Monthly Archives: March 2015

Fleeting: “Friend”-ly Stuff

The following are various sites of my many circles of friends from all walks of life…

Some are on hiatus, others are ongoing. All are fun to read in some capacity or another.

THESPIAN

PAM TURLOW

JONATHAN COOK

Greetings! I created this site so that people can know what I’m up to with my playwrighting and music endeavors. And hopefully, this site will motivate me to keep moving forward with these crafts. I’m a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and I’m the vocalist/guitarist for the band Nine Day Descent. Check the home page for updates on upcoming events!

MUSICIAN

CHRIS OPPERMAN

The music of award-winning composer Chris Opperman sounds like your best dream being poured into a glass. Since debuting on his own Purple Cow Records label in 1998 at the age of 19, Opperman has been carving his own niche in today’s pop-saturated music world. As an exciting, relevant composer of a rare hybrid of rock, jazz and classical that is his alone, he has already made a name for himself as a solo artist and by working with some of today’s most renowned musicians.

PHOTOGRAPHY

MICHAEL YEN PHOTOGRAPHY

In these busy times, photographs invite us to sit, reflect, and remember the emotions and experiences of a moment in time. As a child, I used to snap pictures with my point and shoot camera when I went on family vacations and I love being able to flip through the photo albums and relive the events surrounding those photos. As I get older and experience all of life’s journeys, I know that I will want to look back and remember those moments. I have a passion for photography because it provides a means for me to preserve these unrepeatable moments.

I also enjoy giving back to the community and I love that I can volunteer my time doing something I love while also educating and capturing moments for a multitude of important causes and truly amazing organizations. I hope to make a difference in people’s lives through the actions that I take and the photos that I make.

These are my photos.

This is the world through my lens…

APJ PHOTOGRAPHY

My name is Alfredo Peralta, Jr. I have been shooting pictures [for] 26 years. While I have much experience with event photography, I have been branching out to express myself creatively. I am constantly trying to capture and express the interesting moments I see everywhere. This is my vision.

FRIENDS WEBSITES

JONATHAN COOK

Greetings! I created this site so that people can know what I’m up to with my playwrighting and music endeavors. And hopefully, this site will motivate me to keep moving forward with these crafts. I’m a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and I’m the vocalist/guitarist for the band Nine Day Descent. Check the home page for updates on upcoming events!

CHRIS OPPERMAN

The music of award-winning composer Chris Opperman sounds like your best dream being poured into a glass. Since debuting on his own Purple Cow Records label in 1998 at the age of 19, Opperman has been carving his own niche in today’s pop-saturated music world. As an exciting, relevant composer of a rare hybrid of rock, jazz and classical that is his alone, he has already made a name for himself as a solo artist and by working with some of today’s most renowned musicians.

FRIENDS BLOGS

THE FANTASY BROKERS

The dirty truth about fantasy sports is that no information is relevant without context. Dozens of other ‘experts’ will create rankings, projections, Top-10s, and other very fun and flashy distractions, all while hiding one simple fact: none of what they are writing means anything to you unless they know your particular situation.

That is where we come in. Our singular goal is to provide you, our readers, the best possible fantasy advice for your particular team. At the end of the day, we want to become your one stop source for specific questions regarding your fantasy roster.

Andrae Miller: Currently living in Chicago, born and raised in Baltimore, he’s a diehard Chicago and Baltimore sports fan. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a BA in History and received a Master of Arts in Sports Administration from Northwestern University. Andrae’s favorite sports leagues are the NFL, NBA, and MLB, though he recently started to dabble in the NHL.

When his children arrive, he will name them Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Ray Rice. Pet names will be Ripken and Ditka. And once a mid-life crisis kicks in, he will name his Corvette convertible Jordan. Andrae participates in NFL fantasy leagues every season and loves breaking down games and offering sports opinions.

COTTON CANDYRIFFIC

A Variety of Vintage Amusement Park Musings. A companion blog for my book, “The Cotton Candy Road Trip”

… AND …

PAM TURLOW — VOICE-OVER ARTIST BLOG

Pam Turlow: Pam is a voice-over artist, writer, vintage amusement park frequenter, Mid-century modern enthusiast, tarot reader and co-active coach, loving wife to adorable husband, and owner of a dainty beaglette (but not necessarily in that order)

GONZO’S THEORIES

This is a sort of notepad to document rants, raves, good ideas, and terrible ideas, opinions, musings, inspirations, and ongoing projects.

Edgar: I make art, including bad art. I teach art at a local high school. I am also teaching an after school program with elementary school students. I teach them various art making skills and techniques as well as a little bit here and there about the world, in hopes of them absorbing something which will make them better human beings down the line. I volunteer with the Vet Art Project in Chicago, coordinating programing and leading workshops. This is my little slice of the internet where I will post musings, thoughts, ideas, and art projects I am working on.

MY DOG IS A FUN SIZED

So I had been following many blogs with my Google reader and decided I should start up my own blog. I follow mostly dog blogs, corgis in particular, and will be sort of starting as just a place to repost articles of interest, new items for my etsy site UnlimitedGlassWorks.etsy.com, and will eventually be about whatever corgi I eventually acquire after my husband and I have jobs again. Right now I just don’t know where I will be living or even what state. So we’ll just have to wait and see and cross our fingers.

Lumie: I am an avid animal lover who adores dogs above all else. I finally own a corgi! Her name is Saber.

THREE STRIKES DATING

It’s all Superbad’s fault. You know, the teen hookup comedy. The type of movie that my ex-girlfriend loved to hate. I blame you, Superbad.

Rewind to the Fall of 2007. Yeah I know, that’s a long time ago. I’m lazy and didn’t decide to start this blog until just now. So, my ever dedicated readers, there’s going to be a lot of catching up to do before we get into anything current.

Don’t worry, as of this writing, I’m still a clueless single fool.

Back to 2007.

My then girlfriend and I were going to go watch the movie Superbad and she was being a good sport about it, as juvenile humor was not her cup of tea. But before we could walk out the door, we got into an argument about something and I decided, fuck it, it’s over. A five year book in the making. Done.

Now, after five years of dating, you’re either already engaged/married or something’s not right and you’re never going to marry the person you’re with. With me, I knew in the back of my head that I was not going to be marrying this girl so with our relationship in a somewhat rocky state for the past few months, it was time to call it quits.

I ended up watching the movie on DVD. It’s funny, but it’ll always bring me bad memories of the day I ended the only meaningful relationship I’ve ever had.

It took me about half a year until I recovered enough to even think about dating. But when I did, boy did I find out that I had a lot to learn.

Author: I’m just like every other single guy in many ways, putting myself out there, trying to figure it all out. I’m fit, well educated, am (hopefully) funny, and have been told that I’m a good looking guy (hope that one’s true as well). As a bonus, I also actively volunteer because I believe in making things better for everyone. On the other hand, I’m also shy, introverted, and I can’t drink worth a damn. I’m a guy that has had one long relationship and nothing more; I’m not good at dating.

Not good at dating doesn’t quite fit. In fact, based on my experiences, I think I absolutely suck at dating. Sure, sometimes I end it, sometimes the girl ends it, but any way you put it, I can never get past three dates.

These are my stories from the dating world.

TOWER OF MEL

Random Thoughts from a Random Mind

Author: Welcome, Welcome, Welcome to the 74th Hunger Games. Wait. Nope, that’s not me. The Force will be with you, always. Well, I hope so, but again, not my movie. Ok, before this gets out of hand, welcome to my space. I am the Tower of Mel. Why am I the Tower of Mel? Well, I am a 6′ tall woman who also loves to wear heels, leading some of my friends to call me the “Tower of…” and the name just stuck. Mel is short for my first name.

I am a Celiac, so I rock the GF lifestyle, I am an actress, just starting as a burlesque dancer, movie buff, musical geek, and self-described nerd…so long as it does not relate to science or math. A pop-culture nerd.

From Michigan, lived in Orlando for 8, and and am currently residing in Chicago. Waiting to see what doors life opens up for me to jump through.

Enjoy and don’t be shy about sharing your thoughts! Perhaps they will guide mine in a new direction.

CRASHUTAH: JOHNTHOUGHTS

The musings of a Las Vegas boot strapped internet entrepreneur

John Lynn: I’m a huge fan of blogging. Blogging puts food on my family’s table. I’m always amazed by the power of blogging. So, I figured it was time for me to put together a more professional personal blog where I can talk about my experiences. This is especially true since about 4 months ago I quit my day job to be a full time web entrepreneur and blogger.

This website will be an interesting mix of my thoughts running my new internet startup company Giving Sports and Giving Square and my 2 categories of blogs.

JILL OF ALL GENRES

this blog will be about things I find interesting, the status of my writing and what it’s like to be in New Orleans. When I sell my book, I’ll break the news here. When it’s about to be published, I’ll harass everyone here to buy it. When I’m coming to your town, the schedule will be here. And when I’m engrossed in something cool like say, oh, Post Secret, I’ll let you know with a little link like so: http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

I will not overshare about personal issues. For that, you’ll have to call me and/or buy me a drink. But I think I’m about ready to be *my kind* of blogger. Let’s see, shall we?

-Jill of All Trades, Master of One aka Emilie

Emilie Staat: I’m a writer who grew up in Georgia and Louisiana and I now live in New Orleans, which is an island and perhaps even a planet of its own. Certainly its own country.

[…] I write. I work in the movie biz. I teach. I take pictures. I am obsessed with graffiti, tattoos, great books, movies, tv (especially SYTYCD), pop culture, current events, the success of my friends and the bounty of my city.

I also blog at PureSYTYCD and at NOLAFemmes.

Fleeting: Disney Inspired Stuff

Lover of Disney the following are various pages that bring a new perspective to the Disney world:

JIRKA DESIGN: This artist decided to take the various Disney characters and set them to “reality”, thus calling them the “real life” versions of Disney characters.
Jirka’s Blog
Facebook Page

“TWISTED PRINCESSES” series: This artist took the Disney Heroines and turned them dark… twisted. A lot of the later ones, the artist has included stories to explain how they have turned “dark and twisted”.
DeviantArt Page
The Art of Jeffrey Thomas

THE HUNGER GAMES the Disney Version: The artist created a breakdown of the Disney Heroes/Heroines if they were in the Hunger Games, ingenious really. I enjoyed it.
DeviantArt page of the work
Artist Gallery of male Disney villains if they were female

POCKET PRINCESSES: Drawn by Amy Mebberson , she takes all of the Disney heroines and have them interact as if they were all staying under the same roof.

DAVID KAWENA’S DISNEY HEROES: Various Disney Heroes… in the buff.
– Other Disney works on his DeviantArt Page
Facebook Page
Facebook Album of the Heroes Collection

DISNEY BOUND

DisneyBound is meant to be inspiration for you to pull together your own outfits which work for your body and wallet whether from your closet or local mall.

Via Polyvore

LOVE, ASHLEY DESIGNS: This was an artist whose work I was introduced to and I absolutely love.

KAREN HALLION: Another artist whose art I was introduced to and absolutely love.
Facebook Page

DISNEY STAINED GLASS: These are Disney characters set to stained glass.
Mandie Manzano’s Personal Webpage
Original Disney Stained Glass article from The Mary Sue
Mandie Manzano’s Facebook Page

DISNEY
Harrods’ Designer Disney Dresses
Disney Bridal
Reinterpreting Disney Princess Costumes via a Historical Lens
Pokemon Princesses
Disney Princesses re-imaged in Steampunk
Disney Princesses Reimaged as Superheroes
Disney Heroines in Lingerie

Fleeting: Preferred Review Sites – Literary Review Websites

Originally posted under “Odds and Ends”, it made more sense to have this as an individual post for now…

LITERARY REVIEW WEBSITES
Love Vampires: Dedicated to Vampire Fiction

LoveVampires is a website dedicated to vampire genre and urban fantasy fiction. Our primary function is to provide informative books reviews about not just the latest book releases but old vampire fiction favourites too. We have an ever growing selection of book reviews which you can browse by author, title or genre. You can also read exclusive interviews with authors, enter giveaways and win free stuff or watch a selection of videos. Make yourself at home, browse through the site and click about a bit – there’s no telling what you might find! Your thoughts and feedback much appreciated so please contact us with your comments.

The Incurable Bluestocking

On this blog, you’ll find reviews of historical fiction, romance novels, science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, suspense thrillers, and even the occasional non-fiction title. My reviews will be both technical and personal, evaluating the merit of the words along with my own emotional reaction to it — and so you may occasionally get personal reflections or bits of my history thrown into the mix.

Diary of an Eccentric
A blog that reviews books primarily connected with World War II and Jane Austen

Graphic Novel Reporter
Exactly as it says, a website that focuses on various graphic novels.

Book Thingo: Reading (mostly) romance books down under

Book Thingo is one long conversation about books. It’s for readers, browsers and compulsive book hoarders, mostly of romance novels. We read other books—sometimes we even talk about them—but the romance genre is our first love, so that’s where we mostly hang out.

Book Thingo posts are written by readers down under, which may encompass the tropics, depending on where you live. Most of us are Aussies, though, so just remember that we had Hugh Jackman first and you can’t keep him.

OTHER REVIEW WEBSITES
The Movie Spoiler
Pretty self explanatory. This website will give you a thorough synopsis of every movie that has been released since… well who knows when he started the site. I wrote a couple of synopsis for the site. If you find that you don’t have time to read through the thorough and detailed synopsis then you might be lucky to read the “cut to the chase” which is either a very condescend version of the synopsis or just what happens in the end.

Your guide to the latest plot twists and surprise endings, now playing at a theater near you!

Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals
One of the more interesting weblogs out there in regards to musical that I have read. Being Boston based he is not only able to make the trip to New York for the various openings, shows, concerts, etc but he also throws in something local. For someone like me that doesn’t have deep enough pockets to go to The Great White Way all the time, this has be a rather valuable resource for me in finding out where I’d like to go down the road.

Slide to Play
Completely dedicated to app games that have been released for the various Apple productions that can use an app, this has been an extremely wealthy source of information to aid in navigating through the plethora of gaming apps that are out there and finding not only the most cost effective ones but the ones you could find for free and more. Not only detailed but thorough this website doesn’t just look at the apps that are bound to make a splash but games that tend to fly “under the radar”. A must have review site for anyone that owns an iPhone or iPad.

Fleeting: Back on that Writing Saddle… Sort Of

One of the problems that have been fairly steady as of late versus ten plus years ago is that although ideas, thoughts, and stories are constant in their presence and in the imagination, the actual writing of them into a cohesive unit is far more difficult

Case in point, one of the oldest fanfictions (what author does not create “what if scenarios” for their favorite characters) the process was fairly smooth in composition. Pick a starting point and simply write. The different groups of characters from three differing places of the world had their own stories to tell before they were to meet and seeing what they were doing came easily… more than easily… it was there.

Another story written before that, the storyline was fairly straightforward, but the writing thereof was not linear, it was all over the place. One moment it was towards the end of the store, the next it was the beginning, and then perhaps somewhere in the middle. Just all over the place until the entirety finally poured on to the page and was then completed.

Nowadays find the writing just as piece meal as it was in those early days. With ideas and storyline all over the place but no real cohesive unit anywhere except in the grandiose scheme of things.

Like right now, as much as one would try to focus on a particular character… another group of characters (currently dubbed “The Musketeers”) just keep clamoring to be seen, then again, gentlemen of that persuasion tend to want for attention. What is an author to do than to write the scene involving these particular enigmatic group of gentlemen and see what would happen.

So what did happen?

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