CGGorman

Crying on the inside.

I watched the IMSA race at Sebring Saturday. Couldn't believe the crazy turn of luck both the Porsche factory team cars (#911 and #912) had in the last half hour of the race. They dominated the whole race and then, BAM! Combined with the snafu in Daytona, I bet those guys are still cussing two days later! Don't get me wrong, I'm a Corvette Fan all the way.(The Pratt-Miller C7Rs, those DP cars aren't really Corvettes in my book) I was happy to see at least the #3 Corvette on the podium, but I'd rather not have it happen as the result of those kinds of late-hour mechanical bugs. Maybe it's OK, though. Corvette Racing #4 did go out after a brake pedal return spring failure caused a bailout wall hit in hour, what, 10? And, Holy COW! Action Express #5 walked away and never looked back. That was a demoralizing victory for them...and with a broken front sway most of the race!?! GTFO.

I figure we here all gotta be avid readers, right? I got away from reading for several years due to a hectic life, but the last year or so I've been able to ease my way back into the hobby that defined much of my young life. With the aid of the E-reader and Audiobook, I'm to the point now that I'm ripping through books! I prefer the printed word, but having the audio allows me to "read" while working out or driving. As a result, I'm able to spend a couple hours every day digesting books. It's nice. I bounce back and forth between the same title on both Audible and Reader. Takes some time to find my place after a switch, but it's worth it to me. My mom was looking for something new to read so I recommended the Sword of Shannara Trilogy to her late last year and decided to take it for a spin again since it was on my mind. I had never read the first book (Sword), but absolutely LOVED the second (Elfstones) and third (Wishsong). I decided it was time to dig in and do it right...so for the last several months I have been working my way through the entire Shannara anthology. It's a huge undertaking but I'm progressing at a steady pace. I'm currently working on Book 16. "Morgawr", Voyage of the Jerle Shannara #3 of 3. If you're not at all familiar, the Shannara series is very firmly rooted in fantasy. Swords and sorcery, gods and demons...with a subtle post-apocalyptic twist. With the exception of a few origin stories, the majority take place in a far-future Earth where technology has destroyed Man as we know it and has been replaced by magic and multiple races. There are about 30 books in the series, so I've still a ways to go before I intend to move on to other authors. We'll see. Maybe I'll make it, maybe I won't. I've got a long list of things I want to read. My mom is pressuring me to read Dan Simmons' "Drood" and a few others. What have you been reading?

There's some talent here. Worth a look. http://scythe-meisters.deviantart.com/gallery/ image copyright: scythe-meisters

I know it's 2015 now, but I'm still catching up on 2014 titles! Saw "In the Blood" yesterday. It's a Gina Carano flick with Danny Trejo. If you know their work, that tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the movie. Good or bad, I'll leave that up to you. Since "Haywire" I've been an outspoken proponent of Carano's acting skill. "In the Blood", I think, serves to reinforce that. It gave her a better opportunity to show that she can do more than kick ass. Her experience in MMA continues to add a level of authenticity to her fight scenes that are virtually unmatched elsewhere in cinema. The film's editors and continuity personnel let down the movie as whole a bit, but the rest of the thing is pretty solid. Better then many of its peers in the genre.

I haven't been watching a lot of movies lately but it's been a while, so here's a few the stand out from the crowd... "Escape From Tomorrow" is an acid-trip movie that should please fans of movies like "Eraser Head", "Naked Lunch", or "Twin Peaks". "Chef" definitely worth a watch. I think it realy cements Jon Favreau as a top tier director. I suppose it helps that it resonated with me. I have a passion for fine cooking and spent a few good years in a proper kitchen as a, baker, prep, and line cook. "Snowpiercer" was a surprise hit out of Korea starring Chris Evans. Go find it. This crowd should love it! "Jodorowsky's Dune" gets a qualified recommendation from me. I really liked it, but I also really like Dune, H.R. Giger, Salvador Dali, Documentaries, and general obscura. If you don't mind reading subtitles and like the stuff I mentioned, go look for it. You may really dig it.

Welcome change. Thank You!

I imagine it would be similar to medieval peasant music here. Simple stringed instruments, simple percussion, Szgany bells and cymbals of course. I can see small bands of Szgany performing quiet laments in the caves beside evening campfires (before everybody digs in for the long night.) and then performing something a bit more uplifting as dawn breaks...

A disturbed genius has joined the Great Majority. The greatest (IMO) surrealist of all time died today from injuries sustained from a fall. He was 74. One of my bucket list items was to one day travel to his museum in Switzerland and see his work in person. Continue on, Mr. Giger. Dream, design, and paint the most grandiose surreal works that one could never begin to accomplish in life...and pimp slap the pompous Salvador Dali when you get a chance.

I finally got around to watching "Oblivion" and both the "Hunger Games" flicks last weekend. Personally, I think "Oblivion" was the best of the three and I'm even a little jaded when it comes to Tom Cruise films. You gotta like dystopian post-apoc stories but it's well done and worth a watch. The first "Hunger Games" sat and gathered dust for a long while. My son read the books and wanted the movie so I got it when it first came out but I was never very interested so never watched it. A friend said the second one was better than the first so I decided to go ahead and make it a double-feature. I'm glad I gave them a chance. I've not read the books, but the movies are worthwhile. Looking forward to the the third installment now. Also watched "Rush". It was good, too. I'm a natural petrol-head and have all the iconic car/racing movies so I was bound to like this movie, too. Regardless, I think it can satisfy a wider audience. There is a good story with solid characters that the audience can really root for (or against). The races are quite well done and feature period-correct F1 sights and sounds. Finally, I also made it to "Need For Speed" on opening weekend. This one was a mixed bag for me. I was keeping tabs on the behind-the-scenes and other production tid-bits and had done the same with several other movies I was over-excited about in the past so I knew upfront that I was sacrificing some of the "movie magic". That was a mistake and I knew it but couldn't stop looking. Regardless, the story was better than expected. As an entertaining action movie, it's satisfying. Sadly, I was hoping they would NAIL the cars sounds and felt consistently let down. My youngest son (also a petrol-head) agreed. We shared several comments throughout the presentation about how incorrect some of the cars sounded. I'm too close to the subject...admitted.

If you happen to follow Agents of SHIELD on TV and haven't yet gone to the theatre to see Capt. America 2, I'd suggest doing so before watching this week's SHIELD (Ep. 17, "Turn, Turn, Turn").

Silky just announced that Plague Bearer will be released as an audio book in MP3 format. Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Most exciting! I can't wait to get it. This, of course, ushers in the inevitable Question....will any of the other books get the audio treatment? I hope so!

Heard about this on the radio this morning. Couldn't avoid drawing the mental parallel to the Necroscope Universe. Norway. Narrow valley between steep mountains. 6 months without sun. Tracking mirrors installed on a peak to reflect sunlight into the town square. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/06/rjukan-sun-norway-town-mirrors

Agree. I enjoyed it as well. Did a little catching up on movies over the last couple weeks. A few worth mentioning: "Europa Report". If you liked "Gravity" and also like a documentary-style thriller, this is a must-see. It pre-dates "Gravity" and executes some of the same tropes more effectively, IMO. As a side note, "Sunshine" (2007) is also a good space thriller that gets little press.. "Elysium" works on a level somewhere between the new "Total Recall" and "District 9". Maybe just me, but I see some echos of William Gibson's cyber-punk universe in here. (Why haven't we seen an epic movie version of "Burning Chrome" or "Mona-Lisa Overdrive"?) "Byzantium" was a surprise to me. I didn't know it was a vampire movie or I probably wouldn't have watched it. Frankly, Lumley has spoiled me off the traditional vampire character and it takes something fresh to keep me interested. Sadly, I don't give vampire titles a fair shake. Fortunately "Byzantium" was worth the ride. Another side note: There is a pair of Russian movies called "Night Watch" and "Day Watch" that turn the traditional vampire movie on it's ear. The first one has Russian dialogue but offers English subtitles. It did well enough that the second one was produced with English dialogue. Both are worth finding and watching.

It's dead simple. They were off-the-shelf frames from Michael's (a hobby/craft goods store in the US). I just added some simple planks of mat board behind the books and sandwiched them between the glass and backing materials. No glue, no cutting, and no damage to the books. I have another, bigger, project in mind to display an original manuscript/draft of The Source I've got. I want to build an "easle" of some type and a glass or plexi display case. Maybe mount the whole thing on a plinth of some type. That's waiting in the wings along with a project I've been contemplating on how to display a proof strike of one of the bas relief tiles Sideshow Collectibles released from Aliens Vs. Predator by Lance Henriksen.