Dragon*Con: Getting Ready

It's almost here -- Dragon*Con. Only a few more days.

I'm spending all of today getting ready. I actually had to start a to-do list so I wouldn't forget anything... well, unless I forget to put it on the list. :P

I was supposed to start doing stuff yesterday but a sinus migraine had me laid up. It's still with me, but I can't let it stop me today. A little Zyrtec should knock it right out... I hope. If not, I'll just be running my errands in pain.

Interrupting bulletin -- in the midst of trying to get ready for Dragon*Con I found out that ERIS will be in print in 2-4 weeks. This is a Yippee moment and an Ack moment. Yippee because of the obvious reasons. ERIS will be in a print. WOOT! Ack because that's more added to my list of things to get done today.

Technically I don't have to deal with my ERIS stuff today but it'll bug me if I don't. I want to concentrate on Dragon*Con and writing this weekend, not promo.

In later news, I have discovered Vampire Game by Judal. I'll be collecting all fifteen volumes and reading them (probably in one go). So look for that review once the Dragon*Con madness wears off.

Guest Blog: M&M Makin’ the Rounds

Please welcome Mandy M. Roth and Michelle M. Pillow as today's guest bloggers!

M&M Makin’ the Rounds

Big thanks to D. Renee Bagby for letting us come here and play today! We’ll get started with our first Q&A.

Boxers or Briefs?

Q: Do you plot or are you a pantser?

Michelle: Pantser. I hate outlines. The one time I wrote one, the characters rebelled and did something completely different. I like to make the characters, build the world, have a few things to throw at them, but then just let them do what they do. I don’t always know how a book will end when I start it, only that it *should* be a happily ever after.

Mandy: A little bit of both. I like structure but I don’t like to fence myself in. I need freedom to go where the story takes me but guidelines so I don’t wander aimlessly (because I sooo will). I joke with Michelle all the time that by the time I’m done writing a 100k book, I’ve actually written a 200k book but just clipped a bunch along the way when the story darted off in a direction I didn’t like. She tells me to make them pick your own adventure books. LOL

Featured M&M Book of the Day:

Buy Link:

http://www.ravenhappyhour.com/Michelle_M_Pillow_Books.html

Raven Books

www.theravenbooks.com

Raven titles are available on Amazon.com as well as other third party sites

Mandy M Roth

www.mandyroth.com

Michelle M Pillow

www.michellepillow.com

Thanks for letting us hang here, D. Renee Bagby! Everyone, remember that to be entered in the contest at the end of the tour, you need to comment on the posts. You can enter as much as you like.

Join us tomorrow when we visit Delilah Devlin.

TV Review: Turtles Forever

Turtles Forever


Basic Premise:
The TMNT turtles have to face their biggest challenge yet... themselves. Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael have come face to face with alternate versions of themselves that were tossed across dimensional space. Those alternate versions have re-awakened Shredder who has decided to do away with all turtles of all dimensions. It's up to the turtles to band together and put an end to Shredder before he ends the turtles for good.



Review:
THIS WAS AWESOME!!!

Any turtles fan will absolutely LOVE this cartoon. The premise is not to be missed. The 2003 turtles meet up with the 80's turtles. I couldn't believe how silly the 80's turtles were, especially compared to the current incarnations.

My favorite part was how the 80's turtles kept breaking the 4th wall. The 2003 turtles had no clue what was going on and why the 80's turtles were talking to no one (ie - the home audience). It made for a great running gag.

This is definitely one of those cartoons parents won't mind watching with their kids simply because the parents probably used to watch the original turtles cartoon.

I'm definitely buying this on DVD.

Anime Review: Clannad

Clannad




- dating sim (Key Clannad) adapted to anime
- licensed by Sentai Filmworks
- 24 episodes (4 disc DVD)
- related:
* Clannad Movie (alternate retelling)
* Clannad: After Story (sequel 25 episodes)
* Clannad: Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de (manga)


Basic Premise:
Tomoya Okazaki -- a self-proclaimed delinquent student and bum -- is despondent. He lost his mother as a young age, his father is an alcoholic, and life doesn't seem to be getting better, only worse in the last days of his high school career. He doesn't see the point of anything anymore, until he meets Nagisa Furukawa. Her journey to recreate the school drama club gives Tomoya's life new meaning. It also opens him up to new people, new experiences, and new love.



Review:
I'm breaking my "no spoilers" rule for this one. You'll see why if you keep reading. You've been warned.

As an anime adapted from a dating sim, I knew Clannad would be a typical harem anime. True to form, good looking, buxom beauties were raining from the woodwork all around Tomoya -- Nagisa, Ryou and Kyou (the identical twins), Fuuko, Tomoyo (no this isn't a typo), and Kotomi. Each has their own unique issues and personalities that make them easy to distinguish.

This anime see-sawed from absolute hilarity to tear-jerking sadness as we learn more about each of the girls and their lives. There was no in between. It's obvious from the beginning that Tomoya will end up with Nagisa (she's the main face in the opening credits and she's the one he spends the most time with).

So far as shoujo dating sims turned anime go, this one was pretty good. I would love to go back and watch the funny parts again because they had me rolling. The sad parts I would skip. It was too much angst and too much drama. That was the reason I skimmed the movie and didn't bother watching Clannad: After Story. I couldn't take it anymore. Though I did catch a peek at the end of Clannad: After Story just to see how it ended.

If you want to just cut to the chase, then watch Clannad the Movie. It's the same basic story (Tomoya plus Nagisa) but told at a faster pace. I didn't watch the whole thing for reasons stated above, so I can't say what was left out when making the movie.

As a bonus, there are two alternate stories. One at the end of Clannad (Tomoya plus Tomoyo) and one at the end of Clannad: After Story (Tomoya plus Kyou). I'm kind of upset they didn't do an alternate story for Kotomi. She was my favorite.

For those who like the high school drama/romances then this one is perfect for you. Just be warned it is a little angst heavy. And by "little" I mean a lot.

I only had one major issue with this anime. It was a huge gaping flaw that, as a writer, I simply could not ignore. Tomoya, the main character, isn't fleshed out enough so he seems like an asshole.

Yes, he plays pranks on his friends and cuts classes and other things as such, but those incidents are not to what I'm referring. I'm talking about his treatment of his father.

According to Tomoya, after his mother died, he and his father had a fight that left Tomoya unable to lift his right arm past his shoulder so he had to quit basketball. This is harsh because he loved basketball and had entered the high school to pursue that vocation to the fullest.

It's not clear when Tomoya's mother died. He says before he knew himself, which is extremely vague. He was on the basketball team when he entered high school. This is evidenced because the captain knew him and of his injury in intimate detail. So the fight had to have happened when he was fifteen or sixteen.

By the time we meet Tomoya, he's already given up on everything and is estranged from his father, who is an alcoholic. Whenever Tomoya and his father interact, his father is sober and trying to bridge the distance by taking an interest in Tomoya's hobbies or trying to have meals with him. In all instances, Tomoya acts wary towards his father, ignores the man, or runs away (in some cases literally), making Tomoya look like a jerk for not even giving his father a chance.

I thought perhaps this was just my view of the situation. However, one of the girls starts coming over to cook Tomoya breakfast and get him out of bed on time so he won't be tardy to school any longer. She meets Tomoya's father and reports that she found him nice. She even seems confused when Tomoya ignores his father, which is good because she isn't the only one.

The writers try to show Tomoya's father in a bad light. One of Tomoya's teachers decides to do a home visit. Even though Tomoya dodges, the teacher ends up talking to Tomoya's father. The topic is Tomoya's future. Tomoya's father tells the teacher that Tomoya's future is up to Tomoya and that the teacher should discuss such things with Tomoya.

