Zombie Binge Time . . .

I'm playing catch up.

We don't have Sky or any major TV channels.  We have Freeview instead which gives you a few extra but nothing special.  I don't watch much TV as a rule so refuse to pay out for something that isn't really going to get used to its full potential.  However, if I get into a TV series, I get into it in a big way, and if it isn't on Netflix (a godsend for filmage) then I buy the DVD and I BINGE!  I've lost days of my life.

Anyway, because of this I'm a little behind on some of the greats.  I'm literally coming to the end of Season 1 of Game of Thrones after a friend lent me the DVD and I've just ordered a show that I know will keep me locked away.

The Walking Dead

I saw the first episode round my sister's one weekend, and its hooked me left, right and centre.  So, if you don't hear from me in a while it's because I have my hermit shell in place and the remote in my hand.  With 3 seasons available to me, I may be a little while :)

It's Zombie Time!!!!

Pic of the Week . . . Dancing With Sharks

Happy Friday!

We're having a good - charitable - day at work today.  We're taking part in the Strawberry Tea fundraiser, raising money for Breast Cancer.  Lots of people in the office have baked and as I type half of the office are out in the car park with a BBQ on the go (I've just had my fill).  So even though there's still work to be done, there's plenty of food to purchase and consume and lots of fun.  I can't imagine much more being achieved today.  And it is Friday anyway...What better way to spend a Friday the 13th - and with a full moon thrown into the equation.

So, today is a charitable day, and one thing earlier caught my eye that would suit Pic of the Week a treat.

Hannah Fraser.  Ring any bells?  The model and marine conservationist has been in the headlines quite a bit just recently after dancing with a shoal of tiger sharks in protest against the worldwide killing of marine life, including tiger sharks, a threatened species after the popularity of shark-fin soup.    

I love sharks.  I think they're a very misunderstood species, as Hannah is proving.  Yeah, there was a chance of one taking a bite, and it was a risky photoshoot, but tiger sharks are known for their viciousness and did they take a chunk from her?  No.  Maybe this was just luck - or maybe it's proof that the species on a whole has been stereotyped by the movie Jaws.  I'm not saying we should all go swimming with them and cuddle them - god forbid, but...

Regardless of what people think, I support Hannah Fraser 100% for what she's campaigning against.  You can read more from this article.  In the meantime, here are two of her pictures.  Spread the word of her good work.

Have a good weekend :)

  

In Which Wiki Will Tell You Who You Were...

This fun and interesting thing is going around facebook at the moment.  Have you facebook-junkies seen it yet? :)

I tried it.  I typed my date of birth in the above format and I got:

Lesser Samuels

Ironically, according to Wiki, Lesser Samuels was a Hollywood screenwriter for 20 years.  However, he also wrote and was associate producer for the biblical flop, The Silver Chalice, in which Paul Newman, who starred, declared it the low point of his career.

Interesting that both I and the person I supposedly was in a former life were both writers - albeit bad ones.  Gotta love facebook :)

Anyway, type in Google your date of birth in the above format and see who you get.

RIP HR Giger...

I'm in a state of shock.

Today I'm posting to remember one of my favourite artists who has sadly just died.

HR Giger.

Imagine my shock after happily browsing through the news and coming across a headline that read 'Alien Designer, Giger, Dies at 74'.  A great talent lost.

For those who don't know who Giger is, he designed the Alien for the Aliens series as well as some of the settings and landscapes; he worked on Dune, AND he designed the famous microphone stand for Jonathan Davies, lead singer of Korn. These are just a few of the things he's remembered for.

Read the news article here:

So, RIP HR Giger.  You will be missed by thousands, and our thoughts go out to his family.

Pic of the Week . . . Banksy Mobile Lovers

I love Banksy.

Whenever I take a train ride into London I can't help but sit back and admire some of the graffiti on the way.  Most of it is tagging which looks messy and strongly sits under the term 'Vandalism', but then you'll come across a gem that is fantastic.  I know all graffiti is technically vandalism but the art and skill that goes into some of these pieces is often over-looked.  It's a form of art in itself.

For those who don't know, Banksy has recently been in the headlines with his newest piece.  He chose to use a door to a boy's club in Bristol as his canvas.  The idea wasn't to tag the area to say 'I WOZ 'ERE' so to speak, but to help raise money for the struggling club - a club he apparently attended as a boy (don't quote me on that bit).

The piece has been quoted to be worth £500,000.

This little piece was from Banksy's earlier days and sits on the side of the Thekla Social Boat in Bristol Harbour.  I loved it so much I had to show you.

Banksy's Grim Reaper, Thekla Social Boat

But the main piece for Pic of the Week is the topic piece of this post.  Mobile Lovers.

Enjoy and have a creative weekend...

Image from Butterfly

Did he have blonde hair or black . . .?

I read and critiqued a friend’s manuscript the other week.  I read all of it, from beginning to end, and even though it was really good, the one major thing I had to point out was the bombshell at the end that her protagonist had black hair.  Not a major bombshell, but when you’ve read through the entire book picturing the protagonist as one thing only to find out he’s something else, it's a bit of a shock.  As it turned out with my friend, she was brilliant at describing the weird and unusual – and it was a fantasy so there was a lot of that - but anything everyday and mundane she inadvertently neglected. 

This brought up the topic of description.  Info dumps are never really a good thing.  There are far better ways to add description than by saying “He was 6ft something, blue eyes, black hair and a few days’ worth of stubble on his chin”;

“He brushed a hand through his thick black hair…”

“His blue eyes turned wide with shock…”

I won’t go on.  I’m pretty sure you get the drift.  Anyway, it also helps to actually know your character physically.  For every character I create a little bio.  Nothing mega, just height, hair colour, style, eye colour, age.  This way when you need to mention it and you’ve forgotten it, you don’t have to go hunting through your manuscript trying to find the last place you mentioned it.  It also avoids inconsistencies.

Another idea is to add an actual face to your characters.  By this I mean finding a tv/movie star and basing your characters around them (I call this a dream team).  Sometimes though, if your characters are born before you allocate them a famous face, it can be hard to find someone suitable to fit the role, and sometimes you may have to come to terms with the fact that you’ll never find someone suitable – unless you spend hours trolling the web when you should be writing!

I’ve only found one face for one of my characters.  He’s no one famous.  He’s a model for the firm I work for.  But as soon as I saw him in those images I knew. 

Meet Devon McCormick.  

Image courtesy of Brora.co.uk

Pic of the Week (coinciding with A-Z) . . . Jonas Jakobsson

Today, the A-Z challenge seems to have fallen on J, so even though I’m not partaking, what better way to contribute than by choosing an artist for this week’s Pic of the Week whose name begins with J.

Returning to Jonas Jakobsson with a double J hit.  Check out his gallery on Deviant Art.

And name me a fantasy lover who doesn’t love a Ringwaith.

Have a great weekend J