It's been way too hot this week and I had to mow my yard three times in the last two! I actually welcome the exercise.

In the mail this week: Darkwoods by Marta Stahlfeld, A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin; A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. Darkwood looks like an interesting read by an upcoming author. I hope to start reading it this weekend. I've become addicted to the Game of Thrones on HBO. There are only two episodes left, then True Blood starts, and I can't wait to see how it ends. I'm glad to hear that it will return next year. I bought the Games of Thrones novel before it even started, and it has been sitting on my desk since. I haven't had time to start reading it. I had ordered book 2 & 3, and they arrived in the mail this week. I had already bought A Feast for Crows a few weeks ago at Barnes & Noble, and I just preordered the soon-to-be released fifth book. I look foward to starting this series this summer.

I watched The Green Hornet last night, and sadly I missed the old TV show. I think I dozed off a few times during the first hour. I liked some of the action scenes with Kato and the car, but beside that it was a terrible movie, even for the over-rated actor Seth Rogan, who co-wrote the movie. I honestly wonder what the producers of all these horrible remakes/reboots are smoking. It seems most of Hollywood have exchanged the creative edge for a quick buck.

I picked another $3.00 movie called Bravestarr, a cartoon from the 80s. I don't recall ever watching this before. Does anyone else remember the show?

I also bought the Rest Stop movie collection, there's only two movies, for $5.00. I had never heard of the movies before, but I enjoy a good or bad horror movie. I surprisingly enjoyed the first movie, and thought the restroom scenes were intense. I had mixed feelings for the sequel, which gave the killer a backstory, as the brother and friends, of the couple in the first movie, go on the road. Of course, they end up at the rest stop, where the killer, and the ghosts in the RV, return. Despite not being as good as the first movie, I enjoyed watching it.

I watched Disorganized Crime that I bought yesterday for $3.00. I watched it over and over as a kid, and surprisingly it is still good today. I also picked up He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Season One - 10 episodes for $3. The week before I bought a 4 movie pack for $5.00, The Funhouse, Phantasm 2, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and Sssssss. About ten years ago, I saw the first twenty minutes of The Funhouse on the Scifi (now SyFy) channel, but I had to leave and didn't catch the rest of the movie. So, I was thrilled to find the movie on DVD. I enjoyed the movie, even though it was a little silly, but it is still better than most recent horror movies. I watched Phantasm 2 for the first time and enjoyed watching it.

Yes, I know I am posting this Tursday Ramblings on a Friday, thanks to the blogger outage last night. I'm once again behind on my writing, hopefully I'll have time to work on a new short story. I have three book reviews to write this weekend, and several ebooks to start reading, so I will busy. 

Books in the mail the last two weeks: The Magic of Finkleton  by KC Hilton; Amy Plays the Violin by Julie Labossiere; The Brothers Foot by Steve Cormey; Goosebumps Hall of Horrors: Night of the Giant Everything by R.L. Stine; Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadful Ever After by SteveHockensmith; and Bite Club by Rachel Caine; Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris;10th Anniversary by James Patterson.

I've been feeling ill for the last few days, and, no surprise, I now have a cold sore. I'm behind in my wirting, reading, and reviews. I'm planning on catching up and writing some reviews tomorrow afternoon. I'm ready to start Another Dawn by Kathryn Cushman, I hope to finish it quickly.

I saw part of the movie Wanted on FX several weeks ago. I had never heard of the movie before, and liked the parts that I saw. I bought the DVD and have watched the movie twice. I also watched the Tourist and Salt, which all star Angelina Jolie. I enjoyed Salt. I thought the Tourist was a little boring, but I liked the ending.

In the mail this week: The Art of Romance by Kaye Dacus. It looks like a good read.

I can't believe the cold weather this week. I thought this was spring! I had to bundle up just to mow the yard. I stopped making up excuses this week and decided to get back into shape. Today was my second day of the Tae Bo DVDs, and I'm a little sore, but motivated.

In the mail this week: Colby Agency: The New Equalizers: Missing by Debra Webb; and Fairer Than Morning by Rosslyn Elliott.

I bought the book Games of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, which is now a new series on HBO. I enjoyed the first episode, and I'm looking foward to the new show on Sunday night.

