The Best and Worst Remakes Blogfest

It's the Best & Worst Movie Remake Blogfest, minions.  Woot!  Hosted by Alex Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp, Livia Peterson, and Al Diaz, this awesome topic is one that stumped me.  How sad is that?  I even researched it and came up with this recent post Entertainment Weekly did last month.  They asked readers to vote on this same topic.  The article, "Best/Worst Movie Remakes: You Voted, We Say..." lists so fun winners and losers here.  Check it out. Sadly, none of the movies they listed were on my radar.  I ended up choosing the ones I could recall quickly.

Best Remake:  Buffy the Vampire Slayer!  Most people didn't care for the original, but I kinda liked it.  Remember the Vamp DJ who took over the turntables?  Or Pee Wee Herman?  Yeah, I liked it.  Originally debuted in 1992, BVS, a crazy teen-take movie had little impact but not a bad following.  Did you see the original?

Five years later Joss had a vision and reVamped the series and.... voila!  

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an instant cult classic.   

Worst:  The Original:  WWW began back in the last sixties and ran for five seasons.  I used to love to watch reruns of this show.  I was so excited about the remake, but when I saw the poor reviews, I decided to wait for the rental.  When I finally watched it at home, I remember I fell asleep during the movie.  What a disappointment. 

Wild Wild West:  1999 Remake

Best Song Remake:  Wild Horses, originally written and preformed by The Rolling Stones back in the early 70's was and still is a great song.  Fast forward two decades later and The Sundays remade the classic and boom...another hit.  Love this song.  Hope you do too.

Have a great weekend.

Mina B.

Book Review: The Eternity Cure (The Immortal Rules #2) by Julie Kagawa

I just finished The Eternity Cure (The Immortal Rules #2) by Julie Kagawa.  WOW!  What a great book!  If you missed my review of book 1, The Immortal Rules, click here.  I can't believe I read book 1 over a year ago.  Time flies,huh?

Last year, I  gave book this new vamp seres a 4 because it hooked me from the beginning.  I love when an author brings a fresh take on vamp lit.  And Julie did just that and then some.  The Eternity Cure, thankfully, continues the path that Immortal Rules started and then explodes into a frenzy of epic proportions.  I have to admit, I read a few reviews that dissuaded my interest at first with book 2.  The overall comment was the beginning was a bit slow.  I have to agree.  It was a tad slow, but still highly entertaining nonetheless.  

We left our heroine, Allison, a bad-ass vampire babe, who after being expunged from the safety of Eden--the city of the living(humans)--is beckoned by the cries of her sire, Kanin.  Kanin's imprisoned by, Sarren, another vampire, who is the epitome of evil.  As Sarren psychotically abuses Kanin for his crimes against the vampire community, Kanin's calls of distress send a signal to his sired children to come to his aid. One of Kanin's children, if you recall from book 1, is Jackal.  You remember the sadistic vampire who ruled one of the vampire cities?  Well, he's back and I must say, what a pleasure it was to have him in book 2.  He breathed life into Allison's somber existence.  Thank God!  Don't get me wrong.  I loved Allison, but she's such a new vampire in a truly dystopian/vamp world that she's still trying to find her way.  Jackal brings a colorful take on being a vampire and does it with such hilarity.  What a riot!  As a reader, I had a visual image of the true character of Jackal. but I couldn't find a match for holiday, until I saw this post from the Bloody Bookoholic! This emphatic reader/blogger went nuts with her Hollywood pics for a movie since the rights to the series were recently purchased.  And let me tell you she hit the mark with Russell Brand as the Jackal.  

In book 2, Ezekiel is back (Zeke), and at first I was stunned.  After all Allison when through in The Immortal Rules, he honestly was the last person I expected to return.  I know.  I know.  That's incredibly dense on my part since he is the love interest.  Still, he arrives, along with a whole cast of entertaining characters.  I didn't burn to read this one until I hit about page 200, but wow...those last 230+ pages were on fire for me.  I'm totally hooked on this series.  So much is at stake now.  So much... I won't give you any spoilers other than despite Allison being a vampire and Eziekiel being a human, they may just have a future.

This was a 4.5 for me!  Hot damn.  Cant's wait for book 3!

Mina B.

Friday Mashup: Hemlock Grove, Twilight Humor, Healthy Writers Club & Fred!

It's Friday, minions.  What a crazy month so far.  What about you?  Let's get to it my Friday Mashup.  I've got werewolves, the Friday funny, Healthy Writers club and Fred to review with you.  So let's get to you.

Friday Review:  Hemlock Grove

I watched the Netflix Orignal Series, Hemlock Grove, and guess what?  I loved it!  No surprise there, huh?  There were some bleh parts but overall I really enjoyed it.  Without giving away too many spoilers, this is a horror series, plain and simple.  Yes, it has werewolves.  You can see that in the previews.  But what's killer is the twist at the end.  As you watch you know the Godfreys are evil, you just don't know what kind of evil.  This series reminded me of movies like the Shining.  It had that raw 70's feel to it that I found alluring.  The story is about a teenager, Peter, who moves to the town of Hemlock Grove with his mom.  His family are a bunch of gypsies and Peter, in particular, happens to be a werewolf.  In a town where bizarre is the norm, Hemlock Grove is loaded with werewolves  supposed-angels, demon-hunters, mystery, horror, sex, death and deception.  Trust me the list freaks in this town goes on and on.  Demented?  Yes.  Worth your time?  Yes.  Watch all 13 episodes of Netflix Original Series "Hemlock Grove" only on Netflix. The Monster Is Within. http://nflx.it/XkG5JC

Check out the trailer.

Friday Funny
Since we're on the subject of werewolves, I had to post this.  I found it on Pinterest and nearly wet my pants.  #classic

  

Check out the "Were" in the background.  He looks pissed, huh?  Let's see if we can do a caption for him.  Here's mine:  "I didn't get any tongue action!  Grrrrr."  Lol


The Healthy Writers Club

Shallee McArthur's meme, The Healthy Writers Club, is back! Since last month was A-Z, I missed a few HWC posts.  So my workouts are going okay, except I hurt my leg somehow which makes running very difficult.  I was trying some sprint conditioning and I think I strained a muscle.  For the last two weeks I've done very little running.  I hope it gets better.  Ever strain a muscle like that before?  Any suggestions to heal it?  And don't say stop working out.  I don't think I can do that now.  Exercise is the only stress relief I have and I don't think I can give it up.  Know what I mean?

Fridays with Fred

HeHe.  There's my buddy, Fred.  He's so tolerant of Spike these days.  Every now and then he issues a bark, growl or snap to assert his dominance.  Show 'em who's top dog, Fred!   :)

Be sure and stop by and visit Schatze over at Mary’s BookHounds too.

Have a wicked weekend.  And be sure and call your mom!

Mina B.

2013 A-Z Reflections Post

I survived another year of A-Z!  Wahoo!  I nearly missed this post.  It's been so crazy lately for me.  I apologize for the delay on this one.  I chose Chaucer for my A-Z theme this year because I like classic literature.  Chaucer was a favorite of mine way back when and I decided to reread the Canterbury Tales.  In hindsight I don't know what the hell I was thinking.  LOL!  Still, I rallied and did the entire A-Z posts.  I think it was an accomplishment--although I'm sure most of my readers were like...snore.  :)  Oh well.  I did my best to keep the posts short, but that proved impossible for the majority of my posts.  I apologize for that.  Anyway, its been fun. :)

Before I forget, I'd like to thank all the people that helped the A-Z challenge during the month of April.  Not only did these blogger buddies post for A-Z, but they tirelessly trolled the blogosphere to comment and show team spirit for the A-Z cause.  In short, these folks are awesome.  Here is a list of all those wonderful people.  Thank you.  Thank you. Thank you!

Team Damyanti:
Rosalind Adam/Rosalind Adam is Writing in the Rain
Misha Gericke/My First Book
Mina Lobo / Some Dark Romantic
Pam Margolis /Unconventional Librarian 







TEAM NICOLE

Nicole's Happiness, Passion, Love & Faith
Sheila Siler, pondering life and all its many hats at Sheila Scribbles
Tami Von Zalez, who swoops into quality collectibles at Thrift Shop Commando
M.J. Joachim, helping you get those creative juices flowing at Writing Tips

Tina's Terrific Team!
AJ Lauer of Naturally Sweet
Andrea of Maybe it's Just Me
Hilary Melton-Butcher of Positive Letters...Inspirational Stories...
Jolie Du Pre of Precious Monsters
JoJo of Tahoma Beadworks and Photography
PV Ariel, aka Philip of philipscom

SHANNON'S WARRIOR MINIONS
Dani of Entertaining Interests
Jeanette of Jeanette S. Andersen
Julie of Julie Flanders
Terri of Scribbler's Sojourn

L. Diane Wolfe's Spunky Soldiers
Laura Marcella from Wavy Lines

Sia McKye from Sia McKye Over Coffee
Golden Eagle from The Eagle's Aerial Perspective
Clarissa Draper from Clarissa Draper
Jo Wake from JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS, AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
Tyrean Martinson from Tyrean's Writing Spot
Gwen Gardner from Gwen Gardner, YA Fiction Author
Ida Chiavaro from Reflex Reactions
Randi Lee from The Emotional Process of Writing a Novel
Nancy LaRonda Johnson from Writer’s Mark

;

Arlee Bird's A to Z Challenge Ambassadors for 2013:
Judy at raisingthecurtain.net

Tim Brannan at The Other Side and his secondary blog that he co-runs Red Sonja: She Devil with a Sword .

Jaimie Ramsey at Living in the Light . 

Yvonne Lewis at Yvonne's Poetry Corner 

Alana Garrigues at Writercize

Alex's Ninja Minions

Al Diaz at Father Dragon Writes

Baygirl at That Girl Around the Bay

Ciara Knight

Elise Fallson

Heather Gardner at The Waiting is the Hardest Part

JL Campbell at The Character Depot

Joylene Nowell Butler

Michelle at Writer-In-Transit

Matthew's Questionable Monks:

Jay Noel

Sheri Larsen 

Schwa Michaels 

Deniz Bevan 

Melanie Schulz

Jeremy's team "MINIONS: ASSEMBLE": 

Carolyn - http://cmbrown-books.blogspot.com

Laura - http://lauraeno.com/blog

Kathryn - http://imagine-today1.blogspot.com/ 

Tara - http://taratylertalks.blogspot.com/

Maryann - http://its-not-all-gravy.blogspot.com/

Tamara - http://onemagicbeanbuyer.blogspot.com/

Mark - http://leftandwriteblog.blogspot.com/

That's it.  Thanks again!

Mina B.

ISWG: You Can Do It!

Insecure Writers Support Group is back and it feels like its been forever.  Am I right?  First, I'd like to thank Alex for creating and hosting this monthly meme. I also want to thank Alex's co-hosts this month, Lynda Young, Mark Koopmans, and Rachna Chhabria!

Okay, today I thought I'd post something inspirational that I found the other day.  Today's authors have an insane amount to manage daily whether traditionally or self-publishing their novels.  Sometimes, it seems like too much.  The second I saw this image it immediately transformed my thinking.  How about you?

One person can do so much!  Don't ever doubt it.  :)

Mina B.

Spring Fling Giveaway Hop

May 1st already? Yup.  I'll make this brief since I'm sort of blogged out right now.   Spring is in the air and it's time for the Spring Fling Giveaway Hop.  Wahoo.  Say it with me, Free Sh** Fairy..."Who doesn't love free sh**?"

A friend of mine gave me her collection of Sookie Stackhouse novels and I almost gave those away, but I think I'm waiting for another giveaway down the road.  So stay tuned.  

Anyway, the hop is from May 1st – 7th.  And the lucky winner will win a  $10 Amazon Gift Card to purchase the book they fancy the most.  See the details below to enter:

To enter…

You MUST be a follower of my blog and MUST fill out this entry form. (And yes, I do check GCF)

Extra entries…

+1 For Becoming my Fan/Like on Facebook/MinaBurrows
+1 Subscribing via email to my blog
+1 if you Retweet this on Twitter (limit 1 retweet)

Again, the giveaway runs from 12:01 AM on  - May 1st - May 7th, midnight. Contest is open to International participants. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to see who else is participating?  Click here.

Happy Spring!

Mina B.

A-Z: Z is for Chaucer's Canterbury Tales Recap from A-Z

Okay, my Z post is a highlight of all my post...Chaucer from A-Z.  Whew!  I made it!  Before I finish with my last post I wanted to give you a brief background into the versions that I read of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.  There are different translations, versions etc... but I thought It was important to share with you the version that allowed me to really enjoy these tales.

The version I read was Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales from the Modern Library ,Random House, Inc. (2008).  In addition, I referenced various lines from the tales from Canterburytales.org.  That particular website has both middle english and modern english versions.  And don't forget about the mobile apps I featured.  Like I said, those let you can take Chaucer on the go!

Now onto the A-Z overview!  Our resident host, Harry Bailey, who helped kick-start the tales.  Funny how the host didn't contribute his own tale, but sure knew how to critique them, huh?  If you missed general prologue or introduction of Harry Bailey, check out my post here!




Remember, the winner of the tale telling was set to win a free meal-- or something like that. And now...of all the tales I've blogged about...which was on your favorite?  

Vote at the bottom!

The Tale of the Clerk

The Physician's Tale

The Knight's Tale

The Friar's Tale

The Guildsmen & Haberdasher

The Miller's Tale Part 1 & Part 2

The Man of Law's Tale

The Reeve's Tale

The Pardoner's Tale

Sir Thopas Tale & The Melibee Tale

The Prioress Tale

The Shipman's Tale

The Franklin's Tale

The Second Nuns Tale

The Wife of Bath's Tale

The Manciple's Tale Of The Crow

The Cook & Squire's Tale

The Canon's Yeoman's Tale

Thanks for joining me this past month. Wow...what a journey, huh? Anyway, I'd love to know which was your favorite. Comment below to vote! My favorite is tale was the The Prioress Tale! 

Mina B.