Big Hero 6 Movie Review, Robot Movie Trivia, the Power of Friendship, and Ninja News

Big Hero 6 Movie Review

Five geeks and one personal medical assistant robot make for an unlikely bunch of heroes.

This film is all heart. It has a very gentle spirit and solid relationships among the characters. Love your family and stick by your friends is a great message.

The animation is the best so far this year. You don’t want to miss it in 3D.

The humor is spot on. Robot Baymax steals the show, both with his actions and words. (‘We jumped out a window!’ is one of the best.) Fred the fanboy also has some great lines.

The story is fresh, fun, and original. (Except for a device that looks like the Stargate, but we can let that slide.) Set in San Fransokyo, it’s a blend of high tech, America, and the Orient, and it’s dazzling to behold.

Considering the lack of competition this year, Big Hero 6 will likely win the Oscar for best animated film. Take the family and enjoy. Highly recommended!

Ninja News

The Realms Faire continues!! My official joust was Monday, but you can visit M. Pax every single day to cheer for the Ninja Knight – Ninja Army Rocks!! Prizes daily and there is a review copy of Dragon of the Stars up for grabs.
And don’t forget you can add Dragon of the Stars on Goodreads now!



Today at the IWSG site is rhyme master and prolific author, Pat Hatt! He’s as skillful as the Ninja when it comes to juggling many obligations – read how he does it.


Thursday, at the A to Z Blog - we are officially announcing the 2015 A to Z Challenge Team!!

MJ Joachim wants your writing and author tips! Visit her site if you are interested in a guest post.

Tuesday saw the release of How to Train Your Dragon 2 on DVD and Pink Floyd’s The Endless River on CD.

Out now - Captured Love by Juliana Haygert

Ted Cross’ first book was just released - sci-fi thriller, The Immortality Game.
Awesome cover, Ted!

Be sure to sign up for the Miss You Blogfest - those bloggers you miss and those you would miss the most. Coming November 24.

Movie Trivia

In honor of Big Hero 6 – robots!
Robots listed – name the films.

1 - Hector (1980)
2 - Fembots (1997)
3 - Johnny 5 (1986)
4 - Pris (1980)
5 - Dot Matrix (1987)
6 - Huey, Dewey, and Louie (1972)
7 - EVE (2008)
8 - V.I.N.C.E.N.T. (1980)

Answers on Monday!

The Power of Friends

I’m part of a special group of people, the Fellowship of the Dragon. We have a private blog where we keep one another on track with our goals and we email daily quotes of encouragement. (There is also a fair amount of good-natured bantering that goes back and forth.)

One of our members was in need recently. The rest of us conspired to help and came up with a plan. In secret (and with the help of two other bloggers) we pooled money together to help this person. It was a complete surprise and from what I understand, will cover the cost of what this person needed.

The power of friendship is amazing. I feel blessed to be a part of this group. Most of us have never met, but we pulled together to help another member and trusted one person to send the money. And we did it without question because the person in need had touched all of us and been an amazing friend.

And that’s what it takes sometimes – one person to pull together many. One friend who has everyone’s back, who stands against the enemies, who is the champion, and who goes above and beyond every time.

I’m blessed to have the Fellowship of the Dragon, along with the A to Z Co-Host Team, the IWSG Admins and members, and a great group of blogging friends. (Along with a couple great groups of friends offline.)

Do you have friends like that?

Have you seen Big Hero 6? Participating in the Realms Faire? Fan of the awesome Pat Hatt? Know any of the trivia? And do you have a group of friends that pull together for one another…?

Jodorowsky’s Dune, Movie Posters for Noah and How to Train Your Dragon II, Movie Trivia, and Ninja News!

Genre Images and News

Blastr featured the trailer for a documentary about the Dune that never was.
“Back in the mid-'70s, famously eccentric cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo) attempted to mount an incredibly ambitious version of Herbert's novel, which was thought by many to be unfilmable. But that didn't stop Jodorowsky, who brought legendary artists like H.R. Giger and Jean Moebius Giraud on board to design the creatures and sets while casting actors such as David Carradine, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger in key roles.
“Alas, Jodorowsky's vision simply proved too big and expensive, and the project fell apart before filming started.
“… filmmaker named Frank Pavich has created a documentary called Jodorowsky's Dune that recounts the history of the project…”

Blastr also proposed science fiction locations that would make great Winter Olympic venues, including the worlds of Narnia, Frozen, Empire’s Hoth, and Dr. Who’s Christmas town.

“Jotunheim from Thor: Sure, the locals might not be all that welcoming, but the extreme conditions and terrain would make for even greater competition. And as for those Frost Beasts...well, that just makes cross country skiing more interesting.”

And found a couple really cool posters for upcoming theatrical releases:

Ninja News

The A to Z Co-hosts have a special tribute for one of own (Jeremy Hawkins, who broke his ankle a week ago) at the A to Z Blog today – please stop by to read it.

The epic battle continues at Father Dragon’s between me and Lord Baldernot, Mark Koopmans! Prepare for - The Lord of the Clones - The Challenge Part 2

M Pax revealed the cover for her next Backworlds book, Worlds on Edge.

Milo James Fowler is part of an upcoming anthology due out in 2015, Wastelands 2. And he is sharing the limelight with such authors as George R.R. Martin and Hugh Howey! His contribution is a story called "Soulless in His Sight."

Available now – King Sized Beds and Happy Trails, Book One in the Beds Series, written by authors Cassie Mae and Theresa Paolo under the pen names Becca Ann and Tessa Marie.

Tyrean Martinson celebrated the one year anniversary of her book, Champion in the Darkness, with the release of Light Reflections. It’s a collage of everyday poetry, reflecting on life moments and you can purchase it HERE

Nigel Mitchell released Call Center of Doom, which is an expansion of his 100-word fiction story, Cold Call.

Toi Thomas’ new book, Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel, was released.

Last Monday the ladies of #TeamDamyanti, Anna Tan, Csenge Zalka, Guilie, Samantha Geary Jones, and Vidya Sury, *with technical support from Jemima Pett and Mary Wallace* kicked off the A to Z Theme Reveal Blogfest following the unofficial tradition Mina Lobo started last year for the A to Z Challenge. Though having a theme is absolutely optional, many A to Z bloggers do follow themes -- and if you're one of the AZers with a theme, go sign up for this blogfest HERE and be ready to reveal your theme to the world on March 21st, 2014. It'll be a bunch of fun with 77 bloggers already signed up.

Patricia Stoltey announced that Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers now has a Google+ community for members and non-members. Request to join HERE

West of Paradise by Marcy Hatch comes out March 14 – and here’s the cover!

Recently I featured Beyond the Binding, and it’s now available on Amazon and Smashwords.

Donna L. Martin is offering free author promotion at her booth at the Children's Festival of Reading in Knoxville, TN this May. It’s the biggest book event in the southeast with over 15,000 people attending. She will be handing out bookmarks and autographed books from other authors – contact her for details. View the festival’s press release HERE

Movie Trivia

Three actors/actresses – name the movie:

1 - Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Al Pacino – 1995

2 - Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, Karl Urban – 2010

3 - Joe Pantoloano, Carrie-Anne Moss, Guy Pearce – 2000

4 - Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler, Bruce Willis = 1990

5 - James McAvoy, Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton – 2005

Answers on Wednesday!

What do you think of the Dune that never was? Any other fictional locations for the Olympics? Excited about all the new releases? Signed up for the A to Z Challenge Reveal? (Wait until you see mine – once again, it’s complicated.) Taking advantage of Donna’s offer to promote other’s books? And do you know any of the trivia…?

Thanks again to everyone who helped with CassaFire’s rise to the top of Amazon during the promotion – you guys rock!

How Do You Follow Blogs? Plus Sharknado at the Ballgame, Video Game Trivia, and Ninja News

Ninja News

Nothing like scrolling through blog post titles on Feedly and seeing this - We Love Ninja Captain Alex! Thank you so much, Sheena-kay. That really caught me by surprise. I’ll try to live up to your kind words!

The Goodreads giveaway for CassaStorm ended Monday, and when I forwarded the winners to my publisher, I noticed two of my blogger buddies had won a copy - Sarah Ahiers, JA Bennett, and Tony Laplume. Congratulations, guys!

The next posting for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is in two weeks on August 7! My awesome co-hosts will be M. Pax, Karen Walker, and Melissa Maygrove.

Don’t forget the Anti-Blogfest Gary Fest! Short and simple – name three blogfests you’d never participate in. Sign up HERE.

Sharknado Invades Baseball!

It’s everywhere, including the President’s Race! For the first part, keep your eyes on the big screen until the action moves into view.

How Are You Blog Following Now?

How do most of you follow blogs? Has it changed since the death of Google Reader?

I’ve noticed a slowdown in followers via Google Friends Connect this summer. I have that option, plus Feedly, Bloglovin’, Linky Followers, and email in my sidebar. (My blogger profile isn’t linked to my Google+ profile, or I’d have that option in place as well.)

I’m wondering if people aren’t just skipping GFC now? I have several bloggers I follow that way but pulling up their profile reveals they’ve never followed me through GFC. They comment here all the time though, so they're following me somehow.

If the blogger has GFC, I still click to follow, and then go add their link to my Feedly Reader.

Are you guys still using GFC? Using something else instead?

Video Game News and Trivia!

Video games Need for Speed, Assassin’s Creed, Warcraft, and Angry Birds are all coming soon to the big screen – films are in the works.

And on that note, here’s some video game trivia for you:

1 - What is the best-selling iPhone game?

2 - How many Pokemon films have been made?

3 - What’s the highest grossing movie based on a video game?

4 - What is the longest running video game franchise still being made?

Ready for the IWSG and Anti-Blogfest next month? Surprised by the Sharknado craze? Know any of the trivia? And how do you follow blogs?