Back Into the Groove ... Maybe

I just realized that it's been over a month, since I've updated any of my stories. Wow. I'm really slipping.

This is not going to stand. When I'm not at work, I'm going to make a sincere effort to begin writing again. Honestly, I've been pretty bored at home for the last few weeks, and now I know why.

Anyway, here's the status of all of my works:

• More Than a Job: Complete, but not posted. May be re-posted here or on either FanFiction.Net or FictionPress.com
• Codename: White Knight: Introduction and Chapters 1-3 posted, Chapter 4 partly complete. This will likely be my primary effort
• Ghosts of Sherwood: Intro and Chapter 1 posted, Chapters 2-5 written but in need of major revisions. Part of Chapter 2 needs to be rewritten, it might be a while before it goes up.
• The Hitman Chronicles: I stopped writing in the middle of a new scene, so I've lost the spark. I can't decide whether to can it and start over or try and finish it.
• Movie Reviews: I have not seen anything good lately (need to go see Pirates or Spidey 3) but I might post a review of Red Dawn or The Adventures of Robin Hood.
• How To Be a Perfect Evil Overlord: Canned. No one cared, so no point in keeping it up. I do have it saved to my hard drive, just in case.

Okay, I think that's everything. I'm planning on getting Chapter 4 of White Knight up bu Monday, with Chapter 2 of Ghosts to follow shortly thereafter if I can get it rewritten to my liking. Hopefully, things will work out and I'll be able to get everything going again.

Memorial Day

To all those are serving and have served in our Armed Forces, thank you for defending our freedom.

And to all those who have given their lives for our country, thank you for sacrificing your today for our tommorrow. You are gone, but you shall never be forgotten.

Johnson: Would you look at how fast they put up the names of all our guys who got killed?
The Seargent: That's a World War One memorial.
Johnson: But the names are the same.
The Seargent: They always are.

--from The Big Red One (1980)

Freedom is not, nor shall it ever be, free.

30 Years of the Force

STAR WARS

5/25/77-5/25/07

THE FORCE IS FOREVER

Debates and Decisions

Okay, first of all, I'd like to inform you that my purchasing of that airsoft Desert Eagle is definitely not going to happen. While Green Gas is now becoming more widely available thanks to the introduction of DOT-approved containers, the gas has now shot up to around $15-$20 plus hazmat shipping for an 800mL can (vs the ~$10 + normal s&h for a non-DOT 1000mL can), so even with my well-paying job, owning a gas-powered airsoft gun of any kind is no longer economically feasible for me. I think I might just stick with the VSR-10 that caught my eye a while back.

Secondly, since Random Sabers will soon be taking orders again for new sabers, I'm thinking about spending the money that would've been used for the Desert Eagle on a custom lightsaber. I've settled on a design that I made a while back, which I'm (very) tentatively calling Imperious:

Okay... that upload didn't work quite the way I planned. Just pretend that black stuff isn't there And I know it's a crappy design, but it's the best I could do in PowerPoint. If I ever get access to a better drawing program, or when I get some design renderings from Random Sabers, I'll put them up so you get a better idea of what I really have in mind for this thing. Oh, by the way, it's gonna have a blue blade.

Lastly, I'm thinking about opening an account on either FanFiction.Net, FictionPress.Com, or maybe both. No offense to you guys, but it seems to me like no one ever reads any of my stories. Honestly, what really motivates me to continue writing them is reader feedback, of which I get precious little (which is why Ghosts of Sherwood only has one chapter). I really want my stories to be out in the open where anyone can read them, not cloistered in a small set of blogs that few know of, and even fewer care about. I'll keep you posted about this.

That's all I have for now. Ta ta! (If I ever say that again, shoot me.)

DUDE!

Forget the Aston Martin, check this thing out:

This bad boy is the Ibis Tek CobraViper. Its an armor-plated SUV with a retractable, gyroscopically-stabilized, remote-controlled .50-caliber machine gun. The truck's armor will stop a bullet fired from an AK-47 assault rifle or an M-60 machine gun, and the big M2 .50-cal mounted on the turret will take out just about anything. And if that's not enough you can mount a 12.7mm chain gun, a 20mm or 30mm autocannon, or a 40mm automatic grenade launcher. Dude. James Bond has got to drive, or at least go up against, one of these bad boys.

Now, ordinarily, this is the part where I'd say that I have got to get me one of those things, but even I'm not crazy enough to believe that civilians can buy one. Although it would be kinda cool. Why sit behind a rush-hour traffic jam when you can simply blow it (and everything else in sight) sky high?

