Pic Spam: Zachary Quinto

My last pic spam was about Ali Larter, the most beautiful woman on "Heroes". Now I'm dedicading it to the hottest man on the show, Zachary Quinto, who portrayed Sylar. An awesome villain. And he has some great photo's. Here are my favorites.

50 Books Challenge - # 29: The Struggle (Vampire Diaries # 2) by L.J. Smith

Title: The Struggle (Vampire Diaries # 2)
Author: L.J. Smith
Story: Damon is determined to make Elena his queen of darkness, he'd kill his own brother to possess her. Stefan is desperate for the power to destroy Damon, he succumbs to his thirst for human blood. Elena is irresistibly drawn to both brothers, her choice will decide their fate. The terrifying story of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.
Start: may 23rd 2011
End: may 25th 2011
Comment: Just for starters, I liked this one better then the first. Damon was one of then reasons. He had a bigger role in this story, which made this book more interesting and it had more tension and suspense. There was more conflict in this book. I liked Elena a bit more as well, but her friend Bonnie is my favorite female character. She's a real loyal friend. I can't really say much about Meredith, she's very one-dimensional. I still don't like Stefan very much, I can't explain why. I also liked Alaric, although he was only in it for a short part of the story. I'm still not a fan of the genre, but I'm getting in to it. I think I will probably read more of this series, just to see what happens next.
Rating: 3/ 5

Coolest Abilities from Heroes

"Heroes" has ended, but I just started to collect the complete series on DVD. There are a lot of interesting characters, but their abilities are even more interesting. Some of them have conveniant powers, for others it's a burden. Here are the coolest abilities from the TV show "Heroes".



Adoptive Muscle Memory
What? The ability to replicate any physical action after seeing it performed.
Hero: Monica Dawson

Clairvoyance
What? The ability to see distant people and things
Hero: Molly Walker

Cloning
What? The ability to replicate oneself and produce identical clones.
Hero: Eli

Electric Manipulation
What? The ability to create and direct electrical arcs.
Hero: Elle Bishop

Empathic Mimicry
What? The ability to duplicate the powers of other evolved humans within proximity and reproduce them at will when thinking about the original source of the power.
Hero: Peter Petrelli

Empathy
What? The ability to feel the emotions, thoughts, hopes, desires, and dreams of others.
Hero: Lydia

Enhanced Hearing
What? The ability to hear sounds beyond normal limits.
Hero: Dale Smither

Enhanced Memory
What? The ability to quickly absorb and accurately retain great amounts of information.
Hero: Charlie Andrews

Enhanced Strenght
What? The ability to exert greater than normal physical force.
Hero: Niki Sanders

Flight
What? The ability to propel oneself through the air.
Hero: Nathan Petrelli and West Rosen

Healing
What? The ability to heal the wounds of others.
Hero: Daniel Linderman and Ishi Nakamuru

Healing Touch
What? The ability to control the flow of life.
Hero: Jeremy Greer

Illusion
What? The ability to alter the perceptions of others.
Hero: Candice Willmer

Invisibility
What? The ability to not be seen.
Hero: Claude Raines

Intuitive Aptitude
What? The ability to analyze complex systems and intuitively understand how they work without special education or training.
Hero: Gabriel "Sylar" Gray

Lie Detection
What? The ability to detect when others lie.
Hero: Sue Landers

Memory Manipulation
What? The ability to make an individual re-experience forgotten or past memories and to erase memories.
Hero: Damian

Persuasion
What? The ability to force others to obey one's spoken commands.
Hero: Eden McCain

Phasing
What? The ability to pass through solid objects at will.
Hero: D.L. Hawkins

Precognition
What? The ability to accurately predict future events through paintings.
Hero: Isaac Mendez

Rapid Cell Regeneration
What? The ability to heal wounds quickly without any scarring.
Hero: Claire Bennet

Space-Time Manupilation
What? The ability to alter the space-time continuum, including slowing down, speeding up, reversing, stopping, moving backwards and forwards through time, and moving instantaneously through space.
Hero: Hiro Nakamura

Super Speed
What? The ability to move at a higher rate than normal.
Hero: Daphne Millbrook

Technopathy
What? The ability to control and manipulate technology with the mind.
Hero: Micah Sanders

Telekinesis
What? The ability to move objects with the mind.
Hero: Brian Davis

Telepathy
What? The ability to mentally control functions of the brain.
Hero: Matt Parkman

Underwater Breathing
What? The ability to breathe underwater.
Hero: Alex Woolsly

50 Books Challenge - # 28: The Awakening (Vampire Diaries # 1) by L.J. Smith

Title: The Awakening (Vampire Diaries # 1)
Author: L.J. Smith
Story: A deadly love triangle. Elena is beautiful and popular, the girl who can have any guy she wants. Stefan is brooding and mysterious, desperately trying to resist his desire for Elena . . . for her own good. Damon is sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Elena finds herself drawn to both brothers . . . who will she choose.
Start: may 19th 2011
End: may 22nd 2011
Comment: Vampire books are really popular and I was never into vampires that much. I decided to give this a try. Off course I saw the TV show which is loosely based on this series, but when you start reading you realize the two are very different from each other. It takes some time before the story gets interesting. You have to be patient, because there's not a lot of coflict in the story. You're basically reading about Elena and her feelings for Stefan and vice versa. And her discovering who and what Stefan really is. The moment Damon enters the story is when it becomes really interesting. And that's only in the end. Damon was the only character that actually intrigued me. Not because he's so nice, but he's a well created character. He's the one you remember. I didn't really sympathize with Elena nor with Stefan. The book ends with a cliffhanger. I want to know what happens next and I want to read more about Damon's character. Those are the only reasons I want to continue reading the series. Maybe I will like the second one more.
Rating: 2/ 5

The Office, life without Michael

We have to get used to the idea, but it's a fact now. No more Michael Scott in "The Office". I think it's going to be very weird, but it doesn't necessarely mean the show is going to lose its power. There are so many great characters left. Pam, Jim, Andy, Stanley, Oscar, Dwight, Angela, you name it. I admit it's not going to be the same, but I'm still excited for season 8. Especially after seeing this cool promo picture for next season.

I think it's awesome!

Best of... Kevin Costner

When I was younger, me and a friend from High School were huge Kevin Costner fans. Basically because of one film, but we sort of had a crush on him. Now I really don't remember why, but he's still a very attractive man. And off course he is a great actor. Here are my favorite Kevin Costner films.

"The Untouchables"
Besides "Scarface" this is definitely Brian DePalma's best work. Brilliantly directed and Oscar-worthy performances by Costner, De Niro and Connery (who actually did win an award for this film). The movie also brought us some classic scenes, like the one with the baseball bat.

"Bull Durham"
There's one thing Costner does best. He can star in great baseball movies, with this being one of them. The love triangle between Annie, Crash and Nuck is told in a both beautiful and funny way. Tim Robbins has the best role, but Costner has great chemistry with Robbins and Susan Sarandon.

"Field of Dreams"
I haven't seen it in a long time, but I still know this is his best baseball movie. What a beautiful film this is. It's not just a movie about baseball, it's actually about second chances, something I truly believe in. Kevin Costner is absolutely great here, very strong and natural.

"Revenge"
Probably not one of his best, but it's one of my favorites. A very exciting movie about infidelity and what happens when the 'victim' finds out.

"Dances with Wolves"
His best movie so far. This is one of those very long movies, but it doesn't bother me one second. It's such an amazing picture, beautiful and sad. Perfect.

"Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"
This is that movie me anf my High school friend were obsessed with. I saw it a gazillion times and I still love it. I know that most people think Costner wasn't a good Robin Hood, and I know his accent was kinda ridiculous. But come on, this movie is awesome and highly entertaining.

"JFK"
Oliver Stone's directing is as good as it gets and you can see that he has a passion for the subject, which is very controversial. And what a great ensemble cast: Kevin Costnerm Joe Pesci, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones.

"A Perfect World"
You really don't see this one very often and it's certainly underrated. Costner gives away a nice performance as badboy Butch and great supporting roles by Clint Eastwood and Laura Dern. I really want to see this movie again.

"Message in a Bottle"
A romantic story, based on a book by Nicholas Sparks. When I saw it for the first time, I remembered why I had a crush on Costner back in the days. He's one of those well aging men. Very beautiful love story, not a brilliant movie but entertaining for us romantics.

"For the Love of the Game"
Just a very enjoyable film that captivated me.

"Mr. Brooks"
Not as good as I expected it to be, but still very solid. We see Costner from a different side, as a cold blooded killer with a double life. He does that very well.

No, I don't have a crush on him anymore, but he's still an actor I enjoy to watch, especially in the projects he did in the 90's.

50 Books Challenge - # 27: Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy

Title: Circle of Friends
Author: Maeve Binchy
Story: It began with Benny Hogan and Eve Malone, growing up, inseparable, in the village of Knockglen. Benny — the only child, yearning to break free from her adoring parents...Eve — the orphaned offspring of a convent handyman and a rebellious blueblood, abandoned by her mother's wealthy family to be raised by nuns. Eve and Benny — they knew the sins and secrets behind every villager's lace curtains...except their own. It widened at Dublin, at the university where Benny and Eve met beautiful Nan Mahlon and Jack Foley, a doctor's handsome son. But heartbreak and betrayal would bring the worlds of Knockglen and Dublin into explosive collision. Long-hidden lies would emerge to test the meaning of love and the strength of ties held within the fragile gold bands of a...Circle Of Friends.
Start: may 12th 2011
End: may 18th 2011
Comment: I wanted to read this book for a long time, mostly because peole say it's the most beloved book by Maeve Binchy. Off course I know the film, which I love. The book didn't disappoint me at all. Sometimes the story had a slow pace, but I think that's also the charm of it. The style is so simple and reassuring. It had a good atmosphere and Binchy created some great characters. Benny was my favorite. I could really relate to her and those are the best characters. I also liked Nan. Not Nan personaly, but the way Binchy wrote about her. It was impossible to really hate her, even though she did some horrible things. Like I read in a review, this books is food for your soul.
Rating: 5/ 5