I’m (kinda) participating in Inktober. The goal is to make one ink drawing a day and post it online. I’m not following all the rules because…it’s art and art has no rules. Shut up!
Here is the first “drawing.”
Power Pencils has launched a new blog section, reporting on news, trends and everything happening in the magical community. From magic pencil customer support to information on how to build a throne room, the blog section offers authoritative analysis and reporting you won’t find anywhere else (on this planet).
Dan Bergstein is the creator and owner of Power Pencils but probably would have told you about these fantastic products and funny blogs even if he wasn’t the creator and owner. He just likes to share cool things with great people.
Writing a novel is hard. Writing a novel in one month is almost impossible! November is National Novel Writing Month, a fun event that dares you to write an entire novel in thirty stressful days. But time is already running out! Where will you get your ideas? Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. If you’re stuck for a story idea or plot, turn any of these into a bestselling novel!
1. An orphan is having a hell of a time.
2. Three friends become friends with another human person.
3. A magic tiger just can’t seem to get it together.
4. Petunia discovers all sorts of things regarding a variety of topics.
5. A character changes as a result of several events.
6. The Old Navy store is closed, but the parking lot is full.
7. Gender-swapped Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
8. A story about a bee named Tapioca.
9. Pool party at Harriett’s!
10. Three dogs are transported. Continue reading
Released in 1982, Blade Runner remains a pillar of science fiction standing shoulder to shoulder with the Star Wars series, The Muppet Movie, Tremors, Lawnmower Man and Jumper as being one of the greatest sci-fi worlds ever visualized on screen. With the release of the long-awaited sequel, Blade Runner 2049: Blade Runnest, it’s time to look back at director Ridley Scott’s original masterpiece to find out how it was made and why it remains a beloved film.
A Novel Idea
Based on the Philip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, which itself was based on the Presbyterian hymn “Jesus Don’t Make No Robots,” the movie took audiences members on a tour of the future and dared to asked the important question: Are flying cars filled with helium?
After the success of Star Wars, Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz, Hollywood was chomping at the bit to make another fantasy science fiction film, and Dick’s novel, about a futuristic cop and a surf contest to save the old library, was perfectly suited for the big screen. British director Ridley Scott, hot of the success of Alien was brought on board to bring the project to life.
“Before that, I had never heard of Blade Runner,” said Scott in a graduation speech he was rehearsing in front of a mirror. “I had never heard of it because the term ‘Blade Runner’ isn’t in the book. In the book, the cops are called ‘Gun Boys’ and so we had to come up with a new name. And just then my cousin’s toddler Benny came in and he was trying to say ‘Parade Plumber’ — I don’t know why — but he was trying to say it. But he had a speech thing because he was a toddler. So it sounded like Blade Runner. And I paid him $4 for that idea, which is a lot of money for a toddler so I really don’t feel bad about that.” Continue reading
At a pitch meeting in the early 1800s…
Author: And so we have these three pigs, and they’re brothers. The first two pigs are a little lazy and they build their homes out of straw and twigs. And the third pig is very diligent and works hard and builds a home of brick. Everything is fine until the Big Bad Wolf comes and he blows down the first two houses easily. But the pigs are safe in the third house, the one made of brick. And the wolf sneaks down the chimney but the pigs boil him in a cauldron. And the moral of the story is to work hard and plan ahead.
Executive 1: Love it! Love all of it. Love the pigs, the wolf. All of it! Great stuff.
Author: Thank you.
Executive 2: So what happens in the sequel?
Author: Sea? What’s a sea-quill? Continue reading
There are four episodes of the new Twin Peaks available right now for streaming from Showtime. I’ve seen only the first two. I’m tempted (so very tempted) to go ahead and binge episodes 3 and 4 but I will do my best to keep those episodes floating above my head in the WiFi…for now.
I need to savor this.
Writer/director David Lynch is 71. It is a very real possibility that this will be his last major filmmaking project. I hope it isn’t. I hope he keeps making movies well into his 100s. But…this could be it. Lynch’s previous film, the impenetrable but interesting Inland Empire, was released 11 years ago. Do the math and check the calendars. This could be it. It might be the grand finale of his decade-spanning career. So I don’t want to waste it.
If you can’t tell by now, here’s the review of the first two episodes: I love them. For two hours I watched Lynch (and co-writer Mark Frost) ooze out a surreal mystery that was familiar and strange. It was scary and funny. I’m still thinking about it. All of it. I don’t get it. I don’t really want to get it. I just love it.
People will look for meanings to the imagery, and there are meanings…and double meanings, triple meanings, etc., but there’s also a joy in letting each scene play out like its own short film. If you have trouble understanding it, that’s okay. At the risk of sounding like a hippy: Just let it wash over you, man.
People may not like this new Twin Peaks. It’s not like the old show. Some people just want the show. And Lynch understands that, in his own wonderful way.
Without spoiling much of anything, there’s an early scene in the first episode of two people watching a glass box waiting for something to happen. Something happens to them. If you can’t see the metaphor and subtext of this scene, get out now. This is not for you. IT’S FOR ME!
There will no doubt be dozens of websites popping up that will try to unravel the mystery. There will be YouTube videos of fans picking apart every detail in every scene. And I’ll probably visit these sites over the next few months, if only to catch a better glimpse of a still from an episode or to read the comments. But, and this is important, I’m not sure the whole thing will add up to a reasonable conclusion. I don’t expect that. Then again, Lynch loves to subvert expectations. Who knows? Maybe the final episode of this return will solve all the mysteries succinctly and with sound logic. That’d be different.
I’m letting episodes 3 and 4 alone this week. I’ll watch them later. I’m going to slowly sip this cup of coffee instead of chugging it, because it’s a damn fine cup of coffee but there’s no promise of refills.
For more information on my David Lynch mancrush, read about the time I interviewed Lynch and babbled like a dork. For more information on my Twin Peaks theories, unlock the front door and I will sneak into your bedroom and whisper my thoughts while you slumber.
The upcoming movie The Dark Tower hopes to bring Stephen King’s complex universe to an even wider audience. But before you head to the theaters, here are a few important things newbies should know about the books.
If you own an Amazon Echo or an Echo Dot, you can now add me to your daily news feed!
Click here to get the free and wonderful app! (Or just search “Dan” in your Alexa app to find it.)
My brother and I have created our first Alexa Skill (which is like an app…for Alexa). Enable the free app and when you ask Alexa for your daily news, you’ll hear the latest Lie of the Day from the Dan’s Lie of the Day Twitter feed.
It’s a nice way to break up your regular news stories, and in this age of fake news…lying is bigger than ever!!!
If you ever wondered what my random thoughts sounded like as a lady robot voice…this is the perfect app for you!
We hope you like it. It’s silly. It’s free. There are no ads or anything! Just wonderful, daily lies.