Nuadha Prime
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "nuadha_prime" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
12:48 am
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Writer's Block: Newsworthy
Internet (Yahoo mostly) and NPR.
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04:04 am
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Book Meme Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Copy the instructions into your own post.
1. Martian Chronicles by Bradbury 2. Caves of Steel by Asimov 3. Living Buddha, Living Christ by Hanh 4. Stormbringer by Moorcock 5. Man of Steel by Byrne 6. Swamp Fox (Can not remember author) 7. Kingdom Come by Waid & Ross 8. 1984 by Orwell 9. Animal Farm by Orwell 10. To Ride a Silver Broomstick by Ravenwolf 11. New Gods by Kirby 12. Starship Troopers by Heinlein 13. Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein 14. The Earth Abides (can not remember author) 15. Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck
Tags: books, meme
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02:29 pm
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Isn't technology great?
After downloading an app for my iPhone that allowed me to read and post to Facebook easily, I decided to search the app for a LJ app. There were a few. This one doesn't allow me to read my friends page, but will make it easier for me to post! After downloading some apps, I have fallen in love all over again with this phone. ( OK. Maybe it isn't the greatest app ever. I wrote my post and can't figure out what to press to post it. I did figure out how to do a cut, I think. )
Current Location: United States, Michigan, Washtenaw County Tags: via ljapp
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11:27 pm
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This is funny if you know me.
Your result for Which fantasy writer are you?...
Katharine Kerr (b. 1944)-13 High-Brow, -7 Violent, 3 Experimental and -11 Cynical! Congratulations! You are Low-Brow, Peaceful, Experimental and Romantic! These concepts are defined below. Katharine Kerr is a US author who is best known for her books about Deverry, the result of a thought experiment of Kerr's: What if a tribe from the culture of Celtic Gaul had escaped the Romans and moved to another world? The answer is the culture of Deverry, a fantasy world with, among other things, functioning magic, called dweomer. What sets dweomer apart from many other kinds of magic is that it's a system, with detailed descriptions of how different magical actions are performed by those cunning in it, often reminiscent of new age literature, but actually drawing heavily on as diverse systems of thought as buddhism, the Kabbalah and gnosticism. Another prominent feature of Deverry is the presence of reincarnation, with parts of the plot (or plots, really) concerning the attempts of various characters to overcome their weaknesses in order not to repeat the mistake they made in previous lives'. All this allows for some rather typical fantasy romanticism, while still allowing a huge amount of plot twists and turns, sometimes making the history of Deverry complicated to the point of resembling a highly experimental suite of novels. Kerr's fans are often real enthusiasts and it is easy to see that those who have the brains to follow the twists and turns of Deverry history are in for a journey into great tales of tragedy and destiny. You are also a lot like Orson Scott Card. If you want some action, try C S Lewis. If you'd like a challenge, try your exact opposite, Michael Moorcock. Your score This is how to interpret your score: Your attitudes have been measured on four different scales, called 1) High-Brow vs. Low-Brow, 2) Violent vs. Peaceful, 3) Experimental vs. Traditional and 4) Cynical vs. Romantic. Imagine that when you were born, you were in a state of innocence, a tabula rasa who would have scored zero on each scale. Since then, a number of circumstances (including genetical, cultural and environmental factors) have pushed you towards either end of these scales. If you're at 45 or -45 you would be almost entirely cynical, low-brow or whatever. The closer to zero you are, the less extreme your attitude. However, you should always be more of either (eg more romantic than cynical). Please note that even though High-Brow, Violent, Experimental and Cynical have positive numbers (1 through 45) and their opposites negative numbers (-1 through -45), this doesn't mean that either quality is better. All attitudes have their positive and negative sides, as explained below. High-Brow vs. Low-Brow You received -13 points, making you more Low-Brow than High-Brow. Being high-browed in this context refers to being more fascinated with the sort of art that critics and scholars tend to favour, while a typical low-brow would favour the best-selling kind. At their best, low-brows are honest enough to read what they like, regardless of what "experts" and academics say is good for them. At their worst, they are more likely to read what their neighbours like than what they would choose themselves. Violent vs. Peaceful You received -7 points, making you more Peaceful than Violent. This scale is a measurement of a) if you are tolerant to violence in fiction and b) whether you see violence as a means that can be used to achieve a good end. If you aren't, and you don't, then you are peaceful as defined here. At their best, peaceful people are the ones who encourage dialogue and understanding as a means of solving conflicts. At their worst, they are standing passively by as they or third parties are hurt by less scrupulous individuals. Experimental vs. Traditional You received 3 points, making you more Experimental than Traditional. Your position on this scale indicates if you're more likely to seek out the new and unexpected or if you are more comfortable with the familiar, especially in regards to culture. Note that traditional as defined here does not equal conservative, in the political sense. At their best, experimental people are the ones who show humanity the way forward. At their worst, they provoke for the sake of provocation only. Cynical vs. Romantic You received -11 points, making you more Romantic than Cynical. Your position on this scale indicates if you are more likely to be wary, suspicious and skeptical to people around you and the world at large, or if you are more likely to believe in grand schemes, happy endings and the basic goodness of humankind. It is by far the most vaguely defined scale, which is why you'll find the sentence "you are also a lot like x" above. If you feel that your position on this scale is wrong, then you are probably more like author x. At their best, romantic people are optimistic, willing to work for a good cause and an inspiration to their peers. At their worst, they are easily fooled and too easily lead. Take Which fantasy writer are you? at HelloQuizzy
That is right. I am "the exact opposite" of my favorite author. Of course, this means the author of the test considers Moorcock "traditional." While I think he only probably labelled him as such because his Eternal Champion books are now considered such classics. When they came out, they were pushing in new directions and his new stuff still tries new stuff.
