Showing posts with label Supernatural. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Supernatural. Show all posts

Friday, October 24, 2014

5 on Friday -- Set 246



Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

Getting closer to Halloween, and following close behind is my Heroines and Vixens panel with Shawna Romkey at Hal-Con, Friday Nov. 7th at 2:00 pm, Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre, 1800 Argyle St.

Appearing at the convention this year is none other than the King of Hell himself, Mark Sheppard.

So looking ahead to both Halloween and Hal-Con, here's a Supernatural set to savour.



1 - Carry On My Wayward Son -- Kansas







2 - Broken Crown -- Mumford and Sons








3 - Scars -- Elegeion







4 - Paradise  -- Coldplay









5 - Crowley compilation fanvid





Bonus!



Friday, October 18, 2013

5 on Friday -- Set 193



Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

Oh joy! Oh bliss!

It's writer retreat time again. At this very moment I'm happily settled amongst the early arrivals at the cottage which my writers' group has rented once a year for nearly a decade now. Up soon: lots of conversation, laughter, walks in the gorgeous autumn woods and by the Atlantic ocean, good food, good wine, writer-ish activities like our yearly brainstorming sessions, and timed-writing sessions where we each work on our individual works-in-progress for a set time (often an hour.)

Until then, enjoy these songs which have all became part of the spooky soundtrack landscape after their appearances in these films and television shows:


1 - Carry On My Wayward Son - Kansas - from Supernatural  





2 - Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival - from An American Werewolf in London






3 - Don't Fear the Reaper Blue Oyster Cult - from Stephen King's The Stand





4 - Mad World - Gary Jules and Michael Andrews - from Donnie Darko




5 - Twin Peaks theme - composed by Angelo Badalamenti - from Twin Peaks

This piece is a straightforward soundtrack theme written specifically for the series, but it's one of my favorite themes, and one of my favorite shows. The main villain Bob goes down in my personal history as SCARY as heck.





Thursday, January 31, 2013

Thursday Thirteen - 264 - 13 Bits of Randomosity

1 – This was my reaction to a whole bunch of sale prices in the dairy aisle last night:


"Why is there so much of this stuff on sale? Is there something wrong with the refrigeration unit?"

I totally passed on the yogurt, even though I wanted some. 

2 – The bus that rolled up to take me to work this morning had my birthday numbers on the front. I took that as a sign it would be a great day...and it was.

3 – Not that I'm recovered from Lady Sybil's sob-fest-inducing departure from Downton Abbey. *sniff* 


4 – Very busy this week highlighting all of our authors on our Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada Facebook page. Drop by and Like us!

Once you sign into Facebook, it takes you right to our page. Meet our members and get all the latest on what we're up to.


5 – My husband just asked me, "How many of your thirteen have you done?" and laughed when I said, "Four."

6 – That's because I've been sitting at the computer 'working' while also watching a rerun of Supernatural season 1 - Nightmare - immediately followed by the newest season 8 episode - As Time Goes By.

See: My Obsessions 

7 – Just made the mistake of glancing over at the TV again. James McAvoy on The Graham Norton Show. 

NO

Keep writing.

8 –  Feel good about today, however, as revisions on Book 2 of my Scorpius series is shaping up nicely.

9 – Hope this gets posted tonight. The wind is howling out there...the TV flickered a few times during Supernatural, but we made it to the end of the episode. Phew. *typing fast typing fast* 


10 -  Thinking a lot about the upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet at The National Ballet of Canada. Wishing I was going to be in Toronto this March to see it.




11 – If anyone watches dancer Guillaume Cote in the above clip wondering at the end how opening night will work out in the end, here's what critics thought of the new production that premiered in 2011:

Ratmansky's Romeo and Juliet - DANCE magazine
Argh! I'm just making it worse for myself...
12 – I also find myself dreaming about attending the rather new society event for Halifax, the Halifax Dance Viennese Opera Ball.


Maybe next year, I'll be there draped in my finery, watching the young women from Halifax Dance and actual soldiers from the Princess Louise infantry unit swirling in waltz time to Symphony Nova Scotia...sigh... 



13  Okay. It's 1:00 am. Have to get some sleep. Still have one more day at the day job before a three-day weekend. 

Thursday, May 31, 2012

2012 Movie Madness Challenge - May Report





Time for my fifth status report for the Movie Madness Challenge.


Here is my code for the films:


New to me - N
Repeat viewing - R


I'll also be including how I viewed the films:


DVD
VHS (yes, we have a lot of those, and a VCR)
Network TV
Pay TV
Internet streaming video
In theatre








Captain America
DVD
N









The Producers
DVD
R






Machete
DVD
R









The Avengers
In theatre
N









Dr. Zhivago
VHS
R









Supernatural, season 7
Network TV
N







Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
DVD
N

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Total movies for May - 7


Total movies for 2012 - 38


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Twelve films away from Movie Fanatic status.

Now that the intense schedule of getting Book 1 of my new Dragonsfyre series released has eased off, I look forward to my Movie Madness Challenge numbers moving up towards Movie Master status.



25 Movies: Movie Newbie


50 Movies: Movie Fanatic


75 Movies: Movie Critic


100+ Movies: Movie Master

Friday, May 27, 2011

5 on Friday - Set 68








Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

Which takes us to my Supernatural obsession, which knows no bounds.

Season 6 just finished airing, and I'm still trying to process what happened.

*insert Luke Skywalker "No!"*

Since it's on my mind, here are five of my favorite Supernatural fan videos from my You Tube playlist.

Can you tell I'm a Dean Girl?

WARNING: violent images / screams / series spoilers if you haven't watched it yet

1 - Somewhere a Clock is Ticking - Snow Patrol



2 - Don't Let the Darkness Eat You Up - Jose Gonzalez



3 - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? - Moby



4 - Imagine - A Perfect Circle



5 - New Divide - Linkin Park

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Through the Opera Glasses - 70 - Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit at Neptune Theatre











What do I spy through my opera glasses this week?

A sparkling comedy by Noel Coward, now playing at Neptune Theatre in Halifax and running from January 18th to February 13th.














Neptune is located at the corner of Argyle and Sackville streets. Bringing professional theatre productions to Halifax audiences since 1963, with a history of previous live performances including vaudeville in the same location since 1915, Neptune is a Maritime jewel and a cultural landmark for which any East Coast arts lover holds great affection.
















Observe my contented visage as my husband and I made our way into the lobby. I'd picked up our tickets on my lunch hour, which gave us time to meet up after work for dinner before popping into a favorite haunt and then take in the show. As I've mentioned previously here at A Piece of My Mind, those are the ingredients of a perfect day:

- anticipation of a live performance
- dinner
- the show
- some wandering about the city for an added element of perfection

Both my husband Brad and I really enjoyed the play. Our current Supernatural obsession makes Blithe Spirit the perfect play to break up our daily doses of Dean and Sam Winchester.

The story in a nutshell: to research psychic mediums for his next novel, writer Charles Condomine invites Madame Arcati to his home for a seance. However, the medium successfully pulls the spirit of Charles' first wife Elvira back from the Other Side, leading to a territorial showdown between the past and present Mrs. Condomines.

Brad, being a graduate of Toronto's New School of Drama, enjoyed a taste of live theatre for a change from his regular cinephile screenings. He laughed out loud several times (he's not overly-prone to such giggling,) mentioning afterwards that the performances were all strong ones.

As for me, I already knew I would enjoy Blithe Spirit, having seen a production once before. Noel Coward's play is filled with enough wit to be entertaining even as a script-read-through, no sets/costumes/performances necessary.

But the joy of the theatre is settling into my seat to be transported into the story, and words alone don't make the theatre experience.

I'm always impressed by the set designers for Neptune productions - they work with a small stage and never fail to make it seem four times as big. Geofrey Dinwiddie has created an English country manor house that seems cozy enough for the romantic farce elements, and spooky enough for the ghost story to come with its Gothic arches hanging from the proscenium.

Mr. Dinwiddie must have had a great time rigging the set for its displays of otherworldly presences - a smashing good time, I dare say.

Check out the marvelous costume designs by Patrick Clark, showcased by blogging team Haute Halifax:

Spirited theatre fashion

I especially loved Elvira-the-Blithe-Spirit's frothy white Carole Lombard gown.

Here is the merest of tastes of the delightful wit of Mr. Coward:


Ivan Sherry as Charles Condamine

Ruth: You must promise not to catch my eye. If I giggle - and I'm very likely to - it will ruin everything.

Charles: You mustn't. You must be dead serious and if possible a little intense. We can't hurt the old girl's feelings, however funny she is.

Ruth: But why the Bradmans, darling? He's as sceptical as we are. He'll probably say the most dreadful things.

Charles: I've warned him. There must be more than three people and we couldn't have the Vicar and his wife because (a) they're dreary, and (b) they probably wouldn't have approved at all.



