.”
“Who is Number One?”
“You are Number Six.”
“I am not a number — I am a free man!”

Patrick McGoohan passed away January 13th. He was best known for his role as Number Six in the psycological/sci-fi spy drama "The Prisoner".  The entire series consisted of only 17 episodes but is a cult classic. Before he passed away McGoohan had paved the way for a new updated Prisoner series. AMC and ITC shot the series and it is due to later this year. 

Aside from the Prisoner, the American born Irish McGoohan did many many T.V. shows in front and behind the camera. He starred in four Columbo movies and was a good friend with Peter Falk.  McGoohan also did movies like Silver Streak and Braveheart. He is known to have turned down the role of James Bond in Dr. No.  MaGoohan's career spanned four decades.

McGoohan is survived by his wife, three daughters and five grandchildren.

In Memoriam: Ricardo Montalban

Ricardo Montalban passed away January 14th. He was 88 years old. Montalban's career spanned 6 decades of movies, theater, and television. Best known as Mr. Roarke on ABC's "Fantasy Island",

Every week on “Fantasy Island,” a fairy tale of wish fulfillment and exotic luxury that was shown on ABC from 1978 to 1984, a planeload of visitors with unachieved dreams flew in to a remote resort somewhere in the Pacific and were greeted by their dream facilitators, the sleek and suavely welcoming Mr. Roarke, played by Mr. Montalbán, and his assistant, an irrepressibly spirited dwarf named Tattoo, played by Hervé Villechaize.

I will always remember his big screen performance as Khan in Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan.

Aside from his acting career, Montalban was also active helping to find meaningful roles for Latino actors.

Although Montalban expressed appreciation for his success, he complained that Hollywood lacked respect for Mexican American actors. He said that while under contract at MGM, he portrayed Cubans, Brazilians and Argentines, but almost never Mexicans.

"Mexican is not a nice-sounding word and Hollywood is at fault for this because we have been portrayed in this ungodly manner," he said. He challenged Hollywood to stop stereotyping Latin actors by casting them only as prostitutes, maids, gang-bangers and bandidos.

Through Nosotros -- "we" in Spanish -- Montalban attempted to highlight and recognize Latino participation in the arts and entertainment. In 1970, the foundation created the Golden Eagle Awards, which annually honors Latino stars, shows and movies.

Sources close to Montalban say he was a spiritual man. He is survived by two daughters, two sons, and six grandchildren.

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Why Remake A Film

  Okay I know there are dozens of movies that have been remade. And there are dozens of remakes of some films. My question today is why?

Sci-Fi flicks that are remakes today can take advantage of superior special effects technology like War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still.  But to really set them apart from the originals they make changes to the plot.

So what excuse does anyone have for remaking a none sci-fi movie?  I ask this because it is said that Jackie Chan has been  chosen to play Mr. Miyagi in a remake of The Karate Kid.  I am sure a lot of people are saying "Wow! Cool! Jackie will be great!" And I ask why? Why remake a film that is undeniably a classic and spawned 3 sequels? What do the producers hope to add besides star power? Jayden Smith, son of Will and Jada, may get the part of Daniel so this version of the movie will not be lacking name recognition. 

Remakes, like sequels have a mixed hit/miss history. Some remakes turn out better than the original, The Omega Man was better than The Last Man on Earth, you decide if I Am Legion was better than Omega Man. Some are worse like Rob Zombie's version of Halloween. Some are so different that they only share a name with the original film like 13 Ghosts.

Kids films are not exempt from the phenomenon. It seems in the last few years they have done remakes of many of old school favorites like  Flubber and the Shaggy Dog(D.A.)  In each case "updating" the story to make it more appealing to today's kids. And if you think that isn't necessary, try getting todays kids to sit through the originals.

So where does that leave us?  I guess the quest for more money will always drive some producer or diredctor to remake an old film.  Often the determination of whether it is "better" than the predecessor is in the eye of the beholder.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite film with a horrible remake? How about a remake favorite that was better than the one before? Let me know in the comments.

In Memoriam : Eartha Kitt

The world lost a very distinctive voice and an most unique personality Dec 25th. Veteran actress, singer, dancer Eartha Kitt died at 81.

Through the 1950s and '60s, she performed on stage and television, in films and nightclubs.

Her best-known TV performance was as Catwoman on the '60s series Batman. Her distinctive purr was later featured in the animated film The Emperor's New Groove and the Disney Channel series The Emperor's New School, for which she won Emmy Awards in 2007 and 2008.

The biggest controversy of her career occurred in 1968, when she spoke out against the Vietnam War at a White House luncheon hosted by first lady Lady Bird Johnson.

She was investigated by the FBI and the CIA and subsequently worked almost exclusively overseas. She later returned and, in 1978, was the toast of Broadway performing in Timbuktu.

Just before she died I had downloaded several of her songs including "I Want to Be Evil" I also have a copy of her version of "Santa Baby" which was certified gold last month. Earth Kitt had one child, a daughter Kitt Shapiro from her marriage to John Barry Ryan. Kitt said this of her mother:

"I had the most amazing mother. She was not afraid of dying. She was in pain, but funny right to the end. One of the last things she said when I was talking loudly to her - like you do to a sick person - was: 'I'm dying. I'm not losing my hearing!'
"And she said, 'There won't be a burial. I'll be cremated. I don't want to take up space.'
"My mother had no regrets. She said: 'I have lived an amazing life. I did everything I ever dreamed of.' I was truly, truly blessed to have landed in her lap."

Eartha Kitt had to rise above an early life of abuse and her story is inspiring. I hope that at some point she was able to come to the saving Grace and Knowledge of Jesus. Please pray for her daughter and two grandchildren.



Eartha Kitt: A triple-threat talent for the ages - USATODAY.com

If Magritte Could Photochop

Someone commented that one of my photochopped images reminded him of a Magritte's painting. So I was inspired to do more. I scoured the internet and found images I thought would be easy to manipulate. I never realized how hard it was to remove 90% of a person from a photograph.

Merry Christmas 2008

Isaiah 7:14 (King James Version)

 14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

 

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. I encourage everyone to take time today and reflect on the precious gift we received from God., His only begotten Son. And then reflect on the wonderful gift Jesus gives to each of us. Salvation to all who ask.  Have a wonderful Christmas!

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Thunder, Thunder, Thunder, Thundercats Ho

Imagine Brad Pitt as Lion-o, Vin Disel as Panthro, Hugh Jackman as Tigra. Then check out this (fake) Trailer for a Thundercats Live action movie. Also featured are Gigi Edgley (Chiana from Farscape) as Cheetara and Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara (of Spy Kids fame) as Wileykit and Wileykat.

In Memoriam: Majel Barrett Roddenberry

Majel Roddenberry passed away today. While every trekker knows of her work in ST:TOS, ST:TNG, ST:DS9, ST:V, she was also involved in getting other Roddenberry projects to television. And she was genuinely a nice lady. I had the privilege of meeting and talking to her in person a few years back when she was the guest of honor at the Gen Con Game Fair. She walked right up to us while we were siting in the atrium of the Hyatt and asked us about the game we were playing. We talked for several minutes before she moved on. Very friendly. 

The story says she passed away from leukemia.  Please pray for her family.

Star Trek Universe Loses Majel Barrett Roddenberry

What I Did On My Summer Hiatus

Well most of what I did was participate in our annual Vacation Bible School. We split the kids up into teams and each team was color coded. Here you see the team flags green, red, yellow, blue, orange and purple.

I think one of the favorite activities was eating. Here you see people lined up at the food stand.

The Blue Team prepares for action!

The Spirit of Competition was thick in the air

If we could only bottle the energy the kids have!

But not everything took place in the hot summer sun

We had plenty of skits in the air conditioned Fellowship Hall

The last day we did something special and arranged for a "blow up amusement park"

We also used part of the property to set up a paintball range. A big hit with the teens.

The girls play "Super Volley Ball".

They worked together much better than the guys.

The Green Team teens relax and chow down.

While VBS was a day shorter this year, we still managed to do more, holding it all day instead of just in the late afternoon like previous years. It certainly drained me.
But we are already planning for next year!

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Pay No Attention to the Embedded Object Below

For my friends and those who supported me through NaNoWriMo. No. I do not know when I will get around to killing you. You cannot rush these things. They take time.

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It's Over and I Can Reclaim My Life

As you can see I have met the NaNoWriMo Challenge and prevailed. I can not begin to tell you the feeling of accomplishment I have. Now If I just had some cover art.

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NaNoWriMo is Going Well. Too Well.

If you've noticed the NaNoWriMo widget in the lower sidebar, I am more or less on track with the NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth.  In fact I will probably surpass the word count I stopped at last year by Friday. I am pumped and psyched and wanting to get through this.  Some participants have already completed the 50,000 word challenge.  I just hope that I can stay on task and finish this year.

By some strange quirk of fate, the co-worker I sit next to after our department moved to a new area is also doing NaNoWriMo only she finished hers last year where I fell short. This year we can encourage each other. I think support is making all the difference this year.

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In Memoriam : Michael Crighton

Micheal Crighton, author of Jurassic Park and Andromeda Strain has died at the age of 66. He past away Tuesday after losing his battle with cancer.

"Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand," his family said in a statement.

I remember reading "The Andromedan Strain" and not being able to put it down. His imagination and writing inspired me and does to this day.



Michael Crichton dies of cancer

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