Free Birds
Director: Jimmy Hayward
Voice Cast: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 4, 2013
Retail: $39.99
ASIN: B00GRZPQX8
Running Time: 91 minutes
Rating: PG

Review:

Landing on Blu-ray and DVD last week was the computer-animated Free Birds from Twentieth Century Fox featuring the talented voice cast of Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson and Amy Poehler. Bonus Features include Birds Flipping History, Animating Free Birds: The Main Course, Winging It: Animators in Action, Talking Turkey with Composer Dominic Lewis and "Shake a Tail Feather" Music Video.

In Free Birds, Reggie the Turkey (voiced by Owen Wilson) is aware that the turkeys on the farm are the main course for Thanksgiving dinners every year, but he seems to be the only one on the farm with the intelligence to understand what is going on. He is life is completely changed with the President of the United States arrives on the farm to save one turkey's life. The President's young daughter picks out the skinniest turkey - Reggie.

Reggie is now the White House turkey, spending his days and nights watching cable and ordering pizzas that is until he is kidnapped by Jake (voiced by Woody Harrelson), who claims he is the only member of the President's Turkey's Liberation Front. Jake claims that the "Great Turkey" told him to find Reggie and take him back in time to stop the first Thanksgiving.

Getting family pictures is a wonderful event. Unfortunately, it’s almost always stressful, too. Coordinating a number of different people would be difficult for anyone. When you think about all the things that could go wrong—sickness, grumpy children, naptimes being interrupted, mealtimes being pushed off, stains on clothes, wrinkles, bad weather, etc., it’s indeed overwhelming. One way to lessen the stress is to find ideas on photography sites like www.lastingexpressions.com to give yourself a head start when you are ready to take pictures. Also, it’s good to have some other tips outlined below about family picture poses and outfits ready to go so you are not scrambling last minute.


This is true for both clothing and poses. Try not to be too “matchy-matchy.” Instead, find a myriad of different shades of blues (or any other color) and work within a larger parameter. It will look more natural and less staged. Speaking of more natural, that’s exactly what you should seek out for poses. Look for ideas of things you would do naturally, like walking, playing, etc. Candids always make the best pictures.


This can also be applied to the wardrobe selection as well as the scenery, poses, and background. It’s always fun to make an announcement or tell a story or send a message of some kind. It doesn’t have to be

Transformers Prime: Ultimate Bumblebee
Voice Cast: Frank Welker, Josh Keaton, Jeffery Combs, Kevin Michael Richardson, Will Friedle, Sumalee Montano, Ernie Hudson, Markie Post and Steve Blum.
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Retail: $9.99
ASIN: B00GJ7CU1A
Running Time: 88 minutes
Rating: TV-Y7

Review:

The idea of giant robots transforming into vehicles may have seen a little silly in the early '80s to some, but Hasbro's Transformers toy line has become unstoppable thanks to several popular animated series and blockbuster Michael Bay films (with a fourth out this summer). The Emmy Award-winning Transformers Prime (later renamed Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters) may have came to a startling end last year, but Hasbro Studios and Shout! Factory is releasing a 4-episode single-disc DVD titled Transformers Prime: Ultimate Bumblebee on February 25, 2014 in Walmart stores everywhere.

Transformers Prime may be targeted for children, but the series has won over many adults, especially the ones who were fans of the original cartoon from the '80s. The series is executive produced by Duane Capizzi, Jeff Kline, Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci. It aired for three seasons, one mini-series and one movie on The HUB TV Network in U.S. and on Teletoon in Canada.


The episodes featured on this release are:

For a second day in a row I have managed to finish my P90X3 workout before midnight, well 2 o'clock in the afternoon to be exact for today. My main goal is to slowly move my workouts to just after I arise from bed in the mornings. I'm not a morning person, so this is going to be a tough task to take on.

My first thoughts before exercising daily this year, was that I would lose weight quickly, but that hasn't exactly happened yet, actually I've gained one-pound. I've been eating healthy and I've banned sodas from my diet, but it seems I can't lose weight as quickly as I use to. The workout program isn't a total loss, as I have loss a little over one-inch on my waist. I have also noticed an increase in strength in my arms, legs and gluts. Plus, I'm starting to become more flexible; AKA - I can now do a few yoga poses.

With all the diets and exercise programs being endorsed by celebrities on television, some of us are gullible to believe those unwanted pounds will magically disappear in one week; though in realty it takes much longer, but I can easily understand how one would believe this, as we have all seen actors or actresses magically drop weight or build up muscle for a movie role in a very short time. The average person doesn't have a personal trainer to help you workout and keep you on track. Plus, we don't have twelve hours a day to waste on exercising.

Celebrities, including models, are not the greatest role models for anyone, as the media tries to push their unhealthy images as being perfect. If you have ever scene a runway model on a magazine cover, you'll understand exactly what I mean. They're just too skinny; giving young adults the bad idea of what beauty should really be.

If you haven't noticed, I'm a little late with this post today, but at least I remembered it for once. It has been extremely cold for the past week with several inches of snow on the ground, which I hope it will melt soon, as I'm not the biggest fan of the winter weather. I have found myself oversleeping for the last several days, mostly from me not being able to fall asleep at night, which probably has a little something to do with fact that I've been exercising at nearly midnight every night. Some people say exercising just before bed helps you sleep, but that isn't the case with me, as I'm wide awake.



I'm planning on changing my exercising schedule to earlier in the day, well, I've actually been saying that since the start of the year, but I did manage to finish Day 42 of P90X 3 before two-o'clock this afternoon. I pulled something in my back (the exact same of place I had a injury last year) last week and I thought that a stretching/yoga workout would help it out today, but right now it seems to be worse. I guess I'm going to have to be careful with tomorrow's workout. Right now it would be nice to have a hot tube or one of the Sapphire Plunge Pools to lounge in, as they're suppose to be good for a person’s sore muscles or back injuries, but it would have to be an inside pool, as it is just too cold outside. I would probably freeze to death.

Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light
By David Downie
Narrated by Max Winter
Pub. Date: 2011
By Blackstone Audio
ISBN of the paperback: 978-0307886088
Duration:  9:58 hours
Genre: Nonfiction/Travel
Source: Audiobook Jukebox
Goodreads

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie-Rella
Voice Cast: Bret Iwan, Russi Taylor, Bill Farmer, Tony Anselmo and Tress MacNeille
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Retail: $19.99
Release Date: February 11, 2014
ASIN: B00GN13CNC
Running Time: 102 minutes
Rating: TV-Y
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD this Tuesday, February 11, 2014 is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie-Rella, the all-new 30-minute special, which will premiere on the Disney Channel and Disney Junior on February 14th. There are three extra 24-minute episodes and ten Minnie's Bow-Toons. Each DVD comes with a Free Castle Play Set.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is the Disney Channel's first CGI animated series, which began airing under the daily Playhouse Disney block in 2006 and later moved to Disney Junior. It is the first Mickey Mouse program aimed for preschoolers. Sadly, the series stopped production in December 2013.

In Minnie-Rella, Mickey and the gang are planning a surprise for Minnie. They give her several chores to do to distract her while they finish the surprise. Meanwhile after finishing the chores, Minnie is tired and falls asleep. She is awaken by Fairy Godmother Clarabelle, who magically helps her to get ready for Prince Mickey's party, but she might not make it in time if she doesn't hurry.

The three bonus episodes are: