Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts

Monday, August 19, 2013

Why It's Okay to Watch Re-Runs

 Do you have a favorite TV show or movie that you love to watch over and over? I do. One of my favorite movies to watch is A Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas. It's suspenseful and a spine-tingling good mystery. Even though I know "who did it" and how the movie ends, I don't care. I start watching it and I get wrapped up in the story. It sucks me in and the world melts away. I feel the same way about The Thomas Crown Affair.

One of my favorite TV shows is Friends. I have the entire series on DVD and it doesn't matter that I just finished Season 10, I'll flip back to Season 1 and start all over again.

But is it a good idea for you to be sitting and watching your favorite movie or TV show re-runs? Is it turning your mind to mush? Is it bad for you?

Not hardly. According to research stated in the Why It's Okay to Watch Reruns article, watching your favorite shows restores will power and self-control.

How amazing is that? No more guilt about snuggling in and watching Friends!

From the article: "Self-control is a limited resource," says Jaye L. Derrick, PhD, a researcher and professor at the University at Buffalo who led two studies reported in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. Contrary to what many people think, she explains, self-control — be it to resist an afternoon snack or complete a project — is not necessarily an innate trait or disposition. The amount a person has fluctuates from day to day. "So if [people] do something effortful, they have less [willpower] left over to do other effortful things."

Surprisingly, watching new episodes or movies didn't have the same restorative effect. Probably because you're using your mind to try and figure out what is happening and how the story is going to end. With re-runs, you already know, so your mind is relaxed.

By building close relationships with your favorite fictional characters, you're creating a bonding experience that has a will power restoring effect. The comfort level you have with your favorite characters allows you to say or react in ways that you may not with real relationships. 

Have a favorite re-run or movie? Watch it and let the guilt slip away. Remember, this only works for re-runs, not new episodes or movies. So, don't use it as an excuse to become a couch potato.

Do you have a favorite movie or TV show? Let me know in the comments.


Friday, December 21, 2012

The Great Big Book Tour



The Great Big Book Tour



I’ve been invited to join in on “The Great Big Book Tour” that commences December 21, 2012 and for the next few days. I haven’t joined in one in a while, so we’ll see what kinds of questions we have to answer and whom we’re going to meet on this tour. Choo! Choo! All aboard! We're leaving now!



1) What is the working title of your book?

I’ve just finished two novels and they released at the end of this year: Good Intentions and Out for Justice.
  

2) Where did the idea come from for your book?

My ideas come to me from a variety of sources. Dreams, newspaper articles, magazines, real life news stories, and thoughts I may have from time to time.

The idea for Good Intentions came from a newspaper article that caught my eye. It was a very long article about a family who attempted to adopt a pregnant teenager, and subsequently her baby. The story interested me, because this family was already made up of a mom, dad, and five children. It was a very heart warming article.

Out for Justice came to me in a dream. The entire story was there, and I even had exact vivid images of how the characters would look and act. I woke the next morning and wrote and wrote as much as I could remember. I love how stories come to me like that. I wish I had a machine attached to my head so I could capture all my dreams!


3) What genre does your book fall under?

Good Intentions would be under contemporary family drama.

Out for Justice would be filed under contemporary romantic suspense.


4) Which actors would you choose to play in your movie rendition?

I’ve never thought about my stories in that way, so this is a hard question. Each character is unique and I don’t craft them after a movie actor. I guess, in Out for Justice, Karen, the homicide detective would probably be played by a young Ashley Judd. In Good Intentions, the pregnant teenager, Megan, could be played by Kirsten Dunst, and Tracy, the mom, could be played by someone like a younger Kathleen Turner.

I really don’t like putting movie actors to fill in for my characters, as I want my readers to develop the full character from what they read and fill in with their own imagination.


5) What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

OUT FOR JUSTICE: Rookie Detective Karen Sykes is out to prove she is good at her job, finding justice for a darkness in her past through law enforcement

GOOD INTENTIONS: Good Intentions is the tragic story of one woman’s efforts to help a teenage mother.


6) What other books are similar to yours?

As far as Good Intentions is concerned, I’ve never read of another book like it.

In Out for Justice, the plot twists make it unique from other romantic suspense books I’ve read.


7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Good Intentions took a very long time. Nearly two years of writing and about two years of editing.

Out for Justice took nearly a year of writing and about a year of editing.


8) What other books would you compare this story to?

I guess Good Intentions could be compared to a Jodi Picoult book. It has that kind of drama in it.

Out for Justice, I don’t compare it to a particular book, but if you read romantic suspense, you’ll definitely enjoy Out for Justice.

I try not to compare my books to others because I’d rather the reader begin the journey of self discovery themselves and not be biased by anything I’ve compared the books to that might cloud their reading pleasure.


9) Who or what inspired you to write the book?

In Good Intentions, the mother of five in the newspaper article who loved enough to want to adopt a pregnant teenager inspired me. She is truly an inspiration.

As for Out for Justice, I felt that my story is a conglomeration of all rookie female homicide detectives. I didn’t choose a particular one. She came to me in a dream.


10) What else about your book might interest the readers?

In Out for Justice, rookie homicide detective, Karen Sykes, fights to bring justice for the murder of a four-year-old boy. She has personal reasons for getting so involved in the case. She also feels an attraction to one of the crime scene technicians.

In Good Intentions, Tracy Reynolds, the mother of five, has so much love to give that she can’t turn her back on Megan and her baby. She does have a tendency to bring home every stray in the neighborhood and her friends and family have their doubts. Tracy struggles to prove everyone wrong even though the odds are stacked against her. Read how she overcomes every obstacle thrown her way.

You can find these books at your local B&N bookstore or ordering it at any bookstore, or by clicking here:




Happy Reading!
--
Vicki


Confused about where to go next and what to read? 

Please visit the blogs listed below participating in this Great Big Book Tour:









Sunday, March 25, 2007

The Movie, 300

I saw 300 last night. What an absolutely awesome movie. Overall, it was incredible. The movie is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.

Historical accuracies are scattered throughout the movie. From the moment we see them examining the child king and determining if he meets their standards or he would be thrown over a cliff onto a mound of lost souls to the training and fighting style of the Spartan soldier.

Zack Snyder directed the movie and he must have been divinely inspired. The movie is that magnificent. The use of narration to tell the story, along with the actual scenes made the realism more clear. You truly believe this was how the battle developed and how King Leonidas ruled.

Speaking of King Leonidas, the casting for this character was perfect. Gerald Butler was King Leonidas. Right down to the most minute detail. From the braid that hung from the back of his head, to his stoic glare, to his commanding presence among his men. I do not believe any other man could have done a better job.

All of the casting seemed to fit the characters very well. Each actor melded with their character and made us believe they were Spartans, Persians, and man made gods.

While the movie does portray a brutal battle, I don't believe there was any gratuitous violence. The images of men fighting with all their heart, body, and soul to protect what they truly believe in - Sparta - transcends the actual acts of intense violence. The images may linger, but so will the depth of passion they invoked.

The Spartans weren't without their sense of humor. The occasional remark made by King Leonidas only made him more human. I found his method of negotiation amusing and just.

I love a good movie soundtrack, and 300 didn't disappoint. The scenes and music together pulled you into the moment, suspending your belief, engulfing your senses, making you forget for a while that you're sitting in a movie theater with dozens of other people.

Give yourself a treat. Go see 300. Hurry before it finishes its run in the theater. It's a must for the big screen. Lose yourself in Greek history.