Some quotable quotes:

One of my favorite quotes is:

Because I do it with a little ship, I’m called pirate; because you do it with a big fleet you’re called emperor.
In an interesting twist, the quote is not from somebody famous; however it was said to none other than Alexander the Great.

The legend says Alexander was holding court to a person accused of piracy and that the Great conqueror was pounding on the little guy, really making him feel small as a bug. The pirate stood his ground, as quoted above and it is said that Alexander was so impressed by the comeback that felt no other choice but to release the prisoner.

Another favorite quote of mine is uttered by Giancarlo Giannini in the 1995 movie A Walk in the Clouds:

Just because I talk with an accent doesn't mean I think with an accent.

Maybe because that is how I feel being a non-native English writer.

But enough with the quotes, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said:

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.

Will the Green Lantern resurrect DC Comics-based movies?

I’m not going to pose for an expert in comic. I barely know enough to get me through a conversation without making a fool out of myself. On the other hands, motion pictures are my thing.

The past decade marked a breakthrough for Marvel. Spiderman, X-men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, even the not so popular Daredevil/Elektra combo performed really well at the box office. Look at the X-Men for instance; it appears they can’t go wrong. They put an older-looking actor to play a younger version of himself, and it was a hit! Now the first class broke the 100 million mark soon enough. In 2003 The Hulk tanked worst than Godzilla, but undeterred, the producers tried again within five years and the result was much more satisfactory. Now the ambitious multi-movie project of The Avengers is in the works. Thor & Captain American are all lined up and ready and we’re taking it. I mean, come on, Chris Evans is in good shape, but he already played Jimmy Storm! Couldn't they find another actor to play Captain America? And still looks Marvel will get away with it, they’re definitely soaring!

Meanwhile, DC Comic’s sole hit is Batman. Although Superman performed okay, it didn't fulfill expectations and the franchise was put on hold. There is a new rendering, following the gritty footsteps of Christopher Nolan’s Batman, titled The Man of Steel. Let’s hope he can fly.

Last weekend Green Lantern opened to 53.2 Million at the box office, but the critics were not kind to the Ryan Reynolds incarnation. It received mixed to bad reviews, and producers still counting the pennies to see if they can declare it a hit or a flop. Let’s give them another week.

The horizon looks promising with the most beautiful of super heroes, Wonder Woman. Now that the new generation is not familiar with Linda Carter’s role-defining acting from 70’s, public is ready for a fresh look. And the timing could not be more appropriate. The woman-as-action-hero road was recently paved with Lara Croft, The Bride who wanted to Kill Bill and Alice from Resident Evil to name a few. However, producers are making it for TV, early critics panned the costume, so she’s off to a rocky start. For Wonder Woman, it’s now or never.

The DC Comics vrs. Marvel is as old as comics themselves, and the jury’s still out on the verdict.

I'm a guest at Cate Master's

I'm in the spotlight, here is the site:


http://catemasters.blogspot.com/2010/06/jh-bogran-in-author-spotlight.html

Come and participate. Leave a comment for a chance to win an autographed copy of Treasure Hunt.

My Boy Scout adventures

The Boy Scout movement in Honduras during the 80’s was a good experience for me. The moral values combined with the hands-on learning activities were a milestone in my education.

The motto of “be prepared” is ingrained so much that to this day I still carry a pocket knife, a pen, a lighter (ok, used to be matches). I dispensed the comb because, well, a comb won’t do anything to my hair; it was a waste of space.

Nowadays, I must leave my trusted Victorinox at home when I travel. But I take comfort thinking that I do it to “be prepared” for easy pass-through airport security. J

My first camping experience was in the mountains near Siguatepeque (central area of

Honduras). We arrived mid-morning, set camp within an hour and enjoyed the afternoon with horse-playing typical of an alfa-male group.

Along with the sunset, came the first rain drops. An hour later, the hard rain flooded the camp and we had to flee to higher ground while the noisy thunders scared a few of the younger members. We found an abandoned shed, apparently it had belonged to a saw mill, but the shed had no roof.

We spent the night sitting with our backs against a fallen tree trunk and covered our heads with the tent’s nylon.

It was an adventure.

It was the only time we had to set up camp twice during the same trip.

Honestly, I can’t remember another time when I had so much fun!

So here’s to the Boy Scout movement!

Trivia: I took the following text from the fact page of Boy Scouts of America. I read the story in the official manual years ago. The story is a fascinating example of faith, or destiny or whatever you want to call life-changing events. The link is here:

In 1909, Chicago publisher William D. Boyce lost his way in a dense London fog. A boy came to his aid and, after guiding the man, refused a tip, explaining that as a Scout he would not take a tip for doing a Good Turn. This gesture by an unknown Scout inspired a meeting with Robert Baden-Powell, the British founder of the Boy Scouts. As a result, William Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910.

Here is the link to the Scouts in Honduras.

Now on Twitter

I just added the "follow me" button on the right column.

Let the music play

What do you listen to when you’re writing? Besides the muse, I mean.

Is it pop, rock & roll, rhythm and blues? How about some heavy metal? Bohemian Rhapsody can do wonders for an action sequence.

Music is an integral part of my life. I listen to music while I’m driving, while I’m writing, I pay attention to score in most movies, etc. Actually, just recently I explained how I think my life feels like a movie, soundtrack included.

My personal music collection is just as varied as can be: from Beethoven to Bon Jovi, from The Doors to Lady Gaga, from Elvis to Michael Bublé. And Frank, of course, plenty of Frank.

I used to write while listening to pop singers, 70’s and 80’s most commonly, however, in recent days I’ve realized my preferences have moved towards classical melodies. Why the change?

I’m not sure. Easily, I could blame it on the fact that I’m nearing 40; but that’d be the easy way out. More than once I caught myself humming a song while, liked it or not, my fingers tapped away the lyrics. So, after repeated deletions of “Ice, ice, Baby”, “I want to hold your hand,” or “mamma mia,” I figured classical was the way to go.

What are your music-hearing habits?

Interviewed at Lindy's Lair

Fellow WCP author John Lindermuth cornered me with a in-depth Q&A.

Read it here:

http://jrlindermuth.blogspot.com/

Thank you John, it was fun.