Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Blu-ray Review: Outcast

Outcast
Director: Nick Powell
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Nicholas Cage
Studio: Entertainment One
Release Date: March 31, 2015
Retail: $29.99
ASIN: B00QJAZ4J2
Running Time: 98 minutes
Rated: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Now available to own on DVD & Blu-ray from Entertainment One is the action-packed adventure Outcast. Directed by Nick Powell, the film Stars Hayden Christensen (Star Wars II & III), Nicholas Cage (National Treasure 1 & 2), Lou Eiffel, Jo Kr Jun Y and Andy On. Special Features includes Interviews with Cast & Crew, Making of "Outcast" and the Theatrical Trailer.

The film center on a former Crusader fighter Jacob (played by Hayden Christensen), who is struggling to get over the war, but he must come to terms with his past when he comes across two Chinese siblings, Lian (played by Liu Yifei) & Zhao (Bill Su Jiahang), in dire need of his help. Their father has been murdered by their ruthless brother, Shing (Andy On), whom wants to take the throne for himself, though his youngest bother, Lian, is suppose to be the new ruler of the kingdom.

Jacob makes it his personal mission to protect Lian and Zaho from Shing and his army, but to save them, he must rely on an old friend - the mysterious outlaw known as The White Ghost (played by Nicholas Cage).

Book Blogger Hop: April 3rd - 9th

Billy Burgess book blogger hop ,

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<a href="http://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" title="Book Blogger Hop"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOt0RYgWPUQnf3kA-v0oo7K3M_XUCRXnIqgD6TQq_AZvF1io_cpJBMsdw2qofrClgPPfmnXyED93umw7C5kkLx6I3MIqblMUgmtivsTfG2f07cyAcBoy-0WvVTtOjK5TUmJEaQ9EtDFUA/s1600/book+blogger+hop+.png" alt="Book Blogger Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
<br>

Welcome to the new Book Blogger Hop!

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth!

Is there one book you will NEVER forget?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).

3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower. The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

My Answer:

The Shining by Stephen King
Comes The Blind Fury by John Saul
Suffer the Children by John Saul
Six-Horse Hitch by Janice Holt Giles
Animal Farm by George Orwell
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Linky List:

DVD Review & Giveaway: Uncle Grandpa: Good Mornin'

Billy Burgess cartoon , DVD

Uncle Grandpa: Good Mornin'
Voice Cast: Pete Browngardt, Adam DeVine, Kevin Michael Richardson, Eric Bauza

Studio: Cartoon Network
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Retail: $$14.97
ASIN: B00SJFV74G
Running Time:132 minutes
Rating: TV-PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD this Tuesday from Cartoon Network is Uncle Grandpa: Good Mornin', featuring 12 exciting episodes from the hit animated series. There are no special features or extras on the disc.

Created by Peter Browngardt, Uncle Grandpa (which is a spinoff of Secret Mountain Fort Awesome) is the uncle and grandpa of everyone in the world. He travels around in a RV visiting children, which normally leads him into some sort of weird adventure. Each episodes runs between 8 to 9 minutes followed by a 2 to 3 minutes short.

The episodes on the DVD are:

Brain Game (Season 1: Episode 15)

Moustache Cream (Season 1: Episode 5)

Nickname (Season 1: Episode 6)

Locked Out (Season 1: Episode 13)

Mystery Noise (Season 1: Episode 16)

Review - All Hail King Julien

Billy Burgess TV ,

Fans of DreamWorks' animated Madagascar franchise will have to wait until 2018 for next fourth feature film, but in the meantime they look forward to seeing five brand-new episodes from DreamWorks Animation's Netflix original series All Hail King Julien that will premiere on April 3rd.

Set prior to the original Madagascar film, All Hail King Julien centers on the selfish, party-loving ring-tailed lemur named King Julien XIII (voiced by Danny Jacobs), whom doesn't take the leadership of a kingdom very seriously. Even his big-boned Aye Aye adviser Maurice (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) and his new bodyguard Clover (voiced by India de Beaufort) can't stop his crazy antics.

These five new episodes are:

Eat Pray Love
He Blinded Me With Science
Viva Mort
The Really Really Big Lie
One More Cup

Writing Tips Wednesdays: 5 Common Grammar Mistakes You're Probably Making

Unknown Writing Tips Wednesdays ,

If you’re a writer (and today, everyone is a writer to some extent), you probably know at least the very basics of grammar. All sentences should have a subject and a verb, for example.

