R.I.P. Paul Walker

We, as a society, have lost another great actor. Paul Walker died Saturday in a car accident. And, just to get it out of the way, here's what some people have been thinking:

How ironic that one of the stars of 'The Fast and The Furious' movies would die in a car accident.

Ironic? Maybe so, but we must not forget that Walker has starred in other movies besides the F&F franchise.

It's hard to say what will happen now with Fast and Furious 7, which was half-filmed at this point. The way I see it, the film makers have two options: 1) Write him out of the movie completely, or 2) Use a stunt-double that looks and sounds a lot like him.

As much as it pains me to say it, I think the best option for the film makers is option number one. True, he's a fan-favorite character, but you can't just replace him. It's unfortunate, but you'd be better off killing the character. Either way, the franchise will never be the same.

RIP Paul Walker

Until Next Time...:(

W.

Tales of Terror #2: '13 Vultures'

Happy Halloween everybody!! I decided earlier this year that Halloween would bring a new short story to your eyes, one with a terrifying/supernatural theme. Today, I share with you a tale of 13 Vultures...

For those of you who missed out on last year's story, here is a link to 'Losing Control.' http://randomramblings-wilkem.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-werewolf-transformation-storyhappy.html

Otherwise, read on:

13 VULTURES by W

For as long as he could remember, Jackson Smith had seen the vultures in the tree. The tree had been dead for years, serving as a corner post for the calf pasture. Since its death, vultures would often congregate in the tree, but only Jackson could see them. The vultures were his…

Jackson is eight years old. He is waiting for the bus with his grandpa when he sees the vultures in the tree.

“Grandpa,” he asks. “What kind of birds are those in the tree?”

“There ain’t no birds in the tree,” he responds, looking at the dead tree where his grandson points.

“Yes, there is! I count 13 of them.” Grandpa laughs. The imagination of an eight year old knows no bounds. “Well, you’re eyes must be better than mine.”

The bus stops and Jackson climbs on, waving goodbye. One vulture in the top of the tree grins menacingly at Jackson, while the other twelve keep their eyes focused on grandpa.

Jackson attends his grandpa’s funeral two days later…

Jackson is 22. He is off at college when a tornado rips through his parent’s farm. He rushes home when he hears that they are in the hospital.

Their injuries don’t seem to be too serious. Jackson’s father urges him to check on the cattle, so Jackson leaves the hospital to do so.

The farm is in ruins, but that long dead tree still stands in the corner of the pasture. Jackson looks up at the tree and sees 13 vultures roosting in its branches. One lone vulture looks down from the highest branch and grins menacingly at him, while the other twelve have their heads turned towards the direction of town.

Five minutes later, Jackson receives a call from the hospital. His parents are dead…

Jackson has just gotten married to a girl he met in college. They have a home in the city, many miles away from the farm of his childhood. One day while he is at work, he receives a call from a hospital. His wife has been in a car accident.

Jackson rushes to the hospital, relieved that he is many miles away from the farm. He has grown to think of the vultures as a bad omen. He always saw them before someone close to him died. His Grandfather. His parents. At least three dogs. All lost mere minutes after he saw the vultures.

He stopped at a red light and nearly screamed. There, roosting on a light pole on the corner, stood a vulture. It stared down the street towards the hospital. When the light went green, Jackson sped away, but all along the street were vultures. They sat on light poles, in trees, and some were even on cars. As Jackson pulled into the hospital lot, his count had come to twelve.

Vulture number 13 was waiting on the roof of the hospital. It looked down on him and grinned menacingly. Jackson rushed in the hospital, but it was too late. His young wife was already gone…

We do weird things when we are filled with grief. For Jackson, that weird thing was going home. He had it strong in his mind that getting rid of the tree would get rid of the vultures.

The farm sat abandoned, the for-sale sign still resting at the end of the lane. Jackson pulled in and got out of the car. He grabbed a chainsaw from the trunk; this wouldn’t take long.

The vultures were all sitting in the tree as he approached. He started the saw and went at cutting…

And was immediately attacked by vultures. He swung the saw high, cutting into the bony, feathered bodies, but it seemed to make no difference. Every time one fell, another seemed to take its place. Soon, the vultures overpowered him and pulled him to the ground. They ripped his flesh from his body, and chewed greedily while he lay screaming, until there was nothing left of him.

