Sci Fi Jungle

Finally Caught True Blood

My Dad actually first told me about the HBO series True Blood.  He really likes it, and this is a guy who doesn't watch much TV.  He's a grey bearded opera lover.  But as those who really know him realize, Dad has a a strange compulsion to watch violent stuff.  He is the one who gave me my love of boxing.  Yeah, he and I are both probably the biggest pacifists you will ever run into but we like watching boxing.  Weird.

So because I finally got HBO (Cable company had some compelling reason whereby I had to pay more for my cable phone, internet, and TV and could essentially get the HBO thrown in) I got to watch the show.

I have actually had the Sookie Stackhouse novels on my "waiting to find cheap" radar as I had heard good things about them.  Until I started watching, I didn't realize that True Blood is the TV adaptation of the Southern Vampire series.  Ah ha.  Checked out wikipedia to get caught up since I missed the first season, and started watching. 

It's pretty violent for me, but strangely compelling.  I personally don't think vampires are my idea of good boyfriend material, but I have to admit the sex scene between Bill and Sookie was pretty darn hot.  Vampire porn, almost.  I will watch some more.  Of course MaryAnn is a totally freaky character, and since my name is Marianne, the hubster got a laugh out of that.

Defiantely lots of death and violence.  If I were Sookie, I would be a bit concerned as her grandmother, great uncle, and various and sundry bar cleintele and locals keep showing up dead.  And they are not dying of mesothelioma either. 

No, they are dying of things like "heart ripped out of chest," or "strangulation and stabbing," or "blood drained by vampires."  Eek!

Care Bears on Fire

Care Bears on Fire are a rock band made up of high school girls.   They not only have the best band name ever, they are also pretty decent.   Check 'em out on this youtube video.

At the age they are accomplishing great things, I was playing computer games in my friends parents basements or skulking around the mall video arcade.  Yeah I was that kid.  

Now I'm a mom, cruisin' at 41, chillin' in my sleep number bed watching Sci Fi on Bluray, and wondering where the time went.

Dr Who - The Next Doctor BBC America tonight

The latest incarnation of Dr. Who premiers in the US tonight on BBC America.  I read the plot synopsis on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Next_Doctor) but to tell you the honest to gosh truth it was like the grown ups talking in those old Charlie Brown specials.   "mwa mwa mwa mwa"

Suffice to say, it made as little sense to me as using Colonix would.  I've just been away from Dr. Who for too long.

 Doctor Who: The Next Doctor, Saturday, June 27 at 9:00 on BBC America.

Miss Hartigan played by Dervla Kirwan

Second Hand Review - Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

The hubster want to see Transformers 2 last night.  I stayed home with the kiddies.  Sometimes we have to split things up like that. Me, I will wait to see it on video.  I want to save my money for some new outdoor pillows for my deck chairs.

So here is my second hand review, derived from pestering the hubster for quotes I can use in the blog post. 

"The Megan F0x show... with some transforming."

"Lot's of action, story line moved along." 

"Maybe not as good as the first one but still pretty good."

"Optimus Prime gets an upgrade, Ironhide gets to do some good fighting."

The hubster also pointed out that he thought Megan Fox was hot, and looked really good bending over in some tight white pants.  He's a class act, that one.  A keeper!

Donation Funded Free Fiction

I can totally relate to author Tim Pratt.  And I totally want to read the first in the series The Bone Shop when it goes up on Monday.

Here is a quote from his blog about his new donation funded serialized fiction:

my wife was laid off this week, and while we both hope she finds a new job soon (and that I sell some more novels, as far as that goes), we're in sudden need of money now. I could have just straight-out asked for financial help -- and for those who've offered that, thanks, it's appreciated -- but I'm a writer, and if there's one thing I have in ample quantity, it's stories to tell.

As you guys might know, I have been laid off and out of work for some time now.  The job market is awful.  I have had so many interviews, but it seems like I just can't catch a break yet.  I too, succumbed to the lure of the blog "Donation" button, which I have on my Crohn's Disease Blog, Crohnsdiseaserelief.com.

Snowclones are the new Cliches

I like to say that it's good to learn something new every day.  If I learn something good early in the day, I can then take the rest of the day off.  It's all downhill from there.

Today's new vocabulary word is "snowclone."

According to Wikipedia, (which I can cite because I am not an academic, merely a cheesy blogger) a snowclone is:

"a multi-use, customizable, instantly recognizable, time-worn, quoted or misquoted phrase or sentence that can be used in an entirely open array of different jokey variants by lazy journalists and writers.

Like most things, it is best defined by example - such as "X is the new X" where you fill in X and Y.  The original cliche being "brown is the new black."  The original cliche was about fashion, such as women's shoes.

The structure of the saying can be co-opted into a lot of new phrases, like "Iraq is the new Vietnam" or “Bicycles are the new Lexus.”

Virtuality Premiers Tonight on Fox

Tonight Fox premiers the two hour pilot of the new show Virtuality.  Fox, 8:00 PM EST.  Created by the  producers of "Battlestar Galactica" Virtuality centers around the crew of a space ship on a 10 year mission (not to boldly go where no man has gone before however.)

They have cutting edge virtual reality technology to give them something to do during the long long 10 years, but malfunctions may cause unintended effects.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau stars as Commander Frank Pike captain of the ship trying to to save Earth from  environmental disaster.  Also starring Sienna Guillory and James D'Arcy.

Review: Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin

I picked up Magic Lost, Trouble Found at my local used bookstore.  I was trolling through the Sci Fi section and I have to admit I was attracted to the cover art.  A sort of modern looking Elf woman stared out at me, jauntily leaning on her sword.  It looked like a good bet.

And it is!  I really enjoyed the story of Raine Benares, half-elf, half unknown.  Her mother's family are all thieves, and she is a seeker with modest magical ability.  The best feature of the story is the first person narration and Rain's snappy cynical sense of humor.  Shearin takes the story beyond the cliches of fantasy by using fresh language and just enough humor to keep you on your toes.  The action is nonstop as well, with plenty of fighting.  Raine is a kick-ass heroine you can really get behind.

I was really pleased to see that by the time I caught on to Shearin's work she has already published two followup novels to the Raine Benares series.  Yay!  I love it when I find a new author I like and realize that there are other books just waitign for me.

Rest In Peace Farrah Fawcett

Of course today is a sad day as us members of Generation X mourn our pop culture icons Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.   Even though Jackson's Thriller was sort of a Sci Fi experience, I never was a fan of his so I don't have too much to say except that I wish his family the best.  Those poor kids.

Farrah Fawcett was most popularly regarded as a sex symbol, Charlie's Angel, and the wearer of some fantastic hair.  But did you remember her Sci Fi acting experience in Logan's Run?  Fawcett played  Holly the plastic surgeon.

I admore Fawcett for the role she took in creating awareness of domestic abuse.

From the Wikipedia artile about Farrah Fawcett

...her role as a battered wife in the fact-based TV movie The Burning Bed earned her her first of three Emmy Award nominations. The project is noted as being the first TV movie to provide a nationwide 800 number that offered help for others in the situation, in this case victims of domestic abuse. It was also the highest-rated TV movie of the season.

Fawcett died from cancer, which originally struck her in the form of rectal cancer.  Colo-rectal cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer, so please check with your doctor to get your routine colonoscopy when you reach 40 or 50 or whatever age is recommended to you, based on family history.

Off With His Head - An Open Letter to Tim Burton

Mr. Burton,

Please stop ruining my favorite childhood books.  I refused to watch your Johnny Depp-fest Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  And now you are creepy-fying my absolute favorite book Alice in Wonderland.  Stop it.

Alice in Wonderland, and the even better Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll are wonderful stories.  They have just a bit of creepiness on their own, and Alice's calm nature gets her through some interesting adventures.  The stories thrive on subtle logical humor and absurdity mixed with magical imagination.  Your still shots just look nasty.  I am not impressed.  Of with your head.