EDIT: I found the author of the test's description of Moorcock. Posted below cut.
( Read more... )
Tags: books, meme, michael moorcock, quizzes
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06:19 am
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Writer's Block: Regrets Only
I am fairly certain my dog feels regret when she does something wrong or gets someone upset at her. I am sure most of the more intelligent animals do. However, I also know that my dog has a short attention-span and short memory so I don't think she feels regret very long.
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02:15 am
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A question for roleplayers When you think of Orcs, what color are they? Are they green like in Warhammer? Grey like in D&D? Browns and yellows like in Lord of the Rings?
Same question regarding Goblins. Are Goblins green-skinned in your mind's eye? Are Hobgoblins the same color?
I am finding it amusing that in D&D the Goblins, Hobgoblins and Bugbears are all supposed to be related races, but have such a huge difference in their skin colors. (Goblins are green or brown, Hobgoblins are red and Bugbears and yellow and furry.)
Tags: d&d, gaming, roleplaying
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03:00 pm
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Writer's Block: Space Wars
It often depends on my mood.
It is usually between the original Battlestar Galactica (1979), Star Trek (TOS), and Star Trek DS9.
Out of the three, DS9, was probably the best made. The quality of the show, especially in later seasons, was extremely good. However, BSG and and ST: TOS are such old-school fun. The characters are some of the most likable characters I have ever seen on TV.
Movie-wise, Star Trek II wins hands-down. The closest to come in second would be Serenity.
Tags: joss whedon, star trek
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10:54 pm
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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies An animated movie of the first story arc from Superman/Batman is being made and judging from the trailer, it may be the most loyal adaption of a comic yet. They even captured Ed McGuinness's art style. (Fitting, since his critics often called him "cartoony.")
It looks good. Very good.
Tags: batman, links, movies, superman, youtube
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10:37 pm
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Writer's Block: Mother
Its a toss-up between Morticia Addams and Lilly Munster. Both let their kids be who they were. Lilly Munster gets a bit of an edge with how well she put up with the odd behavior and appearance of her neice Marilyn. However, Morticia has the edge of hot-ness.
Tags: television
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11:01 pm
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Speaking of Riker.... Flavia gave me a new copy of the first Star Trek: Titan book for my birthday. Star Trek: Titan is a series of novels following the adventures of Captain Riker and the crew of the USS Titan. I had started reading the first book last year and was really in to it when it went missing. I think I must have left it in a doctor's waiting room or something. I didn't want to pay full price for it again and was waiting to find a used copy someday to finish it. Flavia said that by giving it to me, I didn't have the guilt of paying for it twice.
Tags: books, star trek
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10:57 pm
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Star Trek Quiz I always felt a kinship to Worf, but because of the questions they asked, I think, Worf ended up low on my list. Still, the #1 person on this list is another character I can feek kinship with. In fact, other than Worf, this is about the order I would list them as characters I feel most like.
( Read more... )
Tags: meme, quizzes, star trek
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06:30 am
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The Onion Reports on Star Trek Film Trekkies outraged by new film, calling it fun and watchable!
Tags: links, star trek
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10:14 pm
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Movie Review: Star Trek (spoiler-free) Thanks to a friend, I was able to see a preview showing tonight of Star Trek.
This is a movie that anyone who is not a Star Trek fan and loves the blockbluster movies should love. If you are a Trek fan, you will probably still love it, or at least like it a lot. Certainly, it is going to be a good jump-start for the franchise.
One of my fears when I first started reading about the new movie was reading Abrams saying that he was more of a Star Wars fan. Star Wars is fun, but it and Star Trek have very different feels. When the trailers started coming out for the new Trek movie and I saw all the huge space battles that would have been at home in Revenge of the Sith, and all the flashy special effects and action, I thought for sure that this was going to be more of a Star Wars movie than a Trek movie.
It kinda is. That isn't completely a bad thing. It is a fun action-y roller coaster with lots of laughs, and stunts....and just "wow" moments. It is much better than the Star Wars prequels were, so comparing it to Star Wars is not meant as an insult.
Now, I assumed this would have to be a bad thing because I had been burned so many times before by the Next Gen movies trying to be Hollywood blockbusters rather than being Star Trek. Nemesis being the worst example of a Trek movie that tried to be all about special effects and action at the sacrifice of the "feel" of Star Trek.
Of course, this is the original crew and Kirk lends himself a lot better to action. He is a "by the seat of his pants" kind of Captain and they really play up the devil-may-care aspects of his character in this movie. (Keep in mind, this is young Kirk, not the matured and more responsible man we see in the movies.)
This movie keeps some of the more important elements of Trek. Most importantly, the characters. I mentioned already that the movie had a lot of laughs. This was because of the interactions of the characters. Like Star Trek IV, this movie used the interactions of these personalities to make for a lot of laugh-out-loud moments.
The actors do a fantastic job of capturing the personalities of the characters without making their performances a parody of the original actors. Most obvious is Kirk. Chris Pine said in an interview that he started studying Shatner's performance but eventually put it down and decided to make it his own version of Kirk. This was so wise. If he had done Shatner, it would have come out as a joke. No one can do Shatner besides Shatner. However, he pulls of all of the cockiness and head-sureness of Kirk. The guy playing Bones does a great job of playing the crankiness of Doctor McCoy. Sulu is as swashbuckling ever and Scotty....was just brilliant. Suprisingly, the only performance that I was disappointed by was Quinto. Maybe because I expected a lot from him. He was my favorite casting and he still does a good job, but when compared to Nimoy's Spock, he just falls short.
Another element that seemed to be captured well was the idea of Starfleet and The Federation. This wasn't a "dark re-imagining" like BSG. No, Starfleet still had that shiny clean look and a theme of humans and aliens working together to make the universe better that the original Trek was built on.
I also loved all the new takes on the uniforms. They kept the look of the old uniforms but by simply changing the fabric, gave it a more modern look. The ship interiors were also really well done. My only complaint with the visual design elements of the movie was the Enterprise itself. It combined visual elements of the original Enterprise, the redesigned Enterprise of the movies and the Galaxy-class enterprise of TNG. This left it feeling off to me, particularly the nacelles. Maybe with a second viewing, it will feel better.
I have a big tip to my fellow Trekkers: Don't even try to consider this movie connected to the old series. There are plot elements that try to explain why everything is different, but there are still glaring continuity problems that will not go away. Please, go in as an open book regarding this. I am a huge fan of the original Battlestar Galactica. When the new BSG came out on Sci-Fi, I had to put that aside while I watched it and keep reminding myself that this is a complete reboot. That same tactic will work really well with this new movie. As a complete reboot, it rocks. As a continuation of the classic series (as the producers want us to think of it as), it has far too many problems.
The movie left me wanting more, so I hope this means we are seeing the birth of a new series. This may be what Trek needed to reinvigorate the franchise. I will even go as far as to say that this could do for Sci-Fi what Spider-Man and X-Men did for Superheroes: making it more acceptable to mainstream audiences.
Tags: movies, reviews, star trek
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11:25 pm
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Batman fills in for Superman New Youtube Funny
Tags: batman, links, superman, youtube
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11:43 pm
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Book Meme Quiz below cut via Puff.
( Read more... )
Tags: books, meme, quizzes
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05:27 am
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Youtube fun Runawaybox, the guys that made One Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song have some new ones that are just as fun: Boyfriend with Health Benefits
Ewok Gospel with Billy Dee.
and my new favorite: Second Semester Spanish Love Song
Tags: links, spanish, star wars, youtube
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12:32 am
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Needs more cowbell.... This Youtube Christopher Walken impersonation is pretty funny: Christopher Rappen
Tags: links, youtube
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05:37 am
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Something worth celebrating....
lintra's birthday!
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05:43 am
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Street Fighter! Just when I complained that there weren't much in video games interesting me lately I see at the video store that Street Fighter IV was out. So, I rented it. Am enjoying it quite a bit. Now, I am torn between buying MK vs DCU or this when I have the money to buy a game. Both are fantastic. Neither is as good as Marvel vs Capcom 2 for the Dreamcast was, but that is a high standard in fighting games to compete with.
My one real complaint about SFIV is that they switched from the classic 2d sprite graphic-style to 3-D. 2D games have no need to be in 3D and the last several games have shown that 2D sprites are just looking better and better, but oh well.
Tags: video games
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03:52 am
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Geeky hobby update Since a majority of my friends on LJ are friends because of common interests, I thought I would give a quick update on some of my geeky stuff behind the cut.
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Tags: roleplaying, superman, video games, warhammer 40k
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