New artwork on DA

A couple go on vacation and decide to take a little walk in the woods by the beach AND BOY, WAS THAT A BIG MISTAKE! You can see the horror, which involves a lot of rope and a venomous snake, right here.

Alien: Covenant Movie Clip

Yesterday we were talking about the discovery of seven alien worlds in another solar system that can support human life. Today Fox released a promo clip for their upcoming movie Alien: Covenant.

This scene is a prologue that takes place before the events of the film. It will not be in the film itself, so if you watch it you won't be spoiled. It has some nicely ominous foreshadowing. I'm really looking forward to this flick.

Also, all this talk about science fiction and real-life discovery of alien worlds over the past few days has made me want to write another science fiction novel. I'm still hard at work on the tenth Ryta book, and won't stop until that's done, but I'm seriously thinking of taking another side trip into science fiction territory.

Meanwhile, you can read my SF book, A Daughter of Ryklon, right here.

Trappist -- new planets found by NASA

This is exciting news. Seven new planets have been discovered by NASA in a solar system that's less than forty light years from us. These are earth-like planets, in that they may support life. And a couple of them look like they might have oceans.

In 2018 a new satellite will be launched that will give us more details about what's on these worlds. What's amazing to me is how we're exploring the universe without even leaving the Earth. No need to send spaceships just yet when we can have satellites do the path finding for us.

Of course, it would be great to send people out to these worlds eventually (as well as colonize our solar system). We're living in a very exciting time, sort of the dawn of a new age of deep space exploration. I can't wait to see more.

Love song lip sync weirdness

A very funny video showing a couple lip syncing their way through various love songs...while seated in their car. A couple of moments here made me laugh out loud. Hope you like it.

The working class hero

But I still have healthcare, though, right, sis?

Watching last week's Supergirl episode, "Luthors", I noticed something odd. Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) goes into a bar (sounds like the beginning of a bad joke), where she encounters Mon-El (Chris Wood), who's working there as a bartender.

Keep in mind that Mon-El is another super-powered being, like Supergirl, who works for the Department of Extra-Normal Operations (just like Supergirl does), a government agency that fights other-worldly threats like aliens and the like.

But why is Mon-El working as a bartender when he's hooked up with this fancy DENO group (if only it were the Department of Extra-Vehicular Operations, then it would be known as DEVO. "Crack that whip!")? Wouldn't you think this should be a full-time paying gig for a superhero?

While we're at it, Supergirl really shouldn't be hustling as a reporter, either--not when she's associated with this DEVO--um, DENO group, as well. How many times has she saved the world--not to mention National City? Talk about gratitude....

I realize that getting a job and having a secret identity is what "humanizes" these super-powered heroes (it goes back to when they first appeared in the comics), but this is the first time that Supergirl and friends are directly working for the government. And yet the Martian Manhunter (David Harewood) works for this same group and he doesn't have to worry about getting an outside gig to pay the bills.

I know, I know, it's just a goofy superhero show, and I love it to bits. But I just can't help but think about this stuff. :)

Lego Batman

I saw the Lego Batman movie this past weekend and enjoyed it very much. It's very funny, with a lot of crossovers between Batman and other franchises (Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings), but the story still makes sense and is even touching in some spots (hard to believe I was getting caught up in the lives of Lego figures, but there you go).

The people who made this were obviously big Batman fans, because everything from Batman's world is either mentioned or referenced, including past films and the 1966 TV show. It was a fun-filled ride that I'd like to take again soon.

Naomi Watts takes a bath

Naomi Watts stars in this thriller where she's captured by a bad guy who strips her before tying her up in a tub filled with water. I posted a clip of this several months ago, but this is a much better version of the scene.

Don't worry, she survives this predicament, which turns out to be a very nice scene with her struggling (successfully) to get herself free. This scene makes me want to see the movie (Shut In) once it hits video. Warning, this clip features female nudity.

You can see/download the clip here.

Another Deviant art picture is up!

Once again a gymnast finds herself on the wrong side of the ropes, and she's been trussed up by none other than her twin sister! The horrors! You can see the gymnast/evil twin horror right here.

Who should play Who?

Peter Capaldi, who plays Doctor Who, will be leaving after the upcoming tenth season. This video clip from What Culture gives some suggestions as to who can play the character after Capaldi leaves.

My favorite of the bunch is Haley Atwell, who played Agent Carter in the Captain America movies, as well as on the Agent Carter TV show on ABC (before it was cancelled). She's a great, personable actress who can easily carry a series.

Of course, having a female Doctor would change the whole dynamic with the Doctor's Companions, who are usually female. But the older Doctors from the seventies and eighties occasionally traveled with male companions, so there's no law saying the female Doctor can't have a female companion, either. She could also do what Matt Smith's Doctor did, when he traveled with Amy and Rory, and have a man and a woman companion team.

Another interesting choice here is Tim Roth, from Reservoir Dogs, and Rupert Grint, who played Ron in the Harry Potter films. We still have a lot of time before the final decision is made, of course. But it's always fun to consider the possibilities, which is what Doctor Who is really all about, anyway.

Lindsey Stirling does the Lord Of The Rings

Excuse the title for this post, which sort of makes it sound like a porno. I've recently discovered Lindsey Stirling in my travels on youtube, and here she does a nice melody from that classic film series.

I use the soundtrack from The Lord of the Rings to write my Ryta stories by, and the music is just as epic as the films. It's the perfect background for when I'm writing my own little epic.

Speaking of which, the tenth Ryta book is two thirds of the way done (in the first draft). And it's going very well. I've already got an idea for the cover, and I may even have the germ of an idea for Ryta number eleven. I'll keep you posted.

Hot Salsa Dog

Because the weekend is almost upon us, and this dog looks exactly how I feel right now.

Almost, but not quite

A damsel in distress makes a bold escape...oh, wait, what's this?! Uh-oh. You can see my latest Poser Pic right here.

The Flash "Dead Or Alive" review

Warning, possible spoilers if you haven't seen the episode. About a month ago, I talked about the arrival of a new character named Gypsy on The Flash. Gypsy was supposed to be based on a superhero in the DC Comics universe, a young woman who usually went barefoot.

Well, having seen the episode, I can say that, unlike her comics' version, this Gypsy (played by Jessica Camacho) definitely wasn't barefoot--and I really wasn't expecting her to be, anyway. But what was surprising was how much they changed the character.

In the episode, she's a bounty hunter from Earth 19 (this is a parallel Earth in another universe, but why would the people from that planet call it number 19? The population of a planet would consider their home to be number one, the prime place in all universes, right? But I digress) who comes to take back HR Wells (Tom Cavanagh) for execution (traveling to parallel worlds is against the law on Earth 19).

When Cisco (Carlos Valdes) decides to fight for Wells, this creates a battle supreme across several parallel Earths--including Supergirl's, where Cisco and Gypsy wind up slugging it out in Jimmy Olsen's office in a great scene. Neither Supergirl nor Olsen are there to see this, but Olsen's secretary, poor Miss Teschmacher (Andrea Brooks), witnesses everything while hiding behind a desk. This was a really fun and inspired scene.

Despite the massive changes to Gypsy, I still enjoyed this episode very much. The Flash always manages to bring a sense of fun to the superhero proceedings, and this ep doesn't disappoint in that regard.