Brilliant Viewpoint on Why Mass Shootings Keep Happening

I saw this post,credited to Morgan Freeman, on Facebook and it strikes me as a brilliant take on why these mass shootings keep happening.

Morgan Freeman's brilliant take on what happened yesterday :

"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.

 

It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.

You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news."

Star Trek Trailer

The trailer for the new Star Trek Movie, Into Darkness, is available to watch online at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408101/.  It looks like a pretty good movie from the trailer.

The movie is due out in May of 2013.

GI Joe-Retaliation Trailer

GI Joe, the Rise of Cobra, was a great movie.  The sequel, Retaliation, looks good from the trailer, and features Bruce Willis.

You can watch the trailer here: http://www.gijoemovie.com/#/videos/trailer

Amazon Affiliation

I have affiliated my website with Amazon (as you can probably tell from the banners).

If you want to support this website and shop at all on Amazon.com, the next time you go to shop on Amazon please link to it through a banner on my website.

Thanks

Now on Amazon Canada, Brazil, and Japan

A Whisper in Space and Big Damn Love Story are now on Amazon's Canada, Brazil, and Japan site using the links below:

Amazon Canada:

• http://www.amazon.ca/2-PACK-Whisper-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B009EIBGO8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355085342&sr=8-1 (2 Pack Whisper in Space & Big Damn Love Story)
• http://www.amazon.ca/Damn-Story-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B008EP3I1Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1355085370&sr=1-1 (Big Damn Love Story)

Amazon Japan:

• http://www.amazon.co.jp/Whisper-Space-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B005IGUN9Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355085638&sr=8-1 (A Whisper in Space)
• http://www.amazon.co.jp/2-PACK-Whisper-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B009EIBGO8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1355085638&sr=8-2 (2 Pack Whisper in Space & Big Damn Love Story)
• http://www.amazon.co.jp/Damn-Story-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B008EP3I1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355085665&sr=8-1 (Big Damn Love Story)

Amazon Brazil:

• http://www.amazon.com.br/Whisper-Space-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B005IGUN9Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1355085888&sr=1-1 (A Whisper in Space)
• http://www.amazon.com.br/2-PACK-Whisper-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B009EIBGO8/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1355085888&sr=1-2 (2 Pack Whisper in Space & Big Damn Love Story)
• http://www.amazon.com.br/Damn-Story-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B008EP3I1Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1355085914&sr=1-2 (Big Damn Love Story)

 

New Board Game---There Will Be Zombies

I just got wind of a new board game, being styled as and RPG board game that needs no GM.  The game is goingto be called "There Will Be Zombies."  The game will be available for online play via a platform called iTabletop.

Information can be found here: http://itabletop.com/HotProjects/GAMEThereWillBeZombies.aspx

A video that explains the game can be found here: http://www.indiegogo.com/DeadfordFalls

Sean Maher Talks About Serenity Sequel (Firefly)

I just read this article where Sean maher speculated about the possibility that Joss Whedon will make a sequel to Serenity.

http://screencrush.com/firefly-joss-whedon-serenity-sequel/

Frankly, I couldn't agree more with his thoughts.

Red Dawn---My Review

I just got back from seeing the movie Red Dawn, which was released today after a significant postponement (Official Move Website). 

To see the official trailer, click here (Official Trailer)

For those who weren't aware, this movie was originally scheduled to come out last November.  In the version they originally shot, they had China as the villain who invades the U.S., but they realized after production that they stood to loose huge DVD sales in China.  To remedy that, they switched it so that North Korea was the villain.

This movie was done in a similar style to the Red Dawn I grew up watching, which was released back in 1984 (IMBD http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087985/), which had a host of future celebrities in it, including Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Charlie Sheen, and Lea Thompson.

The new version features most of the same characters, with Jed Ekert (Chris Hemsworth/Patrick Swayze) as the leader of a band of insurgents, fighting the army that has invaded our country.  Matt, Robert, Erica, Toni, Danny, and Daryl are all still there.  The character known only as Aardvark has been replaced by a couple named Greg and Julie.

The movie was heavy on action, as you would expect. All of it was very well done, with good production work that looks much better than the original.

The theme of the movie was drastically different.  The original movie was really about the futility of war, and while there is a sense that the Wolverines are making a difference, the futility and attrition ultimately win out as two survivors escape to Free America.  Colonel Bella in the end has a chance to kill Jed (Patrick Swayze) but seesthe futility of that and instead turns away (and we never do find out what happened to Jed).  The new movie has a stronger sense of duty to fight the invaders, and the sense that they are making a clear and significant difference is portrayed in a much stronger fashion.  War is not portayed as a futile effort, but instead as an unavoidable and necessary effort given the circumstances.  The sense of constant danger is very well done as well.

The storyline was good, and much more developed than the original.  Among action movies, it was one of the deeper storylines that I've seen.  It was also an original storyline, and not a retelling of the original storyline (a.k.a. Footloose, which was redone in a horrible fashion)  I won't give away any details, but I will say they did a good job with it.  The ending fits with the theme of this version (I won't give it away, don't worry).  I will tell you that more of the Wolverines are alive at the end of the movie, though several have died, and the final battle surprised me.

The movie ended in a way were the possibility that the story could continue exists, and I wouldn't mind seeing the story continue.

I probably will see this movie again in the theaters, and Igive it 4 stars (on a 1-5 scale) for a movie of its genre.

Lastly, and most importantly...

The chair is against the wall
The chair is against the wall
John has a long mustache
John has a long mustache
(Yes, we hear those lines again)

Author Page on Amazon.com

I have now set up an author page at Amazon.com.  You can find it at
https://www.amazon.com/author/daviddrizzit.  I'll ue this page as another source for sending out information about my books and ebooks.

Song of the Lonely Mountain---From The Hobbit

This link (http://www1.rollingstone.com/hearitnow/player/neilfinn.html) will take you to a page that has the offical ballad of the upcoming Hobbit movie, which is called Song of the Lonely Mountain.  It is performed by Neil Finn.

My initial reaction upon hearing the song is that it has a very interesting feel to it.  The song seems to give the impression of someone on a rugged and grueling adventure (matching the theme of the movie well).  I enjoyed it.

For those who don't remember the ballads from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, they were:

• May It Be---Fellowship of the Ring (Enya) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljm5225B_cg
• Gollum's Song---The Two Towers (Emillana Torinni) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkXbzffVl44
• Into The West---Return of the King (Annie Lennox) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24fGmWG6kpg

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Jurney (Trailer)---Updated

Here is a link to the yahoo movie page that has the trailers for the upcoming Lord Of The Rings movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  Here is the link (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey/trailers/).

From the official website, regarding the schedule for future movies:

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” will be released on December 14, 2012, with the second film, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” releasing December 13, 2013, andthe third film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” slated for July 18, 2014

Enjoy, it looks like it should be a great movie.

Settlers of Catan Table

Every now and then I find something that is really cool, and have to share it.  Today I found this cool gaming table built to serve as either ageneral board game table, or as a table for the board game Settlers of Catan.

At $330, the table is a good value.  You can find it at http://www.tableofcatan.com/tables/settlement-series/settlement-series-table-color-stained-birch.  Upgraded tables are available for a little bit more money.

Of course, if you have no idea what Settlers of Catan is, you need to go to your nearest retailer and check it out immeditely.  Even Target and Toys R Us are now selling it, along with Barnes and Noble and most board game stores.  Here's a link to the game on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/MayFair-Games-MFG3061-Settlers-Catan/dp/B000W7JWUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353270403&sr=8-1&keywords=settlers+of+catan)

World War Z---Trailer (Zombie Movie)

OK, I just found out about this movie, saw the trailer and it does look very good.  It is called World War Z, and the Z stands for Zombie.  The movie has Brad Pitt as the major character, which is a high profile choice, even though he's notoneof my favorite actors.

You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aALfQZMgI2s.

The movie comes out in June of 2013.

Excellent Zombie Movie

I just watched an excellent zombie movie, Zombie Apocalypse.  The movie was made in 2011, and is very realistic.  No cheese, just pure adventure as a group of survivors makes their way through Los Angeles, trying to get to the last safehaven, Catalina Island.

Here is a link to the movie's listing on IMDB---http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1876547/

The most notable cast members are Ving Rhames and Taryn Manning.  Check it out if you dare.

If you like this movie, something else you might enjoy: Finding a Safe-haven (Brenna's Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse, Book 1), by Amber Starks

Also, see my list with the rules for surviving Zombieland from the movie and related commercials.

Red Dawn---Theatrical trailer

This link(http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/red-dawn-2010-2/trailers/) will take you to the trailer for the upcoming movie, Red Dawn. 

This is a remake of sorts, though unlike many remakes it seems from the previews that they have made a mucher deeper plot than the original.  Most remakes turn out to be disappointing word-for-word reproductions of the original, lacking the zesk that made the original so good (consider The Karate Kid or Footloose).  So needless to say I am pumped to see this movie.

The original was set in the early 80s, with a schlew of stars including Patrick Schwazi, Charlee Sheen, and Jennifer Grey.  Their townin Oklahoma is invaded by Cubans and El Salvidorians, part of a Russian invasion of the American midwest.  Seige is laid to cities like Denver, while small towns see all of their key people locked up in "re-education camps."  The high school students, 8 of them, fight the invaders and slowly die off, until only 2 escape to Free America.

Chris Hemsworth leads this bunch, and based on the previews it should be quite a show.  This time it's the North Koreans.  Originally they filmed it with the Chinese leading the invasion, but they wanted to sell themovie in China, which strictly regulates the content its citizens can see.

The movie comes out November 21, and is rated PG-13.

 

The Difference Between Science and Global Warming

Dear Mr. Al Gore

It's time we have a heart to heart discussion about the difference between science and global warming.

You say that most scientist agree that we are in the process of destroying the planet.  Unfortunately for you, science is not about the consensus of opinions of scientists, it's about cold hard scientific facts.  Remember just a few hundred years ago it was the consensus of all scientists, without exception, that the Earth was flat, and was the center of the universe.  The someone disagreed with that consensus,and ultimately proved everyone else wrong.

Gravity is scientific fact.  The theory behind gravity says that if I take a solid object, hold it 3 feet off the ground, and let go of the object, the object will fall.  Science (combined with math) will not only predict that the object will fall, it will tell us exactly how long it will take to fall, what speed it will achieve during the fall, etc...  It will not only predict these things, but these predictions will be precisely right, every single time, and the predictions will be made in advance of events, not in reaction to events..

Global warming has produced numerous predictions, but none of them so far have been accurate.  For example, after Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane, Global Warming "scientists" predicted that we would continue to have more serious hurricane seasons each subsequent year.

That didn't happen.

Instead, we had several years of relatively mild hurricane activity.  The reactionary prediction of global warming "scientists" didn't come to fruition.  The "science" behind global warming failed to predict hurricane Katrina, and then failed to produce a predicable result subsequent to the hurricane.

Now, a category 1 hurricane arrived late in the season and met with a cold front.  After it hit a part of the country that rarely sees hurricanes, Mr. Gore is again making the prediction that global warming will cause more severe hurricane activity.  The problem is, yet again, the prediction is in reaction to events, rather than before events.  Moreover, a category 1 hurricane is not unusual activity.  Several category 1 hurricanes hit North America each year.

A review of historical data provided by the National Hurricane Center (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastint.shtml) shows that the most severe storm to hit the U.S. between 1851 and 2004 was in the year 1935.  Of the 18 category 4 and category 5 hurricanes to hit the U.S., only 3 occurred during my lifetime (I'm 40).  Katrina obviously need to be added to that list, but is still number 2 behind the 1935 hurricane (http://www.americasbestonline.com/index.php/pages/top10hurricanes.html).

Of course, global warming could not possibly have been the cause of the 1935 hurricane.

Of course, the ultimate proof that global warming is a farce is the name change.  First it was global cooling, then global warming, then global cooling, then global warming again.  Now, it is called global climate change to hide the fact that they don't know if the Earth is getting warmer or colder.

 

Another Opinion on Disney/Lucasfilm Deal

This article (http://www.egotastic.com/2012/11/the-5-best-and-5-worst-things-to-expect-from-a-disney-made-star-wars-movie/) on egotastic was interesting, the 5 best and 5 worst things about the Disney buyout of Lucasfilm.  It makes quite a few good points.

Other articles about the Disney Buyout of Lucasfilm:
http://whisperinspace.blogspot.com/2012/10/disney-buys-star-wars.html
http://whisperinspace.blogspot.com/2012/10/more-details-on-lucasfilmdisney-deal.html

More Details on Lucasfilm/Disney Deal

I wrote a little bit ago about the deal Disney struck to buy Lucasfilms, and produce new Star Wars Movies (http://whisperinspace.blogspot.com/2012/10/disney-buys-star-wars.html).

Some more details on the Lucasfilm/Disney deal can be found here (http://www.nbcnews.com/business/disney-buying-lucasfilm-will-release-new-star-wars-movie-2015-1C6761343)

Key Points

• Episode 7 will berelease in 2015
• Disney Acquires Lucasfilm, ILM (Industrial Light and Magic), the rights to the Indiana Jones Franchise, and Skywalker Sound.
• Lucas, as soleowner of Lucas Film, gets $4 Billion (yes, billion with a B) dollars is cash and Disney stock, and will become a 2.2% owner of Disney.
• Lucas will be a creative consultant, which basically means he can give ideas and vision, but Disney can complete ignore him if he proposes wasting valuable film time on an unispiring love story (a.k.a. Episode 2).

I still view this as a great and exciting development, hopefully I won't be disappointed.

 

Disney Buys Lucasfilm & Star Wars, Movie in 2015

I just read about this today, and think it is great news.  Disney has bought Lucasfilms, and announced that they will begin making Star Wars movies, the first one coming out in 2015.  I have to tell you that I am pumped about this because Disney is great at making great movies.

The first Star Wars trilogy was awesome.  The second trilogy, the prequels, were a massive let-down that led to parody songs like "George Lucas Raped Our Childhood." (youtube --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzDIClx-_pY).

Disney is great at making movies fans want to see, and they won't make movies in a vacuum where nobody wants to stand up and say "Excuse me, Mr. Lucas, this sucks."  This article on Wired.comput it more eloquently than I can (http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/10/disney-star-wars-new-hope/).

I feel like after the prequels I shouldtry to stay cautiously optimistic, but I want to see good Star Wars movies, ones where Han Solo Shoots first, where nobody steps on Jaba's tail, and where we don't get bogged downin an uninspired love story.  There was a grittiness about the first trilogy that hopefully will come back with Disney now at the helm.

I posted more info in a later article (http://whisperinspace.blogspot.com/2012/10/more-details-on-lucasfilmdisney-deal.html).




 

Highlander Remake

I just stumbled across this article this morning.  Apparently, they are going to make a new Highlander.  This won't be a continuation of the story, but instead a remake of the first movie.

Ryan Reynolds will play the role of Connor McCleod, which could be a good casting decisions.

Read more about it here (link here).

Personally, I like the idea of the Highlander franchise getting a resurgence.  But a lot of the remakes I have seen lately have fallen way flat of the original (see Footloose, the Karate Kid, etc...), where the plot is verbatim the same but the subtle nuances that made te story work so well have been overlooked. 

Hopefully the Highlander remake will be better than Footloose.  Us Highlander fans desaerve a good movie, and not a cheap copy.

Ebook 2-Pack

I am now selling both of my ebooks as a 2-pack, available now at Amazon.com and Amazon.UK. 

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/2-PACK-Whisper-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B009EIBGO8/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1348226101&sr=8-11&keywords=whisper+in+space

Amazon.UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/2-PACK-Whisper-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B009EIBGO8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1348226263&sr=1-1

If you haven't purchased either of my books yet, this is a great, economical way of picking up both at once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amber Starks' First Book

My publishing house, FHR Publishing, has just posted some info on one of the story's they will be publishing, by a good friend of mine, Amber Starks.  The info they posted was written by Amber herself.  You can read the story here (link here).

She is describing her book as being in the post-apocalyptic genre.

S.H.I.E.L.D. TV SHOW

Joss Whedon has named his marvel comics TV Show, S.H.I.E.L.D.

ABC will air the show.  For more information, read the article here (link here).

No word yet on who will be in the TV show, or which big names we might see.  I still am looking forward to this with great anticipation.

Sequel to Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog confirmed

Whedon is confirming that a sequel is in the works for Doctor Horrible.  This is great news.

Read more here (article here).

I am absolutely looking forward to this.  No timetable is listed, but I'll keep watching for one.

New Young Adult Novel

Here's a new novella aimed at young adults, called Weighted.  It's by an author names Ciara Kinight, is selling for $1.99 in Amazon.  It is described as a post-apacolyptic work of fiction geared towards young adults.  I would encourage everyone to check it out.  I bought a copy, and will post more information after I read it.

http://www.amazon.com/Weighted-The-Neumarian-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008ZTD5BO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345552757&sr=1-1&keywords=Weighted+by+ciara+knight

Microsoft Office Alternative, OpenOffice is Free

My laptop is dieing.  The "i" key sticks, so that sometimes when I type fast, it doesn't register and words like "Bikini" look like "Bkin" when I look back at what I've typed.  The battery is now dead, so I can only use it when it is pugged in.  The light that tells me when the bluetooth is on has burndt out.  And since it it 7 years old, it is too slow to run my favorite video game.

With that inmind, I bought a new netbook at Walmart for only $220.  It won't play video games, but it is perfect for surfing the web and writing my books.  The only problem is, it doesn't come with Microsoft Office preloaded.  For $120, I can download them, but that's a good chunk of change.

So I go online, and look for alternatives.  Wordperfect is even more expensive, so I rule that one out. 

Then I find OpenOffice.  It's free, and word compatible. I had heard of OpenOffice before, but had never seen it.  Reading through the description, it's exactly what I need.  It also has the equivalent of powerpoint and excel built into it.  I download it, and fire it up.  I open up my latest book, which I had saved in Word format, and there it is.  I type a bit, hit the save key, and it saves to Word format.

Call me a convert, no more buying overpriced Microsoft software for home use.

You can download it here:  http://www.openoffice.org/. 

Some Great Ebooks by Independent Authors

Ebooks make great, affordable reading, and here are a few recommendations, all of which were written by new, up-and-coming authors. Looking at the descriptions, each of these look like they are well written and exciting:

A Whisper in Space - David C. Drizzit ($.99 Kindle Edition)

http://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Space-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B005IGUN9Y/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1314061090&sr=8-6

Big Damn Love Story - David C. Drizzit ($3.99 Kindle Edition)
http://www.amazon.com/Damn-Story-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B008EP3I1Q/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Hawk of May (Down the Long Way 1) - Gillian Bradshaw ($9.99 Kindle Edition)
http://www.amazon.com/Hawk-May-Down-Long-ebook/dp/B003YFJ4VE/ref=pd_sim_kstore_9


Felix Faust (the Arcane Insurrection - Dexter Morgenstern ($.99 Kindle Edition)http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00896N19E/ref=pe_160490_25378790_pe_vfe_dt1


Lady Grace: A Thrilling Adventure Wrapped in the Embrace of Epic Love - Sandy Nathan ($3.99 Kindle Edition)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084F4MOI/ref=pe_160490_25378790_pe_vfe_dt3

Quicker (an Ell Donsaii story) - Laurence Dahners ($2.99 Kindle Edition)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ORQO7W/ref=pe_160490_25378790_pe_vfe_dt8


Neverfound (Seven Masks) - Katherine Velthuyzen ($.99 Kindle Edition)
http://www.amazon.com/Neverfound-Seven-Masks-ebook/dp/B008N6VU7A/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_1_2


Happy Reading!

Magazine celebrating Writers

I just learned about an interesting magazine that celebrates writers, called InspiredViewpoints.  On initial view, this looks like a great production.

Here's the description from their website.

InspiredViewpoints, a magazine that celebrates creators of all Genre. A collaborative venture to foster community among creative professionals.

More information can be found here InspiredViewpoints.

First Independent Review---Book 2

The first independent,unsolicited review of my 2nd ebook, Big Damn Love Story, was posted on Amazon.com.  The reviewer gave it 4 stars out of 5.  Here are a few key quotes:

"He does a good job with characters for the most part. " 

"While it is not firefly it is like a cousin of it. It has the same type of feel. It did not really bog down like many new writers do." 

"...it is better than fan fic and hits the same notes as firefly without being a direct ripoff. "

 The reviewer does note that there are a few spelling errors throughout the book.  I spotted several during proofreading by obviously missed a few.

Read the full review and buy the book on Amaon.com or if you have a nook, go to BarnesandNoble.com

 

Big Damn Love Story---Now Available

My second novel, Big Damn Love Story, is now available for purchase.

Amazon --- http://www.amazon.com/Damn-Story-Adventures-Spitfire-ebook/dp/B008EP3I1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340758769&sr=8-1&keywords=big+damn+love+story

Barnes and Noble --- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/big-damn-love-story-david-c-drizzit/1111813760?ean=2940014631556