However, did you also know that even the best of writers often fall into these grammar traps? Find out 5 common grammar mistakes everyone makes and how to fix them below:

“There Are” Sentences

There are 14 cows in the field. There are 12 birds. There are eight ways to tie your shoe.

All of these sentences start with “there are” and all of the sentences are boring. Sure, “there are” is an accurate statement in many cases, but too much use of the phrase sounds lazy and boring. Even if there are 14 cows in the field, try to make the sentence a little more exciting. “14 cows stood in a single line in farmer Jo’s field” is a more interesting sentence.

Neglecting Commas

Some writers are not sure when to use commas, so they avoid them altogether. This becomes a problem when you have a sentence like: before the students arrived the teacher cleaned the desks washed the windows and straightened the chairs. Your brain doesn’t know how to arrange the sentence, so you feel weird while reading it. Put the commas where they belong. Before the students arrived, the teacher cleaned the desks, washed the windows, and straightened the chairs.

Lose/Loose

Did you lose your loose change? Go find it then. I find this is normally a typo error, but it still is important to remember. Lose means to misplace, loose means not tight.

Parallel Errors

When you make a list, all of the verbs should agree. The kids washed the windows, drove to the store, to eat candy in the parking lot. This makes your brain hurt a bit, which should be avoided, if possible. Change that to eat to ate, and you’re good. Try to end all words with the same modifier, such as by using all “ing” words, or “ed” words.

Passive Voice Only

Passive voice is the use of “to be” verbs. Instead of the subject doing the action, the subject is being acted upon by something else.

This is passive: The paper was signed by all the children.

This is active: All the children signed the paper.

Passive writing sounds sluggish and boring. You can’t always avoid passive voice, but try to keep it to a minimum.

What common grammar mistakes do you make most often?

Didn't see your grammar error here? Find 10 more common grammar errors here.

Brenda is a fellow book-lover and coffee-addict. She is a freelance writer, punctuation nerd, and grammar enthusiast. Her favorite book genres are Science Fiction, Fantasy with a Twist, and Dystopian. Brenda blogs about books, writing and more at Daily Mayo. Find her here on CaW for Writing Tips Wednesdays the first Wednesday of every month.

Follow Brenda on Facebook and Twitter or subscribe to updates from Daily Mayo to keep up with all the exciting things in her life; ranging from drinking coffee to get through the day to drinking coffee just for fun.

Spring Reads: Strong Is The New Skinny

Billy Burgess fitness , non-fiction

Strong Is The New Skinny
by Jennifer Cohen & Stacey Colino
Publisher: Harmony Books
Pub. Date: September 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-0804140515
Pages: 240
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Wow! I can hardly believe that it is already April 1st today! I guess time flew by while I've been busy with life. I recall receiving the book Strong Is The New Skinny by Jennifer Cohen & Stacey Colino back in December, but it got shoved aside and I'm just now writing the review for it.

Yes, I'm well aware that there are a slew of fitness books on the market that all claim to help you lose weight. I tend to avoid these types of books, but since I'm in a fitness kick this year, I decided to give this book a try.

While this books is intended for woman, there is plenty of great fitness information and exercises that men (like me) can also benefit from. There is a great diet plan that focuses on the best food that will give you the correct amount of nutrients and protein. The book features over 100-pages of exercise routines with pictures and descriptions, which mixes in light-weight lifting, aerobics, yoga and Pilates.

Spring Reads: You Can't Sit With Us

Billy Burgess book review , middle grade books

You Can't Sit Wth Us
Mean Girl Makeover Series
by Nancy Rue
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pub. Date: December 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1400323715
Pages: 224
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Bullying is definitely an epidemic in our schools around the country. During my JH and HS years during the 90s, I was bullied on a daily basis. I can't imagine what kids go through with the added use of social media.

I don't keep track of all the new middle grade books are being released, so I missed out reading the first entry in the Mean Girl Makeover series from author Nancy Rue. However, I did receive a review copy of the second book, titled You Can't Sit With Us, a few months ago. My first intent was to read this book as soon I received it, but life happened and I just got around to it yesterday.

The book centers on a sixth grader, Ginger Hollingberry, whom just started school at Gold Country Middle School. Due to her hand-me-down clothes and greasy red hair, she is targeted by the school bullies, including Kylie Steppe; despite the fact the GCMS student body all, except for Kylie, signed an anti-bullying pledge.