Back In Black

Actually, that's half lie. I'm back! Weirdly I'm wearing purple instead of black. Yes, folks I have risen from the dead or really a month of being a bum. Plain and simple I was lazy with spurts of productivity which resulted in many a fanfiction written and a few thousand more words added to my manuscript.

So for those that follow my youtube channel as well this upcoming month will be like last April: Full of socializing events while giving my self unbelievable goals to accomplish. Yay... First off it's November which means NANOWRIMO. This is the third year I am doing it. Last year I failed miserably but my mysterious manuscript was mostly created in that month. This year I will be working on the second installment in Lysandra's trilogy. Yay and hopefully I can kick my ass into gear so that another year does not go by before I finish the final book. Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

Also this month is my best friends wedding. Thankfully I am not in the wedding. Mick I love you but no, just no. From there a friend of mine from high school is staring in a musical at a pretty well known theatre. So musicals, weddings and bachelorette parties should be enough but nope. I'm getting a procedure done on my shoulder, two days before Mick's wedding that leaves me in a sling for 2-3 days.

So mix that all up then add in NANOWRIMO. I think- I think December 1st might be my death day. If so totally having a party in Hogwarts dungeon for it. So wish me luck and if anyone out there are doing this cursed (blessed) event as well let me know! I'm going to be attending some local events, trying to chat with more people and generally try not to fail.

Rock it hard
-Fayth

So Worth the Food Coma

So the friday before this I posted a random picture with a recipe attached. A few days ago I acquired a kitchen with which to try it out.

You start off with a cupcake tin. We used a spray that helps the food not to stick. You can honestly use whatever you like best. Then we filled them up about 1/3 of the way and packed it down as best as possible

 

Then you put a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup in the middle of each one. It's best to try and press this one down as well. Cupcake tins have a limited height and since there is one more layer you will need it. 

Then fill up the rest with your choice of brownie mix. Don't do what we did here and fill it up to the edge. When it baked we got severe muffin tops that hampered us from getting them out smoothly. 

Final results.

They were delish and with the different flavors I found it was best going at it from the side. A great party treat, very easy to make but with one problem. They are very dense. One of these was enough for me which makes it an even better party treat. You can be lazy and make one for each person. Unless you have a serious chocolate fiend coming then I'd say make one batch for them and one for everyone else.

Until next time Rock It Hard.

Wonderful Art in Honor of Tolkien Week!

Kind of honored that my friend Scott, who is an amazing artist, actually lets me showcase his work first on my blog. I give him stories and topics and he goes to town. It's a wonderful pairing but this week he produced something special.

It's called Mouth of Mordor! Marvel at it's amazingness.

Is it December Yet?!

I'm just going to leave this here

Thoughts anyone?

Storms A'Coming and I am Safely Inside Sick

So for those who don't know this I live in Mass. right outside of Boston really and today/tonight we are going to be hit with a huge storm front. Luckily I wasn't planning on leaving this house or my pjs today since I am sick and for the first time in months have decided to let myself rest and have a me day. Sadly what the means is yes, this post is late and yes, I had no idea what to post about. Most of the day has consisted of tea, minecraft (shush all), and sleep.

Up until about ten minutes ago I was scrolling through news stories on my phone trying to find something simple to talk about but alas nothing struck my fancy but an idea came to me. Everyone has a sort of routine they indulge in when sickness hits them.

Here are my top 5 things to do when sick:

1. Drink lots and lots of tea. Truthfully a lot of tea even when I'm not sick but when the cold monster comes knocking on my door my little love of tea turns into an obsession. At any given moment during a sick day I have a cup of tea within reach. It's not always still warm but I will drink it until the last drop anyways.

2. Blanket myself in comfy clothes and well a blanket. I'm not really a burrower. I don't like to sit around curled up in a blanket since I don't sit still well and a blanket makes constantly moving more difficult. But when I am sick I put on an old flannel shirt, my baggy pjs and wrap a blanket around me and cuddle down into it.

3. Play video games! As much as I am a self admitted gamer girl I barely have time to just sit down and play for a bit. Mostly I have enough time to play an X-Box game for about 45 minutes and WoW I can run a dungeon or two and this can only happen 2-3 times a week. When I'm sick however I have the excuse to just sit for hours and play through whatever game I want. Level my priest if the mood takes me or build some more in minecraft.

4. Eat sweets with no cares given. I have this little logic inside my head that when I am sick sweets will cure me without adding an ounce to my figure. Not true at all but it puts a smile on my face. Todays sweet is a pudding pie that my friend Trish and I made last night. It will also be featured in a post sometime this week.

5. Snuggle up in bed before midnight with a good book. To be perfectly honest I have this phobia of getting in to bed before midnight if it doesn't involve marathoning a good show. It's not a "I'm getting older then" it's more of a "I haven't gotten enough done today" thing. When a cold or the flu hits I throw that sentiment to the winds and try to relax- somethings.

When I am being an idiot (which is the more often then not approach I take to being sick) I try to force my way through sickness. I stay out late, hop places, run all my errands at once and so on but on those rare times I actually listen to the sensible voice inside of me I hide in my room with comfy pjs on and go down my top 5 list.

 Hope everyones keeping healthy since the cold weather is now upon us and for all those in the Mass area stay safe.

Until next time rock it hard.

Tolkien: The Man Who Created the Genre that Defined my High School Years

Tolkien practically invented a genre, high fantasy. Hundreds upon thousands upon millions of books have followed in his wake using Elves and Dwarves, hobbits and Dark Lords alike. For this I am thankful most of the time. For years i whittled away my time reading through the whole fantasy section of my town library and school library. But past high school I got extremely disenchanted with the genre in general. To many constantly occurring cliches coupled with bland stuck up characters that have no life to them.

After so many years away (yes It's been almost a decade since I graduated high school, shush) I have started to harbor a sort of longing for the genre and in that last year have picked up a good handful of titles. Some have blown me away while others get donated right to the library once the last page is read.

From this I have compiled a short 5 top fantasy books in my life so far:

1. Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron (completed series) I read this as a child, as a teen and again as an adult and no matter what age I am this series is still amazing. It's very much like Lord of the Rings while having a different take in a fantasy world. The characters feel younger while small little jokes are thrown in randomly and always have me laughing. If you have not read this series please, I beg you, do.

2. Rebecca Locksley's The Three Sisters This book is a slow read at times but over all the story is extremely compelling. I was instantly drawn to it since the main characters are female and they are not overly Amazonian like or overly damsel. They have more sides then that. The story it self is very interesting with a lot of twists and inner turmoil that is not a bunch of whining! Also there are two races at war and in here unlike in most other fantasy stories neither of them is the clearly right or wrong. This realism among the fantasy as refreshing and gave this story just that added bonus.

3. Jim C. Hines The Stepsister's Scheme (ongoing series, I believe.) It's based off of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Cinderella except not exactly. True those characters are present but Hines has given them a whole other life besides their fairy tales. Sleeping beauty is deadly with a dagger, pissy and if I remember correctly in love with Snow White who is kind of a slut. Cinderella for the most part is like the fairy tale version but her quirks are developed over the longer time line. The stories are interesting but you have to give them time to pick up. First he needs to establish these aren't the Disney-like story book characters we're all use to. There is more to their stories and to them.

4. Patricia Wrede's Dealing with Dragons (completed series) This series is completely silly and absurd. I love it. It embraces all that's great about high fantasy as well as the cliches while making fun of the cliches. They are short reads, less then 200 pages a book I believe. A great quick read if you are itching for fantasy and a good laugh.

5. Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study  (completed series) These novels are pretty fast paced after the first chapter. The characters are well thought out, all with quirks and problems of their own. At points the bickering between the main character and her love interest are down right hilarious. This novel adds in random cuteness of life, funny quips and random things that one would notice in life. Very few novels, especially high fantasy/fantasy novels do this. There are parts that are not relative to the story but still give us a great deal of insight into characters and the world while being interesting and not slowing the story down at all

Recommendations from my friend that I might be checking out in the upcoming months:
Inkheart Trilogy
Inheritance Trilogy
Anything by R.A. Salvador, Jane Lindskold or Mercedes Lackey

Until next time rock it hard!

Avengers Gag Reel: Enjoy!

This will be a short post since in an hour I have a job interview. Wish me luck. But before I go I wanted to leave you with this:
The Avengers gag real. Love these people. Can't wait for the DVD release.

gag reel from sana1x2 on Vimeo.

Let's Kick off Tolkien Week Right!

Why did no one tell me that there is an actual Tolkien Week celebrated around the world. True it jumps around every year considering it's whatever week Hobbit Day (there's a Hobbit Day as well?!) lands on. This year it starts to day and end Sept. 22, also known as Hobbit Day.

And all these years I could have made a cup of tea with whiskey in it, packed a pipe and read under a tree barefoot in honor of one of my favorite races of all time: the Hobbits! But alas this year I am working on this day so no extreme fun will be had- Probably not even an moderate fun either.

But even with the soul-crushing retail job looming over me with which I will be at when this post goes live I was able to start it off right with a big first and second breakfast. While eating I also did my research. Did you know this week long celebration first started in 1978. Nine years before I was born and yet at 25 I am just now hearing about this! And The Hobbit, that wonderful book that use to be read to me as a child along with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Alice in Wonderland is turning 75 this year, on friday to be precise!

Also Peter Jackson has kicked off this week by making a small video with a teaser trailer for the new Hobbit movie hidden inside. Check it out!

Rock it hard (like a Hobbit!) my darling dears! Until next time.

Review: UnReal Candy

For my first campaign through BzzAgent.com I was to find and review UnReal Candy. Unfortunately finding it was a pain in the butt. It took me almost three week after getting the 'get one free' coupon to track this brand down. It says that CVS carries them and this is true but what isn't said is that not all CVS have them. I went to five different ones while a friend of mine who is also in this campaign went searching the far reaches of our condensed urban area. Finally though I did happen across them and was in luck that I still had the coupon in my wallet. I sat down two days ago to try it.

You can watch the video here: Over all my experience with it was passable but I gave the candy to a few friends to try who actually like chocolate. None of them liked it- At all. It's okay to make a healthy alternative to candy but you can't sacrifice flavor in the process. It's a good idea wrapped up in bad execution. Honestly I'd say save your money and buy the tad bit more expensive brands that are all natural, actual organic (remember check the label and internet on this) and get a decent chocolate. What's the point of eating healthy if it doesn't taste good.

Healthy Eating? What's that?

So I sit down after a nice healthy dinner and go on facebook. Unfortunately for my waist line a friend of mine shared this photo:

The instructions are simple which just makes it worse! As soon as I gather these three ingredients this will be made. I'll let you know how it comes out and will also let you know how much larger my ass is at the end of it all.

Also news for all you Left of Extraordinary followers, or as I like to call you my little extraordinaries, i will have Monday through Friday off from my day job and will do a mini challenge. The goal is to post every week day. So subscribe, like and share get all of them. Even the boring.

Rock it all my little extraordinaries!

-L. Fayth

New Art Noir Style

Scott has done it again with this new piece of art. It is based on a story that you can find in the archives of this blog but will also be edited/revised and posted on my blog solely for writing. This is probably my favorite so far. The placement and the shadows gives it a dark noir feel to it. Yes, definitely my favorite. Sorry Azarai, my little brain child, but this one gives me chills.

Buffyverse Gets It's First Male Slayer

I know what you all are thinking: Slayers can only be female. This I understand and have understood since the first episode I by accidentally came across many, many, many years ago. Then why the crazy title? Well because it's true. Dark Horse Comics have announce the introduction of Billy the first male slayer in Buffy season 9 #14. Oh, and on a side note he also likes guys.

My major questions are: Will they explain this new development clearly and logically? God, I hope so. Plot holes cause my brain to hurt. Will Billy meet Buffy or any of the Scooby Gang? Yes, please. Interacting with the original cast would be incredibly entertaining. And last question but manly to my readers: Since this is piggy backing on the X-Men first gay wedding, do you think they are only doing this to garner more readers or because the time is right?


You can go to Dark Horse's Exclusive Press Release and check out the first few pages of the comic. So far it's kind of interesting. It's stated early on that he is gay but he is, so far, in no way a stereotype prancing around singing Judy Garland. My friend Matt has that one covered to a T.

It's interesting and something I will definitely read.

Still not entirely sold on the male slayer thing. Holding judgement until I hear their reasoning.

I would love to hear what you guys think. Leave a comment and let me know.

Until next time rock it hard darlings.

Another Gift!

I am free. I tell you, finally free! Well not completely. I have to go back to retail hell Thursday but for now I have four days in a row off which means: All the posts that I've been slacking off week. Woot! Weirdly most revolve around nails, nail art and nail polish. I will also hopefully be able to get World of the NightOthers kick start while catching up with Wayward Pages.

For now though let me reveal the newest piece of art done by one Scott Bennet.

 This one was inspired for a short story I did that honestly was written in 10 minutes. In college I took this class called "Writing for Fantasy." Twice a week we had to submit a short story inspired by one of the prompts given. 90% of those short stories were written within 10-20 minutes and right before class. This story once revised a bit for errors and the like will be what kicks off World of the NightOthers hopefully Tuesday.

Until then enjoy the marvelous piece of art.

Wait Giles and Captain Mal in One Movie? Hell yeah!

So does anyone remember the movie Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief? Well it's getting a sequel. This I'm surprised about dearly. I saw the first movie in theaters and liked it but didn't think it did well at all. According to Wikipedia it was successful so I guess I was wrong. So let me introduce you to: Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters.

Now two years later they most of the movie cast and it has me jumping for serious joy. Just be warned if you were a fan of the first one or not, if you are a full-blooded geek you will want to see the sequel. They've casted both Nathan Fillion AND Anthony Head in this movie.

(Picture of Nathan Fillion on the set/filming Percy Jackson)

Nathan Fillion will be playing Hermes while Anthony Head is replacing Pierce Brosnan as Chiron. As sad as I am to see Brossie gone from the role of Chiron- Come on it's Anthony Head! Let me just take a moment and flail like a fangirl.

Ten Minutes Later

Okay I'm finished. Wait, no they can't do this to my poor fangirling heart. Doctor Who's Matt Smith is heavily rumored to be joining the cast and Jake Abel will be coming back as saucy Luke Castellan. That's it I am locating a Delorean and a flux capacitor and punching it to March 2013!

Slytherins do it best

A little over a year ago the last Harry Potter movie hit the big screen and in it's honor I ran around my city and a few of the surrounding ones for three hours looking for just the right nail polish. On one hand I did the colors of Gryffindor (which will be in possibly the next blog) while on the other I did Slytherin.

Please don't mind the horrible nails and cuticles, I work retail. Washing your hands after every single check out where I have to handle something a kid had shoved in his mind doesn't help.

How I did this effect is simple. I put on two base coats of Revlon's Top Speed 330: Emerald. You could put one on and still be okay since it covers quite well but I am a bit OCD and do tend to put another one on just in case.

Since it's a layered thing I let it dry for a few hours before moving on to the silver effect. In that time I completed the first season of Awkward like the dork I am. You don't really have to do the long wait with this polish (I just got sucked into the show) but if you use another non-speed drying polish you will. If you use the crackle before the green is fully dried you get wicked streaks and bubbling. Revlon's Top Speed dries completely in about a half hour with two coats.

Once all was dry I used Sephora by O.P.I's crackle polish. This one is called Blasted Silver. I have tried a few of the crackle brands but so far this is my favorite. It shatters enough for the green to break through while going on smoothly. The only problem I have is that you have to put this one quick and all in once swipe. If you apply more then one coat you lose the effect and just have a layer of silver. If you don't apply it all at once you get awkward cracked lines. 

Now go and show your Slytherin pride! I know I am. Next week I might let the Gryffindor half of me out long enough for a nail tutorial. Until then \\m// rock it hard, darling.

Meet the Hero

So tonight while editing the first book in my steampunkish NightOthers trilogy I was gifted with yet another phenomenal piece of art inspired by one of my stories. Meet Azarai who is the protagonist of the NightOthers world. She is not in the trilogy, first book coming out late september, but she will be starring in her own book sometime in the spring. Look out for it! And also many thanks to Scott once again for delivering such great art! Check out his epic works here

Birthday Present!

Happy birthday to me and what better way to celebrate ones own birthday is to get their very few art piece for ones very own original works. A friend of mine, Scott Bennett, decided to gift me this amazing picture for my birthday. It's linked to a story of mine that will be up at World of the NightOthers by the end of the week (since it's 4 years old and needs a good amount of reworking.)

Isn't he simply amazing?!

You can find the rest of his work here. Please check it out!

Spike in Space!!

No seriously. You heard me correctly. Spike from Buffy has now been launched into a new comic book story arc (as well as space.)

Seems Spike has embarked on a self finding journey through space and to what I think is the dark side of the moon. Probably to meet that cross dressing gnome everyones talking about.

Spike: A Dark Place will be bannered under Season Nine and is a follow up of IDW's Spike. It's being pitched as a limited series and has five issues placed out. Is five issues the max they will do or not is anyones guess. This series will be published by Dark Horse and was released today. So naturally I shall go find it. Tell you how it is in a day or two.

If you are a Buffy and/or Spike fan from what I've heard and seen so far it's definitely worth checking out. Also if you do please leave a comment here or on the review and let me know what you thought.

Cross posted in Wayward Pages

They Have Found a Finnick! Yay?

So as I was being lazy and procrastinating against a whole list of things I need to do I was browsing through FaceBook and came across this: Sam Claflin a English actor will be playing the role of Finnick in the film adaptation of Catching Fire.

Is this your Finnick?

I won't lie he definitely is not my Finnick. The boys cute and all but do I want to send lots of money his way just to keep him alive a bit longer so I can see his abs? Not really. Cute smile though.

He will be joining the cast along with Jena Malone as Joanne, Alan Ritchson as Gloss and Amanda Plummer as Wiress

His acting career is kind of thin and the only movie I recognize on his IMDB page is Snow White and Huntsman. Do I really want to sit through that movie just to catch a glimpse of his acting talents? Not really but I will. It also doesn't hurt that Chris Hemsworth is in it.

My mind hasn't been made up yet whether this is a make or break for this character that I learned to love dearly. Either I shall have to stalk videos of him on YouTube or wait for the movie. Let's keep our fingers cross.

"It said I am a Wizard. Oh I am Harry Potter"

Saturday night I finally accomplished something I had been trying to accomplish for almost ten years. Ten years people! I finally saw Harry and the Potters in person, a WRock (Wizard Rock) band made up of two brothers Joe (the keyboardist) and Paul DeGeorge (the guitarist). As the name suggests they center on the Harry Potter universe while playing shows as two different versions of Harry, the boy wiz himself.

Back to the story. The first time I tried to go see them was in ’02-’03 around Christmas time I believe. Two friends of mine, one that I went to high school with and another that I had only talked to online, were dead set on seeing them in our kick ass Hogwarts costumes. I even had started carving a wand from a small fallen branch that I found in the woods near my house. It would have been amazing.

This concert was suppose to be the first time that I was to meet my now life-long best friend, Trish, but sadly a sodding blizzard came out of no where and ruined our plans. Over the years I have tried unsuccessfully twelve times to see them. One time I was stuck in traffic and missed them by five freakin’ minutes. Another time the car died while yet another time I got food poison the day before.

Almost ten years later I was finally able to see this legendary band ironically with Trish no less and was it worth it? Yes, we had come full circle. All this pain and frustration to see two brothers rock out in their Hogwarts uniforms and singing about a special time in a magical castle. You are all probably wondering, was it worth it? Was it worth almost a decade of failed concert going experiences and the almost blood lust like need to be around nerds like myself.

            The answer is a simple: Hell yeah! This show had it all and more. It included great music, great energy, bad puny jokes and hilarious as well as bountiful interactions with the audience. There even was a point where a certain brother’s string broke. Did the rock stop? No, Joe and their drummer, who was affectionately named ‘Bill Weasley’, kept going while Paul tip toed to the back of the stage, quickly fixed it before joining right back in and knocking our socks off.

Firstly their music is well put together, funny while being catchy as all hell. Trust me, you will be singing their songs for a few days to come. My co-workers probably thought I lost it when I was singing the Draco Malfoy inspired song. A few of there songs are really short and joke like. For example they have a song about that lovable Hagrid and how he’s full of love while being a great hugger. It also has a word of warning to not get stuck in his beard, which results with everyone in the audience screaming, slapping their cheeks not unlike what’s his name from Home Alone.

Next I just have to mention their energy. Either they run on pure magical crack or are half sprite. Not entirely sure but they did not quit. Joe kept doing sidekicks while continuing to the play the keyboard over and over again while singing. If I did that well can anyone say concussion with a possible side of hospital trip? Paul didn’t do anything so acrobatically hilarious but he did jump around like a spring wound bunny for 95% of the show. Boy has to have legs of steel at this point.

If I ever do see them again I want to give them both the largest Red Bulls I can find and sit back to watch the hilarity. Pretty sure the whole club/concert hall would spontaneously combust. So probably not a good idea but that’s never deterred me before. Only concert I have ever been to that has beat these two boys energy level, and not by much mind you, was Sum 41. For anyone that has seen them in concert know exactly what I am talking about. Leader singer Derek Whibley: Kitty on Crack with an IV of espresso running straight to his heart.  Just saying.

The only part of their performances that made me kind of want to smack them was the puny jokes. I will grant them this: Some of them were actually cute, not funny but cute. I would reiterate a few but to be perfectly honest I can’t remember a single one. I do remember the audience reactions to said horrible puns that all centered around Harry Potter. Shocking I know. The audience including yours truly reacted in one of three ways; a short chuckle, a loud groan and the eerie silence of incomprehension with only the faint whistling sound as it passed over everyone’s head to accompany it. Less puns more rock pretty please.

Granted, I shouldn’t rag on them too much. They opened up the platform for audience interaction to be upped a lot. My favorite part was honestly when one or two of the brothers stepped down from the stage and walked around the crowd. Also they are beyond magical since they got all on the dance floor to sit down with them all hippie-like. It was a magical hippie circle until they upped the ante and had everyone lay down. So it went from a hippie circle to a hippie circle if you know what I mean.

If you are a HP fan I highly, highly recommend going to see these two whenever possible. They are possibly coming back to Cambridge, Ma. around Christmas time and you know I will be there. It was stupidly muggy this past Saturday and not a single bone in my body wanted the hassle of dressing up but December is cold as hell. Who knows you might see this little blogger in a full-blown wizard costume. Only way to find out is if you follow Harry and the Potters and my new love affair. Seriously why wouldn’t you follow all this awesomeness?

 If you want to learn more about Harry and the Potters go to: http://harryandthepotters.com/ or follow them on twitter at @hatp

Well There Goes My Waistline- But So Worth It!

I curse thee Pinterest! I curse thee with all your pretty princess dresses, purple glass doorknobs and delicious and easily made sweets.

Earlier today I came across this amazing looking idea. Cinnamon rolls flattened to be used as the crust of a pie. When I traced it back to the Mother Ship of Temptation I saw a whole bunch of pictures that made my mouth water. The M.S.o.T. says this crust can be used to make a sweet potato pie. My thoughts: Why not expand? Apple pie, Pumpkin, Lemon Meringue, put a cake in it! The possibilities are endless.

Got any thought of what to do with this new fangled crust? Leave it in the comment and if it screams "Break your healthy eating for me!" to me I shall make a video on how to make it. Also the video will show case my slowly expanding waistline while we're at it.

Be the First of Your Friends to Make Contact Today!

Soon, oh so soon Mattel Inc. will be releasing a whole new Hot Wheel in honor of NASA’s Curiosity. That’s right my fellow children of the 90’s, we are getting a Hot Wheel’s Mars Rover! Hopefully one that we can get our hands on before it’s sold out, unlike the Sojourner one. This new toy is a 1:64 scale version of the real thing. You can personally pretend that you finally reached your goal and worked for NASA without doing any of the nerdy work. Some of you can even try to fill the shoes of a Time Lord and mess with the ‘mission’ for the better.

This toy of severe epic-ness is said to touch down in stores this September while the real one will be touching down on Big Red Monday at 1:31 am. Sadly I work the next morning and will probably be asleep during the event but for those of the lucky few that don’t work retail you can follow NASA’S tweets and I know for sure Hank Green will be live tweeting the whole event. The real rover launched from Earth 8 months ago and this whole journey will only end after a heart attack inducing “seven minutes of terror.”

Sure we all wish we could stay up late with some milk and cookies in our footie PJs while playing with our new Hot Wheel toy but we can’t. Honestly it won’t be released before the touchdown so we can’t relive our childhood the right way but it’s $1.09- Month late or not I’m still getting it.

And honestly this almost makes me want to forgive the Hot Wheels line for that horrendous mistake of replacing the metal bottoms with plastic- almost. 

Land of Stories and Thirteen Vlog! P.S. Written Reviews Coming Soon...sorry...

With an added bonus: A In My/Your Pants video. Yay!

Actual post coming soon.

X-men First Class and Doctor Continuity of Confusion!

So the sequel may even be the prequel to the prequel movie X-men: First Class was announced recently. Confusing? Good. So far the only information we have on this movie that might make a Time Lord cry is the title which is; X-Men: Days of Future Past. All you hardcore Xies out there might jump for joy for a solid minute before it hits you hard causing you to fall flat on your ass and sit there staring into the void of space trying to figure it all out.

For everyone else let me explain. Days of Future Past is the name of a X-men story arc from 1981: "It deals with a dystopianalternative future in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps. An older Kitty Pryde transfers her mind into the younger, present-day Kitty Pryde, who brings the X-Men to prevent a fatal moment in history which triggers anti-mutant hysteria." Quote from wikipedia because yes I was just that lazy. So basically this surreal dystopian future that Kitty is escaping from is Nazi Germany but with better science! They've killed off most of the lovable characters and Cyclops with Sentinels. What this means for the new movie: We'll finally (I might have just jinxed it sorry!) see some gorram Sentinels! They better be fabulous pink and purple or I shall cross my arms and pout.


Next point to mention since X-Men: First Class is a movie set in our past one of the questions that has been raised: Does this mean our present is a horrible dystopian world? Basically my answer to that is yes but that really has nothing to do with the X-Men franchise and moving on. Another question that has been asked is if the three X movies are still this story lines future. My answer again: God I hope not. The first X-Men movie was great but it went drastically down the shoot from there and I loved First Class so much more that the X movies seems like a red-headed step-child by comparison.


As of this moment I shall be clearing my mind of all continuity screw ups since it is a nice day and a headache of such an epic portion will very likely ruin it. Until we hear further details just be happy we have a name since us Trekkies and Trekkers (seriously spell check, those are in the dictionary?) have been waiting since May 2009 for the sequel which is now going out in 2013 but has yet to be given a name. Be happy Xies that they aren't doing the same with our beloved new, mind boggling, X-Men movie.

Things are a-changing.

So a while ago I reworked this blog and added a few more but did not explain it. As of now this blog will be basically my personal blog with product reviews, random thoughts, videos from my youtube channel, funny videos/articles I like, and anything else I can think of.

From there we go to Wayward Pages: My comic book blog where I review any and all comics that are not published or associated with Marvel, DC or Vertigo. Basically this is to let the underdogs or the lesser knowns in on the fame action for a while.

Lastly I have created a blog that's only function is to show case my original writings and anything else having to do with my novels, novellas, and short stories. This blog is called World of the NightOthers.

Please check them out. World of the NightOthers and Left of Extraordinary has loose-ish posting schedules while Wayward Pages is a M-W-F schedule with extra news posts randomized over the week.

Book Review: April Books

I filmed a short video going briefly into my reviews for the books I read in April. I will continue to do them in written form with longer reasoning for likes/dislikes but for now while I get my lazy ass back onto the productivity train I present you this:

Catching Up: April Vlogs

Final Vlog of April!

Catching up: April Vlogs

Week four: Ikea and sheep sheering festival

Catching up: April Vlogs

Third week of  April plus Comic Con!

Catching Up: April Vlogs

April 12th-14th

Catching Up: April Vlogs

Part 2 of week 2

Vlog 2

Vlog: Second week of April

Part one: 8th-10th

Also new book reviews and hopefully I short story shall be posted either tonight or scattered randomly over the weekend! Enjoy.

Vlog for first week of April

Vlog for first week of April

Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green

I finished Looking for Alaska about a week ago for the first in ten books that will be read and reviewed this month. Part of me was proud to call this the first of ten but part of me wished I had waited until later to read it. The book it self is as good to be expected for John’s Green first book. There were some plot failings along the way but over all the book was extremely compelling and definitely overshadowed almost any book I will read after it, which happened to be a Steampunk novel called Doomsday Vault. That I will get into on a later date.           

For now I will stick to explaining why even though this book had its failings I am still dearly in love with it. At times some of the characters seemed a bit to forced or left behind, which was mostly the main character. There were whole sections that I forgot the main character was a kid named Miles or that even Miles was in the room. His voice weakened severely in parts. Some times it was because the character was getting a little thin and other times it was because the Colonel and Alaska were getting to much but over all the story did keep it self in a semi-check that allowed it to flow easily enough.            

The story itself was never one I was interested in. Books that don’t revolve around someone/something trying to kill the main character or the main character trying to kill something/someone have never really interested me. I like the morbid side of the mind as well as the offbeat action scenes, snark comments in the face of certain death and ass-kicking galore. Looking for Alaska had none of this (well there were snark comments but they’re teenagers, it’s expected) and yet I still devoured it.            

I was reading it on break at work, while at the gym, and a few times while eating. Only on the pain of a pink slip, the extreme need for sleep and personal hygiene did I put the book down. There were no explosions, only one death and no wicked figure in the shadows plotting mass destruction. I was flabbergasted that this book had entranced me so but in less than three days with work and other personal obligation/responsibilities I had it finished and was craving more.            

The other four John Green books have now muscled their way onto my Ten Books in April list. Be proud John Green you have a new minion in your legion of nerdfighters. Bravo.            

Real life fiction has never and probably never will never be one of my favorite genres but John Green has at least converted me to his little section of the genre. So I shall pull up my section of Young Adult fiction, make a cup of tea and explore his worlds happily.           

 For the synopsis and a means to buy said book please click here for Amazon or here for Barnes and Noble or you could even walk/drive/frolic to the nearest book store and purchase said book and more.

The Modern Day Distress

Rating: pg-13 for corpses and mention of blood

Disclaimer: This is original fiction and have been copyrighted. Please no thieving it.

The Modern Day Distress

            It had been summer, I think, when Raphael was taken. We were sitting on a blanket at the park watching the kids play as I braided his extremely long blonde hair. Worries were lost and pain was forgotten as we sat there warming our selves in the sun. We had been planning a wedding for the past few months. The stress wasn’t as bad as we thought but getting away from it all and relaxing was still much needed. So there we sat for a few hours just enjoying each others company while talking about our future.

But it was not to last for an old woman soon approached, staring at Rap, just staring. She offered to braid his hair but he declined. At first I thought she’d just walk away and blend back into the crowd of crazy that pushed at the edges of the park. Instead she pulled a small comb from her bag and handed it to Rap. Something sparked in his eyes; a memory maybe or maybe it was because the brush was just beautifully made. Next thing I knew she grabbed his hair and threw something to the ground.

            Once the smoke cleared I realized I was alone, sitting in a park with a picnic basket made for two. Sitting beside me was a stock of Rampion, an herb that Rap use to chew when he was in pain. A trick he learned from his great-great grandmother. I forgot the blanket and the basket and frantically went looking for him, calling out and screaming to the trees. The children stopped playing to watch while a few of the older ones offered to look, probably thinking Rap was a lost dog. My mind had stopped mid-thought when the smoke cleared and hadn’t restarted it self yet. There was no way I could have explained to them that Rap was a semi-tall goofy looking blond guy with long blond hair and a scar on his chin from where he face planted out of a tree in college. I couldn’t explain that he was the man I loved who just happened to disappear into thin air in the late afternoon light.  

            Months passed, missing persons was filled and nothing was done. No amount of pestering the police helped. No amount of posters hung up or questions asked did a thing. I grew restless looking at the apartment we once shared and all the things we’d collected over the years. Every night I sat at our bedroom window watching for him to return but every time my only company was a lone crow that sat on the ledge beside the window, watching with me.

            Winter passed by as I sat at that window waiting and soon spring gave way and golden light once again filled our- my apartment. I had already packed up most of his things, unable to look at them any longer. Large portions of the walls were bare. It wasn’t until I had completely stripped him from the walls that I noticed just how lonely the place really looked.

            Sitting at that window one night the lone crow came and landed beside me, and this time peeked in shaking his head in what seemed flagrant disapproval of my new decorating scheme. My brow furrowed at the thought but still I sat back slightly confused to allow him to look even more if he wished. This whole time that same crow, with the chip in his beak and a spot of feathers missing on his crown, did nothing but sit and watch the world with me.

“You haven’t even tried.” Slowly I turned making eye contact with the bird. I hesitantly peered closer to the feathered creature trying to will the bird to speak again.

            “You haven’t even tried,” he repeated as I collapsed on the windowsill in shock before rolling my eyes in utter annoyance.

            “Disappearing boyfriends, old hags with pretty combs, and now a talking crow,” I muttered somewhat angrily.

            “In three days time I have to fly south in a mourning ritual.”

            “Who died?”

            “Rap will, in three days. Or at least a part of him will.”

            “Oh.”

            “This isn’t the way the story goes. The prince needs to save the princess.”

            “Rap isn’t a princess. He’s an elementary school teacher who drinks way to much Rampion tea. And I’m no prince just a clerk at a bookstore down town.” The crow shook his head before turning to leave.

            “Just follow the story.” Then he was off and I was left alone with boxes hidden around the apartment that once housed all of Rap’s life.

            I sat there in that seat until the sun rose turning over what exactly the crow had meant. I watched the sun rise over the woods near our apartment building and noticed something within the trees was glittering. My mind instantly went to the old woman’s comb. I stood there and stared for a moment before turning around and pulling on my shoes and Rap’s old leather jacket, heading out.  The story needed to be followed the crow had said. Doesn’t the rescuing prince always fight through forests and kill large ugly rats? I didn’t have a sword but soon picked up a stick just incase. It was thin but would have to do.

            After hours of walking the trees became denser and denser until night closed in and I was unable to continue traveling. Or at least I thought it was night. The trees completely blocked out the sky. About an hour ago my stick broke and I had yet to come across another sizable one. The crow flew in front of me for most of the time barely saying a word.

A few times the crow flew out of sight before coming back and nudging me left or right. This time the crow flew out and was gone longer than usual. I huddled under a large tree with apples hanging from the branches, awaiting his return. My stomach growled loudly and as I was reaching up to take one the crow flew by and nipped my fingers. He perched on a near by rock, glaring at me. Part of me wanted to snatch an apple off the branch and throw it at him but instead I held my bright red finger to my chest.

            “Foolish girl. Those are poison apples. It means you’re close.”

            “Who would poison them?”

            “The old hag that took your princess. She took the recipe from a friend who was once beautiful but then became ugly through hatred.”

            I nodded and went back to sitting under the tree with the jacket wrapped around me. The crow cocked his head before hopping over to me.

“Are you hungry?” he asked plainly.

“I didn’t think we’d be so far from town and I didn’t pack a bag. Guess the answer is yes than.” A quick nod from the crow before flying off was my only response. I sighed deeply and tried to nestle myself in between the roots of the great trees as comfortably as I could. It was sort of unsettling being there alone. It wasn’t until my only traveling companion left that I noticed just how void of noise these woods were. It was night; crickets and critters a like should have been in a flurry of motion and sound.

            A dark thought crossed my mind as I twisted so my back was to the tree and watched the woods. I twisted and turned after a while and tried to make out the face of my watch. It was only than that I wished I had asked Rap for a digital one two Christmas’ ago. Still it was a beautiful old watch. My gaze lingered on it a while as I thought about that Christmas and all the ones we spent together since freshmen year of college on and than of the past Christmas that I spent by my self. Rap’s parents had asked me to dinner saying I was still part of the family. My dad had offered to fly me home. Both phones calls and follow up phone calls were ignored. Instead I sat at that window and waited, watching for a familiar soft blond head to come around the corner of our block.

            “Head up.” The crow’s voice broke me from my memories. In front of me was my traveling companion with a take out bag that was still steaming. It looked beat up but otherwise in good shape.

            “Where’d you get this?”

            “Eat.”

            “Did you steal this?” I was met with silence as I opened the bag and took out a small ham and cheese sandwich. I recognized the logo on the wrapping. It belonged to a sub shop a town over from my apartment. I sniffed the sandwich but it smelled fresh and delicious. My stomach had no problem with the fact that it was stolen so I bit into it. “Oh.”

            “What’s wrong?”

            “It has onions on it.” The crow nipped my arm once in annoyance but I got the message and started to devour the sandwich. After it was done I wrapped the paper and the bag up before shoved it into one of the inner pockets of the jacket. “Why are you helping me? In all the stories with crows in them they are liars and thieves.”

            “Common goals make for the best allies.” Now it was my turn to cock my head and stare. He said no more and instead climbed up me, worming his way under my jacket. I sighed, rolled my eyes and let him. It was still a cold out and his added warmth helped.

            I cried out in sudden pain as I was woken from a troubled sleep by a nip to the neck. “Will you quit that?” He just shook his head again then took flight.

            “This way. Hurry up.” Sluggishly I got up and trailed him slowly. Sleep was still clouding my mind for a while but never once did I lose track of him.

A few hours later the crow started to slow down and circle around me more. It took me only a moment longer to realize why. We had come to a natural wall made of thick vines and great thorns. My eyes widened for I had never seen a briar thorn bush in person. It was impressive and slightly threatening all at once. I did notice very quickly that there was no way around.

“Cover you eyes. Don’t make the mistake the last prince made.”

            I glared at him. “I don’t have anything for that.”

            “Use your shirt.” He perched precariously on the nearest vine and waited. I looked from the shirt to him for a moment before shrugging off the jacket. I turned around and took off the shirt, tying it tightly around my eyes before putting the jacket back on.

            “Why do I even trust you?” I asked my self out loud.

            “Because crows never lie to an acknowledged ally. And I have a score to settle with this hag. She once baked ten of my brothers into a pie. The stories lied. They never got out.” I reached up slowly until my hand brush his feathers. I ran a soothing hand down the back of his neck.

“I am sorry to hear that,” I stated softly. A soft caw was my only response as I pulled my hand away and straightened up. I heard him leave the vine and soon he burrowed into my jacket to guide me through.

            By the time we were out the other side my hands and arms were bleeding but my eyes were fine, I could see. I felt the blood trail down my arms as I removed my shirt and put it back on. The crow flew up and became circling around me.

            As I held my injured arms to me I turned and caught sight of a man curled up by the first tree in the new woods. I called out to the crow to hold for a moment and slowly I went to the man’s side. He didn’t move at all and it was than that I noticed there were vines wrapped around his body coming from the briar thorn bushes. Each thorn was imbedded deep within his pale skin. It was also than I looked at his face. His eyes were closed but it looked as though he at one time had been crying but instead of tears coming out it was blood.

            “Crow?”

            “That was the last prince. The thorns got him.”

            “Did he come for Rap? I don’t recognize him.”

            “No, he came for his own princess.”

            “What happened to her?”

            “Her body is hidden under the floorboards of Rap’s cage. Both are still captives even in death.” As I stood up from the dead man’s side I realized tears were slowly crawling down my cheeks. As carefully as I could I traced the vines that bound him and found the ones that connected him to the briar thorn bushes.

            “Leave it. We must go.” I ignored him as I pulled Rap’s house key from one of the hidden pockets and began trying to cut through the vines. It took a good amount of time. There were four thick vines that connected the dead man to the patch but slowly I cut through each one. As I stood up, replacing the key in the pocket, I noticed the vines surrounding the dead man’s body were unraveling themselves and falling off dead. A single raspy breath filled the long unused lungs causing me to jump back. To my amazement the body exhaled that air before promptly starting to sink into the ground. Where he once lay was a jagged gem. It was blood red at the edges but the middle was a swirl of deep colors. I picked it up and a small voice thanked me as it drifted away upon the wind.

            “It is done. His spirit is free and his body has been returned to the earth. Now we must go.” I nodded quickly, put the stone in the pocket of my jeans before following.

            Not long after the crow flying above me cawed happily. “Just around the next bend.” We both quickened our pace eagerly. The trees thinned and in the middle of a slight clearing were an old tower that had seen better days. There was a sign that read condemned in bright red letters hanging on a chain that went around the whole base. I stepped back and looked up. There was a light in the window. Without a word the crow flew up and in. A moment later Rap peered out.

            “I know you,” he called out slightly dazed as if he had been drugged. A memory of our college days sparked in my mind as I shrugged them off and stepped closer.

            “Rap, how did you get up there? Throw something down for me to climb up.” He nodded and tossed down his hair. It had grown and had turned the color of straw but strong and thick as any rope. I rolled my eyes and began to climb. Once at the top I took in the full picture. There were dozens of empty plates strewn around him and his face had a slightly glazed expression on it.

            “The hag’s been feeding him poisoned cabbage to make him forget. By tomorrow he would have forgotten who he was completely. Not long after his body would have died,” the crow cawed out in anger. “You two leave. I’ll hide here and catch her like Hood once caught the corrupted wolf.” He stepped to the window and cawed loudly. Below a wolf emerged with a grin and a wink and went to hide.

            I thanked the crow and helped Rap out the window; it wasn’t a tall tower and was easily able to fall from without hurting yourself too much. Once Rap landed on the ground I called to him. “Don’t move. I’ll be down in a moment. There is something I must do first.” Rap nodded weakly as he sprawled out on the lush grass.

            “Why are you not gone yet? You will ruin my surprise for the hag.”

            “Where is the previous princess hidden?”

            “I’m not sure but you won’t have time. The hag returns every day at midday. It is almost then.” As quick as possible I went across the whole room banging on the floor to find the princess. Each board held strong. I sat on my knees and cried out in frustration. I would not leave until she was free from this place.

            “Check under the bed!” The cow cried as he hopped out from under it. With a curt nod I ran to him and began to move the bed. Where the bed once stood was a single rose, dead and petrified. The crow and I looked at one another. Something in both of us just knew. I picked up the only chair in the room and smashed it against the ground repetitively until both the floor and the chair broke. I took off the jacket and threw it out the window where it landed near Rap who was still sprawled out happily on the grass.

            On hands and knees with bated breath I began to tear up the now loosened floorboards until I partially uncovered the dead woman. Like the man her body was preserved and if it wasn’t for the color of her skin I could have been tricked into thinking she was merely sleeping.

            “How am I suppose to free her before the hag arrives? I do not have the strength to remove the body from this cage.”

            “Her hands are bound with magic twine. I recognize it’s kind. A small man with a heart full of greed makes it from straw. It’s what is keeping her bound. Break her bindings and she shall be free.” With my bare hands I tried to snap it since the twine was so thin but it was strong and was not even weakened by my attempts. “Quick, use this comb. It’s enchanted and should cut the bindings away.” A small triumphant smile crept onto my lips. It felt odd as if I hadn’t smiled in a year, so out of place on my own face.

            The crow flew over to me with the comb clutched in his feet, dropping it at my side. An awkward sort of laugh escaped my lips as I realized it was the same comb that old hag had in the park. I grasped it tight and went to work.

“Hurry, she shall be here any moment.” My hands quickened and soon the twine started to fall away. One strand at a time. By the time I was done and her hands were free a light sweat had coated my forehead.

            I sat back and watched as her body took the same raspy breath as her lovers did before exhaling. Her skin started to erode and her bones turned to dust. In her place was another gem, an exact match to the one in my pocket. I gathered it up and took to the window. Quickly I shoved it in my pocket before climbing up onto the sill. Another whispered thank you, this time feminine, floated past me on the breeze. I could even feel the two gems start to melt together in my back pocket and knew then that the two lovers were finally at rest.

            “Thank you crow.”

            The crow inclined his head once before speaking, “Now go.” I turned with a final nod to my former traveling companion before pitching myself over the edge. I landed a few feet from my lover but was able to reach out my hand and grasp his.

            “Knew you’d come.” He turned his head to me and tightened his grip, pulling himself closer to me.

            “No you didn’t.” A real smile stretched my lips this time and Rap matched it.

            “When we get back, I’m cutting my hair. Last damn time I get mistaken for a girl.”