Kiki's Delivery Service
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voice-Cast: Kristin Dunst, Janeane Garofalo, Phil Hartman, Debbie Reynolds
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Retail: $36.99
ASIN: B00MMPB4ME
Running Time: 105 minutes
Rating: G
Buy Link: Amazon


Review:

Available to own on Blu-ray from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is the 1989 (first released in the United States in 1998) Japanese anime Kiki's Delivery Service. The film is directed by the now retired Hayao Miyazaki and features the voices of Kristin Dunst, Janeane Garofalo, Phil Hartman and Debbie Reynolds. Special Features includes an Introduction by John Lasseter, Ursula's Painting, Original Japanese Storyboards, Original Japanese Trailers Creating Kiki's Delivery Service, Producer's Perspective: Collaborating with Miyazaki, Scoring Miyazaki, Behind the Microphone, The Locations of Kiki's Delivery Service, Kiki & Jiji and Flying with Kiki & Beyond.

Based on the book of the same name by Eiko Kadono, Kiki's Delivery Service centers on a thirteen-year-old girl, Kiki (voiced by Kristin Dunst), who travels on a broomstick with her cat Jiji (voiced by the Phil Hartman) to the port city of Koriko, where she plans train to become a witch!


Kiki takes a job delivering goods on her broomstick for a baker named Osono (voiced by Tress MacNeille). She befriends many of the locals, including an artist, an old woman and a geeky teen. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she discovers that she can no longer fly, which forces her to halt her job at delivering goods. When a friend gets into trouble, Kiki must find away to regain her powers and save the day.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Reality Shock!
by Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Publisher: Ripley Publishing
Pub. Date: September 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1609911096
Pages: 256
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Ripley's Believe It or Not! was founded by Robert Ripley as a cartoon in 1919 in the New York Globe. When Globe folded, Robert moved it to the New York Evening Post in 1923 and later moved it to the New York American in 1930 before heading into syndication. The cartoons all featured unusual and bizarre facts from all over the world. Several short films were released in the 1930s and there have been several television shows over the years as well.

2005 marked the release of the first Ripley's Believe It or Not! Annual featuring hundreds of unusual stories and articles with glossy photographs throughout each edition. The 2015 installment titled Reality Shock! was released back in September and includes the newest collection of unbelievable stories, crazy photographs and wacky facts.

Lazarus is an unusual looking feline with a lovable disposition. Born with a cleft palate that makes him look like almost vampiric, this cat is so warm and cuddly that his owner is using him as a therapy cat.

When I started this blog I never imagined that I would be reviewing a health and beauty product, but here I am writing a review for the Soniclear Antimicrobial Sonic Cleansing System from Michael Todd.

The Soniclear Antimicrobial Sonic Cleansing System retails around $150. The world's first antimicrobial sonic skin cleansing brush features: 1 Soniclear Device, 1 Facial Brush Head with Cover, 1 Body Brush Head with Cover, 1 Charging Stand and 1 Charging Cord.

The problem with other face brushes and scrubs is that they easily get bacteria on them. The Soniclear brush has been treated  with a proprietary "life" antimicrobial product protection which is suppose to guard against the growth of stain and odor that causes bacteria. This means that you won't have to replace the brushes.

While I have seen several different cleansing systems in stores, this is first time that I have actually tried one. You might be wondering why a man would want to review a facial brush cleaning system. Well, to tell you the truth - my skin always breaks out after I shave. It doesn't matter what razors or shaving creams I use, it still happens, so that is why I was interested in trying out this cleaning system.

Though it is recommended to use the Michael Todd body wash, cleanser and facial scrub soaps, I didn't have any of them, so I used a Gillette face & body soap that I already had in my bathroom. The brush has 6 different speeds and over 300+ sonic movements per second (I didn't actually count these, instead I'm going by what was on the box). I have been using the Soniclear Antimicrobial Sonic Cleansing System on my face and my neck for over a week and I can see that the brush does work really well. I've been using the brush shortly after I shave in the mornings and it has helped stop the skin on my neck from breaking out.

For more information about the Soniclear Antimicrobial Sonic Cleansing System and to get 20% discount, please visit www.michaeltoddtrueorganics.com/soniclear-antimicrobial-cleansing-system/soniclear/new-soniclear.html.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Pilates for Dancers
Studio: SalsaCrazy.com
Release Date: March 31, 2006
Retail: $29.95
ASIN: B000ELJ3JE
Running Time: 104 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Let's just say that I have never been coordinated enough to  attempt to dance in public. I know that I'm not alone in this as many people out there can't dance. I have always heard that a key to any dancer is a strong core and one way to a strong core is through pilates.

Pilates was started by German-born Joseph Pilates during the early 20th Century. There are now millions of people, including dancers, who practice pilates, which involves muscle control, breathing and concentration.

Pilates for Dancers was released by SalsaCrazy.com and was created for anyone, dancer or non-dancer, to learn the basics of pilates. You'll learn 24 step-by-step exercises that will help you lose weight, strengthen your core and get into shape.

The 24 exercises are:

As you get older you should really keep an eye on your health. Most people have some sort of health insurance, but don't want to go to a doctor because the high deductible. If you are just looking to get your blood pressure checked, well,  then you can check your blood pressure for free at most pharmacies, but so many people use those machines, so the readings might not be accurate.

For the last few weeks, I have been trying out the Ozeri Cardio Tech Premium Series Digital Blood Pressure Monitor. This a portable monitor that comes with a black storage bag, so you can take it on the road, work, school or wherever you are going. It comes with an arm cuff that is made from clinically proven technology. The monitor can store up to 1197 blood pressure readings, which can be shared with 3 different users. It has an automatic color-coded hypertension indicator, which will give you a warning if your blood pressure is a bit too high or if you have an irregular heartbeat (Arrhythmia). There is a clock, date and time stamped on the monitor for each reading. It takes 4 AA batteries that are included.

Every blood pressure machine brands claim they are 100% accurate. The fact is that every one of these are going to give you a different reading, though the numbers are usually in the same ballpark. The Ozeri Cardio Tech Premium Series Digital Blood Pressure Monitor has an interesting design, though I did have a bit of a problem with the arm cuff as it gets a little too tight when using it. I recommend not wrapping it too tightly. Plus, you need to push out the air of the cuff if you want to taking a second reading.

Housebound
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Starring: Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiati, Glen-Paul Waru
Studio: XLrator Media
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Retail: $14.99
ASIN: B00MU1YEJK
Running Time: 112 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:


Filmed in New Zealand and inspired by the reality series Ghost Hunters and the films The Changeling and The Legend of Hell House, the film centers on Kylie Bucknell (played by Morgana O'Reilly), a young woman who returns home after getting in a little trouble with the local authorities. Against her will, she is put on house-arrest in the house owned by her mother, Miriam (played by Rima Te Wiata), and step-father.


Kylie thinks her mother is a little crazy when she learns that her mother thinks the house is haunted because a murder took place there years ago. Kylie quickly changes her mind when objects start going missing and she starts hearing strange sounds coming within the walls. Her social worker, Dennis (played by Cameron Rhodes) starts to think that Kylie is as a crazy as her mother, but the security guard Amos (played by Glen-Paul Waru) believess she might be telling the truth.

Princess Mononoke
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voice Cast: Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith and Billy Bob Thornton
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Retail: $36.99
ASIN: B00MMPB3VG
Running Time: 134 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Buy Link: Amazon

Arriving on Blu-ray High Definition for the very first time is critically acclaimed animated classic Princess Mononoke from director Hayao Miyazaki. The newly remastered film features several bonus features, such as the Original Japanese Storyboards, Original Japanese Trailers, Princess Mononoke in the U.S.A. and Original Japanese TV Spots.

Princess Mononoke was originally released to theaters in Japan in 1997 and in the United States in 1999. Of course the United States version got an American voice cast, featuring the voices of Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith and Billy Bob Thornton. The film received great reviews from critics and moviegoers. 

The film centers on Ashitaka, the last Emishi prince, who kills an evil possessed beast before it entered his village, but he is injured in the process. He is now poisoned with the same evil that controlled the beast. He is told that a possible cure for his curse may be somewhere in the western lands.

Arriving today on DVD from Adult Swim and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is Robot Chicken: Christmas Specials, featuring all 6 Christmas Specials. Special features include commentaries, deleted scenes, deleted animatics and long-forgotten promos!

If you have ever been channel surfing late at night, then there is probably a chance that you came across an episode of Robot Chicken on Adult Swim. The series was created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. It premiered in 2005 and has become a ratings hit for the Cartoon Network. The premise of each episode (runs around 11-12 minutes each) follows a sketch-comedy format, where the series spoofs cartoons, movies and pop culture.

Since December 2005, Robot Chicken has aired six Christmas specials and each and every one is a parody of Christmas movies, specials and a little bit of everything else you can think of. Seth Green voices Santa Claus in the earlier specials while Seth Macfarlane takes over the role for the rest.


The six specials on the DVD are: