Taa-Taa For Now :)

Hey Folks,

I have some news for you this sunny Thursday morning. I'm saying farewell to my blog here on Blogger. I've had this blog up for a couple of years now, and it's seen many different transformations. It's gone from a blog about big-city traffic, to a blog about nothing in particular but what I wanted to post, to a blog about my writing, to a blog about Myths, Weird News, and Futuristic Posts, to what it's been recently.

And now, I think it's time to put it away for a little while. I've had a ton of fun coming up with different blog topics, and it's been really cool to see my views for each post rise from a couple dozen to several hundred. So, to all my readers, thank you for checking out what I had to say!

To all the blogs I follow, I will try my best to check back in every once in a while to see what you are all posting. I hope that as long as you're still enjoying it, you continue to crank out those blogs and bless the world with your unique expressions!

There came a time when I quit Myspace, a time when I quit Facebook, and now it's Blogger time. All three are very cool, and I'm not knocking them, but they do tend to take up lots of Time. And what I sadly don't have right now in my life is much Time. If you want to keep in touch, you can follow me on Twitter, at my new address, which is my **REAL** name (some of you don't even know my real name!) But here it is... @Carrie_Sullivan  

Basically, I'm trying to find myself as a writer again. And sometimes with all the pressure to market and have a blog and do things the way media and marketing experts want...well, it ultimately takes you away from your art. And I'm going to get back to my art, which is creating stories that I love. And maybe when I finally get one of my projects out and ready to start selling, I'll dive back into the blog thing, or Facebook and a website. Not sure yet, but I'll know then.

Selling millions of copies of my novels isn't my topmost goal (though if it happens, I'll take it). Even making a living as a writer isn't too high on my priority list. I simply want to use what little spare time I have in my life (when I'm not trying my best to keep and nourish the friendships and other relationships that I have) to do what I truly enjoy...to do what I've had a passion for since I've been about 5 years old: creating my art.

Take care, everyone! It's been a blast!

Japanese Ball Drone Video

Anyone heard of a Japanese Ball Drone? No??? We-he-hell, you are going to be entertained by this.



I don't know what I enjoy most about this video--the fact that:

1) the floating, remote-controlled sphere has so many futuristic possibilities (think pizza delivery ball drones, etc)

2) the people making the video used music from the Top Gun soundtrack (LOL)

or

3) the ball drone reminds me of this thingie in Star Wars:

What uses can you come up with for this nifty little device?

Checkmate: Why 'X-Men: First Class' Might Be the Best of the Bunch

Okay, y'all, go out and see the new X-Men movie. It's my favorite of the franchise. And I'll tell you why.

This one had the feel of the old cartoon show on FOX. Did anyone watch that? I watched it religiously as a kid and then would go play X-Men with all the neighborhood children. The characters were all so cool, bad guys and good guys, so it was always hard to pick which one I wanted to be. Usually I went with Rogue (who isn't in this movie, sadly, but I'm all right with that).

(Anybody hear the old theme song in your head?)

Also, this movie wins the Favorite spot for me because I love the origins of Magneto and Xavier's relationship. You know, before they were enemies? This movie goes into how they two of them met, how they formed a friendship much like brothers, and how ultimately, they went down separate paths.

Young Magneto is played by Michael Fassbender. And man, he does a bang-up job playing Eric. My long-time friend who went to see it with me is slightly in love with him, and I can see why. He's pretty amazing. You may recognize him from the recent smash hit by Tarrentino: "Inglourious Basterds."

His counterpart, Charles, is played by James McAvoy. You might recognize him from the movie "Wanted" or "Becoming Jane." He was probably my favorite character in the movie. Charismatic, charming, all-around good guy--and I loved that finger-to-the-temple telepathic thing he did. Spot on!

Eric and Charles have always intrigued me with their love/hate relationship, and I especially enjoy the fact that they have played the game of Chess for years and years.

Chess is one of my favorite games. I've been playing it since I learned how in a 7th grade elective class. You can play it with stealth and think 10 steps ahead, or you can just fly by the seat of your pants. I think of it a bit like life. Or war. Or both.

The movie also had a young Beast, played by Nicholas Hoult, whom I also blogged about in an earlier post about the upcoming Zombie movie "Warm Bodies." Beast reminds me of my husband--a gentle, bespectacled genius with a heart of gold.

We get to see Beast before he's blue, and we also get to see what happens to turn him blue. (If you're familiar with the comics, you already know, but it's still heartbreaking.)

Gosh, it seems like there are so many good movies coming out this summer! It's about time, though. I haven't felt this excited about summer cinema in years. But if you go see any movie, get yourself to the theater and check out X-Men!

Taa-taa for now!

A Game of Thrones: Book to Show

Rare is the day that I see a TV show or movie version of a book I love and think, Wow! They actually did a GOOD job translating it from text to screen!


Today, HBO's A Game of Thrones gets that shout-out from me.

I read the 4 books that are currently out a few years ago--my husband (then just boyfriend) highly recommended them. I knew nothing about the series, had never heard of them. All I was going on was the fact that he adored them, and I thought I'd give them a shot because he so strongly suggested it.

Now, a little bit of info about me, I'm not a huge fantasy person. I'm pretty picky with my fantasy. I love my classic movies like Willow and The Dark Crystal, and I adore classic fantasy books like Lord of the Rings (also a great movie adaptation). But rarely will I finish a fantasy book, much less stick with a series.

Why?

Well, I find that a lot of fantasy has a lack of character-building, or characters that are so hard to relate to because I can't even pronounce their name, etc. Many fantasy novels have incredible worlds and imaginative plots, but the character thing tends to be missing for me in your run-of-the-mill sword and sorcery books.

A Game of Thrones, however, had me enthralled from the first chapter and mainly because of its characters.

Author George R.R. Martin creates a gigantic cast of 3-dimensional characters, a vivid world that is believable yet with ever-increasing elements of magic, and he also spins a plot that will constantly make you go, "WTF??" because he is absolutely unpredictable.

And I love that. Give me unpredictable over canned formula any day!

This story is Fan-Damn-Tastic.

So naturally I had high expectations for the HBO show...

I am so nit-picky when it comes to turning my favorite books into shows. I will sit through the movie/show and gripe about how "That wasn't in the book!" or "Her hair wasn't that color in the book!" or "Why'd they have to change that? They could've kept it like the book!"

I am saying no such thing when watching A Game of Thrones. I merely sit, mesmerized, and so thankful that it IS so true to the original story.

One of the things I was kind of iffy on in the beginning, though, was the character Jamie Lannister:

In the first book especially, Jamie is a golden, pretty boy who is also a genuine asshole. The Jamie they picked for the show just somehow wasn't pretty enough for me. Good-looking, yes, but I was thinking very blond shoulder-length hair, model-like features, piercing blue eyes, that sort of thing. So I was sort of pouting over that.

But damn it, after watching the first few episodes, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is doing a perfect job playing him. No, he doesn't quite have the look I would've pictured, but I hate to admit it: he is still doing great. As is everyone else. Everyone in this show is amazing. And that is something I just don't SAY very often!

So if you haven't read the books, go out and get book 1-4. Martin promises to have the 5th book released soon (I've been waiting for years for it), but I'm telling you, you will just get hooked, even if you're not into fantasy. And then once you've read the books, check out the show so you can compare how it relates to the novels. ((Warning: books and show are HIGHLY sexual and mature in themes, so this one isn't for kids, folks!))

Happy reading!

Quick Addition to Pyramid Post (with Vid!)

Regarding my last post about the 17 lost pyramids, here's a short video of how the infra-red satellite imaging works:





(Big brother is watching you...)

17 Pyramids

Okay, this was just too cool for me not to post about.

Archeologists (space archeologists, to be exact) recently have pinpointed the locations of 17 previously "lost," ancient pyramids in Egypt.

They found the pyramids by using satellites that orbit Earth. These satellites have been taking infra-red images, and in some of the images...mysterious pyramids emerged... 

It's really cool that cameras in space found them because there's so much lore about the pyramids being the direct result of space visitors. Ever seen the History Channel's series Ancient Aliens? 

People (and not just crack-pots, but intelligent members of society) have come up with some very interesting theories, concerning the great pyramids at Giza, and others around the world. It'll make you think twice about everything you thought you knew regarding the awesome structures.

I cannot wait to see what the archaeologists present to the public after digging around in these 17 "lost" pyramids. Perhaps it'll be more clues to the puzzle? Perhaps just more mystery? 

Have you ever given any thought to the pyramids--why they were made, who made them, etc? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

TGIF, readers!

New Conan: Cool or Corny?

I.............am looking forward to the new Conan The Barbarian movie, starring Jason Momoa.

Just the poster image alone is enough to get my butt in the movie theater chair. Love, love, love the skulls. And I've always loved that gigantic monster of a sword Conan has--you just know he's going to rip someone or something a new butt hole with it.

I like to live vicariously through people like Conan the Barbarian. For instance, when the jerk in traffic tails me for two miles and I'm sweating bullets that he's going to ram into the back of my vehicle, I can always come home and watch an old Conan flick and pretend the person he's killing is the guy who drove on my ass.

Even back in the day, when Arnold was Conan, I enjoyed rooting for the giant dude with the killer sword.

It's just fun seeing a good guy totally wreck everything in his surroundings. Although Arnold maybe took the wrecking thing a little too far and smashed up his marriage, and with a different sort of sword...but I won't go there... To each his own! Silly Arnold! (Really, though, are people surprised? I thought he was a known womanizer? Okay, sorry, not going there.)

Back to Conan the Barbarian.

Some naysayers have already started blabbering on about how the new flick (in theaters August 19) is going to be a let-down, like the new Clash of the Titans, which I did not see, so I can't give you my honest assessment on that one. But I think it'll be everything it promises to be: a movie about a muscled dude wrecking up some bad guys with his sword(s) and looking good while doing it.

Plus, the movie's also got Rose McGowan in it. I love Rose <3 She was so good in that ridiculous Grindhouse flick, Planet Terror. She is one of my favs.

You might not recognize her right off the bat in Conan, though, because she looks like this:

She'll probably die a very dramatic and gruesome death since she is rumored to play one of the bad guys. But she's quite good and being the evil seductress type, so it'll be fun for sure.

One more thing: the new Conan, Jason Momoa, is also in the new Game of Thrones series on HBO I blogged about not too long ago. He plays Khal Drogo, another bare-chested warrior.

I'm looking forward to the movie, if only for the sake of viewing some escapist cinema, which I think we all need a little of these days.

What do you expect from the new Conan movie? Think it'll be a flop? Or think it'll be fun?