Friday, January 15, 2010

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!


14 comments:

Morgan Mandel said...

Your cats have a way of stealing the show!

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

TexasRed said...

Love the Rocko pic & will definitely need to check out this band :) Thanks!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks for the links - and agree with you on Daybreakers.

Arlee Bird said...

Just found your blog. Looks interesting, useful, and eclectic, which is what I enjoy.
Lee
http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/

Creative Chronicler said...

I want to see Daybreakers even though I was worried it would be just a gore fest with a bad story. Glad it's an okay flick.

You should photoshop a tutu on Rocko.

Helen Ginger said...

I totally love Rocko.

I thought the last Potter movie just went off the tracks. I'm hoping for better from the next.

Helen
Straight From Hel

StephTheBookworm said...

Rocko's picture is amazing. Totally made me smile. She is so tall, cute, and HILARIOUS! Wow, sounds like I am describing a dream guy, right?

The Old Silly said...

I agree with Morgan - the puddy tat stole the show on this post, lol. Thanks for the shout out on my writing tutorial post - I also enjoyed the music review. Good stuff, as is the norm here on Fridays!

Marvin D Wilson

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Thanks, Everyone - yes, Rocko is an attention hog.

CC, I'll see if my husband can do that tutu!

Steph, I'd take that dream guy - just not so furry...

Jemi Fraser said...

All it takes is a cat pic to make me smile :)

Kitten said...

I love your cat pictures...but then again, I think my Blogger handle makes it just a wee bit obvious...;)

I wish my cats could pose like that! Ninety-nine percent of their pictures are in the "cat loaf" position.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Cat loaf - that made me chuckle!
I always seem to get the really wired cats, so they move around a bit. Rocko doesn't sleep much. Probably why she's a bit psychotic!

Mason Canyon said...

Love the cat photo. Cats have a way of making things seems better.

Tara McClendon said...

I totally agree with HP. I felt it was a carry over rather than its own contingent film.