May 2009 Archives

So I found this tutorial and decided that I needed to try it out. After a few tries with the waterfall image and a photo of the Little Lady I decided that there wasn’t enough contrasting colors in the photos to make it look like a nice oil painting. This photo I took of the lonely sunflower in a ton of wild mustard turned out quite well. I think it has to do with the fact that there are many contrasting colors between the sky and trees and then the wild mustard. The yellow on the wild mustard showed up a lot better than I thought it would.

Anyway, the image is 1024x768 and can be saved as a wallpaper if you so wish. Later.

So this is the new wallpaper I made with the idea of being creative and helping people be creative. If you don’t know what a burning bunny is, go here to read about it. Basically that link goes to Kim Harrison’s website to explain how her idea system works. I confiscated her burning bunny image to make this wallpaper, copyright is all hers, got it? I will eventually own one of those adorable burning bunny pins. I will! They look adorable. For now he will just have to decorate my desktop. Enjoy.

No bunnies were harmed in the making of this wallpaper.

So the title of this post translates to: Favorite Authors + Personal Blog = Woot! I mean, hey I can’t get enough of their writing as it is regarding novels so why not read their personal blog, too? They don’t get to always update as often as I’m sure they wish to, but hey, this is a look into what they are doing outside the novel. You can find several of my favorite authors all over the net so if you want to know more about them before or while reading their sagas, here you go:

Laurell K. Hamilton

• Myspace: Laurell’s Myspace page. She also has one for Anita Blake, which is pretty darn cool if you ask me.
• Professional Site: LKH’s Professional page. This site contains information regarding her books, events, photos and more.

MaryJanice Davidson

• MJ’s Musings: MJ’s Musings is her personal blog over at blogspot. She hasn’t written in a month but when she writes it’s worth reading.
• Myspace: MaryJanice’s Myspace page. She also has a page to a character from another series she’s writing with her husband.
• Professional Site: MaryJanice’s professional site listing books, info and more!

Richelle Mead

• Personal Blog over at LiveJournal. She holds contests on occasion and deletes spoilers!
• Myspace: She’s got a myspace page, still waiting for the friend request to go through, but I’m patient.
• Professional Site: Professional site has all of her book info, events, etc.

Kim Harrison

• Professional Site: She’s got all kinds of fun stuff on her professional site! Hey I want a button that says “Don’t touch the baby!”, don’t you?
• Facebook: Facebook for Kim Harrison includes a wall of discussions that she gets involved in. Got a question for her? Go to the Ask Kim discussion board and bam, you’ll get an answer anywhere from the same day to a week later. Be patient, she’s writing her next book!
• Myspace: She also has a myspace page, but she’s much more active on the facebook page. But hey, friend her anyway, it rocks.

I hope you take time to look at some of these authors. I absolutely love the fact that you can contact them on their sites and get a reply. I want some burning bunnies from Kim’s house to come hang out for some fresh carrots. Go visit her professional site for more information on Burning Bunnies. I promise, no real bunnies were harmed.

And hey, if they ever want a website makeover or a movabletype blog layout they can come see me. Later.

So I finally uninstalled TweetDeck this morning. I felt that since I have anywhere from 3 to 10 internet tabs or windows open at a time, I have no use for it. Plus, since I have those windows open using TweetDeck simply uses enough system resources that it slows everything down even more so than usual.

So goodbye, TweetDeck. It was nice before I realized what a resource hog you are. It’s easier to have all the windows I need open instead. I usually have one internet window with tabs for Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and Gmail. Then I open another window for Disillusioned and my MovableType (you know, in case I see something to write about). Then sometimes I’ll have another window open to surf the internet, blogs I read, etc.

That much altogether uses enough resources that sometimes things tend to slow down. So no more TweetDeck, I’ll just Tweet from the Twitter page. And this way I can see all the crazy quizzes and other apps that friends are using on Facebook. I also tend to get my messages on there a lot quicker, plus it has a handy little chat thingie. Later.

There are many reasons why I hate celebs on a regular basis. Unfortunately it rarely leads me to boycotting their shows, movies, etc. Nowadays I rarely know who is who and I prefer it that way because of the simple fact that they don’t dictate how I live, eat, sleep or what I wear, say or do. Which is what their main job is.

Check this out: The Completely True Brad Paisley Story and Other Things I’ve Meant To Post - A story about how celebs treat regular every day people like you and me.

For whatever reason regular every day people seem to except the fact that celebs can act like high and mighty assholes on a regular and every day basis and still be accepted as great and wonderful beings of humanity. Give me a break.

If you haven’t noticed there’s a new Star Trek movie out. I’m sure you’ve noticed. You should go see it. The guy who plays Sylar in Heroes plays Spock and other than this constant 5 o’clock shadow he seems to pull it off pretty well. The best actor, shocking to both my Honey and I was the guy who played Scotty. He, who everyone will know as Shaun of the Dead, did an amazing job. He truly pulled it off and even got to use one the best lines “I’ve giv’n ‘er all she’s got, Cap’n” which made us all laugh. I mean, even a non-trekkie like me knows that particular line.

This movie also will suit any fans who love constant action and fight scenes. A car goes off a cliff, there’s a bar brawl, there’s the possibility of throwing up on someone, there’s a green-skinned girl clad in nothing but her panties and bra, there’s an interesting and mind-numbing look at Spock with a certain situation. Go see the movie to find out. Leonard, the guy who played the real Spock in the series and old movies, does more than a cameo. It was a definite plus to the movie.

If you’re a diehard Trekkie… or an old school Trekkie who’s not only watched the show but read the novels, this is not your Star Trek. This is for the new generation of fans. If you know anything concrete about Star Trek this movie will most likely just piss you off. I’ve warned you.

For those who like hot guys, fights, space battles, crazy ass aliens and so forth, you’ll enjoy this movie. And oh yeah, Harold from Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is Sulu.

Want to do a salute to Star Trek? Are you 21 or over? Get a shaker, toss in some ice, add one shot of vodka, one shot of bailey’s, one shot of kaluha, one shot of peach schnapps, shake and pour (makes 7 to 8 shots). My sister calls them “Beat me up, Scotty’s”. They are delicious. Later.

Hot damn I keep finding myself some amazing authors lately. If you have previously enjoyed authors that I’ve mentioned here before (Hamilton, Harrison and Davidson) then you will also enjoy Richelle Mead. That’s right, I’ve devoured three novels in around 2 days (I’m going by actual reading time) because they were just so damn hot I couldn’t quit until I was done and now I’m aching for the next book due to a tease at the end of book 3. You’ll want to start this trip into fantasy with Succubus Blues to learn all about what’s going on in Seattle with Georgina and her friends.

Georgina Kincaid is your lovely thirty-something book store employee who seems to have it all. Great friends who enjoy hanging out with her, getting drunk and having fun, with her lovely sarcastic wit that sometimes pushes people over the edge and sometimes gets the fun started. You’ll find that trouble finds her instead her finding it most of the time. She has a lovely little quirk that I may have to adapt to stop devouring novels the way I have been - she only reads 5 pages a day of the author she obsesses over. FIVE pages a day! I love the reason she gives which is basically because it’s just SO good that she’d read it all at once and then have to wait forever for the next novel to come out. I can completely relate to this issue as I’m waiting for several series to continue right now.

You’ll envy Georgina because of the simple fact that she has the power to look perfect, every time, anytime, no matter what. She can simply shapeshift into any type of body, any clothing, whenever she wants as long as she has the power to do so. She gets that power by seducing men (or on occasion women) which also keeps her alive. Georgina can eat and drink, and sort of has to or she gets lightheaded. She has demons, imps, vampires and even human friends. There are only 3 or 4 humans who know what she really is. The true kicker? One ofher best friends is an angel. That’s right, you’ll love Carter but he’ll annoy you with his “mysterious clues” as to the things he’s trying to teach Georgina. I think I have a hint on that but I refuse to share.

It’s hard for an immortal being to have a love life, especially with a human, but she tries it anyway and it’s a wild ride. The relationship is an absolute rollercoaster of emotional torment and lust that, if fulfilled, would take time off his life. With everything that’s going on around her, between mortal concerns and immortal happenings, Georgina’s life is a ton of fun, heartache and sometimes fraught with danger. This series is definitely worth starting and following. Enjoy!

I recently finished watching the 25 episodes of Darker than Black. Since it’s been licensed by Funimation it’s awfully hard to find it anywhere to watch but if you look deep enough you can find it. I’m surprised that they haven’t put it up on Hulu or Veoh like they have done with other series they’ve done. Hopefully they will so you can watch and enjoy it, and be confused by it, as well.

The series starts out introducing you to Contractors, Dolls and Hell’s Gate. A contractor is killing another contractor, but they don’t tell you why, not really. At least not at first, it’s in there somewhere and you have to determine what’s going on. Not all of the episodes are strung along in a straight story but you get to go on missions and learn little details. Such as there’s no more moon and all the stars have vanished and been replaced with fake stars. These stars resonate with the contractors and when they are off doing bad things (like killing people or each other) their stars vibrate or otherwise show the astronomers that they are on the move. Contractors are also human but they have lost all emotion. They can pretend to be happy, but they don’t truly feel it.

So there are all these changes to the world. No moon, no real stars and everything sent up into space vanishes. The general populace doesn’t know about contractors unless they experience something firsthand and when that happens their memeory gets wiped. No one knows how the Gates (there were two - One called Heaven, the other called Hell) appeared or why. Anyone who enters the area goes mad or dies. Rarely do they return though.

The story is pretty darn good and it kept me captivated to no end. There still weren’t any answers regarding details as to what the gates were, why they appeared or what contractors really are. It had a pretty good ending though and was definitely worth watching for the excitment of the action. Enjoy!