Boycotting 2012 the Movie

When I saw the movie trailer for 2012, the motion picture seemed to me to be more about a lot of action/blow-them-up scenes than any real plot. Because of that, I decided to hold off on seeing the movie until it came out on DVD.

Then I read certain comments by Roland Emmerich, the director of the movie, which gave me other reasons not to see 2012. When discussing why he had not blown up the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Emmerich advised scifiwire.com that:

    “Well, I wanted to do that (blow up the Kaaba), I have to admit,” Emmerich says. “But my co-writer Harald said I will not have a fatwa on my head because of a movie. And he was right. … We have to all … in the Western world … think about this. You can actually … let … Christian symbols fall apart, but if you would do this with [an] Arab symbol, you would have … a fatwa, and that sounds a little bit like what the state of this world is. So it’s just something which I kind of didn’t [think] was [an] important element, anyway, in the film, so I kind of left it out.”

Much as he indicated, Emmerich spared the Kaaba in the movie, but had no qualms about destroying a number of Christian religious symbols in 2012. In Hollywood-blow-them-up fashion he trashed the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica in Italy and Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro.

So I guess I’m boycotting Emmerich’s 2012 movie for a couple of reasons.

The first reason: If it’s disrespectful to destroy religious symbols for the purpose of fictional stories, then maybe Emmerich should respect all religions and not just those that might threaten harm to him.

The second reason: As long as we kowtow to extremists because they might do us harm, we’re actually encouraging them to continue with those practices. It’s the typical bully in the schoolyard scenario, although unfortunately these bullies have big bombs. As long as you let the bully continue to beat you down or threaten to beat you down, he’s in control. When you stand up to bullies, you end the power of their threats and intimidation.

Mr. Emmerich, I won’t put a fatwa on your head and hurt you physically because I’m a good Christian and don’t believe in that kind of thing. But I will put one less penny in your pocket.

What are your feelings on this? Do you think what Emmerich did was right?

Wicked Wednesday – Jamieson Wolf

HardToday we have with us a very special guest blogger, my friend and fellow author Jamieson Wolf. Jamieson has an excerpt for us from his new male/male novel HARD. I hope you’ll take the time to check it out down below.

As you can also see from the calendar, I’m a busy little bee today while my buddy Jamieson is here with you. Take a moment to visit me at one of the following blogs for some fun talk and possible giveaways:

  • Bitten by Books Virtual Release Party (giveaway ends at mid-day so stop by soon!):
    http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=13412
  • RomCon FF&P Blog (I’ve heard a lot of good things about the RomCon Convention and hope to go there soon!):
    http://www.romconinc.com/index.php/conversations/post/127

Now without further ado, my good friend and fellow author, Jamieson Wolf!

***Excerpt – Warning PG 13***

More than anything, Owen remembered the taste of him.

You never forget the first one. Nineteen and horny, they did what guy friends did together. Daniel and him used look at porn in Owen’s bedroom. He could smell it even now: the scent of fresh paint, sweat and heat. He remembered the way Daniel smelled sitting beside him: spicy, as if his skin was burning.

Sometimes, after they were really turned on, they would lie next to each other, rub their crotches together. Sometimes, Daniel would even lie on top of him, pressing his crotch into Owen’s.

He remembered how good it felt to rub his body against Daniel’s. How flushed he got in his cheeks, his crotch so hot it felt as if it would go ablaze. He knew that it wasn’t right to get hard when fooling around with another boy.

But Owen wanted to, needed to, anyways.

It had been an eye opener. He had not been able to get an erection while thinking of girls, but one thought of his friend’s body pressed against his and he felt hard all over.

Daniel always said he was straight. “I don’t think I could ever sleep with a guy,” he’d say. “I wouldn’t know what to do.” But there would be a look in Daniel’s eyes that had made Owen wonder.

At night, after Daniel had gone home, Owen would lie on his bed and think of Daniel. He pictured Daniel’s straight brown hair that framed his face in crude spikes, the greenness of his best friend’s eyes.

These thoughts would take him into sleep. In his dreams, he was able to do what he knew could never happen; he was able to touch Daniel. He was able to run his hands all over Daniel’s hard body.

After the euphoria, a slight sadness would settle in. Owen knew that dreams could never be reality. Daniel would reject him if he knew how Owen felt. Owen knew Daniel would never talk to him again if he had any inkling of Owen’s feelings.

If Daniel found out, he would leave Owen and Owen would lose the man he loved. He had been friends with Daniel so long that the boy he had been was a thing of the past. Instead, all Owen could see was a gorgeous man.

But Daniel would never love him back.

All that Daniel worried about came into sharp focus on a hot summer afternoon. The windows were open and a light summer breeze filled the air. Owen’s parents were at the cottage and he had the house to himself.

Except for Daniel that is. Knowing that Owen had the house to himself, Daniel had rented some porn and was brining it over with a few stolen beers. Owen wondered if it was wise to drink something that would lower his inhibitions around Daniel.

He had enough of a hard time controlling himself around his friend as it was.

But Owen could never say no to Daniel. Not for anything.

***About the Author***

Jamieson WolfJamieson has been writing since a young age when he realized he could be writing instead of paying attention in school. Since then, he has created many worlds in which to live his fantasies and live out his dreams.

He is the author of The Valentine Series, The Written Word Series, The Hunted Series, The Owen Diaries, The Gods of Love Series, The Wishing Star Series and The Queen of Egypt Series and more!
Jamieson is also an author of non-fiction including the best selling Letting the Mind Wander, Write Now and The Muse.

He currently writes book reviews for The Book Pedler and writes non fiction pieces for The American Chronicle.

Jamieson is also an accomplished artist. He works in mixed media, charcoal and pastels. He also runs a book trailer design company titled Night Wolf Design.

He currently lives in Ottawa Ontario Canada with his husband Robert and his cat, Mave, who thinks she’s people.

Learn more about Jamieson at www.jamiesonwolf.com or www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com.

Green Bean Casserole

Courtesy Campbell's Kitchen Used under Fair Use ProvisionsWith the holidays here, this is one of my favorite dishes to put on the table! Yep, it’s the classic green bean casserole. My sister gave me an alternate recipe to use this Thanksgiving which was really tasty, but I also like this creamier traditional recipe, but with a little kick of course!

For the Campbell’s Traditional Green Bean Casserole recipe, you can click here. But why not try this variation on the classic!

Ingredients:

    1 medium onion chopped
    2 cloves garlic minced
    4 tablespoons butter
    4 cups cooked green beans (frozen or fresh work best)
    1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup
    1/2 cup milk (or for an even creamier taste substitute half and half)
    1 to 2 cups French’s Cheddar Cheese Fried Onions
    1 cup parmesan cheese grated
    1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • If using fresh green beans, wash and cut into 2 inch pieces.
  • Steam/Microwave green beans until just tender. Set aside to cool in a large mixing bowl.
  • Saute onion and garlic in the butter over low heat until they are caramelized.
  • Add 1/2 cup milk/half & half and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan (this is much easier to do if you are using a non-stick pan.)
  • Add mushroom soup mix and stir until creamy.
  • Add onion/mushroom soup mixture to the green beans and toss. Then add 3/4 cups of both the parmesan and cheddar cheeses and toss. Also add about 1/2 cup of the French’s Fried Onions and toss.
  • Lightly grease 2 quart casserole dish. Place green bean mixture into casserole and top with the remaining French’s Fried Onions, parmesan and cheddar cheeses.
  • Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

For another variation, fry up some chopped red peppers and add to the mixture!

Surprise Saturday!

It’s a Surprise Saturday blog because I was so busy yesterday with an assortment of things that I didn’t get to do the Fun Friday blog. Had to take my daughter to her job at 2 a.m. because she was working on Black Friday. Then headed to the shore to start filming a Director’s Cut I am doing for you so that you can see some more Behind the Scenes of SINS OF THE FLESH.

Then back to the outlets to pick up my daughter, visit family and then return to the shore for some Black Friday shopping. My daughter and I got almost all of our Christmas shopping done which is great! Now I can focus on getting ready for the holidays and also some revisions I have to do on ARDOR CALLS, the next book in THE CALLING Vampire Series.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! Mine was wonderful. Good food and family times. I’ll have some photos for you next week.

Before I take off for the rest of the weekend, here’s some happenings for you!

Visit me today at the Borders True Romance blog for a chance to win one of 5 copiesof SINS OF THE FLESH. Just visit this link: http://bordersblog.com/trueromance/

Don’t forget to get 25 extra entries into the contest at Bitten by Books on December 1. You can get the extra entries by RSVPing for the event. Just use this link: http://bit.ly/4TCKcE

Only two days left in the SINFUL THINGS CONTEST. Just tweet the info below or post it to your Facebook profile for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate.

    Celebrate Release of Caridad Pineiro’s SINS OF THE FLESH! RT for a chance 2 win a $50 Gift Certificate. http://bit.ly/2AZWlC

Thanksgiving Thoughts and a Giveaway

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving Day! Through the wonders of technology, I am able to share these Thanksgiving Thoughts and a giveaway while I am probably busy whipping up a batch of Cranberry Maple Muffins to take to my sister’s house for the holiday celebration.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’ve got a new blogging gig over at PowerfulLatinas.com and this month’s theme at Powerful Latinas is sisters – La Hermana. It only seems right to broaden that discussion to families in general.

Families often play a role in what we read and write and so this week’s blog at Powerful Latinas is about incorporating family into our writing. In preparing the article, I had the opportunity to chat with my dear friend and fellow author Julia Amanta – EVENINGS AT THE ARGENTINE CLUB. Julia offered up her thoughts on why family is important in our writing and also graciously offered a copy of her book as a giveaway.

So please take a moment to stop by and visit with me there to learn about sisters and family in our writing. Just click here to visit and remember to leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway for a copy of EVENINGS AT THE ARGENTINE CLUB.

Things for Which I am Thankful

I know it’s Wicked Wednesday, which usually means an excerpt, but I wanted to get a headstart on the Thanksgiving holiday and share those things for which I am thankful. I hope you’ll forgive me this indulgence. Here are those things for which I am thankful:

  • My Family: To my hubby who always makes me laugh and my beautiful daughter who is the light of my heart, I am thankful. I am also thankful for my sister, brother, in-laws and all my nieces, nephews and cousins who bring such joy into my life.
  • Our Military and their families: Thank you for the sacrifices you make so that we can continue to be safe and enjoy the many freedoms which we enjoy.
  • My Friends: Where would you be without friends? I want to thank all of them for always being supportive and I want to thank all of you, my cyber friends, for always visiting and writing.
  • The Liberty States Fiction Writers: After a year of darkness, a bright light emerged. You are that bright light, filled with optimism, good will, diversity and innovation. I thank you for our first wonderful year together and give a big WOO HOO that we’ve reached 150 members in our inaugural year.

Last, but never ever least . . .

  • The United States of America: You opened your doors to me and provided me the opportunity to live the American Dream. You gave me Liberty and allowed me to pursue through hard work those things that have made me happy and which I hope have contributed to the overall good of this Nation. I am forever indebted and thankful.

What about you? What are the things for which you are thankful this Thanksgiving season?

Guilty Pleasure Monday – Mark Wahlberg

Photograph  © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.comHubby and I were watching THE SHOOTER yesterday and it occurred to me that I had not had sexy Mark Wahlberg as a Guilty Pleasure Monday so here he is with us today! This wonderful shot is courtesy of Glenn Francis at www.PacificProDigital.com.

I’ve seen Mark in a number of movies and have always thought he was very masculine and sexy. One of my favorite movies was INVINCIBLE which was actually a real life tale about bartender-turned-Philadelphia Eagle Vince Papale. I loved this movie!

Hope you enjoyed this Monday’s Guilty Pleasure!