The real reason why John Carter is so amazing

I've been waiting for EVER for the John Carter movie to come out. Why? Because I read the entire John Carter series, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, when I was a kid. And yes, this is the same Edgar Rice Burroughs who wrote the Tarzan series. (Believe it or not, he wrote both series concurrently. Go, Edgar!) Beginning with A Princess Of Mars, I fell in love with all of the books and characters, especially the lizard–like Martian dog that became John Carter's best friend.


That's why I was saddened when most of the critics who saw this movie gave it poor reviews. Once again, I feel like movie critics don't understand this genre or the fans (like me) who love it.

If you go to see the movie, and I hope you do because it's incredible, you should know that this series was written 100 years ago. That's way before Star Wars, Star Trek, or Superman. So if you see any similarities, it's because everyone copied this series. John Carter is the ORIGINAL superhero. He travels to another planet, Mars, where all of his powers derive from the fact that he's now living on a smaller planet. He's stronger than the locals and he can jump really high. That's it. No x-ray vision, no kryptonite. And Superman is my favorite superhero, so for me to say that John Carter rocks is a big deal.

All of this reminds me of I Am Legend.


When the movie I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, came out, it looked like something we'd seen a million times before. It looked like a stylish remake of Night Of The Living Dead, starring vampires instead of zombies. The only thing is, I Am Legend was written by Richard Matheson in 1954. It focuses on a vampire apocalypse that takes place in Los Angeles. This book influenced George Romero when he made Night Of The Living Dead; it was also the basis for the movie The Last Man On Earth starring Vincent Price, and the movie Omega Man starring Charlton Heston. In other words, this book had a strong influence on our current concept of a monster apocalypse, most notably a zombie apocalypse.

Books influence movies. They influence other writers. They influence our culture. But I think it's important to remember which came first, the chicken or the egg. John Carter or Superman. A vampire apocalypse or zombie apocalypse. Hopefully if we study the classics in the culture of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, we'll be more likely to give appreciation where and when it's due.



The bottom line: I'm giving the John Carter movie 5 stars and 2 thumbs up.

ALSO, here's a LINK to an interesting article over on IO9 titled, Everything You Need to Know about Disney’s John Carter Movie, that you might want to read. Very cool stuff!

And a FREEBIE: Here's a LINK to a free Amazon e-book copy of A Princess Of Mars, the book the current movie was based on.

Taming the Dragon

For the past few weeks, I've been experimenting with a voice recognition software program called Dragon Dictate. It works pretty good. Most of the time. Although it doesn't always understand some of the word choices I use. Like plague and field of bodies and bloody stump. (Actually it got all of those right, this time.)


When you're not using the program, you can either turn it off or put it to sleep. Apparently, in the future, turning it off sounds like the better idea. I put the program to sleep, then watched a decorating program while I was eating lunch. When I was ready to go back to work, this is what I found on my screen...

Both men leap carefully over the bodies, making their way out of the field. They’re glad to leave us, I think. Glad to be away from the boy, as if five hundred feet can prevent them from catching the plague should it spill is a you is is is is is is is is a you are all is is is is is is is is in a day you and you and you will is is is is is is a lie and he is a you and a you as you are on is that and you claim you are really here is a he is he is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is will all is will you will a will is a you will and will and he is will he or he will or will he he I he is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is a you a you as you as long as is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is read. As you is as lovely as long as one is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is he is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is the buyer is is is is will is is is is is that you will is is is is is 0 as well as long as he is today is a is as good as he is or is you are you as you is a you will is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is all is you are you as you are well is really a wall as hard as they is is is is is is is is is know is is is is will is dated as headboard is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is you will hear is is is you are is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is he out of his vial.

LOL. Nuff said.

Absolute, undeniable proof that I really did watch the SuperBowl

I may not be a big sports fan (like not all), but I did hang out with friends and dutifully watched the SuperBowl on Sunday. Granted, I mainly listened to everyone's comments and watched that little thing on the bottom of the screen that tells you how much time is left in the quarter BUT despite all this, I watched the broadcast.

