I went to the movies last night with a friend and saw Skyfall the latest instalment in the James Bond movies.
I think both of us thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I personally enjoyed it because it had a little bit more depth to it then some of the other more recent ones.
Without giving too much away - in this instalment James Bond actually looks like he dies at the very beginning of the movie while fighting with the villain on top of an express train trying to retrieve a computer chip which names all the MI6 agents around the world. Bond fails to retrieve the disk when he falls off the train and into water and the disk and names on the disk are revealed, which contributes to a number of undercover MI6 agents' deaths. Upon hearing this news Bond resurfaces in some third world looking country as a drunk womanising gambler - in other words his usual self.
Unfortunately, the movie doesn't cover exactly how he survives his fall off the train bridge down several hundred meters into icy cold water and then an equally tall waterfall, but needless to say he does. The movie also doesn't show where he got shot, because for those who remember this, he was initially shot by the bad guy in the shoulder and the movie keeps showing how this wound aches, but makes no reference to the wound which propels him off the train and into the water????
The general gist of the movie; however is that M is the target of the bad guy, who is hell bent on revenge. I am not going to reveal who and why as this would give away the exciting parts of the movie. Following a ministerial hearing, Bond is sent out by M to find the villain and stop him.
The focus in this movie is very much on doing things the good old fashioned way and how the modern and new ways are not always the best ways.
This movie is about M, her history and the impact of her decisions and her strange, almost mother/son relationship with Bond.
I think this movie has just the right amount of action, unlike Casino Royale, which I felt was just way too much action and not enough depth to the story.
The Bond series was originally created by Ian Fleming in 1964. The entire collection of books can be purchased from the Book Depository.
I seem to be going through a phase at the moment and craving to watch scary movies. I've heard lots of people tell me that 'The Shining' is a very scary movie. I've avoided it so far, because I haven't been a fan of scary movies, but now because of my phase, I've decided to give it a try. For anyone, who hasn't seen this movie please read on and for those who have seen this film also read on and see if you agree with my verdict.
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the Stephen King novel The Shining. A writer, Jack Torrance played by Jack Nicholson, takes a job as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel. His young son possesses psychic abilities and is able to see things from the past and future, such as the ghosts who inhabit the hotel. Soon after settling in, the family is trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm, and Jack gradually becomes influenced by a supernatural presence; he descends into madness and attempts to murder his wife and son. The movie runs for a total of 144 minutes, and I'm sorry if you're a fan, but it has been the longest 144 minutes of my life, which unfortunately I will never ever get back! I know it was made in 1980 and to be fair it is not a bad movie for the era it was made in, but I don't believe it is scary for a minute. I've seen scarier even when I wasn't going through my scary movie phase. The scariest part of this movie was the terrible sound effects and the bad acting by all the main actors. The music is bad enough to send anyone into a psychotic killing frenzy!
The fact that Jack Torrance is played by Jack Nicholson is also a factor contributing to my dislike of this movie. Again I'm sorry for this, but I cannot stand Jack Nicholson, so to sit through 144 minutes of him is scary enough on its own. I tried to imagine the star role being played by someone I liked more and even then the movie didn't get more appealing.
I've heard that the original book written by Stephen King is much better than the movie, so that may be an option for me to read it and be the judge, but to be honest I am now somewhat put off even reading the story. Again, I'm sorry but this movie is a definite thumbs down for me.
According to my countdown it's 26 days to Christmas in Australia. I don't know about anyone out there, but I love to bake and prepare sweet things for my family and friends. There are a gazillion choices to make out there - so I won't be putting every single sweet Christmas recipe on here, but only my favourites. Here are a few of these to whet the appetite!
I love the look of the next recipe. It may be a bit too involved, but I'm actually thinking about cheating and purchasing the ready made ones and just assembling it for Christmas. Does that sound lazy? (shoulder shrug)
This next recipe is not really a Christmas one, but it does look delicious enough and colourful enough to serve at Christmas time. I like the look of it and I've always wanted to try baking this. This year might be the it.
I'm not traditionally a fruitcake kind of girl, but I watched this video on YouTube and it looked quite easy to make and the finished product looks delicious to eat. Since I have family and friends coming over this Christmas I may go to the effort of making this cake for them and see what they say.
Like I said before this is not an exhaustive list of Christmas baking goodies, but just a very small portion of what is out there on the world wide web.
That's it for now... I could go on for years, but I think these recipes are Christmasy and tasty looking. I'm going to try and make these and give my verdict on the ease of tastiness of the recipe. I may even venture into videoing myself baking and put it on YouTube. I know that sounds ambitious, but you never know.
There are a gazillion amount of books available out there to inspire Christmas Festivities as well - here are a few I got off the Book Depository website:
There are plenty more where that came from - check it out at the Book Depository. If you have a favourite recipe you would like to share please post it here. If it looks good I may even give it a go :-)
Book 1 introduced the main characters of plain Jane and dashing and handsome Galactic Enforcement Officer, Lucas Stone. Story follows these 2 characters until they finally meet and change the course of their futures. In book 1 Jane finds out that she is the last of the Paran race and the only one with the ability to control the most powerful and technologically advanced 'Guards' created in the history of the Galaxy. After a surprise ending...Book 2 continues with Jane's quest to find out more about her race as well as herself. And while her and Lucas work together to gain this information, it is also up them to save the entire Galaxy from an evil and highly evolved race called the Darq. The Darq are assisted by a secret organisation called the Krill. It's nice to see the characters all growing and I just knew there would a nice little surprise at the end like the last book. I can't wait until the 3rd instalment is released sometime in December according to the author. It's also nice to see that the author's writing is becoming more solid and easier to read. While still littered with spelling and grammatical errors, the story is intriguing and the errors can be by-passed easily.
This book is downloadable on iTunes for both Australian and American readers and also at Barnes & Noble for American readers.
Tributes have flooded in for South African born Australian author, Bryce Courtenay, after news of his passing was released. The 79-year-old novelist passed away at 11:30pm on Thursday night in his Canberra home, surrounded by his beloved family and pets. He was suffering from stomach cancer. Bryce Courtenay moved to Australia in the 1950s and has written 21 novels including the best selling Power of One, which later became a best selling movie. His latest novel, Jack of Diamonds, was released this month through Penguin books. Some of his other works include The Persimmon TreeandJessica. Bryce Courtenay was the 2012 National Year of Reading ambassador and he was one of Australia's greatest storytellers.
I haven't done a review of a game before but since this game was released on 13 November in Australia I thought I should attempt it. My son's been playing this game almost non-stop since our return home from New Zealand. I've had a go, but I'm not very good. He seems to be enjoying himself though. The following information is courtesy of the official Call of Duty: Black of 2 website. To celebrate the launch of Call of Duty®: Black Ops 2, Double XP is being activated this weekend, from November 16th through the 18th, for anyone that downloads the Nuketown 2025 map. This map is available to everyone that pre-ordered. Bring the action back to this classic map, re-imagined as a 60's depiction of the future.
How to Download Nuketown 2025
Everyone who has the Nuketown 2025 bonus map can participate in this Double XP event. Simply enter the redeem code included with the game and download the map. Then, starting this Friday, tear it up in public matches across any playlist and fly through those ranks!
With Call of Duty®: Black Ops II in players’ hands, here are five important features fans need to know about Call of Duty® Elite for Call of Duty®: Black Ops II.
In addition to: - Connect: Giving Call of Duty® players the ability to connect with friends, join existing Clans or start their own, and join the rest of the Call of Duty community. - Compete: Raising the stakes for Call of Duty®: Black Ops II multiplayer with activities like Clan competitions for the chance to win cool digital prizes, and Leaderboards to see where you stack up against other players. - Improve: Helping improve your Call of Duty®: Black Ops II multiplayer skills with stat tracking, heat maps that show the busiest 'hot spots' on your favorite multiplayer maps, and the ability compare your loadouts against other players.
1 – Call of Duty® EliteforCall of Duty®: Black Ops IIis free. Just sign up and gain access to this robust suite of player services that will enhance your Call of Duty®: Black Ops II multiplayer experience.
2 – Now free for Call of Duty®: Black Ops II, Call of Duty Elite®TV delivers a renewed community focus, featuring tips on loadouts and playstyles, strategies on the best ways to play the maps, and more. This year, Call of Duty Elite®TV programming features an emphasis around helping players improve their multiplayer skills, with three new Call of Duty®Academy shows:
- Create-a-Class Guide – Focusing on gameplay styles to help players get the most out of Call of Duty®: Black Ops II’s new “Pick 10” create-a-class system. - Multiplayer Guide – Featuring tips and strategies on taking cover, long-range combat, movement, using grenades, close-quarters combat and tactics, and more. - Tutorials – Episodes dedicated to teaching players how to use some of the groundbreaking new features available in Call of Duty®: Black Ops II multiplayer, including Livestreaming, CODcasting, Leagues, and the “Pick 10” create-a-class system. For example, log into Call of Duty® Elite right now (for free) and watch the tutorial episode on Custom Classes.
3 – Call of Duty® Elite for Call of Duty®: Black Ops II features Zombies support. For the millions of Zombies fans out there, now you can track your Zombies stats and compare them to other players' stats from around the world.
4 – Call of Duty® Elite is the HQ for your complete Call of Duty®: Black Ops II multiplayer experience. In addition to tracking your overall performance, new and improved features include:
- Expanded Clan Communications – Clan leaders can communicate directly with their Clan via push messaging to mobile devices for a more social and immediate experience, making tasks like updating the message of the day, or alerting Clan members to upcoming Clan Ops and Challenges even easier. - Improved Access to Clan Ops and Challenges – Now any Clan member can enlist their Clan into upcoming Clan Ops and Challenges, no longer being solely reliant on the Clan leader to jump into competitions. - One Button Class Copy – Copying another player’s loadout is now easier than ever. If another player perpetually owns you in Call of Duty®: Black Ops II multiplayer, just click a button in Call of Duty® Elite to copy that player’s loadout to try it out for yourself.
5 –Call of Duty® Elite for Call of Duty®: Black Ops II is available where you want it - through your game console, on your tablet and mobile devices, and on the Web. With expanded functionality for tablet and mobile apps, players can now view features like Call of Duty Elite TV, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II Livestreaming – where, in addition to the video stream, players are also able to view the Livestreaming user's stats, view and copy their loadout, as well as explore other useful information.
As I am not very good or knowledgeable about the game check out some genuine reviews:
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 2' review -- A surprisingly refreshing return to the front-lines
I'm going to review a series of books written by Gena Showalter. There are only 2 in this series and they are about an ordinary girl who meets with an extra-ordinary accident and becomes endowed with super powers. But wait there is also a super hunky supernatural good guy. He is of course sexy, muscled to the max, soft as a marshmallow and as tough as nails.
Playing with Fire
Meet Belle Jamison, barista - currently. Belle has been leading an ordinary life, wishing for super powers, being unsatisfied with her life, believing that she should be doing more. She's always late for work and finds it hard to hold down a job long enough to make ends meet. Her ultimate goal is to make enough money to pay for her father's assisted living care.
One day, while on the verge of getting fired, a mad scientist, Dr Roberts, - and I mean MAD - slips a super power formula into her Mocha Latte. Needless to say the beautiful Ms Jamison becomes ill and while going through the 'change', the delectable Agent Masters comes to her rescue or rather her 'neutralization'.
They talk, they fight and finally they fall in love and have extremely well written hot sex. Oh how nice? I love reading sappy love stories especially when there is awesome hot sex involved. I'm not going tell how it ends but after a series of mishaps - spoiler alert - a very happy ending.
Twice as Hot
Part 2 in the series and the - spoiler alert - pukily happy couple are planning - you guessed it - their wedding. Agent Rome Masters is on a mission, which goes horribly wrong and he comes back without his memory of Belle. He can't remember Belle and is being manipulated by his ex-wife as well to get him back to make a second go of their marriage. In the meantime, Belle is trying to make Rome remember her but makes a deal with the man who stole Rome's memory that she will go on 3 dates with him if only he gives Rome his memory back. This man is gunning for Belle's affections and is willing to do anything to win her heart. There is a moment or 2 when you think it's over but wait there's more! And that's all I'll say about that.
I personally think it's well written, even if the story line is a little predictable. There is a few hot make out sessions and Agent Masters is drool worthy!
Gena Showalter wrote the first of the series in 2006 and followed it up 4 years later with book 2.
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty books in paranormal and contemporary romances, as well as young adult novels. Her series include White Rabbit Chronicles, Angels of the Dark, Otherworld Assassins, Lords of the Underworld, Alien Huntress and Intertwined. Her novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine, and Seventeen Magazine, and have been translated in all over the world. The critics have called her books "sizzling page-turners" and "utterly spellbinding stories", while Showalter herself has been called "a star on the rise".
Check out Gena's personal website for further information about her upcoming books. Gena is also on Goodreads.
I've read a few other books written by Gena and I have to admit I was never disappointed. If you've never read any of her books I highly recommend her.
Blacklisted is about 2 girls who just want to have fun. Camille has the hots for bad boy Erik, who, unbeknownst to Camille is an Alien Investigation and Removal agent. This book is more for young teenagers, but I still enjoyed it.
Oh My Goth is about a fiercely individualist Goth girl who wakes up to discover that the whole world has gone Goth and she's actually -- gag -- popular. Jade Leigh is a nonconformist who values individuality above all else. She has a small group of like-minded Goth friends who wear black, dabble in the dark arts, and thrive outside the norm. They're considered the "freaks" of their high school. But when Jade's smart mouth lands her in trouble -- again -- her principal decides to teach her a lesson she'll never forget. Taken to a remote location where she is strapped down and sedated, Jade wakes up in an alternate universe where she rules the school. But her best friends won't talk to her, and the people she used to hate are all Goth. Only Clarik, the mysterious new boy in town, operates outside all the cliques. And only Mercedes, the Barbie clone Jade loathes, believes that Jade's stuck in a virtual reality game -- because she's stuck there, too, now living the life of a "freak." Together, they realize they might never get back to reality...and that even if they do, things might never be the same.
This too is a book for young adults/teenagers, but still an enjoyable light hearted read for us older folks.
I've now promptly misplaced travelsim card - woo hoo! Found it! Don't panic.
I did have a play with my Load & Go Travel Card and it's quite easy to operate.
The card can be purchased at your local Australia Post outlet and it's registered on their system and loaded with your nominated amount of money at the time of purchase. Once I got home I follow the instructions on the Load & Go Travel Card packaging, sent off my pin request sms and within 2 seconds I received my pin. I was soooo stressed that it would take forever, but once you receive your pin, you can go online - through Australia Post website and enter your registered details immediately and presto! you're ready to travel I am not technical at all but was able to then figure out how to transfer money between my wallets and have now got some NZ money as well as AUD. I decided to leave some in AUD just in case I didn't use it all as I am taking some cash as well. The Australia Post website is very easy to follow here.
The travelsim can also be purchased at Australia Post or online at travelsim.net.au.
Checked the temperature in NZ and found that the top temp is only around 17C during the daytime. OMG! I'm going to freeze to death! I HATE THE COLD!
Hopefully I won't notice with the all the new and wonderful sites I'm going to see!
At the moment I'm struggling with the travelsim, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up without a phone. I've activated my new phone, but it's not yet active and I can't de-activate the old phone because then I'll have no phone at all!
I finally remembered to buy a new 'book review' book. In honour of this auspicious occasion I'm going to write down a list, call it a wishlist, if you like - of books I'm going to endeavour to read over the holidays. That's from NOW until late February 2013! These books have already been acquired, but I just have not had the time to read any one of them. And because I've lost my first 'book review' book, I'm going to have re-read some, which are earlier books in a series. Very frustrating! This list is not going to be alphabetical, because that would just take forever and I don't have that kind of time.
Justin Somper is the British author of the children's horror novel series Vampirates.Justin Somper is the British author of the children's horror novel series Vampirates. He was born in St Albans and graduated from Warwick University. He worked as a publicist before starting his writing career.
Culinary Mystery with Recipes - I have read a few of these books and they are excellent, very entertaining. Because I don't have my trusty books I don't remember which ones!
This Author also writes the Morganville series - I have a friend who has read this series and she swears they are great, so while I don't actually own any of these books I am going to buy them and start reading! Check out the Book Depository for great prices on books and best of all FREE delivery to anywhere in the world!
Becca Fitzpatrick grew up reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden with a flashlight under the covers. She graduated college with a degree in health, which she promptly abandoned for storytelling. When not writing, she's most likely prowling sale racks for reject shoes, running, or watching crime dramas on TV. She lives in Colorado.
I've read the first one in the series and it was fantastic. I've also purchased 2 & 3 in the series but have not had time to read them. Over the next few months, I plan to re-read 1 and then read on to the next 3 (once I've purchased the final one in the series - that is!)
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty books in paranormal and contemporary romances, as well as young adult novels. Her series include White Rabbit Chronicles, Angels of the Dark, Otherworld Assassins, Lords of the Underworld, Alien Huntress and Intertwined. Her novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine, and Seventeen Magazine, and have been translated in all over the world. The critics have called her books "sizzling page-turners" and "utterly spellbinding stories", while Showalter herself has been called "a star on the rise". White Rabbit Chronicles 1. Alice in Zombieland (2012) Intertwined 1. Intertwined (2009) 2. Unraveled (2010) aka Unravelled 3. Twisted (2011) Tales of an Extra-ordinary Girl 1. Playing with Fire (2006) 2. Twice as Hot (2010)
Robert Browne is an AMPAS Nicholl Award-winning screenwriter who ran screaming from the movie industry and jumped into writing novels.
His first novel, KISS HER GOODBYE, was recently produced in Chicago as a pilot for a CBS Television series tentatively titled THE LINE, by Sony Pictures and Timberman/Beverly Productions, with a script written and directed by Michael Dinner.
Alex Duval was born and raised in Paris, before moving to California to pursue a career in fashion photography. Alex loves all sports, especially surfing. When not writing books, Alex loves watching movies, especially The Lost Boys, and visiting art galleries around the world. Alex has homes in both Paris and LA.
Darren is a massively successful author of numerous fantasy and horror books for both young people and adults.His most famous works include the 12 books of The Saga of Darren Shan; the 10 books of The Demonata, The City Trilogy; The Thin Executioner and his most recent series of 4 books, The Saga of Larten Crepsley. A movie of Cirque Du Freak was completed in 2009.
By the start of 2010, Darren's books were on sale in every continent, in 39 countries, in 31 languages, and have been children's bestsellers in America, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and other countries. The books have topped adult bestseller charts in Hungary, Japan and Taiwan. In total, his books have sold close to 15 million copies worldwide.
Nikki Gemmell has written four novels, Shiver, Cleave, Lovesong and The Bride Stripped Bare, and one non-fiction book, Pleasure: An Almanac for the Heart. Her work has been internationally critically acclaimed and translated into many languages.
Veronica Roth is from a Chicago suburb. She studied creative writing at Northwestern University, and wrote DIVERGENT, her YA dystopian thriller (Katherine Tegen Books, May 2011!), while she was supposed to be doing homework. This was a decidedly good choice that will unfortunately make it difficult for her to someday lecture her future children on how important it is to get your homework done.
Steven Dunne is 50 years of age and have been writing since he left university in Kent in 1979. He spent some time being a freelance journalist writing for The Times, Independent and Guardian.
A native of the dust bowl, Rachel Vincent is the oldest of five siblings, and arguably the most outspoken of the bunch. She loves cats, devours chocolate and lives on flavored coffee. Rachel's older than she looks--seriously--and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan.
My Soul to Lose (2009) 1. My Soul to Take (2009) 2. My Soul to Save (2009) 3. My Soul to Keep (2010) 4. My Soul to Steal (2011) 5. If I Die (2011) 6. Before I Wake (2012) 7. With All My Soul (2013) Reaper (2010) Never to Sleep (2012) I've read some of the Soul Screamers books and they are great - that one will be the first series from this author I will be tackling! Just in case I run out of time! I think that should do for now. I plan to start reading as soon as possible. What I want to do is write a review as I finish each book and hopefully do a little research about each author and story as well, but we'll see how I go - no promises! The information about the authors is taken from the Fantastic Fiction website. I find this site great for information about authors, their books and also new release books. My friend put me onto this site and I don't know how I ever got along without it!
