Featured Blogger

Hey, guys, I'm the featured blogger over at the Casual Blogger Community today!

If you haven't been over there, you should check it out. A great support group, introducing you to all sorts of bloggers and cool new reads.

Oh, and while you're there... maybe leave them a comment or two about how freaking awesome I am.




Here's a small exceprt of my feature:

I got so sick of people hating on Twilight, and nobody ever owning up to the fact that they liked it. I mean, hello? These books and movies have sold hundreds of millions of copies... SOMEBODY is reading it and enjoying it. So I wrote a post about the lessons we can learn from Twilight.

Thanks, guys. I've got about five fantasy casts bubbling away right now, and I expect at least one will be ready for consumption this week. 

The Versatile Blogger

I have received yet another blogging award! Yahoo!

Wait? Is the word "yahoo" trademarked? Am I allowed to say that?

Um....

Woo Hoo!

Just to be safe.

This one is the Versatile Blogger award and it comes from The Literary Lioness, a very cool book blogger. She does reviews, but breaks it up occasionally, which is something I enjoy very much in a book blogger :)

Of course, as blogging awards have become the blogging equivalent of chain letters, there are some requirements. I'm supposed to tell you seven things about myself and then pass it on to seven other bloggers.

However, this is not my personal blog. My personal blog is just that, it's personal, and I don't want to go sharing all my personal tidbits with you nosy gits.

Wait. That was uncalled for. You're not gits. I take that back.

I'm still going to modify the request though, and tell you instead my 7 favorite books series and why... how's that?

1. Harry Potter by JK Rowling
This should really come as no surprise. I mean, I've only rambled about Harry Potter in no less than 11 posts. And briefly mentioned him in 4 others. And I've only been blogging since July. If you have not read these books... go, now and get started. They are amazing. And you will love them too, I promise. And if you don't know a little bit about what this books are all about by now, I really can't help you.

2. Sword of Truth (or Seeker of Truth, depending on who you ask) by Terry Goodkind
 This series is longer and decidedly more adult, but the political undertones are fascinating. There are all kinds of lessons to be learned and quotable lines. Richard, the main character, is the Seeker of Truth (he carries the Sword of Truth- thus the dual titling) and is thrust unwillingly into the center of a battle for freedom. He becomes the leader of a vast nation and leads them against tyranny and oppression. He believes all men should be free, but fighting for that freedom is often necessary.

entshaing.com

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
She may not have invented it, but she perfected the teen-dystopian novel. Political upheaval and unrest? Check. Fight to the death? Check. Open rebellion? Check. Cunning and subterfuge? Check. Perfect love triangle? Check. What's not to like about these books? They are fast and easy to read, and they are so entirely engrossing that I may have stayed up till three in the morning to finish one.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
These are wonderful children's stories. They are sweet and they are poignant. They are written in a very straightforward manner. They are funny and thrilling and exciting. You can read them and enjoy them on those merits alone. If, however, you are of a Christian faith, as I am, you can read them in another manner entirely. These lovely children's books also serve as a perfect allegory for the entire Christian system of beliefs, all the way from a Divine Creation, through temptation, forgiveness, the Atonement, faith, good works, Judgment and the Afterlife. Lewis claims that he never intended for them to be allegorical, and I believe him. Sometimes, a thought is so ingrained in your mind that it cannot help but come out in your writing, and I think that is what happened here.

filmofilia.com

5. The Lost Swords by Fred Saberhagen
These are older, and not nearly as well known. A quick summary: the Gods who rule over the world have forged 12 swords, each with a power all it's own (one brings perfect luck to the holder, another causes the holder to brainwash any within a 100 yard radius, and another heals all wounds, etc.). These swords are then distributed to men, who then fight to control all 12, and thus have power over all the world. The Gods created these swords and the ensuing fight as a game for their own amusement. Sounds nutty, but along the way, there are some amazing philosophical questions asked, and morality is questioned every possible way. These are some great "food for thought" books, and I highly recommend them to anybody with time to sit and read.



6. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

These books about demon hunters and other paranormal activity set in current-day New York City are just plain fun. There is the requisite romance, of course, but there's a whole lot more sarcasm and violence than the typical YA stuff holds. I daresay that Jace is a better love interest than Edward...

7. The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny
Amber is the "true world" and everywhere else is a shadow of it. The royalty of Amber can wander around, imagining worlds as they would like them to be, and as they move, they create these worlds that they imagine. So, the further one walks from Amber, the more diverse and strange the scenery becomes. In these shadow worlds, time flows differently, and people have cropped up to populate these worlds (one of which, naturally, is our world). There's a whole plethora of siblings and half siblings who comprise the royal family of Amber, and they're all plotting against each other for the recently abdicated throne. Fighting and intrigue ensues, naturally.

There you have it folks, the 7 best books series according to me.

Now, here are the 7 best bloggers according to me:

Rob from The Third Strike
Cole from Dry Humor Daily
Jonathan from The Titan Project
Jia from Untypically Jia
Chelsea of Chelsea's Psycho Babble
M of Teenagers Are Ridiculous
John of John's Intellectual Gobbledygook


Now, take your award and spread the love.

Blogging Award

So, you guys are making me blush! Cole, over at Dry Humor Daily, has given me the Versatile Blogger award, and this is quite the moment. If you aren't reading Dry Humor Daily, you ought to. 

ta-da!

So, now for the stipulations. I am supposed to tell you seven things about myself. Don't worry... I'm not actually going to do it. I know better than that; if I were interesting enough to have readers just listen to me talk about myself I would be Kim Kardashian. Alas, I am not, and I will instead tell you seven things relating to this blog that I am sure you will find much, much more interesting.

Here are the seven things that have annoyed me the most about books I have read recently.

1) The foul language. I get it. Kids in rough neighborhoods use the f-word a lot. It's "realistic." But, let's be honest: you're writing a supernatural urban fantasy with werewolves and vampires and telepathy and who knows what else. Where is this sense of "realism" you're aiming for? If you must, use it in moments of duress. But when it's used as a verb, a noun, an adjective and an adverb all in the same sentence, you just end up looking pathetically unoriginal. Find a new word. Like James Daschner did in The Maze Runner. The man invented all his own swear words. It got the point across without offending my sensibilities. 

2) The formula. Let me be perfectly clear: if you do not have enough original material- characters, story, jokes, tension, action scenes- to write a new book, then you cannot write a new book. Writing a new-ish story with the exact same characters (except their names have changed) is an insult to your readers. Sure, you get paid gobs of money, but we all shelled out twenty five bucks to read the exact same book we read last year. Not cool.

3) The generic-genre rules-followers. Urban romantic fantasy goes like this: cute, shy, book-ish girl meets a fabulously handsome, paranormal creature who is absolutely devoted to her in tension-filled chaste kind of way. I get it. Book nerds are the ones buying these books, and they want to see themselves in the characters. Gag. Find a new cliche to beat to death, please.

4) The overdone sequels. Your first book is awesome. It's tense without being annoying, romantic without being sappy, funny without going overboard. The story is intricate and detailed and well-managed. The characters are well-developed and interesting and real. You sell fifty gazillion copies and are an instant superstar of book-nerd variety. So what do you do next? You out do yourself, of course! You stretch your characters to their limits and you make them jump through hoop after hoop of improbability. You create more and more fantastic stories and more and more ridiculous love triangles/ coincidences/ conspiracies. And you hurt my head.

5) The straight up rip-off. I'll give you a few hints about a story, you guess what story it is. A young man leaves his comfortable home with an old wizard and a few other companions. Their mission is to save the world from a dark, menacing evil. As they travel, they find more companions. They encounter troublesome creatures and magic. They learn the history of this round object that they are dealing with. Eventually the young man breaks off from the group and goes to face the evil alone. If you said Lord of the Rings you'd be wrong.