I guess this is a disconnect between Japanese culture and American culture, because I didn't see the issue. A parent willing to let their child decide their own future and their own happiness. Yippee. Isn't this usually the conflict in most anime -- the main character railing against the future his/her parents have laid out and wanting to decide on their own? Finally an anime parent is doing just that and I'm supposed to see that as bad. O.o? I'm a little confused.

Each time the viewer sees Tomoya's father he is sober, quiet spoken, somewhat withdrawn, and very sad. Seeing the way Tomoya reacts to his father makes the man even sadder and makes Tomoya seem more and more like the bully of the pair. It makes me wonder, since the writers never tell you in the anime, what started the fight between Tomoya and his father and how exactly did Tomoya get hurt.

Is this one of those teenage misunderstandings? Did an accident happen during the fight that caused Tomoya's injury and perhaps he blames his father because he thinks the man did it on purpose? There were no answers given, unless they are in Clannad: After Story. It's a huge question left hanging and big gaping hole in Tomoya's characterization that I can't get over.

Nightmares With Purpose

I had the coolest dream last night. Most people would call it a nightmare. Hell, I would even call it such, if I hadn't turned it into the plot for a novella. It kicked much ass. I was like, this is scaring the crap out of me. I need to write this down before I forget it. I think I now know how Wes Craven feels. That was great. I almost wish I could have that dream again just so I can see some more of the details.

The best part is, it's a romance.

I laid in bed for a good half hour recalling as much as I could and hashing out how to integrate the romantic elements so I didn't lose the tension of the horror. Then I rushed downstairs to my study so I could write.

I've got it all figured out and even have 6,000 words written. It'll only be about 12,000 to 14,000 words -- 6 chapters. That seems to be the limit for my novellas. Well, that's the limit I impose.

It's a great start and beginning to see if I can actually scare people while telling a romantic story (without having the obligatory TSTL heroine).

This is the second time I've gotten a story idea and then dumped 6-7k on it in one sitting. I love it when a story just comes together like that.

Contest Conundrum

I'm thinking of doing a weekly contest on my First Chapters blog. That should drum up readers. I have a TON of books that I will never get through. Even if I was a devoted reader, I would never get through all of these books.

Okay, that's a slight exaggeration. A devoted reader, who reads fast and spends all of her free time reading, would probably get through all of these books. BUT it would take a year... maybe two.

Rather than let them languish (and have to move them since I know that might be on the horizon), I'm just going to give them away. Not my entire book collection, but a big chunk of it. First thing to go is my doubles, which I have more of than I thought.

Included in each prize package will probably be promo... if I decide to send out an all call for it. I always get great turn outs for my promo calls. And readers love those little extras. It's like a mini-Christmas.

I'll probably start this little endeavor in October. I still have to think on it a little more.

Funny for Cat Lovers

For all you cat lovers out there, this is for you:





And for all of you people who wondered what the hell happened, this is for you:

Heart of West Finalists

Utah Chapter RWA has announced the finalists for their Heart of the West contest.

Sadly, I am not one of them. I never got an email, so I figured. But, I wanted to see the finalist list just to drive that fact home.

Oh well. On the bright side, I don't have to switch from GA WINTER and YOLETTE to CONTRACTUALLY BOUND LOVE and PET'S PLEASURE. Technically I'm working on all four at once. But Winter and Yolette have the most of my attention at this point.

Retro Movie Review: Jennifer's Body

Jennifer's Body


Basic Premise:
BFFs Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and Jennifer (Megan Fox) are two of the only survivors of a horrible bar fire that claimed the lives of many. The tragedy hit the small town but none so hard as Jennifer who now has an insatiable appetite for boys that has nothing to do with sex.

Movie Review: Vampires Suck

Vampires Suck


Basic Premise:
The parody people have gotten ahold of Twilight and New Moon and made their own version.

Fire Pages ACG Winner

Congrats to Erotic Horizon for winning the Fire Pages' Absolute Chaos Giveaway!

It was a great time and I got a lot of comments. The contest may be over but you can still stop by and leave a comment.

Talking About World Building

I did a guest post on Jessica Chamber's blog about world building. It's my first article about writing.

