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Showing posts from November, 2018

Novella Review: Zombie Playlist

Happy Thursday, everyone. This month, I'm stepping into zombie fiction with K.J. Chapman's novella Zombie Playlist . Happily for you, it is not tied to a series of stories. If you're into post-apocalypse stories, zombie stories, or stories with kick-ass female leads, this review should be right up your alley. Zombie Playlist K.J. Chapman, 2017 Summary: The zombie apocalypse is here, and all Dagger wants is to stay alive and (maybe) get home. Armed with an iPod, a metal bat, and some blades, she is on a mission to reach her family home down the coast, and nothing is going to stop her. Not King, the hapless straggler she picked whose conscience still operates like the apocalypse didn’t happen, and certainly not zombies. If she has to teach King how to stay alive, then at least she has some good music to keep her company, right? Opinion: This one is hard to find a complaint about, y’all. Anything I say of a critical nature is going to be nitpicking,

The Thanksgiving Blog 2018

Well, it was about this time last week that I was finishing up that two-part series on the Netflix algorithms versus what I really like in SciFi and Fantasy movies. That and starting what was supposed to be this week's blog, which was supposed to be about how - in some stories - the way a character celebrates a holiday can be a powerful backstory development tool. Fascinating, I know. Then a thing happened on Friday and I really, really had to set that post aside. I'm still planning to finish the above-mentioned post, just… not in time for Thanksgiving. My dad had a heart attack. Again. The last time that happened (four years ago), I was thousands of miles away, doing the Lord's work and all that jazz. And I could easily sit down and try to write a blog where I process everything that happened then and now, but I'm not. Like last time, I'll be crying and realizing most of what I said belongs in my journal… not on the internet. So I thought instead I wo

Dear Netflix, Do You Really Know What I Want to Watch? (Part 2 of 2)

If you haven't read the first part of this series, start here . Brief Intro: A couple of months ago, I went through all of the movies Netflix threw at me in the scifi and fantasy genres and decided to write a two-part blog series based on that list. I didn't go through my profile and mark the movies I have seen so that I could see if/where some of my favorites landed on the list. There were initially 75 suggestions, but I capped it at their top 25 for my sanity (and yours). All movie summaries are per their descriptions on Netflix, except for the ones that are no longer available to stream on the service. In those cases, descriptions are courtesy of IMBb.com. And now… Suggestions 12-1 (along with the percentage match) 12. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) [82% Match] A hunt and the defunding of his laboratory prompt a geology professor to set off to Iceland in search of a portal to Earth's core. Have I Seen It: No Would I Ever Watch

Dear Netflix, Do You Really Know What I Want to Watch? (Part 1 of 2)

Awhile back, I was looking through my Netflix profile to see what science fiction & fantasy television and movie suggestions it had for me. I found out some interesting things about their suggestions. For example, did you know they throw out a whopping 75 suggestions? I do now, because I took the time to count. Also - did you notice that for everything that comes up as at least a 50% percent match in their algorithms, they note the percentage match? Geek spiral. Sorry. While I was looking through the suggestions, I had this brilliant idea that it would be fun to write a blog post or two about the top 25 suggestions and how close they actually are to my taste in the scifi and fantasy genres. About my methodology: I hadn't gone through and marked everything I've ever watched as of the time this list was generated. I genuinely wanted to see what they recommended based on the things I've watched in the time since the profile was set up, and if/where some of

Five of My Favorite Science Fiction Quotes

There's this thing that I've been doing the last few months - well, you know, when technology is not failing and internet access is available. It's called looking up science fiction quotes. Quotes from science fiction authors, science fiction novels, scifi movies and tv shows and the actors, writers, and directors who have worked on them, I've had a lot of fun, and I thought I would share five of my favorites with you today. And, believe me, narrowing this list down was tough. It felt like there were a million quotes out there that resonated for me. 1. William Gibson 2. Arthur C. Clarke  "Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories." 3. Teal'c (Stargate SG-1)  4. Zoe Saldana "I'm a sci-fi girl. If I can have anything in life, I'd want tons of science-fiction movies and stories. It's so progressive, beautiful, and imaginative." 5. David S. Goyer What ar