Back in 2011, there was a very limited theatrical re-release of my all time favorite movie, Ghostbusters. I was intent on going, but circumstances prevented me from being able to do so. Fast forward three years and the studios decided to mark the 30th anniversary of the film's release by giving it a limited theatrical run.
Unlike the previous re-release, this one was significantly more flexible. There are more showings, it's showing at more theaters, and the run seems to be a bit longer. At the very least, the days are consecutive as opposed to just being open for one day a week for three weeks in a row.
Having missed the last run, I made a point to venture out to the local theater to catch the flick on the big screen and it was all I could have hoped for. Hearing Gozer issue its ultimatum has a lot more umph in Dolby surround sound and the immense size of the Stay Puft Marshmallow man is better displayed on a theater screen.
I was happy that I was able to make it out this time around. It would have been a shame if I had missed another opportunity to see the film in all it's glory. If you get a chance, I would definitely recommend making the trip out to see the classic. It is definitely worth the 8 bucks.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Daily Dose of Awesome: Beer Pogs
I never really got into Pogs back when they were popular. I had some, but it was no match for the power of the Star Wars CCG in my mind (I had an addiction problem with that game back in the day, but that's a story for another post). Anyway, I was wandering Amazon and found that they still sold the aforementioned Star Wars cards. That got me curious about Pogs, and sure enough, there are still some for sale. What really caught my eye was a game called Beer Pogz. The subtitle alone sold me; it's a drinking game with Pogs.
I've never played it myself, I have only a vague idea of how it works based on the product summary, but the notion alone makes this worthy of honorable mention on this blog.
As I'm not much of a drinker, drinking games don't really appeal to me, but this is so ridiculous it's awesome. I want to see someone bring this to a party to see how it plays out. Turning Pogs into a drinking game is such a goofy concept, and I love it. If you're a fan of drinking and want to spice up a party with something besides Beer Pong, this is just what you're looking for.
I've never played it myself, I have only a vague idea of how it works based on the product summary, but the notion alone makes this worthy of honorable mention on this blog.
As I'm not much of a drinker, drinking games don't really appeal to me, but this is so ridiculous it's awesome. I want to see someone bring this to a party to see how it plays out. Turning Pogs into a drinking game is such a goofy concept, and I love it. If you're a fan of drinking and want to spice up a party with something besides Beer Pong, this is just what you're looking for.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Daily Dose of Awesome: Stouffer's French Bread Pizza
In this busy, work-a-day life, a lot of us don't have time to cook. We're busy, dang it. The easy solution is to just make a sandwich, or bowl of cereal, maybe pop something in the microwave. Luckily, Stouffer's has come to the rescue with frozen meals that don't take long to cook. You just set the oven, pop it in, and in a few minutes you're eating a filling meal.
The crown jewel in Stouffers' "menu" is their French bread pizza. Darn it all, this stuff is tasty. You'd think that pizza is pizza, but this really manages to stand out and have it's own distinctive flavor.
I get impatient when I'm hungry. There have been times where I'd consider making pasta, or some other food item that requires time and decide against it just because I don't really feel like waiting. With this, however, it's well worth the wait. Admittedly, the wait isn't that long, only half an hour (20 mins cooking and 10 mins to preheat) but I never regret putting in the time to cook up a couple of slices.
This is one of the few foods where you will actually find yourself going "om nom nom nom" as you eat because it's so delicious.
There are some flaws however. The options are few. You can only get Stouffer's with either plain cheese or pepperoni. Both are very good, but we usually go with pepperoni. Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea to offer some other toppings.
It would be pretty inexpensive to offer a line that has say, veggie toppings and you would appeal to a wider market of customers. I'm more than happy with the pepperoni pizza. I wouldn't write this under "Daily dose of awesome" if I didn't, but I'm just trying to think big picture here.
Another flaw is the box size, even the big boxes only have 9 pizzas in there. That doesn't last very long. We usually eat two at a time and three if we're really hungry. I think doubling it to 18 would be more effective. There's more, and as it's a multiple of both 2 and 3 it's easier to distribute. You could say that 12 meets that criteria as well, but 18 is more than 12, ergo it's better. Going any higher would be a bit ridiculous so it's a good middle figure number.
If an 18 pizza box isn't feasible, than perhaps making the pizzas bigger is a viable alternative. As I said, it takes 2 pizzas to fill me, so increasing the size of the individual pizzas might negate the need to cook 2 in order to feel like I got a satisfyingly filling meal.
Ordering pizza can get pretty pricey. Stouffer's has given us a product that allows us to enjoy a delicious variation on the classic dish at a low price. The only flaws come from the finite nature of the product i.e. it seems to go too quickly. As far as flaws go, it's not a bad one to have. This is especially true with food, as it means that people like eating it.
You can read my review here.
The crown jewel in Stouffers' "menu" is their French bread pizza. Darn it all, this stuff is tasty. You'd think that pizza is pizza, but this really manages to stand out and have it's own distinctive flavor.
I get impatient when I'm hungry. There have been times where I'd consider making pasta, or some other food item that requires time and decide against it just because I don't really feel like waiting. With this, however, it's well worth the wait. Admittedly, the wait isn't that long, only half an hour (20 mins cooking and 10 mins to preheat) but I never regret putting in the time to cook up a couple of slices.
This is one of the few foods where you will actually find yourself going "om nom nom nom" as you eat because it's so delicious.
There are some flaws however. The options are few. You can only get Stouffer's with either plain cheese or pepperoni. Both are very good, but we usually go with pepperoni. Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea to offer some other toppings.
It would be pretty inexpensive to offer a line that has say, veggie toppings and you would appeal to a wider market of customers. I'm more than happy with the pepperoni pizza. I wouldn't write this under "Daily dose of awesome" if I didn't, but I'm just trying to think big picture here.
Another flaw is the box size, even the big boxes only have 9 pizzas in there. That doesn't last very long. We usually eat two at a time and three if we're really hungry. I think doubling it to 18 would be more effective. There's more, and as it's a multiple of both 2 and 3 it's easier to distribute. You could say that 12 meets that criteria as well, but 18 is more than 12, ergo it's better. Going any higher would be a bit ridiculous so it's a good middle figure number.
If an 18 pizza box isn't feasible, than perhaps making the pizzas bigger is a viable alternative. As I said, it takes 2 pizzas to fill me, so increasing the size of the individual pizzas might negate the need to cook 2 in order to feel like I got a satisfyingly filling meal.
Ordering pizza can get pretty pricey. Stouffer's has given us a product that allows us to enjoy a delicious variation on the classic dish at a low price. The only flaws come from the finite nature of the product i.e. it seems to go too quickly. As far as flaws go, it's not a bad one to have. This is especially true with food, as it means that people like eating it.
You can read my review here.
Informative Post vs. Associated Content
*Originally published on 1/29/09
**This article was already somewhat obsolete since Informative Post tanked a few years back, but now that Associated Content/Yahoo Voices has shut down as well, it's doubly irrelevant...hooray!! In any event, here are my thoughts on the two sites from back when they were up and running.
I'm always looking for more paying websites to write for. Associated Content has been good to me, but having multiple places to write gives me more options so that writer's block becomes less frequent. In addition, having multiple websites allows me to submit articles en masse without bombarding the editors at one site with whatever workload I get through. One site that I came across recently was Informative Post. It has become something of a rival to Associated Content. I ran searches and found that both sites feature articles by contributors that say that their site is the superior. As curious as I am to see if I got published if I wrote an article saying Informative Post was better and then submitting an article to Informative Post saying Associated Content was better, I'm just going to weigh the pros and cons here and keep things simple.
Both sites have their pros and cons. Informative Post is upfront about their upfront payments (upfront payments are upfront). Honestly, when you write the article, you select the category and it tells you flat out what they are going to pay you. There is no guesswork, no worrying about keyword density, you'll know flat out what sort of money you're going to pull in.
Another good thing about Informative Post is the fact that once you get an article written, they will feature it on the front page for several days allowing your work to gain page views, even if you do focus on esoteric subject matter. This is great for an initial burst, but having searchable articles is still a good idea in the long run.
Associated Content does have its pros. While Informative Post tells you what payment you are going to get, the pay levels are about the same. There is potential to earn higher upfront payments ($10-$40 levels) with Associated Content though. I have yet to hit that sort of upfront payment. However I don't focus on keyword density so much as I just write what I want and let the chips fall where they may.
Associated Content is also much faster with responses. I have filled up the queue on Informative Post (you can only have 10 articles in at a time) so now I'm playing the waiting game with them as they review my work. As I am new and still have a low AP rating, it will probably be a while. This is another factor, the AP rating is supposed to keep you active in the community. I get it to a point, however, my queue is full and articles don't come through that frequently so how am I supposed to comment in order to get my rating up? It's most likely just a time factor. A few months from now, I will have a high enough rating to get things published quickly. No matter how active you are at Associated Content, your work will be read and responded to in a pretty prompt manner.
Both have their pros and cons, however even with those cons, they are still the best two websites to write for. I have only worked with a couple, but many writers support the idea that Associated Content is one of the better sites. Informative Post is still new and needs time to grow, but I am sure that the two of them will be the Coke and Pepsi of internet article publishing.
You can read my reviewstream review of Associated Content here.
**This article was already somewhat obsolete since Informative Post tanked a few years back, but now that Associated Content/Yahoo Voices has shut down as well, it's doubly irrelevant...hooray!! In any event, here are my thoughts on the two sites from back when they were up and running.
I'm always looking for more paying websites to write for. Associated Content has been good to me, but having multiple places to write gives me more options so that writer's block becomes less frequent. In addition, having multiple websites allows me to submit articles en masse without bombarding the editors at one site with whatever workload I get through. One site that I came across recently was Informative Post. It has become something of a rival to Associated Content. I ran searches and found that both sites feature articles by contributors that say that their site is the superior. As curious as I am to see if I got published if I wrote an article saying Informative Post was better and then submitting an article to Informative Post saying Associated Content was better, I'm just going to weigh the pros and cons here and keep things simple.
Both sites have their pros and cons. Informative Post is upfront about their upfront payments (upfront payments are upfront). Honestly, when you write the article, you select the category and it tells you flat out what they are going to pay you. There is no guesswork, no worrying about keyword density, you'll know flat out what sort of money you're going to pull in.
Another good thing about Informative Post is the fact that once you get an article written, they will feature it on the front page for several days allowing your work to gain page views, even if you do focus on esoteric subject matter. This is great for an initial burst, but having searchable articles is still a good idea in the long run.
Associated Content does have its pros. While Informative Post tells you what payment you are going to get, the pay levels are about the same. There is potential to earn higher upfront payments ($10-$40 levels) with Associated Content though. I have yet to hit that sort of upfront payment. However I don't focus on keyword density so much as I just write what I want and let the chips fall where they may.
Associated Content is also much faster with responses. I have filled up the queue on Informative Post (you can only have 10 articles in at a time) so now I'm playing the waiting game with them as they review my work. As I am new and still have a low AP rating, it will probably be a while. This is another factor, the AP rating is supposed to keep you active in the community. I get it to a point, however, my queue is full and articles don't come through that frequently so how am I supposed to comment in order to get my rating up? It's most likely just a time factor. A few months from now, I will have a high enough rating to get things published quickly. No matter how active you are at Associated Content, your work will be read and responded to in a pretty prompt manner.
