Television Rating System is Flawed, Oscar Nods, Seventh Son Review, IWSG Newsletter, A to Z Challenge and Minions, Movie Trivia Answers, and Ninja News!

What’s Up With the Television Rating System?

Ever since the rating system emerged, shows have really pushed the boundaries. But sometimes, the ratings make no sense.

The Walking Dead has gotten flack over the years due to its brutal and graphic violence – and mere TV14 rating. Numerous groups have lobbied to get it labeled TVMA.

Into the Badlands also has a TV14 rating. However, it is far less violent and graphic than the Walking Dead.

What really puzzles me is the rating for the show Fargo. It’s TVMA – for mature audiences only. What? Yes, there is violence and language, but it’s nowhere near as graphic as the Walking Dead.

Any idea why Fargo is deemed more extreme than the Walking Dead? Think there are flaws in the system?

Oscar Nods

Everyone’s now seen the Oscar nominations for 2016. They are rather spread out with no clear-cut winner.

I’d like to note that Mad Max: Fury Road is nominated for ten awards. Ten! It won’t win Best Picture or Best Director, but with that many nominations, it should go home with several Oscars.

Although wouldn’t that be just batcrap crazy if the batcrap crazy movie won?

Seventh Son Review

Based on a book, The Spook’s Apprentice, it deviates a bit from the young adult story. (In the book, Tom is twelve; in the movie, he’s an adult and played by a thirty year old actor.)
This is your standard medieval sword and sorcery film, nothing terrible, but nothing notable, either.
Jeff Bridges plays the lead spook, and he hams it up and overacts the entire time. However, this isn’t a bad thing as it makes the film entertaining. (Although it was really hard to understand him in the beginning. The film almost needs closed captioning at that point.)
Julianne Moore does a good job playing the witch queen. You’ll recognize Ben Barnes, who plays Tom, as Caspian from the Narnia movies.
The effects are good (there are dragons) and the plot moves at a decent pace. But everything just seems so familiar.
If you’re in the mood for some sword and sorcery, it’s definitely worth a rental.

IWSG Newsletter!

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group will be launching a newsletter next month! And we got someone awesome to put it together – please welcome the newest IWSG Admin, Chrys Fey. (And wait until you see how awesome she’s made our newsletter.)

Here’s the official scoop on our monthly newsletter:

The Insecure Writer's Support Group Newsletter will feature articles by industry experts, IWSG members, and administrators. There will also be a dozen links to helpful articles for writers in each edition, as well as a special Member Spotlight. Even if you're not a member of the blogging group, you'll greatly benefit from these FREE monthly newsletters.

First issue goes out on February 24!

Sign up HERE. (If you are a member of the monthly blogging group, you are already signed up. Now you’ll get an awesome newsletter instead of a lame email from me!)

Ninja News

I recently made some changes to the WhatAreTheKargrandes? site. It now runs through all thirteen clues before ending with my book, Dragon of the Stars, and some reviews. If you’ve never seen the site, check it out. (And you can click on the images to make them scroll through faster.)

From Howling Wolf Records and the genius that is Jeremy Hawkins comes Six Strings, a magazine about movie soundtracks, scores, and more. Check out the site and download it for free! And watch for upcoming issues–there just might be an interview with yours truly…



DL Hammons is looking for volunteers to read the entries for this year’s Write Club. See his site for details.

A to Z Challenge Approaches!

The A to Z Challenge list opens in one week on January 25! See the site for details if you don’t know about the Challenge. (Or come back in one week, and I’ll explain it.)

This will be my seventh Challenge (I was one of the original one hundred in 2010) and my sixth as a co-host. Last year, Dragon of the Stars released in the middle of the April Challenge, and my fellow co-hosts were nice enough to relieve me of managing a section of the list. (I still manage the entire list behind the scenes, making adjustments to the Linky List.) But this year, I am back in full swing.

And I need help! I need some Ninja Minions. A group of people who will help me check on participants within a section of the list. (Much like co-hosting the IWSG.) Doesn’t matter if you are participating in the Challenge or not. You’ll get a cool Minion badge and special mentions.

So, if you can help me this year, please leave a comment!

Movie Trivia Answers

Fantasy films centered around a forest:
1 – The first in a series that should’ve been seven films, the adventure begins in the snowy winter woods. 2005  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
2 – A trip to this forest turned out to be a game to feed an ancient beast. 2011  Cabin in the Woods
3 – This fable involved a tower and naïve young woman who wants to explore the world. 2010  Tangled
4 – This epic tale has man joining a dozen others to battle a mysterious enemy that descends from a mountain lair. 1999  The 13th Warrior
5 – The first of three films has an unlikely hero setting off with a group of dwarves. 2012  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Do you think the television rating system is screwy? Have an Oscar favorite? Seen Seventh Son? Excited about the IWSG newsletter? Ready for the Challenge? Get any of the trivia right? (Pat Hatt did!) And who wants to be a Ninja Minion…?

And since today (Monday) is a holiday in the US, I might not get to everyone today, but I will return all comments this week. Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Chronicles of Shannara Review, RiffTrax’s Latest News, Fantasy Movie Trivia, Movie and Television News, and Ninja News!

The Chronicles of Shannara Review

Keep in mind, this is from someone who read these books as a teen and treasured them. Your perception of the show will vary according to how well you know the source material.

The series begins with the Ellcrys tree, which has held back the demon world for centuries, dying, and a band of people trying to find the magic to stop its death. The series begins with the second book in the original Shannara trilogy and no secret that Shannara is Earth far in the future. (Not sure why they didn’t begin with the first book. And it’s not until subsequent books that we learn this is actually Earth.)

I was terrified when I heard MTV was doing a series based on my favorite series. MTV? Really? But so far, after watching the first episode, I’m happy to say I’m enjoying it.

The main plot points of the show are accurate. They are following The Elf Stones of Shannara. However, the details have been altered to fit the younger, MTV demographic. The show contains a thousand times more angst that the entire series put together, but that’s to be expected.

The first episode moved at a breakneck speed. It sprinted forward over many scenes, probably just to bring the main characters altogether at the end. Now, maybe that’s the only way the MTV crowd can handle it, but I do hope they slow down and focus more on character development and at a leisurely pace. (Because at the current pace, they’ll burn through all the books in the first season.)

The casting choices overall are strong, especially Allanon. He plays the part well, and the actor even looks like the character on the original book. Will, the half-elf, is also well represented. He’s sweet, goofy, and very naïve. I also liked the inclusion of John Rhys-Davies in the cast. Can’t have an epic fantasy without him, can we?

For a television show, the special effects and makeup are both top notch. MTV certainly poured some money into the series.

The show is promising and not the train wreck I was dreading. If they can slow the pace a bit, it will be great. (The next couple episodes are available already online, but I’d rather wait and watch them on my HDTV. The next day of course, because 10:00 pm is my bedtime.)

And hopefully it will encourage people to read the books, because they are awesome!

Latest RiffTracks News

Some cool things happening with RiffTrax!

There is now a RiffTrax app! Available for both iOS and Andriod, this app will automatically sync RiffTrax ‘Just the Joke’ commentaries.
Just hit play on your phone or tablet and the app listens for the movie and automatically syncs everything, and keeps it synced. It will work with your TV, computer, DVDs, Blu-rays, Netflix, Amazon Video and other streams. The beta app is completely FREE, AND has all six Star Wars movies pre-loaded into it for FREE for you to try out! (That will be the ONLY way I can watch those prequels ever again!)

The Best of RiffTrax Live will be rebroadcasting two of its movies. Starship Troopers is on January 14 and The Room is on January 28. If you’ve never seen RiffTrax on the big screen, now is the time to catch it.

There is also a RiffWiki! Everything RiffTrax, including MST3K. With information, features, essential Riffs, and more.

And don’t forget, every Monday, there is a new MST3K title available.

Geek News

There are nine speculative fiction series debuting this month, including:
Legends of Tomorrow is the next DC series, taking a few characters from The Flash and Arrow, adding some new ones, and mixing them together for a superhero team. Premiers January 21.
The much anticipated X-Files miniseries premiers January 24, and creator Chris Carter promises we’ll get everything we loved about the original series.


Season six of Game of Thrones starts on April 24 – mark your calendars now.

JoBlo featured a list of Top Ten Greatest Movie Teasers of All Time. (And yes, I have seen all of the movies, more than once!)

TNT nixed the live-action Teen Titans series. (Damn you TNT!)

And Netflix announced season two of DareDevil will begin on March 18, and they released a trailer for the critically acclaimed show:

Ninja News

The winner of the IWSG Anthology Contest, L.G. Keltner, is a guest today at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group with some awesome information and tips about anthologies.


Our very own Anti-A to Z Spokesperson, Gary at Klahanie, actually promote the IWSG last week! Of course, that might be because he thinks it stands for I Was Seeking Gary…

Cloaked by T.F. Walsh is out now.
The second book comes out in March and the third in May.



Book Goodies now allows authors fill out an interview form that is posted on their site, and afterwards, books can be added. My interview is HERE.

The Lost and Found: Valentine’s Edition blogfest takes place February 1. For details and to sign up, go HERE.



Version Sacrifice results, featuring the song Dead Souls:
Nine Inch Nails – 10
Joy Division – 10
My vote for NIN gave us a tie!

Movie Trivia – Fantasy!

All of these ‘fantasy’ movies (two with horror elements) take place mostly in a forest. Name the movie from the cryptic description.

1 – The first in a series that should’ve been seven films, the adventure begins in the snowy winter woods. 2005
2 – A trip to this forest turned out to be a game to feed an ancient beast. 2011
3 – This fable involved a tower and naïve young woman who wants to explore the world. 2010
4 – This epic tale has man joining a dozen others to battle a mysterious enemy that descends from a mountain lair. 1999
5 – The first of three films has an unlikely hero setting off with a group of dwarves. 2012

Answers Monday!


Anyone else watching the Chronicles of Shannara? Ready for some RiffTrax fun? Any January series catch your attention? Think the new X-Files will be a good as promised? Want to submit to some anthologies? And do you know any of the trivia…?
And found out this morning David Bowie died. How sad!

Insecure Writer’s Support Group, Top Movies-Albums-TV Shows of 2015, and the January Movie Preview!

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

My awesome co-hosts today are L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larsen, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace!

Don’t forget – today we announce the winners of the IWSG Anthology Contest!

As far as writing, and this blog, I’m in a transitional phase right now. I’m enjoying writing short stories and I may have an opportunity to write geek-themed articles. And I think that may be the direction I’m headed. I’m proud of my four novels, but they just took so long to write. Shorter pieces and articles I can handle.

I also want to start adjusting my blog as well. Ease back on the variety and focus more on the geek stuff. After all, I do write science fiction and geek stuff, and I want readers coming here to enjoy that stuff. As one blogger stated, before I was a writer, I was a reader and fan of the genre – what sites would I have visited? So I’m going to shift a bit more in that direction.

Don’t worry though – the IWSG is not going anywhere!

The Best of 2015

Here’s a rundown of my favorites from 2015 and why -

Top Television Shows:
5. Better Call Saul – What a risky move, taking a secondary character and making him the star of the show. But the writing coupled with great performances made this one of my faves.
4. Daredevil – Marvel keeps hitting home runs. Great action and compelling characters made this must watch television.
3. Game of Thrones – Wow, the white walkers, the skeleton army, the dragons...this show hits every fantasy geeks button.
2. The Flash – Finally, a superhero show that captures the feel of the classic comic. Flash is making all the right moves in season two.
1. Fargo – Who would have thought that a Coen brothers movie would develop into one of the greatest ten part episodes that I have ever seen? Fargo season two is funny, thrilling, crazy, and every other accolade that you can think of. And let’s not forget the aliens!

Top Music Albums:
5. Muse – Drones – Never was a big fan of the band until this release. It’s on many top ten lists of best and worst albums, so I’m not sure what to make of that. Bottom line: it’s a solid disk from start to finish.
4. Teramaze – Her Halo – Almost wrote this Aussie band off after their last sub-par release. But this is a solid prog rock album with a few exceptional tracks.
3. Soilwork – The Ride Majestic – This is Swedish melodic Death Metal at its finest. This album rocks from start to finish with amazing guitar work and great clean/screaming vocals.
2. Rush – R40 – A triple CD set of the latest Rush tour. These guys are legendary in my book.
1. Symphony X – Underworld – if you are a guitar player or fan of amazing shredding, you have to hear Michael Romeo tear it up on this disk. Wow, wow and WOW!!

Top Movies:
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – The opening score began, the words started scrawling across the screen, and I was a kid again.
4. Ant-Man – Honestly, one of the best times spent in a theater. This movie is funny and fun from start to finish.
3. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – Love him or hate him, Tom Cruise knows how to make an exciting movie. This one is great.
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron – There was a little negative backlash to this one. I don’t get that at all. It is a great superhero movie.
1. Mad Max: Fury Road – BSC (Bat “crap” Crazy) What an amazing film. I never thought any movie would top the madcap mayhem of The Road Warrior, but George Miller upped the ante and released the best film of the year. (It better get an Oscar nod!)

January Movie Preview

Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for January! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snarky comments by me.

8 –

The Revenant
In the 1820s, a frontiersman named Hugh Glass sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson
Leonardo DiCaprio dies and comes back as a ghoulish skeleton who leads an undead army. (Yeah, I played a lot of D&D as a kid.)




22 –

The 5th Wave
Four waves of increasingly deadly alien attacks have left most of Earth decimated. Cassie is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother.
Director: J Blakeson
Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe, Liev Schreiber, Nick Robinson
Based on a best-selling book I’ve never heard of...




29 –

The Finest Hours
The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.
Director: Craig Gillespie
Stars: Chris Pine, Holliday Grainger, Eric Bana, Ben Foster
Hollywood shows some love to the Coast Guard. Hopefully this amazing story of bravery gets the treatment it deserves.

Kung Fu Panda 3
Continuing his "legendary adventures of awesomeness", Po must face two hugely epic, but different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home.
Directors: Alessandro Carloni | Jennifer Yuh
Stars: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan
Hollywood shows some love to pandas with martial arts skills…

Any of those movies interest you? What’s your writer insecurity today? Are you making adjustments? And what movies-music-shows were your favorite last year…?

