What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Hey, I'm back babies and even though I've only been gone about a month and a half, I've had a pretty exciting six weeks and I wanted to pop in and give you the details on what I've been into. So, I now present to you a bullet points style list of what has happened to me in the since the TOP 20 list.

1) I quit smoking! I know, I know, it's great right? Well, I had a rough time of it, but ultimately I kicked the habit and as of today, I'm six weeks smoke free. It's going to be a little weird watching movies without the use of cigarettes. Often times when I was feeling a little groggy (I usually watch my movies late at night) I'd hit "pause" and step out onto the porch and light one up, get some energy and then be on with the picture. I also always looked forward to sucking on a cancer stick after every "1001" movie I watched and collecting my thoughts. Oh well, I'm sure I'll adapt without it and I'm quite proud of myself for kicking the habit could turkey.

2) Some of you may remember Karen Burroughs Hannsberry, from our joint "Seven Shadows" venture last May, where the two of us tackled seven film noir films and she guest blogged right here at "1001 Movies I (Apparently) Must See Before I Die". Well, Karen has been kind enough to ask for my assistance on her newsletter, The Dark Pages. This December, The Dark Pages will publish their annual giant-sized issue and this year their topic of discussion will be the 1946 film "The Killers". Karen gave me a list of topics to choose to write about and I'm proud to announce that a bio of Burt Lancaster, written by yours truly will be featured in that issue. I'll post more details when December draws closer, but I definitely want to thank Karen for giving me this opportunity. I've already written the bio and I had a great time doing so. I learned a lot and I put a lot of thought & work into what I put down on paper and I hope everyone who reads the newsletter will enjoy it. Be sure to swing by Karen's blog Shawdos and Satin and give her some support. Also, you can like their Facebook page, by clicking here and follow Karen on Twitter @TheDarkPages.

3) Where is the place to be? I'll tell you where. It's Place to be Nation. Place to be Nation is a fairly new website that deals with all things geeky and it's bound to give you a geek-gasm! Yep, I just made that word up. Place to be Nation focuses on movies, television, comics, music, professional wrestling & other sports and more. And you know what makes it even better? I'm a member of the staff! That's right, a few weeks ago I was approached by the founders of Place to be Nation about writing movie reviews for their site and I graciously accepted. I want to thank everyone over there for their invitation and their compliments of the work I've done here.

What I'll be doing over there, primarily, is a weekly (perhaps bi-weekly) column called "1,000 Films You Need to See", where each week I'll list a new entry in this ongoing series. Fans of my blog will find the reviews VERY familiar, as they're simply reposts of what I've already published here, with a few touch-ups and a new intro paragraph. Even though it's recycled material, I'd still appreciate your support over there. Please bookmark the website, follow @Place2BeNation on Twitter and like their Facebook page. Let them know who sent you and give me a little boost of support.

4) I can confirm that I've been in touch with Eric over at Barron's and am in line to once again receive a review copy of the newest "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book, due out later this fall. I can't wait to get a look at the new book and give my thoughts. I also encourage you to keep in touch with Barron's via Facebook as well, by giving them a like and following their posts. Thank you to everyone there, they're a great bunch of people.

So a whole bunch of links and things for you guys to check into. I hope you'll take a few minutes and "LIKE" the Facebook links, check out the websites and follow the Twitter accounts. I hope you'll also follow me on Twitter @adduvall1984 If you're not on Twitter, I've added a Twitter gadget to the side of the blog, so you can still check out what I'm talking about. I must say that I was a little disappointed in my "Star Wars" review yesterday, but will chalk it all up to blogging rust and try to produce something a little more up to snuff for you guys next time. I hope you'll continue to follow me as I make my way down the home stretch. I'm at less than 300 movies to go now and I plan to finish by the end of 2014 and look forward to you guys following me to the end. Thank you all, for all of your support.

July 23, 2013  11:56pm