Both have their pros and cons, however even with those cons, they are still the best two websites to write for. I have only worked with a couple, but many writers support the idea that Associated Content is one of the better sites. Informative Post is still new and needs time to grow, but I am sure that the two of them will be the Coke and Pepsi of internet article publishing.
You can read my reviewstream review of Associated Content here.
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
*originally published on 7/12/09
I always thought that Michael Bay got a bad rap. I mean people truly seem to hate him. OK, his movies aren't brilliant masterpieces but I've always been able to enjoy them for what they were. The first Transformers had its faults, but it was ultimately enjoyable for me. What I'd heard about the sequel was that the critics hated it and the moviegoers loved it. More often than not in these situations, I go on the side of the moviegoers as that is the category I fall into.
This movie though? This...this movie's terrible! I knew about most of the major plot elements from various reviews, but it still left me in a speechless shock. It had the same effect on my roommates. I mentioned how the first one had it's flaws, most sequels try to fix them and deliver a better movie. Bay, however, did the opposite. He took everything that was wrong with the first movie and expanded on it, practically wiping out the good.
Nothing can prepare your brain for what you're going to see in this movie. Nothing. It's just as bad as Two-Face using Zeppelins to dump acid on Gotham. I knew about that beforehand and still, when I got to those pages I had to stop for a second to just go "...what the hell?" This movie is the same.
Even more amazing is the fact that it goes on for 2 and a half hours (the same length as The Dark Knight) and yet...nothing happens!!! It's really uncanny how the movie meanders about. It's like Countdown to Final Crisis in that it tries to add weight by having plot after plot after plot and ultimately go nowhere and accomplish nothing.
What's sad is that this movie made money, and they're already planning a sequel. I..gah. Last summer kicked ass as far as movies go, why did we take a huge step backwards? Star Trek was pretty good, Up was great, Drag Me to Hell was quite a bit of fun, and The Hangover was hilarious but beyond that it's been stinkers all around. I want 2008 back please, k thanks bye.
People complained about the twins, and yes they are quite bad and as racist as people said, but they weren't in the film all that much. A lot of characters didn't seem to be in it all that much, Megatron, Optimus, even Tyrese and Josh Duhamel have minor roles. There are a lot more robots, but they don't really seem to have names and they all look the freaking same, even more so than in the first one.
Yes, Megan Fox is still comely (though she looked better in the first one) and I could listen to Peter Cullen talk forever, there are a couple of good moments of genuine entertainment, but those only get you so far.
Movies like this are what lend credence to the belief that piracy is a good thing. Even with that though, don't bother. Use those 2 and a half hours for something better. I know this review is too little too late. The movie already made a ton of money, which will in turn tell the studios that it's OK to give us movies like this. It's not; it really is not OK. We deserve better, people.
You can read my reviewstream review here.
I always thought that Michael Bay got a bad rap. I mean people truly seem to hate him. OK, his movies aren't brilliant masterpieces but I've always been able to enjoy them for what they were. The first Transformers had its faults, but it was ultimately enjoyable for me. What I'd heard about the sequel was that the critics hated it and the moviegoers loved it. More often than not in these situations, I go on the side of the moviegoers as that is the category I fall into.
This movie though? This...this movie's terrible! I knew about most of the major plot elements from various reviews, but it still left me in a speechless shock. It had the same effect on my roommates. I mentioned how the first one had it's flaws, most sequels try to fix them and deliver a better movie. Bay, however, did the opposite. He took everything that was wrong with the first movie and expanded on it, practically wiping out the good.
Nothing can prepare your brain for what you're going to see in this movie. Nothing. It's just as bad as Two-Face using Zeppelins to dump acid on Gotham. I knew about that beforehand and still, when I got to those pages I had to stop for a second to just go "...what the hell?" This movie is the same.
Even more amazing is the fact that it goes on for 2 and a half hours (the same length as The Dark Knight) and yet...nothing happens!!! It's really uncanny how the movie meanders about. It's like Countdown to Final Crisis in that it tries to add weight by having plot after plot after plot and ultimately go nowhere and accomplish nothing.
What's sad is that this movie made money, and they're already planning a sequel. I..gah. Last summer kicked ass as far as movies go, why did we take a huge step backwards? Star Trek was pretty good, Up was great, Drag Me to Hell was quite a bit of fun, and The Hangover was hilarious but beyond that it's been stinkers all around. I want 2008 back please, k thanks bye.
People complained about the twins, and yes they are quite bad and as racist as people said, but they weren't in the film all that much. A lot of characters didn't seem to be in it all that much, Megatron, Optimus, even Tyrese and Josh Duhamel have minor roles. There are a lot more robots, but they don't really seem to have names and they all look the freaking same, even more so than in the first one.
Yes, Megan Fox is still comely (though she looked better in the first one) and I could listen to Peter Cullen talk forever, there are a couple of good moments of genuine entertainment, but those only get you so far.
Movies like this are what lend credence to the belief that piracy is a good thing. Even with that though, don't bother. Use those 2 and a half hours for something better. I know this review is too little too late. The movie already made a ton of money, which will in turn tell the studios that it's OK to give us movies like this. It's not; it really is not OK. We deserve better, people.
You can read my reviewstream review here.
Daily Dose of Awesome: Chocolate Milk
I love chocolate milk. Some may write it off as a kid's drink, but I say bah to that. It's tasty is what it is. You can keep your coffees and fine wines because this, my friends is, as they say, where it's at. It is a drink that goes really well with sandwiches, making for a nice mid-day treat. I find it goes especially well with either peanut butter sandwiches (not surprising as those two flavors are often paired together) and grilled cheese sandwiches.
In any event, chocolate milk is refreshing and delicious. Milk on its own is quite refreshing and delicious, don't get me wrong, but occasionally mixing it in with chocolate can do wonders.
Now, when it comes to brands, I'm more partial to Hershey's. I find that they syrup makes for a stronger chocolate flavor, though really, you can't go wrong with any of them. Chocolate + milk is a pretty difficult formula to screw up, so if you find that you prefer the powder mix over the syrup, you go right ahead and enjoy it.
In any event, chocolate milk is refreshing and delicious. Milk on its own is quite refreshing and delicious, don't get me wrong, but occasionally mixing it in with chocolate can do wonders.
Now, when it comes to brands, I'm more partial to Hershey's. I find that they syrup makes for a stronger chocolate flavor, though really, you can't go wrong with any of them. Chocolate + milk is a pretty difficult formula to screw up, so if you find that you prefer the powder mix over the syrup, you go right ahead and enjoy it.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Daily Dose of Awesome: Man V. Food
Lately, I've been hooked on the Travel Channel series, Man v. Food. The show's a sort of travelogue where host, Adam Richman, goes from city to city and checks out local eateries. He'll often try a signature dish, many of which are either really large or really spicy.
It all culminates in a "food challenge", where the host partakes in one eateries challenge to eat either an ungodly amount of food in a set period of time or eat an extremely spicy dish without beverages in a set period of time.
While the amount of food that gets used in some of these challenges is mind boggling, it, oddly enough, ends up making me hungry. I guess that's part of the fun of the show. You see him eating these huge burgers or steaks and then you, yourself, want a big burger or steak.
In the fourth season, the show underwent a relaunch and became Man v. Food Nation. While Adam still goes from city to city and checks out diners and restaurants, local townsfolk partake in the actual challenges and Adam takes on the role of mentor. I understand the desire to shake up the formula, and the show is still enjoyable, but I'm more partial to the old set up. That's just me.
In any case, this is a fun show to watch. As someone who enjoys his food, it's fascinating to see someone go beyond the impossible and overcome these seemingly impossible food challenges.
It all culminates in a "food challenge", where the host partakes in one eateries challenge to eat either an ungodly amount of food in a set period of time or eat an extremely spicy dish without beverages in a set period of time.
While the amount of food that gets used in some of these challenges is mind boggling, it, oddly enough, ends up making me hungry. I guess that's part of the fun of the show. You see him eating these huge burgers or steaks and then you, yourself, want a big burger or steak.
In the fourth season, the show underwent a relaunch and became Man v. Food Nation. While Adam still goes from city to city and checks out diners and restaurants, local townsfolk partake in the actual challenges and Adam takes on the role of mentor. I understand the desire to shake up the formula, and the show is still enjoyable, but I'm more partial to the old set up. That's just me.
In any case, this is a fun show to watch. As someone who enjoys his food, it's fascinating to see someone go beyond the impossible and overcome these seemingly impossible food challenges.
Stephen King bibliography: Skeleton Crew
The Mist
Here There Be Tygers
The Monkey
Cain Rose Up
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut
The Jaunt
The Wedding Gig
Paranoid: A Chant
The Raft
Word Processor of the Gods
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands
Beachworld
The Reaper's Image
Nona
For Owen
Survivor Type
Uncle Otto's Truck
Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1)
Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2)
Gramma
Ballad of the Flexible Bullet
The Reach
Here There Be Tygers
The Monkey
Cain Rose Up
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut
The Jaunt
The Wedding Gig
Paranoid: A Chant
The Raft
Word Processor of the Gods
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands
Beachworld
The Reaper's Image
Nona
For Owen
Survivor Type
Uncle Otto's Truck
Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1)
Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2)
Gramma
Ballad of the Flexible Bullet
The Reach
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Daily Dose of Awesome: California Love
That's right, a nerdy white guy is going to talk about rap music!
Oh, calm down, I know what I'm talking about...sort of. Ok, honestly, I never really got into Tupac. I was more partial to Biggie myself. While it's certainly tragic that he died so young and for the reasons that he did, I never really held him as a reverent figure as some do.
Still, I like this song. It's what the fly homies refer to as a phat beat.
Never. Say that. Again.
Yeah, I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off, worth a shot though.
This song came out back when rap was at its peak. It really succeeds on all levels. As mentioned before it's got a good beat, the rapping is well done, and it's just a fun song to listen to. I think Dre's presence helps give the song a nice boost. He produced it and it shows as it is similar to the "Chronic" type hip hop that he was making after he left NWA. While NWA may've had the larger political impact, I have to admit I like his post NWA stuff better.
Not only did he produce it, but he guest stars, again boosting the quality of the song that much further. I kind of like his parts better than Tupac's. Your mileage may vary and you could make the argument that him stealing the show isn't a good thing, but that's just my take on it.
Even the music video is well done. Now, I know, some of you youngsters may not know what a music video is, but back in my day, MTV would actually play music. The songs were accompanied by video that the artists were involved in. Sometimes it was just the band singing, but usually they tried to come up with some sort of story that was relevant to the lyrics.
With this video, they were going for a post apocalyptic, "Mad Max" look. Does it ultimately go anywhere? Not really, but it does give the video a visual flair. I also have to admit, Dr. Dre looks like a BAMF with that eye patch. This video is also notable for the Chris Tucker appearance and for coining the phrase "can you dig iiiit!!?" before The Rock made it his own.
The video also features a "cliff hanger" with a "to be continued" tag. I guess Limp Bizkit wasn't the only one to try this. The latter attempt didn't work so well. I'm not sure if Tupac ever did make the "conclusion" to this. From what I can tell, he didn't, but I may be wrong. Either way, I'm not crazy about it. It's one thing to have a story within the video, but to come up with an "arc"? I don't think it works the way the artists hope it would. This is especially true as in this case, the cliffhanger is Tupac waking up, revealing it's all a dream (spoilers!). At least with the Limp Bizkit example, there was some sort of cliffhanger as the group was sucked into some parallel dimension or something.
My only qualm with the song itself is their claim that the West Coast is the best coast. I know that was the thing back in the day, but being raised in the Maryland/Virginia area, I have to respectfully disagree.
While the video may have its flaws, the song itself is a blast and it is a song that holds up well over time. It's still as enjoyable to listen to now as it was over 15 years ago.
You can read my reviewstream article on the song here.
Oh, calm down, I know what I'm talking about...sort of. Ok, honestly, I never really got into Tupac. I was more partial to Biggie myself. While it's certainly tragic that he died so young and for the reasons that he did, I never really held him as a reverent figure as some do.
Still, I like this song. It's what the fly homies refer to as a phat beat.
Never. Say that. Again.
Yeah, I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off, worth a shot though.
This song came out back when rap was at its peak. It really succeeds on all levels. As mentioned before it's got a good beat, the rapping is well done, and it's just a fun song to listen to. I think Dre's presence helps give the song a nice boost. He produced it and it shows as it is similar to the "Chronic" type hip hop that he was making after he left NWA. While NWA may've had the larger political impact, I have to admit I like his post NWA stuff better.
Not only did he produce it, but he guest stars, again boosting the quality of the song that much further. I kind of like his parts better than Tupac's. Your mileage may vary and you could make the argument that him stealing the show isn't a good thing, but that's just my take on it.
Even the music video is well done. Now, I know, some of you youngsters may not know what a music video is, but back in my day, MTV would actually play music. The songs were accompanied by video that the artists were involved in. Sometimes it was just the band singing, but usually they tried to come up with some sort of story that was relevant to the lyrics.
With this video, they were going for a post apocalyptic, "Mad Max" look. Does it ultimately go anywhere? Not really, but it does give the video a visual flair. I also have to admit, Dr. Dre looks like a BAMF with that eye patch. This video is also notable for the Chris Tucker appearance and for coining the phrase "can you dig iiiit!!?" before The Rock made it his own.
The video also features a "cliff hanger" with a "to be continued" tag. I guess Limp Bizkit wasn't the only one to try this. The latter attempt didn't work so well. I'm not sure if Tupac ever did make the "conclusion" to this. From what I can tell, he didn't, but I may be wrong. Either way, I'm not crazy about it. It's one thing to have a story within the video, but to come up with an "arc"? I don't think it works the way the artists hope it would. This is especially true as in this case, the cliffhanger is Tupac waking up, revealing it's all a dream (spoilers!). At least with the Limp Bizkit example, there was some sort of cliffhanger as the group was sucked into some parallel dimension or something.
My only qualm with the song itself is their claim that the West Coast is the best coast. I know that was the thing back in the day, but being raised in the Maryland/Virginia area, I have to respectfully disagree.
While the video may have its flaws, the song itself is a blast and it is a song that holds up well over time. It's still as enjoyable to listen to now as it was over 15 years ago.
You can read my reviewstream article on the song here.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
The Dead Zone
Examiner article
Quite a bit has been cut out, but the meat of the story is still here. Stillson suffers the most as his backstory is pretty much eliminated and he doesn't even really appear until about an hour in. Some of Johnny's good deeds are also edited out for time, but the big ones are still there.
Reviewstream review
Quite a bit has been cut out, but the meat of the story is still here. Stillson suffers the most as his backstory is pretty much eliminated and he doesn't even really appear until about an hour in. Some of Johnny's good deeds are also edited out for time, but the big ones are still there.
Like 'Firestarter', changes were made, but it still captures the essence of the story rather well. It is also very character driven. While the supporting characters get fleshed out well enough, Smith is the focal point and it's clear that this is his story above all others.
While the movie is good on it's own, you're really watching this for Walken. The level of enjoyment I got from this movie increased significantly due to his presence. He doesn't ham it up the same way he does in Ripper; on the contrary, his performance works rather well while still being full of the Walkeny goodness you would come to expect. The movie even opens with him reading excerpts from Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven and discussing Sleepy Hollow (an eerie bit of real life foreshadowing).
You could probably blame it on the reduced screen time, but Stillson's popularity confused me. When I read the book, I caught a glimpse of at least some sincerity. You could see sort of see the appeal even though you knew he was a monster. Here, he's played more like a sleazy huckster, the type of vote/money hungry politician that has almost become a stereotype at this point. Even in private conversation he constantly brings up how you have to vote for him or contribute to his campaign and never leaves a conversation before handing you a button. In the grand scheme of things, his sleazy huckster persona is a huge step up, but it baffled me nonetheless.
Cronenberg did a great job here. I wouldn't mind seeing him tackle another King work as his style does seem to sync up well with the material. Michael Kamen also did a good job with the soundtrack. The score isn't so good that I'd want to buy it on a CD, but it did what it was supposed to and added to the impact of what you were seeing on the screen.
It's too early for me to declare this one of the greatest King adaptations, or even to give it a spot in the top 10. As of now though, it's definitely up there. I definitely recommend checking it out.
Reviewstream review
Monday, August 25, 2014
Daily Dose of Awesome: The Famikamen Rider Rises
Back in 2012, video producer Justin Carmical aka JewWario announced an ambitious new project, an 11 episode miniseries based on his own Kamen Rider influenced character. There was quite a bit of hype for it and the Indiegogo campaign he launched proved quite successful, raising over $10,000 for a planned $8,000 budget.
Unfortunately, the project stalled and Justin was never able to really dive into production. It was always something he had wanted done, but circumstances forced him repeatedly to put it on the back burner.
Sadder still, Justin passed away earlier this year. It seemed like that would be the last we'd see or hear of the Famikamen Rider. Enter friend and fellow video producer "Marzgurl" who, yesterday, posted this announcement.
Here's hoping they can pull it off and give the character (and the actor) the appropriate send off.
You can read more about the project as well as track its production and (if you so choose) support it through various methods on the project's blog page here.
Unfortunately, the project stalled and Justin was never able to really dive into production. It was always something he had wanted done, but circumstances forced him repeatedly to put it on the back burner.
Sadder still, Justin passed away earlier this year. It seemed like that would be the last we'd see or hear of the Famikamen Rider. Enter friend and fellow video producer "Marzgurl" who, yesterday, posted this announcement.
Here's hoping they can pull it off and give the character (and the actor) the appropriate send off.
You can read more about the project as well as track its production and (if you so choose) support it through various methods on the project's blog page here.
Black Blood Brothers
Episode 1: Black Blood Brothers
Episode 2: Compromiser
Episode 3: The Kowloon Bloodline
Episode 4: Old Blood
Episode 5: Special Zone
Episode 6: The Coven
Episode 7: Silver Blade
Episode 8: Protector
Episode 9: Eleventh Yard
Episode 10: Order Coffin Company
Episode 11: The Ocean
Episode 12: For the Eternal Pulse of my Bloodline, I Would Offer This Blood in Totality
Pros
- The main characters are charming and likable. The dynamic between them works really well and you do become connected to them as the show progresses. Even Kotaro, who starts off as a character you really think you'll hate starts to develop and he becomes one of the more endearing parts of the show.
- The scenes strike the emotional cues that they intend to. Creepy scenes are such and the comic relief scenes are actually funny.
-The music was very well put together and does a great job accompanying the story
Cons
- A lot of backstory that is never shown and feels essential to understanding how this world functions. Things happen for no reason and the show gets away with it because little is actually established about anything.
- A lot of needless side characters. They aren't bad, but aren't developed enough given the limited run time.
- Drastic shifts in tone. I appreciate the attempt to add some levity, but the show shoots from one extreme to the other, going from intense and dramatic to really goofy and light-hearted. I think some consistency in tone would have helped this show greatly.
Click here to join our new Patreon campaign.
Episode 2: Compromiser
Episode 3: The Kowloon Bloodline
Episode 4: Old Blood
Episode 5: Special Zone
Episode 6: The Coven
Episode 7: Silver Blade
Episode 8: Protector
Episode 9: Eleventh Yard
Episode 10: Order Coffin Company
Episode 11: The Ocean
Episode 12: For the Eternal Pulse of my Bloodline, I Would Offer This Blood in Totality
Pros
- The main characters are charming and likable. The dynamic between them works really well and you do become connected to them as the show progresses. Even Kotaro, who starts off as a character you really think you'll hate starts to develop and he becomes one of the more endearing parts of the show.
- The scenes strike the emotional cues that they intend to. Creepy scenes are such and the comic relief scenes are actually funny.
-The music was very well put together and does a great job accompanying the story
Cons
- A lot of backstory that is never shown and feels essential to understanding how this world functions. Things happen for no reason and the show gets away with it because little is actually established about anything.
- A lot of needless side characters. They aren't bad, but aren't developed enough given the limited run time.
- Drastic shifts in tone. I appreciate the attempt to add some levity, but the show shoots from one extreme to the other, going from intense and dramatic to really goofy and light-hearted. I think some consistency in tone would have helped this show greatly.
Click here to join our new Patreon campaign.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Stand By Me
You may recall some time ago, I mentioned that I hadn't seen the film 'Stand By Me'. Well, true believers, that has been remedied. I had heard that this film is a modern classic and a must watch. Normally, with movies like this, I tend to come out disappointed as the movie doesn't live up to the hype.
Indeed, early on, I got the impression that the movie was good but not great. As the film progressed, it slowly moved into "classic" status and the movie really was that good.
Interestingly enough, the body that the boys are looking for acts more as a mcguffin, a way to get the kids to go out into the woods to let them bond and grow closer together. You really get a sense of each kid's personality and their backstory is fleshed out to a successful degree. Each has their own unique personality and parental issues.
What really surprised me though was the cast. You've got Keifer Sutherland and John Cusack in supporting roles and Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell as three of the four main leads.
Not surprisingly, one of the boys is a writer. The movie even segues to a story that Gordy tells the others around a campfire. When Gordy tells them about "lard-ass"'s revenge, I was expecting something out of Titus Andronicus. As it turns out, it's more along the lines of Sam Raimi meets The Exorcist. It may seem random and irrelevant, but it's an enjoyable story.
Also of note is the soundtrack, which is awesome. You really can't go wrong with oldies, and each song works. None of the choices are arbitrary, but it's also a great track list at the same time.
The movie's a drama, but there's a fair share of comedy thrown in for good measure, mostly through the banter of the boys. There's a scene where they debate a Superman vs. Mighty Mouse fight and another where they ponder as to what, exactly, Goofy is.
As we saw the episode of Family Guy that parodied it first, comparisons were inevitable. From the attack dog to the boys dodging an oncoming train. Speaking of which, yes, the kid who played Vern did go on to marry Rebecca Romijn, though I'll always remember him as the dude from Sliders.
There are many memorable scenes, the aforementioned train scene, the leeches (ick, poor Gordy, I probably would've had the same reaction he did), and of course this is the only place you'll be able to see Wesley Crusher (of all people) stare down Jack Bauer, hold him at gunpoint and actually win a confrontation.
Words really can't do this film justice. It really is a film you have to watch yourself. Like Shawshank Redemption it's one of those movies that you should watch, whether for the first time or for the twelfth.
Daily Dose of Awesome: Marzgurl Presents an Iron Man and Incredible Hulk Duet
This is goofy and ridiculous, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Randall Flagg is real
I don't know what drove me to do it. The best explanation I can come up with is that I did it for the lolz, but either way I went to yellowbook and did a people search for "Randall Flagg".
The first few searches came up with nothing, but another search ended up taking me to another website that did find results. Yes, you read that right, there is actually someone out there named Randall Flagg. There's more than one of em too; I got over a dozen results.
The site only listed their previous cities of residence so I don't know where they live now. I checked Las Vegas and that came up blank, thank God. I didn't want to look further because A: it's a little too creepy stalkerish for my liking and B: I had to register and pay, so no to that.
So yeah, Randall Flagg, real guy, real guys I should say. I don't know what to make of that, but I thought you should know.
The first few searches came up with nothing, but another search ended up taking me to another website that did find results. Yes, you read that right, there is actually someone out there named Randall Flagg. There's more than one of em too; I got over a dozen results.
The site only listed their previous cities of residence so I don't know where they live now. I checked Las Vegas and that came up blank, thank God. I didn't want to look further because A: it's a little too creepy stalkerish for my liking and B: I had to register and pay, so no to that.
So yeah, Randall Flagg, real guy, real guys I should say. I don't know what to make of that, but I thought you should know.
Daily Dose of Awesome: Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
OK, so I was pet sitting for a friend and staying at his house while he and his wife are away on business. They told me to take what I want from the fridge, but most of my meals have been consisting of sandwiches. Well, the week started off with hot dogs, but those went rather quickly.
Since then, it's been ham and cheese sandwiches. They have an abundance of peanut butter, but I have that all the time at my place so I figured I'd branch out. I forgot how pleasing to the palate this meal was.
I could cook other things, but I really didn't feel like it, besides it's been awhile since I got to enjoy some good ham, bad performances in movies notwithstanding. We never think to pick up deli products as we tear through bread fast enough as it is, but the past few days have made me reconsider this policy.
It doesn't even have to be deli ham. They had a package of pre-sliced ham and that's been just as good as the deli meat, same goes for cheese. Kraft singles worked just as well in terms of flavor as the deli product so you're fine, even if you go with pre-packaged brand products.
Not only is this incredibly easy and quick to make but it is filling and, as mentioned before, delicious. I tend to go with two slices of both ham and cheese, but if you find yourself starving, you can easily add to it with no trouble.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can grill that bad boy and turn it into a monte cristo, that's some good stuff right there.
It's a good thing I already ate because otherwise, writing this probably would've made me quite hungry.
Since then, it's been ham and cheese sandwiches. They have an abundance of peanut butter, but I have that all the time at my place so I figured I'd branch out. I forgot how pleasing to the palate this meal was.
I could cook other things, but I really didn't feel like it, besides it's been awhile since I got to enjoy some good ham, bad performances in movies notwithstanding. We never think to pick up deli products as we tear through bread fast enough as it is, but the past few days have made me reconsider this policy.
It doesn't even have to be deli ham. They had a package of pre-sliced ham and that's been just as good as the deli meat, same goes for cheese. Kraft singles worked just as well in terms of flavor as the deli product so you're fine, even if you go with pre-packaged brand products.
Not only is this incredibly easy and quick to make but it is filling and, as mentioned before, delicious. I tend to go with two slices of both ham and cheese, but if you find yourself starving, you can easily add to it with no trouble.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can grill that bad boy and turn it into a monte cristo, that's some good stuff right there.
It's a good thing I already ate because otherwise, writing this probably would've made me quite hungry.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Daily Dose of Awesome: Fantasy World Map
This image popped up on my Google Plus feed some time ago and I felt I had to share it. As you can see, it is a map that features fantasy lands from various pieces of literature and puts them all together into one convenient place. Bibliophiles and fans of fantasy in general are sure to get a kick out of it.
You can find the original Google Plus post on the page for Amanda Blain.
Pennywise's Return
*Originally published on 2/3/09
I love It; I think it's one of the greatest books ever written. With that, it made me quite happy to read about how King has been dropping hints about the possiblity of Pennywise surviving his (or I should say her) confrontation with the Loser's Club.
I had read The Tommyknockers back in high school. After I read It and spent some time surfing Wikipedia, I discovered that two scenes hint at Pennywise surviving. With this in mind, I went back and read through the book again and sure enough, there they were.
In Dreamcatcher, a plaque that the Losers' Club made had been vandalized with graffiti saying "Pennywise Lives". Furthermore, the alien parasite goes to great lengths to try and figure out who (or what) Pennywise is.
As these moments were just winks to fans to build the King continuity, there is a missed opportunity, I kind of like the idea of one paranormal threatening force coming into contact with another and being perplexed and shocked at the discovery of said force. Much like Brainiac reacted with a "what the hell are you?" when he discovered Chloe's "meteor freak" status on an episode of Smallville last season, the Tommyknockers or the alien parasite in Dreamcatcher would be as thrown by the existence of an extra-dimensional shape-shifting monster as we were when we first read the novel.
With King's popularity making its way into the world of comics with the highly successful Dark Tower miniseries as well as the comic adaptation of King's epic The Stand, a comic book sequel to It seems like a logical follow up. As Pennywise hibernates for decades after each attack, the original Losers' Club would be too old, however a "next generation" of kids can discover the monster and try to finish what the original crew started. As long as the writers didn't recycle the exact same elements and tell a good story, I could see a sequel working.
More importantly, teasing readers with the possibility and then not following through is just cruel. If King wanted It to be a self-contained story that acts as a lone entry, than that would be fine. I wouldn't want King to do a sequel just for the sake of doing so, however, if that were the case, why bring up the idea of Pennywise surviving in the first place? King's too smart to do something like that unless he had a plan to bring the character back from the beginning.
The big question is, if Pennywise did survive, how come Ralph Roberts didn't see anything during his aura vision? Wikipedia says he did see something, however I recall the audiobook specifically saying that he didn't see any glowing eyes coming from the storm drains.
One may wonder how Pennywise survived. It seemed like the Losers Club fought him in both physical and spiritual form, taking the fight into the "Deadlights" a dimension that acts as both It's home and part of his being. His defeat was even cemented with the major storm and earthquake that hit Derry right after the Losers' killed It. If the Deadlights still existed in Insomnia, than it would stand to reason that It recovered somehow and may one day return to threaten Derry.
This may be a thread or subplot that ultimately goes nowhere. I don't think King would do that, but we never know how things pan out. There is the chance that King had the idea to bring the character back but scrapped it. Only time will tell us what the case is in regards to the iconic monster.
I love It; I think it's one of the greatest books ever written. With that, it made me quite happy to read about how King has been dropping hints about the possiblity of Pennywise surviving his (or I should say her) confrontation with the Loser's Club.
I had read The Tommyknockers back in high school. After I read It and spent some time surfing Wikipedia, I discovered that two scenes hint at Pennywise surviving. With this in mind, I went back and read through the book again and sure enough, there they were.
In Dreamcatcher, a plaque that the Losers' Club made had been vandalized with graffiti saying "Pennywise Lives". Furthermore, the alien parasite goes to great lengths to try and figure out who (or what) Pennywise is.
As these moments were just winks to fans to build the King continuity, there is a missed opportunity, I kind of like the idea of one paranormal threatening force coming into contact with another and being perplexed and shocked at the discovery of said force. Much like Brainiac reacted with a "what the hell are you?" when he discovered Chloe's "meteor freak" status on an episode of Smallville last season, the Tommyknockers or the alien parasite in Dreamcatcher would be as thrown by the existence of an extra-dimensional shape-shifting monster as we were when we first read the novel.
With King's popularity making its way into the world of comics with the highly successful Dark Tower miniseries as well as the comic adaptation of King's epic The Stand, a comic book sequel to It seems like a logical follow up. As Pennywise hibernates for decades after each attack, the original Losers' Club would be too old, however a "next generation" of kids can discover the monster and try to finish what the original crew started. As long as the writers didn't recycle the exact same elements and tell a good story, I could see a sequel working.
More importantly, teasing readers with the possibility and then not following through is just cruel. If King wanted It to be a self-contained story that acts as a lone entry, than that would be fine. I wouldn't want King to do a sequel just for the sake of doing so, however, if that were the case, why bring up the idea of Pennywise surviving in the first place? King's too smart to do something like that unless he had a plan to bring the character back from the beginning.
The big question is, if Pennywise did survive, how come Ralph Roberts didn't see anything during his aura vision? Wikipedia says he did see something, however I recall the audiobook specifically saying that he didn't see any glowing eyes coming from the storm drains.
One may wonder how Pennywise survived. It seemed like the Losers Club fought him in both physical and spiritual form, taking the fight into the "Deadlights" a dimension that acts as both It's home and part of his being. His defeat was even cemented with the major storm and earthquake that hit Derry right after the Losers' killed It. If the Deadlights still existed in Insomnia, than it would stand to reason that It recovered somehow and may one day return to threaten Derry.
This may be a thread or subplot that ultimately goes nowhere. I don't think King would do that, but we never know how things pan out. There is the chance that King had the idea to bring the character back but scrapped it. Only time will tell us what the case is in regards to the iconic monster.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
The Wasted Potential of the "Saw" Franchise
"Saw" is one of the more divisive horror franchises out there. It has its detractors, but it has also garnered a fairly loyal fan-base. Said fan-base was enough to keep the series going for over a half a dozen movies. One of the more common criticisms leveled against the original film (and the franchise as a whole) is that it is what they call "torture porn".
You, the viewer, are essentially watching these people suffer and die in terrible and gruesome ways. No detail is left unshown and the result is discomfort on the viewer's end. Many point out that this isn't "horror" as it isn't scary, it just causes you to become repulsed.
I, myself, haven't seen any of the films. I've heard enough people cite it as torture porn that I really have no desire to watch it. As such, I can not comment either way. Don't worry, this won't devolve into complaining about a movie that I haven't seen, but it needs to be addressed in order to get to the point.
Here's the thing, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the movie (and subsequently, the entire franchise) could have been much more than it was. The premise has promise; it's just a shame that no one ever tried to tap into it.
For one thing, you actually do have an original concept for a slasher villain. This isn't just some silent stalker in a mask who won't die because he's constantly resurrected by the power of box office ticket sales. Jigsaw is clever and, rather than simply stab his victims with something pointy, he puts them into situations where they have to defy their morality and do the killing for him.
There's a lot you can do with that to build tension without having to resort to gorn. You have a nice internal conflict as the captives have to contend with the temptation to give into Jigsaw's demands, but there's a nice external conflict as well. There's the obvious one with Jigsaw, but the two captives would end up butting heads with each other as well. As the ticking clock starts to wind down, they would become more panicked and desperate. Not only that, but they would, most likely, start becoming paranoid as they'd know that the other person is starting to question whether or not going through with the deed is worth it if it ensures their own survival.
So, while common sense would dictate that the two should work together to find another way out, both parties would constantly second guess each other because time is a luxury that neither of them has. It would work as great psychological horror which, while not as visceral, is just as (if not more) effective.
This concept has tons of room to work with and the fact that it had to settle for high budget snuff film is almost tragic. Had the script been handled by a different writer, we could have had a genuinely suspenseful film, a plot that builds genuine tension and draws the viewers to the edge of their seats, and a villain who could contend with the old school slasher icons. Instead, we got what we got.
Daily Dose of Awesome: Bark Knight
I don't remember where I found this picture, some forum I think, but it amuses me nonetheless. You just know that the dog is sitting there wondering if his beloved master is really doing this, putting a weird mask on him just so that he could take a picture. I don't know what compelled the owner to do this, but it cracks me up. The look on the dog's face just sells it that much more.
If Christopher Nolan decided to bring Ace the Bat-Hound into the upcoming film, you know that it would end up looking something like this.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
The Treatment of Dogs in Stephen King's work
*Originally published on 6/8/09
After listening to Salem's Lot, I've come to the conclusion that Stephen King is a cat person. Dogs don't seem to fare too well in his books. There's the infamous cat from Pet Sematary, however there are quite a few instances of dogs meeting grim fates.
The obvious one is Cujo, from the book of the same name. This was inevitable, though, as there really was no other way for the story to go. Like Old Yeller before him, Cujo was a really sick dog that needed to be put down for it's own good. It's sad, yes, but the right thing to do when it comes to rabies.
A rather infamous one occurred in The Dead Zone. Early on in the book, the future villain Greg Stillson, brutally beats a dog to death after it comes after him. King caught a lot of flack for this. He had to come out and remind people that no animal was actually harmed. It's just words on paper after all. Still, it managed to upset people.
The first instance of animal violence occurs in Salem's Lot, when a dog is ripped apart and hung on a pike shortly after the Marsden house gets sold. King doesn't go into great detail here and the reaction from the townsfolk is one of rightful shock and disgust.
Another dog falls victim to the zombies in Cell. When the Pulse first hits, one of the newly infected bites off the ear of a poor Black Lab. One thing's for sure. If you're in a Stephen King book, you don't want to be a dog or a love interest named Susan; things always seem to end badly for those that fall into one of those two categories.
One film example is in Secret Window, starring Johnny Depp. After accusing Mort of plagiarism, John Shooter kills his dog.
I doubt Mr. King bears any actual malice towards dogs, however it is an unsettling pattern; at least for an avid dog fan like me. On the other hand, one sure way to get readers to hate your villain is to have them go after an animal. People are just fodder for whatever demonic force is threatening the town, putting dogs and cats in peril however, that crosses the line in most readers eyes. Another thing to keep in mind is that neither vampires nor zombies would really have any qualms about hurting animals. Zombies are mindless beasts fueled only by hunger, the infected ones in Cell were pretty much consumed with blind rage and attacked anything in sight. Vampires are, for all intents and purposes, demonspawn so why would they care about animal violence? The others are deranged psychopaths and violence against animals tends to be step 1 in their situations.
The rare exception to the rule is Kojak in The Stand. He gets through the whole book just fine. It's later stated he dies after 16 years, which is quite good for a dog. That's an inevitable death though, he had a full life so there is no real complaint to be made there.
While the idea of animal violence does make me rather uncomfortable. It's important to note that no animals are actually hurt during the novel writing process. Also of note is the fact that it's always the incarnation of evil or sociopathic madman who is performing these actions. They are never condoned or endorsed.
After listening to Salem's Lot, I've come to the conclusion that Stephen King is a cat person. Dogs don't seem to fare too well in his books. There's the infamous cat from Pet Sematary, however there are quite a few instances of dogs meeting grim fates.
The obvious one is Cujo, from the book of the same name. This was inevitable, though, as there really was no other way for the story to go. Like Old Yeller before him, Cujo was a really sick dog that needed to be put down for it's own good. It's sad, yes, but the right thing to do when it comes to rabies.
A rather infamous one occurred in The Dead Zone. Early on in the book, the future villain Greg Stillson, brutally beats a dog to death after it comes after him. King caught a lot of flack for this. He had to come out and remind people that no animal was actually harmed. It's just words on paper after all. Still, it managed to upset people.
The first instance of animal violence occurs in Salem's Lot, when a dog is ripped apart and hung on a pike shortly after the Marsden house gets sold. King doesn't go into great detail here and the reaction from the townsfolk is one of rightful shock and disgust.
Another dog falls victim to the zombies in Cell. When the Pulse first hits, one of the newly infected bites off the ear of a poor Black Lab. One thing's for sure. If you're in a Stephen King book, you don't want to be a dog or a love interest named Susan; things always seem to end badly for those that fall into one of those two categories.
One film example is in Secret Window, starring Johnny Depp. After accusing Mort of plagiarism, John Shooter kills his dog.
I doubt Mr. King bears any actual malice towards dogs, however it is an unsettling pattern; at least for an avid dog fan like me. On the other hand, one sure way to get readers to hate your villain is to have them go after an animal. People are just fodder for whatever demonic force is threatening the town, putting dogs and cats in peril however, that crosses the line in most readers eyes. Another thing to keep in mind is that neither vampires nor zombies would really have any qualms about hurting animals. Zombies are mindless beasts fueled only by hunger, the infected ones in Cell were pretty much consumed with blind rage and attacked anything in sight. Vampires are, for all intents and purposes, demonspawn so why would they care about animal violence? The others are deranged psychopaths and violence against animals tends to be step 1 in their situations.
The rare exception to the rule is Kojak in The Stand. He gets through the whole book just fine. It's later stated he dies after 16 years, which is quite good for a dog. That's an inevitable death though, he had a full life so there is no real complaint to be made there.
While the idea of animal violence does make me rather uncomfortable. It's important to note that no animals are actually hurt during the novel writing process. Also of note is the fact that it's always the incarnation of evil or sociopathic madman who is performing these actions. They are never condoned or endorsed.
Daily Dose of Awesome: Caramelldansen
A couple of years back, I came across a little ditty known as Caramelldansen via an episode of the internet review show called Atop the Fourth Wall. It seems the song has been an internet phenomenon for some time. If you go on Youtube you can find what are known as Caramelldansen vids.
These are basically animated videos of characters from various franchises doing the dance seen in the original video. There are videos based on all sorts of characters. You have characters like Batman and Joker from The Dark Knight, you have Kim and Shego from Kim Possible, characters from Watchmen, even Nazis and Slenderman.
It's a weird song to be sure, but as odd as it is, it is also oddly addictive. My roommate wasn't a fan the first time he heard it, but he heard it again and the more he listened to it, the more he noted it's extraordinarily catchy nature.
The song is just made of happy. I honestly defy you to listen to this song and be in a foul mood by the time it's over. You really can't do it. It's just so upbeat. If you had a rough week or a rough day at work, you can come home and listen to this track and within a minute, all your worries will be all but forgotten.
I should warn you though, once you hear this song you will want to hear it a lot. Some have gotten sick of it, I have not and I listen to it on a regular basis, because it's awesome. It will also have a tendency to get stuck in your head. Unlike other songs, where listening to a song that's stuck in your head helps fix the problem, this is one of those instances where it will actually start the whole process over again.
The first time my roommates heard it, they compared it to a Dance Dance Revolution track and I have to agree, I can see the track being perfectly at home on that game. I also believe it would be a fun tune to dance to on the popular game.
Along with the song, comes a rather ridiculous dance. It's silly, but it's a great party track. If everyone's familiar with the song, you yourself can create your own live action Caramelldansen video. I want to see someone do this at their wedding reception.
If you are not familiar with the song, you should definitely check it out. The song is great. It's an acquired taste, but it definitely grows on you.
You can also read my Reviewstream review of the song here.
These are basically animated videos of characters from various franchises doing the dance seen in the original video. There are videos based on all sorts of characters. You have characters like Batman and Joker from The Dark Knight, you have Kim and Shego from Kim Possible, characters from Watchmen, even Nazis and Slenderman.
It's a weird song to be sure, but as odd as it is, it is also oddly addictive. My roommate wasn't a fan the first time he heard it, but he heard it again and the more he listened to it, the more he noted it's extraordinarily catchy nature.
The song is just made of happy. I honestly defy you to listen to this song and be in a foul mood by the time it's over. You really can't do it. It's just so upbeat. If you had a rough week or a rough day at work, you can come home and listen to this track and within a minute, all your worries will be all but forgotten.
I should warn you though, once you hear this song you will want to hear it a lot. Some have gotten sick of it, I have not and I listen to it on a regular basis, because it's awesome. It will also have a tendency to get stuck in your head. Unlike other songs, where listening to a song that's stuck in your head helps fix the problem, this is one of those instances where it will actually start the whole process over again.
The first time my roommates heard it, they compared it to a Dance Dance Revolution track and I have to agree, I can see the track being perfectly at home on that game. I also believe it would be a fun tune to dance to on the popular game.
Along with the song, comes a rather ridiculous dance. It's silly, but it's a great party track. If everyone's familiar with the song, you yourself can create your own live action Caramelldansen video. I want to see someone do this at their wedding reception.
If you are not familiar with the song, you should definitely check it out. The song is great. It's an acquired taste, but it definitely grows on you.
You can also read my Reviewstream review of the song here.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Daily Dose of Awesome: Bookshelf Porn (SFW)
A friend of mine posted a link on her Facebook page to a blog called "Bookshelf Porn". It's a collection of pictures that showcase lavish, often gargantuan, bookshelves, filled to the brim with various books. Some of the libraries that some people manage to create really is mind boggling. I enjoy vlogs where people show off their collection and this follows in a similar spirit. Some of the photos are taken from bookstores or libraries, which I think, goes against the spirit of the blog, but bookshelves are bookshelves I guess, so it meets the criteria. I would love to amass a book collection of this caliber. In the meantime, photos of other people showing off their massive collections will keep me entertained and give me something to shoot for.
You can find the blog here.
You can find the blog here.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Daily Dose of Awesome: ES Posthumus
Some time ago, I stumbled onto a group called E.S Posthumus. I came across the music via Linkara's 2010 trailer for his Internet review show, Atop the Fourth Wall. The track that plays during the latter half is a song by the band called Pompeii.
Having had my mind blown by the epic awesomeness of that song, I decided to check out some other tracks. I was surprised to find out that Cold Case used one track as the basis for its theme song. While the other songs I came across weren't quite as amazing as Pompeii, they do make some awesome music.
I'm always looking to expand my musical library and I find that instrumental music is extraordinarily effective in getting me going. This is especially true when I'm writing fiction. If you're an aspiring novelist or short story writer, I highly recommend this group as it is very conducive to writing. If the genre suits the song than you can achieve that rare mental state where everything just clicks and the words flow at an increased rate due to your own excitement. I love when that happens.
A lot of the band's music has been used in movie trailers and you can tell that it has that movie trailer track feel to it. Listen to a song like Ebla and you'll see how easily their music could work in the context of a movie preview.
I will say that it might not appeal to everyone. I've always enjoyed listening to movie scores in addition to the more traditional musical fare, so it makes sense that I would really dig this group. That isn't the case for everyone. Even so, I recommend checking the group out. I'm certain that, at the very least, you will find a handful of songs that you really dig even if it is outside your usual genre.
They have released two albums. Their debut album was called Unearthed. It was originally released through CDBaby, but met with such great success that it saw a mainstream release. Looking at the track list, you'll notice that they are all named after ancient cities. This was a very deliberate move on the part of the group as it ties into a theme in regards to their name.
Their second album was released in 2007. It is a 2 cd set called Cartographer. The second disc contains remixes of all of the songs on the first disc as well as a couple of other tracks.
My two personal favorites are Pompeii and Ebla and those are the ones that I would deem "must hears" This is a group that deserves more exposure as they are quite awesome. Definitely check em out.
You can read my review of Pompeii here.
Having had my mind blown by the epic awesomeness of that song, I decided to check out some other tracks. I was surprised to find out that Cold Case used one track as the basis for its theme song. While the other songs I came across weren't quite as amazing as Pompeii, they do make some awesome music.
I'm always looking to expand my musical library and I find that instrumental music is extraordinarily effective in getting me going. This is especially true when I'm writing fiction. If you're an aspiring novelist or short story writer, I highly recommend this group as it is very conducive to writing. If the genre suits the song than you can achieve that rare mental state where everything just clicks and the words flow at an increased rate due to your own excitement. I love when that happens.
A lot of the band's music has been used in movie trailers and you can tell that it has that movie trailer track feel to it. Listen to a song like Ebla and you'll see how easily their music could work in the context of a movie preview.
I will say that it might not appeal to everyone. I've always enjoyed listening to movie scores in addition to the more traditional musical fare, so it makes sense that I would really dig this group. That isn't the case for everyone. Even so, I recommend checking the group out. I'm certain that, at the very least, you will find a handful of songs that you really dig even if it is outside your usual genre.
They have released two albums. Their debut album was called Unearthed. It was originally released through CDBaby, but met with such great success that it saw a mainstream release. Looking at the track list, you'll notice that they are all named after ancient cities. This was a very deliberate move on the part of the group as it ties into a theme in regards to their name.
Their second album was released in 2007. It is a 2 cd set called Cartographer. The second disc contains remixes of all of the songs on the first disc as well as a couple of other tracks.
My two personal favorites are Pompeii and Ebla and those are the ones that I would deem "must hears" This is a group that deserves more exposure as they are quite awesome. Definitely check em out.
You can read my review of Pompeii here.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
Daily Dose of Awesome: Hovercraft
When I was in high school, I used to enjoy perusing two catalogs in particular. The first was Sharper Image and the second was Hammacher Schlemmer. I got a kick out of checking out all the cool gadgets and other oddball items that they had available. They were (and still are) out of my price range, but it was fun to browse.
A while back, on some random whim, I decided to check out Hammacher Schlemmer's website. There was one item in particular I wanted to try and find to see if it was still for sale, but during this search, I came across something else. A hovercraft. No, really, a genuine, bona fide, freaking hovercraft.
You can see it here.
Sure, it comes with an almost $200,000 price tag (190K to be precise), but it's a freaking hovercraft.
A while back, on some random whim, I decided to check out Hammacher Schlemmer's website. There was one item in particular I wanted to try and find to see if it was still for sale, but during this search, I came across something else. A hovercraft. No, really, a genuine, bona fide, freaking hovercraft.
You can see it here.
Sure, it comes with an almost $200,000 price tag (190K to be precise), but it's a freaking hovercraft.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Superman vs. Wonder Woman
*Originally published on 1/30/09
We determined in a previous article that Superman would win in a fight against Batman. But how would the man of steel fare against the Amazonian princess? Ah, now we've got someone who can give Supes a physical challenge. This should prove to be very interesting.
It's a matter of debate to this day, and various writers have gone back and forth on who would win. Sometimes it's a draw and other times Wonder Woman gets her clock cleaned. It's really a tough call, as I write this I'm still not sure who to give the advantage to.
In brute strength, Superman has the edge. Not by much mind you, Wonder Woman can hold her own in a super-powered slug-fest quite well and is no slouch in the superhuman strength department. However, Supes has her beaten here very very slightly. Like, say Wonder Woman can lift 8 tons, Superman can lift 10 (those aren't exact numbers, which some fans have actually gone back to find out. I was just using those as an example.)
Diana has the advantage in that she's been trained to fight. Amazons are warriors born. Superman's a decent fighter and knows some martial arts but his fights mostly consist of him punching his enemies into submission. Diana is highly trained and has a wider variety when it comes to her fighting style. Batman's been training his whole life in the art of combat, well so has Diana, only she's got decades, if not centuries of experience on him.
Speed is a tough one to call. Superman is faster in a raw sense. In a race, he would win. But, going back to her combat training, Wonder Woman has faster reflexes and uses her speed much more in combat than Superman does. Superman will rush to save people, but will only use his speed to trap burglars from escaping as opposed to using it against someone like Doomsday or Brainiac.
Superman does have the advantage when it comes to invulnerability. Wonder Woman can get hit hard and be OK, but she's not as resilient. Things can hurt her, if they didn't than her magic bracelets would be redundant.
It would appear at first glance that Superman has the advantage when it comes to powers/weapons. I mean he has his heat vision and freezing breath where Diana has a rope and her tiara. Here's the thing, she could deflect his heat vision with her bracelets and Superman doesn't use his breath much. Even if he did, she would break out. No being, not even one as strong as Superman, can break Wonder Woman's lasso. So if she can get him caught in it, she will have a major advantage as he'll be trapped for some time. Her tiara might disorient him, but he's taken hits much harder than that so it might not prove very effective.
I gotta call this a draw. Both have advantages in various areas but ultimately they balance out. It really depends on the writer and the story in which the fight takes place. If one character is brainwashed, than that one will deliver a whooping on the other for dramatic effect. If the writer has a bias for one over the other, than clearly they're going to give the advantage to that character.
The most recent fight between the two occurred in the "Sacrifice" arc that took place before "Infinite Crisis". In that, Superman gave Wonder Woman a sound beating. However, it is important to remember that Wonder Woman was holding back as she didn't want to hurt her friend. Superman was also enraged, having hallucinated some of his worst enemies terrorizing the ones he loves so adrenaline (or the Kryptonian equivalent of it) was a factor as well.
This is one fight that I would love to see occur more frequently. We saw one in the Justice League cartoon and it happened a few times in comics. As the two are so evenly matched, seeing them throw down in a round of fisticuffs would never get old as much like a sports event with two fierce rivals, it would be consistently entertaining and exciting.
We determined in a previous article that Superman would win in a fight against Batman. But how would the man of steel fare against the Amazonian princess? Ah, now we've got someone who can give Supes a physical challenge. This should prove to be very interesting.
It's a matter of debate to this day, and various writers have gone back and forth on who would win. Sometimes it's a draw and other times Wonder Woman gets her clock cleaned. It's really a tough call, as I write this I'm still not sure who to give the advantage to.
In brute strength, Superman has the edge. Not by much mind you, Wonder Woman can hold her own in a super-powered slug-fest quite well and is no slouch in the superhuman strength department. However, Supes has her beaten here very very slightly. Like, say Wonder Woman can lift 8 tons, Superman can lift 10 (those aren't exact numbers, which some fans have actually gone back to find out. I was just using those as an example.)
Diana has the advantage in that she's been trained to fight. Amazons are warriors born. Superman's a decent fighter and knows some martial arts but his fights mostly consist of him punching his enemies into submission. Diana is highly trained and has a wider variety when it comes to her fighting style. Batman's been training his whole life in the art of combat, well so has Diana, only she's got decades, if not centuries of experience on him.
Speed is a tough one to call. Superman is faster in a raw sense. In a race, he would win. But, going back to her combat training, Wonder Woman has faster reflexes and uses her speed much more in combat than Superman does. Superman will rush to save people, but will only use his speed to trap burglars from escaping as opposed to using it against someone like Doomsday or Brainiac.
Superman does have the advantage when it comes to invulnerability. Wonder Woman can get hit hard and be OK, but she's not as resilient. Things can hurt her, if they didn't than her magic bracelets would be redundant.
It would appear at first glance that Superman has the advantage when it comes to powers/weapons. I mean he has his heat vision and freezing breath where Diana has a rope and her tiara. Here's the thing, she could deflect his heat vision with her bracelets and Superman doesn't use his breath much. Even if he did, she would break out. No being, not even one as strong as Superman, can break Wonder Woman's lasso. So if she can get him caught in it, she will have a major advantage as he'll be trapped for some time. Her tiara might disorient him, but he's taken hits much harder than that so it might not prove very effective.
I gotta call this a draw. Both have advantages in various areas but ultimately they balance out. It really depends on the writer and the story in which the fight takes place. If one character is brainwashed, than that one will deliver a whooping on the other for dramatic effect. If the writer has a bias for one over the other, than clearly they're going to give the advantage to that character.
The most recent fight between the two occurred in the "Sacrifice" arc that took place before "Infinite Crisis". In that, Superman gave Wonder Woman a sound beating. However, it is important to remember that Wonder Woman was holding back as she didn't want to hurt her friend. Superman was also enraged, having hallucinated some of his worst enemies terrorizing the ones he loves so adrenaline (or the Kryptonian equivalent of it) was a factor as well.
This is one fight that I would love to see occur more frequently. We saw one in the Justice League cartoon and it happened a few times in comics. As the two are so evenly matched, seeing them throw down in a round of fisticuffs would never get old as much like a sports event with two fierce rivals, it would be consistently entertaining and exciting.
Novel Review: Under the Dome
Pre-release material
A Look at Under the Dome
*Originally published on 3/18/09
On November 10, 2009, Stephen King will release his latest novel Under the Dome.
Beyond that, all anyone really seems to know is that it is thick, really really thick. Even Amazon's product description simply says "the giant new fiction title from Stephen King".
How thick is it? The manuscript was said to be over 1,500 pages and weigh 19 pounds. Given the prevalence of the number 19 in the Dark Tower series, am I the only one who finds that an odd coincidence? Anyway, the hardcover edition is said to be 1,120 pages. That's about the same size as It and The Stand.
The closest thing we have to a plot synopsis is the fact that the book will be about how people behave when cut off from society. That comes from Wikipedia. Even Stephen King's website doesn't have any news or info about the book.
King originally wrote the book over 20 years ago but decided to rewrite it changing it from a social comedy to a straight forward story. Much like he did with Blaze, King seems to be digging out old manuscripts and reworking them. This may be due to his injury causing him discomfort when sitting down for extensive periods, or maybe he's focusing on other things. There was talk of him retiring a few years ago so it would make sense that he would rather redo something that is pretty much already done and improve it as opposed to starting from scratch.
Given the title and the synopsis I would not be surprised if the book used Post-Katrina New Orleans as a source of inspiration and overtone. It is Stephen King so I'm sure there will be some dark force pulling the strings and driving everybody nuts, but the parallel will most certainly be there.
There's really not much to say as there isn't a whole lot of information out right now. I just wanted to write this and give the fans a heads up on the off chance they hadn't heard. A new book is indeed coming and will be out later this year.
Signed Editions Available for Pre-Order
*Originally published on 8/10/09
I just read on Stephen King's website that signed copies of King's upcoming novel, Under the Dome, will be made available for pre-order on September 15 from Simon and Schuster. The publisher's website confirms the report. Sales start at 9 am eastern.
The signed edition will cost $200 plus shipping and handling. It will include collector's cards, illustrations, and a belly band around the jacket. Each customer will be limited to purchasing one book.
Also interesting is the fact that the cover image they've been using to promote the book is not the actual cover. Evidently, the actual cover art will be released on October 5. What their goal was when releasing the fake image was, I have no clue. I didn't see anything wrong with the image they did release. It was simple, but effective. We'll have to wait to see what the actual image is.
Official Cover Image Released
*Originally published on 10/7/09
Two days ago, the official cover image for Stephen King's upcoming novel, Under the Dome was released.
I have to say, I'm a little underwhelmed. I know, I praised the original image for being effective in it's simplicity and you could say the same for this. That's the problem though, it's pretty much the same thing.
I don't get why they went through the trouble of coming up with this decoy cover to say, "oh that's not the image, we've got something else in store, stay tuned!" only to release an image that's not so different from the first one.
If they had released this first, I wouldn't have had a problem with it. I would've praised it as I did the first image. It's not a bad cover, not by a long shot. The method they used to gain press just seems off to me.
Stephen King discusses Under the Dome
*Originally published on 10/28/09
Popeater.com recently had the chance to sit down and interview Stephen King about his upcoming novel, Under the Dome.
King discusses the history behind the book, how he kept coming back to it over the years as he liked the idea. He also says that this is more of a "canvas" novel with a wide array of characters and he adds that he loves them, which is essential for any writer to write a great book.
The ecological aspect is interesting. I figured it would be more of the traditional "humans turn on each other and act like idiots when put in extreme situations" but it seems like this somehow incorporates the environment. When the book said that time was running out for those inside the dome, I figured it meant that the dome was airtight and that they would all suffocate eventually, maybe that's the case and the smaller scale means pollutants have a greater impact.
We'll have to wait and see how it plays out in the novel. You can find the article and video here. It's only about four minutes long, but it's a good watch.
Entertainment Weekly hypes up Under the Dome
*Originally published on 11/4/09
It suddenly occurred to me that I should probably check Entertainment Weekly's website to see if King had another article published. Fortunately, the man has a pretty full plate so the most recent article is still his top 10 villains list.
I did, however find two articles along with videos to help build up anticipation for the book. The articles are a couple of days old, being featured on the 29th and 30th of October respectively, but I stumbled upon them just now.
The first article features an actual trailer for the novel. It's only about 30 seconds, but it's pretty effective and quite cool if I do say so myself. It gives off the impression of a sprawling epic, which fits, given that that was what King was going for. I don't know if it was intentional, but the commercial was a bit reminiscent of a commercial for Lost. The music and the flashing banners were similar to what ABC does with its hit show. It may've just been a coincidence though. Either way, it worked.
The second article has King himself reading a small excerpt from the book. The video also includes illustrations of the characters featured in the piece. Do I smell a future comic? We'll have to see.
If that isn't enough to whet your appetite before we reach the rapidly approaching release date of the anticipated novel, the latest issue of the magazine features a whopping 4,000 word excerpt from the book.
Under the Dome set to Hit Shelves
*Originally published on 11/9/09
It's the final countdown. In less than 24 hours, Stephen King's latest work, Under the Dome will be available in bookstores across the country.
We've been awaiting this day for some time now and it's finally here. You may want to clear your schedule as the book is well over a thousand pages long, making it one of his longest along with The Stand and It. Given King's ability to pull you into the story, I imagine that you will be in your chair for quite a while.
The book will be available in hardcover in bookstores across the country and can also be bought online through sites like Amazon.
The book will be available for purchase on Kindles and other e-book readers, but those won't be available until Christmas eve.
Under the Dome hits shelves
*Originally published on 11/10/09
The day is finally here. King's latest, Under the Dome is now available. The long wait is over and the anticipated epic is available in hardcover for purchase.
The cover price is a whopping $35 (with over 1,000 pages though it still breaks down to a decent deal). Both Barnes and Noble and Borders are offering it for $21 with a membership card. Amazon has it for sale at a little over $17.
I'm going to hold off on buying this for a myriad of reasons, a "to-read" pile of books that stacks up past my waist is one of them. There is also the possibility that I may be obtaining a Kindle in the near future, so if that pans out, I will buy it through that and save myself a good chunk of shelf space.
The reviews I've read have generally been positive. The customer reviews on Borders and Amazon give it five stars and even the professional critics call it a good read. They even go so far as to compare it to It and The Stand. Any King reader know that that isn't faint praise. It sounds like King is tapping into his roots with this novel and it should be a darn good read.
Reviews
Reviewstream review
Examiner halftime report
*Originally published on 12/7/09
So, I've reached about the halfway point of Under the Dome. Seeing as this is rather belated as it is, I thought I would give my thoughts on the book so far. I'll still give a complete review when I'm done but hopefully, this will hold you over.
People have said that this is a "return to form" for King, comparing it to his two other doorstoppers, It and The Stand. I'm not sure what people are missing in the newer works. I thought Black House was rather awesome and Bag of Bones was really a lot better than I thought it would be going in. I can see how this hearkens back to his earlier works though, it has that sort of feel to it. It's not surprising really since he started it decades ago.
Another thing that has come up is the wide cast of characters, and they weren't kidding. The character list is about three pages long; heck the fact that there is a character list at all tells you something. The only time I've seen those is in Shakespeare plays.
At first, I felt that this was actually working against King, that the book had too many characters. I got about 200 pages in and didn't really feel like anyone was fleshed out. The book's righted itself since then, we've gotten the core cast established and King has "thinned the herd" a little so it's definitely found it's focus.
Rightfully, we have no explanation for what sent the dome down yet, and outside of the dome itself no supernatural presence has made itself known. The two villains established are Big Jim Rennie and a deranged man known as "The Chef". The latter has only appeared once, lurking about a radio station, but the prior is the oft talked about Dick Cheney stand in.
The parallels are obvious, he has heart problems, he's second in command, but still pretty much runs the show. At first, I dismissed him as the mastermind because it seemed like the dome was hindering him as much as it was anyone else. As the book progressed though, it started to work more and more to his advantage and it seemed more and more likely that this was all a Palpatine-esque play for power.
If the ominous visions of the children are correct (and so far they have been) he's not the mastermind, but it was a nice theory while it lasted.
Rennie's puppet in the seat of First Selectman is Andy Sanders. Many of the characters have noted how he's such a "moron" but frankly I'm not seeing it. So far the only proof of said stupidity is him uttering one non-sequitur during a conference and mistakenly calling Little Walter, Walter. That's not that big a mistake. First off, who names their kid "Little"? And secondly, lots of mothers give their kids nicknames so it's not that much of a stretch that he thought that Walter was the kid's name. King hand waves it by saying that she's told him before, but so far he doesn't seem all that dim.
A few King tropes have shown up in this book. One of the kids has a psychic vision of a golden baseball (that does in fact come into play later), there are a few religious characters (a few hypocrites as well as fanatics and regular people of faith), a dog even gets killed. OK, it's somewhat justified in that the dog was attacking someone and about to kill said person, but a warning shot in the air would've worked. Even more, the cop heard the woman say that she would call him off.
Speaking of the cops, never was N.W.A's battle cry more apt cause these guys suck. They assault innocent bystanders with little to no provocation and they even rape a woman because...they can. There's a scene where they almost run over some children and I was expecting them to go bugnuts on them. Surprisingly enough, they're nice and kind to the kids and take care of them.
I was a bit surprised about how the dome functions. When the blurb says that time is running out, I figured it was air tight, but air gets through fine, even water (though only small portions of it). I wasn't surprised that the cruise missiles didn't work (that's not a spoiler, it's only 400 pages in you know it's not going to work). It's a force-field. It's specifically designed to repel things like missiles. It did however, remind me of an old Venture Bros. where some of the characters get trapped in a room by force field and the maid ends up washing it away with club soda. If this book ends with King making a Venture Bros. reference by having them escape that way, I would be so happy.
The book is thick, but like It, you hardly notice it as you're reading. It has that same "pull you in" effect that King's best works have. I'm not sure where I'd rank it exactly, that would be a question better answered after I finish and that sort of thing does tend to fall in the eye of the beholder, but this is definitely up there. I'm intrigued and excited to see where it's all going. So, while I'm still working on it. I do recommend this book. If you haven't picked it up yet, do so. The title has been steadily dropping slots on the NY Times Best seller list so we need to get it back up there.
Examiner review
Under the Dome tops the Charts
*Originally published on 11/21/09
The New York times lists Stephen King's door stopper of a new release, Under the Dome as the number one best seller in their latest top 5 list.
Unlike movies, they don't seem to track book copies as diligently so I can't comment on how close it was to the second best seller or how much it blew away the competition. I, myself, picked up my copy yesterday.
As I was walking out of the bookstore, I noticed the audiobook version of the novel on a rack. That would be a lot of listening. I was kind of curious to see how many CD's it would take to hold an 1,100 page book. Sadly, the audiobook's Amazon page doesn't tell you how many CD's are contained. It does, however, have a review co-written by Guillermo Del Toro, which is pretty cool.
You can also read the New York Times' review of the novel.
A Look at Under the Dome
*Originally published on 3/18/09
On November 10, 2009, Stephen King will release his latest novel Under the Dome.
Beyond that, all anyone really seems to know is that it is thick, really really thick. Even Amazon's product description simply says "the giant new fiction title from Stephen King".
How thick is it? The manuscript was said to be over 1,500 pages and weigh 19 pounds. Given the prevalence of the number 19 in the Dark Tower series, am I the only one who finds that an odd coincidence? Anyway, the hardcover edition is said to be 1,120 pages. That's about the same size as It and The Stand.
The closest thing we have to a plot synopsis is the fact that the book will be about how people behave when cut off from society. That comes from Wikipedia. Even Stephen King's website doesn't have any news or info about the book.
King originally wrote the book over 20 years ago but decided to rewrite it changing it from a social comedy to a straight forward story. Much like he did with Blaze, King seems to be digging out old manuscripts and reworking them. This may be due to his injury causing him discomfort when sitting down for extensive periods, or maybe he's focusing on other things. There was talk of him retiring a few years ago so it would make sense that he would rather redo something that is pretty much already done and improve it as opposed to starting from scratch.
Given the title and the synopsis I would not be surprised if the book used Post-Katrina New Orleans as a source of inspiration and overtone. It is Stephen King so I'm sure there will be some dark force pulling the strings and driving everybody nuts, but the parallel will most certainly be there.
There's really not much to say as there isn't a whole lot of information out right now. I just wanted to write this and give the fans a heads up on the off chance they hadn't heard. A new book is indeed coming and will be out later this year.
Signed Editions Available for Pre-Order
*Originally published on 8/10/09
I just read on Stephen King's website that signed copies of King's upcoming novel, Under the Dome, will be made available for pre-order on September 15 from Simon and Schuster. The publisher's website confirms the report. Sales start at 9 am eastern.
The signed edition will cost $200 plus shipping and handling. It will include collector's cards, illustrations, and a belly band around the jacket. Each customer will be limited to purchasing one book.
Also interesting is the fact that the cover image they've been using to promote the book is not the actual cover. Evidently, the actual cover art will be released on October 5. What their goal was when releasing the fake image was, I have no clue. I didn't see anything wrong with the image they did release. It was simple, but effective. We'll have to wait to see what the actual image is.
Official Cover Image Released
*Originally published on 10/7/09
Two days ago, the official cover image for Stephen King's upcoming novel, Under the Dome was released.
I have to say, I'm a little underwhelmed. I know, I praised the original image for being effective in it's simplicity and you could say the same for this. That's the problem though, it's pretty much the same thing.
I don't get why they went through the trouble of coming up with this decoy cover to say, "oh that's not the image, we've got something else in store, stay tuned!" only to release an image that's not so different from the first one.
If they had released this first, I wouldn't have had a problem with it. I would've praised it as I did the first image. It's not a bad cover, not by a long shot. The method they used to gain press just seems off to me.
Stephen King discusses Under the Dome
*Originally published on 10/28/09
Popeater.com recently had the chance to sit down and interview Stephen King about his upcoming novel, Under the Dome.
King discusses the history behind the book, how he kept coming back to it over the years as he liked the idea. He also says that this is more of a "canvas" novel with a wide array of characters and he adds that he loves them, which is essential for any writer to write a great book.
The ecological aspect is interesting. I figured it would be more of the traditional "humans turn on each other and act like idiots when put in extreme situations" but it seems like this somehow incorporates the environment. When the book said that time was running out for those inside the dome, I figured it meant that the dome was airtight and that they would all suffocate eventually, maybe that's the case and the smaller scale means pollutants have a greater impact.
We'll have to wait and see how it plays out in the novel. You can find the article and video here. It's only about four minutes long, but it's a good watch.
Entertainment Weekly hypes up Under the Dome
*Originally published on 11/4/09
It suddenly occurred to me that I should probably check Entertainment Weekly's website to see if King had another article published. Fortunately, the man has a pretty full plate so the most recent article is still his top 10 villains list.
I did, however find two articles along with videos to help build up anticipation for the book. The articles are a couple of days old, being featured on the 29th and 30th of October respectively, but I stumbled upon them just now.
The first article features an actual trailer for the novel. It's only about 30 seconds, but it's pretty effective and quite cool if I do say so myself. It gives off the impression of a sprawling epic, which fits, given that that was what King was going for. I don't know if it was intentional, but the commercial was a bit reminiscent of a commercial for Lost. The music and the flashing banners were similar to what ABC does with its hit show. It may've just been a coincidence though. Either way, it worked.
The second article has King himself reading a small excerpt from the book. The video also includes illustrations of the characters featured in the piece. Do I smell a future comic? We'll have to see.
If that isn't enough to whet your appetite before we reach the rapidly approaching release date of the anticipated novel, the latest issue of the magazine features a whopping 4,000 word excerpt from the book.
Under the Dome set to Hit Shelves
*Originally published on 11/9/09
It's the final countdown. In less than 24 hours, Stephen King's latest work, Under the Dome will be available in bookstores across the country.
We've been awaiting this day for some time now and it's finally here. You may want to clear your schedule as the book is well over a thousand pages long, making it one of his longest along with The Stand and It. Given King's ability to pull you into the story, I imagine that you will be in your chair for quite a while.
The book will be available in hardcover in bookstores across the country and can also be bought online through sites like Amazon.
The book will be available for purchase on Kindles and other e-book readers, but those won't be available until Christmas eve.
Under the Dome hits shelves
*Originally published on 11/10/09
The day is finally here. King's latest, Under the Dome is now available. The long wait is over and the anticipated epic is available in hardcover for purchase.
The cover price is a whopping $35 (with over 1,000 pages though it still breaks down to a decent deal). Both Barnes and Noble and Borders are offering it for $21 with a membership card. Amazon has it for sale at a little over $17.
I'm going to hold off on buying this for a myriad of reasons, a "to-read" pile of books that stacks up past my waist is one of them. There is also the possibility that I may be obtaining a Kindle in the near future, so if that pans out, I will buy it through that and save myself a good chunk of shelf space.
The reviews I've read have generally been positive. The customer reviews on Borders and Amazon give it five stars and even the professional critics call it a good read. They even go so far as to compare it to It and The Stand. Any King reader know that that isn't faint praise. It sounds like King is tapping into his roots with this novel and it should be a darn good read.
Reviews
Reviewstream review
Examiner halftime report
*Originally published on 12/7/09
So, I've reached about the halfway point of Under the Dome. Seeing as this is rather belated as it is, I thought I would give my thoughts on the book so far. I'll still give a complete review when I'm done but hopefully, this will hold you over.
People have said that this is a "return to form" for King, comparing it to his two other doorstoppers, It and The Stand. I'm not sure what people are missing in the newer works. I thought Black House was rather awesome and Bag of Bones was really a lot better than I thought it would be going in. I can see how this hearkens back to his earlier works though, it has that sort of feel to it. It's not surprising really since he started it decades ago.
Another thing that has come up is the wide cast of characters, and they weren't kidding. The character list is about three pages long; heck the fact that there is a character list at all tells you something. The only time I've seen those is in Shakespeare plays.
At first, I felt that this was actually working against King, that the book had too many characters. I got about 200 pages in and didn't really feel like anyone was fleshed out. The book's righted itself since then, we've gotten the core cast established and King has "thinned the herd" a little so it's definitely found it's focus.
Rightfully, we have no explanation for what sent the dome down yet, and outside of the dome itself no supernatural presence has made itself known. The two villains established are Big Jim Rennie and a deranged man known as "The Chef". The latter has only appeared once, lurking about a radio station, but the prior is the oft talked about Dick Cheney stand in.
The parallels are obvious, he has heart problems, he's second in command, but still pretty much runs the show. At first, I dismissed him as the mastermind because it seemed like the dome was hindering him as much as it was anyone else. As the book progressed though, it started to work more and more to his advantage and it seemed more and more likely that this was all a Palpatine-esque play for power.
If the ominous visions of the children are correct (and so far they have been) he's not the mastermind, but it was a nice theory while it lasted.
Rennie's puppet in the seat of First Selectman is Andy Sanders. Many of the characters have noted how he's such a "moron" but frankly I'm not seeing it. So far the only proof of said stupidity is him uttering one non-sequitur during a conference and mistakenly calling Little Walter, Walter. That's not that big a mistake. First off, who names their kid "Little"? And secondly, lots of mothers give their kids nicknames so it's not that much of a stretch that he thought that Walter was the kid's name. King hand waves it by saying that she's told him before, but so far he doesn't seem all that dim.
A few King tropes have shown up in this book. One of the kids has a psychic vision of a golden baseball (that does in fact come into play later), there are a few religious characters (a few hypocrites as well as fanatics and regular people of faith), a dog even gets killed. OK, it's somewhat justified in that the dog was attacking someone and about to kill said person, but a warning shot in the air would've worked. Even more, the cop heard the woman say that she would call him off.
Speaking of the cops, never was N.W.A's battle cry more apt cause these guys suck. They assault innocent bystanders with little to no provocation and they even rape a woman because...they can. There's a scene where they almost run over some children and I was expecting them to go bugnuts on them. Surprisingly enough, they're nice and kind to the kids and take care of them.
I was a bit surprised about how the dome functions. When the blurb says that time is running out, I figured it was air tight, but air gets through fine, even water (though only small portions of it). I wasn't surprised that the cruise missiles didn't work (that's not a spoiler, it's only 400 pages in you know it's not going to work). It's a force-field. It's specifically designed to repel things like missiles. It did however, remind me of an old Venture Bros. where some of the characters get trapped in a room by force field and the maid ends up washing it away with club soda. If this book ends with King making a Venture Bros. reference by having them escape that way, I would be so happy.
The book is thick, but like It, you hardly notice it as you're reading. It has that same "pull you in" effect that King's best works have. I'm not sure where I'd rank it exactly, that would be a question better answered after I finish and that sort of thing does tend to fall in the eye of the beholder, but this is definitely up there. I'm intrigued and excited to see where it's all going. So, while I'm still working on it. I do recommend this book. If you haven't picked it up yet, do so. The title has been steadily dropping slots on the NY Times Best seller list so we need to get it back up there.
Examiner review
It's been a while since we hit the end of the first half, but I finally finished the door stopper that is Under the Dome.
It's a good book. I don't know if I'd cite it as a masterpiece, but it certainly is a darn good read. People compare it to It and The Stand, where it seemed more like Bag of Bones. The dome itself almost becomes an afterthought. With the wide cast and three human villains to deal with, it sort of makes sense, but the whole dome arc was a tad abrupt.
I mean, first the dome comes down and the first third of the novel is the "whiskey tango foxtrot" phase. The crew on the outside pretty much figure out what's going on and tell Barbara to find the Macguffin to disable the dome. Said Macguffin turns out to be pretty easy to find, King handwaves this saying that the masterminds wanted the thing to be found, but it was a bit odd.
There are a ton of great characters in this book. Big Jim is such a reprehensible bastich that he almost makes Cheney look good by comparison. His son, Junior is not much better. I have to admit that Junior was fun to read about. He was so deliciously deranged that I loved every bit of page time he had, although again I'm forced to point out that necrophilia is gross. I loved how he and his father kept finding themselves at odds. There were a few scenes where they would just stare each other down, knowing full well that the other was up to no good. I got the feeling that even Big Jim was a bit put off by his son's slipping sanity. It was great.
Speaking of deliciously deranged, we also have "Chef" Bushey, who finally becomes a player later in the book. He especially shines when he befriends one of the other characters in the book. I don't know why, but I enjoy seeing average joes befriend sociopaths. It doesn't quite reach the awesomeness that is Dan Dreiberg and Rorschach, but it's in that same vein.
I also liked James Cox. I don't know what it was, but he had a great page presence that made me want to see more of him.
While the book doesn't tie into the Dark Tower directly (though there are several subtle nods to the 19 bit), it is linked in spirit. I'm thinking specifically of the final scene in the first book where the Man in Black explains the nature of the megaverse, telling Roland how there are universes inside of atoms and how their own universe was but a small piece of a larger spectrum. I'm not going to give away the ending, but that idea plays heavily into what is going on.
The book has been criticized for being a tad anti-climactic. I have to agree. I'm not sure how else you could've ended it, and I did like the metaphysical idea behind it, but it did pale in comparison to the buildup.
Many have made the comparison to the Simpsons movie, saying that King took his idea from that. There are several things wrong with this. First, he started writing this decades ago; and second, King says that he had never even seen the film (which I have to admit is rather surprising considering what a big film buff he is). Let's put that aside though. Let's say that he had seen the movie and it sparked an idea in his brain..so what? The characters are different, the story is different and the dome serves a completely different purpose. Now, had Barbie and Julia disposed of the aforementioned macguffin by riding a motorcycle around the perimeter of the dome, using physics to ride their way to the top of the dome, then yeah I'd say he would've ripped it off, but outside of the fact that there is a dome over a city, there is no similarity between the two.
While it took a while time-wise for me to get through, it was by no means a difficult read. King is so good at lengthier tomes that he almost makes writing a 1,000 page epic look easy.
If you haven't already, I do recommend checking this book out. If my endorsement isn't enough to convince you, Neil Gaiman cited it as one of his favorite books of the year in his blog.
I can't wait to see what comes of the planned adaptation by HBO. Hopefully, it doesn't go the way of TNT's The Talisman. It has the potential to be a great series.
Under the Dome tops the Charts
*Originally published on 11/21/09
The New York times lists Stephen King's door stopper of a new release, Under the Dome as the number one best seller in their latest top 5 list.
Unlike movies, they don't seem to track book copies as diligently so I can't comment on how close it was to the second best seller or how much it blew away the competition. I, myself, picked up my copy yesterday.
As I was walking out of the bookstore, I noticed the audiobook version of the novel on a rack. That would be a lot of listening. I was kind of curious to see how many CD's it would take to hold an 1,100 page book. Sadly, the audiobook's Amazon page doesn't tell you how many CD's are contained. It does, however, have a review co-written by Guillermo Del Toro, which is pretty cool.
You can also read the New York Times' review of the novel.
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