Friday, October 29, 2010

Vampires: A Love Affair


You can’t enter a bookstore or even look at the book offerings in a grocery store these days without encountering dozens of “paranormal” stories involving zombies, demons, fallen angels, and werewolves, although by far the most popular of these is the vampire.

Since Halloween is coming up, you can bet many a young girl is planning to dress up as “Alice,” “Rosalie,” or “Bella” from Twilight, and any young guy hoping to impress a girl would be wise to dress as “Vampire Bill” from True Blood, or “Jacob” or “Edward” from Twilight.

One cannot help but wonder what the attraction is for some of these characters, although the Twilight series is easy enough to explain: It is a fantasy romance involving the perfect lover, Edward, who just happens to be a vampire and very conscious of the fact that he’s a monster, and Bella Swan, an ordinary young girl. Edward has everything, perfect manners, super strength, plenty of money, immortality, and most of all, unconditional love for Bella. Who wouldn’t be smitten?

True Blood, however, must involve every kind of supernatural creature ever dreamed up, and even the heroine, Sookie Stackhouse, is no ordinary woman. She possesses a super-power of her own, the ability to read minds.

Besides the two above extremely popular vampire series, there are numerous others that are making inroads in the young adult ranks, series such as The Vampire Diaries and The Vampire Academy series, and numerous others which have yet to become as popular as the Twilight and True Blood series.

The fellows from Spiritual Counterfeits Project (http://www.scp-inc.org/) addressed this issue in the SCP Journal, Volume 33.2-33.3 2009, addressing the theme, “Vampires Rising.”

According to SCP founder Tal Brooke, “Vampires and the supernatural are entering through a vacuum left by the retreating Christian presence, now almost culturally irrelevant. The Postmodern church is filled with those who prefer to blend in as chameleons than face ostracism and it is a church without backbone that cannot possibly resist the coming invasion of darkness.”

Frightening thoughts, these, and one wonders how much longer we have left before the Lord comes to straighten all this out.

Brooke’s colleague, Steve Wohlberg, adds that, “Most fiction is not just fiction, and this is certainly true of Twilight,” as “fiction still communicates ideas, values, and messages.” The lead characters in Twilight all live “absolutely awesome, exciting lives,” as they all have special powers far beyond normal people, so is it any wonder that some people buy into this fantasy so much, they identify themselves as “vampires” and seek to drink blood so they can claim the powers of their heroes?

Wohlberg points out that this fascination with blood often leads to a loss of morality and unspeakable crimes, and that the Bible warns against ingesting blood. For this reason, the powers of darkness foster this fascination, because, as Wohlberg puts it, “Satan hates the blood of Christ,” and seeks to mesmerize our minds with “the wrong blood.”

In short, it’s the old bait-and-switch technique. The “Power in the Blood” of Jesus Christ is traded off for the cool powers exhibited by Edward and his coven of vampire relatives, and another soul is lost to darkness.

Read all about it in SCP’s “Vampires Rising” issue of the award-winning SCP Journal. As the powers of darkness seem to be on the rise all around us, the guys at Spiritual Counterfeits Project seek to give us the truth about these things. I can’t recommend it enough.

Note: NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month.

Read more at http://www.nanowrimo.org/

The goal is to write a novel in a month--November. Participants are encouraged to just go crazy. Write without censure, without editing, just put the words on the page and prove you can do it. Write 50,000 words in one month. The web page has forums and all types of encouragements to produce the word count. Word count is key. Check it out and sign up to participate.

And please don’t forget to vote on Tuesday, November 2!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Inception – A Movie Review


Inception - A Movie Review by Cecelia Dowdy

I saw this movie last summer with my husband and all I can say about it is you have to pay attention.

One thing I didn't like was that they used the Lord's name in vain a lot and that didn't set too well with me.

I did find the story intriguing, especially since they had the dreams in four layers, a dream within a dream within a dream...

Cobb just wants to see his kids again, and he can't go home because he's WANTED. He’s a professional dreamer and he can get information about others via their subconscious – in their dreams. A project comes along, a very intriguing and difficult project involving the subconscious and if he's able to complete this project successfully, he'll be able to go home to his kids, whom he hasn't seen in a long time. In this project, instead of stealing secrets imbedded in the subconscious mind, he’s supposed to plant an idea into someone’s mind – Cobb needs to cause the breakup of a huge conglomerate if he wants to abandon his fugitive lifestyle and go home.

It's kind of cool to see people dreaming and how they see their longings in their subconscious mind. It's also kind of weird to see the dream and then to see others "interrupt" your dream since they're not supposed to be in that private part of your mind.

This is definitely a guy flick. I could imagine that a lot of females wouldn't care for this movie. I enjoyed the action in the movie, but, I must warn you, there is a lot of violence in this flick. The special effects were amazing and I really got caught up in the story.

Can you imagine being caught in a dream for fifty+ years? Frightening! Dreams and reality become muddled and then it messes with your mind.

This movie was very deep and, like I said, you need to pay attention to every word or you might miss something.

Seeing this movie reminded me about the fascination I’ve always had with dreams. When I was in high school, I wrote a paper about dreams and the subconscious mind. In the book of Daniel, God speaks to others through their dreams and He provided vivid messages while Pharoah was asleep.

It's hard for me to talk about this movie further without giving spoilers. If you've seen this movie, I'd like to know what you thought about it. I'd like to see it again to make sure I didn't miss anything. I think I got the whole story, but I’ll admit that this was one of the most intense movies that I’ve seen in recent years.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Secretariat--the Movie

Based on the remarkable true story, "Secretariat" chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Housewife and mother Penny Chenery Tweedy agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing experience. Against all odds, with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin, she manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time.

Secretariat is not a documentary so purists need not balk at the creative liberties taken by the film. Still those who remember this great horse will not find many factual discrepancies in the film that ruin the story.

The movie is toughing, moving, inspirational, and a whole lot of fun. Diane Lane and John Malkovich are excellent in their roles. The acting was superb and the storyline suspenseful even though we know how the whole thing turns out. I highly recommend Secretariat to anyone who is tired of the usual fare of sophomoric humor, sexual innuendo, or car chases to get you into the theater.

Rated PG for mild brief language this movie I give it 5 stars for family friendliness. Can't say that about many of them out there. Go and enjoy. If you're already seen it, let me know what you thought.

Monday, October 18, 2010

On DVD -- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE -- More

by Molly Noble Bull
www.mollynoblebull.com

Four DVD Movies:
Are you a Jane Austen fan? I am. In fact, I have two movie versions of Pride and Prejudice and watched them every chance I get. I’ve also read Pride and Prejudice.
The movie version starring Colin Firth first came out as a mini series from A&E, and in my opinion, Colin Firth IS Mr. Darcy. Still, the short version of Pride and Prejudice is worth seeing and stars Keira Knightley. Both are available on DVD.
The Bennet home in the A&E version is far grander than the Bennet house depicted in the Keira Knightley version, and since I never lived in that time period, I cannot say which of the two would be more authentic. In the Knightley version, the Bennets are somewhat messy and less prosperous, and the differences in these two DVD movies is especially interesting because it allows the viewer to see two completely different lifestyles during that point in British history.
Apparently, there are two other movie versions of Pride and Prejudice available on DVD that I have yet to see. The black and white version came out in 1940 and stars Greer Garson and Lawrence Olivier, and the BBC version came out in 1980 starring Elizabeth Garvie.
Jane Austen died in 1817. Obviously, the novel was written before that date.
So what attracts others and me to Pride and Prejudice—a story written two hundred years ago? What keeps us reading that particular book and seeing movies based on it? Was I born in the wrong century? Or do I merely enjoy looking back at bygone days? If I knew the answer to those questions, maybe my books would be as popular as Jane’s.
I love movies that include the interiors of grand English mansions and country homes of that period as well as colorful pictures of the English countryside. All these movies have that, and three of them are in color.
So what am I planning to do this evening?
Order the 1980 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice and watch it as soon as I can. If you want to do the same, go to Amazon dot com, click on the pull-down, scroll to Movies and Tv and write Pride and Prejudice in the search slot. All the movies mention above should also be listed, and I can promise that the two I’ve seen are wonderful.
Please leave a comment at the end of this article, and join our Followers group to the right on the screen.

More:
I would like to introduce three published novelists who will also be writing articles for Writers Rest.

