Category Archives: Reposts

This is Halloween

Fellow blogger Kiersten shares her thoughts on classic and family friendly Halloween faves in books and media.

Once Upon a Spine

I know I’ve already said this before, but…you guys…Halloween is coming! 😀 I’ve already started putting out decorations and have been working on my costumes since August. I’m so excited!

In honor of  this glorious and festive time of the year I feel like I need to put some Fall/Halloween themed entertainment into my repertoire this month. I’m typically not big on super scary things (because I’m a weenie), but I’ve still found plenty of books/shows over the years that appropriately fit the occasion.

These are a few of my favorites:

2213661The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – A little boy that grows up in a graveyard, raised by the ghosts that reside there. It doesn’t get more Halloween appropriate than that. (Side note: I have a slight obsession with cemeteries, especially old ones. This always feels like the perfect time of year to go traipsing among the headstones.)

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Hurricane Harvey – How You Can Help

Reposts

My heart goes out to all those still in need after the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey. Fellow blogger Nicholas Rossis shared this post about those willing to help and links to groups taking legitimate donations of aid.

Nicholas C. Rossis

Hurricane | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books Image: http://www.alexstemmer.com via GraphicStock

Deborah Carney of BookGoodies often shares on their newsletters some of the best news and tidbits you’ve read on this blog. Back in 2012, she lost everything in Hurricane Sandy. This taught her a lot about how organizations and the government don’t help the way you think they will. So, Hurricane Harvey now prompted her to compile and share a list of organizations that are dedicated to helping people directly affected. They are “boots on the ground” and not tying your donations up in administrative costs and funding things that don’t really help.

For her, a group of people created a campaign similar to what GoFundMe is now and people all over the world sent money directly through PayPal. She used that money to rent a car and go out once the roads were open, to get supplies and even simply to get a fast food…

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Our Zombies, Ourselves: An Undead Reading List

Reposts

As school children, department stores, and garden centers make preparations for the season ahead, our thoughts turn to cooler evenings and falling leaves. This coming season always inspires me to indulge in my love of horror characters, including those undead antagonists,zombies. To learn more about these frightful fantasies, check out this post by Longreads author Erin Blakemore.

Longreads

When you think of zombies, it’s likely you envision something like the flesh-eating, immortal creatures created by George Romero, who defined a new genre of horror with Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. Thanks to Romero, who died this week at the age of 77, the zombie movie has become more than a chance to feel scared. It’s also an essential lens through which we can view pop culture, politics, and society. In honor of the great director, here is some our favorite writing about the terror of the living dead.

1.“Why Black Heroes Make Zombie Stories More Interesting,” by Matt Thompson (NPR Code Switch, October 2013)

One of Romero’s most famous narrative coups was casting a black actor as the hero of his 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead. It was a decision that turned a run-of-the-mill horror movie into a…

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Blade Runner, American movie (1982)

Reposts

Han Solo became a true movie star when I was a little girl. From Han Solo to Indiana Jones there seemed to be no heroic deed he couldn’t perform. Now, in following the current trend of revisiting past successes, a sequel to the science fiction classic Blade Runner is coming out this fall, where Harrison Ford will once again grace the screen. For those who have never seen the original, Raistlin0903 gives a very comprehensive summary.

Raistlin0903

Harrison Ford almost seems to be on a farewell tour, in which he reprises all of his most famous roles one more time. Two years ago he played Han Solo in the seventh installment of the famous Star Wars franchise, and three years from now he will be playing the role of Indiana Jones one final time. But all eyes are on him this year, as he will be making an appearance in the sequel to the classic science fiction movie Blade Runner. One has to wonder if making a sequel to what was obviously a landmark in science fiction history really is the best idea. Still having seen the first few trailers of the new movie, and the director of the film being Denis Villeneuve, I am cautiously optimistic for it. It is ofcourse a good thing that Harrison himself is also featured in this new one. We will…

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You’re here for the science, I’m here for the fiction

A fellow blogger shares his thoughts on critics who try to impose too much “scientific accuracy” on popular movies.

Pop Cultural Studies

Whatever happened to suspension of disbelief? Every time I load YouTube, I see that there’s a new video from the Nerdist explaining the science behind science fiction and fantasy films and TV shows. CinemaSins, best known for their “Everything Wrong With” series, does comedic criticism of movies which focuses on the quality of movies while also touching on stuff like continuity, but frequently gets overly fixated on various minutia that really don’t seem to matter. If an action hero jumps out of a window and lands unscathed in such a way that might break a bone for a normal person, CinemaSins sees this as a “sin.”

Science Fiction 1

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate scientifically accurate films. I think it’s great when people can get involved in movies like Interstellar because of their scientific accuracy. And if films, like Interstellar, want to do their scientific research to create a fictional world grounded…

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Kacinema Thoughts #1: The 13th Doctor Reveal

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For the first time ever a female timelord will be in control of the Tardis. Jodie Whittaker’s (from BBC’s Broadchurch) appointment as the thirteenth incarnation of Dr. Who this week has already sparked controversy among fans of the series. Here’s some first looks at the next season of the iconic series.

Movie Reviews & More!

So before I get into my actual thoughts on this, I feel I should explain why I felt the need to talk about it. Firstly, let me give some context to what’s going on for those who don’t know so much about Doctor Who. The series premiered on November 23, 1963 and starred William Hartnell as the titular Doctor. The Doctor is a Timelord from a distant planet called Gallifrey and goes on many crazy and wondrous adventures through time and space along with a companion or companions to take on them in his spaceship shaped like an old police phone box. But after 4 years of doing the show, Hartnell wished to leave the show. So it was written into the story that Timelords, when fatally injured, can regenerate.

And thus, from that point on, every few years, the Doctor would regenerate and take on a new face, sometimes…

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Writing Magic: Politicizing Fan Culture

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“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, the most inexhaustible form of magic we have, capable both of inflicting injury and remedying it.” ~ Albus Dumbledore Fans are no doubt aware that online fanfics and the communities in which they circulate house rich critiques about gender, sexuality, race and identity. In fact, many fan writers deliberately insert […]

via Writing Magic: Politicizing Fan Culture — FAN/FIC Magazine

Here’s How Much Some Iconic Movie Houses Are Worth

Reposts

Have you ever watched Home Alone and wondered what in the world Kevin’s dad must do for a living to be able to afford that gorgeous home and a Christmas vacation to Paris for the entire family? It’s the type of thought which likely only occurs to you as you get older and face the […]

via Infographic: Here’s How Much Some Iconic Movie Houses Are Worth — We Minored in Film