How can I prove it?

By showing you my favorite SuperBowl commercials. Ta da.

So, here goes. Dog and missing cat and doritos payoff.



Dog losing weight to achieve his goal.



My favorite: What happens when you let a cheetah out its cage.



Best apocalypse SuperBowl commercial. (Watch for echoes of I Am Legend.)



And am I the only one who saw the YA dystopian undertones in this Pepsi commercial?

Writer Wednesday: Interview with Jane Wells, author of Glitter in the Sun

Today is my second Writer Wednesday, during which I be feature an author you may or may not have heard of. Once again, my goal is to introduce you to some books and authors that you may not have read before.

Today, I'm interviewing debut author, Jane Wells, author of the book, Glitter in the Sun--which releases on November 14, 2011.



AUTHOR BIO AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF HER BOOK:
A wife, mother and writer, Jane Wells has written and taught Bible studies, and served for four years in youth ministry. Currently, however, keeping up with two Golden Retrievers and two very active boys seems to be a full time job on its own. Her book, Glitter in the Sun, will be released November 14 by Read the Spirit/David Crumm Media, LLC. It can be purchased through Amazon.com or through my website, www.glitterinthesun.com. A brief description of the book: Her book explores how readers can glimpse truths of faith through the Twilight saga. Glitter in the Sun invites individual readers and Bible-study groups to consider that there may be links between the love stories of Twilight and the One who can truly satisfy their longing hearts.



INTERVIEW:
MERRIE: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would it be?
JANE: Someplace warm and sandy with crystal clear blue water… and almost completely deserted. I don’t know where that is because I haven’t been there yet!
MERRIE: I haven’t been there either, but when you find it, let me know!

MERRIE: What’s your favorite TV show?
JANE: Bones. I am fascinated by the science of it all and love how the characters are written and interact.

MERRIE: What is the one book that everyone should read?
JANE: Oooooh, that’s really hard… other than the Bible – because it doesn’t matter what genre you’re looking for, it’s in there – I don’t have any single recommendation.

MERRIE: What movie or book are you looking forward to this year?
JANE: Breaking Dawn, of course! After that, the upcoming Avengers movie.

MERRIE: If you could have lunch with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and what would you eat?
JANE: There are a bunch of writers I know only through Facebook and their books whom I would love to spend real time with (ahem, Merrie Destefano). Even if we weren’t talking about writing the conversation would still be fascinating because writers are information omnivores. As for what I would eat? As long as there was coffee and cheesecake I would be content!
MERRIE: Coffee and cheesecake? I am SO there. Seriously, it would be so much fun to hang out with you for lunch. We must do that someday.

MERRIE: What is your favorite place to write?
JANE: There is a coffee shop here in Monroe, MI called Agua Dulce. It is my office away from home! When I hit a writer’s block I sit back for a few minutes to sip the bottomless coffee and watch people.

MERRIE: Tell us about your current book.
JANE: Glitter in the Sun is a Bible study that explores just why the Twilight Saga has become such a phenomenon. Even if you don’t care for the story, writing or concept, you’ve got to admit that holding all top four positions of the New York Times bestseller list and grossing more than $1.8 billion (yes, with a “b”) with the first three movies alone, makes the Twilight Saga a force to be considered at least.

I believe the Twilight Saga is so popular because it strikes at a universal chord. The themes of eternal love and unconditional acceptance are at the core needs of every person. We are born that way, to be hungry for the love of an eternally and unconditionally loving God.

MERRIE: How long did it take you to write your current book?
JANE: I wrote Glitter in the Sun one week per chapter, so it took about four months.

MERRIE: What was the hardest part about writing this book?
JANE: Making sure that what I thought was in fact what the Bible said about the topic. It was a huge growth experience for me to seek out what God has to say about all these “modern” questions and problems.

MERRIE: What advice would you give to a beginning writer?
JANE: Just do it. If within yourself you deeply wish you were a writer, then I’d say you probably already are. You just need to put fingers to keyboard and hammer it out!

And now, answer the first thing that comes to your mind:

MERRIE: Dog or cat?
JANE: Cat

MERRIE: Hot tea or cold tea?
JANE: Hot
MERRIE: Yay, hot tea wins!

MERRIE: Flying monkeys or munchkins?
JANE: Munchkins (Flying monkeys - *shudder*)
MERRIE: Yikes. I always thought the munchkins were WAY scarier than the flying monkeys.

MERRIE: Supernatural or magical?
JANE: Supernatural

MERRIE: Brownie or cake?
JANE: Brownie
MERRIE: Now, we’re talking.

MERRIE: High heels or tennis shoes?
JANE: Ummmmm… well… will I be playing with my boys or playing at being a grown-up?
MERRIE: Trick question. And…a trick answer. How about tennis shoes with high heels?

MERRIE: Read a book or watch TV?
JANE: Book!

MERRIE: Hawaii or Rio de Janeiro?
JANE: Hawaii

MERRIE: Rich or famous?
JANE: Famous. (My husband would say rich. That’s why we’re a team!)

MERRIE: The beach or the forest?
JANE: Can the beach be at the edge of the forest?
MERRIE: Cheating. Ahem, I mean, you stole my answer.

MERRIE: Now or later?
JANE: Now.
MERRIE: Absolutely. Why wait? Unless we’re talking about cleaning the house.


Thank you, Jane, for stopping by today and I wish you much success with Glitter in the Sun!

Teaser Tuesday:

It's Teaser Tuesday (wild round of applause for books, books, and more books) and my selection today is THE REAPERS ARE THE ANGELS by Alden Bell [Joshua Gaylord].


And now, the rules of Teaser Tuesday:
-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
-Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
-Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

And my Teaser Tuesday snippet, paragraph two, page 54, from THE REAPERS ARE THE ANGELS by Alden Bell:

"Here among these pretty homes, on a four-lane road with a wide grassy island in the middle where banyan trees are planted at equal intervals, she finds an accumulation of meatskins, a trail of maybe twenty, all loping awkwardly in the same direction. She pulls the car up past them to the front of the line where there is a large man trying to outpace the congregation behind. In his arms is the body of an ancient woman no larger than a child."

Cool Blog Alert: Cinder author Marissa Meyer's NaNoWriMo Countdown

If you’re looking for some NaNo encouragement AND you want to learn more about a debut author, check out Marissa Meyer’s Live Journal. Author of the upcoming Cinder (a book I can’t WAIT to read), Marissa’s doing a day-by-day countdown of author tips during the month of November. Covering items like ARCS, blog tours, conferences, and downloads, her blog posts make great reads for aspiring writers. Interspersed among these tips are updates on her soon-to-be released novel. In her own words: CINDER, in which Cinderella is re-envisioned as a teenage cyborg, is due out 3 January 2012.


(Isn't that cover fabulous?)

Here’s a quote from a recent article by USA today about Cinder:
“Meyer sets this Cinderella story in futuristic New Beijing, where humans and androids coexist in a dystopian society ravaged by plague. Being a teenage cyborg, Linh Cinder is looked down by society on the whole, and especially by her stepmother. She does have one talent working in her favor, however: Her computer brain interface makes her the best mechanic around, which is fortuitous when Prince Kaito comes calling to her market booth and asks her to fix his broken android before the annual royal ball.

Cinder and the prince's lives become intertwined, while an antagonistic force lies in wait in outer space waiting for the right moment to strike Earth.

The next three books in the series will also take a futuristic sci-fi twist on classic tales: Scarlet is inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, Cress is a take on Rapunzel and Winter is Meyer's version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.”

And, this is what always sells me on a book. An excerpt. Here's a link to the first chapter.

Also, up tomorrow: An interview with debut author, Jane Wells.

Do tigers like catnip?

This video makes me smile. I think these cats need a couple of big stuffed mice to play with.