Okay, well I have to start out by saying I grew up in the 80s. So, I have a lot of favorites that kids today have no idea about. You know what I mean. Well, in a backlash to the terrible kids fiction series of today (no names mentioned *cough* Twilight *cough*) I give you my favorite book series as a child. I leaned towards the scary, the adventures, and the creative, as you can see. If your child wants to read a really great book, then why not start them out with one of these three?

1. Aliens Ate My Homework by Bruce Coville – When tiny aliens land in your room and start eating your homework, what do you do? Join them of course! This book series by well-known author Bruce Coville had me alternating between hysterical laughter and thoughtful repose. More than just a sci-fi fluff piece, this series delves into what it means to be alien, father-son relationships, and what true friendship is. Whether defeating alien bullies at school or traveling the universe with a four-legged karate master, Rod Albright learns a lot about how things work.

I’m tired of gray morals and anti-heroes.

It took me long enough. As a kid who grew up reading comic books, I would run away from do-gooders like Spider-Man and Captain America. Spider-Man was impossible for any artist to treat seriously, what with every available inch of negative space being filled word balloons of light-hearted stream-of-consciousness “jokes”, and Captain America’s square jaw and “do the right thing” philosophy just smacked of simpleton virtues and an unwavering devotion to the status quo. No, I wanted to see the Punisher hunt down criminals and gun them down in endless succession. The guy was basically a serial killer with a heart of gold, and I loved it.

It took a while for the anti-hero ideal to spread, but now, in some watered-down sense, it’s everywhere. A lot of writers these days are making their heroes more “human” by showing their weakness, their indecision, and their keen sense of their own failings. Sure, literature’s bygone heroes might have been cardboard cutouts of perfection, but when did we decide that humanity was the most limp-wristed animal on the block?

Are we really looking to blood-sucking vampires when we look for an ideal to live by? Moral shades of gray? What does that even mean?

Once Upon a Time
The Complete First Season
Actors: Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared Gilmore
Studio: ABC
ASIN: B0058YPL66
Release Date: August 28th, 2012
Running Time: 946 minutes
Rated: PG


I was pestered to death by my parents to watch Once Upon a Time. Sure, I've seen the advertisements for it, but I never attempted to watch it because I never cared much for Jennifer Morrison when she was on House, M.D.

I saw the complete first season at my local Walmart yesterday and I thought I would give it a try. If I don't like it, I can always give it to my parents.

Inside the set was a $10 coupon off of any current and upcoming ABC series DVD/Blu-Ray Set, including Castle: The Complete Fourth Season!

I intended to only watch the pilot last night, but I ended up watching the entire first disc as I became addicted to the mysterious town of Storybrooke.

Batman: The Dark Knight: Volume 1: Knight Terrors
By: David Finch
Publisher: DC Comics
ISBN: 9781401235437
Pub Date: October 9, 2012
Pages: 208
Pre-Order: Amazon.com


Batman is back in this new volume of consisting of the issues 1-9:  Knight Terrors, A Rush of Blood, Catch Me If You Can, Welcome to the Jungle, Handful of Dust, Run Rabbit Run, The Final Curtain, The Madness, and  I Can No Longer Be Broken.

A mysterious woman dressed as a white rabbit enters into the Arkham injects the inmates with a special venom. An explosion causes chaos inside Arkham. Batman rushes inside, afraid that his old enemy Two-Face has escaped, but to his surprise, Two-Face is very much alive. The venom injected into him has caused him to take on a hulk like appearance and he now refers to himself as One-Face.

The Smurfs and the Magic Flute
Director: Peyo (original version), John Rust (English version)
Voice Actors: Richard Ashley, Robert Axelrod, Bill Capizzi, Cam Clarke, Ed Devereaux
Studio: Shout! Factory
ASIN: B0080730K2
Release Date: August 14, 2012
Running Time: 74 Minutes
Rated: G

The Smurfs and the Magic Flute was directed by the Smurfs creator Peyo and was released to theaters in 1976 in Belgium, and 1979 in the United Kingdom. In 1981, NBC aired The Smurfs from Hanna-Barbera and it was an instant success. An English dubbed version of The Smurfs and the Magic Flute came out to theaters in the USA in 1983. Despite being disliked by critics, the move was a box-office success. Over the years it has been only available on VHS, but never on DVD, until now.

The movie centers on a young squire, Johan, and his goofy sidekick, Peewit, (Peyo created the characters in 1952 and then created the Smurfs in 1958). Peewit gets a hold of a flute that has only six holes. Whoever is playing the flute can control other people by making them dance.

A Plain Scandal
An Appleseed Creek Mystery
Written By: Amanda Flower
Publisher: B&H Books
ISBN: 9781433676987
Pub. Date: February 15, 2013
Pages: 336
Pre-Order: Amazon.com

Chloe Humphrey is enjoying her life working at a college in Appleseed Creek, Ohio, but her life is turned upside down when she is informed that house that she rents with her roommate Becky has a new owner who plans on remodeling and selling the house.

Someone is going around the community grabbing Amish girls and cutting their hair. Chloe finds a body of an Amish man. He had been murdered and his beard has been shaved off. An elderly Amish man is pushed up against his own horse & buggy and someone cuts his beard off!