Check it out

And let me know how I did.

Ack!

My computer is trying to give me a heart attack. I finally got the beginnings of two books finished so I could move on -- this is important since it was holding me back until this point -- and then MS Word froze. I almost started crying.

When did I last save?
Will the save take?
How much did I write?
Will I remember it all if I have to write it again?
WTF?!!!

Then MS Word asked if I wanted to try recovering the documents and submit a report. Screw the report! Give me back my shit!

And the good news is I didn't lose anything. *sigh*

I created a backup disc with the quickness and saved a current copy to my phone. Man, if all of my work from this weekend had disappeared, the people of Baltimore, MD would have saw a UFO because I would have chucked that netbook into the upper atmosphere.

Stupid MS Word freezing on me like that. *grumble grumble*

Fire Pages Interview

The second part of the contest to win a $25 gift certificate and an e-copy of ERIS is posted.

Stop by and leave a comment:
http://firepages.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/interview-with-d-renee-bagby/

Retro Movie Review: Bitten

Bitten

Year: 2008
Length: 1 hr 28 min
Starring: Jason Mewes (human), Erica Cox (vampire)


Vampire Weaknesses:
- Sunlight
- Wooden stake through the heart
- Being turned isn't 100%. Some people come back sentient and some don't.


Vampire Traits:
- Fresh human blood only (no blood bags)
- Messy eater
- Daily feedings
- Feeding and sex are intermingled
- Super strength and speed

Fire Pages Review: Eris (And Contest)

New review and it is totally worth sharing!

"...Renee takes pride in developing rich, three-dimensional characters that continue to grow at every turn of the page... I found myself stalking the novel, devouring each page, and craving to know what happens next. I was also incredibly impressed that there wasn’t a single grammatical error in the book, which is something I’m quite critical about when reviewing novels... I don’t do ratings, but if I had to categorize Eris, I would call it “Literary Perfection.”"
~ Zee, Fire Pages Reviews

Full Review:
http://firepages.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/eris-by-d-renee-bagby/

Along with the review is a contest: Absolute Chaos Giveaway
- Leave a Comment on the Review
- Leave a comment on the interview to be posted Thursday 19 August
AND
- Subscribe via email to Zee's blog

Prizes:
- $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon, or Bookstrand (winner's choice)
- e-copy of ERIS

Contest ends Friday 20 August

Good luck and have a happy!

BL and Yaoi

BL (Boy's Love) and yaoi -- two of my favorite manga genres. You could probably tell by the manga reviews I post. I do also read shoujo, but those series tend to last a lot longer than BL/yaoi series. Since I don't write a review until the series is over, the BL/yaoi reviews will show up faster and more often.

While most people use BL/yaoi interchangeably, they really aren't. The relationship male-male relationship dynamic is still the same, but BL is more focused about the emotion of the relationship while yaoi is more focused on the physical side of the relationship. It's like the difference between mainstream romance and erotic romance.

So long as the art is pretty and the storyline is good, I'll read either. Until I started writing my manga reviews, I didn't realize I had favorite authors. Manga is organized by title not author in bookstores. One author's works are sometimes imported by different manga companies. Because of that, I didn't really pay attention to who was writing it.

Now that I am paying attention, I actively look for manga written by my favorites:
- Hinako Takanaga
- Makoto Tateno
- Eiki Eiki
- Taishi Zaou/Mikiyo Tsuda

Of course, my number one is Makoto Tateno simply because she wrote Jazz. I can go back to each of her manga and enjoy them without fail. There is, so far, one book by Hinako Takanaga that I didn't enjoy. Other than that one, her books always have me laughing my ass off. And while I haven't read as much of Eiki Eiki and Mikiyo Tsuda, I have found their works to be entertaining and worth re-reading.

Ahhhh English

A conversation on an author's loop about the difference between grey and gray has led me to one simple conclusion:

I am DAMN happy I was born to this convoluted, down right confusing ass language.

To all those learning English as a second language, no matter which flavor be it United States, Britain, or Australian, you have my condolences and well wishes for your endeavor. Don't be too hard on yourself. There are those of us who were born to the language and still don't know how to speak it. :P

Blah Day

Okay so it's overcast again and again I have no clue what to write about. It's a very blah day. There was a little excitement an hour or so ago about stupid people posting stupid stuff to my blog that caused me to put everyone on moderation (sorry about that, but them's the breaks).

I'm off to write a little before bed. Two books are talking to me at the same time and I'm paying attention to both. I'm going to start kicking myself in the ass more and harder to get stuff done, especially with the books that have been "almost done" for nearly a year now. The readers are waiting.

Movie Review: Expendables

The Expendables


Basic Premise:
The Expendables is a mercenary group who is only concerned about the money -- any job, any time so long as the price is right. A new job comes their way that amounts to a suicide mission. The job pays but you can't spend money when you're dead. They pass until things get personal and the only thing they have to gain is the return of their humanity.

SLC Examiner Interview!

Fran Lee of the Salt Lake City Romance Novels Examiner interviewed me.

Check it out and leave a comment.

Soooo Tired

I had planned to put up another manga review, possibly a movie review but I'm too tired. The longer I sit here, the more tired I become. I'm blaming the overcast weather and I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.


Only the chorus is appropriate but it's the only thing I can think of.


How were we ever fooled by these guys? It's almost embarrassing look back at it now. :P

Manga Review: Challengers

Challengers by Hinako Takanaga


Publisher: Drama Queen
Price: $12.95
Genre: Drama, Romance, Yaoi
Themes: College, First Gay Love, Family Disapproval
Rating: Mature 18+
Volumes: 4 Volumes
ISBNs:
- 978-0-9766045-3-2
- 978-0-9766045-4-9
- 978-0-9766045-5-6
- 978-0-9766045-6-3


Basic Premise:
Tomoe Tatsumi is a smart college-bound student that is very straightforward about his life even though he is so naive. Mitsugu Kurokawa is a salaryman who has just discovered that he loves men -- specifically Tomoe. Mitsugu is coming to terms with his new found life direction while helping Tomoe come to terms with his part in the relationship. Add to that Tomoe's over protective older brother bent on riding the world of all gays, especially the one seducing his brother, and an American exchange student who wants Tomoe for himself and you have a real problem for this budding relationship. Mitsugu and Tomoe have a rough road ahead as the challengers keep coming.



Sex Shown:
Kissing, hugging, suggestive positions. I think this got a mature rating more for the violence than the sex.



Review:
Hinako-sensei has an interesting way of storytelling as usual. This story was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing and shaking my head. Poor Mistugu goes through so much to be with Tomoe. You feel sorry for him and you're rooting for him at the same time. Mitsugu has enemies around every corner -- the ladies in his office who want him for themselves, Tomoe's older brother who wants Mitsugu dead (or in traction) for daring to lay hands on Tomoe, the American exchange trying to seduce Tomoe first, and Mistugu's own mother who seems to go back and forth between acceptance and denial like a ping-pong ball in a championship tournament.

Of all the challengers, Tomoe's older brother Souichi is the loudest and the most violently opposed. You think he's just some rare bigot but Hinako sheds some light on his past and the root of his hatred in small side stories that let us know that Souichi might just be in a bout of denial of his own. His story is fleshed out more in "The Tyrant Falls in Love" (review coming later).

I loved reading this story and I'm happy to know I'll see more of all the characters in the sequel starring Souichi. There was only one real problem. The translators were trying to keep the accents of certain characters and it made it hard to read. I had to slow my progress so I could spend time interpreting. Mildly annoying and I dreaded when those characters appeared.

Other than that, fans of Hinako-sensei will enjoy this latest installment.

