Review of the Best Books Read in 2017

Well, I guess I’m making it a tradition. Last year in January I wrote up a post called “Review of the Best Books Read in 2016 (With Pictures),” so I decided to do the same thing this year…just without my own pictures this time, because most of my books are still packed (a terrible thing…

The Problem with Geekery (by a Geek)

I know this post is a bit unusual and controversial and I might get a lot of, er, interesting comments, based on what kind of followers and readers I have. But there’s a problem Geekery has that we geeks are aware of, but don’t want to even admit or think about. It’s the white elephant…

The Emotionally Agonizing Life of a Bookworm, Fangirl, and Writer

Okay, so I know the title of this post is sort of weird. But if you are an avid reader, serious writer, or big fan to any extent, you may find such a post appetizing. After all, us readers, writers, and geeks tend to enjoy harrowing stories that follow characters who are thrown into very…

Book Review: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover

For years, I have been a huge Star Wars fan. Our family started watching all six movies when I was twelve, and before the year was over, I had seen each movie at least three times. And I continue to count up. We started the movies with the original trilogy before starting with the Prequels, which…

Darth Vader: Appreciating the Hero in the Villain

Gollum. Bane. Loki. Sherlock. Snape. These are only a few characters that are amazing because of their marvelous depth in the stories they helped create. But there is one character I always automatically think of when it comes to talking about the depth and character arc: Darth Vader. I’ve said it before: Darth Vader is AWESOME. He…

Potential in the Prequels: Appreciating the Hated Star Wars Episodes I-III

In the Star Wars fandom, there are not many who like Episodes I, II, and III as much as the older trilogy and even the new Force Awakens. I find that there are two main reasons for why this is so: 1) The expectations were high and 2) They were poorly done, from the writing…

Michael’s Movie Mentions: A Look at 2001: A Space Odyssey

If you’ve heard about the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, you may have wondered: “What is 2001 about?” Perhaps, even if you have seen the movie, you may (as did I) still wonder: “What is it all about?” There are many interpretations on specifics to the question. But in general, I will try to…

Movie Review – Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

***WARNING*** SPOILERS!!! (SARCASM MAY OR NOT BE DETECTED.) READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. I hope you aren’t sick of Star Wars Yet, because there’s more coming! (Is there any such thing as being “sick of Star Wars” anyway?) Unfortunately, this post has spoilers, but the high box office records tell me that I shouldn’t worry…

History Helps You Write: Religion and Government in Fantasy Fiction

Last semester I took a history class that covered all of history up to 1500 A. D. The textbook was hard to get through and I never really had much of an interest in history, ancient world history in particular. However, besides having an excellent professor and the best college learning experience yet, I learned…

John Williams’s Score for Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Never have I been more excited to see a movie in a theater. December 18th is coming up, and what with all the Star Wars marathons and environment everywhere you go, it’s nearly impossible for someone not to know about the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Well, somehow I managed not to write a post…

Music Inspiration for Writing Epic Scenes: Film Scores and Other Orchestral Artists

The film score is a very important part of movies today. This is partly because of their ability to convey certain emotions in different scenes. If it’s an action scene, you’re going to hear a lot of suspenseful, high strung music. If it’s a romance scene, the music is going to be sweet and most…

Michael’s Movie Mentions: A John Williams and Hans Zimmer Comparison

Quick, try to think, out of all the film composers who exist in the whole world today, which one is the ‘best’, and most well-known. Probably eight out of ten of most people would think: Hans Zimmer. If you did, it was a good guess. If the names of all the film composers who still…