And Now For Something Completely Different...

"All right ... all right ... but apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order ... what have the Romans ever done for us?"

* BOOK NEWS *

Carol Denbow shows us how paperbacks are made at A Book Inside

Katie at Babbling About Books and More! discusses one writer's gutsy and questionable moves.

More writing tips from The Old Silly

* MOVIE NEWS *

DAYBREAKERS
I love a good, bloody vampire flick. (Like Underworld.) This one had a great premise and good start. It flaked a little at the end though. I thought the potential for humans taking back the world fell flat and the characters missed a prime opportunity. But, one of the better horror films out there.
B-

HARRY POTTER & THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
We finally caught this on NetFlix. (July was a bad month for us last year, so we didn't see it in the theatres.) This installment was far better than the last. But I felt it really lacked a strong storyline. It seemed like a middle child. There was so much going on with the relationships, but it didn't feel real. These are teens! They'd be talking to one another and everyone would know how everyone felt.
For me, it will take the next two movies to achieve a resolution to this one.
B-

* MUSIC REVIEW *

Stream of Passion - The Flame Within
Arjen Lucassen helped found this band to showcase Marcela Bovio's incredible voice. And I do mean incredible - she has what I call a 'voice of glass,' smooth, clear, and beautiful. He has since left the band and this CD is their second effort.
And this is why one should never judge a CD based on 30-second snippets. I'd listened to it on Amazon and thought it was okay. (It came out last fall.) Well, it was a Christmas gift, so I finally got to hear the whole CD. After several listens (it's prog rock, so it takes a few listens to fully absorb) I was like, wow! Why didn't I pick it up sooner?
This CD is overall better than the first. There's only a couple really slow songs, something that made the first one sag a little in the middle. The two that stand out to me are Games We Play and Street Spirit. They are not called Stream of Passion for nothing, as it's the emotion, especially in Marcela's voice, that carries the songs.
For those not familiar with prog rock, this is a good place to start - not too heavy!
Visit the band's site at Stream of Passion
Solid A


* PHOTO OF THE DAY *

Rocko thanks you for your comments on her Tuesday post.
She's available for interviews and sings & dances as well!