Martha Irving as Ruth Condomine









Margot Dionne as Madame Arcati

Madame Arcati: Fortunately an Elemental at this time of the year is unlikely.

Ruth: What do Elementals do?

Madame Arcati: Oh my dear, one can never tell. They're dreadfully unpredictable. Usually they take the form of a very cold wind.

Mrs. Bradman: I don't think I should like that.

Madame Arcati: Occasionally reaching almost hurricane velocity.

Ruth: You don't think it would be a good idea to take the more breakable ornaments off the mantlepiece before we start?



Marla McLean as Elvira Condomine,
the Blithe Spirit herself










There are still several weeks left of the Halifax run. Take a break from your normal everyday and treat yourself to a slice of my favorite taste of life: an audience settling in, the lights dimming, the first footsteps as the actors step onstage...

Monday, January 3, 2011

Through the Opera Glasses - 69 - A Very Supernatural Christmas














Happy New Year!

My husband and I have just returned from a wonderful Christmas and New Year's holiday with his family in Toronto. More on that later in the week. I'll be putting my Eye Candy Thursday Thirteen series on hold for a few weeks in order to share our trip and other goodies with you, so do drop by on Thursday if you'd like to see what we got up to in the Big City.

Christmas money sent us dashing off to our favorite haunts, and because we're currently in the midst of a Supernatural obsession, we ended up with what you see here in our luggage:

















Gift cards for Chapters brought Supernatural companions for seasons 3, 4 and 5.

The Boxing Day blowout sale at Wal Mart got us the DVD box sets for seasons 1, 2 and 3.

And a last hurrah at HMV found the missing season 4 that was nowhere to be found at Wal Mart.










Now I can get my daily dose of Dean and Sam any time I want. My muse is currently very insistent on daily Dean and Sam.


















Did you indulge in any book/movie/TV/music obsessions this Christmas?

Announcing:

This year A Piece of My Mind will be changing up a few features. One of them is posting every second week for Poetry Train Monday, alternating with Through the Opera Glasses, which used to appear on Tuesday's.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thursday Thirteen - 186 - 13 Ways to Admire Jared Padalecki



















1 - A tall drink of water with a passion for rescuing damsels in distress - furry four-footed damsels, that is. Jared Padalecki is a hero on the small screen and off.











2 - Jared Padalecki - currently appearing as Sam Winchester on Supernatural

6' 4"

Eyes - Hazel/green

Hair - Brown

Type - Athletic / Late 20's

He works as an actor / Animal rescue activist

Works in television / Film














3 - Jared grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and concentrated on acting though he'd once made plans to attend college.

Appeared on Gilmore Girls for five seasons (2000-2005)

Portrayed painter Thomas Kinkade in the made-for-television film The Christmas Cottage (2008)

Like his Supernatural co-star Jensen Ackles, Jared has done a lot of genre work, including:

Friday the 13th remake (2009)
Cry Wolf (2005)
House of Wax (2005)

Next photo is straying into Not Safe For Work territory...

























4 - Jared keeps in tiptop shape for the grueling stunt schedule required of his role on Supernatural.






































5 - No matter how delicious Mr. Padalecki may be, he's strictly eye candy, ladies - he belongs to Mrs. Padalecki, Idaho-bred actress Genevieve Cortese.

Also an actress, Genevieve met Jared on the set of Supernatural, when she had a featured role as an is-she-or-isn't-she-helping-Sam demon named Ruby.


















6 - Jared has appeared for the past six seasons as younger Winchester brother Sam. Along with his older brother Dean, he follows in the footsteps of his father, a hunter of the paranormal. When vengeful spirits, ghouls, angry pagan gods and all manner of gruesome beasts start taking down humans, the Winchesters step in and start taking down monsters.













7 - Sam looks so adorable when he's sad. Just sayin'.

Sam's sensitive nature sometimes pits him against his brother Dean as he tries to find alternatives to destroying the monsters they encounter. Of course, there's a reason Sam needs to believe that monsters can somehow be freed from their own natures.












8 - Remember my soft spot for a man in chains?

...well...

Supernatural gives us a tied-up Sam with wonderful regularity.















9 - And then there's the fact that Evil Sam is disturbingly attractive.














10 - I'm also quite fond of Sam's staring-down-disaster expression.











11 - But it's his straight-man-to-Jensen's-wisecracking role that is Jared's biggest strength.

These two actors hadn't met before being cast as brothers on Supernatural, but the producers played cupid to a real life bro-mance between them. They got along so well, they even lived together before they each married, and they were both there for the other on their wedding days.

Here's a clip that showcases their easy chemistry with each other. The clip has fun with the premise of the show when Dean and Sam need to become patients in a haunted mental health facility. Sometimes it pays to simply tell the truth...

(Note: in the clip they are using aliases.)

CLICK HERE to watch clip















12 - And Jared is an awesome crier.

CLICK HERE to watch clip




















13 - Jared is a serious dog lover and animal rescuer.

His two dogs - Harley and Sadie - were once shelter dogs. Jared helps coax strays off the streets of LA and to raise money for A Dog's Life.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Thursday Thirteen - 185 - 13 Ways to Admire Jensen Ackles


















1 - A chiseled face with a beautiful mouth, eyes that don't miss a thing and reveal so much, and an attitude that can't be harnessed - Jensen Ackles was obviously born to share his many attributes with far more than the hometown crowd.


















2 - Jensen Ackles - currently appearing as Dean Winchester on Supernatural

6' 1"

Eyes - Hazel/green

Hair - Dark blonde

Type - Athletic / Early 30's

He works as an actor / Director / Producer

Works in television / Film / Stage


















3 - Jensen grew up in Richardson, Texas, the son of actor Alan Ackles. He modelled as a young boy and moved into acting for television after graduating from school.

He worked steadily, receiving Daytime Emmy nominations for his work on Days of Our Lives. Aside from appearances on Dawson's Creek, most of Jensen's work has been in the science fiction / paranormal genre:

Dark Angel
Smallville
Supernatural
My Bloody Valentine remake

Next photo is straying into Not Safe For Work territory...























4 - Jensen keeps in tiptop shape for the grueling stunt schedule required of his role on Supernatural. A strong sports background almost led to a career in sports medicine.

Luckily for us, the acting genes won out.



























5 - No matter how delicious Mr. Ackles may be, he's strictly eye candy, ladies - he belongs to Mrs. Ackles, Louisiana-born actress Danneel Harris.

Also a former model and gymnast, Danneel met Jensen on the set of Ten Inch Hero, an independent film they made in 2007.














6 - Jensen has appeared for the past six seasons as older Winchester brother Dean. Along with his younger brother Sam, he follows in the footsteps of his father, a hunter of the paranormal. When vengeful spirits, ghouls, angry pagan gods and all manner of gruesome beasts start taking down humans, the Winchesters step in and start taking down monsters.














7 - I have to admit I love Dean's stare-down-authority expression, whether he's challenging his own father (above) or a scary angel (below.)














8 - I also love Dean's serious relationship with his car, a black four-door hardtop 1967 Chevy Impala. I think it's the longest and most intimate relationship he's ever had, other than his relationship with Sam.













9 - Remember my soft spot for a man in chains?

...well...

Supernatural gives us a tied-up Dean with wonderful regularity.





















10 - I'm also quite fond of Dean's taking-the-shot expression.











11 - But it's his tormented hero expressions that really do the trick for me.

Since most of my own fictional characters wear this expression at some point in my stories, I adore discovering an actor who captures it so well.

CLICK HERE to watch clip











12 - And Jensen is an awesome crier.

CLICK HERE to watch clip



















13 - Sharing a laugh with Supernatural co-star Jared Padalecki


Here's a bit of levity from the Supernatural set:

During the shoot for the Yellow Fever episode in Season 4, one of the producers encouraged Jared to miss his cue on purpose. The producer let the cameras roll while the audio playback of Eye of the Tiger, needed for the scene, blared over the location. Jensen lay out of sight on the front seat of the Impala, waiting for Jared, assuming the scene was in progress.

Keep in mind that in the world of television and film production, the actors - once embarked on a scene - must continue until they hear the word 'cut', and only from the director. Because time is money - a lot of money - on a set, when a scene is somewhat bumpy, the director will often leave the cameras rolling and tell the actors to regroup into a second or even third take in a row without stopping, as it's less expensive than calling 'cut' and doing a new set-up for a new take.

TV actors in particular get used to this shake-it-off-and-keep-going mentality. It requires the quick thinking of improv skills and is highly-valued by the studios.

In the case of the Yellow Fever shoot, the producer made the call to spend money on preventing Jared from picking up his cue in order to see if Jensen would give them something for the gag reel.

Here is what happened:

CLICK HERE to watch the clip