This past Monday, A&E aired the series premiere of the re-imagined prequel of Psycho called Bates Motel. The title may sound familiar for some of you as there was a two-hour made-for-TV movie of the same name that served for a backdoor pilot for a purposed weekly anthology series, which was never picked up due to the movie’s low ratings. The failed version killed off Norman Bate (big mistake) and focused on a new character, Alex West (played by Burt Cort), who inherited Norman’s house and motel shortly after he was released from the asylum. Lorri Petti costarred as a teenage runaway, Willie, along with Moses Gunn as the handyman, Henry Watson. The plot has Alex reopening the motel, only to encounter strange happenings. I only saw the movie by accident several years ago on the former Sci-Fi Channel. The problem with the movie’s premise was it ignored the previously established continuity.

The first official sequel, Psycho II, came out twenty-two years after the original, but it completely ignored the plot from Robert Bloch’s novel sequel of the same name. Anthony Perkins returned as Norman Bates, who is being released from the asylum despite the protest from Lila Loomis (played once again by Vera Miles). Norman returns home to meet the manager (played Dennis Franz) of the Bates Motel, whom he later fires. After settling back into the house, Norman starts his job at a local dinner as part of his rehabilitation, where he meets the young Mary Samuels (played by Meg Tilly). Before long, Norman receives messages from someone claiming to be Mother along with a few strange occurrences that only he can see. Psycho II is definitely the superior sequel of the series, though it is obviously missing Albert Hitchcock’s magical touch.

It's been over a year since I got my own domain and a blog redesign. I have to say that the last year has been fun as I have slowly broke away from reviewing only books. Many of my readers have noticed DVD and product reviews on here. I have had the chance to work with several amazing companies, which I made contact with them through the Blog Friendly PR.

What is Blog Friendly PR?

Blog Friendly PR is a great company that helps  bring brands and bloggers together. Blogs are new and faster way to market products. Brands that are looking to hire bloggers can sign up to reach the specific bloggers they are looking for, such as Mommy/Daddy blogs, book blogs, fashion blogs, etc. Bloggers that sign up can get access to the newest brand campaigns, review and giveaway opportunities, and make PR contacts. For us bloggers, we get access to the community forum, where you can list your giveaways and communicate with other bloggers. There is an exclusive Elite forum, where bloggers get access to the most recent pitches from PR groups, make PR contacts, and possibly make some cash with sponsored opportunities.

Power Rangers: Clash of the Red Rangers: The Movie
Starring: Alex Heartman, Najee De-Tiege, Erika Fong, Hector David Jr., Britney Anne Pritle,
Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: March 5, 2013
ASIN: B00AQAZZ3Q
Run Time: 45 Minutes
Rating: NOT RATED

Review:

It’s hard to believe that the Power Rangers franchise is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It is making me feel old as I remember when the original series aired. I watched the occasional episodes of the original series up to the In Space series, but I tuned out because the constant cast changes. I wasn't aware that there was a new series on television, until I reviewed two other DVD titles early this year. Lionsgate recently released Saban's Power Rangers: Clash of the Red Rangers: The Movie onto DVD this month and I was sent a complementary copy in exchange for my honest review.

Clash of Red Rangers originally aired in November 2011 on Nickelodeon as an hour special that teamed up the six Samurai Rangers with the RPM Ranger Red. The plot involves the RPM Ranger Red chasing the robotic villain Professor Cog from the RPM alternate universe into the real world, where the Samurai Rangers are fighting the newest Nighlok called Sharkjaw, who runs away in defeat. Cog finds an entrance to the Netherworld as he wants to use the water to destroy the humans in his own universe. To get the water he agrees to help Xandred's Nighlok army in defeating the Power Rangers.

Grinders attack the Samurai Rangers and the rangers only win because RPM Ranger Red used his nitro blaster to destroy the Grinders. The Samurai Rangers gladly accept their new friend, though Jayden has a few issues with him. Cog returns with several Grinders leading the Yellow, Green, Blue, Pink, and Gold rangers to be zapped to the RPM universe. The Nighlok are building a huge army to invade earth and only the two red rangers are left to stop them, but only if they can work out their differences.