From the top of the tree, one lone vulture looked down and grinned menacingly…

The End...

Anyways, there's that. Happy Halloween!!!

Until Next Time...:)

W.

Marvels

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true arts and sciences. Whoever does not know it and can no longe wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead." -Albert Einstein

We all marvel at different things, but what exactly does marvel mean?

If you're a movie geek (AKA Cinephile) like I am, when you hear the word 'Marvel' you immedaitely think of Thor, Iron Man, and the rest of The Avengers. And while I, and others, marveled at how epic 'The Avengers' was as a movie, it's not exactly what I'm going for here.

It marvels me how stupid we've become as a society. For example, did you know that some of our tax dollars recently went to a study that confirmed, and I quote, 'Kids who go to college are more likely to have debt.'

...

Seriously? We paid people to come to that conclusion?!?!? When you pay a few thousand dollars every year, it's going to add up fast. Just, my god.

But I am trying to make a point about natural marvels. Rivers, mountains, and such.

When is the last time you actually crossed the Mississippi river and actually thought about how grand it is? When is the last time you looked up at a star-filled sky and realized just how insignificant you are in the grand scheme of things?

To quote a movie, (Again, I'm a Cinephile): Rule #32. Enjoy The Little Things.

That's right, I just threw a 'Zombieland reference in there. :p Isn't that a marvel? :p

So, enjoy a sunset. Stare in awe at the stars. Marvel at things.

Until Next Time...:)

W.

P.S. If you were curious, here's the unofficial list of Zombieland rules, since it is almost Halloween. Enjoy, and be sure to check back on Halloween when a new Tale of Terror will debut right here on my blog. :)

And it case you can't read it:

1.Cardio
2.The Double Tap
3.Beware of Bathrooms
4.Wear Seat Belts
5.No Attachments
6.The “Skillet”
7.Travel Light
8.Get a Kick Ass Partner
9.With your Bare Hands
10.Don’t Swing Low
11.Use Your Foot
12.Bounty Paper Towels
13.Shake it Off
14.Always carry a change of underwear
15.Bowling Ball
16.Opportunity Knocks
17.Don’t be a hero (later crossed out to be a hero)
18.Limber Up
19.Break it Up
20.It’s a marathon, not a sprint, unless it’s a sprint, then sprint
21.Avoid Strip Clubs
22.When in doubt Know your way out
23.Zipplock
24.Use your thumbs
25.Shoot First
26.A little sun screen never hurt anybody
27.Incoming!
28.Double-Knot your Shoes
29.The Buddy System
30.Pack your stain stick
31.Check the back seat
32.Enjoy the little things
33.Swiss army Knife

Falling Into Fall

Well, summer is just about over officially, and 2013 draws one step closer to its conclusion. It's been quite a year so far, and with just over three months to go, could still become even more interesting.

I' feel bad that I've really let this blog fall to the wayside. Hopefully, I'll get back in the habit of regular updates. I've got some blog ideas, I just haven't taken the time to write them out.

But today, we're talking Fall.

Fall is easily one of the best times of the year. Nature is oh so pretty with all the colored leaves, and harvest rolls around with food like apples, squash, potatoes, etc. being brought in for the winter.

This weekend, my family is making our annual trip to Gays Mills to pick apples. We have trees of our own, but the apples usually aren't all that great for anything. We found a decent tree on our hillside this year, but we're not quite sure what kind of apples they are. They taste fine, but they don't seem to last very long. :/

Other than the harvest, TV starts to get good again. Now, I followed America's Got Talent all summer, (FORTE got robbed!) but the fall is when all the scripted shows get going. I'm really looking forward to NBC's 'The Blacklist' and, of course, ABC's 'MARVEL: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' And I'm also going to stick with NBC's 'Revolution.' Hopefully, the show is just as good as it was last year, but I guess we'll see.

And Hollwood has begun to unleash the 'Oscar-Bait' Movies!!!! I'll be seeing 'The Butler' soon, as well as 'Rush,' Prisoners,' 'Gravity,' and 'Captain Phillips.' All five of these are pretty much guaranteed Oscar buzz, but it's still really too early to tell.

So, that's my Fall! :) I leave you now with a self-written poem about Fall:

There's some shiny apples
hanging high up in the tree.
Different colored leaves are falling
down around you and me.
The vines are full of pumpkins.
The air is getting cool.
Downtown, they have already
pulled the plug and drained the pool.
Schools are back in session
much to the kids dismay.
But every Friday night's a party
at the football game.
Everybody's celebrating
from the short to tall.
Summer may be over,
but now, it is the Fall.

Until Next Time...:)
W.

This is Sand

How many of you like artwork, but are completely talentless when it comes to art??

I kind've fit into that club. I've tried drawing/sketching, painting, etc, but it always ends up the same: looking like it came out of some crappy cartoon. :p

Then, theres the reallly talented people who can do art with sand. Or Sand Art. This could be simply sculpturing out of sand, or (for the overly talented) using colored sand on a flat surface to make a picture.

I've always wanted to try this flat-surface sand art, but if I screwed up, I'd most likely toss the unfinished project across the room and proceed to then sweep sand from my floor for the rest of the week.

Then I found this website:

www.thisissand.com

This is some of the coolest stuff I've done in a long time. I'm able to change the color of my sand as many times as I want, and I can spread it anywhere on the screen (canvas.) Plus, no messy clean up! :)

Below is my first attempt, where I was pretty much just throwing color combinations around:

Then I took that light blue/white combo and made a piece of artwork that I call 'Icy Mountains.'

So, I seem to be getting better at pictures that actually have a point, so I guess that's good. Anyway, I urge you to try it out! I'm sure you'll be hooked in minutes.

Until Next Time...:)

W.

Have You Read My Blog Today???

Greetings to all of you in cyberspace!! I'm BACK!!

Seriously though, it has been far to long, so I decided it's time to return to ramble randomly. If you're reading this, thanks! If this is your first time here, Welcome! If you've been here before, Welcome Back! :)

So, summer has finally arrived. It wasn't looking likely for quite a while, as it rained nearly every day in May, and in the first part of June. The weather seems to have finally straightened out somewhat. I've been able to have the cookout I wanted to have, and it was a blast hanging with some really cool people!

Unfortunately, it's hay season. I never really liked baling hay and stacking it. I still don't, but it hasn't been too bad this year...yet. This is only the second day, so that could change here in about a week.

My reading goal has been going well. As of right now, I've read 51 books so far this year, putting me close to halfway towards my goal of 105! The only downside is: some of the books I've read this year have been less than stellar. I've struggled through a couple this year, but I pushed on and finished them...and then preceeded to get rid of them. No need to keep a book that I'll never read again.

Novel writing hasn't been going to well. As a matter of fact, it hasn't been happening. Some friends and I, (all of whom are writing) have formed a supergroup called the NOVELATION 3!!! We even joked about all of us writing individual novels, and then having our individual characters meet up in a combined effort. Kind of like what Marvel does, only in written form. :p

Oh, and it was recently my birthday. I didn't really ask for much, but the one thing I did ask for, I got. 'Silver Linings Playbook' on DVD!!!!! :) I still freaking love that movie!

Well, that's it for now. I'll be back next week with a new post!!

Until Next Time...:)

W.

Best Advice from Country Songs You've Never Heard

Hello all! Today, I'm going to talk Inspirational Quotes...from country music songs...that you've probably NEVER heard!! Obviously, I don't really know if you know these songs or not. I'm assuming that many of you won't, as most of them were not big radio hits. If you do know them, great! If not, you soon will. :)

#1. Let your heart break some rules.

Song: 'That's Cool' by Blue County.
If I had to sum this one up, it's just a fancy way of saying take a chance on love. I really like how they sing it in the song: 'Living in a moment/that you might never see again/let your heart/break some rules/now that's cool.'
It's really a (pardon the pun) "cool" song. Lot's of memorable lines in the lyrics, but this one just really sticks with you.

#2. It's not where you've been, it's where you're going.

Song: 'Where You're Going' by Jimmy Wayne.
As Jimmy sings in the refrain: 'It's not where you've been, it's where you're going./It's not who you were back then, it's who you are at this moment.' This statement rings so much truth. People judge others on who they used to be, but in some cases that isn't a fair judgement. To quote another country song: Some people change. Get over yourselves, and don't pretend you know someone now just because you knew them then.

#3. Don't take for granted a single breath of this life.

Song: 'Long After I'm Gone' by Big Kenny.
Big Kenny of Big & Rich released a solo albumn, and 'Long After I'm Gone' was the lone charting single. That's really too bad, because the albumn is a nice blend of music. Even though this quote is kind've taken out of context, I look at it as a different way of saying 'You Only Live Once.'

#4. If you love them, tell them so.

Song:'Don't Ask Me How I Know' by Bobby Pinson.
This is THE advice song. I could've picked a lot of the lines, but this one is the most obvious and important of them.

That's just a few examples for you all. I hope you'll look these songs up and give them a chance!

Until Next Time...:)

W.

When Spring Sprung

The weather had finally started to get nice the last few weeks. Warm air had moved in, and the snow finally melted, leading me to believe that the dark winter had passed, and that Spring had sprung.

As I write this post, however, the dreaded s-word is once again being mentioned. F* you, Mother Nature. We get it. You're in charge. Now, can it be nice, please?

This past week it has rained nearly every day. This hasn't really bothered me, since we're still suffering from last summer/fall when we were in the midst of a drought. I'm not even mad that they have rain predicted every day next week. I'm bummed because, a little sun in between would be nice. Just saying.

All this spare time has proven to be very beneficial to me, however. I've finally found time to do some much needed cleaning. I have a lot of excess crap in my closet and such that really needs to go. So, for the last few days, I've been pitching stuff into the nearest garbage can, or putting it in a seperate pile of it is salvagable. Most of these salvagable items are books that will make a 'hopeful' trip to Cedar Rapids to a Half-Price Bookstore.

Where I will then proceed to buy more.

Man, it's a neverending cycle.

This is the main reason, that I've neglected the blog for so long. I've just been busy with cleaning and working at the theater. I decided to take a break from said cleaning tonight just to let all of you know I'm still alive.

Although, if this whole North Korea thing doesn't get resolved, none of us may be alive. :( And just for giggles, this is what must be done in North Korea to save the world:



Ahhh, if only it was that simple. This could indeed turn out ot be an interesting spring.

If it has indeed sprung. :p

Until Next Time...:)

W.

The Top 20 Movies from 2012!!!

Here it is everyone! My annual list of the best movies of the year that has passed. Yes, I know I'm a little late with the list this year, so I apologzie for that. But enough delays, here we go!!!

20. SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS- This movie really surprised me when I saw it this past fall. It was funny, violent, and just plain crazy! I highly recommend this for people who like movies that are just plain different.
Now Available on DVD.

19. PITCH PERFECT-Probably one of the biggest surprises I got this year when watching a movie was this acapella comedy. By all reasoning, I should hate this movie, but the great music and huge laughs make it one of the years best.
Now Available on DVD.

18. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS-The other big surprise I got this year was from this movie. I'm not really a fan of horror, but after much pressuring from my co-workers, I gave this one a try, and it did not disappoint. Not really a horror movie, but a fun ride nonetheless.
Now Available on DVD.

17. JACK REACHER-Tom Cruise usually is an up-and-down subject with me. Some of his movies were great! (Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol) Others, not so much. (Knight and Day) So I entered Jack Reacher with much trepidation. The result? A high-octane thrill ride, and a new series of books I can read. :)
Available on DVD on May 7th.

16. WRECK-IT RALPH-The animated feature that should have won the oscar. The 3D was spectacular, and the story was heartwarming and funny.
Now Available on DVD.

15. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER-History's greatest mash-up was a gloriously violent vampire film. And I freaking loved every minute of it! :)
Now Available on DVD.

14. THE HUNGER GAMES-Book-to-movie adaptions usually are a let down. This movie broke the trend for me. This is one of the best book-to-movie adaptions ever. And they give you all the info you need. You don't have to read the book to understand the movie.
Now Available on DVD.

13. LES MISERABLES-I'm not usually a huge fan of musicals. Going in, I had no idea what to really expect from this movie. I didn't know the story, so it was all new to me. I walked out a huge fan of this movie, and it's live-singing performances only enhances it even more.
Now Available on DVD.

12. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED-One of two movies on this list that some of you may not have heard of, and that's a shame. This comedy/drama, indie film is one of the most original movies I've seen this past year. And if you like time-travel, this one is for you.
Now Available on DVD.

11. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES-I've talked about this movie enoguh before. The conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy was a good film, but didn't live up to 'The Dark Knight' from 2008.
Now Available on DVD.

10. THE LORAX-I grew up on 'The Lorax.' When I first heard they were making a full-length feature, I was a little skeptical. Would this movie ruin the vision of Dr. Seuss?
Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. 'The Lorax' was the MOST fun I've had at an animated movie this year, and the message is still just as important as ever.
Now Available on DVD.

9. MOONRISE KINGDOM-We all remember our first love, but I can guarantee none of us took them as far as 'Moonrise Kingdom' goes. This love story between two young people is heartwarming and funny, and well worth a watch.
Now Available on DVD.

8. LOOPER-I freaking love Sci-Fi Movies, and when an original idea comes along, it usually piques my interest. This was the case with Looper, which proves the point that you don't need a huge production budget to make an entertaining Sci-Fi/Action film.
Now Available on DVD.

7. DJANGO UNCHAINED-Quentin Tarantino's best movie to date. Christoph Waltz is hysterical, as is Samuel L. Jackson. Word of note: It is extremeley violent, so if that's not your thing, you better pass on this one.
Available on DVD on April 9th.

6. LINCOLN-Daniel Day Lewis stars as the 16th president as he attempts to abolish slavery. It could have been really boring, but instead is an interesting look into the life of Abraham Lincoln.
Available on DVD on March 26th.

5. SKYFALL-The ultimate James Bond film. It only took 50 years to make this movie, but it is so well done and well paced that it hardly matters. I only hope it doesn't take another 50 years to top it. Keep up the good work, Hollywood!
Now Available on DVD.

4. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK-A movie that is really for everyone. It's a comedy. It's a drama. It's a sports movie. It's a triumph!
Available on DVD on April 30th.

3. ARGO-The true story of the CIA's most outrageous mission is one of the best edge-of-your-seat thrillers in quite some time. It's also easily one of the best films of the year. Well worthy of it's best picture win.
Now Available on DVD.

2. LIFE OF PI-The most visually-arresting movie since Avatar. I didn't get a chance to see it in 3D, but I know it would have been a real treat. Besides visuals, the story is an interesting and exciting adventure.
Now Available on DVD.

1. THE AVENGERS-Was there any doubt that this would be my number one movie for the year? When I first saw this back in May, I knew immediately that it would be my top for the year. Nothing can beat it. It's sheer epicness still crosses my mind all the time, and I really need to find time to watch it again.
Now Available on DVD.

Well, there you have it. As always, I'm sure some of you, my readers, will let me know that I screwed up on some choices or placements. You do every year, and I look forward to your opinions, just leave them below in the comment box. :)

Until Next Time...:)

W.

Catching Up

It's been a rough year so far.

The weather has been freaking nasty, work has been full of late nights, and I've let this blog fall to the wayside.

Sorry 'bout that. :(

This is a brief post just to fill you in on the year so far, and also to let you know that I'm coming back strong. I'm catching up.

Movie wise, I've seen some good movies so far, but most of them were technically released in 2012. Les Miserables, Django Unchained, and Silver Linings Playbook were all really good movies that I saw recently. These, along with 17 others will be celebrated in my annual 20 Best List! This list will be shared in my next blog post, and will countdown the top 20 movies of 2012 in my opinion, along with a brief reasoning for each title.

I wish I could say I've read a lot of good books this year as well, but that unfortunately would be a lie. I've read 19 books so far towards my goal of 105, so I'm on track. However, most of these books have disappointed me. J. K. Rowling's 'The Casual Vacancy' more than any of them. I will have a post in a couple of weeks detailing some of these, in my opinion, disappointing reads.

Finally, I've been really looking forward to summer. Last summer was a lot of fun doing cookouts with some friends, and my co-worker Andy and I have been brainstorming some really neat ideas for cookouts this summer. All we need is a thaw, and some decent weather for a change.

Well, there's some of the ideas I'm working on for future blog posts. Thanks for sticking with me so far, and I hope you keep following me. :)

Wait a minute. It's Daylight Savings!! I better get going. No need to fall any farther behind on sleep.

Until Next Time...-_-

W.

Who Will Win Best Picture at the Oscars?

The Oscars are nearly here.

Ever since I started working at the movie theater in my town, I've followed the Oscars almost religously. This year, nine movies are nominated for the coveted best picture award. They are:

"Amour" "Argo" Beasts of the Southern Wild" Django Unchained" "Les Miserables" Life of Pi" "Lincoln" "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Zero Dark Thirty"

As I sat at work tonight, I went to work on an annual thing: predicting the Oscar winners. Last year, I succesfully predicted about 50% of the winners, and am hoping to do better this year.

The problem is picking my best picture winner.

There are a lot of good movies here. It'll be hard to pick just one, but I'm going to try it anyway, by eliminating them as I go.

First of all, I've only seen seven of these nine. So "Amour" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild," I'm sorry, but you are not worthy in my mind.

Same can be said for "Zero Dark Thirty." While it was well acted, and had some interesting moments, the movie seemed to drag in the middle. Maybe that's just me, but with the others listed here, it didn't really have a chance of getting to far.

This is where it started getting tricky, and I had to eliminate some that, in a weaker year, would be sure things. So, I eliminated "Django Unchained," "Les Miserables," and "Lincoln." Don't get me wrong, all three of these are great movies, and deserve viewing. They just aren't the best I've seen this year.

That left me with three movies left: "Argo," "Life of Pi," and "Silver Linings Playbook." I finally chose "Argo" as my choice for Best Picture, but it was a hard decision to come to, especially when you consider how much I loved "Life of Pi" and "Silver Linings Playbook." (By the way, "Silver Linings Playbook" will be showing at my place of work starting March 1st. I hope to see you there! :) )

I guess I'll find out tomorrow night if my prediction is correct, and I will see if I do better with all my predictions this year.

Until Next Time...:)

W.

Poetry Paradox Redux

Still not sure if these talents
are a gift or a curse,
But it's time again for a post
wrote completely in verse...

Or not.

This statement above could be considered a paradox. As dictionary.com defines:

A paradox is a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

In other words, I could probably write a post completely in verse, but why would I?

I have no life.
I'm super bored.
So why not rhyme and see
if my readers will be floored.

Yes, the above poem is pointless, but like I said I have no life.

So, to continue this pointless poetic post, I will now complain on the weather. So far in 2013, Mother Nature has proven herself a notorious B*tch. For example, it rained almost all day today. It's going to get cold tonight, and yes: everything will become icy.

It rained all day
with no end in sight.
That night it got cold.
Yeah, oit froze overnight.
The very next morning
everything was glazed.
The ice had covered
everything in our gaze.
The roads are all slick.
There'll be no driving today.
At least, not until
the ice melts away.

So, to sum up my new year so far: The weather sucks, and I have found the only way to entertain myself so far is attempting to rehash old blog posts. Ugh, I need a life.

Until Next Time...:/

W.

My Goals for 2013

First off, before we start today, I want to give you all a big shout out! Thanks to you, my readers, my last post has become my most read blog post ever!! I want to thank all of you for this amazing milestone. You are all awesome!! :)

So, some of you may have made New Year Resolutions. These are the goals we always set for ourselves in the new year. Typically, I don't make any because I have yet to succesfully keep them. Pretty lame excuse, huh?

This year, however, I came up with a few goals I'd like to keep: Finish my novel being top on my list!

I've gotten away from writing lately. I really hope to get back at my finished novel, and finish all of the edits, and hopefully pursue getting it published.

Also in this year, I hope to get started on a new novel. I have a whole ton of ideas floating around inside my head, so all it takes is to put to pen to paper and get started.

Some of my other goals are more pointless, really. Last year, I failed to meet my goal to read 100 books within the year, ending up with only 98. (So close...)

So, I extended the goal to 105 anyway, and really hope to hit it this year, but only time will tell if we can reach that milestone.

Also, I saved $800 on books last year by getting them from the library rather than buying them. So, I figured we could save just a little more this year. Let's try for $1000. I've already, just this month so far, saved $74, so this goal seems probable.

Finally, with an Epic Quest coming up in April, I hope to get to know some of the people I call Facebook friends a little better by inviting them on this adventure. I haven't really decided on anybody yet, except I will obviously be there, as well as Bob, because it's just not an Epic Quest without him. :p

So, good luck with any resolutions you may have made this year! We'll see how I do.

Until Next Time...:)
W.

15 Movies to See in 2013!!

Happy New Year everyone! Today, I am sharing with you my list of movies I'm most looking forward to in this new year!!! I used to share this list on Facebook, but decided this was the best place to put it now.

First of all, I often try to leave sequels off my main list, and this year is no different. Sequel-wise, I usually pick five and place them under 'Honorable Mention,' in other words, I don't need to explain what they are, because you know them from the title.

So, to start off, here are the Honorable Mentions, listed in the order they hit theaters:

* Iron Man 3
* Star Trek: Into Darkness
* Despicable Me 2
* Thor: The Dark World
* The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Yes, there's a lot of big-budget stuff listed there, and some of you probably are wondering what in the heck I can come up with to fill 15 more slots. Well, let's not stall any longer. Here we go!

1. Gangster Squad-(Warner Brothers)- You may recall that Gangster Squad made my list last year, but it's shove back to January makes it elligible for the list yet again. I've been waiting a long time for this movie and will finally(!) be seeing it next week!

2. Side Effects-(Open Road Films)- How many of you die-hard Channing tatum fans have heard of this one? Coming in February, 'Side Effects' is the story of a miracle drug that has a somewhat bizarre side effect on a young woman (Rooney Mara). It comes from the director of 'Contagion,' so it should be pretty intense.

3. OZ: The Great and Powerful-(Disney)- March is super strong this year, and the strongest release is most likely this Wizard of Oz prequel that stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, and Rachel Weisz.

4. Oblivion-(Universal)-April is also overly strong this year, with this big-budget Science Fiction extravaganza being released mid way through the month. It stars Tom Cruise, and is from 'Tron: Legacy' director Joseph Kosinski, so you know it's going to look epic on the big screen.

5. Pain and Gain-(Paramount)-April ends with this action/comedy about two bodybuilders who go on a crime spree. I have a friend who is extremely excited for this film, and it does indeed look pretty awesome. It stars mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson.

6. Man of Steel-(Warner Brothers)-While May holds a ton of sequels, June and July have a lot of original fare, and true this Superman reboot isn't exactly an original idea, but with Christopher Nolan involved, and a fairly secretive script, I'm very excited to see how this turns out.

7. Now You See Me-(Lionsgate Summit)-The same day as 'Man of Steel,' we also see the release of thriller 'Now You See Me,' meaning I really have to decide which one I'd rather see that day. 'This movie is about a group of magicians that rob banks during their shows, and then give the money to their audience. It has a great cast, which includes: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, and others.

8. This is The End-(Sony)-This R-rated comedy features a bunch of actors playing themselves as the world ends. It stars Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, and many others. This cast alon assures me that it will be THE Comedy Event of the summer.

9. The Lone Ranger-(Disney)-From the director of Pirates of the Carribean, comes this action-packed western based on the old show. It stars Johnny Depp as the indian Tonto...and he wears a crow on his head, so that should be interesting. :p

10. Turbo-(Fox/Dreamworks)-The new animated movie from Dreamworks is the story of a snail who wants to be a racer. So he gets a jet pack. o_0 I freaking love this concept!

11. Pacific Rim-(Warner Brothers)-Think Godzilla meets Transformers. When giant sea monsters wreck havoc, mankind develops gigantic robots to fight back.

12. R.I.P.D.-(Universal)- Zombies as cops? Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds as said cops? I'm on board.

13. Elysium-(Sony)- Direct Neill Blomkamp's follow-up to 'District 9.' I loved Distrcit 9, and am really looking forward to another Sci-Fi film from this very talented director.

14. Rush-(Universal)-'Thor's' Chris Hemsworth stars as a race car driver in this action-thriller. Should be a good film to see in September.

15. Monuments Men-(Sony)-I don't really know too much about this movie, but I always try to mention one that I believe will get Oscar buzz. With a cast that includes George Clooney, Daniel Craig, and Cate Blanchett, look for this one to win awards.

So, there's my list. Leave me comments below on what you think, or if there is any movies I may have missed.

Until Next Time...:)
W.