. Cecelia Dowdy:
Cecelia Dowdy is a Christian fiction author who enjoys reading wonderful Christian books. She's been writing for fifteen years and she's had five Christian romance novels published. She is married and has a five-year-old son and currently resides in Maryland, not far from Washington D.C. She loves reading the Word and also enjoys discussing the Bible and asking others questions about certain Bible verses. Baking delicious desserts is another one of her passions and she also enjoys listening to old tunes with my husband.
She runs a book blog where she mostly reviews Christian fiction titles. She occasionally discusses Biblical topics and shares recipes, too. Her blog is entitled My Christian Fiction Blog and the address is:
www.ceceliadowdy.blogspot.com
Her website address is:
www.ceceliadowdy.com

. Katy King:
Katy King is a romance writer who trained as a scientist, which makes for some really weird viewpoints. She grew up in the Baptist church and consequently spent a lot of time arguing with Sunday School teachers about whether or not Jesus drank wine (the old-style Baptists swear it was grape juice!) and wondering why God didn't send a little lava down on Lot when he and his two daughters got together up in those caves after God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
When Katy entered college, she decided New Age religion was the way to go. By the time she left college, she met Molly Noble Bull and came to realize that, since her Baptist childhood had taught her what sin was, she was doomed never to develop the "Christ-consciousness" or become "One with the Universe," because she hated meditation and was obviously a "very young soul" who would never succeed in "elevating her consciousness" alone. In short, she was doomed to reincarnate until the universe pretty much ended, because that's about how long it would take.
Consequently, she decided she had better repent and get back with the Old Program, namely Bible-based Christianity. Though devout Christians, she and her husband keep up a constant study of New Age spirituality and other strange beliefs in order to warn others about the dangers of them.
Katy is published in magazines like Black Belt and Guideposts. Her first romance novel was a secular romance from Meteor Publishing called Storm Warning. Her second was The Cartwright Heritage from White Rose Press.

. Teresa Slack:
Teresa Slack quit work in 1999 to pursue her writing career full time. Since then she has written ten novels, five of which were published by Tsaba House. Her first novel, STREAMS OF MERCY, received the Bay Area Independent Publishers' Assn. award for "Best First Fiction". Her latest book, EVIDENCE OF GRACE, debuted nationwide at number 18, according to Christian Retailing Magazine.
Teresa loves to speak and teach to reading and writing groups alike about any writing related topic. She is currently working on the first installment of a new series, entitled UNLEASHED. Teresa lives in Ohio with her husband and two rescue dogs, all three of whom have been great inspiration for her novels. Learn more about Teresa and her writing at http://www.teresaslack.com or http://www.teresaslack.blogspot.com You can also keep up with her writing and personal life on Facebook and Twitter.

. Molly Noble Bull
Molly Noble Bull is married, the mother of three grown sons and a grandmother, and she was born in Kingsville, Texas, home of the famous King Ranch. Molly has published with Zondervan, Love Inspired-Steeple Hill and Tsaba House, and her two Zondervan novels also came out from Guideposts, the Book Division.
Molly entered three national contests for published authors, and her long historical, Sanctuary, won the 2008 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence in the Inspiration category and tied for first place in the 2008 Winter Rose contest in the inspirational category.
All Molly’s novels are available at Amazon and Christianbook dot com, and her Steeple Hill historical, The Winter Pearl, is also available as a Kindle selection.

Monday, October 11, 2010

SKYLINE, the movie -- Plus Four New Writers

by Molly Noble Bull
www.mollynoblebull.com

I've been reading how the new age movement explains the Rapture of the church. Spooky. According to some in that group, there are three types of people in the world.
. The first group will accept the New Age World Order gladly.
. The second group won't accept it at first but will later.
. But the third group will NEVER accept it. Therefore, the third group must be sent to another dimension for training.
The concept just mentioned is spelled out in a new upcoming science fiction movie titled SKYLINE. Hal Lindsey discussed "Skyline" on his program recently, and I think you can listen to that broadcast at his website.
Anyway, remember in the Bible when we are told to keep looking up because Jesus is coming soon. Well apparently in the movie, those that look up will be sucked up into the sky and thus doomed. In Skyline, the movie, people are told NOT to look up.
If you don't believe me, click onto the video below and see for yourself.
http://www.moviefone.com/movie/skyline/51802/video/skyline-trailer-no-1/586509061001
I have not seen this movie yet. I think I read that it comes out on
November 12, 2010.
Not sure.
Check the Internet for dates and times it will be shown.
Is Satan preparing his people for something big?
I think so.
Because Jesus is coming soon.

NOTE:
I would like to welcome four new published authors who will also be writing articles for Writers Rest. They are
Cecelia Dowdy
Katy King
Lorena McCourney
Teresa Slack
They will be introducing themselves to our readers soon.