10 things I'd rather have done than watch Safe Haven

by J.R. Wagner

Yeah, I saw it.  It was one of those exchanges...I chose Django Unchained (yes, the Academy award winning film!) and as punishment for making my wife sit through the violence I agreed to see this.

Before the list I'd like to say that I sat through the majority of the movie believing the lead male character (Josh Duhamel) played Bones (Dr. McCoy) in the latest Star Trek film, which made it slightly more tolerable...slightly.

I was horrified to find out that it was not Bones (who is played by Karl Urban. Sorry Karl)

Urban

Duhamel

In my defense, they look very, very similar...especially when you're looking for some little thing to cling onto in order to justify sitting through a movie like this.

To the list!

Ten things I'd rather have done than watch Safe Haven

10. Spend 115 minutes watching...paint dry

image credit

 9. Get my legs waxed

yikes... (image credit)

The future of Star Wars -Star Wars VII

by J.R. Wagner

J.J. Abrams

JJ Abrams has been picked (more like begged) to direct the next Star Wars film.

Two words: Thank God.

Shortly after the announcement that Disney had purchased Lucasfilm Ltd. came the announcement that there would be new star wars films. 

My first reaction was one of pure terror. You see, I've lived through a very similar announcement. The first time, we fans had come off the high of the original films years prior when we began hearing rumors of prequels.  Excitement rose until it was almost palpable...that is, until the films were released.

You can get a sense of how I felt about the prequels by perusing these posts:

Top five YouTube videos supporting my disdain for the Star Wars prequels
Star Wars VII, stop the nonsense
Top ten most annoying Star Wars characters

Anyway, it was a major let down. I actually did a speech about how George Lucas ruined my childhood.  This post; A Jedi's lament, covers some parts of that speech.

So, after cursing George Lucas for creating the prequels, I moved on with my life as a fan of film.  Years later I started watching this amazing show on network television (of all things) called Lost.  I was floored!  What an amazing, creative, cutting-edge show filled with fantastic actors.


And who was the man behind this ground-breaking show?  JJ Abrams.

Several years after Lost began came the greatest re-load of a series in the history of film.  Star Trek.  I'm not a Star Trek fan by any stretch of the imagination (or I wasn't at the time) but this film had everything a non-fan needed to appreciate the movie. Great acting, pacing, plot, creativity...and on.  Abrams pulled the drowning franchise from the depths. 

Not long after Star Trek came the end of Lost and a void, which has not been filled to this day, in my television enjoying life.

Thank goodness for the movies, right?



Along came a film that I fell in love with the moment I saw it. It so much reminded me of my childhood (except for the alien...and the train wreck) that I couldn't get over it! Who was responsible? JJ Abrams. The movie? Super 8.

So in my mind, Abrams had earned the street cred necessary to re-make just about any film.  Especially when so many big name directors (Ridley Scott: Prometheus -see my diatribe here) (Pete Jackson: The Hobbit -ditto here)  dropping the ball on their high budget films.

When I hard about Star Wars VII, all I could think was, ugh...how are they going to screw this one up.  Then, after some introspection, I decided there was one person who could resurrect this franchise.  JJ Abrams.  Lots of talk floated about from director to director and each announcement made me cringe.  Abrams originally declined and I though all was lost...alas, I was wrong.

There is hope for the Star Wars franchise after all!

Guest post: Tyra Heinrichs: Why my teens read and your's don't.

Why my teens read and yours don’t.

By Tyra Heinrichs

I have two teenage boys (17 & 16). Yes, they read. They read fiction for the same reasons almost everyone else does. To be entertained. Sounds simple doesn’t it?

I’m about to offend the literary types out there, but us masses tend to read for the fun of it. We’re not into the sound of the words, their underlying meanings or even elegant prose. We want thrills, chills and to connect with characters who live and breathe in our mind’s eye. We’re escaping our day-to-day lives. This is no different with teens.


When we connect to a character in a great story, they become part of us and their story becomes our adventure. I believe that well crafted stories teach us about the human condition and what we’re capable of. What teen do you know (or anybody else for that matter) who isn’t looking to understand the world around them?


We all read to experience something outside our everyday lives. Both my sons loved, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. That’s a story and a half. It’s adventure and discovery. How would you survive months on the ocean, in a lifeboat, your only companion a tiger?

Fiction is like music. Sometimes you need a piece that will lift your spirits and sometimes you just want to dance or sing along. Jazz is to literary, just like rock is to popular fiction. Ballads, classical and pop fiction can all be covered by genre fiction, especially fantasy and science fiction. Don’t believe me? Listen to the scores for any of the Lord of the Rings movies.

If you’re over thirty and you don’t think science fiction is not real literature, then think of it as social commentary. The first interracial kiss on television happened on a science fiction show (Star Trek). The concept of the end of economic growth was first explored in science fiction. The real consequences of nuclear war were first understood through science fiction stories. Look around you, do you use a computer, cell phone, have you ever driven in a car? Thank science fiction for that.


The thing to remember is that reading for fun isn’t about being safe. It’s about danger. So forget books that only move your thoughts in one direction. Forget safe. Your heart should race or at the very least ache for the characters on the page. You want Romance? Why not add an element of nightmare and read a Romantic Thriller? You want a coming of age story? Why not add wolves, a quest or a lost map to untold riches?


Oh, and forget most of the stories you read as a kid. The majority of it was written for the culture of the time. You didn’t grow up with cell phones or cyber bullying. Let your kids escape their lives, just like you do, with characters dealing with today’s issues. It’s a bit scary, but the average teen I’ve met is intelligent, aware of the dangers in the world around them and quite honestly, a lot more willing to take chances then those of us tied down by mortgages.


A current fantasy favourite of both my boys is Grunts, by Mary Gentle, about Orcs with P-90s (the guns used on Stargate) and US Marine training. Why should anyone read this book? Answer: Orc Marines! 

Of course, what real home doesn’t have some sci-fi? My youngest picked up a Star Wars book called Death Troopers, by Joe Schreiber. We’re talking Star Wars and Zombies...this will keep you up at night—reading or not! 

My oldest has finished the Fire and Ice series by George R. R. Martin (there’s at least one more book coming). I’m still on the first book, but my husband has also finished, A Dance with Dragons. There’s not as much sex as on the TV version on HBO. Its plots and characters are more subtle, a lot of intrigue and yes, dragons! Battles! Danger! And characters you love actually die!