Nerd News isn't quite back up and running yet, but I can't not share this new teaser.
Happy (American) Thanksgiving!
I, for one, am thankful for a great many things. Good health, a comfortable place to live, loving family and friends, a steady and well-paying job, puppy love, superhero movies, ridiculous(ly entertaining) TV shows, engrossing books, Funko POP! figurines, macarons, beef jerky, the Internet, the popularity of the color neon yellow ... I could go on.
To celebrate the holiday, and because I can't resist a good quote, I whipped up these Thanksgiving printables to share—because I am also thankful for you!
“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite—only a sense of existence. Well, anything for variety. I am ready to try this for the next ten thousand years, and exhaust it. How sweet to think of! my extremities well charred, and my intellectual part too, so that there is no danger of worm or rot for a long while. My breath is sweet to me. O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.”You can download both, which, if you'd like to print them to use as last-minute decor, should fit two to a standard page, here.
At some point along the way with my previous blog, I started a Facebook page. It seemed to be "the thing to do" at that point in time, and I had high hopes that it would become something additional to the blog, rather than just a link dump of every post. The fact that I, personally, don't really use Facebook often—plus the fact that Facebook's algorithms for how often someone sees a post are weird and unhelpful—kind of hindered those hopes.
I haven't closed down the C&CC FB page, and I could change it to a page for ANW, but ... do I need to? Do I want to?
Some pros:
John WickWARNING: Possible spoilers ahead.
John Wick is the kind of movie that immediately calls to me. If you've been reading my blog for while (or know me), you know that I love a good "action for action's sake with the teeniest bit of plot thrown in to hold things together" kind of movie (see: The Expendables, Fast and Furious franchises). I'm not a violent person by nature, but something in my personality gets a serious kick out seeing bad guys get what they deserve. And John Wick is certainly filled with that.
A misunderstanding of sorts—one that will make even the hardest of hearts SO ANGRY—forces the main character, John (Keanu Reeves) into reentering the life he left behind many years ago, a life filled with not so nice people with a set of very specific skills. Even John is sort of an anti-hero. I mean, he does (did) kill people for a living. Keanu plays the role minimalistically (which isn't a word, but I think you'll understand what I mean), but that's a good thing. No offense to him, but Keanu's a much better actor when he has fewer lines.
The supporting cast—which includes John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick, Adrianne Palicki, Willem Dafoe and Alfie Allen (hence the Theon Greyjoy reference in the haiku above)—added a good helping of actual acting to the film, in addition to a surprising amount of understated humor. John Wick is surprisingly funny. Once you get over the scene that causes John to return to his former life, that is.
The movie also had a little bit of a Wanted vibe, what with the underground society of assassins that John belongs to (or once did) who pay each other and for goods and services with these big gold coins. The backstory isn't completely fleshed out, but the little we do see of it builds a really intriguing world around John's quest for vengeance. I'd love to see more of this world.
Check it out:
When I started working on ideas for this new space, one of the first things that came to mind is that I wanted something unique and fun for my header. The ones I've designed in the past have all pretty much been type-based, and while that's all fine and dandy, I knew I wanted something really different for this go 'round.
Enter the idea of a custom illustration. I like to think that I'm a creative person, but a skill I sorely lack (and have always lamented lacking) is the ability to draw from my imagination. I can do a pretty decent copy job if I have something to refer to—do y'all remember those commercials and advertisements for the Art Instructions Schools asking you to draw the turtle with the hat and turtleneck in order to prove your worth as an artist? I would have aced that.—but the ability to just sit down and sketch completely eludes me.
Hi friends! And thanks for coming over from Chocolate & Cream Cake, or wherever led you here.
2014 has been quite a year. With only one month left, I can definitely say it's been a great year, but once that brought a lot of change, particularly in recent months. Since August:
