Christmas Pictures, Movies, New Year's Resolution, And A Whole New Blog On Its Way

That was my Christmas. No water, heat, electricity, internet, ect. It was nasty. Didn't get everything back until a few days ago and even then..been busy cleaning up the mess. Plus, the fog stayed around 'till new years, which means we didn't see the fireworks go off or see the blue moon that would have happened that night. *sigh* what a way to end the year.

Hopefully though, 2010 will be better. My new years resolutions thus far are:

- Get A's and B's throughout the next semester

-stop the god-awful nail chewing habit

-Deal with the blog. Because, seriously, this things been dieing off until summer.
So to bring it back on its feet, I have to do one of three things: find something to write about, change the blog into an entirely new direction (what direction, I have no clue) or delete it. And I'm not too thrilled on the last one. More on that later.

Just finished seeing three epic sci-fie movies within a week of each other: Star Trek, District Nine, and Avatar. Short reviews on each below.

- Fist off, Star Trek. being a sci-fie nerd myself (I'm not ashamed to admit it) IT was amazing...but it may be a different for non star-trek geeks out there. basically,its star trek, which means it has a horrible plot line, and the characters aren't the best (though their not bad at all) either. However, the special effect are just stunning, and the movie has plenty of epic scenes to complement that. Even if you can't tell a Vulcan form a Romulan, its defiantly worth seeing, just don't mistake it for being the next Lord of the Rings of Movies.

-District 9 was...intense. Its rated R, but its just for (a lot) of cussing and a few sexual references, though nothing too bad. And it has plenty of gore. basically, its a kind of documentary in film about slums in Africa/Asia, but its places aliens in the role of humans in poverty. The beginning 30 minutes are kind of strange (its like a long news cast)but the rest is intense, has some shocking moments, and basically makes you feel bad for being human. If you don't mind movies such as The 300, its worth seeing...but its defiantly made for a "mature' audience.

- I'm saving the best for last. Avatar was one of the best sci-fie movies I've ever seen, and that's an understatement. Basically, its the cow boy and Indian story in space: Human corp from earth is trying to expand past earth, and is settling the "wild frontier" of the jungle planet Pandora. The air has too high of an oxygen count for humans to breath, and that leads too some pretty big (and amazingly real-looking) indigenous wildlife, but the coperations can deal with that if it means getting this certain mineral, something that worth 40 times as much as gold on earth. However, theirs a race of giant (10-12 feet tall) blue-skinned aliens called the Na'vi resting on top of the largest deposit, and their not too happy about the corps barging in. So the crops make these sleeper agents called "avatars" which function as living Na'vi bodies that can "infiltrate" Na'vi settlements. The scientist want to use these for diplomacy, but the military wants to use them to drive the Na'vi off the military reserves.
So there's this guy, Jake, who lost the ability to use his legs in some war on earth. He comes to Pandora and enters the Avatar of his twin brother, who died before he could got there. When lost in the jungle (as his avatar), he meets a beautiful Na'vi woman, who brings him to her camp after witnessing some spiritual "sign" (it makes sense int he movie, but is too hard to explain here). So Jake gets a crush on her right away but, wallah! She happens to be the chiefs daughter, and he's not too happy to bring on of the "dream walkers" into his lands. But he agrees to show Jake their waves, and the Na'vi girl is instructed to teach him..which she isn't happy about, because she thinks that he's a moron. Ah, Love. Problem is, Jake's suppose to drive the natives off their home for the corporations, but he finds that hard to do after the Na'vi girl falls in love with him and he is accepted as a true member of the tribe. I'm not going to spoil in story any further, but lets just say that theirs some pretty epic moments and some of the best special effects that I've ever seen. And its long, like, three hours long.
But its worth it just for the way that the characters are made. Ever grown so attached to a character (Harry Potter, Rue in The Hunger Games, ect)that you feel a kind of sadness (best word I can use) when the character dies of the series ends, because you grew so attached to their personality and feelings? That what happened at the end of this movie for me, the characters were THAT good. And that the major reason why no-one should bother to miss this movie...and If you can find a theater with enough tech to show it in 3D, then go for it...even if its 45 minutes away. its worth it.
And one more thing: Blue aliens are hot. had to be said, sorry ;)

Okay...enough with the super-long review, on to other stuff (this is probably the longest post I've written yet). First off, I need to get this blog back on its feet. I've come up with several story Ideas, and I want to see which one you like the best (poll on the side). Here it goes:

-The Last Days. Small "fallen angle" child (looks 6 years old) comes to earth, and though she's innocent, she's bringing on the Apocalypse. Main Character finds his way to (reluctantly) become her protector, and they set off to end the end of all days before the world comes to ruin.

-Ultimatum. haven't thought much on this one, but here's the idea. World War III breaks out due to some major terrorist activity across the globe. Story divided into three arcs, which weave through each other throughout the chapters. One story focuses on a SAS special forces soldier dealing with a rush of terrorist attacks throughout Europe. Second campaign focuses on an American soldier who's fighting a guerrilla war in America after it is overrun by a Chinese Invasion. Third arc focuses on a Russian commander whose dealing with a massive civil war in his home country.

-Subject Zero. story of a girl who is the root of a massive pandemic sweeping across the globe due to some (illegal) biochemical studies to her and her fellow "experiments", plague that is now turning humans into mindless, feral husk. She joins her fellow "experiments' and seek to destroy the ones who did this to her. Finding a cure is second on the list.

-Origami Killer. Ex-FBI agent is just settling down when one of his 8 year-old sons is killed and the other kidnapped before his eyes by an illusive serial killer known as the "Origami Killer". After emerging from a coma caused by said incident, the FBI brings him back in because he's the only one who's seen the murderer's face. Starts on a quest to find his son before the origami killer kills the kid. Kinda stolen off of another source, so needs to be tweaked for it to be unique

-Enslaved. Main character Cole (either 19 or late 20's)is living on his own in a world consisting of only a few million humans after war and famine lead to a massive population crash 500 years before (only around 100,00 left in the U.S).This puts humankind at a sort of backwater stage as the race scavenges to survive of what little was left. His home village was abducted by these massive robotic slaver ships (the remnants of a long-past war)that are gradually picking off the last of the human population and dragging them off the who knows where. He's lives the rest of his life on the run, never straying to close to other human settlements, as they are the prime targets for the machines. However, he does get caught eventually by New York, but he escapes with he help of a girl known as *insert name here*. He is knocked out in the escape, and when he wakes up he finds that *placeholder* has places a headband on his forehead that will make his brain explode if he tries to attack her. She uses him to help her get to her home town in present-day California, as she is pretty much screwed on her own. Reluctantly, Cole agrees (he has to, or she kills him) and together they begin the long trek west, their relationship growing stronger as the months past. Huge-tragic ending that ends up (somewhat) victorious. Stole it form another source, again,s o it needs to be majorly changed, but I think its by best shot so far.

thoughts? Ideas? ways to tweak the last two entries? any help would be appreciated.

Here ends the longest post I've written yet. Im going to get a glass of water :P

Random Post

Just because I'm bored and I havn't posted for a while, here's a link to Santa singing *I'm dreaming of a white Christmas* in flash. Just to get you into the Christmas spirit.

http://www.toilette-humor.com/christmas/santa_sings.shtml

I promise that I'll get some writing in soon...working on a few short stories atm. also looking to put some fall photos once I find the cable for my camera...

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! even though its officially today (Thursday), my family had thanksgiving yesterday because we're going to the beach. On the upside, that means warm weather, sun, and surfing (or attempted surfing, in my case), but on the down side we got a six hour drive...ugh

Was going to post some fall pictures, but I still can't find my stupid camera! *Sigh*

New Look

Just thought that the old background was getting a bit old...how do you guys like this one?

An update on Ulimatum

Ultimatum is a series of short stories that revolve around the conflicts of the world as I see them in 50 years. Anyways, Ultimatum is finally open, so you can view it if you want. Here's the overall back story:

The year is 2052, and human civilization is on the brink of total collapse. With the world population at 11 billion, a world food shortage combined with the rapid disappearance of natural oil reserves has severed trading connections between the U.S and China, effectively plunging both into a great depression. Russia is in the midst of civil war as the western half succeeds from the communist eastern side, which has joined China to form the Red Star Alliance, to join the European Union. Canada effectively closes its borders as its natural oil supplies make it a vulnerable target from both he E.U and the Red Star Alliance, and a new terrorist organization, the United Liberation Front, wreaks havoc upon the world. It’s a new kind of war now, a war where the conflict's as much between rich vs. poor as as nation vs. nation. These are the accounts of those soldiers who fought in the last days of human civilization, the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect what little they have left in a war that overshadows anything the world has encountered yet.

Welcome to circa 2052, welcome to war.

Notification: new blog in the works

First off, Dos Fuegos is still going to serve as a journal for writing and personal thoughts (as its undoubtedly become now), but I got an alternate blog in the makings going by the name of Project: Ultimatum. Now, I would be seriously surprised if you guys took the slightest interest in it, and by all means you probably would want to stick with Fuegos.
As far as The Origami Killer, I'm still in the rough patches of writing it, and because of the tons of homework I got (along with sports), progress is a bit slow. I'll post what I can once a got a fair bit polished up.

Leave of Absence

Okay, im going to New York this weekend, see the empire state building, times square, ect (yay!). Needless to say, i wont be able to blog much (if any) till monday. So, in the mean time, try reading this at 12:00 at night.

http://web.archive.org/web/20050117173007/www.dougaustin.com/tlcaves/pdf/Thefearofdarkness.pdf

Ill be back

HELP!!

I cant think of a single thing to write. I'm absolutely NOT going to write another poem for a while, and I'm having trouble evolving The Last Days. any ideas for another story? Right now i got:

Return of the Bubonic Plague into 21st century New York

Some kind of military thing that takes place in Afghanistan

Angle-Demon war (just finishing The Mortal Instruments, amazing!)

then again, i can always just write a book about a bunch of perfect people having a perfect life. how's that for scary? lol

any helpful insightments would be greatly appreciated

-hidden mode [on] off

IT IS DONE!!

Comments are now enabled! turns out that the comment box would appear at the bottom of the page, creating the illusion that you could not post comments. Basically, comments are now handled through a pop-up text box.

MAITNANCE

Okay, I'm trying to find a blog template that actually allows you to post comments, so expect some stuff messed-up for the time being. I'll post a successful template in comments.

VIRUS ALERT

Okay, any of you heard of the conflicter worm? It was released on April 1st, and is one of the largest and toughest to kill computer viruses yet. What does it do? Steeling identities, bypassing firewalls, and sending SPAM (by the way, just found that that means spontaneously popping annoying emails..or something like that) to your computer. If you just happen to be "infected", it will also block those sites that tell how to protect against it. The only known way to stop it is to download this patch from another computer in your network AFTER your computer had been infected: http://www.symantec.com/norton/theme.jsp?themeid=conficker_worm

Hope this helps