Allix Booth Video Blog Launch

 

I decided to start a questionnaire video blog about Allix Booth. If you have any questions for him about writing, books, video games, or just personal, drop your questions here or on his author page at: http://www.facebook.com/AllixBooth.

Shameless Self Promotion!

Alright bloggers and friends. Here’s your chance to take the opportunity to share and promote your work. You can post anything you would like and a word to the wise toss in your facebook pages as well. We are a community of artists that should embrace each other. Share, reblog, like, everyone is invited to join!!

Transformers Dark of the Moon (Ugh)

Michael Bay if you’re reading this I’m getting really sick of your shit. How are you going to have the Autobots claim they don’t harm humans yet they’re fighting America’s wars?!?! Okay, let me breathe for a second. In this third installment of Transformers we see the Autobots wreaking havoc across the middle east. Blowing up shit, basically doing their thing.

Well, if my memory goes back to the first Transformers I do believe Optimus told Ironhide, “No Ironhide we do not harm humans. What’s with you?” This was when Ironhide wanted to blast Sam’s parents to bits.

So is America classified as the only humans on earth now cause I’m pretty sure we have humans in other countries too. I mean, last I checked we did but who knows.

I would say this movie was just not made right at all. Yes, you have explosions, large robots, people screaming, and a model for an actress, but there’s no depth. For instance, Why would a woman working for the White House fall for a guy that finger shots her and breaks something in the White House? Also, Why is she working for a guy who builds, shows off, or sells nice cars? I forgot what he does, I was too damn busy admiring the cars to listen to him.

This whole trilogy just really got on my nerves. Like hell, I forgot there was a sequel because they all pretty much can be watched in any order. There’s no sorry to these movies, atleast not one compelling enough to keep up with.

Also, when was this deal made with Megatron and Sentinel Prime. If there was , a deal made, why did Sentinel run away to the moon? Seriously, detail was a total loss in this movie. I still wonder why the cube wasn’t shoved in Megatron’s chest in the first movie.

I’m going to say now, I won’t have anything to say about Transformers Age of Extinction. I fell asleep in the first fifteen minutes. Ugh!

Transformers and Michael Bay… Piss Me Off

Alright, here we go. This is a random post about why Transformers has put a sour taste in my mouth. I will say storyline wise, it is an awesome concept. Life event wise that make no damn sense at all, a bit irritating. What do I mean by this? Let’s look at the scene where Sam uses his charm to get Mikaela to sit in his lap.

So they’re in the Camaro, Sam is in the passenger seat and Mikaela is in the back seat. Sam asks her, “Why don’t you sit in the driver’s seat?”

She answers, “No, it’s driving. That’s weird.”

Sam: Why don’t you sit in my lap?

Mikaela: Um… Why?

Sam: Cause I’m the only one with a seatbelt and safety first, right?

Mikaela: Yeah, you’re right.

She sits in his lap and it’s more turning into a hot and sexy moment for Sam. Okay, first of all, no girl is going to sit in the lap of a guy they just started getting to know, unless it’s Santa Claus! The reality of this scene is it would never happen unless the girl was extremely attracted to the guy and was possibly being flirtatious. Mikaela hardly showed any of this signs. Anyways, scenes like this make me go… um… really? Are we rushing the movie a bit?

Now, Sam and Mikaela are at his parents house AT NIGHT ten minutes after nine to be exact. He brings Mikaela to his room from the side of the house from the roof. They search for his grandfather’s glasses blahdy blahdy blah. Autobots destroy back yard and parents flip out thinking it’s an earth quake. They see lights coming from Sam’s room and the power is out. They go to his room and find Mikaela after a long conversation about Sam’s “happy time”

Here’s what I don’t understand, he has a girl in his room without his parents permission. These are high school kids I might add. It’s night time. Wouldn’t parents be like,” Why is there a girl in your room?” Maybe Bay wanted to use the wine the parents had as an excuse to not give a rat’s ass about their bout possibly swapping spits with a sexy girl. Then again, I still think parents will question it a little bit.

Now, when the chick that steals all the data from the military base goes to her friend’s house to upload the data, what the hell? Did she not think the military was going to track her, especially when the guy loved with his GRANDMOTHER!

Let’s skip to the end now.

Optimus tells Sam to shove the cube in his chest if it comes down to that scenario. It would destroy the cube and stop Megatron. So here’s my issue, if the cube is going to kill the bot that has it shoved into their chest, why didn’t Optimus originally suggest it. Is it because Bay was in a hurry to finish the film? Seriously, the whole idea felt rushed, felt fake, and illogical. Sometimes I wish production companies would look at the script and visualize what’s going on cause in today’s world this stuff is totally different.

Anyways, I like Transformers and the concept but the tiny details just really make me question the writer’s knowledge for what society is actually like. Feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts.

Notes and Creation

In my last post,  showed you guys my outlining process for my new novel “The Rise of Sargon.” Still a working title I should point out. People tend to wonder where a writer’s inspiration comes from to create words like Middle-Earth and the multiple exotic worlds in Star Wars. Everyone has their own unique way of creating and showing through words/film of these places. Here are my inspirations and what I do to create characters and my world of Eliptica.

1. Read, Watch, and Play

I find that reading books that relate to my story help me learn how to write my descriptions in the manner intended for the genre. It is hard to see a face that is not in front of me though or see images of places around the world that closely relate to locations in the book. What helps me though? I google photos of people, places, and clothes that give me an idea of the time and place my world is set in. Portraits of people definitely helps to envision my characters deeper with the skin textures, hair styles, and eye colors.

I will watch movies like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, 300, Troy, etc. All of the movies I watch I am learning about morals and principles that each group believes. If I really like a moral, I’ll use it and twist it in my own way. Sometimes I’ll just watch these movies to have a basic idea of what an alien or human would look like long ago. I also enjoy watching these movies but research will always fall into my brain waiting to be cracked open later on.

I will play video games just because they are amazing and what better way to learn what your characters will feel when they win the battle, or I beat the game. There have been so many great ideas for story lines and battle sequences used in games that not many people get to experience. Plus, the feelings that rise when puzzles are solved and daunting journeys are taken to discover a new portion of a map. It all helps in my writing process. Some games I’ll play are The Elder Scrolls, Destiny, and Super Mario Brothers.

2. Music

Music has done wonders for my stories. Epic battle music with just brass and strings are my favorite pieces of music to listen to when I have to create a fight. Two Steps to Hell has most of my favorite pieces that I’ll listen to. I also listen to Five Finger Death Punch and Skillet if I need to pump up the action or just to get my creative juices flowing. I actually will pop in Avril Lavigne and Puddle of Mudd to put my mind in a place for heart break scenes. It all just depends on where I want my head at when I’m writing.

A few bands I love and enjoy, but avoid listening to while writing. Korn, Disturbed, Slip Knot, and any metal band that really distracts me. I avoid these bands because the fast paced singing/ intricate guitar leads make it hard to concentrate. I have written scenes where I lose my train of thought and start writing pieces of these guy’s lyrics cause I’m singing them in my head. Like I said I love them but they’re for another day.

3. Personal Experiences

I put a lot of my life experiences into my novels. I recently fell into a dark part of my life and struggled to find a way out. These times really help me discover a place that I want my main character to feel. I’ll have joy in my life as well that I’ll use too. Like meeting my fiance or traveling to beautiful places like Europe or the Bahamas. Many locations I’ll keep in my head so later I can write about the smells and the beauty that I had experienced.

I remember writing Horizon while I was intoxicated. My finance enjoyed it but it took me too long to finish because I kept having to back track to remember what I wrote. My suggestion is do not write while intoxicated. Just write notes and read them later.

I’ve laid out all of my inspirations and techniques to bring my mind to the world of Eliptica in this post. I hope this helps everyone look for new destinations to use as you crack away at your novel. I’d like to know what you guys do as well. So if you have any thing to add, questions, or want to know more about me, just throw it in the comments below. Thank you all for reading my posts and good luck with all of your writings.

Work and Play Everyday!

I’ve been away for a good few weeks now. I’m trying to get some things straightened out financially as well as experiencing a little bit of free time in my life. When I started this blog, I was expecting to write at one post a day, or four posts in a week, maybe give myself two to three days off. I realize now that sometimes “me” time is good. I haven’t really tried to have a lot of that in my life. I’ve always been stressed about work, money, relationships, success, school, or anything that might make me grow to be loved by many people. Why did I always feel the need to have this kind of attention? Honestly, I don’t know. I stopped looking for a relationship and I found my fiance. I stopped playing in a band and I found a job. Now, I’m a little confused about what’s next. I had a lot going for me as an assistant for a grocery store, but I couldn’t help feel this entity within me begging to push for something else. I wrote a book, published it, and have it on a few different retail sites, but I still don’t feel complete inside. Does anyone else ever feel like this?

I know I have been writing about 1,000-1,500 words a day for my new book Phantom Force. I’m really enjoying this novel, and I can’t see to break myself away from it. Well, I usually end up playing Destiny about 5-6 hours a day, which i know is a total waste of time, but it is very inspiring. There are many things that inspire me to write like books, games and movies. Yes, I do accidentally fall into that group of writers that will accidentally write a story based off of something I’ve seen or read, but I always break away from it and create something hopefully new and different.I appreciate the emails I’ve received from a few of you. Sorry, I’ve been a way for so long, but I had to take care of things that were going on in my own life to be able to sit down and actually give you guys a decent post. Or even a not so decent post, which ever you guys view my blog as. I did receive some criticism recently about one of my posts and it was on a subject that is sensitive, but I took that risk and I accepted it.

Anyways, what have I been doing the last month that I’ve been away. Well, Destiny is a big part of my life apparently now. I went to Ruby Falls and Rock City this last weekend. I’ll try to post some pictures later. Also, I found out the answer to all of life’s questions is 42.

So here’s a serious question to the people who have read my book and want to read more. Would you rather read a book in multiple posts on a separate blog, almost like a weekly episode type of deal, or in novel form? I’ve very interested to see what answers you guys have because I’ve been very interested in writing a story like in a season with multiple episodes to it. Well, I’m going to go play some Destiny and try to get 2,000 words in before then.

I want to leave a shout out to a friend blogger on here that finally broke me out of my Destiny shell this month. kateturville!!!

A Walk to Remember

Last night I was home alone just going through some channels, and I ran into A Walk to Remember. I started watching it because I remember watching it way back in high school when I was trying to catch a date with this one girl. Well, that obviously didn’t work out at the time. Actually, it was a train wreck, but anyways, I was watching this movie, and I’ve realized that this movie had a lot more to offer than just a love story. It was almost like those revelations in life where you realize, “Wow! Why didn’t I see that before?” 

What I realized through this movie was that you will go through many trials in life, and sometimes they are not always good. Sometimes you need someone to guide you back to where you want to be in the future. Like is it possible to say that Nadine fell into my life at the right moment four years ago? I started really pondering this and it really hit me when I started to realize what has happened the last four years since I met her.

Nadine moved here in May of 2010. She was forced to leave New York for reasons that are private. I was in a band at the time and performed around Georgia, trying to scrape by with a few bucks here and there each week. I was still living with my parents, and I had no ambitions on trying to get a degree at the time because I just honestly did not know what I wanted to do with my life. I was jumping from one girl to the next for about two years before I met Nadine because my ex had really jabbed a dagger through my heart. It was tough for a long time.

I remember sitting in the basement of my drummer’s mom’s house, and we were trying to come up with some beats. We went upstairs and played some video games for awhile after we failed to really accomplish anything. Then, my guitarist called us up and told us we should go down to this pizzeria and have a bite to eat with him, maybe play a mini acoustic set while we were in the area. At first, I was a bit put off by the suggestion, but I knew I really needed to get out. My drummer finally convinced me and we hit the road to the other side of town. When we got to the pizzeria, I discovered one of our fans was there with her cousin. Her cousin being Nadine. I really was into her even though we hardly talked at first, but we really hit it off once we moved passed the umms and buts. I learned a lot about what her life was like before she moved down here, and I talked about mine as well. The thing that really made me happy was we both had the same aspirations and goals in life.

Over the years, we have really stuck together through everything, whether it be financial troubles or family problems. There hasn’t been one moment where we have fallen into the trap of our friends trying to pull us apart, or we’re too stressed out about affording to live the lifestyle we have. Yes, we are not the perfect couple, but this is the closest feeling to perfect I’ve had in a long time. I now have pulled all of my own weight towards my own home, my own car, a job, and my writing. I have been keeping it together the best I can for the last four years because Nadine fell into my life at the right time. I no longer play in a band, I’m not obsessed with fame or fortune anymore. It’s like life has become more harmonious.

I think we all have people in our lives whether they are boyfriends/girlfriends, friends, or long lost family members. There is always a reason someone comes into your life. It could be to bring your family closer together, or to realize the people that are using you and making you weaker. It doesn’t matter if it’s a dog, or a fish, there is a reason you brought that person closer to you, or animal. Is it because we all have that kind of energy that brings us closer together, is there a mighty spirit that uses us like characters in a book, or do we simply just run into each other out of randomness? Either way, I think we all have at least one reason to keep someone in our lives to make us the person we are today. If so, always cherish that and thank them for being there for you today.

And I’m Back!

I’ve been away for a day, and I have slowed down on my posts this last week. I have been having to work some long shifts and been stuck at work constantly. Plus, I’ve been working on my novel Eversoul, as well as, Allen Dread. It has been a very hectic few days, especially from my episodes last week with my body. Just to give you guys an update, I’m fine. I do not have what I thought I had. I just have to watch my diet and drink a lot more water. Anyways, I want to thank all of you here who have been emailing me and messaging me with your concerns. 

Last night I got to watch America’s Got Talent with Nadine. I don’t know if there are any other bloggers who watch this show, but we have been watching it for the last two or three years. We always record the new episodes. I really do enjoy watching some of the crazy acts that are out there today. Even if they are the most moronic. I know last night there were two magicians that didn’t really do magic, but their presentation was on point. Plus, adding in a little bit of comedy to the act really helped them to gain my vote. I’m sure if you watch you may know who I’m talking about. Now, there were some very disappointing ones like Ieti (SP) Holy crap! Did this guy bomb his performance or what? It was so bad, Nadine actually had to ask me if I was okay cause I was so embarrassed for the guy. I couldn’t watch or listen. It was almost as bad as a horror movie where you don’t want to watch, but you peak through your finger holes to see what happens. It was a nightmare.

I’m going to say this now, a person’s story should never be the reason you vote for them. There are two acts that are like this on America’s Got Talent,. one is Ieti, he is a marine, who fought in Iraq for six months I believe. If you listen to him, you will definitely know the reason people are voting. HIS FREAKIN’ BACK STORY! I mean, think about it we eliminate  someone with a better talent because this joke had to step in with his military background. (No offense to the military) I have a lot of respect for the guys fighting for my freedom. Thank you so much for your service. I’m just saying the back story is not going to produce a miracle for someone who can’t sing. 

There is also Miguel. I don’t think this is so much his back story, I think it is more his charisma. The women love him, but he just doesn’t have the passion that I’m looking for in an act. I mean, if he totally bombed his act, i wonder how many people would be cheering for him? More than likely all of them, but would he be happy with knowing he is only being recognized for his good looks instead of his talent? I’m sure he doesn’t care as long as he wins, but I don’t know how I would be able to sleep at night knowing that fact about myself.

 

We also had the opportunity to watch The Strain. Okay, this episode last night really woke me up for this show. I actually had chills in a few parts and the ending is making me beg for me. I am extremely excited about the episode on Sunday. If you are missing out on this show, definitely give it a go because it’s an awesome twist to this whole vampire craze going on right now! I don’t want to talk too much about this show because I could only explain it best with spoilers, and I don’t want to take that away from anyone interested in it. I just want to say so far, it’s an amazing show for me. Not as good as The Walking Dead, but it is more than likely going to be up there with The Walking Dead in a few seasons from now.

What am I reading?

I found this book from the blogger who wrote it last week. I haven’t had much time to sit down and read, but so far this book is actually a must for anyone who enjoys Star Wars, ogres, halfogres, and gnomes. There are many more creatures in this book too. It has a lot of space travel and science fiction elements so if you’re into that genre, this is a must have. 

 

Alien Encounter… What?!

I watched this movie on Netflix yesterday after work called Alien Encounter. This was after I had a horrible stomach ache from a greasy burger I had for lunch earlier. This movie was like a Blair Witch Project, mixed with a Cloverfield. Since you guys don’t know me that well, I hate these kind of movies. It’s just what is the point of shooting in the perspective of one of the characters. I mean, it is almost like eating a burger without the meat. WHERE IS THE FLAVOR?! Seriously, every movie that attempts to do this kind of style fails terribly. Either the kids are in the woods, at a party, or about to play a prank. It just gets dull after a while.

Anyways, back to Alien Encounter. I think this movie received 3 stars overall on Netflix. (I watch a lot of the three star movies because it’s on the fence and maybe there is some kind of value to take from these films.) SPOILER ALERT: The movie takes place on Brown Mountain, North Carolina. Apparently multiple disappearances happened in the camp sites up near this old tunnel. Every night there would be flashing lights coming from the sky. No one knew what they were. (They’re aliens) This movie was so pathetic it put me to sleep halfway through it. It happens like any other movie that is filmed this way… One person goes missing. The people run away. Another person goes missing. They all run away. Someone gets their body bent backwards like a pretzel and sucked into the air. Everyone screams and hides. Uh-oh little Billy dropped the camera! Now, we only hear muffles and leaves rustling. There’s screaming in the background. 

Is this not the typical first person film? It is so annoying I almost wished the authorities never found the camera in the field. 

I think a three star is way too generous for this movie. I would have given a .5 star. Just for having a decent concept that was executed very poorly.