Actually, this thing kinda reminds me of one of nerdjedi's first pictures. Anyone remember The VW Beetle of Doom? Probably the only Volkswagen product (except the Touarge, which was actually designed by Porsche [their version's called the Cayenne]) I'd ever buy. Although I'm not sure the Russian ZSU-23-2 23mm autocannons can be legally imported into the US...

STAR WARS KOMBAT!

Okay, yes, I admit it: I have no life.

These are two Star Wars Music Videos I found on YouTube that use the Mortal Kombat song.

The first one uses footage from the prequels and the second one is based off of the animated Clone Wars Miniseries.

Here they are:






Also, since I've finally started my internship, blog posts, particuarly new chapters for the stories, will probably be few and far between. That's actually a definite for the new chapters.

Jeff, nerdjedi won't tell me about the marshmellow roaster incident. What'd you do?

More Star Wars Videos

This here's a video I found on YouTube. It was made (not by me) as a tribute to Star Wars. Very well done, I think.



This next one is a recut ending of Return of the Jedi. Again, I think it's very good.



Let me know what you think!

Also (and I know no one really cares, but I'm gonna tell you anyway) I'm rethinking the purchase of that Desert Eagle airsoft pistol. No, this isn't one of those I-found-another-gun-that-I-like-so-I'm-gonna-buy-it-instead moments. The Desert Eagle, like many airsoft pistols, is powered by a type of compressed gas known as Green Gas (its real name is actually a long chemical formula that no one can pronounce), and unfortunately I've learned that the DOT has recently passed several restrictions on the shipping and transportation of compressed gases, including Green Gas. As a result, Green Gas prices have shot through the roof since it now costs much, much more to ship. Because of this, buying my Desert Eagle (which is something of a gas-hog) may no longer be economically feasible.

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

...another lightsaber duel by (some of) the guys who brought us Ryan vs. Dorkman, Wieber vs. Flyte, and RvD2.



Now this one's long, and the acting's pretty cheezy, but the choreography (IMHO) rocks.

Experiencing Creative Difficulties, Please Stand By

Firstly, many thanks to Jeff for letting me know where to find episodes of the new Robin Hood series. Incidentally, Jeff, you wouldn't happen to have the URL for the first episode lying around, would you? I suspect that the series will get released on DVD fairly soon, but then again, I could be wrong; BBC only released the first season of the Robin of Sherwood series they made back in the 80's on Region 1 DVD a few months ago.

Secondly, it's going to be a while before Chapter 2 of Ghosts of Sherwood gets posted. While most of the story is in need of some minor revising, a good chunk of Chapter 2, possibly the entire beginning of the chapter, will need to be completely rewritten. Basically, what I did was tried to lighten up a(nother) rather dark chapter with some comedy, but upon rereading it, I find that it really isn't appropriate and takes away from the rest of the chapter, but I have not yet figured out a way to change and have it smoothly transition into the rest of the chapter. Hopefully I will have that done soon.

Also, has anyone actually read Ghosts of Sherwood yet? If you have, please comment and let me know what you think. If you have not, well, read it already!

Lastly, I still have not recieved any word from nerdjedi regarding my challenge. I wonder, is he to afraid to respond?

More Big News and a New Story

I am placing Codename: Whike Knight and The Hitman Chronicles on long-term hiatus. Quite frankly, I've grown tired of writing nothing but "shoot 'em ups" as my family has taken to calling them. So I'm giving them a break and veering off into a new direction with a brand new story, Ghosts of Sherwood.

I know you're probably thinking that this is just another product of my recent obsession with Robin Hood. I'm sorry to say, however, that you're sorely mistaken. Ghosts of Sherwood is/was actually the product of a dream I had several years ago. I planned most of the story out in intricate detail and began writing it, only to stop when school started up that fall. Once I started blogging, I planned to post it up eventually, but when my computer died and the work I'd done thus far were lost (or so I believed) and the copybook that I'd written all of my notes in disappeared, the project went on the shelf for good. Fortunately, I've managed to recover both the files from my computer as well as the missing copybook, so now I can resume writing the story!

The first few chapters have already been completed and Chapter 1 is actually up at this point. Look for Chapters 2-5 to follow shortly, though they are all in need of serious revision, so that's why they're not all going up at once.

On a different note, still no response from nerdjedi on my call-out. I wonder if he plans on responding, or if he's just one of those people that goes on talk shows and just dodges all of the questions?

Well, that's all for now. Be sure to check out Ghosts of Sherwood and let me know what you think!

PS. Does anyone know if there are any episodes of the new BBC Robin Hood series up on YouTube, and if so , where I can find them?

Big News and a Call-Out

First, I've started writing movie reviews. I wanted to review the two Robin Hood movies I saw in my last post, but due to the post's already large size, I decided to seperated them in their own blog, which can be found here. Currently, the only reviews posted are for the above-mentioned Robin Hood films, but I plan on posting more, both classic films and new releases, in the near future.

Second, I managed to recover some files from my busted computer, including my own Robin Hood story, entitled Ghosts of Sherwood. I plan on continuing itrewriting it very soon, and may even post it up on the blog.

Third, I recently discovered, to my shock and horror, that nerdjedi and I hold very different opinions on Robin Hood. While I view the outlaw as a hero, nerdjedi describes him as a criminal and a terrorist. In an effort to better understand his point of view, I ask him here and now to send to me, in writing, the facts and reasons behind his opinion which I shall then post, unedited and uncensored, here on my blog.

Fourth, yes, I realise I have become obsessed with Robin Hood. Staying up all night watching a TCM Movie Marathon on the man will do that.

One All-Night Movie Marathon Later...

LONG POST WARNING!!!

You'd have thought I'd have learned my lesson by now: staying up past midnight to watch TV is a bad idea. There are times, however, where I'll discard common sense and plop down on the sofa to watch something that lasts into the wee hours of the morning. (see here and here for details) Last night was one of those rare exceptions, as the Turner Classic Movie Channel was running an all-night marathon of Robin Hood movies.

I actually missed the first film, The Adventures of Robin Hood, entirely (not a problem as I have it on DVD, as well as the first half to two thirds of the second film, Sword of Sherwood Forest, but I did manage to catch the third film, The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, in its entirety. Unfortunately, Mom caught me just before the climax (she had no clue what I was doing up at 1:00 AM), so I had to tape the fourth an final film of the marathon, Rogues of Sherwood Forest.

Since I missed a good chunk of the film, I can't really give a complete review of Sword of Sherwood. From what I did see, however, I can say that it was a fairly decent film, although at times the acting was either a bit over-the-top or almost non-existent (they needed a better Friar Tuck) and the sound effects, particularly during the archery scenes, were somewhat sub-par. And Robin Hood himself was absent for most of the second half/last third of the movie. But since, as I've stated, I missed most of the movie, I can't make any comments about the plot or character development.

The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, on the other hand, was (in my opinion) a much better movie than Sword of Sherwood. The acting was much, much better, as were the fight choreography, music (which was virtually non-existent in Sword), and plotline. There were, however, two faults I found with the movie. Firstly, it focused more on Robin Hood's son, Robert of Nottingham, than it did on Robin Hood himself. The movie actually takes place about 20 years after the original tales of Robin Hood end, so most of the old characters are just that: old. While this isn't so much a fault as it is a minor annoyance on my part, it can be confusing if one were to pick up halfway through as I did on a previous occasion. Seeing "Robin Hood" battling a corrupt regent and wooing the beautiful Lady Catherine (as opposed to Prince John and Maid Marian) was quite confusing and caused me to turn the film off the first time I viewed it. The one true fault this film has is its running time, or lack thereof. At slightly less than 90 minutes long, there is little time for any major character development. For example; one minute Lady Catherine despises Robert and his rather overt efforts to woo her, the next she's head-over-heels for him. Okay, I'm exaggerating and over-simplifying here, but you get the idea. A Robin Hood movie really doesn't work unless it's an epic picture, and you just can't pull that off in less than 90 minutes.

I have not seen Rogues of Sherwood Forest yet, but I'll get back to you on it as soon as I watch it. That is assuming, of course, that I don't fall asleep first (5 hours of sleep will do that).

What this whole experience has made me realize (besides the fact that I shouldn't stay up 'til 1:00 watching movies) is that it's time for Hollywood to make another Robin Hood movie, an epic film in the spirit of Errol Flynn's The Adventures of Robin Hood. There hasn't been a decent Robin Hood anything since 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Kostner, which was (IMHO) a crummy film. Actually, the BBC did start a Robin Hood TV series last year, but since we don't have BBC America, I didn't get to see it. (curse you, Comcast! Curse you!) I can't decide who I like better to be Robin Hood: Ewan McGreggor or Orlando Bloom. Though after Lord of the Rings, putting Bloom in the role might seem a bit like typecasting him...

UPDATE:

I just finished watching Rogues of Sherwood Forest. To read my full review on it, click on the Movie Reviews link on the sidebar. It's under the heading "Other Things." I hope to have a review of The Bandit of Sherwood Forest up soon as well. Look for other reviews of classic films and new releases (Spiderman 3 comes to mind) to follow in the future.

All of the Robin Hood media I've exposed myself to has given me a strong desire to being writing/rewriting my Ghosts of Sherwood story. And since I was able to recover the file from my computer (more on that another time) it's a strong possibility that I will do so in the future.

UPDATE 2:

I just discovered that there is a new Robin Hood movie in production. It's called, Nottingham, and Russell Crowe has signed on to play the Sheriff of Nottingham. However, I must say that already I'm not to sure about this movie; from what I understand, Robin Hood will be portrayed as the villain and the Sheriff will be more benign and heroic. Don't get me wrong, if they can pull that concept off, it could be spectacularly awesome. But still, Robin Hood a bad guy? I just can't see that.

Unforseen Consequences

Hmm...

Somehow, the comment forum for my last post got turned into a debate over gun control. I figured my comment on Sam's blog might lead to some banter, but I didn't intend for an all-out debate. But let's put that little incident behind us.

I had a really great story that I posted a while back that I just got the urge to post, but since it was saved on my old computer, it's gone forever. I was in a depressed mood when I wrote it, so it's something of a tearjerker. I didn't recognize the similarities to the film Love Story until about a week after I wrote it.

Actually, there is one thing I have not tried to revitalize my dead computer. I'll give that a try soon and let you know how it turns out. And who knows; if my idea works, there just might be a whole lot of stories that get posted...

Delayed Updates

I know it's been forever since I've updated Codename: White Knight. Chapter 4 is turning out to be very, very long, and it's been very slow going. It will be completed, I just don't know when. I will make an effort to finish it within a week. I had a great idea of what I wanted to have happen in Chapter 4, but since I stopped writing, I cannot remember what it was I wanted to write. It is slowly coming back to me, though, so don't worry.

Part of the probem is that I recently had a great idea for the ending of the third book in the trilogy, which is now (very) tenatively titled Guardian and Angel. I was originally going to have the climactic fight would be very fast-paced and very action packed and would take place inside David Pierce's house. Now, however, I'm thinking of setting it outdoors, making it a little bit slower-paced, and having be more suspenceful than action-packed (kinda like the ending of the movie Patriot Games.) Remeber how in More Than A Job I mention that Pierce was a Marine Sniper, both before and after he joined Force Recon? I've never really had a chance to play up those abilities, and this could be the perfect chance.

By the way, I'm also thinking of re-posting More Than A Job. Any objections?

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for additions to my Guide For How To Be An Evil Overlord, feel free to submit them.

Back In The Saddle

You should be pleased to know that I have resumed work on Codename: White Knight and The Hitman Chronicles. I don't have any new chapters today, but rest assured that they will be completed and posted very soon.

I know few (if any) of you actually care, but having re-accessed my resources and capabilities, I have decided that I will not be purchasing that airsoft sniper rifle after all. Simply put, I have nowhere I can shoot it. Our property is bordered on all sides by families with young children, meaning I can't take it in the back yard, and my basement isn't long enough (or clean enough) to use as a shooting range. So that means I'll have to go with a pistol. Fortunately, I've already decided which one:

Meet the Desert Eagle. Some of you might recognize this from The Matrix Trilogy as Agent Smith's weapon of choice. This airsoft pistol is, in a word, sweet. I could go on and on decribing its specs and specifics, but I doubt you'd care. Now, the only choice is this, normal (above) or chrome...

Welcome Back... ?

Wow. Eight days and three posts without one comment on the blog. I'm pretty sure that's a new record. Don't break it.

Okay, I know I'm repeating myself yet again, but Codename: White Knight is back and the first three chapters are up.

I was working an Chapter 4 and a new addition to The Hitman Chronicles, but after the massacre at Virginia Tech, and given the fact that Chapter 4 and the new chronicle both contain major shootouts, I have not been able to bring myself to complete them. They will be finished, I just can't say when.

Speaking of The Hitman Chronicles, I found out something interesting about the narrator's preferred weapon (Glock Model 20, 10mm Auto) while researching for White Knight. While I won't go into detail about exactly what this fact is (Okay, I'm not really going to say anything), I will tell you that it is a major contributing factor to the action in the new chronicle, and it may have a large impact on the ensuing chronicles (particularly with the narrator's choice of weaponry).

I finally got Casino Royale on DVD last night, spent all day today watching the special features disc. Maybe I'll watch the movie later tonight. Or maybe not, depends on what's on TV. Wait, what's today, Thursday? *checks* Yep, it's Thursday. Nothing worthwhile on, except maybe some talk/news shows that my parents like, so I'll see.

I just found out that Random Sabers isn't going to be accepting any new orders until June 1st. Turns out they have a huge backlog of orders that needs to be dealt with before they can even think about accepting new work. On the positive side, however, this does (temporarily) answer the question of whether I should buy an airsoft gun or a lightsaber, and it gives me a month and a half to work on a design for my own personal saber...

UPDATE

Anyone remember my little list on how to be an Evil Overlord nerdjedi let me post on his blog a while back? Well, I found it, spiffed it up a little, and gave it it's own page. It's now entitled How To Be A Perfect Evil Overlord: Tips and Tricks on How to Pull Off Your Evil Schemes Without a Hitch. Check it out here, and send me any suggestions for additions you might have.

Oh, and Sam, I knew what I was doing. And I never said the guy playing against him was any good, did I?

Hello... Anyone There?

Wow... No one's commented on my blog for a week. Where is everyone?

So, yeah, Codename: White Knight is back. I've got the first three chapters up but havent really written anything else due to a family crisis and the ensuing lack of sleep. I'll get Chapter 4 up soon, I promise.

Soup's on, gotta go.

Locked, Cocked, Ready to Rock

As promised, the first three chapters of Codename: White Knight are up and ready for your reading pleasure. I've checked the chapters over, and everything appears to be formatted correctly. If I did miss anything, let me know.

I'm on a pretty good roll with the story so far: Chapter 4, currently entitled Gun and Run, should be up by Friday.

Since restarting White Knight, I'm going to be putting the rest of my story ideas on hold until White Knight is complete. Hopefully that will happen before I have to go back to school. But with my internship starting soon (I hope), I can't make any guarentees.

Tchaikovsky was a genius. Who else would be smart (or crazy) enough to put real cannons in the percussion section?

Okay, now that that random thought is over...

I suddenly have a strange desire to play Scrabble. How odd.

Okay, now that that random thought is over...

I was going to start a contest, but nerdjedi's doing the exact same thing, so I'm pulling mine. Darn it! Still too slow on the draw!

At Long Last, a Triumphant Return!

It took a little longer than I anticipated, but as I promised you yesterday...

*Insert Trumpet Fanfare Here*

... Codename: White Knight has returned!!!

Currently, only the introduction is posted, but most of what I have written should be up by this time tomorrow. That is, of course, if I don't go overboard writing Chapter 4...

There is going to be one major change this time around, however. I am going to write the story into MS Word, then transfer the chapters over to Blogger once they are finished. This is primarily so I don't feel constrained to maintain a pre-determined chapter length, which is what really bugged me when writing More Than a Job and the first few chapters of White Knight. This does mean, however, that Chapters 3+ will most likely be quite long. Sorry if that's going to bother you.

Also, I'm abandoning the second new story idea mentioned in yesterdays post for the simple reason that, yep, you guessed it, someone already wrote it. Darn it, always too slow on the draw...

Lots of Literature

Just as a heads-up, Codename: White Knight will be back up very shortly. I'm making some revisions and a major addition to Chapter 3 (which should roughly double its length). Look for the introduction to go up sometime tomorrow, with the first three chapters to follow within 24 hours. I'd get 'em up sooner, but converting from MS Word format to Blogger format takes a fair amount of time, particularly if you've got a lot of material to convert.

I've got some ideas, actually a lot of ideas, for The Hitman Chronicles. Some of them are actually crossovers with the More Than a Job/Codename: White Knight universe. One I know I'm not going to write until the third book in the trilogy is written (yes, there is a trilogy) because it would include a major spoiler. The other I might write as it serves as a teaser of sorts for White Knight and its currently-unnamed sequel. The rest I'm going to write eventually once I decide which one to write first. *sigh* Decisions, decisions.

I also have a pair of book-length stories in the works:

• The first one is a major rewrite of Legacy of the Swan (anyone remeber that one?). Don't worry, only the character names and the (very) basic plotline will remain intact, those annoying flashbacks are a thing of the past.
• The second is a modern Cinderella story that takes place after the ball. Only this time, it isn't the Prince and a fancy shoe that find Cinderella. This time the task is handled by good old-fashoned detective work.

I'm considering giving Ghosts of Sherwood another shot (Robin Hood story I started writing it on my old PC a long time ago), but since I really don't really remeber what I wrote and I have a lot on my plate right now (even more once my internship starts), that's not going to be very likely.

No Random Saber today, as I doubt anyone really likes them anyways. Plus, I don't know if I'm voilating any copyright laws by posting them on my blog. Better safe than sorry...