I Came, I Gamed, It Reigned

Hello lovelies! Blossomsoft Games made something yummy. You should taste it. Really. It's the most fun I've had in rpg yet - and you know how much I play ;)

Eternal Eden is a hit, and (great news!) Elder, its intrepid designer, just announced an Eternal Eden II! I drool. If it's just a repeat with a slightly different story line, I'll still be thrilled. The humor, the mind games, the pretty pictures - it's just like crack for crows (a great band name, btw). I kid.

If you haven't played yet and you want to, go here. Elder is very accommodating. If you have Vista issues, he has a fix. Trust me - I have issues. He was great! And if you're an "I don't want to do it all by myself" gamer, there's one of the best walkthroughs I've ever read, thanks to over_cloud9, waiting to accompany you ;)

Kickin Gaming!

Watchmen: The Things a Hubby Noticed

{{{SPOILERS!}}}



The first comment he made: "If I see another schlong, I'm outta here."

His biggest beef: "The "heroes" offed a bunch of innocents and pointed fingers at the wrong guy."

Followed closely by: "They killed the best character in the end!"

One redeeming quality: "Blow-Your-Mind fight scenes!"

Secret redeeming quality: "Hot chick - Hot sex scene."


This is what happens when my hubby sees a movie before me. Did I warn him it was based on a graphic novel and would be too weird for him. Yes. He could've seen Taken or whatever. Does he ever listen to my movie advice? Uhmm, No.

Could he have a point reguardless?

Yes. Yes he could.

The Dark Side of Description: Evil Adjectives In Sci-Fi

Adjectives can be evil in any genre. Evil adjectives are never more powerful than Lightside adjectives, but they are the easier, more beckoning. *wink, wink* There are certain modifiers that should, in this bloggers opinion, get the user flogged if used in science fiction. Whether you are a fan fic newbie or an award-winning author - please, I beg you, stay away from the darkside of description!

As lists seem to be required in all blog entries now, here's mine - Five descriptions that should never be seen in science fiction literature:


*

1. "Futuristic City." Ouch. If the characters travel in time and land in the future, any city they land in will be a "futuristic" city. Description of places yet to be seen should feel organic. Is there pink grass in this future? Are all the buildings topped with minarets? This, by the way, goes for any future object, spaceship, ray gun, etc. Is it dusty, rusty, musty - throw a reader a bone!




2. "Metal Robots." Ermmm - duh. A robot automatically portrays a thing made of metal. The only reason to stick a one word adjective in front of the word "robots", is to differentiate from that preconception. How about organic robots or ceramic robots? Robots made of individualized heavy water molecules, Eh? If the point is that these bots are shiny and silver then say so. Can you type "C-3P0?"


3. "Super Powers." We get it. Joe's a super hero. But calling his laser vision a "super" power in every paragraph gets old. And simply saying someone has super powers leaves the reader feeling vague-ish. The best way to describe an ability that's beyond the range of the average human is to let that power unfold before the readers eyes. Does Joe feel a little feverish? Do his eyes itch? What's happening? When his crush is suddenly in peril, does the bad guy he's staring down spontaneously burst into flames? Ooooh! That's handy!







4. "Aliens From Outer space" Oy! Albeit, I don't see this one very often, but when I do, the groan fest is never ending. I understand that "aliens" can mean people from another country (ie: "illegal aliens") but you are writing science fiction, for Spock's sake. We know the aliens are from outer space! Name those poor aliens! Are they Vulcans? Are they Outerspace-ians? Maybe the little green men hail from Uranus? Wherever your aliens were brewed, they deserve a home of there very own.




5. "Faster-Than-Light, Warp, Hyper Drive." This future tech needs a new face. Battlestar Gallactica calls it "FTL." Acronyms are a start. Star Trek made "Warp Drive" famous, so if you write fan fic, you're stuck with that specific appellation. But if you are inventing your own universe, at least try for a new name for the light speed concept. Doctor Who simply calls them engines and travels in time, totally avoiding the issue. Does your future society fold space, create a bubble outside normal time and space? Is it Fold Drive or Bubble Drive or Super-Fast-Fun Drive? Understanding the mechanics of your future tech will most likely give you an out for the typical "warp" drive conundrum.



*Screen capture of Libria courtesy of Marta on the Equilibrium fansite.

Netflix: What Is It Good For?

Watch Instantly. They could refuse to mail me another DVD and I'd still be jazzed about my Netflix membership. I tore myself away from the third year of Law and Order: SVU to type this.

Streaming sites like Hulu are great if you're only interested in a taste. Imagine my disappointment when I was left hanging on the season two finale of Buffy. It's not the host site's fault - they're at the mercy of the owners of each individual production. But since Netflix made their watch instantly program an unlimited feature, I can go back to SVU and watch all the way through the seventh season. (If I thought I could stay up five thousand hours straight, I just might.)

Besides having the entirety of many television shows, Netflix has added the Starz line up to their watch instantly queue. That means tons of hit movies are now available 24/7 at Netflix.com. Take my advice - Drop that cumbersome Blockbuster membership and grab some Netflix. It's worth every penny of eight dollars and ninety-nine cents.

P.S. I am in no way affiliated with Netflix or it's partner companies. I am not "The Man." This was not an attempt at advertisement, but a geek out about something I love. I accept no hate mail. Cheers.

Five Things That Would Improve the Twilight Series

***Note: I adore the Twilight books Every one of the following suggestions changes something I absolutely loved about the series. They truly are my guilty pleasure. Nevertheless, as a writer, I have to admit that there are a few ways in which the Twilight series could be made *gasp!* better. (I roll my eyes, realizing that someday someone is going to be doing this to my books) I think it's time for a critique from one of those rabid fan girls everyone loves to satirize. ***



1. Start Bella off as the typical teen. Let her go out with Mike and tick Jessica off. Have her give in to Tyler’s persistence, all the while loving that she’s getting all that positive attention. Sure, show us that Edward hates it and secretly covets her. I am certain a clever girl like Miss Swan would soon notice Mr. Cullen’s deep affection and grow out of the flirty attention-grabbing teeny-ness.

2. Make the Cullens mythical creatures - Yes. Vampires - No! Granted, the fact that vampires are fictional to begin with, makes their mythos seem wide open for re-interpretation. However, that does not mean people will love you if you completely slaughter it! Perhaps the Cullens could be “night walkers” and would only become full-fledged vampires if they made a constant diet of humans. That would leave Jasper with some awesome back-story. Maybe if he were still sporting fangs from his “bad days”, he would seem more menacing and less plain ole weird. If the Volturi actually had fangs and burned in sunlight, the final battle in Breaking Dawn might have been more fight and strategy, less talk and cry.

3. Keeping # 2 in mind, imagine that first “are you a vamp” talk in the shiny Volvo. It would have been even more intense if part of the conversation included explaining the difference between vegetarian, sparkling night walkers and pointy-toothed, flammable vampires. Let’s skip the whole soul/no soul conflict all together by having these creatures realize by their very images who does and does not have a soul.

4. Keeping #s 2 and 3 in mind, Bella would have to be a disturbed little thing to want to join the Cullen Clan - to risk fangs and eternal darkness to be with her love. How’s that for more depth? Instead of a moan fest in New Moon, Bella could have lost all her friends due to complications from Prozac. ;)

5. Super hot teenage male goes 108 years without sex? Come on, Edward! Does Undead = Eunuch? If my immortal soul were on the line, I’d hope to have incredible moral fortitude, too; but let us have at least one slip up in a century to give the story some reality. At least he could have a few snog fests with those vamp gals from Alaska. Give Miss I-Hate-Small-Towns a run for her money!

A Good Month to Anime

April 2009 marks the release of FOX's live action Dragonball project. The new trailer looks great to me, but fans of the anime hit are reportedly a little less than impressed. According to articles on imbd.com and dbthemovie.com, FOX apparently got all the action wrong. While I am a long time fan of Chow Yun Fat and James Marsters, and have high hopes for Emily Rossum in leather and purple hair, I have to worry about the fate of a film that can't even draw it's own fan base.

Personally, I love the look of Justin Chatwin as Goku. We all know looks aren't everything; but if the movie flops, can't I at least keep the pics on my desktop?




P.S. One question for the film makers: Why do we have to put the word "Evolution" as a subtitle for every action flick out there? I mean, really! Is this like the early ninties obsession with "Extreme?" Oy!

Don't Tell Mom - I've Gone British

It's a sad confession that I find myself bored with America, or American television rather. So I'm moving my sights across the pond, if you'll pardon the expression. No. Don't try and stop me. No mention of tired forensics dramas and misplaced science fiction will draw me back, no matter how fresh it pretends to be.

I now live on BBC America and spend my time shuffling through every DVD and clip of Doctor Who, The Friday (Sunday) Night Project, Primeval - ok, so just look up the schedule and pick a show. I've downloaded the soundtracks and watched the fanvids on YouTube. I've researched the accents and phraseology. Let's face it - I'm halfway to begging a dual citizenship! I told you it was sad.

In all reality, there are still a few shows created in my homeland that I adore. I can still sit through a marathon of Law and Order. Boston Legal frequently intrigues me. And if I could do nothing all day but revel in the morality tales that are episodes of Star Trek, I surely would. But I think I've drained the tap of brilliance in America - on to the country where, apparently, every thing is brilliant!