Oh My Francis

What's New - Blog Header

So If you haven't notice I changed my URL and my Blog name from Book 'n the Geek to LET ME INTRODUCE YOU. It's a long story on why I changed it.

I also decided to have a blog re-design and I will make it all by myself, I don't want to spend a lot of money 'cause I know I can do it. By the help of Photoshop everything is possible.

So I'm gonna start with my Blog Header. I want to share it with you guys, especially for those who want to have their own blog re-design. First, I did is to sketch my own avatar.

(I don't have a scanner, I used my phone camera instead. Be resourceful right?). So from this, by the use of photoshop comes this

They call it "LineArt". This tutorial from Youtube is a great help, he even have a full tutorial on how to do it. Here is the link. Next thing I have to do is to Color it

There's a lot of tutorials on Youtube or in Google that can help you on how to color it and do the shading. This video is a great help. Just be familiar with "layering".

Actually it takes me a week to familiarized the basics on photoshop like this different tools, brushes, layering, etc. Just research, practice, do the trial and error, and wola! you will be surprised that you finally did it.

I know everyone of us wants to have an epic header, for inspirations I will leave you this link and this. If you want to challenge yourself then nothing is impossible, if you want a simple one then let it be simple.

(Finished Blog Header)

What's Next? I'll be doing my Menu bar, as you can see it's all scattered. Then a blog button.

Credits:

Puglypixel for the freebies

Bittbox for the brushes

Webdesignerwall

and Makin' Cute Blogs for blogger tutorial

Eon [Book Review]

Title: Eon (Eon #1)
Author: Alison Goodman
Published: December 26, 2008

Summary from Goodreads:

Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he’ll become apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragoneye, the human link to an energy dragon’s power. It is forbidden for females to practise the Dragon Magic and, if discovered, Eon faces a terrible death. But after a brilliant sword ceremony, Eon is catapulted into the treacherous world of the Imperial court, where his desperate lie comes to light.

Thanks to Lori's Reading Corner for the book.

Review:

If there's a word that can describe fantastic, excellent, brilliant all-in-one, that's the word for this book. It really takes a great time to research to make such ambitious work especially working on a culture that is rich in history, hands down to you Ms. Goodman. The use of Chinese zodiacs are absolutely amazing. Somewhat part of our lives we believe that this zodiac brings luck.

As everyone knows this is all about Eona hiding her true identity as Eon because woman at early times are underrated, this is not just in China but all over the world. She's fighting not for her own but also to every people that cares for her. It has some political issues that I think will lead to the downfall of China's imperialism and its all because of greed. Greed will always pull you down.

I love all the characters, this is not just some of the other book that has these characters that just come and go and forgotten, this book is not, all characters played their role very well, I also feel myself played their role each and every one of them, I feel like an actor in here, I deserve a best actor award.

The descriptions was written very well, the plot, the twists, the dragon scenes, I feel like I was watching a Chinese fantasy movie. Well, I recommend it for those who love Asian history, fantasy, swords and dragons. It's great read you should read it.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Alison is the author of EON and EONA, a New York Times Bestselling fantasy duology which has sold into seventeen countries and been translated into ten languages. EON was short-listed for Victorian, NSW, and WA Premier’s Literary awards, and won the 2008 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel. It was also listed as an American Library Association Best Young Adult Book (2010), a James Tiptree Jr. Honour book, and a CBCA Notable Book.

Books to Movies #2: Life of Pi

Here's my 2nd BTM. In this I'll feature a movie adaptation from a book and I'll just give it my thoughts not the review thing. Ok, just to make it clear I am not reviewing a movie the way a movie critique did. So this time time it's Yann Martel's Life of Pi.

Title: Life of Pi
Director: Ang Lee
Book Author: Yann Martell
Release date: November 21, 2012

Life of Pi is a 2012 American 3D adventure drama film based on Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name. Directed by Ang Lee, the film is based on an adapted screenplay by David Magee, and stars Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Gérard Depardieu, Tabu, and Adil Hussain.

The storyline revolves around a 16-year old boy named Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, who survives a shipwreck in which his family dies, and is stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The film had its worldwide premiere as the opening film of the 50th New York Film Festival at both the Walter Reade Theater and Alice Tully Hall in New York City on September 28, 2012.

Upon release, Life of Pi was met with favorable reviews and earned eleven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for three Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture - Drama and Best Director.

Source: Wikipedia

Once there was this guy who was with his friends then one of his friends asked which among those movies who's worth the watch, then the guy said, let's try Life of Pi.

Ok you guessed that right, it was me and my friends, actually I was not expecting to watch a movie that time and I don't have a plan too. And what's more interesting is they all agreed to watch Life of Pi, they really have no idea what kind of movie that is, so I said (based on the trailer I saw) there was this ship with loads of zoo animals that sank somewhere and there was this boy who survives and got trapped in the middle of the ocean with a tiger, then I let them see the poster, and they seems like very interested so we bought a ticket right away. Another good thing it's a free seating so we watched it twice.

Me with the poster I'm telling about

I haven't read a book, so I have no idea what was the other thing happened on the story except the boy that got trapped on a boat with a tiger. The movie, the story, it was excellent, the effects and the cinematography was jaw dropping. If I just had read the book.

I also found out that this has a religious theme, but it doesn't have a thought of changing your religion, it is a movie that gets you more closer to God. It was kind of funny that Pi has a multiple religion, there was a thought from his father that says believing in many gods could also mean you don't believe in anything (quite like that, that thought sank on my head, it's not exactly as it is but it has the same thought, I can't search the right word on Google).

"I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye."

And this is the scene that I cried, it feels so awkward to cry when you're with your friends, but never mind I always do that when we are watching a touchy film. It was the scene that they finally reached the land, and the tiger leave him, he was expecting for the tiger to say goodbye to him with just one look, but the tiger didn't, and he was crying like loosing the last piece of him, losing a friend, a family, he lost everything and the tiger is the last thing he have. (oh God I'm crying again, sorry for the spoiler).

This movie teaches us to be strong, emotionally and spiritually, no matter how hard the struggles that came to our life. If you haven't watched it, then I suggest you better have. So next time again on my next BTM.

Stacking the Shelves #3

Hosted by Tynga's Reviews
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Look what do I got.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

in Hardcover just worth P80.00 or $2 in good condition. Srsly? I just saved 90%. I feel like I'm the luckiest man that night.

The Falls by Ian Rankin

So I found out that this one is the book #12 in the series, but never mind I have seen more of Ian Rankin's books looming at that Bookstore, and it just cost P45.00 or $1 and it really looks like brand new.Though it's a mystery thriller investigation thing which is out of my interest (except Detective Conan which is an anime), I guess this time, just this time I should go out of my comfort zone.

The Giver [Book Review]

Title: The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1)
Author: Lois Lowry
Published: April 26th 1993

Summary on Goodreads:

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Review:

What will you do if you live in a world where everything is the same: sameness as it says, if you live where no one thought you the difference between this and that, you can no longer identify the colors, where everything was fixed, from the food you eat, to the clothes you wear, to the job where you should spent all your life trying to get busy, and even your family; your kids and your partner in life, in a world that you thought is perfect even if it's not. Do you want to be Jonas who wants to change everything, or to be The Giver who wants to do what he's suppose to do?

It was beautifully written, from a perfect balanced society where every man needs to be productive to an hideous society who gives the burden to just one man to keep all the emotions, and the knowledge that every man should know, just imagine you were this man who carries all this different kind of feelings and emotions whether it's pain, happiness, fear, everything, just thinking 'but it it really makes me insane, that's why I was filled with admiration to this old man, he keeps all this burden for his entire life.

If there's a Giver then there's a Receiver. Jonas, well honestly I can't describe him very well, he's just this kid like the other who plays, who have friends, and do what he's suppose to do. Then it all changed, his life changed when he was chosen to be "the Receiver", all the thoughts, all the knowledge, all the feelings should be passed unto him by "the Giver", Once he received some of them it opens his eyes to see the reality, and this is where he tries to change everything.

Well I was quite disappoint at the ending, like it shouldn't have to end that way. Otherwise it's a great read, from the start it was interesting, the next few chapters are quite not good, but when you're nearly at the mid part it was getting better and better that keeps you read on-and-on. So yea, if you haven't read it, I suggest that you should read it now.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Lois Lowry (born Lois Ann Hammersberg on March 20, 1937) is an American author of children's literature. She began her career as a photographer and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s. Her work as a journalist drew the attention of Houghton Mifflin and they encouraged her to write her first children's book, A Summer to Die, which was published in 1977 when she was forty years old. She has since written more than thirty books for children and published an autobiography. Two of her works have been awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal: Number the Stars in 1989, and The Giver in 1993.

As an author, Lowry is known for writing about difficult subject matters within her works for children. She has explored such complex issues as racism, terminal illness, murder, and the Holocaust among other challenging topics. She has also explored very controversial issues of questioning authority such as in The Giver quartet. Her writing on such matters has brought her both praise and criticism. In particular, her work The Giver has been met with a diversity of reactions from schools in America, some of which have adopted her book as a part of the mandatory curriculum, while others have prohibited the book's inclusion in classroom studies.

Check her site @ http://www.loislowry.com/

Stacking the Shelves #2 (BookSale Edition)

Look what we got here! It's.........

Finally! The bookstore that sells unused and pre-loved books with a huge discount are here, they sell up to 50 - 90% off on all books, even on hardbacks. I can't resist. So what do I got?

The Quest (Ancient Egypt #4) by Wilbur Smith

Dragon War (Eberron: The Draconic Prophecies #3) by James Wyatt
(the cover is epic, really epic)

and tantararan..

I was really overwhelmed when I saw this one, it was unexpected.

The Dead & the Gone (The Last Survivors #2) by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Now, know what my problem is? I think you already guessed.

Where do I find their first book in hardbacks in a huge discounted price?!

Well I guess I need to search more.

http://www.booksale.com.ph/

Stacking the Shelves (December)

If you’re anything like me, you are probably hoarding books and even though you are excited about your latest book arrival, it might be a while before you get to review it and Stacking The Shelves is a good way to express your undying enthusiasm for those titles!

It's a very late post. It's all my pc's fault. This is my Stacking the Shelves for the month of December and this is very first. It's suppose to be a weekly post, but because of my financial issues I will do a Monthly Book Hoarding. So, these are what I got for the month of December.

BOUGHT: