The Writing Nut

I’ve always wanted to take some kind of martial art when I was a kid.  From preschool to grade 2, school only lasted from 7am-12nn. I remember rushing home after school, gobbling down a quick lunch and switching on our little TV to watch those afternoon kung fu shows. Those black and white shows –originally  Chinese–were dubbed in English. I didn’t mind that the actors’ lips were never quite synchronized with the words supposedly coming out of their mouths.  I was just interested in the action-packed plot lines and the cool martial arts moves.

Watching a young Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee was enough to inspire me. My dream goal was to get a black belt in any martial art. Of course, the only black belt I ever got was the one I bought at the nearby mall.

School got busier as the years went by. Once I graduated from college, I quickly joined the work force as an English teacher. And teachers rarely have time to achieve their dream goals. They’re always so busy checking papers or encouraging their students to follow their dreams.

I never thought I’d get the chance to achieve this particular goal, as life often gets in the way of dreams. But being the determined (or  stubborn) person that I am, I decided to start pursuing my dream goals one by one.  Last April I joined our city recreation program for Filipino Stick Fighting (Doce Pares multi-style martial art system).  I instantly fell in love with the program.  They teach us all sorts of fighting techniques (stick/sword fighting, empty hand, dagger) and the class instructor is pretty easygoing (and very patient).

It’s an extra hundred dollars a month, but the class is well worth it.  I get to learn self-defense, fulfill a childhood dream, learn about martial arts (which is very helpful for the kind of book I’m writing), as well as get my weekly dose of exercise.

I was quite happy when I heard about the Filipino Gatorade Propel Commercial which featured a young lady kicking ass with her Escrima sticks. (See video below)

I wish the video were longer. Or better yet, I wish someone would make a movie or something featuring this kind of martial art. It’s not as well known as Taekwondo or Karate, but it’s just as deadly (if not more) and more importantly –a hell of a lot of fun to learn.

I may not get that black belt anytime soon ( I hear it takes at least 5 years for this specific martial art) but at least I’ve taken the step to fulfill one of my dream goals.  After all, reaching one’s goal is important, but it’s not as important as trying.

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I watched the season finale  last Sunday and if we didn’t have guests at home,  I probably would have burst out crying.  Why? Well, the cast was blindingly spectacular as usual (Just watching Bridget’s hair flying in her fight scenes makes me weep) and the writers of the show soaked the final episodes with suspense. (I literally held my breath during commercials). But that isn’t the reason behind my “almost-nervous-breakdown.”

The reason is that I couldn’t believe that the show was at an end. I mean, I’ve known since April that the show was getting axed (they announced it on my birthday, of all days!) but like many of the show’s fans, I refused to accept this as fact. Which is why I am calling last sunday’s episode a SEASON FINALE, and NOT the  SERIES FINALE.

Many of my favorite shows have been axed by TV networks who don’t see the value of shows which make you think, feel or otherwise engage your imagination. They would rather stand by trashy reality shows because they don’t cost much to make and they actually have wide viewership.  These networks are only contributing to the already diminishing intellectual capacity of all their viewers.  They’ll turn us all into mindless zombies if they keep on removing shows like LEGEND OF THE SEEKER.

Some people might not like the show because it hasn’t stayed true to the book series written by Terry Goodkind. Funny thing is that Terry Goodkind himself lends his support to saving the show http://www.saveourseeker.com/terrygoodkind.html . It makes sense, you see. – fans of the show sooner or later become fans of the book series and any show that makes you want to read is worth keeping around.

As a (middle grade)  fantasy writer who’s trying to break into the mainstream, it is very important me for me to be constantly reading/watching in my genre. Fantasy shows like LEGEND OF THE SEEKER not only provide me with intelligent entertainment (just figuring out the plot twists is enough to keep one’s brain active for years) , but also inspires me to create my own stories.

There are so many reasons this show is worth saving.

1. Bridget Regan’s hair (I honestly don’t know how she keeps her hair looking fabulous even after kicking a lot of ass) -along with the rest of her

2. Craig Horner’s expressive eyes and his particularly muscular frame.

3. Tabrett Bethell’s endless quips  combined with her sexy leather outfit should be enough to keep any show going.

4. Craig Parker’s drawling monologues and his biceps.

5. Bruce Spence’s witty remarks.

6. The show’s amazing special effects ( I particularly love the slow-motion technique they employ during fight scenes)

7. The ever-changing, always surprising, complex plots (I love the writers of this show, whoever they are)

8. The super supportive fans (like myself) who will follow the show wherever it goes. (I don’t care if TVland buys the show and I have to watch it at 2am).

Obviously these aren’t the only reasons behind LEGEND OF THE SEEKER’S AWESOMENESS.  But these are all I can think of for now.  (Fellow fans are free to add their own thoughts and reasons to this blog).

Just take our word for it. LEGEND OF THE SEEKER is a great, great, great show. Just listen to the Save our seeker theme song and you’ll understand why we fans would like to save this show.  I for one have joined the save our seeker campaign. http://www.saveourseeker.com/ Why? Because this show is worth it.

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J.K. Rowling has left the building. Or has she?

She may have finished writing the Harry Potter series, but the Harry Potter culture continues to thrive.  Fans look forward to the two movie screen versions of the last book. And when that’s over — throngs of them will fly to Orlando, Florida ‘s Universal City where the new HarryPotterland has just finished.

Just goes to show that great books never die. The characters live on in the hearts and minds of their faithful readers–and in theme parks.

http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotternews/?__source=EDW276548&ptyid=18689908

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Watched two episodes on hulu.com last night and I have to say I am hooked!

Channel: NBC

Premise: Celebrities travel all over the world to discover their ancestry. They discover family secrets, walk on roads their ancestors have trodden on generations before, and change their perspectives about themselves.

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