W.R.I.T.E update & Best/Worst Movie Remake BlogFest (Reviews by the Valley Girls)

Aloha,

Before my oxy-moronic one-of-a-kind, unique take on Alex’s “Best/Worst Movie Remakes” BlogFest, a quick note on my Writers Retreat Island-Time Escape, here in Honolulu Dec. 6-8, 2013.

Anyone Need Rescuing in December? 

 I had this crazy idea of paying it forward for my fellow writers by organizing a FREE weekend of fun writing activities, etc., here in Honolulu, Hawaii.

You can find full details, including a provisional schedule here.

While not earth-shattering, the latest news is that W.R.I.T.E is still ON.

There’s been a lot of interest, and I understand that getting to Hawaii is the issue for most people, but if you’re perhaps like Nancy LaRhonda Johnson, who plans to attend while on vacation, I’d love if you could join us.

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OK, so onto the best and worst Movie Remakes, co-hosted by the indomitable Stephen Tremp, the indestructible Father Dragon and the irresistible Livia Peterson.

I’ve chosen two best and two worst – ‘cos I couldn’t chose one best and one worst. It was too hard, which made me wonder is this the best or the worst BlogFest?

(See that play on words –yahh boo! – Man, when I grow up, I realy want to be a righter.)

Most will at least know the titles, so my reviews will be short, sweet (and sponsored by the local chapter of the Valley Girls.)

I was Clueless, but if you need more info on each movie, the link will bring you to Wikipedia.

Totally First Best: 3:10 to Yuma (2007) versus the original, also a Western, which was made in 1957.
My Review: I love the coincidences in that both movies were Westerns… that’s awesome, like.

 

Second Best and duh, still a great movie: The Birdcage (1996), versus the original comedy, La Cage aux Folles (1978)

My Review: Like, I enjoyed The Birdcage, but they talked a bit funny in the original (and I’ve heard the movie was a partnership between two European countries, but I’m not sure who this Franco-Italian director fellow is, like.)

Totally First Worst: Planet of the Apes (2001) versus the original, which came out in 1968.
My Review: The original scared the bejaysus out of me for years (as an impressionable child, I refused to watch further episodes of Curious George. The remake… nahhh. That was crap, like.)
 

Second Worst, but still way, way bad: The Pink Panther (2006) versus the original, and still, like my favorite movie, the co-named The Pink Panther (1963)
My Review: Again, the coincidence of the names got me, definitely, like, for a few minutes.
I had high hopes for Martin Sheen
(What?)

Oh, sorry, Steve Martin, but there is only one King Panther, and his name was Peter Sellers, baby. He was way cool. Definitely.

There are Bonus BlogFest Boints, er points, for listing my best/worst song remake, but duh... everything from the '80s will always remain brilliant. Why remake a classic, like?

For example, I triple-dog dare you *not* to hum along with this ditty by Chris de Burgh, which is set to scenes from Pretty Woman :)

‘Nuff said. I’m off to go chill with my rad Yuppie amigos.

Like. Totally.

 

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"Top 10 Movie Countdown " BlogFest

Aloha,



Courtesy: NHN Alex :)

 

I’m participating in NHM (no-hyperlink-needed) Alex’s Top Ten Movie Countdown BlogFest.

 Oh, the simplicity of it all.

I’ve highlighted a couple, which are perhaps not as well known.

If interested, the links will bring you to Yahoo! or Wiki info pages.

In descending order:

 

10.  The Commitments

Courtesy: 20th Century Fox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Memento

8. A Few Good Men

7. Four Weddings and a Funeral

6. Braveheart

5. Schindler’s List

4. Love Actually

3. Facing the Giants

Courtesy: Samuel Goldwyn Films

 

2. Shawshank Redemption

1. Band of Brothers (OK, it’s a HBO series, but still amazing.)

 

Courtesy: HBO

 

Cheers for reading and I'm looking forward to seeing some other diverse lists :)

 

 

"___Fest": The Aftermath

Aloha,

I’m in the middle of WIP edits, so here be short, sweet post.

 

As Cheers, _________ BlogFest went from an idea to reality over the last few months – and then morphed into ___Fest, a lot of my blogging focused a little on that no-hyperlink guy who, earlier this week, was so awesome to open his doors to a posting of roastings.

When Monday swung around and ____Fest went LIVE! I knew already that we have an awesome community, but I was absolutely blown away by the positive response.

More than One Hundred and Forty (none related to me) signed up AND participated in ___Fest, and from what ____ said, he himself visited nearly 200 blogs during the first seven minutes of the fest, (he is a bit of a slacker, I'm sorry.)

Anyhoo, in the immediate aftermath of the Best. Fest. Test. (that I’ve been involved with) I tip my beloved LA Angels ball cap first to:

“Morg the Borg” Shamy

David “How does ____ do this?” King

Stephen “Don’t Wait” Tremp.

Second, THANK YOU to all my dear Bluddies (Blogger buddies.)

Reading the oh-so-different flash fictions was SO. MUCH. FUN.

Along the way, I watched a video, read a poem and even saw the effort it took to bring a stick mini-Alex to life. :)

Courtesy: Elise Fallson

 

(You all have an amazing, creative mind – I swear! You should be a writer! Isn't that easy to do? And, you’d be great at it.)

(While ___Fest is over, there are rumblings of another different, but similar in a differing way Fest for Christmas 2013, so watch this space…)

Remember, nothing is impossible…except for the Rangers resigning Josh Hamilton. :)

Finally, I would be bereft of all social skills if I didn’t mention the person who made this possible:

____ _ _________ !

 PS… ____ is announcing the winners of ___Fest today, so click here to find out who the lucky bloggers are :)

Oh, if you’re wondering, I’ve written about ____ so much that the _, _, _, _, letters on my Qu_rty k_ybo_rd are worn out…

J

ALEXFEST 2012: Let The Roasting, er Posting Begin :)

Aloha,

FINALLY!

 

Houston, we are a GO! for “AlexFest.”

For full details and background, click here.

So, while Alex J. Cavanaugh is an awesome blogger, he’s also an enigma. J

To help crack the code, here’s four questions that the AlexFest participants plan to answer:

·         In +/- 20 words, what does Alex look like?

Alex is cau-cajun, about 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, has brown eyes and shoulder-length dark hair. (I have noooo idea.)

 

       ·         In +/- 20 words, who could play Alex in a documentary? (Living or dead.)

OK, don’t laugh, but I just described a young Tom Cruise! What? You can’t handle the truth?

 

      ·         In +/- 20 words, who does Alex remind you of?

A Tom Cruise-looking Arnold Swartzeknickers who’s been sent back in time to promote the rebel Bloggers of Publishedia.

 

      ·         In +/- 100 words, (excluding the title) write flash fiction using all these prompts:

·         Cavanaugh

·         Ninja

·         IWSG

·         Cosbolt

·         Guitar

Cavanaugh looked at the smoldering Borg.

“Without him, I’ll only post 1,694 ISWG comments before 9 a.m.”

The Ninja Captain looked at his lieutenant.

“Why did you shoot?”

“It attacked the Cosbolt – we need that Fighter,” said the Scottish-looking lassie. “We need more power – to post!”

Close to reaching his word count limit, Cavanaugh strummed his guitar, humming Last Christmas by WHAM! (his favorite boy band.)

 

“Lieutenant, are you willing to be a Borg?

“Yes!” said the trigger-happy officer.

“You’ll need a new name…”

She scribbled three words.

“Sure?”

She nodded.

“Morg the Borg. I like it. Let’s do this.”

 

(For Bonus Points:)

·         In +/- 40 words, leave a comment for Mrs. Cavanaugh - thanking her for sharing J

 Dear Mrs. C,

You have a keeper in young Alex. He’s a great man, but a BIG Cheers to you for all the weekly time needed. It’s amazing how hard Alex works to make us look better (except for me – the lost cause not even FABIO can fix :)

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Two winners – chosen by Alex this Friday, Dec. 14 – will each win one prize:

FIRST PLACE: A signed copy of CassaStar.

GRAND PRIZE*: A picture of Alex and a download of him playing the guitar he just bought for more than $100 :)

(*One caveat: Alex asks the picture or download NOT be shared online.J)

PS: If you’re still interested, the Linky List below remains open until late Wednesday evening (EST.)

AlexFest Linky List & "And You Are...?" Blog Hop

Aloha,

Today, I’m participating in the And You Are…? Blog Hop.

Hosted by Emily R. King and Tammy Theriault, the answers to the fun questions are below, but before I bore you all to absolute tears… an update!

Signups to the Cheers, Cavanaugh BlogFest are up to 113 as of Sunday evening.

There is still time to sign up for “AlexFest,”  and remember, if we get to 200, I will be posting a video on YouTube of me dancing the Bald White Guy Hawaiian Hula…, so come along and join the Par-tay J

Full details here and the Linky is posted BELOW :)

 

OK, so who am I and why am I here…

 

1. How many speeding tickets have you gotten?

 ONE – and that was a week after I moved to California with my then-new Mustang GT (Ahh, the memories of speed and not listening to the latest Wiggles CDJ)

2. Can you pitch a tent?

 Why would I pitch a tent when I’m working hard to pitch my WIP? Seriously, people.

3. What was your worst vacation ever?

 My friends would say “every vacation I was a part of,” but I hesitate to agree. For me, it was Magaluf, Spain, 1987.

A group of us lads were out and I was later detained (cough) by Spanish cops for “slightly exuberant activity involving a cold, bubbly beverage.”

They kept me downtown for hours, trying to extract a $50 “fine” from me, but that was the rest of my money for the vacation, so I was like, no way, Jose. (He was amazed I knew his name.)

Eventually, they let me go, whereupon it took *hours* to find the white-painted hotel we were staying at.

By the time I entered the room, I expected to find phones ringing and faxes burping out stacks of important-looking paper as my friends frantically worked with the Irish Embassy and Spanish Authorities to get me back safely.

But, no.

I was the first one back. The lads were still out partying ;)

4. What was the last thing you bought over $100?

 A Sony Tablet two months ago – which I promptly lost on an airplane last week…

5. We're handing you the keys to what?

 A new minivan J (The ghost of my old Pony is snickering, but whatever, dude.)

6. What was the last meal cooked that made even you sick?

 Breakfast in Paris (1992) – it was an egg omelet made during another “event” with a different set of The Lads.

7. Fill in the blank: Oh my gosh! Becky, look at her butt! It is so big. She looks like _____?

Yo mamma. Sorry, Becky, but it’s true.

8. What was your first car?

 A 1985 Pontiac Sunbird – convertible. Bought when I lived in Key West (1996) and driven for a couple of years before I moved to Chicago.

9. Your best friend falls and gets hurt. Do you ask if he/she's okay or laugh first?

 If it’s one of The Lads, I will always take pictures first, post them somewhere online and then ask if he’s OK. If it’s my wife, you know I gotta take care of The Lady first J

10. What's the worst song ever?

 Anything by Justin Berber Carpets.

 
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As promised above, for anyone wanting to sign up, here is the Linky List for ALEXFEST :)

 

The Reveal: Welcome to the "Cheers, Cavanaugh BlogFest"

Aloha,

Ever attended a Christmas party where you bump into the person who was always there for you during the last year. You’d thank them for being such a RockStar, right?

If there’s one person in the Blogisfear who you want to say cheers to, who would it be?
For us, it was a no-brainer: Alex “no hyperlink needed” Cavanaugh.

Alex is an awesome blogger who’s helped hundreds of us via book releases, guest posts, guest interviews and always positive comments. While we can’t have a live part-ay for the Ninja Captain, we can host a BlogFest:

Welcome to the “Cheers, Cavanaugh BlogFest.”

Hosted by Mark Koopmans, Morgan Shamy, David Powers King and Stephen Tremp, the BlogFest runs from December 10 - 12.

While Alex is an awesome blogger, he’s also an enigma. J

So, here’s four questions:

·         In +/- 20 words, what does Alex look like?

 

·         In +/- 20 words, who could play Alex in a documentary? (Living or dead.)

 

·         In +/- 20 words, who does Alex remind you of?

 

·         In +/- 100 words, (excluding the title) write flash fiction using all these prompts:

 

·         Cavanaugh

·         Ninja

·         IWSG

·         Cosbolt

·         Guitar

 

For Bonus Points:

·         In +/- 40 words, leave a comment for Mrs. Cavanaugh - thanking her for sharing J

Rules:

·         Join the Linky List

·         Be a follower.

·         Post your 200 (total) word contribution Monday, Dec. 10.

·         Have Fun!

Two winners – chosen by Alex – will each win one prize:

FIRST PLACE: A signed copy of CassaStar.

GRAND PRIZE*: A picture of Alex and a download of him playing the guitar.

(*One caveat: Alex asks the picture or download NOT be shared online.J)

The Linky is here and will be open until Dec. 12, 2012.