Dark Diva Reviews: Eris

This one slipped past me, but I'm sure happy to see it. :D

5 Divas!
"If this were a movie, it would be a box office smash... So if you’re looking for a fast paced book with hunky immortals born in the thirteen century who find themselves captivated by a twenty first century woman, this book is definitely for you!"
~ Dakota, Dark Diva Reviews

Read Full Review - http://ddrreviews.blogspot.com/2010/08/eris-eternal-truths-series-by-d-renee.html

And guess what? No crying this time! Woot!

Funniest Email Exchange... EVER!

This blog post definitely lives up to its title. Read this series of emails about a lost cat and tell me you didn't almost die laughing.

Click HERE or HERE (the original post home) to read.

Guest Blog: TRS Blue

I did a guest blog over at The Romance Studio Blue about what it means for a book to be erotic. Let me know what you think.

Click Here to Read

Music Whim

I have eclectic music tastes. People ask me what I like to listen to and I usually can't answer simply because it depends on my mood.

Here's a smattering of what has caught my attention lately though.

This is the theme song for one of my characters in a WIP about werewolves:



This the poor man's theme song and my giggle song:



Thanks to Flash, this song has been running through my head. It's catchy, darn it.



Is it sad that I love this video simply because Jet Li is in it? I like the song too but I like it more because of Jet Li:



Last but not least:

Iron Man in 30 Seconds

Shyaporn has done it again. I can't wait for this man to get an actual budget and make feature films. They will rock.




See Some of his other 30 second recaps:
Inception
Avatar (20 Seconds)
Wolverine
Star Trek (47 seconds)
Clash of the Titans (60 seconds)
Terminator Salvation (60 Seconds)

Favorite Quote #7

I haven't posted one of these in a looooooong time. Good thing I have several. :D

There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. ~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith

I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard

If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ~Toni Morrison

Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say. ~Sharon O'Brien

Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very;" your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain

Easy reading is damn hard writing. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

A writer is someone who can make a riddle out of an answer. ~Karl Kraus

I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork. ~Peter De Vries

A critic can only review the book he has read, not the one which the writer wrote. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top. ~English Professor (Name Unknown), Ohio University

Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum. ~Graycie Harmon

A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one. ~Baltasar Gracián

The only cure for writer's block is insomnia. ~Merit Antares

No author dislikes to be edited as much as he dislikes not to be published. ~Russell Lynes

Imitation is the highest form of pissing me off. Quit stealing my content and violating my copyright. ~Jen T. Verbumessor

I do not like to write - I like to have written. ~Gloria Steinem

Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. ~George Orwell, "Why I Write," 1947

http://www.quotegarden.com/writing.html

Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World


Basic Premise:
Scott Pilgrim is 22 years old, in a band that is somewhat good, and going nowhere in life fast. Ramona Flowers enters his life. He's in love at first sight. There's only one problem -- the League of Evil Ex's. He has to defeat her seven evil ex's before he can date her. It's game on with Ramona as the prize.

July Online Appearances

This is just for my record.

All the places I appeared in July 2010.

08 July
Escape Into Romance Guest Blog

13 July
Nana Malone Guest Blog

15 July
You Gotta Read Reviews Guest Blog

21 July
Melodee Aaron Spotlight

26-30 July
Whipped Cream Reviews Author Spotlight

• Friday Spotlight: D. Renee Bagby - Freshwater Snails
• Thursday Spotlight: D. Renee Bagby - A Living (Fictional) Mobius Strip
• Wednesday Spotlight: D. Renee Bagby - Reality TV Goes Interstellar
• Tuesday Spotlight: D. Renee Bagby - Smile! It’s Supposed to Hurt!
• Monday Spotlight: D. Renee Bagby - Next Dimension, Please, And Step On It

Retro Movie Review: Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In


Year: 2008
Length: 1 hr 54 min
Starring: Lina Leandersson (vampire), Kåre Hedebrant (human)


Vampire Weaknesses:
- Animal reaction to blood
- Sunlight
- Cats


Vampire Traits:
- Super strength
- Flying
- One bite transference
- See in the dark

New Addiction: Cake Mania - Lights, Camera, Action

Okay, I have a new addiction. I don't need a new addiction right now but here it is.

Cake Mania - Lights, Camera, Action!

This is the latest installment in the Cake Mania franchise. I swear, these games get better and better with each new installment.

Highlights:
- Resell
You can sell back equipment if you no longer want it or just really need the money. Of course you don't get the same amount you paid for it but it's still close.

- Relaxed Mode
Now you don't have to worry about failing a mission because the customers are too impatient. In relaxed mode, you play until you reach the goal. No stress.

- Risha's Boutique and Gordo's Italian Restuarant
Sick of baking cakes? Then let's head over to Risha's place and help customers shop for the latest fashions. This is a scavenger hunt (no baking involved). Find the clothes the customers ask for and they give you money. Not up for a scavenger hunt but you want some baking that isn't so hurry-up-and-wait? Head over to Gordo's Italian Restuarant. You make pizza, lasgna, or baked eggplant (and probably more dishes, I haven't gotten that far due to time constraints) to order. All you do is compile the ingredients. That's it. The baking is done automatically and the customer picks up the food themselves.

- New Customers
There's a movie being filmed in Jill's hometown (hence the game title) and that means characters with character. From the woman who turns the customers into mimes that change their order to the ninja who shadow-freezes people so you can't fill their order. It's fun interacting with these new challenges. And yes, the klepto-customer is back, but only in timed mode.


Lowlights
There aren't many. Just one that I've found. Relaxed mode is more relaxing and makes the level less stressful. BUT, you can't achieve Superstar status. As soon as you hit your monetary goal, the level ends, even if you are in the middle of filling an order. The second you collect the cash and hit the goal, that's it.


All in all a great game. My fav is Gordo's restuarant even if playing it makes me soooooo hungry that I want to eat the screen. Risha's boutique is a great way to hone my "search" skills. And, of course, you just have to love baking a cake every now and again.

Random Previews: August 2010

Oops... looks like I missed July. Oh well.

- Sucker Punch (25 March 2011)
From the director of Watchmen and 300 comes ass-kicking, assassin hookers and DRAGONS. Hell yeah! I am totally there. The special effects look sweet but most of all, I want to see that dragon. They want you to see the dragon too. The trailer kept cutting back to it.

- Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage (01 January 2011)
I thought the people who had brought us Clash of the Titans had decided to see if they could update another classic (yet fall short). Nope. We're not so lucky. Is claymation making a comeback and I didn't hear about it?

- Soul Kitchen (20 August 2010)
I like the name and it looks interesting. Beware of subtitles though (they don't bother me, but I thought I should bring it up).

- Faster (24 November 2010)
The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) stole Vin Diesel's car and his movie font to make this revenge movie. While it looks interesting, I need a little more because it's looking a lot like Walk Tall just with cars.

- Stone (08 October 2010)
Milla Jovovich is my girl. I'd go see her in pretty much anything. Including this. There's no action-packed sequences of adrenaline-inspiring mayhem, just plain old drama. Adultery, parole, and a near-retiree caught in the middle. Looks interesting.

- Devil (17 September 2010)
M. Night Shyamalan is back again. This time it's horrifying. No really. He's doing a horror flick. Five people trapped in an elevator. No one can get them out. And one of them is not who they appear to be. I think the title says it all. I look forward to this one.

- Tales from Earthsea (13 August 2010)
WTF!!? Studio Ghibli puts out a new feature film and Disney doesn't bother to tell anyone? Always the way. Sheesh. "There was a time when humans and dragons were one." OMG!!! I totally have to see this. Studio Ghibli can do no wrong (according to me). And it has dragons!! SOLD!

Animated Movie Review: Batman The Red Hood

Batman: Under The Red Hood

Basic Premise:
A new crime lord has moved to Gotham. He's the Red Hood -- deadly, dangerous, and he knows all of Batman's tricks. This new addition to Batman's rogues gallery is more than he seems. Batman has to put the pieces together to this mystery man if he wants to bring him to justice.