In the mail this week, The Judgment by Beverly Lewis, and Sweet Valley High: Three Novels. I need to read the first book in the Beverly Lewis series and I still need to read her previous series. The Sweet Valley High books are Double Love, Secrets, and Playing with Fire. The cover is somewhat misleading; Francine Pascal is credited as the author instead of the creator. If I am correct, Kate William, who is not even mention in the book’s contents, ghostwrote these books. I do like the new enhanced cover.

You may not know this, but I am somewhat of a horror movie fan. I grew up on Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween movies. Surprisingly I never saw Hellrasier 1 & 2 until I was an adult, when I watched the cut version on AMC, in which the movie was very confusing. Hellraiser is based on the novel Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. I stumbled upon Hellraiser on DVD around Halloween a few years ago, and finally understood the movie. There were several missing and out-of-order scenes in the AMC version. I bought the second movie a few months later, and liked it more than the TV version. Last year, I bought Hellraiser: Hellworld, one of four (soon to be five) made-to-DVD low-budget sequels. The movie was just okay. Pinhead had a small part, and it just felt like the producers were forced to throw Pinhead into a bad, random script.

I have always been curious as to why Pinhead and his minions were molded into the statue at the end of Hellraiser 2. Today I was at Walmart; I glanced into $5.00 DVD bin and came to a stop. Guess what was in the bin? Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth! I grabbed the DVD eagerly and I noticed that it was not just one movie; it was a double feature. Hellraiser: Bloodline was also with it. I watched Hellraiser 3 earlier tonight, and I enjoyed it.

I hate the weather here in Missouri, one day it is warm and next day it is in the 40s, and when the weather goes cuckoo, so does my sinuses. I've been taking things easy over the last few days, but I have planned out a steampunk plot that I hope to get started on this weekend. I hope to have my time-traveling story finished in a few days, and I plan on editing the Trick-or-Spells story.

Is it me, or has Television gotten worse over the years. I do not care for reality shows and no new shows interest me. Stargate SGU is ending, and the so-called SyFy channel will probably ax Sanctuary next year. I cannot wait for Burn Notice, Hot in Cleveland, Covert Affairs, Breaking Bad, Torchwood, and True Blood to return this summer.

The other night I glanced through my DVD collection and spotted the 2009 version of Sorority Row. I watched it once after I bought it last year and had forgot about even owning it. The movie follows the typical slasher genre, but with more of a 80s feel to it. After I re-watched it, I googled it, and was surprised to see so many negative comments about it. Do not get me wrong, it is not going to win an Oscar, but it is an entertaining thriller/horror film.

Last night, I re-watched the so-called remake of Friday the 13th, which the producers could have easily slapped a numeral on it and nobody would have been the wiser. Pros. that I liked about the movie: ten minutes longer than most F13 movies; Jason is no longer a zombie; and Jason is faster and smarter. Cons: Bad acting, bad dialogue, not really a remake; the graphic, overly long sex scene was not needed; and it took over twenty minutes to show the opening title. There is no plot to this movie; I am not saying that the other F13s had plots, except for ripping off small elements from F13 2-4. Most remakes/reboots are a disaster, because the writer/producers do not understand what a remake is. The horror movies that have come out over the last ten years have been sloppy filmmaking, excluding Rob Zombie's Halloween. That being said, I would still rank Friday the 13th above the last few sequels from the 80's and the low budget, mostly Jason-less, Jason Goes to Hell from the 90s. I did I enjoy the campy Jason X, and the slasher match up Freddy vs. Jason. I hope that if the new F13 3D ever gets the greenlight; hopefully it will involve an original, scary plot.

This week I bought the following books: Darkness on the Edge of Town by Brian Keene, A Breath of Magic by Tracy Madison, An Original Sin by Nina Bangs, Crimson City by Liz Maverick; The 5th Witch by Graham Masterton, Brides of the Impaler by Edward Lee; The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber; and The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber.

Books in the Mail this week: The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Vol. 3 Midnight by L.J. Smith, Ghost Town by Rachel Caine, and Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stoul, The Journey by Wanda Brunstetter, and Dot.com Dating by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott.