Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters
by Erik Burham, Dan Schoening, Tom Waltz
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Pub. Date: May 5, 2015
Retail: $17.99
ISBN: 9781631402531
Pages: 104 pages
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

In my humble opinion, last year's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film reboot was a complete letdown and next year's Ghostbusters all-female reboot looks like a major disaster. Luckily, the Nickelodeon TMNT animated series has ignored all the errors the 2014 movie made and has turned out to be a great cartoon. TMNT has continued to appear in comic book form with this May's release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters, which combines all 4 issues from the crossover mini-series.

The crossover occurs when Donatello tests out Fugitoid's Interspatial Teleportation Unit and accidentally zaps himself, along with Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, April O'Neil and Casey Jones, to a parallel dimension. They literally crash a church wedding  and before they can figure out where they are, a supernatural demon is unleashed - a Japanese warlord named Chi-You.

Chi-You takes possession of Casey Jones and the wedding guests, turning them all into his minions. Out of nowhere, the Ghostbusters (Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Raymond "Ray" Stantz, Dr. Egon Spengler & Winston Zeddemore) arrive to save the day, well, kinda, as Chi-You is much stronger than your average ghost, so they ghost-busting team must team up with the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to stop the demon and his league of minions.

Easter Day is just over a month away and a perfect gift for a family member or friend is a Custom 50x60" Fleece Photo Blanket from Collage.com! You can't go wrong by putting your favorite family photos, baby photos or even pictures of your pets on a blanket, so you can cherish the pictures forever.

You don't have to download anything to your computer. All you have to do is go to Collage.com an click on "Design" to upload your pictures from your computer, Facebook, the web, Instagram or Flickr. Then you can design the layout for the blanket. You can choose from a variety of different backgrounds and add text blocks. The blanket can feature one big picture or multiple pictures in a collage. The 50x60 blanket retails around $125.

I decided to have seven photos of my cats put on the blanket. The calico cat is named Gaby and the tabby cat is named Fred, whom sadly passed away last summer. I picked out the textured background called "Bleach Spots" and the "Torn Paper" for the picture borders.

Anna's Crossing
An Amish Beginnings Novel
by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Publisher: Revell
Pub. Date: March 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0800723194
Pages: 336
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

While I was recovering from the cold virus that hit me over the weekend, I found time to read Anna's Crossing by Suzanne Woods Fisher yesterday afternoon, which is arriving in bookstores today. I'm a fan of the author's other novels (Stoney Ridge Seasons and The Inn at Eagle Hill), so naturally I was looking forward to reading her newest novel.

Most Amish historical novels that I have read are set in either the 1800s or the early 1900s, but Anna's Crossing is set in 1737, where a group of Amish and Mennonites from Germany are leaving their country for the New World aboard the "Charming Nancy" ship.

The main character of the story is Anna Konig, a young woman who is traveling with her Amish community on the merchant ship to start a new life in Pennsylvania. Her father is already settled there and he's awaiting her arrival. She has brought along one of her grandmother's rose bushes, which she has stored in a basket, so she can always remember where she came from.

Blogging can be fun, but it can also be very stressful, especially when you have books, Blu-rays and products piled up that need to be reviewed. That being said, when I got a chance to review the Smooth Energy Clear Mind LiquidCaps, I instantly signed up to review it.

These LiquidCaps contains pharmaceutical grade pure enzyme fermented high absorption ginseng (Korean Panax Ginseng Extract - 134 mg). Ginseng is used to treat many different health issues including depression, hypertension, insomnia and mental stress.

The liquid is taken from unpeeled Ginseng roots without any high heat steaming, but instead a proprietary low heat vacuum extraction is used to extract all the nutrients (18 minerals, 7 essential and 8 non essential amino acids, etc.) from the plant. Unlike other brands, this "Fermented Ginseng" GS15-4 has 15 times more absorption power.

Yeah, I'm a little late with this post today as I've been under the weather with a cold. It snowed several inches over the weekend. I barely noticed that it had snowed until this morning as I spent the majority of my weekend sleeping, well, not the whole time, but I was covered in a blanket to fight off the cold chills. For some weird reason, I was in the mood to watch the Alien movies, so I dragged out Alien vs. Predator Requiem, which is the low-point in both franchises. The film was poorly directed and most of the scenes are just too dark to see. I turned off the lights and watched the movie in the dark, but it was no use as I still couldn't see the fight scenes.

Coincidentally, I found Alien Resurrection on Starz last night and I ended up watching the entire movie. Yes, it isn't the greatest film, but it is still fun to watch. Since I slept most the day, I wasn't ready to go to bed just yet, so I dragged out my old VHS copy of the original Alien (Yep, I still own a VCR) and stayed up to 1:30 AM watching it.  Another strange coincidence is there has been a Predator marathon on SyFy tonight. I'm probably in the mood for these movies after I read online about the new Alien movie in the works from director Neill Blomkamp.


Looks like it is taking a bit longer for me to finish this post as I had hopped on over to YouTube and watched a few music videos. I guess you could say that listening to music brings out my creativity. Now, I don't play any Fender Jazz bass guitars or any music instruments for the matter, but I do enjoy listening to a variety of different music as it relaxes me.

Adventure Time: Frost & Fire
Voice Cast: Jeremy Shada, John DiMaggio, Hynden Walch, Niki Yang, Tom Kenny, Olivia Olson, Dee Bradley Baker, Pendleton Ward, Polly Lou Livingston, Jessica DiCicco, Maria Bamford
Studio: Cartoon Network
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Retail: $19.82
ASIN: B00R5ES308
Running Time: 176 minutes
Rating: TV-PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD tomorrow from Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is Adventure Time: Frost & Fire, featuring 16 exciting episodes. There are no special features or extras on the single-disc.

Since it's debut in 2010, Adventure Time has been one of the most popular animated programs on the Cartoon Network. Created by Pendleton Ward, the series centers on a human boy named Finn and his best friend & adopted brother Jake, whom happens to be a magical dog. They live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they go on different adventures in each 11-minute episode. The cartoon's quirky humor has won over both kids and adults. The series also has over 18 million Facebook fans.

The episodes on the single-disc DVD are:

Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse
Director: Colin Teague
Starring: Julian Morris, Jassa Ahluwalia, Jonjo O'Neill, Jake Curran, Tamzin Merchant, Dominic Mafham, Ben Kingsley
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Retail: $34.96
ASIN: B00P7RWOF0
Running Time: PG-13
Rating: 97 minutes
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Wow! I had completely forgotten about the 1996 fantasy adventure Dragonheart until I heard about the the direct-to-video prequel, Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse, was being released this year. The original was an underrated medieval dragon tale with Sean Connery voicing the last dragon, Draco. I recall watching it several times in my late teens; actually, I think I might even still have it on VHS (Remember those?). A direct-to-video sequel, Dragonheart: A New Beginning, was released in 2000. I recall watching it once, but I didn't care much for it due to the cliched plot and cheap CGI effects.

Considering it has been fifteen years since the sequel, I'm surprised that Universal 1440 Entertainment would produce a film. Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse arrived on Blu-ray and DVD last week (February 24, 2015). Directed by Colin Teague (Doctor Who, Torchwood, The White Queen) and stars Julian Morris, Jassa Ahluwalia, Jonjo O'Neill, Jake Curran, Tamzin Merchant, Dominic Mafham and Ben Kingsley as the voice of Drago. The only bonus feature is "Bringing Drago to Life."

Set years before the original film, The Sorcerer's Curse centers on an aspiring knight named Gareth (played by Julian Morris), whom is in dire need of money, so he can buy his knighthood. After witnessing a falling comet, he goes in search for it as he has heard rumors that comets contain gold, but he finds something else - a dragon named Drago.