6) The misplaced politics. I didn't pick up Bridget Jones or The Devil Wear Prada to get lectured about the liberal political point of view. If I wanted politics and economics, I would have gone to the  crusty-old-guy section of the library. Not the shallow-women's-lit section (that's not a slam, I really did read both of those books these past few months)

This one is semi-related.
7) You don't even have the book? Seriously? I've searched my library's website for a book; a book which also was made into a movie at some point. They have the movie but not the book. When I search Amazon for this book, the movie in all its different editions makes up the first 40 pages of search results. What happened? Nobody reads the book anymore? Shame on us.


OK. That was long and ranting and I'm a little bit sorry. No, I'm not actually. I stand by this post with all my little, judgmental heart. Thanks again to Cole, I love his blog. You should read it. It's funny. And he's better at following rules than I am.

Blog with Substance

I have received another blog award: The Blog with Substance.

I know, crazy, right? I'm like the least substantive person around. OK, so I blog about books. That gives me some substance. But, really I blog about making books into movies- which, in effect, removes most of the intelligence from the equation, right? But, hey, I'll take it!

This award comes from Jess, who blogs at It is a big deal, it is to me! and if you aren't reading her blog, you should. She's funny. Real funny. It is randomness of the highest degree, although if you are a fan of Heidi Montag (or anybody similar) you probably won't like it. She does also have a giveaway going on right now, where you get to tell your worst first date story. Even if you don't have one to share, go read the others. You'll feel better about yourself, I promise.

What was I talking about again? Oh, yes. The blog award. I'm supposed to sum up my blogging philosophy, motivation and experience in 5 words.

"blogging philosophy, motivation and experience" is 5 words, and that's just the instructions!

And, seriously, you know how long winded I am. This is impossible. But, after a lot of thinking, I've come up with:

Be funny and use pictures.

 So much for substance, eh?

Thank you, Jess. You make me laugh. A lot. Even if I don't comment, I promise I'm there for every single post.

Now, the 10 sites that I would pass this on to, these are the 10 I look forward to reading every single day:
Cake Wrecks
Hyperbole and a Half (the language and content on this blog is PG-13. At best. You've been warned.)
EPBOT
Untypically Jia
The Meanest Mom
Don't Do Dumb Things (You probably have to be LDS, or know somebody who is LDS pretty well to get all the humor over there, but if you're in the loop, it's real funny!)
Serene is my name, not my life!
Chelsea's Psycho Babble
Books Your Mother Would Approve Of
The Story Siren


Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments? Images: Google Images

Blogging Award

Listen up, everybody. This is the day that will live in infamy: I have received my first blogging award. The super-funny Jess over at It is a big deal, it is to me! gave me this award. If you haven't read her blog, you ought to. Other than sharing an unhealthy love for the TV show Friends, she also makes fun of Justin Bieber and has a weekly Face Punch feature. Hilarious.


Anyway, here is the award she has given me:

How cool is that? An awesome blog award. It's not even like "Semi-interesting Blog" or "Reading your blog is more fun than doing the dishes", which, to be honest is the bulk of the blogging world.


As always, this award comes with some strings. I'm supposed to list seven things about myself. Tricky business since my blog isn't really about me. What's a girl to do? I want to accept the award, but this is not the place for my personal information... I know!


Here they are: my votes for the 7 best book-to-movie adaptations. Because, really when you know what kind of books and movies a girl loves, you know everything there is to know about her, right? ;)


1. The Count of Monte Cristo based on The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Vengeance, long-suffering love, betrayal- what's not to love? While the story itself is considered a timeless classic, there is something magical in the way Jim Caviezel brings it all to life. This one is a go-to for my husband and I; there just aren't a lot of movies that satisfy the need for action, drama and romance. Plus, although the Jacapo character was a very minor piece of the novel that was dramatically expanded for the film, I think Luis Guzman was hilarious in this.

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
I remember the first time I saw a trailer for this movie. This was before my blogging days, so movie rumors were still pretty low on my radar. I had heard that Disney was making these movies, but didn't know much about it. There I was, sitting in the theater to see Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, when a wardrobe appeared on the screen. I almost peed my pants. The old BBC versions were some of my favorite movies as a kid, and I absolutely loved these books. Prince Caspian was fantastic, and I am super excited for Dawn Treader, but, nothing will ever top the allegorical story of the first.

 3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince based on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K Rowling
For a die-hard Harry Potter nerd, one of these films needed to make the list. This is the best one. Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets were aimed at a very young audience, Prisoner of Azkabanwas so badly chopped that it doesn't hardly make sense. Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix were excellent, but so compressed that I just can't love them the same way I love the books. Half Blood Prince was a shorter novel, and thus more of it made it to the screen. This is the first time the director really explored anything beyond the Harry-Voldemort problem, and it was cute, funny and thrilling.

Seriously, who else cannot wait for the last two films?




4. The Bourne Identity based on The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlam
This one is an odd choice, because the book is not a favorite of mine. I actually read the first and never read any of the sequels, that's how little it spoke to me. But the movie- oh, the movie! This reinvented the spy film genre and turned James Bond into a sorry has-been. While we were living in Texas, my husband and I shelled out for a babysitter exactly two times. To see Harry Potter and Jason Bourne.

5. Jurassic Park based on Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
This is another one of those rare moments when the movie is better than the book. Not that the book wasn't good- it was. It just wasn't as good as the movie. The movie did a brilliant job of condensing without changing the overarching story, and let's be honest, the fact that the special effects were the most cutting edge of their time has a little bit to do with this choice. Was anybody else terrified of dark kitchens and rainstorms after this? No? Just me? Good to know.

6. The Lord of the Rings trilogy based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkein
Yes. I count these as one film, because they were created as such. Peter Jackson filmed one ginormous, 13 hour movie and then chopped it into 3 equal chunks. That was still too much film, so he chopped those chunks down into 3 hour movies. And that is how the LOTR trilogy was born. The genius behind this approach created the most seamless set of sequels ever to grace the silver screen (sort of the exact opposite of The Twilight Saga).

7. Fight Club based on Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
 You don't talk about Fight Club.

Thank you, Jess. Your awesomeness humbles me, and I am grateful for the award.


On a related note, if anybody wanted to nominate me for a Blog Oscar, I wouldn't turn it down ;) Just saying.



Images: Google Images

Empty Streets Special: Special Blog Awards

Wow I just received these cute and fantastic awards from a dear friend Liza of Mommy's Little Corner. I have to admit this really made my day and weekend even more fun :) As always I would also like to share these awards to special people today.

Here are the rules for the Adorable Blog Award:

1. Include the award logo in your blog or post.
2. Nominate as many blogs which you like.
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

I'm awarding the following bloggers for giving me inspiration and being my mentor, just as much as they have become my friends:

Marzie and her fantastic Kitties @ Meow Diaries
The Talented Emila Yusof @ Emila's Illustrated Blog
Lady Java The Amazing Blog Designer @ Lady Java's Lounge
The Charming Monica @ Turn U off

Thank you all for being there to inspire me to be the blogger that I am today and am sure that many share the same sentiments but more importantly for the priceless friendship that you have shared with me.

Empty Streets Special: Awarding Fantastic Blogs

I have a lot of people to be grateful for in the blogging community. There have been so many both locally and internationally that has not only inspired me to be the blogger that I am now but also have taught me the value of pursuing what one is passionate about and to keep on running with it. These people have become much more than simple advisers for me, they have become amazing friends too.

It is to these people that I give these awards (Thanks to Leigh of Inside my Head for this award)

A Great Pleasure

Aeirin's Collections

Ako...I...Io...

Big Boys Have Toys Too

Blogger Buster

Blogger Rise

Dwayne Reaves Dot Com

eastcoastlife

ethereal heaven

Eyeglasses4Eye

Fresh Scoops

From A Yellow House In England

Health Nut Wannabee Mom

Holy Cuteness

House Home Garden

Housewife @ Work

Imagination Manifesto

Jena Isle's Random Thoughts

LadyJava's Lounge

laketrees

Linda's Bees

Living With A Chronic Illness

Low-Water Mark

Make Money Online With Makoy

Makoy's Memoirs Of A Certified Blogger

Makoy’s Take on The Arts and The Entertainment

Mariuca

Mariuca's Perfume Gallery

Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta.

Meow Diaries

MiNd HeaRt LinEs

moms.....check nyo

Mother Thoughts

My Solitude and Serenity

Net Book Journals

NewsNTech Palace

Night Clicks

Of Cats

On Writing and Design

Our Journey To Forever

Parker and Heidi Low

phydeaux3

Pinay Mom Blogs!...and LIFE goes on for a Filipino Mom..

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Roxiticus Desperate Housewives

Snapping Panda

SPEEDCAT HOLLYDALE PAGE

Steam Powered Rings

the $@FE mode

The Certified Pinoy Blogger

The Lady Programmer

The Single Parent Talks

The Spirit Of Blogging

The Success

Top Artists; Directory

Turn-u-Off

Ukay 168 Online

Widgets for Blogger

WINN'S WORLD

Wordprompts

Xephan and Reema

Zen Ventures

Empty Streets Special: Award Received - Triple Award

It is the start of the new year and out of the blue I have received something rather amazing. Thanks so much to Maria of Life's Sweets and Spices for giving me such a prestigious award to start my year. I am so grateful and honored. Now just because I am in such a very perky and happy mood today (though am always in a cheerful mood hehehe) I would like to share this award to the people that have shown outstanding talent, skills, and of course friendship.

So without further ado here are the people am passing on the award to:
Marzie of Mariuca and Mariuca's Perfume Gallery, Bloggista of Bloggista.com and Bloggista.org, Lady Java of Lady Java's Lounge and Lady Java's Life Pages, Emila Yusof of Emila's Illustrated Blog, Crissy of Housewife at work, Monica of Turn U Off, Bono of Bonoraiu, Mark of Makoy's Memoirs, Make Money Online with Makoy, Makoy's Take of The Arts and The Certified Pinoy Blogger, Melo Villareal of Pinoy Cravings and Melo Villareal, Snowy of Dear Bloggery, Ambo of Pinoy Ambisyoso, ZEN VENTURES, George of Serradinho, ASK MS RECIPE, ECL of East Coast Life, Jean of A Great Pleasure, iWalk of iWalk U 2, Mize of Portuguese Menu, Night Clicks, and NetFreeSource, Kim of Lake Trees, and of course to Nash and Ian of Black and White and ianalcazar.blogspot.com

To all of you that I have awarded I would like to say thank you so much for everything that you have taught me and more importantly for the friendship and care that you all have shared and may the new year bring us all good tidings and blessings. I am forever grateful to have met all of you and hope to continue with you all around.

Thanks again to Maria for this wonderful Award. :)

P.S. Dont forget to share to your friends and people you feel deserve this blessing ;)

Sunday Special on Empty Streets: Brilliante Award 2008

I got this wickedly cool Award from Ask Ms. Recipe of whom by the way you can find the most scrumptious recipes around, and I guess all I can say is thank you so much and you should have seen the smile on my face when I got this award not to mention how rather hungry i also got as I saw a lot of her delectable cooking.

Just as it is always I would like to share this award to people that have meant a lot to Empty Streets and since it was a chef that gave this award to me let me honor those that I believe are excellent cooks as well. :)

Jean
Pinoy Cravings
Lady Java's Food Paradise
In My Kitchen
Manong Ken's Carinderia
Portuguese Menu

All of these FOOD Blogs just the same as Ask Ms. Recipe are Brilliant Food Blogs and they all truly deserve to be awarded today for being just that and much more :) Thank you guys for making us all CRAVE FOR MORE :) As always xoxo guys :)