Blogocentric Formulations (Book)

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I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.

Blogocentric Formulations

Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).

Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:

"The Soundtrackers Group"

"Blogging Circle of Friends "

"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"

"JAFBG"

"Take up Your Cross"

Thanks for stopping by!

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Aiva Raine

Nov 6, 2024 at 4:49pm
In response to "October Watch List"

Grin. I loved Psych! I rewatched White Collar approx a month ago. Having issues finding good new shows so I've resorted to rewatching my favorites from old.

Currently rewatching Castle, Supernatural, and Buffy/Angel.

Enjoyed The Great and Lady Jane Grey, sad they both got cancelled. The "I made a teddy bear" episode on The Great was so funny hubby and I had to rewatch that scene 4 times before we could finally stop laughing hysterically at it.

Thanks for your recaps of shows- it's given me some new items to add to our lists.

Jeff

Nov 6, 2024 at 3:20am
In response to "October Watch List"

Aiva Raine

- I've actually watched all three! PERSON OF INTEREST was a really good show, but WHITE COLLAR and BURN NOTICE (along with another great USA Network show called PSYCH) are some of my favorite television shows of all time. I actually just started rewatching WHITE COLLAR a few weeks ago!

Aiva Raine

Nov 5, 2024 at 3:08pm
In response to "October Watch List"

Wasn't aware that there was a movie for "What we do in the shadows"- thought it was just a TV show on Hulu. Thanks for sharing that tidbit- will find the movie and add it to our watch list. The TV show is quite humorous.

I also enjoyed the Lincoln Lawyer- need to watch the newest season.

Have you ever checked out Person of Interest, White Collar, or Burn Notice? If so, did you enjoy them?

1 Like

Aiva Raine

Aug 3, 2024 at 11:10pm
In response to "Man on the Moon"

Just missed seeing the moon landing by a few years and as one of those "old people", I will admit to being depressed at our lack of space progress. Sure, we've got great new telescopes that are letting us see wonderful things way out in space, but we still haven't even put a man back on the moon again after all this time. Putting someone on Mars looked promising for a while, until Elon Musk went all nutso and can't stop mucking up everything. Yeah, he's got reusable rockets, but we aren't really progressing much beyond that.

I truly hope I can live long enough to see humans do some real space exploration. Because even though I didn't see the original moon landing in person- watching it on TV after the fact still was pretty freaking cool. Although watching the Challenger blow up from our desks at school sucked. Here's hoping we get to bring the astronauts stuck in space home soon. Maybe NASA can work with someone besides Boeing for that!

Aiva Raine

Aug 3, 2024 at 11:01pm
In response to "July 2024 Watch List"

Only seen the Fall Guy and Deadpool & Wolverine. Both fell a bit flat for me. I think because the first Deadpool was just so awesome. This last one felt a bit Disneyfied. Yes, I know- tons of gore and the occasional sex joke, but it just, meh. There wasn't any real "bite" to it.

The first one had a real plot. It made you belly laugh hard. And you cared a bit about the characters. This last one, I didn't really care at all. About anyone. I laughed, but most were the "oh wow- that's so over the top it's funny" laughs, not "that's freaking hysterical and I'm still gonna be laughing about that on the way home".

Fall guy- it was more cheesy than funny or entertaining. It wasn't that memorable at all. So not memorable that I'm trying to remember anything I hated or liked about it and well, I can't. I do remember at the end going, well, not sure that was worth the 2 or so hours it took to watch.

There really hasn't been a movie lately that's wowed me. Everything seems to be trying to follow the whole Marvel action movie formula and they just don't do it for me. There's only so many explosions, fart jokes, and over the top gore scenes all done special effecty that you can do before you've completely lost me. I quit watching Marvel or Superhero movies a while ago, but went to Deadpool because- it was Deadpool and my son asked me to go for a Mom/Son outing.

I've tried watching many of the newer shows that get all the hype and they fall flat. I've gone back to watching reruns of shows I actually enjoyed- like Leverage, or White Collar. I'm on rewatch # 3 of Supernatural, rewatch 2 of Vampire Diaries, got about half-way through rewatch 2 of Originals before I gave up.

I did enjoy "The Great" and was bummed they killed it after 3 seasons. That was funny!

I loved the Bridgerton series, but this last season left me a bit unimpressed.

I'm currently rewatching Warehouse 13 with hubby who has never seen it. We watched Eureka before then. Somehow- all these older shows are much better than 99% of the newer shows and I honestly want to know why.

Why do most of the newer shows suck? Lazy writing? AI writing? What's the story? I'm really curious?

Kåre เลียม Enga

Aug 3, 2024 at 4:46pm
In response to "July 2024 Watch List"

I don't go out or have a television. I would watch more on-line but the internet has been wonky recently.

Two Thai BLs:

"1000 Year Old Vampire"

So... uneven. Some of the premise makes sense in a supernatural way. A vampire can't die even though he's bored of living. He's old... very old... and keeps meeting the same human/alien again and again. That 'love story' has some merit. The final scene is moving.

12 episodes could've been condensed to 4 or 6 (so... 160 - 240 minutes total; even a 90 minute western movie would've been better). I could take the final words "Wave goodbye, Master Yoh" and rewrite it as a prequel, having it placed in 1940 (not necessarily in Bangkok), ending in 2000... with it being 'reborn' in 2020. I like the idea, not just how it's done.

"Love Sea"

Good acting, great chemistry, edgy at times. It tackles sex-for-pay, family abuse/neglect, criminality, and the age old "what happens when we fall in love". I love a romance when there are layers of other genres and when it takes me to a time and/or place. Episode 2 is steamy and geo-restricted but it's fitting to get past the 'sex' because that's not the story.

Both main actors are top-shelf and work well together. The niece Meena is adorable. The father is chilling (evil wrapped up in normality). It hasn't finished yet. There are 10 episodes. #9 airs August 4th.

"1000YO" gets about a 6.5 rating at MyDramaList ... and that's about right imho for PG silliness. "Love Sea" is rated 8.0 and that's a tad low. The story may be a bit too 'real' for some audiences as it's 18+ and serious.

These are the opening episodes to save time looking for them! IMHO, it's getting harder to find some things on-line.

1000YO: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8sq35e
LoveSea: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9037r4

[Visit the entry for more...]

Kåre เลียม Enga

Jul 29, 2024 at 12:01am
In response to "Hiding behind humor"

"I was just joking" can trigger my traumas and make me distrust someone. I want to respond, "I'm not laughing" ... without an apology or smile. It's too akin to bullying.

1 Like

Kåre เลียม Enga

Jul 28, 2024 at 11:55pm
In response to "Man on the Moon"

The original Star Trek was 1966-1969. And let's not forget the Jetsons. Both forecast new technologies... as people looked to the future.

The future seems more dystopian now. And since the Moon has little commercial value, money has gone elsewhere. NASA has a $25 billion budget; Pentagon ... $825 billion.

When there's a military base on the Moon... or when it's found to be made of gold instead of cheese... then it will become a priority.

Sumojo

Jul 16, 2024 at 2:16am
In response to "Memorable Places"

Hi, Jeff, I’m reviewing this interesting blog post as next in line for I Write in 24.

I’ll comment on each of your memorable places in turn.

Flathead Lake (Polson, Montana
I could feel the connection you had to this place, but also to the memories of your grandparents. I couldn’t quite envisage the boathouse though. To me a boathouse is a shelter for a boat! But obviously it wasn’t just that.
I could also feel the sadness when you returned there, even if it was just on line. It’s distressing really to see the new owners had messed with a place you held so dear.

Zuma Beach (Malibu, California)
Now here you showed your true romanticism. What a beautiful plan you devised to recreate the table setting of your wedding day. Your wife would have been so happy.

Gare du Nord (Paris, France).
I understand that feeling when you become the foreigner when you first land in a country whose language is not yours. I felt it when we were in Vietnam, even the street signs weren’t in English and finding one’s way around was daunting.
I believe though that the French people are willing to speak English if one makes at least an attempt at French.

Edmund D. Edelman Children's Courthouse (Los Angeles, California).

A different feeling and experience here. I was a little taken aback when I saw a courthouse as a place you had strong memories about until I read the rest of the post. Yes, a location can leave a person traumatised. Your experiences at that particular courthouse are mixed. The applications and endless paperwork involved in the process which allowed you to adopt your precious children would certainly have left you with mixed feelings of that location.

The Walt Disney Studios Lot (Burbank, California)

Now this location isn’t one where many people can put as their workplace. You certainly have an interesting job.I would have loved to hear more about your experiences in the movie business.

Overall I throughly enjoyed the blog post. Thank you so much for sharing.
Sue.

[Visit the entry for more...]

Wordsmitty ✍️

Jul 15, 2024 at 12:12am
In response to "Memorable Places"

A nice time capsule of your life as well. Thanks for sharing.

1 Like

January 1, 2016 at 12:53am

#869624

2015 Reading List

It's the end of 2015, which means it's time to review all the reading and listening I've done over the past calendar year. Last year, I hit my goal of reading 52 books (one a week) in 2014, so I set a goal of 53 books in 2015 in hopes of besting my best result. I ended up blowing past that goal and setting what I'm pretty sure will be a high score for many years to come. Here's how it breaks down:

= favorite

= also highly recommended

FICTION

3:00 AM by Nick Pirog
50 Shades of Alice in Wonderland by Melinda Duchamp
50 Shades of Alice Through the Looking Glass by Melinda Duchamp
50 Shades of Alice at the Hellfire Club by Melinda Duchamp
Alchemist of Souls, The by Anne Lyle
Alias Omnibus [Graphic Novel] by Brian Michael Bendis
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Angels Flight by Michael Connelly
B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton
Big Sleep, The by Raymond Chandler
Blaze by Stephen King
Bullets by Elijah Drive
Calm Before the Storm by Ryan Mullaney
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Chop Suey by Ty Hutchinson
Clockwork by Phillip Pullman
Courage Matters by R. Scott Mackey
Entertaining Stories by Bennett Cameron
Fade to Black by Francis Knight
Fat Vampire by Johnny B. Truant
Filthy Fairy Tales by Lexi Maxxwell

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson
Glass Castle, The by Jeannette Walls
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
Halloween Tree, The by Ray Bradbury
Honeymoon by James Patterson
Incrementalists, The by Skyler White & Steven Brust
Infected (Click Your Poison) by James Schannep
Lions of Lucerne by Brad Thor
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Malice and Mistletoe [Graphic Novel] by Nathan Graham Davis

Martian, The by Andy Weir
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
MILF: Episode One by Lexi Maxxwell
Occult Assassin: Damnation Code by William Massa
Paper Towns by John Green
Partials by Dan Wells
Plagiarist, The by Hugh Howey
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Private by James Patterson
Reapers: Stave 1 by Jason & Chris Thornton

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Shadows Beneath by Brandon Sanderson, et al
Smash Cut by Sandra Brown
Snake Skin by C.J. Lyons
Snow Queen, The by Hans Christian Andersen
Snowblind by Christopher Golden
Stand, The by Stephen King
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Stone of Fire by Joanna Penn
Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths by Harry Bingham
Superpowered (Click Your Poison) by James Schannep
Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen
Twelfth Night by Williams Shakespeare
Unicorn Western by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
Ur by Stephen King
Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath
White Noise: Season 1 Episode 1 by Sean Platt and David Wright
Wool by Hugh Howey
Yesterday's Gone: Season 1 Episode 1 by Sean Platt and David Wright

NONFICTION

2K to 10K by Rachel Aaron
A Mind for Numbers by Barbara Oakley
Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist

Circle Maker, The by Mark Batterson
Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison
Forgotten God by Francis Chan

Love Does by Bob Goff
Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

On Writing by Stephen King
Power of Giving, The by Azim Jamal and Harvey McKinnon

Quiet by Susan Cain
Quitter by Jon Acuff
Start Here by Don Williams
Successful Novelist, The by David Morrell
Think Like A Freak by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
Why Jesus? by Ravi Zacharias
You and Me Forever by Francis & Lisa Chan

PODCASTS

Business of Film - 23 episodes
Chicks Who Script - 30 episodes
Creative Penn, The - 30 episodes
Freakonomics - 14 episodes
How Stuff Works - 7 episodes
Intelligence Squared - 2 episodes
Moment with Brian Koppelman, The - 9 episodes
Nerdist - 14 episodes
Nerdist Writer's Panel - 29 episodes
Q&A, The - 6 episodes
Rocking Self Publishing Podcast, The - 16 episodes
Scriptnotes - 56 episodes
Self Publishing Questions - 39 episodes
Self Publishing Podcast, The - 100 episodes
Serial - 2 episodes
Slate Political Gabfest - 35 episodes
Stuff You Missed in History Class - 7 episodes
TED Radio Hour - 12 episodes
Writing Excuses - 53 episodes
WTF with Marc Maron - 3 episodes
You Must Remember This - 14 episodes

COMICS

Arabian Nights - 14 issues
Code Red - 5 issues
Red Ten - 1 issues
Robyn Hood - 5 issues
Oz - 6 issues

SCREENPLAYS

20 Unproduced

TOTALS

80 books, 501 podcasts, 31 comics, 20 screenplays

Thanks to recording my reading on Goodreads, I also have some general reading statistics from my year:

Total Pages Read: 21,999
Average Pages Per Book: 286
Shortest Book: 39 pages
Longest Book: 1,153 pages

As part of my reading year, thanks to Elle - on hiatus

's prompting, I also participated in the PopSugar 2015 Reading Challenge ▼

Overall, I'm really happy with my reading year. I accomplished way more than I set out to, and I read some really great stuff. I appreciated the additional challenge of trying to find books to fit the criteria of the PopSugar Reading Challenge, but I don't think I'm going to take on another challenge like that for a while, because it became a real struggle toward the end to read stuff that simply ticked off a box. I got through about 80% of the challenge with either books I wanted to read or books that piqued my interest and fit a category. But the other 20% was a real slog to get through.

I'm thinking that, for 2016, my reading goals will center around the types of things I read rather than the quantity. Most notably, I'd like to read more books by friends, independent authors, and writers here on WdC. I hope to self-publish something myself soon, and I think I'll get more value out of reading the types of things similar to what I hope to publish than I will participating in challenges where I'm trying to round out items on a list by choosing genres and subject matters that aren't even close to what I'm interested in for myself as an author.

Time to say farewell to 2015, and hello to a brand new year of reading opportunities!

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