Arkeepers: Episode Two: Angeliks
By: W.J. Madsen
Publisher little m Books
Pub. Date: January 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-0983048718
ASIN: B007AUJEKU
Pages: 206

Review: 

In this exciting second installment in the Arkeepers series, Jake, age 11, and Alexa, age 8, are from a long line of Angelik ancestry and they are also known as the Arkeepers. Their grandmother gave Jake a magnifying glass on his birthday that once belong to his grandmother, who as also a Keeper. The kids, along with their cat Rex, travel through the magnifying glass to other worlds, where Rex can talk to them. Keepers are the ones that investigate mysterious and keep evil from taking over.

After Jake and Alexa saved time in book one, they were warned by Delbert that others will seek their help. Once again, they go through the magnifying glass, where they meet the biggest cow rancher in the cosmos named Big Daddy. What is the great mystery for Inspector Moustachio and Inspector Girl this time? Well it seems that Big Daddy's cows have disappeared and is up to the brother and sister duo to solve the case.

There are not many recent children book releases that have caught my attention, but when I saw the neat cover art to Arkeeper: Episode One: Keepers, I knew I had to read it. The author, along with Review the Book, kindly sent me a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Jake receives a magnifying glass that belonged to his grandfather for his eleventh birthday from his Grandmother Moustachio, but this isn't a normal magnifying glass. Jake soon realizes that he can see a whole new world on the other side when a mysterious voice speaks to him asking for Inspector Moustachio's help. Being somewhat of an amateur detective, Jake, along with his eight-year-old sister, Alexa, and their cat, Rex, step through the magical magnifying glass and journey to a peculiar new world where Rex can actually speak.

My wife’s love inspired me to write, but that takes a little explaining.

I wrote some as a kid mainly because of my parents. They encouraged me to try it, then cheered along my progress. In high school, I turned in science fiction short stories whenever the assignment scope permitted. In college, I wrote very little fiction. But I would sometimes compose novella-length stories while commuting by bus and subway train. In sort, I was an incidental fiction writer, at best.

But other forces were gathering that would eventually activate a compulsion to write. And they are forces that go back a-ways. As a child I developed an interest in romantic love that was unusual for a boy. And I guess I have a pair of older girl cousins to thank for that. They lived with us at various times, and I noticed that they were never happier than when they were romantically involved. Did I say happy? Better than that. They were near ecstasy whenever they were in love. I looked at them and saw something beautiful. As a result, I looked forward to the distant day that I could share such exquisite feelings with a girl who was just bound to be gorgeous. The only problem with this picture was that my cousins didn’t turn out to be very good at this romance thing. They were in and out of love because they kept getting their hearts broken, or they were breaking up with their beau of the month on a regular basis. Their woes caused me to look around at the relationships adults had, and that’s when I really got alarmed. Most adults had romances that seemed junkyards of how they started out. So humdrum, so bored, plus adults tended to let themselves go to pot, physically, so that they didn’t look the part of a romance partner anymore. Why was that? I didn’t know, but I was determined to have better if I could find a way.

After a full day of rest on Sunday, my official second week of the Revolt fitness workout program from Nichole Huntsman began. Spring is nearly here and I'm already battling allergies, but I didn't let that stop me from working out.

Just like the first week, there are many squats in every circuit (which there are two to three circuits that you repeat twice) and a few lunges. Let's just say my gluts were on fire on Wednesday, which was a much need rest day. There were several exercises that I never tried before, like Thrusters and Russian Twists. The workouts ranges from twenty to thirty minutes, but don't let the time fool you as you will workout your entire body.

Unlike some programs that give you only a basic guideline of what to eat, everything in Revolt is planned out for you. The thought of changing your diet may scare you, but you don't have to starve to death. You just have to make better choices. One of my new habits is eating a full breakfast, like the Power Pancakes. You actually get five meals a day, which is more than what I was eating before.