The Force Awakens, Hateful Eight, and Fallout 4 Reviews! Plus Lost and Found Blogfest, Question of the Month, Version Sacrifice, and more.

Star Wars: The Force Awakes Review

It’s made over a billion dollars – is there anyone who hasn’t seen this film yet?
The Force Awakens is a return in form to the franchise. It recaptures all we enjoyed and loved about episodes IV, V, and VI and throws out all we hated about I, II, and III. All of the awful, candy-colored special effects that looked like they belonged in a video game were gone. The ones in place were tight, dirty, wonderful, and looked like they belonged in the universe.
The movie is a lot of fun. The cast was great. It was good to see Han Solo on the screen again.
While the plot might seem familiar, it’s an homage to the original Star Wars. It’s just a solid, entertaining film and one of my favorite of 2015.
Highly recommended!

The Force Awakens will easily be the biggest hit worldwide of 2015, followed by Jurassic World, Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Minions. (All of whom have crossed the billion dollar mark.) Disney and Universal made some serious money last year.

The Hateful Eight Review

Quentin Tarantino is a polarizing director. You either dig what he does or you’re put off by it. I’m entertained by his style. I like the way he handles dialogue and the quirkiness of the characters. And this movie has both elements in abundance.
The plot is rather pedestrian. A bounty hunter bringing in someone to hang is trapped in a cabin with strangers. But it’s the way Tarantino tells the story and how he switches around the timing that makes it so much fun.
The cast is excellent – Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins (who just about steals the show), Tim Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern.
Hateful Eight is over the top gory in the second half. But it’s also very entertaining. And at a run time of close to three hours, that’s impressive – I was never bored.
If you’re not a fan of Tarantino, this film will not change your mind. It’s true Tarantino, through and through. There’s definitely some dicey elements.
Highly recommended if you dig Tarantino!

Fallout 4 Review

This is just good, classic video game playing. The transition from 3 to 4 is perfect. Everything is familiar and yet fresh.
The graphics are stunning. The game play is similar to Fallout 3, and since I never wanted that game to end, this is perfect. It’s refreshing to come back to this world. It’s a free-form environment and there’s always something interesting wandering through.
They’ve expanded the game by allowing you to build up your home town as a sanctuary. And you’re always learning something new.
It’s a great game and a must for those who enjoy not just first person shooters but RPG.
Highly recommended!

Version Sacrifice

I’m joining with Shady Del Knight in a new music battle, Version Sacrifice.

My pick today is Dead Souls. Originally done by Joy Division, Nine Inch Nails put a different spin on the song for the soundtrack of The Crow.

Nine Inch Nails

Joy Division

Which version shall we keep and which shall we sacrifice to the great rock gods?

Question of the Month

Hosted by Michael at A Life Examined.

What are some new year’s resolutions you’ve had in the past?

That’s easy – none. Wait, you want more than that?

I don’t make resolutions, but I do set goals, and not necessarily at the beginning of the year. I’m part of a private online group called the Fellowship of the Dragon, and we post goals for each week. That’s kept me on track with those goals.

Probably the closest thing to a resolution I’ve set is one that happens every year. I’m aware that I will be indulging between Thanksgiving and New Year’s and I just let it happen. Then in January, I tighten up and lose those five extra pounds by the end of the month. (And yes, I always succeed. I hate to lose.)

What have been some of the goals you’ve set at the beginning of the year?

Ninja News

Last month I got to judge the Write-Edit-Publish monthly challenge which was to have a science fiction theme. I really enjoyed reading the entries and my top picks are at the Write-Edit-Publish Site. Thanks to Denise and Yolanda for letting me judge!

Don’t forget the Insecure Writer’s Support Group post day is this Wednesday! We are also announcing the winners of the IWSG Anthology Contest, so you don’t want to miss it.

Lost and Found: The Valentine's Edition

From Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out and Guilie Castilol-Oriard at A Quiet Laughter, and co-hosted by Elizabeth Seckman, Yolanda Renee, Denise Covey. and Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Do you remember that special feeling of love found? And who hasn't experienced the emotional experience of love lost? Some of you might have even lost a love only to find that person later for another go around.

Tell your story about love lost or found in our special Valentine's blogfest. Your post can be a short fiction, an essay, poetry, or even a song--let your imagination run free. Any genre is fair game, be it romance, historical fiction, memoir, or even science fiction. After all there are no limitations when it comes to love.

Sign up below and join us February 1!

What did you think of Star Wars? Fan of Tarantino? Hooked on Fallout 4? Which version of the song did you prefer? What resolutions or goals did you make for 2016? And are you joining in on the blogfest?