Friday, July 30, 2010

My Latest Obsession

Lately, I have been obsessed with a couple of websites, writing websites. First, http://www.teenink.com/ because I can read some writing there and publish stuff. Next, http://www.facebook.com/ (self explanatory). And, lastly, http://www.webook.com/. Why WEBook? Well, I can actually develop a story there. It also lets you get feedback from other writers and even authors (one of the authors I met has a link to the right). From there you can put your stuff on it Page to Fame option. It costs some money, but people rate your first page. If they like it enough, you can put more on there. Another option it has is Agent in box. This is free. You can submit your completed manuscript for agents to look at. It's a really cool writing website. I would definitely encourage you to check it out.

Also to the right are some links to my Teen Ink publishings and fellow bloggers as well as that free online book.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Writing is SO Important

Where would we ever be if every person in the world stopped writing? I'm thinking choas, explosions, total mass panic because nobody knows what happened!!

People tend to take advantage of written works, and most don't even know they do it. No writing means no newspapers, no magazines, no Facebook, no Twitter, and no internet. How could anyone ever live in such horrible conditions? Nobody could. We rely on writing so much now, eliminating it is not an option.

Yes, you could make a video. But where would you put it? The internet is gone. TV? Take out all written words...and maybe it's possible. However, buying air time would be expensive and require contracts. Verbal words aren't as trustworthy. People need the evidence recorded. This way would get over complex and not worth the trouble.

What about communicating directly? This solution definitely would work if you had time on your hands as well. Let's face it we need writing and writers (you know the ones who do the writing?) or else getting through one day is not possible. At ALL.

I'm not telling you to go out and praise the first journalist you see (you can if you want but that is your choice). I just want you to realize that the smallest bit of information in a newspaper or magazine or on the internet most likely took a lot of work to get. Don't grovel. Just exhibit some patience and you will be rewarded. Words can't travel like speeding bullets.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Lost in My Own Little World

I haven't had much to post about because not much has really happened. I'm just writing more to my story which is good, and I just edited some things in my short story. I played nine holes yesterday to get some peace and quiet but also because I need to practice. Need to be at the top of my game, or as close to it as possible, when golf season hits. I got some thinking done. I really just need to write all parts of the story that I have in my head onto the computer. My characters are doing a lot of moving in the story right now, but they will stay in a familiar place for a little while. And, it's a place that won't take a lot of surfing the web to find. New characters are coming into play including a homeless person. I may put one more chapter in my Facebook notes, but the rest can be read through request only (I'll mention this on Facebook, too). I maybe just paranoid, but I don't want my story to get stolen.

Just wanted to give an update.

I was looking up something, and I came across this... http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/05/17/superhero-periodic-table-superpowers/

Monday, July 19, 2010

New Name and New People

Okay before you ask, no the new name has nothing to do with meeting new people. Two completely different situations here. Alright now that's cleared up...

The new name. Well, I'm not going to deny it. Things are changing, but they are good things. My teacher finished her book and started a blog http://serendipiteeblog.com/, my close friends and I are going off to different colleges (but we won't be far), and the friends I will be leaving behind are exploring ways into the writing world. I'm still writing a story (hoping I can take it far). I am going to college on academic and athletic scholarships, and I have decided to major in Biology. Also, I am going to try to find some way at college to continue writing stories (I found out they don't have a newspaper...but they have this writing center thing that I will try). The same three elements that stuck me the nickname Bones are sticking with me in college. The three elements that basically define me, my roots, my bones. They are my frame like a skeleton, and they hold me together just like bones are supposed to do. I branch from them to make muscles and bloom to form skin, but golf, writing, and forensics make up the foundation I stand on, the one people recongize me. How did I get the name? My dad started to call me that last summer when I went to Lipscomb because I am going into forensics. Not necessary anthropology but still serology deals with parts of a human. "Bones" went from a nickname due to my ambitions to golf. My dad wrote it on every scorecard when we played a round together (him being "Old Man"), and my high school golf team took nicknames of their own because of "Bones." From there it found its way into my high school newspaper staff. I put it on the back of my staff shirt and used it in our laser tag games. Most (if not all) of the staff knew that I am going into the forensics field, so "Bones" made sense. I use it for my comments. It's going to serve as a reminder of my roots, my bones, the people who helped me get this far and support me in whatever comes my way. But bones don't go unchecked, so I'm not leaving you guys. I'm only an hour and a half away and trust me I'm coming to visit any chance I get. I've written this in one of my friend's yearbooks, but it needs to be said to all of you. This is NOT (I repeat NOT) a "good-bye," it's more like a "see you later" because I'm coming back just not until a little later.

The new people. This part is much more self explanitory. I had freshman orientation today and met new people as well as reaquainting myself with old ones. It was awkward. It was quiet (very quiet), but some how I was able to possibly start a new friendship. She has hinted some aspects of my older friends, but I don't really know too well yet. I got my schedule, but I don't have a roommate assignment...yet. "Are you excited about college?" Yes, no, maybe, sort of, kind of, I don't know. But, I am excited about my classes, and yes, I think that is weird.

Now, you know. I hope nobody cried when reading this. That would make me feel bad, and if you did cry, well I can't say you weren't warned. The events around you were the warnings.

Oh, and the sunflower? I wanted a new picture that didn't have me in it and was bright, lively. Also, sunflowers are my favorite flower. The butterfly just made it better.

My blog will be more eventful now. Whether a review on something, a happening of some sort, or just any opinion, I am writing more on here now, and it's because of you. So there. Happy? I'm writing more. :P

Be on your toes though. I may be just around the courner.

*Special Mentioning: I would like to thank J. Lockhart for designing the new banner for my blog.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

The Lightning Thief flops out of water

So, I got back from my trip today...or yesterday...whatever. Anyways, I decided to watch Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightning Thief on Direct TV Cinema paper view. I finished the book not too long ago, so it was still fresh in my mind (I am currently on the fourth book...just FYI). I looked at the actors and actresses who would be playing the characters, and I recognized a lot of them. I didn't think from the previews that the movie would stray to far from the book. Well, I was hugely disappointed. The movie excluded some key characters that play important parts later in the series and some pivotal scenes were contorted to measures that weren't in any way described in Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief. And, yes, I am listing them.

I was fine with the opening of Zeus and Poseidon talking about the missing lightning bolt. Kind of puts the audience a step ahead in describing the problem. The movie moved along until they got to the museum. Percy was supposed to hit the girl bully with some cool water action, but that got cut out apparently. I wasn't real upset about it; however, not killing the Mrs. Dobbs Fury, I found annoying. Book: Chiron throws Percy the pen Riptide to kill Mrs. Dobbs then gives it back to Chiron. I can understand cutting out the three Fates part and shortening the chase scene to Half-Blood Hill. I really looked forward to the fighting on the hill, but that got cut way short, too.

When Percy wakes from his unconscious state, Annabeth is there looking at him. She believes he is the one. We don't get to meet Mr. D, and we don't ever see Clarisse, the daughter of Ares. Percy is first taken to cabin 11 where he meets Luke. Percy's god parent doesn't claim Percy until the game of capture the flag. In capture the flag, Percy is told to defend by the creek. Clarisse and several other Ares offspring attack Percy. He falls into the water and gains power through the water. Luke takes the Ares flag, and Annabeth takes off her invisibility cap (she was near Percy the whole time). Then, a hellhound appears out of nowhere and attacks Percy. I think Chiron kills the beast, and when Percy stands, everyone gasps at the trident symbol above Percy's head.

Eventually, we get to when Percy is given the quest to go to the Underworld in order to bring Zeus's lightning bolt back before summer solstice. Percy goes up to the attic to the Oracle to get the quest through a rhyming prophecy. Annabeth volunteers for the quest because she has always wanted to go on one, and Percy chooses Grover as his second companion. Never once does Hades personally call out for Percy. Also, the group is not given a map, and prior to their departure, they know where the Underworld is located.

Their first encounter with monsters is on the bus. Three Furies. They evade them by destroying the bus and finding Medusa's shop. The scene with Medusa is more or less accurate except Percy mails the head of Medusa to the gods when he kills her. Next, the Nashville scene. That NEVER happens. The Hydra is even introduced until second book, and Percy doesn't get a shield until the end of the second book. Oh, the pearls do not play as big of a part as the movie makes them be. Although the pearls are very important in escaping the Underworld, they are not the focus of the book. THE BOLT IS!! That's why it's called The Lightning Thief. Geez. The group's next stop is the Gateway Arch on the way to Denver. The monster Percy fights there is a Chimera and its owner Echidna. In order to escape, Percy must dive off the peak of the arch into the Mississippi River. His dive into the river unveils some other perks of his powers. A messenger from Poseidon tells Percy some things and that end that.

Next. They meet the god of war, Ares. Percy doesn't like this god though he gives them some food to eat. Ares wants Percy to fetch his sword from the Tunnel of Love ride. What he doesn't tell them is that the ride is rigged by Hephaestus, Aphrodite's husband. Percy and Annabeth have to survive the ride of death in order to retrieve the shield and get the assistance from Ares. After that the hotel scene comes (the hotel scene would come after the Nashville scene in the movie), I don't really have to describe it. The main point is emphasised.

The group go to Santa Monica Pier so Percy can get some advice from the messenger from before and the three pearls. Then, they go to a water bed store and encounter yet another monster before they find the place that holds the entrance to the Underworld. I would cut that in the movie because its not THAT important. I would extend the Underworld scene. Hades does not want the bolt nor does he even have it. He tells Percy that he has had it in his backpack the whole time, and Hades demands Percy to give back his Helm of Darkness (Ares put the bolt in a pack he gave Percy, but technically Luke did steal both). Percy must fight the god Ares to get the Helm back. He succeeds by injuring Ares in the heel.

Throughout the quest, Percy gets some strange dreams, and when the group is in the Underworld the pit of Tartarus tries to pull Grover in (Percy gave Grover Luke's winged boots because Zeus would kill Percy if he tried to fly, but Luke bewitched the boots). In the pit of Tartarus, the Titan Kronos lies waiting for a opportunity to rise again. When Ares is defeated, Kronos roars in outrage which probably saves Percy from being killed by Ares.

Percy flies in an airplane to make the deadline for the return of the lightning bolt. He goes to the Empire State Building alone and faces Zeus and Poseidon. Alone. Zeus isn't as nice as the movie makes him, and I liked the way Poseidon was much more caring about Percy than I thought him to be. Hades returns Percy's mother. Percy gets to come home for a little bit. He gets the package back, but he gives Medusa's head to his mother who uses it to turn Gabe into stone. Gabe is sold to an art exhibit. The movie shows Luke plummeting into the sea, but Luke reveals his treachery at the end of the book when Percy is almost killed again. Poison by a scorpion this time, and then the end of the book.

So, to me this movie was butchered as bad as if not worse than Eragon. I liked that book as well. But, it's sad that movie makers don't follow the book sometimes. The Harry Potter movies and Twilight saga movies acknowledge the general flow of the book very well. I know not all specific details can be obtained, but come on at least get the general stuff right. If the next book, The Sea of Monsters, is made, I hope a better movie comes out of it. Twilight was rocky at first, but the new director made New Moon a whole lot better. Maybe if a new director came in or the current one (if they decide to make the next book that is) sticks to the book a lot more, the fans of the novels would enjoy the movies more rather than hope the movie will be good, fear it will SUCK, or know it will not be worth the while at all. The authors take great pride in their written work. Producers and directors should realize that and do their absolute best and beyond to NOT tarnish the authors' work because this damages their pride, too.